I put cottage cheese on baked potatoes. I put milk in tea. I put mustard on grilled cheese. I put honey and sesame paste on toast. (I put everything on toast.) I put eggs in potato salad and potatoes in egg salad and pickles in both. I put peanut butter on a spoon.
We do things with food.
Eli comes from a family that puts ketchup on pasta. (Or used to, anyway.) I come from a family that does other things. My grandmother put cream in her ginger ale. My sister puts fries in her chocolate Frosty™. My other sister does, too. A recipe from my brother: "Mustard. Bread. Mustard sandwich."
I know a guy who puts hot honey on pizza. I hear others prefer Ranch dressing. I had a high-school English teacher who put condiments on everything. I have a friend who puts them on nothing. I sometimes put quinoa in granola. I often put granola in oatmeal.
Someone, I can't remember who, once told me that's like putting ketchup on tomatoes. I say, stranger things have happened. (Ketchup on pasta, anyone?)
There are people, I hear, who slice soft pretzels in half horizontally and put the mustard inside.
I call these people geniuses, and if you count yourself among them, and we happen to meet one day, I hope you'll let me shake your hand.
Lately, I've been putting avocado on kasha. Pomegranate seeds, too. Olive oil. Salt. Lunch.
p.s. Meet me back here first thing tomorrow. I'm up to something.
Kasha with Avocado and Pomegranate Seeds
½ cup cooked kasha (buckwheat groats)
A few slices of avocado
A handful of pomegranate seeds
A drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
A generous pinch of salt flakes; I use Maldon
Here's how I cook the kasha:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add ½ cup of dried kasha and return to a gentle boil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you get the heat under the pot just right, all of the water will have either absorbed into the kasha or evaporated by that time. If the kasha is fully cooked and you have extra water still in the pot, it's better to drain off the remaining water (use a fine-mesh sieve) than to keep cooking it, lest you end up with mush. You'll have enough for a few lunches here. Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge.