Still, it was shocking to see snow yesterday. Today Crosby Field behind my house is coated with deep crunchy frost, and my trees, which weren’t even fully turned to their fall colors yet, are yellow and dropping their leaves in a constant flow; all in a day.
I’m not ready for winter!
We always feel that way, but November usually gives up space here to plan for it. Instead, I’m looking at the grill I didn’t finish putting together and lamenting that I didn’t wash my screens while the sun was still hanging around in a useful manner. I’m wishing I’d canned some dilly beans while I had the chance. At least the radiators got vacuumed so they don’t smell like burning dust as the heat comes on, and the sun is out. But we haven’t laid in firewood yet and I can’t get the cat to realize that the back screen door isn’t likely to be opened soon. I never got around to spring cleaning.
Let’s do a little clearing here, then, on the brink of November.
1.) For those brave enough to go full raw all winter remember this tip from Renee Loux Underkoffler’s book, Living Cuisine: you can preheat the serving bowls with boiling water, hot water, or by placing them in a medium oven for a few minutes if they’re oven-safe. You can also heat your raw soup ever so gently, not over 104 degrees, and then place it in a warmed bowl for a still raw soup that is warm and nourishes your need for comfort in the cold.
Me, I’m keeping to my half-raw state as well as I can; but there’s no getting completely away from baked goods in the winter, in my family, in Buffalo NY. I’ll be eating more living oatmeal, marinated vegetables and maybe some raw breads and sauces for the raw portions of our meals. Those extra vitamins and the flu shot my doc made me get should help keep me from my yearly bout of bronchitis, with any luck.
2.) The Merge Restaurant will serve a vegan and raw-based menu around Thanksgiving, something to be truly thankful for. And The Buffalo Vegan Meetup Group at Merge will be having a dinner there, on November 22. It’s never too late to join.
3.) This blog will be taking a short hiatus as of November 1st or 2nd, while I do my NaNoWriMo (check the link!). During NaNo, writing can become a 22-hour a day habit, and I tend to eat badly. I’ve decided to live on Aldi's frozen onion soup this time, to get some nourishment, but I’ll have nothing useful to say about food, life, foodie-ism. Sometime during Thanksgiving week there should a special post, but other than that, after this weekend you won’t see anything new here till the first week of December, when we should be back and cooking, dining, chilling in good form. Do check out some older posts if haven't read them all, and leave a comment-- I will get it, and answer it, one way or another. Here's a list of links to some good ones from this first 10 months:
Cold and Raw
Hot Friday
Barbecued Spam
Ghosts of an Appetite
Pasta & Wine Anytime
4.) Do yourself a favor and soak some beans today, then cook them on low in the crock-pot in fresh water all night. Tomorrow morning you’ll have a fresh start on a meal with no extra prep involved, and much less sodium than canned beans. I’m soaking some organic soybeans to make the soy spread from Laurel’s Kitchen— recipe soon.
Enjoy the sun! Peace,
Mari
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