I haven’t been able to cook much lately, and it’s starting to annoy me. Most of the time, I simply have no appetite. Although I usually have very specific cravings, half the time now, I just have no desire for food. The other half of the time, I’m hungry but too winded to whip something up for myself. The other half of the time, I’m grateful to have a husband who’s skilled in the kitchen and pampers me with all sorts of delicious treats. And the other half of the time, I may have to spend reviewing fractions.
Having leftovers in the refrigerator is wonderful thing whenever I go through these no-cooking spells. (Of course, as I’m typing this, it suddenly dawns on me that you have to actually cook something first before you have leftovers. Obviously, I didn’t think this line of reasoning through.)
The other week, I had half of a whole fried snapper cooked in a spicy belacan (or shrimp paste) sauce in my refrigerator. It was loot from a previous lunch at Penang, a Malaysian restaurant that we frequent. True-to-form, my mom ordered too much food, and sent me home with an entire bag of goodies. Hainanese chicken rice, lemongrass chicken, chicken in red curry, red bean pancakes … all the leftovers were packed up; we wouldn’t dream of leaving any food on the table. It’s a habit we picked up from my grandmother, who lived through the war back home and never forgot the time when they had nothing to eat but boiled coconut meat.
Now, I love food in almost all its forms, but if I had to live on one or two food groups alone, fish and all forms of seafood would be at the top of my list. Yes, I enjoy a good plate of short ribs or rib-eye steak, and a well-crafted BLT can make my whole day sunshine-y and new. But if I had to pick something to eat day in and day out for the rest out my life, I’d be perfectly happy with some rice, fish, and vegetables.
(I did have leftover water spinach, which would have completed this meal, but … uh … I ate it for breakfast earlier that day.)
I’ve never really understood why some people just don’t do leftovers. I have a few friends who don’t, and it perplexes me. Then again, if I could, I’d like to say I just don’t do bathrooms, and I’m sure that somewhere in this vast world, someone is perplexed by that.
But I’ll tell you something. Even if all you have is leftovers, take the time to dress them up nice, put on some soothing music, and treat yourself to a quiet, unhurried meal. It’ll be enough to make you feel special, even if only for the duration of the meal. And that’s some powerful stuff that not even prescription meds can do for you.
As promised, I’m going to share with you the recipe for that wonderful bread in my 
