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.

mondaze

There is never enough time in the day! I haven't had a chance to update this blog in a few days because time has been slip-slidin' away from me. But, rest assured that I have been eating. Last week I was dog-sitting a lovely pup named Zeke. He's swell. And, his house is awesome. Right in the Mexican War Streets--close to the park, close to Beleza. Perfect. I filled me with joy to be walking around in that 'hood for a few days. That's livin'. I always knew I liked that neighborhood, but now I *love* it! I'm going to dog-sit Zeke again this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it. I heard my neighbor's dog let out a little whine yesterday that sounded exactly like Zeke's, and it made me miss him--real bad! This is his adorable face.

He and the K-Bear are now BFFs, and that's real sweet. And, they both love the "caleb cookie" treats I made. I'm going to have to make up a new batch tout suite.

Maggie came over for dinner on Friday, and we had leftovers of the vegan sprout burgers, the mushroom quinoa and sprouted hummus with carrots and peas. I'm not sure why all my pictures came out fuzzy. I must've had my camera on the wrong setting. Hope it's not too annoying. Maybe you should squint for best viewing. No, squint harder. No, harder.

And, then we made the spiced caramel corn. She made the popcorn this time, and it was so easy! Why is it so hard for me? Is it because I have hate in my heart? Anyway, it was fluffy and delicious and addictive. Again, Heidi = genius.

Speaking of, on Saturday night I had a friend over for dinner, and made a little Japanese-ish feast. I wanted a meal that would be energizing, so I made some edamame, veggie sushi, otsu and genmaicha tea. And, ginger ice cream with caramel-coconut sauce. Dang. It was some serious delicious.

For the veggie sushi, I used nori, brown basmati rice (which I kinda burned, but just used the non-burnt part which tasted toasty 'cause of the burn) with sushi vinegar powder, grated beets, baby corn, peas, carrots, avocado, enoki mushrooms, green onions, cucumber, red bell pepper and wasabi. It was absolutely lovely.

The noodle dish was Otsu from Heidi's Super Natural Cooking. It's soba (buckwheat) noodles with a spicy-hot ginger sesame sauce with tofu, cucumbers and green onion. The sauce for this is so good that you could dive into a vat of it with your mouth open. Yum.

The ice cream and sauce recipe, I found on the blog My Husband Cooks. Here's the recipe: http://myhusbandcooks.wordpress.com/2006/10/25/ginger-in-ice-cream-hmm/


Okay. Gotta head out now. The Queer Dinner is tonight at the Gypsy Cafe (http://gypsycafe.net/), and they always have fantastic food. Yummy.

homecoming

Yay! I like having a real-life, grown-up blog instead of just my myspace account. Plus, it was just a little embarrassing when I'd mention my blog and someone wanted to read it, but then they also saw my silly myspace stuff, too. Anyway, yeah. Feels good to be home!

I went to four innings of a Pirates game last night with Lauren and her friend Henry. (I had to leave early because I was dog-sitting and Lost was on...but, I fell asleep during Lost. dang!).


For our sports snacks, I made a batch of Heidi's Sprouted Garbanzo Burgers (from Super Natural Cooking), but changed the recipe I tiny bit to make them vegan. The original recipe calls for 4 eggs, and I wasn't quite sure what the best substitute would be. I ended up using flax seeds (grind up 1 T. in a coffee/spice grinder, and mix with 3 T. water to equal one egg. It should kinda have the consistency of egg whites), and it came out perfectly! So perfectly, in fact, that I may just make that my standard. They were a little bit wetter than the original egg version, but otherwise tasted the same--which is to say: yummy!



I made a vegan mayo (again, Heidi's Super Natural Cooking), and mixed a little with some miso paste. We used that to top the burgers along with some sun-dried tomato paste (I bought it), fresh spinach leaves, grated carrot and onion slices. And, some of the leftover spiced caramel corn for dessert (does it still count as dessert when you eat it first?).

