breakin' legs

Don't worry; it's the *good* kind of breakin' legs! I went to the audition yesterday, and it was really, really fun! I loved reading for the part, and I got to see a couple other people audition, and that was really interesting, too. The film project is for a pilot that a friend of mine is pitching to the premium networks (like hbo, showtime, etc.). I stuck around to do a complete read-through of the script afterwards so they could time it, and it's a great story. I'd totally watch it. I hope it gets picked up! I mean, I, obviously, wouldn't be in any kind of finished version that would actually air on the TV, but still. It's a great story, great characters (all the main characters are women), and I think it's going to be great. I volunteered to help out with whatever is needed because it's just super interesting and fun. Go, Dominga!

Before heading out for that adventure, I stopped by home and made a quick salad and an awesome salad dressing. The dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette, and I got the recipe at the raw foods "cooking" class at Whole Foods a couple of months ago. This is a recipe that Matt devised when he was trying to recreate the raspberry vinaigrette from Sand Hill Berry Farms. I haven't had theirs, and in general I'm just kinda over raspberry vinaigrettes, but this one is so amazing--in taste and appearance. Seriously. A show-stopper. And, really easy to make.

I should've taken the picture before I coated it in a fine layer of pepper, but you can still see the gorgeous color:


Here it is in its jar with an orange and lemon for color gauging:


Matt's Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette
(keeps up to 2 weeks refrigerated)
1 c. raspberries (that have been frozen and thawed, so they're releasing their juices)
2-3 dates, pitted
4 1/2 t. apple cider vinegar or 3 T. lemon juice [ek-I used the lemon juice]
1/2 c. - 3/4 c. water
1/4 c. flax oil [ek-I used extra-virgin olive oil]
2-3 cloves of garlic [ek-I used 3, but I'd use 2 next time]
3/4 t. sea salt

Place all the ingredients except the oil into a blender and puree. Drizzle in the oil while the blender is running to emulsify the dressing. (per serving, cal: 27, carbs: 2, fat: 2, protein: 0)

Yum. I'm going to take this to the beach with me.

And, after returning home last night I was craving some vanilla frozen yogurt. I'd read a post on Heidi's blog about a recipe for vanilla fro-yo from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop (which is right now, at this very moment, waiting for me to pick it up from the library). This is the most simple recipe ever. And, freakin' delicious! I used Fage Total (full fat) because I kept reading that you couldn't make it with the fat-free (not sure why. maybe the texture doesn't freeze well?). Next time I'll try it with the Fage 2%. I think that'd be fine.

I just used 2 containers of Fage Total greek strained yogurt, 3/4 c. organic sugar, 1 t. pure vanilla extract. Mix it all together until the sugar dissolves, and throw it in your ice cream maker. It's done in about ten minutes. I ate half my bowl of it before I remembered to snap a picture, which didn't come out too well, but here it is. You should look at the photo on Heidi's site. That is what made me Have To Have It.


So, at the end of the day I stayed in my nutrition ranges. I ended up at:
Cal: 1273 (range 1200-1550)
Carbs: 194 (range 135-252)
Fat: 45 (range 27-60)
Protein: 43 (range 30-136)
Water: 7 (goal 8+)

And, I wasn't hungry at all, and didn't really think about it that much.

It's CSA Day! I love CSA Day! Ellen picks hers up on Tuesdays so I get a little preview. She said it was lots of greens, strawberries!, pea shoots, herbs (oregano, thyme, sage), garlic scapes, lettuce. Yummy freshness!

Here's today's breakfast-n-lunch pack:


From the top, clockwise:
-salad with romaine lettuce, red onion, avocado, hardboiled egg, orange bell pepper, bac'uns, and raspberry vinaigrette (cal: 298, carb: 17, fat: 21, protein: 11)
-grape nuts, Fage Total 0% yogurt, strawberries and 1 T. honey (cal: 335, carb: 72, fat: 1, protein: 13)
-otsu (cal: 186, carb: 25, fat: 7, protein: 9)

And, three glasses of water so far.

new horizons and old habits

Okay, so yesterday I was talking about needing to get back to the principles of the HealthQuest 2007. Meaning, time to stop resting on the ol' laurels, and kick the diet/exercise up a notch. Now, I'm not talking about trying to get skinny. I'm talking about getting healthy--physically and emotionally. And, being in a body that I'm proud of and feel good about. When I first started trying to get healthy someone accused me of being "unfeminist" and "not fat positive". Which is bullshit. I think that the most feminist thing you can do around body acceptance is to love yourself enough to be healthy and strong--regardless of your dress size, and to be happy with yourself and how you're living. I started this Health Quest because my dad died of diabetes complications after being sick for years, and I saw myself headed down that same path. So, the right thing for me to do is to take care of myself--including losing weight.

Amy just sent me this awesome YouTube video called "A Fat Rant" with a woman, Joy Nash, talking about being fat, her body, society, health, other women, excuses, living, etc. It's awesome. And, she challenges women to tell their weight. And, that's something I haven't done before even though I've been doing all this blogging about food. And, I hadn't done that because I was ashamed. And, I just don't have room in my life for shame. This lady is right. So, since January 2nd:

My starting weight was 245. My lowest weight was 205. This morning I weighed 213. My goal is 140.

And, being fat doesn't need to be an excuse for everything in your life--like it was mine for years and years. This healthquest is about caring about myself. Caring enough to eat good things, exercise and make my body strong, quit smoking (I'm now cigarette-free for 7 weeks and 4 days!), to participate in therapy to work through stuff I've been struggling with for years, to try to get my money issues under control, to surround myself with people that care about me and are positive and care about themselves, to not feel too ashamed to try things I've always wanted to try, to think I'm hot-to-trot, and to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way.

So, I went back to a tool that has helped me in the past--keeping track of what I'm eating and drinking and how I'm moving. I used the site Sparkpeople for a couple months to track food, exercise and progress, but quit when I was both doing well and starting to cook with more unusual ingredients. Because, even though they have a recipe calculator (nice feature), their database doesn't have a lot of the ingredients I'm using so I'd have to google the particular item and its nutrition profile, then enter it all in and it was kinda a pain in the rear. But, I want to do it again for a few days and just see where I'm at. So, in the interest of getting me back on track and full disclosure, here's today's tally so far:

Breakfast:
Grape Nuts cereal with Fage Total 0% greek yogurt, strawberries and honey
cal: 335, fat: 1, carbs: 72, protein: 13

Lunch:
Otsu (without the toasted sesame seeds, but only because I forgot them)
cal: 372, fat: 14, carbs: 51, protein: 17

Water:
3

My personal nutrition goals* daily are:
cal: 1200-1550, fat: 27-60, carbs: 135-252, protein: 30-136, water: 8-8 oz glasses

*they calculate your goals based on your height, weight, age, activity level, goal weight, date for goal weight, etc.

Here's my little breakfast-n-lunch pack today (not pictured: 1 organic pink lady apple, 1 bottle of water)


So, despite my big plans of making a bunch of salads in all my free time this week I ended up making dinner last night and then running over to Maggie's (so she could help me prepare for an acting audition!) for a bit. But, I did make a delicious dinner of Otsu (from Heidi's Super Natural Cooking). It's a Japanese soba noodle creation and addictively delicious.

Otsu
from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking, p. 62)

Heidi's note: In Japanese, otsu means something strange, quaint, stylish, chic, spicy, witty, tasty or romantic. In keeping with its namesake, this buckwheat noodle salad has flavor and personality to spare. Buckwheat, which technically isn't a grain, is lysine-rich and close to being a complete protein. In this recipe, buckwheat noodles (soba) are tossed with a fiery dressing tempered by a generous dose of cooling cucumbers, green onions and pan-seared tofu. Seek out nigari tofu whichis typically even firmer than other types labeled "extra firm."

Ginger-Sesame Dressing:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1" cube of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 T. honey
3/4 t. cayenne [ek-I used 1 t.]
3/4 t. fine-grain sea salt
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4. unseasoned brown rice vinegar
1/3 c. shoyu sauce [ek-I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos]
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. toasted sesame oil

12 oz. dried soba noodles
12 oz. extra-firm nigari tofu
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped, for garnish
1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds [ek-I forgot these! so, they're not in the nutrition breakdown above]
[ek-I also used a little grated lemon and orange zest for garnish]

To make the dressing, combine the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne and salt in a food processor (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar and shoyu and pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.

Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water. While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry and cut into rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (1/2" thick and 1" long). Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick (or well-seasoned) skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden and bouncy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, the 1/4 c. of cilantro, green onions, cucumber and about 2/3 c. of the dressing and toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently. Serve on a platter garnished with the cilantro sprigs and toasted sesame seeds.

...
That shit is off-the-chain tastilicious. For real. It is like magic.


New Horizons #1:
Okay, so I just dropped a mention of this audition above. It's for a small part in a pilot episode of a project a friend of mine is working on for a show about women and therapy--both the therapists and clients. I've just read a tiny piece, but it sounds really good. She emailed me the casting call she had placed on craigslist, and asked if I'd be interested in auditioning. I have always secretly wanted to try acting but I have always been a-scared to death to be that vulnerable in front of other people and thought I was too fat. But, I'm doing it! My audition is tonight at 7:15 p.m. Wish me luck (or leg-breaking). I hope I get it, but even if I don't I'm going to feel really glad and accomplished that I tried it. Heck, I may even try it again.

New Horizons #2:
Sue from the Pittsburgh Lesbian blog sent an email to the queer events mailing list this morning asking if anyone was interested in joining a blog as a contributor for a women's blog project she's working on with some friends. It sounds like a pretty great concept--all women blogger in the 'Burgh blogging about things that are important to women. So, I signed on. I just wrote my first intro post, but I'll be adding more soon. Check it out here.

Right on, right on.

counting down days

Yes, I am counting down the days until I'm going to the beach for my All Gal Beach Extravaganza 2007!!! We go to Stone Harbor, NJ, every year. Schwatts' dad has a house there that he generously lets us use for a week each summer and it's just a little slice of heaven. Half a block from the beach, two decks, lotsa bedrooms, lotsa mac-n-cheeses (what Katherine calls the bright orange throw blankets). And, we just get together once a year to chill, catch up on our lives, do workshops for one another, make and eat some tasty food, play in the ocean and bake on the beach and generally just have the very best week of the year. I'm chomping at the bit!

