GOCHUJANG!!!

dudes!
i was on some other other sh!t last night.
i mean it.
as i've just recently mentioned
my homeboy, and close-quarters coworking companion, nate,
and i have both been watching those asian-food youtube videos,
and getting pretty psyched about red-stained spicy foods...
-
but,
in a cultivated coincidence, and with the power of refined perception,
due, i'm sure, to newly increased awareness and high-intensity vanilla sky magnetics,
i spied, with my little honey-mango colored eye,
a small, red bottle of gochujang paste in my holiday shopping travels yesterday.
fermented soy, salt, and chili SAUCE, activated all korean-style,
is NOW on the menu at the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress ethnic culinary culture clubhouse.
well definitely be seeing much more of it, i can tell you that,
because it is some seriously expert sh!t.
word.
neighbors, when it's time to get fresh with the flavors,
all i need is a little bitty nudge, and inertia takes over,
creating a juggernaut of sauce-blasting gentleman-barbarian virtuosity.
i mean it.
this time around, it manifested as a hot, black noodoo bowl.
mmmmmmmmm. yeah, man-that's what's up.
check the teleport:

SPICY GOCHUJANG NOODZ!!!
oh man!
i used a few pots to prepare this meal, but, as i've got plenty of burners on the stove,
it still progressed fairly quickly.
it's sort of a main-stage three-parter, but there was a bit more going on behind the scenes.
yup.
it's tofu and chickpeas a la gochujang,
mae-ploy activated sweet potatoes and HOT peppers,
and black rice ramen noodles...
together, they make the world a better place.
...and that's no joke.
ok,
here's what happened, in case you're feeling the need to improve the world, too-
-
*
SWEETS WITH THE HEAT!
-
par-boil 2 cups of chunked sweet potato, drain, and set aside.
in a tablespoon of sesame oil,
pan-fry:
1 diced jalapeno;
1/2 chopped onion;
1 minced habanero;
1/3 cup sweet bell pepper
(i vastly prefer the minis, as they're thinner-walled,
and therefore more delicate in texture, which is pretty flippin' nice);
GPOP, black pepper, and 2 cloves crushed garlic.
when that begins to soften, add the sweetie 'tatoes,
and give 'em a good dose- 3-4 T mae ploy sweet chili sauce.
if you don't have that, you effed up, and you're fired.
sorry.
that's just sort of a thing.
-
*
GOCHUJANG TOFU & CHICKS PEA-ING!
-
in approximately 1 glug of sesame oil, plus two glugs of vegetable oil, on high heat,
fry up 1/2 bloc of superexxxtra firm tofu, until at least 4 out of 6 sides are browned a bit,
then add in 2/3 can drained and rinsed chick peas.
next, hit 'em with the 'JANG-
i used:
3 T gochujang paste;
1 tsp sesame oil;
1 T white vinegar;
2 T rice wine vinegar;
2 T soy sauce;
1 tsp garlic powder.
that all got slurried and dumped on all those beans  and bean-squares,
and sizzled up all over all of it.
...then i dolloped a nother 'nother tablespooon of 'JANG on top when it was all caramelized.
expert.
-
i had a pot of water boiling for the noods, dudes.
and i dunked 2 cups of baby spinach in it to get blanched,
and then added that to the swee'tatoes.
the ramen took a total of five minutes, and was amazing, as always.
plus,
i toasted up those sossamon sesame jauns, which is always a good idea.
crAwnchy raw radish and rainbow carrots added the perfect bite to those chewy noodoodoos,
then, layers of tofu and 'tato, and seeds, and plenty of green onion sprankles.....
that's the combo, bro.
and that's the truth.
-
you need some of this.
-
i need MORE of this.
-
this is all we need.
-
***********
with XImas season in full swing, i have to say something:
i love presents.
have i ever told you that?
well, then let me reiterate:
i love presents.
wrapping paper is dope.
color-coordinated tissue paper is dope.
corresponding bows?
yup. they're dope.
and don't even get me started on stockings.
stockings are basically the defining moment in a true gift-giver's repertoire.
if your stuffed sock is for sh!t,
you did it all for nothing.
...and you're dead wrong for that.
on the ones,
there are plenty of folks who want to tell you that the meaning of the spirit of the thing
is NOT getting and giving......
and they can stay back in whatever hearthside bummer yule-hole they've crawled out of.
Xmas is for family, if that's your thing,
buuuuut,
too much is the right amount.
just sayin'- one louder, fresher, harder, bigger, and waaay better
is OBviously XImas.
duh.
and you cannot have that sort of hottness on hand without a big ol' stack of presents.
so don't sleep, and don't miss out,
and don't bother coming through if you don't love a well-presented heap
of metallic-foil-papered, crisp-edged, super-official elite gifts.
i apologize, kinda, because i'll be mentioning this often throught the month,
because i LOOOOVE presents.
hahaha.
oh, and before i prefer to GIVE 'em, for the record
i'm not a total A*-hole.
jeez;
never quiet, never soft.....

RULING!!

rules is rules.
i asked kayla what we should make for dinner,
and she scoffed, for real, right at me.
mmhmm.
a scoff is an awfully hard style when it's genuine.
then, she was all like: 'ummmm, isn't it tuesday?!'
...as if somehow, i'd become a completely temporally-challenged what-day-is-it-type A*-hole.
and to be fair, she had a point.
if you're not sure of something specific for supper,
in an essential but non-alliterative capacity,
then the obvious default is taco mutha-lickin' tuesday.
because that's the thing you DO on tuesday.
duh.
of course, i had ideas about how to go about it,
which were promptly derailed by special requests for both black beans,
and cauliflower rice.
so,
the direction of my actions was altered, and the path that our preparations took
was a sideways enfilade of expert excellence that i didn't anticipate,
but absolutely took full and capital advantage of.
word up.
now check the dang teleport already, why don'tcha?

TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!
guys!
i got textures poppin' OFF over there!
also,
if you aren't making lime wedges for upgrading from 1-10 to eleven?
you might be a A*-hole.
that's an honest assessment, man.
we start with toasted soft flour tortillas, every time.
yes.
those crispy-crap self-destructive corn jauns are for poor people,
and bad people with limited palates.
real recognize real,
and soft flour flaps hold the most taco in their interior,
and are therefore superior, which in turn keeps it real to the max.
too much really and truly is the honest-to-goodness right amount.
don't settle for a diminished capacity within your vessel, homeboy.
ok.
but, what about the fillings?
-
well,
there's a couple cups of chiffonade-style kale, and ribbon-shredded purple cabbage,
with a handful of cilantro, fresh cracked pink salt, and fresh lime juice,
for a base of vibrant and fragrant and crisp slaw.
that's dope.
-
then, there's thinly-sliced cukes, and rainbow tomatoes, and scallion sprankles.
that covers all the freshie-fresca end of the spectrum.
-
and these days, the quick-mixed pickled veggies are the TRUTH.
and the truth is something we cannot, and will not escape from.
that's enough cider vinegar to cover half a roughly-chopped onion;
two large sliced radishes;
most of a medium-sized carrot (crabtree ate the extremities of tip and top);
a baby bell pepper;
half a jalapeno;
and three cloves of garlic...
y'just add half a teaspoon of salt, a teaspooon or two of sugar, and boil it until
the 'penos turn a grosser shade of green-o,
and that's how you know it's done.
let it cool, and very liberally apply the results to everything in sight.
they're too damned tasty not to overindulge in.
as a matter of fact, i make slightly more each and every time i make them,
and there's never any left over.....
-
two cups of crushed cauliflower?
that's rice?!?
sorta.
we added GPOP, and lime juice, and a little oil,
and seared it over high heat until it was crispish, but softish, and very aromatic...
i dunno exxxactly HOW it happens, but i know it was delicious.
that's real.
-
the black beans were picante, kids.
half an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a chunk of anaheim chili, a half a jalapeno,
a whole minced habanero,
plus GPOP, cumin, crushed coriander seed, oregano, and smoked paprika?
and 3/4 can of those blacker-than-blacks?
that's flavor from every direction, bro. and heat on heat with hottness to spare.
how good?
SO good.
i was very pleased with both the thick, meaty textureand the high-intensity flavor.
if you are willingly and knowingly having bland beans, you're making a mistake...
and you might be dumb.
just sayin'.
these juicy joinx were on point, and warm on a few levels.
y'boi was all too happy to hunker down and tear into the whole panful.
yup.
-
and then there's the sprankles.
pepitas, aka pumpkin seeds, aka pumplestiltskins-
about a quarter cup's worth,
fried in 2 T olive oil, with 11 turns of the coarse black pepper grinder,
removed from the heat as soo as they begin to brown
and finished with 4 tsp maple syrup with a serious shake-the-sh!t-out motion applied to the pan.
yum yum YUM.
those are what you need, nerds.
don't skimp out, or you'll never know how awesome your life can be.
that's not an understatement, either.
-
did i hot 'em with the habanero ho'sauce?
what do you think, buddy?
i'm some sort of piece of trash?
OF COURSE i hit 'em with the habanero ho'sauce.
this is not a game, this is taco tuesday,
and that's not something to be taken lightly.
***********
the holiday season is encroaching on my time management skills.
i've got a LOT to do,
but i'm always at work.
yesterday, i dipped out for a minute, to hit up the homegoods,
and stock up on site-specific seasonally-appropriate candles.
i mean,
rules IS rules, and if it smells like summer, but looks like santa,
you're doing it WRONG, homie.
get with it.
ANYway,
now it's aromatic in the best way at AMPERSAND TATTOO,
and we hope you appreciate how spirited our holiday sensibilities truly are.
there may not be enough time,
but what moments and minutes there are have been maximized as if by magic.
fitting it all in isn't easy,
but it's ALL really happening anyway,
and that's forever and ever the whole point;
never quiet, never soft.....

KRAMPUS!

krampus seems pretty cool.

y'know?

all that stuffing of bad kids into a sack,

and givin' out a beatin' with a birch broom,

and taking those little sh!ts to hell for a year or somethin'.....

here's the thing-

i'm a dear sweet boy, 

and so is my little pup,

so we're relatively safe from the snatch-and-grab antics 

of santa's bound-and-compelled demonic enforcer-

...but damn, duders,

those proto-germanics sure knew how to take it too far,

which is good, because too much is the right amount.

and in the taking-it-to-eleven spirit of the day,

i made some everything-all-at-once-cookies to celebrate.

i did.

after all, rules is rules, and a cookie is worth a thousand cheers.

all the ingredients in one spot, and al the flavors positively bursting from every angle.

y'wanna see what's up?

good thing, because here's that revelatory teleport:

KRAMPUSNACHT NOMS!

what sort of satanic sorcery is stuffed inside of these diabolical delights?

ALL of it!

yeah!!!

neighbors,

i hooked 'em way up with so many textures, and so many flavors, and then, 

i turned it around, and iced 'em up top, too.

mmhmm.

what?

oh, i know.

the tableau with the baby feet and the chains and brooms......

what can i say?

i'm a F*ing nerd, bro.

but don't be hatin' on my indulgences, or you can't share these cookies with me. 

that's real.

-

however,

i feel like y'all need to know more about these amazing bloxxx of hottness,

so i'm going to early XI-mas you with the recipe, right now:

-

*

KRAMPUSBLOXXX!

-

preheat your oven to 375℉

-

in a medium mixin' bowl, smash together:

1 cup sugar;

1/2 tsp salt;

1/2 cup medium flake coconut;

8 T (1 stick) earth balance superior butterish goodness;

2 tsp vanilla.

once combined,

stir in:

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce;

2/3 cup chopped cranberries;

1/2 cup rolled oats;

3 T toasted flax seeds;

2/3 cup chocolate chips;

1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts.

give it a decent mix-up ,

and then fold in:

1 1/2 cups flour;

1/2 cup oat flour;

1 tsp ea. bakey powder and soda.

-

take that dough, and dollop out a golf-ball sized blop, over and over, 

onto two baking trays evenly spaced, where they'll bake for 13 minutes in a row.

remove 'e from the oven, let 'em cool for a bit on the trays, transfer them to a rack,

and mix up some icing.

yup.

icing is key here.

that's the truth.

-

4 tsp cocoa;

1/2 cup powdered sugar;

non-dairy milk splashed on in.

-

what you get is a thick fudgsicle-flavored spread, 

just dying to get dosed with some bright white coconut sprankles.

mmmmmmmmm.

that's it.

simple as anything, but tasting better than everything.

just like that.

