dangerous compassions

I call you / from the comet's cradle

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

dark chocolate covered almonds

Today we went to the park. I got two books out from the library to see if I might like to read them. Erik helped me pick them out, Life of Pi and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, both books that he actually wants to read.

I walked. I ate dark chocolate covered almonds. I read a zine about women on fishing boats. It's very good. I want to review it.

At home, I made tofu scramble, and we have leeks, so I put a leek in it instead of half an onion. Turned out great. I also put in some fresh sage because we had that, from our CSA. The sage was strong but not overpowering. Kind of like me.

Monday, November 21, 2011

petition

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/violence_uc/?rc=fb_share2

You can sign this petition if you'd like the University of California to change the way they treat peaceful protestors.

occupied Davis

Hello, friends. Today we occupied Davis. I was there for about an hour then went to the arboretum. Erik stayed for more than two. We heard kids talk about getting pepper sprayed. We stood in a big group, and there was a little chanting. (Whose university? Our university!) Some people had climbed up into a tree. There was a lot of press with video cameras. And the chancellor spoke. I wasn't there for the chancellor's speech. She was doing some damage control--before, she said she supported the behavior of the pepper spraying cops. Now she's changed her tune and doesn't want to resign like so many people are asking her to. Erik stayed for the general assembly meeting, so he learned the hand signals and everything. He taught them to me, so now I know the sign to make when someone's rambling.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Occupy Davis

http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/open-letter-to-chancellor-linda-p-b-katehi/

Yesterday I got really upset at hearing what happened to some student protestors in Davis, and if you feel like getting upset too, read the above link!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Kristin Cato

http://www.thelightedbridge.com/interview.html

Great interview with Kristin Cato can be found here!

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

http://www.theppk.com/2011/10/chocolate-pumpkin-loaf/

This recipe was recommended to a friend on facebook, and I wanted to remember it.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

vegan spaghetti squash bread

I was desperate for a spaghetti squash bread recipe. I searched for a vegan one--no luck. So I came up with this one, veganized it, and doubled it. I will show it to you as I made it.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,194,154167-254194,00.html

SPAGHETTI SQUASH BREAD

2 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
6 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
Dash salt
4 flax seed meal eggs
4 tbsp. oil
1/2 c. orange juice
1 1/3 c. spaghetti squash strands, cooked
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Combine. Add nuts. Pour batter into two oiled loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until an inserted knife comes clean.

This bread is not very sweet but very delicious. Perfect use for a winter squash that was previously unpopular at Chez Erik and Laura-Marie.

perfect peanut sauce pasta

Oh my god--for much of my adult life I have been looking for a good peanut sauce recipe. Tonight I struck gold.

Vegan on the Cheap is a cookbook I really want, but the library doesn't have it! The recipe is from this book.

http://www.globalvegankitchen.com/SampleRecipes_VOTC.html

I'm going to show you the recipe as I amended it.

Penne-Wise Peanutty Pasta

3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, chopped fine
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce (half regular, half dark)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 3/4 cups plain, unsweetened soy milk
12 ounces penne pasta
2 carrots, cut into very thin coins
2 cups small broccoli florets

1. Saute the carrots in a pot until they begin to soften. Add the soymilk to the pot. Gradually add the peanut butter, stirring well, to mix. When the peanut butter is incorporated, turn off the heat. Add all the other sauce ingredients to the pot.

2. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes.

3. Microwave the broccoli for four minutes.

4. Drain the pasta and combine the pasta with the broccoli and most of the sauce.

This is so good. I realized I had too much sauce, so I didn't use it all. If I had cooked the whole 16 oz bag of pasta, and then the ratio of pasta to sauce would have been right.

But this recipe has so much salt in it. I would like to eat lots of it, but I'm restraining myself because of the salt.

The original recipe calls for 4 oz silken tofu, but I didn't want to buy some, so I just used extra soymilk. The original recipe also requires use of a blender, and I don't have one, so I worked around that.

If you like good peanut sauce, you should try this recipe! Thank you, Robin Robertson! Next time, I think some red bell pepper would be a good addition. And I could have used a little more broccoli.

I love Miranda July

This is one of the most moving things I've read in a long time. Miranda July interviewing a teenager about his tadpoles and his life.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/10/andrew-bullfrog-tadpoles-250-each-paramount.html

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

interestin'

good mail day

1. Two zines and two buttons and a note--the buttons say "Tofu never screams" and "99%" with a broken crown.
2. A zine with note.
3. Prisoner letter requesting a zine.
4. Letter and cd and tracklist from bestie. But the cd doesn't play! Sadface!

Monday, November 14, 2011

squash mania

I made spaghetti squash for dinner, with sauce and Trader Joe's meatless meatballs, one of our guilty pleasures.

The spaghetti squash came from our CSA--we're getting a backlog of squash. Did I already list you the list? Four delicata, one spaghetti squash now, and a small pumpkin.

http://www.cheapcooking.com/Recipes/vegetables/roast-delicata-squash.html

Roasting delicata squash in the oven seems a hell of a lot better than microwaving it. I'll do that tomorrow.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

soup

I was making soup--it was almost done--and suddenly I smelled a wrong smell. "Holy crap!" I said, or something like that. I ran to the kitchen, took the pot off the burner, and turned off the heat. I took the lid off the pot and stirred. I definitely burned my soup on the bottom.

