I'm too old for Cook Club.
It was a great evening out and I enjoyed the bananas foster, apple crumb cake, and 9 different kinds of quiches, but that crowd might as well have been in diapers. Or on an MTV reality show. Things were going well for the first part of the evening. Underneath the strung-up Christmas lights in an apartment inhabited by 6 roommates, I found the one lone mom in the crowd and nodded patiently as she moaned about her thinning hair and kept checking her phone to see if the sitter needed anything. That was good - I felt young and unencumbered by children or hair issues and sipped my bloody mary knowing I was walking home and not driving back in a minivan. And then she left. To be with her kids. And I was stuck with a roomful of twenty-somethings.
They talked about Degrassi High (the new one), the cryptic text messages sent by various boys (who were so totally lame and so totally did not deserve them), and how much they hate their internships or being unemployed. I talked about Roto-Rooter and the horsehair insulation we found in our walls after installing our elfa shelving. And don't even get me started on those old drafty windows! They talked about the old 90210 like it was a cultural artifact, something their parents did not let them watch but which they were now experiencing through the Netflix. I talked about Good Morning, Miss Bliss. When they started to discuss the millennial new year's parties they attended while freshmen in high school, I thought it best to leave. Not that they weren't all smart, charming women who were living an exciting post-grad life in the big city. They were great. And I have no end of respect for the one girl who brought Cap'n Crunch to the Cook Club (with TWO kinds of milk choices no less!). But after a couple hours and a couple mimosas, listening to those girls play out every detail of a current relationship, dissecting whether the boy was 'just not that into her', and listing all the problems in their apartments that the landlord hadn't gotten around to fixing, I got really homesick for my stage in life. All I wanted to do by the end of the evening was go home, hug my dear husband, and fall asleep in a room that I could repaint or carpet at any point in time if the spirit so moved me.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Say yes to the invitation
I like to joke that since moving to Boston 6 months ago I've engaged in more social activities here than I did in five years in the bay area. Now I'm starting to think that joke is true. Part of it is just being new people in a new town, so we've had friends of friends, family members, new neighbors, and new co-worker types extend invitations to various social gatherings. Given that our graduate program back in California was all of thirty (mildly socially awkward) people, the numbers are simply on our side here in Massachusetts. We're also both at a point where we just have more free time and a greater willingness to take a chance on an invitation out. And overall it's been really great. In some ways it feels like I am being resocialized after five years buried under books in languages as dead as my small talk skills.
But right now this month is shaping up to take the cake for my grand re-socialization project. I've dubbed this month 'say yes to everything' month, and I'm wondering now if I will make it out alive. It started when my dear sister-in-law invited me down to New York for Half the Sky Live. Why not? It's only a bus ride away and I had all these dreams when I learned we were moving to Boston of taking the bus down to Manhattan for the weekend. So, sure. Sign me up. I'll spend my Friday hanging around the Met and then catching up with high school and college friends in the evening.
Then a friend suggested meeting up the gym one day and I jokingly said we should take the boxing class. Before I knew it, I was learning how to wrap my hands up in sweaty handwraps and punching gloves with a frightening woman who used to train professional female boxers. I'll be there again tomorrow morning because boxing is awesome. For an hour I just work my way around a circuit of drills, punching bags, doing push-ups, and balancing on a bosu with my eyes closed. And all with pretty boxing gloves that make me look like Strong Bad.
This same friend also talked me into ice skating lessons. Yup, adult beginner ice skating group lessons. Last Wednesday I was down at Frog Pond in the Common at 9AM, along with a handful of other 'adults' who have nowhere to be on a Wednesday morning, learning how to make swizzles while big fat snowflakes fell around me. And I'll be there every Wednesday for the next 6 weeks. If you miss me at the pond, you can also find me thawing out at the Starbucks across the street with hot cider just after the lesson.
I also agreed to substitute teach for someone's philosophy class at UMass Boston. This might be one of those drowning and not waving moments, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. The class will be talking about Plato's Republic, and I supposedly know Greek and have supposedly read that text, so I should supposedly know more than the students. I'm thinking 'small group discussions' will be an excellent approach.
