how was my soup?

i had a lot of broccoli stalks, and my blender burnt out half-way through blending them up. it's done that before and it comes back, but i had to push it through a little. if it isn't back tonight, i may have to buy a new blender, which was the only small appliance i didn't replace when i moved here. my stove was also a little too pre-heated, so the pan overflowed a little, and i wasn't able to cook it with a cover on. the purpose of this was to use up the broth, and i only ended up using half the container because i had so many stalks, so this is going to be four large bowls rather than two medium bowls, in the end.

the result is that my broccoli soup was more like a thick stew or even a casserole and i was barely able to make a dent into it. this is a big meal that i'll eat most of the rest of tonight and may even last a little until tomorrow.

it's a little too salty because i used too many oxo cubes. i think. i'm going to see what it's like as a leftover and adjust it a little. the orange peels softened up to something fairly sweet, while the lime peels are more bitter. i suspect this will be better on day two and may adjust the recipe to make the soup the night before and then heat it up in the stove under the broiler with the cheese on it the next day.

in it's analysis of a conflict between denmark and the united states, which would not last very long without the intervention by larger powers like the uk or germany, the media is claiming that a conflict between nato powers is unprecedented and unheard of and so unthinkable that there's no way to analyze it.

in fact, there has been a lingering conflict between turkey and greece, both early nato members, since before they became nato states, and it became a hot proxy war during the invasion of cyprus, which is actually a fairy close parallel, as cyprus was a greek-supported semi-autonomous region at the time.

turkey has a much larger military force than greece, but the greeks are notoriously hard to conquer. the turks failed to conquer cyprus in the 1970s. 

it's not clear how denmark could provide any sort of resistance to the united states. while the conflict should provide a framework on how to deal with conflict between member states, it's also not likely that a un peacekeeping force would help much, or do much besides provide an excuse and cover for the subsequent canadian invasion and annexation of greenland.

we may not like having to sleep with this elephant, but the upside is it chases off the lions and hyenas, and trying to stab it in the back with a butter knife is just going to get us trampled or crushed when it rolls over.

selling oil to china is not a solution to the problems caused by the tariffs being imposed by the americans, which the oil is actually even exempt from. it's a reckless and stupid policy that is going to cause us immense grief and wreak immense havoc on the local and global environment and should be violently opposed by anybody with a brain in their head, at any point on the political spectrum.

we need to address the issues with the tariffs head on.

danielle smith likes to market herself as some kind of maga light warrior, but the truth is that she has more in common with nicolas maduro than she does with donald trump, and that alberta is more akin to a venezuela-north than a texas-north.

the united states would be doing itself a favour by ridding the continent of her party and her movement for albertan separatism.

she thinks she can build an independent country on the northern border of montana that survives on state capitalist revenue from selling oil to china. she's insane; she's delusional. and, the plan is a clear and present danger to both canadian and american national security.

does this person have a learning disability, or what?

are they just so greedy that they can't process basic information and understand basic consequences, or are they so sociopathic that they can't foresee clearly predictable consequences as a result of their actions?

what, exactly, is wrong with this person that makes them incapable of learning from what just happened, and insistent on walking down the same foolish path, to suffer the same outcome?

The U.S. is Venezuela’s second-largest customer for crude oil. Most of the country’s crude is sold to China at heavily discounted prices, and it seems unlikely Trump will allow that situation to continue.

If the U.S. does succeed in redirecting Venezuelan oil toward the Gulf Coast, China would presumably need to find barrels from another country.

Canada could fill that gap, and has already been ramping up its crude oil exports to Asia following the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, between Edmonton and the Vancouver area.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/venezuela-oil-canada-9.7034122

he's wrong.

but canada is better off leaving the oil in the ground and any policy that makes it harder for canada to sell it's oil is a win for the country's future.

canada needs to look past oil, or it may find itself in the same situation the venezuelans are in.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-venezuela-oil-trump-competition-9.7022452

it's hard to make any sense of this. there's a clear understanding that trump wants the oil, but if the trump presidency was a business, it would be a failing one. 

the government is not a business. taxes are not supply and demand. in modern mixed economies, government is supposed to do what businesses would be unable to do in a market, due to market failure.

at one point, under chavez, venezuela sold huge amounts of oil to the united states, and was using that oil wealth to pull it's people out of poverty, after decades of extreme inequality resulting from unregulated crony capitalism. before chavez, venezuela was a banana republic, where the elite profited immensely by exploiting largely imported labour to service the us economy. chavez tried to balance that out a little at the expense of us business interests and the venezuelan upper middle class that facilitated the exploitation and grew rich from it.

