I have been cooking all day today, but it isn’t for me. I really should get in the habit of cooking ahead for the week, but that is a project for another week. This week, while I am off work to spend time with my children and prepare for the holidays, I am making gifts.

I used to do this all the time, when my daughter was small. I went through a phase of candy-making fascination. That is some serious chemistry, candy-making. I made fudge with many different recipes, potato candy, and caramels, and considered making divinity, like I remembered my grandmother and aunts making when I was small (although that looked a bit too difficult for me!) Time passed, and I went back to school full-time, then got the full-time job, and candy making seemed too complicated. Also, somewhere in there, I quit dairy entirely (except for the occasionnal Snickers bar…), which made the candy-making seem difficult as well as time-consuming. This year, though, with the new house, and the nonstop eating kids, I thought making gifts might be a good idea again. So, I headed for the Internet to find some recipes and ideas.

First off, the Internet has a LOT of recipes. When I added in my cookbooks, I think I may have over-planned. But, I did get some stuff done today, and I will do more tomorrow (and maybe tonight, too). Here is what I did today.

First, so that I would feel a quick sense of accomplishment, I made lavender sugar. This was easy–some sugar and lavender blooms in the food processor, then I was filling cute little bottles.

Also in the picture, flavored vinegar. That recipe made a lot of vinegar, so I had extra to keep for myself and, having just had a salad, I can testify that it is nicely hot. Amazing what habanero peppers will do for a recipe.

Next up was Def-Jam cookies, from Urban Vegan’s cookbook. The finished product was really delicious, but I bet they would have been even better if I hadn’t forgotten the cookie was in the oven. I think these will be for us to eat, and I may try again tomorrow for cookies I can give to other people.

The last thing I made today (so far) is White Christmas Fudge. I have to say, when I made this, it didn’t look white or fudgy, but it did taste good. Here is a picture of it before I put it in the fridge:

Not the greatest picture, I know, but you get the idea. I just went and looked at it again, and it looks pretty much the same. My daughter says it looks delicious, though, so it’s all good.

I did break out Urban Vegan’s cookbook again to make Pumpkin-Daal soup for dinner, but by the time that was finished, I was exhausted, so there is no picture of that. It was good, we will be having it again. And, I guess I am putting off my remaining cooking until tomorrow. I only need to clean my house, finish some shopping and plan a dinner for my friends coming over tomorrow, so it shouldn’t be too hard, right?

…and putting in the freezer.

1. Breakfast burritoes: scrambled tofu with shredded carrots, onions and bell peppers, hash browns, veggie sausage, maybe some salsa
2. Chili–I could eat chili once a week, or more
3. Quick breads–they make excellent late afternoon snacks, and I make mine more healthy than the coffee shop does
4. West African peanut stew
5. Coconut Curried Vegetable Stew
6. Red Beans and sausage–to be served over rice
7. Sloppy lentils
8. Veggies from my garden sauteed with teriyaki sauce (or some other sauce)
9. Spaghetti sauce
10. Some kind of bean burger

I am not sure I have enough freezer space for this, but I can try to empty it out first. One of these days I am going to get a freezer to put in the basement. Anyone have any other ideas?

I know, I haven’t been here for quite some time. I have good pictures, too, from my trip to Chicago and the Chicago Diner. I haven’t had the time to…wait, I mean I lacked the energy to post those, and I still don’t have it. I made a really delicious dinner tonight, though, and I had to share the link. I did make this with shrimp, but I think it would be good with tofu, too. I love cabbage, so I was glad to find a good stir fry recipe like this. I used half of the red chili flakes and maybe a fourth of the sriracha sauce this recipe called for, because my friend said she wasn’t in the mood for really hot food. I could have eaten it hotter, but it still had plenty of flavor. We had yellow squash and zuchhini sauteed with a shallot in some olive oil, then steamed as a side dish. Delicious and healthy!

The title of this article drives me crazy. Boys of summer: Manly movies muscle into the multiplex? The intro goes on to say that that the only must-see chick flick is Julie and Julia, and maybe the new Harry Potter movie. I have so many objections to this article, it is difficult to know where to start (common with my experiences with this particular reviewer).

But, diving in, I hate the term chick flick. It’s so dismissive, as if exploring human relationships is silly and lightweight. You know, I have met actual male people who want to fall in love and have happy relationships, so I find it hard to believe that there are no men who enjoy romantic comedies, even if they don’t want to tell their buddies that they do.

Next, anyone who implies that a movie with Hugh Jackman in it won’t appeal to women just as much as men must be smoking crack. Has this guy never heard of People magazine? I would happily watch Jackman read from the phone book for two hours; two hours of him rippling his muscles in various stages of undress sounds pretty appealing to me!

….