So, this weekend I went grocery shopping at the Co-Op, Trader Joe's, the farmers market and Reyna, (and Family Dollar for a cooler!) and stocked up with ingredients for some recipes I'd like to make in the next couple of days to take down with me. I think I'm going to make otsu, sprout burgers, wheat berry salad, crunchy/creamy beans-n-greens, chile de Arbol sauce and some mesquite chocolate chip cookies. But, I really only have one free evening until we go, so that's the goal list, and it'll probably be a little smaller than that actually, but I can take the other ingredients with me--'cause now I have a cooler! Guess whose recipes those all are? I'll give you one guess. Her name rhymes with Meidi Mwanson.

And, speaking of Heidi, I was reading her blog today and she gives a link to the Elastic Waist website because they have a video up of one of the contributors making the Straw and Hay Fettucine Tangle with Spring Asparagus Purée recipe from Heidi's Super Natural Cooking. I haven't made this yet, but Nowlze and I were just discussing alternative pestos last week, and I mentioned this one. It looks so good!

This weekend was a good time. You may or may not know that I like a good time. Friday was Gist Street (one of my favorite evenings of the month). I again did not win the eggs in the raffle, but maybe my luck is just saving itself up for a week when the chickens go crazy and make One Billion Eggs. I think that must be it.

Saturday morning the K-Bear and I met up with Zeke (my dog-sit friend) and his mom at this really beautiful dog park in Aspinwall/Fox Chapel. You can tell it's where the richies live 'cause it's super clean and unspoiled and just generally awesome. Lots of trails, a creek, biodegradable poop bags. Caleb and Zeke were thrilled to see one another. They get especially excited when things are out of context. I wanted to snap some pictures of them but they were way too busy sniffing stuff to pose. Here is a picture of some wildflowers, though.


I spent the rest of the day on Saturday doing some grocery shopping and napping. And, then Kara came over in the evening for an ice cream and game party (for two)! It all started when we were emailing back and forth about recipes, then ice cream recipes, and then we had to have some homemade ice cream! We both made a base in advance and got our ice cream machines ready, and then the plan was to play some games while the ice cream was freezing. Which was a perfect plan except that Kara's ice cream maker bit the dust. We noticed that it hadn't really frozen at all after nearly an hour, and so it had instead been actually warming up instead of freezing. Her maker was a really nice automatic Krupps one, but evidently something had gone horribly wrong with its freezing power. So, after I made mine, we tried using my maker, but the combo of it having just been used, my refrigerator not being an optimum temperature (due to all the new groceries) and it having been warmed and whipped for an hour it just never did sit up that night. But, the next day? Woah! She left it in the machine at my house, and that is like hitting the jackpot! Her ice cream flavor was avocado (and it's even raw and vegan!). Hot damn. The flavor is really...green. Like, it tastes a little like just under ripe bananas (which are my favorite fruit, but only when they're not quite ripe) and like avocado and like goodness. It's a little bit icy, but I'm thinking that might be because of the prolonged freezing process. Oh my god, it's good.


I made a rose petal ice cream. I got the recipe by googling one billion rose petal ice cream recipes and settling on the one that sounded most reasonable and rich. It's from the Border Grill:
Ingredients:
3 fragrant organic roses, petals only [E note: use organic here for sure!!!]
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar, separated
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup rosewater (or to taste), available at Middle Eastern stores
3 drops red food color, optional

Directions:

Wash the rose petals in cold water and pat dry. In a heavy, nonreactive saucepan, place petals of 2 roses, milk, cream, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Place over medium heat and heat to just under boiling. Let steep about a half hour to infuse.

[E note: there's a misprint with this recipe because they never tell you to add the rosewater. I added it when I added the rose petals.]

Combine the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk until thick and pale yellow. Bring the rose/cream mixture back to a near boil and whisk 1/4 of the warm mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then pour all of the egg mixture into the rose milk and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain into a bowl and chill on ice. Pour into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer finished ice cream into bowl and add the torn petals from the remaining rose. Fold into ice cream and pack into freezing container.

Due to do the temperature issues described above, we ate it as soft serve (or, soup). It was really rich and deelish.

This is what it looked like the next day:


Sunday morning I was supposed to go to WV to visit a friend, but she wasn't feeling well, so I stuck around the 'Burgh and met a Hurd for brunch at the Quiet Storm. We got two of the specials and split them: Avocado-"Bacon" Frittata with Smoked Paprika Aoili and Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Honeyed Ricotta. (and I got some grits and she got some roasted sweet potatoes--just to make sure that we were in pain). Oh, golly. Those were good. Especially the frittata. Dang.

For dinner I made a salad that was inspired by a sandwich that Bozena brought to the after-kayak picnic. Her sandwich was avocado, hardboiled egg and argula on whole wheat. My salad was spinach, basil, hardboiled egg, avocado, sauteed pea shoots with egyptian onions in a tad bit of toasted sesame oil. The dressing was just fresh-squeezed lemon juice with sea salt and pepper. I made the same thing for lunch today. Yum.


