I've known for a couple weeks that my friends are hosting an outdoor picnic-potluck this afternoon, so last night I committed to getting up early today and making a dish for it. I made pasta salad (my first one ever and from my own recipe, actually!) and it's chilling in the fridge for the next hour and a half while I take a shower and mentally prepare myself for socializing. but I also thought ahead and grabbed some allergen-free potato chips and a bag of clementine oranges, so this is actually the first potluck in actual YEARS that 1) I'm adequately prepared for without having to buy a fruit/veggie tray on the way, and 2) I feel like I'll have plenty of safe food to eat rather than hoping others will cover me and inevitably being disappointed lmao
I'm still high-fiving myself about the fact that I managed to scrounge up plenty of ingredients around the house for that pasta salad. my friend asked if I wouldn't mind using up some of her veggies before they go bad, so I was excited to realize that I had plenty of stuff already on hand for it. I did have to pick up some more Vegannaise (somehow the only commonly-stocked mayonnaise on earth that I can eat safely) for it, but I'd rather spend slightly more to make sure it's safe for me to eat so that I don't have to worry about the leftovers. that way I can eat what's left later in the extremely likely event it doesn't all get eaten at the potluck; it's a balanced meal even all on its own tbh so it's almost like I'm meal prepping a little lmao. it also just feels good to have confidence in my flavor/taste & seasoning skills-- I don't know if I've ever had a pasta salad exactly like this one, but I AM sure that it's going to taste good either way.
speaking of meal prepping-- I haven't been the best at eating full meals regularly this week, but I have been snacking in a mostly balanced way, and I've managed to avoid ordering in most nights. it feels good to be more on top of that sort of thing and actually have a couple options on hand. I'm getting better and better at grabbing some snackage when I notice I haven't eaten, instead of sitting and fretting about the fact that I haven't eaten and then getting stuck in an executive dysfunction feedback loop. all in all, taking much better care of myself these couple weeks than I did the last time I was staying on my own somewhere
OH ALSO my friend apparently does not ever cook for more than one or two people at a time, because I learned at the last minute that the only pot she owns that's big enough to cook 1lb of pasta in is... her Instant Pot. so you best believe that today, I learned how to perfectly pressure-cook dried pasta to al dente π€