FOOD | GUILT
It’s a Sin to Forget Your Leftovers
Unless you manage to stuff it in your mouth at the last minute like I did
It’s dinner time again. And I have made Upma — a South Indian delicacy made out of Semolina, ghee, onions, vegetables, and other aromatic South Indian herbs and spices.
Before making the supper, I calculated and carefully took into consideration exactly how much of it I should make. I swear I did! But still, I have a cup full of Upma leftover.
Leftovers annoy me. Especially if they’re going to be completely forgotten and finally thrown into the bin.
Will you please excuse me if I vent a bit? I just don’t understand exactly what offenses an extra tablespoon of Upma can do to people’s digestive system. Someday I’ll ask my family that.
Really. Is it supposed to give one diarrhea? Or is it that one would start looking like an over-inflated balloon suddenly? What would happen if we overate Upma?
I’m not sure what. But on that fateful day, all of my family — including myself — found just one tablespoon of Upma ‘extra’. Sometimes I feel I must hire a cheerleader of sorts to encourage us to complete that pesky extra cup of anything and everything that sits on the dining table at the end of a meal.
Anyways, I won’t. Because I was supposed to be that cheerleader after all!
In every household, there is a cool and cozy place where the unsung, forgotten, or neglected dishes sit. And that is called the fridge. And this is exactly where my dear vegetable Upma found its place.
Day 1:
When I put the leftover Upma in, there were not too many things vying for my attention. My fridge was all airy and empty. I could see through things. I could see the cooling vapors of the fridge circulate.
My fridge was in a healthy condition.
Day 2:
I forgot the existence of Upma. In front of Upma, I placed Dosa batter, milk, and curd on those blessed shelves.
Day 3:
I had to move around the contents of my fridge to accommodate some Soya Subzi. And that is when I saw a little red box being pushed around mercilessly. I wondered what on earth I put in such a tiny box now. I tried to jog my memory. But it was of no use.
I cursed myself for not storing food in transparent glass containers. I then opened the teeny red box and to my horror, I remembered the leftover Upma! Of course. It had to be.
Good lord! How did I manage to forget that? You know what?
I’ll finish this straight away tomorrow. I promise. I came up with this so-called clever idea of fitting Upma into my diet the next day. Snack time is the best to finish a bit of the Upma.
I even congratulated myself for the quick thinking.
The fourth day:
After my afternoon siesta, I got back to work. I sat down with my laptop to write. Quite unthinkingly I walked up to the snack box in the store room cupboard. And I fetched myself ‘roasted Makhana’ — very healthy you see…roasted lotus seeds. Except it is the very spicy peri-peri version!
And within no time, even if I didn’t write too many words, I had finished nearly half of the packet of snacks! The rustling of the near about empty packet made me realize….
Suddenly the penny dropped. Oh yeah, I was supposed to be eating healthy homemade Upma. Not some store-bought lotus seed nonsense.
My eyes popped, ready to fall out of their sockets out of horror and guilt at this discovery. What do I do? What do I do? I messed up! I am already feeling nearly full. It’s impossible to eat the Upma now. At least not today.
God, I hate leftovers and being the reason behind food landing in the bin!
Ok. No panic. There is always a tomorrow. I have stored the Upma well. There is no way of it getting spoiled in a million years now!
I’ll set up a reminder alarm on my phone to go for this snack tomorrow afternoon!
I read somewhere that tomorrow is just an idea. Today is happening right now. But still, the thought of setting up a proper reminder alarm — and not having to eat the leftover Upma right now — pacified me.
The next day, at the appointed hour, I opened the box of Upma. And to my horror, it was more like the verb--go, went….and gone! Yeah, it had already spoiled.
But no worries! I am not going to sit and cry over spilled milk. Or get sick feeling guilty over the wasted food. I’ll just pop this bit of upma into my mouth instead.
Oh, and I’ll be sure not to google anything about food poisoning and all that. I think I’ll start believing in birth charts now. Because mine said I’ll live long!
