Hella Stella

I think I need to opt for a list-post, because my brain is a bit wonky today and it's probably that or nothing.

1. I may get to spend a week in Montreal this summer writing songs. To clarify, I'd be renting an apartment and locking myself in there with my instruments. I'll either write songs of die of boredom. My bet is on writing, but my track record has been bad lately. To be continued.

2. It might be time for me to purge my Facebook list. There are so many people on there I don't really know anymore, and have no desire to know anymore. I also have a few people on there who have gotten so annoying that I've hidden them from my view. One guy took to posting drunken weird things on my wall.... And I've never actually met him. Unfriend, sucka.

3. My food mojo has been ROCKING lately. I made a lentil dish last night that should have fed my BH and I a few times over, but instead we gobbled everything up. It's especially great because the dish probably costs under $2 in supplies, and it tastes like a million bucks. Thank you, food gods.

4. I nearly opened a can of whoop-ass on my landlord last night because he thought it would be cool to install molding and use a shop vac at 9:30pm. My BH had just gotten off a 12-hour shift and needed to sleep. Something broke in my brain and I went and had words with the contractors. If they think I'm a bitch, that's cool with me. At this point, I see that as being a good thing. Contractors listen to bitches - particularly the angry ones.

5. I'm taking a tiling course this weekend with my mom. Have I told you about my awesome mom? She's the best. Anyways.... We're going to learn about tile and mud and fun things like that. I'm pretty thrilled.

6. I was worried that my terrible work schedule would mean dropping out of choir. Thankfully, I not only get to stay, but they will be flexible with the repertoire to make sure I can catch up. I LOVE CHOIR.

7. Unfortunately, I may have to increase my security settings for comments. I'm starting to get daily spam and it's driving me nuts. Forgive me. If I do tweak things, I hope you'll still leave me messages - I love them so!

I swear you'll get a proper post next time....

My BH and I have a new obsession. Well, it's not so new for me, but it's way more exciting now that he's into it as well. Bento boxes!

Bentos are Japanese-style lunches, usually packed into containers that have dividers or different sections for your food. I grew up with a fairly typical lunch box meal at school, and while it does the trick, packing a bento has more benefits than I can count.

1. Portion control. Bento boxes are not usually that huge, so the chances of totally overdoing it are lower.

2. Packing diverse, healthy foods. Bentos seem especially well-suited to a little bit of starch or protein with a lot of fruit and veggie. I can easily eat bread with bread and a side of bread when unchecked, so it's good to have some encouragement to branch out a bit.

3. Ease. Bentos are designed to be eaten at room temperature, so packing it up (when you have the right supplies) can be pretty speedy and mess-free.

4. Compact. I've gone from having three or four bags or containers to having one bento box. It's lighter, easier and smaller to carry to work or school.

I could go on, but learning about bentos has already inspired me to make better lunches. I'm saving a lot more money too, because I'm actually excited to eat my lunch and not tempted to go buy something elsewhere. Plus, I got all my bento supplies in Ottawa's Chinatown! It's great to have the basics nearby. I'll get the fancy stuff when I'm in Japan next spring.

Here are some of my favourite bento blogs, in case you want to have a peek:

Vegan Bento Pool (just pictures, but total eye candy)

Not Exactly Bento

Bento Lunchbox

Boston Bento

LJ Bento Lunches

Just Bento

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And now for something completely different! It was my old roomie's birthday yesterday, and her beau threw her a surprise party in the Legion. It's been a long time since I've been to a surprise party, and it was just as fun as I remembered. Some pictures for you!

Sparklers! Thankfully, we didn't set the streamers on fire.


Are they pretty or what?

And great tunage. Who knew the Legion could be so much fun? (I know... It's possible that my friends bring the fun with them wherever they go, but still.)

That's all for now folks....

My two boys...



Morty actually runs like this at the park. He can't see where he's going, but he still has a blast. He hasn't run into anyone so far. So far.

Morty eyed them until they were gone.

Seriously.

I think the way he rests his giant head on the coffee table is one of the more endearing things he does.

But then again, I think everything he does is endearing.

The first CBC broadcast of my concert is tomorrow at 9am.

My BH and I are going to hang out in bed, drinking tea and eating pastries, if I can remember to buy some tonight. I am so insanely nervous, I can't even tell you. My music site traffic is already spiking, so I'm really interested to see what happens tomorrow when I get some new visitors. I'm already making CD sales from the increased stats!

Facebook has actually been really useful for getting the word out. It's neat to see how many people are going to try and tune in or download the podcast... Although I keep raising my eyebrows at folks who write on the event wall to say they are "too far away to attend" or that they "don't live in Ottawa." I'm going to guess that they didn't read the invite.* It's radio, darlings. Heck, apparently it's even going to play in parts of the US! I have relatives in Florida who are going to tune in.

Florida. That is so fucked up. I am so damn nervous. As my cousin Brian says, "I sure hope we didn't suck!"

Anyway... I need to get my mind off this broadcast before I hurl my anxious guts out.** What else can I talk about? I know... Food! Appetizing!

STELLA'S BREAKFAST DILEMMA

(disclaimer - this will not be as exciting as the radio musings. it's about breakfast, which is exciting in a different way.)

Today I made my first truly successful omelet, as part of a rather elaborate experiment to see what kind of breakfast I should be eating.

My favourite breakfast when I'm on the go is toast with jam or honey, and a cup of tea. Unfortunately, this doesn't fill me up. I'm always hungry again by 10:30, and end up eating my lunch at 11am. That leaves me the rest of the work day without food, and predictably, I often have a big food headache by the time I get home.

One way to solve this is for me to pack more snacks in my lunch.

Another way is to have a more filling breakfast.

My BH and I have been eating steel cut oats for breakfast this week, which keeps me full until 11 or 11:30. Much better than toast, you'll agree. Not perfect, but much better.

So how do eggs fit into this?

When I have eggs as part of my breakfast, I stay full until well after noon. That surprises me, because I am usually always hungry. Unfortunately, I don't really want eggs every morning, and more often than not, I sleep in too late to make them. Something to work on, I guess. I'll have to expand my egg repertoire. Or my snack repertoire. Or both.

Anyone have any suggestions for quick but filling breakfasts? I'm open to trying new things... (preferably something without meat).


Okay, I'm signing off. I'll try and post something after the broadcast tomorrow, providing I haven't wretched all over my laptop.


* Just to clarify: I have no problems with people not being able to attend an event... I only make it out to a tiny fraction of events in this city. But I do read the invite before talking about it on the event wall, because if I don't, I look silly.
** Little known fact! When I was a kid, I was admitted to emerg because I had made myself so nervous, I was doubled over with stomach pain. They thought I was really sick until they realized I was just nervous about going to someone's sleepover party.

This was a truly lovely long weekend. Allow me to illustrate...

Morty and Jewel took a walk together and didn't attempt to kill each other. Jewel belongs to two of my best friends and let's just say she didn't get the memo about loving thy neighbourly dog.

To be fair to Jewel, Morty has taken to taunting her, just because he can. Sneaky boy!



Mark opened some mighty fine wine, and we all drank it. Is there anything finer than drinking wine with friends in a park?

No.

Holy shit, that was some great food. See the sushi rice/tofu pockets? I made those! More info for those who want to know. Can't recommend them enough.

Here, Milan's brother attempts to explain "gaming" to me. I lost him when he started talking about runes and trolls... Or troll runes... Or... Beards? I don't remember. I was lost, as I said.

But he's all into it.

You can see Milan's excellent photos in the background. Oh! And there's Milan!

Mmmm. Coffee. Did you know that I didn't drink coffee until Raw Sugar opened?

True.

Random Stella fact, just for you.

There you have it. I couldn't have asked for a better time. Here's hoping you did something lovely this weekend too!

Monday sure came quickly. Holy smokes.

Certain Sort was some pretty excellent fun. I kept my goal of not getting overly wasted, and my weekend was better for it... No hangover the next morning, but enough goofy pictures on my camera to make me shake my head (Heather, I'm looking at you). Really, it was the best of both worlds. And a very happy Pride.

