Cacio e Pepe with Scrimp, and More Meditations on Life

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This dish truly was a perfect 10, by my boyfriend’s accord, and by my own accord… which really says something since I’m usually full from taste-testing by the time I sit down to eat whatever I’ve cooked… I wanted second and thirds

Tomorrow is Thursday (actually it’s going to be Thursday in about 30 minutes), so that means I have almost made it to vacation.  I cannot wait to have a full week off of work… I haven’t had more than a few days off since last summer when I went on an *almost* three-week vacation.

I cannot wait to be off work, first and foremost.  Being out of the city and in Maine is secondary. Is that sad?! Probably.  I just really cannot wait.  I don’t want to do anything I don’t want to do (I will be on my own schedule, I will not be conned into eating breakfast (I don’t do breakfast, darling), or even worse, conned into eating a breakfast at 8 a.m.).  Life is about to be so good for 7 days.

I’ve been off and on fake tanning for the last week or so.  I did a heavy application of St. Tropez self bronzing mousse last weekend and loved the result, but then went to my friend’s house where I marinated in a hot tub all night, and as a result, lost the entire tan.

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As you can see, there is always some discoloring on the palms and around the ankles, but for a redhead who is pale as fuck and doesn’t tan…. it’s totally worth it to have a few splotches.  I get so jealous in the summer when every single person is tan as fuck – everyone looks better tan!  You automatically look thinner and your muscles look more defined when your skin is darker.  However, I must admit that I feel self-conscious walking around in broad daylight with my fake tan, because I feel like I look orange (like Donald Trump orange) and people are staring at me.  Than again, it could all just be in my head…. I don’t know.

I do know the tan photographs well, but that might be about it.  I also know my legs look way better in shorts when they’re tan and/or orange.  It makes it hard to choose between the lessor of two evils… white and bruised, or fluorescent orange and thinner…

Anyhow!  I cannot wait for Maine.  I am going to go sea kayaking, and biking, and eat seafood chowder, and just fucking relax. It’s really hard for me to relax….

I cooked this awesome Cacio e Pepe on Monday night, with shrimp on top.  I was inspired by an Italian food blog I follow on Instagram, although I couldn’t locate the post again to share here.  The recipe that follows is my own, made-up version, as the blog I follow doesn’t post recipes.. only pictures.

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Pecorino Romano (whole wedge/block which you’ll grate a full cup of)
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1 box farfalle (the Italian term for pasta “bow ties”)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 lb. fresh or frozen shrimp
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • garlic salt
  • pasta water (water taken from pasta pot)
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

  • Peel and rinse shrimp (thaw first, if you’re starting with frozen), and then chop into fine pieces and set aside in small bowl

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  • Squeeze juice from one lemon over onto the shrimp, and add some salt and pepper to taste, along with 2 Tbs. olive oil; mix together and set aside.
  • Put on a large pot of heavily-salted water onto high heat and bring to a boil (for pasta)
  • While the water heats up…

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • In separate bowl, add 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grate in 1 full cup of fresh Pecorino Romano, add one egg, 1/4 cup olive oil, and a GENEROUS amount of black pepper (1 Tbs. plus some)

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  • Whisk the above mixture together until thick and uniform – set aside!
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  • Once the water is boiling, add in the box of pasta and stir occasionally
  • Boil pasta for recommended length of time (according to instructions on box)
  • BEFORE YOU DRAIN THE PASTA, ladle out 1/2 cup of pasta water using a measuring cup or ladle, and pour directly into your sauce mixture and whisk IMMEDIATELY until uniform!
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Whip it real good… or rather, whisk it real good
  • Drain the pasta and add back to pot and place over lowest possible heat setting, stir in the sauce, remove from heat, and set aside

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  •  You would have an amazing Cacio e Pepe at this point if you wanted to call it a day and/or you don’t want to cook or don’t actually like shrimp… the shrimp just brings it to another level of heavenly-ness and makes the dish look better

FOR THE SHRIMP:

  • Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil over low heat in a saute pan
  • Add in shrimp and stir around until cooked through (shrimp turns orange when cooked)… DO NOT over cook.  Since the shrimp is chopped so finely, it should only take a couple of minutes max.

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  • Plate your pasta, and top with a couple spoonfuls of shrimp
  • Chop the basil and sprinkle fresh basil on top to finish
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Buon appetito bitches

Update:  I stopped writing last night because I was too tired to finish the recipe.  It is now Friday at 12:19 a.m. and I have only one more work day until I am home free and on vacation.  Hallelujah!

I have a great idea for my next blog… how to survive a recession from someone who has already been there and done that.  I have the ultimate tips for surviving on no money, minimal food, and the stress of being in a recession without a steady job or paycheck.

Stay tuned fam.

 

 

INDIGO WOKE UP IN MYKONOS

If you’ll recall from the last installment of Indigo Wren, Indigo landed in Ibiza, made the drug transaction, got his money, checked into a five-star hotel and lived his best live for a couple of days.  He ran into his arch-nemesis/love of his life, Lily Von Fustenburg at a club, and ended up on a yacht sailing for Mykonos.  They had another falling out after Indigo saved her from an attempted sexual-assault, after which he took a handful of Xanax he found in the bathroom to pass out for the remainder of the trip…

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Indigo woke up from his Xanax-induced slumber about 16 hours later… as usual, he was parched as fuck, didn’t remember where he was, or what had happened. He was still lying face-down, naked on the bedroom carpet, with a puddle of drool under his face.  Once again, he did not know whether or not he had been sexually assaulted.  He figured he was safe this time, since he had locked the bedroom door behind him.

Indigo dragged himself to a sitting position and tried to remember what had transposed between running into Lily at Amnesia two nights ago, and waking up on the floor of a moving yacht.  His head was pounding from being dehydrated, and he was finding it hard to piece together the events of the last 36 hours. He wanted to cry, but he was too fucking dehydrated to even produce tears. He would have killed for a cold Gatorade and a couple of lines of the good stuff at this moment, but he had neither.  FUCK. For the first time in a while, he was really lonely and he was really sad.  He wished he was back home with his parents right now, or hanging out with a friend on a sofa somewhere in Williamsburg.  Life was hard for a rolling stone.

What Indigo really need most right now, was a hug.  Sadly for him, there was no one available to give him one.  His parents were across an ocean, and they didn’t even know where he was.  He had basically pushed away every real friend he had with his behavior and drug use, and all of the “fake friends” (aka party friends) were only around when there was fun to be had – they didn’t actually care to check up on him and see how he was doing.  He felt so completely alone and wretched.  Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to live a life without drugs.  Maybe, he wouldn’t find himself in these predicaments quite so often.

Indigo realized the room he was in came fully-equipped with speakers and an Echo Dot.  He put some Incubus on to play, and he sat and listened to the lyrics of Brandon Boyd.  As he meditated on his life, listening to Brandon Boyd croon out “Wish You Were Here”, he realized that he didn’t need drugs to be complete.  He thought about Brandon Boyd, who seemed to have his shit together – he was fucking hot, thin and ripped, healthy, and didn’t seem to party or do hard drugs.  Dude looks like he smokes mad weed, but that’s about it.  Indigo considered all of these things.  Maybe he too could live a clean and sober life style; go on a Paleo diet, get ripped, make music… write poetry…. he too could be an honest, artistic, and emotionally-deep man.  “I don’t want to do drugs anymore.  I want to be sober and feel real feelings.  I want to experience emotions instead of suppressing them into nothingness – into blackness.  I want to feel a natural high where there is no comedown… I’m so done chasing temporary highs and pleasure, and feeling like shit about myself the next day.  I can’t live this way anymore.” He thought about all of it – about his life, sobriety, how fucked up his existence was…. how all of his friends were married and owned houses, and had kids… he thought about turning it all around and making an honest man out of himself.

But, honestly, what do you feel if you don’t feel high?  Think about it for me.  Think about it NOW.  Do you feel happy?  Do you feel fulfilled?  Do you feel relaxed and in control of your life? Maybe you actually do.  Indigo never felt these things when he was sober.  When Indigo wasn’t high, he felt a plethora of feelings and emotions, none of which were good.  He usually felt stressed and/or anxious, he always felt bored and restless, he usually felt sad and depressed and contemplated the meaning of his existence and of humanity.  He didn’t like to feel these feelings, and that’s why he continually sought out drugs.  Drugs were his only escape from reality and an escape from the prison that was his own mind. The only time he felt OK sober, was if and when he was in a relationship and had butterflies in his stomach because the relationship was new, or like, he was in the midst of an orgasm… those were the only natural highs he knew.  I digress though….

Indigo turned off the music, he got himself dressed and went out on deck to see what was up.  He would never be like Brandon Boyd.  He was honestly more like Jim Morrison – a total, drug-addicted mess of a person.  Except Indigo wasn’t 27 anymore, he wasn’t rich or hot, he wasn’t a rock star or a musical genius, and he didn’t have a following of millions of fans. Whatever – he was himself at least.  He wasn’t pretending to be anything he wasn’t, and that is honorable enough.

