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Another resolution update, you ask? So soon? Yes, it is true. Well, it is true about the cooking part anyway. I have been cooking quite a bit this week. It all started when I went to meet Olive (seriously so in love with this child - I just want to buy her things - I'm also a little concerned that that's one of my gut reaction ways of showing love, but that's another post for another time). There is a Central Market about twenty minutes from their house, so I was able to stock up on a lot of organic veggies at a lower-than-typical price. The thing about organic vegetables, however, is that, while more delicious and the result of more ecologically friendly farming practices, they tend to go bad more quickly. Thus the cooking frenzy. It started with beans and greens last weekend (see previous post on the subject) and took off from there. I am also introducing a new element to my recipe reports. I'll use the following ranking system to indicate how much I like each dish and the likelihood that I will ever make it again: 5 - If this dish were a boy, I'd marry it. 4 - Definitely something I'll make on a semi-regular basis 3 - Edible 2 - Well, at least it's not pot pie 1 - Oh, the humanity! From the last post: 1. Meatballs vinaigrette - 2 2. Beans and greens - 4 And now the new recipes (clicky to read the actual recipes): ( 3. Curried eggplant with tomatoes and basil )Rating: 4 This recipe was somewhat of a stretch for me, as I'm not that fond of eggplant, so I had never cooked it before. But one potluck invitation later, I decided to try it (straightforward recipe - not much could go wrong - someone was bound to like it even if I didn't). Also, it had me at "curried." I have found that I can eat just about any vegetable if it's curried or roasted. This is a nice discovery, especially since I had a lot of vegetables to get through quickly. The success of this recipe inspired experiments with other "oh, that looks interesting" vegetables this week. I might even give the beet another chance some day. I will, however, make some changes next time. I will only use one cup of water, because two cups made the sauce very runny. In fact, it made it into more of a soup. I also used a full cup of basil, because half a cup didn't seem like enough, and that worked out well. It wasn't overpowering. I will also use a hotter curry or add peppers to spice it up. This is a super mild curry; I like it much hotter. ( 4. Spinach stuffed tomatoes )Rating: 4 This is one of those things that I'm not really sure I needed a recipe to make, but I had one, so I'm counting it. It was good, and it was easy. I used minced garlic and allspice (I didn't have any nutmeg), and I didn't add the sour cream, but the flavors mixed nicely, so it all worked out. I divided the recipe by four, because what am I going to do with eight stuffed tomatoes? Two was more than enough. I couldn't finish the second, and I learned later that these are not good as leftovers. Of course, you can use fresh spinach (about 2 1/2 cups cooked) instead of frozen. But unless you have quite a bit of fresh spinach to get rid of, I don't really think it's worth the effort. I didn't taste a big difference, and it was A LOT more work. ( 5. Sunshine pudding )Rating - 1 (Trial #1) and 3 (Trial #2) Last Saturday began as a great morning. I slept in, I discovered a new DVD from Netflix in my mailbox and, as I sipped my first cup of coffee and flipped through the cookbook, I happened upon a recipe for brunch that included eggs, cheese and bread. And I thought to myself, "Why, self, you love all those things! Surely this dish will be a winner!" I then surveyed my kitchen. I had only two eggs. And apparently, my square baker had gotten lost in the move (which happened over a year ago, if that tells you how often I use it). And, as I desired my projected meal time to be within the hour rather than merely within the day, I concluded that there would be no time for the advised refrigeration. Now, if this had taken place in a movie, this is the point at which the eerie music would begin playing softly, warning me that certain disaster was imminent. But without the benefit of a musical score, I forged ahead. I knew I only had 2/5 of the eggs I needed for the recipe as it was written. Therefore, confident in my understanding of fractions, I altered it to include only 2/5 of the suggested amounts of the rest of the ingredients, which was fine as I didn't need ten servings to myself anyway. So far so good. Then, however, I looked for a device in which to bake it, and found my frittata skillet (aka, the biggest skillet I own). Of course, the bread and cheese took up comically little space while the egg mixture ran all over the pan. I later remembered that I had ramekins that would have been much better suited for this task. That was a solemn moment. I took the first bite warily, and I was wise to do so. It was one of the most awful things I've ever tried to eat, made even more awful by my love of the ingredients. I felt betrayed. It was traumatic. It was like I had a party and invited all my closest friends only to end up angry and fighting with them by the end