The Last Meal

I am writing to you while I am surrounded by packing tape, boxes, dust bunnies, and furniture out of place. I am writing to you after two weeks of a brand-new job that is going fabulously well, and a notification I received last Friday that I had to vacate my apartment for "unfortunate circumstances". I'll spare you the bad details, (it wasn't an eviction notice), but in one weekend my parents and I searched, looked, viewed, and found a new apartment that is larger, brighter, nicer....and it has a bigger kitchen.
I also had to say goodbye to my old computer, which crashed on me last Monday and never really got back to it's old self again. I am writing to you from a newer version of itself. In 14 days my life went from unemployed to very employed, from apartment to apartment, from depressed to back to good spirits, and from an old computer to a shiny new one.

I think I'm kind of tired....

I am writing to you while sitting in an apartment that I only moved into 6 months ago.
While I hate like heck to leave this place (especially the gas stove, it's proximity to New Seasons, and it's surprisingly short distance to two bars, a famous bagel place, and the best breakfast restaurant Portland has to offer), I am looking forward to moving into another apartment. It is about the size of a duplex, with two floors, two bedrooms (!), and even a patio.
So far this year I've taken a few surprising (and unnannounced) bumps in the road, lemons, bad moments (or whatever you call it now) and done my best to turn it around into a smooth shoulder, lemon pound cake, and a good time. The year isn't over yet, and neither is summer - I'm both excited and scared for what the next 4 months of 2009 holds.
Upon hearing the news that I needed to vacate my apartment, and after my mom and I pinned down the new place, I invited my good friend Sarah over for one last meal in this apartment (she lived here before I did). The above picture is what we ate: a simple meal that held all the goods. Kale, salami, chevre, fresh bread, Kalamata olives, and cherry tomatoes. All of which was washed down with a $7 bottle of Chianti. We sat in my little window that pushes out into a makeshift balcony and listened to the traffic outside die down so we could listen to the silence.
Both Sarah and I have endured the heat this apartment holds in the summer. Sarah can tell you stories of how the front door freezes shut in the winter. We both know how cool it is to have the balcony. We both love the makeshift fireplace that serves as the sole heater in the apartment. We both hate those attic stairs while doing laundry. We both know it only takes 20 seconds to get from the front door to Kettleman's Bagels in the morning. Everything here was simple, quaint, and cozy.
This is my last night here. I feel very fortunate to have been laid off during the time I was here because I got to spend a lot of time in this apartment just before I had to leave it. I also feel very fortunate to have started this blog while living here, because I got A LOT of use out of that gas stove. I am also glad that a lot of those unexpected turns in life happened while I was living here.
I intend my next post to be from the new place. It might take me a while, I don't know what the next week or two will hold (maybe even a permanent position at the place I am currently at, which is right now, temporary). Hopefully though I can fill you in on the first meal I made to break in the stove, and share with you (FINALLY) another recipe.

Soup From a Can

A lot has happened in the last week and a half. Most notably: I have a job!!!!!! I start on Monday (a 6 week temporary position, however there is much hope that it turns into a permanent position), and I'm taking over some duties as the Marketing Coordinator for Glumac. Since the good news happened yesterday, I've been doing some celebrating on my own: I've finished three books, enjoyed myself at a couple of happy hours, had breakfast with a friend, and cooked by far one of the most interesting meals of my life. However, it's that exact meal that I feel is appropriate to send me off into my new future.

It's been raining the past couple of days. After such sunny, summery weather it's easy to just want to stay inside and cuddle up with a book (hence why I finished three, trust me this never happens!) and make some sort of comfort food. A couple days ago, I made a vegetarian stroganoff (recipe coming soon!), this morning my friend Erin and I had a "champagne breakfast" complete with mimosa and a scramble at Blue Pig, and just now my friend Sarah and I have polished off an accidental pot of "Spaghetti-O's".

Let me repeat myself, we did not intend for this to happen. Accident.

Sarah likes Tomato soup, and ever since last night at the happy hour at Eastburn, where I watched a girl scarfing down tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich - I've been craving it. Sarah is the queen of comfort food, so this afternoon she e-mailed me with the grand idea of Tomato soup for dinner, and I would make the grilled cheese. Well, since she's on a diet (and I had too much dairy for the day) we skipped on the grilled cheese part, and by the time she showed up in my kitchen we had three small cans of tomato soup, saltine crackers....and that was it.