then, in an attempt to destabilize the venezuelan government, the united states stopped buying venezuelan oil and tried to blockade exports of venezuelan oil. this decreased oil exports, idling production. the chinese did not pick up the slack. it just stopped. 

oil prices went up, canada was asked to make up the difference, and everybody was worse off. but it was supposed to lead to uprisings in venezuela that would topple the government, and it didn't. if anything, it strengthened their position, as venezuelans understood that the bolivarian revolution was necessarily on hold until they could find some other export market. 

so, a game of chicken set in - venezuela had no way out of this mess until the americans fucked off and either started buying again or at least lifted the blockade. maduro notably made no attempt to start a conflict with washington, he just sat on his thumbs and waited it out.

as a raving anarcho-socialist, i have had two broad criticisms of bolivarianism and of chavez' economic policies:

1) socialism in one country does not work. socialism needs a global revolution. you have to accept that you can't really have socialism in a country like venezuela until you have it in the united states, first. you can at best have something like lassalleanism, which is certainly preferable to free market capitalism, or to the banana republic they had before chavez. but, chavez wanted socialism in one country and made a number of mistakes due to that wrong-headed approach.

2) chavez understood that venezuela sold everything to america. it sold food to america. it sold oil to america. the conflict between chavez and washington was consequently largely political theatre; venezuela had no interest in destroying it's own market. venezuela did not shift exports out of america, america blockaded it to try to strangle it to death, and it didn't work.

then, ten years later (is this a ten year economic plan, don coyote?), after halting or reversing the progress made by chavez by idling the oil fields, the americans kidnap his successor in the middle of the night and claim they want to get the oil moving again via us tax money, presumably in the forms of loans made to the venezuelan government. but the supposed point of shutting this all down was to change the government in venezuela back to a banana republic.

underneath this mess is actually an admission that the blockade was a failed policy that hurt the united states as much as it hurt venezuela and a series of backtracks to undo that failed policy. maduro should go home and let the party move on. if the end result of this is that the party can pick up where chavez left off before he died, the outcome will help venezuela move on, but it will also prove that maduro was right to just wait it out, without making any kind of move as, in the end, the americans just caved and coughed up the capital to undo the damage they caused, without making any sort of substantive change.

venezuela's greatest fear would be the return to a banana republic, which is what the monroe doctrine created. if it stays united, that won't happen.

so, keep your head on, venezuela. and look at the bright side - the blockade appears to be lifting. you can't have socialism in one country, but you can use the state to redistribute wealth, and you have the infrastructure in place to do it, if the economy can get going, and the party doesn't decide it's decision makers are more equal than others.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/06/trump-us-taxpayers-oil-firms-venezuela-investment

there's really no logic in invading greenland when you can buy it, and canada's too hard, and mexico's too dangerous but cuba should be worried, especially if this is in truth being overseen by little marco.

i hear that trump already has plans to rename the invasion route the "kennedy-trump bay of pigs".

i've actually stuck to the meal plan recipes since i moved here pretty closely, and was eating a lot of pasta over the second half of the summer. i've remade a few meals i developed recipes for and supplemented the schedule items  (like adding chinese noodles to the tomato sandwiches or chicken to the kale caesar salads) but i haven't developed anything new in a while. when faced with a couple of new ingredients (like a bottle of sweet and sour sauce and a pile of frozen breaded chicken), i used the same basic recipe of

- fresh dill, garlic at bottom of bowl

- monterrey jack cheese

- item (tuna, rice, chicken balls, etc)

- bacon grease and bacon (sometimes)

- nutritional yeast, hemp seeds

- caesar, frank's

...but doing things like subbing caesar for sweet and sour sauce for the chicken balls, which i didn't have rice for.

the first new thing i'm going to do in a while is revisit the broccoli soup, which is tonight's meal. i have some chicken broth in the fridge and some broccoli stalks in the freezer (now in the fridge) to eat up. i also have kale stalks and lime and orange peels i've been putting aside for this. i also have a full container of broccoli that i let sit in the fridge a little too long.

it's going to be a little different this time, as i found the broccoli stalks to be a little harsh.

- first, chop up thawed or defrosted broccoli stalks and put them in a blender.

- add chopped up citrus peels

- add milk or soy milk (i'm using unflavoured, unsweetened soy milk)

- blend a little, to mix and chop, not to puree

- chop up broccoli florets

- chop up a bulb of garlic

- chop up 75 g of kale

- take a package of oxo cubes and let them sit in a bowl with water, stirring until they dissolve

- use a very big frying pan

- start with olive oil margarine

- i'm chopping up kale stalks instead of celery. fry them in the margarine for two minutes, covered.

- add the entire bulb of chopped garlic. another two minutes, covered.

