Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
America Day
Last year I had a really hard Independence Day. It was more of an In Dependence of a False Ideal Day. That's all I'll say about that.
To be frank, I was dreading the holiday this year. Thankfully I live with some of the greatest people ever and have some good friends in this town who made my day really fabulous. Seriously, I hope that I adequately express my love and appreciation to my friends because they rule.
We had brunch, hung around our house, went to Carly's for a cookout and then came back to our house to watch fireworks in the garden on the roof. I am living the life of dreams, dreams, dreams.
The proof is in the pictures!
To be frank, I was dreading the holiday this year. Thankfully I live with some of the greatest people ever and have some good friends in this town who made my day really fabulous. Seriously, I hope that I adequately express my love and appreciation to my friends because they rule.
We had brunch, hung around our house, went to Carly's for a cookout and then came back to our house to watch fireworks in the garden on the roof. I am living the life of dreams, dreams, dreams.
The proof is in the pictures!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Photo update
So far so GREAT with the new position. I'm learning a lot so far. It can only get better from here! I thought I'd update with some more photos about what's up in my world.
This is my roof garden before the newest addition. We've got green beans, yellow squash, sugar snap peas, cherry tomato, spinach, cucumber, jalapeno pepper, regular tomato, zucchini and broccoli. On Monday Miguel and I planted four more tomato plants, a hot pepper plant (possibly kimchi?) and an eggplant plant. I got all of them from the WYG! In the front yard we have more zukes, peas, tomatoes & green beans. Additionally in the front we have butternut squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, spearmint, chocolate peppermint, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, basil, lemon balm and bronze fennel. GROW GARDEN GROW!
Speaking of the WYG, last week we had a great volunteer turnout. We also had two black rat snakes volunteer to hang around with us while we mulched the tomatoes! Look at how good those beds look!
Some baby kiwis growing at the WYG. For real. I've never seen kiwi grow before; pretty sweet.
Back row: Shubra, Ellie, Brittany, Erica, Krista, me; Front row: Vince, Sayid, Kathryn
From our service days! Read more.
Maybe you noticed my tree pose? I've been trying to keep up with doing yoga regularly here at home.
I've also been riding my bike around a lot more but I always have to check the weather first because my wheels are old and made of steel. The what-I-will-buy-when-I'm-not-living-paycheck-to-paycheck list is growing every day, but aluminum wheels are up there.
This is my roof garden before the newest addition. We've got green beans, yellow squash, sugar snap peas, cherry tomato, spinach, cucumber, jalapeno pepper, regular tomato, zucchini and broccoli. On Monday Miguel and I planted four more tomato plants, a hot pepper plant (possibly kimchi?) and an eggplant plant. I got all of them from the WYG! In the front yard we have more zukes, peas, tomatoes & green beans. Additionally in the front we have butternut squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, spearmint, chocolate peppermint, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, basil, lemon balm and bronze fennel. GROW GARDEN GROW!
Speaking of the WYG, last week we had a great volunteer turnout. We also had two black rat snakes volunteer to hang around with us while we mulched the tomatoes! Look at how good those beds look!
Some baby kiwis growing at the WYG. For real. I've never seen kiwi grow before; pretty sweet.
Back row: Shubra, Ellie, Brittany, Erica, Krista, me; Front row: Vince, Sayid, KathrynFrom our service days! Read more.
Maybe you noticed my tree pose? I've been trying to keep up with doing yoga regularly here at home.
I've also been riding my bike around a lot more but I always have to check the weather first because my wheels are old and made of steel. The what-I-will-buy-when-I'm-not-living-paycheck-to-paycheck list is growing every day, but aluminum wheels are up there.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
BBQ & Cupcakes
I don’t think I’ve talked about it on here before, but I know that I’ve talked extensively with folks about how awesome I think Vegan Dad is. Every single thing I have ever made that he posted is DELICIOUS! I own plenty of cookbooks but I can’t help but pine after his. I mean, he’s a genius.
So of course I wasn’t surprised when my friend Samantha and I devoured his latest BBQ tofu recipe, paired with his southern-style greens (I used kale, spinach, arugula and mustard greens I harvested from the WYG last Saturday) and some Gluten-Free Bob’s Red Mill cornbread.
Sam and I are new friends; we met through DC Food for All, actually! She isn’t a vegan but eats like one sometimes and when she found out that I love to cook for other people she asked if she could come and watch me because (she says) she doesn’t know how to cook. It wasn’t exactly like a cooking lesson which is what I was a little nervous about, but she just watched me cook it up and saw how easy it was! I really love vegan soul food and this was a great example of how to make a very delicious & nutritious southern-style meal, no pork fat required!
For dessert we had some cupcakes that I made the night before. If you know me, you know I’m not a huge fan of sweets, especially pastries and cakes. However, for some reason earlier this week I had a huge craving for a vegan cupcake! I knew I could just ride over to Sticky Fingers and pay ~$4 and satisfy the craving, but I am pretty broke and couldn’t justify it. However, I can justify buying ingredients for homemade cupcakes since I am a food stamps recipient. I really love lemon and berry together, so I made lemon cupcakes with straw-raspberry icing.
Using a few of these websites plus my copy of How it All Vegan! This is what I did for my Berry Lemonade Cupcakes!:
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350*F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Frosting:
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
1/2 cup all-vegetable shortening
3.5 cups powdered sugar
Blend strawberries, raspberries, lemon juice, coconut milk and vanilla together in a blender until smooth. In a medium bowl, use an electric beater to beat Earth Balance and shortening together until smooth. Add berry mixture and blend until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time.
The problem with my frosting was that it was not frothy/airy enough. It tasted DELICIOUS but was really goopy and didn’t keep its shape. I put it in the freezer and that helped it for when I would first squeeze it onto the cupcakes but after it became room temperature again it would start to melt down into a goopy mess. We ate them quickly enough for it not to be a big deal, but I’d like to perfect this in the future. If you have any advice, let me know!
So of course I wasn’t surprised when my friend Samantha and I devoured his latest BBQ tofu recipe, paired with his southern-style greens (I used kale, spinach, arugula and mustard greens I harvested from the WYG last Saturday) and some Gluten-Free Bob’s Red Mill cornbread.
