Impossible!

. . . for a meat and potatoes eater to request a greenie salad. Impossible!

Until last night. It is no secret that MEH once was an "if it grows, it goes" eater. He has improved significantly - as DMsS and I have discussed, I'm bringing him over to the greener side of life - in that he now will eat veggies, has bought a greenie car, and wholly supports my decision of veganism not just as a diet, but as a lifestyle. However, he's made it amply clear in the past that he hates several things, not necessarily vegan, but food related: nuts in salad, the smell of cumin or turmeric (basically, anything remotely currylike), chunks of tomato, lemon juice, sweet citrus, and tofu. He won't go near any of those things. Oh! And large pieces of spinach.
Given his finicky food nature, I have had to very gently bring him into the world of fruit and vegetable eating. On last night's menu: Orzo Veggie Spicy Peanut Sauce, inspired by Full Circle Farms' recipe for peanut sauce. I added a grilled, chopped chicken breast to MEH's serving. (No pictures, I was lazy).
Ingredients:
1 vidalia onion
1 red pepper
1 roma tomato
roughly 4-5 tablespoons peanut butter (I like really peanuty sauce)
2-3 tsps sriacha sauce
1 bunch of baby spinach
1/2 bunch (4-5 leaves) chard
Spike added to taste.
1-1 1/2 cup water

I simmer the onion and pepper together in olive oil, then add half the peanut butter and sriacha sauce. Simmer simmer simmer.

Separately I boil the orzo (rice works fine, too).

Halfway through the orzo cooking (you want it to be al dente when you strain it), add spinach and chard to the peanut stuff. Put on low heat, cover, and let the greens wilt.

Finish off the orzo, strain it, add to the peanut sauce. Leaving it al dente allows for it to soak up the sauce and finish cooking with some serious flavor.

For Meat eaters: chop your chicken into small pieces, add to a small saute pan with oil of choice. Cook on low heat. When both sides are just white, add the peanut sauce stuff to it, put on medium - low heat. This way, the chicken also soaks up some flavor. Cook until chicken is done through.

(Side note: I used to be very insistent about not cooking meat. Then I realized that MEH would never eat anything other than frozen pizzas because he insists that while I don't eat the stuff, I cook it well, and therefore he rarely cooks on his own. He is good with breakfast though, and can do a mean pancake. Anyway, when I determined that cooking in our household would be very difficult without me cooking meat, I took it on, and am now determined to bring in more veggies to everything, while decreasing the meat content. So far, he's none he wiser :) ).

Verdict: MEH did not like the larger chunks of spinach. I should have chopped them smaller. But the flavor is excellent! I'm in a groove with peanut sauce, and it's nice because I know I'm getting my protein in there, too. Yum!

What is an entree you've gotten into the groove with? A dip? A sauce? A veggie?

Yesterday was Yoga Thursday (not that I only go once a week, but I like the title). And yesterday was the day I started that have to really face my, potentially, biggest fear. It's kind of a pithy one, when I think about it, but it's rather all-consuming: Inversions.


You know, normal people are afraid of being mugged, killed, drowned, airplanes, open ocean. Me? Getting upside down. If freaks the freak out of me. I don't know what it is. I'm sure I'm strong enough to do them, but for some reason when it comes to take dolphin to the next level into forearm stand, or do any inversion other than shoulder stand (where my head is still safely on the ground, and the rest of me is not upside down) I feel my breath change (as in turn near non-existent) and my muscles tense, and my anxiety factor go BOOM.

I've attempted fixing this fear before. When I was in Kauai I had a beautiful instructor named LuLu. I adore her. She once said "Love is the letting go of fear." I do not love inversions. She also said "get upside down, it's the best way to change your perspective." I, apparently, am just fine with my current perspective, thank you very much. But seriously. After that class (she said both of those things in one class), I made a genuine bout to try and get past this. I wrote down every fear - pithy to intense - down in a journal, and made attempts every morning and different inversions. I began to acknowledge a lot of the "silly" things I developed anxiety over, but I really didn't get too much more comfortable with my inversions. And then I stopped going to yoga regularly for quite some time.

So here I am. I want to do a forearm balance. I want to be able to lift into inversions, not make attempts to kick up into them (which is dangerous) and I want to be excited about them. They are meant to be restorative and for me so far they only restore my "oh god no" factor. What is a girl to do?

Well, this girl is to practice Dolphin oh so much more. Dolphin, dear dolphin, one of maybe 5 poses in yoga that I have yet to, well, love. The list include Crescent, standing split, Bikram's version of tree pose, and dolphin. It's just uncomfortable to me. How else to beat discomfort than by practicing it constantly? I need to get to a point where I'm comfortable with my shoulders balancing over my elbows, engaging my core while upward, and getting friendly with my dear hips being pulled apart not in left-or-right fashion. Hence why standing splits and I don't get along.



I've had the incredible blessing of three specific yoga instructors who truly have changed my life: Loren, Svia, and LuLu. That is not to say that every other instructor (AJ, Debbie, Kim, Star, Sarah, Sarah, the list goes on) hasn't made an impact, but these three have literally caused change in who I am and how I operate.

Loren: Loren was my instructor in Las Vegas at It's Yoga!, an Ashtanga based studio. This is where I truly fell in love with my yoga practice. Loren (aka Bum) is about my age, had just come back from India, and was (clearly still is) floating in a totally blissed out state. To this day, if you can find someone else who equals this man's happy level, I applaud you and them. I attended his classes 6 days a week for the 3 months I was there. Never has my practice been as strong or helpful as it was then. I learned how to do a quality chataranga , about Om, about breath, and living in light and beauty. He closed every class by saying "have a beautiful everything." He hugged every student. And when I got my Om tattoo, he was absolutely elated. For my time there, and now, I consider him a friend and a truly transforming being.

Svia: The first class I attended at Laughing Lotus changed my life. Literally. I went vegetarian without pause after I walked out of the studio. This is not to say that Svia is overbearing, but her class discussed ahimsa. I had never heard of ahimsa until this class. And I also never thought a yoga class would make me feel that exhausted from work until then. Svia's classes are level 2/3 for a reason: The woman makes you work. But her kindness helps you through the work and encourages you to get to the meat (haha, vegan pun) of your practice. Anyway. This class was the hardest I'd ever been to. And then, while we are in a 3 minute wall sit, she talks about ahimsa. A practice of non-violence to the self and to others. The others part stuck with me - it included, for me, animals - and from that very real light bulb turning on in my head, I have never looked back. The self part took a very long time to sink in. We must be kind to ourselves. It would be in a later class that she would say "Your hands are an extension of your heart - be mindful when touching the world around you." Being kind to yourself will equate to kindness to others.

LuLu: There is no end to good things I can say about this woman. I remember her words clearly, and her sincerity in her teachings. There were days when I was the only student to her classes (11am on a Thursday isn't exactly convenient for people all the time) and she always insisted on staying with class. In essence, I got a private session more than once and my practice grew immensely because of it. She helped me approach my fear of inversions. She gave me a phrase I will always remember, and who can say they don't adore someone who once called them "her promised student." Also, she got me to plant my forefinger on the ground firmly in downward dog always, a feat that is not really all that easy when you try to maintain it for an hour or more. She is delightful and true.