Okay. I've also come to a hard realization, too. It is that I lost 40 pounds by eliminating the processed crap out of my diet, but now my body has acclimated to that and it's just not enough anymore and I still have 60 pounds to go. I've been just thinking (aka justifying) that as long as I'm pretty much making everything I eat from scratch then that'll do it. Because it is all good for me, but it isn't all good if you're trying to lose weight. So, I need to kick this stuff up again. I did the whole first part of my diet with pretty much only changing the way I eat, but then got lazy. So, now I need to make a commitment to exercise at least three times a week and to drink at least eight glasses of water every day. I do best with this stuff when I actually write everything down. It helps me to be aware of what I'm doing and I always enjoy a good spreadsheet. So, dear friends, help keep me honest, and that means that if I say that I think it's a good idea to get those white chocolate chip and raspberry chocolate cookies from Sand Hill Berry Farm at the farmers market, you punch me in the throat.

fanciful

I had a very bizarre evening. I went to my work's "Appreciation Dinner", and talked E-Dawg into being my date (Oh E, will you ever forgive me? Believe me when I say that I didn't know). It was at the LeMont. I'd been there once before, and it was weird, but I was with close work friends (last job), and it was okay. But, this was really wonky all around. First of all, I shoulda known because yesterday I started asking all the peeps at work that I regularly converse with if they were going, and none of them were. The only people that said they were going were the more...socially challenged types (I work with all computer-genius-types, remember?) or ones that are kinda like the boss of me or just ones that I don't talk to much. But, I figured it would still be interesting, and free food & drink, right?

Wrong. It was a cash bar (and, for reals, I feel more appreciated when I'm being plied with booze). The only red wine option was an unnamed Merlot (I swear that the label was scraped off the bottle, too). And, the beer options were Augustiner, IC Light and Iron City. The whiskey was Jim Beam. E and I went for the merlot, which wasn't, actually, too horrible. But, still.

The veggies were crinkle-cut which leads me to believe that they were formerly frozen or sold in a giant-ass bag at Sam's Club or something, and there were deli cheese slices as hors d'oeuvres. Again, not bad, necessarily, but definitely bizarre.


The salad was way overdressed, the bread was day-old Breadworks salt sticks, my pesto pasta tasted like water-flavored paste, E's crabcakes tasted like WonderBread, the waiters (all men, by the way) seemed sorta criminally insane (one of them sported a Hitler-style moustache), there were weird fancy chandeliers in the drop ceiling acoustic tiles, E's "berry torte" was really a berry tart.

The moral of this story is to never, ever go to the LeMont. The view is spectacular, but everything else is crap.





But, now I feel guilty for not being grateful. Or, rather, I feel that I'll feel guilty if anyone from work ever reads this. Or, actually, I feel that I'll feel bad if anyone from work ever reads this and then they fire my ass.

Anyway.

We were all fanced-up, so we decided to hit the town afterwards. First stop was Remedy Lounge (formerly Ray's). I liked it better when it was Ray's. Even with Keri freaking out on Ray and the staff in front of you. Ah, memories.

Then a quick stop into the Blue Moon (Thursdays are Ladies Nights) where we ran into Vince (a bartender from Remedy/Ray's) who told us about a new gay bar that had just opened on 44th St, Cattivo. So, we went there. It's nice--big, clean, well-stocked, friendly bartender, good drink, pool tables, juke box.

[as an aside: last night was a blue moon. i told lots of people to look at it. and, i even went to a bar named "Blue Moon", and walked around outside a bit, but did i look up last night? um, that'd be a no. what the bleep?]

The funniest thing of the night, besides our running commentary, was that at one point this woman from across the bar stands up on her stool and stares at me for a second--with anger or something, but then stares at Ellen--with lust and desire. I think I came real close to almost having to fight for her. She was lookin' fine, but I'm a lover, not a fighter!

please see my office hours

Yesterday evening I pretended that I was holding office hours at the Quiet Storm. It all started because yesterday was the first day that my CSA subscription started, so I was going to pick it up, and meet my friend Jen at the QS to divide up the booty and get her half of our payment (we're sharing a "small share" from Kretschmann's). I was to meet her there around 6:30 p.m., so I didn't want to go home, then have to turn around and come right back to Garfield, so I decided I'd just go after I picked up the veggies and read. But, then I made a plan to meet up with my new pal Jenn for coffee in the meantime (to take our palship from virtual to real world). She's a peach! So, we hung out for a bit, Jen came by to get her veggies and hung out for a minute, then Mags and her dad, Ani and Carol came to meet up for dinner. I wish my office was the Quiet Storm every day.

And, speaking of the QS, I had an amazing dinner there. I ordered the special: "crabcake" sandwich with macaroni salad and choice of green salad or soup. I chose the chilled green pea and mint soup. First of all, the "crabcakes"? Freakin' fab! Man, oh man! Better than many "real" crabcakes I've tried over the years. And, crab is one of those things that I really miss (along with toro and bacon). I emailed the owner/chef to see if I could get her recipe or a tip and begged her to add it to their regular menu. So tasty! And, the chilled green pea and mint soup was fresh and delicious, too. All in all, one of my favorite meals recently, for sure!

And, as for my CSA box. This week we got: romaine lettuce (or leaf?), butter lettuce (?), spinach, mixed baby greens, pea shoots (I've never tried these before and can't wait!), radishes, sage, rosemary, egyptian onions (look like big green onions with flowers like scapes), rhubarb and a loaf of multigrain bread. YUM! Picking up the CSA box and seeing what we get that week is one of my favorite things ever. I love surprises, and this is the best kind of surprise!