***********

i've been watching the most interestingly horrifying youtube channels.

that's right.

in between appointments at AMPERSAND TATTOO,

we've been tuning in to white dudes living and eating in chengdu, china.

turns out, there's more than one,

and they're very different,

but all somewhat uncool.

here's something you might not know about the thousand of restaurants in that city:

they use a LOT of dead body parts, covered in red oil.

yup.

so, mainly, we watch slightly irritating resident-travelers eat slimy spicy organs and sh!t.

i don't know why.

i mean,

i'm NOT trying to get down on some of those boiled pig intestines, 

or bony whole fish buttholes or whatever.

but,

i s'pose i'm just psyched on all that spicy, oily, sichuan boomfire.

that stuff looks rad AF.

andwith enough heat, it must be much easier not to think about 

the fermented lamb urethra, or whatever the F*else is lurking underneath the chilis.

the stuff that these dudes are gobbling up is just another 'nother reason for eating at home,

with the ingredients that constitute a health-supportive, nutritive, 

nuanced and compassionate diet..

yet i'm still watching the charnel horror of these cultural explorations.

call it morbid curiosity, 

call it vegan re-up affirmation, 

call it the creepy-crawly heebie-flippin'-jeebies,

but we've seen a LOT of 'em at this point......

and there's still plenty more where those came from.

i can't stop, but i'm more entrenched in veganism with every episode.

that's no joke.

i try not to be limited in my worldview,

but i have an instinctual repulsion of stinky animal chunks.

i'm guess i'm just delicate like that;

never quiet, never soft.....

APPLE COFFEECAKE!!!!!

pie-style apples!
dutch-style oatmeal crOmbles!!
spelt-type floury powerful coffee F*ing cake!!!
dudes,
i put stacks on stacks on stacks of stuff on top of each other,
and the i baked the sh!t out of all of it,
and now, along with a scoople of no-sugar-added coconut vanilla bean ice cream,
i've got THIS:

COFFEEEEEEE CAAAAAAAAAAAKE IS THE BESSSSSSSSST!!!!!!
i have an especially special spot in my body reserved for crumbly grandmom-ish treats.
...and it is currently occupied by this little sweetie.
neighbors,
it's got all the goods in one place!
three large peeled, cored, chopped, and stewed apples-
that's 4 T maple syrup;
2 tsp cinnamon;
1 tsp vanilla;
1 T cornstarch;
and 2 T raw sugar,
all together, softened ove medium-low heat, cooled off a little, and ready to go.
plus,
that crOmble is the business, brothers and sisters.
2 T vegan butts;
1 tsp cinnamon;
1/4 cup powdered sugar;
1/4 cup oat flour;
1/4 cup rolled oats;
1/2 tsp vanilla....
all chopped up and held together with force and flavor-
it's SO good, for being SO simple.
and one goes on the other-
but,
both go on top of that spelt cake,
and that's the real hero, y'know?
i mean,
it supports all that pie on top.
and here's HOW you do it:
preheat your oven to 360℉,
then, inside your stand mixer you've gotta cream together:
1 cup light brown sugar;
1 stick (8T) vegan butter;
1/2 tsp salt;
1 cup non-dairy sour cream;
2 tsp vanilla;
-
next,
add:
1 1/2 cups flour;
1/4 cup tapioca flour;
1 cup spelt flour (slightly heaped);
1 tsp each bakey powpow and soda;
1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 T cider vinegar.
boo-YA.
that's cake, once you've gently whisked it all up.
into a greased 9" springform, you dump the batter,
then the apples, then the crOmbles,
and bae that swet baby for at LEAST 45 minutes, or more,
until it's risen, solidified, and firmed up across all areas, including that juicy central core.
don't you dare underbake it, or you're just gonna get puddingy poop in the middle,
and we don't invite that sort of riffraff rabble to our parties, duders.
c'mon,.
don't be dumb, or impatient, please and than you.
-
once it's ready, and still warmish,
you're gonna wanna hit it with that a la mode scoop jauns.
trust y'boi on this one-
it's the only way.
i had some unsweetened vanilla bean coconut milk icy hottness,
and it totally turned this masterpiece into a virtuoso exxxplosion of texture, taste,
and transcendental soul-touching joy.
that's real.
try some, and you'll see for yourself.
***********
time is ticking faster than i can keep count.
it's slipping past like water,
and what's current is swept away in the currents of present into past,
and i'm hurtling into the future totally unprepared.
who knew i'd have half the things happening that are occurring in my immediate area?
no ME, that's for sure.
i'd likely have prepared a bit better for the experience.
instead,
it's all going on, and going off,
and getting busier by the tick tockin' to the body rockin' to the rhythm of crabtree's whines.
yikes.
and in between,
i've got tattoos and cookies and dinners and chores pouring out of the aether,
and i'm poring over all of them as i sweat out of my pores.
too much?
probably.
but, that's the only amount we like, right?
right.
this is IT,
and that's all you get;
never quiet, never soft..... 

CAKE IT!

just bake a cake.

...

that's my favorite option.

a quick bake up of a little cake-up activation, 

and most things get much improved for the effort.

maybe not my waistline,

but most other things, for sure.

it doesn't take a lot of time up front to make cake happen.

i mean,

while you're whipping up the batter, the oven is preheating;

and then, while it's becoming cake, you can go eff off elsewhere for a bit,

and do other stuff until the timer or your internal clock, 

remind you to remove it from that hotbox heat source.

right?

and if you're an expert, and you've got a stand mixer,

you don't even really have to so much besides measure.

what i'm sayin' is:

just bake a cake.

then, you get to have cake, man!

c'mon.

dudes,

i really like coconut a whole bunch.

i do.

and for the record: no, not the sulphured soggy stuff.

i don't hang out with chewy wet-dry strings of sadness.

i only get down with the unsweetened flakes.

i want real coconut texture and flavor, not those doo-doo strands that only grandmas buy.

ew.

and, i also like caramel, specifically caramelized coconut sugar.