It was fun, and I got to see a Pirates home run, someone catch a pop fly in one bare hand, and get schooled by a random passing sports fan 'cause I thought I was standing in front of the Roberto Clemente statue when it was, in fact, Willie Stargill. Silly me.

Also, made some quinoa with creamy fromage du pays and sauteed mushrooms--loosely based on another Heidi recipe. I shoulda stuck to the recipe because my version came out kinda boring, but Ellen said she made the original and it was delish.


I'm dog-sitting tonight, so probably no cooking. Just have to figure out what to forage from the fridge and cabinets before I go settle in with Zeke (my new dog pal).

from 5/15/2007

I did no cooking last night, but I did do some snacking!

I went to book club, and I brought the spiced caramel corn and sprouted hummus. Kara made these beautiful little fresh rolls that were amazingly deelish. Roya brought a vegan peanut-butter pie that was bomb. And, there were fresh veggies and fruit, edamame, and greyhounds (the drink, not the dog). Yummy.

Tomorrow I'm going to a Pirates game with Lauren, and volunteered to make the snacks. I want to make the Sprouted Garbanzo Burgers, but need to make them vegan. The original recipe calls for four eggs, so I've thought about using flax seeds, but they have a fairly distinctive taste--especially with that many. Maybe half flax seeds and half soy yogurt? Maybe some vegetable broth? Anyone have any ideas? I'm gonna be really bummed if they don't come out since it takes about 4-5 days to sprout the little babies.

Awwww, babies!


I'm currently enjoying a cup of Guayaki Greener Green Tea, compliments of Hurd. She gave all the book clubbers a snack-pack of the greener green and the mate chocolate tea last night. I'm not really such a fan of yerba mate (so bitter!), but Hurd raves about this tea, and it's good for you (mate, green tea, lemongrass), so I'm giving it a try. After a (big) spoon of honey, it's pretty good. But, I'll stick with my favorite tea of all time. Lemon Solstice from Tea Source (http://teasource.com/index.htm). It's a black tea with almond brittle, lemongrass, flavor (??), licorice roots, strawberry pieces, and blackberry pieces. An ex-girlfriend's dad sent her some from Minnesota, and I've been hooked ever since. It's the Best Tea In The World!

I have not lost a pound in almost two weeks. That is making me mad. But, mostly mad at myself because I haven't been exercising. My feet have really been bothering me (plantar fasciitis), but I finally made an appointment with a podiatrist for this Friday. I normally am not such a big fan of the doctor's office, but I can't wait for this appointment. I hope he's able to help. I'm ready to get out and about. But, in the meantime I could be doing yoga or swimming, which I'm not. I gotta get on the stick. I've become complacent, and complacency is never good. At least Operation Sappho is this weekend where I will surely shake it-shake it.

A woman I work with stopped by my desk a bit ago, and said, "why do you always have weird food on your desk? are you a vegetarian or something?" (I had soybeans, some spiced popcorn and a wrap on my desk). So, we started talking about food and nutrition and organic/local and farmers markets and all the stuff that I LOVE to talk about, and now she wants me to send her info on the Firehouse farmers market and CSAs and the co-op! Hee! And, two other women wandered over during the conversation, and they want the info, too. I love it when eating is a political act.

And, that reminds me. My mom called this weekend while I was cooking, and I was telling her about what I was making. She cautioned me, "You know that organic can kill you, right?". Um, what?! Somehow she had the idea that all the e-coli outbreaks were organic products and that "they use cow manure, and it can creep up the stems and kill you." Now, meanwhile, my step-dad grew up on a farm, which they now live on. It's no longer functional, but they do have a garden every year. Which they fertilize. With manure. Evidently my mom doesn't realize this. I don't know. Or, maybe they say that organic stuff is from the devil on Christian talk radio. But, she did buy tofu and soy crumbles last week. She hasn't used them, but they're still in the fridge. Probably plotting her demise.

