A New Year’s (Edible) Epiphany

It was not the most auspicious beginning to the year.

At least not on the food front.

A friend was coming over for a visit. And I had hardly anything to offer. Ending one year, starting off another, I thought let’s start all over again. That went for the kitchen too. Ergo it was near-empty. Oh oh…

Good thing that she only requested a hot ginger drink (many of us love those cleansing drinks in these parts!). I found a single bulb and started peeling it. Jeez. Greyish, dull and bad-smelling. Well that won’t work.

Emergency SMS: Could you please pick up some ginger on your way over?

I turned around. Found the pricey pomelo I’d bought the day before. Ahhh… Peeled it. Tasted it. Jaw dropped. Huh? Dry, tasteless, inedible.

Last choice: A few sprinkles left of the care-package-quinoa and a few drops of my last bit of almond milk. I left it on the stove-top for a few seconds too long. Messed up the stove top, the pot, the counter.

By this point, the penny drops and the epiphany hits: There must be a better way.

I pick up my bag and glasses, head out and walk down the road. There’s C coming straight towards me on her bike – a big smile. I shake my head and tell her the story. Crankiness got notched up a few degrees. We are heading into town, I announce. She laughs and turns around.

A much sweeter experience, thanks to the folks at Seniman Coffee. Instead of hot ginger, we had: Fruit bowl. Cappuccino with cashew milk. Huevos rancheros.

Sometimes you just have to read the writing on the wall – or, in my case, the food-fiasco on the counter – and get moving!