Tonight I stepped out of my comfort zone. WWWAAAaaaaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone. I auditioned for the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, the longest running educational and performance clogging group in the country.
They encourage beginners to try out and a several friends encouraged me...so I gave it a shot. This was the first time I've danced in front of anyone since square dance lessons in 5th grade P.E. While I'm 100% sure I will not be the "chosen one" out of the pool of professional dancers, tap dance majors, and long time cloggers that showed up, I am glad I tried.
At the very least, I got to wear a super-cute dress and tap shoes and dance with pretty girls.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
And the award for Best Stepmom goes to...
me, for serving pound cake with bananas and vanilla soyogurt for breakfast. Until they're old enough to need a ride to the tattoo parlor, I'll win their hearts with kick-ass breakfasts.
Tonight we enjoyed the warm temperature with quesadillas (with Teese cheeze on blue corn tortillas) and taco salad. The salad had pressure-cooked black beans, taco-style TVP, carrots, onions, spinach, lettuce, and ranch/salsa dressing. There were pickled jalapeños for the adults.
Overall, it was a big hit. I love watching 8 year-olds devour a huge plate of greens.
What's that? You're wondering why I'm typing funny? Well, that's because I fell backward on my wrists while practicing my clogging tonight. Our floors are pretty slippery with tap shoes on. I'm smeared with arnica oil and hoping nothing bruises.
At least now anytime my wrist hurts I can claim an "old clogging accident". That sounds totally hardcore.
Tonight we enjoyed the warm temperature with quesadillas (with Teese cheeze on blue corn tortillas) and taco salad. The salad had pressure-cooked black beans, taco-style TVP, carrots, onions, spinach, lettuce, and ranch/salsa dressing. There were pickled jalapeños for the adults.
Overall, it was a big hit. I love watching 8 year-olds devour a huge plate of greens.
What's that? You're wondering why I'm typing funny? Well, that's because I fell backward on my wrists while practicing my clogging tonight. Our floors are pretty slippery with tap shoes on. I'm smeared with arnica oil and hoping nothing bruises.At least now anytime my wrist hurts I can claim an "old clogging accident". That sounds totally hardcore.
Monday, April 14, 2008
For Jessy
Jessy from Happyveganface just tagged me to name 5 things about me that others may not know. (Everyone should check out her blog because she has really creative and practical recipes). Being asked to list 5 things about myself feeds 2 of my loves: lists and surveys/talking about myself. I sort of feel like anyone who reads my blog already knows everything about me. And if you read my myspace surveys AND my blog, you definitely know everything about me. But surely I can find some interesting things to say... I happily accept the challenge.
1. I really want to start dressing like I just stepped out of Little House on the Prairie. Like with a bonnet and an apron and everything. I already have the bloomers, bonnet, and apron actually. I just need to sew some good calico dresses. I think if Mike goes with his plan to wear only Tibetan monk robes, we would make a very interesting looking couple.
2. I'm vegan, but I still love cheese. I don't plan on eating any, but I love reading about how to make and pair cheeses. Even if I disagree with raising animals for use as food, I appreciate the art of fine artisan cheese making.
3. My ancestors were original Jamestown settlers and I could be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution if I actually applied. I'm related to John Adams (and John Q. Adams), too.
4. I hate soymilk. It grosses me out with its beany taste and my stomach always hurts after I drink it. I wish with all my might that coffee shops would start carrying almond milk for lattes instead of soymilk. Rice milk doesn't cut it either.
5. I like to dance with the dog because it makes her bark really loud and growl at me. The crazier I dance, the more she freaks out. If I just say, "Let's dance, Hannie!", she'll get really angry, jump up on me, and growl. It's great!
I like this. I'll keep going.
6. I have a permanent retainer cemented to my teeth. Luckily the headgear was not permanent.
7. I hate the sound of pencils writing and silverware on plates.
8. I'm allergic to grass, trees (including maple trees), dust, mold, and cats. You should have seen the reaction when Mike started sanding some maple wood in the basement!
9. I really want to get a new tattoo of bluebonnets growing up my left leg.
10. Mice live in our oven at night.
I tag the authors of these blogs:
Happy Herbivore
Vegan Eats & Treats
Walking the Vegan Line
Vegangelical
Tasty Turnip
1. I really want to start dressing like I just stepped out of Little House on the Prairie. Like with a bonnet and an apron and everything. I already have the bloomers, bonnet, and apron actually. I just need to sew some good calico dresses. I think if Mike goes with his plan to wear only Tibetan monk robes, we would make a very interesting looking couple.
2. I'm vegan, but I still love cheese. I don't plan on eating any, but I love reading about how to make and pair cheeses. Even if I disagree with raising animals for use as food, I appreciate the art of fine artisan cheese making.
3. My ancestors were original Jamestown settlers and I could be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution if I actually applied. I'm related to John Adams (and John Q. Adams), too.
