Do we eat like this every night? I hope not. Tonight the kitchen gods fought me. We lit the charcoal … and thirty minutes later realized that the fire did not catch. I defrosted a wonderful dish … and discovered that freezing had destroyed the texture and made it inedible. In desparation to put some kind of food on the table, I reheated some pitiful leftovers, but felt unsatisfied.

What to do?

Option 1: Popcorn. Crunchy, salty, buttery makes all bad moods disappear. Nobody can be mad at a bowl of popcorn. I use the Whirley-Pop to cook popcorn in olive oil with sugar (which browns and caramelizes) and then finish with a big pat of Plugra butter and salt.

Option 2: Cheese Omelet. It takes 30 seconds and is really very satisfying.

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup cheese: goat, blue, cheddar, swiss, gruyere, parmesan, feta, ricotta, or any other miscellany cheese in the fridge
• 2 tablespoons butter

In an 8 or 9 inch fry pan, melt the butter. Whisk together (or use an immersion blender for extra fluffiness) the eggs, cream, and seasonings. Pour the eggs into the fry pan and dot with cheese. Count to 20. Use a flexible silicone spatula to scrape the edges of the pan so that the runny egg mixture in the middle spreads to the sides. Count to 20. Flip the omelet onto the plate. Scrounge around in the fridge for some herbs to snip on top of the omelet.