A Sacrifice for Convenience

A plate of quesadillas.

I’m sure I’m not alone in occasionally eating take-out food. There are those days when I’m too tired to think about cooking. Or too busy to have time to make a meal. And I’ll admit it—sometimes, there just isn’t anything in the fridge that is even remotely appealing.

My partner and I are not very adventurous when it comes to food. Once in a blue, we’ll try a new restaurant after thoroughly vetting it through friends or reviews. When we find one, it goes on the list of options.

There was a time when we could count on these select places to give us delicious, beautifully present food in exchange for money. Since the pandemic, we tip for take-out because given the circumstances it felt like the right thing to do.

But our list today is short and growing shorter. Restaurants that we have had great food and experiences with are disappointing us in a myriad of ways.

• An item (or two) missing from our order.

• A presentation so poor as to be unappealing.

• Badly cooked—burned beyond edibility or worse.

Just yesterday, we ordered from a place that we have gotten food from many, many times. It’s gotten progressively worse. For instance, at some point we ordered a bean burrito that had no beans in it. Seriously. But we decided to give it another chance. This time we ordered quesadillas. It was the trifecta of awful: Sloppily constructed and presented. Chicken so dried out it it was unrecognizable as chicken—or anything edible. And—you guessed it—burned tortillas.

At this point, the only three places that have not disappointed us—yet—are our local McDonald’s, a pizza parlor with amazing zucchini fries, and a little breakfast place. As a business person, I have an idea what is happening and it has to do with training, oversight, lack of pride in a job well done, etc. But a question remains: WHY is it happening? I have no idea but if you do, I’d like to hear it.

Take out no longer seems worth the convenience. I think we’ll stop eating out for a while, and instead plan simple meals that we can make even if we’re tired or have little time. To be sure, it’s healthier and less expensive this way. But it sure is disappointing.

Of Love and Donuts

Do you ever have cravings? I do. I tend to try to ignore them. Sometimes, they go away. Sometimes…they linger.

My partner and I had planned a relaxing weekend retreat at our favorite spot in the state, Niantic. It would be the getaway before teaching starts—a moment to relax, a moment for fun, and of course, the ocean. Since the first time we discussed going away, we lamented that our location would be just minutes away from The Hive.

What is this Hive we speak of? The place where Krispy Kreme donuts are made. ARE MADE.

Since we’ve been working hard at eating better, donuts were not on the agenda. But, unbeknownst to each other, neither of us could stop thinking about the confectionary crack, Krispy Kreme. So freaking close and yet, so far from our beachside paradise!

As we drove closer to Niantic, my partner hesitantly said, “I know you want to keep on our eating plan, but, um, we are going to be just a few miles away from The Hive. Doesn’t a donut sound good?”

I replied, “OH MY GOD IT SURE DOES! Let’s go. But we’ll just buy a couple, right?” I had been holding steadfast to my commitment to avoid The Hive because I thought SHE wanted to, and she had been doing the same for me. What an awesome feeling.

(Don’t ask me how many we actually bought. Let’s just say it was a weekend of love and donuts.)

Desperately Seeking Cookies

I know, I know. Today is Mother’s Day. It’s a hard day for me for many reasons. So to distract myself, I’ve made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies.

I’ve made the same Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies for longer than I want to admit. In all that time, I can tell you they taste delicious but don’t usually look the way they do in cookbooks or on recipe pages. They’re flat, soft (I like that part), and in all versions of imperfect ovals.

I’m looking for as close to a foolproof recipe as is possible. Nothing that requires rolling—I’m not a fan. But definitely the recipe that you find produces the BEST cookies in terms of taste, texture, and appearance.

I hope someone rises to the challenge.

Festive Food!

When I was young, my family had the same meal for Christmas that we had for Thanksgiving: Turkey, dressing, potato salad, macaroni salad, cranberry sauce, green beans, collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese. If we were having a ton of people over, my mom might also cook a glazed ham. For New Years, she’d make a lasagna and black-eyed peas and rice with greens and cornbread, a traditional southern meal that is supposed to usher in good luck.

Today, Christmas celebrations are much simpler. We make a small charcuterie board and appetizers: pigs in a blanket, brie en croute, tiny quiches. We munch on them from Christmas eve through Christmas night. We get a little fancier for New Years because it’s my partner’s birthday. This year—Crab legs! I can’t wait.

What do you eat for the holidays? Do you have any food traditions?

A Nacho Conundrum. What to do?

I just found out that THIS SUNDAY is National Nachos Day. And I do not know how to process this information.

I’ve been craving Nachos for months now. I’ve resisted because I’ve been trying to eat cleaner, healthier and well, you can’t make good nachos healthy. You just can’t. It’s one of the laws of the universe, like gravity.

So I’m going to have them this weekend. The question on the table is, do I make or buy them? If I buy them, they’d have to make it from the restaurant to my house because I’m not yet eating in restaurants. They could get very soggy. I’m also not guaranteed to get exactly what I want in the ratio that I want. What if they add too much refried beans and not enough sour cream? I’d be devastated.

If I make them, it will cost me more to get all the ingredients than it would to buy them. It would also take a good amount of time from NaNoWriMo writing time. BUT-I would be assured to get what I’m craving and in the right proportions. Ground beef. Jalapenos. Sour cream. Cheese. Avocado. Salsa. Chopped onions. Chopped tomatoes.

What will I do? Damn. I have three days to decide.