- add the blended mix with a 1/2 box of vegetable or chicken broth (500 ml) and the bowl of dissolved oxo cubes

- add the chopped broccoli florets

 - let this come to a boil (uncovered)

- cook it covered on reduced heat for 15 minutes 

- cook for another fifteen minutes on increased heat, until it's boiling again

while it's cooking, put the following in a bowl:

- chopped fresh dill

- two avocados (chopped)

- fry up some amount of bacon

- also, grate some cheese (200 g monterrey jack, 200 g mozzarella, 200 g cheddar)

- chop up some bread (i'm going to use crusts of quinoa-flax and brown bread)

- put the contents of the pan in the bowl

- put the bacon with the grease and oil in the bowl

- add the following: 

- frank's

- pepper

- cayenne

- oregano

- cumin

- paprika

- dried dill

- add bread

- add cheese

- microwave or broil to melt cheese

add:

- nutritional yeast

- hemp seeds

- ceasar

- fresh broccoli florets

i'll have to see if that's a better recipe than last time.

it's time for a repost of this, as i focus on using up items in the fridge or in the pantry before shifting back into my eating schedule by the spring. i went to the food bank three times - in may, in july and in october. i still have items the food bank gave me in july in the freezer and the pantry, and still have items they gave me in october in the fridge, freezer or pantry.

i appreciate the free food from the food bank, although it was often food i wouldn't usually eat and that i struggled to work into my meal plan. i put some amount of it aside (like the frozen chicken) until i could figure out what to do with it. 

i do not expect to need to go back to the food bank again soon, as i have rebuilt my savings and maxed out on social assistance, for a while. however, i'm going to eat through all remaining items they gave me before i even consider going back. one thing i can do is have the large amount of canned soup they gave me with my usual garden salads, which should often actually be a helpful iron supplement.

given that i went out of schedule starting in early april when i moved into the hotel, and i expect to get back into schedule starting with cycle 12 or 13 before the spring, it's looking like this set me out of schedule for a full year.

in fact, while i designed my meal plan for a reason, and it was intended to ensure i get enough of key nutrients, and it worked based on the blood test results, i enjoyed trying to figure out how to eat foods like potatoes and frozen beef that i would never buy and rarely eat. the food bank is for emergencies and i probably don't need it anymore but i'm actually going to miss the challenge of being given random ingredients and finding something to do with them.

when life gives you tamarind sauce, make hot and sour soup.

- june 16th: doubled up salsa with chick peas, cheese, spices and vitamins.

- june 17th: hot and sour soup bacon poutine

- june 18th: basic doritos nachos and french onon soup with bacon

- june 19th: doubled up salsa reprise

- june 20th: caesar salad without subs

- june 21st: 2nd hot and sour soup poutine with hot and sour soup and last chance salad

- june 22rd: 3rd hot and sour soup poutine with hot and sour soup with beets

- june 23rd: caesar salad without subs

- june 24th: caesar salad without subs

- june 25th: bacon and eggs without subs, no salsa

- june 26th: bacon and eggs without subs, no salsa

- june 27th: ad hoc pad thai

- june 28th: broccoli soup

- june 29th: fridge-clearing meal (oranges & garlic bread)

- june 30th: kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 1st:    kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 2nd:  kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 3rd:  10 packages of instant oatmeal, in 5 installments. spaghetti-os + spices & vitamins (cumin, cayenne, pepper, oregano, paprika, sunflower seed, hemp seed, nutritional yeast, frank's).

- july 4th:  a can of stew and a can of corn, plus spices & vitamins.

- july 5th: a package of jasmine rice i had put aside as a quinoa sub (it probably isn't), with a can of peas and a can of tomato soup, plus spices and vitamins.

- july 6th: a can of beans cooked in a can of vegetable soup, plus spices and vitamins.

- july 7th:  two cans of chicken noodle soup, plus spices and vitamins. tim's xl double-double coffee in morning. two builders protein mini bars in evening. 7-11 coffee with jalapeno taquito late at night.

- july 8th: food bank junk food eat through - two bags of "real vegetable chips" (one big, one small), a bag of goldfish crackers, one mini crispy crunch, some strawberry licorice, prime energy drink, two tim horton's donuts, little ceasar's pepperoni pizza with unlabelled chocolate milk product.

- july 9th: another prime energy drink with another unlabelled chocolate milk product, unlabelled food bank ginger bread (two loaves)

- july 10th: pasta with minor subs (1), third energy drink, sour cream n cheddar chips

- july 11th: sour cream 'n' bacon, sour cream 'n' onion chips

- july 12th: more licorice, pasta with minor subs (2)

- july 13th: jalapeno cheddar chips, pasta with minor subs (3)

- july 14th: 10 baby cookies, pasta with minor subs (4)

- july 15th: i ate most of the 14th pasta on the 15th and followed it with the remaining baby cookies (which are actually french butter cookies, not baby cookies. they look like baby cookies). i did not make pasta for the 15th.