It may be a bit much for some people when I say those three instructors changed my life, but with my yoga journey being so important, so much more than a work out, they did. I changed my diet and therefore my lifestyle, the way I do yoga, and how I approach it and incorporate it into my life. Mindfulness, breath, stillness, action, I gained all of these things from them.

Who are some of your most influential teachers or mentors?

Mantra of the Day: Sat Nam. Translation: Truth is my identity. On the inhale one is to sat "sat," on the exhale, "nam." We are truth. Once you get to the core of that, everything becomes just a tiny bit easier. Worries fade some. And we open up to so much more possibility. We get away from things we are not but identifying what we are.

Question of Gratitude Who, or what, are you grateful for today? I am grateful for my teachers. All of them. Even Mrs. Thompson, my mean 2nd grade teacher. Every one of them have and will continue to influence me. They taught me how to write, do math, breathe, seek knowledge, and love. Not to mention, one in particular, gave birth to me, so many props to VeggieMama, teacher extraordinaire.

Old Gray Mare

Today I was the girl at the gym who forgot to shave [her arm pits]. Maybe I'm the only one who does this, but I always forget. And I know I can always check, but yes, I forget to do that too. All the time. Talk about embarrassing moments hours after the fact.

I am also the girl who forgot her towel and stuffed her work pants into her gym bag. Solutions: Insides of hoodies are excellent towels/hair dryers; If you hang your pant legs over the shower and leave the water on super hot (not while you're in it, btw), you will be done getting ready (dry off, lotion, rest of clothes on) and so will your pants! Problems solved! Score!

Today's workout consisted of
5 minute warm-up walk at 6% incline at 3.6 mph
30 minute All-terrain walk/run (varying incline/speed of -1%/6.4mph to 17% /3.6mph)
3 minute cool down of 3mph walk at 3% incline
(As you can see, I like incline training. I'm not a fast runner. As much as I enjoy running, it's not something I naturally excel at. I'm a pack mule. Put 60 pounds on my back and tell me to walk 11 miles of crazy terrain. I can do that in a jiff! Same for hiking. I'm a quick hiker. I walk fast/jog often. But when it comes to just regular ol' running I'm slooooowwwww. Just this year did I make myself run a full 3 miles without stopping, which, in reality, is crap. Now, have me do the same thing walking uphill for an hour? Oh man, that's my kind of time)!
WEIGHTS! (I'm taking a HIIT Break)
-Hip ab-ductor/ad-ductor machine to fatigue 3 times.
-Crunch machine with 20lbs to fatigue
Core: v-ups, leg lifts, russian twists, bicycles kicks, canoe paddle, circle left lifts (25 each on each side), with 30 second planks in dolphin arm position in between each set
- Quad Mill (aka hell whell) for 1 minute on each side
- lat pull down, 30 lbs, to fatigue, 3 times
- chest press, 15 lbs, to fatigue, 3 times
- biceip curls, 10 lbs, to fatigue 2 times, 15lbs to fatigue once
- triceps, 10lbs, to fatigue, 3 times
-stretches! I'm skipping yoga tonight, but am going tomorrow. Because I'm doing yoga now significantly more than I have been, I'm not worrying too much about stretching right after my workout. I didn't stretch hardly at all after working out, and my range of motion has significantly decreased because of it. ALWAYS STRETCH!

So the reason for my rediscovered fitness freakout (decrased wheat gluten, less tofu, more workouts since Hawaii trip) is my personal freakout at hitting 25. Sorry if what follows bothers my dear friends and any readers.
I've read several articles that indicate that once I hit 25 my body decides to flip me the bird and say "hey, we're going to get fat!" Well, okay, not get fat, but certainly gain weight/slow mymetabolism/make it more difficult to lose excess poundage.
Several sites include:
http://www.healthandfitness.com/advice/25.asp
http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/93/1/70
http://caloriecount.about.com/article/how_dieting_and_age_affect_your_metabolism
http://www.weightlossforall.com/factors-change-metabolism.htm

While the age where one's metabolism/muscle efficiency decreases ranges anywhere from 23-30 in these articles and studies, I'm not taking my chances. Hell, if I go off of one, I'm already behind the curve!

Basically, after a certain point, let's just go with 25, a woman's (my) metabolism and muscle efficency begins to decrease. At first the change is slight, but after 30, especially, it's much more noticeable. The way to beat it/stave it off for as long as I possibly can? Lots of exercise and a clean diet! Specfically more weight-based training . Light to moderate aerobic exercise does not, according to a couple studies, have long term effects on metabolism; weight training (even just with body weight) does. Diet, age, and activity will help contribute to my body well-being. And decrease my fear of stepping on a scale. I am perfectly fine with getting older just as long as I look great doing it. And if I can get my metabolism and body where I would like it to be before I hit 25 (or 30) I'm going to do it. Gosh darn it. So! Lots of pack mulish behavior to come.

What are you concerns with aging?

What do your workouts look like these days?

In other news, MEH and I partook in Inception last night, starring Ellen Page, Leo DiCaprio *swoon*, and Marion Cotillard. Great film. We also saw it at the new IMAX theater in Anchorage. Yes, for anyone reading, Anchorage didn't have an IMAX theater until about a month ago. It has IMAX, IMAX 3D, all digital projection, and comfy seats. Unfortunately, the comfy seats and digital projection are not, to me, worth 13.50. That's just ridiculous.

But the film was terrific. Leo always delivers, really. Who can argue with that? Or at least, who can argue with Jack, dear Jack Dawson. This man has had my heart since age 11. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was convincing in his role, Marion Cotillard was lovely as ever, and Ellen Page, for me, grew out of her Juno cast I had her in for years. It also had me rethinking some of my dreams in the past - where did they come from? And further, where have some of my defining attitudes, opinions, and life choices come from?

Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Oh, and do you think IMAX is worth it?

Mantra of the Day: Om. I'm trying to expand my thoughts and actions into a universal attitude. How do others affect me? How do I affect others? And how do we all affect each other, perhaps, without even realizing it? Do we owe everyone everything, or nobody anything? Where do you draw the line, if you draw it? This vibration is helping me to look at things in very different, very wonderful ways. Try it out! It opens up some awesome crazy doors!

Question of Gratitude: Who, or what, are you grateful for? I am grateful for the food in my fridge. There are many days where I wake up in the morning and just don't feel like cooking a damn thing. There are also nights where I walk into my kitchen and think "no. not happening tonight." And then I realize that I have a lot more than many people. I have fresh food, great food, organic wonderful sustenance just waiting for me inside of a door. I certainly have the luxury of being able to go out and have someone serve something to me, but I have an even greater luxury of supplying it for myself. Thanks food, and Mama Earth for being around and giving me this great sustenance to thrive on!

$100 CSN Giveaway at LoveVeggiesAndYoga

Averie over at LoveVeggiesAndYoga is doing a $100 CSN giveaway for her 1 year bloggiversary!