4. I hate soymilk. It grosses me out with its beany taste and my stomach always hurts after I drink it. I wish with all my might that coffee shops would start carrying almond milk for lattes instead of soymilk. Rice milk doesn't cut it either.
5. I like to dance with the dog because it makes her bark really loud and growl at me. The crazier I dance, the more she freaks out. If I just say, "Let's dance, Hannie!", she'll get really angry, jump up on me, and growl. It's great!
I like this. I'll keep going.
6. I have a permanent retainer cemented to my teeth. Luckily the headgear was not permanent.
7. I hate the sound of pencils writing and silverware on plates.
8. I'm allergic to grass, trees (including maple trees), dust, mold, and cats. You should have seen the reaction when Mike started sanding some maple wood in the basement!
9. I really want to get a new tattoo of bluebonnets growing up my left leg.
10. Mice live in our oven at night.
I tag the authors of these blogs:
Happy Herbivore
Vegan Eats & Treats
Walking the Vegan Line
Vegangelical
Tasty Turnip
To Do
Usually I spend my weekends cooking up a storm, but last week was so busy that by the time this weekend rolled around, I had a to do list a mile long. It was warm enough to take the plastic off the windows and take down the awful curtains that broke and wouldn't let any light into the house. It was also warm enough to take the kitten outside on a leash. The cutest thing ever was when the dog, Hannah, took the leash out of my hand and started pulling the kitten along! (but she pulled so hard that the safety release broke her collar open and she tried to escape.) The kitten also tried to climb in the drier every time I went into the basement to do laundry.
***I should take the time here to note that although I complain about to-do lists, they are probably my favorite thing in the world to make and update. And I go insane without one. I think Mike hides my lists sometimes, just because he knows I enjoy rewriting them.***
Among sewing curtains, patching holes in the wall, cleaning out the fridge, and vacuuming (until the vacuum cleaner stopped working...great.), I didn't end up cooking much of anything. By Sunday night I was famished and ready to order in Thai food- Except the restaurant I really wanted to try was closed!
I really shouldn't be eating out anyways because I'm trying to reign in my food spending again. My food budgeting goes in waves, really. I have elaborate plans for budgeting and stick with it diligently...until it works and I have extra money. Then I allow myself to spend more. Then I'm back where I started. Right now I'm spending about 15% of my disposable income on food (yes, I track it). While this is more than most Americans spend, it's about average for folks from other (over)developed nations. So considering I eat nearly all organic food, I'm not doing that bad. There. I rationalized my grocery spending.
So anyways, here is what I ended up making on Sunday:
It's Tinkyada gluten-free pasta with my favorite "Parmesan tofu", zucchini, broccoli, and a lemon-red pepper sauce. The tofu I just tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, nutritional yeast, and red pepper and then baked at 450 for about 20 minutes. It puffs up and gets really crispy and reminds me of when I used to eat Parmesan cheese and it would get brown and crispy on garlic toast. I didn't write down measurements for how I made the sauce, but I know that I deglazed the pan with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and hot water mixed with arrowroot. The sauce thickened up nicely and coated the pasta. Mike thought it needed some tamari, but I liked it with just a bit more red pepper.
I also made the chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies from Veganomicon- but with oat and barley flour instead of wheat. WOW! These are really good cookies! I just love the flavor of oat and barley flour. Sadly, I cannot share them with my gluten-free buddy... but I can share them with Mike and my newly wheat-free pal. And I'm sure they won't last long.
***I should take the time here to note that although I complain about to-do lists, they are probably my favorite thing in the world to make and update. And I go insane without one. I think Mike hides my lists sometimes, just because he knows I enjoy rewriting them.***
Among sewing curtains, patching holes in the wall, cleaning out the fridge, and vacuuming (until the vacuum cleaner stopped working...great.), I didn't end up cooking much of anything. By Sunday night I was famished and ready to order in Thai food- Except the restaurant I really wanted to try was closed!
I really shouldn't be eating out anyways because I'm trying to reign in my food spending again. My food budgeting goes in waves, really. I have elaborate plans for budgeting and stick with it diligently...until it works and I have extra money. Then I allow myself to spend more. Then I'm back where I started. Right now I'm spending about 15% of my disposable income on food (yes, I track it). While this is more than most Americans spend, it's about average for folks from other (over)developed nations. So considering I eat nearly all organic food, I'm not doing that bad. There. I rationalized my grocery spending.
So anyways, here is what I ended up making on Sunday:
It's Tinkyada gluten-free pasta with my favorite "Parmesan tofu", zucchini, broccoli, and a lemon-red pepper sauce. The tofu I just tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, nutritional yeast, and red pepper and then baked at 450 for about 20 minutes. It puffs up and gets really crispy and reminds me of when I used to eat Parmesan cheese and it would get brown and crispy on garlic toast. I didn't write down measurements for how I made the sauce, but I know that I deglazed the pan with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and hot water mixed with arrowroot. The sauce thickened up nicely and coated the pasta. Mike thought it needed some tamari, but I liked it with just a bit more red pepper.
