My first month in early retirement: What do I do all day???

Freedom.

Freedom.

Yes.freedom.

This is going to sound a bit like bragging.I am well aware of that. begging your pardon ahead.

This first month has been like an ongoing vacation.

every

moment

of

it.

Maybe a staycation – since I didn’t travel anywhere.

I had a great time. enjoyed every moment.

learned many things .important things.non-related to work things.

#1: I learned to cook basic Ethiopian food.

Basic Ethiopian staples can be vegan, (simply omit the meat dishes, there are plenty of other dishes to make) super tasty, super healthy, spicy, budget-friendly and very impressive.

Speaking of impressive. I had a lot of my friends come to visit me at home this month.

A lot is an individual number- I am an introvert- so the 5 friends that came over this month- were a lot for me.

I did enjoy the visits but needed a rest afterward. that’s just the way I am.

Every friend that came over was served lunch- including focaccia, salad, tahini dip,beet hummus, and a middle eastern staple called shakshuka- which is eggs cooked in spicy tomato sauce. I ate baked scrambled tofu cooked in the tomato sauce. I made the tomato sauce with red peppers- since I had 2 peppers looking like they are done and almost gone- so had to use them.

About that beetroot hummus- this is tasty but since I baked the beets -it turned out sweet (!!!) and some people found it strange to eat sweet hummus- so beware,

Making the beetroot hummus is actually quite simple- take homemade hummus ( ok- mashed chickpeas with tahini, garlic, salt, lemon, water to taste and olive oil for yumminess-you don’t have to mash it completely- some like to enjoy the chewiness of the chickpeas even in hummus)-to that add baked to tender beetroot. voila.

Black tahini??

Yep.

Tres impressive.

especially next to the pink beetroot hummus, red shakshuka, and golden foccacia.

Toast black sesame seeds for a few minutes, then add a few tbsp of olive oil to a cup of toasted seeds, use the food processor or hand mixer on high for a few minutes until it turns to this beautiful thing here. tasty and super healthy too.

Need a quick and impressive lifesaver for entertaining/indulging your family? make your own Foccacia.

Here I made mini foccacias with the above tomato -pepper sauce. turned great.

You can add any toppings you like. go wild- why should I care.

how to?

5 cups of flour

1.5 tbsp dry yeast

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

3 tbsp olive oil, and more to smear on it before baking

2 cups of warm water

9 not boiling water- warm water- otherwise the yeast will die. yes. die. they are living creatures.

put everything in the mixer and let work on medium for a few minutes. 5-7. until you see stretchy slick dough in front of you.

Drizzle some olive oil- yes this takes plenty of oil- it is what makes this tasty- don’t like olive oil? eat something else.

Cover and let sit in a warm place until it doubles.

Transfer to an oven tray+ another baking pan -a smaller one- covered with parchment paper then poke holes in the dough with your fingertips. drizzle olive oil and into the oven -170 degrees Celsius- until the bottom is golden and firm to touch. I find that baking the amount of dough in only one tray yields higher focaccia- but it doesn’t bake well all over, and the solution was dividing the amount to 1.5 trays-meaning the oven tray + a smaller one. ( about the size of a medium pizza pan).

Speaking of Diy: I made my own soap holder, by tying wood sticks from my garden with nylon string I had in my drawers. this is what it looks like:

enjoy- the cooliflower.