un-cook

just like every day in provo that hasn't been so hectic i almost forget to eat, tonight i piled vegetables into my blender.  after winter semester took its toll on both my physical health and well-being, i decided that a lifestyle change was in order for at least the summer.  since the beginning of spring semester, i have delved into the world of raw foods.  through the long and sometimes rocky journey that brought me to my daily eating/sleeping/exercising habits, i have come to believe in the healing power of raw and whole foods.  so in order to have a more in-depth healing and recovery stage this summer, i've started dividing my meals into a balance of about 75% raw foods, and 25% cooked...ish.  in the past, i've done spans of a week or so following this general pattern, and this time around has been no different - i already feel more awake and alert, i have more energy, i think more clearly, and i still can't wait to eat!

tonight, while i was whipping up green gazpacho, sabrina asked a question that really made me start thinking.  she asked, "jessi, why don't you try to write a cookbook?"  next, she pointed out that almost every time i cook, i'm making it up myself or changing someone else's recipe enough that it's original anyway.  i love to cook! and this summer i love to... uncook! but really, like sabrina said, my favorite part is making it up as i go, tasting and adding more basil.. tasting and wishing i'd used two less tomatoes... tasting and making everyone around me taste, too!  luckily for me, sabrina has been a good sport so far, tasting all my concoctions and never making a "wow, that's really nasty" face.  this train of thought led me to a new life-resolution.  i've always wanted to write something.  today, i think i found my something.  someday, i'm going to publish a cookbook.  step one: start writing down everything i cook (which is actually a lot harder than it sounds because i improvise so much).  but at least it will be a start! then, maybe in 20..or 30 years..or maybe in 5 (!) you'll be able to go to your local bookstore, find my name, and then you can start tasting, too! 

today's dinner: definitely one i'm going to remember and play around with, of course - it was the best gazpacho i've had in a while!  i ate it with a mini-mexican pizza left over from a couple nights ago: ezekiel tortilla spread with black bean dip (beans, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, yum), red onion, bell pepper, tomato, broccoli, and salsa.

green gazpacho

1 avacodo

1 1/2 cups tomato (ish)

3/4 large cucumber

2 cloves garlic

1 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (ish)

1/2 teaspoon + red pepper flakes

blend together, top with chopped broccoli, orange bell pepper, red onion, and guacamole

rolled up pant-legs

today was an official day: the first official day that ants are taking over my life.  up until today, they have taken over my kitchen and my living room, but never dared invade my most personal spaces.  today, they crossed the line.  over the last several weeks, the ant problem in our apartment has been increasingly worse.  first, i was interrupted while studying by a tiny, pesky black one exploring my toes.  next, one came out of hiding from under our fridge to make a stand for his newly discovered territory; thankfully the stand-off was ended quickly by the short-time official bug-squisher, dustin (thank you, deary).  after that (even though both ants were killed almost instantly) the ants seemed to be attempting a retaliation movement - two of their lives for two of ours.  they covered the floors, walls, counters, and yes, even the ceilings.  every time i left my room, i was armed with shoes, rolled up pant-legs, paper towels for squishing, and wide open eyes scanning all possible surfaces.

at the beginning of the week, after reporting the problem several times to our ever-vigilant management company, my dad called to snap them into action.  they sprayed for ants, finally fixed the toilet handle (yay! two bathrooms again!), and placed ant traps in every corner.  feeling a little relieved, i stopped rolling up my pant-legs when i left my room.  however, sabrina and i are now quite positive that instead of ant-killer, the ant traps contained an illegal version of ant-steroids.  tripling in size, they have now invaded my bathroom and traveled via sabrina's purse into her car.  the really crazy thing is this: sabrina and i are clean... no, i could even say we are meticulous.  however, the ants soldier on.  no amount of cleaning can take care of this one. so, i continue to pray: please, please, please, please take away the ants!! or... if the ants really must stay, at least hide them from my sight so i won't know that i'm sharing my apartment and my life with large, infected, crawling, shiny, squirmy, black bugs.  and i won't complain about continuing to roll up my pant-legs.

p.s. i tried to post a picture of the large black ants we house, but i couldn't bring myself to do it. i deleted it from the computer because it was giving me the creeps! so... go look up a picture of ants yourself if you really need a visual. it just makes me itchy!

SUMMER...or not

yep, that's right. i've made a rather unreasonable decision to NOT take a break this sunny season.  for another six weeks i'll still have my nose in text books, my hand cramping from note-taking, and my seat parked in a classroom with dim lights at 8:00 a.m. (such a recipe for an alert student, isn't it?).  but please, don't mourn the loss of my sanity quite yet!  although i am absolutely sure that to most, the idea of sitting in the basement lecture hall while the weather is ideal for kite-flying is enough to bring tears the same way smacking your nose against the door frame does, i am actually mostly...excited.  there, i said it.  i am excited to be enrolled full-time in the summer.  i have officially sold my soul to the educational demon.  and yes, they have those at byu, otherwise known as the over-ambitious student ("BURN THE OVER-ACHIEVER!!" that's for you hailey). my only qualm is that i think my decision might be effecting the weather.

mother nature: "it's spring!! wait.... you're going to class.. i mean, it's SNOWING! goodbye flowers, haha!"

snow in almost-may, really? this IS an unusual year... however, although i am going to be swamped  up to my eyelids with reading and writing and test-taking, i am not going to give up my few simple pleasures of the season.  that reading list is still going to be finished at the end (i've started already - man! fablehaven is such a great escape book for post-stressful-semester).  i'm still going to sew and make jewelry, and i'm still going to make time to paint again. yes, even if it snows through june.  so wish me luck! and pray that if it really must snow, it snows so much that no one can leave their apartments so i don't feel quite so guilty about my little summer pleasures inserted in the middle of another semester.  ready, set, study!