Since I had dinner out last night, I didn't do a whole lot with my veggies last night except admire them. But, for lunch today I made a green salad and an eggsalad sandwich. Eggsalad is one of my favorites, but I haven't made it in a while because I normally put a TON of mayo in it, so it's totally not healthy. But, I made some up last night that is definitely better for me than the old-style kind. I used five organic, free range eggs (these were from the Polish Hill bee guy, Deron Johnson) and hard-boiled them, then added about 4 T. of vegan mayo (I used Heidi's recipe from Super Natural Cooking--below), 2 T. real mayo, 1 t. yellow mustard and sea salt and pepper. I like my eggsalad straight up--nothing fancy, not too mayonnaise-y. I had it with a bunch of the butter lettuce and some of the multigrain bread (lightly toasted). I tried to wait until lunch time, but I ate it around 11:00 a.m. I could not help it.

Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Mayonnaise
(makes 1 1/2 cups)
[Super Natural Cooking, p. 200]

8 oz extra-firm tofu
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. fine-grain sea salt
1/2 t. dijon mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper

Wrap the tofu in a few paper towels, then press and gently squeeze to release excess moisture. Combine the tofu, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, mustard and cayenne in a food processor and blend until very smooth, 30 seconds or so. Thin with warm water to reach desired consistency.
[Ehrrin's note: this is a great base for any flavor you want to add. I've used it to make aioli, miso mayo and wasabi mayo. So easy and so good!]

Tonight I have a work dinner at LeMont. Ellen's going as my date, and we will be hooking up some serious old-skool "fancy". I've been there once before (for another work function, different job), and the view is magnificent, the decor bizarre, and the food was very much so-so. I already know what I'm having tonight because I had to pick my menu items last month: salad, pesto pasta (the token vegetarian meal) and creme brulee. It should be interesting. This will be the first time that my worlds have collided with work peeps and friends. And, my work peeps are...let's say...odd. They're all computer genius types, so they have various levels of social skills. I find them to be endlessly fascinating, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them all fanced-up.


I need to start brainstorming some recipe ideas for my upcoming beach trip. So far I'm thinking:
-find a good recipe for veg "crabcakes" (QS wrote back, but skipped the part where I asked for the recipe. darn.)
-Heidi's recipe for "Yucatecan Street Corn with Lime, Chile Powder and Grated Cotija"
-Heidi's recipe for "Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus, Toasted Pine Nuts, Feta and Spinach"
-SarahGrams's mom's crepes with some interesting fillings/toppings
-fresh rolls
-veggie sushi

Anyone have any other good (and impressive) recipes for my 9th(?) annual all-gal beach extravaganza?

i keep forgettin'...

The title of this post is an homage both to the jam by Michael McDonald and to the fantastic version that Ellen and I threw down last night at (unofficial) dyke karaoke. It was sweet, let me tell you. I think we have a shot at being the next...American Idol (a two-fer)! I also sang Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl", which was fun, but the crowning glory was definitely the Michael McDonald duet.
http://www.myspace.com/michaelmcdonald

My dad really liked Michael McDonald, and I think they look a little bit alike, so I guess it was an homage to him, too.

To get my strength up before the big karaoke showdown, I made one of my favorites--tofu tenders. Preheat the oven to 375. I had some leftover marinated tofu from the fresh rolls, so I used that (I sliced the tofu into 1/4"-1/2" slices and marinated in a mix of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, honey and crushed red pepper flakes for about 24 hours), and made a little shake-n-bake style pouch (zip-loc bag) with some whole wheat bread crumbs, some toasted sesame seeds, some cayenne and salt-n-pepper. Then spread them on a baking sheet that you've prepared with some cooking spray (I use an organic olive oil spray), and also spray the tenders (this will help them get crisp). Bake 10 minutes on each side (spray again when you flip them). Voila! I had mine with some sweet/hot mustard, but they're really good with any kind of dipping sauce you like. You can also play around with the marinade and the coating. They're so easy, and so yum. They're sorta like cheese sticks or fish sticks or something like that.


I brought the rest of them today for lunch along with some Nancy's cultured lowfat cottage cheese (this is the best cottage cheese ever! it's cultured, like yogurt, and has a nice tang and good creaminess. i love this stuff. http://www.nancysyogurt.com/nancys_products/cottage_cheese.php). I plopped some of the leftover pineapple/lime from the fresh rolls. I'm trying to wait until lunch to eat it, but it looks so good beckoning me from its spot on my desk. Also, packed a pouch of "trail mix" with some dried apricots, gjoi berries, hunza golden raisins and some mixed nuts and seeds (almonds, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds--leftover from the spiced caramel corn). It's a taste sensation, and really pretty; I wish I'd have thought to take a picture. It is health-in-a-bag.

I think I might need a passion tea from starbucks. Yes, starbucks. Don't hate.

every weekend should be a long weekend

I love a long weekend! But, we really should get a day of rest after a long weekend. I need to do the catch-up stuff like washing dishes, doing laundry and napping. But, it really was a super weekend. Despite the threats of all-rain all-the-time it ended up being pretty beautiful, and the rain stayed concentrated into several quick thunderstorms.

