Becoming Isis, putting Osiris back together

So S—— and I are on this diet, and S——'s mum N—— decided that she and S——'s dad were going to come along for the ride. We offered to cook, and they agreed. S—— has since started a three-week full-time contract, and so I'm the one doing all the cooking at the moment. It's been sometimes stressful, but also exciting.

Two days ago I made dolmades for the first time. For those not in the know, dolmades are (grape) vine leaves wrapped around a mixture of rice and herbs. I also added in a bit of spinach and third of an eggplant, roasted. (S—— says I'm obsessed with roasting things at the moment, and it's sort of true. Definitely for eggplant and capsicum – you just get the best flavour that way.) S—— and I both adore them, and are a leetle obsessed with them, from time to time.

I'm glad I made the effort. They were delicious! So much tastier than the rice alone was (which wasn't very special), and I was sorry I ever doubted the recipe's suggestion of cinnamon. Mmmm. If I'd had some willing hands to help me wrap them, they wouldn't have taken that long to prepare, either. I had a big jar of vine leaves, and I thought they weren't going to be enough, but I still have half the jar left. I may make more later this week ... maybe with roasted capsicum in them.

Yesterday I did some research on tortillas. They're the final frontier for S—— and I in terms of our standard Mexican fare – they're the only part of tacos or burritos that we don't make from scratch. I'd borrowed one of my parents' Mexican books that has good recipes and good information in it, and they said that traditionally that the dried corn was boiled with lime. I thought that sounded pretty interesting, and easy to do, and set out to find out more.

I discovered that while I'd been thinking of the citrus fruit, it was in fact the mineral lime! So that was slightly embarrassing. Definitely one for the when we move out and have our own place plans, I think. Still, there are less-traditional recipes that incorporate flour that I can use in the meantime. I need to get more maize meal, though (certainly different stuff from what's known as cornflour in Australia!). And the local health food shop sells amaranth and quinoa flours, which would be from the right part of the world (unlike wheat flour), so I'd like to try that. Both sorts cost a bit, though. I can't wait until I have a job ...

So with so much Mexican food banging around in my head yesterday, we had that for dinner last night. I was also preparing food for lunches today, and decided that I'd continue the Mexican theme. Part of the diet was no added fats (only some good fats in their original context, like ground flax/linseeds or olives), so it was a challenge to make good-tasting refried beans (something I've been wanting to do for awhile!). I actually made them with a can and a half of kidney beans and a can of lentils mixed together, which worked really nicely. They turned out so brilliantly even without any olive oil or lard (!) I was really proud. I made tortilla chips, too – baked some bought white corn tortillas in the oven brushed with lime juice and cayenne & paprika, and some with lime juice and black pepper (these were for S——'s mum, who doesn't like spice). That was an inspiration from Fat Free Vegan. They were nice; the lime was more subtle than I expected, and I might have modulated the amount of spice I loaded on next time, but it was great to be able to have a crispy corny taste without worrying about the oil. The texture was strange – more like a pappudum than the corn chips I'm used to.

I was thinking yesterday that I might have a Mexican fiesta for a birthday party. I haven't had my birthday yet, so I thought I might fix 27th of August (when I will be 23 1/2). I'll have a piñata and multiple courses and sweet empanadas and everything. The decorations will be in azure and turquoise and russet and goldenrod and it'll be great. People will just have to wear party finery appropriate to the fiesta. I still want to have the Jazz Era picnic, but I think I'll arrange it for next year. It's too cold at the moment anyway!

So, those are my adventures in food. Tune in again next time!

Oh, I forgot to mention the wonderful dark-chocolate with orange and spice mudcake I made last week. It was awesome. The first mudcake I've ever made, and I was adapting another recipe and making it vegan and less fatty ... and it all worked. Used really good chocolate, too – Green & Black's cooking chocolate for the cake, and Green & Black's Maya Gold for the icing. I put on .3kg in the last week, though. Oops.

But it was TOTALLY worth it.

... maybe I'll make the mudcake as my birthday cake. Mmm, tasty.

Brilliant! My friend M—— has just called and so I'm off for some kinesiology to fix my really bad shoulders and back. Yippee!