Saturday I slept. Really, I didn't know it was possible to nap that much in one day. What else are you going to do when it's cold and rainy out? I went to the Manx Saturday night after the weather cleared, and swiftly burned myself on a veggie taco. They could probably call it the DANGEROUS VEGGIE TACO just so clumsy eaters like me know to take precautions. My brain was sort of puttering along at that point, so I guess I was asking for it. Hot food + tired brain = burny hurty.*

Sunday was an odd mix of happenings - funeral unveilings, pride goodness, pictures in the park, and dinner with my folks. My favourite part of Sunday was watching my BH and Milan chasing each other around to see if the GPS on their phones would catch up to them. Boys and their toys. Hilarious.

This week promises to be great - it finishes with a pretty cool event... Milan's photo exhibition at Raw Sugar! You guys know Milan. You know his excellent photos. Come on out to this event and we'll all ooh and aah at his photographic prowress. Word on the street is that he's gotten Ottawa's prolific Astronaut Love Triangle to play some songs. At least, I think they're prolific. I should really know this. I am a huge fan, after all.

Some songwriter will also play a few tunes on the banjo. Or so I hear.

But dudes. ASTRONAUT LOVE TRIANGLE. Need I say more?

*Hey, when did they fix up the women's bathroom in there? I was so used to holding the door closed while I peed, I was a little surprised when I saw the functional lock. I guess it's been a while since I've checked out the washrooms, so it's probably been fixed for ages. Either way, it's a welcome upgrade! Thanks, Manx.

August is about to end. Amazing.

I'm cool with it... Fall veggies are going to start showing up at farmer's markets soon! Food is my motivation for most things. As you know.

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During the VIA sale, my BH and I made a quick decision to buy tickets to Toronto. It was a bit reckless, seeing as how we are pretty broke and will be until next spring... But hey. Going away for a romantic weekend without the puppy sounded great to us, and with the seat sale, we could almost afford it. (And dudes, we booked our accommodations through Hotwire.... HOLY CHEAP!)

Anyway, we're going near the end of September, and I'm getting more and more excited about it. Our last real vacation (minus family reunions) was.... India. Two years ago. So we're overdue. It's going to be a three day date, with breaks for Shawna hangout time.

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A couple of years ago, we had the colossal summer of weddings. Everyone we knew got hitched. Now the babies are arriving! This is especially awesome now that I have found an Etsy seller who makes baby clothes with bulldogs on them (what? function AND beauty). My BH and I are going to see our friend's newborn tomorrow night, and I could not be more pumped. Although I'm noticing lately that when I hold babies, I start to miss Morty something fierce...

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I really need to pickle some zucchini.

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Guess what? My brain is jumping all over the place today. HAD YOU NOTICED?

It's been one heckuva week. I am so thankful that it's Friday.

Yesterday was a really pleasant break from the norm - my oldest friend M-A came to visit. I've known her since I was... Born. Pretty much. We lived in a place called Moose Factory together. Not many people get to say that. And no, as far as I understand, they don't export moose (mooses?). If they specialize in anything, it's black flies. I still remember those bites, and I was only two years old at the time.

They were bad.

But then, northern Ontario is a special sort of place.

M-A is also the lovely gal who'll be putting my BH and I up in Japan next year. Her Tokyo adventures have completely inspired me to go visit, and I swear I heard my BH squeal when she said there was an entire street dedicated only to Japanese cookware. Who knew pans for making octopus balls were so exciting? Okay, I did.

(To learn about the wondrous world of octopus balls, feel free to consult my favourite online cooking station: Cooking with Dog).

I'm feeling so drained lately. It sounds silly, but I work all day, come home and play with Morty, feed him, feed myself, and then pass out. I'm actually wishing I had the energy to clean. Ridiculous.

I'd also like to share some pictures with y'all, but my laptop is in the woods with my BH. He's coming back this weekend, so a photo update will follow!

On the music front, things are looking good.... I might be playing the Elmdale this fall, and my talented cousin Brian is already learning my new song. Not that I remember him recording it. It's called inebriated jamming, folks. Only useful if someone remembers it happened.

Thank God for minidisc recorders.

That was a wet weekend.

So this house in the woods my BH is looking after? It's new. Like, two months old.

