A sabbatical, of sorts

music to read by :: Sabbatical (Michael Uzowuru)

I’ve been running into a lot of brick walls these days, when attempting the things I love. Interpreted literally, I am covered with bruises, constantly sporting a mild headache; figuratively,  I’m depressed, stressed, and again with the headache.

what sabbatical should look like

For the literal brick walls, I’ve started wearing my glasses more, but this makes me nuts as they are “reading” glasses and I find the more I wear them, the more I have to wear them. My eyes are becoming lazy in their old age. The figurative walls?  I’ve had to make some decisions regarding my time allotment, being realistic in what I can and cannot accomplish without underestimating my, well, ability to accomplish stuff. I am my own worst enemy after all.

Being me.

music to read by :: Hickory (Iron and Wine)

Yeah. It’s been 9 months since I’ve posted here.

I mostly fell off the blog-wagon due to an overwhelming feeling of posting about someone who was trying to be someone worth posting about – and failing at it. I mean, if I wasn’t one of the cool homesteading kids who made my own soap while hand raising wild turkeys to guard my for-making-my-own-clothes-hemp patch, well then what exactly did I think I was doing here?

And I’ve been busy; working projects of varying importance to my life, potting, slowly taking back my health and changing the course of my life.

Now I’m ready to return. There will be some changes here – but not many; a change in categories, a slightly different focus, and an allowance to be me – to write about the mundane, silly things that go on in my day to day.

That will be the important change here. Allowing myself to be me.

Happy has no culture barriers

The best goldarn sammich buns. Ever

music to read by :: Sandwich (Blue Cheer)

And I am sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the eggs and sugar. Nope. No way.

I have this recipe in my old and tattered bread book by Better Homes and Garden, inherited from my mom, however I am going to write it out in my method, as I don’t use a mixer, and am just a combine stuff add flour kinda bread maker. It is listed as a hamburger bun but, trust me, you will use them for all your yummy sammich needs.

Start with your yeast – 2 tbsp, or two packages depending on how you roll. I buy my in bulk, so 2 tbsp it is. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tbsp salt.

Pour in 1/3 cup vegetable oil, then add 2 cups warm water and stir.

Shepherding those pesky lentils into a line – er, I mean pie.

music to read by :: Shepherd (Genesis)

One of our favourite cold weather foods, here at casa vassal, is my veggie shepherd’s pie. Why? Because it is limitless in it’s versatility, and can be customized for a variety of dietary needs.

Except for meat eaters, of course. Then it just becomes regular ol’ shepherd’s pie. And that’s not what it’s all about today.

I’m pretty sure I started out, eons ago, with a recipe. Something tells me it might have been from a magazine, but I’m not sure anymore. I work this shepherd’s pie like most my meals, doing a little something I like to call “cooking”; using what I have on hand, and flavouring to taste.

So go, now! and grab yourself some brown lentils. Do they *have* to be brown? No. Go wild! Use the green ones! Mix them up, if you’re feeling crazy!