But the burnt stuff stayed stuck on the bottom, and we ate some soup, and it was so good. It actually got more delicious each mouthful. I wanted more. But by then the burnt stuff had softened and was no longer stuck to the bottom. It was coming loose. So I carefully, not scraping the bottom, dished myself another bowl, and Erik dished himself another bowl. Then I carefully dished the rest into a pretend tupperware. And all was well. The end!

Friday, November 11, 2011

ELM 52


Erik and Laura-Marie Magazine 52 is out! This issue includes poems about yellowjackets and text messages and star stickers stuck on someone's bedroom ceiling, a 63-item fear list, a small essay about my food politics, something about radio, and three dreams. Get in touch if you would like to trade.

Meet Me at the Race Riot

can lids are dangerous

Yesterday I was getting refried beans out of a can and cut my finger on the can lid. It was my second time cutting myself with a can lid--the previous time was about 15 years ago when I worked at the dining commons at UCSB.

The November scoring session started yesterday. I am doing well so far.

Also yesterday I applied to be a student at the nearest community college. I want to take a Spanish class in January. It will be expensive, but we'll see.

This morning we got our new CSA box. We have a lot of winter squash now. It's getting ridiculous, our backlog. I want to make some spaghetti squash enchiladas.

Yesterday was a fantastic mail day. I got three letters, a zine, two cds I ordered from Plan-it-x Records, and some art.

Have I ever told you my affirmations? I keep them on my keyboard where I see them all day. Here they are.

I love myself deeply and unconditionally.
Life is beautiful. Life is fulfilling. I love life.
I have more than enough money to fulfill all of my needs and desires.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

just news

We went to the SPCA thrift store to buy a new phone. Our old one was very static-y. We found a phone that seemed unused and bought it for $6. I also got a gray hat and some postcards.

Then we went to Occupy Sacramento. We didn't stay long and didn't talk to anyone except for the person staffing the lending library.

Today we went to the co-op and for a walk / run at the park. We needed quick oats and I got a large vegan chocolate chip cookie that was something like 500 calories, the label said.

We're reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle together. It's my second time and Erik's first.

Monday, November 07, 2011

occupy mental health

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Occupy Oakland

Today we went to Occupy Oakland. It was great. I ran into an old friend, someone I've known off and on for 19 years. We hugged and talked. I gave her a zine.

Also I made photocopies. Also we ate vegan Japanese food. We tried a new tea place. We sat on a dark blue loveseat. I talked on the phone with my best friend. It rained a little on us as we drove home. I think I will remember this day always.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

winter feelings

Today it started raining on us when we were at the park. But it never got to be too much. I kept walking, and Erik kept running.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

my etsy

For years I would only trade, but I've decided to give selling a try.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/robotmad

Apple Hill

Yesterday we went to Apple Hill near Placerville. It was an idea given to us by Erik's best friend--thanks! I was so excited to pick organic apples. All they had was golden delicious, which I don't like to eat out of hand, but I can cook with them.

So we showed up at our first stop, Willow Pond Organic Farm. There were a lot of kids there. We went to the barn-like structure and browsed the fruits and veggies for sale. We saw some yellow tomatoes that were not glossy, a first for us. They seemed unlike tomatoes, almost other-woldly.

I asked the worker, "Is there apple picking today?" She gave me a holy tote bag, and Erik took a long pole with a clawed, padded basket on top. She said we had half an hour. So we walked quickly up the road to where the golden delicious are. We picked quickly. I tried the pole once, and I wasn't so good at it. Erik was adept. I got what I thought was about six pounds of apples, and they're a dollar a pound.

Surprisingly, picking those apples only took ten minutes. She weighed them at 3.8 pounds. Oops--my weight estimation was way off. I paid, and we left with a paper bag of apples.

We sat by Willow Pond for a little while. Erik watched small brown birds (LBJs). A little girl stared at me, and I don't know why. She was eating an apple.

But I was in a hurry. I wanted to make sure we didn't miss the cider apple donuts. Our next stop was the Fudge Factory. (Did you make jokes about the fudge factory, milk machine, and lemonade stand when you were a kid?) There was another pond near the fudge factory, and a guy was fishing there. There were all kinds of booths with people selling stuff--art, flattened wine bottles, soap. The soap was the only thing that interested me, but it probably wasn't vegan, and I don't need any soap anyway.

Then we went to Rainbow Orchard. It has a big rainbow painted on the side of the building. They have all kinds of winter squash, beautiful ones. But we were there for the freshly baked, baked to order, apple cider donuts. We ordered two--they gave us four, two bonus donuts because they were small. They put the donuts in a white waxed paper bag. We ate them right away at a picnic table. They were as good as I was hoping.

Then we headed to a fourth place, which was nearby, but by then my brain was full, and I didn't feel like shopping anymore. So we saw a huge wooden mill wheel turning from a trickle of water and just drove by, heading home.

It was a great afternoon, and I wish I'd known we had plenty of time so we could have lingered near ponds. But we didn't get lost even once, and I would like to go back to Apple Hill.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

wild rice

We spent $9.75 on bulk wild rice at the Davis co-op the other day. Oops.