Friends, romans, countrymen
I got my biscuit.
in all it’s glory.
My first stop on my first full day in Atlanta was at this brunch place called The Flying Biscuit, which is a place you should only go to if you truly love yourself and want good things to happen to you. But before I start drooling all over again about this meal, I’ll back up and focus on what this post is really about.
home.
there are certain things you don’t even realize you miss until you see have them once again, if only for a few days. The way my feet make the wooden floorboards creak. How my mom lays in bed reading the New York Times every Saturday, always clearing away paper and making room for me when I sit down beside her to talk. My dad saying “come on Guys!” to my dogs every time he walks out the door with them, beginning their ritualistic 6 o’clock walk. My little sister’s laugh, piercing through the house as she watches some YouTube video featuring some hip 13 year old boy I know nothing about who already makes me feel old.
I spent my break seeing lots of friends, eating lots of amazing food, and predictably but wonderfully, spending time with my goofy family. I ran a 5k on thanksgiving; I think is pretty cool that I actually run (slowly) races now, seeing as two years ago the absolute last thing I would be caught dead doing is running. And I won!…. a participant’s medal. It was great, I ran with an old friend, we talked the whole time, I went home and ate a banana. Then, I cooked.
Once I became a pescetarian, I was pretty much on my own for dinner in my meat-heavy household. This lead to a crash course in learning how to make shit out of other shit (also known to some as “cooking”). My first few months meat-free were filled with a lot of burned tofu, crunchy-ass kale, and weird meat replacement that were called things like Totally Chick’n. It’s weird how the vegetarian industry works so hard to make soy products look and taste like meat. It doesn’t. My suggestion is to rock your own style veggies products and stop trying to make “grill’n burgers with real meat taste.” I tasted it. There was no real meat taste. Only the taste of brown dye #4 and sadness.
Over time, I developed enough of a repertoire that I found myself being able to actually make fancy grown up foods! This year, I had the honor of being able to provide the vegetarian fancy grown up entree, vegetable shepherd’s pie.
I think it turned out really well! I mean, I don’t like to brag, but my dad did say it was the best vegetarian shepherd’s pie he’s ever had. So.
Dinner was at a family friends and it was so warm and dreamy and wonderful. I may also be describing it as “warm” and “dreamy” because I may or may not have accidentally had a bit too much wine that night. I was sincerely not looking to be intoxicated in the slightest, but I think I was just so excited to be drinking nice quality alcohol, not from a box, that I mistook the Riesling for grape fruit juice flowing from a bottomless fountain.
One thing I think you westerners, with your tea detoxes and lululemons, dagnabbit get off my lawn, don’t fully appreciate is the majestic powers of a good, fatty dessert. I consider myself a health-conscious person, I mean, I do win 5ks run 5ks jog 5ks at a sensible pace, but I have a very severe sweet tooth, which I really do think I can chalk up to being my mother’s daughter and a product of the south. I mean, even our tea, which you yogis are detoxing on, has more sugar than I don’t know, someone who has a lot of things (wow. I didn’t even try on that one). So, for dessert we pulled out all the stops. Every family brought a dessert. There was pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan, a swiss roll, apple pie, and my contribution, cinnamon-pumpkin monkey bread. This was my first time making bread and even though I used to much yeast so the bread because quite… bulbous, it was fucking. tasty. (note: the last photo is the most beautiful photo in the history of the world. fact.)
three cheers for good booze, good eats, and good company. I finished off the lovely break by seeing Mockingjay with my baby sister (whilst corrupting her innocence by using her as my drug mule to sneak contraband french fries and a smelly crabcake burger into the theater. I’m the worst sister and moviegoer patron ever.), avoiding doing homework by scratching my dog’s stomach into oblivion, and celebrating my sister’s 22nd birthday! Which meant… more cake….
also I made chocolate-chip cookie dough fudge. I must be stopped.
Now I’m back at school and things feel surprisingly normal. I’m stressed, I’m procrastinating, what else is new. My class schedule for next quarter is a hot mess so we’ll see if that gets better, I’ll let you know.
Peace and fudge,
B
Oh! In case you’re interested, and you should be because these recipes ROCKED, here are the links. Be sure to check out all these amazing people’s full sites, they rock because food:
Shepherd’s Pie: http://thefigtreeblog.com/2010/11/vegetarian-shepherds-pie-with-roasted-garlic-goat-cheese-mashed-potatoes.html
Monkey Bread: http://veganmotherhubbard.com/2013/10/vegan-cinnamon-pull-apart-bread.html
Fudge: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/02/14/vegan-cookie-dough-freezer-fudge/
For those who fear all things vegans: fear not! Have you ever even had a vegan dessert? Well clearly you haven’t lived. Because you know what they use instead of butter and milk? MORE SUGAR.
the southern californian: 