this one is for kevin.

kevin bought a children's book called the little prince a few weeks ago and read it to me yesterday.  it was such a good story.  there was this awesome chapter where a fox tries to get the little prince to tame him. he explained if they could learn to tame each other then the boy would not just be like one thousand other boys to the fox... he would be special. and the fox would not just be like one thousand other foxes to the boy... he would be special. the prince's reply to this explanation was, "i am beginning to understand. there is a flower... i think she has tamed me."

all throughout the book, the prince talks about his rose from back home.  he loved his rose because he thought she was unique and special... no other flower like her.  when he finds a whole garden of roses he gets really sad because he sees that his rose is just like all of those roses. after he tames the fox he goes up to the bed of roses he found and says,

 "...you are beautiful, but empty.  one could not die for you. to be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you- the rose belongs to me. but in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that i have watered; because it is she that i have put under the glass globe; because it is she that i have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that i have killed the caterpillars (except for two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that i have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes she said nothing.  because she is my rose."

he knows so  much about love. and i want this to be read at my wedding.

notes about the morning (so far)

it smells like my elementary school cafeteria in the computer lab where i work.
the girl i'm working with must be eating salisbury steak for lunch.
her tupperware is opaque, so i'm only guessing.

a guy just came into the lab to take a test.
he seemed nice, so i assigned him to a computer that was right in between two pretty girls.
i'm not sure how one would flirt with a stranger without speaking, while taking a test
but i gave him a shot anyway.
maybe they will invite me to their wedding.

kevin is trying to get me to be into the nba.
i am giving it a fair shot.
i did some reading about the portland trailblazers the other day.
maybe they will be me team.

it is too warm out today to be wearing a sweater but i'm doing it anyway.
i have worn this sweater once already this week.

don't tell any one.

i am already planning to do a load of laundry tomorrow.
just because that i want to wear it again.

the nice guy that came into to take a test just left.
and i don't think any sparks flew.
i might be a terrible matchmaker.

actual air.

when kevin and i first started dating, he used to read me poetry written by david berman.  his book is called actual air. kevin lent his copy out, and i really missed it for a long time.  last weekend he went to a silver jews show (that is david berman's band), and bought a new copy of the book... and got it signed.  it is technically kevin's book... but i'm hold it hostage.  i'm happy to have it again.  here is one of the poems that kevin used to woo me a year and a half ago.

the moon.

a web of sewer pipe, and wire connects each house to the others.

in 206 a dog sleeps by the stove where a small gas leak causes him 

to have visions; visions that are rooted in nothing but gas.

next door, a man who has decided to buy a car part by part

excitedly unpacks a wheel and an ashtray.

he arranges them every which way. it's really beginning to take 

shape.

out the garage window he sees a group of ugly children

enter the forest.  their mouths look like coin slots.

a neighbor plays keyboard in a local cover band.

preparing for an engagement at the high school prom,

they pack their equipment in silence.

last night the played the police academy ball and all

the officers slow-danced with target range silhouettes.

this year the theme for prom is the tetragrammaton.

a yellow corsair sails through the disco parking lot

and swaying palms presage the lot of young libertines.

inside the car a young lady wears a corsage of bullet-size rodents.

her date, the handsome cornerback, stretched his talons over the 

molded steering wheel.

they park and walk into the lush starlit gardens behind the disco

just as the band is striking up.

their keen eyes and ears twitch. the other couples

look beautiful tonight. they stroll around listening

to the brilliant conversation. the passionate speeches.

clouds drift across the silverware. there is a red larkspur,

blue gum, and ivy.  a boy kneels before his date.

and the moon, i forgot to mention the moon.

guess what i cooked this time.

ellen came over on thursday to help me use more of my pumpkin stash.  we made really good pumpkin muffins and shared them around a camp fire for house church.  i found the recipe for them on a blog called smitten kitchen, and i have fallen in love with it.  the food isn't all vegetarian friendly, but i have begun to recognize how to adapt recipes to make the veg-safe.   there is a link to the blog on the left hand side of my own blog... but here is a direct link to the pumpkin muffin recipe.

i still have about two cups of pumpkin in my freezer and a small pumpkin sitting out on my porch... however, after all of the pumpkin food, and the two pumpkin beers (dogfish head punkin ale, and post road pumpkin ale) that i had at the heorot on friday night, i think i am getting really tired of pumpkin.  

in other news, kevin and i finally got the courage to start crate training milo.  last weekend, i went to visit my family, and had to leave milo in his crate for a few hours while we all went out.  it actually wasn't a disaster, so all week, we have been leaving him in his crate while we are away.  we have a bark collar for him, and it seems to keep him pretty calm... so right now, we are putting that on him when we put him in the crate... just so he can learn that when it is crate time, it time to be quiet and calm.  eventually we will phase out the bark collar.  he is so well behaved when he is in there... at first we basically had to stuff him in there, but now he walked right in with very little coaxing. i always hated the idea of leaving him in a cage, but now i see why crating is such a popular thing amongst dog owners.  it is so adorable to come home and find him fast asleep in there using cheetah (a stuffed animal backpack turned milo's favorite thing) as a pillow.  

also, kevin convinced me to let him buy a halloween costume for milo... ugh... i never thought we would be one of those pet owners that puts clothing on our dog... but we are!  kevin found a bumble bee costume, and the minute we put him on it, milo was suddenly more adorable.  my roommate katie doesn't really like milo very often, but she said, "i like him more when he's wearing it."  we had a friend over the other day, and milo kept growling at him.  it was so great because he was wearing the costume, and kevin saying, "what does a bumble bee say?"  and milo would respond with a very passionate, "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh"  it sounded like a puppy version of a bee sound.  

mooore pumpkin

pumpkin soup

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion

3 or 4 large cloves of garlic

2 cups of veggie broth

2 cups of pumpkin cooked and mashed

1 (14 oz.) can of coconut milk

salt, turmeric, cumin, curry powder, and season salt... and maybe a little bit of cayenne if you want.

