I Make It Snow

So, maybe Lil Wayne can make it rain, but did you know I can make it snow? (I am the best rapper alive. Obviously. Swagger right, check, game tight.) No, seriously, I made my own snow the other day! As I was walking to work, it was so cold that my breath was freezing in the air and crystallizing on my hair. Thus, snow! Photographic evidence:

um, not the most flattering shot, but you get the idea....

Unfortunately, I lost that awesome hat (thanks, Alia!) last night somewhere between being on the bus and getting off it… I realized it was missing pretty quick since my head was freezing (figuratively, not literally, this time). I even managed to catch the bus driver at the depot/station and get on to look for it, but it was gone! Mysterious. And sucky, because now how am I gonna keep warm?

Well,  one answer might be piping hot oatmeal. (Nice segue, eh?) I’ve had plenty recently, but here are two notable bowls.

The first, with a trio of peanut butters, Super Chunky, Dark Chocolate Dreams, and White Chocolate Wonderful. I was living it up with all three pbs, but I think in the future, I’ll just stick to one at a time. It was a pretty nutty combination. (Ha!)

And this little beauty was full of chopped apple, and topped with peanut butter, cinnamon, and toasted pumpkin seeds. A stellar combo, I highly recommend it!

I also made my second-ever pot of chili. I made it vegetarian this time and it came out so, so great! It was delicious, nutritious, and fed me for a week…

In a large pot, I heated up a splop of olive oil, and added 1 chopped carrot and 1/2 a bell pepper. After letting it cook for several minutes, I added in one clove of minced garlic and 1 chopped onion (medium, white), and let the veggies cook until tender. Then I added 1 can of white beans in tomato sauce, 1 can of kidney beans in “Chile” sauce, and 1 drained can of kidney beans. Next I added some (drained) canned sweet corn (I think it was about 1 cup, the can was an odd size, so I’m not sure). Finally, I plopped in a very heaping tablespoon of tomato paste and 1/2 a large jar of canned tomatoes in juice in the pot, and added a bit of water so it was the right consistency. I seasoned everything with chili powder, crushed red pepper, my spice blend, and a few dashes of hot sauce, and a few pinches of salt. I let it all simmer on the stove for about an hour while I worked up my appetite. It was very satisfying topped with sour cream And satisfying that it was effortless

Caro and I went out for our regular Japanese food. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the pictures of miso soup variety du jour and cucumber/avocado rolls before, so I’ll leave these blurry ones out (it was very dark inside, and my camera sucks in anything but bright lights). We did however, veer from the norm and ordered a blackberry tart thing for dessert. It looked so intriguing and delicious that we couldn’t resist sharing it.

Too bad that this was really, really bad. We ate it, both hoping for a bite that would justify this thing as a “dessert” worth ordering. Man, it was just dry and dull and flavorless. Blech.

Luckily, this dessert, which I enjoyed with Heather at our favorite French bakery-cafe, was not disappointing. (It wasn’t actually dessert, either, since we ate it before lunner, but whatever…) I had an especially good chocolate croissant (my fave!) and a latte. Life is good.

Heather’s roommate joined us after a bit, and we all went to get an actual meal at a place around the corner. We didn’t really know what kind of place it was, but luckily they had a late-running business lunch. We ordered soup and salad deals for about $7. Nice. I had a chicken Caesar salad…

….and a bowl of borsch that really did not want to be photographed. I swear, I took 5 pictures and this is the least blurry of them!

Oh, we all had little pots of tea, too, which might explain the array of white ceramic things all over the table… Yup.

Well, I am feeling tired, and I’ve got a gChat date, so let’s leave it at this for now.

More pictures soon.

Here’s a gratuitous one for you:

This is a sneaky picture I took in the Yeliseyev Gorcery store on Tverskaya. It is a foodie heaven, with a great selection, and lots of nice, imported goods. It is in a pre-revolutionary mansion that was owned by a famous merchant, and there are chandeliers galore. I can’t believe I’d never gone in before!!! I was actually rather surprised that the prices weren’t that bad. They were a little bit higher than at other stores, but really not by much!

I also took a picture of the peanut butter. There were 2 kinds, creamy and crunchy, from the same brand. That’s it. They all cost $9 (exchange rate is 29.8 roubles to the dollar)… Yeah. That’s what I’m up against. Sighh….

Questions for ya:

What’s the current temperature where you are? I think right now it is about -5F, and the highs for the first part of the week will be around 2-3. But at the end of the week, it’s supposed to be 20! Yeehaw! I’m getting out my bikini!

What is your favorite bakery item/pastry? I love chocolate croissants times a million. The other ways to clog my heart are with soft cookies and donuts. But they ain’t as classy…