bairnsidhe

 So I've been struggling with an unacceptably disordered relationship with food lately, and the therapeutic dietitian I see has me looking at the basic building blocks of food, so that I can realign to the reality that food is fuel.  That means eating some protein, carbs, and fat at each meal, and figuring out ways to get the servings I need without panicking over society's scare tactics about trace this or refined that.  Mostly my resulting meals have been simple to the level of rustic, and I'm actually discovering I do much better purposely eating like a very well off Medieval peasant, or one of the burgeoning middle class of Chaucer's time.  All of these recipes are vetted as good for you by the material given me by my therapist, and all of them are tasty as vetted by me.


SHEPARD'S NIBBLES

This is the dish I make for snacking and breakfast (I hate breakfast, I'm not awake enough to enjoy food, so it becomes rote hand-to-mouth and that's not fun.)  I serve it in a wooden bowl, but a muslin napkin turned bindle works for transporting it to wherever you need a handy snack.  It's hard to over eat this, so have fun and feel free to snackify it!

Ingredients:
Two of any of this list:
1/6 of a 12oz summer sausage (aiming for 4oz if you have to divide a larger stick)
7 pre-cut cheddar cheese cubes 
1 hard boiled egg

One of any of this list:
7 dried apricots
1 sliced apple
1 slice good whole wheat bread

Directions:
Cut sausage or egg (if desired) into chunks.  Put all ingredients into wooden bowl or cloth.  Pretend that you are a hardworking but thankful peasant who is saving just enough money with your successful tax scam to afford such fine foods.  Pairs well with juices, milk, or ice cold water.

GOODIE WEBB'S PROTEIN PARRIDGE

Oatmeal is hearty, filling, and comforting. This oatmeal is also packed with protein and reminds me of days working at a historical reenactment site meant to evoke 1850's Missouri.  It's one of the only ones that's brand specific, but all the ingredients can be bought at your local HyVee.

Ingredients:
1 pouch Better Oats brand 10g Protein oatmeal
1 cup Fair Life Milk
3 tablespoons honey roasted peanuts (or preferred legume)
1 tablespoon butter
Cinnamon and honey sparingly

Directions:
Tear open oat pouch and dump contents into a largish microwave safe bowl (you can also use the stove directions, but I'm not that dedicated to the historical aspects of this diet).  Fill to wavy line with milk (you will have some left over if you premeasure your milk.  The bag has the right measurements, but if you want to use a cup it's 2/3 cup) and empty into the bowl, stirring.  Add nuts and let sit a few minutes, then place in microwave for 2 minutes, 15 seconds.  Remove carefully, it's going to be hot and the milk may have frothed up.  Stir again, add butter, the remaining milk, and the cinnamon or honey you desire.  Eat sitting by the window thinking of this year's harvest and the extra socks the hunters will need for the winter.  Pairs well with hot mint tea.

"AT LEAST WE'RE NOT BRITISH" POTATOES AND SAUSAGE IN HERB BUTTER

This one is a bit more intensive in cooking, but it's lovely and filling and touches a place in my rebel Scots soul.  I've just started making it after a fantastic find at an Aldis (one pound of beautiful one bite potatoes in three colors for under $2) and I quite like it.  The sausage I use is actually Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage links, but any sausage you prefer will work.

Ingredients:
1 handful mini potatoes
4 links of breakfast sausage
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Italian herb mix (or preferred herb mix)

Directions:
Put potatoes in a small pot, cover with water, and set to boil.  In a pan, cook sausage till done.  Once the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (Do Not overcook, the starches break down fast, you'll need to poke fairly often to ensure they don't go mushy) drain them and put them in a bowl.  Remove sausage from pan and place over potatoes.  Add butter and garlic to sausage pan, stir until melted.  Pour butter mix over the sausages and potatoes, then sprinkle herb mix over top.  Salt may be added, but it's not necessary.  Black pepper might be, depending on personal preference.  Eat hunched over grumbling about your boss and the filthy rich and fantasizing about joining that band down in Sherwood.  Pairs well with ciders and ginger beers.

 So my local Maker Space had to move (noise and smell complaints from neighbors, lack of parking, it needed to happen) and their new space is AMAZING.

For starters, the parking space is huge.  The space is on something like 3 acres of land, I think.  There's an open parking area and one that's got a lockable fence, so those of us who need to leave large projects in the lot overnight don't need to worry about random theft anymore, so score!

The building itself has a large, well-vented garage and two forges, one charcoal and one gas (I'm planning a project to build a smaller, separate forge for greensmithing to avoid pennying the bigger forges).  Then inside a little ways is a fabrication room with loads of space for messy projects and a giant laser cutter for big projects.

Up the stairs is a set of clean, well lit rooms for indoor projects, including a designated sewing lab, a kids-space, and an electronics room.  There's also a big central room with tables and stools for communal knowledge-shares and group work.  I cannot stress how amazing it is to have a big CLEAN space for crafting in a maker space.  We're not always going to be doing things with grease and Spackle and fire and metal.  I mean, we will often, but sometimes we'll be doing things that need some delicacy and it's good to have a place with no half-tacky stains of dubious origin to work around.

Then, in the basement is the store.  It's a treasure trove of all those things you'll need a few of eventually, but who wants to run to the hardware shop to buy a box of nails you'll only use two of?  It's big, well-lit, and when we went there, had kids with pet rats hanging out and I got to hold them.  Rats are adorable and I love them.

Maker spaces are amazing and important and if you can support one near you, I recommend it.