As such, it doesn't really have a yard yet. Last week, the yard was still just a big pile of dirt. If you combine the dirt with the incessant rain, you get....Yes... A giant mud slide! A giant, shoe-stealing, skirt-ruining party of a mud slide.

Did I mention that we're taking care of two doggies as well? Doggies that like to run around in the mud? Doggies that like to run around in new houses afterwards?

Anyways. I'll let you put all those things together. The short version of the story is this: I'm pretty grimy, and my BH is a little more stressed out than usual. He has also become an expert at wielding a mop and a towel simultaneously.

But the good news is that Milan was able to come up with us yesterday, and I believe he actually got a photo of Morty swimming. Swimming! My bulldog! On camera! Imagine that. I'm harassing him for the pictures.

Unfortunately, the adorable doggie swim time was interrupted by a canoe, of all things. A canoe that was quietly floating by. An innocent canoe, you could say. I think the two people paddling were on a date.

Morty lacks the social grace to recognize any of these things. He decided the canoe was a threat to our safety barked angrily at the poor canoeists until they changed direction. The girl was genuinely scared, despite my insistence that Morty was just being an asshole. Away went the canoe.

Morty stood in the water and snarled victoriously. I hung my head in shame. SUPER AWKWARD.

In non-muddy news, my BH and I finally made it out to the Landsdowne Farmer's Market. Holy local fruit, batman! We picked up some cherries, blackberries, plums, and apricots (hands down my fave).

I've already eaten everything. I'm sure you would expect no less from me.

My BH is out in the woods house sitting for the next three weeks. He's taking Morty with him about half the time.

This means that last night, I found myself in a completely empty house. Since we moved in to this apartment, I can count the number of times I've been alone on one hand.

Some weird stuff happened.

First, I decided to cook a lot of food. That's not weird, per se, but considering that nobody was there to help me eat, it wasn't totally logical. Still. A big batch of zucchini latkes and enough waffles to feed an army. Into the freezer they go!

Then I ate a bowl of lime sorbet.

I wrote half a song. It's so easy to write when nobody is around.

Wandered around for a while, wondering what to do.

Took out my label maker and labeled all of my tea containers.

Wandered around some more.

Called my BH. Made him give Morty big kisses for me.

Went to bed.

I think, with some practice, I will get better at being alone. I already have a long list of things I'd like to organize, which excited me to no end. That label maker is going to get a workout! Also, mopping should be a lot easier.

Added bonus: It's only been one evening and I already feel more creative. Strange!

I guess I'm not really selling y'all on the exciting life of a songwriter, huh?

I take that back. Waffles are WAY exciting.

Last night I got this insane idea that I needed to make a gigantic dinner and use up just about everything we had in our fridge.

I guess this isn't really so unusual... I love to cook, and I especially love to cook stuff I know my BH will enjoy. I tend to give myself a mental high-five when I make something that gets the "this is reeeeeally good" reaction (hint: using chipotle increases the odds significantly).

But dudes, I think I spent three hours cooking and cleaning. There were potato wedges, roasted beets and radishes, a giant green salad, and about thirty mini-quiches. I was toast by the end of it. Remind me to read this post next time I tackle a four-course meal for two. I did four effing sink-loads of dishes.

In other news...

I recently joined zip.ca, and have been loving the random movies that show up in my mailbox every few days.

Yesterday, I finally got around to watching Shut Up And Sing, which was surprisingly excellent and made me want to run out and buy every Dixie Chicks album I could get my hands on. If you want to see a nasty side of the music industry, and an even nastier side of "redneck bullshit" (my favourite line in the film), I recommend this little movie. You don't even have to like the band to watch it, but I bet that you'll think pretty highly of them by the end of it.

Wow, waking up this morning felt like Christmas.

I poked my BH and said, "Hey! Wake up! The first show is tomorrow!" He responded with a "bleuuuh..." but I know he meant "That's cool, babe."

Rehearsal today was great, and I feel really good about how we'll perform when the mics are running. Everything is in three-part harmony and the boys have their bass/guitar parts hammered out. I even have my outfits picked, which (let's be honest) is half the battle.*

Now it's just the waiting. I need to get through this evening and tomorrow morning without becoming a blubbering mess. When I'm actually setting up and singing, I'll have no choice but to calm down and do my job. It's the part before that I'm worried about.

