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| Hiking at Cuivre River State Park on a freakishly warm day |
This has been the month of both change and stagnation, a month of breathing easier and mastering myself and feeling depressed and letting myself go. Winter is a tough season for me because it feels claustrophobic— no amount of getting outside helps with that (incidentally, this is how I feel in the middle of summer, too)— and the feeling is intensified by the pandemic. But despite this, I've been finding joy in leaning into my everyday life, cleaning and decluttering my physical space, and reading good books. And let me just say, having a president who actually 1) believes in climate change and 2) is actually doing something about it is enough to make me feel like I've dropped into some sort of alternate reality. And yet in the middle of that sensation, I feel the gap between what's being done and what needs to be done, the social justice that still needs to happen, the systems that need to be remade, and I don't celebrate long. But still, the weight of being actively sabotaged at every turn is lifted, and I feel flickerings of hope that society can make some headway.
And maybe so can I.
Glowing spiced lentil soup, using this recipe. Soup is so nice on a cold day, and this is my favorite.
Tofu, using this recipe. After searching in vain for dry soybeans at every supermarket I could think of, I finally ordered some online. This is ironic because in the summer I can bike five minutes and see soybean fields stretching out as far as the eye can see. But nooo, we can't have those at the grocery store!
Pasta, with my hand-crank pasta machine. Best birthday gift to myself ever!
Ramen. Like, the one in a wrapper with the tiny little bullion packets— not homemade. I've never eaten much ramen, and now I'm obsessed with it. Gonna try to figure out some sort of homemade version soon…
Yogurt— using a crockpot! After making yogurt on the stovetop in the past, this version almost feels like cheating: no scorched milk, no laboring over the stove, and the thickest homemade yogurt I've ever had at the end! The recipe calls for wrapping the crockpot in a towel to keep it warm, but since our house is so cold, we placed the crock in a cooler, filled the cooler halfway with warm water, and used an old aquarium heater to keep the water warm overnight. I think that's why it turned out so thick! Anyway, if you want to learn how to make super cheap and easy yogurt, I highly recommend the recipe!
What I've been reading (yes, I know I'm trying to read too many books at once):
This book is a series of stories about and descriptions of the breathtaking cultures of the world— and in the process challenges the idea of "progress" and "civilization." I'm about halfway through and it's already one of my favorite books I've ever read. Humans are amazing.
Banker to the Poor: Mico-lending and the battle against world poverty by Muhammad Yunus
My sister lent me this book written by the man who founded Grameen Bank and popularized microlending as a way to give people the means to break the cycle of predatory lending that keeps people in poverty. It's a fascinating read!
The Selected Works of Audre Lorde edited by Roxane Gay
I've read snatches of Lorde's essays and poetry all over the place, and decided on an anthology to get an overview of her work. So far I'm just reading the essays, but they are breathtaking. Her 1970's essays about Black and queer representation/inclusion could easily be something published today— and that's both amazing that she was so ahead of her time, and incredibly heartbreaking that society is still struggling with the same issues.
What I've Been Watching:
Naruto: Shippuden. Because I am the most basic anime watcher ever. :)
YouTubers:
Adam Neely (music theory)
Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't (botany lessons with tons of swearing and snark) Lindsey Ellis (media analysis)
Nile Red (fun chemistry projects)
What have you been up to lately?
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