(it already tastes sort of caramel, anyway)

which is just melted sugar in a pot, really.

that's pretty simple.....just don't burn it. 

if you know how to pay attention, you'll be fine and you'll have caramel gargamel hottness

all up in your ingredients.

what?

guys!

coconut and a little caramel and a minute or two of mixin' had me ready to rock,

and when i wanna rock, i rock around a ring of cake.

mmhmm.

that's real.

i combined the things, i spanned the time, i made the moves,

and when it was all said and done, i ended up with THIS:

TOASTY COCONUT RINGO UPSIDE DOWNER!! 

oh, yeah, that's chocolate drizzle,

and coconut frosting, too.

like, why wouldn't i go all out for the big deluxxxe, y'know?

word.

i put medium flaky coconut on the bottom of my ring pan,

and it toasted itself in the oven!

really, the top of this cake has sunken-in embedded toasty coconut 

turning UP the volume on being delicious to eleven.

you could probably make one of these at your house,
in your oven,
for your face,
and that's with or without caramelizing the sugar.
yeah, man.
cake is a good thing, and you really can't have too much of a good thing-
no matte what the nancy-pantsy diaperbabies tell you.
trust me:
too much is the right amount.
and that's even more true when we're talking about cake.
here's the way to go, if you're inclined to go full ring cake any time soon:
-
*
COCONUT ON COCONUT ON COCONUT CAKE!!
-
preheat your oven to 360℉
-
in your incredible handy stand-up stand mixer, cream together:
1 stick (8T) vegan butter;
1/2 cup fresh ground coarse coconut meal;
1/2 tsp salt;
1 tsp vanilla;
3/4 cup coconut vanilla yogurt;
1.2 cup raw sugar;
1/2 cup caramelized (melted) coconut sugar
-like i said, you don't have to melt it, but it adds some serious flavor-
-
to that soupy slop, you'll need to add:
2 cups flour;
4 T tapioca flour;
2 tsp baking powder;
1 tsp baking soda;
one tasty punch of medium flake unsweetened coconut;
1 cup non-dairy milk. (drinking style coconut, preferably, but anything will suffice)
-
whisk it into an airy, lofty, slightly gritty batter,
but,
before you spoon it into your well-greased ring,
you'll want to lay down a heavy layer of that unsweetened coconut first.
...dudes!
it toasts in the pan, and it makes the top sort of like a samoa cookie,
especially after you've baked this bad baby boy for 40-50 minutes, or until it's golden,
and completely baked throughout the crumb,
and you've drizzled some melted dark chocolate on top.
i mean,
the bottom coconut becomes inset flip-over topside sprankles,
and the chocolate seals the deal.
that's expert.
and like, what else do you even need?
ohhhhhhhh, you're right.
we're gonna need frosting!
mmmmmmmmmmmm.
i mean, we can see it ON top of the cake.
i should've taken that into account a second ago...
coconut frosting has me in it's throes, bros.
it's so flippin' good, and so creamy, and so rich,
and it certainly adds another 'nother dimension of flavorful complexity,
extrapolated off of one constant theme, to the betterment and increased enjoyment
of your mind and body with every single bite.
and that's no joke.
-
* 
FROSTY COCONUT WHIP-UPS!
-
in your well-rinsed stand mixer,
whisk ferociously:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar;
3 T vegan butter;
1 tsp coconut extract;
2-3 T finely, fresh-ground coconut meal;
and 3-4 T non-dairy milkymilk....
maybe a dash more, or less, depending on how creamy you're aiming all your frosting sights.
-
i just love a good cake, kids.
and what's more, i love to make them myself.
i have a few signature dishes that i repeat somewhat regularly,
but with increasing frequency, i'm freakin' it off, and adjusting, tweaking,
and generally messing with the recipes in my head,
trying to get new and better results from the same ingredients,
and reaching for an elusive secret special SOMEthing i'm hoping to find
through rigorous experimentation.
i guess i take my morning rituals a little more seriously than i let on sometimes.
ha.
there is a quest i'm on, and it involves seeking a nirvana of alchemical manipulation.
i've got ingredients lined up like spell components,
and i've got a steel cage instead of a summoning circle to invoke the powers of
transformative earth, wind and fire.
you may just call it baking,
and that's your own limited and shortsighted viewpoint.
i'm on some ultra-universal visionquest sh!t with a trajectory arcing
from my kitchen counter towards the ever-expanding outer limits of time and space.
yup.
all that just from some cake making every morning.
pretty cool, right?
i know.
then again,
it may just be the full-moon residual aftershocks makin' me see lunar astrophysics
where really there's just a slice of cake.
damn.
i guess i'll just keep doing this thing,
and either way, i'll have treats to eat,
whether or not i end up on the astral plane for my efforts;
never quiet, never soft.....

PAO-WER!!!

gong bao-pao-powerful spice is what's up, dudes.
everybody says it different.
americans notoriously eff up pronunciation, at the best of times,
but when you add in an extra degree of confusion,
surrounding phonetics and dialects,
you get a sad subgum sloppiness with a name that only slightly resembles
the sounds that compose the original title of the tastiness in your bowl.
guys,
do you have any idea what i mean?
oh.
i didn't think so.
i'm talking about gong bao dou fu!!!
y'know?
kung pow tofu?
yeah.
now you get it.
i made a very loose version of it last night.
mainly, i had tofu, and chilis, and rice, and peanuts,
and from there, sort of appropriated techniques and tastes to make something
not quite gong, but definitely more than just kung, if you catch my drift.
here's what it looked like when i was finished searing and sauce-soaking all the stuff:

POWPOWPOWPOW-WOW!
that's some spicy spice, neighbors.
no foolin'.
i used two pans, and a pot, to get what i needed from each component.
in one HOT pan, i fried those tofu cubes in sesame oil,
ok, ok, i blended it with a bit of vegetable oil, but you get the idea.
when it was browned on all sides,
i tossed in half a cup of dry-roasted unsalted peanuts,
in a mixture of paprika, red chili flakes, mirchi 3-spice,
with lots of black pepper, and a quick zap of flour and cornstarch.
calm down.
it was like two teaspoons of flour, and a tablespoon of cornstarch,
and i shook the holy sh!t out of the pan, until everything was evenly coated.
then,
a tablespoon of agave, and a whole lotta shakin' is what'll give that tofu a lil crispy spicy skin,
and protect y'nuts from being underappreciated.
you can't over-peanut this thing, either, so don't be a baby about tossin' 'em in there.
they're good, and essential, so hook it up, man.
...
ok.
so that's the tofu and peanuts.
but,
there's also the veggies in SAUCE.
without the veggies, you're kind of missing out.
are ready for the list?
good.
here you go:
-
1/2 onion, diced;
1 habanero, minced;
1 smaller jalapeno, diced;
1/2 serrano chili, diced;
1 T anaheim chili, minced;
3 cloves chopped garlic;
1 celery stalk, cut into tiny squares;
1/3 cup black beans;
3 red radishes, chopped;
7 very small red peppers, cut into quarters, lengthwise.
give all that a few minutes on high heat with a dollop of veggie oil,
and then douse that whole medley of spicy peppery goodness in sauce.
-
*
SAUCE GONG kaPOW!
-
2 T soy sauce;
2 T rice wine vinegar;
1 tsp cayenne ho'sauce;
1 tsp ea. GPOP;
33 turns of coarse ground black pepper;
1 blop of sesame oil;
1 1/2 tsp non-GMO organic corn starch;
2 tsp crushed hot red pepper flakes.
-
drop that in, stir it quickly, and thicken it all up good and proper.
friends, it rally is that simple.
sauce and veggies,
tofu and spice dust,
and rice.
if you don't know how to make rice, get off the planet, there's no room for you here.
awww.
but, for realsies, though.
rice, veg, and 'fu, in order,
plus,
you've GOT to add a little green onion,
and a bit of crisp fresh radish,
and top it off with a sprankle of cilantro.
mmmmmmm.
too much is the right amount.
that's why i even hit it with a few front-of-the-face hot jalapeno circles at the end,
just to freak it off with the all-over heat profile.
habanero gets you in the glands,
jalapeno is a top palate spice,
and then there's the cayenne and serrano and anaheim,
to get that surround-sound full-mouth undertongue throb going on...
***********
i do what i do, dudes.
that's mostly work and make food.
oh, sure, there's other stuff.
like, if circumstances are exceptionally upbeat, i may make some personal art;
and as time allows, i write to you, in these open letter recipe cards;
there's also the matter of crabtree the neediest little milkman on earth,
and his whinging mewling for attention at every available instance...
but,
mainly,
i do two things-
i work, and i cook.
and while i work at cooking, it's a lot more rewarding, despite only ever costing me money.
that's pretty telling, isn't it?
what i do for money, versus what i work at for free.
i can't have one without the other,
so i count myself fortunate that the labor i get compensated for is so cool.
i wonder if i'd be as motivated to make supper
if i'd just swung a hammer all day on a cold windy rooftop?
i have my doubts,
but i've also got the heat cranked at the studio,
and a whole bunch of cookies and cakes there, too.
i call that a victory.
i work to make food, and i make food to win the day.
falling asleep on a full stomach,
with a full day ahead of me is pretty damned good news,
and i'm grateful for the time have been given;
never quiet, never soft.....

F.O.T.M.!!

QUESTION:
if it's the ferociously fabulous first of the month?
or if the calendar is flipped, and it's no longer NOvember?
or your tomato-based sauce count has dropped extra low?
i'm sayin':
if the answer to any of these is ever YES,
then the most obvious and crystal clear next step is to put it all on the pizza.
what?
that's riiiiight,
when it's time to get into some seriously expert sh!t,
the right call, each and every single time?
yes, neighbors:
PEE EYE ZEE ZEE AYY!!!
a pizza party is the best kind of party,
and a homemade crusty, daiya cheesy, all-vegan pizza party is even MORE elite
than an already awesome ordinary jaun.
that's the truest story with the happiest ending.
and it all begins with the dough.
hell yeah!
a good semi-semolina start is essential to an ideal pizza pie.
trust your man on this one-
i LOVE pizza as much as anybody else could, if they somehow were capable of exponentially expanding their ability to encompass joy, pain, sunshine, rain, and so on,
into 6-12 wedge-shaped triangles of triumph and tribulation.
y'heard?
word.
and when i make pizza,
i make it dope from dough upwards.
look:

BRUSSELS!! HOMEMADE RED LENTIL PEPPERONI! CARAMELIZED ONIONS!
ARUGULA!! FRIED GARLIC sprankles!!
all on that gooooooooood crust.
ok.
lemme start with a crust recipe:
in a stand mixer, like a champion,
combine, and knead:
2+ cups flour;
1 cup semolina flour;
1 T salt;
1 tsp sugar;
3 T olive oil;
2 T active dry yeast;
2 T vegan butterish;
1/4 cup non-dairy milk;
3/4 cup warm water, w/ 1 tsp bread machine yeast bloomed in there;
beat that up on medium speed for a bit,
and let it rise, covered, on the counter, for fifteen minutes,
the refrigerate it for later use-
* i do this in the early a.m. because i don't sleep, and use it later that day after a refrigerated slow bulk/proof.
* divide your dough into as many equal parts as you desire-
i usually make three fat balls out of this one recipe,
or one large and in charge grandma jaun,
depending on my mood and the number of folks attending my pizza party.
* any unused bits will keep, bagged and refrigerated.for around a week-ish at the max.
which really just means yo'd better be ready to represent on some more pizza, man.
word.
*
i bake my breads on a pizza stone, in my gas-powered oven,
at 485℉, convection-style, until the're good and golden brown.
***********
up there^^^, that brussels simmons jammer is a stellar inclusion of all good tastes.
caramelized onions are tasty as hell. and simple to make-
a little olive oil, a lot of thinly sliced onion, a pinch of salt, a hot pan,
and a few shakes back and forth over time...that's all you need to do
to be impressed by what an amazing chef you just became!
ha.
broth-braised brussles? that's oil and brussie halves, seared, then lidded up after a blast of broth,
and then glazed with a splash or two of soy sauce.
guys.
you're just cutting sprouts, putting them face down, and adding two separate liquids,
one including a lid on your pan, and one omitting it.
you can do that, right?
i know you can, so do it, dude.
damn.
-
i'll add this: if you aren't dicing up your daiya non-dairy chee',
you're effing up. 
yup.
that's a decree.
increasing melt, and surface coverage, all from five seconds of knifeplay
if you've got time to read this, you've definitely got five exxxtra seconds
to improve your vegan pizza game a thousandfold.
-
i make my own vegan sausages. some of you knew that already.
i also activate them into powerful pepperoni,
with the inclusion of broth, hot and smoked paprika, and extra GPOP.
that's Garlic Powder and Onion Powder, bro.
try to keep up.
at any rate, sliced sausages, (recipe here),
and those extras, make amazing 'roni for your pizza.
it's simply simmering half a cup of that mixture with a couple links, sliced up all nicey nice,
until all the juice is absorbed/evaporated.
don't sleep on this hottness, kids.
you're only cheating yourself if you do.
-
*
now, look at THIS beauty:

POTATOES ON PIZZA ARE AMAZING!!!!
that's a thing.
and with those thin-sliced rainbow heirloom tomatoes?
daaaaaaaaamn.
a little nootch dusted on there, and the shredded daiya,
and those braised florets of broccoli?
man, i doo-doo that freaky-diki sauceless white pie magic.
i do.
i roasted those baby red-skin-on 'taters in the oven, with olive oil, salt and pepper,
while the mutha-'ucker was preheating.
they bake fast, they crisp nice, and i waste NO time waiting around like a chump.
expert.
more caramelized onions, because they are exceptionally delicious,
ad MORE fried garlic sprankles.
because rules is rules.
.....then i gave it a dose of parsley, as well.
i F* with double spranks, buddy,
because too much is the right amount.
you know i'm correct in saying that, don't you?
wordimus prime.
***********
if there'a a party in my kitchen,
it's most likely a pizza party,
and that's because a pizza party is the best kind.
i had pizza for lunch,
and i made pizza for dinner,
and in the morning?
you know it-
i reheated the last slice on a skillet,
and tuned that up, too.
i LOVE pizza,
and pizza never lets me down.
in fact,
i feel closer, and safer, and more totally at ease being myself around a pizza box,
than i do trusting in others to be genuine and invested and present and accountable.
damn.
that's a true story.
pizza over people.
that's the slogan for december, dudes.
repeat it until you believe it,
then bring me a thick slice or three;
never quiet, never soft.....

TREATERY!!

that's right, friends.
on the first of the month,
we not only say the magic words,
but,
also, we bake somethin' special.
mmhmmmm-
then again,
i guess i make somethin' special most days, don't i?
yeah, yeah-
just about every day is a special day,
and just about every day has a treat on the schedule,
because today IS the day, just like yesterday was, and tomorrow will be.
that's real.
and y'know what else is real?
maple F*ing syrup.
don't even think about coming at me with that brown corn doo-doo sauce, man.
i want that concentrated acer essence on my tastebuds,
and nothing else will do.
luckily, i'm set up for success in the northern woodsly goodness of new englnad,
where's there's oceans of the stuff waiting just for me.
and were there's maple syrup, there's usually cinnamon,
and once we're effing around with cinnamon-
well,
that's when we gotta roll out the hottness.
word up.
maple pecan cinnamon rolls for the rabbit rabbit recital is what went down.
and they were expert AF, buddy.
see for yourself, via the chopped-nut-type teleport:

'SPLOSIVO!!!
nuts on nuts on nuts,
and coconut holiday NOG, for your noggin',
activated deep inside the dough, bro.
do you hang out with exxxplosively awesome edible morning gloriousness?
really? me TOO!!
here's the thing-
cinnamon rolls are good.
cinnamon rolls with nuts are great.
cinnamon maple nut rolls, with cinnamaplecreamchee' icing are expert.
i mean, C'MON, right?
too much is the right amount,
and that's just what this is.
molto molto, man.
good food, even when it's perhaps not as nutritionally health supportive as,
say, a carrot juice smoothie,
is still an impressive way to start your day.
intentionally fancy,
superior in taste and texture,
completely homemade-
that's an engaging exercise in active participation, begun before dawn, even.
dudes,
do YOU wanna have a great morning?
then let me suggest y'all make a batch of these bad boys for yourselves,
and watch the improvements to your daily routine commence immediately.
you don't know where to begin?
at the beginning, of course.
here's how it all unfolds:
-
*
CINNAMAPLE PECAN ROLLIOS!!
-
preheat your oven to 375℉
-
in a small pot, on low heat, warm up 1 cup vegan nog, 1/2 stick vegan butter, 1 tsp vanilla,
and 2 T maple syrup-
when the butter is melted, test the temperature,
and let it cool to right around baby-bottle-on-your-wrist degrees.
then add 2 tsp bread machine yeast (that's the refrigerated jar one, FYI)
-
in your trusty upright stand mixer,
combine:
3 T maple sugar;
3 T raw sugar;
1 tsp cinnamon;
1/2 tsp salt;
3 cups flour;
2 T fast-actin' yeast;
1/2 tsp gluten;
........and that one-pot warmish hottness from your stovetop.
knead it up for eleven minutes of lowish speed,
and rest it for five more,
before rolling out a rectangle on a floured work surface,
to be filled with the following:
-
toast 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and glaze with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
set aside to cool.
-
in a small bowl, cream together:
1/2 cup brow sugar;
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice,
1/4 tsp maple extract;
1/4 tsp vanilla;
3 T earth balance buttery pats.
-
spread the cinnamon stuff everywhere except pne long edge of the rectangle of dough,
drop those chopped nuts evenly throughout,
and roll it so the unsugared rim sticks to the outside, and seals it up.
depending on how gooey and warm it is in YOUR house,
(the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress is always pretty chilly)
you can cut a dozen rolls right away,
or wrap and chill that buttery mess until it's a bit firmer first....
that's a cut in half, and those halves cut in half,
and those quarters cut into thirds.
but, you probably knew that.
ANYway,
drop a few more nuts on top, sprankle style,
to reassure yourself that you're not a cheapskate lazy A*-hole who doesn't understand the rules.
and bake them for 20-30 minutes,
depending on how golden and gooey you like 'em.
mmmmmmmmm.
when they've cooled just a bit,
you MUST glaze 'em,
or you're categorically doing it all wrong.
real talk.
i already had a little cinnamaplecreamchee' frosting,
an i thinned it out a smidge with a drop of that NOG,
so that it was ready to be thickly drizzled all over those nutty buns.
holy sh!t, guys-
it was enlightening, even as it ascended beyond some level eleven excellence.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
*
food is my favorite thing.
i'm sayin',
i have some other things i really, really like, too.
(and a few people, as well, who i'll allow into the tightly-guarded, insulated,
echoless aureole around my close, secret, savage stormswept cast-iron furnace of a heart)
but,
it's food that brings it all together.
the unifying force.
the cohesive cinnamony-iced glue binding and bonding me and you and everyone we know.
if i wasn't cooking, i doubt i'd be surviving.
i've found a special sort of solace in creation and destruction,
my very own impermanent embrace,
and the best part?
i get to eat it all.
this is as close to non-attachment as i've ever gotten,
and as the last roll disappears into my mouth,
i'm letting go, and welcoming whatever comes next
(pizza, then cake, and eventually breakfast for dinner)
it's all really happening, friends.
and that's probably for the best;
never quiet, never soft.....

