02 Apr 08 Food
It’s often said that food tastes better the next day.
Well some things do. I can’t say I’m keen on warmed up fries, or cold liver, but many things ARE better the next day.
I almost always eat lunch at home. In fact, we eat most of our meals at home. For starters (excuse the pun) you know what you’re getting, and it’s almost always a whole lot cheaper.
I can’t help but smile at those that complain they have no money, but get 2-3 coffees at starbucks each day, and also breakfast on the way to the office, lunch out while they’re there, and sometimes a meal on the way home too. It’s easy to spend in one day eating out, the same as one would spend on a whole weeks groceries, and that’s not eating in the posh places downtown either!
As I’m more often than not working at home, I usually cook dinner. I try to make a varied selection of meals, and we try to eat as much fresh food as possible. TV dinners are a no-no.
Do we have a weekly plan? Heck no, not usually. I often make up my mind what’s for dinner at around 2pm or sometimes even later. One doesn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking or preparing many meals anyway. I make full use of the microwave too; I don’t take any notice of those that walk around muttering about radioactive food. Oh, and if you only think of a microwave as something to defrost frozen items in, or re-heat leftovers, or the cup of coffee that’s gone cold (yes, I do all of those things too), then you’re missing out.
I often cook fresh vegetables (we try to have something green most mealtimes) in the microwave. Brocolli, cauliflower, asparagus all come out just fine. Potatoes cook great too.
Anyway, I digress. I wasn’t really writing about the virtues of the microwave, just mentioning it as another, perfectly acceptable (in my view) method of cooking.
As a child, my mother would buy a huge piece of beef, and we’d have roast beef dinner on Sunday, cold beef and pickles on Monday, and cottage pie on Tuesday. Now that was getting some mileage. It was a common thing though in England back then. In fact it was so common for housewives to buy a peice of meat on Saturday, big enough to last at least two days, that butchers stores (most of which were family run then) were usually closed on a Monday.
Nowadays I don’t do that, or stick to a routine as such. I don’t cook anything really exciting usually, as I’m busy working most afternoons. I also make use of a crockpot at times as well, and salads are good to eat, particularly in the warmer weather, and a variety of those can be made quite quickly too.
This evening…?
I’m not sure yet.
Tags: 2pm, asparagus, cauliflower, coffees, cottage pie, cup of coffee, fresh food, groceries, leftovers, mealtimes, method of cooking, microwave, office lunch, pickles, pun, starbucks, tv dinners, virtues, whole lot, working at home
27 Feb 08 Smell The Coffee
Practically all the Starbucks stores across the nation closed their doors recently for three hours, to have a training session for their staff. They’re closing 100 stores, and scaling back business expansion plans.
Wall Street, who once saw them as one of the gold jewels, now look upon Starbucks as yet another fast food chain.
Many folks are not impressed with Starbucks, and avoid them. Others flock there on a daily basis. Well, myself, I’m an occasional user. I don’t think their coffees are wonderfully out of this world, but they’re ok, and while I’ve had better, I’ve certainly had a whole lot worse. I’m not a regular visitor for two reasons. One, I work from home a great deal of the time, and therefore have no need to pick up a latte on the way to the office. Two, I’m pretty frugal with things like that anyway, and if I am going to an office, I’ll make coffee at home, and take it with me, in a thermal mug. I don’t feel it’s justified to spend between $2 and $4.50 each day on a cup of coffee anyway.
What do you think? Are you getting a good barista-crafted creation in your cup for your dollars at Starbucks, or is is just a squirt of warm liquid, and a splash of cold milk?
Tags: business expansion, coffee, coffees, daily basis, doors, fast food, food chain, gold jewels, latte, occasional user, starbucks, starbucks stores, thermal mug, training session, wall street, whole lot
