Good morning All. Coffees on.

[Heather Nicole]

That loaf looks fantastic.

 

The nice thing about breadmaking is that even the worst attempt at homemade bread is way better than anything you can get in a store. Dutch oven recipies are great. I've also done Irish Soda Bread a few times. If you ever feel like you want to boost your confidence in breadmaking, irish soda bread is totally the one to try. It's so much quicker and easier than you'd think!

 

I'm still learning makeup. Very early stages. Although, i have to say, the first time I tried mascara I fell in love with it. Couldn't beleive how much I liked how it made my eyes look. Now if only I can really get the hang of it...and the hang of everything else...

 

Being saturday, I got a very happily late start to the day. Finished breakfast just a bit ago and enjoying finally doing nothing for once!

 

The self-doubt and imposter syndrome monsters have been hitting pretty hard lately. Gonna have to talk to my GT about that next time. But I have noticed things like that, and dysphoria, tend to be worse when I'm tired (everything's harder when you're tired). And between work, normal pandemic adulting, helping my mom out (as she's been needing more help lately), and various stresses, I've just been wiped out, running on fumes. So I guess it's no wonder.

 

Luckily though, my brother is getting back into town today to help out with our mom again. And my accumulated vacation time at work is nearly maxed out, so I put in to have most of this coming week off. Just a couple easy evening shifts monday and tuesday (I'm anything but a morning person) and then I'm off until the following sunday! Looking forward to a bit of much-needed rest and recouperation. And maybe chip away a little more at my todo list.

[Elizabeth Star]

6 hours ago, Willow said:

I mentioned fresh ... because there was a conversation last week where someone else was trying to operate a snow thrower on two year old gas that sat in the tank.  It was a refresher from that for those who aren’t used to needing their power equipment on a regular basis.  Clearly in Indiana you use your snow thrower.

That would be me. I'm sure I'll be paying for it tonight with snow-mageddon '21 on the way.

[Audrey]

@Jandi That looks amazing, and would go fabulous with our leftover lasagna tonight!

 

@Bri2020 How exciting that all the pieces are coming together! 

 

@Heather Nicole I'm getting better and better with putting on my mascara, and totally agree that it has one of the most dramatic feminizing effects. I have an eyelash curler and magnifying mirror on the way after getting some guidance on another thread here a week or so ago, and can't wait to see if they help when they get here.

 

Today ended up being an extremely lazy day for me. I guess I was exhausted from the week, and I took a rare two hour nap in the middle of the day. Now feeling wide awake, planning to just enjoy the evening with my partner. We're due for "snowpocalypse" 2021 edition on Monday, they're saying 8-14 inches maybe for the City. I'll believe it when I see it. I've got all the essentials but most especially my HRT refill, and just about the only other thing I did today was paint my nails (same color as the last time, "First Kiss," it's a subtle pink). I might also be able to do some cross-country skiing in the park without traveling anywhere.

 

Love,

~Audrey.

[HaraSurya]

I'm so glad I live in a city those huge snowstorms miss more often than not...

 

I made some vegetarian white chili, chocolate chocolate-chip muffins and a pot of coffee. Now once I get off here I'm going to settle down to read for a few hours.

[Elizabeth Star]

Yay! Food thread day. All this talk about cooking today motivated me to actually cook in my new kitchen. Alexa suggested Cheesy Eggplant Roll-ups. Cheese hates me but is my kryptonite. It's in the oven right now so in 30 minutes....  It was very interesting, I couldn't open the jar of marinara sauce. Legitimately couldn't open it. I'm torn between being concerned and happy about it.

 

I did get my nails re-done earlier. I went with regular UV gel polish. It's temperature sensitive and changes from white-ish when warm to red when cold with gold glitter.

 

 

[Ivy]

1 hour ago, ElizabethStar said:

Legitimately couldn't open it. I'm torn between being concerned and happy about it.

I know that feeling

[Audrey]

1 hour ago, ElizabethStar said:

Alexa suggested Cheesy Eggplant Roll-ups. Cheese hates me but is my kryptonite. It's in the oven right now so in 30 minutes.... 

If the recipe called for ricotta cheese, the substitute we made for the veggie lasagna last night made out of cauliflower and cashews might work in its place. It wasn't too hard to make, but you'd need a food processor. Also, jars. The same thing happened to me with a jar of pickles the other day. I thought, is it just this particular jar or is there more to the story?

 

@HaraSurya Vegetarian white chili? I need details!

 

Love,

~Audrey.

[HaraSurya]

@Audrey

 

I'm not strictly vegetarian, but I've started avoiding meat for my health. I found it's harder to accidentally load up on calories that way and saves tons of money. (Meat is expensive!) I limit meat to special occasions and as a treat on the weekend.

 

I just kind of threw the recipe together:

Vegetarian White Chili

Two cans of Great Northern beans

Two cans of Cannellini beans

A can of sweet corn.