Finally, I've been invited to a Cook Club. I seriously thought the girl who invited me said Book Club, which was why I was all 'heck yeah!' about it. And then I got the eVite for the monthly Cook Club. And this month is Brunch for Dinner! I was hoping more for Breakfast at Tiffanys. But this, my friends, is 'say yes' month and I am going. And I'm just going to be that girl with my quinoa pilaf while the host mutters under her breath, 'who invited the flippin vegan?'.
I've also already decided now that March will be 'just say no' month. Say 'no' to the conference in middle of nowhere Canada (which is a whole new breed of nowhere than what we got here in the States)! Say 'no' to submitting an article on civil law for an encyclopedia of ancient history! Say 'no' to flights with two layovers when the cost difference for direct to is only 50 bucks!
But right now this month is shaping up to take the cake for my grand re-socialization project. I've dubbed this month 'say yes to everything' month, and I'm wondering now if I will make it out alive. It started when my dear sister-in-law invited me down to New York for Half the Sky Live. Why not? It's only a bus ride away and I had all these dreams when I learned we were moving to Boston of taking the bus down to Manhattan for the weekend. So, sure. Sign me up. I'll spend my Friday hanging around the Met and then catching up with high school and college friends in the evening.
Then a friend suggested meeting up the gym one day and I jokingly said we should take the boxing class. Before I knew it, I was learning how to wrap my hands up in sweaty handwraps and punching gloves with a frightening woman who used to train professional female boxers. I'll be there again tomorrow morning because boxing is awesome. For an hour I just work my way around a circuit of drills, punching bags, doing push-ups, and balancing on a bosu with my eyes closed. And all with pretty boxing gloves that make me look like Strong Bad.
This same friend also talked me into ice skating lessons. Yup, adult beginner ice skating group lessons. Last Wednesday I was down at Frog Pond in the Common at 9AM, along with a handful of other 'adults' who have nowhere to be on a Wednesday morning, learning how to make swizzles while big fat snowflakes fell around me. And I'll be there every Wednesday for the next 6 weeks. If you miss me at the pond, you can also find me thawing out at the Starbucks across the street with hot cider just after the lesson.
I also agreed to substitute teach for someone's philosophy class at UMass Boston. This might be one of those drowning and not waving moments, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. The class will be talking about Plato's Republic, and I supposedly know Greek and have supposedly read that text, so I should supposedly know more than the students. I'm thinking 'small group discussions' will be an excellent approach.
Finally, I've been invited to a Cook Club. I seriously thought the girl who invited me said Book Club, which was why I was all 'heck yeah!' about it. And then I got the eVite for the monthly Cook Club. And this month is Brunch for Dinner! I was hoping more for Breakfast at Tiffanys. But this, my friends, is 'say yes' month and I am going. And I'm just going to be that girl with my quinoa pilaf while the host mutters under her breath, 'who invited the flippin vegan?'.
I've also already decided now that March will be 'just say no' month. Say 'no' to the conference in middle of nowhere Canada (which is a whole new breed of nowhere than what we got here in the States)! Say 'no' to submitting an article on civil law for an encyclopedia of ancient history! Say 'no' to flights with two layovers when the cost difference for direct to is only 50 bucks!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
what's in my fridge
I've been doing my best lately to eat health(ier) meals that involve foods with around one ingredient. So less mock meats with about ten different kinds of chemicals and soy gluten isoloxynodohedron (which may or may not be a twelve-sided die) and more beans and veggies and whole grains. My little mission has resulted in a few super easy stand-by dishes that I thought would be worth posting for the healthy woman on the go. So here we go:
1. Chickpeas.
I heart chickpeas. They are impossible to screw up and always taste good. Right now my favorite preparation is dumping a can in a pan with some olive oil and white wine. I usually drain out about half of the liquid from the can and use some of that liquid in the pan as well. I simmer the beans in the liquids with some chili powder and cumin for about 5 minutes. And that's it. I've found that the longer that cook, the better they are but some days I'm just too hungry to wait. I usually make up a batch on Monday and then eat the leftovers throughout the week. They're really good on top of salads (I'm currently a fan of warm things on top of cold things, so I'll heat the chickpeas up before putting them on a salad) or just as a side dish.
