LEAVING!

leafy greens are pretty good.
i mean, they've got vitamins, and nutrients, and color,
textural roughage, protein!,
and big blasts of flavor in their concentrated outward-sprouting chlorophyll paddles......
so, they're basically a win if you have them on your plate.
y'know?
seriously.
here's the thing-
once in a while, when i'm looking down at my torso,
i notice the beginnings of a blarp-out.
....what?
you know what i'm talking about, don't you?
yup.
the slight spread, the gentle jiggle,
the ever-so-slight unsightliness of an extra pound or three.....
and whenever that happens, i pretend i'm going to nip it in the bud,
and i F* up a salad or two for a little bit.
uh-huh.
that's where the leafy greens come into play.
i wonder who the heck i think i'm fooling, really.
for realsies, man,
i load those bowls up with so much stuff, it barely qualifies as salad anymore.
it's just a heap of dirty-A* food with leaves on it.
but, that's delicious, neighbors, and i want you to look a it:

HAHAHA!
arugula, kale, spinach, purple cabbage, and pea shoots are all in there.
and those cute little two-color tomatoes, too.
that's where the good-for-me part of the plan ends.
then, the just-plain-ol'-good part gets started-
oven roasted olive oil and salt activated potatoes!
baked cauliflower, carrots, and brussels sprouts, with GPOP and nootch!
......and a glug of oil to help 'em along!!
the potatoes went in as the oven preheated, way way up to 400℉,
but the veg got foiled-over first, and roasted for less time, with more steam trapped within.
yeah.
all in all, it's like twenty minutes for the veg,
and whatever the exxxtra time was for the preheat on those 'tatoes.
mmmmmmm.
caramelized onions? i did that.
crispy tofu cubes, a.k.a. 'croutons'? hell yes; indeed; don't mind if i do!
oil-toasted pepitas and sunflower seeds? sprankles, man, are where it's AT.
anything else?
OBVI-
too much is the right amount,
and i don't actually ever want just a bland and healthy sheaf of leaves,
i want the big deluxxxe bowlful of the best bits-
so i sweetened the pot with dried cranberries, too.
word!
yeah, it's salad, but it's also awesome.
there's no point in tricking myself, is there?
nope.
i love food more than i hate feeling like a sloppy-bottomed blarp-out.
i doubt i'll ever resign myself to letting go and blimping up,
but i'm gonna have to get used to the shimmy-shimmy ya-ya's if
i'm going to continue to indulge in all the hottness,
all the time,
while the NOvember nights try to chill my bones.
y'dig?
i'm just insulating my marrow with plant-powered flesh blankets, bro.
that's all.
***********
i've heard it said somewhere that we repeat the same mistakes over and over and over,
until we either learn the lesson they've got to teach us,
or we die, ignorant and tired, in the throes of the devils we know and love to hate.
damn.
that's a sure enough hard style.
and i think that there's nothing but the ring of truth to it, too.
personally,
i think i'm just looking for something that may not exist.
that's the thing, kids.
four out of five ain't bad, but it's still a B-,
if you get the drift of my 100 point 100 percent grading system.
that's the issue;
where to invest the time and energy that'll return the highest dividends.
people?
production?
preparation?
ponderous ponderings?
i have no idea.
i've tried all of those, individually, and all at once.
but so far, i still haven't hit that upper-tier level of satisfaction.
i s'pose i'll have to keep looping back, over and over and over,
doing the same sh!t,
attempting to salad the situation into submission,
despite knowing it's not really salad, even when it's a metaphor,
even when it's literally a bowl of leaves,
even when it's tossed, like lettuce or like A*....
it's all really happening, and there's something to be said for that,
but i think it just might all be the same thing,
repackaged and recycled-
frankly, i have yet to learn my lesson;
never quiet, never soft.....