I typically stay away from writing about what I am reading, watching, listening to, etc., but here goes. Please note: if your local library is like mine, many books, magazines, video games, board games, and movies can be accessed with nothing more than a library card. However the foods cannot (although my local library sometimes offers cooking classes).
The foods: Instead of sharing recipes for plant based confections, I will just tell you about some products I just recently tried for the first time. I was finally able to get my hands on a Tofurky ham roast with the amber ale glaze. It was surprising. The flavor and texture were both reminiscent of a good baked ham, or possibly some slow smoked ribs. It is a bit spendy, but definitely worth getting for a special occasion, like showing your appreciation to the person who just bought you a new laptop ;)
Another food I tried recently is Jus-Rol vegan puff pastry. I made some palmiers with just this product and some cinnamon and sugar. Delish!
I occasionally eat dairy, but am trying to eat less and less. That said, I’ve been sampling some different plant based cheese. Both Daiya and Violife offer some products that are good in certain applications, but I have now found some products worthy of eating on a cracker. Babybel’s plant based cheeses are so close to the original in texture and creamy flavor, that I would consider serving it to non-vegans. For meltable slices, I now must say ciao to my standby Violife aged cheddar and hello to Field Roast’s Chao. Will and I have been enjoying our vegan breakfast sandwiches all the more with these mild melty slices. Of course the most enjoyable of all plant based cheeses, for me, is the first one I ever tried: Treeline spreadable cashew cheese. I love the creamy scallion variety on a bagel with a slice of heirloom tomato. I just wish it were easier to get where I live. I have tried to match the flavor by making my own with raw cashews, but it never comes out quite as good as Treeline’s.
I am a big fan of the Life Is Strange franchise of video games and graphic novels, so I was thrilled to find out about the prequel, Before The Storm, and the book, Steph’s Story, written by Rosiee Thor. The Life Is Strange games are interactive fiction, and the storytelling is brilliant. The games and graphic novels are named for the supernatural abilities of the lead characters, but the two most recent installments leave out the supernatural, focusing on the tumult of first loves, the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community, and the effects of trauma. I highly recommend both. I wound up having to purchase Before The Storm (I was able to check out many of the Life Is Strange games and graphic novels through Wisconsin’s South Central Library System), but read Steph’s Story off of the Libby app (offering many ebooks and audiobooks courtesy of our library system).
I don’t read as much fiction as non-fiction. I spend much of my time reading stories from The Atlantic, Washington Post, Wisconsin Examiner, and numerous publications written for people with multiple sclerosis. I spent a lot of this past year working on reclaiming the narrative around events that lead to my complex post traumatic stress disorder. That said, I wound up reading a lot of Roxane Gay. I also read several works by Charles Bukowski. I seldom read books when they first come out with the exception of works from a few authors. One is Samantha Irby. I pre-bought a signed copy of Irby’s Quietly Hostile and it did not disappoint. Always hilarious and relatable!
While I have mostly been watching classic movies and episodes of Emily of New Moon as of late, I did take the opportunity to watch a few movies made this year: Strays, Genie, and Barbie. I enjoyed all of these more than I thought I would.
After watching Strays, I watched an old movie I hadn’t seen in years: It’s A Dog’s Life (1955). I bring this up because it is a film both my mom and I enjoyed, and it is what served to remind her that movies where the dog(s) tell the story don’t have to suck. The remake of Incredible Journey is an atrocity that neither my mom or I can forgive. Similar to It’s A Dog’s Life, Strays shines a light on animal abuse, but there has never been such graphic retribution on the part of the dog in any film I recall, which scored big points with me!
Genie has all the makings of a holiday classic, which is rare these days. So many characters in modern Christmas movies, particularly those of the Hallmark variety, are saccharine and wholly unlikeable. This is not the case with Genie, which offers up some authentically funny moments. Though it is essentially a rom-com it is not of that offensive genre where a woman desperately seeks a man.
I didn’t have low expectations for Barbie by any means, but still I was pleasantly surprised. I actually found it not only empowering for women, but for men too. I see the “I am Kenough” hoodies for sale online, but have usually only seen pictures of women wearing these. I think too many guys are missing the point. Men have been externally validating and forming destructive levels of codependency that have hurt them for too long, and this film shines a light on that. Toxic masculinity doesn’t just hurt women. But the idiotic rhetoric from right wing pundits weighing in on this movie has further fed the unhappiness experienced by so many men, barring them from receiving an actual positive message.
I hope all of you have a happy holiday season. It is not in the cards for me. I was notified last minute that my Botox for migraine appointment was rescheduled the day after Christmas. I was ten minutes from leaving for my out of town appointment when the clinic called. This is not related to insurance. This is related to incompetence of office staff, and maybe the idiot CEO who decided to layoff 3% of the clinic’s staff (and it already seemed understaffed as I would overhear check-in desk clerks complain that they were unable to take lunch breaks). I am likely to have a vestibular migraine, which I have had nearly every day for almost two months. My last Botox injection was less effective because I was on antibiotics at the time. I learned my lesson there. I know there are mixed messages online regarding whether antibiotics can affect the effectiveness of Botox, but keep in mind that the key ingredient is produced by bacteria. My experience is that it took longer to take effect and didn’t last as long as it usually does. My grandma has also been dealing with vertigo due to a heart condition, and has been forced to wait too long for a pacemaker. There is too much quiet quitting in health and human services these days. We all need an escape, but we need to care for each other as well.
Good news: they were able to get me in for Botox Friday, and I felt so much better even the very next day! My doctor agreed with me that the potent antibiotics I had been on during my last Botox injections could have interfered with its effectiveness. I guess contacting patient experience helped. My grandma has also had a few good days of late. She is being treated for anemia, and that seems to be helping. Hopefully she feels good today. We have family visiting from out of town/out of state.
I love those Babybel plant based cheeses, too.