Why am I eating less of this (above)…
…and more of this (below)?
I am a bad bad food blogger. First, I let months go with nary a word. Then, I point out that I haven’t been posting, which apparently is one of the cardinal sins of blogging. The truth is, my time in the kitchen has been extremely limited, and when I do cook, I don’t shoot any photos before chowing. “Why?” you ask. OK, so you probably aren’t asking that, but I’m going to tell you anyway: ORAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS.
Yes, folks, the time has come in my graduate education where it is not enough for me to read, attend lectures and write. Now, I have to sit with a board of professors in my area of study for two days presenting and answering questions to prove that I actually have learned something while attending their institution.
For the first time in the seven plus years I’ve made Chicago my home, I actually looked forward to the end of summer. It was a tortuous and lonely three months, just me and my banker’s box full of books and journal articles. OK, it wasn’t so so terrible. I’ve managed to spend some time enjoying the beautiful mild weather we Mid-Westerners were graced with this summer and there have been several occasions of grilled pizza, but it has undoubtedly been my least favorite summer. Frankly, I’m burned out.
There are 17 days left until the first day of my exams. I couldn’t be more ready for that day. Or feel more unprepared. But that’s normal, I am told. We’ll see about that October 13-14.
Oh, and because I can’t possibly be challenged enough by my three-and-a-half month marathon of studying, I was convinced by a friend to sign up for the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon. Yes, that’s right. I must be some sort of masochist. Then, there’s a job application process I’m currently in the midst of, but more on that in about a month, when I know where I stand with it.
Sigh.
There is one other thing, the addendum to my sad tale of kitchen neglect: I may have developed an increased sensitivity to dairy and/or wheat gluten. This is hard for me to accept as I went from pizza hater to pizza lover in the past few years. I also went through a loaf of gluten-free bread and a pound of brown rice spaghetti recently. Um. No. Fortunately, I think it’s just the dairy that my system has decided to protest.
So, here’s the plan post-comps: lots of posts about what to do with canned tomatoes. Because I have a lot of canned tomatoes. Also, if I am indeed lactose intolerant, there will be the necessary exploring of what this means beyond using soy milk in my coffee instead of half and half. Finally, now that I am a running champion* I eat more carbohydrates than I used to, which makes for plenty of dishes with beans and rice.
In the meantime, you should read The Paupered Chef, a blog by two fellow Chicago residents, one of whom just may be as much of a R.B. fanatic as yours truly (also, pre-Top Chef Masters, thank you very much). Those guys cook a lot of the same foods I make. Strangely, we usually make the same food around the same time (Homemade french fries? I made some Sunday night for our Emmy-watching party of two!), but they, as good food bloggers, actually post about it . Also, they have a cooler blog name, super nice design, and are waaaayyyy more popular (but for a reason!).
Oh, oh, oh. And you can follow me on Twitter! Username is housespouse.
*I know I am so far from being a running champion relative to real running champions, but relative to our family, where I am the only person who runs even when not being chased, I am the champion.
Mmm, lots of canned tomatoes. I got to get on that–we don’t have the cheap boxes at the market that you have up there.
Good luck w/ the power-studying, and see you before long.
so proud of your running.
i’m a little bit wishy washy about the canning this year. feeling tired…