:in a large pot, through in garlic, onion and e.v.o.o. and a little bit of salt and pepper. heat until onions are soft, and starting to turn brown.

:add pumpkin, coconut milk, and veggie broth into the pot and stir in the spices... you can add what ever kind of spice you want really... just keep tasting it until it the spices satisfy you.

:serve when hot

this was so easy.  it took maybe 15 minutes to make.  it would have been great to have an immersion blender for this soup to make the pumpkin really smooth... but oh well.  my guests didn't seem to mind the weird stringy pumpkin stuff in their spoons... i chose to use a lot of indian spices, so with the combo of those and the coconut milk, it tastes very much like a curry.  kevin suggested adding some tofu and some veggies to complete the illusion. i doubled the recipe when i made it because i wanted leftovers.   i got the coconut milk at wild oats grocery store a long time ago... i have no idea if coconut milk is something easy to find or not... but it is certainly worth the search. 

i paired the soup with some roasted red potatoes that i just tossed with a few spices, e.v.o.o., butter and lemon juice before putting them in the oven.  bake at 375 degrees for about an hour (covered only for the first twenty minutes.)  it was a really good fall meal.  jordan and jordan brought over a chocolate chip pie for desert.  it was a perfect meal.

pumpkin recipes galore.

i went to the pumpkin patch with my family last weekend and got a big pumpkin... i thought about carving a face into and calling it a day... but after i excavated the seeds, i started feeling really motivated.... so i cut it all up, froze half of it, and cooked the other half of it.  i was left with about 5 cups of pumpkin mush.. what to do what to do.  we yesterday i did this.

pumpkin gnocchi: 

gnocchi

1 1/2 cups of pumpkin cooked and mashed

lots of flour

1 taspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of cinnimon

1 teaspoon of salt

sauce: 

lots of extra virgin olive oil

a tablespoon or two of tomato sauce

2 hot chile peppers chopped

salt to taste

:combine the pumpkin, flour, and spice.  start with one cup of flour. the recipe i found called of one cup... but i think i ended up using three... it should have a smooth but sticky consistency that can be rolled into a ball

: separate the dough into five or six pieces, and roll each section into a long snake.  cut the snaky dough into small bite size pieces.

: bring a large pot of water to a boil, and drop the pieces into the water. you'll know they are finished when they float to the top.

:for the sauce, just combine all of the ingredients into a large pan, and heat up.

:after the gnocchi are removed from the water, put them into the pan with the sauce. coat the with the sauce and let the cook in the pan for just a few minutes.  

this was really good.  they have kind of a dumpling sort of feel to them.  if you are the kind of person that insists on exact measurements... then i can't really help you... but they turn out fine with out exact measurements. they were really filling, and i think a perfect fall meal.  they re-heat in the microwave very well, too! 

and then today i'm did this.

pumpkin empanadas:

dough:

4 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 1/3 cup of veggie shortening

1 cup of milk

filling:

2 cups of pumpkin, cooked and mashed

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of  cinnamon

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of salt

:combine flour, sugar and baking powder.

:cut in veggie shortening until the dough looks like corn meal.

:pour milk over the dough, and mix in  until everything is coated.

use your hands to roll the dough into a ball, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a little while.

:for the filling all you have to do is mix all of the ingredients together. pretty simple.

:roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. 

:the recipe i found said to cut the dough into 4 inch circles... i may or may not do that... if i do, i'll probably just use the lid from my sugar canister.  i may decide to use a smaller cookie cutter to make mini-empanadas... we'll see.

:after to cut the dough into circles, place the filling on each. don't over fill.  fold the circles in half over the filling and press down along the edges  to seal.  you can paint the edges with a little egg white to ensure sealage.

:bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown.

i think the best part was the crust. it was just really flakey and light.   i have no idea how to develop a pie crust, but i think that there is a chance this could be a perfect pie crust. i didn't add the teaspoon of salt to the filling, but looking back, i think that it would have made the flavors a bit more noticeable.  also, after they were done baking, i brushed some water on them and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon over the top. kevin and i have already started to dream up other possible fillings for these.   if you aren't much for baking, don't be scared of these... i'm not either... 

and then i found five dollars

you know in movies when the main character finds a bunch of money on the street, and there is always a huge dilemma about what he should do with it? ok maybe i'm thinking of hey arnold... not a movie... but still, you know what i'm talking about.  should he turn it into the police and try to find it's owner? or should he keep it for himself? or should he donate it to charity?

well today i faced that same dilemma, and discovered something about myself.  i would choose to keep it.  this fortune must have been the consequence of karma because i had a choice to either walk home from class, or get a ride- i chose walk because i wanted to be good to the environment.  and in return i got this load of cash.  it was awesome. 

the possibilities for a five dollar bill are endless.