Yummy

You all should try this: cook a cup of rice in 1.5 cups water and .5 cups coconut milk (instead of the usual 2 cups water). Grate some rind off an orange with a fine grater--1.5 teaspoons perhaps. When the rice is done, stir this in to give the rice a nice citrus scent. Serve with something spicy like jerk chicken.

It's funny... I know a lot of people don't enjoy cooking for themselves when they're alone, but I do. It's so blissful to cook, eat at my own pace, and have visible leftovers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy cooking for HLM or for a group, but so often I cook and then the moment I'm done... SNARF!... what I cooked is gone, I still haven't eaten and I suddenly have tons of dishes to do. Hmm, and I'm cooking for eight this Sunday, so I'm glad I got a bit of cooking peace while it was possible.

Argh! Speaking of food, I just realized I went to Bruegger's this morning specifically to replace the Walk for Hunger pamphlet I lost, and all I got there was a bagel. Blindsided by my stomach again. I need to stop thinking with that thing--it made me skip TKD last night too.

Possum Living

Jesus, now here's some extreme frugality (full text of Possum Living by Dolly Freed behind the link).

It's about, basically, getting by (easily) without a job. We live this way for a very simple reason: It is easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them. This is definitely true for, say, a yacht. I'm not so sure about some of the things these people go without, and not excited about raising rabbits for meat in the basement either. I also note that it takes time to get set up in a house that you own free and clear. Nonetheless, two people living on $1440/year in 1978 while maintaining an essentially middle-class facade is no uninteresting feat, and the section on growing one's own herbs sounds tempting.

I'm glad the author admits (at the end of Chapter 4) that possum living may not be for everyone. She closes with some very good sense: If you can't go the whole route, at least go part way. If you can't become a non-consumer, aim to be a mini-consumer. Okay? Okay. Even though my reasons are basically that I want the security of savings, and Dolly pretty much eschews thoughts of security.

I suppose this is also the wrong time to say how much I'm jonesing to get another $85 facial at Candela.