Things I Learned {Last} Month | October 2018

Some months get a little crazy, and October was one of those for me - filled to the brim. Which is why October's "Things I Learned This Month" is coming two days into November. Welcome to my life. :D

Anyhoo, I enjoy this monthly summary way too much to let it slide, so I'm embracing the "better late than never" motto this month.

Prickly pear is pink and beautiful and yummy and - surprise! - prickly. I found one of these at a market, and since I'd seen them growing from cacti at the Cinque Terre in Italy, I bought one to try. It was delicious, but I had to pull some stickers out of my fingers from incautious handling (beware the black spots - they have tiny prickles). 

Pumpkin puree is super easy to make at home. Chop your pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, roast for about an hour, and slide off the skin and mash the flesh. You don't even need a blender or potato masher. A fork works fine. I don't think I'm ever going back to canned pumpkin puree.

Homemade chai masala is also super easy. I read an Indian cookbook from cover to cover this month, and I've been enjoying experimenting with the recipes in it. My favorite so far is the homemade chai spice blend. I finally bit the bullet and bought some cardamom and mixed up the spices for myself. Throw a spoonful in to steep with a mug of strong tea (hello, PG Tips), and add sweeting and milk as desired. Way better than Starbucks.

Basic chai masala:

5 T powdered ginger
2.5 T cinnamon
2.5 T cloves
1.5 T black pepper
1.5 T cardamom

The three oldest heads of state are Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed of Malaysia (93 years), Queen Elizabeth II (92 years), and President Beji Cald Essebsi of Tunisia (91 years). Random facts learned in conversation with my Tunisian flatmate.

October 28th was Czechoslovakia's 100th birthday. Sort of. But the confusing thing is that Czechoslovakia no longer exists. It's the Czech Republic/Czechia and Slovakia now, and those have only been around in their current forms since 1993. So I wasn't quite sure who to wish "happy birthday!" So I decided on "Huzzah for 100 years not under Hapsburg rule!" We happened to be in Prague on that day, and we enjoyed a brief fireworks show in the rain.

{Czech pubs have great names.}

Basic Czech comfort food: potatoes, sauerkraut, and ham. Preferably all mashed together as street food. This was really, really good.

Medieval artists may not have had ultrasounds, but that didn't keep them from imagining babies in mothers' wombs. I found this marvelous painting of Elizabeth greeting Mary in St. Agnes' Convent in Prague, and I absolutely love it.

In the fall, I tend to listen to albums, not playlists. Spring and summer are for lots of artists, lots of albums, and lots of playlists. In the fall, my listening slows down and lingers. I still listen to a decent amount of playlists, but if I cut them out entirely it wouldn't change my fall listening rhythms much. My go-to fall albums are Sleeping at Last's Atlas: Year One and Atlas: Year Two, the soundtrack for Cider House Rules (a movie I've never seen, but I love the music), and James Taylor's October Road. And if I could only listen to October Road all fall, I'd be perfectly content. This album is the sound of my childhood, of Appalachian fall colors, of cosy afternoons studying and cooking and walking Fritz through fields ready for harvest.