- july 16th:.  pasta with minor subs (5)

- july 17th:  pasta with minor subs (6)

- july 18th (on the 19th):  pasta with minor subs (7)

- july 19th (on the 20th): cereal (one bowl of vector and all bran with paprika, flax, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds and soy, as per my normal diet and one bowl of instant oatmeal with a little real milk and an apple)

- july 20th (on the 21st): pasta with minor subs (8)

- july 21st (on the 22nd): pasta with minor subs (9)

- july 22nd: cereal day 2 in cycle 2 (final cycle 2 cereal day): one bowl of vector and all bran with paprika, flax, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds and soy, as per my normal diet and one bowl of instant oatmeal with a little real milk and two apples, one in the oatmeal and one standalone.

- july 23rd: cereal day 1 in cycle 3

- july 24: pasta with minor subs (10)

- july 25: cereal day 2 in cycle 3, same as 22 and 23, with the addition of 6 mini apple sauce containers.

- july 26: pasta with minor subs (11)

- july 27th - guac with white rice and canned corn. two pieces of white bread with plum better.

- july 28th: pasta with minor subs (12)

- july 29th: guac with white rice and canned corn. two pieces of white toast with olive oil margarine, and then two pieces of white bread with plum butter after. four more pieces of white bread, with plum butter and strawberry jam. 

- july 30th: pasta with minor subs (13), including fried chicken for salami.

- july 31st: a larger piece of fried chicken alone. pasta with minor subs (14), including a mix of buffalo and chicken for salami. six pieces of white bread for peanut butter and strawberry jam.

- aug 1st: four pieces of white bread and the rest of the peanut butter. quinoa without subs (on aug 3rd).

- aug 2nd: four marshmallows, two bananas and a chocolate bar. quinoa without subs (on aug 3rd).

- aug 3rd: pasta with minor subs (15), including the buffalo/chicken mix for salami (on aug 4th). two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 4th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (on aug 5th)

- aug 5th: pasta with minor subs (16), including the buffalo/chicken mix for salami. two pieces of toasted italian bread. (on aug 6th)

- aug 6th: guac with yellow pepper, homemade hot sauce and canned corn (on aug 7th).

- aug 7th: monterrey jack tuna salad melt with bowl of cilantro lime monterrey jack rice (on aug 8th).

- aug 8th: pasta with minor subs (17), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (on aug 9th). . two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 9th: guac with yellow pepper, homemade hot sauce and canned corn wth cilantro lime monterrey jack rice (on aug 10th).

- aug 10th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (on aug 11th)

- aug 11th: pasta with minor subs (18), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (early on aug 12th). two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 12th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (at midnight on aug 13th)

- aug 13th: pasta with minor subs (19), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (early on aug 14th). . two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 14th: potatoes with gravy, cheese, sour cream, bacon and dill (early on aug 15th). no av.

- aug 15th: hot and sour soup + side salad (as posted) (late on aug 15th). no av.

- aug 16th: potatoes with gravy, cheese, sour cream, bacon and dill (early on aug 17th). no av.

- aug 17th: hot and sour soup (mid day on aug 17th) and side salad (as posted) with two pieces of toast (early on aug 18th). no av.

- aug 18th: pasta with minor subs (20), including bacon for salami (early on aug 19th). no av. no juice. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 19th: pasta with minor subs (21), including orange/lime for pineapple and bacon for salami (early on aug 20th). no av. no juice. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 20th & 21st: cereal day 1 & 2 from cycle 4 together in one big bowl. (mid-day on aug 20th)

- aug 22nd: pasta with minor subs (22), including orange/lime for pineapple and chicken for salami (early on aug 21st). no av. no juice. no broc. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 23rd: pasta with minor subs (23), including orange/lime for pineapple and chicken for salami (early on aug 22nd). no av. no juice. no broc. no red pepper. no hot sauce. i had the rest of the italian bread, and four extra pieces of brown bread with cheddar cheese, on the morning of aug 23rd and otherwise didn't eat on the 23rd. this is the bread for use with cycle 7, eaten early. 

- aug 24th: pasta with minor subs (24) (early on the 24th). this was the last of the penne and shifted the pasta source to a box of kd, for now. no av. no juice. no broc. no red pepper. no hot sauce. no pineapple. no salami. no caesar. no dill. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. one xl tim's double double.

- aug 25th: (early on the 25th)  tomato sandwich one from cycle 2 and a sidekick noodles instant meal. no av, as it's not ripe yet.

- aug 26th: pasta with minor subs (25). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. no av. no broc (forgot).