I think I'll distract myself by cooking. I've already made a nice Macedonian salad, chocolate cookies and a strawberry rhubarb grunt (much yummier than it sounds), so maybe it's time to break out some garlic roasted potatoes and marinated trout.

And maybe I'll bake a cake too.

AND MAYBE BY TOMORROW I'LL BE THE SIZE OF A WALRUS.

But anyway. That's probably just the nerves talking.


*Tight hot pink skirt the first night, crazy green dress the second night. I'll be bringing the SEXY. Or at least that's the plan.

Well, thanks for all your nice comments on the last post! Sometimes doing crazy scary things is worthwhile, whether or not it works out in the end.

I've decided not to stress about the process and just stick to my one summer music goal: create more time and space for writing songs. The rest will come. That's the theory, at least.

We're getting our replacement washer and dryer today*. The story is long and strange, but I will say that I have never been more excited to throw on a load of underwear and socks. I'm also hoping the new machines will give us an excuse to turn the apartment upside down and do some much-needed spring reorganization. It's been a bit messy what with all the piles of clothes underfoot. Perhaps a spring re-org could be rolled into creating a songwriting space for me... ?

We have a small portable grill tucked away in the basement, and I think I'll break it out this week. I'm starting to crave BBQ again. Spicy tofu patties? Curried tilapia? Fresh veggies? Mmmmmm. Can't wait.

*A dryer! You mean next winter we won't need to fill every inch of our home with drying racks?! Amazing!

Well, thanks for all your nice comments on the last post! Sometimes doing crazy scary things is worthwhile, whether or not it works out in the end.

I've decided not to stress about the process and just stick to my one summer music goal: create more time and space for writing songs. The rest will come. That's the theory, at least.

We're getting our replacement washer and dryer today*. The story is long and strange, but I will say that I have never been more excited to throw on a load of underwear and socks. I'm also hoping the new machines will give us an excuse to turn the apartment upside down and do some much-needed spring reorganization. It's been a bit messy what with all the piles of clothes underfoot. Perhaps a spring re-org could be rolled into creating a songwriting space for me... ?

We have a small portable grill tucked away in the basement, and I think I'll break it out this week. I'm starting to crave BBQ again. Spicy tofu patties? Curried tilapia? Fresh veggies? Mmmmmm. Can't wait.

*A dryer! You mean next winter we won't need to fill every inch of our home with drying racks?! Amazing!

Things are much better... Thanks to you nice folks for understanding what it's like to have a crap day. I know we all get them; they suck SO BADLY, no? Stupid crap days.

Today is actually going swimmingly - minus my Total Kitchen Meltdown last night that will affect Passover dinner in a few hours. I made kishka without the right measurements of stuff (my bad for improvising Bubbi's recipe) and it turned into soup.

Gross.

So instead of bringing kishka and wine to the host's house this evening, I am bringing wine and wine. I don't really think anyone will mind. The best accompaniment to wine is wine. (This theory works well for other drinks too... Surely I'm not the only one who has ordered two martinis at once just to get the evening going? Please tell me I'm not the only one. Please.)

This weird thing happened last night. My BH became convinced that I loved Indiana Jones and insisted that we watch the most recent version while he baked a cake. I think my brain exploded when Indy crawled into a fridge to avoid a nuclear blast AND SURVIVED. Because he crawled into a fridge. Strange, but I didn't think it was that easy.

I fell asleep, so I didn't see the ending. Should I watch the ending? Please advise.

Also, I have found my next favourite Ridiculous Fashion Invention that is almost as creepy as the infamous Snuggie.

Behold: Bumpits (I am thrilled that this crazy thing is the amalgamation of the words bum and pits, but has nothing to do with either)

Happy Pesach, happy Easter, happy long weekend... I promise not to blog whilst drunk.

My spike in stats tells me that y'all like weird smiley-face pictures. Or perhaps it was the pink shoes that did it. Either way, noted.

When it started pouring yesterday, I wasn't able to get the clothes off the line in time. I left them there, thinking that the rain would have to stop sooner or later. It did stop - and promptly resumed snowing. With some crunchy ice for good measure.