Sorry, I had to take a break there. Mmmm, Hugh Jackman…

Moving on, the list of movies that are due out on the right sidebar of this article shows that there are actually several movies made to appeal to a large number of women. There are two adaptations of immensely popular books (My Sister’s Keeper and The Time Traveler’s Wife), a French romance (Shall We Kiss?), a movie about a couple starting a family (Away We Go—bonus: Dave Eggers is one of the writers on this one), and a new Nia Vardalos romance (anyone remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding? No? I think a few women saw that.) I could go on, there are more, but these are the ones that jumped out at me as I looked down the list.

And I’d really like to know where this guy gets the idea that “grown women don’t go to summer movies.” Does he not know any women? Does he only go to the movie theater during the daytime when not many people are there? Because most women I know enjoy movies and escapism, especially in the summer, when they are looking to relax more.

But my biggest problem with this article is that the premise that things have changed this year makes no sense. Even if there really were less summer movies directed at women, how would that prove that women don’t like to go to movies? The fact that movie-makers won’t be convinced to market to women even with mega-blockbusters as proof that women spend money on movies hardly shows a lack of interest on women’s part. The evidence says that women flock to movies that have appeal to them. If movie makers choose not to capitalize on this and make movies that do appeal to women, that proves that their misogyny is making them bad business people, not that women don’t like movies.

Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the actual case. There are several movies that were made to appeal directly to women, and some of the movies he lists as guy movies seem to me to have a much wider audience than Joe Williams thinks they do. Sure, more guys go to Star Trek conventions than girls, but just as many women actually watch the movies and tv shows. And although Matthew McConaughey’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past doesn’t particularly appeal to me, it seems obvious to me that it is being marketed to women. Sure, there are some movies that definitely seem targeted to men (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra stand out here), but that hardly translates to a summer of pure testosterone. It actually seems like a pretty nice mix of movies, with something for just about everyone. I am looking forward to trying out some of these movies, starting with X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Mmmm, Hugh Jackman…

72 (which is really 71, but I forgot it). The Curse of Kings by Victoria Holt

Another one of the comfort reads. This one was pretty sad, with several deaths, but still a wonderful book.

Too much cooking and cleaning these days, I am forgetting entire books….

Every year, I think I should join in the celebration of Buy Nothing Day. I never quite make it though, and I have mixed feelings about it. Sure, I am trying to limit what I buy. I am not getting rid of all this stuff from my home just so I can cram more stuff into every nook and cranny (and on every flat surface). I also love the whole idea of sitting out on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Black Friday is consumerism at its most rampant. You should see some of these crazy people! I say crazy not because I think they are crazy all the time, but because many of them get an absolutely crazed look on their faces as they pile more and more stuff into their arms, bags and carts. They are caught up in the frenzy, for sure.

On the other hand, I shop on Black Friday with my mother and my aunt. It is our tradition, and it is a nice way to get in some quality time with them. This is the big one, the reason that I get up at an ungodly hour of the morning and face those crowds. Without them, I would not do it, I am pretty sure. But there are a few other benefits.

• There really are some good deals. If you plan ahead, have a budget, and don’t go overboard, you can save some serious money at these sales. Even in years where I have done some shopping ahead through the year, I like to look at the sales on household goods I need, because they are hard to pass up. And if you go in with a list of things that you need rather than an amount of money that you have to spend (meaning, you don’t buy more stuff with the money you save on your deals), you can actually end up spending less money for the season overall.
• Shopping on this day actually reinforces my desire to get by with less stuff. When I look at all the people and all the extra merchandise the stores put out, with movies crammed in the clothing sections, and the major aisles filled with extra pallets of goods, I actually want to buy less. I have put stuff back on the shelves after looking around a bit and seeing the excess all around me.
• I am mostly buying gifts for other people on these days. I try not to buy stuff that will just clutter up their homes, but unless you get things that are truly not wanted or wasteful, the social bonding benefits of gift-giving outweigh the stuff for me. I am thinking though, this is an area I could improve on. If it is the thought that counts, why does it have to be something bought at the store? Still, I like the focus on gift-giving and other people of this shopping trip.

Like I said before, though, the biggest sticking point for me is the time with my mother and my aunt. I don’t have many opportunities to spend such a long stretch with them. I could wish that they wanted to do that with some non-shopping activity, but they don’t. I am willing to make a few compromises for that family togetherness, I think. Well, obviously I am willing to do it, otherwise I wouldn’t be yawning my way through a line at 4:30 AM every year the day after Thanksgiving. At least I am not doing it alone!

I got a table to put next to my reading chair, so I don't have to use the top of my radiator as a beverage holder. Of course, it is getting to be spring, finally, so the radiator wouldn't be so warming, but I still think the table is better. I like the artwork, too.
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