cheap eats

the timing of my downsizing of my apartment was somewhat random. i was living beyond my means and knew i needed to move to something smaller and more affordable. the timing of my move just happened to conincide with the economy falling apart. so when i moved, i decided to begin working actively to save a bit more $$ on groceries and expenses. and i've done okay with it.

but here's my latest discovery, thanks to my friend AJS: restaurant.com. they sell $25 gift certificates for $10, which is okay. nothing to go screaming from the rafters for because the gift certificates often come with restrictions/requirements. BUT if you sign up for their newsletter, every couple of weeks they sell the gift certificates for $2. and that is a great savings. we used one the other night. three of us were out. we ordered 2 rounds of drinks and dinner for 3 and the total was like $8 each.

so there's your cheapskate tip of the week. it's not perfect, but it's a good discount.

bitch-nice

my friend lulu, over drinks the other night, said of herself:
"i'm nice. but i'm bitch-nice."
and she is. you don't want to piss of lulu. she's formidable. and charming. and nice. all at once. bitch-nice.

so today lulu and i were, with several other friends and peers, in a meeting. for the record, it was not a meeting that is associated with my church or my diocese. it was the association meeting for an association (that is in no way part of the episcopal church) of which i am a part. in this meeting, the chair (who i don't hang with or know outside of our quarterly meetings) proposes that we create, in two weeks, a huge event. it's a long, convoluted story, but the long and the short of it is that several of us, me being the most vocal, thought this event on such short notice, was a bad idea. the chair continued to say things like "i don't care if we do it or not--it's up to you." of course, every time that the group moved towards not doing it, we were told all the reasons why "it would be in our best interest" to do said project. there was a veiled threat in the midst of it all. the vague promise of threat does not sit well with me.

every time i spoke out about the problems with this event, all i could think was "bitch-nice," with the emphasis on the bitch! it's funny to be the vocal one in the midst of folks who more or less agree with you, but just aren't speaking up. Finally, 3 people signed on to do the event, although, in the end, the hidden agenda became clear and then 2 of the 3 were angry about that. but...it's over with--at least on my end. i headed down to the court house to advocate for fair, healthy and affordable housing for all people in my neighborhood. happily, this time, i was far from alone. this time i was surrounded by my bitch-nice sisters.

emerging

i went away this weekend to clergy conference. our keynote speaker was phyllis tickle, whose thick southern accent made me a little homesick, and whose incredibly exciting work on the great emergence has me thinking. tickle did a lot to explain how the past 100+ years have really given sola scriputra (by scripture alone) a beating and a run for its money. much of the protestant church, has for so long clung to the notion of the infallibility of scripture--that it is, word for word, literally from god. forget translations, forget the original greek, forget that most of it was passed down--stories thru family lines and gatherings--we understand god and salvation through the lens of sola scriputra....and then comes...

slavery...and bam! a hit to sola scriputra. and then comes

evolution...and bam! a hit to sola scriptura. and then comes

women voting, working, being educated... and then comes

the birth control pill...and then comes stonewall...and slowly the church doesn't know where it's authority is coming from. no wonder the religious right wants sarah palin to win--who cares if she's under qualified. she's anti-intellectual. she's sola scriptura. she'll  let people cling to the jesus, the pauline theology, of literalism. in short, she keeps that jesus (the jesus often used as a weapon) safe. 

i've never understood the authority of the church to be exclusively from the literal reading of scripture. someone recently said to me "the bible is far too important to be taken literally." and i couldn't agree more. yet i recognize that for so many this literal understanding of the bible has been the only way. and so suddenly the world around is punching holes in everything that has been long clung to for authority. it must be frightening. 

over lunch, phyllis tickle was speaking of one of a desert mystic (who's name i'm blanking on and wish i could find!) who, many, many moons ago, said that there would be 2000 years of the reign of the Father (think 2000 before JC), 2000 years of the reign of the Son (that would be 0-2000--think Jesus, da man) and 2000 years reign of the Spirit. The rise of the Pentecostal movement fits in nicely with that teaching. Moreover, it fits in well with where we are as a church, I think. Mystics can be nuttier than squirrel poo, but they can also be, well...mystics. time will tell...

fall soup

i've been feeling off kilter for a while. some of it has to do with my schedule. with the exception of the 3 days i took of to move (and really, do those count as days off?), i haven't had a day off in several weeks. and i haven't been grocery shopping. and until yesterday my kitchen wasn't really set up. so i've felt off kilter. there's just so many lean cuisine's and trips to the diner you can make before you start to feel off.

so today, as it feels really chilly out, seemed like a good day to get cooking soup. the russian spy had fresh pie pumpkins that needed cooking. and last week, one of my fabulous parishioners, levi, shared a recipe for pumpkin apple bisque. so i've made it. and it's really good. i've modified his recipe only a little (i used fresh pumpkin and fat free half and half to his canned and heavy cream and or whole milk). if you're looking for a delicious and yummy soup that makes your house smell like fall, try this one. 

