Goin' dress shopping!  It's been a while since I've put anything up, and I know this isn't the most fabulous, hair wise, but I felt like posting.  One might note the splotch next on my right cheek.  No, I didn't miss-apply the lipstick.  I did, however, push myself too hard a week ago and get a monster cold sore.  Auto-immune diseases are weird.  I'd have thought my super-powered system would have squished that pesky herpes virus on its route from my spinal column to my face.  I have so much left to learn about human anatomy.  It's fascinating.

Nose to the Grindstone

I'm four and a half months in!  I can't believe it!  I also can't believe how slack I've been as of late; no new photos, no regular styling of my hair.  It will be sad if I lose now.  I have decided that I don't have enough on my plate with a three week trip to Sweden coming up, the flooded basement project, and Christmas looming around the corner.  So to pass the time, I've joined some Falcon discussion forums.  I hope someone takes pity on me and takes me under their wing (hint hint to anyone who knows about cars!!!!).  E-bay has some Falcons for sale, and I can look at the pretty pictures, and scan the text to see if it runs or now, and that's about it.  I feel hopelessly uneducated.  Each one is lovelier than the last, but that's no way to make a financial decision!  It's nice to finally start the ball rolling, though, albeit very slowly.

Thanksgiving Review

I don't know why, but we failed to take any pictures at this year's Thanksgiving gathering.  I and my cake were both lovely, I can assure you.  The Millennium Cookbook's pumpkin cake recipe was a hit, at least for Per and I.  It was a bit much for my family, with all the chocolate and sugar.  If I was making it for just five people again, I'd half the recipe.  It's so rich and fabulous that when it says "10 servings," they actually mean it.  Gluten-free baking can tend to be a little bit dry, so the coffee sauce was a perfect addition.  I made it a day ahead of time.  Overnight it congealed a little bit. In the past I've been irritated at cinnamon for causing a mucousy consistency, but in the case of this sauce, it worked perfectly to the cake's advantage.  And the cake itself would make a great informal addition to a coffee date.  The batter was very quick and easy to make.  The flavor is interesting enough to stand alone without the need for frosting.  I highly recommend!

In the manner of a good housewife, the christmas decorations are up and the stockings are hung.  We're going to Sweden this year, but we still have two and a half weeks to enjoy our home being all christmas-y.

That's all the updates I've got for now!  Happy December everyone!

Thanksgiving Eve (Also Birthday Eve Eve)

My dear friend, Katrina, sent me this cartoon.  I can't paste it here, but it's worth checking out.  My family, immortalized.  Per and I are vegan, I'm off sugar, Per doesn't view pumpkins as a dessert meal, Dad's off nightshades, Mom and Sister are off gluten, Mom and Dad are off alcohol and caffeine, and Dad can't have chocolate after 6pm.  Soooo... Root mash instead of mashed potatoes (yams, turnips, carrots; it's actually really good), tofurkey for Per and I, vegan mock shephard's pie for the others, agave chocolate cake for breakfast on my birthday because we can't have it for dinner, gluten-free biscuits for dinner.  I feel like that covers it.  The two things everyone agrees on are roasted brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce.


And here's my Thanksgiving fashion inspiration.  The hair, at least.  The outfit's a tiny bit inappropriate for the weather.

Mushroom Gravy

I'm posting this partly to share, because it's great, and partly so I can access this recipe from any computer.  I could make a google doc, but if I'm typing it anyway, why not put it here!  I feel like a true American cook should be able to make a gravy without a recipe, but I didn't have biscuits and gravy until I was 17, and it's only made a sporadic appearance since then.  I hope you enjoy, and I hope not sporadically (Clueless reference).


Mushroom Gravy
From Vegan Brunch, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup flour
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into 1/2 inch long pieces
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (4 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t thyme
1/2 t sage
1/4 salt
sever dashes of fresh black pepper
1/4 cup white cooking wine

Mix the flour into the broth until dissolved and set aside.

Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat.  Saute the onion in the oil for about five minutes, unitl translucent.  Add the mushrooms and saute for five more minutes, until the mushrooms are tender.

Add the garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper.  Saute for another minute.  Add the wine and turn the heat up to bring to a simmer.  Let simmer for about a minute, then lower the heat and add the broth mixture.  Stir constantly until thickened, about five minutes.

Birthday week!!!