He could see land in the near distance…. he estimated that they would be docking within the next 40 minutes. Indigo needed to think of a game plan and he needed to think of one quickly! Despite the pleasant thoughts of sobriety he’d had only minutes prior, he decided his best course of action was to use his last few hundred drug dollars to grab a drink once he landed, and then check out Lindsay Lohan’s club and secure some blow.  He surmised he could just stay up and out all night, and then sleep on the beach to save money.  Who needs a hotel when you’re on an island where it’s warm and never rains?!

He ran back to his cabin and packed the few articles of clothing he had, then brought his satchel with him to the bar for a couple of stiff drinks before embarking onto land.  Naturally, he slammed back a couple of shots of Wild Turkey. He was ready to roll!

He stealthily bolted down the ramp and onto dry land as soon as the yacht docked in Mykonos.  Indigo decided since he didn’t have a phone, he should really catch up on current news since he’d been checked out of reality for several weeks now; he was starting to worry about his parents worrying about him. Indigo walked around until he spotted a couple of American frat-boy type tourists whom he then approached and asked if they knew of any local sports bars. They pointed him in the direction of Blu Blu, and so he trekked across the island in the ballz-hot 101 degree sun. He stopped at a bank along the way to exchange his currency.  When he finally reached Blu Blu, he was soaked in sweat and in need of water.  He sauntered into the dark bar and took a seat in one of the lounge chairs facing a large-screen TV. He ordered a water and a bellini and tipped the waiter generously.  He requested that they kindly switch the TV from the soccer match that was playing to BBC or any international news station… he also asked them if they had a contact to find blow, ever so nonchalantly, of course.  The waiter consented because he’d been tipped well and there were only a couple of other customers who didn’t seem to be watching the game.  He switched to CNN, and then looked through his phone and gave Indigo his coke contact.  “Tell him you’re a friend of Stamos, and  ask for the “special feta salad” *WINK*.

Indigo needed to sort out his priorities, so naturally he texted this Stamos fellow first.  Next, he slipped his bellini and watched CNN.  Ahhhh, how comforting it was to hear some American accents!  It was at at that moment, as Indigo read the current news banner on the bottom of the screen that he saw his own name:  “NEXT UP: THE SEARCH FOR INDIGO WREN CONTINUES….”  At first, he didn’t think this could possibly be him… after all, his given birth name was actually ‘Jonathan Arthur Willard II,’ then again, he had been going by Indigo Wren for the past 20 or so odd years….

Indigo snapped his fingers for the waiter, “Sir, please turn up the volume!” he yelled, as he stood up and inched closer to the TV.  A very HOMELY photo of him (pre-anorexia and really bad hair cut) took up the screen.  At that moment, the screen panned-in to a very somber-looking Anderson Cooper (whom Indigo had secretly lusted after for several years), who then introduced the parents of a missing American citizen, known by the name of ‘INDIGO WREN.’

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT BALLZ… FUCK ME IN THE GOAT ASS!!!,” Indio shouted for all to hear. Indigo was in shock… his jaw dropped open, as he realized he was THE missing American Citizen, and his elderly parents were live on CNN begging for information of his whereabouts and safe return.

Anderson Cooper then proceeded to interview his elderly, mid-western parents, Ingva and Jonathan Arthur Willard Sr..  His father was crying, and holding on tightly to Indigo’s white, Persian, one-eyed cat, Mr. Pickles (more on Mr. Pickles in just a moment…)

Anderson: “Mrs. Willard, when was the last time you heard from your son?”

Ingva: (strong Norwegian accent, sobbing) “The last I spoke to my boy, he had started a new job with the MTA, and he was so excited to finally be employed full time and have health insurance… I don’t know why he would leave a job he was so excited to start.  Our precious Jonathan Arthur has been such special, caring soul since the day I gave birth to him. He wouldn’t just leave without telling us where he was going; someone must have taken advantage of him.”

Anderson:  “Mr. Willard, do you suppose there are any plausible places he could have gone?”

Mr. Willard:  “Well given the time of year, I suppose he could have gone to Burning Man, and he did really liked this one bar in Chelsea called ‘Raw Hide’… he would talk about that place all the time.”

Anderson: “If your son, or anyone who knows where he is, is currently watching this, is there a message you have for them?”

Mr. Willard: “Son, just come home. We won’t be angry no matter where you are or what you’ve done.  Mr. Pickles needs his daddy”.

CAMERA PANS IN TO A ONE-EYED MR. PICKLES, WHO LOOKS PATHETICALLY AT THE CAMERA LENS, AS THE MUSIC CUTS TO “ANGEL” BY SARAH MCLAUGHIN

It is then that Indigo went into such shock that he fainted at the bar.

Indigo woke up to Stamos slapping his face with an ice-cold, wet towel.  Indigo opened his eyes, and his first words were, “Hey man, can I borrow your phone for a quick international call?”  Stamos said, “sure, but it’s gonna cost ya’.”  Stamos requested an additional 50 euros on top of the 80-euro gram of blow he’d secured from his dealer, Artemitis.  Indigo forked over the cash and dialed up his parents using Stamos’s phone.  The phone went straight to voicemail, since his parents were still at the CNN studio with Anderson Cooper.  Indigo left a distraught voicemail which simply said:  “Mommy, Daddy, I’m coming home to Mr. Pickles…. I love you all… kiss my baby for me.”

After that, Indigo made his way to the men’s room to do a couple of lines and set his head straight.  He looked in the mirror at his beautiful, emaciated, tanned frame and hysterically started to cry…. “who have I become?  My strangest friend? Everyone I know, goes away… in the ennndddd”

Indigo thought about poor, sweet, Mr. Pickles.  He had stolen Mr. Pickles on the last morning of a three-day drug binge, from another socialite friend he used to have, named Annabelle de Barcelona.  Mr. Pickles was already basically neglected, apart from the hired help that fed and groomed him.  He had never had real love though.  Indigo was high out of his fucking mind one morning, when he decided to change all of that.  He wanted to be Mr. Pickles Daddy, and give him unconditional love for the rest of his cat life.  Indigo didn’t even have to sneak Pickles out of his friend’s house, since she was knocked out, face-down on her own floor. He simply tucked Pickles under his arm, and made his way out the door that fateful morning, as the sun was rising over Manhattan, and made his way back to Williamsburg on the L train with Mr. Pickles in tow.  Once he arrived home again, he proceeded to do copious amounts of molly, and then passed out on his couch, with several lines of MDMA laying on his coffee table.

Unfortunately, as he slept, Mr. Pickles licked several two lines of molly, apparently having a grand-mal seizure, and going blind in one eye.  When Indigo woke from his slumber at 9pm that evening, he realized Mr. Pickles had a white, cloudy eye, and a hump in his back.  Indigo was inconsolable having realized it was his own gross negligence that had caused this sad state of affairs.  He couldn’t couldn’t forgive himself and punished himself by not eating and not drinking for a week straight.  He vowed to better Mr. Pickles life in whatever ways he could, and that is why, 2 years ago, he surrendered Pickles to his parents so that Pickles could live out the remainder of his days on a farm in Iowa.

Indigo did a couple more lines to try to forget all of these bad memories, and then decided it was time to leave this bar.  Indigo thought for a moment.  “I’ve got to get home to Mr. Pickles and my parents… they need me and they miss me.”  But then, he also thought, “holy shit, all of America has seen my face,” and so, in a moment of clarity, he thought “this is my only chance to get famous.”  Indigo walked back out to the bar, ordered a spicy margarita, and started chatting with the bartender.  The bartender mentioned that Lindsay Lohan had started filming a reality TV show with MTV involving her nightclub.  Indigo had a brilliant idea – he could get famous by showing up at LiLo’s club while they were filming as the “missing American man” and totally steal the show! He decided to take a couple of shots of Jameson for gumption, and then called a cab to bring him to LiLo’s club.

 

 

 

 

Korn and Corn

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I love rock concerts – they’re the perfect excuse to dress the way I wish I could dress all day, every day… what can I say? Old habits die hard.

Once again, I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been too caught-up in the daily grind of working to pay bills and maintaining my apartment and cats.  I try to go out and party when I have an opportunity to do so, taking advantage of the fact that it’s summer, but then I feel guilty when I spend precious hours of free time recovering from a night out on the town or I end up spending a Saturday doing a weeks-work of cleaning and errands.  The life of a working woman is not all it’s cracked up to be, friends.

I was in the midst of writing another installment of Indigo Wren, but I kept getting writer’s block, so I decided to throw in the towel for now.

I haven’t taken any vacation time this summer (not long weekends, not a trip to the beach, neinte, nada, NOTHING!), and therefore I am more excited than any person my age should be to have two days off of work mid-week so I can go to a Korn/Alice in Chains concert in Jones Beach… WTF.  That’s what my vacation is this year… a rock concert. SAD.

