Thing That Are Keeping Me Going Today

It's a pretty slow week at work or at least the adrenaline of needing to know so much new information has slightly subsided. But I can feel an achy throat coming on and a desperation for a yoga class, and sitting at my desk all day is weighing on me. BUT THERE IS SILVER LINING. Namely these things:

1. SERIAL Podcast: I already finished the podcast and felt disillusioned and unsatisfied, although it's amazingly well-done. I just wish there had been more of a resolution. Then this happened:
Key 'Serial' Witness Writes New Affidavit Supporting Adnan SyedRead more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/serial-witness-never-recanted-alibi-adnan-syed-20150120#ixzz3PUHdfipn 

2. From NPR: "The songs of Elliott Smith are widely revered — especially by those who came of age in the '90s — but a new generation of listeners is only beginning to discover him. Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith is likely to expose new fans to the great singer-songwriter... This album, by Jessica Lea Mayfield and The Avett Brothers' Seth Avett, was made over a four-year period with great love for the man and his songs."
3. Reminiscing about three days ago, when my weekend was full of housewarming parties, birthday brunches, reunions, and yummy food and drinks. Grateful to have so many good friends from undergrad and law school. Also special shout out to Cass and Kelly (pictured below) for letting me crash with them last week:
4. The entirety of Taylor Swift's new crap. I hate myself because I love it so much. I've also memorized all of it. "Wildest Dreams" is kind of my song right now. God help me. Anywho, this cover makes my obsession slightly better?


Listen to "Somebody that I Used to Know" here.

5. Meditation. I've been meditating for a few minutes in the morning and evening and even in the afternoon when I get a chance... just five to ten minutes to center myself, which has helped keep my energy up and my anxiety... winninnggggggggggg

xx

An Immunity-Boosting Soup and Reunions

After months of talking about, Brooke, Ivana, Evan and I finally reunited over dinner last night. Words cannot express how much I love those girls. They are so funny and smart and lovely and I felt like I had just seen them yesterday, rather than 8 months ago.

For the occasion, I made a Kale-Garbanzo soup because we've all been fighting off colds and allergies and flus and such. Truth be told, I am always underwhelmed by the idea of soup. Ramen, curry, pho are different. Those are life-giving. Your regular old cup of minestrone doesn't really appeal to me ever. However, this is silly. Because when I have made soup at home, i.e. asparagus soup or chicken tortilla, it's always been comforting and life-giving and warming and delicious.

So last night, I decided I'd improvise a soup recipe and it actually turned out pretty well. Super tasty, fragrant and substantial. I paired it with a later course of sweet potato tacos, which is one of my favorite, easy vegan meals to make.

[Sorry for the wretched photo of the soup - I wasn't really paying attention bc I was laughing too hard.]

Sooooo the soup recipe:
KALE AND GARBANZO BEAN SOUP


- chop an onion and sauté in olive oil
- mince four cloves of garlic and once onion is softened, throw in the garlic
- Add 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and a few dashes of chili flakes
- Add four or so handfuls of chopped kale
- Add four chopped tomatoes
- Add one container of organic vegetable broth
- Add one can of washed garbanzos
- Simmer for 25 mins

It's a light, flavorful broth with substantial vegetables. Will definitely make again and will probably add some celery and carrots as well.

xx

NOW.

The big news: full employment and new lease in echo park (move in Feb 1). Plus, building my business still.

More on all that later I'm still in shock from everything happening.

But a little note on the whole New Year's Resolutions thing. Usually every year, I make a list of resolutions. Then I forget about it. I think I primarily do this because the list is long and has things on it that I've wanted to get around to since I was like 9 and think that this is my year that I finally learn how to crochet or make a million dollars.

But what my real problem is is that I spend so much time planning and plotting instead of actually doing anything.

So there I was, during the holidays, thinking about how this year, I was going to master French pastries. I've wanted to do this for years. But it's intimidated me and just seemed to be too much to take on when I still have trouble boiling and peeling eggs. So it went on my list for sometime in 2015 when I'd finally get it together and buy almond flour for macarons. I know this sounds silly, but it's pretty much a metaphor for my life.

My mom doesn't believe in resolutions. Her philosophy is just get it done, no need to sit around mooning about something when you can just get up and do it. So I took her berating to heart, went to the store and bought everything for macarons and croissants - to make them from scratch.

$85 dollars later, I had my organic flours, butter, sugar, food coloring, yeast, extracts, etc. And I set it upon myself to make both croissants and macarons on Christmas Eve in addition to the French dinner I was making (cornish hens, roasted roots veg, sauteed asparagus and stuffed portabello mushrooms for the vegs.)

It was a lofty goal, over ambitious and resulting in an exhausting day. To give you an idea, I used Martha Stewart's croissant recipe, and apparently only five people have used it. But I learned some lessons. First, my croissants were amazing, although uniformity was a bit lacking. The macarons were moderately successful. They are notoriously difficult, depending on the humidity, temperature, and technical skills. They were tasty, but again, I need to do a bit of practice.

So onto the lessons.

1. There is no point in waiting. I should just do things. It's not like I woke up every day thinking about my goal of croissant mastery, but it's been on my goal list. I kept putting it off for convenience or laziness. Finally,  I just had to do it and realize that waiting was a waste of time. In addition, accomplishing the goal gave me a boost of confidence, which is always nice. The point is that at this time I had the resources and technical know how to make these stupid pastries. Of course there are more complicated goals, like getting my Ph.D at some point. I can't just like apply right now. However, I can keep up on my reading and theory without starting the application process now. Same thing with learning to brew beer, finish my novel, and expanding my consulting work.

2. However, overextension or lack of preparation can pretty much eff everything up. Yeah, I did both recipes. I don't know why I HAD to make both the croissants and the macarons in one day on top of two different dinner menus. So I did. And it was fine, but it wasn't my best work. This annoyed me, because in hindsight, I was completely capable of executing a far better result. In addition, as my mom pointed out, I didn't really enjoy the process because I was stressed and tired. This defeated my purpose and the general end result in cooking, which is a sense of comfort in providing the people I love with good food. So in the future, I need to whole ass one thing, instead of half-assing like five things.

So instead of my long list of resolutions, I'm making a vow to myself to do what I want, when I want it, but doing it with a whole heart and full focus.

xx