Nesting

Nonsensical thoughts on the new ‘hood.

First, admire the amazing luna moth that took up residence in the breezeway by my building for a few days. Huge! Beautiful! Makes me think of my favorite book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

  

Snapshots from the first time entertaining at Steve’s place. He had over my roommate and her boyf as well as Steve’s old college friend and his girlfriend. Crazy- Steve and Alex attended school together- in Illinois, mind you, nowhere near North Carolina- and with no planning or forethought, ended up living on the same street. Crazy, right?!

Steve’s back porch is pretty fantastic. Clearly someone just told a hilarious joke!

 

Neglected to photograph the meal (Steve’s impeccable homemade pasta) but got a dessert shot.

Alex’s ladyfriend Myra made this totally boss tart- puff pastry crust, dense creamy filling, fresh blueberries atop.

 

I made what we’ll call “deconstructed tiramisu”. It was okay. Had ricotta and bits of chocolate and things.

Molly takes care of plates after we dine at Steve’s. She has some irritating habits, chiefly making the home smell like her, but she also does cute things like yawning.

 

As for my place, I’ve (almost) got my apartment where I want it. Alli’s gotten a lot of GREAT stuff for it. She buys the cool vintage furniture at thrift stores, I buy Dolly Parton albums at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store and create a little Dolly shrine. My fabulous roommate loves Dolly Parton as much as I do AND grew up very close to her hometown.

Note Alli’s awesome homemade coasters!

That Habitat for Humanity store is also where I got this fabulous lamp for twelve dollah:

The shade is really thick and sturdy and silky and high quality, too, so it’s got substance along with its style!

Since I am surrounded by hippies, I decided it wouldn’t be too ridiculous for me to adorably decorate our trash can. (Note: when you lift up the lid, I wrote a little note that said, “Could you be recycling this?”)

 

I’ve cultivated feelings of competence and self-worth by putting up my own curtains and then doing a repair when they fell down.

 

They were like $8 or something? Solid polyester, of course, but I like the texture of the fabric.

In general, I’m into fun fabrics in my room. My bedside table is in fact just one of the boxes I used to move covered with a cool piece of fabric I got in Thailand. As for that melatonin, that useless substance is evidence of something that’s not going so well in the move. Sigh.

More cool fabric patterns: the goldy stuff underneath I also got in Thailand; those pretty green containers where I keep my jewelry were a gift from my aunt, who got them in South Africa.

Lest you think my room is just filled with exotica, my absolute favorite thing I bought on a day trip to Hillsborough. Isn’t this gorgey?!

Simultaneously ceiling decor, excellent feng shui, light reflecting, and container for the only living thing (I hope) besides me in my room. I bought it at the coolest little store in Hillsborough- full of all sorts of reclaimed wood furniture and homemade soaps and fun stuff like that.

Also made a KILLING at an estate sale that we randomly stumbled upon one Saturday. There was something truly gruesome about seeing all of someone’s earthly possessions sold off to the masses for vastly less than they were worth. I feel compelled to give my Monet poster (still in the process of being flattened!) a happy second life.

 

One of the things holding down the Monet poster is this cool lantern-type thing, which I think I’m going to give to my sailing-loving uncle for Christmas. I got a LOT of Christmas presents at this sale!

Speaking of deals, this is way too close to my home and way too delicious and way too cheap.

Enough said.

A wonderful close to home place is the farmer’s market, where I got all this great loot for $14.

Fab Tuscan kale, tomatoes that seem to be keepin’ on truckin’ right into fall; a fun new kind of pumpkin that I had to get; cute stripey summer squash; yummy corn; and SCUPPERNONG GRAPES! The most intensely scented, incredibly sweet, thoroughly seedy specimens. I love them.

We end this nesting post with a silly comfort food dish. After having our first cookout with the neighbors (which I’ll highlight later) I had some leftover hot dogs (on which I’d spent a small fortune; for organic dontcha know). So what better than my first hot dog and bean casserole?! With liberal amounts of fresh tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, sweet onion, and worcestershire sauce, I must confess that it was delicious.

With kale chips on the side cause it isn’t 1950 anymore!

 

survivalists?

I would say we’re survivalists, but yogurt goes bad. So there is no excuse for this except poor “What’s already in the refrigerator?” communication.

Just… I don’t understand it either.

Or the eggs.

 

There was also a large bowl of pasta… piled on top of another large bowl of pasta.

Clearly, the refrigerator needed an intervention… and in an added bonus, I wanted lunch.

Yogurt being the most pressing issue, I thought back to yogurt bechamel from this Cooking Light recipe that had always piqued my interest. But didn’t have the classic ingredients for moussaka, per the recipe, so instead I fancied a version of pastitsio, another Greek classic (not dissimilar to lasagna, but it uses tubey pasta, which I already had- perfect!)