Is that sad?! I think it might be, but I don’t care.  The only other thing I have lined up to look forward to is a week in Maine – the last week of August.  I cannot wait to spend a week on the coast, sea kayaking, biking, and drinking cocktails and eating seafood.  Based on how fast the rest of this year, and especially this summer, has flown by so far, I know it will be here in the blink of an eye.  Even more thrilling than being “on vacation” though, is honestly just being off of work for a whole week.  Hell, I’d even take a stay-cation at this point, just to spend time away from work and out of the office.  Brutal.  Also, getting out of this putrid, summer-stench, dirty, ugly city will also be amazing.  The entire city currently smells like expired yogurt, dehydrated, homeless person piss, dog diarrhea and rotting fruit.  Fucking foul. I almost threw up one day walking up the subway stairs because I was mildly hungover and a dog (or human… who knows in this neighborhood) had diarrhe-ed ALL OVER the subway stairs.

Sorry… I know that’s gross, but alas, that’s the reality of life in this shitty city.  I am SO looking forward to sleeping-in this weekend.  I never thought I’d consider sleeping until 8:30am “sleeping in.”  LOL.  Who have I become?! Sometimes I don’t know or like this person.  Then again, sometimes I DO like this person, because at least she is less prone to blacking out and losing her debit card or starting fights.

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Sloppy presentation, delicious food… I made lentil “meatballs” Swedish style!
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Lentil Swedish “meat” balls

So, every time I made my lentil balls, I usually make them in tomato sauce, like I would traditional, Italian meatballs.  I had a brilliant idea a few nights ago, to switch it up and prepare them like Swedish meatballs.  I went out and bought all of the accoutrements of a typical Scandinavian meal – potatoes, beets, dill, creme fraiche, etc..  When I got home, I had to run the dishwasher because literally every piece of silverware was dirty and every single plate too.  I never realized how fucking long the dishwasher takes to do it’s thing!  I boiled the lentils, and then thought I could do more prep work and peel the beets, etc., until I realized even my veggie peeler and my cutting board were in the dishwasher.  I tried to wait it out, but I was starving to death, especially after a glass of wine, and ended up ordering Thai food.  I’ve realized I don’t like Thai food as much as I used to…. the red curry was too coconut milk-y and made me feel hella sick.

I also made some crab cakes this week, which are always a hit in this house, since my boyfriend, myself, and the cats love crab meat.  Anything for my cats….

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(^^^ Alexa kept playing emo songs when I was cooking).  The secret to moist and delectable crab cakes, is adding a couple of tablespoons of mayo to the mix.

The real showstopper this week though, or technically last weekend now, was the sweet corn risotto and sea scallop situation I made:

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I made the risotto first (you can modify this recipe by using chicken stock in place of seafood stock, and obviously subbing in sweet corn kernels in place of the shrimp).  Yeah… I’m too damn tired to write out a recipe tonight.

I walked 3 miles to Whole Foods and back again in the 93 degree heat to get sea scallops. Despite the fact that there are a couple of closer fish stores, Whole Foods still has the best seafood in the area.  I pan seared the scallops in butter (recipe for scallops can be found HERE).

There was a ton of risotto left-over since the scallops were the main feature of this meal.  I love to cook enough food that I have leftovers for a couple of days…. even though cooking brings me a lot of joy and it’s something I enjoy doing every day, it’s comforting to know there is prepared food in the fridge in case I get stuck working late.

What else have I been up to lately?  Not much…. klutz-ing around as usual.  I decided to do a fake tan (St. Tropez), as I was sick of seeing how lovely everyone else looked all bronzed and golden and sunkissed.  Needless to say, the same thing that happens every time I fake tan happened again – I looked like I was radioactive and/or sprayed with agent orange.  I don’t know why I always convince myself that maybe ‘this time will be different than the last’ when I decide I don’t want to be pale anymore.

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Agent orange color – bruises from dancing on tiled flooring.
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Allergic reaction to some mosquito bites I got at Knockdown Center basement…. looks like cigarette burns
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And finally, back to my natural skin color, after the tan wore off… but the two week old bruises still persist.

I live such a charmed life.

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Tuna and me, sporting devil horns… just two peas in a pod!
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When your kitten has been watching Fox News again

 

 

Indigo Took a Baggie in Ibiza

Recap:  Indigo was picked up by Colombian drug traffickers after he abandoned the cruise ship and stole a life boat.  He had a choice between being fed to the sharks, or serving as a drug mule.  Of course, he chose the later, seeing as how it meant free drugs and a free ride to Ibiza.  He landed in Ibiza and waltzed past harbor security with a suitcase full of blow, looking like Naomi Campbell strutting into a diamond mine…

As soon as Indigo had made the transaction (aka drug deal) and had received his cold, hard-earned payout (and, of course, after powdering his nose in the men’s room), he thought of the most expensive, posh hotel he could think of in Ibiza.  Indigo had one of the waitresses at the cafe call him a car, and made his way to the Sir Joan Hotel, a five-star luxury hotel, where he booked a master suite for the next four nights and paid in full, using cold, hard, drug-cash. He’d never been in such a luxurious establishment before… he felt so posh it was almost like he was in a dream…he felt like Posh Spice, actually.  He just needed some platforms and a bob.

After checking into his hotel room, he proceeded to call room service and order (and subsequently guzzle-down) a bottle of the finest champagne.  He then took a 15 minute power nap, and when he woke up, he snorted a couple of lines in order to wake up more fully.  He couldn’t possibly go out in Ibiza wearing the Bermuda shorts he’d borrowed from Fernando, and so he had the concierge order another car to take him shopping. If you’re wondering where his newfound wealth came from, let’s just say he got compensated very well for the drug transaction, darling!  But don’t ask how much he made… that’s just uncouth. Let’s just say it’s enough to afford a luxury hotel suite for four nights, and have a little left over spending money for shopping and ecstasy.

Indigo bought some white linen tunics with embroidered yokes,  and the tiniest denim cut-offs he could find…. his legs did look great after all, from days of not eating. He also bought some leather, Italian-crafted booties, Gucci sunglasses and some leather jewelry to adorn his tiny, emaciated wrists.  He felt like a million dollars once he was fully dressed, and he was ready to have some fucking fun.  Indigo gave himself a once-over in the mirror of his hotel room, snorted a few more lines for good measure, and then headed downstairs to the hotel’s bar/lounge area where he proceeded to park himself in front of the bar, making eyes at any man, woman, or child he thought might buy him a cocktail.

No one was taking the bait, or the queer bait for that matter, and so he bought himself a glass of champagne, and asked the bartender for a pickle back after he finished the champagne in three gulps.  The bartender didn’t know what a pickle back was, and so Indigo had to explain it’s when you do a shot of whisky and wash it down with a shot of pickle juice to get rid of the aftertaste.  The bartender had to send the bar back to the kitchen to ask the chef for pickle juice since no one had ever requested such a drink before in this establishment.   Indigo was getting bored of the hotel bar – it was mostly rich older couples, a handful of younger couples on their honeymoon, and a few families eating dinner at the tables near the windows…. AKA BORING AS FUCK.   Since he had no phone, he couldn’t even get on Grindr.  Indigo decided now was a good time to bounce, and so he asked for his check. When the bartender turned his back to print it, Inidigo sprinted right out of there as fast as he could and out of the hotel’s main doors into the night.  He was far too beautiful to be spending money on his own drinks.  Fuck it.

Indigo hailed a cab and went to Amnesia.  There was a line of botoxed posers and anorexic model-wannabes waiting to get in outside, but Indigo didn’t do lines (apart from the white stuff), and so he sashayed straight to the doorman to work his magic charm.  Indigo looked pretty fucking hot in his daisy dukes and tunic, and he slipped the doorman a lil’ baggie of blow when he shook his hand.  The doorman let Indigo right in, no questions asked.  He turned around to acknowledge the losers still waiting in line, and strutted his tiny ass through the entrance.

Once inside the club, he scoped out the scene… when who should he spot but Lily Von Fustenburg!  His arch nemesis – also the one woman Indigo went straight for.  He had loved this woman for the past 10 years that he knew her, but she had rejected him in the most public of ways after a year of casual sex.  Lily was a trust fund baby who had been cut off of her family fortune due to her rampant drug use, multiple stints in rehab, terrible public behavior that had been documented repeatedly by Page Six, and multiple arrests (including, but not limited to, shoplifting, drug possession, DUIs… you name it). Lily was rolling ballz and also spotted Indigo.  She made a wobbly beeline through the crowd to him, her eyes flitting back into their sockets, and a permanent smile plastered across her face.  God, she was hot.  She was bleach blonde and about 90 lbs., wearing black denim cut-offs, platform boots, and a sheer crop top.  She was the most perfect woman Indigo had ever had the pleasure of meeting – and right now, she was higher than a fucking kite.

