Food Fixation Much???

Yesterday was one of those rare treats where I got to eat out twice. I guess 3 times if you count the cereal and banana I had at my desk in the morning, but I don’t really count that because even though it is technically outside of my house, my desk is my home away from home (thus why it doesn’t count). Anyway, Mark and I had a lunchtime date at Orchid Thai , which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from my building. You basically cross the street and boom, there you are. On our way, we noticed that a Mr. Pita and a Papa Romano’s (best pizza on earth!) are going in a couple store fronts down…ah, yes, I love culinary commerce!!

Our Thai food was really good. I usually order some kind of stir-fry like Pad Thai or Pad Pak…lots of veggies in a warm gooey sauce over rice. Sometimes I get the noodle bowls too, but today I was craving something different. Mark ordered his usual Pad Cashew, and I broke out and ordered an Apple Salad. It sounds simple enough, but it was oh, so tasty!! Basically the bottom layer was iceberg lettuce (yeah, sounds boring), and then probably 2 whole green granny smith apples sliced into long, skinny strips dumped over that, then some chicken, then some shrimp, then some cashews, then some toasted coconut shavings, then some green and white onion and the whole heaping mound was topped with an sweet, citrus-y vinaigrette. It was not only eye candy, but very refreshing. (Do I sound like P.F Day?) It made me feel like I was sitting on the beach in the Bahamas or something. The sensory experience was almost equal to the culinary experience. And that’s what it’s all about folks. Seriously. I felt like my purchase yesterday was completely justified given that I walked out feeling full, satisfied, relaxed, and joyful. I love that.

When we got home from work, it was just one of those days. You know when your limbs become dead weight and refuse to propel you forward and your stomach sounds and feels like it’s eating it’s own lining. So we decided to go out. We usually go out once a week, and we rotate who gets to pick the place. This was Maryn’s week. Earlier in the week she had decided we were going to Chuck E. Cheese. This normally isn’t on the list of options because it’s expensive, and it also assaults both Mark and my sensory receptors and causes my jaw to clench and teeth to grind. (There I go sounding like P.F. Day again.) So there’s that too. Anyway, she was feeling a little sorry for herself and like she needed a little compensation because Avery got invited on a play-date this week, and she didn’t. Anyway, Chuck E. Cheese seemed like a fair bargain at the time, but I really, really didn’t want to go last night. So we told her she could pick the place (hoping she wouldn’t remember Chuck E. Cheese, is that terrible?), but it couldn’t be fast-food because we did that last week. (Please don’t remember Chuck E. Cheese, please don’t remember Chuck E. Cheese…) Avery suggested Taco Time, which sounded enticing, but because it was Maryn’s turn to pick, even if it sounded good to her too, she would undoubtedly choose something different just to oppose her sister. So she chose QDoba!!!!!! And the heavens parted and I swear I heard angels singing. (QDoba is my fave, if you didn’t already know.) I kissed her and thanked her and she giggled and smiled. (And she never said a word about Chuck E. Cheese.) I got to have my naked 3-cheese queso burrito on the same day as my newly discovered refreshing Apple Salad!!

Simple pleasures, maybe. But I can’t help but be happy anyway. It was an awesome ending to an already perfect day for food!! And yes, I’m planning on running a little longer on the treadmill today…hee hee.