Nothing Much

Our current preoccupation is to strategize constantly about ways to move from our current spacious, 2-bedroom-and-a- living-room setup to a much-smaller 1-bedroom, while simultaneously incorporating a number of generous, mostly kitchen-related items that have yet to even grace the shelves of our current place. We figured it was easier to move most of them in their original boxes, as opposed to unpacking and then repacking them a month later; a theory that still holds, but it remains that this is stuff we haven't yet factored into a workable organization scheme. The closer the move gets, the smaller the new apartment seems! It's not something we're terribly worried about, but we would like for the move to go as smoothly as possible.

We've been dealing with these concerns in what has become typical Matt-and-Katie fashion: lots of talking, and then lots of cooking. In the past few days we've made bread, cookies, a huge batch of filling for spicy peanut wraps, eggless egg salad (a tofu-based recipe that we love), a batch of whole-wheat pizza crusts, tomato sauce, and homemade pizza. It works well for us because we really enjoy cooking together in our downtime, and then in weeks like this one--when Matt has an out-of-town gig tomorrow and teaches lessons, and I am working three 12-hour shifts in a row--we have an assortment of tasty leftovers!

Two of the goals that have emerged for us in the past year have been saving money and eating more healthfully. While we had both previously found these two things to be at odds with one another, we've found a number of ways to achieve both goals by incorporating a third: making as much as we can from scratch. Right now that obviously includes various breads and sauces, which we have done with various degrees of success but we're now getting to the point where we can achieve pretty predictable and satisfactory results. For example, we had all but given up on making edible, 100% whole-wheat bread from scratch until we found this recipe. The website it's on is an example of an ideology I obviously don't ascribe to but find strangely fascinating. Along with this site (which is where we found the superb whole-wheat oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe), it's a blog I have come to peruse somewhat obsessively for both their controversial viewpoints and their superior advice on topics that have recently become near and dear to my heart, such as coupon shopping and cooking from scratch. Who says feminist law students and radical Christian housewives can't find common ground?

In related news, Matt was able to attend the Clintons' speech in Iowa City today. I was sleeping off a night shift and so was unable to go, much to my bitter disappointment. However, I get the feeling that just maybe there will be other opportunities for political involvement at our next destination.