Lily screamed above the thumping bass, “Oh FUCK ME RUNNING!  You dirt-bag! A) What the fuck are you doing HERE, and B) Give me all the drugs!”  Indigo was swept off of his feet, yet again. His knees went week and his stomach got butterflies as his heart raced and his palms began to sweat. How could one woman be so perfect? He emptied his pockets and handed over two vials of blow to Lily’s waiting hands. He would walk across hot coals for this woman…fuck, he would go sober for this woman.  He would hold down a 9-5 job if it meant he could spend the rest of his life with this woman!

The last time Indigo had seen Lily, they’d had a marvelous night on the town, ending in the bathroom stall at Tao.  Lily was going down on Indigo, when the stall door flew open. “Holy shit!  Indigo?!”  A scrawny Guatemalan boy stood in the door way, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Raymundo!!!! I thought you were working tonight!”  Indigo exclaimed. Lily stopped what she was doing and recoiled.  This was the last fucking straw.  She wasn’t about to be Indigo’s fag hag.  “You’re fucking the Guatemalan busser from Delicatessen?  Dude, I know he gives you the best blow, and possibly blow jobs, but I don’t want to be your fag hag.  I’m fucking done!  This is it.”  Lily got off her bony knees and marched out.  Indigo stood there with his 9-inch rod fully exposed, his size 0 leather pants around his ankles (side note: Indigo is very well-endowed and known to be a very generous lay… in case you’re wondering and in the market).  Indigo was in shock.  His heart shattered into a million pieces.  Meanwhile, Raymundo had gotten down on his knees and proceeded to gargle Indigo’s member.  Indigo disassociated.

Indigo had went home with Raymundo that night after several more lychee martinis.  He blacked out, HARD, and may or may have not been sexually assaulted.  He woke up the next day in Raymundo’s top bunk bed, in a 6-story East Village walk-up with no AC, sweating like a whore in church, coming down from the blow, hungover from the martinis, and in the midst of a serious panic attack, wondering where he went wrong and wishing last night had never happened.  He called Lily later that day, but she had blocked him on her phone and all social media.  He sent an apologetic email, professing his love for her, and letting her know Raymundo meant nothing to him – he was only in it for the coke.  Lily never answered his email.  This was two years ago… they hadn’t spoken or seen each other since. Until this night…

Indigo embraced Lily in a warm bear-hug and kissed her forehead tenderly.  She smelled of expensive perfume (Acqua di Parma, Oud), cocaine, and stale cigarette smoke.  “Lily, do you have any more pills?  I need to catch up to you and your friend there.”  Lily was swaying, arm-in-arm with a dapper looking gentleman who must have been about 60, with salt-and-pepper hair, and a Patek Philippe watch – he was also rolling ballz. This time, it was Lily’s turn to empty her pockets and hand over the drugs.  She gave Indigo a large pressed pill, which he swallowed whole and washed down with a sip of her margarita.

Indigo blacked out momentarily and the next thing he knew, they were all naked in a hot tub – on a yacht.  The yacht belonged to the older gentleman who was with Lily – a Spanish real estate tycoon named Rodrigo Espinoza IV.  They were all still rolling ballz when Rodrigo hopped out of the hot tub and said he was going to the bar to get them all drinks.  Indigo had to use the bathroom, and so he hopped out of the hot tub as well and followed Rodrigo inside.  The bathroom was adjacent to the bar, and when Indigo came out of the bathroom, he saw Rodrigo still standing at the bar.  He watched silently as Rodrigo dropped something into one of the drink glasses.

Sure, he and Lily weren’t as close as they once were, but he certainly couldn’t sit around and watch the love of his life get roofied by this douche bag.  He quickly hatched a plan.  Indigo stepped out of the bathroom doorway.  “Hey, Rodrigo! How those drinks coming?”  Rodrigo handed Indigo a drink, and said “here, help me carry these.”  Indigo made sure to keep his eye on the drink that had been roofied, as fucked up as he was, he wasn’t fucking around.

When they got back to the hot tub and into the water again, Rodrigo handed Lily the drink that was in his left hand.  Lily took one sip and set it in the corner drink-holder. Indigo waited until the moment was right, and quickly swapped his drink with Lily’s.  He downed the roofied drink as fast as he could…. he had to take one for the team tonight.  He didn’t mind, he’d been roofied twice before – once by some bear at a gay bar, and another time, voluntarily by himself, just for fun.  After 30 minutes had passed, Indigo started to feel very, very, EXTREMELY relaxed.  More relaxed than he’d felt rolling balls.

He closed his eyes and sank deeper into the water.  His muscles relaxed, his brain stopped thinking coherent thoughts.  Suddenly, Lily was slapping his cheek, “Indigo, INDIGO, What the Fuck?!  Wake up dude!”  Indigo just barely opened his eyes and gave a crooked, half-smile, “I saved you bitch,” he slurred.  He couldn’t wake up, even though he tried… and he felt FAN- fucking-tastic!!!  He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this relaxed and stress-free.  Rodrigo chuckled nervously at the sight of Indigo, who was at this point, clearly under the influence of the GHB he intended to drug Lily with. “Wow, your friend is a regular Lindsay Lohan, huh? A real piece of work!” Rodrigo said, before excusing himself to the bathroom.  Now, Lily was super embarrassed – Indigo was about to blow her chance and therefore also blow her future with this billionaire/next meal-ticket.

Once Rodrigo had disappeared inside, Lily slapped Indigo hard across the face: “WAKE THE FUCK UP!” Nothing could be done now though… Indigo was fucking dead (hypothetically speaking of course).  Lily was beyond frustrated, but also slightly worried for him.  After all, they’d taken the same pills and the same amount of drugs, or so she thought… unless of course he was holding out on her, and had a secret stash, and had taken more drugs without her (in which case, she decided she would fucking kill him – “sharing is caring” – am I right???). When Rodrigo returned to the hot tub, Lily tried to save the situation as best she could, and informed him that Indigo wasn’t ‘feeling well,’ and asked him to help her get Indigo into a cabin for bed.  Together, they hoisted Indigo’s emaciated, tanned, glorious frame out of the water and carried him into a bedroom.  Lily decided it was best that she spend the night in Indigo’s cabin, to keep an eye on him….even though she wanted to raw-dog Rodrigo and risk getting prego.  She knew in her heart that this was the end of any future she might have had with Rodrigo, since he wasn’t getting laid and therefore would give her the cold shoulder tomorrow, but her friend was more important.

Indigo woke up the next afternoon around 3pm, groggy as fuck. He didn’t remember anything apart from seeing Rodrigo spike Lily’s drink and making the executive decision to drink it before she could.  Lily was already up and dressed when Indigo walked out of his cabin onto the deck.  Hell truly hath no fury like a woman’s scorn – Lily looked furious, and grabbed him by the arm as soon as she saw him: “We need to talk” she said, as she hauled him down the stairs into another cabin.  “You FUCKING blew my chances with Rodrigo!  I was going to get pregnant last night and become a lady-who-lunches, and never worry about how I’d afford drugs, EVER AGAIN!!! AND NOW THAT DREAM IS DEAD!!! YOU FUCKING BLEW IT!  I was supposed to be the one doing the blowing! WTF happened to you?!”

“Lily – I SAVED YOU!  I watched that geriatric, FUGLY, Spaniard douche-HOLE spike the drink he gave to YOU with GHB – so I switched our drinks so you didn’t get assaulted.”

“Well what if I WANTED to be drugged?  Did you ever think of that?!” Lily screamed.

“You know what?! FUCK YOU.  I’m sorry I tried to help you – clearly you don’t want to be helped.  That’s why you’re a fucking 90 lb coke whore who got cut off her inheritance and now spends her days peddling coochie on yachts in return for fancy meals that you THROW UP and drugs.  Don’t talk to me anymore… I’m done with you.  I should have been done with you a long time ago.”  Indigo stormed off into his cabin.  It was only another 18 hours before they were set to arrive in Mykonos.  He could do this.  He just needed some more drugs and booze.

Indigo stormed off to the bathroom.  He was out of drugs, having given his coke to Lily the previous night.  He HAD to find something… anything, or he wasn’t making to Mykonos in one piece.  He knew on a yacht this grandiose, some dumb yacht whore must have stashed something SOMEWHERE.  He frantically searched the bathroom and found a baggie of four xanax in the medicine cabinet. BINGO!  It was gonna be smooth sailing from here on out.  Indigo put the pills in his pocket, and went to the bar where he proceeded to order a Johnny Walker Black Label, neat.  He threw all four pills in his mouth, took a big swig of his drink and that was that my friend!

Indigo started to feel pretty fucking good.  He went back to his cabin in a state of total relaxation and bliss.  He didn’t a fuck about anything – life was beautiful and nothing mattered.  He stripped naked, and got down on the plush carpet of the cabin floor.  Ahhh… it felt so good against his naked thighs and ballsack.  This was bliss.  He fell fast asleep, face-down on the carpet and slept in dreamless state for the next 18 hours.