Sauce commenced. It begins like a classic bechamel… whisk together fat (olive oil, in this case) and butter and cook til it smells boss.

In a traditional bechamel, you’d add cream, but this recipe had you add milk and strained yogurt. It thickened, albeit in a separated-y way, and it didn’t get that thick (but once it baked it did- I’m not dissing the recipe, I’m reassuring anyone interested in trying it that yes, it does thicken. We clear on that now?)

 

Then you add pepper, nutmeg, cheese, and an egg yolk (the white went into that handy container waiting for it; then into an omelet for me today. But did you know you could freeze egg whites? My cousin Rachel told me all about it. HELPFUL!)

So I took out the old and tired pasta…

… and dumped half the bechamel on top of it (there were chunks of cheese, clearly. For some reason I find using a grater exhausting so I just cube cheese generally. To me, there are worse things than melty cheese chunks in my dishes).

Meanwhile, I’d had some veggies going (traditional pastisio is made with ground meat but I didn’t have any handy and wanted to get some veggies in my stomach anyway). I rehydrated some dried shiitakes (to get some umami flavor), and also dumped in some fresh mushrooms, some cooked butternut squash, some random green tomatoes I picked, part of a can of sliced black olives…

 

And on it went to the pasta.

Plus more bechamel WOW THAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PICTURE EVER IN MY BLOG. Not.

I baked it for, say, 30 minutes in my handy dandy toaster oven.

And whaddya know, it was GREAT!

 

Rich rich rich comfort food! And really not at all unhealthy despite its decadent taste (the pasta was whole wheat, too!)

This would be a great meal if you had, like… really bad cramps. It’s that good.

Later that day, I fancied Caribbean food. Steve had bought some Caribbean chiles at the farmers market and I was eager to get my paws on a few of them.

Then a little research led me to these Jamaican black eyed pea patties. A hunt through my Moosewood cookbook hadn’t had the veggie patties I wanted but led me to this coconut lime banana bread whooooooooa. And finally my Gourmet Today cookbook had a recipe for braised plantains with cilantro and lime. Oh and finally finally there was leftover rice after making the bean patties so I mixed it with s’more cilantro and lime, and a little butter cause the texture was weird. Steve proclaimed it “the best rice ever”, which is why I love him.

Also cause he lets me photograph his plate, see below. He ate more than this, obviously. Which is another reason I love him- isn’t it so wonderfully gratifying, having someone house a bunch of food you made?

THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD DINNER GUYS. Who’d’ve thought to braise plantains? They were really good that way, and not quite the heart attack of their usual deep fried preparations. Also, the coconut banana bread was one of the greatest things that I have ever consumed. Do yourself a favor and click on the above link. Unless you are allergic to banana or coconut, in which case do not do that and just cry for awhile instead.

      

I also posted what I was making on Facebook and several people invited themselves over. Always the sign of a good menu.

My one regret was how brown it was. Oh and also how it was essentially a huge pile of starch. But see that is what I love, guys.

random- carb lovers edition

To go with sporadic posting- a sporadic theme!

Rather than attempting chronology or theme, I’ll just show you what I ate today. And then some other stuff that was also good. And then some deep thoughts. Sound good?

“Breakfast casserole”- this was brill.

 

I’d made some lackluster quinoa. Per How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I caramelized lotsa onions, then cooked ‘em up with quinoa.

The flavor was weird, the texture was weird.

BUT.

I liked the thought of a hearty breakfast casserole to enjoy upon returning from church. So I whisked up some eggs, added the quinoa mixture, and baked at 350 for twenty minutes or so.

And it was great!

We ate lots at coffee hour at church (rockin’ baba ghanoush and hummus, made by Arabs who know what they’re doing; kholyva which is a cracked-wheat and powdered sugar and walnut confection that is made to commemorate the dead but is also delicious; and gosh how did a chocolate chip cookie end up in there?)

So this made a perfect nice breakfast to wrap things up.

With coffee (with International Delight, a vice I doubt I fortunately indulge rarely but will likely never give up!) and water (because I’m doing this new goals thing- which perhaps I’ll post about if I feel like it later- where I drink 8 glasses a day).

Quinoa mix decidedly livened up by THIS:

That intense looking concoction is THIS:

 

An enterprising woman at the farmer’s market has started growing her own chilis to make her own RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING hot sauce.

It’s made in the traditional Ghana style which means it is SEARINGLY hot, but also offers a wonderful complexity. It includes ginger, for instance, which gives it an intriguing and enjoyable dimension of flavor.

As for what else was going on in my kitchen:

Oats fer the week! It’s such a godsend to stumble downstairs in the morning and just chuck a pre-made, nutrient-packed breakfast in the microwave.

