Daddy cool

I wanted some comfort food last night and thought I'd try a vegan mac and cheese recipe, having read about one on Anna's blog. I had a look at Susan V's Mac and Cheese recipe on Fat Free Vegan, then compared it to the Mac Daddy recipe in Isa's Veganomicon. Susan's recipe calls for all sorts of stuff I don't have--garlic powder, onion powder, tahini (which I don't like), and it's supposed to taste like Kraft mac and cheese, which I never liked, so I decided I liked the sound of the Mac Daddy recipe better. When I went to make the recipe, of course I changed everything. I nearly always do that, if I'm not confident that what I'm reading is going to be yummy. I ended up making something all my own, based on Isa's recipe, and it was really good. Hubby and I ate it all in one meal. Here's my creation:

Pimpalicious Pasta

Cook half a package of wholewheat shells (I couldn't find wholewheat macaroni in the shops), drain and set aside (I like stodgy mac and cheese, so I cooked this just a little past al dente)

For the sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed, cooked in 1 Tbs oil
several grinds each pink salt and black pepper
pinch dried thyme
2 cups water
1 Tbs Marigold vegan bouillon powder
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/8 tsp turmeric (or to desired yellowness)
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp French's yellow mustard
1/2 pkg Cauldon tofu

Whisk together all ingredients except tofu and cook in saucepan until thickened. Add tofu and puree with hand blender until smooth. Pour into a small casserole dish and stir in the shells. Make sure the pasta is swimming in sauce. Too much pasta and it will be dry. Bake until bubbly and browning on edges.

This came out tasting rich and more-ish. The shells were all full of the gooey sauce and the pasta was chewy on top from being baked.

Word of warning, it didn't taste a thing like cheese. We sure did like it, though. If it had tasted like cheese, I would have had to throw it out. (Last time I went crazy and actually bought some parmesan cheese to put in something, we ended up throwing it out because it had that horrible dairy whang to it. Never again!) We had this with some steamed greens, and it was yummy.

If you don't like nutritional yeast flakes, don't bother with this recipe. And if you think you're going to end up with something like Velveeta, don't bother, either. I mean, if you want cheese, just eat some cheese! If you want something gooey, satisfying and vegan, though, try this one. We loved it.

(By the way, as usual, the photo is nicked from googling and choosing a photo that looks the most like what I made. Because as usual, I forgot to take a picture!)

Sweet potato pie (vegan, of course)

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 cup plain or vanilla flavoured rice milk
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup dark brown sugar or 1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbs molasses
3 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each nutmeg, clove, ginger
1-1/2 tsp cinammon

Combine ingredients and pour into a prepared pie shell. Bake at 400 F until done. Allow pie to cool completely to set.

The pie is darker in colour than you might expect because of the molasses, but it has a delicious, holiday flavour and silky texture. Not wiggly, like you would get from eggs, but very unctuous, and quite filling. It is best served chilled, in my opinion.

I made this last night for the first time and we really liked it. I am taking leftovers to work to today because I'm sure no one has tasted sweet potato pie there! If they don't like it, I'll bring back the remnants. :)

Okay then

I had a job interview yesterday that I was dreading. I applied for the job for just two reasons: it's the only step up from my current post, and it's closer to where hubby works. The actual job itself, I was not keen on doing. I guess that came through in the interview because I was not selected. My reaction was as joyful and relieved as it is for most people when they GET the job.

Why are we always questioning and pushing and thinking we should be striving to achieve more, or to move on? Why is it not okay to just like the job you're in, because you can do it easily and everything is comfortable? Why do we have this idea that we should be pushing the envelope, looking to be 'stretched and challenged', moving away from comfort and complacency? Yes, I said complacency. Why is complacency considered a bad thing? Even the word 'complacent', which actually literally means to find peace in something, has come to have a shade of meaning that there is a danger in being okay with your situation as it is. Well, maybe I don't want a grit of sand that I can turn into a pearl. Irritation and 'challenge' (which really means stress!) at work are not required by me, thank you.

I suppose the Buddhist perspective on the danger of complacency is the clinging to the illusion of permanence, the delusion that we can by force of will (ie, by fearing change) keep bad things from happening. That's not what I'm talking about here, at least I think it's not! I can also say with some confidence that I am not afraid of change. If a job came along that I really wanted, I would leave my current one in a heartbeat. But it would have to be one that I REALLY wanted, and not one that I 'ought' to go for.

Occasionally I forget that I'm leading my own life. I start hearkening to what other people think or how other people might perceive things or behave, and I make decisions based on what other people might do or expect me to do. Other people might apply for a job that's the next step up, even though they don't really want it. They might be able to bluff their way into it, then tolerate it. But I'm not other people, I'm me. Sometimes I forget that it's my life and it's okay for me to live it how I want. Strange but true.

Not as bleak as I thought

I found out some good news.