I checked out http://www.csn.com/ last week and was really excited about all the goodies on there. So much stuff for my house! And so many things at a great deal! Go check it out! And check out Averie's blog and enter for yourself!


http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/07/100-csn-stores-shopping-spree-give-away.html

She's a (Cooking) Maniac!

I was a cooking woman this weekend! Well, I was a documenting cooking woman this weekend!

I am a recently-faithful subscriber to Full Circle Farm and got my box on Thursday to much delight! MEH and I have been trying to downsize our spending on produce (which translates to I am downsizing my produce purchases since I'm the cook in the house) so going with FCF for organics and supplementing what doesn't come in the box/goes bad too quickly is working well. My only complain so far with FCF is that while I love their lettuce, I can only love the lettuce for a day or so and then it's wilted with it's great organicness. It just doesn't last long and many times it's started much of it's wilting before it even gets out of my box. However, everything else lasts longer; and, this weekend, much of it founds its way into an impromptu soup venture.

My box included apricots, romaine, spinach, chard, white onion, peaches, snap peas, and the contents pictured below that were thrown into Veggie Lentil Soup.


Left to right, back to front we have: Roma tomatoes, Crimini mushrooms, cabbage, red pepper, Nantes carrots, and ruby gold potatoes. I had lentils in the pantry, as well as some ruby gold potatoes, red pepper and a head of cabbage, so tossed decided to chop and toss and roast it all together with Spike, basil, rosemary, and black pepper.



This was my first try with my new Shun Santoku 7" chef's knife. Mmmmm. I almost fainted with my first cut through the potatoes:


It was divine cutting everything.



So I chopped everything up, pulled out a glass baking dish, poured the remainder of my Low Sodium Vegetable Stock in, and added all of the veggies and lentils:


I roasted them all, stirring it every 10 minutes, on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then I pulled it from the oven, poured it into a big ceramic pot, and simmered it on low for another hour. MEH pulled some chives for me from our front garden, and here was the final result:


Verdict: Yum Yum Yum. The soup is definitely hearty with the potatoes and lentils in there, but it's crazy filling , perfectly spicy, and really, really good. The vegetables weren't mushy beyond compare, nor were they too crunchy. MEH's one criticism: too thick. He needed more liquid in there to tease out some of the flavor. So I did just that last night for him, added chicken, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. It's in my refrigerator now, and while the lentils have started to sprout just a tad, it's still perfectly flavorful. In all, I used 2 romas, 8 criminis, 2 carrots, 5-6 potatoes, 1/2 head of cabbage, and 1/2 a red pepper. Probably added in 2 dry cups of lentils, and lots of added spices. The vegetable stock alone wasn't enough liquid, so there were 2-3 cups of water added in over the course of the roasting and simmering. I really flew by the seat of my pants on this one.



My other cooking endeavor: Wine Steeped Cherries and Vegan Banana Chocolate SoftServ. - The SoftServ ala LoveVeggiesAndYoga.

I found the recipe for the wine steeped cherries while reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Francis Mayes several years ago. I've tweaked it (no added sugar, don't simmer as long), but it's always delicious. Very rich. The trouble is I don't tend to eat most things you can serve it over like ice cream or cake. So I usually just eat it all alone . . . mmmm. But I read on LoveVeggiesandYoga a recipe for vegan softserv by freezing bananas, so I did just that.



To do the cherries, you have to pit them (or not, depending on how easily you prefer your eating experience). I do not own a cherry pitter, so I used my wonderful Shun paring knife to do the job:





While the cherries were steeping (they are supposed to go 2-3 hours. They went about 45 minutes), I took out my frozen bananas. I added chocolate chips, vanilla, three bananas, and about 1/2-1 cup of Living Harvest chocolate hemp milk. I tweaked the original recipe a bit, but I wanted more chocolate without the crunch. I blended it all in the food processor (it made quite the noise), and was incredibly excited to taste.



I added the cherries and wine over the top, and here's what it looked like:


Verdict: I should really put the cherries with something that I don't need banana. The mixture of cherry and banana I thought would be a strange one going in, but thought I should just got for it. While it wasn't repulsive, it wasn't particularly stellar, either. The softserv alone, though, was amazing. I'm a saved woman. No more store bought ice cream for me! This stuff is now in my permanent repertoire! MEH's verdict: YUM!



And that was my Friday night. Saturday was hiking with DMsS up Flat Top in the morning, followed by a visit to VeggieMama's house, some bonding time with her, and lunch at Spenard Roadhouse. I did not take a picture of my meal, but partook in their BlackBean Burger. Go go Spenard Roadhouse for adding in more vegetarian/vegan friendly options! It was quite tasty even though the wheat certainly did some work on my stomach. Forgot about that. Must remember next time. I also got to partake in some vino with Sweet Caroline.



Sunday saw more food documentation/makeage. First thing in the morning I decided to try Earth Muffin's Carrot Cake Oats, tweaked to what I had in my fridge (which does not consist of non-chocolate hemp milk). So, I got my oats together, slowly cooked them over hot water, and added in some chopped carrot, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Simmer simmer simmer it went, and then bam: Oats!



I topped it off with a dollop of Bee's Knees Peanut Butter (honey flavored), and went at it.


Verdict: I needed more cream. More something. I now know that something to have been vanilla. It was a bit lacking in the smooth/creamy factor, which I love about oatmeal when enough hemp milk is added. The taste of the oats and the flavor of the carrot meets pb meets spices though was wonderful. Will do again for sure.



Saturday saw the start of my Almost Raw Rhubarb Cookies. Unfortunately, my phone saw fit to delete all of those pictures. Sunday saw the finishing product of them, since I got lazy on Saturday. The cookies included 4 stocks of ripe rhubarb picked from our garden, 2 cups pecans, 14 dates, vanilla, 1/3 cup (maybe) turbinado cane sugar, and shredded coconut. I soaked the pecans, pitted the dates, and let the rhubarb soak in the cane sugar.

After about 30 minutes of soaking, I put the pecans, dates, and coconut in the food processor. Bszzzzzwhhhrrrrr. Then added rhubarb. Bzzzzzwhrrrrrrr. The not so raw part came when I barely baked them in the oven on 400 for 10 minutes just to dry them out a bit since I don't have 1) a dehydrator *yet; or 2) the patients to just bake something on 200. For MEH, I gave half of the cookies chocolate chip smiley faces ( I know, cheeseball).



Verdict: YUM! I topped my half off with shredded coconut and they are divine. Very rich, nice and yummy. They are not at all a classic cookie in the sense that they are chewy or crunchy. It 's a very different texture, but really delicious. And now I have something to do with all that darn rhubarb coming up in our yard! MEH's verdict: he has yet to branch out in his love of rhubarb. Updates to come.



Our Sunday saw us at brunch at the Bear Tooth Grill. We hadn't been there for brunch before and didn't particularly feel like cooking all that much either (meaning I didn't really want to cook) so we went out to run errands and stopped by. MEH got their biscuits and gravy, I got their tofu scramble, and we shared an appetizer of their legendary garlic cilantro fries.