- aug 27th: second tomato sandwich meal from cycle 2 with a package of (cooked) chinese noodles.

- aug 28th: pasta with minor subs (26). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine.  two avs.

- aug 29th: doubled up salsa with kidney beans, cheese, spices and vitamins. cycle 2 salsa. four avs. juice. 50 g broccoli.

- aug 30th: pasta with minor subs (27). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. two avs.

- aug 31st: first cycle 3 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa and a can of side baked beans. two avs. last extra juice.

- sept 1st: pasta with minor subs (28). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. two avs. not eaten until morning of sept 2nd.

- sept 2nd: first tomato sandwich meal from cycle 3 with a package of (cooked) chinese noodles. extra av in chinese noodles.

- sept 3rd: pasta with minor subs (29). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. no bread. two avs.

- sept 4: doubled up salsa with kidney beans, cheese, spices and vitamins. cycle 3 salsa. four avs.

- sept 5th: pasta with minor subs (30). pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. two avs (avs caight up).

- sept 6nd: second tomato sandwich meal from cycle 3 with a package of (cooked) chinese noodles. 1/2 red pepper in chinese noodles from catchup. jello with catchup pineapple and one lime, one orange.

- sept 7th: pasta with minor subs (31). pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. 

- sept 8th: second cycle 3 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa.

- sept 9th: pasta with minor subs (32). pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. 

- sept 10th: doubled up salsa with cheese, spices and vitamins. cycle 4 salsa. 

- sept 11th: green beans that were intended for the 10th (eaten on the 12th), with mushroom soup and bacon. first skipped pasta. later, first cycle 4 guac with red pepper (eaten on 13th).

- sept 12th: canned corn that was intended for the 11th (eaten on the 13th) with bacon. 2nd skipped pasta. first tomato sandwich from cycle 4 (eaten on 13th) with a package of (cooked) chinese noodles (eaten on 13th). 1/2 red pepper in chinese noodles from catchup, last catchup. last chinese noodles.

- sept 13th: pasta with minor subs (33). pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. first skipped. (eaten early on 15th) 

- sept 14th: pasta with minor subs (34). pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami.  second skipped. (eaten early on the 16th)

- sept 15th: first cycle 2 nachos (eaten late on the 16th). third skipped pasta.

- sept 16th: second cycle 2 nachos (eaten late on the 17th). fourth skipped pasta.

- sept 17th: first cycle 3 nachos (eaten early on the 19th). fifth skipped pasta.

- sept 18th: second cycle 3 nachos (eaten late on the 19th). sixth skipped pasta.

- sept 19th: second tomato sandwich from cycle 4 & poutine with canned potatoes (eaten early on 21st). seventh skipped pasta. 

- sept 20th: second cycle 4 guac & canned cream corn with bacon meal, eaten on 21st and 22nd. eighth skipped pasta.

- sept 21st: two for 1 bk whoppers (no lettuce, extra pickles) with added monterrey jack (melted), franks and caesar, with four of those cheesy jalapeno things and two apple turnovers. eaten late on the 23rd. ninth skipped pasta.

- sept 22nd: first cycle 4 nachos (eaten during day on 24th). tenth skipped pasta.

- sept 23rd: second cycle 4 nachos (eaten early on 25th). eleventh skipped pasta.

- sept 24th: first tomato sandwich from cycle 5 (eaten late on 25th). twelfth skipped pasta.

- sept 25th: second tomato sandwich from cycle 5 (eaten early on 26th). thirteenth skipped pasta.

- sept 26: pasta with minor subs (35). third cycle 9 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. third skipped.

- sept 27th: pasta with minor subs (36). fourth cycle 9 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. fourth skipped.

- sept 28th: first cycle 4 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa. eaten early on 29th. soy saved to be eaten with two pieces of toast with cheese, eaten midday on the 30th.

- sept 29th: pasta with minor subs (37). first cycle 10 pasta. eaten early on the 1st. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. fifth skipped. two pieces of toast with cheese, eaten midday on the 2nd.

- sept 30th: pasta with minor subs (38). second cycle 10 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. sixth skipped. eaten late on the 2nd. three pieces of toast with cheese, eaten late on the 3rd.

- oct 1st: -------

- oct 2nd: --------------

- oct 3rd: 7-11 pizza with taquito and two glasses of orange juice. eaten early on 4th.

- oct 4th: pizza crusts fried with bacon, margarine, cheese + caesar, brocolli, avocado. eaten early on 5th

- oct 5th: extra large pizza eaten on 5th,

- oct 6th: pizza crusts fried with bacon, margarine, cheese + caesar, carrot. eaten on 6th

- oct 7th: second cycle 4 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa. eaten on oct 7th.

