The peach-blueberry cobbler/cake thing that is not my dissertation

Procrastinating because I don't want to do anything to prepare for my final defense (Monday, August 3, 10:00 a.m. -- keep your fingers crossed, pals!).

So, what to do, what to do....

Bake! Layer of cake, layer of peaches and blueberries, layer of cake, a drizzle of vegan margarine, and a sprinkling of sugar.

Before:





After:

The vegan twice-baked stuffed potato that is not my dissertation

jealous?

I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on these pots all day.

Seriously, y'all's. I have a problem.

All I want to do is cook. Breaded, Italian herb-crusted tofu. Tofu with lemon and capers. Baked tofu with soy and ginger. Brownies. Cookies. Pudding. Tomato sauce with fresh basil, chili flakes, and kalamata olives. Lemon garlic broccoli with chili flakes. Tofu omelettes. Vegan meatloaf. Mashed potatoes. Gravy! Potato enchiladas with green chili sauce. Lasagna with tofu/spinach mousse. Spaghetti sandwiches. Lemon bars. Custard-y fruit tarts. Coconut cake with lemon curd. Pot pie. Mujadarreh. Split pea soup. Kale-lentil stew. Bread. I want to use my new pots and pans, my tiny baby whisk, my mini muffin tins. I wake up at night with recipes in my noggin. Too many to write down.

Instead, I think I'll work on my results section. Guess where my heart is(n't).

What I Did During My Bronchitis-Themed Staycation

Tuesday: Doc-in-a-box says, "Girl, you sick!"



Wednesday: Sleep. Take Drugs. Sleep. Sleep. Drug. Sleep. Does anyone else get hot-face when they take Prednisone? It's ooky.

Thursday: See Wednesday. Bake 4 loaves of bread (3 edible ones), motivation unknown...



Friday: Begin to feel stir-crazy. Not better, just stir-crazy. Make ill-advised late morning trip to 'burbs to stake out stainless steel cookwear. Go home empty-handed. Return to mall on Friday night to enjoy teenagers ogling each other. Adorable, actually.

Be in right place at right time to tell young lady (25?) that her tiny dress has inched up to her waist on one side, baring her unclad cheek to all. I think I was the only one to notice. She was appropriately horrified.

Return home with Emeril's 10-piece set. I can't stand the man, but All-Clad's done good with this one.



Also, snuck in a Martha cookie dough scoop. Can't wait to use it! Because I'm a dork!



Ate perfectly spicy kung pao tofu. Smoky peppers = amazing. Do you eat them? Or am I the only one?



Watched Ghost Whisperer. See "dork" comment.

Not bad, huh?

What's your week been like?

My, but you've changed.

Where have I been (when not oversharing about leg grossness)? Not procrastinating! I've surprised myself, my friends, and my advisor by actually doing some work on my dissertation. Weird! I might actually finish the program one day. A girl can dream...

I've also been doing a hella lot of cooking. I think it's fall motivation. Soups galore, blueberry oatmeal crumb bars, and plenty of other yummy stuff. Yay for fall!

Well, I think I'll go do some laundry and draft a general cover letter for job searching purposes. Ah, the exciting life of a grad student.