Wilburton Inn- Manchester, VT

Before I start this post, I just want to mention that I have no idea where my camera is and that is why there are no pictures and have been no pictures for some time. I'm sure it's mixed in with my stuff somewhere, but I haven't had the time or patience to look for it.

There have been a mass of birthdays recently, which gave me many reasons to bake yummy cakes (Recipes at the end of the post. No, don't scroll down, just read the damn post first. Lazy). Elyssa's birthday was first so Dresden and I made her some of those amazing six-minutes cakes that everyone is so fond of. It's a bonus that they're vegan and there happen to be so many vegans in the house right now. We surprised her with them by sneaking them into the dining room, but she had somehow snuck out and there was a moment of confusion where, instead of the cake coming in unannounced and everyone singing, the cake came in and she followed after. She was surprised and pleased anyway, despite the mix-up.

Bonnie's birthday was two days after. I asked her what kind of cake she wanted and she said that she had been so fond of the six-minute cake she kind of wanted that, and she kind of wanted apple pie, but the conversation never came to a conclusion. As a compromise I made her an apple cake and a six-minute cake. The apple cake was not vegan, but I substituted the butter for applesauce and oil, so the only non-vegan thing in it were the eggs, which come from the farm anyway, so the vegans among us were willing to have a little. Everyone seemed to like it, but I thought there was not enough apple and a little too much lemon. If it were my cookbook I would have noted this in the recipe. Instead I'll just post here how I would make it now, were I to make it again.

To celebrate Bonnie's birthday we went for a picnic at Emerald Lake. She requested that she not be involved in putting the event together, so Mike and I made some food, but severely underestimated the amount of food we would need, so the portions were small. Not to worry, I never make too little cake so those portions were just fine. Bonnie's friend Terry also showed up with amazing peanut butter banana vegan cupcakes. Oliver and Max also stopped off and picked u some snacks and food from the Inn, so no one went hungry. There was kayaking, paddle-boating and plenty of relaxation (except that the plates kept blowing away, because we never really learned our lesson. Maybe people just enjoy chasing paper plates). In all, the day was a success, especially when Bonnie saw that we had made her a kitchen herb garden (pictures coming soon). We even put a bench out there in the hopes that she would b able to sit by her garden while watching her kids play in the sandbox with a trashy magazine in her hand. JUST KIDDING! Bonnie doesn't read trashy magazines. In public.

The last birthday to be celebrated was Nathaniel's. He didn't want a cake, so I took the opportunity to make something I had been really curious about. I had found a gluten-free, vegan cake online a while ago and because of it's odd ingredients I was intrigued and made a little nervous by it. It's a chocolate cake with black-eyed peas as it's base. One of our vegan WWOOFers is also gluten-free so she hadn't been partaking in birthday cakes, which gave me one more reason to attempt this crazy cake. As I was putting it together I was feeling skeptical, especially because of the one-hour baking time. It turned out AMAZING in the end and the only thing I tweaked about it was that I added a bit more sugar and possibly more chocolate (didn't really bother to measure that). The nice thing about a cake like this is that you can really play with the stuff in it, because there is no delicate balance of liquids and powders, it's pretty much just a solid mush base. Anyway, the ingredients are a little pricey, but well worth it. It's easy to make, and so delicious. The texture is wonderful as well; kind of somewhere between pudding a cake. Just trust me and make the damn thing.

A note about the recipes. These are all vegan, or easily made vegan. When using chocolate, be sure to check ingredients as many seemingly dark chocolate chips contain milk fat. If you intend to keep the cakes vegan, you'll want to be careful about this.

Gluten-free chocolate cake
Original recipe here
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas
14 oz extra-firm tofu
1 cup sugar (my adjusted amount, up from 3/4)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more, whatever)
1/4 cup coco powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

Toss both the black-eyed peas and the tofu into your food processor or blender, and let it run until the mixture is completely smooth. Give it a good long time to work, since it would be rather unpleasant to find any whole beans in your cake. Add in the sugar and pulse to combine.

Separately, melt the chocolate and stir well until smooth before adding into the food processor, and then let it run for a minute until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides to make sure you aren’t missing anything, and give it another minute to process. Finally, add the cocoa,baking powder, soda, and salt, and pulse to combine.

Spread the mixture into your prepared pan, leveling off the top with your spatula as best you can. Bake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. I know that’s a bit vague, but it will still be ever so slightly wet since it’s such a moist cake- Just make sure it doesn’t look like it’s covered in raw batter. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving.


The following recipes are from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts:

Six minute cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup coco powder (or more, whatever)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup veggie oil (or 1/4 oil, 1/4 applesauce, or all applesauce, it's really up to you. I like it with more applesauce and less oil. Creamier)
1 cup cold water or coffee (I have never tried it with coffee, because I don't like coffee, but I bet it would be good to those who love it)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

The awesome thing about this recipe is that you don't need to create a ton of dirty dishes with it. You can mix everything right up in the pan. I have not tried this because I a, always making massive quantities and also layering the cakes. If you want to stack the cakes and put a layer of jam between them (I highly recommend this), you'll need to put a layer of parchment paper down in the pan, as these cakes stick no matter what you do. If you do this, mixing in the pan is pretty impossible.