Next: what I made for the Superbowl. Because I have to post about it soon or it will be ridiculously off topic, instead of just random.

So I went to Whole Foods (not to buy anything, just to use their bathroom; Whole Foods always has a free public bathroom, something I wish more establishments, frankly, made the effort to do), and while there saw some ADORABLE Super Bowl party favors: rum balls shaped into footballs.

And I thought, “Self, you don’t have to buy those at Whole Foods. You can make those!”

Not exactly rum balls; I thought of what I had on hand and what I enjoyed making and what was traditional Superbowl Fare and came up with:

Choco-Puff Footballs*
*like powder puff, get it?

2 T butter or margarine
¼ cup corn syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. vanilla
5 large marshmallows
4 cups puffed wheat cereal

Melt butter in saucepan. Add syrup, sugar, cocoa, marshmallows and vanilla. When mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat; add puffed wheat and mix well.

Working quickly, with hands coated with cooking spray, roll hot cereal mix into football shape and let cool on waxed paper.

Optional: Melt chocolate (I used chocolate truffles, then when they ran out just chocolate chips) in a bowl, and use a toothpick to roll footballs in the chocolate to get an even coating. Then, also optional, for that extra somethin’ somethin, sprinkle with coconut flakes to represent stitching!

Marshmallow mixture at the chunky stage:

Marshmallow mixture at the melty stage:

Footballs formed:

 

Dunkin’ in chocolate!

And ready for the partay:

 

I was told these were delicious (and they competed at the party with cheesecake, Clementines dipped in bittersweet chocolate with sea salt yummmmm, and red velvet cupcakes, so that is saying something.)

And they’re presh!

Go long!

Skipping right over the other junk food I enjoyed Superbowl Sunday (dude.), let’s continue with the always enjoyable subject of chocolate.

This is possibly the best hot cocoa mix I’ve ever tasted.

 

Which appalls me because this is what it contains:

The only way I can justify this is by making myself a third of a serving and telling myself all the numbers are small so I can’t be doing anything too horrible to myself, right? Right.

 

These are a sweet but entirely dietitian approved: my godmother’s chocolate chip cookies!

They are the best. In the world. I had a much needed Ladies Night and the combined efforts of myself and three other hungry ladies (well four since I think my mom wandered through at some point), before and after a night of dancing, quickly demolished them:

 

Worth. It. And they are 100% whole wheat.

Guys. My Godmother’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. Do yourself a favor and make a batch. Well, maybe a half batch. Because you will eat them all.

On the subject of Recipage, where I have handily posted those guys, it’s also a good place to FIND a recipe.

Like when you want to make pancakes but don’t have any eggs.

Thanks, Mama Pea!

These Apple Cinnamon Pancakes (minus the apple chunks, just applesauce) were grand.

Made a smashing brunch (no I didn’t eat that whole plate!) with some fresh grapefruit.

Vegan pancakes are fascinating. Kind of a pain to flip, but good.

The inside is tooooooooootally different from normal pancakes. Gooey!

Here’s an interesting fact about me: yesterday afternoon (Saturday), I went home, feeling happy and relaxed from a massage (!!!!), a wonderful gift from the boy; and some quality bonding time with that same boy.

I did a few things around the house and on my computer, and then it was mega windy… the power flickered, and quickly went out and then came back.

It seemed unwise to get back on the computer, and I didn’t want to be in some creepy dark area of the house if and when the power went out for longer than a few seconds. So I went in my room. Sat on my bed. Wrote in my journal. Did a little reading.

And then… just… didn’t leave. Round about 7 o’clock, my head began to sink inexorably toward the pillow. When my mom came home around ten, I was OUT. Not bothering with dinner, nor anything but a quick bathroom trip for teeth brushing, I then stayed in bed til eight this morning.

And today I feel… rested. Well. Healthy. Happy.

Do other people sometimes feel completely overwhelmed with everything they’re supposed to be doing? These were some of the thoughts I recorded in my journal. Eating perfectly all the time, the right foods, the right way. Impressing one’s coworkers. Displaying a diligent work ethic both in class and studying alone. Contributing to household chores. Coming up with awesome things to do with one’s significant other.

Here’s the thing, though. I slept really really well last night and woke up and felt good. Like I liked myself, and was happy I’d given my body and mind the gift of rest. I studied for a solid two hours. I feel confident that I have all the necessary energy for the work week. Upon hitting “publish”, I plan to make my boyfriend an ADORABLE Valentine. Sometimes, being a together, confident person happens upon you when you’re busy being a mess and finally just quit and give yourself a break.

So I’m meeting my responsibilities. I’m doing fine. Any other successes are icing on the cake. Or chocolate on the football ;D