Mate Chino, thyme and gaming

Mate Chino, my current favourite tea.

With the market only a few minutes' walk away, I've started cooking with fresh ingredients much more often. Since we moved into my mom-in-law's place about two months ago, I haven't used the freezer once, and I've preferred cooking from scratch than using processed foods.

Even though I tend to focus on low-prep recipes, it does take somewhat more time than, say, sticking a frozen dinner in the microwave. But for me, the act of cooking food from fresh ingredients has become much more of a sensual experience I value on its own as much as (or sometimes even more than) the final result.



Take cooking scrambled eggs, for example. This morning I added chopped up fresh thyme, dill, and parsley as well as some white cheddar from the market. I love fresh herbs: the fragrance of the leaves drifting up from the cutting board, their different textures, how they can change an ordinary dish into something extraordinary.

I'm determined to try growing herbs in the garden or in our solarium when we move into our new house (you know I had to mention our new house somewhere in this post, right?).



So last night I went gaming with Jeff. I haven't played any roleplaying games since my university days, and was curious to see what the experience would be like now. Jeff's group usually plays board games, but will occasionally do short roleplaying campaigns.

And y'know, it was fun. :-) Not just because of the roleplaying aspect (hey, my character plays the lute! And sings!) but also because of the group dynamics. The guys are used to me occasionally showing up with Jeff, but spending the evening on the couch with my laptop and Wacom Artpad, doodling and surfing until I inevitably crash until it's time to go home.

Only a few knew that I was going to participate, so last night it came as a surprise to most when my character was introduced and Hrach (the DM) turned to me and asked what I wanted to do next.

Today, Rand and Erin were supposed to come visit. Unfortunately Rand isn't feeling well, so they had to opt out. Allison and I are going to hang out anyway; I made some soup yesterday (from scratch!) and we're going to make sandwiches with bread I picked up from the market this morning, then just hang out and probably see a movie in the afternoon. Really looking forward to it...it's SO nice to not have to reserve weekends for househunting anymore.

Hanging out with a good friend is much more fun. :-)

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