Mix together flour, coco, baking soda, salt and sugar directly into cake pan. In your measuring cup combine oil, applesauce, water, and vanilla. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix with a fork until smooth. Add in the vinegar and mix quickly, it will start to bubble and react, but mix until just incorporated.

Bake for 25- 30 minutes and let cool. If you go the jam route, dump the cooled cake out of the pan and spread jam on the flatter side of one. Put the other cake on top, flat side down (get it? flat sides go together better). Rock out with your cake.

If you want an east yummy frosting:
melt a half pound of chocolate, stir in 3/4 cup hot water and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Pour over cooled cake and then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then rock out with your cake.

Apple cake
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used turbinado, but brown might be better)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs (or 1 well mashed banana, haven't tried this, but I bet it would be tasty)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups peeled and chopped apples
1 tbl lemon juice

preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 inch square pan

Combine applesauce, oil and sugar, beating until well combined by hand or with a mixer. Whatever. Add vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time, or banana a little at a time. combine four, baking powder, soda and salt. fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture- the batter will be stiff. fold in chopped apples and lemon juice.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until cake is golden and knife comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temp.

THEN ROCK OUT WITH YOUR CAKES

Outside Burlington, VT

Last night was such a wonderful night. This weekend the house was rented out, so everyone moved to the big white house except for The Logger and I, who stayed in Bonnie and Oliver's apartment. I headed over to the big white for dinner last night and everyone was sitting in the living room playing guitar and singing. I started to think about how lucky I am to be in a place with so many wonderful and interesting people. I have already been feeling this way or a long time, but last night I was really feeling it. It was surreal to be in such a wonderful place full of so much love. Everyday is a new confirmation that I made the right choice by leaving the life I used to have.

Dresden, Kelly, Elyssa and I went to Burlington for the day today. The drive up here was so amazing. I have to get out of Manchester to be reminded of just how beautiful Vermont is. This place is so different from everywhere else I have ever been. I guess I haven't spent much time in small towns, but I love them so much. I was so excited to see Burlington, because I had never been there before. I found myself a little disappointed. It looks just like Boulder. It's such an engineered city, planned to look the way it does and attract the kind of people who live there. I like it just fine, but I wouldn't want to live here. I've always known that I prefer to be in a huge city or a tiny town. Medium sized cities give me trouble. However, I had a great time, especially sitting out in the park being surrounded by so many people. I forget about the rest of the world when I am at Teleion.

I'm looking forward to going over to Dorset for the summer, but I'm not super-excited to be leaving my wonderful Teleion house-mates (or my private bathroom). The kinds of stresses I will have will be completely different. At Teleion I worry about the plants being too overgrown before getting transplanted, and I worry about cucumber beetles. The theatre is such a rush to get many complicated things done in such a short amount of time. There are weeks of relaxation, followed by a sleepless week of changeover. I'm glad to have a world separate from the theatre to escape to.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

OK, this post has been sitting open on my computer for a week now and I haven't put it up. I can't deal with myself. Sorry I'm so lame.

I have some fun things to talk about, including bike rides and food (of course). Yesterday Dresden asked me if I was up for a bike ride, and Kelly and Elyssa were into it as well as myself. Guv was standing there while we talked about it so he of course wanted to come. The only problem with that is that his little bike is not so safe to be taking out on the street. There's this crazy bike attachment that can be put onto another bike that would allow him to ride beind as a kind of trailer. It basically adds another person and another wheel to the bike. There were several obstacles involved in this: The bike it attaches to is too tall for me, so riding it is possible, but stopping is tricky and impossible with Guv on the back without someone to hold the bike up. Guv also has no sense of balance on a bike, so when he peddles he shifts his weight wildly. We got around this by agreeing that Guv should only peddle when we were going up a hill. The last problem, and most obvious one is that pulling Guv up a hill on the bike is freaking hard. We only did three really tough hills, but by the last one I was sure I was going to die. The up side of all of this is that when we were on straight road, or going downhill having Guv on there was no problem at all and he was great biking company. I'm glad he came along, it was fun to have him back there there whole time and made the ride so much more interesting.

Today was a potato day at Theo's. However, before we could head over a number of confusing things had to happen. Guv had to get to school, the white van needed to be loaded up, Oliver needed to do tractor work at the big white and then drive it over to Theo's and someone needed to pick up lime from the Big White. Bonnie couldn't take Guv though because Oliver had driven the minivan to the big white and all of the kid's car seats were in there. Dresden and I offered to take him in the Jeep, then swing by the big white and pick up the lime and the minivan while everyone else took the white van to Theo's and Oliver would drive over with the tractor and meet us there. This seemed to be a great plan, until Dresden and I passed the white van in town. Everyone was sitting on the curb and the van was parked. They had run out of gas and Mike and Elyssa had hitched a ride to the gas station. Dresden and I still needed to get the lime and the minivan and head back to Teleion before going to Theo's, so we said we'd look for them on the way back, as they seemed rather content. Things took a little longer than planned and by the time we got back to where they had been, they were gone. Turns out that The Logger saw Mike walking back and picked him up. Problem solved. On to Theo's.

