
Grub
It’s very simple: I like to eat. Don’t be fooled by my bony 5’10 1/2″ 130 lb frame; given the opportunity I’d take the entirety of Nebraska’s corn harvest and dairy production to make and subsequently eat the largest pile of nachos known to man. There are a couple of restrictions, though, to this digestive habit of mine. Firstly, I’m vegetarian. This rules out many delicious things that I used to eat, like bacon cheeseburgers, tuna melts, and Jello. The second, and perhaps most important restriction is that I’m broke. The whole living-in-the-bay-area-while-making-less-than-$30,000-a-year is kinda tough, so I’ve had to cut a lot of corners when it comes to feeding myself and not going crazy. A third, though less pressing, restriction is my girlfriend’s milk allergy (not the same as lactose intolerance). Since I’m spending the majority of my time at her place and since we like to cook and eat together, most of my home-kitchen-prepped food remains dairy free.
So, food, or rather, grub. A former roommate of mine from Texas once told me that there are really two different kinds of food: food, and grub. Food is fancy: it’s the stuff of dinner parties, 2+ star restaurants, and catered events. Grub is the day-to-day stuff you eat to get by, the stuff that nourishes you, sustains you, and keeps you going. Peasant food. So, as it is currently, I’ve been eating mostly grub. For the last few months it’s been pinto beans and brown rice with a dish made from garden vegetables here and there (the girlfriend has an excellent veggie garden in the back yard). Sometimes I like to switch it up with pasta, PB&Js, and cheap fruit from the store.

Food-like grub
Tonight, though, was a bit different. The last week I’ve picked up some new income, so I didn’t feel so guilty making a decent grocery run. In addition to the staples, GF and I picked up an eggplant, some onions and herbs and combined them with some zucchini from the garden and assorted ingredients from the fridge to make ratatouille. It turned out great! Cooking for Engineers, the site we lifted the recipe from, was very straightforward in its instruction and very helpful. It was my intention to eat some and save the rest for the week, but the dish was so tasty that we ended up eating every last bite. If things go well, I might be able to eat like this more often in the future!