BLUE BURIED!

i want my people to be happy.

i don't want that to be at the expense of my own pursuits and purposes,

but i still want them to be happy.

i mention this because i don't know what makes people happy.

i don't.

i see folks getting really excited, and investing huge chunks of time into 

diversions, distractions, and in directions i just don't understand;

and i'm sure, at 5 a.m. when i'm effing with sourdough starter 

and chopping (vegan) butter into raw sugar,

those same folks'd be just as nonplussed...

but, if i hear my special one say that she'd be SO happy, 

if only we had blueberry lemon griddlecakes in the morning?

c'mon.

i can DO that.

and i want to.

and i'm going to.

is that lasting happiness?

is it satisfaction that'll endure?

nope.

but i don't necessarily believe in that.

so, i'll set out to make the most of a magically fleeting moment,

and of course, 

i'll document it for all y'all to experience as well. 

that's what i did, and that's what you do when there's an attainable goal in sight.

i had the oven crankin' anyway, for a perfect loaf of oatmeal sourdough,

so i tossed in some diced up skins-on potatoes, coated in olive oil, 

and dusted with Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, pink salt and black pepper,

and baked them until they were golden-brown, and crispy-skinned.

that's the base for a batch of big action homeboyfries-

while those were roasting, i whipped up a fresh batch of batter, too-

up.

because resting that bowlful for at least an hour is one of a set of  keys 

to successful panniecakes every time you make 'em.

i doo-doo that preplanned preparation stuff, neighbors.

why?

because i want to create something that'll bring a little joy, an eyes-closed sigh,

and a whole lotta nutrients and all that to the morning break...fast.

word up.

did it work?

man, you KNOW it did:

BREAK YO'SELF, FOOL, ON SOME BREKKIE-WRECKIN' WONDERMENT! 

ha.

i may only be able to deliver happiness in edible increments,

but if that's all i've got, that's what y'all're gonna get.

real talk.

i do want to deliver a little joy, even if it turns to sh!t by tomorrow, y'feel me?

...yeah.

-

so, i had some shallot, one large one, actually, chopped up,

and a little olive oil, and i sizzled it up with those potatoes,

which we finished with fried sweet tomatoes, green onion, 

and a lot of texas-style ho'sauce, post-fry.

mmhmm.

a soft toss of sauce, on a bed of spinach, and potato-time was right on time.

that's pretty TIGHT.

of course,

the triple bloober exxxplosion was what we were there for, and it delivered all the bang,

and none of the bummers.

dudes,

these jauns had it ALL.

-

*

BLOOBLEMONOCONUT PANNIES!!

-

in a medium mixin' bowl,

sift up:

1 cup sprouted whole wheat flour;

2 tsp baking powder;

1 tsp baking soda;

3 T unsweetened fresh ground coconut meal;

1/2 tsp salt;

5 tsp sugar;

1/2 lemon zest.

melt 2 T vegan butter,

and add that, along with:

3 T vegan sour cream;

1 cup non-dairy milk;

1/4 cup lemon juice;

1 tsp vanilla.

gently combine it, refrigerate it for an hour, 

and then get your griddle hot, because these little baddies are coming correct right off.

mmmmmmmmmmm.

we did 'em 4" roundy-style, with fresh bloobs dropped in, and burst on the first flip.

i LOVE that.

we kept 'em warm at 200℉, in the oven,

and meanwhile,

we also made some custom blueberry syrup.

yeah.

-

1/4 cup simmered frozen wild maine blueberries, so that the skins burst, and the juices flow,

mashed and added to 1/2 cup real new hampshire sugar-seasonally-appropriate maple syrup.

i mean, c'mon- rules is rules, 

and tree sap is how new england brings the NOISE.

-

topped with that specialty sauce,

and MORE bloobs, and lemon zest, AND coconut sprankles?

you don't even know the levels of glory that were discovered, duders.

does that sound like overkill?

oh, yeah??

what are you?

a weak mincey diapery doodiebutt?

come ON-

too much is the right amount, man.

every time.

...and in the moment, we are one with everything-

bite after magnificent bite, devoured in minutes, 

like ravenous starved werewolfen warrior poets.

we made the meal together, kayla and i.

we ate it like savages, shark gluttonous and pure.

then, we took crabtree for a frigid and refreshing climb through the hills.

we immersed ourselves in the time we'd been given,

and it was expert.

so much so,

i think we'll be back at bigger breakfasts sooner than later.

that's real.

***********

i had a lil sip of coffee,

and was positively off my t!ts with berserker battle-beastly energy.

hmm?

no, that's NOT cool.

in fact, it's a problem, to be honest-

the overlap of stimulating sensory activation, 

alongside the limitless reserves of natural seasonal spirit and memory

had me at eleven all damned day long- louder, faster, harder, 

and more aggressively intense than usual-

and i'm far from listless anyway-

who'd have thought that a little tiny bean, steeped in hot water,

would be my archnemesis.

like pirates who would sober up and realize that the six year rum bender 

they'd just been on was NOT how they would've normally behaved,

i wake up in the (very) early morning, and realize that yesterday 

was a breakneck juggernaut jaunt on mr. toad's wild ride (again),

and while i'm a little ragged for lack of sleep, 

perhaps a few extras yawns is a small price to pay, relative to the dervish whirlwind

of caffeinated craziness that coffee causes?

i dunno.

it's been 40+ years of earthbound existence for y'boi, 

and i'm only just recognizing my limitations.

maybe one more sip will disprove my theory?

i'll wait until we're much busier at AMPERSAND TATTOO,

and dive facefirst into espresso epilepsy, in the interest of science, obvi.

i want my people to be happy, though-

so maybe just some seltzer, and a healthy dose of blueberries will have to do;

never quiet, never soft.....