Sam and I are new friends; we met through DC Food for All, actually! She isn’t a vegan but eats like one sometimes and when she found out that I love to cook for other people she asked if she could come and watch me because (she says) she doesn’t know how to cook. It wasn’t exactly like a cooking lesson which is what I was a little nervous about, but she just watched me cook it up and saw how easy it was! I really love vegan soul food and this was a great example of how to make a very delicious & nutritious southern-style meal, no pork fat required!
For dessert we had some cupcakes that I made the night before. If you know me, you know I’m not a huge fan of sweets, especially pastries and cakes. However, for some reason earlier this week I had a huge craving for a vegan cupcake! I knew I could just ride over to Sticky Fingers and pay ~$4 and satisfy the craving, but I am pretty broke and couldn’t justify it. However, I can justify buying ingredients for homemade cupcakes since I am a food stamps recipient. I really love lemon and berry together, so I made lemon cupcakes with straw-raspberry icing.
Using a few of these websites plus my copy of How it All Vegan! This is what I did for my Berry Lemonade Cupcakes!:
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350*F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Frosting:
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
1/2 cup all-vegetable shortening
3.5 cups powdered sugar
Blend strawberries, raspberries, lemon juice, coconut milk and vanilla together in a blender until smooth. In a medium bowl, use an electric beater to beat Earth Balance and shortening together until smooth. Add berry mixture and blend until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time.
The problem with my frosting was that it was not frothy/airy enough. It tasted DELICIOUS but was really goopy and didn’t keep its shape. I put it in the freezer and that helped it for when I would first squeeze it onto the cupcakes but after it became room temperature again it would start to melt down into a goopy mess. We ate them quickly enough for it not to be a big deal, but I’d like to perfect this in the future. If you have any advice, let me know!
A May Update!
So it’s been a while. Things on my end are a little bit crazy, but for the most part they are crazy in a good way. The best news is that I’m being transferred from my current site (which has only gotten worse over the last few weeks/months) to a new site where I will hopefully be a little more useful and can gain some organizing skills. I’m really hoping that the second half of my service year can be a much more positive experience for me and that I can actually make a difference in the DC community. No matter what happens, I’m positive that it will be a better deal.
In the midst of all this we may have a few couch surfers who are other friends of mine staying in the District doing internships or who are otherwise looking for housing and coming up short right now. Life, man!
Things out at the WYG are going great. It’s such a dreamy place! It is hands-down the highlight of my week, every week.
Some fresh picked asparagus!
Well, so that quickly covers work and home life. I am also becoming more involved in a group called DC Food for All and a little less so Save Our Safety Net DC. You can catch little glimpses of me from yesterday’s rally at City Hall where we created a human safety net in this video which also features my friend/program-mate Vince. It’s so great to be getting more involved with what’s happening in DC but at the same time I am starting to really miss being in touch with issues surrounding the anti-genocide movement. Last week I went to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Sudan where Special Envoy Scott Gration testified and I realized how much I miss it. Is that weird? I just feel so intellectually stimulated by human rights / peace and conflict issues and I don’t want to lose that. It’s the fire inside me!
The more I think about all these things, the more confused I get about what I want to do once November 1 rolls around. I need someone to talk everything out with and help me define what I’m going for a little more clearly. Volunteers?
Oh, did I mention that I got poison ivy (or poison oak or sumac, but what's the difference in the end?) from a service day cleaning out the back yard of a new DC organization's office... and that Mayor Fenty stopped by my house last Friday night when I was having a potluck with friends? I'm hopefully going to blog somewhere else about the interaction with Fenty, I'll try to update here when I do. In the meantime, here's a picture of me getting involved with poison, then posing with the Mayor in my living room.
Be looking out for a vegan-related post; I’ve been eating some yummy stuff lately!
As far as my house goes, we are all still loving each other a lot, but the dynamics are about to be switched up a lot in the next two months. This past weekend Walker (Sveta’s bf) came for a 2 ½ week visit. Yesterday Cat left for a 10-day retreat and when she gets back she’ll only be staying for about 12 hours before going on a month-long road trip across the country with a friend (jealousssss). Tomorrow Toby’s parents and brother are visiting from Germany and staying with us, his parents in the basement and his brother in his room. They are staying for about two weeks, and right after they leave is when Meghan is moving in. For the first few weeks she’ll probably be crashing down in Cat’s room because Toby doesn’t move out until the end of June. When he moves out there will be some room switches, then Meg can be settled, then Cat comes back and it will be July! Ah!
Cat, Miguel and Sveta on a new love seat.
In the midst of all this we may have a few couch surfers who are other friends of mine staying in the District doing internships or who are otherwise looking for housing and coming up short right now. Life, man!
Things out at the WYG are going great. It’s such a dreamy place! It is hands-down the highlight of my week, every week.
Some fresh picked asparagus!
Well, so that quickly covers work and home life. I am also becoming more involved in a group called DC Food for All and a little less so Save Our Safety Net DC. You can catch little glimpses of me from yesterday’s rally at City Hall where we created a human safety net in this video which also features my friend/program-mate Vince. It’s so great to be getting more involved with what’s happening in DC but at the same time I am starting to really miss being in touch with issues surrounding the anti-genocide movement. Last week I went to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Sudan where Special Envoy Scott Gration testified and I realized how much I miss it. Is that weird? I just feel so intellectually stimulated by human rights / peace and conflict issues and I don’t want to lose that. It’s the fire inside me!
The more I think about all these things, the more confused I get about what I want to do once November 1 rolls around. I need someone to talk everything out with and help me define what I’m going for a little more clearly. Volunteers?
Oh, did I mention that I got poison ivy (or poison oak or sumac, but what's the difference in the end?) from a service day cleaning out the back yard of a new DC organization's office... and that Mayor Fenty stopped by my house last Friday night when I was having a potluck with friends? I'm hopefully going to blog somewhere else about the interaction with Fenty, I'll try to update here when I do. In the meantime, here's a picture of me getting involved with poison, then posing with the Mayor in my living room.
Be looking out for a vegan-related post; I’ve been eating some yummy stuff lately!
Friday, April 16, 2010
What's vegan at the Olive Garden?
HEY VEGANS: If you can avoid the Olive Garden, do. If you can't, order the gluten-free pasta and salad without the dressing.
Like I said previously, I'm going to dinner with my coworkers tonight at Olive Garden in Falls Church. I've scoured the internet and it seems that there is a lot of confusion as to what is vegan and what isn't, so I just called the one I'm going to tonight to clear up what it is that I'll be ordering. This is how the conversation went (in so many words):
Me: I'm vegan and eating there tonight, are your pastas made with egg?
OG Lady: All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: Even the pasta in your minestrone?
OGL: Yes.
Me: What do you recommend I order?
OGL: Salad without the dressing (made with egg & cheese) and minestrone without the pasta.
Me: I read on the website that there is a gluten-free pasta, is it made with egg?
OGL: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGL: I don't know how I could know that.
Me: Do you have an ingredient list?
OGL: Not right here in front of me.
Me: How about in the restaurant?
OGL, sighing: Let me get my manager.
OG Manager: What's the deal?
Me: VEGAN
OGM: I don't know why she told you the pastas were made with egg. None of the pastas are made with egg.
Me: What? Are you sure? (why would she say that?)
OGM: I'm not completely positive but this has happened before and we always say there isn't any egg in them.
Me: Could you check?
...
OGM: I stand corrected. All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: OK. Does that include your gluten-free pasta?
OGM: Do eggs contain gluten?
Me: They are two different things, I'm just wondering if the pasta you serve that is gluten-free is also egg-free?
OGM: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGM: I don't think we have an ingredient list for that.
Me: Really? Would you mind double checking?
...
OGM comes back, reads off the label of the GF pasta as well as the sauce that comes with it. No animal products! The pasta is made with quinoa, score! : "I guess that's what you'll be having, huh?"
Like I said previously, I'm going to dinner with my coworkers tonight at Olive Garden in Falls Church. I've scoured the internet and it seems that there is a lot of confusion as to what is vegan and what isn't, so I just called the one I'm going to tonight to clear up what it is that I'll be ordering. This is how the conversation went (in so many words):
Me: I'm vegan and eating there tonight, are your pastas made with egg?
OG Lady: All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: Even the pasta in your minestrone?
OGL: Yes.
Me: What do you recommend I order?
OGL: Salad without the dressing (made with egg & cheese) and minestrone without the pasta.
Me: I read on the website that there is a gluten-free pasta, is it made with egg?
OGL: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGL: I don't know how I could know that.
Me: Do you have an ingredient list?
OGL: Not right here in front of me.
Me: How about in the restaurant?
OGL, sighing: Let me get my manager.
OG Manager: What's the deal?
Me: VEGAN
OGM: I don't know why she told you the pastas were made with egg. None of the pastas are made with egg.
Me: What? Are you sure? (why would she say that?)
OGM: I'm not completely positive but this has happened before and we always say there isn't any egg in them.
Me: Could you check?
...
OGM: I stand corrected. All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: OK. Does that include your gluten-free pasta?
OGM: Do eggs contain gluten?
Me: They are two different things, I'm just wondering if the pasta you serve that is gluten-free is also egg-free?
OGM: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGM: I don't think we have an ingredient list for that.
Me: Really? Would you mind double checking?
...
OGM comes back, reads off the label of the GF pasta as well as the sauce that comes with it. No animal products! The pasta is made with quinoa, score! : "I guess that's what you'll be having, huh?"
Thursday, April 15, 2010
on the vegan side of things...
Things are going pretty well for this VegHead. This week I rode the freegan wave and ended up with a headache and a confused stomach, so I think that's my sign to take an extra 5 minutes the mornings of my trainings to make a PB&J. Speaking of, how did I forget how amazing PB&Js are??? So delicious, especially on toasted bread. I'm also really baffled about why anyone would get the no-stir peanut butter, because obviously stirring the PB is the BEST PART. So satisfying.
When I discussed this on Saturday with JD we talked about our favorite J - mine is currently a no-sugar-added strawberry jam which is great. I like bananas too. What's your favorite PB accompaniment?
Speaking of freeganism, tomorrow night I'm going with coworkers to a celebratory dinner in honor of our completion of the office's Biggest Loser challenge. Where's the extravaganza? Olive Garden. On the real! In this great big city with all the places you could ever want! Bah! I've been doing a bit of research this evening and totally coming up short on what I'm going to eat, as it seems that most if not all of their pastas are made with egg. This is confusing to me, just like nonfat milk in bread and casein in rice "cheese". WTF, Y'ALL.
While we're talking vegetables, I am also really pumped about getting a regular volunteer position at the Washington Youth Garden as their volunteer coordinator. I don't get paid, but will be able to reap the benefits of harvest season. I've been out there twice now, round three coming up this Saturday. Farm girl, usin' her head (and hands and thumbs and muscles!) I'm just so thankful for a reason to get up early and be outside on Saturday mornings. Amen.
When I discussed this on Saturday with JD we talked about our favorite J - mine is currently a no-sugar-added strawberry jam which is great. I like bananas too. What's your favorite PB accompaniment?
Speaking of freeganism, tomorrow night I'm going with coworkers to a celebratory dinner in honor of our completion of the office's Biggest Loser challenge. Where's the extravaganza? Olive Garden. On the real! In this great big city with all the places you could ever want! Bah! I've been doing a bit of research this evening and totally coming up short on what I'm going to eat, as it seems that most if not all of their pastas are made with egg. This is confusing to me, just like nonfat milk in bread and casein in rice "cheese". WTF, Y'ALL.
While we're talking vegetables, I am also really pumped about getting a regular volunteer position at the Washington Youth Garden as their volunteer coordinator. I don't get paid, but will be able to reap the benefits of harvest season. I've been out there twice now, round three coming up this Saturday. Farm girl, usin' her head (and hands and thumbs and muscles!) I'm just so thankful for a reason to get up early and be outside on Saturday mornings. Amen.
tune yards
Last night I saw Merrill Garbus & Nate Brenner play as Tune Yards at DC9. They opened for Xiu Xiu and also completely showed them up. Merrill is tremendous. I'm totally pumped for the new 7" to come in a format I can listen to.
Before the show I did the obligatory "hey I like you" thing with her and introduced myself in the context of Bloomington and Mike. It got me thinking about how long I've associated or identified myself as a girlfriend or bff of a local celebrity/rock star. It was weird to do that here, in this new city, my city.
No offense to anyone I used to date or any bffs of mine who also happen to be talented musicians, but that kind of sucks in a way. I mean, I want to tell people about that time I got to sit behind the mixer at Daytrotter (+394 hip lady points, no?) but I can't without it being about David.
