Gothic Granola

There are some cookies that just get down on their knees and beg to be rewritten.  Not such a tough cookie now, are you?! [caption id="attachment_5007" align="aligncenter" width="225"] MINE, says Poppet bun.[/caption]

Ginger Orange Booze Cookies, that is.  While I had real ginger in the house, and could have coloured them orange with real turmeric root, I followed TC's suggestion and made a ginger liqueur and triple sec chocolate chip cookie.  Sweetened with agave, vegan, gluten-free, slow-food, housemade, local... No, I'm not trying to up my SEO. I'm being ironic.    

What you put in your body is important, no doubt. From avoiding foods treated with pesticides to minimizing added sugars , and instead cooking whole grains and leafy greens, we can choose to fuel our bodies with foods that will prolong our lives.   Generalities aside, the motivation behind this post is two-fold: one, cosmetics for cosmetic purposes, and two, cosmetics for compassionate purposes. When I became vegan in 2010, I wore makeup: eyeliner, eyeshadow, nail polish, sunscreen, and lipstick.  

Researchers recently presented findings from analyzing the 2005-2006 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in San Francisco at the American Sociological Association. They found that college-educated workers moved more on weekends while workers with a high school diploma or less moved more during the week. The study lead author, Jarron Saint Onge, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, pointed out why this is so: "work-related activity [for less-educated, working-class people] tends to be low intensity and typically involves repetitive motions that can have harmful health effects."  Woo, HIIT!

Researchers recently presented findings from analyzing the 2005-2006 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in San Francisco at the American Sociological Association. They found that college-educated workers moved more on weekends while workers with a high school diploma or less moved more during the week. The study lead author, Jarron Saint Onge, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, pointed out why this is so: "work-related activity [for less-educated, working-class people] tends to be low intensity and typically involves repetitive motions that can have harmful health effects."  Woo, HIIT!

The first time I made this recipe, I soaked the dates and it ended up as this: frosting, which I used on my 22nd birthday cake. The second and third times, I wised up and kept things dry to make raw chocolate...stuff...fudge...freezer snacks.

The first time I made this recipe, I soaked the dates and it ended up as this: frosting, which I used on my 22nd birthday cake. The second and third times, I wised up and kept things dry to make raw chocolate...stuff...fudge...freezer snacks.

Thesis: The so-called glorification of busy in 21st-century, first world business stems from an unconscious cultural reverence of saints and mystics, and martyrs, to a lesser extent. Bias: I studied martyrs, mystics, and saints in college and see their characteristics everywhere: self-sacrificing, obsessive, whole-soul commitment to a cause that extends (sometimes) beyond their personal aims.

"...Not that I believe in it." What is it these days with people and belief? I've noticed this attitude particularly amongst my peers; religion or spirituality is an uber-private facet of one's life. If you mention it, goddess forbid you offend someone by simply saying, "Bless you," when they sneeze. Sure, there are plenty of alternatives, but I didn't invoke my higher power by name!  You  can't  believe in anything. 

Avast! Happy International Talk like a Pirate Day!  Throwback Thursday, circa 2007, when I began celebrating ITLAPD by wearing my pirate shirt to school. I raise a mug of tea, stolen off a British schooner, to ye.

Avocados are a polarizing ingredient, like cilantro. Either you think it’s the bee’s knees or you think it’s the devil’s hooves. Wednesday’s Foodie Call challenge ingredient was avocado. It’s nice to have over 200 recipes from which to choose (and that’s just my blog right here). I Vitamixed some avobachoco . As my student job supervisor said when I made it in 2012, many customers confirmed that it would be a great baby food. Funny, I forgot that it contained almond butter until I checked the recipe just now.

What else is circular? Syncrhonicity. Synchronicity, as explained by Carl Jung, is “the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, yet are experienced as occurring together in a meaningful manner."( Wikipedia ). In simpler terms, stuff happens and it seems to be related to previous stuff.

This one’s a seasonal curry this time .   I think I’ve made something from almost every one of Chef Michael Kiss’s cooking classes I’ve attended at the Old Town Whole Foods.   I like his food philosophy: “An onion is an onion.”   Using what’s available to you will create a unique dish with your personal touch.   Since I’m just about incapable of following a recipe to a tee (I have opinions about what I put in my mouth.   Strong opinions.)—or a tea—I like that advice.

While watching the Navy-Penn State football game (go Navy!) a few weeks ago, I converted this recipe.   As I was telling my cousin who is currently in his high school's marching band, I watched enough football for a lifetime when I was in colour guard in high school.  

Final recipe: I attended a cooking class on Tuesday at the Whole Foods in Alexandria, and even if I hadn’t gone to the class, I would’ve had a successful WF trip.  I picked up this “Meals for Four under $15” flyer, and the Kale Pad Thai by Chrissy Bender made a perfect “this-is-my-real-work” supper after work on Friday.

Two pies. Last week I made a pumpkin mousse pie using the Whole Foods pumpkin mousse recipe , substituting pecans and pumpkin for the cashews and squash (and using less coconut milk), in a raisin-oat piecrust .  ‘Twas mucho good.   Two words: black cocoa.

Greetings from the National Archives in Washington, D.C.!  I’m attending the Wikipedia GLAMcamp D.C. in order to learn more about how I, as a student worker at my school’s archives, can facilitate GLAM-Wikipedia collaboration.  You can learn more about GLAMs and Wikipedia here: http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM .