tortilla chips.

My laziness is very illogical. Sometime at work today I decided that I wanted tortilla chips, but I was too lazy to go to the store to get some, so instead, I would make them. (though, maybe this says more about me being a total homebody during the week.) It worked out though, because I have a bunch of corn tortillas that are not going away because I only like them for certain things and they're only sold in huge quantities.

So, using this recipe as a rough guide, I made tortilla chips. I put oil on 'em, cut them up*, and seasoned them with salt, cumin, and chili powder. While they baked I cooked up some quick chili for tostada salad. [so easy: black beans + diced tomatoes + onion + garlic + spices = 10 minute chili. then eat it with spinach mixed in. yum.] They took longer to bake than expected, but finally (most of) the batch was crisp. I excitedly tried one and....not nearly enough salt! Sigh. So I added some more, and ate my dinner.

Lesson learned: homemade tortilla chips are easy but unless you deep fry them and douse them in salt you should probably just go buy a bag. I tend to get the Target organic ones.

[Pictures here.]

*Did I mention my new knife?! It's super sharp and cuts way better than my dull IKEA one and makes me feel like an adult!

french press.

I'm not a huge coffee drinker. I don't have a coffee maker because it would take up too much space, so I stick to tea during the week and save my coffee for the weekends. I've always wanted a french press because silly me thinks it to be more romantic, and now I finally have one! (It was a birthday gift courtesy of the boy.)

So I just now finished my first cup of coffee pressed in my own apartment and my fingers are a weeeee bit shaky. But I'm feeling oh so European and caffeinated and generally fancy as I sit in my mismatched PJs on a Sunday morning. Maybe I should make an omelette to continue with my fancy morning. Or, french toast?! Except I have no bread. Perhaps pancakes?

(I apologize for this hyper stream of consciousness post but perhaps the coffee is helpful as I currently have two drafts started that I just can't finish. Here's a cute vase that's made of drinking glasses and colored condoms. Also, I'm freaking out because a friend just told me that there's a fungus slowly killing bananas and even though I don't even LIKE bananas that much, I eat them almost every goddamn day. Ooh having read that I should totally make banana pancakes.)

diary of a foodie.

I used to have a Saturday tradition of watching cooking shows on PBS, which has sadly fallen to the wayside in the past months. My standby favorite is America's Test Kitchen, but it's gotten a bit boring lately. Other favorites tend to get recycled in and out with no warning, which can be disappointing when they're good. (As evidenced here - I have not seen that one in months.)

But seeing as how I'm sick and sniffly today, I found myself catching an episode of my new favorite show: Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie. (warning: that link will play a video on click) I've seen it a few times, and they're often focusing on sustainable farms and eateries from around the world and it's just really fun. Today's show caught my attention because it was all about food bloggers (though none that I currently read). David Lebovitz talked about Paris and its specialty cheese shops with amazing eggs and of course, I too wanted to move there. But mostly the episode just motivated me to blog more about food, even if I'll never be featured on tv because of it.

stress.

Quickly: work has been killing me in a most frustrating way. It's way too long to explain here (nor would I feel comfortable doing so), but today I was there for 10 hours with only a 24 minute lunch break (during which I had to make copies as well). I am so tired of meetings but it's something I care deeply about so I have to attend, even if they're not required.

Enough vagueness. I'm mostly frustrated that work has left me so drained that I can barely think about any creative pursuits, let alone read any of the books I've started. I did realize that the same maps I used for mapping paper make really pretty homemade envelopes. So, there's one good thing?

Crawling into bed with my New Yorker now.