On Bread and Birthdays.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the amount of November birthdays on the VeganMoFo blogroll.  I've seen at least 3.  It's my turn today.  I'm a hefty 34, but let me assure you, I don't look a day over 33.  I don't ever do anything for my birthday -- I'm making up for my youth, when I was greedy and sometimes kind of annoying about my birthday.  People are finally starting to catch on about my lack of enthusiasm.  I got a birthday card and teabag from Yorkshire Tea and my husband surprised me with a wee bottle of Chimay beer.  He got it at the grocery store yesterday.  What else did he get at the grocery store?  I'm glad you asked.

He missed the train after hiking yesterday (we won't get into why, but it's funny) and as a result, ended up with a bounty of reduced-price bread and produce. 



This is about 2/3 of the original bargain bin bread bounty.  We've frozen some and scarfed down the rest.  Since most of the day has revolved around bread, I thought I'd make a list of things that go well with "the staff of life."

• fruit 
• vegetables
• hummous
• salady stuff
• olives
• beer
• chocolate
• soup*
• dahl and other delightful curried sauces
• sammich-type stuff
• extra-virgin fancy-pants olive oil and the vinegar of your choice
• margarine
• tea
• coffee
• pickles
• wine
• mustard
• ETA:  Crabby Ful Medames
• Help a sista out here, I can't think of anything else!!!

(My husband likes it with Branston pickle, which is vegan, but I think it's gross.  Hummous and olives are probably my favourite.)

Here's a gratuitous post of the frugal fruits and value vegetables he scored.  Those bags of wee oranges were 10p a bag!



My favourite kinds of bread are rye (any kind of rye is a friend of mine) and sourdough.  I've made bread a few times, but it always tastes yeasty..  My soda rolls are much better, although still nothing to write home about. 

I know this isn't the most exciting post (not post with the most!), but they can't all be zingers!  I think my post tomorrow shall be about kimchi jigae.  Souuuuup!*

*  I have a real knack for soup.  Seriously.  I have some weird amazing special ninja skill where I can taste soup and replicate it.  I make up for this by not being able to make any bakery-type stuff without a recipe.  This came in handy with this hot & sour soup I had at some citrus noodley place in San Francisco and this one sour tomato soup I had at a veggie restaurant in Lithuania (that was so good at Lunch, I went back for dinner and there was this Latvian bland playing and they spoke in English between songs because they didn't speak Lithuanian) -- it had pickles and black olives in it!!!  It was amazing and weird AND I can make a great imitation at home.