Here's the problem: MEH is picky with this B&G. He has yet to find a place that has a proper biscuit to gravy ratio and ends up only eating half his meal because of it. This was a last ditch effort on his part to try B&G at a restaurant. My Deal: I'm trying to wean off of tofu but feel guilty. I feel like a sacrilegious vegan. Don't ask why. But I figured I'd try it one last time to see how I felt.



Verdicts: MEH indeed stopped eating his B&G half way through because of rock hard biscuits and not enough gravy. I couldn't finish the tofu - lukewarm and overly seasoned. Also, I',m pretty sure I've cured myself of my tofu lust. The service was mediocre - people at a table across from us actually left because the server never came to take their order - and the girl only checked with us once. No suggestions, didn't tell us any specials, very disappointing overall for a place that is usually so good! Don't know that we will go again, unless we get up earlier and try for some different dishes.



Did you try any new dishes at home or at restaurants? What did you think of them?



We spent this rainy Sunday running errands and then vegging at home. I insisted on purchasing the first season of I Love Lucy when I saw it was only 16.99 at Freds. I grew up with this show. I stayed up to watch this show with my Gramma. I love it in so many ways it's ridiculous. MEH has never watched a single episode. I made him watch Lucy Does a Commercial (the infamous Vitameatavegimin episode) and The Publicity Agent, where Lucy pretends to be the Maharincess of Franistan. HILARIOUS! It's such innocent television. No violence, no dirty sexual tension, no drugs, no blah that is all over tv now. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy myself a good dirty sexual tension scene or Law And Order episode every now and then, I just can't stand that it's all there is anymore. Give me some good slapstick 1950's tv almost any day. Go Lucy!

Do you have any favorite shows from times before? Another favorite of mine is Saved by the Bell!



Mantra of the Day: Hari Hari Hari Har. Very seriously, this is the mantra for happiness. How funny?! I actually chuckled to myself in yoga when our instructor told us that. I mean, how fitting that as you repeat a mantra for happiness you are saying "hari hari hari har" to yourself? Perfect. Go get happy!



Question of Gratitude Who, or what, are you grateful for?: I am grateful for my OJPOP. My grandfather is a bad ass. And I'm sure most grand-daughters think their grandfather is a bad ass, but I cast mine out as the most bad ass of the bad ass. He's just plain cool. And he drinks oodles of OJ (cousins and I have joked about honoring him by getting his classic oj glass tattooed somewhere). But he also loves all of his family. He takes care of everyone. And he always keeps in touch. He wasn't always this way, but having him around and having as close of a relationship to him as I do is truly special to me. Thanks Pop for just being wonderful!

Raw Raw Raw Ah Ah!

Want your bad . . . Nanners? For smoothies or breads? Oh heck, I don't know. Three cheers for Lady Gaga.

How can you not love her, really?

So! In light of my decision to lighten up on the gluten, I made a trip to blessed Costco.

Again, I love Costco now. Because really, where else could I spend as much little as I do there for as much produce as I bought last night. I went crazy! Here was my cart after I paid for everything:

Ignore the DiGiorgno pizzas (those are MEH’s). Look at all the goodies! Medjool dates for 8 bucks! A whole sack of avos! 4 cucumbers, a bag of smoothie fruits, a big box of mixed greens, 2 gallons of OJ, 1 bag of red peppers, 3 bunches of bananas (who can beat the deal of 1.89 a bunch?!), and I just know I’m forgetting something. I was in produce heaven.

I was in such produce heaven that as soon as I walked in the door I made myself a smoothie of chard, banana, braeburn apple, frozen smoothie fruits, and orange juice.

Delish! I had a bunch of chard that was about to kick the bucket so it hopped happily into my GM Food Processor (I will be writing an Ode to the Food Processor/My Mother-in-Law fairly soon) and went bzzzzzwhirrrrrrr. MEH is still getting used to this whole blogging/taking pictures of everything I eat deal. He made fun of me for the longest time when I took this one, pre bzzzzzzwhirrrrrrr:


Nom nom nom. This may be my new way of adding in more leafy greens to my day. It was very fruity, super tasty, and 100% RAW! Ah ah ah! If you haven’t been paying attention, I’m trying to include more raw/whole foods into my diet. If only I could bring my food processor everywhere. . .

Do you usually add greens to your smoothies?

I also experimented last night. I have used nutritional yeast (heretofore to be named Nooch since typing out nutritional yeast every time I use it from now on will be tasking, and so dubbed by Averie of www.loveveggiesandyoga.com) sparingly in recipes before. Just for an added bonus of B12 (something vegans have a problem getting unless we are quite vigilant with our nutrition) it’s been sprinkled in dishes. But I’ve read so much about these excellent cheez dishes made with it that I had to follow suit. I bought a small (what I thought was hefty, but in retrospect is itty bitty) bag of Nooch at Freds in the natural foods section with the intention of bringing it home and making a new cheez sauce for dipping/salads/future cheez dishes.

Here is the pot, rather unappetizing as it may appear:


In there we have 3 heaping tablespoons of Nooch, about a teaspoon of Sriacha sauce, and about 8 shakes of Spike seasoning. As you can tell, I wanted a spicy cheez sauce. I added some garlic (probably too much garlic) to the mix, simmered it until it slightly thickened in the water (I only added water, no hemp/soy/almond milk) and tasted it.

Verdict? Delicious! I’m a new woman. With so many new ideas for FOOD! I definitely added too much garlic, but the spiciness was terrific! And it was perfectly cheesy! It found itself drizzled over half a sliced cucumber (I wasn’t really hungry after that smoothie). Yum!
What's your favorite sauce/dressing?

Sidenote, I don’t know if you’ve discovered www.nutritiondata.com but it’s an incredible source of information about your food! Who knew that cucumbers only had 45 calories in a whole stinking one? It also posts information about the fullness factor, complete protein-ness of your food, and the glycemic index, too!

Also, check out Kelly’s blog on the benefits and helpful uses of a cucumber (in a not even remotely phallic sense).

I felt so productive last night that I assembled my lunch early. I don’t ever do this. I mean, I may cook my lunch the night before, but prepare it ahead of time? No, I am the queen of procrastination with no crown. I assembled a lovely insalata of mixed greens, red pepper, and cucumber.


I was terribly distressed though, when I read Gena’s blog on how to assemble a proper lunch/dinner salad and realized I NEED AVO! I had the nooch dressing all set up for dipping and some sliced broccoli and cauliflower in case I finished off the salad, but apparently that just won’t get me through the day. We shall see!

I also brought a nanner and a slice of my chocolate chip banana bread to help stave me over through this Yoga Thursday!

This just in: MEH loves me :)
I went to visit him for lunch today and look what a good girl I’ve been: I got a whole Shun Chef set!

Well, not a whole one, but a good one! With special grip handles! And reflective blades! Ah! I could dance. In fact, I did dance.



These knives are the best. Really. Great blades, unparalleled comfort, super quality, I could go on. But I won’t. Instead, I will have a very long discussion of veggies with them. Ohhh yay!

Mantra of the Day: Om Namah Shivaya. Translation: I bow to Shiva. Now, Shiva can be Shiva as in the deity, but in this mantra it also, most importantly, represents your inner divinity/self. It is noted that to repeat this mantra within your heart and with full awareness can bring you to enlightenment. It’s also very pretty when sung by Deva Primal.

