Cookies and Milk

As we enter the middle of March, I can't help but think that spring is around the corner...around the corner, back home that is. As for Buenos Aires, today's down pour made me think of fall. After weeks and weeks of hot and humid weather, it was nice to feel a cooler breeze and a few rain drops on my sleeve.

Because it was raining cats and dogs for awhile today, Jackson and I decided to stay home. We had a nice quite day. While Jackson did his usual (writing), I continued working on my current project...cooking. Today though instead of coming up with dinner, I concentrated on my favorite meal of the day...dessert!! I found a fairly easy recipe for thumbprint cookies on vegancookies.wordpress.com which turned out great. This was my second time baking vegan cookies and I'd have to say that the second time around was better. The important thing is that Jackson enjoyed the cookies. He took a break from his writing and grabbed a glass of milk with a plate of cookies...I still have a lot of practicing to do but when it comes to cookies I'm more than happy to devote a lot of time.

It's Not Mac n' Chesse

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I have been keeping away from doing "nothing" by coming up with projects. This week, I've been reading more about vegan cooking and baking and trying out some fun recipes. I have to say being vegan in this city is quite the challenge but I make do with what I have. Sadly, I haven't been able to try some awesome recipes because I'm not within arms reach of a blender or a food processor. True, I could purchase a blender and make my life as a vegan a lot easier but in today's economic crisis, I don't want to invest in a blender that I will have to leave behind when I return to the US. So, I work my way around the recipes I find and stick mainly to ones, where I can replace or omit ingredients and/or kitchenware.

Being devoted green, healthy vegans, Jackson and I wanted to continue our custom of buying organic produce. Not willing to give this up, Jackson began researching and found a place in Buenos Aires that delivers organic produce to your door...El Rincón Orgánico was heaven sent. One thing I noticed though, after receiving our biweekly box of organic produce for a couple of months was that one food item ALWAYS seemed to pop up. What do you ask?....squash. Here is where making do with what I have at hand comes into play. Having never made squash before, I had to find recipes where I could use it. Thankfully, I found lots of recipes, most of which required a blender but after more browsing I found one recipe in particular that was fairly easy and super yummy. Today, I made Butternut Squash Macaroni Casserole....and it was delicious! Jackson said it was a good replacement for Mac n' Cheese...what does that mean?...well, he loved it!A very orangey butternut squashThe finished project!!

From nothing to Projects

I've been asked many times since I've been in Buenos Aires "What are you doing down there? What have you been up to?" In the beginning, my honest answer was "nothing." However, the more I heard myself saying "nothing," the more I realized that I was selling myself short. It's true to what is life in the United States, I am doing nothing. I'm not going through a monotonous routine of work, home, dinner, sleep, work, home, dinner, sleep. It has taken a while for me to get used to the fact that I don't have my broken record lifestyle of the same old shit, although there are definitely times where I crave my old routine. Now, my lifestyle is more seasonal; it changes. One day, I'll go visit the Chacarita cemetary and on another day I'll do nothing but fiddle on the internet at home. Regardless of what it is, I have been experiencing life differently. I try to make my experienece living abroad a not "nothing" answer....(and the optimal word here is TRY). Here are a few things that I've been doing since my arrival in BsAs:

1) try to gain some insight on Erika...not an easy task...looking inside is easier said than done.
2) try to figure out what I really want in life...which is a very big topic that includes career, school, happiness, love, family etc...this could take a long time to figure out...
3) try not to worry so much about things I can't change or about things that haven't happened...again easier said than done....
4) cooking....I've done lots of cooking while in Buenos Aires. I made it my mission to keep Jackson and me on track with our vegetarian/vegan diet. And since Jackson worked all the time, the least I could do was prepare yummy meals for us.
5) drawing...I've recently started drawing again...I have to say, I forgot drawing was one of my favorite hobbies.

These are just a few things that I've been working on. Given these little tid bits, I guess I can't say that I do nothing while I'm living in Buenos Aires. As my good Australian friend said "tell everyone who asks what you're doing that you're finishing up on a project and that you're planning on your next project." So next time someone asks me "What have you been up to in BsAs?, I will say "I'm working on a couple of projects."

So here, I share with you a couple of my projects...mostly food:) (some recipes are from Veganomicon Cookbook)Vegan: messy rice

Vegan: curried lentilsVegan: spaghetti with TVPVegan: chocolate, rasberry cookiesVegan: quinoa with chickpeasVegan: pancakes

Vegetarian: cauliflower patties

-Lulu

Zoe