The Ink-Pot and the Palette

I've got a pot roast in the oven. I've never actually cooked a pot roast before, but my mom had a small cut of beef in her freezer that needed using, so it's in the Dutch oven with onions and some stock and carrots and a bit of bacon, fragrancing the house on this stormy, Halloween-ish evening.

Meanwhile, the small and really astonishingly expensive chicken I bought at the farmers' market today is in the stock pot on the stovetop. I may need to re-think my flesh-eating strategies at these prices.

There's a beautiful array of green and leafy vegetables, also from the farmers' market, on the cutting board, waiting to become...soup, I think. Or part of a stir-fry. Maybe some of them will go into a green tart à la general_jinjur.

There is one unifying trick to a) staying gluten-free, b) avoiding junk food, c) eating nutritiously, d) not breaking the bank eating out, and e) regulating my caloric intake: bringing my own food to work with me.

And the trick to bringing my food all week long is to do a lot of cooking on Sunday.

So, here's my classic old-fashioned bike basket (yes, it does have a green tint), and the classic old-fashioned lunch I brought in it. Apple and peanut-butter, can't go wrong with the basics.

( eating lunch at my desk )

Seriously, I can't believe what a quality-of-life improvement this basket represents. I know. I'm a bit crazed. But I rode home tonight with 30 tulips in there!

( See? )

Okay, now this is just starting to sound dirty.

serenity_valley's recent bento diaries have been inspiring me to get back to taking my lunch to work.

I came up with a novel solution for transporting it.

( Tiffin with bungees on Clyde )

I was listening (and listening and listening) to Dr. Horrible as I did my evening chores. Seriously, I was outside in the evening breeze hanging laundry on my clothesline, singing about underthings tumbling, and with my freeze-ray I would stop (clothespin) the world, and so on.

The third act came on while I was making my bento for tomorrow. I think Dr. Horrible got into the food.

( Evil Red Branch Bento )

And I listened all the way through the very, very end (which I hadn't had the heart to do up to now) and eeee! "Grrr...Aaargh."

Can I just say how happy it makes me to hear that again? Oh Joss. Mwah! Love you to pieces.

It was only a matter of time before I succumbed to the lure of lunch-boxes and bought another one.

( Round and metal. )

I think I'm getting the hang of this bento-box lunch thing.

( Bento diary photos back here. )

My rolled omelettes are coming out better, and I'm getting more creative with the veggies. My main discovery has been that there's not much point in going for stunning variety. There's nothing wrong with eating a lot of the same staple things every day.

I just spent something like an hour preparing food to go into my bento box for tomorrow's lunch and breakfast. I mention this because it was an extremely enjoyable hour.

This whole thing of slow food--taking time to make real food, and present it (even just to yourself) in an attractive way--is very soothing. It's a great outlet for creativity. It's a great way to spend time.

( Pictures of bento ahoy. )

I've used up all my grocery bags and I'm not getting any more. They're clutter and a waste of resources. But I still need something for shopping and taking my lunch to work. I've been hunting for a solution that would serve both purposes, take up no real space, and look pretty.

( Help came from the Japanese Minister of the Environment. )