They call me mellow yellow

Part of the reason why I haven't been blogging is not just a lack of muse but also a lack of time. I've been kept quite busy by studying, readying, riding my bike, making soup*, and above all work. I started a new job just last week; unfortunately I wasn't very enthusiastic about the mood at work but was trying my darnedest to succeed. Despite my best efforts I decided to leave due to a traumatic incident involving my manager, without going into too much detail I'll simply say that my trust was violated and that I hope never never to see this man again. On the bright side I now have more free time to finally devote to simple things I hadn't been able to find the time for, things like laundry, cleaning the bathroom, uploading my photos, making phone calls, etc. Incidentally I was also happy to have not taken the tags off of a dress from American Apparel (which I was told was necessary for the job) and went to return the dress and get my money back, alas American Apparel only does in-store credit! Drats! And yet! It meant that this was money I could only spend there, not on rent or groceries or any other plain old humdrum expense, wow it felt foreign to be able to look at the clothes and think about what I wanted to treat myself to. Since moving to Montreal I've been dealing with a very tight budget and haven't shopped at all, haven't even allowed myself to look. I ended up getting an adorable little golden-rod colored mini skirt with deep pockets and a pair of canary yellow white trimmed men's briefs...lately I kind of have a thing for yellowy tones. As I hopped on my bike to go home I passed a little friprie and popped in for a quick peruse. I happened upon another lovely yellow shirt (same color as the briefs) in a super soft worn cotton, a little yellow paisley scarf, yellow and white plastic bead necklaces, and a black lace slip which I'd been needing since my other one totally bit the dust earlier this summer. All in all a very productive afternoon.



*I have really begun to mature in my soup making techniques and recipes. My little vegetable stand is extremely affordable and I oft pop in to buy everything for a large pot-o-soup for a mere $5 or less! Sometimes I make a simple vegetable soup and put in whatever seems freshest, however, I've really been a fan of mushroom barley these days. I simply use a container of button mushrooms, however much barley my heart desires, a medium onion, garlic, sage, rosemary, and a bay leaf. It makes for a very satisfying soup and I've always enjoyed mushrooms in soup although I find it's not a vegetable used often enough in this way. Aside from these soups I delighted my friends with a root vegetable soup of beets, carrots, potatoes, and turnips. I used herbes de provence, garlic, oregano, tarragon, and thyme. By a happy coincidence the beets turned the entire soup bright pink, highly delightful. (Nina this soup made me think of you and all the times I commanded you to make me tsimus. Mmmm...tsmims) The most advanced of soups was my roasted pumpkin puree. We went to the market and found a big big pumpkin, carted it home on the bike (all bundled up in its own little crate bed) and hacked the beast to bits, salt peppered and olive oil her up and then roasted as much of it as we could (freezing the rest for future soups!). In a pan I sauteed leeks, carrots, 1 small apple, and garlic, and the most fragrant soft leaves of fresh sage I'd ever smelled. Once the veggies began to wilt we added slices of the roasted pumpkin as well as vegetable bouillon...puis ca y est! All that's left to do is give it a nice blitz in the blender with a bit of creme fraiche and you can be sure that all who try your lovely creation will be wagging their tails for more.