of the night. It was a wretched experience that even the subsequent emergency pancakes (just add water) could not overcome. I don't usually give things that end so badly a second chance, but I was desperate to redeem a dish that included such good foods. I went to the store and bought eggs and a new square baker. I put it all together before I went to work Sunday night and refrigerated it. I came home the next morning and baked it, and while it was still not my favorite, at least it was edible (rating 3). So overall, I consider this recipe a success. OK. Maybe not a success. A valuable learning experience - how's that? ( 6. Creamy shrimp with corn and bacon )Rating - 5 This was amazing. This just became one of my comfort foods (albeit one I hope I don't resort to very often, as it's pretty unhealthy). Even buying the meats pre-cooked worked out well. And the best thing of all is that my large skillet has been redeemed. The world (or at least my kitchen) makes sense again. Tags: 100
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My New Year's Resolutions were six lists of 100 things. This is my first progress update: • Read 100 books that I haven’t read before. Off to a bit of a slow start on this one. But here’s what I’ve read so far: ( 1. On Writing by Stephen King )( 2. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller )...and that’s it so far. • Make 100 improvements to my apartment. 1. The first thing I decided the apartment needed was an outbox. This idea was inspired by Apartment Therapy. Basically, it’s a glorified Goodwill pile. I put anything that I’m on the fence about keeping in the outbox. If it stays there by the time I make a trip to Goodwill, out it goes. A fun aspect of the outbox is that friends can “shop” in it (eyes off the table – it’s been claimed). 2. Refrigerator – it was decorated with a lot of stuff left over from when it was Mel’s apartment. It now has only my stuff on it. Simple but important task. 3. New toaster oven! Christmas present from Mom and Dad. It’s red. :) 4. Replaced old utensil holder with a yellow one that actually matches the kitchen. 5. Started putting pictures up on the wall in the office. Next on the list – putting up curtains and the rest of the pictures in the house, new shower curtain in the guest bathroom and new shower liner in my bathroom. • Run 100 miles. As planned, this one is still on hiatus. The knee is still a little shaky, especially, I recently discovered, in the rain. I’m now one of those people who creak when it precipitates. :/ I am shopping for gyms, though, so that I can start easing back into more activity than the yoga and pilates I’ve been doing at home. • Have 100 firsts. This one is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I’m going to have to get creative. 1. Highlights – pretty, shiny, copper highlights. Meredith was right. It really does make my eyes pop. 2. First time to use a bay leaf in cooking (see new recipes for details). Wow, my life is boring. • Update my lj 100 times. Four times so far, not counting this entry. Five. I’m so counting this entry. What? It’s an update. • Try 100 new recipes. I’ve learned a few things in just looking for recipes to try. First, my concept of “simple” and foodies’ concept of “simple” – two different things. This first month has mostly been eating up most of the mixes and frozen meals that normally reside in my kitchen just to make room for the behemoth ingredient list I’m acquiring. But I guess that goes right along with my save-money-and-calories-by-cooking-at-ho me goal. I am happy to report that it’s working already. Second, there are recipes for everything. For example, who needs a recipe on how to make a quesadilla? It’s a pretty simple thing to make, even for a non-foodie like I am. I may be including a few of these, though. Third, I’m a pickier eater than I thought. I have modified just about every recipe that I have tried or am planning to try in the near future. Without further ado, here are the ones I’ve tried: 1. Meatballs Vinaigrette – one of the first recipes sent to me. It is basically what it sounds like it is. Meatballs with a vinaigrette as a sauce. Now one might think to oneself, “Self, do meatballs really need more oil, such as the oil that a vinaigrette tends to bring to the table?” And the answer would be no. No, they do not. It didn’t taste bad (I ate them over a bed of rice), but it definitely made me feel bad. I’m going to stick to a nice tomato sauce or maybe something barbeque-ish when I do meatballs in the future. 2. Beans and greens – I am a sucker for a food that rhymes. This was pretty simple – just some white beans (I used navy beans) and dark greens (I used kale), plus some salt, pepper, and garlic. The new thing about this to me was that I had never seasoned a dish with something that was meant to be removed before serving. The visitor here was an onion with a bay leaf and a clove inserted into it. I liked this dish a lot, even though I scorched it a bit because I have a short attention span and neglected to add more water in time (that smoky flavor – I meant to do that. Yeah.). The recipe suggested drizzling it with olive oil before serving, but I stirred in a little goat cheese with the first serving instead. It was delicious both ways (and also without either – there was a lot of it – gave me a lot of chances to try different serving options). So there you have it. My first round of resolution-keeping. Most of them are behind schedule, but I am not discouraged by this. I expect the pace to pick up once I get used to it. Tags: 100