When I get tired of garbanzo, I usually switch to cannellini or kidney beans. For the cannellini, I heat them in a pot with the the liquid from the can, a good measure of white wine, and some olive oil. Then I add Italian seasonings - oregano, basil, etc - until I feel like I'm back in Tuscany. For the red beans I tend to just heat them slightly and then eat them with diced red pepper and some italian dressing or red wine vinaigrette.
2. Kale.
Most vegans view kale as the be-all, end-all of leafy green vegetables. It probably has more vitamins than a vitamin tablet. I am at present in love with kale chips. They are easy to make and unfortunately even easier to screw up, so pay attention! The easy part is tearing the leaves off into bite size pieces, putting them in a pan, spraying them with some oil, and sprinkling with salt before popping them into the oven. The hard part is remembering to take them OUT of the oven. I have sent many a batch of burnt kale into the garbage and oh does the smell linger. The pieces take about five minutes at 400 to get slightly crispy, and I've found that checking them obsessively and pulling them out every couple minutes works best for me. I also prefer my chips more soft than crisp, so I tend to be happy taking them out early.
When the kale runs out I revert to the other vegan staple, broccoli. It's another one of those vitamin powerhouses. I generally try to eat a handful a day of broccoli, which isn't too hard. Steamed is the easiest, but when I have to pack lunches I've found that raw broccoli in balsamic is pretty good. I generally really dislike raw broccoli, and the balsamic adds just enough liquid to combat that whole 'oh my god raw broccoli sucks' reaction I usually have. Along those lines, honey can be a big help for raw carrots.
3. Brown rice.
Totally boring, right? A big ol' plate of chickpeas, kale, and brown rice. Grossness. But au contraire, mon frere! The chili powder on the chickpeas and the salt on the kale and the right blend of brown rice can make for a veritable taste explosion. My rice recommendation at present is the brown rice medley from Trader Joes This is another dish that I make in large batches at the beginning of the week and then reheat for lunch for the rest of the week. When I run out of brown rice, I'll make a batch of couscous or quinoa for the week. I finally bought some barley, so we'll see what the grain is all about.
4. Soba noodles.
These are another 'take me through the week' staple. I'll boil up a pack on Monday and keep them in the fridge all week. When I'm feeling adventurous, I steam broccoli, carrots, tofu, and bok choy and mix them with the soba and some veggie broth. When I'm watching my stories, I eat them cold from tupperware without anything on them other than a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
5. Almond butter.
You can make this stuff! No really. It's crazy easy. All you need is a food processor and some ear plugs. I buy a bag of raw, unsalted almonds from Trader Joes and put about a cup into my food processor, using the S-blade. And then WHIR! It will initially make the most god-awful sound but after a minute it goes away. Every few minutes or so I check the processor and scrape the sides back down, but other than that I just let the machine work its magic. After about 8-10 minutes I have almond butter. Done and done. Given that I think almond butter on apples and bananas is the most wonderful snack ever, I make almond butter at least once if not twice a week. If you consume nut butters at a regular rate, yours should last two weeks.
All of this advance preparation has led to one problem: buried leftovers in a sea of tupperware and half-cut vegetables. I finally decided to tackle the issue by keeping a list of the food I have in the fridge. It's sort of a reverse grocery list. Now when I go to the fridge I can see in plain English that I still have a large bunch of radishes. Radishes which are presently shoved to the back of the crisper and buried under unwieldy Mr. Kale and which I would not have remembered until next week when I finish off the kale and find a mushy red mess of root vegetables. The list helps me tackle lunch and dinner because I can sort of prioritize what's in the fridge based on when it will go bad. When I finish off a vegetable or tupperwared leftover, it gets crossed off, so now I also have a good sense of what foods need to be replenished.
Happy eating!
