Sucka punch!

So, I'm starting to believe that yesterday, instead of having my two grossly impacted wisdom teeth removed, I actually paid the oral surgeon $500 to sock me in the grill for an hour. Do my teeth and gums hurt? Not a bit. Does my jaw feel like it has been broken into a million pieces? Yes. Case closed.

Of course, I don't actually know what happened during that hour, under the influence of some amazing amnesic drugs. What I can tell you, however, is that I know I sat down in that chair listening to the latest "This American Life" and later found my ipod halfway through the Frightened Rabbit album. Obviously conscious sedation is no match for impeccable musical taste, suckas!

Other than being absolutely bored out of my brain and asymmetrically swollen-faced, I have no complaints. I just realized I CAN eat my favorite Ginger Cat cookies if I left them turn to mush in my mouth first. My day is made! Small victories!

forward movement

in other news: - i finally took my GRE and was kind of astonished to find out that my math skills are MUCH BETTER than my verbal. i've since read about the test a little more and discovered that's kind of the way it is for everyone, so not quite feeling so offended anymore. more importantly, i scored higher than the average scores for students in all of the programs to which i'm hoping to apply. that helps. - after travelling for two weeks and then intensely studying for the following two weeks, i've awarded myself a one week break before diving into the world of applications. this means that my evenings are now mostly divided between sessions of katamari, baby blanket knitting, and studying gluten-free flours. - oh yes, i've gone gluten-free. i think i've mentioned this, but am finding the gravity of this decision so immense in my daily eating that it deserves to be mentioned again. everything i love has goddamned gluten in it. on the bright side, i'm getting to experiment with brown rice flour and sorghum and spelt and my new bread machine ... and discovering that, with a little effort and creativity, gluten-free meals can taste pretty damn good. try my salmon burgers and you'll believe me. - i am cooking some amazing healthy food. my lack of knowledge about vegetables up to this point has been pretty appalling for a, well, vegetarian. embarrassing, i'd say. i just didn't really EAT them. now, they're really the BULK of what i'm eating and i can't believe i went without for so long. in fact, i'm comfortable admitting that i've actually got a bit of an obsession with vegetables at the moment. root vegetables and good old hearty winter ones in particular. last night i made delicata squash rings ... which are my new substitution for french fries. heaven. - i need a camera. and/or i need to reinstall photobooth on my computer. after a summer of one-after-another problems with my mactop, she's finally up and running again, new hard drive and disk drive in tow. she's even running parallels again, like a gem. the point here being, i want to start posting pictures of my alternafoood adventures, so that you'll actually believe that 1) i'm cooking and 2) they don't all look as horrible as they might sound.

good food

I just enrolled in my first CSA this morning! I'm so excited! So from here on out I will be receiving bi-weekly boxes of fresh, organic, locally-grown fruits and veggies from Full Circle Farm. Food is becoming a bit of an obsession for me; I'm cooking real food for the first time ever and loving exploring with veggies and healthy alternatives. I've gone gluten, white potato, corn and sugar free (the last one gradually ... I crave) as an experiment. Am falling in love with the likes of spelt crackers and curried sweet potatoes and fresh beets. There is a whole world of activists who promote local, community-supported and sustainable agriculture, that I'd never tapped into before. The benefits for farmers and eaters alike are immense. You could argue that agriculture in any form is destructive to the earth, but when it's sustainable and allowed to follow natural patterns and cycles, it's a whole lot less severe. And we are what we eat. I've read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," yes, and you should too. If you're interested in joining a CSA here locally, King County has a great site!