I also made the chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies from Veganomicon- but with oat and barley flour instead of wheat. WOW! These are really good cookies! I just love the flavor of oat and barley flour. Sadly, I cannot share them with my gluten-free buddy... but I can share them with Mike and my newly wheat-free pal. And I'm sure they won't last long.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Soup and Pasta
Just when I thought Spring had come, we got a cold front. And now we are expecting a foot of snow tonight. So my diet will continue with wintery warming foods a bit longer. This soup is perfect for a cold rainy/snowy day.
Black Eyed Pea-Nut Stew
1 cup dry black eyed peas
4 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. tamari
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup hot water
1 medium yam, cubed
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
salt to taste
Combine peas, water, salt, and oil in a pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slowly until pressure is released. (You could also cook these in a regular pot). In a bowl, whisk together the ginger, lime juice, peanut butter, tamari, and hot water until smooth.
Add the peanut butter mixture, yam, and carrot (and jalapeño, if using) to the cooked black eyed peas and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until yams and carrots are tender. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve with corn chips for dipping.
This week I received my Teese! True to their promise, this cheeze tastes like real mozzarella and melts well. I mixed up a casserole full of Cashew Ricotta, gluten free penne, broccoli and marinara sauce. Then I topped it with the Teese and baked it until it melted.
As you can see, we dug in right away!
Tonight I really wanted pasta and cheese, but I also needed to use up a free eggplant that was about to go bad. So I simmered the eggplant with olive oil, cumin seeds, salt, red pepper, coriander, and canned tomatoes. For the pasta, I used Eden Organic's kamut pasta. How can you resist pasta that gives 10 grams of protein, 15% of your iron, and 6 grams of fiber in 1/2 cup of pasta?!
And since it is distantly related to wheat, I get to eat it all myself! Sorry Mike!
Black Eyed Pea-Nut Stew1 cup dry black eyed peas
4 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. tamari
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup hot water
1 medium yam, cubed
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
salt to taste
Combine peas, water, salt, and oil in a pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slowly until pressure is released. (You could also cook these in a regular pot). In a bowl, whisk together the ginger, lime juice, peanut butter, tamari, and hot water until smooth.
Add the peanut butter mixture, yam, and carrot (and jalapeño, if using) to the cooked black eyed peas and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until yams and carrots are tender. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve with corn chips for dipping.
This week I received my Teese! True to their promise, this cheeze tastes like real mozzarella and melts well. I mixed up a casserole full of Cashew Ricotta, gluten free penne, broccoli and marinara sauce. Then I topped it with the Teese and baked it until it melted.
As you can see, we dug in right away!
Tonight I really wanted pasta and cheese, but I also needed to use up a free eggplant that was about to go bad. So I simmered the eggplant with olive oil, cumin seeds, salt, red pepper, coriander, and canned tomatoes. For the pasta, I used Eden Organic's kamut pasta. How can you resist pasta that gives 10 grams of protein, 15% of your iron, and 6 grams of fiber in 1/2 cup of pasta?!And since it is distantly related to wheat, I get to eat it all myself! Sorry Mike!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
My week
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. This past week included volunteering at a food bank, Mike's birthday, big news at work, and a 3 day yoga workshop. I haven't been this busy since I was in school!
Tuesday night I went with co-op folks to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank. We took the labels off of cans of organic tomatoes and relabeled them with stickers bearing the correct ingredient lists. I think the original labels incorrectly identified the oregano and basil as being organic, so the company donated the cans to the food bank (selling them with incorrect labels = hefty fines). It was great to see the food shelves getting organic tomatoes! Although the work was a bit tedious and (I hate to say it- I hope the organic inspectors aren't reading this) pointless, I felt simultaneously relaxed and productive when I was done.
On Wednesday we found out that when our co-op's lease (at the Randolph store) is up in Dec 2009, we'll be expanding to a new location on W. 7th. It's a relief to finally have a location secured. Even if I don't usually work at that location, Mike does and I do almost all my grocery shopping at that store. I'm thrilled that next year I'll be able to walk 6 blocks to the store!
At the same time, I know lots of folks are really sad that the store won't be in exactly the same neighborhood so I can't help but empathize. Co-op members take a lot of pride and ownership in our stores (we are owners after all) so when anything changes (from moving the canned beans to moving the store) it can be pretty traumatic. Now comes the fun part of planning a new store!
On Thursday it was Mike's birthday and he chose a (gluten-free) vanilla cake with caramel filling and chocolate frosting. This was my first time making an actual cake gluten-free instead of just cupcakes, but it turned out pretty good.