- oct 8th: two nutrigrain bars, one half a container of cookies, 1st cycle 5 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa. eaten oct 9th/10th.

- oct 9th:  rest of cookies + small pizza pizza, including crusts. 

- oct 10th: two small crispers bags, one nutrigrain, one granola bar, big bag of "veggie straws" (which are cheeseless cheezies).

- oct 11th: big bag of cheeseless cheezies, six fruit rollups, one small container of apple sauce, two chicken sandwiches from food basics roasted chicken

- oct 12th: two chicken sandwiches from food basics roast chicken

- oct 13th: second cycle 3 caesar salad, with packaged lettuce subbed for kale and with two broken fried eggs and cucumber added. served with buttered sub bun. 

- oct 14th: first tomato sandwich from cycle 6 with chicken sidekick noodles. two apples, eaten later.

- oct 15th: first cycle 4 caesar salad, with packaged lettuce subbed for kale and cucumber and apple added. served with buttered sub bun. one apple, eaten later.

- oct 16th: second cycle 4 bacon & eggs. no salsa. two apples, later.

=================================================cycle 4 eaten through, except for four exceptions.

- oct 17th: first cycle 5 cereal, with two plain instant oatmeals, each with an apple and a touch of chocolate soy. also, two pop tarts to test the new toaster. 

- oct 18th: first cycle 5 guac, with added cucumber and with white rice, but as third component. first component was 75% of a pineapple (because it needed to be eaten) with a cup of apple sauce. second component was canned cream of corn with bacon, dill, cheese, caesar, frank's, nutritional yeast & hemp seeds.

- oct 19th: doubled up salsa with cheese, spices and vitamins, and cucumber and apple. served with one buttered bun. cycle 5 salsa. 

- oct 20th: second cycle 6 tomato sandwich, with chinese noodles.

- oct 21st: first cycle 7 tomato sandwich, with chinese noodles.

- oct 22nd & 23rd: doubled up salsa with cheese, spices and vitamins, and cucumber and apple. served with one buttered bun. cycle 6 salsa. this took me two tries.

- oct 24th & 25th: doubled up salsa with cheese, spices and vitamins, and cucumber and apple. served with buttered bun. cycle 7 salsa. this took me two tries.

- oct 26th: 6 pop tarts, one bag of goldfish chips and a can of mildly expired ravioli.

- oct 27th: first cycle 5 bacon & eggs. no salsa. served with last buttered bun. two pieces of white toast with peanut butter, later.

- oct 28th & 29th: second cycle 5 guac, with white rice, canned corn, cucumber and apple. served with one buttered hawaiian roll. two pieces of white toast with peanut butter, later.

- oct 30th & 31st: second cycle 5 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa and cucumber and apple. served with one buttered hawaiian roll. two pieces of white toast with peanut butter, later.  

- nov 1st & 2nd: first cycle 6 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa and cucumber and apple. served with one buttered hawaiian roll. two pieces of white toast with peanut butter, later.

- nov 3rd & 4th: second cycle 6 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa with apple. no orange.

- nov 5th & 6th: one piece of white toast with peanut butter, six hawaiian rolls with peanut butter, three hawaiian rolls with jam and four mini apple sauces, eaten over the course of multiple installments..

- nov 7th & 8th: first cycle 7 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa with apple. three pieces of brown bread with jam. no orange.

- nov 9th: tuna sandwich monterrey melt (as before) with uncle ben gumbo with cheese, caesar and frank's. four pieces of brown bread with jam.

- nov 10th: second cycle 5 bacon & eggs, no salsa.

- nov 11th & 12th: second cycle 7 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa with apple. no orange.

- nov 13th & 14th: first cycle 6 guac, with white rice, canned corn. no orange.

- nov 15th & 16th: second cycle 6 guac, with white rice, canned corn. two oranges.

- nov 17th & 18th: first cycle 7 guac, with white rice, canned peas. two oranges.

- nov 19th & 20th: second cycle 7 guac, with canned mixed vegetables and instant rice with bacon. two oranges. eaten in three meals over two days, with an extra orange and an extra avocado and a large bag of dill pickle potato chips.

- nov 21st & 22nd: hot and sour soup poutine &  hot and sour soup.

- nov 23rd: hot and sour soup poutine & hot and sour soup.

- nov 24th: pizza (bacon, olives, pineapple, double cheese)

- nov 25th: second cycle 5 cereal, including a bowl with two instant oatmeals and an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

- nov 26th/27th: first cycle 5 nachos. 2x juice.

- nov 28th/29th: second cycle 5 nachos. 2x juice.

===================================cycle 5 eaten through, except for four exceptions

- nov 30th: first cycle 6 nachos.

- dec 1st : second cycle 6 nachos.

