Some favorite smiling faces in the morning light.
Two decent nights' sleeps in, I'm feeling better and more myself after my travels and travails of the early part of the week. Yesterday I ordered in groceries, including two large-ish bags of dried black beans, one of which I poured into the crockpot, covered with water, and simmered until bedtime last night. I left them to soak overnight, then this morning I drained them into a colander, rinsed them, put them back in the crockpot, covered with fresh water, and turned them on again to cook through the day. By dinnertime they should be good and soft. I'll use some of them in some recipe for dinner --- soup? chili? some kind of South American skillet with quinoa? not sure. The rest I'll freeze for later.
That is the thing about dried beans. They are a great pantry staple. They don't go bad, although for best results you should use them up within a year. I like to keep mine in clear glass cannisters or jars so I don't forget what I have, because out of sight, out of mind --- and I have cooked a lot of beans this season. The thing about dried beans is that you do have to plan ahead a little. Red lentils cook up within half an hour (so are maybe the very best "starter" dried legume, if you haven't been in the habit of keeping and using dried beans), as do split peas. Chickpeas are a relatively faster-cooking legume, but you do really need to start them early in the day, and it's best if you soak them overnight. Ditto great northern beans. Black beans really just have to be cooked and cooked and cooked. You can soak them overnight, then cook the next day, but my most successful strategy has been to do what I've just described: put them in the crockpot around noon the first day, cover them with fresh cold water, and cook them on high until bedtime, whereupon you turn the heat off and let them soak. Next day: drain, replace water with fresh, cook on high again until you're ready to make dinner. I have heard of all kinds of bean-cooking tricks, but this works reliably for me.
Canned beans are easier, there's no doubt about that. They too are a good staple to have. But your dollar goes a lot farther when you use dried ones, and sometimes they really are better. Dried lima beans, for example, cook up deliciously in a fashion that in no way resembles their canned counterparts.
Anyway, I spent a lot of January cooking through my pantry staples, and while I did have some black beans left, they are pretty old. I'm not throwing them out, because under duress I could cook them, but fresher beans taste better. I need to go back to Walmart and stock up on varieties that Aldi never has: chickpeas, red lentils (totally out of those, surprise surprise, we have eaten them so much), and anything else that looks interesting.
Last night we had a ground-lamb skillet for dinner, following this recipe, essentially. I didn't have cucumbers for tzatsiki sauce, so I just didn't do that, and I subbed cauliflower rice for the potatoes, and it was delicious. Again, tonight will be black-bean . . . something.
So, today I need to:
*walk the dog
*finish and load an essay for Monday
*make a start on an essay for Wednesday
*decide WHAT black-bean thing we're having for dinner
*wash and hang some laundry --- it's too sunny not to do some washing
It is a beautiful day out there, with a projected high of 72. This is what I love about February in the South. Yes, yes, we pay for these halcyon days later on, with summer heat. But especially after 20 degrees in New Hampshire, this early winter/spring weather feels so glorious. I might try early-sowing some flower seeds, in fact . . . some varieties do like cold-sowing. While I'm writing, I shall muse on that possibility.
Wearing today:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Mama maxi dress (S) in Caffe Mocha, bought fall 2024, last worn January 28. Wears in 2025: 2
*Secondhand Devala bamboo-cotton leggings, bought fall 2021, redyed green by me in 2023. Fourth year of wear
*Secondhand Birkenstock Rosemead clogs, bought February 2023, concluding a second year of wear
These Birks are quickly becoming spring default shoes. They're perfect for these days when technically it's warm enough for sandals, but somehow that feels like rushing the season too much. Like my summer Mayaris, these shoes are easy to step into and just keep going. I also like how the soft purple harmonizes with various colors in my wardrobe.
I also like the play of my dusty, herbal green leggings with the dusty lavender of my dress and the plummier purple of my shoes. Green and purple are natural complements, but there's so much variation in shades that it's fun to experiment. The subtle pattern the leggings provide is also pleasurable to my eye.
This dress will be a real staple in Lent and into the spring and early summer. I just love the soft colors and the flow of it. It's fun and quaint with boots and tights, but so easy with just a pair of sandals. All my other NPL dresses are sleeveless, and I appreciate the long sleeves on this one, which make it possible for me to wear it just as it comes on a day of betwixt-and-between temperatures. I can always put on a cardigan if I get chilly, but it's very nice not to have to.
Half-dry hair here. I bought a set of Humby Organics shampoo and conditioner bars, which I had hoped to take to New Hampshire with me (solid shampoo and conditioner=easier to take on the plane), but they didn't arrive in time. Today was my first use. I bought them partly for travel, and partly because they advertise their formulas as being good for slowing hair fallout, which I've been experiencing a lot this winter. At least, it feels like a lot. I mostly can't see my scalp through my hair, so it's clearly not as bad as all that, but I do get tired of it. And my hair is thinner at my hairline than I like it to be.
I bought the peppermint formula as good for dandruff as well as hair fallout, and we'll see. I have really liked and depended on my Head&Shoulders Bare formula, and will probably continue to lean on it, but I'm curious to see whether I strictly need it at this point, to keep the dermatitis under control.
Observations about the Humby Organics bars so far:
*The shampoo bar lathers very well, better than any other shampoo bar I've tried so far. It also doesn't leave my hair feeling stripped and over-dry, which has been a problem with other brands. It actually left a little slip in my hair, so that I could almost have done without the conditioner bar.
*The conditioner bar gave me a little slip, but not that much. I was not as impressed by it as I was by the shampoo bar, and would probably re-buy the one but not the other --- though of course it's too early to say what I would and wouldn't buy again. Still, I was able to squish it through my hair with a good bit of water. I left it on while I shaved and bathed the rest of my body, then rinsed and followed with LUS 3-in-1, my reliable standard.
So far my hair has had some wet frizz, but it's drying all right, and we'll see what it winds up looking like. I did diffuse it to remove excess water so that I wouldn't be dripping all over myself, but I've otherwise just left it to dry on its own.
Anyway, we'll see. I was not provided these products for review purposes --- I just wanted to try them out, so this is my completely disinterested assessment so far. I do think this shampoo bar will be perfect for travel, if not for everyday use. Supposedly these last a long time, which I certainly hope is the case, because they were not cheap (especially not when I consider how much I like my Head&Shoulders Bare,which costs $9 --- which I would formerly have thought was an exorbitant price for shampoo, but not compared with these boutique organic brands).
Again, a lot will depend on the dermatitis situation. It's been a dream come true not to have to worry about it. I bought the Humby formula that I did because it's supposed to be good for dandruff, but we shall see.
On with the day.
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
Gosh, what a glorious day. It's brilliantly sunny and warm, and I'm on the porch with Dora, having written my Monday essay, washed and hung some laundry, and had toast with butter and fig preserves and a bowl of cottage cheese for lunch.
The cape jessamine is blooming . . .
. . . with forsythia soon to follow. January is over, and we are SO BACK.
