The Zaftig Chronicles

I decided that going grocery shopping was more important than buying a pair of shoes. I'm being sensible. Because, really, it's the right thing to do.  Having a fridge with nothing inside of it but a sip of orange juice and a two eggs is not sensible. Time is my issue -- I end up spending my free time shopping for shoes and products ; when it's time to shop for sustenance, I have to rush into Jewel's, grab orange juice, candy, and a few boxes of Healthy Choice to feel like I haven't totally neglected things. That's groceries for me lately.  I need good imported olive oil, garlic bulbs, red onions, fresh basil, and firm beefsteak tomatoes. I need pasta in many shapes; broccoli that I can roast with kosher salt and olive oil; I need lemons and avocados and pears. I need cheeses and cream to make casseroles. I need ground beef to make homemade Salisbury steaks. Italian breadcrumbs. I need potatoes to roast or mash. I need to open my fridge and see color. "A fr...

For lunch, I treated myself to a delicious T-bone steak, medium rare, and buttery mashed potatoes seasoned with kosher salt. There's nothing better in this world than buttery mashed potatoes seasoned with kosher salt. Comfort food, if you will. I needed that steak today like I need oxygen. It was pertinent to my survival; pertinent to my keeping my job.  Eating the steak today reminded me of how I've used comfort foods to get me through tough periods.  Breaking up with Michael: Macaroni and cheese. From scratch. I made  béchamel sauce and used several cheeses. I'd make a big pot and use chicken and broccoli to make it even more comforting. It was a glass of Riesling, mac and cheese, and a journal that got me through those tough weeks.  Losing a BIG Account: Meatloaf and mashed potato sandwiches. It was my first year at the firm and this was THE account to get, and I blew it. I ordered this sandwich two weeks in a row for dinner.  When Sister Attempted Suicide: ...

One of my favorite things in the world. I like my falafels piping hot on a bed of cous cous, hot sauce, with lettuce, and avocado on the side. I don't really like my falafels in a pita, because I think it dulls the falafels' flavor. The restaurant where I get my falafels from (sorry, there aren't many falafel stands in Chicago) also makes a falafel burger. I get them sometimes with their delicious yogurt sauce. But the mouth fuck I get from the veg-balls can't be compared.

Jan came to my job this afternoon with juicy, ripe mangoes in tow. But he came to check out my fling. In came this tanned, 6'6'' blond Swede carrying a plastic bag full of mangoes. He came upstairs and met me at my desk. I was wearing one of the new outfits he sent over two days ago; He fawned over how good it looks on me. He knows my style so well. He then set the mangoes on my desk. "They were on sale at Jewel's!" Is being overly generous a Swedish thing? First three great outfits from his boyfriend Henry's boutique, our expensive sushi dinner, and now delicious mangoes. Who knows what else will come this week. I wonder if all Swedes are this generous to their friends. Jan's not exactly the best influence on me at work: Last time he visited, he sauntered innocently to my desk and opened a bag to reveal a bottle of Sauza, sliced limes, and a mini salt shaker. His dog had just died,  and we were both incredibly depressed over it. We did shots out of co...

Delicious. Exotic. Expensive. Spicy tuna roll, smoked salmon with avocados (god in seaweed); the daring BBQ chicken roll with shredded carrots and fine slivers of pea pod; all my favorites. Hot. Green. AUTHENTIC wasabi, salty sweet shoyu for dipping. Eaten on shiny, elegant platters with black lacquered chopsticks. A mouth fuck: Sushi. Cold raspberry sake in cedar boxes. Yum. I hate hot sake, but the chilled fruity versions are my absolute favorite. However, I prefer cold beers and peach soda with my sushi. Sushi and sake for dinner? I think so. I'm going to call Jan and Viv and head out.

I want ice cream. I'm putting on my sneakers and cap and going for a cone of rocky road ice cream at Baskin & Robbins. Sundays are my off days; and if I want to go eat ice cream, then I will. I should be looking over some notes I brought home from work, because tomorrow I will need to know some things from them, but today I napped, showered, and then zonked out and watched CNN.  So much for that. Rocky Road, here I come!