Kitchen Ascetism

I have an ascetic side to my mind. Making do with whatever's available and not buying anything unnecessary gives me a deep sense of satisfaction. And I'm a bit of a neat freak (on the macro scale -- never mind dusting). This means that most of the family's leftovers are eaten by me. And you won't see me leave an old pencil lying around on the sidewalk if I see one. Waste not, want not.

But I'm also lazy. (That's part of what drives my ascetism -- I'd rather not have to go to the shops). So I rarely cook anything complicated or time-consuming. And that means that our kitchen cupboards and freezer fill up with opened packages of foodstuffs that take some time to prepare.

I'm now looking at a bit more than two weeks of bachelor life while my wife and daughter are in China, starting tomorrow. Half of the time my son will be with me. And I've set myself a little task: we're going to live off of what's in the cupboards and freezer, not buying any unnecessary food. We'll eat like kings -- I'll just have to make the effort to cook dinners one day in in advance to have them ready for the microwave when I've picked up Junior from school.

When my wife comes home and sees the empty cupboards, she will flip her lid. Empty foodstores is an absolute horror to her. But that's the way I like my stores: echoing voids, clean and neat. I can sit in a corner and nibble contendedly on the last piece of crispbread, washed down with tap water. In control -- no threatening piles of chickpeas and tapioca making any demands on my time.

[More blog entries about food; mat.]