 

 

Homemade Pasta

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This is the second dish I used the homemade pasta in… the first night I made an artichoke pesto 😉
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The night we made the pasta – with an artichoke pesto and generous (clearly…) amount of Pecorino

Once again, I’ve been negligent about writing out blogs with recipes. I find that writing out the ingredients and process is not nearly as exciting as the actual preparation and cooking of the dishes.  I have, however, been invested in writing the tales of Indigo Wren.  I’m sick, I know. I invented this character and I’m basically living vicariously through him, or him through me. Whichever it is.

Anyhow, I made a collaborative dish with my boyfriend this past Friday.  I do the cooking 98% of the time, but I must admit, he has the golden touch when it comes to homemade pasta. If you have time to kill, and a pasta machine (*** trust me, you will need a pasta machine… I’ve tried to hand-roll and it does NOT work out), this is the perfect dish to make.  It’s going to take you about 3 hours start to finish… possibly more if you’re drinking and getting distracted dancing to 90s dance music.

I’m going to post the recipe for the shrimp dish… honestly it was better. If you want to make the artichoke pesto though: 1 can of artichoke hearts (don’t fuck with raw for this pesto), juice from 1 lemon, 1/3 cup olive oil, a handful of pine nuts OR walnuts (like 1/4 a cup), 2 TBS. chopped parsley, 1 clove of finely minced garlic, some salt and pepper to taste – throw it all in a food processor or blender and blend until pureed. Voila!

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This pasta is so delicate and light I honestly think it goes better with butter and olive oil or a light dusting of cheese, as opposed to this sauce, which was rather heavy and weighed it down.  This pesto would pair much better with boxed rigatoni or bucatini in retrospect… 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PASTA:

  • 4 eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten
  • 3 cups flour (preferably 1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose, and 1 and 1/2 cup Semolina… but 3 cups of all-purpose does the job)
  • 1 Tbs. salt
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 Tbs. ICE COLD water
  • More flour to knead the dough and dust the surface you roll on, as well as to dust the noodles so they don’t stick to each other!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled, shelled, and de-veined
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 Tbs. butter
  • 1/2 cup white wine (dry works better)
  • Juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 Tbs. freshly chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

  • Make sure you wear an apron and/or something light colored – you will end up with flour all over everything.  If you’re OCD about the cleanliness of your kitchen/counter tops and stove, you’ve been warned.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt
  • Slightly beat the room temperature eggs in a smaller bowl and dump into the flour
  • Add in the olive oil and water
  • Knead the dough with your hands until the mixture is consistent… add more flour or water as necessary, but you’ll want the dough to be more dry than sticky.  IF ITS STICKING TO YOUR FINGERS AND PALMS, IT NEEDS MORE FLOUR!
  • After kneading the dough for about 3 minutes, dust with more flour and divide into four parts.  Wrap in plastic wrap or a damp cloth and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

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Don’t be stingy with the flour!  Drier dough is better than sticky in this case… as long as it’s not so dry it’s crumbling 
  • You’re going to want to make sure whatever surface the dough touches is dusted in flour, be it the counter top, the plate you put the finished pasta on, or the machine you use to press it and cut it!
  • I have made pasta by hand before with a rolling pin – it’s doable, but so much more time consuming, messier, and the pasta is obviously much thicker than it is when you roll it through a pasta machine… cutting the strips also takes longer and they won’t be uniform in size
  • I got my pasta machine from TJ Maxx for like $15 a couple of years ago.  I think we only use it twice a year so I’m happy I didn’t spend a lot of money – Amazon probably has really affordable ones too!
  • Once the pasta has been refrigerated, you’ll want to use a rolling pin to do the preliminary roll (again, make sure the surface you’re rolling on as well as the rolling pin are lightly floured)
  • Next, run the flattened slab of dough through the pasta machine several times (usually 3 times) until it reaches the desired thickness

If you’re like me, you’ll want your pasta Mary-Kate Olsen thin, so it may need to rolled through the machine upwards of 5 times

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This is the sheet of dough after it has been through the machine several times, but not cut yet! It’s very thin… but be careful because if you make it too thin, it will get holes or break
  • Next, you’ll run the pasta through the cutting side.  Most pasta presses have a setting so you’ll be able to choose desired noodle thickness.  I’d recommend fettuccine or tagliatelle thickness.
  • Keep repeating the process with the other slabs of dough, or you can put the dough in the fridge for another day.  I like to just roll and cut it all so I don’t have to fuck with the pasta machine again… because honestly, this is a messy process and you WILL have flour all over your kitchen.
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The beautiful fettuccine, lightly dusted with flour and ready to cook
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Make sure the plates/trays you place your noodles on are dusted in flour and so are the noodles themselves, or they will stick to each other and any surface they touch!  You can refrigerate this pasta for days at a time, or dry it (though I’ve never tried to dry it myself… so you may want to research that shit)
  • Next, put a LARGE pot of boiling water on to boil.  Make sure it is heavily salted.
  • You’ll definitely end up refrigerating at least half of this pasta…. the ingredients listed above produce enough for like 8 servings AT LEAST.
  • As the water is boiling, heat up 1/4 cup olive oil and 4 Tbs. butter in a large sauce pan
  • Add in the finely minced garlic and cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes (being careful not to burn)
  • Add in the shrimp (granted they have been peeled and cleaned at this point)
  • Raise the heat to medium, and add in the wine and squeeze in the juice from 1/2 lemon
  • Add in the dried basil
  • Stir occasionally until shrimp turn pink; season with salt and pepper to taste
  • Once the water is at a full boil, add in the fresh pasta.  It will take only 2 minutes or so to fully cook since it is fresh.  You’ll want to taste test to make sure it’s cooked, but generally speaking, once it floats to the surface, it’s done cooking!
  • Drain the pasta, and add back into the pot along with a drizzle of olive oil
  • Toss in the shrimp/sauce mixture and mix/stir lightly (you don’t want to damage the noodles)
  • Serve hot and top with some freshly chopped parsley
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Delightful salad I made to accompany the pasta tonight… I was joking that if I served this salad in NYC, I’d be able to charge $18 for what is essentially a plate of basic veggies as long as I gave it a fancy name like “Radish Carpaccio”… welcome to New York 

The above salad was awesome because of the dressing.  This dressing would also pair well with tofu or even a stir-fry:

SESAME DRESSING:

  • 1 Tbs. toasted black sesame seeds
  • 1 clove very finely minced garlic
  • 3 Tbs. sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs. white sugar
  • Add all ingredients to bowl and whisk well

FOR THE SALAD:

  • lightly sauteed snow peas
  • shaved carrots
  • thinly sliced radishes
  • lightly sauteed yellow zucchini
  • Avocado

In other news, I finally finished a painting I was working on, had way too much to drink on Saturday night at some random Bushwick dance bar called Jupiter Disco where I saw a clone of my brother and McLovin’, was too hungover to go hiking on Sunday like I wanted to as a result of Saturday night’s gin and tonic consumption, binge ate empanadas in my vulnerable and hungover state, and am now only living for the Korn concert and mini family vacation in Maine I’ll be taking this August. Cheers.

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Finally finished

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Rat Meatloaf and Gross Negligence

It’s been over a week since I last wrote… I am living in a state of perpetual exhaustion. I average about 5 hours of sleep a night, and I don’t even have anything to show for my lack of sleep – that’s the saddest part.  You’d think I was up writing a novel or like, a cook book or something.  Or that I was painting the next greatest masterpiece. No.  Honestly, I don’t even know how I end up staying up as late as I do every night (usually until 12:30 – 1 a.m.). I’m not doing anything fun or worth while.  I am actually up that late scooping cat litter, brushing cats, and/or cooking dinner for a boyfriend I see about 20 minutes of each day, and yeah… that’s about it…. by the time all my chores are done, it’s time for bed.

I don’t know where the time goes, but clearly it hasn’t been spent writing or finding a better job.  I haven’t even cooked anything note worthy lately.  I’ve been too fucking tired to cook and too busy tending to cats and cleaning the house, since it now gets dirty even faster (double the cat hair, double the spilled litter and food messes, etc.).

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Can someone please come brush my teeth and wash my face for me?  It’s 9:20 p.m. on a Friday and I’m too tired to even get off the couch and get ready for bed.  That’s how tired I am.  I can’t even imagine having an actual human kid to take care of at this point in my life.  I’d literally fucking die, and if I didn’t die from sleep deprivation, I would surely die from a psychotic break down as a direct result of stress and sleep deprivation.

 

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Can someone also fix my mangled feet?  I think they need totally replaced at this point, given that they’re covered in popped blisters from my ill-fitting H&M sneakers and beyond the repairs a basic pedicure would offer.

Anyhow.  Another day, another dollar -am I right?