Question of Gratitude: Who are what are you grateful for today? I am grateful for Star, my yoga instructor at Laughing Lotus. I didn’t make it to class last week, and I have missed the atmosphere of the studio and the enthusiasm of her teachings tremendously. I can’t wait for class tonight! Thanks, Star!

It's a Cloudy Day in Anchor Town

I was definitely not on top of my game yesterday. What a crazy great weekend! It was so crazy-great that I woke up after some not so necessary or intended wine therapy not at all with my game face on. One might say it was a no-play face. A face that desperately just wanted to go back to bed, despite the gorgeous 77 degree weather we got yesterday. I will sadly say that is exactly what I did, too. After work anyway. . .

The crazy greatness:
I GOT A NIECE! MEH's sister gave birth to BabyBug on Saturday night to much jubilation. She is absolutely amazing. I looked at her mama on Sunday afternoon, while I held that sleeping brand new wonder and said "You grew her! Isn't that amazing?" She paused and said, clearly overcome in happiness,"I know. I still can't believe it. I can't believe she's here." This beautiful wonder has a full head of crazy curly black hair, beautiful blue eyes, and, get this, dimples! Ah! Goodness. I am one proud auntie. I'm even more proud and excited after being at a birth center for 5 hours as I heard the whole ordeal. SuperCoolSisterInLaw did a natural birth at a center set up in a fashion similar to a one bedroom apartment with a midwife. Basically, we all waited in a living room while she was in labor and gave birth. Let me say, SCSIL is amazing barring anything else she does in life, just for going through that (and all with an awesome sense of humor, I might add). All mothers are amazing for going through that. And sometimes more than once! Holy baby.

Because of my crazy great weekend of welcoming BabyBug, I cooked absolutely nothing. Not a damn thing. I made myself a guacamole sandwich on Sunday and that is the only bit of food I prepared for myself at all. No, I did not take a picture of it. Actually, I did bake one thing: another loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread. This time I took out the vegan butter and added extra apple sauce. I also used chocolate shavings instead of the chocolate chips I used last time. I like chocolate flavor much more than I like the crunch of chocolate chips. Always have. Verdict: Good! I will probably try to use Earth Balance again next time, because the texture is a bit off, but it's still yummy!

Last night I came home from the office and was craving starch. I'd been so good all day! All veggies! lots of fruits! Water! But my body was screaming GIVE ME POTATOES! So potatoes it got. Red skin potatoes with broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils, roasted in the oven for about an hour.

I seasoned them all with low-sodium vegetable stock, rosemary, black pepper, garlic salt, ginger, and a half-way through addition of lavendar. Nom Nom Nom.
Here's what it looked like out of the oven-o-love:

Aaaanddddd in the bowl, pretummy love

So the ultimate verdict is that I probably should have cooked them longer, or on a higher temp (not 375), since some of my potats are less than taters but tats. That, and less rosemary. It made for a crazy flavorful dish, but lots of little . . . teeth friends. I think I might actually turn this into a stew/soup next time. Maybe immersion blend/food process the potatoes afterward. Or roast everything in smaller chunks. The lentils were delicious, and the stock was largely absorbed by the veggies and potatoes. Ooo the places I could go with this.

And in my still life today that I shall call Lunch on Tuesday:

From top to bottom, left to right, we have one slice of my chocolate banana bread, blackberry applesauce (same stuff used in the bread), leftover potats and veggies, Stacy's Pita Chips, and an orange!
Much nomming going on today.

What did you have for lunch?!

And now for my soapbox. As I was surfing through several of the blogs I frequent, I came across this one, written by Michal (aka Earth Muffin). I was shocked for several reasons, some of which being 1) that anyone would say this to anyone else 2) it was a stranger 3) the guy would say it to this girl, someone who is clearly fit and incredibly healthy. As a person who has struggled my fair mental share with my body, I relived 8th grade in fits all day. It seems to be a recurring stat that most of us remember the terrible things people say to us far more than the really lovely things. My particular issue was in 8th grade. A boy looked at me in math class and asked

"so what are you anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, what race?"
"Oh, I'm Filipino, Aleut, and Polish."
"Jesus. No wonder you're so f***ing ugly."

This happened years ago. YEARS! I was an entirely different (long-hair-donning, braces-wearing, Spice-Girl-Shoes-flaunting, Backstreet-Boy-Loving, Honors-Class-taking supernerd) person then. I am no Giselle Bundchen (so not close) but think I look pretty darn good. I'm active, healthy, and happy. But those seven words are forever ingrained in my head. Why do people say these things to others? Poor parenting? Sadism? Plain meanness? Jealousy? I just don't understand it.

Because comments like that make girls do stupid, stupid things to their bodies. While models are extreme examples, these two come to mind: Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolin Reston, who both died at horrifyingly low body weights. They decrease self-esteem at vital parts of development, encourage depression, risk of eating disorder, and the common (even with adult women) body bashing we all engage in far too much against ourselves.

And lack of eating is not the only thing I point my finger at. The comment that Michal experienced was at her gym. When the people who are supposed to encourage us to health make disparaging comments, it's like a double whammy (at least to me). My one experience was at a gym where I loved the workouts, but the lead trainer, upon seeing my body fat percentage, said "ok."

(Note: I do understand that there are people who are motivated by negative reinforcement like "I bet you can't do that" or saying they are mediocre at something. I'm not one of those people. I also understand that some people would find the body fat percentage that came up on that screen as "ok" but when asked why I had a reading a week earlier that was 12% lower, he entirely ignored me. I also understand that I know many people who go to this gym and love it and have experienced wonderful results. It just didn't work for me).
Anyway. It was completely ruined for the remainder of my time there. I didn't find that motivating. I found it degrading. Not to mention entirely mistrusting of any body fat percentage reader that isn't one of those water drop things that I have yet to do and now desperately want. Comments like that in the past would have resulted in widespread overtraining on my part, working out for hours twice a day, every day. To me, even if the reading was "ok," saying that in front of a group of people is embarrassing. There was no post-encouragement, there was no plan, there was "ok," and here are your suggestions for calorie intake: Go! The soapbox is coming to a close soon, I promise.

I suppose my point is that a lot of women take great care of their bodies or are getting in the groove of doing it. For many, it's a many-fingered path. It's a long one. But it never constitutes hateful comments. It welcomes encouragement and support - sisterhood. Perhaps that kind of empowerment could guard us against negativity from each other and the opposite sex. Or at least provide a background of shoulders to lean on. We never know what other women have gone through or put themselves through when we make body comments. And being women, we know exactly what to say to hurt other women. Whether it is eating poorly or exercising improperly, there are many ways to go about helping (or not helping). Neither one in itself constitutes health. And either one in and of itself can do crazy harm with mis-used. Bottom line, lame as it may be, is: Be Nice! And be mindful.

What are your suggestions for handling negative body comments?

