Samhain is nearly here, and you know what that means - vegetarian meals from Nov. 1 until Yule. Now, my kitchen is completely ready yet, and the dining area is still a mass of boxes and containers that need to be moved around. But that doesn't mean I can't get my menus ready!
I put together Feasting When the Veil is Thin a while back and will use several of those recipes in meal plans for this time. I'm also working on some tasty new additions. I'll be posting my November calendar shortly. Recipes will come as I prepare the dishes. Weekends will be used to prep and cook many things, but my new schedule is a bit more open these days, meaning I have some more time and energy to cook after work.
I haven't cooked a meal in ages. I've been here for over two months on my own, no pots and pans or anything. My microwave has been my best friend, along with a variety of less-than-healthy restaurant options. I am really looking forward to getting back into my favorite room of the house, and I hope you will join me once I get there.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Samhain Goals and Other Goals
It's October 18 already. Holy crap! My household has been here with me for a week, and guess what? That's right - we're still unpacking! Including the kitchen. Oh, boy.
One problem I have (out of 2847987259873972 or so) is getting too far ahead of myself. Putting too many irons in the fire. It is difficult for me to focus on one task at a time, but I am doing my best.
October Goals:
- Unpack and organize kitchen stuff
- Plan my Samhain menu for the living and the dead
- Tweak my post-Samhain vegetarian menu plans
Short-Term Future Goals:
- Put together plans for menus using Yule foods
- Continue recipe development for the larger cookery book project
This Samhain, I still need to decide what I want to purge. I'm slowly getting rid of physical items that I no longer use, but for Samhain, I need to get rid of some hangups, some baggage.
I need to believe that I can be successful. There's a first time for everything, right? I need to work on letting go of some of this horrible self doubt. I need to believe that someone somewhere is interested in what I am trying to accomplish. There's a serious lack of support in my life, unfortunately. Yes, some people are busy with their own things, but for the most part, people simply do not care because it's not about them.
That leads me to believe I need to purge some of these unsupportive buttholes from my life, as well. Time to make a list.
What are your Samhain plans? I am still trying to figure out what I will be able to do. A lot of it depends on the unpacking process. Soooooo, I think I will go downstairs and see what can be unboxed and put away.
One problem I have (out of 2847987259873972 or so) is getting too far ahead of myself. Putting too many irons in the fire. It is difficult for me to focus on one task at a time, but I am doing my best.
October Goals:
- Unpack and organize kitchen stuff
- Plan my Samhain menu for the living and the dead
- Tweak my post-Samhain vegetarian menu plans
Short-Term Future Goals:
- Put together plans for menus using Yule foods
- Continue recipe development for the larger cookery book project
This Samhain, I still need to decide what I want to purge. I'm slowly getting rid of physical items that I no longer use, but for Samhain, I need to get rid of some hangups, some baggage.
I need to believe that I can be successful. There's a first time for everything, right? I need to work on letting go of some of this horrible self doubt. I need to believe that someone somewhere is interested in what I am trying to accomplish. There's a serious lack of support in my life, unfortunately. Yes, some people are busy with their own things, but for the most part, people simply do not care because it's not about them.
That leads me to believe I need to purge some of these unsupportive buttholes from my life, as well. Time to make a list.
What are your Samhain plans? I am still trying to figure out what I will be able to do. A lot of it depends on the unpacking process. Soooooo, I think I will go downstairs and see what can be unboxed and put away.
Monday, October 9, 2017
It's So Easy! (Not)
This came across my Facebook feed this morning, and I thought it was worth sharing. This is a topic that I try to keep in mind when I am planning sabbat menus, developing recipes for my own projects, or just thinking about what to make for dinner during the week. My kitchen is currently being packed into a U-Haul by my poor, sweet Aussie, along with everything else that is on its way to NC from WV.
The Myth of 'Easy' Cooking
This article, posted in The Atlantic by author Elizabeth G. Dunn in November 2015, discusses the promise of restaurant-quality, gourmet meals at home, in a snap! Except...not. Now, I don't have children, but I do have a full-time job, pretty shitty clinical depression, and chronic pain. These things combine to make me feel like absolute crap at the end of many days, with no motivation to even chop an onion, much less slap together a "simple" quiche or "instant" pasta carbonara.