- dec 2nd: first cycle 6 bacon & eggs. with salsa. 

- dec 3rd: second cycle 6 bacon & eggs. with salsa.

- dec 4th: first cycle 6 cereal, including a bowl with two instant oatmeals and an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

- dec 5th: second cycle 6 cereal, including a bowl with two instant oatmeals and an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

==============================cycle 6 eaten through, except for four exceptions

- dec 6th: the salsas for the cycle 7 bacon and eggs, together, with cheese and yeast.

- dec 7th: first cycle 7 bacon & eggs. no salsa.

- dec 8th: second cycle 7 bacon & eggs. no salsa.

- dec 9th: first cycle 8 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa (to eat red pepper & broc)

- dec 10th: second cyle 8 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa (to eat red pepper & broc)

- dec 11th/12th: first cycle 7 nachos. 2x juice. plus subway, bmt with bacon.

- dec 13th/14th: second cycle 7 nachos. 2x juice.

- dec 15th: second cycle 7 tomato sandwich, with uncle ben gumbo with dill and garlic, monterrey jack cheese, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, caesar and frank's.

- dec 16th: first cycle 7 cereal, plus two instant oatmeals with an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

- dec 17th: second cycle 7 cereal, plus two instant oatmeals and an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

===================cycle 7 eaten through, except for four exceptions.

- dec 18th: first cycle 8 cereal, plus two instant oatmeals with an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

- dec 19th: second cycle 8 cereal, plus two instant oatmeals and an apple with a touch of chocolate soy.

- dec 20th: salsa for cycle 8 eggs, together, with cheese and yeast.

- dec 21st: first cycle 8 bacon & eggs. no salsa.

- dec 22nd: second cycle 8 bacon & eggs. no salsa.

- dec 23rd/24th: first cycle 8 nachos. 2x juice.

- dec 25th/26th: second cycle 8 nachos. 2x juice.

- dec 27th: first cycle 8 tomato sandwich with uncle ben gumbo with dill and garlic, monterrey jack cheese, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, caesar and frank's.

- dec 28th: second cycle 8 tomato sandwich with sweet and sour chicken.

- dec 29th: first cycle 8 guac

- dec 30th: second cycle 8 guac

=========================cycle 8 eaten through, except for four exceptions

- dec 31st: first cycle 9 bacon and eggs (no salsa) and sweet and sour chicken from first cycle 9 tomato sandwich.

- jan 1st: second cycle four caesar salad, with added grilled chicken breast. (no tomatoes at store)

- jan 2nd: first cycle 5 caesar salad, with added grilled chicken breast.

- jan 3rd: second cycle 5 caesar salad, with added grilled chicken breast 

- jan 4th: second cycle 9 bacon and eggs (no salsa)

- jan 5th: first cycle 6 caesar salad, with added grilled chicken breast. (remaining avs eaten through)

- jan 6th/7th: broccoli soup

- jan 8th/9th: broccoli soup 

- there were no tomatoes when i went to the store on the 31st

- $3490 transferred to rdsp on jan 31st

- expecting $11000 + 3490*3 = 21470 in bonds and grants into the account on feb 1st

- rdsp is being transferred to self-directed account, but need to verify documents at branch

- have case conference on jan 8th

- need to finish documents by jan 8, to file in afternoon

- go to branch on jan 9th, probably

- received cohb confirmation in mail, $401/month

- there is enough kale for one more caesar salad and enough chicken for 8 more. i should buy more ingredients on way home from national bank.

- check ltb processes

- hearing on 15/16

- appointment on 21st

- jan 8th: first cycle 10 bacon and eggs (no salsa)

- jan 9th: second cycle 10 bacon and eggs (no salsa)

- jan 10th: first cycle 11 bacon and eggs (no salsa)

- jan 11th: second cycle 11 bacon and eggs (no salsa)

- first cycle 9 tomato sandwich (for remaining mayo)

- second cycle 9 tomato sandwich with beans 

- first cycle 10 tomato sandwich with beans

- second cycle 10 tomato sandwich with

- use gst & trillium cash to buy next round of groceries or wait until 15th for cdb, too.

- need items for pasta, mini pizzas, cookies

- $800 more coming at end of month.

items to eat through soon to clear out fridge:

- i have some lingering pasta ingredients that are now in the fridge, but i'll have to buy the other ingredients as well. (remaining bison meat in freezer, sauce, etc)

- peanut butter cookies with caramel sauce

- roast beef & gravy sandwiches (last frozen meat)

- i have quite a bit of pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and want to make some small pizzas on whole wheat pita bread, in the oven. there's more than 5 cans of tomato sauce and i should get 2-3 selfie pizzas per can, so that's almost a week of meals. ingredients needed: bacon, green olive, pineapple, green peppers, remaining chicken, avocado, garlic, spices, sufficiently thick pita breads (greek pitas).