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My New Year's Resolution List (which I was not going to make this year, but let's be honest - I'm not going to shirk an opportunity to make a list) revolves around the number 100. It started with one hundred books and just snowballed from there. 1. Read 100 books that I've never read before. When I was cleaning my office yesterday, I counted the number of books on my shelves that I haven't read. If I read nothing but those books this year, I will more than meet this goal. Given my current minimalist phase, I am quite uncomfortable with so many things that I don't even know if I like or not taking up space in my home. That should be a nice motivation. 2. Make 100 improvements to my apartment. Basic maintenance/cleaning does not count. No points for taking out the trash or recycling (although I will count taking a carload to Goodwill, as that means that things that were previously taking up more space than their use merited are now purged from the house). But I have a lot of things that I want to do there, and that list just keeps growing. Time to whittle it down a little. 3. Run 100 miles. The knee injury will delay this one a bit. I'm not even going to think about starting up again until March. I mean, I probably could run now if I wrapped it and wore the brace and only ran on the track, but I'm just not willing to risk it yet. Even starting in March gives me ten months - so ten miles a month - which is still taking it pretty leisurely. 4. Have 100 firsts. I often find myself complaining that I am living the same year over and over, just with different people. It's like I'm stuck in the movie Groundhog Day, except in my version, at the end of each day the rest of the cast gets to go on with their lives, like normal people do, and I find myself waking up the next morning to the same thing, only with an all-new cast. And about the time I start to feel connected to them, the day ends, they move on, and I get sucked back into the repeat. The purpose of this resolution is either to prove to myself that this is not true or to make it not be true. Each first can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or as lavish as taking a vacation to a place I've never been before. The first first on my list - getting highlights. Copper highlights, to be exact. They're so shiny! 5. Update my lj 100 times. This keeps me writing something (even if it's not the best quality writing) on a regular basis, which is good for my soul. Also, I just miss you. I miss knowing what's going on in your lives (or at least in your fandoms), and I miss having you in mine. 6. Try 100 new recipes. I have to stop eating out so much. It is bad for my budget and my health. The reason I do it so often (well, other than convenience and I just like to) is that I get bored with the few dozen things that I know how to make. So I'm expanding my repetoire, and I am open to suggestions (preferably vegetarian ones - I don't cook with a lot of meat). It's a pretty simple list, actually. The most daunting thing about it is finding the best way to keep track of six different lists that eventually will total 100 items apiece. The most obvious answer is a spreadsheet, but I'm not sure I want to be that nerdy about it. I'll probably just do an lj post updating my progress on a weekly or monthly basis. I'm on the fence about whether these posts will count toward my 100. It's tempting, but it also seems a little cheaty. We'll see. Tags: 100
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Thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) icalynn and elsmoka for the virtual cookies! Tomorrow, I finish up the semester. I am ready. I don't think I've ever been this ready for a semester to be over. Of course, I start the minimester on Monday. But that's fine. Keeps me out of trouble during the holidays. :) So you all know that I'm clumsy, right? Well, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I fell. Just walking in the street. No reason. Not even wearing complicated or tricky shoes. Just flat out fell on my knee. So it puffed up. But after being waited on all during the break (my family = awesome), the swelling went down and it was well on its way to recovery. Well, apparently, I did something else to it when I got back. It was probably the massive unloading of the car. I blame the sheer volume of candy that I brought home. Anyway, it puffed up again, so last Tuesday, I went to the doctor. She said that it was probably nothing to worry about but sent me for an x-ray, just in case. I got the x-ray results Thursday - "possible tibial fracture" - so the doctor sent me for an MRI. Things I do not like about the MRI - 1. They play smooth jazz to relax you. 2. Turns out, it is damn near impossible for me to stay still for 30-45 minutes. 