Apr
05
I have been looking for the perfect wallet for years.
So today, to celebrate the beginning of Spring Break, I decided to make one. This is also a part of my decision to make sure that I don’t spend the entirety of the spring break just looking around on the internet. I am totally capable of doing that as I proved in December and then again in February. Many long weekends have been sucked in by the web as well.
Anyway, I found a wallet pattern (which I almost called a recipe) here. I made some teensy changes, one being a half-inch accident. The other change that I made was not to sew through all of the inside layers. I wanted to be able to put cash in the wallet for those rare cases when I actually do carry cash.
I wouldn’t call this a successful project, but I might try it again. I made some hasty mistakes in the beginning and by the end (knowing that I had already made mistakes) just rushed to get through it. I do like that my cards aren’t floating about in my purse and that in the rare occasion that I’m carrying cash, I won’t cram it in a pocket (to be forgotten and eventually laundered).
Mar
11
I have been meaning to make harissa for years. Literally. I came across the recipe around 5-6 years ago on this blog.
Then Alex got sick, I had to go to the store for some things for him and I remembered the recipe. So I bought the things that I needed.
This is one of those things that you’re like, “I waited years to do this thing that was so easy.” Maybe you don’t have those experiences. But I do.
Basically you soak dried chiles in water.
Then you blend the chiles with the other ingredients.
This. Is. Delicious.
I have some plans for this and a chicken that lies waiting innocently in the fridge.
Oh little birdy, I am going to massage the fragrant paste into your skin then stuff your cavity with aromatics. I am going to roast you and your juices will drip onto a bed of sweet potatoes.
Can’t. Wait.
But there’s the little issue of a sink that isn’t draining. At all. Though my desire for this roasted chicken swells by the moment, I am not cooking chicken under circumstances that involve sitting water.
Guess I’ll be waiting after all.
Mar
09
A friend of mine asked on FB a couple weeks ago whether someone wanted to take on the challenge of giving up something for Lent. While I am not religious, I am very much about reflection and challenging oneself. So, I said that I was in. So for a while I will be giving up sweets and drinking beverages that are not water.
From an outsider perspective, it seems to me that Lent is in part about mindfulness. Obviously abstinence/restraint/sacrifice is a key element, but to me, what is the point of sacrifice without mindfulness. Because this is not symbolic of faith for me, yet I am borrowing from a tradition that is very important to those who practice, I want to be respectful in my approach for this challenge. For me, this is about paying attention to the way that I treat my body. I am fortunate enough to be healthy, and I am grateful for that. I exercise regularly. I try to eat well. I make getting enough rest a priority.
However, I am uncomfortable with my coffee-drinking habits. And one area where I could use more mindfulness and more restraint is where it comes to sweets. These are things that could use improvement. I think that a part of respecting your body is treating it well. This is something that I hope to pass on, by example, to my son.
Mar
04
A friend and I decided to take a picture every day for the last week trying, to capture the rainbow.
This is what I came up with.
It was an interesting project and it certainly had me paying more attention to my surroundings than I usually do. The blue sky picture was captured one morning as I was walking from where I sometimes park to where I work. Sometimes I can be so far in my own head that I don’t even remember most of the walk. But this day, because of this project, I walked about with eyes wide open. For that I am thankful.
Feb
27
I am not about to sit here and say that each Sunday I’ll be posting one of my poems here, but I do plan to do this every once and a while. Writing group folks, you’ve seen this one, but I have made some edits.
Coiffure
I had what I thought
was Harlem Renaissance hair,
magnificent curls
born of night
and pink foam rollers. To,
“I like your hair,” I responded,
“I feel like I should be singing
in a smoky bar.” He answered
back, “Like Norah Jones.”
I had been thinking
Billie Holiday.
Feb
26
Lately, when I encounter folks who are a part of my writing life, they ask me if I’m writing anything (which I appreciate!). I then answer something like, “Uh, just Facebook statuses.”We laugh about this and carry on. This has been true for quite some time, but I’ve learned not to feel so bad about it that it paralyzes the writer within. I’ve been up to other things, like trying to become a better dancer and learning hula hoop tricks. Also, I’ve been doing a little sewing and making a few other things here and there. There are only so many hours in the day, and I know better than to run myself down trying to fit every single thing in. You make your choices and be at peace with your choices, or you make different choices.