Mantra for the Day: "I am loved and I am safe." MEH and I did this one when we were in Kalalau Valley for a Full Moon Potluck. One of the ladies there is a shaman and led us through a meditation for the full moon, with the mantra being "I am loved and I am safe." I found it invaluable when trying to conquer my hike out of the Valley. I've also found it invaluable when needing any extra boost in believing in myself.

Question of Gratitude Who, or what, are you grateful for today?: I am grateful for Lovely Writer Friend who called me out to take better care of myself many years ago. My dear friend, while we have had our own disagreements, you supported me at a great time of need, in ways I wouldn't let anyone else, and you continue to be such. I love you. Thank you.

Paint it Golden

Happy Friday everyone! It's such a beautiful Anchorage day, I can hardly get over it! Light breezy clouds float in the sky and downtown is so full of bustle. I love working down here, sendetary-fanny-pack-wearing-polo-shirt-toting-khaki-short-sporting tourists and all. The mornings are my favorite. Kaladi Brothers and Dark Horse Coffe Company are full of folks heading to work, catching a bus, or starting their morning off with a newspaper perusal. There's a constant light breeze (sometimes not so light) between buildings, and with the right walking song, it's about the best part of the day. I'm a morning person, if you couldn't tell. Baristas have told me several times, while getting a grand americano, that I probably don't need that anyway. (Oh, but dear barista, you save me from the 3pm slump and it smells so good)! Truthfully, I'm probably more addicted to the holding of a warm cup in my hands, especially in the winter time, than I am to the coffee. Go figure. And, when I'm not driving by(through) them, I love tourists. They are so enthusiastic about being here! They ask questions, are eager, get lost, and are always pointing around. The groups of Japanese tourists with their flags are my personal favorite. Or the backpackers. It's a pretty good tie between the two. I even find appreciation for the hot dog vendors.

What do you like about where you work?

My falafel is here keeping my company. I love falafel! Yay falafel! And I baked it with a brushing of EVOO instead of having to fry (I don't like having to fry) and it came out wonderful! The little circles almost look like cookies. . .mm nom nom nom

I even made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today. MEH made fun of my singing. AGain, I sing to my food. The little diddy went something like "I am making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's going to be very lovely today! I cannot wait to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Yay yay yay yay yay!" The conversation, also, went something like this:
Me: Guess what!
MEH: What?
Me: I just realized I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch today!
MEH: Did you just figure out how to make one of those dear?
Me: No, you butthead (yes, I called him a butthead), I just remembered that you bought strawberry jam last week and so I have everything I need to make it! And guess what else?
MEH: What dear?
Me: IT'S GOING TO BE A CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH!
MEH: Ooookaaaayyyyy
Me: I am makig a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! It's going to be very lovely today! I can't wait to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Yay yay yay yay yay!
MEH: I think you should record that. We could post it to YouTube. You'd be famous.
Me: You're right. We should. Ha. You butthead.
MEH: Penis face.
Me: Dingleberry.
MEH: Assface.
Me: Penis Wrinkle!
MEH: Asshat
Me: You can't use the same word twice in a row. That's cheating.
MEH: Okay. Asshole.
Me: Still cheating!

. . . and so it continued. Yes, we are so grown up that we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and call each other douche bags and penis wrinkles. It's a very healthy relationship we've got going on. Ahem.

Do you ever have these episodes in your house?

So I've decided to make a very important change to my diet (I know, like there are a lot of choices left), and no, it's not to return to my dairy or egg consuming days, and absolutely not meat. I will (drumroll please. . . ) be eliminating/heavily reducing my wheat gluten and tofu intake. I just can't handle it anymore. Hour plus long stomach aches must be a sign of something my body isn't happy with. So it's going to be a goodbye to two of my favorite food companions in this world. . . *sigh*

. . . and it will increasingly make my out of home eating more limited. Anchorage has a serious shortage of vegan friendly restaurants (though there are some) and an even more serious shortage of those where the vegan items don't include tofu or wheat gluten. Good lord. Is it so much to ask Cafe Gratitude or Blossoming Lotus to please migrate north? Please? Because like any good granola in ANC, I love my MiddleWay Cafe, Snow City, and Beartooth Grill, but I'm pretty sure I've exercised my tastebuds on all of your me-friendly foods. . . ahhhh my. On that note, it looks like there may be some more potlucks at my house to help out with my desire for social activity but inability to eat out. Or, dare I say, a going out with a gluten and tofu bang? Heaven forbid I repeat my dreaded Brie Episode of 2009.

(In June of 2009 my dear ladyfriend Sweet Carolin brought a baked brie dish to my wine tasting. It was this beautiful loaf wrapped in filo dough, drizzled in honey, and showered in apricots. I waited until everyone left my house and ate the whole half loaf that was left. Don't judge. Even MEH thought I was nuts. I cannot repeat that again. Cannot!)

Have you ever cheated on a diet/food lifestyle change and regretted it? Lived to tell the tale? What was the food/drink?

Many of you know I am an avid Googler. If you don't, well, now you do. Ask me a question I don't know the answer to? Google! Want to reconnect with someone I can't find on Fbook? Google! Want to stalk some unknowing victim? GOOGLE! I love this tool. When I have nothing better to do, I Google things. This week in my Google Searches (I think this will become a weekly post):

The Nathan Kampen Act. Nathan Kampen was a friend in middle and high school. He was killed in a car accident our senior year on September 11, 2003. Known for a universally positive attitude and loyalty to all of his friends, his death was a huge shock to our school and to his friends and family. The Act, which I doubt many of us (I say us meaning his friends) realize that in order to erect the "Please Buckle Up" sign that is posted by the State at the site of his accident, his mother actually had to pursue the legislature to expand the memorial road sign laws. In doing so, they renamed it The Nathan Kampen Act. How freaking cool.

I also frequented Hawaii MLS to search for my Kauai DreamHome. Found it. Just depends if I feel like shelling out/search for/hunting down 12.5 million dollars or 232,000. Hmmm . . .

Tofu Intolerances and Avante Medical Center were up there yesterday.

I also checked on Jasmine Webber (cue my morbidity, sorry Jazzie), another friend from high school who died my Junior year, and her freshman year of college. She was a gifted journalist, and I also found some of her stories written for the Northern Light online.

Much of the rest of my searching has involved hunting down photos and hotels and restaurants for my friend Michelle and her fiance for their honeymoon, since they will be visiting my beloved Garden Isle and well, I'm in love with the place. Other minor searches included the corpse flower, Campbell Soup nutrition facts, and Chugach Peaks photograhy. I am your Google go-to girl.
Do you frequently use Google? Are you an avid random searcher? What about Wiki?

Mantra of the Day: Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. I know I'm recycling. But I'm in a great mood today (yay short weeks!) and when I'm in especially good moods, I love this mantra. I use it for my runs - one of which I did last night - and I think it's so pretty! On days like today - so pretty and blueskied - I do wish all beings happiness and freedom.

Question of Gratitude: What or who are you grateful for today? I am grateful for the sunshine. Now that the solstice has passed, our days are slowly getting shorter and living in this great state necessitates as much sun loving as possible. Thank you sun! Keep it coming!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!

Smooth(ie) Sailing

I love smoothies.



