book club (aka delicious food club) and A Huge Relief

When I got home last night I realized that I did, in fact, have a tiny bit of olive oil with which to make some white bean dip for book club, so I did it. It's the first time I've made it, but friends, it won't be the last. It was possibly the easiest thing I've ever made and was really tasty. I'd cooked the beans (great northern white beans) the night before with a piece of kombu after soaking them overnight. Kombu is a sea vegetable, and if you use a little piece in your pot o' beans it helps make them more digestible and according to The Internet is rich in protein, calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron and folate. Lower rates of breast cancers have been reported in Japanese women eating a diet high in kelp. Lignans, which help fight cancer are found in high quantity in kelp and may provide protection against certain cancers. So, good stuff. Here's the recipe for the easiest-peasiest white bean dip in the history of white bean dips:

2 c. cooked white beans, drained
a little water
a little olive oil
a little salt

In your food processor puree the beans. Add some water for the right consistency. Add a little bit of olive oil and salt to taste. Then drizzle with a little oil to finish. Serve with pita wedges or your favorite veggies.

For real. That is the simplest recipe ever. And, really delicious in its simplicity. You can serve these like you would mashed potatoes, too. Or, I was thinking of pureeing some olive oil with some fresh parsley and making a swirl. And, you could add whatever herbs you like, but I just liked the pure soft white creamy goodness. Also, low-cal and low-fat and high protein and fiber. And, yum.

You shoulda seen the table of treats at the book club last night. Peeps were throwing down! Cheesecake with mangos and white peaches! Watermelon salad! Vegan rosemary-pine nut shortbread! Zucchini muffins! Fresh fruits! Rice crispy treats! Sesame noodles! And more! I can't even remember everything because there was so much goodness. And, I stuck around long enough to be sent home with a doggie bag full of a piece of cheesecake, some watermelon salad and shortbread. Yuh-um. For reals.

Apart from the food it was just a super-fun book club. We discussed Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You and most of us (all but one) felt real, serious love for this book. I adore it. It makes me happy just thinking about it. If you also like to be happy, you should see the website for this book. It's the cutest/cleverest website ever, too. I love you, Miranda July!


You know what else makes me happy? Huh? Guess. No, guess. I mean, I already told you about it, so guess. Give up?

Okay. I had my appointment with the debt counselor guy this morning, and I'd been so terrified for so long about doing this and was on the verge of tears when I sat down in this guy's office, and I'd already had a conversation with myself and given myself permission to cry if I had to because I figured that this dude had probably seen it all before, but to try not to because I'm already super stuffed-up still and it would suck to be even more stuffed up, but either way It Would Be Okay. And, you know what? It was okay. All of it. Like, I didn't even have to cry (well, not too much).

I went to Advantage Credit Counseling Service in the South Side. I'd called the United Way, and asked them for a recommendation for who to talk to, and they said that this was the only place they recommended in Pittsburgh. And, it's free. (There is a charge if you set up monthly debt consolidation payments with them, but even that is pretty cheap, but the counseling is totally free). And, they pulled my credit report, went through my monthly/yearly budget, talked about my future plans and current/desired situation, made very helpful and realistic suggestions, and the guy I saw was just a really kind, friendly guy. You should go. Ask for Justin. He's super. And, he told me about this site where you can get one free credit report per year, and it pulls from all three credit agencies (they don't let you take the one they pull; they have to shred it). Seriously, it was one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I finally got a clear picture of my debt and some good, objective advice about the best way to get to the place I want to be. To my surprise, he didn't push any services on me, and didn't even advise that trying to pay everything off right away was the best idea for me (since I'm needing to save right now for something specific). He was great. I feel so relieved. And, you know what? It wasn't as bad as I thought. My credit, I mean. I'd built it up into this horrible, scary thing that I could never hope to deal with, but I can. I have the knowledge I need now to do it. I talked to someone honestly about my real situation and the ground did not open up and swallow me whole. I didn't find a bunch of money, either, but now I know what I'm dealing with. And, the only time I cried was at the end of the meeting and that was with gratitude and relief. And, only a few tears--not nearly enough to make me stuffier.

dirty dishes

I still have a giant pile of dirty dishes left over from the weekend. Guess how I'm dealing with that? If you guessed: "keep piling on more?", you would be coming correct. I will make a promise right here and right now to do at least two sinkfuls* after work, before I go out and meet my pals for a cocktail.