As a result, I came home and stayed up very late perusing music blogs and deciding that I'm ready to make some decisions about what music I'm really diggin' instead of what I think I should be diggin' based on what the boy I'm smoochin' is listening to. Stay tuned?
P.S. Choice numero uno is for sure the new Tallest Man on Earth... who happen to be on a label based outta Bloomington. Bah! Download "King of Spain" -->>here<<--
Before the show I did the obligatory "hey I like you" thing with her and introduced myself in the context of Bloomington and Mike. It got me thinking about how long I've associated or identified myself as a girlfriend or bff of a local celebrity/rock star. It was weird to do that here, in this new city, my city.
No offense to anyone I used to date or any bffs of mine who also happen to be talented musicians, but that kind of sucks in a way. I mean, I want to tell people about that time I got to sit behind the mixer at Daytrotter (+394 hip lady points, no?) but I can't without it being about David.
As a result, I came home and stayed up very late perusing music blogs and deciding that I'm ready to make some decisions about what music I'm really diggin' instead of what I think I should be diggin' based on what the boy I'm smoochin' is listening to. Stay tuned?
P.S. Choice numero uno is for sure the new Tallest Man on Earth... who happen to be on a label based outta Bloomington. Bah! Download "King of Spain" -->>here<<--
Monday, April 5, 2010
Two things that have shocked me recently.
One amazing:
One absolutely disgusting:
^This is done being "test marketed" and is going nationwide.
One absolutely disgusting:
^This is done being "test marketed" and is going nationwide.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Joanna Newsom
I saw Joanna Newsom play twice my senior year of high school, both times in smallish, dark bars (Bloomington, IN and Lawrence, KS) with lots of background noise (talking, clanking, etc.) and not many fans. Tonight, five and a half years later, I enjoyed each beautiful note resonating in the dreamy (sold out) venue that is the historic Sixth & I Synagogue. She and her band put on one hell of a performance.
All Songs Considered was there, live streaming the audio. Soon the whole thing can be heard on this website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124711752
All Songs Considered was there, live streaming the audio. Soon the whole thing can be heard on this website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124711752
Sunday, March 21, 2010
It is finally spring. Thank goodness.
Becky, Evan, Tara and Meghan all came to visit for their respective spring breaks. I love LOVE living in a destination city - not to say that these friends WOULDN'T come see me if I lived somewhere boring, but the tremendous amount of things to do in DC can't hurt. I went to a few places for the first time too, including the top of the old post office, the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress and Busboys & Poets on 14th St. It was also really nice to have my worlds collide - Meghan had only met Becky once, briefly but otherwise B,E&T didn't know her. And isn't it the best when you know really good people and then they meet each other?? I like building webs of support and community that cross state (and country) lines.
I could have started a pity party yesterday morning after I took Tara to the airport, but instead I spent most of the weekend outside! Yesterday I joined folks from City Blossoms and Common Good City Farms, Bread for the City and others at a new community garden in Shaw. We cleaned up, weeded, hoed, mulched and planted a few things. It was so nice to get dirty and meet some new people. I also cleaned up my house and my room, then took my inaugural DC bike ride over to Columbia Heights. Today I got back on Old Blue and went to the immigration reform march down 16th St. to the rally on the mall. I got a little bit of a sunburn from the two days combined. I've been wearing shorts! It's been really wonderful.
Right now I'm chilling out a little bit, camping out in front of CSPAN to follow the health care reform coverage and working on a more detailed document of what our nutrition class is going to be covering on Thursday in an effort to convince Michelle Obama to come.
Oh yeah, I'm trying to get Michelle Obama to come to my clinic on Thursday. Read more here: http://dcfoodforall.com/2010/03/mrs-obama-come-to-perry-family-health-center/
That's not all that's going on in my life, but there's a small update. I left out the bad news, of which there isn't much.
Becky, Evan, Tara and Meghan all came to visit for their respective spring breaks. I love LOVE living in a destination city - not to say that these friends WOULDN'T come see me if I lived somewhere boring, but the tremendous amount of things to do in DC can't hurt. I went to a few places for the first time too, including the top of the old post office, the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress and Busboys & Poets on 14th St. It was also really nice to have my worlds collide - Meghan had only met Becky once, briefly but otherwise B,E&T didn't know her. And isn't it the best when you know really good people and then they meet each other?? I like building webs of support and community that cross state (and country) lines.
I could have started a pity party yesterday morning after I took Tara to the airport, but instead I spent most of the weekend outside! Yesterday I joined folks from City Blossoms and Common Good City Farms, Bread for the City and others at a new community garden in Shaw. We cleaned up, weeded, hoed, mulched and planted a few things. It was so nice to get dirty and meet some new people. I also cleaned up my house and my room, then took my inaugural DC bike ride over to Columbia Heights. Today I got back on Old Blue and went to the immigration reform march down 16th St. to the rally on the mall. I got a little bit of a sunburn from the two days combined. I've been wearing shorts! It's been really wonderful.
Right now I'm chilling out a little bit, camping out in front of CSPAN to follow the health care reform coverage and working on a more detailed document of what our nutrition class is going to be covering on Thursday in an effort to convince Michelle Obama to come.
Oh yeah, I'm trying to get Michelle Obama to come to my clinic on Thursday. Read more here: http://dcfoodforall.com/2010/03/mrs-obama-come-to-perry-family-health-center/
That's not all that's going on in my life, but there's a small update. I left out the bad news, of which there isn't much.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
General Tao's Tofu
When I was snowed in earlier this month I tried out this recipe I found on VegWeb, an awesome recipe site that's a lot like allrecipes.com but for vegans. I learned a lot from my first go-around and tried it again tonight with pretty much total success. Here's my version:
1 box extra firm tofu, frozen, defrosted and cubed
2ish tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 of a medium red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 small can of water chestnuts
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock (I use bouillon)
3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons red wine (I used Cabernet because it was around)
2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used regular white and white wine vinegars)
2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 4 tablespoons water
steamed broccoli and asparagus
Preheat oven to 400*F. Spread cubed tofu over an oiled baking sheet and sprinkle a little Braggs over them. Cook for ~20 minutes or until the tofu has reached your desired consistency.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, garlic, pepper and water chestnuts. Don't burn the garlic! Once the onions are becoming translucent, add the stock, Braggs, sugar, cayenne, wine and vinegar. Stir together for one minute and then add the corn starch/water mixture. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes, then add cooked tofu and reduce the heat.
