Day 49: Cook lunch for co-workers with only what is in your kitchen- no going to the market.

Challenge Day 49: Cook lunch for co-workers with only what is in your kitchen- no going to the market.

Gee, what a coincidence that some of my co-workers organized the challenge and this particular challenge is to feed them. I'm not entirely sure what the personal challenge aspect is. I imagine the friend who submitted this challenge assumed I'd want make a big fuss and having to cobble together a meal from our measly at-home fare would force me let go of that. Well, honestly, I dug through the pantry looking for the easiest thing to fix. It didn't occur to me at all to go all out. I didn't even bake a dessert or even consider it. And not cooking a perfect meal didn't phase me in the least. Maybe on day 1 of the challenge I'd have reacted differently and invested a lot of effort, but by day 49, no way.

Good thing we went grocery shopping a couple days ago. Even so, with a small family, we don't have much food in large enough quantities to feed my co-workers. I started going through the pantry. Hmm, well, cans of soup, a couple cans of assorted beans, a tube of polenta, dried beans and rice, plenty of pasta and a bag of russet potatoes. In the fridge, there was the usual stuff - milk, cheese, yogurt, lots of fruits and vegetables.

I decided on baked potatoes with all the fixings, a broccoli salad, sourdough bread, and for dessert - chocolate covered pretzels and gummy worms.

I brought everything to work and popped it in the fridge then let everyone know that today's challenge was to make them lunch. At 11:00 I ran downstairs and stuck the potatoes in the oven then went back to work. At noon I threw everything together and set the table. I even put a table cloth on the table - it was the least I could do. A few co-workers couldn't stick around for lunch but our Tuesday member volunteer joined us and another member happened to be in the office at lunch time and joined us too. There were about 5 of us. It was nice to sit down together and share a meal. It was a little chilly today, so sitting in the kitchen warmed by the oven was extra cozy. Even the "gourmet" gummy worms were tasty.