This girl and I go way back to our freshman year of college where we quickly found out what it means to be improvisational gastronomes: spicing up our pizza with herbs and different types of vegetables, seeing just how far we could take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I believe one time we made a salsa from canned tomatoes. Some of it was good enough to eat, there were times when we really wished that the macaroni and cheese had stayed macaroni and just cheese, but we were proud of our creations and our quick thinking.

As Sarah was pouring soy milk into the steaming pot of tomato soup, I was searching around my fridge for any possible pairings other than just saltine crackers. Leftover from my vegetarian stroganoff was a bowl of cooked yet naked pasta, still perfectly al dente and sitting right in front of me. Maybe it was the book from culinary genius/still curmudgeonous author Anthony Bourdain that I had just finished that made me do it: but I heated the bowl up and threw the pasta into the tomato mix, not realizing until halfway finished that I was in fact - making spaghetti'o's. Why waste a perfectly good bowl of pasta on just olive oil and garlic anyways? This might be more fun. Cheap, ridiculous, but fun. After a dusting of Parmesiano Reggiano (Ok, so I splurge on my cheeses please give me a break, I'm about to be employed), a couple turns of fresh pepper, some finishing salt, and a kick of cayenne - we called it good and sat down with steaming bowls of our version of Spaghetti'O's. Or Poor Man's Spaghetti. Or whatever.

I have eaten at several notable restaurants, tasted everything from Osso Bucco at the Veritable Quandary, to the perfect squash puree at Andina, to a gorgeous cut of Toro Tuna anyone could ask for at Murata's. I have eaten fresh pasta, Pig that was freshly killed and prepared, and dark greens from farmer's markets. I have had the joy of eating croissants that had just come out of the oven at St. Honore, and gotten giddy over the "crack" of the carmelized layer of Creme Brulee and tasted the ocean from oysters with a small drop of lemon juice.

Sitting on my couch on the eve of a new job and a new opportunity that would give me that same freedom to taste all that I previously mentioned again, I transcended into the very simple pleasure of eating a very simple meal on a really tight budget. The tomato soup was the perfect consistency with the right amount of creaminess, and the pasta had added a little bit of a thickening factor while still maintaining it's shape and doneness. The finishing salt and cayenne had added just the right amount of flavor needed to brighten the soup, and the dusting of cheese made it that much more special. It wasn't overly salty, it wasn't bland, it wasn't a congealed mess. I'm really not kidding you, Sarah and I kinda hit this one out of the park. Call it what you may, but I couldn't have asked for a better cheap meal on one of the last days of being unemployed. It was a stroke of luck and timing on both our parts to come up with something this simple, stupid, and good. I could try putting down the recipe, but try making this (if you even want to) on your own.

Unemployed Tip #4: Misbehave as much as you can

The purpose of this blog is to provide you all with a positive voice in order to cut through all the other crap that's out there, for instance, reading declining quarterly earnings, increasing foreclosures, increasing demand for healthcare, and decreasing funding for public services. Or just to help you get over a bad breakup, a dwindling bank account, or even a bad hair day.

However, in order to keep up a positive and informative site....I have to keep up a positive and informative attitude. This can be hard.

The last several nights though I have been blessed to stay up past bedtime (for me, that's usually around 10:30 PM), and eat with friends both new and old. In fact, just last night I played a board game for about two hours over a $4 bottle of wine, hummus, and gummy bears. Probably not the classiest mix of foods, but with the game, conversation, and laughter tossed in - who cared if the wine glasses were in fact ceramic mugs and the hummus was slathered on chips with a dollop of guacamole on top? The greatest part, is that when you get a small group of friends together to eat, more than likely you'll end up with more food than what was there to begin with (for instance, I am now the proud owner of a pint of blackberries, two wheat pitas, a box of champagne grapes, and half a box of Rice Krispie cereal, all of which came in from friends who pitched in for food.)

This week so far though has been a testy one. It's hard to keep your head above the water when there aren't many job postings, and your friends are slowly being laid-off, or their hours are being reduced. There are days when I do stuff where all I'm trying to do is just get by, or fill in the hours. I'm admitting this now because it's the truth. I'm also admitting this now because I'm human and yeah there are times when it sucks to be unemployed, and I kinda sit there with my coffee cup in one hand, my head in my other hand and think "What am I going to do in six months if I'm still unemployed?"

