Rabbit Plates: The Art of Eating Between Things

Written by Erin Bakker

Rabbit Plate No. 01: a little fresh, a little salty, a little crunchy, and whatever sounds good.

My daughter HG has been making Rabbit Plates since she was about three years old, and

honestly, I learned them from her. She has always loved putting together a little collection of things instead of one actual meal. Fruit, something crunchy, a few pickles, maybe cheese, maybe vegetables. Whatever sounds good in the moment. She has been curating these plates for years and is still very much the queen of them.

Somewhere along the way, I started doing the same thing. Mine usually happen when I am eating by myself, headed to carline, running between things, or simply have no desire to cook an actual meal. I open the refrigerator, look around, and start pulling out whatever sounds good. There is usually something fresh,

something salty, and something crunchy.

Beyond that, there are no rules.

This one was tomatoes and avocado with everything seasoning, peaches, watermelon, grapes, pickles, and pretzels. That was it. No recipe, no protein requirement, no attempt to make the ingredients make sense together.

I poured myself something cold, grabbed my Kindle, and was perfectly happy.

That is really the whole point of a Rabbit Plate. It works just as well sitting on the couch as it does packed into a container for carline. It can be lunch, dinner, a snack, or whatever that meal is called when you realize at 3:30 that you are starving and still have three more places to be.

If there is a formula, it is a very loose one. Something fresh, something crunchy, something salty, maybe something sweet, and usually one thing you suddenly decide you cannot live without once you spot it in the refrigerator. Fruit, vegetables, crackers, cheese, olives, pickles, nuts, hummus, leftovers, half a sandwich, boiled eggs. Whatever is there.

The point is not to make a balanced little Pinterest plate. The point is to eat something you actually want.

I love to cook, but I also love the idea that every meal does not have to become a production. HG understood that long before I did. Pick a few things you love, put them together, make them feel a little special, and eat them wherever life happens to have you that day.

So this is officially Rabbit Plate No. 01.

I have a feeling there will be plenty more.