We spent some of the morning and all of the afternoon there planting our own potatoes and helping him plant his. It's amazing how much can get done in a short time, with a good group of focused and willing people. We planted about ten beds of potatoes, which was close to 500 lbs. A good potato yeild will give us 10 lbs for every one lb, but we will probably get closer to 5-7 lbs per 1 lb, which is still a lot of freaking potatoes. Oliver used his tractor to make the furrows that we plant to potatoes in, and in order for the thing to work properly two people need to stand on it. I really wanted to get a picture of it, but before I could get my camera out, Theo's brother declared the activity unsafe and put a stop to it. Boo.

After many, many hours of working, Theo took us all over to his neighbor's pond for swimming. Bonnie came with the kids and some bathing suits. Talula did not like the cold water, but I couldn't get enough. I kind of wanted to swim all the way across, but the water was so cold it was hard to breath, so I stayed close to the shore. I wanted to bake in the sun a little (or allow my clothes to bake, as I was wearing about ten layers of sunscreen by that point), but Theo's brother again ended our party and told us it was time to go.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

I've been slowing down on the blogging, but not because there isn't anything to say. In fact, I have too much to say. We've been so busy planting, cooking, welcoming new people, getting the soil ready, and cleaning up neglected areas. A few new WWOOFers have come and things have been getting done so quickly. It's wonderful to have so much activity in the house and the fields. I especially like looking up from whatever I'm working on and reminding myself that while I'm working on this one project, someone else is getting something else done. A few weeks ago if Elyssa and I weren't doing it, it wasn't getting done yet.

The newest WWOOFers are Nathaniel, The Poets (Sara Rose and Mike), Dresden, and Kelly. They came almost all at the same time, but spread out enough for people to get a general feel of things before new people arrived. It's great that everyone is so positive and willing to work. The whole vibe of the house has changed drastically with so many people buzzing around doing their thing. Sarah Rose and Dresden are both vegan so my desire to lay off dairy has become much easier as there is always vegan food available. Our pizza nights might turn into make-your-own-pizza nights, instead of ordering from Christo's.

The food projects have become rather interesting. I attempted to make rice milk twice, the second time worked out better than the first, though house consensus was that both were good substitutes for store bought, and were obviously cheaper. Oliver made soy milk yesterday and the okara byproduct is always an invitation for creative cooking. Okara is is a tasteless, dry-ish substance that makes a great filler with enough flavoring. Kelly and I worked on making "chicken" nuggets this morning. We made three different kinds: Curry-mustard, carrot-ginger, and tomato-basil. Kelly is wanting to expand her cooking knowledge so cooking by just tasting and throwing things in was a great way to spend the morning. After lunch we threw together some quick sauces and will have ourselves an okara feast for dinner. To make into more of a comfort food night there will be french fries (baked, actually) and sweet corn (off the cob).

Kelly and I went for a quick bike ride before heading back to Teleion to start prepping potatoes for planting, setting aside a few for french fries with dinner. It was a nice, short little ride and I'm glad that the new WWOOFers are so interested in outdoor activities. We even cut the potatoes outside because it was such a nice day. The black flies have become annoying, but not enough to actually keep a person inside. I have been chased inside a few times by allergies though.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

OK, OK, Let's talk about the farm. Where did I leave off? After that crazy week of hot, summery weather Southern Vermont went back to Spring. It's been doing it's fair share of raining and it's not cold, but having jacket ready is a good idea.

We're a little more than half way through the tomato planting process. One greenhouse is done and Elyssa and I started the other one yesterday. The greenhouse we use to start the plants was so full of tomatoes it was hard to find room for new things. It's nice to get them out of there and into the ground where they belong.


The tomatoes make the back of the van look like a jungle

I'm going to try and remember my camera today to make some photos of the finished greenhouses. The smaller greenhouse has really wonderful beds in it. We put down the mud we got from the bottom of the pond, covered it with peat moss, mixed in some lime and chicken poop and then went over all of it with the tiller. What we ended up with was a fluffy raised bed that is so easy to plant in that we don't need a shovel. The tomatoes were into it.

We've got three new WWOOFers coming this weekend. One today and two more on Sunday. Elyssa, Oliver and I have been working crazy-long days to get all of this stuff done; it will be such a relief to have three more helpers. We spent some time getting more organized so that it would be easier for the three of them to get quickly into the swing of things.

Bonnie and I took all of Wednesday to clean out the basement, clean out two supply closets, get those supplies together to put in the closets, and we made up the new WWOOFer rooms. I love the basement right now. I've been harassing Elyssa to go down there and look at it while it's still clean. We got rid of most of the stuff that was junking it up, but I suspect that more junk will make its way down there and the cleanliness won't last. But maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong.


A bag of overgrown potatoes we found while cleaning. At first glance we both thought they were a bag of white sticks.

One thing I'm very excited about is that there will be three more people to split up the letting out of the chickens at 5:30AM. I know everyone thinks that we get up at start work at 5AM everyday because it's a farm, and maybe that's what other farmers do, but we don't. I think the veggies like to have the early morning hours to themselves anyway. Anything earlier than 6AM is just mean and those chickens are the meanest.

Some cool news:
Solving the problem of "Range Anxiety" in electric cars
Europe pisses off Canada

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

Winter ended so abruptly. I felt like it dragged on, fighting all through March to stick around, and then suddenly, it was gone. Yesterday actually felt like we skipped Spring as well. It was sunny and hot, and The Logger managed to get a sunburn. I conducted my favorite Vermont activity of laying in the grass for a good portion of the day.