- use up tamarind sauce and oxo cubes to make hot and sour soup as per previous recipe

- eat through caesar salads from cycle 4---->cycle 8, putting kale stalks aside. eat with canned soups. add chicken (chicken caesar salads), made with grill. this is 9 caesar salads, a and might be as much as 20 days worth. this will get me through to mid january. january groceries via december 22nd payment date. big caesar salad purchase after dec 20th.

- eat through garden salads from cycle 2---->cycle 8. eat with canned soups. maybe add meat. this is 14 meals, as much as 30 days.

- fruit & ice cream from cycle 2---->cycle 8. 14 days.

- then, kick into cycle 9, skipping over pasta for cycles 9 and the first part of cycle 10, and going back to schedule in cycle 11.

- feb : pasta with minor subs (39). third cycle 10 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti.  subbed for salami.

- feb : pasta with minor subs (40). fourth cycle 10 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti.  subbed for salami. 

- feb : pasta with minor subs (41). first cycle 11 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti.  subbed for salami. 

- feb : pasta with minor subs (42). second cycle 11 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti.  subbed for salami. 

- feb : pasta with minor subs (43). third cycle 11 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti.  subbed for salami.

- feb : pasta with minor subs (44). fourth cycle 11 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. subbed for salami.

- probably no more food bank runs are going to be necessary, but i'll see.

- get back to schedule first

- the fact is that i like the idea of getting random food and figuring out how to prepare it

=====

- mar : pasta with minor subs (45). first cycle 12 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami. thirteenth skipped. 

- mar : pasta with minor subs (46). second cycle 12 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami.

- mar : second cycle 6 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa.

- mar : pasta with minor subs (47). third cycle 12 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami.

- mar : pasta with minor subs (48). fourth cycle 12 pasta. pasta source is spaghetti. bacon subbed for salami.

the reality in venezuela is that while the "opposition" has commanding support amongst the small upper middle class, which is far more vocal than it's numbers are, they have essentially no support at all in the much larger working class, and what just happened will make it harder for them to win an election, rather than easier. the idea that maduro rigged the elections reduces to a rejection of the proletariat's right to vote in a society that has historically suffered from immense class and wealth divisions, and has been one of the most unequal in the world. the bolivarian movement suffered from corruption at the top, but it did succeed in reducing the extreme levels of inequality that defined pre-chavez venezuela and in making the lives of the proletariat more manageable. this has been at the expense of the upper middle class, which form the opposition, and has been responsible for rioting and violence in the streets as a result of it. 

the numbers are simply not workable for the venezuelan right without a lengthy and sustained propaganda campaign intended to peel working class voters away from chavez' party, and that would be very difficult given the measurable improvements in their material conditions that have taken place over the last several decades. the opposition, the venezuelan right, has no argument and no chance to win.

it's consequently not clear how the united states might manage to steer it's own candidate into power without rigging the elections, themselves. as of the moment, the removal of maduro has not removed chavez' party from power, so there wouldn't appear to be a high likelihood of proletarian revolt. the most likely eventual cause of a shift in power is going to be an election in venezuela that returns chavez' party to power. it's not maduro himself that is popular in venezuela, and i agree he has been in power too long and should step aside for his successor. rather, it is the memory of chavez that has kept maduro in power, and that memory remains, and will likely carry forward to his successor, whether it is the vp or somebody else.

i have yet to see the slightest bit of evidence that maduro is a "narco-terrorist" and my understanding of the reality is that there isn't any evidence of the accusation because it isn't true. it's going to consequently be interesting to watch a trial unfold. it's really the american justice system being put on trial. if they convict maduro of charges that are clearly false based on collusion with the white house and state department, any lingering hope and belief in a functioning american judiciary will cease. that will be the true endpoint for american democracy.

however, if he wins the case (if the charges are even dropped...) there is little reason to think he won't just fly back to venezuela and call an election, and you can be sure he'll win that election, due to what just happened. nothing unites a society better than a foreign attack. you will see members of the upper middle class that despise bolivarianism vote for maduro to protect venezuelan sovereignty, which is more important.

presuming that the justice system in the united state remains functioning, the only way i would predict maduro actually remaining removed from power is if it is a part of a deal made with the justice department, and that might be the actual point. the charges might just be leverage in a negotiation that results in maduro stepping down from power in exchange for the charges being dropped.

if that is the case, delcy rodriguez will almost certainly win the next elections in venezuela, and in a very legitimate landslide victory with a coalition consisting of proles seeking to protect the gains of bolivarianism and bourgeois voters looking to protect venezuelan independence and sovereignty.