If you know
anything about me, it’s that I don’t like cold.
Oh, I like cold things all right: ice cream, Eiskaffee, um….uh….hm,
this list is shorter than I thought it would be. And it’s got to be pretty warm for me
to even enjoy those short-list items.
I much prefer
warm things: snuggly warm sheets and down blankets; warm baked goods; warm wool
socks, hats, scarves, and mittens; warm hugs; warm thoughts; and the “warm”
list goes on and on. Add to that all the
hot things I like, e.g. hot soup, hot water bottles, hot tea, etc. and the list
goes on ad infinitum.
Guess here is
where I should clarify that I don’t like the cold – cold weather. Let me take that back. I like cold weather that involves beautiful
azure skies, whipped cream mounds of snow, cardinals happily chirping away high
atop ice-glazed tree branches, skaters waltzing dreamily over a frozen pond, the
scent of piñon wafting heavenward in twirls of misty grey……yep, just
like on the “wish you were here” postcards.
That’s not the kind of cold we have here in North Texas. No, we have the “icy wet wind that goes right
through every last layer of clothes and straight to your marrow” kind of
cold. Doesn’t last from November through
April, doesn’t even last all of winter.
No matter, I don’t like it. Each
year I hope pray to wind up living in a more “comfortable” geography;
alas, as the cold inevitably sets in and I’m still in North Texas, I try to
make peace with it…embrace it. I’m here
to tell you that, a few decades later, reverse psychology for cold does not
work……not for me, anyway.
So, how to cope
with the cold?? Heaps of warm/hot
things. Mornings start with one last
snuggle under the duvet and the promise of a mug of steaming hot tea. Followed by copious amounts of more hot tea,
from Earl Grey, to sencha, to mugicha, to any number of herbal
teas and/or coffees like Teecino. Candles flicker in warming vanilla, winter forest, or
spicy fruit scents. Hot lunch promptly
ensues, followed by hot snacks & tea, followed by more hot tea, followed by
hot dinner, and that final steaming cup of nitey-nite before it’s off to the
land of down.
I think you’re
beginning to see the picture, that I don’t like cold. Which it started off as to today: 40 degrees, windy, dismal lack of sunshine. Which immediately got me thinking about what
I’d have for lunch today. Which was
going to have to be something quick because I had way to much work to do. And, which, was unfortunate because I didn’t
have any leftovers to warm up. So, as
I’m nodding off concentrating during a work colleague’s brilliant webex
presentation, I’m trying to picture what’s in the fridge that would whip up
into a speedy meal. An onion, carrots, zucchinis….uttapam! Too much work, plus they’d for sure burn
while I’m on the concall. Same thing
with a pot of clean-out-the-fridge soup and abgreste Nudeln, too. Curry!
Red curry! With zucchinis &
green beans. And tempeh. And brown rice. Yes!!
And within about 5 minutes it was done: measured rice into cooker, added
water, pinch of himmy, spoon of coconut oil, and pressed “cook;” heated some
coconut cream, added some red curry paste, along with some tamari, coconut
sugar, and a red chili. Rinsed and chopped the zucchinis and green beans, threw
them into the curry, along with some julienned kaffir lime leaves. Sliced up the tempeh and set it into the
rice-cooker steamer. That’s it. All while listening to the concall….on mute,
natch….in about 5 minutes. The rice
cooked, the tempeh steamed, and the curry simmered for another 10 minutes. The house was filled with the exotic perfume
of Thai deliciousness, and I was….ahem….surprising glad it was chilly outside,
because I sure don’t eat that kind of food for lunch when it’s warm J
ooooooooo yummy!
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