I went out early to hit up a rummage sale at the Dorset Church. I took Nisi with me and she was a huge hit with the old ladies. It's so funny that so many of them just loved her. She's not a little lap dog (common to Dorset), and she wasn't doing anything particularly cute. She was pulling at the leash, as usual, because she's not really used to a leash being a free-roaming farm dog. She was not letting me take my time looking through books. However, I was glad to let the old ladies coo over her because it kept her occupied while I browsed. I finally found the ultimate rummage sale score: Cranium, with all the pieces, pretty much new for $2. This is so coming to Dorset this summer. I love that game. Sadly the clay is dried out, but this is easily replaced.

I got back in time for Talula's birthday picnic. She is 2 years old as of yesterday, which she celebrated by finally saying "Guv," quite clearly. Talking is great, but I love to hear kids pick up names especially. It just kind of makes me happy. We had a fun picnic with bubbles and balls and yummy food and good friends. The kids loved it. I took many pictures with Bonnie and Oliver's camera. None are going up on this blog today because both mine, and their camera is downstairs. Oops.

I took a quick break from the fun to go buy some darning materials from the local yarn shop that I had been wanting to check out. I found some really cool stuff made entirely from bamboo. It was ultra-soft and beautiful and a decent price, but it was hand-wash only, so it wouldn't be a good thing to patch socks with. Both Elyssa and Oliver want me to show them how to darn, which I think is a fun and thrifty thing to know, so I'm more than happy to show them.

We went for a dip in the freezing stream in the afternoon. Well, Max and Guv took a dip; Bonnie, Talula and I put our feet in. Good, clear, running water beats a pool any day. You come out feeling clean and refreshed instead of stinking of chlorine and wanting to get into the nearest shower. Or maybe I'm backwards compared to most people.

Today is another nice day, though thunderstorms are expected this afternoon. It's good for the plants, so rain wouldn't actually ruin the nice-ness of the day. Hail might. By the way, has anyone ever heard of a Hail Cannon? Yeah, me neither.

Link-ity Link:
Sticking up for the little guys: Rats

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

Lots of excitement on the farm. The ground is thawed and it's been so warm out, so we're finally getting the beds at the Big White House ready for plants. Oliver is also planning to use a little more land this season and he ran the plow through it to get it ready. It was full of huge boulders that the tractor couldn't move so he rented an excavator. The Logger is pretty masterful at large pieces of machinery so he moved most of the boulders, and stacked them up at rock sculptures in the process. He wasn't very into the idea of Elyssa and I using the excavator, so I asked Oliver instead and he was excited about it.


Elyssa in the excavator. My camera didn't happen until after I had taken my turn.

The excavator is completely complicated to me. There are two joysticks that control all of the claw movements and the swivel of the machine. It's hard to remember what does what and some mountains of mud were definitely dropped from high up, resulting in mud baths for all. The goal of this operation was to take this muck out of the pond and make a big pile for it to dry out a bit. Then Oliver wants to mix it with other composty-chicken-poopy stuff and make some super-compost to put in the beds.


Max took a turn


This dog, who belongs to a neighbor, was very curious about the claw of the excavator.

Then we went out to the beds to till them and get them ready for planting. Oliver went through with the tractor while Elyssa and I picked up the big rocks in the beds. I do not know how to drive a tractor, but I will. If only so I can look this cool:


Tillin' like a villan, yo.

Plus this fun link:
Abundance Not Deprivation - Lose Weight by Eating More

Penn Station - New York, NY

What a trip. I'm so tired I can't focus on my free trashy newspaper. There's no internet in Penn Station, which makes me sad. I haven't had much internet the past few days, so these posts are going up later than when they were written. Oh well.

My train doesn't leave for two hours, but I had to come into Manhattan early to load our rental lights onto a truck to be returned and no one else could really make it without a huge hassle. I guess it's better that I didn't end up going back last night. All the the train ticket prices have gone up so I can't transfer to an earlier train without paying extra money, thus I wait. I haven't spent any money here besides the $7 I spent on a Metrocard.

Last night we were finishing up strike at 8pm, and it looked like we'd be leaving pretty soon. Strike had gone well and we got things done pretty quickly. I called Ceora to tell her I would be staying another night and that I'd probably be leaving in a half hour. Then we all went up to storage to put all of the Keen crap away and realized there wasn't really any room. It ended up taking an hour to get everything away and organized in there. I got on the train at 9pm and I was exhausted. When I got off the train, my feet were killing me and I kept telling myself that I would be there very soon, at which point I would take off my shoes, make dinner and sit on my ass for at least an hour. However, when I got there, no one was home and I couldn't get in. I called Ceora and she said they were in the pita place right next to the train station. It's only 4 blocks to the train, but I swear I almost cried. I didn't want to lug myself and my stuff back where I just came from and I didn't want to buy any food, but I was wicked-hungry.

