:/

[feuervogel]

I am grumpy.

I am chronically undersocialized.

I can't afford to host parties as often as I did when I was actually getting paid.

I am an extravert (ESTJ).

I am also apparently a horrible unpleasant person that no one wants to spend time with because I'm mean and horrible. (No really, I've gotten emails detailing exactly how I am a horrible person and that's why no one wants to invite me to things.)

These things are all related.

But apparently when I throw a party, people come (probably because they know I make good food, because I'm a Heinrich, dammit, and we like food*).

But finding time when people are all free is tricky, because, you know, grown-ups and work and other standing plans and whatever.

But regardless, I'm going to try to have people over once a month on a standing basis because if I don't start seeing and interacting with humans other than my husband on a regular basis, I am going to go insane.

*digression: when I was a kid, I used to love these hors d'ouevres my mom would make that are dill pickles (not spears) coated in cream cheese and wrapped in corned beef. I hadn't thought about them until the Xmas party, when mom brought them. I made Ben eat one to feed my nostalgia. If anyone knows of a vegetarian corned-beef-like substance, please let me know.

Comments

[ranyart]

I found this corned beef style seitan recipe, although if I were to make it I'd steam it, not bake it, by dividing it into four smaller loaves and steaming for 40 minutes. I've made a bunch of homemade seitan in various flavors and it works really well.

I think I need less social time with people than you do, but I don't get much at all here and sometimes I feel like that's a pretty big problem. I am trying to be better about initiating social stuff with friends but folks are busy and spread out and it's not always easy. So yeah - I hear you! Keeping up with people is tough, and planning parties takes a lot of energy too. The last time I had a big party, a large number of the people I invited didn't bother to RSVP and I was pretty stressed not having any idea how many people to plan for.

[feuervogel]

Does the recipe end up with a lot of little pieces? I'm trying to imagine wrapping pickles in it. The stuff mom used was thinly sliced (about cold cut thickness), don't know how long.

With people not RSVPing, I tend to set the RSVP date 3-4 days ahead of the party, and I'll send a reminder to the people who are rude and don't bother writing to say "oh sorry can't make it" that I actually need to know if they're coming so I can plan appropriately. Except worded much more like "Hi, I haven't heard back from you, please let me know today if you'll be able to make it."

Part of my problem may be that most of my energy is currently directed toward writing and this class I'm taking, so I don't have processor cycles to spare. Which would be more compelling as an excuse if I didn't spend half the morning playing games on Facebook.

[ranyart]

Ohhh you're right, you want thin slices. Ok, I would then NOT divide into four logs, and just slice the big log thinly on the bias. You'd probably be fine then. You can shape the seitan into any shape that you can get to hold its shape during the wrapping process, so that might work.

[feuervogel]

I almost wonder if using facon would be easier. I'm kind of lazy, and I've never seen seitan blocks at the store, only the kind that's pre-chopped.

[ranyart]

I don't have enough of a memory of corned beef to know what would taste most like it, but facon could work. Maybe the Smart Bacon vs. the Morningstar kind? Homemade seitan does take a little prep work but you get a LOT of ridiculously tasty food for not that much energy; I'd recommend trying it sometime even if you don't do it for this recipe.
Out here we can get a wider variety of seitan but it's still generally not in a big block. I did see one brand that says on its box that it comes in cubes, slices, and crumbles, but I've never actually seen the slices in a store.

[feuervogel]

This recipe looks like what mom made, and they just use regular cold cuts, so I could probably use 'bacon'. Tofurky slices are so bland and awful they wouldn't work.