RABBITTTTTTT-RABBBBBBIT!!!

dudes,
NOvember got me one last time on the way out.
yup.
upon cooling off, the apple-cranberry cake i baked up all nicey-nice
essentially dissolved all the apple juice out of every apple chunk,
and turned a hearty crumb into a heavy mud.
ugh.
so,
although i made a beautiful, intentional, aromatic,
and activated attempt at awesomeness,
and i used the last of my expert homemade vanilla cider cranberry sauce to do it,
but it turned to sh!t,
just like NOvember always does.
look at how it was, before it wasn't:

awwwwww.
the whole underneath was a sloppy jalopy of junky jumbled juicy sludge.
(which it was NOT when it was done baking, and a cake tester came out squeaky clean.)
so,
that was a bummer.
and i'll just go on ahead and skip the recipe,
since it was for sh!t.
i suppose the fix has already become evident in my mind,
so maybe i'll make a december version,
much improved, and proven in the production,
which i'll share with y'all if it happens.
-
okay.
failure acknowledged, and moving on:
....
this morning,
i said the magic words,
to cultivate fortunate coincidences and fortuitous instances,
and to reassure myself that it should get better,
despite the grim and very real possibility that it might not...
but i still said it,
because rules is rules,
and that's what you do.
uh-huh.
twice, in a row, out loud, to summon the spirit and memory of better things,
and cast out the accrued disinterest of NOvember.
magic words?
word:
rabbit! rabbit!
that's the stuff, maybe.
it can't hurt, at any rate.
***********
it's december.
today.
already.
and that's a big deal.
it's the beginning of the end,
and we're in the home strecth,
as well as the last-gasp mad-dash sprint to the holidays and the finish line.
that's a LOT at once,
in the cold, and the dark,
but,
it's ALL really happening,
and i'm pretty much positive that that's the whole point.
really real real-life,
with words and deeds and pictures provided by ourselves to document
the passage and the rites of time and space as they unfold along the well-worn
deep-creased ley lines of active participation and worthy warrior poetry in motion.
i guess that counts for something;
never quiet, never soft.....

BYE BYE!!!

ugh.
NOvember, man.
it always finds a new ways to surprise me.
and, here's a surprise:
i'm zero percent sorry to see it go.
for decades upon decades it has long been my most despised month,
and it has managed to remain so to this very day.
as this mangy mongrel of a month draws to a close,
i'm reminded that baking is the best part of every month.
in fact,
NOvember couldn't thwart that aspect of my everyday life even one little tiny baby bit.
nope.
because baking is the best.
and treats? well, they're treats, man.
and treats are good for you like little glimpses of positivity,
couched in tooth decay and blarpity wasitlines.
i tried a variant of my go-to cookies, and i think i'm onto something with it.
mmhmm.
chocolate cookies, with maple syrup,
and those new white chocolate chips i'm into these days.
yup.
check the teleport:

c'mon.
with that slightly butterscotchy white chocolate drizzlin' on the tops?
you know i couldn't just leave 'em alone and let the remain circles of cocoa hottness, right?
i mean,
too much is the right amount,
and being that they are already exxxtra-thiccc and totally soft, but also a little crisp,
the only place with room to improve was the surface.
and i activated it accordingly.
would you care to ake some for yourself?
first things first, get those king david white choco chips.
then, follow the directions-
-
*
COCOA WHITE CHOX CHIP COOKIES!
-
preheat your oven to 375℉
-
in a medium mixing bowl, cut together:
1/2 tsp salt;
8 T (1 stick) earth balance butter;
1/2 cup raw sugar;
1/2 cup vegan white sugar;
2 tsp vanilla.
-
once combined, mix in:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce;
1/3 cup real maple syrup.
1/2 cup cocoa.
that should make for a brown muddy pile of messiness,
to which you will add:
3 cups flour;
2 tsp baking powder;
1 tsp baking soda;
1 pkg white chocolate chips.
knead that dough until it's completely harmonious, with no clumps of clots of chips,
and shape them into 2" semi-flattened cookie-cutter-formed perfect circles.
y'know what i mean?
like flatten a big wad of dough, cut into it with the shape, press it to the edges,
remove the excess, and add it to the next one, so on and so forth,
until you've got about two dozen or so (maybe a few more)
space 'em evenly on some bakin' sheets,
and give 'em about 13 minutes in that hot oven.
it's going to smell incredible in your kitchen.
you've been warned.
the glaze on top is just melted chips, so i think you can handle that without guidance.
(i admit i used a couple buttery-scotch drops to smootherize the solution, don't be mad)
-
the last thing i NEED is more cookies,
but the first thing on my to-do list in the a.m. was to bake something.
i do NEED that, for sure.
the practice of staying keen-edged in creating things is all i've got to look forward to
as each morning gets colder and darker than the one before it,
and crabtree the terrible terrier is whinier and more irritating
for all the comforters atop his stinky little head.
that's real.
but cookies and cake and sh!t all help mitigate the mopey malaise of mediocre mornings.
yeah.
sweets are only literally sweet around here.
and i'm saltier than blood about all the rest.
***********
dudes!
i've been thinking, and that's never any sort of good news.
mmhmm.
as the month draws to it's inevitable and welcome end,
i can't help it.
the ideas that have forged my focus have reemerged at the forefront of my thought process.
chief among them?
everything costs something.
you can argue against that, coming at it from any vantage point,
but you'll just have spent a bunch of time doing so.
see?
everything costs something.
it's a thing.
and if you want that good-good?
the new hottness?
the big fun?
well, get ready, neighbors.
because there's an equal, but opposite, price tag attached.
it's newton's third, but on a meta-metaphorical-metaphysical level.
yikes.
i think that's why i am so uncomfortable having fun.
that's time i could've spent creating something.
the same goes for sleep.
that's a premium span sent right down the drain.
i recognize extrinsic values,
it's the intangibles that require a currency i can't convert.
* 
without the bitter, the sweet's just not as sweet.
...that's the rules.
but,
once that sugar and spice and everything nice touches against tongue?
well, when it goes sour again- and it always does-
oh MAN, is it even MORE acrid than you recall it ever being before...
it's cumulative compounded crap-
a sort of emotional bioaccumulation of toxins and tannins and heavy effin' metals,
plus various other sore and salty subjective sensations....
until eventually, the hemoglobin is replaced by vitriol,
and the entire course of your coursing blood is venomous, poisonous, and caustic.
i'm sure, given enough time, if you're paying attention,
you just become a malformed mutation of demi-diabetic emotional malfunctions,
or a miserable old person who doesn't like anything....
oh.....wait a minute.
dang.
oooof.
what's my point?
it's simple-
i am a dummy-dumb-dumb.
yep.
why?
because i still put some power in retaining hope.
that's the truth.
i really do.
after all,
if one is to truly believe that there are no inexpensive interactions,
and that after our first initial pangs of pain, loss, disappointment,
and/or most other assorted detriments,
all joy becomes subjective and comparative by design.....
well,
then, i s'pose it must be hope that lets us foolishly forge forward with the knowledge
that while good is good, bad is quite literally everything else.
and hope is optimism with an immunity to pragmatism-
or, the absence of math in the face of unmetered and unmetered poetry.
y'see what i did there?
yep.
that's hope.
*
holy sh!t, kids.
i hate NOvember.
the early onset extra dark doo-doo butter keeps me indoors longer,
and that's when i get to thinking,
and that leads to reminiscing,
which in turn leads to dwelling,
which culminates in my crotchety amateur philosophomoric grumbles.
ha.
if you stayed past the cookie recipe, good for you.
i'm so sure you were uplifted by the effort.
it's all really happening, which is the whole point of it anyway.
now,
december had better be ready to deliver the goods,
or i'm going to have to take matters into my own hands,
and clap, snap, and slap the sh!t out of the ensuing holiday season;
never quiet, never soft, never give up.....