Sigh.

The clothes are still out there, because I am stubborn as shit, especially when it comes to battles I can't win. I guess the weather has bested me this time though, and I'll have to take the clothes down shortly (Confidential to Spring: You are going DOWN).

My taxes are in, and magically I don't owe any money. Next year I probably won't be so lucky, but man am I ever glad I don't need to fork over some cash to Revenue anytime soon. My work T4 is always pretty predictable, but since I also file taxes as a musician, I never know what to expect. The year I recorded the album I was in the red by, oh, a lot of money. This year I almost broke even. Next year? I guess we'll see. I'm not actually expecting to gig excessively this year, so I don't think the cash will be flowing into my pockets. Not terribly surprising.

Today is my BH's last official day of class. We celebrated last night by trying out a local Ethiopian restaurant. The people who run the place are very nice, and the food is okay, but the overall experience was underwhelming. In a way, that works in my favour. It just means I'll have to keep trying out Ethiopian restaurants one by one.... In hopes that I find one nearby that I love.

My Easter plans are still pretty minimal, although I do want to take out one of my closest friends for a nice strong martini. She's had a rough week and could use some alcohol and raunchy conversation to cheer her up (got your back, HH).

1. The funeral went as well as a funeral could go. It was very very long, but I got to see a lot of family that I haven't seen since... The last funeral. I also got to visit my Zeidi's grave, which I haven't done in about ten years.

It was nice to hear so many people talking about the sweet side of Uncle Maury, since most of my encounters with him involved an argument or two. I brought my BH, and when it came out that we had been together for nearly nine years without being married, my third cousin (or something to that effect) asked when we were going to get hitched. My BH yelled across the room at me, jokingly, and said, "Hey honey, when are we getting hitched?" Another third cousin (or something to that effect) stared at him wided eyed and said, "OMIGAWD, did you just propose right NOW???"

Funny. But no.

2. I saw the Watchmen last night. While it wasn't an atrocious movie, my favourite part was probably the Harry Potter preview before the film started. That, and the few scenes where beefy muscular men are featured with little or no clothing on. Because beefy muscular men are totally my thing. Who knew geeky Nite Owl II was so dang HOT under all that clothing? Holy shit.

3. I won the tofu challenge, but there is some discussion as to how much I won. I didn't win in the sense that I should get a tofu-themed parade in my honour, but I did win in the sense that I should get to watch Zoom's Video Of Defeat sometime soon. Because after her third piece of tofu, she distincly said "I like it!" and that's evidence enough of not hating tofu. Can I get an amen?!

By the way, Zoom's site also features a poll on the issue (go vote!), as well as a picture of me showing my devotion to salt and pepper tofu.

Tomorrow's funeral is going to be very strange.

I don't see this side of the family very often. In fact, the last time I saw them all was at a funeral several years ago in the same funeral home. How sad is that? But it makes sense - my parents were never cheerleaders for spending loads of time with our extended family. Frankly, there were so many of them, it would have been quite the challenge. We got to know our immediate family and those we chose to be part of our crew.

Everyone else, we saw at funerals.

Funny, because I've never actually been to a wedding on this side of the family either.

Going to India with my BH was a brain twist... There, family is everything and you know them all. Your cousin's cousin's cousin, and all their neighbours, and their neighbour's neighbours. That's how all of Mumbai seemed to know that we were married (even though we're not) because it only took one person saying it and BAM. Marriage.

I digress.

Last night, I caught a glimpse of this salad and suddenly found myself with blinders on. All I wanted was that salad. So on my way home, I went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients I needed. Somehow I managed to leave one of my grocery bags at the cash, and didn't notice until I was back in my house with my Kitchen Bitch apron on, chopping the hell out of my veggies.

I ran back to the store, which was closing in fifteen minutes, and gestured to my receipt in a panic. They had just put all my things away. I felt like a jackass, watching them run around the store trying to collect everything.

The salad was worth it, I'm happy to report. I think I might make it again tonight.

So... I'm still waiting nervously for winter to snap back at us and laugh.... What's with all this spring weather?

