Come on baby, make it hurt so good.

Made this soup last night. We used the more meat rather than less, version, venturing to meating on queen to fetch two mild Italian sausages. And discovered that they also sell queso fresco and corn tortillas! Finally. An east end supplier.

This soup was exactly as good as I hoped. I even made and used the garlic oil drizzle, though it's a good thing she insisted because I would have been inclined to skip it otherwise.

From smitten kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/01/lentil-soup-with-sausage-chard-and-garlic/

Also tried a new version of corn bread, from gluten free girl. I'm not as excited about this one as I am about my regular one. Though, in fairness, I did overcook it a smidge. I should give it another shot. It is definitely easier than the version I usually make - not as much screwing around with cutting the butter into the flours.

Later today: tacos! With this:

Red Cabbage Slaw:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, cut into fine julienne
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-mahi-mahi-tacos-with-red-cabbage-slaw-tomato-and-avocado-salsa-and-pineapple-hot-sauce-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Falling is the only thing you ever do.

Apple crisp is amazing. It's delicious enough to be dessert but when you really get down to it, it's breakfast. Oats? Brown sugar? Apples? Cinnamon? Sounds healthier than most boxes cereals. And so full of so much yumminess!

Gf apple crisp:

A few apples (i used two ambrosia and three cortlands), peeled and sliced into something approximating 1/4 inch slices (or, if you're lacking focus like me, just alive them however you darned well please). Toss them with a couple tablespoons each of white and brown sugar, lemon juice, and gf flour mix. And some cinnamon.

Dump a bunch (1/4 cup?) of softened butter in a bowl with 1.5 cups of gf oats, about half a cup of gf flour mix, a couple tablespoons of each flour, and some cinnamon. Mix it all up and then sprinkle it as evenly as you want over the apple stuff.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until the crisp part is browning and crisp. Eat warm.

Still the queen of academic procrastination, in case you're wondering. Nothing good to report on that front.

if i promise to be good, do everything that i should, be the best woman that i can, will you promise to be my man?

For the love of Pete! It seems that I can do anything but focus on nursing theory. Anything. Spend an hour and a half at Home Depot watching my fella weigh the merits of more vs. less flexible dryer vent pipes. Finally begin knitting a hat with the vibrant green yarn that's been calling to me since last Christmas. Cook a pot roast. Slow cook a vat of beans. Anything.

Sadly, not a one of those things will earn me this stupid Masters degree. And I don't even have anything interesting to say. Remember back when I was full of great stories and emotional drama? Me too. But tonight the best I can do is offer my bean strategy. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Big pot o' beans

A couple of cups of whichever dried beans you have on hand (today I used red kidney beans, but I prefer black beans)

Liquid (I like a combo of water, stock, and wine or beer, depending what's around)

A couple of sprigs of fresh herbs (I plucked some rosemary and thyme from the big pot in my kitchen)

Aromatic veg (I had carrots and kale on hand from yesterday's visit to the farmers' market).

Step one: soak the beans overnight, or as long as you can stand

Step two: put beans in a big pot with a tight fitting lid. Add liquid to cover by about an inch (I like my beans a bit juicy). Dump everything else in. Cover and let simmer for a couple hours - until the beans are a consistency that seems pleasing to you. At this point I dump on a bunch of hot sauce and serve mine over a bed of rice, but you could also eat them alone, in tortillas, with crusty bread... Whatever fits your mood. You will have leftovers. Put them in meal sized tupperwares in the fridge and pat yourself on the back for the rest of the week each time you grab one to go for lunch.

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Listening: Jill Barber - Mischievous Moon

Reading: APA Style Guide 6th Ed. and A Storm of Swords

Gluten free pumpkin pie!

Using the crust recipe from Gluten Free Baking Classics:

Preheat oven to 425 F

1 C plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp white sugar
1/8 tsp salt

mix all of the above in a big bowl

Add 6 tbsp cold butter and cut in until mixture has a pebbly appearance
Mix in one egg and 2 tbsp lemon juice (I don't have an electric mixer, so I get my hands right in there).
Roll the mixture out in whatever way seems to work for you, and then flip into a prepared pie dish.


Filling: Libby's pumpkin pie recipe -- exactly as written is completely perfect. Dump filling into crust and bake for 10-15 minutes on 425, then reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 40-50 minutes, or until knife inserted into the centre of the pie comes out clean. Let cool for as long as you can stand. Eat.

Harvest soup

Cold, blustery Monday night dinner. Cut some root veggies (I had sweet pots, white pots, celery root, cooking onion, and garlic on hand) into 1 inch pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, toss with your hands and sprinkle with fresh rosemary, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 450 for about half an hour.

Bring 5 cups of broth to a boil. Add the roasted veggies as well as a can of chickpeas, some week old steamed broccoflower and a couple handfuls of dried cranberries. Allow to simmer for a little while (until you're done your yoga practice, in my case). Serve with Udi's multigrain GF bread, butter, and some delicious sheep mozza from the farmer's market, and enjoy the many fantastic flavours of Thanksgiving, all mingling together in one bowl. Mmm.

This afternoon's creations:

Cranberry maple granola, a big pot of white beans (both courtesy of Mark Bittman), and gf butter tarts - with crust from scratch, courtesy of The Baking Beauties.

rhubarb muffins with raspberrry compote

From the ever wonderful Shauna, I bring you teeny tiny variations on her recipe for rhubarb muffins. I never have sour cream on hand but always have yogurt, so I've substituted yogurt for sour cream in the recipe. I also didn't have enough rhubarb the second time I made this to prepare a compote (which, btw, is so easy and impressive!), so I used some frozen mixed berries for that part. Just as delicious as the first time I made these muffins. I love the teff flour - gives a bit more body to the muffin (and helps me use the flour that I've had on hand for the better part of a year now).