How To Make Apple Butter As A Proxy For Social Relationships

Dear Blog,

I am making apple butter tonight. Frankly, I do not know why everyone is not making apple butter right this instant. All I did was chop up apples and throw them in a crock pot with some other stuff! Hours later, presumably I will get apple butter and then I can spread it on toast if I have toast and if I don't have toast I can spread it on pancakes, because I always have pancakes - it's a fact of life. If it is so delicious and also so easy, it makes no sense no to make apple butter right now. I canceled my participation in all activities outside of my apartment for the evening, so that I could stay here, cook apple butter, and work uninterrupted from now until FOREVER or tomorrow, whichever comes first. I am weary of working, but more than anything, I believe I have not been doing a good job acknowledging that I may in fact have social needs as well as material ones. Unfortunately, making friends is not as easy as making apple butter. In order to have meaningful social relationships, you have to invest time and energy in a sustained way over a period of time and have that time and energy be reciprocated. Lately, I have either failed to make initial effort or have been disappointed by  nonreciprocal relationships, and as a result I have sort of tried to convince myself I don't need anything of that sort. Not true! While cooking might seem reciprocal and mutually gratifying - you cook the apples, they get to become more concentrated and delicious, you get to eat apple butter, they get to be useful - I need someone to make me laugh and make me feel better in weeks like this one where I feel daunted by the amount of stuff going on. I need to work on cultivating those kinds of relationships, but it will have to wait until I am less swamped and more ready to venture out of my apartment.

All the best,
Brita

"Some bears build nests in trees for sunbathing and resting."

Today on my way to La Cabana where a to-go veggie burrito smothered in something similar to but not exactly cheese was waiting for me to pick up, another student who I don't know mistook me for her French professor. "Sorry - you have the same haircut," she said by way of explanation. This is momentous. First, this provides evidence for my theory of the semester that nobody knows who I am, and now they are confusing me with non-students. Secondly, and more importantly, I can pass for a middle-aged female French professor, which can only mean one thing: I am incredibly sophisticated, yes? 

Well, this incredibly sophisticated French-professor-imposter is sitting at home (still the same home, 1001 4th Avenue, although our brilliant and thoughtful landlord replaced the brass letters on the front door with a "1011") sitting on the couch surveying the remains of a pleasantly mediocre burrito. It's been a long week, and I think it's time for a bath and bed. But first let me list the highs and lows of this week.

High: the weather was gorgeous and sunny and the leaves are beginning to turn. 

Low: I accidentally slept through 30 mins. of my soc. theory class because I was having a dream where I was competing with the alarm clock for who could be the most patient... I won... 

High: I ate a whole cherry pie and watched El Topo, the extremely weird surrealist cult-western movie by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Low:  I ate a whole cherry pie and watched El Topo, the extremely weird surrealist cult-western movie by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

High: I heard back from two Stockholm University professors about advising my potential Fulbright year. 

Low: Professor number 1 wrote: "but I must inform you, I am very old and tired."

High: I went apple picking and bought a bunch of squash and pumpkins.

Low: the next two weeks are going to be completely crazy and work-filled because I spent the weekend apple-picking and singing Glee karaoke instead of writing abstracts and outlining drafts. 

High: it is Saturday night, and I am going to bed early! and tomorrow I won't be tired and I will do all my homework and go to panflute ensemble rehearsal and everything will be great!

Love, Sunday Coop

So, every Sunday, theoretically I am the proud host of Grinnell College's vegan cooperative - essentially, a loose collection of students interested in paying 3 dollars to eat food which is vegan together most nights of the week. This means I am responsible for thinking of something great to cook which is vegan, provisioning and preparing it, and then inviting everyone on the vegan coop listserv. to come to my house at 6:15pm and eat it. Since this takes time, and frequently this is something I feel terribly short of, I cancel my coop with a frightening regularity. Some might say I cancel my coop more often than I have had my coop. I thought I would examine the truthfulness of that statement here today, to kick off the 1001 4th Street blog. Here you will find the facts, only the facts! And also my last several cancellation emails.

Sunday, February 13, 2011 5:23 PM Coop canceled due to drunk and disorderly behavior...
Sorry Co-opers! This sunday's coop host, having heartily celebrated 100 days yesterday, is somewhat under the weather and/or not inclined to eat things and/or is enslaved to the books on reserve desk at Burling because they forgot to buy the book that is for tomorrow's class... but we'll see you next week!

<3 Brita

Sunday, March 06, 2011 4:30 PM sunday co-op canceled
sorry! co-op is tired. co-op has a lot of homework. and co-op lost $40 of grocery money out of their pocket saturday in sheer neglectful foolishness... co-op is sad. But co-op will be back next week and how jolly it will be!!!

<3 Sunday co-op

Sunday, March 13, 2011 4:57 PM sunday coop cancel...again... sorry

Timmy: "Grandpa, what happened to sunday coop?"
Grandpa: "Well Timmy, coop got lost on the way to sunday, and we don't know where it is."
Timmy: "Is coop going to be ok?"
Grandpa: "Yes Timmy. If we stand at the edge of the forest and whistle, it may find its way back to sunday."
Timmy: "I miss sunday coop, Grandpa."
Grandpa: "Me too Timmy, me too."

Sunday, April 17, 2011 2:45 PM no sunday coop :-(
A Very Sad Story:

Once upon a time, Sunday coop decided to take a walk through the big scary forest to deliver some vegan scones to its grandmother's cottage. The day was bright and warm, and everything was going great as Sunday coop set out on their journey. But a little ways into the forest, Sunday coop strayed from the path, because Sunday coop is a bit daft, and frequently is found to be chasing squirrels and other inconsequential creatures... So by this time, Sunday coop was very lost, and went up to the first creature they saw to ask directions back to the path. But poor Sunday coop! That creature was none other than the abominable snow-bear - and little Sunday coop was gobbled up in one bite.

The End.

NEXT WEEK, look forward to delicious vegan smoothies!

<3, Sunday Abominable Snow-Bear.



SO... As far as I can figure out, I have canceled 4 coops, and have hosted4.
There was the one where I made pita bread and super random black bean soup with orange juice and leftover lentil water, there was the one where I made pasta with arugula and lemon-olive oil-basil dressing, there was one where I made garlic tomato soup and lentil hummus, and last week I had one where I made almond cherry soup (awesome: just take 6 cups frozen cherries, 3 cups almond milk, 1/2 cup maple syrup or I used amaretto liqueur, a little bit of almond extract, and a little bit of nutmeg), and roasted red peppers with sauteed green beans.

So technically I have not canceled more coops than I have hosted. I have had exactly the same number of coops as I have hosted! Hooray!