Serve with steamed broccoli and asparagus over your choice of starch (we had pearled barley tonight but it was also great with brown rice) and enjoy!
1 box extra firm tofu, frozen, defrosted and cubed
2ish tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 of a medium red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 small can of water chestnuts
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock (I use bouillon)
3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons red wine (I used Cabernet because it was around)
2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used regular white and white wine vinegars)
2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 4 tablespoons water
steamed broccoli and asparagus
Preheat oven to 400*F. Spread cubed tofu over an oiled baking sheet and sprinkle a little Braggs over them. Cook for ~20 minutes or until the tofu has reached your desired consistency.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, garlic, pepper and water chestnuts. Don't burn the garlic! Once the onions are becoming translucent, add the stock, Braggs, sugar, cayenne, wine and vinegar. Stir together for one minute and then add the corn starch/water mixture. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes, then add cooked tofu and reduce the heat.
Serve with steamed broccoli and asparagus over your choice of starch (we had pearled barley tonight but it was also great with brown rice) and enjoy!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
crisis averted
Nothing can ruin my day quite like a "WTF AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE" crisis.
My life is so hard, right?
No, but, that's the thing - when I start to freak out a little bit about The Impending Future and how confusing it is to try and figure out who you are and what you want and how to get it so that the next chapter of life is maybe a little bit better than this one, I then subsequently let my nervous panic overtake me which THEN leads me to feel incredibly selfish. This is the rough part of my life? Seriously? Oh, woe is me, so many choices. So then I feel bad about myself. But then I don't make any decisions and it's this gross vicious cycle!
Luckily today, in the middle of drafting an email requesting a letter of recommendation from some mentors and peers I stopped and took a step back to reconsider what I was working towards and how much sense it really made. I needed some help sorting out my worries and like an angel, Becky conversed with me for TWO HOURS on the phone and let me talk it all out. I can't sing her praises enough - she got me though college, was my partner in anti-genocide activism, ran away with me to Tanzania and has just seen me through some pretty awesome and pretty terrible times. She's a genius with a modest demeanor and gentle soul. She knows how to talk me off the ledge, which she did today.
This is Becky and I in a photo project KEW did our sophomore year of college.
My life is so hard, right?
No, but, that's the thing - when I start to freak out a little bit about The Impending Future and how confusing it is to try and figure out who you are and what you want and how to get it so that the next chapter of life is maybe a little bit better than this one, I then subsequently let my nervous panic overtake me which THEN leads me to feel incredibly selfish. This is the rough part of my life? Seriously? Oh, woe is me, so many choices. So then I feel bad about myself. But then I don't make any decisions and it's this gross vicious cycle!
Luckily today, in the middle of drafting an email requesting a letter of recommendation from some mentors and peers I stopped and took a step back to reconsider what I was working towards and how much sense it really made. I needed some help sorting out my worries and like an angel, Becky conversed with me for TWO HOURS on the phone and let me talk it all out. I can't sing her praises enough - she got me though college, was my partner in anti-genocide activism, ran away with me to Tanzania and has just seen me through some pretty awesome and pretty terrible times. She's a genius with a modest demeanor and gentle soul. She knows how to talk me off the ledge, which she did today.
This is Becky and I in a photo project KEW did our sophomore year of college.In the midst of all this angst and self-loathing I skipped a conference I was supposed to go to today which was silly and irresponsible. I've been seeing on Twitter and Gmail that I missed a pretty awesome day, bummer. They're having another day tomorrow, so I'm going to try and get my ass out of bed for that in the morning. The one good thing that did come out of not going was that I was able to spend my evening with my new friend Lindsey. She also went to IU and we had some similar friends and went to some of the same parties but we never hung out until January. Tonight we cooked our second meal together from this AMAZING vegan cookbook she found at the library. The meals are very involved and time-consuming but we just spend that time getting to know each other and having some good laughs. And we are definitely 2 for 2 on the BALLIN' food - the hard work really pays off. It was seriously the best thing I could have done after having this really gross day that involved me thinking primarily negative thoughts because it's impossible to not have a good time with Lindsey.
Bottom line: I don't know what life after AC is going to look like but I do know that I'm going to have some quality folks around each step of the way. What more could a girl ask for? Amen.
Bottom line: I don't know what life after AC is going to look like but I do know that I'm going to have some quality folks around each step of the way. What more could a girl ask for? Amen.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Oh, hey February!
I'm sorry that I left this blog on such a negative note. I'm not having the worst time ever, but it has been a rough couple of weeks at my placement. I feel like I hit the bottom a week ago when I ended up in tears in my coordinator's office. I think my biggest challenge has been that I don't feel like I really have an ally or even a mentor in this whole thing. I want this to be a stepping stone towards something, you know? And I have been feeling skeptical about that being the reality. I'm three months in -- that's a quarter of the way through my term! Things should not be this bad!
With all that said, this week has actually been a little bit better. I'm coordinating an after-hours nutrition class for March (National Nutrition Month!) that will include a meal - food will hopefully bring people in. If it goes well, we're going to continue to hold classes, hopefully some a little more focused on certain populations, like possibly something re: diabetes management, hopefully something on GROWING healthy food, something kid-focused, etc. So, hey, keep your fingers crossed for me there.
I'm also attempting to assist our community outreach director in her part of putting together a health fair in April. I'm currently recruiting some nutrition/hunger-fighting/food access/etc. people to come out to talk to people not only about the importance of eating well, but how to make eating well a possibility for them and their families. Noticing a trend? I'm becoming more interested in nutrition & food justice and trying to pursue that interest within this position. We'll see how this all comes together.
Related to this, Michelle Obama recently launched her Let's Move campaign against childhood obesity (in her launch speech she said "food desert"!) and is tackling a lot of issues around nutrition, including school lunches. I recently learned that nearly half the population of DC school children qualify for free lunch (with another ~30% qualifying for reduced lunch) and after reading this six-part series looking inside the kitchen of a DC school kitchen, I was left pretty uneasy. Keeping things centered around children could be a good idea - parents want their kids to be healthy, right? Mamas and papas might be more inclined to take a second glance at a bag of apples if they knew it could help prevent disease in babies as opposed to just thinking about themselves, no? I'm processing all of this information and trying to think about how I can create something within my clinic to contribute to Let's Move or at least something like it. My first step was to request a TON of materials from mypyramid.gov, many of which are kid-centric, to put up and around the clinic.