I am really proud of myself because I didn’t order delivery even once this week.  Not that I order in often – usually once a week and only when I’m drained.  But I’m impressed I didn’t order at all – since at some point in the week, I usually cave and use Seamless to order Chinese or Mexican food.  I cooked a lot of random shit this week though, that is for sure.  One of the many random things I cooked was this rat meatloaf:

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Rat (“mouse”) meatloaf… don’t ask. I couldn’t stop laughing as I prepared it, waiting to present it to my boyfriend like it was a goddamn lobster with a side of filet mignon

I made this really delicious dish that I absolutely LOVED, and my boyfriend hated (he hates small pastas for some strange reason (orzo, italini, orrechiette)… I, on the other hand, LOVE small pastas). Anyhow, I found this sick recipe for “Orzotto” (orzo cooked like risotto) on one of my favorite food sites, “Taste Cooking.” It was really easy to make (much less time than cooking actual risotto with rice), and warranted a trip to my favorite cheese shop.

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This was heaven.  I liked it better than actual risotto, because the orzo is lighter and fluffier. I cooked the orzo in chicken stock, and used Gorgonzola dolce to finish it.
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It was a beautiful Spring night in NYC, so I brought Mr. Peeper for a walk… Not sure the hipster trash dudes working in the Cheese shop appreciated, but whatever.  It’s my life.

Anyhow, Campbell (aka “Lorimer”) Cheese shop is my absolute favorite.  It’s basically what Bedford Cheese Shop was before they sold their soul to the devil and moved up the street into a gargantuan retail space with white everything and waitstaff that is unfriendly and probably doesn’t even eat cheese.

I digress…

Campbell (Lorimer) Cheese shop is the best – they always have Gorgonzola dolce and a variety of truffle cheeses, which means I leave happy every time.  The staff is friendly, and you can find all manner of jams, olives, specialty sausages, etc..

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The mortadella wasn’t the same as usual… it had no peppercorns or pistachios in it… they totally downgraded and I’m not sure what’s up with that.  I did pick up these awesome anchovies, which I used in the pasta dish I just made.  I also picked up the creamy, blue cheese I used to make my Orzotto.

I’m too fucking lazy to write out any recipes tonight.  But I made this pasta using the anchovies pictured above, and San Marzano tomatoes from a can:

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The anchovies add this delightful umami flavor …. so good

Anyhow.  It’s Memorial Day Weekend and I can’t fucking wait to be home (my parents house upstate).  I am so over this shit hole, rat-infested, fake fuck infested city.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone.  I hope the cats let me sleep in past 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.  I look haggard.

 

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Mussels and Potatoes, and my Week Cleaning Up After Cats…

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Not the comeliest of dishes (but than again, neither am I – so who am I to judge?), but it tastes like $1,000,000

DISCLAIMER:

This blog will eventually get to the food/cooking/recipe aspect that it was initially intended for.  I’ve taken a slight detour along the way and have started incorporating other bullshit into my blog, as I need a safe space to express myself and the world today is not a very safe place at all (no more abortion in the state of Alabama… like WTF?  I guess we’ve gone back to the dark ages…. don’t even get me started, we live in a fucking sickening time in history… how did we let it come back to this????).

If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted lately (which I doubt you are, since no one actually reads this piece of shit blog…), I’ve been too busy being a cat-mom (basically a full-time job within itself… unless you’re actually a BAD cat mom), and cleaning non-stop (obviously my TRUE calling in life).

Yes, what a gripping life I do lead! (I want to say that’s a line from Notting Hill, but I could be wrong… might be Bridget Jones… I used to be OBSESSED with Hugh Grant when I was 12… I still might be… I digress).

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All week long I wait for the weekend, so I can cast aside my Hillary Clinton slacks and unflattering, masculine button-ups in favor of something more my style… I really need to find a job where I can where whatever I want ergo, I need to be my own boss. I’ve also been searching for a replacement for this top for the last 4 years… it is my favorite.  I created it from a Zara top that I completely reconstructed but now it’s falling apart, along with my collagen and my ambitions in life… it’s all a mess here.

If you didn’t read my last blog, please do – it’s writing I’m actually really excited to share and want to do more of/with.  I have way too much fun writing this kind of stuff.  For the next installment of ‘Indigo Wren,’ Indigo is going to sail his hand-crafted raft to France, make his way to Paris, and then attempt to live like Ernest Hemingway while also becoming gender neutral. I know… this blog has basically evolved from what was originally supposed to be a food/cooking blog into the madcap nonsense of yesteryear (aka, the shit I used to write on my old blog, God rest its soul).  Yes, I’m twisted.

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Honk if you know where this is – we can only be friends if you do… JK

Last week, I spent basically the entire week cleaning up after my sick cats; first Tuna (the kitten), followed by Mr. Peeper.  I took Tuna to the emergency vet that’s open 24/7 last Tuesday, after several psychotic, older women on the ‘Persian Cat Health Board’ I belong  to, and subsequently posted to, advised me to do so, IMMEDIATELY!!!  Their reasoning was that I should bring Tuna to the vet ASAP since he is still a little kitten and was basically shitting his brains out in addition to vomiting last Tuesday night – they said he could dehydrate and die easily.  Obviously, that freaked me out and since they’re all cat experts and/or breeders, I listened to their advice and I went. The 24/7 vet not only cost a pretty penny (which I would have preferred to spend on new heels and/or partying), but it also ruined my entire Tuesday evening since I didn’t get home again until after 11 p.m. and then couldn’t sleep until 2 a.m.. In case you’re wondering why I haven’t cooked anything noteworthy lately (which you’re not, because you probably order take out every night), it’s because I’ve been so tired and busy raising a kitten that I have no energy left when it’s time to cook.

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This one is a real hell-raiser – like his dad.  This picture was taken before he let me attack those boogers with a Q-tip (so don’t judge me)… but how cute is that face?!  

Luckily, Tuna was fine and was back to his crack-baby self the next morning (he didn’t swallow any objects and doesn’t have any terminal illnesses – what a relief).  However, whatever he did have must have been a virus which he then passed it onto Mr. Peeper, and it was 10 times worse for poor Peeps.  Peeps started throwing up Wednesday night around 10 p.m., and threw up 6 more times before I went to bed at 1:30 a.m..  He also had a couple of explosive BMs (Bowel Movements), if you know what I’m saying…. (sorry for being gross, but it’s true).  I hadn’t slept much the night before because of Tuna, and then I had to stay up a second night in a row cleaning cat vomit and worried about my baby Peeps.

I hoped he’d be better when I woke up the next morning, but I walked out of the bedroom to a living room/kitchen/bathroom area covered with at least 6 additional puke spots.  But the worst part, if you must know, was that poor Peeps was laying behind the curtains in the living room window, with the 6:30 a.m. intense, dawn sunlight coming in directly upon him, not moving, non-responsive, not hungry for breakfast, and totally covered in his own shit. Good morning indeed!  I started crying because I thought he was going to die… he didn’t even acknowledge me when I came out of my bedroom and he didn’t want breakfast.

I called out of work immediately and spent all morning giving Peeper a bath (he hated me, but was so weak he hardly tried to escape), cleaning the floors, disinfecting everything, and feeding him liquids out of a syringe.  Yes… I transformed into a nurse. I thought I was going to have to drop another $300 I don’t have on the vet, and I happily would have it meant making my baby better, but luckily he didn’t throw up or shit again and kept down the combo of goat’s milk and Greek yogurt I gave him… I’m basically a registered cat nurse now.

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I love this cat more than I love myself… which isn’t saying much.  I love him more than most people though – that’s for sure. I lost Bijou last year, and I’ll be damned if I lose another baby anytime soon if I can prevent it (*** after writing this sentence, I’ve realized I am a full fledged cat lady who may or may not ever have human children)

Anyhow.  I haven’t had time to cook anything that spectacular lately.  I did make a pretty legit seafood risotto on Friday of last week, once the house was clean, the cats were better, and I finally had some ambition.

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Seafood risotto with shrimp, scallops and San Marzano tomatoes.

The dish I made the week prior though is where it’s really at:

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Pasta e potate e cozze = pasta with potatoes and mussels! 

Yes, this dish was time consuming as hell to make, and it took a lot of ingredients… but it’s fucking worth it (just like you, darling).

