the freezer is stressing me out

I know I’m prone to exaggeration, but I am not exaggerating when I say that until approximately 6 months ago Ali had oatmeal for breakfast EVERY DAY. For the 26 years that I’ve known him.

And to be clear: we’re not talking about instant oatmeal here, but rather a recipe so specific, so labor intensive and time-consuming, that Ina Garten would struggle to replicate it.

I won’t bore you with a lengthy list of ingredients in bullet point form (I do love my bullet points) but I will say that the contents can vary based on Ali’s mood, time-constraints, groceries on hand, and the ability to secure chopped walnuts.

(Side note: Ali will NOT chop his own walnuts. His reasons for this are vague.)

So why the sudden about face? Well about 6 months ago I told Ali that eating a 5-pound bowl of oatmeal every day probably wasn’t the healthiest, and why didn’t he have something else for a change?

He surprisingly took my advice and made an omelet that day. And he’s made an omelet every day since.

Because I have issues with most things, here are my issues with Ali’s daily omelet:

• He uses just about every kitchen item we own to make an omelet for ONE. This includes the biggest pot we have, a pan, a vegetable steamer, a giant mixing bowl, two forks, several spoons, a spatula, and two plates.
• The omelet sticks 99% of the time (All-Clad is no joke) and thus there is a dirty pan “soaking” in the sink at most times.
• Ali now shops almost daily for omelet inputs and our freezer is FULL of frozen vegetables.

For reference (and again to dispel any accusations that I am exaggerating) the top shelf of our freezer is currently housing no less than: 1 bag of red peppers, 1 bag of organic mixed bell peppers, 1 bag of spinach, 2 bags of peas, two bags of “Mediterranean blend,” and 2 family-sized bags of broccoli.

As collateral damage from Ali’s regular freezer-case visits we also have several bags of frozen rice, 2 bags of frozen potstickers, one box of frozen unpleasant looking ravioli, various pints of ice cream, 6 bags of frozen fruit and a rather battered box of potato latkes (I think these belong to Maya if I’m being fair).

I know I should be concerned about Ali’s cholesterol but honestly, I’m far more concerned that our freezer drawer is about to break.

Ali claims that AI can solve any and all complex problems…I wonder if I should ask ChatGPT to strategize a supply chain solution?