I'm going to be alone at Christmas. My parents are going to Mississippi to visit my grandfather and I'm staying home. Well, I'm going over to Dirk's house on Christmas day, and Dirk will be staying at my place (yes, this is what we always do) on all the other days, but I'm going to be sans parents for a week.
I'm not particularly excited, seeing as I can get trashed and stumble drunkenly around my house for hours on end any time I want. Hopefully, my parents will have finished refinishing the floors by then so that all the goddamn furniture will be back in place. I'm going to have fun cooking whatever I damn well please, though.
For all of those who know that I'm giving them presents (and some that don't), a warning: I am poor. I am making your gifts. They will come in either one of two categories – food (this would be cookies or candy) or candles. Let me know your preferences and we'll get through this without too much angst, okay? Otherwise, I'm going to give you a little of both and if you don't like it that's just tough. As a side note, anyone whose address I have is fair game for getting gifts.
I was depressed last week and this week – I don't want to talk about it but thanks for offering. To quell any fears, Dirk and I are still together, and the band's still together. It was just a bad time for a while as stress (and Aaron's little problem with acting like a human being) got to us all. While I was freaking out, however, I started smoking even more than usual. I'd cut back to an average of two a day, and my intake suddenly jumped to a pack a day. Not good. This morning I woke up and it was as though I could feel my lungs. It felt like someone had lined the insides with concrete, which isn't that far off from asphalt, which isn't that far off from straight-out tar, which is exactly what's all over the insides of my lungs. Add to this the fact that cigarettes are disgustingly expensive, and I had to ask myself what I gained by smoking.
I quit again. I'm feeling hyper right now. If I can stay friendly enough that people aren't running out and buying me packs of ciggies, I can make it through. My mantra for this venture will be one that I have been scaring folks with for a couple days now – "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me."
I have about an hour and a half to kill before closing session and the book I brought with me is boring, so I'm going to share my two favorite recipes with you. One is healthy and the other isn't. This is the ironic balance between my eating habits.
Shortbread Cookies
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups flourSoften butter so that it's pliable but not melting all over the place. Mix together all the ingredients – I use my hands for this because it's just such a hassle trying to get an even mix with a mixer. When mixed together well, form the dough into a log on a piece of waxed paper, then roll it so that it's a cylinder. Wrap in wax paper and chill in the fridge for a while. An hour should do. Heat oven to 300 degrees, take the dough out of the fridge and slice it into cookies (about half an inch thick should be right, but please yourself). Put the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. The bottoms should be golden brown and the tops should be yellowish. Like butter cookies.
Minestrone
(This would be the healthy recipe)1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart chicken broth (defatted, whatever. I use bullion)
2 large tomatoes, chopped (seeded, ha! I don't have that kind of free time.)
½ cup chopped spinach (frozen is fine)
1 16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small zucchini, diced
½ cup pasta, small shells
2 tablespoons fresh (or dried) basil, chopped.Okay, saute onions, garlic and carrot over medium heat until soft. Add everything else except for the zucchini and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the pasta looks just about done. Add zucchini and cook for another five minutes. Serve. If you want this to taste really nice, add a couple tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese when you add the zucchini. It only adds about 50 more calories to the whole pot and it make it taste wonderful.
I really love the minestrone.
