One day in the food life

I haven't had time to cook lately. That is becoming a theme on this blog, huh?

In his personals ad, my old housemate described himself as an artist and a runner. He had last worked as an artist when he was 22. He had run cross-country in high school. He was 53 years old.

That is the kind of cook I am becoming. Someone who loves to cook. Loves to read recipes and buy ingredients. Loves to think about food. And someone who can't remember the last time she put a whole meal together and sat down like a human at the table to eat it.

More than cooking, I assemble.

At lunch I grab a whole-wheat tortilla, cheese and salsa for the 7,148th quesadilla of my life. Or chop up some fruit to put in yogurt.

Or stuff a pita with packaged baked tofu, arugula and ajvar red-pepper spread.

It's good food, high-quality food. It just ain't really cooking.

As an example I will list what I ate today, in case you were wondering (yeah, right).

Breakfast
2 bran muffins made with the recipe from one of my first blog posts, with blueberries added.
Coffee - Decaf Blue Batak with lots of milk

More coffee iced with, yes, lots of milk

Lunch at home
Mayoromo Oaxacan Mole from a jar, thinned with water & heated, with tofu chunks and torn up corn tortillas in it.
What the heck this is I don't know. Some Cal-Mex mutation on a plate, black and weird looking. But pretty tasty.
A roasted beet with balsamic vinegar and kosher salt. A classic combination.
A handful of Baked Lays chips

Afternoon at my desk, foraging in my drawer
About 5 squares of the demonically addictive Ritter Sport dark chocolate marzipan-filled candy. Why is it called "sport"? To make me feel athletic while I am sitting in front of a computer watching my butt grow??

The Coffee Run
Iced Peet's coffee, half decaf, half caf

Dinner Part 1
Here is where it gets pathetic. I had to go to a meeting where a "light dinner" was catered. When you see the words "light lunch" or "light dinner" on an invitation, what it really means is "we're too cheap to feed you properly" and "stick a protein bar in your purse."
A mini croissant, quite damp and soft, with thinly sliced cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and american cheese. I love how boring caterers can get when faced with the vegetarian dilemma. Can I suggest a roasted red pepper and arugula sandwich next time?
A pretty good chocolate chip and walnut cookie with plenty of cinnamon.
Another half decaf, half caf, because I was going to be sitting through 2 hours of talk about the municipal water district.

Dinner Part 2
The desperation snack at 9:15 pm - thank God for Whole Foods.
A slice of portobello mushroom and red onion pizza chowed down at the tables by the cash registers at Whole Foods Market. By then I didn't care about ambiance.

A cup of jicama slaw from the salad bar - diced jicama, shredded carrots, cherry tomato halves, micro-thin fennel slices, oranges, and oddly enough, way too many California black olive rings. Leave out the olives next time and it is all groovy and good.

Finally home after a 12 hour day
A vodka tonic. Ahhh.

That's it. I.m not sure about vitamins, protein and fiber, but I definitely got my 5 servings a day of coffee and met my alcohol requirement.