Friday evening I sold Scout to a woman for her daughter (who looked to be about 12 and possibly a budding young dykelet; it warmed the cockles of my heart). Farewell, friend. Then Mags and Ani came over for dinner (and dish-doggin'!). Maggie is seriously the fastest dishwasher on the planet! She knocked out my big backlog of dishes before I was even done making dinner. Sweet. And, she works for praise, so I like to report what a powerhouse she is. It really is something to behold. And, clean kitchen! Yay!

I made us a rice bowl dish with brown basmati rice, a riff of the recipe for Wheat Berry Salad in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking (one of my favorite recipes so far). It's a citrus-y dressing that I made with with orange zest and juice, lemon juice, garlic, green onions, olive oil, salt & pepper. Sauteed some broccoli, orange bell pepper (I thought the color of the pepper went nicely with the orange flecks from the dressing), and more green onions. With tofu and toasted pine nuts and feta cheese. Yum.


For dessert I made an ice cream. I was experimenting with this flavor, and it's not quite right yet (but still really tasty), but I made a bunch of notes for the next attempt (more cream, less milk, more cocoa, a dash of salt, etc.). The flavor was Mexican Hot Chocolate--flavored with cinnamon, cocoa, mesquite, chipotle chili powder and cayenne. It had a little kick, but your mouth was cooled by the ice cream. I think it's a good start! I'll make this again soon, and promised Mags and Ani that they could taste the next batch, too, in the capacity as my Official Ice Cream Testers for this flavor. (it looks melty because it is; we ate it when it was still soft-serve consistency).


Saturday morning Mags and I took the K-Bear, Fig and Ella for a big hike from my house, around Washington's Landing, and back up (and up and up...). We've done this many times, but it kinda wiped us all out that day. Maybe because it was the first hot day? I don't know, but the K-Bear kept trying to duck under some bushes for a nap on the way back up Rialto Street, and I kinda wanted to join him. But, it was gorgeous! And, the K-Bear even found a dead mouse to roll in, so a good time was had by all!

Afterwards I made a version of Heidi's curried tofu scramble. Golden and delicious!


Saturday afternoon I went kayaking on the N. Side with a group of gals from the mailing list. Fun! Well, actually it was harder and scarier than I'd imagined, but I'd totally do it again. And, I'm sporting a couple blisters on my thumbs that I think make me look kinda butch.


Sunday morning I headed over to hang with Zeke, and we took a big walk, then I picked up Ellen and Kara to go to the Rachel Carson Centennial Celebration. You paid $5 to get in, and then got to partake of lots of tastes from local chefs using local/organic/sustainable/seasonal ingredients. Freakin' yuh-um! Plus, lots of other environmentally-friendly types of booths. The only thing weird? All the food was served on disposable plates with disposable plasticware. What the bleep? Isn't that the complete opposite of the spirit of the gathering? Anyway...yeah, fantastic food! I tried some kind of pasta/fiddlehead/shittake thing, a curried corn chowder, a wheatberry/bulgur salad (was supposed to be with lamb, but I skipped that part), a rice dish with fiddleheads and a bunch of other veggies, a ginger-carrot mini cupcake (from Vanilla; totally the "winner" in the cupcake debate!), a salad with baby greens, local goat cheese and rhubarb vinaigrette. And, Najat's had a booth there, so I picked up a turnip green pie (oh my god, these are good!) and a little pistachio cookie. And, then we went to the Pittsburgh Mills Mall. Just for juxtaposition's sake, er something. (It was one mile away and air conditioned and we were weak! But, we were extra weak after walking one hundred miles in the mall just to make it to the gelato booth. dang.)

Monday was all about dog-walking and napping (I had to take some benedryl 'cause I got my sun-hives. I was so hoping that I'd grown out of it since last year wasn't so bad, but no. After the Rachel Carson thing both arms were covered in ugly, itchy hives. bummer). Ani and Maggie had a party/cook-out that was super fun! I got to see my ol' pal and roommate Becky, and her family that I hadn't seen for years. I hadn't even met one of the kids! (The kids, by the way, were magically gorgeous and hilarious! shout out to Della and Cece!).

I brought some fresh rolls. I'd made them once before, but then was re-inspired when Kara brought some to the book club a couple weeks ago. I made mine with marinated tofu, a "quick kimchee" (got the recipe out of a magazine a few months ago, but now can't remember which one), some pineapple macerated in lime juice and zest (this idea lifted from Kara), carrots, red and orange bell peppers, julienned, minced cliantro, basil, mint and red and green chilis and some vermicelli. Here's my little making station:


And, here are the babies when they're all ready to go to a potluck picnic:


I made a spicy peanut dipping sauce with some natural peanut butter, some sriracha and some golden plum sauce (thinned with water). And, I brought two rolls for today's lunch. Which I'm ready for right now!

i'm a winner!

I did it! I called Comcast last night and told them to suck it! I was feeling a little sad about it yesterday, but then they called to harass me to pay my bill from last month, when I *told* them I wasn't going to pay it until I saw the credit for all the time it wasn't working. So, I went home, got my "Lost" on, and then immediately called them and told them to turn it off thatverysecond.

