Food

I like to establish minimalist routines where I can and there is one routine I am surprised I haven’t grown tired of. I eat cold-soaked oatmeal pretty much every day. Working from home, lunch is where I am on my own. I microwave it when I am home, but with slight modifications it is the same that I bring with me on adventures and just cold-soak ahead of mealtime. There are exceptions for certain busy days where I forget to prep or lunch dates out with Abby or friends, but otherwise it has largely been the same cold-soaked oatmeal for over six years now, and I’m not even close to getting tired of it. Based on ingredient availability, the recipe has varied a bit. I’ve been doing this for so long because it is simple, nutritious, and incredibly satisfying. It originated from when I did a lot of bicycle touring and camping where I preferred stoveless setups. It simplified my pack and gave me what I needed to keep going. ...

My wife heard it from the mayor. Two weeks ago, I jumped right into it. I became a vegetarian, but kept it to myself. For breakfast and lunch I didn’t share a meal with anyone and I didn’t tell my wife about it. In the same day my family and I walked to our town’s fall festival in the nearby park. The mayor was grilling up hotdogs and was offering them out to anyone nearby. My son walked over and got one so I followed after him to make sure he didn’t get ketchup everywhere. The mayor started to hand out another hotdog to me and without thinking I responded, “no thank you, I am a vegetarian.” I could have just said, “no thanks,” I thought, but I didn’t think much more about it. The mayor shrugging my comment off, walked back to the grill and I turned my attention to my son which had ketchup all over his face and hands. Later on, I caught up with my wife. She seemed a bit upset and she pulled me aside. “I just talked to the mayor, you are a vegetarian now?” ...