Actually, I love most things of a drinkable sort. Water, juice, juices, smoothies, shakes, blended drinks, coffee. If it were healthy for me to do it for most of my life, I'd go drinkable. Back when I lived in my ghetto apartment I made a smoothie almost every morning for breakfast. Unfortunately, after moving out I stopped making them at home almost entirely. My love of smoothies (and my love of making smoothies) returned yesterday on my way home from work. I'd discovered that my peach had been smooshed on my lunch bag. No one wants to eat a smooshed peach! But you sure can drink a smooshed peach! So I stopped by Freds to get some stuff for dinner, picked up frozen strawberries (since the unfrozen variety were much more expensive), and went home!



Step 1 (Add ingredients to food processor:

Step 2, Bzzzzzzzzz Whirrrrrrrrrr:

Step 3, Pour!:

Step 4, Enjoy!:


It was so tasty that I made another one this morning for breakfast! Mmmm num!! Just some Good ol' OJ, banana, strawberries, and peach! Very good, indeed.

MEH came home sometime after and I proposed the idea of Taco Wednesday!
Me: So I'm thinking tacos for dinner; what do you think?
MEH: I think, DAMN!, that sounds good.

So, tacos we had. They started out simply enough, with vine tomatoes and onion

I love the look of fresh produce! mmmm!
So the veggies were a'chopped, the tofu a'pressed (not oppressed, haha!), and into my pan it went:

I then added some taco seasonings here, a little more EVOO there (I love EVOO), and took it off heat. I discovered, also, that I just wasn't feeling the tortillas tonight, so turned my tofu version (MEH had grass fed/organic/hormone free beef from Natural Pantry) into a taco salad, with some avo, tomato, and lettuce!

And I apologize for the less than stellar photo, but I was so hungry that I'd already started chomping!

So when I went to Freds I decided I would acquaint myself more with the Natural Foods section. I found a great new thing: Coconut Kefir. I've never tried kefir, but I'm open to it. But I also saw that this coconut stuff is 4.50 for something like 2 quarts! ahhh!! Crazy 'spensive! So I don't know that I will be making any serious purchases in it anytime soon, unless I can find it cheaper somewhere else. . . online perhaps?
Any suggesttions?

This just in on the Readings of The Intention Experiment - proof of Female intuition:

In 1997, in his [Dean Radin's] former laboratory at the University of Nevada,
Radin discovered that humans may receive a physical foreboding of an event. He
set up a computer that would randomly select photos designed to calm, to arouse,
or to upset a participant. His volunteers were wired to physiological monitors
that recorded changes in skin conduction, heart rate, and blood pressure, and
they sat in front of a computer that would randomly display color photos of
tranquil scenes (landscapes) or scenes designed to shock (autopsies) or to
arouse (erotic materials). Radin discovered that his subjects were registering
physiological responses before they saw the photo. As if they were
trying to brace themselves, their responses were highest before they saw an
image that was erotic or disturbing. This offered the first laboratory poor that
our bodies unconsciously anticipate and act out our own future emotional states
and that the nervous system doesn't merely cushion itself against a future blow,
but also works out the emotional meaning of it, Dr. Rollin McCraty discovered
that these feelings of good and bad were felt in both the heart and the
brain, whose electromagnetic waves would speed up or slow down just before a
disturbing or tranquil picture was shown. . . . Most astonishing of all the
heart appeared to receive this information moments before the
brain did. This suggested that the body has certain perceptual apparatus that
enables it continually to scan and intuit the future, but that the heart may
hold the largest antenna. After the heart receives the information, it
communicated this information to the brain. McCraty's study had shown certain
fascinating differences between the sexes. Both the heart and the brain became
entrained with each other earlier and more frequently in women than they did in
men. McCraty concluded that this offered scientific evidence of the universal
assumption that women are naturally more intuitive than men and more in touch
with their heart center.

Thank you Lynne McTaggart and Dr. McCraty.
How cool is that? Not only is the heart the leader of the body in feeling/intuition, but us of the female sort actually move more in line more easily than men! Cool beans!

Mantra of the Day: "I am a good person." Thanks VeggieMama, this one comes from you. As VeggieMama and I ran the Alaska Run for Women a few weeks ago, she used this affirmation while running. Exhaling she thought "I am a" and inhaling "good person." Her impression of this is much funnier than in print. And the women ran almost the whole dang race without stopping, and after not having run all year. Holy crap! But also, studies have shown that even in athletics, positive affirmations and envisioning success can really impact a finish/competition. In fact, most elite athletes envision themselves throughout a race/competition in all aspects: Doing well, sucking, getting sore, and winning. Granted, I'm sure VeggieMama didn't imagine herself finishing to a throng of adoring fans, or collapsing on the side of the trail, heavily winded on the verge of unconsciousness, but this little breathing technique/affirmation sure seemed to help! Besides, few things are better than reminding yourself that despite all faults, you are a good person!

Question of Gratitude: What or who are you grateful for today? Since I didn't post yesterday, I will give thanks to two things/somebodies: My poopers! RoRo and KayKay are my babies. I love them in all ways, unconditionally, even when they pee in the house. (I don't love the pee). They have two of the coolest personalities I know, are full of love and affection, and always make me happy. I adore them. I love them. *In a cutesy animal loving voice* dey aww my pooperzh!* (ruffle ears). Thank you, my sweets, for being so loving and wonderful.

In This World Full of People Only Some Want to Fly

. . . isn't that crazy?

I know, right? This morning at the gym at 0500 God's Hour, Seal's version of this song was playing on the radio. For years I passively listened to it and didn't really pay it any attention. But really, this is a pretty intense point, to me, anyway: Out of this whole world, only some of us give a damn about actualizing what we are capable of. (Poor grammar and all). But really. I once told my friend Eve, a fabulous B-grade movie producer in Kauai, that I firmly believe most people are afraid of hearing or seeing what they are worth. That goes in hand with actualizing potential. We can do so much good. I do not mean to say we all must call to arms and become the Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Lance Armstrong, or Bill Gates. I do mean to say that if most of us tried, even just a little more than we might think possible, every now and then, we could be pretty damn amazing. We may not fly, but we can certainly get some sweet air.

Elie Wiesel spoke to Congress some time ago about indifference. This speech moved me to tears when I read it and it rings true to me constantly. There is no worse thing, I believe, than indifference. Apathy. It's a passion sucker and a life killer. Strength is in commitment and action. Or at least awareness. When we choose not to be aware, it's akin, to me (again, just to me) to arrogance. It's the ability to separate oneself from others. It's an us and them attitude. And when we actively choose to be unaware, guess who we see as at the disadvantage? Everyone else. There's my schpeil on giving a damn. (By the way, that is not to say that every now and then I'm just tired and don't have my mojo to give as much of a damn. I think that's human. But to make the effort to at least be aware of life around you, of what you are capable, is desperately important). Moving on!


MEH and I went to Cooper Landing with Crazy Cooking Mama and her hubby for the long weekend. Dogs came with, of course. And, of course, despite my and CCM's best attempts, we took no pictures :( Not a one. A quick rundown: rained lightly most of the time, fishers caught no fish, dogs got wet, burned lots of driftwood. We all came back on Sunday, of course, in picturesque weather. However, before we all took off to the beautiful Kenai Peninsula, I decided to be proactive and get all of our stuff together. In the process, I got isopropyl alcohol underneath my pinky nail.