The above picture is of my friend Cristy. She is someone who knows how to take anything ordinary and turn it into a hilarious situation. For instance, this moment was captured when she took two decorative items and decided it would be a good idea to balance them on her head and see how far she could walk. It was her day off, it was 2:35 PM, and a sudden burst of energy (perhaps it was the yellow walls!) made her do this. Everything that was bothering me earlier was sucked out of me as I watched her try to walk with a very heavy bowl/vase on top of her head (that bowl, which I am the proud owner of now!)

That evening I made Rice Krispie treats (with peanut butter and chocolate chips!) late at night with Kate. I don't remember the last time I have made Rice Krispie treats, but at that moment, nothing could beat getting our hands sticky with melted marshmallows, or the hilarity that ensued when we both realized that the cereal was falling on the floor and not into the bowl. That was a Tuesday night. I felt like I was a kid again, giddy that I was staying up into the wee hours of the morning on a school night.

When you are unemployed, down and out, feeling bad, or even confused - do whatever it takes to make yourself laugh. It's times like this that you can't put down on your resume, and let's face it you kinda have to curb it at work. So, my tip for you today is to let it out. It doesn't have to involve downing as much PBR as possible or doing keg stands like you did in college. Fun and laughter come for free (surprise!)


Late Night Rice Krispie Treats

3 T Butter
4 C Miniature Marshmallows
6 C Rice Krispie cereal
1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 C chocolate chips

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
Slowly mix in the cereal. (This is when it gets fun!).
Fold in peanut butter and chocolate chips
Spoon mixture out into 9x12 inch dish
With wax paper, press down onto the mixture, spreading it out evenly in the pan

Don't even take the time to cut them into neat little squares. Just dig in with your hands.

Time from prep to mouth: about 20 minutes
Cost: Rice Krispie cereal - $2.50, Marshmallows - $1.99, Peanut butter - $2.99, Chocolate Chips: $2.99

Whew!

The last week or so I've been trying to stay away from the computer unless to do something of importance (aka: apply for jobs, email) instead of actually writing. The heat wasn't very nice to any of us, and it certainly wasn't too nice to my computer. Every time my computer got too hot, it threatened to shut down. Of course, as I expected the heat also affected my writing, creativity, and took it's toll on productivity. For the most part I did what a lot of you did, sat in front of a fan and sweated!
Although the hot weather threw me off of my normal routine, I managed to get through it in the best of ways, (and through a couple of nights spent in a hotel room with AC! Thanks Katie and Mom!) and soon the 105-107 degree heat will start cooling off (Rain is predicted for this Thursday, folks!).
I also went off of my normal routine of cooking. I did a lot of trips to the New Seasons deli, tried to scrounge free food at parties, and mostly drank a lot of iced tea and water. I also got creative in ways to cool down.....

1.) I learned this a long time ago in one of my "Seventeen" magazines when I was in high school. Take all of your daily toiletries, including shampoos, face washes, lotions, sunscreen, etc and put them in the fridge.

2.) Keep a spray bottle next to you. Throw in some herbs like lavender or rosemary if you have some on hand.

3.) Ice Cubes.

4.) Go to a coffee house where they give you $.50 refills on iced tea and coffee and do your job search there. The air-conditioned space is worth the $2.50 that you spend.

5.) Keep a couple wet washcloths in the fridge.

In the dead heat of last week I managed to get to the river with a couple of friends, nail an interview (Fingers crossed!), finish a book, celebrate a friend's birthday, got back together with another few friends from college, saw my boyfriend who was in from New York this weekend (yay!), and we went to a wedding of a childhood friend of mine (Congrats Katie and Elijah!). Although unemployment certainly hinders other means of lifestyle, such as buying a plane ticket to Europe or a $50 shirt at Anthropologie, it definitely makes meeting up with friends seem more leisurely and fun, as you aren't running up to the bar every hour getting another $4 drink. Instead, things are more focused on conversation, slowing things down, being creative and finding better (and cheaper) things to do. Having to scratch by makes buying a beer or a bottle of Kombucha a treat. This is probably the poorest I've been in a long time, but is by far the best summer ever, record heat and all.