I've been dreaming a little bit about how to start a vegetable garden at our facility and have some families work and eat in it. This is the first summer I will ever spend outside of Indiana and away from my dad's veggies. My heart, trapped in the frozen post-snowpacalyptic tundra, breaks at this realization. So in addition to wanting to help my community be healthier, I selfishly want to get my hands in the dirt and get some AC hours for it.
In addition to these things, I'm also tackling a big, long term quality improvement project to shorten the cycle time (time spent from the moment a patient walks in to the time they walk out) which currently averages 2.5 hours but on busy days is much, much more. The other day, trying to help things go a bit faster up front, a man yelled at me and asked if this was a f**king third-world country. Gosh, if that doesn't say something about health care, what does, right?
Life outside of work is going well. I'm in a new book club and have become the de facto leader, which I somehow tend to do in social situations. I'm working on some solid friendships with other AC-ers, roommates and fellow Hoosiers who are in DC. I'm a killer vegan (oxymoron?) and have made some ballin' food in the last few weeks. The snow storm helped with that! I've also been good at being active, walking more, going to the gym, etc. We're doing a Biggest Loser competition at work and I'm not trying to toot my own horn... but I've lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I've been working on being well and I feel good about the progress I've made.
My next outside-of-work mission: start looking for a post-AC job. Ahhhhh!
With all that said, this week has actually been a little bit better. I'm coordinating an after-hours nutrition class for March (National Nutrition Month!) that will include a meal - food will hopefully bring people in. If it goes well, we're going to continue to hold classes, hopefully some a little more focused on certain populations, like possibly something re: diabetes management, hopefully something on GROWING healthy food, something kid-focused, etc. So, hey, keep your fingers crossed for me there.
I'm also attempting to assist our community outreach director in her part of putting together a health fair in April. I'm currently recruiting some nutrition/hunger-fighting/food access/etc. people to come out to talk to people not only about the importance of eating well, but how to make eating well a possibility for them and their families. Noticing a trend? I'm becoming more interested in nutrition & food justice and trying to pursue that interest within this position. We'll see how this all comes together.
Related to this, Michelle Obama recently launched her Let's Move campaign against childhood obesity (in her launch speech she said "food desert"!) and is tackling a lot of issues around nutrition, including school lunches. I recently learned that nearly half the population of DC school children qualify for free lunch (with another ~30% qualifying for reduced lunch) and after reading this six-part series looking inside the kitchen of a DC school kitchen, I was left pretty uneasy. Keeping things centered around children could be a good idea - parents want their kids to be healthy, right? Mamas and papas might be more inclined to take a second glance at a bag of apples if they knew it could help prevent disease in babies as opposed to just thinking about themselves, no? I'm processing all of this information and trying to think about how I can create something within my clinic to contribute to Let's Move or at least something like it. My first step was to request a TON of materials from mypyramid.gov, many of which are kid-centric, to put up and around the clinic.
I've been dreaming a little bit about how to start a vegetable garden at our facility and have some families work and eat in it. This is the first summer I will ever spend outside of Indiana and away from my dad's veggies. My heart, trapped in the frozen post-snowpacalyptic tundra, breaks at this realization. So in addition to wanting to help my community be healthier, I selfishly want to get my hands in the dirt and get some AC hours for it.
In addition to these things, I'm also tackling a big, long term quality improvement project to shorten the cycle time (time spent from the moment a patient walks in to the time they walk out) which currently averages 2.5 hours but on busy days is much, much more. The other day, trying to help things go a bit faster up front, a man yelled at me and asked if this was a f**king third-world country. Gosh, if that doesn't say something about health care, what does, right?
Life outside of work is going well. I'm in a new book club and have become the de facto leader, which I somehow tend to do in social situations. I'm working on some solid friendships with other AC-ers, roommates and fellow Hoosiers who are in DC. I'm a killer vegan (oxymoron?) and have made some ballin' food in the last few weeks. The snow storm helped with that! I've also been good at being active, walking more, going to the gym, etc. We're doing a Biggest Loser competition at work and I'm not trying to toot my own horn... but I've lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I've been working on being well and I feel good about the progress I've made.
My next outside-of-work mission: start looking for a post-AC job. Ahhhhh!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Bad week, better weekend
I had a really frustrating week at my placement. My main issue is that I am not treated like a member of the team - more like an outsider who can do gopher odd jobs. When I raised the issue with my boss (who is also supposed to serve as a mentor!) she didn't listen to what I was saying and told me that if I was overwhelmed she could take something from me. I was trying to say that I felt precisely the opposite. Since it takes a lot for me to yell at someone, especially a superior, I instead just started crying when I was angry, which frustrated me even more. It sucked. The next day, after one of the most unproductive staff meetings I have *ever* attended, I got into a verbal tiff with a nurse who made some outrageous claims about our patients and "the poor" in general (basically, they are leeches, they will always be leeches and I don't know anything because I haven't been in this community long enough to know any better.)
There are a few good things that happened this week at work. We are doing a "biggest loser" competition (individual loss and team loss) and my team is kicking butt and I kind of am too. Also, witnessing my being upset and actually listening to what I said in our staff meeting about what my role is, a few women I work with gave me some encouraging words. One of them is the community outreach coordinator, who also proposed an option for a long-term project with her.
I'm not giving up on this place yet, but I can't say that I'm feeling good about it or that I'm looking forward to going in tomorrow morning (or any day, ever.) Blah!
ALL THAT SAID, I do feel like I'm building a pretty solid, supportive and fun community outside of that placement. I hung out with a lot of new people on both Thursday and Friday and yesterday my housemates and I had people over for a mostly-vegan potluck that was a huge success. Highlights included mashed sweet potatoes with coconut milk, my cornbread casserole that I am close to perfecting, spinach lasagna, chili, mashed parsley potatoes, kale, mixed veggie pasta, varieties of hummus, and more. YUM! Some of my AC friends came as well as an acquaintance from IU and some of my housemates buddies too. To me, there's just not a lot that beats friends coming together over homemade food. Amen.
