Simple Pleasures

Being in Seattle is always such a pleasure, what with the easing of school-related pressure and such.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and then cooked some delicious vegetarian chili to feed the family for dinner after my mom and I hung out all morning and chit-chatted over several cups of coffee. Today, I woke up and promptly made myself a cup of Ethiopia Sidamo, a great coffee which I picked up a pound of from my summer coffee shop, University Zoka. I then proceeded to drink this blueberry-undertoned concoction while cooking my signature tofu scramble: a combination of silken tofu, a meat-substitute crumble, corn, and assorted spices; sitting alone at the dining room table while consuming the fruits of my labor and reading the NY Times provides an unmatched feeling of contentment.

All of this cooking stirred a desire to cook a big meal for all of my friends at school. Alas, I was crushed by the logistics of such an undertaking: to plan such an event without hurting anyone's feelings, over thirty people would have to be invited. Sadly, it proved to be an impossible task to take on in the lowly dorm kitchens of Vassar College. Maybe next year?

For now I will just cook for my family of four; it is so rewarding. I began brainstorming for tonight's dinner while enjoying (!) a good hand-washing of the dishes and continued to do so over an amazingly sweet ruby-red grapefruit. Now I will bid you adieu and browse some cookbooks...I am taking all of this as a mark of some new-found maturity blossoming inside this co-ed.