Food For Thought, Part Two

Over the course of 27 months I estimate I will eat 2,466 meals and consume over 1,644,000 calories. It’s about time to reiterate how much I loathe cooking. One hand tells me the limited food options are all part of the adventure (yesterdays post) while other hand is shouting go home and hire a chef, remember the multitude of options, home-cooked meals, processed food, and restaurants. Food could be the one thing that causes me to terminate my service early. That is a bit drastic (and lame), plus we all know I am far too stubborn for that. I am trying to make a point.

A point that I am sick and tired of fried rice, curried vegetables, and pasta with home-made tomato sauce (that although delicious, does not taste like either parents). Wow, you are all thinking to yourselves… the girl has learned how to cook. Do not be ridiculous! I am not cooking any of these things. These are the meals typically prepared in the company of other volunteers by other volunteers. I am not knocking their cooking at all; in fact, I am so thankful to have them around. My district is fully stocked with excellent chefs, meaning at least one cooked meal a week. When I’m alone I eat popcorn or raw vegetables. Surprisingly after consuming over 10 kg of popcorn in four months I still love it. I am not complaining about the raw vegetables because I ate tons of them even in America. I want new meals, a brand new variety of meals.

It’s clear I still do not know how to cook and will probably be the only PC volunteer to ever leave without this acquired skill. To be completely honest I have not really tried as I have decided it is something I do not take pleasure in whatsoever. That’s the understatement of the century; cooking is pure and evil torture. One, I am bored after five minutes of “sautéing” veggies. Two, creativity does not belong in the kitchen. A third disadvantage of cooking is learning how much oil, salt, badness it takes to make something delicious (a green pepper) taste even better. I prefer not knowing. Cooking would take far too much time out of my already short day, point four. Eating things raw is fast and some day might get old, but it will always be a possibility. You never have to worry about running out of ingredients when you eat your only ingredient. Convenient? I think so.

Sunday I was talking to E.J.R. on the phone and she mentioned the food I eat here is probably going to have more of an impact on me than I imagine, which is part of the reason I wrote yesterdays post first. I know she is right because it already has. Nevertheless with 21 months of service to go I already have an entire 30-day meal plan mapped out (of only my parents cooking), from fish tacos (goodbye vegetarianism, I just finished saving the world) to homemade macaroni and cheese to chicken-avocado-cheese burgers to waffles to salmon to spinach salad to blue cheese bacon filets to grilled cheese/tomato soup/milkshakes to ribs. Mom and Dad, prepared your kitchen! Then prepare your bank account because month two we are hitting up Moe’s, Panera, Fireworks, PF Changs, and Lightfoot.