Diversion Accomplished

My mood has been leaden as the skies over this past Memorial Day weekend, so I decided to shift rather than indulge it by focusing on a small thing that brings me great joy: leftovers.

Growing up, we didn’t have leftovers because my mother made the exact amount of food she deemed necessary, i.e. not enough. This justified my frequent stealth forays into the bathroom with a jar of Jif peanut butter and a spoon.

As a grownup, I intentionally make more food than we can eat because the next night, there will be a second coming with serendipitous accompaniments.

Let me tell you about tonight’s leftovers.

Salmon

Chicken

Noodles

Potatoes

Other potatoes

Zucchini

Cole slaw

The piece of salmon is small, which is fine because Sam’s not a fan. We also have three perfectly seasoned chicken cutlets. Last night’s noodles are my favorite shape, rotini, corkscrews that hold clumps of Rao’s jarred marinara sauce. The potatoes, sliced and roasted, are the from last week, but they were nicely browned and can weather a crisp-up. Then, there are a half-dozen or so other potatoes, originally packaged and frozen, a whimsical mélange of salty shoestrings, spicy sweet potato waffle fries, and sweet potato puffs which I saved in a single Tupperware and will toss in with the other potatoes for diversity. The zucchini, I admit, is a wild card. In its maiden roasting it got slightly burned, so I’m putting it in the microwave and hoping for the best. Last but not least, Sam’s trademark coleslaw, which makes the perfect binder for everything on our plates.

I should also add that leftovers taste like virtue, as we have wasted nothing.

Turns out my ex-therapist was right about interrupting my brain’s natural negativity bias! Not only do I feel suddenly cheerful, but I just remembered the leftover guacamole.