1. Chickpeas.
I heart chickpeas. They are impossible to screw up and always taste good. Right now my favorite preparation is dumping a can in a pan with some olive oil and white wine. I usually drain out about half of the liquid from the can and use some of that liquid in the pan as well. I simmer the beans in the liquids with some chili powder and cumin for about 5 minutes. And that's it. I've found that the longer that cook, the better they are but some days I'm just too hungry to wait. I usually make up a batch on Monday and then eat the leftovers throughout the week. They're really good on top of salads (I'm currently a fan of warm things on top of cold things, so I'll heat the chickpeas up before putting them on a salad) or just as a side dish.
When I get tired of garbanzo, I usually switch to cannellini or kidney beans. For the cannellini, I heat them in a pot with the the liquid from the can, a good measure of white wine, and some olive oil. Then I add Italian seasonings - oregano, basil, etc - until I feel like I'm back in Tuscany. For the red beans I tend to just heat them slightly and then eat them with diced red pepper and some italian dressing or red wine vinaigrette.
2. Kale.
Most vegans view kale as the be-all, end-all of leafy green vegetables. It probably has more vitamins than a vitamin tablet. I am at present in love with kale chips. They are easy to make and unfortunately even easier to screw up, so pay attention! The easy part is tearing the leaves off into bite size pieces, putting them in a pan, spraying them with some oil, and sprinkling with salt before popping them into the oven. The hard part is remembering to take them OUT of the oven. I have sent many a batch of burnt kale into the garbage and oh does the smell linger. The pieces take about five minutes at 400 to get slightly crispy, and I've found that checking them obsessively and pulling them out every couple minutes works best for me. I also prefer my chips more soft than crisp, so I tend to be happy taking them out early.
When the kale runs out I revert to the other vegan staple, broccoli. It's another one of those vitamin powerhouses. I generally try to eat a handful a day of broccoli, which isn't too hard. Steamed is the easiest, but when I have to pack lunches I've found that raw broccoli in balsamic is pretty good. I generally really dislike raw broccoli, and the balsamic adds just enough liquid to combat that whole 'oh my god raw broccoli sucks' reaction I usually have. Along those lines, honey can be a big help for raw carrots.
3. Brown rice.
Totally boring, right? A big ol' plate of chickpeas, kale, and brown rice. Grossness. But au contraire, mon frere! The chili powder on the chickpeas and the salt on the kale and the right blend of brown rice can make for a veritable taste explosion. My rice recommendation at present is the brown rice medley from Trader Joes This is another dish that I make in large batches at the beginning of the week and then reheat for lunch for the rest of the week. When I run out of brown rice, I'll make a batch of couscous or quinoa for the week. I finally bought some barley, so we'll see what the grain is all about.
4. Soba noodles.
These are another 'take me through the week' staple. I'll boil up a pack on Monday and keep them in the fridge all week. When I'm feeling adventurous, I steam broccoli, carrots, tofu, and bok choy and mix them with the soba and some veggie broth. When I'm watching my stories, I eat them cold from tupperware without anything on them other than a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
5. Almond butter.
You can make this stuff! No really. It's crazy easy. All you need is a food processor and some ear plugs. I buy a bag of raw, unsalted almonds from Trader Joes and put about a cup into my food processor, using the S-blade. And then WHIR! It will initially make the most god-awful sound but after a minute it goes away. Every few minutes or so I check the processor and scrape the sides back down, but other than that I just let the machine work its magic. After about 8-10 minutes I have almond butter. Done and done. Given that I think almond butter on apples and bananas is the most wonderful snack ever, I make almond butter at least once if not twice a week. If you consume nut butters at a regular rate, yours should last two weeks.
All of this advance preparation has led to one problem: buried leftovers in a sea of tupperware and half-cut vegetables. I finally decided to tackle the issue by keeping a list of the food I have in the fridge. It's sort of a reverse grocery list. Now when I go to the fridge I can see in plain English that I still have a large bunch of radishes. Radishes which are presently shoved to the back of the crisper and buried under unwieldy Mr. Kale and which I would not have remembered until next week when I finish off the kale and find a mushy red mess of root vegetables. The list helps me tackle lunch and dinner because I can sort of prioritize what's in the fridge based on when it will go bad. When I finish off a vegetable or tupperwared leftover, it gets crossed off, so now I also have a good sense of what foods need to be replenished.
Happy eating!
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