Thurs Thirt

For breakfast today I was strewn with anxiety as I rummaged through the fridge to find a vegan dish. Upon giving up for to wait on lunch to come around, I decided to walk the dog to contemplate my dilemma. Before that, I ground some beans for the coffee machine; must grind to a very fine consistency with reusable filter in an auto drip- doesn’t work at all like a french press. After 2 ruined pots over the last 2 days, I finally get it right. With that brewing I’m out the door. Butche is strewn with excitement as his clairvoyance tells him my plan before I even grab the leash. He has been savoring the moment when he can use the facilities of the woods as opposed to the yard; “how uncivil it is to use my yard as a latrine” he must think. Halfway to our normal turnaround point I get the sharp pangs. Now my mind is racing; what to eat what to eat. Toast and...ouch no vegan butter....peanut butter [is it safe?].....hummus.....okay I know I’m making toast but what else; can’t exactly have crab bisque on it today. We walk past the neighbor’s house and their dogs are howling at us from inside the house. Butche immediately dignifies himself by thrusting out is chest and raising his head; his pace picks up searching for the perfect marker location. We get to our turn-around and he slows his pace all the way back; I think he wants to stay out for a bit however now hunger is pulling at my leash. Back inside I find a container of leftover chili paste-coconut milk sauce with tempeh and stir-fry squash. Can that be breakfast? I toasted the bread, the dry bread, and instead of using it to sop up sauce I created an “s” on shingles type breakfast- however it was oddly bland yet spicy hot. Then I made it again, this time with a slice of tomato on top of the toast, then the tempeh with sauce. With a cup of organic mango lemonade (on sale AND used coupon) it made for a good jungle breakfast. Now: house repair anyone? My unorthodox approach to carpentry was borne of unenthusiasm towards working with wood. However, I called the recession carpenter: myself. The work itself takes no time. The learning curve takes all day. So I’m priming some bare wood that was underneath some water damage. Amazing how a drip over several years can take out an entire outside siding face! Fix those gutters! Just finished replacing some plywood, now it is pouring down rain. Lunch anyone? So far it has been dairy-free crackers. Time to go deeper...

So crackers and bean salad it is. As deep as I could get. And no crab bisque to be found. Plywood is cut, up on the side of the house; and one or two drops fall. No problem, we keep working. Then the feeling in the gut; that Watauga county feeling; so I scramble to put the tools up, get the circular saw in the house, break down the saw horses, wind up the drop cords. And it comes. Sheet upon sheet of rainwater pummel my bandaid of a repair. [Good thing I primed it.]

Raining, cooling off, no reason to be outside. Time to tackle the rotted bathroom floor; do toilets normally have a 45deg lean? With cat's paw and crow's foot, the truth is revealed. Worse than I thought. Someone hire a carpenter!

My recipe for today is the best yet. The EASIEST yet. Cheapest? Not sure. Add to a big pot, the following:

Lots of agua; fill the pot close to 2/3rds full.

Salt; plenty of kosher salt.

Beets. Add beets.

Now boil. Set your timer for 7:00pm so you can watch Seinfeld syndicates. By the time it is over, beets are ready (I watched 2 episodes tonight before it was done.)

With my beets, peeled at the table, absolutely no crustaceans were harmed, I also took part in a brown rice with vegan boullion; what a day. Is CSi on yet???

Ben