A Shame-less Supper

Last night I got home late from work, a tired and hungry soul. It had been a long day dealing with some difficult clients and some even more difficult cases, and I was looking forward to just getting the hell home. Now it's fine to cook up a storm when you can, but sometimes it's just not practical. I needed my belly full, and I needed my bed.

On the way home, I dropped by a local Korean grocery and picked up a bowl of spicy instant ramen. I grabbed some ham, eggs, spring onions and one of my favourite beers from the express supermarket next door and plodded up the stairs to my fifth-floor apartment (tragic I know). I got through the door, dumped my stuff in a pile, and put the kettle on.

Within minutes I had my noodles cooking away nicely in their original packaging, an egg boiling away to runny perfection and my spring onions roughly sliced. In the meantime, I had placed the beer in the quick freeze to cool down and soon enough I had my supper ready. I mean, I'll be honest; it took me longer to take the damn photo than it did to prepare and shovel my dinner into my body. The spicy ramen topped with some sesame seeds and chili flakes, all washed down with a cold one? This was exactly was required after a long shitty day. And the best thing about it? It made me fucking happy! 

It's fair to say Ponyo summarised my feelings towards my dinner last night

 Now, there is a load of judgment and stigma around food these days. I should know, I was hooked and held hostage by the wellness movement during my university days which unfortunately led to a whole plethora of eating disorders and issues around food (I won't go into detail, but it wasn't a good time). I looked at food as fuel, with each morsel broken down into its individual nutritional components. I had lost my love of food. I ranked food based not on taste or emotion but on its nutritional value. It's been a long road back to relative normality and to looking at food as... well... food again. 

The styling took longer than the eating.... but that yolk though!

You should enjoy food for it being delicious and making you happy. Don't judge people for their dietary choices and don't feel guilty about eating something that gives you pleasure! Yes, I love food. Yes, I sometimes enjoy cooking elaborate meals to feed a thousand. Yes, I have a love for my kitchen and of fresh produce. And yes... this is a post about a great big steaming bowl of spicy instant ramen... and that's OK! It was not a bowl of junk but a bowl of joy and I went to bed a happy boy.

Ramen was eaten, my belly was full, life was good