Nah, fuck that. I'm almost ashamed to say we actually did a lot of takeaways. Obviously not ashamed enough to omit that information from my blog, however. And you know what? We'll probably do it here sometimes, too because even though I love cooking, the cleaning up process takes forever. We don't always have the energy to do a thorough job of it, and this place is...considerably buggier than WV. I'm not willing to deal with that. At least we have a dishwasher again. That's incredibly helpful, but I know that there are still evenings when I simply hurt too much to stand and move enough to prepare a proper meal. And I know I'm not alone in that.
Once I have a proper work surface again, I plan to go back into my notes and evaluate what I have planned so far. Is is truly simple? Does it take too much time? Too much effort? Can a busy kitchen witch, perhaps one with children and/or another full-time job prepare these dishes for their sabbat celebration? It's a valid point, I believe, and one I fully intend to address in some way.
The Myth of 'Easy' Cooking
This article, posted in The Atlantic by author Elizabeth G. Dunn in November 2015, discusses the promise of restaurant-quality, gourmet meals at home, in a snap! Except...not. Now, I don't have children, but I do have a full-time job, pretty shitty clinical depression, and chronic pain. These things combine to make me feel like absolute crap at the end of many days, with no motivation to even chop an onion, much less slap together a "simple" quiche or "instant" pasta carbonara.
Nah, fuck that. I'm almost ashamed to say we actually did a lot of takeaways. Obviously not ashamed enough to omit that information from my blog, however. And you know what? We'll probably do it here sometimes, too because even though I love cooking, the cleaning up process takes forever. We don't always have the energy to do a thorough job of it, and this place is...considerably buggier than WV. I'm not willing to deal with that. At least we have a dishwasher again. That's incredibly helpful, but I know that there are still evenings when I simply hurt too much to stand and move enough to prepare a proper meal. And I know I'm not alone in that.
Once I have a proper work surface again, I plan to go back into my notes and evaluate what I have planned so far. Is is truly simple? Does it take too much time? Too much effort? Can a busy kitchen witch, perhaps one with children and/or another full-time job prepare these dishes for their sabbat celebration? It's a valid point, I believe, and one I fully intend to address in some way.
Months Later...
She returns.
I have moved. I am employed again! It's temporary, renewing every semester (booo), and as always, totally dependent upon student enrollment in the program. But, I'm teaching again, thank the gods. I get paychecks again, thank the gods.
Tomorrow, my boyfriend is scheduled to arrive at the wheel of a U-Haul, completely stuffed with things that I will keep and things that I will get rid of. Our pets will be here. I can see my dog, my cats, my ferret again! One of our sweet little ferrets joined her ferrety ancestors in the Summerlands at the end of August, unfortunately, but she is buried in West Virginia soil. This makes my heart happy because that is where my soul resides forever. Thinking about her is making me tear up a bit right now, though.
This place, while not totally devoid of Pagan folks, is not full of them, either. The closest events seem to be about an hour and a half away, but I hope to be able to connect with people and perhaps host things here. I have plans, but you know how it goes when you make plans. I try to remain flexible, if not entirely hopeful.
I've been here since August 14. My dad drove down with me and stayed for a few days. I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks before finding this little townhouse. Kitchen magic will happen. It will just take some time. I hope readers remember me. I hope to provide you with interesting content again once I am able. After the Great Unpacking and subsequent Great Purge of unneeded, unused items.
Join me. My kitchen will be ready soon. I can offer you coffee, tea, and comfort. Soon there will be food. Get ready.
I have moved. I am employed again! It's temporary, renewing every semester (booo), and as always, totally dependent upon student enrollment in the program. But, I'm teaching again, thank the gods. I get paychecks again, thank the gods.
Tomorrow, my boyfriend is scheduled to arrive at the wheel of a U-Haul, completely stuffed with things that I will keep and things that I will get rid of. Our pets will be here. I can see my dog, my cats, my ferret again! One of our sweet little ferrets joined her ferrety ancestors in the Summerlands at the end of August, unfortunately, but she is buried in West Virginia soil. This makes my heart happy because that is where my soul resides forever. Thinking about her is making me tear up a bit right now, though.
This place, while not totally devoid of Pagan folks, is not full of them, either. The closest events seem to be about an hour and a half away, but I hope to be able to connect with people and perhaps host things here. I have plans, but you know how it goes when you make plans. I try to remain flexible, if not entirely hopeful.
I've been here since August 14. My dad drove down with me and stayed for a few days. I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks before finding this little townhouse. Kitchen magic will happen. It will just take some time. I hope readers remember me. I hope to provide you with interesting content again once I am able. After the Great Unpacking and subsequent Great Purge of unneeded, unused items.