Speaking of "Lost", holy shit! That was a freakin' awesome episode! Crazy.

Yesterday evening my uterus demanded that I get takeaway from Spice Island Tea House (Atwood St., Oakland). It, and I, needed the Java Fried Rice (vegetarian with tofu and egg). Hot damn. It's not "healthy" 'cause I can see the oil in the bottom of the dish, but it is fabulous. And, it does have lots of veggies, so I can pretend it's healthy. And, I brought the leftovers today for lunch. YUM.

My uterus suggested that since we were on Atwood Street, perhaps we should also swing by Dave and Andy's Homemade Ice Cream Shop. So, we did. I got the cinnamon-apple-granola frozen yogurt, and it may be the best ice cream-type creation In The World. Holy moly.


I'm taking Scout (my kids' bike) by a lady's house after work to try to sell it. I hope she buys it. Mostly 'cause I'm pretty broke (getting paid once per month sucks), and I'm going to the Rachel Carson Centennial this weekend, and I'm sure there will be some delicious treats to try. It's five bucks to get in, and then you get to try a bunch of chef's tastes. I like the sounds of that. Plus, the Firehouse Farmers Market, other vendors, etc. http://rch.extranet.bbfsol.com/Default.aspx?tabid=88

You know what is a moment of pure joy for me? It's when I open a brand-spankin' new jar of peanut butter and the surface is so smooth, and then that first dip into the jar. I made a PB-n-J burrito this morning (peanut butter and fig jam), and had this experience. It's just so satisfying.

Untouched:


Making contact:


First dip:


Ahhh.

And, TGIF. For reals.

ehrrin vs the cable

Okay. I posted a month (or two?) ago making a big statement how I was going to shut my cable off and then spend all the time I was saving by not watching television by working out and getting in a shape and also saving money and stuff.

But then? They called me the next day and wooed me back with promises of discounts and the like. But in real life my rates went up--not down--and I had technical problems for a month which required me calling them almost every day, then taking off work for a half-day so they could come out and bring me a new box. But, I stuck with it because I am a "Lost" and "American Idol" (oh, Blake, I tried!) and "Ugly Betty" addict. But, guess what, Comcast? Seasons finales for all three shows have been completed (but, I'm watching the "Lost" finale tonight--so, NO SPOILERS, folks!). So--too bad, so sad, Comcast! As soon as the final credits roll on my dvr'ed "Lost" finale, you and I are over. For real. And, we're not getting back together no matter what you say! (until January for the L-Word premiere. I'm only one woman? what do you expect of me???)

And, then my plan of spending all the time I spent in front of the tube into healthy time will magically come to fruition!

I am doing a fun exercise thing this weekend, actually. I'm going kayaking downtown on Saturday afternoon with a group of about ten ladies through Kayak Pittsburgh (http://www.kayakpittsburgh.org/KP/hours.html), and then we're going to have a picnic afterwards. Fun! (if you want in, email me!)

I'm also hitting up the Rachel Carson Centennial Birthday Block Party on Sunday. It sounds so super-fun! Here's the scoop on that: http://rch.extranet.bbfsol.com/Default.aspx?tabid=88

And, dog-sitting my man Zeke on Sunday-Tuesday, too. Good times.

Speaking of goodness, I made a lovely dinner last night (which is also now my lunch, and I'm eating it Right Now).

I got some fresh pasta at Penn Mac (http://www.pennmac.com/) last weekend, and one of the flavors I got was orange-ginger-sesame, so I made that last night with some carrots, peas, asparagus and green onions. First I sauteed some ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes in a skillet with a little toasted sesame oil, then added the carrots & onions, then the peas & asparagus over semi-high heat, and cooked them for about 3 minutes until everyone was brightly colored and beautiful. Then added some Bragg's Liquid Aminos (could use soy sauce), a little more toasted sesame oil and a little honey. Coated all the veggies, then tossed with the pasta, and topped with some more green onions, some grated lemon zest and some toasted sesame seeds. Yum.


I had leftover pasta, but I'd eaten all the veggies, so I made the same thing again this morning, except without the carrots (only because I was out).


I seem to have started developing a case of pms again (grrr!). Between the two-week pms last month, and the nine-day dms (during menstrual syndrome), it pretty much just ended! What the bleep?! Annoying. I realized it was starting up yesterday when I found myself driving way out of my way to try a cupcake from Coco's (http://www.cocoscupcakes.com/). I'd heard that there was a rivalry between them and Dozen (http://dozencupcakes.com/), and I've tried Dozen, so I wanted to try Coco's. I declare Dozen the winner! They both have way too much frosting (actually, the cupcake I really like from Dozen is the lemon-lavender which has a lemon royal icing and is perfect, but most of the cupcakes have buttercream frosting piled absurdly high). Like, WAY too much. Makes them look impressive, but totally overwhelms the cupcake, and I just scrape almost all of it off anyway. I had some kind of espresso cupcake with Kahlua frosting. They frosting really just tasted like butter. Like, an entire stick of butter whipped and plopped on top of a cupcake. The cupcake was okay, but eh. Actually, I'd heard that there was another place called Food, Glorious Food in Highland Park that beat them both, but I think it's since closed. Too bad. Anyway, my uterus was not amused.

