It’s Bitchless Thursday! We are just home from a 16-day catering event at a gorgeous location in the Adirondacks. (These folks are very private, so no details about them or the spot.) It was a magnificent adventure! Fabulous vintage vibes throughout the place, absolutely stunning nature, and incredibly lovely people. It was also VERY hard work - each day was a full 14 hours on our feet! I’m feeling pleased with myself and extremely satisfied with this marathon work period - and so, so happy to be home!
Here’s 12 seconds of rain on the lake (which was 10 steps from the front porch), on a cozy, fire-in-the-fireplace, hot-coffee kind of morning.
Tagging the outstanding Juliana Lufkin and Keela Grimmette without whom none of it would have been possible. ❤️
Short Order Cooks, we don’t appreciate you enough! Veggie Annie’s Mindful, Demure, Cutesy Blueberry Pancakes - MTO at this week’s catering gig! #mindful #demure #cutesy #pancakes
Happy Labor Day! Mother Jones said, “Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.” Veggie Annie adds, “And put together this practically NO-LABOR chocolate-fondue-ish treat today, for the easiest celebration!”
Chocolate bar (a pile of chocolate chips would also be adorable and delicious) - any kind you like. Metal tray (or any tray.) Stuff to dip in the chocolate - fresh and/or dried fruit, pretzels, sturdy potato chips, shortbread, marshmallows, etc. Let the chocolate sit on the platter in the sun for 10-15 minutes, then arrange the stuff around it. (The chocolate will be melty, but will hold its shape, which adds to the coolness of this.)
Dip the stuff in the gorgeously melty chocolate, feel grateful for our fierce labor activist foremothers and forefathers.
Free recipe for all!
Chocolate Crack Iced Coffee
(We here at the Veggie Annie Research and Development Lab and Coffee Palace have a strict policy against calling delicious food “crack.” We don’t think that the disease of drug addiction is funny, or that even a glancing bit of mockery of people who struggle with it is ok. There are plenty of fun ways to say that a dish is tantalizing or alluring or hard to resist, without comparing it to a substance that can destroy people’s lives. [Actually, we even go so far as to ban the word “addictive” from our vocabularies when talking about delicious food - but we can be joyless Communists sometimes.])
This post is about a recent social media food trend of ACTUALLY CRACKING a LAYER OF CHOCOLATE encasing your iced coffee inside a cup. The chocolate shell makes a delightful sound and feel as it crackles apart, and then the experience of eating/drinking the shards of cold chocolate along with your iced coffee makes this treat a genuine moment of joy on a really, really hot afternoon!
Any drinking vessel that you can slightly crunch inward will work for this. A paper cup works fine, if you don’t have a clear compostable or disposable one, as does a disposable plastic water bottle. It’s also great for kiddos, using cold milk or plant-based milk instead of coffee. (Depending on your kiddos, they may need a guiding hand for the squeeze! It’s only practice that allows us grownups to know our own strength for a gentle squeeze that doesn’t cause an eruption of the liquid.) Also, I strongly recommend a lid, if you have one, and filling your vessel only half to two-thirds full.
This is a fine and fun activity / treat when it’s too hot to play or work outside - we recommend it as a 99 Degree Fahrenheit Family Tradition for everyone!
Chocolate Crack Iced Coffee
Makes 1 serving
1/3 cup chocolate chips or 3-4 ounces chocolate - milk, dark, whatever you like
1 cup of iced coffee, prepared however you like it
Look, all I’m saying is that lasagna is an art, not a science. (Guest post by Veggie Juliana)
Coffee Scrying this afternoon! By the end there, I saw something that was either Kilroy, a Moomin troll, or possibly a stingray.
Any idea what these things mean for my day?
See anything that I missed?
#coffee #scrying #afternoonmagic
Hello, Cooks and Cuties!
Today is Bitchless Thursday! If you don’t know me, let me explain. A decade or so ago, I started a spiritual / emotional practice of not bitching on Thursdays. I try to remain resolute all day in avoiding complaining, ingratitude and pessimism. I count my blessings, look on the sunny side, and stay alert for moments of beauty, goodness and humor. I don’t always succeed - it’s a practice, not perfection!
If I’m sorely provoked on a Thursday, I promise myself that I can curse and rage on Friday, from the minute I open my eyes, if I want to. But usually, the storm has passed by then.
Someone even added Bitchless Thursday to the Urban Dictionary! (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bitchless+Thursday)
Paradoxically, I’m ALSO waking up from a lifetime of good-girl martyrdom, and am experiencing a late-mid-life rage that seems to resonate with many 40-50-60-something women, and people raised as women, that I know. I’m actually enjoying the experience of allowing my authentic anger - and also practicing Bitchlessness once a week - at the same time. We all contain multitudes.
Anyway, I hope you can sign up for my newsletter (there are paid or free subscription tiers - obviously, paid subscriptions help me keep the lights on here, but free also contributes to the community, which I love!), cook some fabulous food, join my Bitchless Thursday Movement, and stay tuned for fun and deliciousness.
For free subscribers, this issue of Skillet has a FANTASTIC Cabbage Slaw with Grapes and Walnuts, which is much greater than the sum of its parts. A super punchy dressing and a ton of wonderful texture. You won’t want to miss making this one!
Paid subscribers get a lovely recipe for Edamame Avocado Spread, which is delightfully Grinch-green, packed with plants, and makes for a great higher-protein avocado toast - and is equally lovely as a dip with some crunchy tortilla chips, or topping roasted sweet potatoes. Plus a no
A Dramatic Presentation in One Act, featuring Cheese Quesadillas#eclipse #totaleclipseoftheheart #dramaticmoments #dinnerandashow #veggieannie Juliana Lufkin and Annie Marshall on vocals
Today’s Best Favorite Salad! Columella Salad; an Ancient Roman recipe for a fantastic cheese salad. Paid subscribers, look for it in the upcoming edition of Veggie Annie’s Skillet (link to subscribe in bio!)
Morning Coffee on the porch with Veggie Annie on the first workday of October. ☕️ ❤️
Planning the next few weeks of Veggie Annie’s Skillet - my new recipe newsletter subscription! Link to subscribe in bio.
Thanks to McSweeney's for my favorite fall mug. 🎃
Honey Almond Latte with Penzeys Spices’ Ceylon Cinnamon - honey from Hays Apiary (local honey!) and coffee from the fabulous Dublin Roasters Coffee, locally roasted in my hometown!
