Cooking Things: December 2008 Archives

Okay, so I made the damned bread. And it was okay, I guess, except for the fact that I was so daft and unfocused that I left out a key ingredient, and accidentally made it fat-free. Which is not such a good idea, breadularly speaking.

It tastes better than it ought to, but I had the devil of a time getting it out of the pan, and I fear for its long-term survival. I mean, it's all well and good and has a nice texture now, but once it's a day old or so I wonder if it will dry out prematurely.

Pleh. All that work. And vacuuming. And climbing onto a precarious tall stool with wounded knees to unscrew my overly conscientious smoke alarm from the ceiling. And climbing back up to screw it back in.

Knees still cranky. Probably have to stay off the bike tomorrow too, damn it all to hell. Plus, it's going to snow and be very windy out - not the greatest weather for cycling when one has a trick knee or two.

Watching Butch and Sundance shoot guns in Bolivia. Took pictures of most but not all of my unfinished knitting projects earlier today but thankfully many of them didn't come out well so I don't have to unveil that particular part of my life for your amusement.

This one of Kitwich being in love with the Malabrigo silky merino I bought for my sister's gifts did come out, though. Looking back over the blog this past month it's been a very heavy dose of cat pictures, which suggests two things, to my mind:

a) I'm not bringing my camera with me when I'm out and about, and/or
b) I'm not having a very good month.

Both of which are true.

Hello Winter. Nice to see you. Sort of.

Well, actually, I'd been having a crappy week thus far, and so I made myself take the squash and yam, potatoes, leek, carrots, and collard greens in my fridge, and make them into soup.

With the help of:

yellow split peas
red lentils
homemade stock
ginger
dry mustard
hot hot Indian chile powder
fresh thyme
a few celery seeds
cider vinegar
balsamic vinegar
sea salt
a drop of honey

Considering all the angst that went into the soup, it's a miracle it came out tasting so good. And feeling so good as I ate it. It makes me think there's something alchemical about cooking. That when I am really, really upset, I can sometimes cook myself better.

No, it's not (all) about boys, or even lack of boys. It's actually more to do with professional and creative endeavors today.

For good measure I also called Boywich and asked his advice, and it was one of those conversations that make me feel glad we are friends. Glad I thought to call. Glad I actually got the words out when he saw that I'd called and called me back.

Whew.

Anyway. I have a plan now, and that's a good thing. And the soup is just damn delicious, not to mention such pretty colors that it's a pleasure to look at as well as eat.

Maybe that's enough, for now.