Spring has sprung, but things sprang back pretty quickly

It is cold. And wet. And April. Where is the justice? Last week I was gardening, riding my horse, and hiking. This week? Basically bundled up in bed with tea. I'm hoping that if I'm very good, we'll have a sunny day sooner or later.

This week was odd. I was pretty happy, though really missing Leo (there is always such a stark contrast after he leaves, but I typically adjust after he's been gone a week or two). Mainly, I felt kind of guilty for feeling good when there is so much awful stuff going on right now. I'm disgusted with our political in-fighting, dismayed with the mindset of the nation, and distressed over the situation in Japan. But personally, I've been feeling pretty good. I guess realistically it wouldn't help for me to be distraught, and I'm hoping there is something I can do to be more constructive. I am playing around with organizing some sort of fundraiser, even something so mild as having a game night where people bring small donations. Or a dessert potluck where people bid small amounts on dishes? I don't know, I shall ponder this more.

First week of classes. I like this quarter. I have yet another epidemiology class that was required, but at least this one seems to be taught better than my last, so I'll work through it. Plus, it just has a take home midterm and a term paper for assignments! Woot. I have toxicology, which my adviser recommended as easy, but apparently the tests are notoriously hard. Not good, but at least I know ahead of time to stay up on things. I'm kinda hoping my background in biology will help me out with this class, as so far none of the concepts are that new or difficult. We'll see though. I also have a seminar class (this week was super depressing, and all about how the democrats in office support big business and are anti-worker health, but hide it better), and my thesis writing class. But mainly, I have Global Environmental Politics. I'm in love. Or rather, in fascinated disgust, horror, enlightenment, and inspiration. The class is going to be amazing. We do have to read 200 + pages a week, but it is all really interesting works on environmental science, politics, and law. For this class we also write a research paper of our choosing, and I'm debating between two climate change topics.

I either want to write my paper on how climate change is causing formerly tropical or contained diseases to spread to places where they aren't seen as often, or year round, and how we will need to respond to the situation. This is very interesting to me, as it takes a lot of the things I'm interested in and puts them into a correlated package. I'm worried I won't find enough information though, as I think the driving US belief is that climate change is "unproven". I know there are lots of speculative microbiology articles on this topic, so if I was able to speculate on the global response issues I might be able to write a really interesting paper. My other idea was to talk about how climate change, specifically the desertification associated with it, contributes to warfare in countries where water is scarce, and probably use Darfur as my main example. There are many examples, but the genocide in Darfur is a huge reflection on how water scarcity from climate change and environmental damage can cause nations to be torn apart.

The first week of new classes is always the best. Planners are filled in, and possibilities are endless. I'm just hoping if I manage things well, I won't drown under my five classes and internship. I'm trying to be pretty proactive.

My latest kitchen experiment was grapefruit shaved ice. Pretty much delicious. I have a ton of grapefruits right now, as they are pretty cheap at Freddie's, and I decided to get creative.

Grapefruit shaved ice:
Juice of three grapefruits
1 cup sweet white wine
1/4 cup baking splenda (not the concentrated stuff)

Freeze, but break apart with a fork periodically as it freezes, so it gets a fluffy texture. Yum. If you use sugar instead of splenda you'll need to dissolve it by heating the grapefruit juice a little and stirring before adding the wine. If I had champagne, that would also be a lovely addition to the recipe.

Grapefruit Muscato Shaved Ice.

Friday I just chilled at home after class, as it was pouring. I rode on Thursday, so I didn't feel too guilty about not getting to the barn. Instead, I did yoga and watched a documentary on oceans. I've become a true Seattlelite.

Saturday I went to a pretty fantastic and inspiring talk called Culinary Herbs: Rediscovering Kitchen Medicine. It was a talk that focused on common kitchen herbs and their benefits, as well as giving tips on how to cook with them, make herbal teas, bath soaks, and salves. I really enjoyed myself, and I liked the information was backed by scientific journal articles. I like my hippie habits to have weight behind them. The talk focused on oregano, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, lemon balm, marjoram, callendula, and anise. I will not be growing all of these herbs, as some would never get used in my garden except for herbal concoctions, but I was inspired by the talk to go buy lemon balm. They served tea made from this cousin of mint at the talk, and I really enjoyed it. I also have parsley, rosemary, and thyme growing. I'll buy oregano, and that combined with my chives, basil, and all the other herbs I listed should keep my life pretty flavorful.

After I rode Starla in between bouts of rain. I can tell spring is here when I start brushing a small animal's worth of hair off her before each ride. I hope this is a sign it will get warmer soon!

On my way back I stopped by the Yakima Fruit Market, my new favorite place. They have such cheap plants. I bought my all blue potato starts there, and my lemon balm today. The place is also helping feed my kale addiction. I very much recommend it to anyone traveling out on the Bothell-Woodinville Hwy.

I lucked out and happened upon a wine tasting on my way back from the market. Nothing like getting pleasantly buzzed for free. I even bought some of the wine being shown, since it was massively on sale.


Saturday night I went to my friend Sarah's for her bday, but was kind of tired and ache-y, so I only stayed an hour. This worked out to my favor, because I got a surprise phone call from Leo when I got home, telling me he finally found a car to buy. This will be fantastic in a couple months when I head out, because we can go camping on Mt. Lemmon and beat the heat. I'm excited :) It was nice to talk and catch up for a couple hours before bedtime.

Made vegan scones on Sunday morning, while finishing up homework and getting ready to head out to the barn. This is one of my favorite recipes, off of VegWeb.com at http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5767.0. I tend to modify the heck out of it though, as it is a super modifiable recipe.

My version (today's version, rather; I've also made fruit scones, vanilla scones, poppyseed scones, etc, using this base):

Strawberry Almond Scones:

1.5 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon turbinado sugar
1/8 cup margarine, softened
1 tablespoon almond extract
3/8-1/2 cup nondairy milk
1/4 cup diced strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in margarine until crumbles form.

2. Stir in milk. Drop by large spoonful (or make them into cute shapes) onto an ungreased baking sheet.

3. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until just brown on top.


Serves: 4-6, Preparation time: 5 - 10 min

Mmm. Spread with strawberry jam and you are golden.

I realize a majority of this rambling post has been about food, but what can I say? It is cold outside, and I like eating :) I leave you with tonight's dinner, asian stuffed bell peppers with carrot, onion, tofu, cabbage, cracked wheat, and swiss chard.

Damn, it feels good to be a gangster.