When you have to eat alone for the first time ever:
“The most depressing meal I’ve ever eaten was ironically the first meal I ever cooked for myself.
I was raised by two people who were absolute foodaholics. And both of them are excellent cooks, even my Dad. Back at home, every lunch and every dinner was a festival of mouth-watering food cooked to perfection with just the right combination of exotic spices and the freshest ingredients.The fact that I only consumed and never learned how to cook good food eventually backfired once I came to Melbourne. I was very hesitant to use the stove, given that I never went near one in my life. The first meal I prepared was some very poorly done roasted vegetables, instant noodles and chicken nuggets.”
Instant noodles and powdery potatoes make for a hearty meal…not:
“Again, during the semester abroad, my friends and I were backpacking across Europe. We always brought instant noodles, instant mashed potatoes, or instant soups to save money on meals.
We were in Paris. We’re supposed to meet with other friends in Luxembourg Garden to have some kind of picnic. We already planned ahead to use our last instant foods for this.We were staying in a budget hotel which had a microwave to use. We put our noodles in our lunch boxes. Pour some water and seasoning and heat it. Took it out, stirred it, and put it back in. Stupidly, the noodles was soupy. We forgot that we couldn’t bring watery soup in our backpacks. So we had to throw the soup away. We did the same with the mashed potatoes and the microwave. But the hotel staff was giving us the stink eyes. It’s not like the hotel was full. It was only us in the ‘microwave area’. We ran out of there right away.
When we finally reached the garden, we opened our lunch boxes and laughed sadly(?) if that’s even possible. The noodle was tasteless because there’s no soup. The mashed potatoes was still powdery because we didn’t put enough water.”
Mac and Cheese, hold the milk and the butter:
“Mac and cheese from a box, but since we had no money for the necessary milk and butter required by the recipe, I had to use water to replace the milk, and Crisco shortening to replace the butter. I had to eat this quite a few times during what ended up being the stupidest, most immature, reckless time in my life.”
Pancakes are supposed to make you happy not sad:
“I had an enviable position with McKinsey & Company. I had a beautiful family at home. As usual, I was working late and on the road. I stopped into a Denny’s in Barrington, Illinois by myself at 11pm for dinner since it was the only place open. I ate pancakes. I looked up from my plate at all the others eating their pancakes. Some young like me, but most old. Some in business suits like me, but most dressed casually. Our fundamental similarity was our aloneness. Shortly thereafter, I left McKinsey & Company.”
The oddest combination of a late night craving:
“12am, and I hadn’t had dinner yet, because what happens when you leave a twelve-year old to her own devices? Opened the fridge, and there was nothing. A few vegetables at the bottom and a jar of hummus with strange purple lumps that had to be a type of fungi. The cheese smelled weird. I opened the bread container. A few slices of bread, slightly mouldy. I scraped off the mould and looked for something to fill the bread with. Opened the cabinet. Peanut butter. Great for someone who’s allergic to peanuts. There was also instant oatmeal. I put the cleanest-looking parts of the hummus on my bread and made some oatmeal. A midnight feast of an expired hummus sandwich and oatmeal.”