I realized this is another very long post. I seem to go back and forth between very long and very short.
Eating
Lots of cooking, lots of veggies. I added links to recipes when I could, though I will say that most of the time I just base things on a recipe and then veer off quite a bit based on what I have on hand or what I feel like doing. 😃
- Veggie bowls. Lettuce sprinkled with salt :: avocado :: cherry tomatoes cooked in butter over medium heat until soft and delicious :: cabbage wedges charred on both sides in oil over medium-high heat :: a mix of leftover rice, leftover venison sausage, and a bit of corn that I had stockpiled away in the freezer from this summer.
- Pork and kimchi dumplings. I made the kimchi since we had a giant head of Napa cabbage to use up.
- Broccoli-cheddar soup.
- Vegan chocolate cake with coconut-cocoa frosting. I hated the frosting, which I didn’t realize until after I tasted it with the cake, so the whole thing went to waste. The cake is really good, though. I think lots of people would love the frosting, but it just had too much coconut oiliness for me. Next time I’ll make the chocolate-peanut butter frosting I originally used. Actually, I think I’ll bake that right now.
- Potato, spinach, and tomato soup – an oldie but goodie.
- Veggie bowls. Rice :: lettuce sprinkled with salt (better with a spritz of lemon, but we were out) :: ground beef cooked with cabbage and tomatoes :: turnips braised in butter and broth. (I got the idea here.)
- Gelato at Gelateria Gemelli. I got a scoop each of chocolate and peanut butter stracciatella. Justin got a negroni. Gelato and amaro, the perfect combination.
- Pasta with cauliflower and pancetta. I adapted this – cooked the cauliflower longer, sprinkled with panko, added more cheese, used pancetta instead of bacon, no basil, no sun-dried tomatoes. I also am totally in love with this pasta: fusilli corti bucati.
- Tofu, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes with peanut-curry sauce over rice and spaghetti squash. Another oldie but goodie.
Reading
My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl. I got this back in October and I’ve been savoring it. I want to make every recipe in this book.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater: The Raven Boys :: The Dream Thieves :: Blue Lily, Lily Blue. Justin and I are reading these together, and we’re in the middle of book three. I’m anxious about the story ending with book four, The Raven King. It doesn’t come out until April. April! Yeesh.
There are some weird things that aren’t explained, but overall it’s fun, and I really love the characters. Especially Ronan. I adore Ronan in all his sharpness and gloom. And there some really great bits, where the words just tumble together so perfectly:
The night smelled foxy and damp, all rain and failed leaf fires.
A handsome devil with one eye the color of a promise and the other the color of a secret.
Gansey studied Adam’s erratic handwriting. His letters always looked like they were running from something.
Robert Parrish was a big thing, colorless as August, grown from the dust that surrounded the trailers.
…she sat on the end of Blue’s bed, looking as soft as a poem in the dim light.
Watching
STAR WARS OMG. I really loved The Force Awakens. It felt like an homage to the originals, with inside jokes and reminders that only us oldies would remember. Sort of like Jurassic World – just paying tribute to the original. I won’t go into any details, except to say STAR WARS.
Enjoying
- Makeup tutorials and funny stories from KathleenLights and Manny Mua. The YouTube world is a black hole, my friends.
- Shoyeido Incense that Justin gave me for Christmas. It smells like heaven. And I don’t usually like incense. But. Heaven.
- Speaking of things that smell good, Justin also got me this shampoo and conditioner, which smells amazing, and the scent stays with you all day.
- The Beatles on Spotify!
- My Morning Routine. I’m fascinated by people’s routines. One of my favorite books is Daily Rituals, which is full of routines. Love it.
- I want to go to there.
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