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 bag of small potatoes, unpeeled and diced, OR… 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 medium white (or yellow) onion, finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 1 cup, diced cherry/grape tomatoes
  • 1 cup frozen sweet corn (preferably shaved off the cob)
  • 1 lb. mussels, steamed and de-shelled
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups dried, gemelli (or similar shape) pasta
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil
  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 2 Tbs. freshly chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:

  • Rinse/clean the mussels and then steam them until they open!
  • Once mussels have opened and are cool enough to handle, de-shell and set the meat aside in a bowl
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Steam me b*tch
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Mussel meat – YUMMMMM! Seriously – yum… especially with some melted butter… 
  • If you’re working with a bag of small potatoes, dice them; If you’re working with three large potatoes, peel the potatoes first and then dice them
  • Heat some olive oil and/or butter in a wok or large saucepan over medium heat
  • Sautee the diced potatoes in olive oil and/or butter until soft (aka penetrable with the tines of a fork)
  • Add the sweet corn into the saucepan and cook until it’s fully de-thawed
  • Set 1/3 of the diced potato/corn mixture aside (I just threw it on top of the mussels), and put the other 2/3s of the potato/corn mix into a blender, with a cup and a half of chicken stock – pulse until completely blended (add more stock as necessary until liquid is a thick consistency)
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The stuff that gets set aside…
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The stuff that gets blended into a creamy puree – I add some chicken stock and some heavy cream so I know what flavors I’m working with when the puree is done
  • Cut the cherry/grape tomatoes into halves and set aside

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  • Heat the butter and/or olive oil in a wok or large, deep saucepan
  • Add in the minced onions and sautee over low-medium heat until translucent
  • Add in the garlic and sautee another minute (*DO NOT BURN GARLIC*)
  • Add in the halved tomatoes and sautee until they become glossy and soft-ish
  • Add in 1/2 cup dry white wine and simmer for about 2-3 minutes
  • Add in the potato puree (the stuff you blended)
  • Add in more chicken stock if necessary and heavy cream
  • The sauce should be thick-ish, yet not so thick that it can’t fully coat other ingredients that will be added shortly!
  • FOR THE PASTA:
  • In another pot, bring heavily-salted water to a boil
  • Add in the gemelli (or other similarly-shaped-pasta), and boil until al dente (do NOT cook until soft… it will finish cooking IN THE SAUCE)
  • Drain and set pasta aside!
  • BACK TO THE SAUCE:
  • Throw in the rest of the potatoes/corn mixture that was previously set aside (this adds texture and makes the dish more aesthetically pleasing than if everything had been blended into a puree)
  • Add in the seasonings: Salt, pepper, dried basil, dried oregano
  • Add in the mussels and fresh basil
  • Cook for a few minutes over medium heat until everything is cooked through and warm again
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Right before the cooked pasta is added back in!
  • Add in the pasta and cook another minute or so
  • Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve in a shallow bowl or plate
  • Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy 🙂
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Enjoy with a glass (or two, or three) of white wine! 

Insert disco dancing emoji here.

Easter Dinner – A Meal to Impress

IMG_7560I am really happy right now because I found a pair of my favorite Hollister boyfriend-style, super-low rise jeans, in mint condition for only $10.   This is the only thing “giving me life” (as the kids nowadays like to say…) on a Monday evening.  What a fucking steal!

My favorite light-wash, destroyed boyfriend jeans from Hollister (*which I have had for the past 5 years), I have literally worn to pieces. They were already “destroyed” when I bought them, but now the holes that they came with are basically the entire length of the jeans, and I’ve worn them so much that they are loose around the waist because every thread of elastic has been worn out. It’s a miracle I was able to find the same pair again since they’re no longer carried in stores. Thank God for second-hand, online retailers! It’s the small things in life….

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Baggin’ Saggin’ Barry right here – I’ve had these babies since 2014 and now, even with a replacement, I still can’t bear to throw them out.  They’re like my second skin – I’ve worn them to so many concerts, bars, parties, and just have so many good memories in them. I think I’ll keep them forever…. they’re like my security blanket.

I didn’t go home for Easter this year.  I hate missing family holidays… especially now that my parents are getting older, I’m getting older, and I’ve realized I am not and they’re not as immortal as I once upon a time thought when I was in my early twenties. It’s hard to go home for a “weekend” when you’re not off on Friday or Monday however, and therefore would either have to request off one of the aforementioned days, or take public transit and then come home same day.  Easter is a holiday that falls on a Sunday every year – it doesn’t make sense to not be granted the following Monday after off, even if it’s a religious holiday – travel time people!

I made do given the circumstances and prepared a delicious meal for two.  I know most people have an Easter ham or some sort of roast, but since It was only the two of us, and I’m still trying to refrain from eating land animals (***there have been a few slip ups when intoxicated) I decided to make seafood instead.  I’ve realized that everything looks fancier when it’s served over a puree or sauce, so in order to make this meal special for the holiday, I decided to make a split-pea puree to accompany the scallops.  I also made mussels in a white wine sauce, and a salad for some greens/fiber.

This is a meal to cook if you want to impress someone – whether it’s a significant other, your mother, your father, a good friend, or someone you really care about and generally just want to treat well.  It not only tastes fucking amazing, but it’s also a filling meal, which I find important, and the presentation is what makes it especially impressive when served in the comforts of your own home.

FOR THE SPLIT-PEA PUREE

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup of dried split-peas
  • 1 stalk of celery, finely diced
  • 1 small Idaho or white potato (peeled and cut into cubes)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 cup frozen, green peas
  • sprinkle of cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 Tbs. heavy cream

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DIRECTIONS:

  • Heat the olive oil over low-heat in a saucepan/small pot
  • Add in the minced garlic and cook over low heat for about a minute and a half
  • add in the celery, split peas, cubed potato, and the stock and raise the heat to medium-high
  • bring to a boil and cook until the peas and the potato are tender (you’ll need to taste test)
  • Add in the frozen peas and cook for another minute
  • at this point, most of the liquid should be absorbed, but not all of it! Some liquid is important for the process of blending… but you’ll be able to add more as necessaryIMG_7507
  • Once the peas are soft and the potato is cooked through, turn off the heat and let cool for a few minutes
  • Place contents of the pot into a blender, along with a dash of cayenne pepper and some salt and pepper
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Cooked mixture in the blender (pre-blending)
  • Blend on low-medium setting, until the consistency becomes thick and uniform
  • Add some heavy cream and/or more chicken stock as necessary (you’ll probably need a bit more liquid)
  • Make sure to taste-test to determine whether more salt, pepper, or cayenne pepper is needed
  • Puree should end up being a smooth, thick consistency
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Perfect consistency here… add more liquid as necessary
  • Set aside while you prepare the scallops and mussels
  • Please note:  I suggest doing the mussels and salad next and saving the scallops for last, since you’ll want to serve them hot.

FOR THE SALAD

  • I went basic AF for the salad here, so it’s pretty much just pure roughage
  • I used: Arugula, alfalfa sprouts, and grape tomatoes
  • For the dressing: 1/3 cup mayo, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, juice from one lemon, 1 Tbs. olive oil, 3 tsp. white vinegar, freshly ground black pepper – whisk together in small bowl and voila!
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Homemade salad dressing makes all the difference – if you have an aversion to mayo or want to be healthier, I’d suggest just using olive oil, a spritz of fresh lemon juice, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper, and/or some balsamic vinegar

FOR THE MUSSELS

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 finely minced shallot
  • 2 dried or fresh bay leaves
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • 3 cloves of finely minced garlic
  • 1 lb. (1 bag) of fresh mussels
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. thyme (dried or freshly chopped)
  • juice from one lemon
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • 1 Tbs. freshly chopped parsley
  • Toast to serve (tastes like heaven dipped in the mussel sauce!)

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DIRECTIONS:

  • In a wok or large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over low heat
  • Add in the minced shallots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Add in the minced garlic and cook for another minute
  • Add in the bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and butter and cook for another minute
  • Add in the mussels and increase the heat to low-medium
  • As soon as you’ve added the mussels and turned up the heat, add in the wine!
  • Add in the fresh lemon juice
  • Cover with a lid and wait about 2 minutes or so, until you see the mussel shells opening
  • Add in the cream and fresh parsley and give a good stir
  • Add in some pepper and salt and give another good stir
  • Once mussels seem pretty opened, turn off burner and remove from heat – set aside

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Hell yeah – the toast dipped in that sauce is heaven on Earth

FOR THE SCALLOPS

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. fresh sea scallops (patted dry with paper towels… they MUST BE DRY to cook, excess moisture means they won’t brown at all)
  • 3 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 Tbs. white wine
  • Split-pea puree
  • sprinkling of alfalfa sprouts

DIRECTIONS:

  • Pat the scallops dry with paper towels
  • Salt and pepper the scallops on both sides
  • Heat butter in a shallow, saucepan over low heat
  • Add in the garlic and cook over low heat for about 1 minute
  • Add in the scallops and increase the heat to low-medium
  • Cook for 2 minutes on each side (approximately 4 minutes in total)
  • sprinkle with lemon juice and white wine, lower heat and cook for another 30 seconds
  • remove from heat
  • re-heat the split pea puree (microwave or stove top)
  • Plate the split pea puree, and plate the scallops with sauce
  • Garnish with alfalfa sprouts and serve hot
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Perfection

And now I am hungry again sitting here writing about this meal… that’s how good it was!

