Very quiet

It's been a very quiet day. Not wasted, I got some non-essential things done I've been putting off for a while.

I'm alone but I don't feel alone. I think the longest sentance I've uttered today was "I need to send this to Finland" while posting some tea I couldn't drink to Chu. That sounds weird - tea I couldn't drink so I need to explain. One of the rooibos teas I got from Teaz was called Nutcracker, and it had nuts in it, I loved it - the taste was wonderfully aromatic and - eh - nutty. But I have a very mild nut allergy that only comes out if I eat handful (or two) of plain nuts - my mouth and throat start tickling, which is at worst a discomfort. I didn't even think about that when I got this tea, but the reaction was the same - shame, the tea was a real find.

I made a big vegetable chili today, I love chilis (as you've probably figured out) and making a vegetable chili is something I've wanted to try out for some time. I'd actually like to make more vegetarian food, but my problem most of the time is that I don't know how to make it tasty without meat - I mean what are the good incredients that make vegetarian food wholesome? I was quite happy with today's result - it had lot of different beans, onion, celery (leap of faith here, but worth it), mushroom and bell pepper. Chili is such a great comfort food, and this is no exception.

While at the green grociers' (which is a lot cheaper than Safeway) I also picked up a jar of garlic chili sauce. This is an ongoing research subject at our house - chili sauce is one of those basic incredients that goes pretty much into any food we eat, and we're always on a lookout for the perfect sauce. We've tried some fancier ones lately but the more you put in it, the less it takes away from chili - it's not just about being hot, chili sauce needs to be tasty too. This one looked like a basic garlic chili sauce, this time a Thai variety and is absolutely gorgeous - if it wasn't that damn spicy I'd eat it with a spoon. It reminds me of Hanuman langurs in India - the holy monkeys that live in cities and temples - who are also addicted to chili. They come to the roofs of houses where people are drying off chili peppers in the sun and gorge on them - some mothers can be seen to neglect their babies while high on chili, and I can totally relate.