I left some of my stuff just inside the entryway and went over tot he pita place. Part of me wanted to call her back and tell her I was just going to sit on the front steps and wait, but I knew that I was just being a whiner. When I got there Marcy ended up giving me the rest of her food because she had ordered something massive. So I felt a little better once I was sitting for a few minutes and munching on falafel. Yay for Marcy always ordering more food than she can eat! Then The Logger called, which I had also been pouting about. I had not been able to get through to Teleion all evening and it had gotten too late to try calling again. Turns out the phone was off the hook, so he called me from Oliver's cell.

The theatre was full of pompous musical theatre people this morning, complaining about not being able to get into the theatre before 9:30. I admit that I also got there early, but that was because I wanted to take the train in with Iggy, I didn't expect that they would let me in early. So I hung out and used their free internet for half an hour (yeah didn't fel like getting on blogger, whatever). Keith kind of got a little upset and over-reacted about my being there so early, but I told him that I was happy to wait and that my train had taken less time than I expected. But these freaking musical theatre people were going on about their reading and their Tony Award Winner (apparently he has no name), who would have to come through the back doors. Then the truck driver arrived and didn't know he was supposed to be picking up my lights. And also he's a little high-strung and started ranting about the musical theatre people. But he helped me get everything onto the truck quickly and without hassle, so rant away Hayden truck driver, chances are I agree with you anyway, I'm just not in the talking mood this morning.

So now I'm finally going back to Vermont after the longest one-day trip ever. I love my job, but coming here for a single day just to work and go back is a shock to my system. I have to switch gears so quickly I feel like I've been hit in the head with a book. When I have a few days here I just get into NY mode and I don't feel so sulky. Also, I did not go to Dumpling Man on this trip. Boo.

Amtrak train - Somewhere between Albany and NYC

I'm doing this ridiculous one day trip to NYC to strike Heroes (if you didn't see it, you totally blew it because that show was awesome). I'm hoping that strike ends soon enough for me to leave tomorrow night, because I am, yet again, being a big baby about leaving Vermont. It's funny because I used to be this way about New York. It was always home to me, even when I wasn't living there. Whenever I left I felt really sad about and going back was the best thing ever. Now it just seems like a hassle. I hope my feeling for Vermont don't change like they did for New York.

I talked to my friend Jess on the phone today. She works in Dorset over the summer as well and said she couldn't wait to get back because the city starts to make her feel claustrophobic. I told her that the big difference for me is that in NY I am thinking and worrying about myself all the time; How will I get there? Who is going to harass me? Is that guy gonna try and steal my bag if I fall asleep? Will the train be late? Is that pee that I just stepped in while wearing flip-flops? In Vermont, I don't worry about myself. I'm fine, I'm healthy even when I'm sick, I'm never stuck in traffic and if I step in poop I've planned for it. It's one very huge stress that I no longer have: myself. Even if I don't know what I'm doing with my life after Dorset, I do know that I'll be safe and healthy. I won't be stuck in a terrible situation involving bed bugs and an opera singer, or staying in an apartment long after roommate relations have gone sour because I can't afford to find another place. If I disagree with the people I live with here, it's nothing serious and I don't think we let it carry over to the next day, or even the next hour. With so much space, it's easy to step away from the tension. I think that makes living with anyone easier.


Wonderful Link for today:
Really great and easy tips for healthy eating (no, really, I think you should check this out)

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

Last night started Passover. I admit I did a little Wikipedia research on Passover a few weeks ago just so I had some idea of what was going on. I liked having a reason to give the kitchen a thorough cleaning and Oliver made the stove look new. I bought all of the suspect foods for $1. The dinner was super-yummy: Spinach-eggy-lasagna-type thing (with matzo as the noodle layers), roasted potatoes, carrot salad, fresh horseradish from the garden, salad, and an apple-salad called haroset.

I really enjoyed Passover, and I think the Jewish holidays as a whole have been so much more fun than the Holidays I'm used to with my family. There's a good chance that this is because holidays in my family are just a good excuse to get together with family and friends and have a huge homemade Italian meal. Religion never had a place in my home. My parents never talked about God or their beliefs and I never really asked. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've been to church. This is all fine with me, as I find church boring. I remember my neighbors used to put a candle in a cupcake on Christmas and sing happy birthday to Jesus. This weirded me out and I've never seen or heard of anyone else doing this.

The thing is, I think Christian rituals are kind of meaningless. Most of the big holidays are not even accurate in their timing; they were timed to coincide with Pagan holidays to sort of over-ride them. You can't have a fertility celebration that leads to an orgy on the day Christ came back to life, that's just not right. And what the hell do chocolate, egg-laying bunnies have to do with Christianity anyway?

OK, these points have all been made before by other people, in more eloquent or fiery ways. So what is my point? My point is that I respect that the Jewish holidays do their own thing, as far as I can tell. They have stories and reasons behind everything. I may not really understand the point of having an entire set of dishes that you only use once a year because you don't want trace amounts of chametz on the plates, but at least I can understand the story and symbolism behind it. I understand the historical significance of it, even if the logic side of my brain is making an argument that sounds more and more like my mother every day.

