I Think I Spend Too Much Time Thinking About Food

I don’t just think about food from time to time, say, at meal times. I’m not one of those people who suddenly realize they are hungry and then wonder what to eat. Oh no. I plan out my eating days in advance. I go over it in my head every morning. Each day’s menu is specially crafted around the day’s activities, meal times, and the amount of time that will lapse between meals. This is serious stuff.

Each week I plan seven daily menus from which I make a weekly shopping list, but I also need to think ahead to the next week’s meals in case there is a little money left in the budget with which I can buy an ingredient or two I might need the following week.

I watch Top Chef faithfully each week, whether it is the original version, Top Chef Masters, or Top Chef Just Desserts. I love them all, and they all make me equally hungry.

I love grocery shopping, especially at Whole Foods. I love standing in front of the pastry case trying to decide which freshly-baked vegan cookie to try next. I love wandering through the produce department to see what’s on sale or what new vegetable I might want to try. I get a high out of squeezing the most food out of my small-ish budget. I get a thrill when something on my shopping list is on sale or when I discover a coupon for something I wanted to try, but didn’t think I could afford.

I love talking about food. I dine out vicariously through my family members who do it more often than I can. If there is a PDF of the menu available they e-mail it to me so I can drool over the options, and then I decide what I would order if I could eat there. I am not making this up.

The best meal of my life was eaten at Craft New York. I still think about the gnocchi and the espresso ice cream that came with my sister’s dessert. That was 14 months ago.

I’m trying two new recipes this weekend and I can’t wait to see how they both turn out. I think I spend too much time thinking about food, but I love it.