a star is born

i had raspberry jello for breakfast.  for lunch i made pancakes.  i find most pancake recipes ask you to add your wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  but i don't like that way.  no no no.  i like adding the dry to the wet!  that's the way i did it at work.  i followed a recipe that lisa followed and she probably got it from randy--a food whiz before my time.  the reason i dig this method is, you can choose how thick you want your batter.  i find most pancake recipes produce a way too thick batter. and that's what i've been experiencing when making pancakes at home.  well today, i was like 'NO MORE!' and i started with the milk, egg and oil and added the flour until i was happy with consistency.  and not to brag, but the pancakes were tender and perfect and the maple syrup in my fridge that had a best before date of 2015 was perfectly fine. and the peanutbutter was melty and smooooth.

can you tell i was low on groceries? it's one day short of 3 weeks since i shopped and i didn't go on saturday because of volatile allergies.  today my symptoms were much more subdued so after forcing myself to get out of my comfort zone (read bed), i went shopping.  i feel like the lady at kins is starting to know me.  she offered me a box, like last minute she remembered that's what i prefer.  i had some weird things on my list that i didn't find, namely harissa and quick cooking polenta.  where to find polenta??  i really want to make polenta fries. i went to fresh co and superstore.  it was my first time in superstore since covid.  it was pretty normal in there.  they don't make you travel in certain directions down aisles like fresh co but then their aisles are nice and wide.  i found frozen watermelon there and i greedily grabbed it thinking of future smoothies of wonder.  

last week i watched jamie oliver make a mint lemonade and then he squeezed a fresh pomegranate in it and my eyes popped out of my head.  "but i'll never find a pomegranate this time of year" i said woefully to myself.  but i DID.  there was some at kins!  so that drink or some version of it, is in my plans.  also fudgsicles. they are in my plans.  not making them just eating them.

this whole post is about food.  is food the only interesting thing about my life right now? maybe.

i have a lot of shells and pebbles and stone treasures from my travels near and far.  i'm starting to think about what to do with them and how to display them.  i don't want them sitting in boxes and baggies forever.  i want to enjoy them. marvel at them.  delight in them.

did you know white kidney beans are cannellini beans?   i was very relieved to find that out.  how am i ever going to find cannellini beans, i grumbled to myself, maybe i can use use white kidn--hey! they are one in the same!  the small joys while shopping i tell you.

also i cannot shake the feeling that one day someone will notice how expertly i pack my grocery bags.  i do not understand this in myself, but it's there.  i'm a grocery bagging star waiting to be born.  

i can't stop watching all the coverage of the protests in the states.  i follow some journalists on instagram and the stories they are telling about being targeted by police makes me fearful.  press need to be able to tell the story of what's happening.  one journalist was permanently blinded in one eye when she got shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.  a whole crew was arrested while they were on tv live, the reporter asking the police where they could get out of their way--the police said they were arrested because they were asked to move and didn't.  another journalist was made to lie face down. "i'm press, i'm press" he was yelling, holding up his press badge.  he got purposely sprayed in the face with pepper spray.  

i was heartened to see stories of police and protesters kneeling in solidarity or hugging or walking together. we have the capacity to love each other.  our hearts haven't failed us yet.

lat night izzy had a showdown with a neighbourhood kitty.  she had the high ground from the stairs and the fluffy nemesis slunk behind the garbage can.  sometimes izzy has convos with our bird neighbour.  the bird sits on the crook of the drain pipe and warbles and squidges and izzy sits on the step facing her and does her cat throat scatting.  it's a weird noise she usually saves for birds but sometimes moths.  she also may have provoked a crow the other day.  she's starting to venture out further afield.  she had this weird thing  that she couldn't be outside at the same time as me.  like she'd be waiting to go out and if i open the door she will scoot right out but if i step out on the porch she'll turn on a dime and scoot back inside.  while i started forcing her to accept that i know about her outdoor activities.  i made her be outside with me and she seems more at peace with it now.  cranky old lady is calling to me from outside now...