I think, by far, my favorite part of the day was actually the cooking. Specifically the macaroons. Both Guv and Talula stood on stools to watch/help me make them. We had to separate 12 egg whites for the macaroons and I was showing Guv how to do this by moving the yolk carefully from one half of the eggshell to the other. I cracked an egg and gave him the halves and let him try it once. We were doing this over a separate bowl to be sure that no yolk got into the batter and also to make sure there were not blood spots in the eggs, which sometimes happens, even though the eggs are not fertile. Talula always wants to do what Guv does, so she wanted to try separating the egg whites as well. I cracked an egg and gave her half and then dropped the yolk from my half to hers. She got very excited and threw the yolk into the batter. Luckily it didn't break, so I just scooped it out, but Guv and I thought this was rather funny and whenever anyone else laughs Talula does too.


Do these boots make me look fat?

Links of interest:
12 Endangered Animals That People Still Eat
Gay Rights Groups Celebrate Victories in Marriage Push

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

What a fun day we had a few days ago! We decided to clean up the weeds in the big greenhouse that had our salad all winter. As the weather has warmed up the weeds kind of took over a bit and the salad got a little overgrown. Bonnie and Talula even came to help out and the chickens did their part. Guv was at daycare, so he missed all the fun, and Eden slept through most of it.



The plan was to pick out most of the weeds, move the chickens in there for a few days to let them get the rest of the salad and weeds and bugs, and then move the chickens out to Teleion Holon for the summer. The weeding went pretty quickly with so many people.


Helping Daddy

The chickens were not so interested in moving into the big greenhouse, they just wanted to eat and run. Right now half of them have moved in and the other half are staying in the smaller greenhouse that has been their home all winter and become very muddy. We leave the door open during the day so that if they want food and water, or if they want to go into the other greenhouse where food and water have been provided without having to search for it, they can do that. At night we close the houses up as best we can.



The salad greenhouse looks great with all the weeds pulled out and the chickens doing their thing. We even fixed the greenhouse sides so that the wind wasn't blowing them all apart and wreaking havoc. I'm so excited to move the chickens out, clean up, and start planting!


I got one, but it's gross. What do I do with it?

I also want to point out that I've updated my links section, as promised. I am also going to try and end each post with a link or article, or something I find noteworthy. For today, I'll kick this thing off with two links:
Are the lab rat's days numbered?
Iowa Court Voids Gay Marriage Ban

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

I've got to go to New York in a few days. For one day. I really, really don't want to. It's just a big stress and I'm only losing money. Basically, my pay for being the Master Electrician for the show I put up also included the day to take it all down. This means I have to spend another $72 to travel back to NY to work for one day, on a job I was already paid for and then travel back to VT. I'm a little grumpy. And I'm taking my food with me, because I am determined to spend no money except for subway rides. Even if that means not eating a meal or five.

Today we're going to visit Jay's land out in Jamaica. I'll try to take pictures. I will leave you with these pictures that Bonnie took. Don't even act like these aren't the cutest kids you've ever seen in a greenhouse.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

I made a chocolate cake tonight. Basically because I needed it. Elyssa and I have talked about the fact that plants should grow in chocolate cake batter. This may or may not be because of this:



My batter did not look quite like that. But I bet it tasted better.


Anyway I got the recipe from Hello Veggie, but I made a few small changes. These changes are in no way enough for me to take any credit for this yummy cake. So thank you Jenn at Hello Veggie for making my night.

1 cup soy milk + 1 T apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 unbleached white flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup softened (not melted)non-dairy non-hydrogenated butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raw sugar
2 T maple syrup

Preheat Oven to 325º. Add the vinegar to the soy milk and set aside to curdle. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and sift if needed. In a medium bowl combine butter with sugar, maple syrup and extracts. Then cream these ingredients until smooth and add the milk. Next add the dry mixture and stir together until a smooth batter forms.

Grease your cake pan well and fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in center. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. If it's got batter stuck to it, continue baking for 5 minute intervals until done. Allow cake to cook in the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

After a few days of staying in bed, I'm feeling much better. Most people, after being sick for a while, eventually get over it and feel better and go on with their lives. Well, I apparently don't do that. On the day I was finally feeling better I got a canker sore just so my body could prove how much it hates me. I don't mean to be a big baby about this, we've all had canker sores, they hurt a little and then they go away, no big deal. This one keep getting caught on my tooth, but I'm trying to ignore it. The thing that bothers me the most is that after a month of being ill, I really just wanted to be better. Well now I can't sleep so well on my left side. Bonnie gave me some clove essential oil, which is pretty amazing. As soon as you put it on you can't feel the sore anymore. It lasts for a long enough time as well. I haven't been using it lately because it doesn't really hurt so much anymore and I had a feeling it was making my cut angrier.

Enough of that. I finally ventured out into the greenhouse a few days ago to see what I had been missing. I took a bunch of wonderful pictures of wonderful growing things. The cucumbers in particular make me happy. They grew so fast and they look so cheery and happy. I also moved my sprouted eggplants to bigger soil blocks yesterday. It's so great to finally be planting after months of winter and trying to find ways to stay busy. I've been living on a farm for 6 months and I haven't done much growing and planting.

Last night we had a little house meeting where we talked about what needs to get done this week. We started off the meeting by saying what kind of machine we felt like (I felt like a soil blocker, but then later reconsidered and decided I felt more like bellows because I'm coughing so much), and then we talked about our favorite and least favorite things we've done since getting here. I mentioned the fact that we are growing things now and the incident with the moldy hay.

