before i forget: i am thankful

for my friends. who watch and love on my kid, and seem to have endless patience for me.

for my parents, who still support me so much it's humbling, most especially with this stupid law stuff I've been through this year. but also for the heater, which my mom had installed when the little boy was less than a week old. 

for unemployment, which is keeping the heater on and the bills paid, so far. 

for my neighbors, who are always just right next door, and also love on the boy. 

the internet, which keeps me connected even as i'm alone in my house.

the library, where we can go and sing songs and get new stories for little man to tell me, surprising me every time. 

the sweet california sunshine. even in the surprising cold, that sun shines.

for prozac, which has softened the last 10 days. thanks, big pharma. also for the other thing that's kept me mobile for the past 5 years. that one is pretty great too. 

for the guy at the party who listed "avocados" number 2 on his list, and reminded me to do my own. 

Thanks. 

amazing week of soup

My soup pot's been on the stove all week. Outstanding! 

On Monday, i made split pea, which worked nicely to feed my "cleansing" babysitter. I made it up- soak a 99 cent bag of split peas with lemon juice overnight, rinse well, then saute whatever allium is in the fridge with a bunch of cumin, a dash of red pepper and chili powder (why not?), salt, pepper, add the peas, equal parts broth and water (or whatever) and simmer til soft. Delish. Didn't even freeze any, we just ate the whole pot. 

Wednesday I finally put all of the mushroom ingredients that had been waiting in the fridge for a week into the Roasted Mushroom recipe from Soup Love. It's really rich. It probably would have been better with actual wine, rather than that year-old bottle of $2 chuck, and omitting the carrots was not the best choice...but I froze a jar for Mom's visit, and am finishing the last fresh bowl now. It's a solid recipe. Yay! I stalked this little book in the local earthy boutiques before my sweet friends gave it to me for my birthday. Thanks, guys!

Yesterday emls and I whipped up a pot of this Butternut Soup with Bacon for the potluck Thanksgiving orphan dinner. What an excellent tradition. I kind of like going to these random events and celebrating a big holiday with (mostly) strangers. Arty, intellectual strangers. It reminds me why I love it here. Anyway, this recipe is so easy. You can fudge whatever you want on it (we tripled the garlic and eyeballed the cream, and have no idea how the amount of squash we used compares to the recipe) and it still works. Take it to a potluck (without vegetarians) and make yourself popular.

the mulch

I need to document The Mulch, which took over much of my mental space, a lot of my lung capacity, and a fair amount of the boy's vocabulary for about 3 weeks of last month. I requested it (free! delivered! too good to be true!) to mulch the berries.

I had read that you should cover your berries with at least three inches of wood mulch for the winter. I thought I could also use it in the front beds...so I requested a truckload. AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. it would have been funny, and absurd, if it had been delivered as promised. A truckload of wood in my smaller-than a truck front yard. And the neighbors (all around, not just the special ones) would have noted what a nutjob I am, and maybe they would have taken some of it, and that would be great! But the tree service delivered it to the wrong side of the street.

this photo was taken AFTER about 30 wheelbarrow loads and 500 phone calls. I took it to post the mulch on criagslist for the second or third time, and I am happy to report that it is completely gone thanks to one final gallant effort by those amazing neighbors I mention here and there.

AY MEN

things i like about oakland

recognizing that there is no zen on the mountaintop, i feel like i should list things i LIKE about this shithole town i live in:

the weather is f^&ing fantastic

there are all sorts of wonderful wildflowers- big ones, that sprout in unexpected places (two examples- the pale pink August lily, and the cala lily, which appears to be sprouting for my birthday. aww. <3)

did i mention the weather? not only is it easy to dress and wonderful to be in, it's amazing for gardening and growing stuff.

my neighbors rule. let that not go unnoticed. they are the reason i am alive today. also they let me borrow their printer, which is totally awesome lately.

unforch the culture that has sprouted here blows. todays example is the teenagers in a lexus (i assume they're selling drugs because why would you bring your lexus to this neighborhood?) who pulled over and slammed on their brakes next to me under the freeway, then laughed and drove away as i jumped and looked, startled. 

so to the people looking at the house across the street, with the great details and the soundproofed music studio out back? Buyer Beware. under $400K is not low enough for the quality of life you're giving up. 

love

bex

ps birthday party tonight. maybe someone will have my golden ticket out.

theni tried this "best granola ever"

this stuff smelled amazing when it was cooking...but the results are still out

I cooked again!

last week was kind of epic, what with the giant chard and the quiche for the mountains, and then the delicious vegetable stew i conjured from a bag of raw vegetables, a steak knife, and a camp stove. so when i came back i was lethargic about food. i wanted to be in the mountains, harvesting chestnuts and watching the clouds.

So the girls cam over and made this confusing but yummy Tourte de Blettes, (which includes a crust with no butter- whoa - and was totally good??) The kitchen was a wreck and the one leftover slice of dessert-for-dinner wasn't calling to me.

But I finished the last of my homemade granola early in the week when I couldn't be bothered to cook anything for dinner...and then the potato chips (please don't tell) and cheese and hummus were holding out, and then omg did you know you can buy pasta sauce in a jar and it is SO MUCH BETTER than what you (I) make at home? so yes, i caved. this afternoon i stuck apple slices in a grilled cheese, dunked it in leftover pasta sauce and pretended it was a gourmet lunch.

and then i lounged around reading my book all afternoon and didn't even make it to yoga. the odds of the kitchen turning back on looked slim.

BUT I DID IT.

scallions, garlic, canola and sesame oils. half a bag of brown mushrooms, 2 fillets of salmon, some tamari sauce, and sweet red pepper. added bok choy ribs toward the end, leaves even later. put it on a bed of lettuce, and not only am i cooking, I'm eating vegetables again! shoulda bought ginger, but the GroceOut doesn't stock it.

while that was sauteing, i baked brownies. BOOM!

let's hope the boy eats some of it. i think i'll get him to help me with granola in the morning regardless. phew. real food feels so much better than potato chips.