I also did some painting this weekend:

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This one took a surprisingly happy turn, what with the yellow flowers and bright background… still not finished though

Tuna (the new kitten) is coming home this next weekend, and I think Mr. Peeper can sense that he’s about to no longer be the only child because he has been extra lovely:

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Took Peeps for a nice, long stroller on Easter morning.

Cheers.

 

 

The Real McCoy – Shrimp Risotto

I was a bit tired and in a rather foul mood when I wrote yesterday’s blog – I’m still in a foul mood (when am I not?), but I’m feeling slightly better about life today.  Having a glass of vino and preparing to make the chicken piccata that I intended to make yesterday…

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If you’ve never seen the clip from ‘Beavis and Butthead Do America’ where Beavis goes insane on an airplane and screams “piccata for my bung-hole,” please do both of us a favor and go watch it now.

I felt ugly all day today in my button up shirt and slacks (typical) so I came home and put on the tightest black dress I own and proceeded to pour a glass of wine for some inspiration before I commence on the meal I’m about to make. I don’t feel like myself when I’m at work wearing a shirt buttoned up to my thyroid.

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Currently in my natural state – all black everything, covered in cat fur, hair up with fly-aways, drinking wine… 

Anyhow, here is the recipe for my shrimp risotto… I recommend making this dish if you really want to blow someone’s taste buds. My boyfriend is from Venice and said it’s the best risotto he’s ever had – better than any restaurant.  That’s like the best compliment someone could give me other than telling me they like my writing or art work.

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So fucking good… you won’t be able to resist or to stop… I know I sure couldn’t.

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 lb. of raw shrimp (frozen or fresh – as long as they haven’t been cooked yet!)
  • 1 box (32 oz.) of seafood stock
  • 2 cups of uncooked Arborio rice
  • 1 1/2 cup of white wine (any will do as long as it’s not too sweet)
  • 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup half and half (light cream)
  • 4 Tbs. butter
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp of granulated onion or onion powder
  • 1 bay leaf (dried or fresh)
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • fresh parsley to garnish

DIRECTIONS:

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  • If the shrimp are frozen, thaw them under warm, running water in a strainer
  • Whether or not shrimp are fresh or frozen, peel them and then cut them into halves or thirds depending on size, and set aside in a bowl

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  • In a large wok or deep saucepan, heat the olive oil over low heat and add in the minced garlic
  • Cook garlic over very low heat (being careful not to burn it) for about 1-2 minutes
  • Add in the rice (yes – the secret to good risotto is slightly cooking the dry rice in the olive oil for a couple of minutes without liquid… I don’t know why, but it adds a depth of flavor)
  • Continue to stir and cook the rice over a low heat until it’s completely covered in the oil and begins to become ever-so-translucent in color
  • Raise the heat to medium and add in the white wine (I like to turn up the heat of the burner before adding the wine so that it makes that nice ‘SSSSSsssssss!!!’ sound when it his the hot pan)
  • Risotto is a dish that has to be stirred pretty much continuously – you can’t really step away from more than 30 seconds, so START STIRRING BIOTCH… and don’t stop!
  • As the liquid is absorbed by the rice, add in roughly 1 cup of seafood stock at a time, and keep gently stirring until it’s been absorbed
  • After you’ve added the first cup of seafood and the rice is moist, add in the bay leaf, chopped thyme, and other seasonings (onion powder, basil, oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper)

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  • Keep adding cup after cup of stock, until you’ve used up the entire contents of the box of stock… by this point, rice should be pretty tender, but neither dry nor too saturated in liquid
  • Add in the half and half (or cream) and continue to stir
  • Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese
  • Add in the raw shrimp and gently stir
  • Continue cooking over low heat, until shrimp turn orange (this means they’re cooked through!)
  • Add in the butter and turn off the heat… stir until butter is melted and incorporated thoroughly
  • Add more salt/pepper to desired taste (if necessary)
  • Remove the bay leaf, and serve on a plate – garnish with fresh parsley and voila!

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OK – I’m going to make chicken PICCATA PICCATA! now (hopefully you’ve watched the Beavis clip so you get it).  Chicken piccata will be in my next post …. hopefully it doesn’t take me two weeks to write :p

PS… Tuna comes home next week:

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I really hope a second cat is good for Peeps and keeps him company and they end up loving and playing with each other…. knowing my luck, Peeper will become psychotic and piss all over the house or try to attack the kitten.  In this case, I don’t know what I will do.

The World is on Fire and I’m Focused on Risotto

I haven’t written a blog in a couple of weeks because I’m feeling lazy and uninspired, yet also simultaneously busy (working, maintaining the household, maintaining a very high-maintenance cat, watching my niece and nephew after work here and there, basically maintaining everything but myself it seems…), and I’ve also been trying to take advantage of the warmer weather by walking more. The increased exercise doesn’t seem to helping my body much, unless I’m gaining serious muscle and am too blind to see it because I have body dysmorphia… but I’m pretty sure the scale doesn’t lie.

Can you tell I’m in a bad mood?  Because I really am.

I feel like I only work and live to pay bills sometimes (all the time, actually), and only eat healthy and work out for my body to stay exactly the same and fluctuate wildly depending on that time of the month.  Have I mentioned how awful it has been since going off birth control?  I mean, we’re in the midst of the 6th mass extinction of flora and fauna and it’s caused entirely by humans, Notre Dame Cathedral burned down on Monday, there are starving children in Yemen, abused and abandoned animals wandering the streets, and dead whales washing up everywhere with plastic bags in their stomachs, but yeah…. I am still bitter about my insurance not covering Natazia (on top of all of the aforementioned issues… the Natazia is just the straw breaking this camel’s back, so to speak).

Like who the fuck gains weight when they go OFF birth control?  Don’t most people gain when they go on it?  Also, who knew that in addition to PMS bloating, you can also bloat during ovulation… so basically, I only look skinny about 3 days of the month now – and that’s the week my skin flares up with hormonal acne.  I never really feel good about myself 100 percent anymore. I’m either bloated or broken out and both make me feel self-conscious and not like myself.  By the time my cystic zits go back down, and are just red, flaky marks on my face, a whole month has gone by and then the cysts come right back again along with some added water retention.

It’s OK though… we’re all going to be dead someday, and probably sooner than later at the rate of global warming, pollution, and general discord among the nations…. so why should worry about my thigh gap and a couple of zits on my chin? I’ll tell you why – because it takes away from my worry about microplastics infiltrating the food chain and never being able to afford to have children thanks to astronomical rent prices and student loans… that’s why. I need to focus my anxieties and stress into something I can control… which is precisely why I’ve started carrying a tote bag to the grocery store to haul my groceries home so as to avoid plastic bags…

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The one day out of thirty I looked and felt good about my body, so I thought I’d memorialize it in a half-naked selfie.  This way I can remember when my ovary is dropping an egg each month, and my body decides to hold onto 6 lbs. of water weight, that I’m not as fat as I feel…. being a woman is such a beautiful thing.

I was going to make chicken piccata tonight for my boyfriend, because at some point today I had more energy and felt like cooking something fancy, but after working all day, commuting, doing groceries on the way home, taking a bath, giving my cat a bath, and picking up the house, and now writing this blog, I am absolutely fucking exhausted, and ordered Chinese food instead.

It’s one of those days, and I seem to be having a lot of those days lately, despite trying to stay positive and take a pro-active approach to my life and wellness and happiness.

I have been trying to take it easier on the weekends (i.e. going to bed before 2am, not binge drinking, not making poor financial decisions when I’m binge drinking), which leaves me feeling slightly more mentally stable.  I picked up my new glasses last week (fucking finally) and have knocked out all of my annual doctor’s visits, bi-annual dental cleaning, so at least I’m up to date as far as my health is concerned. I also started a new painting and made good progress for the few hours I’ve put into it so far:

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Obviously far from finished…
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My new glasses! I’ve needed new glasses for about 5 years now.  I last got new glasses/frames in the year 2008 – they were Juicy Couture and are now so incredibly used and abused I couldn’t even donate them… I haven’t worn my glasses in public since maybe 2011 because the frames are so busted… literally and figuratively.
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My old glasses: Pretty gross right?  The lenses are scratched up, the frame is loose around the joints, and the frame shape is hideous.

In other news, while the world falls apart and I futilely attempt to lose the weight I’ve gained since January, I made the best meatballs I ever made (beef and mortadella), and also the best risotto I’ve ever made and that my boyfriend has ever eaten (his words, not mine).

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Beef and motadella is the winning combination – the peas in the sauce somehow make the dish much more savory and comfort-food like, especially served over polenta.
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The best risotto I ever made and ever ate… not to toot my own horn, but at least I can do one thing right in this world.

I want to write out the recipe and ingredients but it’s going to have to wait because I’m physically, mentally and emotionally spent for today.

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I’ll try to update this tomorrow to include a recipe… I’m falling asleep now.

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Happier times – the cheese plate we shared on Sunday after driving to Asbury Park, NJ for a cat convention

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