This week looks pretty good. More planting and transplanting. Some people who want to help Bonnie and Oliver buy a farm are coming by on Tuesday so we've been cleaning up a bit for them. On Wednesday we're going to visit Jay's property in Jamaica (yes, Jamaica is in Vermont). And then more and more planting.

I had some pictures to put up, but I can't seem to find my camera at the moment, which is odd. I'll look around for it tonight and maybe add some pictures later.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

I don't have much to say about the farm today. I'm still sick and I've spent most of the last three days in bed. I know there are things happening, but sadly I am not really part of them. I'm glad that we got two more WWOOFers when we did because I am being utterly useless right now. I can't wait to get back out to the greenhouse.

I have spent a lot of time catching up on Vegan Radio episodes and also reading articles that fellow twitterers send out. Someone posted this one, which I found pleasing. The only thing lacking from that article is the wrap-up sentence of: JOIN A CSA. I've also been looking at lots of food blogs recently and I want to update my links section. There is a lot of really good information out there and anytime someone can compile a useful list is great. I'm not really doing anything better with my time, so I'll be working on that today.

Oh, I almost forgot. Last night our friend Jay brought his dog Kira over to spend the night here. I never really caught why, but I assume he had to go somewhere and couldn't bring her. Nisi freaked out and harassed her for a long time, while she mostly just tried to mind her own business. I guess after a few hours of Nisi's harassment Kira finally snapped and the two have been barking at each other non-stop. They slept inside in different rooms, so we had a quiet night, but they have been at it all day again. They don't really do any serious scuffling unless they end up on the porch where the food is and the space is small. I've heard Oliver go out there twice and yell at them. I think it's good to see a dog stand up to Nisi, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. Nisi is so used to being growly and vicious sounding to other dogs and they end up backing down, so she never stops. At least this dog doesn't seem to be putting up with her, or hurting her, so it could be a good thing. They teamed up for barking at the garbage man, so maybe they're friends now.

Oliver came in here and brought me a mysterious orange drink and told me that it would make me better. I believe he called it switchel? It kind of looks like orange juice and honey, plus I trust Oliver so I took a sip. NEVER TRUST SOMEONE WHO WON'T TELL YOU WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE GIVING YOU. Garlic, ginger, honey and lemon juice. Oh my god, that is spicy! But he claims it will make me better and I keep hearing about how good it is to have ginger and garlic when sick. Probably because nothing living in my body will survive this drink very long. Ugh.

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

I'm tired of this being sick thing. I've had some kind of cold since I got back from NY. I'm thinking it may have been two or three colds all in a row, not counting that short-lived stomach thing. I'm so glad today is a day off because I feel pretty awful and I need the rest. The kids have been sick as well and I'm thinking we just keep giving things to each other.

Yesterday Oliver gave me the project of installing outlets in the greenhouse to have a system of fans that circulate the air and are all on one switch. Normally this is the kind of job I would really enjoy, but I just ended up frustrated because I couldn't focus very well. Oliver had to explain things to me several times because I just wasn't able to follow him. Guv was also at my feet talking about Oliver's birthday (which is not until summer), so that made it even harder. Finally I told Oliver that I needed to go inside and get a bit of lunch and a break and then I'd be able to focus.

When I went back out I got the general idea of the whole thing and started working. I've never installed outlets before because that's not really something I would normally do in theatre. Generally the power you need is already there in some form and we rarely use Edison plugs anyway. I understood what I had to do, but the chair I was standing on was just a little too short and the sun was really in my eyes. Oliver and Jay offered me their sunglasses which helped, and I should have had the sense to go and get something taller to stand on, but I just wanted to get it done. It's 90% finished now, it just needs a male Edison for the end beginning of the system and a switch. The whole project took me so much longer than it should have, but I'm happy with the result and once it's totally complete it'll be so useful.

To end, I will post some pictures of what's growing in there.


Onions


Kale


Kale

Teleion Holon - Manchester, VT

The Logger and I headed back to Manchester on Monday after our week of being shunned. The drive back was wonderful because I noticed just how much of the snow had melted. This grass stuff is EVERYWHERE. The weather has been so warm and nice, I've been able to go out in my sweatshirt, without a coat and gloves and scarf. I finally said out loud, "Spring is here!" Later that day I did the thing I had managed to avoid all winter and thought I was safe from: I slipped on ice and fell on my ass. No one saw this, so I of course had to tell everyone about it (hello internet).


Finished soil blocks

Things in Manchester are great. The greenhouse looks so promising with all its soil blocks lined up in trays. Some of them have started to grow just a little and Elyssa (another WWOOFer) and I have voiced our wish that we could eat this stuff already. Today we plant cucumbers, which I would like ready by dinner time please.


Soil block makers

Yesterday I was making soil blocks for a good part of the day. Oliver had first shown me how to do this with micro blocks, which are teeny tiny and I got into a fight with them. Alone. In the kitchen. Bonnie had told me she thought the bigger ones were even harder, so I wasn't looking forward to it. However, the bigger blocks are about a thousand times easier for me. No troubles. Oliver walked up to me yesterday and said "Nice blocks!" which I was super happy about. Then I paused for a minute and realized that if some random person had said that to me in New York I probably would have been pissed, and maybe also a little confused. Yep, I do like farm life better than city life.

