Monday, November 26, 2007

Finish up and slacking off

I am supposed to be doing a book review for the Georgia Library Quarterly, and I can not seem to get motivated to finish reading the book, but I am making headway today.

The all vegetarian Thanksgiving went off really well! The seitan was pretty good - I probably should have made it into a roulade, but I had a bajillion other things to do, and the plain seitan roast was easier. It turned out very moist and tasty, and I've made several sandwiches. My sister sliced up some of the leftover and made fajitas, and those got rave reviews as well. I didn't even taste my own tofu pot pie, but I heard from everyone that it was really good, and there were several who ate it as leftovers for a couple of days. I personally enjoyed the Oma's Mushroom Turnovers from GasTank Zine the bestest. I have made them about 5-6 times now maybe more, and I love them every time. And to add to my enjoyment, I figured out how to reheat them without them turning rubbery and dry. I dribble water on them and then microwave them under plastic wrap. Works like a charm. I made a whole bunch of other crap too, and everyone seemed to enjoy. And only my 4-year-old niece bitched about there being no turkey, but only momentarily until she was stuffing her face with everything else. My sister (who has not eaten red meat or pork in years) decided that she is going to cut way back on her poultry consumption as a result of the Thanksgiving success - so that is awesome.

In the world of knitting - also great success!!! With Bill's help, I have all three of the purse straps that were vexing me for MONTHS now completed!! YAY!!! I still need to do a little seaming and felting, but that involves a sewing machine and washer, so not much work involved there. I might get that stuff done this week after or before work even.

I need to start doing more exercise. That is the only major thing that my life lacks. I eat pretty well, I handle my time wisely for the most part, I get stuff done and such...but I never ever exercise. And I seriously need to. I love how I am totally anal retentive about spelling and grammatical errors when they are on paper, but when I am writing in a blog, I cease to give a crap. It is a less formal atmosphere...or so I tell myself.

Anyway - back to reading this book. I am listening to an audio book (not right at this moment, but when I'm driving and stuff) called "Eat That Frog," and it is making me prioritize somewhat. I wrote out a list of what I wanted to get accomplished last week. I hope I can stick to it and get some stuff done.

I had a whole bunch of other stuff I wanted to discuss in here, but I can't remember them right now.

So, here's a picture of me with a goofy look on my face. That's me buried under the mound of cats. And I'm wearing my Christmas tree hat (duh, you say) that I knitted a couple weekends ago. Got the yarn and pattern here:

Material Whirled

Every single time I type that or even think it, I get "Material World" by Madonna stuck in my head for like 5 hours.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket



Powered by ScribeFire.

6 comments:

Maureen said...

The all veggie t-day sounds great to me. I wish I could convince my family to do it. That wouldn't work, but I would love it. Glad your menu was a success!

joolee said...

Thanks for the comment. The no meat t-day was awesome! I did not think I could convince my family to go along with it either, but there were actually no complaints. You can always slide in some non-meat items here and there. Hardened meat-eaters have been enjoying my pepper steak (which is actually seitan) for years ;)
And the Mexican cornbread made with fake beef crumbles is always a big hit.

Reenie Hanlin said...

haha Julie,
LOVE the picture of you in the hat, and how many cats are on you? I am jealous. I need help to keep the cat thing in check, I would have 20 of them if it were up to me. Crazy cat lady here.

Funny about the Madonna song, I am so NOT Madonna, snort. Now it is stuck in my head, thanks for that. :D

jingle jingle!

reenie

joolee said...

Three kitties :)
They are my boyfriend's cats, and I have 2 at my house hehe
I certainly have crazy cat lady tendencies myself. Sorry for spreading the Madonna plague onto others. I am wearing my hat at work today and getting mucho compliments!

Anonymous said...

gastank is my zine. i'm so happy you liked the mushroom turnovers. that was my grandmother's recipe. i always loved them and was so happy that they veganized well. i'll have to try your reheating trick although i'm not sure i ever have any left over to reheat. haha.

joolee said...

:-D
I have used your zine more than any cookbook I own. And the mushroom turnovers have been eaten at every holiday gathering at my house since I got the zine a few years back. They are REALLY GOOD and incredibly decadent tasting. Thanks for the comment and all of the good food :)