Leftovers

Leftovers suggest old styrofoam cartons of dried-up pad thai languishing in the fridge, or a meal that didn't go so well, thrown into an old tupperware, to be hopefully forgotten behind the milk container. For a while, just thinking about leftovers would bring about a heavy feeling in my chest and an urge to go to Chipotle. But I've learned that leftovers don't have to be so bad. It started with the leftover eggplant-corn chili that tasted good the first day, great the second day, and fantastic the third day, as all the flavors mixed together and the cumin mellowed out. I ended up taking that chili to work and had to scrounge for a container that hadn't ended up in my husband's locker at work. Other leftovers I enjoyed around that time were homemade lasagna, enchiladas, and macaroni. I've found that grilled meats and vegetables in particular fare well as leftovers, but I can't say the same for grilled fish.

Some of the better leftovers I've had recently are cilantro pesto pasta, basil pesto, which I used as a sandwich spread and on top of stuffed zucchini, and homemade spicy tofu rolls and ume shisho rolls. Tomorrow I plan to have Sunday's scraps: beans, rice, and beef tacos (shells were kept seperately to avoid sogginess.) I'm counting down the hours until lunch...