On the Magic of Leftovers
If there are two things that I feel I’ve made clear about myself through these essays so far, it’s that 1) I’m a big fan of the little things in life, and 2) I’m extremely lazy. Some might say that’s one good thing and one bad thing, but personally I like ‘em both. The fact that I’m lazy means I often search out the easiest way to do something. It means that if I have to choose I’ll take the route of convenience over that of quality. Finally, it means, I certainly don’t like making extra work. All of this to say: I love leftovers.
Food, to me, is both incredible and an incredible hassle. The taste, the texture, the experience of a good meal really can’t be beat, but there’s a drawback… because there always is. Either it’s expensive as hell or it’s a hassle to make and there’s a mountain of dishes to do afterwards. Yeah eating a meal for the first time is great, but eating it a second time, for free, with almost none of the clean-up is even better!
When lunch time rolls around each day and I throw open the fridge to look for something to eat, there’s truly nothing more appetizing than seeing a plastic container half full of day-old Thai food. Instead of having to gather ingredients, turn on the stove or oven, cook everything, eat, and then clean up…all you have to do is pop open the microwave and enjoy! It’s all upside and you’re cleaning out the fridge before things start to stink!
I’m not sure where my love of leftovers began, I’d guess it has something to do with being an only child. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that basically every recipe on the internet makes somewhere between 8 and 1000 servings, so when you have a very small mother and a very small father, there’s going to be a heck of a lot of leftover pasta in the fridge!
Now, I think you could get into plenty of arguments about what foods make good leftovers (pizza is obviously the king, it’s good cold or microwaved or reheated in a pan) and what makes bad leftovers (look, I love fish as much as the next guy but there is nothing worse than the smell of microwaved fish) but everybody has something they like the next day, and their own way of getting it ready. My girlfriend refuses to microwave almost anything with meat in it. She is 100% convinced it smells like dog food. I on the other hand will put almost literally anything in the microwave because nothing beats a piping hot meal in three minutes (even if sometimes it’s ice cold in the middle).
Ladies and gentlemen, I beseech you, bring me your pasta, your pizza, your tired huddled masses of Chinese food! Bring me your shawarma, your burritos, your cold rotisserie chickens waiting to be eaten! I’m not picky, I’m just lazy!
So, what about you? Are you a fan of leftovers or do you hope someone else eats them so you can make yourself something fresh?
Ah, leftovers. God's way of rewarding you for not pigging out and finishing the entire thing in one sitting. And you're right - there's a terrible feeling of guilt when you throw out a leftover that's been leftover for too long and a corresponding thrill of delight when you realize you've eaten every bit of every meal that was in your fridge. It's the closest thing we have to the satisfaction our Native American brethren had when they used all of the buffalo.
I'm a leftover purist. I reheat nothing. And you've enlightened me to why my kids don't like leftovers, they don't have to cook so no down side to fresh food. But whatever, I don't need the competition for that pad thai from last night.