Reheated yam chili and a mini-banana

I took my thawed dish of yam chili out to the alcove, but it had a bad smell and the bench was inexplicably damp, so I walked over to the Pub and ate at one of the brand new tables while reading a couple reviews in the summer issue of Bookforum. The birds were uncommonly chatter-y, as was a table of undergrad summer workers who spoke in loud voices about the campus Health Food Bar (”should be called the Vegetarian Bar!”) and why they should totally have a party really, really soon (really; they really were talking about this, even though it sounds too cliched). When I got back to my desk, A. stopped by and offered me a cute li’l mini-banana (she said, “I read somewhere that you wanted one“), so I downed that too. It all had to happen very fast due to a meeting that ran long and a desk shift, but still, I was glad to eat food I made myself.

 

Yam chili, threedux

Had the last of the yam chili today, save for two single-serving portions I froze for later (who’s brilliant?!). When I went to heat it up, I thought the microwave was broken–kept pushing buttons to no effect. Nope! It was just unplugged! We unplug everything in the library now due to the profession-wide greening trend. Anyway. I ate it mostly at my desk and then finished it standing up watching J., Cutest Dance Grad Student Ever (CDGSE), and two others perform a ’site-specific dance piece’ in the reference section. It was probably the most use the reference section has gotten all year. When J. covered herself in open volumes of the U.S. Code, I had a small internal panic attack, but I was mostly able to keep it to myself. (J. and the other dancers are very, very cool, so I want them to think that I am cool too.) There was also a random tray of those horrible Italian butter cookies. I ate one that was pink and looked like it was held together with chocolate. I don’t know if I’ll ever get this horrible ‘fruit’ taste out of my mouth.

 

Yam chili, redux

So I had the yam chili again today, this time with brown rice I made last night while doing my laundry. The rice was definitely a good addition–bulked it up and soaked up some of moisture. A. (MBWF) and I ate outside because the day is absolutely gorgeous. I’m already pretty tired of the chili, and am looking forward to giving it a rest tomorrow. But that’s not all! Because my life is particularly, wonderfully blessed, A. took me to the car wash! (Cf. prior car wash trip.) I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate than with a vanilla-chocolate dip cone from the Mr. Softee truck out front. A. made me finish eating it before she’d let me sit in her car.

 

Yam chili

Today I’m eating some chili I made last night. Due to a derailed N train and what the Buddhists would call the ’stickiness’ of Facebook, I didn’t start making it until around 8 last night, so I didn’t bother with making rice, something I normally do when I’m trying to extend a pot of chili. I also find I feel more full when I’ve got rice than when I’m just eating beans and tomatoes. This recipe also called for yams, which I recently learned are considered something of a ‘wonder food.’ I guess that made me think I could get away without rice, too. Funny, what our minds will do to get away with not dirtying one more pot.

What did you eat for lunch today, and why?