This is my favorite week of the year.  It's even better than Christmas, because I have to share Christmas.  I love thanksgiving because I get to eat all my favorite foods.  And I'm an adult now, so there's no one to tell me to stop eating before I puke.  It's my prerogative if I want to eat till I throw up.  I've been known to do that, and I'm okay with that.  My mouth likes food, and my stomach just has to deal with it.  Although Per doesn't seem to like it too much, and in fact banned me from blueberries this year.  The past two years that I've gone blueberry picking has resulted in a bit of over-indulgence.  I'm like a carnivore; I'll just eat until the food's all gone.  But I feel this is a valid point for Thanksgiving, because when it's gone, it's really gone, for a whole year!
The other awesome thing happening this week is my birthday.  I'm going to make the following cake.  That's right, I'm making my own cake.  I'm not a total control freak, but this way I get to know if it sucks, it's my fault.  Plus if it's fabulous, I get all the praise.  It's hard to find a recipe that I want to eat, that my family will eat too.  I don't think they'll go for the coffee sauce, so I'll have to figure something else out for that.  And my dad can't eat chocolate after 6pm or he is kept up, so maybe we'll have cake for breakfast.  It's a make-ahead-of-time cake, so that'll be perfect.  I'll post photos when it's actually materialized.

Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate-Hazelnut Ganache and Cinnamon-Coffee Sauce
The Millennium Cookbook

Chocolate-hazelnut ganache
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
2 cups soy milk
1 pound semisweet nondairy chocolate, melted

Chop the hazelnuts in a blender or food processor.  Add the soy milk and combine with the nuts.  Turn the blender on and slowly pour in the melted chocolate.  When fully blended, pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until firm, about four to six hours.

Cinnamon-coffee sauce
3/4 cups freshly brewed coffee
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons Sucanat or Fructose (I plan to try Xylitol and hope for the best)

In a bowl, combine the coffee, cinnamon, and Xylitol.  Whisk together and cook over medium heat.  Let cool and refrigerate until needed-- up to two days if you make it ahead

Pumpkin Cake
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I'm going to use Arrowhead Mills gluten-free flour mix)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (After we went to Sauvie Island Farms, I roasted and pureed some acorn squash to freeze, so I'll use that)
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup soy milk
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I dislike mincing.  I'm a grater)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Oil an 8 inch round springform or false bottom cake pan.  Into a large bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir in the salt until well combined.  In a blender, combine the pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup, soy milk, ginger, vanilla, and lemon juice.  Blend until well combined.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cake cool completely in the pan, then remove it from the pan.
Slice the cake horizontally into three even layers (that should be fun!).  Place the bottom layer of the cake on a cake pan.  Drizzle 1/4 cup coffee-cinnamon sauce onto the bottom cake layer.  Spread one half of the hazelnut ganache on the cake layer.  If the ganache is too hard to spread, place the container in a warm water bath.  Place the second layer of cake on top of the ganache layer.  Drizzle 1/4 cup coffee-cinnamon sauce onto the middle cake layer and spread it with the remaining half of the hazelnut ganache.  Place the third layer of cake on top.  Wrap the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
To serve, cut the cake into ten pieces.  For each serving, place slices of cake on serving plates and garnish with chopped fruit or fresh berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

How-To

Some time ago I got a book called "How to Develop Poise and Confidence," by Michael Drury.  I don't remember if it was a sarcastic gift or if I bought it for myself to increase my quirkiness, but I've had it for probably ten years.  Published in '63 and aimed mostly at house wives, it's a window into another time.  While it at first seems trite, the advice it contains is really well founded.  Here are some thoughts for the day.

Believe in Yourself

How can a woman give herself to her family, her work, or anything else if she hasn't got a self to give?  To be self-confident, you have to believe in a self, in its reality and importance.  The self you are is unique.  Your ears, fingerprints, the swirl of your hair are distinctly your own, not only different from anybody else's but different from any that have existed throughout history.  It is reasonable to assume that what is inside--your sensibilities, talents, tastes--are equally special.  If you do not value them and use them, they will be lost to the world, for nobody else has your particular combination of abilities.

Perhaps it can be said this way: Taking pains with your outside appearance lets your real self come through, as a sparkling window lets in the sun. If there are pretty curtains blowing softly in the breeze and a bowl of flowers on the sill, so much the better.

I'm still not good at spending time on my looks every morning.  Partly because my mornings don't have much of a pattern to them, but I won't blame that entirely.  It's just been a hard habit to build.  But I do try to remind myself that taking care of the outside of my body isn't all that different than taking care of the inside.  Jeans and over-sized hoodies (like I'm wearing right now) are super comfy, but they put me in the mind set to flop around all day.  Putting on get-up-and-go clothes makes me feel much more inclined to be a productive member of society, and that makes me feel good about doing my face and hair.  It's a positive feedback loop.