It's funny that my very favourite Jewish food is actually, according to Wikipedia, "various sausages of Eastern European origin made by stuffing intestine (derma) with meat, blood (often) and a grain."

Except that the version I grew up with is vegetarian, and until last night, I thought it was the real thing. My Bubbi has been making kishka (well, mock kishka) since I was a wee one and it's still my favourite Jewish comfort food. As I was copying down the recipe from her last night, I noticed the "mock" in the title and made a mental note to look up what the original dish was.

Blood sausage.

My Bubbi's version is way tastier, I promise.*

I've noticed a lot of vegetarian dishes in Jewish cooking, which I guess is party due to dietary laws, and also partly due to knowing how to make your food budget stretch. Either way, I'm thankful!

While I was ogling the kishka recipe, I copied down a recipe for sweet potato kugel and learned that kugel dishes don't always need to contain noodles. News to me! Jewish foods seem to be perfect for Canadian winters, because they use up a lot of winter veggies, so I'm collecting some favourites for the vault. According to my Bubbi, you can also make latkes with just about any vegetable, including carrots and broccoli. Another must try.

I suppose it helps that my BH adores Jewish food more than anyone I've ever met, so the more recipes the better around here...

*In fact, because everyone should enjoy this tasty dish, I'll share it with you.

Etta's Mock Kishka

1/4 cup melted margarine
12 oz. package of Ritz cracker crumbs - approximately 3 1/2 cups (Bubbi says no other crackers will do)
2 medium onions
2 carrots, peeled
1 stalk celery
salt and pepper to taste

Crush crackers in the food processor; remove and set aside.
Process veggies until minced.
Add crumbs and margarine to veggie mixture; process.
Form mixture into three rolls and wrap tightly in foil (you're basically making logs)
Bake foil logs on a cookie sheet at 350 F for 45 to 50 minutes.

EAT IT UP.


OMG.

It seems that someone loved kishka so much that they wrote a song about it. From Wiki:

"Who Stole the Kishka?" (originally spelled "Who Stole the Keeshka?") is a traditional polka tune, composed in the 1950s by Walter Solek and recorded and played by various bands. One popular version was familiar to American radio audiences from a 1963 recording by Grammy award-winning polka artist Frankie Yankovic. A portion of the song includes three of various lyrics having to do with Polish foods, depending on who performs the song:

You can have my shinka
Take my sweet koscheeke
Take my plump perogi
You can even have my chernika
Take my long kielbasa

The verse ends with the pleading refrain "but please bring back my kishka."

I've had a rough time with mornings lately. I've been going to bed far too late, predictably missing my alarm when it goes off in the wee small hours.

Yesterday was especially bad. I jolted awake with twenty minutes before I had to leave the house. Throwing on whatever clothes I could find in the half light, I stumbled over to the bathroom the make myself look presentable. I flicked on the light. It was dead, and instead of taking the time to change the bulb, I put on makeup in the dark (when I got to work, I realized what a mistake that was).

I also noticed later in the day that the pants I had chosen to wear had dog food on them.

Plus, when I was leaving the house, I glanced into the front room to see that our daffodil plant had thrown itself off the shelf. There was dirt everywhere, but since I had one foot out the door, I had to leave it and call my BH in transit to tell him about the mess.

The solution to these terrible mornings is simply to prepare better the night before and get to bed early. I don't know why I can't just put that into practice.

But in more cheerful news, last night I had So! Much! Fun!

Milan and Emily invited my BH and I over for some grub. Milan said it was to thank us for teaching him how to make crispy tofu, but I think it was just a plot to one-up me. They made this elaborate arugula pesto linguine with roasted veggies, a big salad, and garlic bread. Dude, that is FAR MORE IMPRESSIVE than crispy tofu. Now we're going to have to invite them back and cook a ten-course meal to thank them properly.

I was fed a lot of wine so I *may* have done inappropriate things with avocados. Luckily Emily was all into it and we snuck off to the kitchen to carve faces into fruits and veggies. I'm... Not even kidding. Photos to come.

There's a chance I'll be out of town for a large chunk of this weekend. I will try and post that songwriting video before I leave, should I leave, so you can see one of the many reasons I stay up so late.

Who wants to sleep when you can make shaky videos on your camera?