Category: In the Kitchen

Black History Month · In the Kitchen

Black History Year

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I did not get through my ambitious syllabus in February, so I guess 2025 is going to have to be Black History Year… I’m not mad about it.

One thing I did do: cook using recipes by Black recipe developers.

First up: Bryant Terry. He specializes in vegan food, which I enjoy, and the cookbook I used is one I already own (bookshop.org link): The Inspired Vegan. It’s a cookbook for entertaining, with recipes for whole meals, including drinks, books, and playlists. He handles tofu really well; I could eat buckets of the tofu from his tofu saag.

A couple of weeks ago, I made congee and tofu with peanuts and chili oil. I did not mix my rices, so I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but it was still delicious… so delicious that I had leftovers for breakfast the next day.

This one will be in the rotation. It’s really good.

As I type this, I’m making Terry’s masala chai, which I have also been enjoying for the last few weeks. I’ve done some research online, and his technique isn’t entirely traditional, but it’s very tasty (and it makes the house smell so good while it’s in the works).

Since these recipes are for entertaining, I halve them so we don’t end up eating (or drinking) dishes (drinks) for weeks. What I should do is make the whole tofu recipe, and halve the meal it comes with, because the tofu is just that good.

Next up: Jerrelle Guy’s sweet potato tart with chocolate hazelnut crust, from (bookshop.org link) Black Girl Baking. Look, I know I said I was going to do something new to me… but I can’t convey to you how delicious this tart is, and I really wanted to eat some of it (confession: I’m having a slice right now).

It’s really pretty, right? It has some citrus zest and juice in it, which gives the sweet potato filling a nice, bright flavor. I think this is going to replace the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving (or at least be an addition).

The tart has eggs in it, but it doesn’t have any dairy, so it’s safe for fabulous and talented husband to eat (the whipped cream is also non-dairy).

So yes, it’s true that I did not do all of the reading I wanted to do, but it’s only March; there’s plenty of time left in Black History Year.

Healthcare · In the Kitchen · Lucy the Pup · Thoughts about Stuff · Volunteering

Spitballing before Bed

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Not sure I’ll publish this, or that any of it actually needs to be said, but it’s 9:22p (and, now that I’m old, nearly my bedtime), and I’m thinking about the holidays, expectations, and how to deal…

My fabulous and talented husband is just not into the holidays. Like me, he grew up with a single parent, and for their family, there were more pressing priorities most years.

My family was very into the holidays, but mostly as a performance art. There was church, a tree, a big meal, presents, the whole nine yards. There was also an enormous amount of stress, particularly for my mother, because the expectations, particularly for a single mom raising two children while working full time (and going to school, for a while), were unrealistically high. None of us were much help, so it was hard for her. (Time has dramatically changed the composition of our family — and as grown people, my brother and I contribute a lot more — the holidays are much smaller, and in many ways simpler.)

I actually like Christmas. I like evergreens and lights, red bows, giving presents, making a nice meal and sharing it with whomever. Over the Covid years, I put up lights and trees before Thanksgiving.

If your jackalope isn’t wearing fairy lights, do you even *have* a jackalope?

This year, not so much. 2023 has been a long haul — mostly it was good, but kind of intense. I wasn’t feeling great for a big part of it — not sick, thankfully, but in some pain and generally feeling meh. Add a couple of big-ish procedures and a round of icky medicine, and I’m ready to not see my doctors for a while.

And then, in what seemed like an omen, there was this:

The ornament thing just makes me laugh, because right now, it’s so on brand for this pup. She’s all joyful chaos, and in a way, the ornament is much more reflective of who she is after she “modified” it.

All this to say that Christmas 2023 is going to be mostly a non-event in this household. A tree would be too stressful with Lucy (aka the menace like Dennis), I don’t have the brain space to do a bunch of decorating, and fabulous and talented husband doesn’t seem to notice. Maybe everyone will be more excited about things next year, and maybe Lucy will mellow a little bit? Stay tuned!

The day itself is going to be really busy anyway. My volunteer shift falls on Christmas this year (like the Covid years!). I get to feed the classroom critters along with the raptors, and my fabulous and talented husband is helping me cope beaks and trim talons (and replace some cuffs that didn’t last as long as they should have), so it will be a significant investment of time. Then we’re having supper with some friends who suffered a terrible loss a couple of months ago. We’ll support our friends, and contribute to the Christmas meal with dairy free green bean casserole (if you sub cashew cream for heavy cream, you’re good to go) and a root vegetable tian (also dairy free, subbing the parmesan with a little bit of nutritional yeast).

Then maybe there will be time for some rest…

Speaking of which, it really is my bedtime now, so off I go.

In the Kitchen

Pandemic Coffee, part 2

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It’s been July-level hot here this week. At the beginning of May, it was rainy with highs in the 50s. Within a week, the weather turned around and it was high 70s, and for the last several days, highs have been in the high 80s, with nighttime temps in the high 50s/low 60s.

The no-see-ums are out with a vengeance, and it seems that every time I come in from the backyard, I have a new set of bites on my arms or head. (Thankfully I haven’t encountered any more black flies… knock wood.)

We missed out on a nice spring… thanks for nothing, climate change. On top of the warm temps, we’ve got smoke from the Alberta fires, and it’s only a matter of time before the fires start closer to home.

Hot temps, bug bites, and smoke… no, thank you.

Long days and iced coffee? Yes, please!

During the pandemic, one of the most useful things I learned was how to make coffee I like to drink. I learned to make an iced version, too.

Iced mocha, very light on the chocolate, made by yours truly.

This is how I do it:

  1. Brew coffee. (I like to use the most basic moka pot, with Indaba High Rise coffee.)
  2. Grab a cocktail shaker and chuck some ice cubes into it.
  3. Mix your choice of milk with chocolate syrup (or not, up to you) in your glass.
  4. Pour the milk into the shaker.
  5. Add the coffee.
  6. Shake it until the shaker feels cold.
  7. Add ice to your glass.
  8. Pour cooled mocha over ice.
  9. Enjoy.

This is not a new or original idea — I read an article in one of the food magazines in 2021(?), and this technique was suggested there. (I can’t find the article online… are we trying to memory-hole the pandemic?) I like it because the drink doesn’t dilute so quickly. And it’s refreshing on warm mornings, because it’s, you know, iced.

The ability to make a decent coffee at home has been a blessing, and a bit of a curse. I’ve been out and about in the mornings for a while now, because it’s easier to get a couple of hours of classwork done when I’m not trying to accommodate a puppy and a parrot. But coffee drinks are expensive, and frankly, a lot of them aren’t that great. (I should say that they may be objectively great, but they’re not what I enjoy.)

Life is complicated, I guess.