The long yearned for time off hasn't been nearly as productive as envisioned. Not even close. At the outset, even with mandated recuperation factored in, it seemed like there would be tons of time to do so many things (tackle the paper piles, organize closets and dressers, vet contractors, complete projects, organize finances, clean out inboxes, get the house in order and life under control). But it seems mental recuperation takes far more time than physical recuperation.
So onward we plug, substituting low bars for high bars. And let go. And accept. That's why during working spells, those short vacation breaks, even when they are a week long or, gasp!, even the rare two-week respite, are never enough. It just takes longer to calm the brain. And when those "vacations" are constantly interrupted by actual work, well, they're not so much vacations at all. Sigh. Gotta figure out how to change that.
So today's modest accomplishments were measured in culled flowers (the arrangement from the Orifice got thinned of its rotting members), harvested herbs (it is early Fall, and many are on their last legs), ingredient utilization (chickpeas began soaking days ago, and on the brink of fermenting; the last of a container of tahini settled to the bottom, with a plastic container of lime juice from heaven knows when - before I knew better), and falafel production...
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| The final assemblage - falafel patties over spinach dressed with a tahini, yogurt, lime juice dressing. |
... (put together harvested herbs, ...
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| Flat leaf parsley - still very abundant. |
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| Basil, starting to fade, particularly the bottom leaves - but still very fragrant. |
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| The herb harvest, including Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi). |
... chickpeas, ...
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| Mixture of chickpeas, onions, the herbs, and various spices - cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika. I forgot salt - will remember next time. |
review a DVR'd episode of "America's Test Kitchen" and scan the interwebs for tips and variations, and ...
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| Oven baked method; I remain leery of deep frying, even of shallow frying. Happy to sacrifice some crunchiness for less mess. |
... voila!).
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| Crisp and browned falafel! |
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