I think I found a buyer on Craigslist for Scout (the bike I bought from CL, but it ended up being a kids' bike, and is way too small). I hope so. I would like to have that money back to put towards a grown-up bike.
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/336025225.html

What am I going to make for dinner tonight? I'm thinking maybe just a salad and some edamame. Lauren is coming over to watch the "Lost" finale with me, so maybe I'll try to think up a tasty vegan tv-style treat...

dirty dishes

I still have a giant pile of dirty dishes left over from the weekend. Guess how I'm dealing with that? If you guessed: "keep piling on more?", you would be coming correct. I will make a promise right here and right now to do at least two sinkfuls* after work, before I go out and meet my pals for a cocktail.

*I estimate that there are approximately 4.7 sinkfuls accumulated. That is the cruddy thing about not using the processed foodstuffs. Lotsa, lotsa dirty dishes. And, no dishwasher, and that is sad.

(I just lifted that image from google image; are you allowed to do that?)

Last night I did a little tiny bit of cooking. I made some comfort food in the form of fried potatoes. I love fried potatoes. You can add in all kinds of different things and spice them all kinds of different ways, and they always come out tasty.
I used some yellow new potatoes, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, toasted sesame oil, chipotle chili powder, cayenne, coarse sea salt & pepper and wilted some roughly chopped sorrel when I'd taken it off the heat. I didn't take a picture because I'd forgotten to recharge my camera batteries, but believe me when I say it was an attractive, colorful plate of goodness. (Haven't I earned your trust by now?)

You know what? Last month I tried some ketchup for the first time in a while, and thought it was nasty--tasted way too sweet and chemically. So, I thought that despite our life-long love affair that things were splitsville with us. But, last night I didn't feel like whipping up any sauces, so I tried some ketchup again, and it tasted just fine. Weird. Evidently we're now on-again, off-again.

I still have been gaining and losing the same g-d four pounds for a few weeks now. It is annoying! I am at what the kids' call a "diet plateau". You know what you need to do when you're at a diet plateau? Kick it up a notch. What I need to do is to remember to drink (at least) 8-10 glasses (8 oz) of water a day. For some reason I struggle with this. I also need to step up the exercise. I've been wanting to start taking yoga, but I keep spending all my disposable income on kitchen implements and ingredients. But, then I remembered that the Squirrel Hill library has free yoga classes. I just looked it up, and it's Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Right on. http://clpgh.org/dontmiss/eventlist.cfm?mode=search Plus, it's probably the right starting level for me. I went a few times years ago, and the class was mainly made up of older people, and my outta-shape, inflexible ass needs something geared towards older peeps.

I remember when I went years ago that sometimes people in the class would fall asleep and snore during the relaxation cool-down period. And, my roommate(at the time) and I would always die laughing, and try not to cackle out loud. And, then one day I was the person that fell asleep and snored.

When do the city pools open? I can't wait! Last year E-Dawg and I went almost every day, and it was glorious. I can't wait to do that again. In fact, I'm going to look up the goods right now, and share the juicy info with you, dear readers...
June 15th! Which is the day I get back from vacation. And, then the next day is Pride, but then? Pittsburgh public pools, watch out! I'm headed for you!
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/swimming_pools.html

What's your favorite city pool? I think I like Bloomfield the best. It's never very crowded, close, and has that cute mushroom-type sprinkler thing. And, is walking distance to a Crazy Mocha (http://crazymocha.com/). I also very much enjoy Riverview, too, though. And, Highland Park. But, not Schenley. Schenley is packed with kids, the lifeguards try to harsh your mellow, and I once hit my head really hard on the bottom of the pool when I was doing in-water flips. So, Schenley, sorry, you can suck it.

Also, here's a tip. Speaking of sucking it, just suck it up and buy a pool tag. I didn't last year because I didn't realize that I'd become addicted. It's only $30, and you can use it all year round (Oliver Bath House in the off-season). Do it. http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/swimming_pools.html#pooltags

Another thing, if we go swimming together, you should challenge me to a water-walking contest from one side of the pool to the other. You will lose, but it'll still be fun for you to see how amazingly fast I can walk in water. Wow!

(note: that is not me in the photo, but that encapsulates how I feel after winning a water-walking contest).

I've been making a veggie wrap every day for lunch. This isn't the one from today, but it's from a few days ago, so you get the idea. A tortilla (from Reyna--the best! I wish they made whole wheat, too), rice I've doused with some type of sauce and let marinate in the fridge overnight (today is spicy ginger-sesame sauce), a bunch of veggies (today is cucumber, grated beets, carrots, green onions and sorrel. But, they're good with everything, and super easy to make if you've already prepped the veggies and have them in your fridge.


You know the one thing I miss from keeping my blog on myspace? It's how they had you put a little tag of what you were reading and/or listening to. So, I'm just going to add that in myself:

I am currently reading: No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. Check out her website for this book. It's amazing. http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/

I am currently listening to an album by Nonstop Everything called Smoke Stacks. Nonstop Everything is a side project of this guy Ben from The Van Allen Belt (http://www.myspace.com/thevabelt). We're myspace friends. I've never met him, but I often go to the restaurant where he works, and he sometimes leaves me cds. Which is awesome. Thanks, Ben.