coffee talk and a recipe

i love watching the people in my neighborhood walk past my coffee shop... it is never boring and almost always rewards me in some sort of character-creation sort of way. A typical morning:

The early cup of coffee is most often accompanied by the early-risers of uptown. Inside the coffee shop suited men and women park their prius's in the red and look nervous if it takes to long to get their iced soy triple vanilla lattes. the "working class" in this neighborhood consists of people my age, usually graduated from college, who park their vespas on the curb and opt for the less-sweet drinks that are packed with caffeine. (did you know that they can actually add caffeine to coffee?) And then you have people like me, who work at night and come stumbling in unshaven in jeans and super-hero t-shirts, for a cup of black coffee and free wi-fi. I am amazed by the homeless people around this part of town. I have this urge to give them my ipod, thinking that maybe 10,000 blues songs will help them get through the day.

And now, to change the topic completely. I've been telling people about this recipe a lot lately, so I might as well share it here.

Jyoti-Bihanga Neatloaf

Neatloaf - served in Sri Chinmoy enterprise restuarants (Ananda Fuara and others around the U.S. and abroad)

4 eggs
2/3 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix (the whole packet measures 1/4 cup, so use slightly less or use the whole packet if you like the onion soup mix taste) - for vegetarian version substitute dry soup mix without beef bouillion
1/3 LB low-fat ricotta cheese
1/3 LB firm tofu (mashed into small pieces)
1/4 cup vegetable oil of choice
1/3 cup onions
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. rosemary (fresh is good)
4 cups (dry measured) Special K (note: this approximately equals 4 oz or 113 grams of the cereal by weight)
1 1/2 tbsp. garlic
FOR THE SAUCE:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1/8 cup to 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (to taste)
Pinch cayenne ground pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Sauté onions and garlic.

Beat eggs in a bowl, and then add all other ingredients except the Special K. Mix well and then add the Special K last. Put in pan that is sprayed with cooking oil.

Bake for 1 hour. Pour sauce over loaf after 1 hour, and bake for 10 more minutes.

And if anyone doesn't want to make it, but wants to eat it, I am up for a trip to Jyoti-Bihanga anytime.