Guilt Trip

Mush. Pure slop. That’s what my brain feels like these days. I’ve always prided myself on my organizational skills, but they seemed to have abandoned me for good. Last week my menu went out of the window after forgetting, two days in a row, to leave thawing the meat for that day’s dinner. The worst part is when the moment of realization hits you as you walk back in and see the ridiculous sticky note that is still on the fridge, longing for some attention. I truly envy the nonchalance of seasoned cooks when they face moments like this. “No thawed meat? Fuss no more.” And they magically whip up some yummy, healthy dish. That kind of improvisation skills escape me completely. Even daunt me (What? No plan?). So, instead, here’s my take on an improvised dinner for Edmund:

Steamed vegetables and a cream cheese sandwich is what I came up with. Not my finest moment, I know. Sandwich variations include hummus and guacamole, both homemade (I felt outlandish when I came up with those two). Wholewheat or rice pasta have been in the rotation too. It’s only when I see the fella happily gobbling up those sandwiches that the guilt slyly makes its appearance. “If I worked a litte harder, I could have come up with a decent idea, cooked, cooled and ready before 7.” “Maybe he will just love sandwiches so much that he will never eat other food again.” In all fairness, as he eats the sandwiches, he also eats pretty much all his veggies. That doesn’t cut the guilt, though.

On the other hand, there are good days, like today: fish, veggies and potatoes. So simple, yet so tasty! Here are the ingredients ready for the oven:

Besides washing, peeling and chopping, there’s not much more to do. Easy and relatively healthy. Here is the fella’s plate (which he polished!):

I have taken myself on some guilt trips lately. But not today.