Poco-Cocoa

Oh, internets, I have stressed myself out to the max. Work has been stressful, and I have let it seep into the rest of my life. This makes me angry at myself, which stresses me out. Sheesh.

I spent a whole day this week in jury duty listening to arguments and testimonies in a grueling case, then spent a couple of hours deliberating about it. I am happy to serve as a juror; it’s one thing I can do for the community. But being a juror is so hard… you can only work with the information that has been given to you. You wish you had more evidence, or one more witness, or one more video… but all you have is what you have, and you’re expected to make a judgement on a person’s life based on that. It was very difficult and exhausting.

So when I got home from the courthouse, I ranted and raved to Justin (he’s so patient with me), and then we bundled up and walked down to 24 Diner for some grub. And for the record: 24 Diner makes my FAVORITE burger in all of Austin. Yup, I said it. It’s a thick patty, perfectly salted, with roasted tomatoes, cheddar, pickles and smoked aioli on a challah bun. So very good, and so comforting on a bad day.

Most nights of the week we’ve been cooking up our lovely Farmhouse produce. It’s so fun… I receive our bushel of produce on Tuesday, look through Eat Your Books for recipes, shop for any extra items (pasta, rice, beans), and cook it up. Last week we received cauliflower, broccoli, red-leaf lettuce, avocados, grapefruit, carrots, spring onions, cilantro, kale, spinach, and baby beets. This week our bushel was full of cauliflower, broccoli, butter lettuce, radishes, carrots, avocados, grapefruit, meyer lemons, red cabbage, arugula, cilantro, and the items I added to our order: local low-temp pasteurized whole milk, local eggs, and Farmhouse-made cauliflower giardiniera.

Tonight I roasted cauliflower and carrots with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, then tossed them with a bit of browned butter; I served them with a salad of butter lettuce, radishes, carrots and avocado, along with sliced toast and butter. The great thing about this produce is that it really doesn’t need much to be amazing. It’s just good as-is.

So anyway, stress and stress and veggies and veggies. My life in a nutshell, lately. BUT! Tomorrow is a new day, and I am ready for it. I’m reading funny things like this, and watching inspiring videos like the one I posted below. I’m getting lots of hugs and kisses from Justin and the kitty cats, and I’m nibbling on dark chocolate. Most of all, I’m looking forward to our upcoming trip to Jamaica… I plan to spend every day lying on the beach, drinking fruity beverages with tiny umbrellas in them, and holding hands with my love. Stress and blues, begone! For I am done with thee.