32oz broth (I used chicken, but vegetable would work fine, too)

Two large jalapeno peppers (diced)

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced green peppers

 

I rarely measure seasoning, so these are guesses:

1-2Tbs of cumin

1-2 Tsp black pepper

1-2 Tsp dried cilantro

3-4 cloves garlic

Salt to taste

 

Basically put everything in a soup pot and boil until the jalapenos are soft.

 

Top with fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheese, or whatever you prefer.

[Audrey]

@HaraSurya Thanks for sharing... the recipe looks like it makes a ton of food! My partner and I are both lacto-ovo vegetarians and enjoy cooking together so we appreciate all recipe ideas. Also cooking is alchemy so why measure herbs and spices exactly?

 

Love,

~Audrey.

[KymmieL]

Thanks guys for making me hungry.  And I've got 2 hours of work to go. 

 

Kymmie 

[HaraSurya]

@Audrey

 

I grew up cooking for a family of five and after I moved out it's just been me or one other, but I've never adjusted. I just have lots of leftovers.

 

I'm sure you could half the beans, use a smaller can of corn and adjust everything else accordingly and make enough for two.

[Elizabeth Star]

@AudreyThe recipe did use Ricotta, and Parmesan, and mozzarella. I really do need some non-dairy alternatives.

2 hours ago, HaraSurya said:

I'm sure you could half the beans, use a smaller can of corn and adjust everything else accordingly and make enough for two.

I've had to teach myself to do this when I make chili. It feels a little shameful making it in a small batch.

 

 

[Mmindy]

10 hours ago, Jandi said:

But at my daughter's last weekend she showed me an easy in the dutch oven recipe.  And I actually succeeded.

Warm fresh bread with butter for breakfast!

That's great Jandi! 

 

I love my Dutch Ovens, I have three with legs for cooking over campfires, and one flat bottom for cooking on the stovetop, or in the oven at home.

 

You can cook some great Pies and Cakes too. 

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy???

[HaraSurya]

I work as a driver for for Jimmy Johns and when they take the bread out of the oven I just want to get a knife and some butter and go to town. Sometimes when I'm broke or we're too busy to make an employee meal I'll buy a stick of day-old bread and eat it while driving.

[Ivy]

1 hour ago, Mmindy said:

I love my Dutch Ovens, I have three with legs for cooking over campfires, and one flat bottom for cooking on the stovetop, or in the oven at home.

I love my cast iron.   I have a smaller pot that i've made chicken pot pie in.  

[Heather Nicole]

I don't think I could go non-dairy or meatless even if I wanted to (although congrats to those who can!) But I'm definitely a fan of altering my traditional american-style meat/carb/veggie ratios to something much more veggie-oriented, using meats/carbs only as a secondary ingredient, as an embellishment. Just enough to still satisfy my omnivorous nature, but (ideally) not enough to throw away the benefits of just how absurdly low calorie most veggies are!

 

This is a big part of why I'm a huge fan of Indian and Chinese cuisines (authentic chinese, not american-chinese which tends to be overly-heavy on goopy, sugary sauces and re-adjusts the meat/veggie ratio to a more american-friendy meat-heavy balance.) It's because both Indian and authentic-Chinese cuisines are amazing at taking veggie-heavy diets and making them hearty, tasty and satisfying without feeling like "heath food".

 

@HaraSurya: I love jimmy johns

[HaraSurya]

One thing I love about Indian food is you can eat a vegetarian meal and not even notice or care about the lack of meat. It helps when you're talking about the cuisine of a nation where being vegetarian for religious reasons is extremely common.

 

Jimmy Johns is my favorite cold-cut sub sandwich shop. For hot deli sandwiches I prefer McAllister's.

 

The one thing I hear frequently at work is "You got here fast" to which I respond, "That's kind of our motto."

[Elizabeth Star]

Good morning, coffee is brewing.

Furry kids woke me up way to early this time but I can't get back to sleep so...here I am! I looks like we have gotten some snow. Now I'm just waiting until an acceptable time to go out and mess with the snowblower.

[Jamie68]

17 hours ago, Bri2020 said:

I'd had a heck of a day yesterday.  There were some down points but I want to celebrate the positives.  I got home to a mess of mail. 2 credit cards, a debit card and various scuba certification cards arrived with my new name!!!  My wallet is in congruence finally!  I didn't realize how much that was keeping me down until I opened my wallet and tossed all my dead name IDs and cards.  It felt amazing.

I also got an email from my case manager detailing some of the next steps toward transitioning.  She gave me the names of all the surgeons for the various surgeries so I could start researching and the current timelines.  I could conceivably get facial feminization scheduled for about 8 months from now. BA/trach shave by October. GRS it depends on the surgeon.  I've gotten a referral for a 2nd psychologist to meet the requirements for GRS.  

I have a lot to think about.  Kaiser will let me use a GRS surgeon at either Georgetown or Johns Hopkins or they will fly me out to Oregon to their Transcare center. The docs in Oregon have done more but that is a long way from DC and would involve a trip out for consult and then a week or so trip for the surgery. The FFS would be at Hopkins and the BA/Trach would be local KP surgeons. 

 

Wow, that's awesome!!! Congrats.