*I estimate that there are approximately 4.7 sinkfuls accumulated. That is the cruddy thing about not using the processed foodstuffs. Lotsa, lotsa dirty dishes. And, no dishwasher, and that is sad.

(I just lifted that image from google image; are you allowed to do that?)

Last night I did a little tiny bit of cooking. I made some comfort food in the form of fried potatoes. I love fried potatoes. You can add in all kinds of different things and spice them all kinds of different ways, and they always come out tasty.
I used some yellow new potatoes, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, toasted sesame oil, chipotle chili powder, cayenne, coarse sea salt & pepper and wilted some roughly chopped sorrel when I'd taken it off the heat. I didn't take a picture because I'd forgotten to recharge my camera batteries, but believe me when I say it was an attractive, colorful plate of goodness. (Haven't I earned your trust by now?)

You know what? Last month I tried some ketchup for the first time in a while, and thought it was nasty--tasted way too sweet and chemically. So, I thought that despite our life-long love affair that things were splitsville with us. But, last night I didn't feel like whipping up any sauces, so I tried some ketchup again, and it tasted just fine. Weird. Evidently we're now on-again, off-again.

I still have been gaining and losing the same g-d four pounds for a few weeks now. It is annoying! I am at what the kids' call a "diet plateau". You know what you need to do when you're at a diet plateau? Kick it up a notch. What I need to do is to remember to drink (at least) 8-10 glasses (8 oz) of water a day. For some reason I struggle with this. I also need to step up the exercise. I've been wanting to start taking yoga, but I keep spending all my disposable income on kitchen implements and ingredients. But, then I remembered that the Squirrel Hill library has free yoga classes. I just looked it up, and it's Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Right on. http://clpgh.org/dontmiss/eventlist.cfm?mode=search Plus, it's probably the right starting level for me. I went a few times years ago, and the class was mainly made up of older people, and my outta-shape, inflexible ass needs something geared towards older peeps.

I remember when I went years ago that sometimes people in the class would fall asleep and snore during the relaxation cool-down period. And, my roommate(at the time) and I would always die laughing, and try not to cackle out loud. And, then one day I was the person that fell asleep and snored.

When do the city pools open? I can't wait! Last year E-Dawg and I went almost every day, and it was glorious. I can't wait to do that again. In fact, I'm going to look up the goods right now, and share the juicy info with you, dear readers...
June 15th! Which is the day I get back from vacation. And, then the next day is Pride, but then? Pittsburgh public pools, watch out! I'm headed for you!
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/swimming_pools.html

What's your favorite city pool? I think I like Bloomfield the best. It's never very crowded, close, and has that cute mushroom-type sprinkler thing. And, is walking distance to a Crazy Mocha (http://crazymocha.com/). I also very much enjoy Riverview, too, though. And, Highland Park. But, not Schenley. Schenley is packed with kids, the lifeguards try to harsh your mellow, and I once hit my head really hard on the bottom of the pool when I was doing in-water flips. So, Schenley, sorry, you can suck it.

Also, here's a tip. Speaking of sucking it, just suck it up and buy a pool tag. I didn't last year because I didn't realize that I'd become addicted. It's only $30, and you can use it all year round (Oliver Bath House in the off-season). Do it. http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/swimming_pools.html#pooltags

Another thing, if we go swimming together, you should challenge me to a water-walking contest from one side of the pool to the other. You will lose, but it'll still be fun for you to see how amazingly fast I can walk in water. Wow!

(note: that is not me in the photo, but that encapsulates how I feel after winning a water-walking contest).

I've been making a veggie wrap every day for lunch. This isn't the one from today, but it's from a few days ago, so you get the idea. A tortilla (from Reyna--the best! I wish they made whole wheat, too), rice I've doused with some type of sauce and let marinate in the fridge overnight (today is spicy ginger-sesame sauce), a bunch of veggies (today is cucumber, grated beets, carrots, green onions and sorrel. But, they're good with everything, and super easy to make if you've already prepped the veggies and have them in your fridge.


You know the one thing I miss from keeping my blog on myspace? It's how they had you put a little tag of what you were reading and/or listening to. So, I'm just going to add that in myself:

I am currently reading: No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. Check out her website for this book. It's amazing. http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/

I am currently listening to an album by Nonstop Everything called Smoke Stacks. Nonstop Everything is a side project of this guy Ben from The Van Allen Belt (http://www.myspace.com/thevabelt). We're myspace friends. I've never met him, but I often go to the restaurant where he works, and he sometimes leaves me cds. Which is awesome. Thanks, Ben.