3. Apparently, one is not supposed to sleep during an MRI. If you do not want me to sleep, perhaps do not play smooth jazz. Throw in some Prodigy or death metal or something. I went ahead at this point and purchased crutches. If it was a sprain, I could justify hobbling around in a brace. But broken bones really should not bear weight. MRI results revealed that it was not a fracture (yay!) but rather a torn meniscus. Fun to say, not fun to experience. She then said things like "ligaments" and "buckling," at which point I interrupted before I threw up. So now I'm sporting a super-brace for the next four weeks (so....no training for the half marathon in March? No? That's what I thought. *sigh*) and hoping that it improves. I'm using the crutches for long treks, like to school, but I'm extraordinarily bad at them. Me on crutches = comedy gold. Tags: christmas, running
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I just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I read this book on account of multiple recommendations, and I'm so glad. I love it and its author and have a fantasy that he will be driving through Denton (with his wife, of course) some day and stop for coffee. And I will be there, and we will have a conversation about coffee and life and other impossibly sweet books that I might read over the course of the next year. I'm certain that reading this book made me a nicer person.
I know that people who have read the very same copy as I feel the same way. And this is how I know (Maggie, stop reading). When I got to a particularly sweet/sad passage, there was written in the margin (I know, Maggie - we aren't supposed to write in books, even if it was in pencil) the words, "This part made me cry a little." Written next to it - "I agree." I added, "Me, too!" This book brings people (albeit slightly renegade people who dare to write in library books in pencil) together.
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Lately, I've found myself wondering if there's a woman out there who has a life that she hates. Who is married but feels trapped and doesn't want to be married anymore to this man who is so different from her (he refuses to be still! Can she just get some time to catch her breath, please?). Who owns property that she rents out at a price lower than its market value because she feels that she should because it's a nice thing to do or because her husband is addicted to mercy, not because she really loves to do it. Or maybe she's an attorney - defender of the people. Or a writer with an impressive library. Who would love to have a job (or two!) where she can just go - clock in and out - and then leave without it following her home. Who is debt free and uses the money she used to budget for her student loan payment to travel. Who wishes she could take her vacations alone just to have a spare moment for herself. Or maybe she could just get a cute little apartment and have lots of moments for herself. Who has a little girl (perhaps her name is Georgia) who loves to play in the dirt and watch things grow. Who is exhausted from cleaning muddy fingerprints off FREAKIN' EVERYTHING. Who is thankful for close friends to lunch and brunch with when she's not busy saving the world. Who lies awake at 4:00 a.m., listening to her husband snore, and wishes that she also had a close friend awake at that hour whom she could call to talk about all these feelings that she's not supposed to be having.
Who longs to go but stays because she is scared to confront the person she fears leaving will make her.
I want to meet her. I want to ask her about her life - the ups and the downs. I want to tell her that it's ok.
I'd also like to see if she would mind switching.
I think it would be a fair trade. We each have good things to offer in a life. We both have great friends. I'd even let her keep hers. You know, if I could keep mine. She can't have them all. And my apartment is adorable and, more importantly, completely mine. We both have made choices that have certain advantages. But we both also feel weighed down by the disadvantages and troubled by the increasing realization that our souls don't quite fit the lives we have.
I believe that we could help each other out.
She longs for freedom and autonomy. She wants to drink too much coffee because it's all right if she stays up all night reading chick lit. She wants to go clubbing without having to find a babysitter (hell - she wants to do anything without having to find a babysitter). She wants a simple job (or two!) that doesn't consume her entire life. She wants to have time to blog.
I long for a husband with downright idealistic convictions. I want a job (or two!) that I consider a passion, not just a fun place to do time. I want to go to Italy without having to live like a refugee while I'm there. I want Georgia to crawl into my lap and tell me how she got her clothes stained with grass (probably the same way mine are stained with coffee - with much love). And when I can't sleep in the middle of the night, I want to have someone to cuddle (...etc.) with. Even if he snores.
Where is she? And is she wondering where I am?
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