I'm still confused about why I don't have a cooking show on the Food Network where I attempt random recipes that I find online. I do this every single weekend, and the world needs this type of diversion right now.
Plus, I'm delightful. Duh.
My sweet and wonderful Trey Hickman ate a meatball and mozzarella Hot Pocket and a Chobani strawberry banana yogurt for lunch every single day for like 47 years. I, on the other hand, enjoyed many, many lunches with my bestie Tiffany sitting in the Sonic drive-in sharing cheese sticks and cheddar peppers. I think Trey's sad pauper lunch was to shame me for spending money on eating out all the time, but he would never admit it.
And then a couple of years ago we decided we should try to cut down on processed food. And we decided we should spend less money on food and traveling if we ever hope to retire and also keep our head above water with two homes until Tucker graduates college, so our meal prep era began.
To compensate for the (hopefully temporary) decline of our #YOLO life, I started cooking random recipes more and more and more.
Then I found TikTok. And I got a sourdough starter.
First, sourdough.
Sourdough people are special. They all have their own way that you have to do things EXACTLY or everything will be TERRIBLE! And they talk in made up words like "fermentolyse" and "levain."
I feed my starter every night, but occasionally I forget. And so far, so good. What I cannot master is the "scoring" of the dough. I think that must be the easiest part, but I have not once gotten it right. Sourdough should have a beautiful score directly down the center. Mine tends to look like that emergency C-section that happened on The Pitt. IYKYK.
Anyway, sourdough is fun. Especially when there are giant, puffy bubbles. I really like those.
Last week I experimented with a new breakfast - I eat breakfast at my desk every morning. I sort of made this creamy jalapeno basil edamame spread. I left out the miso paste because it was kind of expensive and I only needed a little, and I didn't measure anything because measuring is lame. I ate it each day on a slice of sourdough with some Everything but the Bagel seasoning and a side of cheddar cheese. It was healthy and delicious, but the recipe made like 3 gallons so I threw most of it in the trash today when I cleaned out the fridge. I felt so domestic eating my sourdough every day!
I also make lunches on Sundays for Mr. Hickman and me to eat most of the week.
Sidebar: I feel so wife-y when I make Trey's lunch!
My lunches are generally a hot topic in the office, as they are usually delicious and fresh and homemade. It's my flex. Some favorites are a pizza bowl (cottage cheese, hot sausage, pepperoni, mozz, banana peppers, olives, marinara). Lately I've started also adding chick pea pasta because Trey pointed out that a meal needs carbs to really be a meal. He's not wrong.
Taco bowls are also a go-to (the Cholula taco seasoning is the best one). And buffalo chicken pasta salad is a new addition to the rotation. This one from Marianna's Pantry is the basic recipe I started with. I'm a super fan of hers (but language alert for my mom FYI).
Sometimes I make things that are gross. Not on purpose, of course, but it happens. When it does, I accidentally forget my lunch the rest of the week and go to Golden Chick for a gravy-laden meal all week. Trey always eats all the lunches I make. Even the gross ones. I know he thinks they are gross because he'll say "Hmmm...I'm not sure we should have this one again." Cutie.
This week we're having this Asian salad, kind of. It's a salad jar recipe, but I don't have any jars in the apartment. Also, I left out the maple syrup because Trey insists he would smell it a mile away and it would ruin everything. And I added soba noodles for carbs (see above).
My plan was to mix up all the ingredients in a bowl and put the sauce in a separate container. But then the noodles all stuck together and I couldn't really stir it all up. So I just put the noodles in the containers, then added the rest of the mixture on top. And I mostly just put stuff in the sauce until it tasted good. Hopefully the whole thing will stir together when the sauce is added.
I think it's going to be delicious! But maybe it will be gross. Oh well.
That's life on the edge. Who says we don't live #YOLO?!?
And now you see why this should absolutely be a cooking show. What percentage of the listed ingredients will Stormy actually use? Will anything be measured? Will Trey deem this addable to the rotation or is it a week of fast food for Stormy?
Such intrigue! I'm ready when you are Food Network!
PS - Trey still eats a yogurt every day, but the hot pockets are few and far between. I'm going to make him live forever!
