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| Second-best smoothie recipe: the runner's breakfast smoothie
about a cup of soymilk or non-skim milk
1 frozen banana
1 scoop vanilla frozen yogurt
2 generous spoonfuls of peanut butter
Blend up on medium speed, for about a minute or until the blender seems bored. A faint burning smell means it's time to stop blending.
This is probably my favorite breakfast in the world. Not only does it taste great, but it keeps me going all morning. Don't be afraid of the peanut butter-- your blender can handle it, honest! | | |
| Some of you may not know this, but I am a highly skilled smoothie-maker. I worked at a smoothie place years ago and have been tweaking recipes ever since. (I also had a good friend years ago give me the Klutz guide to smoothie-making, which gave me both confidence and skill; I highly recommend it.) And while every so often it occurs to me that I could make oodles of money (which would be nice) making smoothies (for a lot of people, which would be an awful lot of work), it is starting to dawn on me that I will never really do this, so I should just start sharing my favorite combinations with folks so they can share in the joy. This morning's concoction was my best yet. Here it is:
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk (yes, it will curdle with the citrus; ignore it, it'll taste great!)
1 frozen banana, peeled (very carefully with the aid of a sharp knife and some hot water- but yes, it has to be frozen!)
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 generous dollop strawberry yogurt (1 cup?)
Pour them all in a blender and blend on medium until it looks smooth. Pour into glass, enjoy! | | |
| PS Obviously, I have had zero time to read HP 7- but possibly by Monday. And my family is awesome; I miss them painfully. More soon. (...unless, as I suspect, the internet here is going to be scatty and unreliable after this weekend... All I can ask is for everybody else to be as patient as I am trying to be.) Love to you all! | | |
| Now arrived at second farm (the toe's pretty much recovered now, btw; a bruise like the one that used to be on the second toe is now on that one. hoping to stop the cycle here!) . It's crazy. Reminds me a lot of the one where I worked in Italy years ago, which tells me a couple of things: 1) I need to be careful around anybody spouting ideological stuff that sounds sketchy to me, and 2) I probably shouldn't leave here as quickly as I'm tempted to. I've immediately started looking into backup plans- other farms nearby, mostly- and that's a good thing. But what happened in Italy, which I didn't realize until near the end of my stay, was that I grew so much emotionally, so fast, that most of the time while it was happening all I could feel was that tearing sensation at the roots of my limbs where they were trying to stretch. Actually, my deepest concern right now is not that this place will affect me too much, but that I've become too calloused and cynical to let it affect me enough.
Now obviously, while the landscape here is wondrous and unique- not quite as much so as my homeland where I was recently, I have to say- primarily when I say "this place," I mean the people here, the sentient beings involved in my life here (including some pretty unlikeable avians; in Italy they were donkeys). This place is run by a pretty overwhelmed young couple with three young kids and a big farm. They rely pretty heavily on their unpaid workforce, to an extent that makes it somewhat astounding there *isn't* a hidden incentive for the workers: immortality, rehabilitation, parole. I think what makes it tick is the concept of community- not even politically speaking; just, community. It's clear the workers are working their butts off for the sake of each other, and that's about it. Three different people have already mentioned to me that the reason they don't take many days off is because they "can't deal with the idea that I'm just sitting there drinking a cup of coffee when the others are out there doing all the work." I don't even know these people- I've been here for two days- and I feel the same way. So, yeah- very Italian.
Turns out there's also a well-known psychiatrist who lives here, and technically owns the house, but isn't involved with the farm. He seems to be adopting me. (along with the cat- for a dog person I am seriously plagued by cats who love me!) We'll see how that goes... God knows I need it! | | |
| Toe bone was chipped, not broken; still sporting a pretty good bruise, but able to walk for which I'm grateful as always. Currently camped out in a big rainy city (indoors), visiting some more of my favorite people ever. Leave in a few days for more farming, although the details are still fuzzy pretty much until I get there. Given the ride situation on my way there, I may well be in full wing-it mode for a few days... At the moment, this feels ok. I'm just going to ride the wave of uncertainty and hope for some good views along the way.
Three enormous cheers for my friend Jo who underwent a long and arduous surgery a few days ago. Her courage and determination inspire me so much. We are all pulling for you, Jo, and looking forward to you continuing to get better every day.
Meanwhile I'm rereading the 7th Harry Potter book, noticing details and layers I didn't see before. I put off the second reading for as long as I could- it's been three years now since it came out- because I know that for me, after the second read, each subsequent reading gets less emotionally fresh for me. But after three years I've forgotten quite a lot, and am really enjoying it. I'm happy to be re-forming so many fresh details in my mind, before the too-tempting-to-miss movie comes out next month-- I can be kind of an HP purist, but a major HP event is just too good to miss-- and thwarts my imagination for about three hours. All the characters' voices and faces all messed up again, and the story all out of order. (What on earth are they going to do about You-Know-Who's family history, now that they completely failed to mention it in the sixth movie? Is this going to be like the end of Prisoner of Azkaban, where they scrunched all the major plot points into a completely confusing two-minute conversation between Harry and everybody else involved? ...Harumph. And yet, I've got to go.)
I'll probably have some more comments about the HP reread in a few days, when I'm more into the thick of things with the book... assuming I have an internet connection at that point. The past month has been a wonderful experience, helping out at a farm with a completely awesome family; but it's also been pretty touch and go as far as connecting with the outside world. For about three weeks I had zero phone reception and about 3 out of 5 days an internet connection. I'm hoping for more contact with The Outside (/ye rest of you beyond the vegetable patches) at this next place, but I must say, there is really no telling with this life, is there. | | |
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