Interlude: Inspiration

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans who celebrate! We'll see if I manage to eat what I'd planned and I look forward to showing it off later. In the meantime, I thought I'd tell you about something positive--someting I'm thankful for, if you will. 

I've been feeling more inspired in the kitchen lately. Letting go of what I can't get right now and embracing what I can has been part of the reason. But I also ran across a YouTube video at just the right time to knock me out of a rut. Delish (the channel) isn't vegan. The person who made the video isn't vegan. But she was doing a "budget challenge" video and to make it "harder" on herself she made it vegan and gluten free.

It's a long video, but I was mesmerized. She emphasized using what you have and exploring within that. Although I don't necessarily have to budget as strictly as I know many people do, I do have challenges as we all do now with respect to what I can get, and I am concerned about having to spend more to get it. I'm not a wealthy person and I came from a family that can properly be described as poor--food stamps, charity, and occasionally just not having enough to eat were all part of my childhood--so I do try to be frugal even while I make a point of giving myself the freedom to get treats.

It's not that I would make all the things she made--I can't see myself making peanut milk, for example--but seeing what she did sparked my interest in being creative. Some of what you've seen recently--the Haitian food, for example--came out of that.

This isn't my usual content and I don't intend on making it so; if you're looking forward to seeing what I ate, don't worry, you'll see plenty of that soon.