Pumpkin Apple Bisque

1 small to medium pumpkin (directions for pumpkin prep below)
1 32 oz carton of chicken or veg stock
1 qt fat free half and half
2 or 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet onion
10 oz frozen corn, thawed
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
Sea salt
Pepper
Dried or fresh rosemary
Dried or fresh thyme
Dried or fresh sage (rubbed)

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the chopped onions, chopped apples, some sea salt, some pepper, rosemary, thyme, and lots of sage and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until tender

2. Add corn and continue cooking at the medium high heat until the corn is rich and golden-buttery looking.

3. In a food processor or blender, pour in 1/2 of the stock, add the skillet mixture, and blend to a pulp.

4. Pour into a big soup pan and turn on low heat.

5. Put remaining 1/2 of stock into the blender with the pumpkin pulp, and blend until somewhat smooth. Pour that into soup pot and stir.

6. Cook on low, low heat for 45 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Add more brown sugar, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and sage as makes you happy.

7. Uncover for the last 15 minutes (I have no real reason to encourage you to do this except to release the phenomenal smell more fully into your house).

8. Add half and half (shake it really, really well before pouring) as you turn off the heat. It should be the last thing you do, lest it curdle.

a couple of day after edits:

First: the flavor is soooooo good on the 2nd day. It's worth the wait.

Second: some edits for your consideration. I love corn, but thought that the corn was chewy. I used frozen (that had been thawed). I might try fresh next time. Or leave it out. 

The biggest problem for me with the soup is the "twigs" of rosemary left in the soup. Perhaps putting them in cheese cloth would help. 

Never cooked with real pumpkin before? It's super easy.
Be aware that you need to use a pie pumpkin, not a jack-o-lantern pumpkin.
Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out all the stringy stuff and seeds (which you can set aside to toast, if you like). Put about an inch of water and a bit of salt in a large, oven safe pan (I like pyrex). Place pumpkins, meat side down, in the water. Cook on 400ish for at least an hour. I put mine in for an hour and a half, turned off the oven and left them in overnight. Super easy to peel the pulp out in the morning.

lucy finds a window

it's been forever since i've posted anything--sorry about that. it's been a crazy couple of weeks. i moved on october 1st. it's been a transition! i've moved to a much, much smaller place (that charges much, much less rent). it is, hands down, the smallest apartment i've ever had. so 3/4ths of my stuff is in storage. and i'm learning the much needed art of de-pack-ratting. 

i can't decide if i like this apartment or not. what irks me about it is the smell. it's got that old grandpa stale smell in one of the closets. vinegar, bleach, damp-rid...you name it, i've tried it. my latest is aunt lynn's suggestion of a plain old bag of charcoal to absorb the odor. we'll see. they're going to paint soon, so that may help as well. 

the other weird thing--and it's really only weird in the sense that it's new too me--is that i live on a floor full of people. it's kind of like walking down a hotel floor full of doors. i've never lived in an apartment building with more than 6 people in it, so this is weird. and it's kinda creepy. i walked out for church the other day at 7:15 on sunday morning and could hear my neighbor snoring. so, you know, thin walls and doors. 

but the good stuff...it's cute. i need to put things in their place and paint and get pictures on the wall, but it's really cute. very vintage, very charming. yeah, the sinks a bitch to do dishes in, but it's got great big cabinets and storage. and i have a big stainless steel table that goes in what would be the dining room--an extension of the kitchen--so i have some decent counter space, room for my coffee maker and my kitchen-aid mixer. 

and the best of all is the window. pretty much floor to ceiling windows, which makes for very happy kitties. my lucy has just discovered a way to dive from the floor to the table to the kitchen window and, clearly, she's found her niche. all this makes me happy. 

plus i'm really close the the church, which means i can easily walk to and from. and i live, now more than ever, fully in the city. it's a little bit like being back in NYC--not the same, but a little bit closer. i walk home past outside (for now) patio restaurants and bars, ice cream shops open until 11:00 pm, coffee shops, grocery stores and people. lots of people. 

so it's not perfect, but it's good. for now. for awhile. which is good, because i don't fancy packing up my stuff again anytime soon!