Gothic Granola

It's been so long since I've posted a savoury, non-baked, or non-ice cream recipe, I can't remember.

Flatbread,  pancakes ,  Welsh cakes --griddled breads give me problems. I either burn or undercook them. There is no middle ground. There is, however, old poetry from 2010.

Most days, I ride my bike to work. After a few months, I figured out something... Rules for wearing a skirt (of any length) while riding a bike: 1) Don't. 2) Bring safety pins--both to pin up a long skirt before and to fix the inevitable rips afterwards. 3) Lose sense of shame. 4) Wear cute undies because you will flash people. 5) See Rule #1. Especially because of the cold, I've given up on skirts for a while. Soup! Because it's cold outside. There's probably 1,001 variations on some vegan, gluten-free, roasted butternut squash curried soup because it is brainlessly easy to prepare. Even a zombie could make it.

Clearing the table in one fell swoop often makes a mess.

I came home from work. I made soup. I ate it. I was calm.

All I see are [rai]sins.

I went to the Library at Alexandria yesterday and borrowed a few books. I get such a kick out of saying I went to the Alexandria Library when in truth I patronised the Public Library System of the City of Alexandria, Virginia. While I was on the search for fiction, I checked out the cookery books as well. The few vegan or gluten-free titles they had were classed with the “health food” and “reducing diet” cookbooks. Really?

The sky goddess has her days, too. You know those days, when nothing seems to work the way you’d like?

I bought some lotion the other day. Kiss My Face’s “Super-Hydrating Moisturizer” in coconut variety. I had a coupon and my hands are cracking from all the hand-washing I do and from working in a cold environment (yeah, nobody wants to work those registers by the door). In hindsight, I reflected, as I rubbed the thick cream on my hands before putting on my Halloween sock-gloves before bed, I could’ve saved myself a couple bucks and put coconut oil on my hands. Granted, my sheets would’ve become uber-greasy but my chapped hands might knit back together, thus, uh, lubricated.

Lady Neona Tribute: Tahini Soup There's a branch on my spiritual family tree that this morning curled towards light coming from a different direction. The Lady Neona Alansyn of the Abbey at Kilbride Croft has left us mortals, passing away to--another round on the wheel of rebirth? Nirvana? Who's to say? All's there is to say is what's in front of us: that she is beyond the suffering she experienced in this lifetime as she bravely fought cancer to the end.

Soup is a tradition for Solstice (OK, so, fine--a tradition of two years).   The wife of one of my spiritual mothers makes a delicious vegan bean soup for their Solstice party.   It’s fortification for the late-night labyrinth walking and firepit gathering. I brought the soup described below to new friends’ house and one of them suggested I bring it to their Solstice party.  It’s a bright, sturdy soup to celebrate the return of the light.

Part III of III on vegan and gluten-free beer If it doesn’t have tomatoes, is it still chilli?  According to this needs-citations-article , chilli (yep, I’m using the UK spelling for a New World dish) involves tomatoes.

Sometimes I see a recipe or make something and have a conviction that it’s a dish for someone I know.  Even if I’m not going to see him or her, I  know  that s/he will enjoy this dish.  Sometimes it’s obvious based on people’s preferences (chocolate cookies for my chocolate-loving mother, pudding for my aunt), but sometimes it’s more obscure.

Whew!  I feel like I’ve been putting my life on hold.  It’s still on hold 'til I write one more final tomorrow.  Until I can answer the call, though, here’s a recipe, which I ate with pumpkin bread.

No pictures, again! Greetings.  Busy week, but what can I say.  The going-to-class part of the semester is almost over and done with.  Exams, however, will not conclude until the end of January.  Great Scot!  My undergrad years better be the last time I go to a school that has exams after winter break.

Speaking of flesh, my mom and I made chilli side-by-side last year, she making carnivorous chili and I making vegan chilli.  Chilli is one of those dishes that I think people can get really up-in-arms about since everyone knows someone who makes a good one.  Or they make a good one themselves.  I offer a chilli recipe that’s been adapted for the dorm.  I found a recipe on the interwebs sometime last April and neglected to bookmark it.   I have no pictures of the chilli so all food pictures have been replaced with cats.