Anyway, I’m here because I discovered Chookooloonks. Firstly, I just have to stop and admire anything with that many o’s in it. Secondly, I have have a smile for something that reminds me of what ‘ choo lookin’ at while seeming like it could be the name of an over-the-top candy bar that has lots of chunks in it. She even has a list of things she wants to do in her life on her site. Had I discovered this site earlier during my week off, I may have spent the whole week reading everything on it. But then, I wouldn’t have done the other things I did this week. These things work out.
After all, last night I was poking around looking for some inspiration, then I went to sleep. I woke up this morning and happened upon this.
Jan
02
For the last few years, I haven’t made New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, I tend to set goals at my birthday. I usually set a number of them. This is the third year that I’ve done this.
I like these goals to be personally meaningful to me. But as some of the longer term goal are reached and some of the smaller fears are conquered, it becomes more challenging. I don’t know how many more years I’ll be setting goals upwards of 3o at a time. The other challenge is that within a year, some priorities shift. Something you thought was important to you turns out not to be. I have, over time, learned to be more gentle with myself in this area. Before I would have seen an incomplete goal as a failure of sorts whether or not I still found the goal relevant to me. Before, not posting this on New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day would have made me feel, again, like I had failed and would take some of the excitement (yes, excitement) out of the goals that I’m posting.
Like many other people, the end of the year causes me to stop for a second and take stock of things. For me, it makes me take a gander at my birthday goals to see which of them I have achieved and which ones need more commitment on my part.
There are two goals, however, that I have on my 32×32 list that I have taken no steps, 3.5 months in, to make happen.
- Learning to swim
- Submitting my writing for publication
So, these are the two things that I am re-committing to at the dawn of 2011.
Dec
23
There is one thing that I consistently feel bad about in my cooking life. Wasted food. It is such a disgusting habit. So, I am actively trying to work on it. These are the conditions under which tonight’s dinner was born.
I opened the fridge to find a flaccid bunch of swiss chard that was still this side of edible. So I pulled it out, determined to not let it have the less than valiant exit that more vegetables that I care to admit have had. I have a bag of potatoes that I bought because a bajillion pounds cost less than the quantity of potatoes that I needed when I bought them. And I had a half bunch of green onions left over from an earlier cooking project.
So I made potato pancakes. Easy and flling. And the chard got put in tummies not the trash.
Potato pancakes:
4 potatoes, shredded
1 bunch of flaccid swiss chard, thinly sliced
1 half bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
3 eggs, beaten
Olive oil for the pan
Mix all of the above, salting for taste.
Oil a skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned on both sides.
Eat with hot sauce.
Feel better about not wasting so much food.
Dec
23
It seems like everywhere I go, I encounter some sort of recipe about greens. I love greens all sorts of green. I actually love most vegetables, but greens, mmm. The November issue of Saveur did an article about greens that made me want to try all 6 of the recipes associated with it. The January Bon Appetit did a spread called “The Greens Party.” That hardly qualifies as everywhere but it was enough to make me take notice and to make me want greens. I am inspired to try all of these recipes, actually. Well with a couple of modifications because some of the recipes (two) call for mayonnaise, and I just can’t bring myself to that.
So, again, I find myself turning to Bon Appetit. I made their Mixed-Greens and Sausage Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings. I had to make a couple of substitutions. I used a chicken sausage instead of the andoullie that the recipe asked for. I also used dried thyme. I was a bit slapdash with the hot sauce, but all-in-all it turned out well. If I were the sort to do this kind of thing, this soup could inspire me to eat some of it directly over the pot with the very spoon I used to make the soup. But that would be uncivilized. This soup tastes like hearty comfort. Who can’t use a little hearty comfort?
Dec
21
I usually go through bananas like water. (Hey, sometimes writers are prone to hyperbole). However, last week I wasn’t feeling well and my normal morning habits were thrown off a bit. And I forgot about a bunch of bananas that I had bought. Not only did I forget about them, but they were hanging out in the plastic bag I brought them home in. Needless to say, they were not the firm specimens that I prefer.
So, I decided to make banana bread. I also had some buttermilk in the fridge so my original plan involved using it as well. But did I remember that when it was time to stand before the mixer? Noooo. So I used the recipe from one of the first cookbooks I owned. I used walnuts in the bread but also cranberries. And I had about two tablespoons of mini chocolate chip hanging around so I threw them in there too.
The bananas were turned into something edible. Yay!