TUESDAY!

food is basically the one thing that keeps me going.
not literally, of course-
air and water also contribute to my continued survival,
but of the three vital components,
food is the one that gives me the feels.
i don't just eat for the sake of nutrients.
that sounds like routine maintenance, and that sounds terrible.
like vacuuming, or rotating your canned goods, or something equally mundane.
i'm not about that.
you've GOT to eat, and if i gotta, i'm gonna;
but you'd best believe i'mma freak it off, and make sure that ordinary
isn't an adjective used to describe what i come up with.
that said-
last night, me and my homeboy nate ate a LOT of tacos,
with a LOT of quick-pickled mixed veggies,
and some suspicious salsa,
and his homemade pineapple habanero ho'sauce,
and my homemade seitan asada,
AND a roasted baby potato and cauliflower blend that had us both pretty effin' psyched
to be at the dinner table doing our thing.
word up.
i mean, let's be smart about it, neighbors,
and take the time to do the math:
taco tuesday + too much is the right amount = expert.
that's the only solution set,
and when you add potatoes and cauliflower?
dudes,
c'mon.
tacos have never been better, in my opinion.
wanna see what i'm writin' home about?
check the calendar-dictated-menu-type teleport:

THAT'S THAT GOOD-GOOD.
the bad news?
i totally had an avocado ready to slice up, and i got so psyched on all those sprankles
that i completely got lost in the sauce, and forgot to activate it.
damn.
.....they still went down like individual victories against man and beast and nature.
mmhmmm.
when you feel like a conqueror after supper, that's how you know you did it right.
for real.
-
seitan recipes are a dime a dozen.
but mine is worth at least 11¢...
i don't know who takes the time to make their own anymore,
but i know without question that i couldn't imagine eating some store-bought jauns
ever again, after years of perfecting the F* out of my own special blend.
no jokes.
you want the basics?
it's all right here.
^^that's special, because you're special^^
-
and when you fry some strips up, with poblano and onion,
and season 'em with cumin, and cayenne, coriander, smoked paprika,
GPOP, salt, pepper, oregano, and lime?
you've just created the future in a skilllet, man.
that's pretty cool, huh.
yeah.
*
chipotle-dusted, soy-splashed, salt-and-peppered potatoes, and cauliflower,
crisped up and then covered?
guys, it make sense-
a cup and a half of halved baby-sized potatoes, and a cup and a half of cauli-florets,
roasted up at 415℉, from a cold-start in the oven,
with olive oil, scallion bulbs, chipotle pepper, and salt,
and, once golden, thoroughly softened and fully-activated, under foil, with that soy splash,
and a little more spicy-spice.
mmmmmm.
i might've hit it with some cayenne.
i might've gotten freaky with a few hard dashes of ho'sauce.
you don't know me, stranger, but you're about to find out-
*
what's dope about tacos is that as long as they're folded in some flaps of flour they're still tacos.
and with that in mind,
you can put almost anything in a taco.
(here at the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress,
we don't even kinda hang out with the crisp-shelled sh!t-crackers...softies only)
look:

we GOT that.
purple carrot discs? lovely!
cucumber crescents? crawnchy and cool!
scallion spranks? you know it!
baby lettuces, purple cabbage shreds, bay-bay spinach? yes. yes. yes.
tofutti sour cream dollops? um, yeah, that was a nice touch, and firm, which was even nicer.
dark tomato bits? weird salsa? cilantro leaves? OBviously, the answer is always yes!
-
and what about that sweet-and-salty slightly sour vinegary greatness?
y'know?
the quick-mixed-pix??!
rules is rules, and MORE is always the right call, y'all-
besides, once you've tasted the amazing flavor of that blend,
future tacos just aren't ever going to be as good without 'em.
real talk.
and it's just radishes, carrots, onions, peppers, and garlic, sliced up,
and covered in a brine of 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar,
and just enough apple cider vinegar to cover all that veggie action.
bring it to a boil, let it simmer until the whole thing gets softened,
and let it cool on the stove until you're ready for it.
IT'S SO GOOD YOU CAN EAT IT WITH A FORK AS IT'S OWN THING-
and nate did exactly that,
because he's kind of a dirty little pickle licker, for sure.
awwwwwww.
but, like, not in a gross way, bro.
don't be a jerk.
...and  besides,
he did bring that fiery habanero pineapple ho'sauce, which counts for a lot.
he effs with the sauces, kids.
and that was good news for me and for the tacos, too.
***********
time takes a toll on us all.
these minutes all seem to slap the sh!t out of me,
and sleep isn't really an option at the end of the day, either.
how much sleep so we really need, though?
y'know?
i'm just sayin'-
i still do all the things i have to, even when i'm worn thin to the bone,
and run ragged on no rest-
does that make me wicked?
i don't know how it works, but i know that i'd be fine with never ever sleeping if i didn't feel so flippin' beat up in between those sparse shut-eyed expanses.
i could maybe use a few extra minutes in bed.
or, maybe, i just need to get stronger at being wide awake and ready to rock.
one thing is for sure-
i will not DO less,
so i may just have to concentrate on distilling sleep into, like, just twenty winks.
that's the stuff.
twice the sleep in half the time?
i'll let you know how it goes;
never quiet, never soft.....