Melange

Except for Valentine's day dinner (at the exquisite Christo's Steakhouse) I haven't eaten any red meat or chicken for two weeks. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it'd be, mostly because I have the money to not worry as much about the cost of food. Throughout college, as I ate excessive quantities of Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Rally's, and numerous other fast foods, I told myself that I would change my ways as soon as I got a job. I just didn't have the money to buy things like fruits and vegetables and groceries. After paying bills and putting gas in the car, I was lucky to have five dollars a day, let alone enough money to buy groceries at one time (looking back it was mostly laziness). And then I graduated, and got a job, and made a little money. Even still the transition came much more slowly than I thought it would though. There's just too much good fattening food in New York and I have to get to most of it before I move away. But then this recession hit, or rather I just got tired of spending the money. I still wild out a little bit on the weekends, but weekdays, at work, I try and bring in some leftovers. Just makes more sense, and like I said, it's usually not hard.

Tonight though, tonight it was hard not eating red meat or chicken. Not that I couldn't have gone out and gotten something, it's just that I didn't get hungry until it was late and the closest spots don't have fish. To get the amount of protein required for a strapping young gentleman such as myself, I've resorted to eating a lot of fish- tilapia mostly. It's cheap, goes well with just about any fish seasoning, and the store next to the train station keeps it heavily in stock. But I'd forgotten to leave it out to thaw and I hate how things taste after thawing in the microwave. Suppose I could have thawed it in a pot of water- but I didn't think about it. Instead, I decided to make
a melange, just throw a bunch of crap lying around and hope that it tastes good.

A quarter tub of rice:
I'd made some rice to take to work with me last night. Didn't really add anything, it was just some plain white rice. But that's how I like it- I want my rice to be bland and just a little al dente. Rice isn't meant to be the star of the show, merely a template, a sturdy foundation on which you can improvise. In a melange, the rice is like the drums or the offensive lineman, rarely the star but absolutely essential to the success of the team.

3...6....3 stalks of Asparagus (asparagi?):
It's funny, but we rarely buy vegetables that don't come in a can. As three immature bachelors living under one roof, we are not the most practical grocery buyers, although we've improved leaps and bounds from when we first started living together. Sometimes I wish I had a child just so it'd force me to start shopping smarter; it'd be a shame to put him or her through the trial and error process though. Anyway, I said all that to say this, for some strange reason on the day that I bought the asparagus my roommate just happened to buy some too. What are the odds of both of us buying a healthy green vegetable on the same day when we rarely even went to the produce section before? I orignally bought it because I thought it would go well with tilapia- I love the taste of fish with a hint of asparagus. I also like it the other way around- asparagus with a smattering of fish flavor. There were a few stalks left and they were making that far turn into the realm of the spoiled. So at first I chopped three stalks up and heated them in the microwave. The first dice went really well, chopped it like a cross between Malto Mario and Nino Brown, and heated it until it was both firm and tender. If there was some kind of national recognition for chopping and heating up almost bad asparagus stalks in the microwave, I'd probably do pretty well in it. I guess I got a little cocky after that because I didn't fare to well on the second one. Like an idiot, I forgot to put water into the bowl and when I microwaved it.... Just so you know burnt asparagus smells really bad. I didn't even know asparagus could burn. Anyway, in this melange food band, the asparagus is like the bass- understated and not as overpowering as the other ingredients, but it adds some much needed texture to the festivities.

1 can of Chicken of the Sea
Because I still need some protein. And it has Omega fatty acids. And about 36 days worth of sodium, but I'm starting to drink a lot of water so it's okay. Chicken of the Sea.... after years as living as a Black man and feeling like I had to love chicken because I was supposed to I reached a pretty startling conclusion. I could live the rest of my life without ever eating chicken again. It's just not that good. It doesn't have the flavor of beef or pork (not disgusting, slimy ass ham mind you, but pork of the chop and loin variety) and it's not as healthy as fish. Chicken is certainly versatile, I'll give you that. And versatility is definitely a virtue, but not enough of one for it to replace beef, pork, or fish. From now on, I'm calling chicken Fish of the Ground. As in most meals, the meat is the star here, providing the most prominent flavor and getting most of the credit if the meal is successful. It's just natural that the tuna is the lead singer here; although I'm not sure if he writes his own songs.

A couple slices of Muenster Cheese
My roommate got me hip to this. I'm pretty sure I've tried muenster cheese before, but it wasn't until I moved to New York and tried the ungodly turkey sandwiches at the corner deli next to the apartment that I truly knew how good it could truly be. It was more than a revelation, it was like Saul falling off the donkey, forever to be known as Paul. The true power of muenster cheese was revealed on a night me and my roommate came home drunk as hell; the turkey sandwich hit the spot and the tryptophan put us straight to sleep. But I woke up thinking about the cheese- just zest and flavor, every bite as refreshing as the last. It melded perfectly with the turkey, augmented it, damn near stole the show really. Besides my brother and my girlfriend, my roommate is my best friend- and if he wasn't already, he secured that spot with thse turkey and muenster sandwiches. The muenster is the final piece of this band; because it adds so much spice it's definitely the lead guitar; a little crazy, posesses the most flavor, great solo but much better as part of the ensemble.

And that was my meal, doesn't sound too appetizing, but it was actually pretty good. Arranged like I love life, a mixture of all kinds of disparate parts that somehow fit.