There are a few good things that happened this week at work. We are doing a "biggest loser" competition (individual loss and team loss) and my team is kicking butt and I kind of am too. Also, witnessing my being upset and actually listening to what I said in our staff meeting about what my role is, a few women I work with gave me some encouraging words. One of them is the community outreach coordinator, who also proposed an option for a long-term project with her.
I'm not giving up on this place yet, but I can't say that I'm feeling good about it or that I'm looking forward to going in tomorrow morning (or any day, ever.) Blah!
ALL THAT SAID, I do feel like I'm building a pretty solid, supportive and fun community outside of that placement. I hung out with a lot of new people on both Thursday and Friday and yesterday my housemates and I had people over for a mostly-vegan potluck that was a huge success. Highlights included mashed sweet potatoes with coconut milk, my cornbread casserole that I am close to perfecting, spinach lasagna, chili, mashed parsley potatoes, kale, mixed veggie pasta, varieties of hummus, and more. YUM! Some of my AC friends came as well as an acquaintance from IU and some of my housemates buddies too. To me, there's just not a lot that beats friends coming together over homemade food. Amen.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Spoon
I have been a Spoon fan since it was introduced to me my sophomore year of high school.
On long drives to and from school when I transferred to Harmony I would bop along to Kill the Moonlight. The summer after graduation when David and I first moved in together we would do dishes and listen to Gimme Fiction. I was a little disappointed with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but I knew (esp. after that Daytrotter sesh [with a Paul Simon cover ?!?]) that one day Britt Daniel would make it up to me.
Well folks, the day has come.
I listened to Transference non-stop all weekend through NPR's Exclusive First Listen. It was released today, so I can't stream it for free any longer. As a professional volunteer, I have $0 to put towards it. So I think YOU should buy it and then send me the songs. Do it for me. Do it for Britt Daniel.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Happy Bday, MLK
This weekend has been full of meeting new people. Friday night and Saturday morning I went to Social Justice Camp DC, which was “a free two-day event on MLK Weekend gathering individuals interested in pursuing social justice in Washington, DC through art, technology & collaboration.” In short, it was genuinely the most exciting thing that I have attended since I returned to this city. I met so many dreamy changemakers. Yeah, I said it, social justice is dreamy.
Since I moved back to D.C. I’ve been working on trying to get to know the community around me better than I did during my internship at the Enough Project. I mean, I lived here for four months but I honestly spent so much time thinking and talking about genocide and crimes against humanity in Sub Saharan Africa since it’s what I did as my “job” and since most of the people I hung out with outside of “work” were Enough people. I honestly felt something missing if I went more than, oh, 48 hours not seeing Lindsay and Meghan. Imagine my withdrawal from them now. Anyway, I digress. What I’m trying to say is that now that I’m in a position where I am working with a population that lives here, I feel like I should be an expert on the resources that are available – and there are many. So many! I want to be a part of this community. I want to be a bus rider, not just a metro rider. I’m working on it.
I found out about Social Justice Camp DC online somehow – probably through Twitter. I thought it sounded like a good opportunity for a crash course in some of the problems this community is dealing with and a fabulous way to meet people who are working tenaciously to meet these challenges in a creative, progressive way. Well, guess what? It was. I already told you, it was my jam. I am looking forward to sharing some specific stories of the people I met and the organizations I learned about. Just know this: I’m in love with this city all over again, this time maybe a little more for real than last time.
I was sad to have to leave the (un)conference early, but I had to hit the road to Harrisonburg, VA with Rachael to go to our old roommate Andy’s elopement reception! When I lived here last time it was with three Eastern Mennonite University alumni. EMU is located in Harrisonburg, which I subsequently heard ALL about. This was my first visit and I got to put a lot of faces to names and see a bit of what is so great about this little college town. The party was classy and it seemed like Andy and Ellie were having a great time, which is what was most important. Today we had breakfast at a co-op and then played Boggle and Settlers of Catan with a couple of Rachael’s EMU buddies. It was a relaxing friendtime, perfect for a rainy and cold Sunday afternoon. On the way back, to keep from falling asleep at the wheel, Rach put my iPod on shuffle all and then had me guess who was singing. She was cracking me up in the car this weekend, asking if “food justice” meant freedom for tomatoes (joke) and asking where in the world I get all my *weird* music (not a joke).
All in all, it's been a great weekend so far. Tomorrow my clinic is closed but it's a day on packing and distributing safe sex kits (condoms & ??) with my AC pals for an org called Different Avenues. I hope that you all will be thinking of MLK tomorrow and celebrating his life by giving back to your community. Need some inspiration? Check out that link from the beginning of this post or read this article in the Washington Post.
Since I moved back to D.C. I’ve been working on trying to get to know the community around me better than I did during my internship at the Enough Project. I mean, I lived here for four months but I honestly spent so much time thinking and talking about genocide and crimes against humanity in Sub Saharan Africa since it’s what I did as my “job” and since most of the people I hung out with outside of “work” were Enough people. I honestly felt something missing if I went more than, oh, 48 hours not seeing Lindsay and Meghan. Imagine my withdrawal from them now. Anyway, I digress. What I’m trying to say is that now that I’m in a position where I am working with a population that lives here, I feel like I should be an expert on the resources that are available – and there are many. So many! I want to be a part of this community. I want to be a bus rider, not just a metro rider. I’m working on it.
I found out about Social Justice Camp DC online somehow – probably through Twitter. I thought it sounded like a good opportunity for a crash course in some of the problems this community is dealing with and a fabulous way to meet people who are working tenaciously to meet these challenges in a creative, progressive way. Well, guess what? It was. I already told you, it was my jam. I am looking forward to sharing some specific stories of the people I met and the organizations I learned about. Just know this: I’m in love with this city all over again, this time maybe a little more for real than last time.
I was sad to have to leave the (un)conference early, but I had to hit the road to Harrisonburg, VA with Rachael to go to our old roommate Andy’s elopement reception! When I lived here last time it was with three Eastern Mennonite University alumni. EMU is located in Harrisonburg, which I subsequently heard ALL about. This was my first visit and I got to put a lot of faces to names and see a bit of what is so great about this little college town. The party was classy and it seemed like Andy and Ellie were having a great time, which is what was most important. Today we had breakfast at a co-op and then played Boggle and Settlers of Catan with a couple of Rachael’s EMU buddies. It was a relaxing friendtime, perfect for a rainy and cold Sunday afternoon. On the way back, to keep from falling asleep at the wheel, Rach put my iPod on shuffle all and then had me guess who was singing. She was cracking me up in the car this weekend, asking if “food justice” meant freedom for tomatoes (joke) and asking where in the world I get all my *weird* music (not a joke).
