On the few occasions where I have the opportunity to watch television (since I don’t own one, nor would I like to) I tend to flip to either the Weather Channel or Food Network. Since others are more likely to want to watch actual television shows rather than a channel devoted to current weather conditions, Food Network usually takes the screen. When I was staying with my brother last week, we ended up watching Rachel Ray. The only thing that caught my attention about the particular episode we caught was that she was using a trash bowl. It was such a simple idea, yet it never occurred to me to place all of my scraps while cooking in one place and then toss it. I would just walk to the trashcan every time, which is sort of annoying and takes longer. So every time I’ve cooked since then, I’ve set a bowl to one side of my cutting board for garbage. I love it. Try it.

Something else I love is tomato sandwiches. Greenlife finally started having local tomatoes, so I bought a few. I toasted two slices of bread until they were crunchy but not burnt, then I mixed some Veganaise with one clove of crushed garlic and smeared it onto both slices. On top of that went some fresh herbs (especially dill) and greens, salt and pepper, a slice of Toffuti cheese, dried basil, tomato slices, and finally some tofu bacon. To be honest, the tofu bacon sucked. I didn’t have any tempeh, so I subbed extra-firm tofu in place of it in the Vegan Brunch tempeh bacon recipe. It was gray and gross. But despite the nasty tofu, the sandwich was still incredible.

Tomato sandwich with a side of PBR

Now, about that anger. Since my mom’s death, I’ve been having sudden bursts of anger, which I’ve never done before.  I rarely get mad, mainly because I don’t see the point. Anger doesn’t do anything but worsen a situation. I’m struggling to keep it under control since any little, insignificant thing will make it flare, and because I’ve always been so good at not getting mad about anything. The last thing I want to do is take it out on my friends and loved ones, because they definitely haven’t done anything to deserve it, and they are always there for me when I need them.

I wrote in my last post about how cooking has helped me significantly, but something else I’m starting to notice that helps is music. I’ve been zoning out quite often to music, and I’ve found some really good new music because of it. Such as Them Crooked Vultures and Karen Elson. Y’all should check them both out.

I’m not looking for anything in particular by writing about my mother’s death on this blog, except it really helps me to put my feelings into words. Writing has always helped me get through tough situations, and this is so far the hardest I’ve dealt with in my life. Having an outlet is important.