Lonna Workman..
is a freelance journalist whose work is published in national, regional, and local newspapers. This is her third column. She is currently penning her first novel.
Archives - 2005
Kiss Convenience Good-Bye!
Confessional Palates
Victorian Vapors
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Kitchen Tales
by Lonna Workman |
Kissing Convenience Good-Bye!
My comfortable little world of convenience, convenience, and even more convenience came to a screeching halt the other day, when I found myself mindlessly maneuvering my car through the concrete maze of yet another fast food drive-thru, simply because I'd failed to plan my family's dinner for the fourth night in a row !!
I hated to think it. Much less say it. But if the proof of the pudding is in the eating… … … then the weight gain, expense, and nutritional hazards of convenient dining everyday of the week simply means that my dining habits are going to have to change. That is all there is to it. 2005 is going to have to be different.
And I know exactly where to start.
First to go would be the regular partaking of fine cuisine during the office lunch hour. This is especially hard to give up as I love, love, love my daily fix of great food at the noon hour. We are talking about my beloved California Rolls, steak w/ garlic-y, cheesy, mash potatoes as a side dish, a Chinese chicken salad w/crunchy slivers of almond and occasional cranberry (which is just a joyful culinary delight), the large Mexican tostados in a glorious large tortilla shell shaped like a flower and filled to the brim with a meat of my choice… … … , I could go on and on, but the truth of the matter is that when I sat and tallied it all up, those pleasures have been running me on average about $50 dollars a week. And that's just when I dine alone or borrow from European culture and, "go Dutch."
Meantime, let's be real. Life in America isn't about dining alone. Fifty dollars a week doesn't even begin to cover the office birthday lunches, the private lunches with hubby, or the spontaneous grabbing of the check whenever a gal pal is distraught enough to begin shedding tears over the table linen, which believe it or not, happens a lot in my life since a table for two is so often used as a confessional.
So, what's the new pledge? In 2005, I'm going to limit my fine dining experiences to office celebrations (for political suicide is so not on my agenda for 2005!), the occasional "nooner" with hubby (which has absolutely nothing to do with sex and everything to do with romance), and/or the frantic call from a gal pal in need of spiritual release.
Next on my list is that I'm going to forego the deli take-out and the fast food cuisine altogether. I thought if I said it then it might actually stick. But, let's be practical. Working women everywhere know that this is literally impossible in the daily life of running a household, so I'm going to limit it to once a week. Tops. And I am not going to dicker about what qualifies as a fast food restaurant. Period.
All good pledges require consideration or an overt act, which proves that the person pledging new behavior is actually going to live up to the pledge. Well, I've done that. I went to Williams Sonoma and purchased a brand new apron. It's red and under $20 bucks. I'm in the process of cleaning my ordinary kitchen and giving it a fresh coat of new paint. I've gone to the market for all the meat and veggies that I could fit in my car. I've located and polished all my handy kitchen appliances and given them a place on the kitchen counter. I've pulled out all my cookbooks and placed them on the hutch for easy reach. And I've got my eye on a wine rack.
I could not be more serious about transforming my dining habits in 2005. Join me!
See 'ya on Tuesday! Ciao.
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