in one of those unexpected bouts of nostalgia (I am secretly suspicious these exponentially increase with age and slowly morph into delirium undetected), I decided to read my posts for every October to date. Who was I a year ago? two? three? four?
Suffice to say I was reminded of things I was happy to discover, and some I'd rather forget.
I was mostly shocked at how I have been saying the same things for years. I am more predictable than I thought.
But the kicker is how much more interesting I was before. I don't just mean the wild nights and ridiculous episodes of clumsiness and decrepitude - but just more interesting. I was even funny. Albeit trite and sarcastic, but somewhere along the way I've lost my vocabulary for this kind of thing. It's a bit tragic.
21 October 2009
20 October 2009
disillusioned
This used to be so glamorous.
The jetsetting world, the flat in London, the first class train rides, the parties, the booze, the networking and endless bouts of meetings (which were really just professional seduction with pastries).
I am not ashamed to admit I love being wanted. Being spoiled, catered for, listened to and entertained.
And I used to love that my job puts me in a position lots of other people want to make me feel this way. (on top of the whole valuable, inspiring, life affirming things it's really about).
But this time around it's just not enough.
4 days in London is a slog - especially when it's only the first of three trips like this before a month has passed.
Before, I'd book back to back meetings, shopping/posh gallery over lunch and spend every evening out. Usually my four evenings in the big city were taken up with the following:
see a show
go to a party
go to a lecture/talk/event
work more
cavort with old friends and gossip.
This trip I have/will:
go to bed early after a failed dinner attempt
watch the bridges of madison county on tv (it's terrible, but I still cried)
work.
I am desperate for my own bed and a good long spoon.
Half of me hopes I wake from this unforseen funk and the other half is completely ready to walk away from the whole thing. and there is some secret part of me that is wondering if perhaps this is what grownups meant by 'settling down'.
The jetsetting world, the flat in London, the first class train rides, the parties, the booze, the networking and endless bouts of meetings (which were really just professional seduction with pastries).
I am not ashamed to admit I love being wanted. Being spoiled, catered for, listened to and entertained.
And I used to love that my job puts me in a position lots of other people want to make me feel this way. (on top of the whole valuable, inspiring, life affirming things it's really about).
But this time around it's just not enough.
4 days in London is a slog - especially when it's only the first of three trips like this before a month has passed.
Before, I'd book back to back meetings, shopping/posh gallery over lunch and spend every evening out. Usually my four evenings in the big city were taken up with the following:
see a show
go to a party
go to a lecture/talk/event
work more
cavort with old friends and gossip.
This trip I have/will:
go to bed early after a failed dinner attempt
watch the bridges of madison county on tv (it's terrible, but I still cried)
work.
I am desperate for my own bed and a good long spoon.
Half of me hopes I wake from this unforseen funk and the other half is completely ready to walk away from the whole thing. and there is some secret part of me that is wondering if perhaps this is what grownups meant by 'settling down'.
10 October 2009
The golden rule being: avoid pseudo meat.
It may have taken me a while to get used to vegetarian cooking, but with my man only just dabbling in poultry for the first time in over a decade, I figured I better suck it up and find something to live off of. Let's face it, I will love him even if he never eats a steak in his life, so I better find something nice we can both have on special occasions.
And after a few years, I can honestly say the non-meat dinners are not lacking in anything. In fact, they are some of my favourite foods. I would give you a catalogue of all my recent cooking triumphs, but that's just gloating, so I'll limit it to last night's inspired menu:
Falafel Burgers
Potato Wedges
Lentil side
Now, this may sound like health-nut tofu and seeds world, but rest assured, it is the perfect lazy, greasy, salty Friday-night-with-beer dinner ever.
1, make homemade potato wedges so you can put as much salt and cajun spice on them as you like. I put on loads, then dip them in honey instead of ketchup to balance it out. Or on lazier days, buy the frozen ones ready made.
2, Lentils are brilliant. This dish is:
A cup or two of rinsed green lentils
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A large helping of garlic, oregano and italian herbs
Cover with water, simmer for half an hour or so - until the lentils are soft and delicious. It's sort of similar to how grannies have baked beans at bbqs, except these taste brilliant and are less slimy.
3, Falafel Burgers:
Falafel (I can almost never be bothered to make these from scratch, but it doesn't matter) grilled up then smashed into miniburgers (rather than the hush puppy balls they usually come in)
Halloumi (the only cheese you can bbq), god love Cyprus. It's salty and known around our house as 'the squeaky cheese'. pan fry in strips for maximum crispy outside, gooey inside.
top these with homous & pesto inside hard core seed roles (the best have multi-seed mix baked in, not just on top)
It is truly a feast, and goes brilliantly with my new favourite beer : Innis & Gunn. A cinnamony local brew. Yum. If beer were a dessert, this would be it.
Next time on Cooking for A Veggie and Loving It: Chick Pea & Almond Tagine!
And after a few years, I can honestly say the non-meat dinners are not lacking in anything. In fact, they are some of my favourite foods. I would give you a catalogue of all my recent cooking triumphs, but that's just gloating, so I'll limit it to last night's inspired menu:
Falafel Burgers
Potato Wedges
Lentil side
Now, this may sound like health-nut tofu and seeds world, but rest assured, it is the perfect lazy, greasy, salty Friday-night-with-beer dinner ever.
1, make homemade potato wedges so you can put as much salt and cajun spice on them as you like. I put on loads, then dip them in honey instead of ketchup to balance it out. Or on lazier days, buy the frozen ones ready made.
2, Lentils are brilliant. This dish is:
A cup or two of rinsed green lentils
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A large helping of garlic, oregano and italian herbs
Cover with water, simmer for half an hour or so - until the lentils are soft and delicious. It's sort of similar to how grannies have baked beans at bbqs, except these taste brilliant and are less slimy.
3, Falafel Burgers:
Falafel (I can almost never be bothered to make these from scratch, but it doesn't matter) grilled up then smashed into miniburgers (rather than the hush puppy balls they usually come in)
Halloumi (the only cheese you can bbq), god love Cyprus. It's salty and known around our house as 'the squeaky cheese'. pan fry in strips for maximum crispy outside, gooey inside.
top these with homous & pesto inside hard core seed roles (the best have multi-seed mix baked in, not just on top)
It is truly a feast, and goes brilliantly with my new favourite beer : Innis & Gunn. A cinnamony local brew. Yum. If beer were a dessert, this would be it.
Next time on Cooking for A Veggie and Loving It: Chick Pea & Almond Tagine!
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