there are gonna be multiple posts today, i can tell already

first
let me make clear
that that particular item
[with the shipping more than the item itself]
is not the actual one i'm ordering
that one just had a description, etc
plus
i ordered some other stuff too

i am getting the tartine bread book
and http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Book-Jewish-Festival-Cooking/dp/B0046LUC6Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331744485&sr=8-1

i've been looking at both of these books for a while
but
now is the time, apparently

i've started on the "meatloaf"
i'm waiting on quinoa to cool right now
so i thought i'd give you background

the first time i tried to make ml
i was gonna go all vegan
cause it was close to the start of my journey
and i was vegan at that moment
and i'm all like
yeah yeah whatever
i can totally just use flax meal mixed with water
instead of egg as a binder
it gets all mucilaginous and shit, like egg
the problem is
it is not devoid of flavor
it tasted like flax
ie anything you make with it will taste like shit
unless you're making something that can absorb flax flavor

chia is what you use for that crap
because it has almost no flavor
[it's also much more stable and won't go all rancid
why do people like flax
maybe cause it's old skool]
i made some pancakes once with chia
when i had no eggs in the house
and they worked
but
eggs add flavor to pancakes
so
they weren't very good

anyway
the first one
was
inedible/disgusting
and
that's unusual for me
usually
even if it's not great
i can still eat it
this took forever to cook too
and i'm still having that issue

i decided
fuck it
add eggs
work the vegan shit out later
if it's worth it to ya

so
the last batch
i used the chickpea blend that i use for chili
as a base
with bread crumbs
egg
fresh mushrooms
dried porcinis
[soaked in miso broth which i added]
black quinoa
walnuts

it tasted pretty good
but
it didn't cook evenly
it had too much moisture
so
it got crunch on the outside
and
it was still slightly
gloopy
on the inside
but the taste was good
and
the texture
seemed like it woulda been right

which brings you up to now