Let’s eat!

I am always in love with food but during the pandemic I’m besotted. I know I’m not alone. You know how everything tastes like cardboard when you’re grieving? I’ve decided this is the opposite: everything tastes FABULOUS.

The TV pundits say we’re eating out of boredom. I dunno. I’m not bored. Many things but not bored. We comfort ourselves with food too. That’s long-standing wisdom. I am comforted by food but this isn’t mindless eating I’m talking about, where someone shovels things in without really even tasting it or even knowing quite what they ate. It’s pleasure, a reward for living, for doing what has to be done. Sleep, food and sex are life’s essential rewards, right? I mean it doesn’t say it in the Constitution but that’s how I see it. Some people consider one or two or all three of that trio bothersome. I don’t understand such people.😀

If you stayed with me during the quarantine you’d eat well. I’ve made salmon vegetable soup, bisquits, pancakes, crepes, pan and deep-dish “Grandma’s Pizza”, pumpkin raisin muffins, lemon bread, spaghetti, linguine with kalamata olives & artichoke hearts, salmon loaf with wild rice, ziti & tuna with green olives & garlic, twice-baked potatoes mixed with sour cream & chives, healthy cookies, sesame noodles, chickpea/crushed tomatoes/pumpkin soup with lemon juice & curry, and even johnny-cakes — these are made of cornmeal & boiling water and then cooked in a big skillet. I had a bag of cornmeal in the fridge with a “best by” date of Sept 2019. It looked ok to me.😊

The main thing I want and am not having are the big-ass salads that are mainstays in my “cuisine.” I just think lettuce is too iffy now. You can’t cook it or scrub it so I’ve tearfully eliminated lettuce for the time being. It’s not like lettuce, with its various recalls and E. coli outbreaks didn’t already have enough troubles.😕

I’m also craving shellfish and cheesecake. Not necessarily together. Those aren’t going to be happening either.

I’m fortunate to not be worried about food.

I think food should be front and center in life and too often its role is afterthought or even chore. That’s all wrong; we are nothing without food and it deserves to be lauded and celebrated. I’m on it.

Short Thought #254

Not everyone is a worthy adversary. If you’re going to have one, they should at least be that. You want a nemesis to earn the title. A nuisance or irritant shouldn’t qualify. Deciding who’s who saves a lot of trouble and wasted energy.

(Small) Happy things

A hummingbird turned up at the end of last week. This is early especially since it’s been chilly. I had pulled the feeder out of storage recently and it was sitting inside on tbe coffee table, so once I saw the little bird poking around outside I was ready to mix up its sugar drink and serve it. That they know to return to their former feeding territory, traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to do so, blows me away. Just the one has come so far. I don’t usually get many and the few that come around in season fight constantly. The early bird gets not worms here but the hummingbird feeder all to himself (males arrive first).

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The Quince bloomed earlier in April. About two years ago I moved it roughly 2 or 3 feet from where it had been so it could have more room to grow. That’s worked out nicely. The thing I love about this shrub, in addition to how freaking gorgeous it is, is how consistent it is, always putting on a good show. It attracts bumblebees in particular although it’s always odd to see them in April – I don’t see them anywhere else that early in the season, just on the Quince. None of the bees really wanted to pose – I tried to get shots – so here’s the lovely blooms.

Short Thought #253 (bad ideas)

You can call a local weather line by phone and hear a recorded forecast. Before the weather plays an ad almost always does. Today I heard this one for air travel:

Wanna get away? Now it’s cheaper and easier than ever.

Yeah, I’ll just bet it is. What part of the coronavirus-ravaged world seems like a good vacay spot right about now?😐 “Sure, I contracted a potentially deadly virus but I saved $20!”

Short Thought #252 (friends)

When the virtues of having friends is being discussed, love and support are usually mentioned at the top of the list.  Camaraderie is another. Someone to do things with or to go places. One of the underrated virtues of a friend is ideas. You may think, as I often do, that you’re reasonably clever and can handle your business, but a friend is terrific for offering things like, “Why don’t you try this?” Or “Maybe you could say x next time that happens. ” Or “Here’s what works for me.” Or “Try spicy mustard on your grilled cheese.” Ideas. A good friend comes with them and makes your life the better for it.