August 21, 2004 :: 11:16 p.m.
chock full of green-beany goodness
Long time no write, eh? It seems I've been a bad, inattentive diary-owner as of late. I know, I know. I suck. But truly, there are good reasons. For one, Adam was over for three nights. And since I'd much rather spend every moment with him when he's here than sit in front of the compy... sorry, compy. You lose. And then there was the whole falling down the steps and bashing the living hell out of my foot, which has STILL not recovered and is extremely painful. It hurts to walk. Actually, it pretty much hurts to do anything but stand flat on it or prop it up and cover it with an ice pack. So I've mainly been rotting away on the couch, watching lots and lots of TV and waiting for the hurt to go away. I haven't been to a doctor (despite Adam's very vocal protestations), because it's pretty much been determined that it's not broken, and if it's not broken then what the hell are they going to do but tell me to stay off of it and keep it iced and/or elevated? Nada.
I think it's probably a sprain, Grade II to be specific - swelling, bruising, injured areas are tender to the touch, and walking sucks nuggets. And according to WebMD, that most reliable font of medical information, sprains can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months to heal completely. To this I say, NO! This cannot be. I have to start walking to school in less than two weeks. At this moment just getting from the couch to the fridge to refill my glass of water is incredible uncomfortable. And I really, really, really don't want to be cooped up in this apartment for the next two weeks, either. It's been almost a week now and it's pissing me off. I'm getting restless. I woke up this morning and thought, "Oh, I should grab another pineapple while the Central Market is still open." But could I go out in pursuit of my fruit? NO! Well, I guess technically I could have, but it wouldn't have been pleasant. So I ate the last of the other pineapple that I had cut up in the fridge and felt sad, for there would be no more where that came from.
This boredom and limited mobility has resulted in some excellent dinners over the last few days, though. You know, while we're on the subject of food. Yesterday I made a spicy jambalaya-type thing with long grain and wild rice, onions, lots o' garlic, carrots, diced tomatoes, corn, peas, and green peppers. It made enough for three dinners, so I scooped out my 1/3 pot (1 1/2 cups, in case you care) and threw in some chick strips cooked with a liberal dousing of cayenne pepper - mmmm. Nummy spicy goodness. And tonight I made roasted garlic couscous with Greek-style green beans. The recipe for the green beans came from one of my many many cookbooks (Passionate Vegetarian), and oh, were they good. Seriously freakin' delicious. And I usually don't say that about plain vegetables, especially green beans slightly past their prime. The method was fairly simple, if time-consuming:
Drop the green beans (stems snipped off, of course) into a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain 'em. Put a wee bit of olive oil (I used 1 tsp. for 5 ounces, or about a cup, of green beans) and a teaspoon or so of minced garlic into a pan over very low heat. Throw in the green beans and top with some diced tomato bits (although actually I didn't have diced, or any fresh tomatoes since I hate them with a passion, so I used some crushed that I had on hand and it turned out fine). Cook uncovered, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Then cover and cook for another 30 minutes, again without stirring. Make sure the heat is really low so you don't burn the garlic, just cook everything reeeeeally slowly. After 30 minutes, stir everything gently together, spice as liberally as you like with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and EAT! Veggies never tasted so good.
Man, now I want some more. I don't have any green beans left, though. Alas. Perhaps I'll take a trip to the store tomorrow to remedy that situation. Also, I want to make something with fennel. I had it once in North Carolina and thought it was yummy. Ah, adventures in the produce section. My favorite kind.
Anyway, I'm going to hit the sack. But before the senseless beating I'll probably read for a little while. I really love this book, and am getting increasingly annoyed that the copy of it that I ordered from Half.com nearly a month ago hasn't come yet. If it never comes then this will be the second time I've been burned by someone on Half.com. Fuckers. Just give me my book, dammit! Is that too much to ask?
Apparently. Le sigh. My gimpy foot and I wish you a fond farewell nonetheless.
back & forth
Wait, there's more!
I like pina coladas - March 30, 2005
must... finish... projects... - March 22, 2005
Mr. Postman delivers the good stuff - March 18, 2005
when everything is bad - March 16, 2005
of fruits and menstruation - March 15, 2005