yuck!

Lunch and dinner. Four of those lovely packets dissolved into a litre of water. I have only a 500ml container so have been mixing it in that and then filling the glass half-full with water and the rest with the vile liquid. only 1.5 sachets to go. It's interesting doing this when i feel fine. So much easier to tollerate. I don't feel week or dehydrated or tired. Just really really really reluctant to consume something that mind and body think is not fit for consumption. Trick may be not eating until 5pm or so tomorrow.

Right. so the key is to not mix it with anything. just take it straight, but slightly more diluted than the instructions...and maybe...just maybe, you can choke it all down....but why the vanilla?

more wrapping madness

Okay, so they're not nearly as pretty as the ones you get at stores...but i don't know where you can get them around here, and they didn't rip, so for me they are a rather large success. bigger wrappers than the ones used for the bananas. i now have at least 100 rice paper wraps and will have to perhaps make some up for a dinner party if i am to use them up in the next six months. fun to make though. I think i may be on a wrapping kick. ever since the grape leaf experience a week ago. which reminds me, i have grape leaves to stuff. maybe i'll make up the stuffing mix tonight.....though i think i only have sushi rice...hmmmmm

playing with food

Seeing if i can make it a week with minimal wheat products. I like bread though, so it could be a challenge. Thought up this little dish while analyzing water samples. Rice paper wraps, bananas, cocoa powder and agave syrup. would be fantastic if you used coconut butter to fry. actually only used maybe half a teaspoon of oil, just enough to darken the pan (which really ought to be re-seasoned). The mint wraps didn't taste good when cooked but were fine raw. think i might go for some savoury summer rolls tonight. and maybe play with what happens to rice paper wraps when heated in different forms.

rhubarb cake; take III

Third time's the charm--almost. still not as good as my mom makes it; she can master the dessert be it with eggs and buttermilk or vegan...at least this time it didn't fall.

Dreamscapes

Our brains are so cool. the things they think up while we sleep... What seems amazing to me is that we can have certain landscapes that we revisit for different plot lines or investigations. it's amazing the things we can create...and similarly how mundane we can be when possibilities are unlimited. take flying. why not sprout wings, or just jump into the air. why does it have to be an effort? Flying, for me, is a very dream-concious "not-falling" and it takes a good deal of concentration and isn't always reliable...but is pretty dang cool. wonder how many regular "sets" i have for my dreams...do people who travel have more? are they more or less immaginitive than the "sets" of people who have lived in one spot? what about interactions between them? are we these little mini dream-universes walking around and what happens to these universes when we converse while awake?

right, back to the task at hand: dry cereal and looking up journal articles....should really put the dry cereal away though

SLS, EDTA,......and general apathy towards shopping

I'm a horrible shopper. And while i sometimes think maybe it would be nice to like all those crazy concoctions for bath and beauty; i just really can't be bothered. So, I decided maybe to give this whole "no shampoo" thing a try. AND if it works, how convenient would that be for camping. no more wondering if you're slowly turning the fish and other critters into image-obsessed consumers, just baking soda and vinegar...or just baking soda.... funny to think that the typical volcano science experiment is hair treatment....THAT would be fun to see at a science fair.....so, now having written all this, i am wondering what the environmental impacts of the laboratory production or mining of this compound and manufacturing components are. Honestly, i am not sure this thought has ever crossed my mind before. so, now to delve into the research:

...so far, well, so many things are mined....and mining always has environmental impacts....how can digging giant holes, NOT have an impact.....so what ARE the environmental implications of nahcolite mining; pumping hot water into boreholes and extracting the supersaturated solution? has anybody checked? Brief web of science search produced zilch....

cupcake time

little cakes that you can walk around with without losing it all as crumbs to the birds. ahh the joys of the not quite humble cupcake. I don't usually follow recipes. in fact, i tend to get into trouble when i try. however, with the cute little square book with such crazy creations in it, i felt i ought to try. so far, two down with relatively few modifications. however, I think Isa and Terry have a sweeter tooth that i do, so i will have to see how much sugar can be left out of the recipes in the future. But for now, feast your eyes on these sweet, but yummy creations from "vegan cupcakes take over the world": rosewater-pistachio cupcakes