Day 13: Comfort Food and an Interview

First, tonight I made one of those casseroles that just screams, "Comfort Food!" A creamy, flavorful, gooey, messy dish ... with breadcrumbs on top, of course. It's another recipe from The Vegan Spoonful blog: Chickpea Divan. If you take a look at the recipe, note that I used unsweetened soy milk (not soy cream) and whole wheat panko breadcrumbs, left out the vegan mayo, added some mixed frozen veggies, and used white cooking wine from the cupboard.

Whether you are vegan or not, Try this recipe. Beth, this is one your carnivore hubby will love! And Chickie, if her tastes are anything like Molly's, will love it too.

The pic:

If you're wondering what that stuff under the chickpeas is, it's millet. This whole grain looks a lot like quinoa when you buy it, but it cooks up very fluffy - almost creamy, like mashed potatoes. Like quinoa, it cooks fast - 25 minutes - and requires no soaking. A nice thing to keep around.

So that's the comfort food. And now, the interview. Mary Murtz, who writes a wonderful blog that I enjoy and is a fellow vegan(ish) experimenter, posted her answers to an interview meme that's going around. Here's the rules:

• The blogger (in this case, me) answers five questions.
• If you, a fellow blogger, want five new questions to answer, reply to this post with the words, "Interview Me!" I got my questions by replying to Mary's post a couple of days ago.
• When you post your answers to the five questions I send you, you agree to interview your commenters if they ask for it, just as I am agreeing to interview you.
• One more thing: if you don't have a link to your email on your profile page, I'll just post the questions as a comment on your blog.
  

Hope that makes sense. So here are Mary's questions and my answers:

1. What one sentence advice would you give your daughter about growing up to be a strong woman? I would tell Molly to relish asking questions, to be comfortable with being unsure ... because being sure about life would mean she thinks she's got it all right, and that would mean she has no room for growth. Growth is what makes it all worth it.

2. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you that you have NOT already talked about on your blog? Once I was at a bar, listening to a band I love. I looked at the clock and thought it was almost 1 AM (closing time). The band finished a song and I yelled out, "One more!" - hoping they'd play all the way up till the moment the place closed. The singer looked at me and said, "I hope we do about 10 more..." and I realized it was almost midnight, not almost one. I still turn red when I think of that.

3. If you could change anything about yourself (NOT PHYSICALLY) what would it be? I would be one of those incredible people who functions just fine on 4 hours of sleep per night, with no consequences. (I guess that's kind of physical, but whatever...)

4. Assuming all goes as you wish, what will you say at the end of the year when someone asks you what your proudest accomplishment was? I inspired and taught young people while still giving a more-than-fair amount of energy and time to my family and friends. (Managing to achieve my fantasy in the answer to Question #3 would help with this...)

5. What movie that other people loved did you absolutely NOT love, and why? I thought The English Patient was one of the most overrated movies ever. Same for Titanic.

So, if you want five new questions, created by me, that you can answer on your blog ... just reply, "Interview Me!"

P.S. Typing this small so as not to jinx the migraine gods... 2nd day in a row with no migraine today. First two-day break I have had since December 16-17 (my neurologist makes me chart my migraines.)