The Logger's House - Pawlet, VT

Yesterday The Logger went back to Manchester to do buckets for me, and while he was there he did me the amazing favor of picking up my computer. Its poor little battery was dead. And then I also dropped it. But it's fine now, I apologized and it seems to have accepted. I even hooked it up to the internet so now it must love me extra-special. And that's what I'm telling myself.

After two days I'm finally feeling better. Yesterday I didn't really get out of bed. My body felt pretty crap-tastic. I woke up with a horrific kind of migraine, which I have not experienced for years, probably due to severe de-hydration. I spent all morning drinking water and staying in bed, and manged to eat some yummy Teleion salad, and my headache is mostly gone. I can have the light on now and my head doesn't feel like it's being bashed in with a sledge hammer every time I move. Triumph! The one good ting I can say about this flu is that it comes and goes quickly.

I found Lord of the Flies on the bookshelf today I decided to finally finish reading it. If I'm going to be here for another day then I'll need a way to occupy myself. I picked up that book years and years ago, read it to the climactic point and then put it down. It was some weird phase I was going through because I did it with several other books at that time as well. I must have only been about 10 or 11 at the time, because I was still living in New York. Lord of the Flies is the only one I never finished. Better late than never.

The Logger's House - Pawlet, VT

Last night, a few chapters into the fourth book, I finally put down The Chronicles of Narnia and have no intention of picking it up again. Why I got three books into this awful series, I'm really not sure. I always had bad feelings about it and I proved myself right. I clearly have a very serious and personal issue with C.S. Lewis, because I find him pompous and preachy. I didn't even take it personally when he insulted a character by pointing out their vegetarianism, but I can't deal with his underlying brainwashing in children's book. It doesn't help that the books are transparent and the characters are boring and two-dimentional. And I'm not going to take the fact that they are children's books as an excuse for over-simplified writing. The Hobbit was written for children. It probably didn't help that I put the book down while I was hanging out in the bathroom because I was feeling so sick and was tired of going back and forth from the bathroom to the bedroom, so I just brought a book to take my mind off of it.

That stomach bug finally caught up with me. I got it two days earlier than expected, but I'm glad to have gotten it over with. Mostly. Obviously I'm not going into details here, but there was a moment when I was curled up on the bathroom floor trying to use positive energy to make myself feel better and heal by thanking the virus for coming early and making my immune system stronger. This did not work. Maybe because I'm not sure that I really meant it. Telling myself that I had felt much much worse at other times in my life didn't work either. I knew I'd been through worse and that this would only be a few hours of my entire life, but man were those some terrible hours. I'm glad the worst part is over with. Why can't these things ever happen in the middle of the day when you're wide awake?

Getting sick meant that The Logger and I missed the bris today. Oliver called to tell us that the baby's name is Eden. I can't even say how much I love this name. I'm so excited to get back to Teleion Holon after I'm feeling better. Maybe another day or two. So glad we came here, because it would have been terrible for anyone else to have caught this, especially Bonnie and little Eden. I can't seem to get over my excitement of having a new baby in the house.

Today I feel achy all over, like I've over-used my body somehow. I had a strawberry popsicle this morning and it was the best thing I had ever eaten in my life. Or it was while I was eating it. I don't even like popsicles, but this one was made with real strawberries and had no artificial anything. Crazy how being sick will make the simplest things into life changing events. So today has been a popsicle and water day. I grumbled to The Logger a few times about how he was not allowed to talk about food in any way. I'm feeling a little hungry but eating sounds like the worst idea ever. Actually, I think I'll never eat again.

The Logger's House - Pawlet, VT

I'm currently under quarantine in Pawlet. The story behind this is a little frustrating. Almost two weeks ago, The Logger's sister went away to Spain and her son came up here to spent time with his grandmother. While he was here he came down with a stomach flu. Six days later The Loger's mother came down with it, though somewhat worse and he came out here to take care of her and his nephew. Bonnie thought it would be best if he stayed in Pawlet until we were sure he didn't also catch this flu and give it to her and the kids. One bad way to welcome someone into the word is to give him a stomach flu in his first week.

Six days passed and The Logger still felt fine, so he came back to Teleion. That night he got ill, thus exposing me to the virus. I told Oliver in the morning and we all thought it would be best if The Logger and I went back to Pawlet until the whole thing passed. If he had just waited one more night I would still be at Teleion, having something to do and not worrying about a stomach flu. I'm still fighting off this silly cold, so hopefully I'll just get this thing quick and get over it. I tend to get over things pretty quickly and my stomach is used to feeling crap-tastic now and again (for no apparent reason my stomach often gets upset for a few hours every now and again. I usually try to ignore it). Stomach flues don't usually last too long or hit me too hard.

So now I'm here. I forgot my computer, which is a little annoying. There's no wireless internet here, so it's not like I could post from it anyway, but I do like to type in the morning and also play that damn solitaire game I'm addicted to. Not to mention it has music and podcasts on it, which are endlessly more entertaining than watching TV. I've already finished the one book I brought, so it looks like I might end up reading The Chronicles of Narnia after all. I've been avoiding that one my whole life, but the whole series is sitting right there on the shelf and seems more promising than the pop-up Christmas book next to it.

Seriously though, I just need to get this virus, get over it, and then head back to Manchester. My computer needs me.