Today’s lunch was fava beans, sautéed Swiss chard, and homemade flat bread.
We mostly eat a vegetarian and simple lunch. Simple as in opposite of fancy, not simple as in quick and easy.
Often when I am cooking a “simple” meal from scratch, I ponder over the irony that it can take a lot of work to create simplicity. Junk on the other hand can be very easy.
I mean compare the two scenarios:
- You make homemade bread, cut, chop and prepare vegetables, remember to soak the beans before you go to bed, cook things from scratch, and if you are a Pakistani or Indian then fried onions and ginger garlic paste is a big part of your life 😬. And on top of all this you have to coax or bully your kids into eating it.
- You throw together a can of this and a sachet of that and the meal is ready. Or better still just pull out some TV dinner from the freezer and throw it in the oven. Kids gobble it up and ask for third helping.
People often think that a simple meal necessarily mean less work. But that is not always true.
Simple things and simple life can actually be a lot of work and usually have less of umami.
Junk, on the other hand, can have lots of flavour and usually takes very little work.
But I have found that if you keep steadfast on the simple, there comes a time when a bowl of home cooked fava beans is more appetizing than a greasy pizza, even with all the work involved.
A simple wholesome life may look more difficult and dull in the beginning but there comes a time when a day spent quietly with your loved ones is worth more than any glitter or gold.
