Oh food, I missed you!

Well, here we are again.

It is just past mid-terms and I feel like I've been treading water for months, just trying to stay afloat. And the eating. Oh, the eating. I haven't eaten this poorly for years. I started working at a hospital and they have an enormous amount of comfort food (not surprising) at very cheap prices (sort of surprising). Things like macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese and soft pretzels with cheese. Notice a trend? Also, chocolate cake, soup, pizza and wedge fries. It's sort of like being at a carnival without the rides. Though I do get on and off the elevator about 11,000 times a day. Anyway, the point is I've started succumbing to the lure of salty, warm food that I don't have to make. Not that I don't want to cook, it's just that I so rarely have the time (truthfully). It took a long time to come to terms with that fact. And then, because I'd never had that problem before I didn't know how to handle it (really, I still don't) and started just eating protein bars and scrambled eggs. It's been rather depressing around here culinarily.

But today (!) I have a day off from class and work through divine circumstance, and even though I still have lots to do (midterm paper to write, MUST clean apartment) I had the luxury of having a leisurely morning. Since I haven't had time to go grocery shopping in a while I was scrounging around for breakfast. Eggs? Meh. Cereal? Meh. Crackers? No. Special K protein bar? Hell no.

Then I had a revelatory thought, "I can cook something!!" So I did. I made polenta and stirred in some aged gouda, then topped it with some homemade chunky tomato sauce. It was SO gratifiying to stand at the stove and do a bit of light stirring, then eat something warm and hearty and seasoned just the way I liked it. God, how I'd missed that.

So, I have to attack this problem and figure out how to eat well while still eating cheaply and quickly. Tall order.

But the sun shines and my belly is satisfied so things are looking up.