Saturday morning I made breakfast and we ate outside on the deck because it was so beautiful outside. I think it got up to 60! We had yogurt-herb potatoes that were somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato salad. They had a soyogurt, green onion, and parsley dressing but were kinda mashed, so I don't know what to call them. But they were really good and tasty cold the next day as well. The tofu scramble was a bit plain because we had no veggies in the house except 2 tomatoes and an onion. But it went really well with the potatoes and gave me plenty of protein to keep up with my yoga workshop that day.
I'm on the Board for the Iyengar Yoga Association of Minnesota and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we sponsored a workshop with Neeta Datta. She has a great way of teaching- somehow she could say things that I've heard before and it just clicked with me more. The classes were strenuous, but very focused on going within your own body and keeping your mind and eyes soft. Right now my muscles aren't feeling so soft- they're feeling more sore. But it was a great weekend! On Saturday night we held a dinner for anyone attending the workshop and I made Isa's Vanilla Yogurt Pound Cake from Veganomicon with a soft ganache topping and California strawberries. Yum! I have an entire cake leftover, though, because we weren't sure how many people to expect. I know I should freeze it for a rainy day...
But today IS a rainy day!
Tuesday night I went with co-op folks to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank. We took the labels off of cans of organic tomatoes and relabeled them with stickers bearing the correct ingredient lists. I think the original labels incorrectly identified the oregano and basil as being organic, so the company donated the cans to the food bank (selling them with incorrect labels = hefty fines). It was great to see the food shelves getting organic tomatoes! Although the work was a bit tedious and (I hate to say it- I hope the organic inspectors aren't reading this) pointless, I felt simultaneously relaxed and productive when I was done.
On Wednesday we found out that when our co-op's lease (at the Randolph store) is up in Dec 2009, we'll be expanding to a new location on W. 7th. It's a relief to finally have a location secured. Even if I don't usually work at that location, Mike does and I do almost all my grocery shopping at that store. I'm thrilled that next year I'll be able to walk 6 blocks to the store!
At the same time, I know lots of folks are really sad that the store won't be in exactly the same neighborhood so I can't help but empathize. Co-op members take a lot of pride and ownership in our stores (we are owners after all) so when anything changes (from moving the canned beans to moving the store) it can be pretty traumatic. Now comes the fun part of planning a new store!
On Thursday it was Mike's birthday and he chose a (gluten-free) vanilla cake with caramel filling and chocolate frosting. This was my first time making an actual cake gluten-free instead of just cupcakes, but it turned out pretty good.
Saturday morning I made breakfast and we ate outside on the deck because it was so beautiful outside. I think it got up to 60! We had yogurt-herb potatoes that were somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato salad. They had a soyogurt, green onion, and parsley dressing but were kinda mashed, so I don't know what to call them. But they were really good and tasty cold the next day as well. The tofu scramble was a bit plain because we had no veggies in the house except 2 tomatoes and an onion. But it went really well with the potatoes and gave me plenty of protein to keep up with my yoga workshop that day.
I'm on the Board for the Iyengar Yoga Association of Minnesota and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we sponsored a workshop with Neeta Datta. She has a great way of teaching- somehow she could say things that I've heard before and it just clicked with me more. The classes were strenuous, but very focused on going within your own body and keeping your mind and eyes soft. Right now my muscles aren't feeling so soft- they're feeling more sore. But it was a great weekend! On Saturday night we held a dinner for anyone attending the workshop and I made Isa's Vanilla Yogurt Pound Cake from Veganomicon with a soft ganache topping and California strawberries. Yum! I have an entire cake leftover, though, because we weren't sure how many people to expect. I know I should freeze it for a rainy day...
But today IS a rainy day!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Kitten Yoga
When Crystal and I were doing yoga on Sunday, the kitten decided to do yoga with us. Trouble's approach is to try to absorb the benefits of yoga through osmosis- by laying on people doing yoga. Here we are in savasana:
And on the meditation cushion:
Then tonight I was in Viparitta Karani on a block when Trouble jumped up on my belly and started to knead!
I think she's really into this.
And because this is a food blog, not a yoga blog, I'll post up a picture of a great classic macrobiotic dinner we had last week. This is brown rice, adzuki beans cooked with kombu and kale, and a mix of roasted yams and carrots. The leftovers were great in my lunch all week and I felt very virtuous.
And on the meditation cushion:
Then tonight I was in Viparitta Karani on a block when Trouble jumped up on my belly and started to knead!
I think she's really into this.And because this is a food blog, not a yoga blog, I'll post up a picture of a great classic macrobiotic dinner we had last week. This is brown rice, adzuki beans cooked with kombu and kale, and a mix of roasted yams and carrots. The leftovers were great in my lunch all week and I felt very virtuous.
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