Seitanic Jambalaya
Not all good food is photogenic. Case in point above. I realize this just looks like a pile of rice and stuff. Which it is. But it’s the “the stuff” part that makes the difference.
This tasty concoction was Seitanic Jambalaya, from my new cookbook Veganomican (thanks, @kennethn!). The full recipe calls for making your own seitan, a seemingly straight-forward endeavor which I shall attempt some time soon, but I used the whole foods packaged variety this time around. Being of cajun inspiration, the recipe of course calls for the so-called culinary Holy Trinity, add in white beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, arroz, sautéed seitan, and your favorite cajun season, and om nom nom. Particularly easy, particularly delicious. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation.
filed under: things you might see if you just take the time to look
I’ve lived here, in Pacifica, for a bit over a year now. I walk down to the bright yellow, beachside Chit Chat Cafe every week or so, getting pulled down the sidewalk by the over-eager Australian Shepherd toward the warmth of the cafe and caffeinated bliss. On the west side of Esplanade, I see the intricacies of coastal flowers; the cold, industrial chain link fence that runs along the edge of the sand, ruining an otherwise perfect view of the coastal bluff; and, lately, the giant machinery that moves boulders down to the ever-eastward-shifting line between surf and cliff. On the east, I’ve seen the phalanx of pastel, stuccoed apartments; showy new decks; and the tall, podded blooms of some gigantic aloe-like plant that makes me think of dinosaurs. But never have I seen these two joyful forms atop the pylon, standing guard beside the rusty gate, and waiting to make me smile.
Vices | Week 2 | Tumblr 52 Weeks Thing
Friday 15 Jan 2010 by ~summer~ |
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Filed under: my life, tumblr Tags: tumblr52, tumblr52-2, vices
Filed under: my life, tumblr Tags: tumblr52, tumblr52-2, vices
Café au lait in the plaza across from the Cathedral*
Strasbourg, France. April 2009. (large | flickr)
Vices | Week 2 | Tumblr 52 Weeks Thing
What are vices? I’ve been thinking about this all week. Even the dictionary, it seems, cannot decide where a vice falls on the scale of morality or habitualness. My conclusion is that a vice is a habitat that is detrimental to one’s well-being.
Coffee is a fond habit, but to me, it’s not a vice. It’s a ritual that makes my morning shift into gear. No other habits in my life come close to coffee, so it seems I think I haven’t any vices. (And sex, that other pleasure that has been mentioned as a potential vice, is certainly not detrimental to my well being.)
Oh, I’ve had bad habits that bordered on vice. A phase of passing out at the mercy of Jack & Cokes, hazy days in Humboldt. Somewhere though, not too far down the line, I walked away from all that self-destruction. I’d seen enough of it growing up. My dad had vices: chewing tobacco (which he started to stop smoking), a daily case of domestic beer, and later, I learned, speed. He had enough vices and the associated highs and lows and resulting erratic behavior to warn me that such addiction might live in my genes and to walk down that path too far might leave me sniffing the carpet for a palliative high like Jennifer Jason Leigh in Rush.
No thanks, I’ll keep my habits, and pass on the vices.
cross-posted from my tumblr
* you can see a little reflection of the Strasbourg Cathedral in the spoon
twenty-ten
Adieu 2009, you were good to me. I am, it seems, a little bit excited about the new year. I feel focused and grounded. I don’t feel anxious or unsettled. I feel happy! I feel creative and energetic and giddy and superfluous and I know that’s a silly use of the word superfluous, but hey!, I can adjective-vise myself however I please!
We never really know what a year will bring. We can set out with the best intentions, or no intentions at all, and sometimes circumstances will simply hijack the ship, take us on some harrowing journey, leave us stranded in the desert. Sometimes we’ll sabotage our own ship. Sometimes, though, the circumstances will be more like the wind or a tide, edging us along in a certain direction, and how you wield the oars determines what you’ll see, where you’ll land. Here’s to gentle sailing in 2010, and may the sights you see be generous and bold.
