So, what's new?

I mean, are we even doing new things anymore?

May 12, 2020

May is when we normally get a big chunk of our yearly rain (we average about two inches this month), but so far it’s been really dry. We had a big front come thru this past weekend and every time the clouds built up and the wind started to blow I was sure “This is it!” but nah, just kidding. Then just today, it started raining (and then snowing a bit). Makes me realize how much I love long rainy gloomy days, and how infrequent they are in Montana.

Here are some things I’ve tried in the last week or two that were new (or new to me) and to my surprise I’ve liked most of them? I think lately I’ve been craving “normal” and that usually looks like something I’ve done a million times. But when you’re stuck in an infinite loop, sometimes getting out of your normal feels better. A “normal” weekend isn’t one that feels like any old weekend, but instead has weekend qualities, like fresh air and sunshine and doing some manual labor instead of computing. A “normal” dinner isn’t your old favorite but a spin on it with a recipe that hits the notes you’re craving (gimme dat gravy).

Zooming with Creatives

Since I’m not doing a ton of work Zooming anymore (most of my work is assignments, not meetings, thank goodness), I actually was tickled to do some video chatting with some of the artists and writers from the 2019 artist residency I participated in last spring. They’re all over the country and doing all sorts of super impressive and interesting activities. Some of them are trying to fill the void while out of work, some just seem like 100% creatives, all of the time. I am probably older than all of them, so I feel a bit wistful for my mid-20s when I was in my graduate school phase and could pick up new creative projects at the drop of a hat. This is also where living with someone is problematic. Your “creative mess” is just a pile in their eyes. I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve wished for a room of one’s own (yes, I get the irony) so I can close the door on my creative space and not be judged for it. But I also like working at the dining room table. So there’s that.

Anyway, we did a pre-recorded Zoom thing that got made into a slightly edited chat video — which you can watch here.

Do you need a postcard poem for yourself or a loved one? I make them to order and mail them out. Just $5!

Making Roots

I started to see if I could root some herbs and plants in water on the windowsill and I’m being rewarded for my efforts. Basil (from our CSA order), rosemary cuttings (from an overgrown couple of plants I’ve had wintering over a few years), and ivy from a sweet lil plant I’d love to see more of around the house (it isn’t going outside in the ground b/c I’m over pulling vines from our landscaping, thankyouverymuch).

I’m also trying to root some geraniums in water, through cuttings. Apparently, they actually root best in soil? So I’m going to also make some cuttings from some leggy wintered over geraniums from last year, and see if I can get the tips to root in potting soil, too.

Recipes That Have Worked

Baked ravioli casserole — You add cream cheese and some herbs to the marinara sauce before putting it together in the oven. This is now my favorite way to eat ravioli ever.
Stovetop Pot Roast — I’ve only done pot roast in the crockpot, so I was intrigued by I guess the “classic” way to do it simmering on the stove for a few hours. This was tasty but our cut of meat (a chuck roast) was too fatty to be at all appealing to eat. A different cut, maybe leaner or bone-in, would have been better. Saved the gravy and vegetables to use with maybe a cube steak in a couple days.
Sourdough flatbreads — Good use of discard starter (only needs half a cup!) We made them to eat with Instant Pot butter chicken and rice last week.
Sourdough crackers — A half batch is the perfect amount for my normal amount of discard. Instead of herbs, I put in some everything bagel seasoning to the dough. (Chef’s kiss.) Great with a cheese like chèvre or on their own since you can sprinkle some salt on top. Roll them thin for the best texture, but watch they don’t burn in the oven.
Mexican black beans — OMG these with tacos, with eggs in the morning, eaten with the spoon directly from the pot – Yes.

Recipes That Have Sucked

This Vermont wheat bread from King Arthur Flour had cinnamon in it (fine, OK) but it smelled so much like a pastry while baking it was off-putting, and the equivalents of the flour by weight were really off, so it baked too dense, and came out looking like pumpkin bread, even though it was a yeast dough. I mean, we ate it anyway, but I’ll still be trying to find another wheat bread recipe that works.
May have been operator error, since I chose to use the food processor to make this pie crust recipe, but MAN it came out too soft, and impossible to work with. I’m not sure what was up. My ingredients were cold, but the resulting dough was just too delicate to roll. Stuck to itself and had no heft.

Not a recipe, but I bought a four-pack of the raspberry flavored radlers by Stiegl brewery and realized that the tartness of the grapefruit soda used in the traditional radler is where it’s at. The raspberry was too sweet. I’ll have to abandon the rest of these at a party when we’re allowed to gather again in the future.
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Music and New Stuff I’m Digging Right Now

New Chicano Batman album from ATO, Invisible People — Available via Bandcamp for $10 digital (which is waiving its revenue share so artists get more $$ or from the label). In fact, it’s a great idea to buy anything from Bandcamp on June 5 or July 3rd (the first Fridays of the month) when more $$ goes to artists via the platform’s sales.
I pre-ordered the forthcoming new full-length album Mordechai from Khurangbin. Buy it from their label Dead Oceans via Secretly Canadian.
Daptone Records’ playlist “Tomorrow’s Hits Today,” where they’re adding one new song each Friday from an upcoming 2020 release they have planned. It’s not as good as live music, or some new Sharon Jones tracks (Rest in Power), but it’s not bad either.
I’m reading the Veronica Speedwell books by Deanna Raybourn and they’re cheesy “period drama/lady detective” novels and I truly DGAF because I’m just happy to read and have something in my brain other than (gestures to world) as I try to wear out my mind and go to bed.
Why haven’t you bought Samantha Irby’s latest book of essays, Wow, No Thank You, yet? Geez, get with it. If you’ve never read her before, go back to her first book, Meaty, and then follow it with We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

So, how's the weather there?