Join me. My kitchen will be ready soon. I can offer you coffee, tea, and comfort. Soon there will be food. Get ready.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Like a Phoenix from the Ashes, I Rise...
Or something...I dunno. Hi!
I've been extremely depressed and discouraged lately, but I am working on ways around it. I have squandered all of this precious free time by allowing that black dog to sit on my chest and prevent me from being able to do things that interest me. I'm climbing my way back out of the pit for now, though.
I've been unemployed since July 1, 2016. Unemployment is gone, and I haven't found so much as a temporary job around here in the meantime. I discovered what my biggest obstacle was, and it shall be seen to in good time...
How the heck are ya? Does anybody come back here anymore? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I have been the queen of the lazy shits, I swear. I haven't blogged, the house is a mess, and my cooking is nothing special most of the time. I can brainstorm all I want, but recipe testing and writing will have to happen after I get a job or whatever.
In the meantime, I took a comment from an old blog post and decided to turn my Samhain-Yule vegetarian recipe booklet into something to list on Etsy. You can find the link here: Feasting When the Veil is Thin .
At first, yeah, I felt like a turd for taking down the free copy and listing it on Etsy, but as I mentioned before, I am j-o-b-l-e-s-s right now. My boyfriend is still working, thankfully, but I've had to rely on contributions from the First Bank of Mom to help us pay bills until something comes along. I have been burning a St. Jude candle, even. I may end up going back to school, instead. Bah. Again: we'll see.
Anyhell, if you would like 29 vegetarian recipes for $3.99, follow the link above. I'd appreciate it. I'm working on some other short projects in the meantime.
Catch y'all later.
I've been extremely depressed and discouraged lately, but I am working on ways around it. I have squandered all of this precious free time by allowing that black dog to sit on my chest and prevent me from being able to do things that interest me. I'm climbing my way back out of the pit for now, though.
I've been unemployed since July 1, 2016. Unemployment is gone, and I haven't found so much as a temporary job around here in the meantime. I discovered what my biggest obstacle was, and it shall be seen to in good time...
How the heck are ya? Does anybody come back here anymore? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I have been the queen of the lazy shits, I swear. I haven't blogged, the house is a mess, and my cooking is nothing special most of the time. I can brainstorm all I want, but recipe testing and writing will have to happen after I get a job or whatever.
At first, yeah, I felt like a turd for taking down the free copy and listing it on Etsy, but as I mentioned before, I am j-o-b-l-e-s-s right now. My boyfriend is still working, thankfully, but I've had to rely on contributions from the First Bank of Mom to help us pay bills until something comes along. I have been burning a St. Jude candle, even. I may end up going back to school, instead. Bah. Again: we'll see.
Anyhell, if you would like 29 vegetarian recipes for $3.99, follow the link above. I'd appreciate it. I'm working on some other short projects in the meantime.
Catch y'all later.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
More Thoughts on Daily House-Witchin'
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been striving to set aside some special time to devote to spiritual growth. I’ve probably also told y’all a million times just how untidy my house gets! No, untidy is too mild. It’s friggin’ filthy at times.
I hate cleaning. It’s a futile effort because it never stays clean for very long. Not with five pets and an Aussie, anyway. I hate it, so I rarely do it. I’ll do the dishes, of course, but I have a smallish mountain of laundry to go through. The bed never gets made nicely, unless the bedding has been changed. Dust? Eh...You catch my drift. But that’s gross, y’all. I can’t be a happy kitchen witch here, or anywhere that isn’t at least somewhere tidy.
I have decided that, since I have nothing but time on my hands right now, I should come up with a schedule to help me utilize all of those free hours. Seriously, I need to step away from the computer once in a while!
So, what I have so far is a list of tasks that, if done consistently, shouldn’t take much time at all. This list is a combination of mundane tasks and witchy things to help keep the house protected and full of love.
This is my tentative plan:
Sunday is set to be our witchy day here because it’s the day my boyfriend has off. The goal is to strengthen our paths and devote time and energy to our crafts.
Methods:
- Spend some time unplugged from technology, except for maybe some kind of music playing device
- Spend time in thought/prayer; to commune with deity - utilizing music, incense, whatever feels right at the time
- Read
- Tarot time
Sunday dinner is going to be the roast dinner that’s in my 2-week rotation plan. I can do some prep work on Saturday such as baking bread and making dessert. It takes a while to make a new routine an automatic one, so wish me luck! Let me know what you're up to, as well!
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