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that the subject of this Natalie Dee (http://www.nataliedee.com/) comic is organic.

from 5/14/2007

Dang! Does it get any more beautiful that Pittsburgh this past weekend? And, today, and the most of the rest of the week? Pittsburgh--you are lookin' cuh-yoot!

I had a great weekend! But, I did officially turn old yesterday. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and was okay with that, and then I threw my back out in the afternoon! What the bleep! Next thing you know I'll be asking you to pre-chew my food and complaining that the kids are making too much noise past 4:30 p.m. I thought aging was a more gradual process.

Anyway. It's still sore, but much better than yesterday. I did have to call off kayaking and dinner last night, but it ended up being really nice just lying on the couch and watching netflixes and finishing the book club book.

I made some dog treats this weekend, and the K-Bear went crazy for them! I kept trying to get a picture of him getting ready to eat one, but he kept eating them before the picture snapped. I finally got one, but only because I threw down five at a time. When the picture had taken, only one cookie and a crumb were left. That's a good sign, though! I read through about a hundred recipes, and then just made up a recipe with stuff I had on hand. They're all-natural, organic and vegetarian, but you could use some type of meat broth if you wanted. I just had a bunch of vegetable stock that I made last weekend, so I used that.





I ate one with some cheese. It was pretty good. Like a cracker that needed some salt or a biscuit/cookie that needed some sugar. And, I've given snack-packs to three other dogs, and they dug them, too. I'm going to figure up how much they cost me to make, and maybe sell them as one of my side projects. They were fun. I think my favorite kitchen tasks are chopping and rolling out dough (especially with my awesome new french rolling pin).



Anyhow. So, the Firehouse Farmers Market started up their season on Saturday! It's the only (mostly) organic farmers market in the 'Burgh. It's small, but has lots of great vendors. Ellen and I walked over on Saturday morning to get there when it opened and do a little looking around in the shops, too. We went to Reyna, where I got another batch of their lovely tortillas, but I did not buy this:


But, here's what I did buy from the farmers market:

asparagus from Next Life Farms; eggs from Deron Johnson (the Polish Hill honey guy); Minerva butter; baklava, spicy hot beans plaki and muhummara from Najat's Cuisine; green onions, sorrel and radish microgreens from Pucker Brush Farms. YUM!

I used several of those gems for lunch. I made two, um, cheese crisp (?) type things. One had sundried tomato spread, spinach, basil, garlic, calimyrna figs, gimme lean sausage (already crumbled & fried), green onions and this really creamy and delicious fromage du pays.

The other had muhummara, radish greens, green onions and feta.


Then, on Saturday afternoon I went to the Craft Factory at the Mattress Factory (http://www.mattress.org/). I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd never gone through the museum. I'd been to the temporary James Turrell exhibit a couple of years ago where you sat in this room at either sunrise or sunset and watched how the light entered and changed with the outside light that was entering through this recessed ceiling thing. Anyway. So, I went with Lauren, and we spent the afternoon there, and it was *awesome*. If you haven't been, you should. So cool.

Last night I made my treat to take to book club tonight. Guess where I got the recipe! Heidi! From Super Natural Cooking, and it is awesome! I hate (hate!) to make popcorn the good ol' fashioned way, but I did it for Heidi. I forgot to bring the recipe with me, but I did bring some of the corn itself. It is so freaking good and addictive. You use a caramel of brown rice syrup and maple syrup and add nutmeg, chili powder, salt and toasted nuts and seeds (I used pecans, pistachios, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds). I also added a little cinnamon (and next time I'll add a little mesquite, too). Sweet, spicy, salty. It doesn't get better than this. I even shook a giant pot of popcorn with a bad back for this.


I brought some with my lunch today, along with a wrap I made with some of my sprouted hummus, spinach, radish microgreens, spicy beans plaki, carrots and feta. It was spicy and deeeelish!



Okay. I think that may have been the Longest Blog Post Ever. Phew!