(Aside: MEH left eggs in the cooler after our last camping venture on his birthday, which, well, was over a month ago. He cleaned said nasty cooler out with the isopropyl alcohol and when I washed it out, I got the nastiness pictured below).

Let me say this: DON'T EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER GET ISOPROPYL (RUBBING) ALCOHOL UNDER YOUR FINGERNAIL. It hurts, alot! I swear, if this is what childbirth feels like, I am never having children. I was curled up on the couch in the fetal position for about 20 minutes. And I thought I wasn't a world class wienie. MEH came home to the image of a sappy woman and this:

It spread. This, clearly, was my own fault. Thinking that applying pressure would help relieve the pain was quite correct, until applying said pressure helped the germ-killing, mind-numbing stuff spread throughout my nail bed, causing further pain and world class wienieness. I was out of commission for at least another 15 minutes. Again: Don't get rubbing alcohol under your nail. If you do, I'll do my best not to say "I warned you!"

So my nail recovered and we packed and drove and camped. Much fun! We got home on Sunday just in time to be pooped. I took a nice cozy 3 hour nap and then we both fell asleep not long after, on the couch, after watching some comedy show. Thank goodness we both had Monday off!

Yesterday we decided was a Deep Clean Day. This necessitated moving furniture, pulling out the bleach and scrub brushes, and cleaning the house with the vigor only a Virgo knows. MEH cleaned out the whole garage. We were both pooped when it came to dinner time.

I decided to channel Sheri with Green and Crunchy and declutter our downstairs. That meant cleaning out a small portion of my beloved wine bottle collection (I KNOW!) and making use of some very surprising finds in our pantry: PORTION CONTAINERS! I took down an entire shelf of clutter with these bad boys. All my beans went in one, oats in another, and cereal in the last one. While it wasn't a complete finish (I still need more of those things), here was the final product yesterday:

I love my pantry. There is so much space!. And now I have even more for more fun food. After it was all said and done, my kitchen got a good cleaning too

Now, in true fashion, I couldn't expect that my kitchen would stay pristine for long. I decided to make some Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread. We bought a huge 6lb bag of chocolate chips at Costco last week, so I figured this would help put a dent in the bag. I also had a whole bunch of bananas about to take a nosedive into wasteland if I didn't do something quick. I am not a clean cook. I am working on this. I make a huge mess. And of course, I really don't like cleaning it up, either. But here is my bread baking lovingly in the oven:

I took a nice reprieve from moving out about and took to a glass of wine and our Bad-Ass Girls Book Club book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach.

I'm in love with this book. Mary Roach is hilarious and has had me laughing loudly in public more than once since cracking open the cover. The wine wasn't too bad either.

Interjection of my second favorite semi-room of the house: My Wine Table

This little table sees quite a lot of action, as can be attested by the full bowl of corks sitting off to the right there. . .

Do you have a favorite room of your house?

And then my bread was done!

Nom Nom Nom!

Today is Baked Good Tuesday. You can bet I've been gobbling up my slice over the course of the morning! Baked Good Tuesday is a creation of mine to aid in getting through the Work/Healthy Eating Week. Mondays are the start of the week, depending on who you are, you either love or hate them. Wednesdays are the hump, Thursdays are almost the weekend, Fridays are always welcome, and Saturdays and Sundays are pure freedom. Tuesdays? Tuesdays suck. So I decided to make Tuesday into Baked Good Tuesday. Celebrate baked deliciousness! I bring in baked goods every Tuesday and it seriously helps morale on a lagging morning. Unfortunately I'm alone in the office this week, so I celebrate alone with my loaf o choco banana bread. I nom to myself. :)

Do you have any secrets to getting through the work week?

The Cooking Kitchen Disaster of July 5th did not end at the bread baking. It continued with my Peanut Pad Stir Thai (harharhar) fiasco. This spawned my second place decision for a title (desire colon here), PS, Pad Thai Noodles are a Pain in the Ass. Ugh ugh ugh. I'd never cooked Pad Thai noodles. But I found some in the corner of my pantry and decided to be adventurous. Word to the wise: Don't decide to become adventurous in your cooking at 8pm on a work night. You will be mad at yourself halfway through. Or at least tired. It started out innocent enough, with vegetables of white onion, broccoli (not pictured), carrots, and cauliflower

And continued as such with the saute'age of the veggies:

But when it came to cooking the pad thai noodles, everything went so, so wrong. Apparently these babies don't cook like good, normal noodles (by boiling), but instead by frying in very, very high heat. Frying? I don't fry. But I was told by CCM that if I add lots of coconut oil (mmmm) and heat it enough, the noodles will immediately plump up. So, she also said, don't put a lot into one pan. They plump up a long and you won't have space for a lot of them. If they don't have space to plump, they burn. Burn = bad. So I did that

You can see the start of plumpage down in the bottom part of the photo. I added, apparently, too many noodles. And I stopped taking pictures of the noodle fryage because with such high heat and so many noodles, I made a big, big mess. I also got really, really frustrated. The noodles did plump up quickly, and they did sizzle and pop with tasty sounds, but the cooked so quickly that it was hard to keep up with them. Immediately after cooking, I added them to the veggie mix to get soft. Put in a few tablespoons of extra crunchy peanut butter and I was a goin'

Mmmm it smelled heavenly. MEH even said so. And he's, as we've established, not the biggest veg eater. Overall, it was a success. But my kitchen was(is still) a huge mess after this cooking wonder.

Have you ever had any cooking disasters that turned out for the best? Are you a clean cook? Do you experiment much in the kitchen, or stick to your tried and true recipes?

This was not my worst cooking venture: MEH's birthday cake last year was horrible. I try to experiment so I don't get in food ruts of making the same stuff over again, but I have been on a peanut kick lately. And I do get in the habit of making some of the same stuff for a couple of weeks in a row, at least once a week. I chalk it up to lack of time, but really, I just love some flavors (like curry and peanut butter and tomato . . . ) MEH doesn't cook so much, so he is my guinea pig.

Mantra of the Day: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." - Julian of Norwich. According to Wikipedia, this lovely lady was a famous English Mystic from the 15th century. Ms. Julian apparently believed God told her the words in the above mantra. I like the idea of repeating these words. It's such an optimistic look on the world. Keep your chin up. Smile. Muscle through it. All shall be well. (To those who say "well that's just kind of silly, things are not always well, I have a mantra for tomorrow)! Go go optimism.

Quick Interjection: Am I the only one who didn't know that "It's My Life" by No Doubt was originally by some band called "Talk Talk?" Because it just came on the radio and this is rather a shock . . .

Question of Gratitude Who, or what, are you grateful for today? I am grateful for my health today. What a cliche, right? But seriously, there are a lot of people who don't have the same benefit of abundant food and well-functioning bodies. This ol' girl gets around pretty well, isn't too fussy, and lets me know when she needs a little less go go go . Thanks, health, for working out (harharhar, pun) in my favor!