Lunch

I've gone through several lunch phases in the last few years. When my office had a good, subsidized cafeteria, I often bought my lunch every day -- usually something hot -- and ate lunch with co-workers. When we moved to a new building, I boycotted bad lunches and started boycotting lunch, not eating at all. Then I started going out to lunch outside the building every day, an increasingly expensive and not always satisfying habit, but a good way to socialize and clear my mind. And then, I started the frozen dinner habit like so many co-workers. Not always great-tasting, but relatively well-priced and the bonus of not needing to drive somewhere. Plus no rushing when you have to make a 1pm meeting that someone inconsiderate scheduled. (I hate 1pm meetings. Especially since I have so many meetings that run until noon.)

And so, this year, I decided that to both ensure good food and saving money on bad food, I would make lunch for me and Josh every day.

For week one, I made meatloaf with mashed potatoes, inspired after a bad-looking downstairs-cafeteria special (that I wisely didn't try). When the meatloaf was done, I made some pastas. I used baby lettuces from our AeroGarden and whipped up a simple dressing. I fried potato chips and made a buttermilk ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.

For week two, I roasted a whole chicken. One day was a leg quarter with more mashed potatoes. Another day was the breast with a Jacques Pepin especially delicious parsley, shallot, chicken fat sauteed sauce. Vinegary salads went with every meal. I rejoiced in cleaning out the refrigerator of leftover vegetables and the thought that I was eating well at work.

For week three, I made a small lasagna and a whole lot of minestrone. I substituted in a day of homemade dumplings. I looked smugly upon my co-workers who brought large salads and heated up frozen dinners.

For week four, things started to go badly. I didn't make anything special at all for lunches and we peppered in days of minestrone.

For week five, this past week, I also didn't make anything. I had a series of work lunches so I didn't bother making anything. Not that I felt like it, anyway.

As we approach week six, I find that I'm still not inspired to make anything. Preparing things for lunches every day and then compiling them at night is tiring work. It doesn't really feel like Josh cares if I do it or not. It depresses me when I pack a lunch, and it stays in the refrigerator for a day or two. I'm not sure I care enough for myself to keep doing it. I will probably care Monday in between the meeting that ends at noon and the meeting that starts at one to wish I had cooked something. I guess I should go do something about it.

So far though, no inspiration.