It was one of those eat-at-home days.

Just to settle a question a good friend, Dick Black of South Caroline, U.S.A., asked, “Do we ever eat at home?” The answer is, “Yes, of course we do. Once in a blue moon”.

When it comes to eating at home, there are no set rules. Rules as to how we should prepare our meals.

While it is said that we can take our own “sweet” (sugar lovers?) time to finish our meals since we are at home; it is not so for us, in our home. We are constantly on the go, with one thing after another to do / accomplish. It isn’t so much that we are pressured for time. It is just that we want to do more with our time. It is like going around the world in 80 days. (1) Doing more with our time is not just work only.

Laura, our (the Batik Influencer, Jeannie’s and mine) daughter, on returning back from the U.S. after completing her tertiary studies, introduced the “Work Life Balance” culture, that is prominent in most western countries (and possibly Asian countries, too). While the idea is not new, meaning it has been around for eons (2); the catchphrase of “work life balance”, is.

Staring at the big, 27 inch, computer screen, my brain (I hope it is that 😉) started forming words and sentences, that somehow, teleported themselves through “thinkwaves” (or are they thoughtwaves?) to my fingers, which were automatically hitting the right keys, clikety-klaketying (the sound of the keys as they are being thumped upon) on the Logitech MX Mechanical (linear) keyboard; to form the words that were first conceived of, in my brain. This was happening at lightning speed (I would like think so. More like Malaysian traffic jam speed).

Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I was feeling famished as I only grabbed a coffee at breakfast. I did not want to go out for lunch. I thought I’d put together something from whatever food was available. A hunting we (I) shall go. I did – to the kitchen.

I rummaged through whatever food was in the fridge. There was corned beef, several types of vegetables, sliced spam (luncheon meat), hard boiled eggs, some grilled sausages, opened packets of various types of biscuits, cheese, butter, potato chips and crisps, some snacks and a couple of big containers of sliced watermelon. I noticed an unopen pack of burger buns, too. The pack of burger buns came with two variants – with and without sesame seed. I was already thinking up a meal.

I decided to have burger sandwiches (not one, but two), which to me meant that I did not have to cook up anything; just putting a choice of what was available in between the burger buns.

The burger buns already came pre-sliced in half. I must say that the buns looked really good, especially with a generous topping of sesame seeds on the top bun (or is it bun top?). It was evenly browned on the top, good texture without it being too soft or flaky. The buns was firm. The one without the sesame seed looked just as good. I wonder if the sesame seed variant was just for looks to create a difference from the other bun, or the proof was in the bun (proof is in the pudding, get it:)

I love corned beef. So, I figured that would be the base filling of the sandwich. The corned beef was cooked without any onions in them. Corned beef does taste good with onions, cut red or green chili, and fried potato chips (ok, ok. They are now called “wedges”. However, in my time [not such a distant while ago], they were called “chips”). But what was available was just plain corned beef. To me, that was just as good.

For the health conscious, look for a brand of corned beef with the least amount of oil. It can be a bit difficult to do this. You will have to try out the various brands of corned beef to determine which has the least amount of oil to your liking. You can do this over time and find the brand that you like the most. I am o.k. with most brands that are available in the market.

As I began putting the meal together, I began wondering how this was going to taste like. It had two of my major favourites in them, corned beef and spam / luncheon meat in them.

First, I spread a thick layer of corned beef, evenly on the opened side of the bottom half of both buns (2 burger sets). This itself, was a delicious meal on its own. Then, I added halved-cut hard boiled eggs on top of the corned beef. The meal was getting yummier.

Next, I added sliced spam on top of the hard boiled eggs to complete the first burger / sandwich set. At this point, I noticed that I had become even more hungrier than earlier on. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this burger. However, I soldiered on to continue working on the other burger.

In the other burger, I placed the sliced-in-half length-wise and diameter-wise, chicken sausage on top of the hard boiled eggs, placed the top of the bun on and it was finished. Now, for the eating.

I started with the spam / hard boiled egg / corned beef burger with the sesame-on-the-bun sandwich first. As I took the first bite, I could feel the sesame seeds springing off the bun, and pop, bursting with the deliciousness of sesame. The combination of what was in this burger – absolutely out of this world! Each ingredient was not over-powering the other. They “worked” together to please the eater (me) as I chewed on them. I read somewhere that a perfect bite is when you chew 16 times (not 17, not 15; but 16 times). The first couple of bites, I tried counting. I had to concentrate. Then, I gave up. It was too labourious. Plus it would have taken all the fun and enjoyment out of the meal.

Before long, the first burger was gone. I wasted no time in working on the next burger. No sesame seeds popping out here. The grilled chicken sausage was nice. I would have preferred it bakar-ed (burnt in Bahasa Malaysia, the “ed” gives it the past tense feel) a bit more.

Together with the hard boiled eggs and corned beef, it was great. Just like the first burger, it was gone before I even realised it. It may have lasted if I counted 16 chews per bite. 😁😂

Compliments to the chef. Good quick meal. Extra delicious to the last bite. Then, it was back to clikety-klaketying of the keys on the keyboard, forming words and sentences, creating the next article / essay and more pages and chapters towards the upcoming book.

NOTES:
1. Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a wager of £20,000 set by his friends at the Reform Club. Wikipedia
2. A phrase that is often repeated by and therefore becomes connected with a particular organization or person, especially someone famous such as a television entertainer.