Walk Hey 06: Dining solo

The household unit I live in is more or less a mini-commune, where we share schedules, budgets, and decisions together. It's been working especially well in the meal planning department, as it allows us to A) split the cooking and cleanup labor, and B) have variety in the types of meals we have. Almost every night of the week, the four of us sit down to a homemade dinner that one of us made, and shoot the shit about the workday that had just passed.

However, sometimes the numbers temporarily go down. Someone has to fly to the city for work, or someone is on vacation. We adjust the tasks accordingly and carry on. And then sometimes, like now, there's just one person left. This time it's me, with only the whims of my own appetite to listen to.

So what do I eat when I'm by myself? If you know me IRL, you may think that I'm eating nothing but Cool Ranch Doritos and Loacker wafers, but I already do that when everyone else is around. What I do instead, is look through my mental Rolodex of spicy comfort, and cook up a sizeable batch of a lauk for repeat meals. Again, if you know me IRL, you're probably surprised that I'm willingly eating leftovers. And I'll have you know that I do have a list of lauk that I'm happy to eat over and over again—sambal sardin, sambal telur, sambal taucu... wait, I'm sensing a pattern. Look, the Nusantara in me is strong, all right? If it's got chillies and goes with rice, chances are good I'm in it for a situationship.

I'm currently making my way through a batch of sambal taucu (pictured above), a dish so wonderfully salty and tangy and perfect with hot rice and a mess of ulam. Digame, what do you eat when you're home alone?

Now, but wow!

Every post (issue?) of Walk Hey will be accompanied by a 'Now, but wow!' section, inspired by one of Spilled Milk's segments. Mine will of course have recommendations, and/or news of things I recently published.

I chanced upon Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou via an Instagram Reel featuring one of her songs and immediately knew I had to find out more. Her work is delicate and deep, wandering and purposeful. There are times in life when I hear a song and think to myself 'I wish I wrote that'. I think that about every song I've heard of hers. This compilation is a good place to start; make yourself a drink, sit back on your porch swing, and breathe in her playing.