Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Enchiladas for lunch, dinner, lunch

November is officially here, and with November, it means that October is over. I used to love October, but with this job, October is killer. It is not fun. It is too many hours, too many days, too many RSVPs and deadlines.

But November! Hooray! My office mate told me that I was being very vocal yesterday, which I was, but it was mostly to counteract the incredibly dreary, downtrodden nature in the office. Part of my cheerful nature involved singing little tunes about November.

"Nooooovember! it's novemmmmber! It's not Octooooober!"

And many such things as that.

Yesterday evening I left work relatively early. I meant to go to yoga, but that morning I got my annual flu shot, so my arm was basically paralyzed all day. Unable to lift my arm above my shoulder, I concluded that yoga was not a good idea (downward dog with a dead arm? no thanks). Instead, I came home and made a whopping tray of enchiladas. I did them in a style I learned from a dear friend of mine, Liz, but with consultation from Asa (thanks, Asa!!).

The result was fabulous. bell peppers, zucchini, black beans, corn, carrots, diced tomatoes, and tons and tons of good spices. topped off with some delicious corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheddar cheese. The smells were divine, and the colors were even better. I don't think I've ever had such success improvising the seasonings for a dish. A confidence booster for sure.

Oh! I just got a call from my Dad that the Yankees won the World Series! Goooo New York! Although, to be frank, I haven't been following baseball at all since the Yanks beat the Twins. I had some real Minnesota pride this year. Gooooo Twins!

Anyway, enchiladas. Delicious. I was very impressed with the chance of the whole matter. It was also nice to just have some therapeutic downtime. After a day of worrying about 33 other people (ah, lovely students), it is so nice to decompress at home with a glass of wine (wine is gf!!), and some tunes, and some snacks while you cook. ::sigh:: this is the good life. Can't wait until that is every single evening next year with AO.

The night concluded with a trip to the Tavern on France with Sarah and some of her friends from college. Not exactly my place, but they had a mean happy hour. I was bitter, because there was nothing on the menu for me to eat other than chips and french fries... boo. UNTIL. The waitress saw my frustration and asked, "are you gluten free?"
"Yes," I mumbled, pissed off and grumpy.
"Well, our bartender has Celiac's, so we started a gluten free pizza, and it's really good! You should try it!"
"No, thanks, I already ate dinner. I just want some damn chicken."
"Well, if you change your mind, just let me know!"

Her chipperness was getting to me. I was feeling grumpy, and who was she to try and make me spend more money?

::ten minutes later::

Sarah says, "Elyse, are you crazy? How often will you get pizza?! Even if you don't want it now, just order it, bring it home, and enjoy it later."

So that is what I did. And it was quite good!! Grilled mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and a completely edible crust! How do they do it?! I'm glad I was won over by the peer pressure.

On a non-food note: there is a scholarship going out right now for our students that have overcome the BIGGEST obstacles, and DAMN, this is a tough one to work on. Tearjerker every 5 seconds if you really stop to think about it. So I'm torn: best to not think about it? Or think about it deeply, reflect, and then feel really terrible about how easy my life has been?!

But I'm telling you, some of these kids. Wow. They have been through 100x harder experiences than I'm sure I'll ever even see. Makes getting hit by a car seem like eating a delicious piece of cheesecake. Speaking of cheesecake, I discovered that there is a traditional dessert I can enjoy: homemade rice crispy bars! Hooray!

I say Hooray! a lot.

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