[Jamie68]

17 hours ago, Jandi said:

A first for me this morning.    My ex was always the baker, and I've always been intimidated by it.  I've done biscuits and cornbread, but yeast scared me.

But at my daughter's last weekend she showed me an easy in the dutch oven recipe.  And I actually succeeded.

Warm fresh bread with butter for breakfast!

Oh, yummy. I love fresh made bread.

[Jamie68]

16 hours ago, Heather Nicole said:

That loaf looks fantastic.

 

The nice thing about breadmaking is that even the worst attempt at homemade bread is way better than anything you can get in a store. Dutch oven recipies are great. I've also done Irish Soda Bread a few times. If you ever feel like you want to boost your confidence in breadmaking, irish soda bread is totally the one to try. It's so much quicker and easier than you'd think!

 

I'm still learning makeup. Very early stages. Although, i have to say, the first time I tried mascara I fell in love with it. Couldn't beleive how much I liked how it made my eyes look. Now if only I can really get the hang of it...and the hang of everything else...

 

Being saturday, I got a very happily late start to the day. Finished breakfast just a bit ago and enjoying finally doing nothing for once!

 

The self-doubt and imposter syndrome monsters have been hitting pretty hard lately. Gonna have to talk to my GT about that next time. But I have noticed things like that, and dysphoria, tend to be worse when I'm tired (everything's harder when you're tired). And between work, normal pandemic adulting, helping my mom out (as she's been needing more help lately), and various stresses, I've just been wiped out, running on fumes. So I guess it's no wonder.

 

Luckily though, my brother is getting back into town today to help out with our mom again. And my accumulated vacation time at work is nearly maxed out, so I put in to have most of this coming week off. Just a couple easy evening shifts monday and tuesday (I'm anything but a morning person) and then I'm off until the following sunday! Looking forward to a bit of much-needed rest and recouperation. And maybe chip away a little more at my todo list.

I agree with the Irish soda bread. It's awesome. I would get it at Jewels grocery for St. Pats day.

Yeah, doing stuff in the mirror is a challenge.

Great news about your brother. Get some rest and go have some much deserved fun. Buy something pretty.

[Jamie68]

10 hours ago, Audrey said:

If the recipe called for ricotta cheese, the substitute we made for the veggie lasagna last night made out of cauliflower and cashews might work in its place. It wasn't too hard to make, but you'd need a food processor. Also, jars. The same thing happened to me with a jar of pickles the other day. I thought, is it just this particular jar or is there more to the story?

 

@HaraSurya Vegetarian white chili? I need details!

 

Love,

~Audrey.

I've noticed I can't seem to be able to open anything without a huge battle anymore. When they say losing upper body strength, they mean it. Sport drinks are the worst.

1 hour ago, ElizabethStar said:

Good morning, coffee is brewing.

Furry kids woke me up way to early this time but I can't get back to sleep so...here I am! I looks like we have gotten some snow. Now I'm just waiting until an acceptable time to go out and mess with the snowblower.

I'm jealous. We got maybe an inch.

[Audrey]

Also part of the "up early, can't get back to sleep" club here this morning.

 

It's interesting, when I went vegetarian back in 2004, it was a conscious effort to avoid meat and choose alternatives for the first few months or so. I'd read The Omnivore's Dilemma, and was making the decision mainly out of environmental and animal cruelty concerns. The first Thanksgiving and Christmas were tricky, but now I don't even think about it!

 

Now they're saying 12-20 inches for the City starting tonight and into Tuesday... so glad I don't have to try to shop for anything. The anxiety before storms like this makes people crazy in the stores. ("Quick, we need 96 rolls of toilet paper! Not that we have a place for it in our NYC apartment!")

 

Love,

~Audrey.

[Jamie68]

10 hours ago, HaraSurya said:

@Audrey

 

I'm not strictly vegetarian, but I've started avoiding meat for my health. I found it's harder to accidentally load up on calories that way and saves tons of money. (Meat is expensive!) I limit meat to special occasions and as a treat on the weekend.

 

I just kind of threw the recipe together:

Vegetarian White Chili

Two cans of Great Northern beans

Two cans of Cannellini beans

A can of sweet corn.

32oz broth (I used chicken, but vegetable would work fine, too)

Two large jalapeno peppers (diced)

1 cup diced onions

1 cup diced green peppers

 

I rarely measure seasoning, so these are guesses:

1-2Tbs of cumin

1-2 Tsp black pepper

1-2 Tsp dried cilantro

3-4 cloves garlic

Salt to taste

 

Basically put everything in a soup pot and boil until the jalapenos are soft.

 

Top with fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheese, or whatever you prefer.

Someone at a pot luck brought vegetarian peanut butter tofu chili. It was awesome. Yours looks good. I'm going to try it. Thanks

[Jamie68]

8 hours ago, Jandi said:

I love my cast iron.   I have a smaller pot that i've made chicken pot pie in.  

I have an antique 6 quart cast iron one with a trivet. I love it. Looks like It's a lot more versatile than I thought. Time for investigating.

Now I know how to get a flurry of conversation going. Just mention food. Just try to EAT TO LIVE, not LIVE TO EAT.