• By the time I reach state pension age in 2033, I will have worked exactly 30 years and 4 months--just enough to qualify for the full state pension. I have sent in my pension forecast application to see how much that would be, but as a rule of thumb I've done some preliminary figures using the 'average' state pension.
• I used a Social Security calculator to see what I would qualify for having worked for 15 years in the US. It was more than I thought.
• I sent off to Arkansas Teacher Retirement to see what I will receive based on the years I taught in the US. It was more than I expected, PLUS I can start drawing it 7 years before I reach state pension age here. So I can be investing that money!
• I am in a local government pension scheme, which it turns out is the best pension scheme available in the UK. It will leave me better off than I thought.

So I took these sketchy preliminary figures and added them together. According to that first draft of a forecast, I will be drawing pretty much the same amount in retirement that I earn now. If the same is true for Derek (we are working on his now), then our income in retirement will look a lot like it looks now. Which means if we never get to buy a house, it doesn't matter. If we can afford rent now, we can afford rent then. I can't imagine us ever needing to live better than we do right now. We are perfectly comfortable with our level of spending and our lifestyle.

I'm trying to be realistic about this whole house-owning thing. Until the early 20th century, the majority of people in the UK did not own their own homes (only 30% did). In Europe today, 2/3 of Germany rent their accommodation. Half of Austria does. Of course, in Europe they enjoy much stronger tenants' rights, but still. Owning a property is not the be all and end all of existence, nor is it a guarantee of security for the future. It's just a big fat headache is what it is. And a major financial burden.

Maybe someday we'll buy a house, but if we never do, I'm not going to sweat it anymore. I'd rather have a big fat pension than a miserable little house.

Anyway, I have an interview next Wednesday for a job in a library near where hubby works, which whould be a promotion for me, and our chance to move to the south of the county where things are 'nicer' (if more expensive). It's just a temporary 12-month post, but I can take it as a secondment, if I decide to take it, so at least I'll be assured of a post in the county council when the year's up. Nervous about it--it's all human resources. But I guess experience in that field would be good to have. People always need HR.

Oh.

Just heard on the morning news:

• First time buyers of homes has fallen by 2/3.

• First time buyers must come up with a 25% deposit. The average house price being £165,000, that means the deposit is on average £38,000.

• The era of the 100% mortgage is gone. The 75% mortgage is here to stay.

• The average age of the first time buyer is 35.

All of this means to me we are never, ever going to be able to afford a property. Our entire combined savings of the last 7 years is not enough to pay the deposit, much less the duties and all the costs associated with moving and setting up a new household. At the rate we're saving, I'll be in my mid 50s before we can even meet the deposit--and who knows how much a deposit will be by then. We cannot save at a higher rate than we are. I am already putting nearly a third of my take home pay in savings. We can't help it if our earnings are not very high.

I feel quite despondent about this, not because I particularly want to own a home, but because I am concerned about where we are going to live after we are no longer able to work. The savings we have now are being built up with a view toward pensions investments, not down payment on a house. And there's not enough there for that. Our pension gap is enormous.

I wonder where we are going to live and how we are going to live when we get too old to work. There are no children to take care of us or take us in.

I still have at least 25 years left in my working life to sort out the best thing we can figure out.

Lovely day

It's been a lovely day on my own today. I made some banana bread that I saw on The Post Punk Kitchen website. I made my own version:



Banana Bread

1/2 cup each brown and white sugar
2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
5 Tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and set aside a loaf pan. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another. Mix the wet into the dry. Pour into pan and bake for about an hour.

Let it cool completely, as it is actually better after it has aged for a bit. Or you can eat it hot, each to his own!

I'm not a fan of Christmas, but I've already got a wish list!

Amber stud earrings. I've really got into amber lately. It's so pretty!

10kg dumbbells, for those times when I feel I could do a bit better than the 8kg which is my max weight now.


Ladies' Haulin' Hooks. These grip-assistance devices are designed to assist when lifting heavier weights, to avoid having to stop reps just because your grip is exhausted. (This happens to me a lot now that I'm lifting heavier. For example, the other day I was doing sumo squats with my barbell, and even though my legs were not entirely exhausted, I had to put the bar down because my forearms and grip couldn't hold the load any longer. This type of device is supposed to really help with that issue.)


All of which (except perhaps the amber earrings...) will help out a lot if I get my main wish, Chalene Extreme!!!! This set of DVDs contains 15 workouts broken into 3 phases:

BURN--Moderate weight training workouts using 12-rep sets to help start the fat burning process.

PUSH--Heavy weight training--beyond the comfort zone--to build strength and muscle.

LEAN--Back to moderate weights but incorporating dynamic moves to burn tons of calories and strip the fat off the new muscle you've built.

There are also cardio and abs workouts in the rotation, and I've already bought the latest 'add-on' cardio, so once I get the weight-lifting (original) set, I'll have the whole darn thing!

The entire system takes 90 days, then you enter a 30 day 'Lean for Life' phase, then you can do the whole round over again if you like.

I really, really want Chalean Extreme (fondly referred to by fans as 'CLX').

In the meantime, though, I've just ordered Original Buns of Steel on DVD. It shipped today and I cannot wait to try it out. Made in 1987, it is a total cult classic and said to be one of the best butt-burners ever! Creator Greg Smithey is a sports physiologist and supposedly invented the routine to use as part of training for pole vaulters.