All in all, it's been a great weekend so far. Tomorrow my clinic is closed but it's a day on packing and distributing safe sex kits (condoms & ??) with my AC pals for an org called Different Avenues. I hope that you all will be thinking of MLK tomorrow and celebrating his life by giving back to your community. Need some inspiration? Check out that link from the beginning of this post or read this article in the Washington Post.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
My lunch for the week
My first meal cooked from Vegan Soul Kitchen turned out 90% successful.
I made BBQ tempeh with a cabbage, carrot and cayenne coleslaw. It would have been the jam but I found it rather salty. It called for a 1/4 cup of tamari and I substituted it with Braggs Liquid Aminos. Next time I'll probably use 1/8 cup and add a little more tomato sauce (No Salt Added).
The coleslaw was pretty easy and I think it will complement the bbq well. I was flipping through some channels before cooking looking for something to listen to and found a Book TV program on CSPAN with Jonathan Safran Foer and Frank Bruni about food sustainability, which obviously I'm interested in. It's not my raison d'être, but it's hard to avoid the subject when I'm pursuing veganism.
Speaking of what I may or may not be on this planet to do, I've been trying to keep up with what is happening in Sudan lately, mostly through reading the Enough Project blog. My friend Maggie works for them as a field researcher stationed in Juba, South Sudan. This month marks the five year anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the north and south. According to the CPA 2010 is when Sudan is supposed to hold their presidential election. Needless to say, there's a lot happening on the ground. I haven't had the nightmares about Bashir or anything though, thank goodness. It could be because my bed is facing a different direction.
I think about Sudan every day. I don't necessarily know if I'm praying about it, but I'm certainly sending lots of positive vibes, hopeful wishes, good feelings and generally anything I can. Having a close friend there now actually makes me worry even more about it. I'd appreciate it if you prayed/hoped/wished/sent good vibes for Maggie and Sudan today, too. I wish I could find a way to be in connection with activists here but I'm not sure if there's time for it.
That said, I've emailed the people at the International Rescue Committee to see what the deal is with the orientation for being an ESL volunteer. Here's to progress in the new year!
I made BBQ tempeh with a cabbage, carrot and cayenne coleslaw. It would have been the jam but I found it rather salty. It called for a 1/4 cup of tamari and I substituted it with Braggs Liquid Aminos. Next time I'll probably use 1/8 cup and add a little more tomato sauce (No Salt Added).
The coleslaw was pretty easy and I think it will complement the bbq well. I was flipping through some channels before cooking looking for something to listen to and found a Book TV program on CSPAN with Jonathan Safran Foer and Frank Bruni about food sustainability, which obviously I'm interested in. It's not my raison d'être, but it's hard to avoid the subject when I'm pursuing veganism.
Speaking of what I may or may not be on this planet to do, I've been trying to keep up with what is happening in Sudan lately, mostly through reading the Enough Project blog. My friend Maggie works for them as a field researcher stationed in Juba, South Sudan. This month marks the five year anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the north and south. According to the CPA 2010 is when Sudan is supposed to hold their presidential election. Needless to say, there's a lot happening on the ground. I haven't had the nightmares about Bashir or anything though, thank goodness. It could be because my bed is facing a different direction.
I think about Sudan every day. I don't necessarily know if I'm praying about it, but I'm certainly sending lots of positive vibes, hopeful wishes, good feelings and generally anything I can. Having a close friend there now actually makes me worry even more about it. I'd appreciate it if you prayed/hoped/wished/sent good vibes for Maggie and Sudan today, too. I wish I could find a way to be in connection with activists here but I'm not sure if there's time for it.
That said, I've emailed the people at the International Rescue Committee to see what the deal is with the orientation for being an ESL volunteer. Here's to progress in the new year!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
tweet roundup
A few things I learned on Twitter today:
1. A second grader organized a community effort to help homeless people in his neighborhood. http://bit.ly/8qvMp9
2. Petworth is getting a farmers market in the spring - http://tinyurl.com/ybkwrwv
3. The governor of my home state was in my home county today and word-vomitted some shit about getting out of politics so he could attend the diner every day. We could only hope, Mitch.
4. This job opened up... and I promptly applied for it - http://tinyurl.com/ycajw2e
5. Tomorrow Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is giving a speech on global reproductive health at 2:30pmEST http://bit.ly/8724k5
6. USAID finally has an administrator http://bit.ly/5HJ9gt
7. Of Montreal is coming to DC later this month... but it's $25. I love Kevin Barnes, and he can do it soft core if he wants, but I can't justify that.
8. If you are carrying more than three condoms at once you can be charged for prostitution in DC. http://bit.ly/7Qcfti
9. There's a relatively new sustainable foodie film that's getting lots of rave reviews called "Fresh" - http://bit.ly/4DWwrj
1. A second grader organized a community effort to help homeless people in his neighborhood. http://bit.ly/8qvMp9
2. Petworth is getting a farmers market in the spring - http://tinyurl.com/ybkwrwv
3. The governor of my home state was in my home county today and word-vomitted some shit about getting out of politics so he could attend the diner every day. We could only hope, Mitch.
4. This job opened up... and I promptly applied for it - http://tinyurl.com/ycajw2e
5. Tomorrow Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is giving a speech on global reproductive health at 2:30pmEST http://bit.ly/8724k5
6. USAID finally has an administrator http://bit.ly/5HJ9gt
7. Of Montreal is coming to DC later this month... but it's $25. I love Kevin Barnes, and he can do it soft core if he wants, but I can't justify that.
8. If you are carrying more than three condoms at once you can be charged for prostitution in DC. http://bit.ly/7Qcfti
9. There's a relatively new sustainable foodie film that's getting lots of rave reviews called "Fresh" - http://bit.ly/4DWwrj
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sarah Palin left the national stage just as she entered it: as if she were narrating her own acid trip.
Please stop what you are doing and go make that queso. You won't regret it!
I replaced the canned tomato&chilies with one fresh chopped mater and some cayenne.
Our other components in vegan taco night included Fantastic Foods Taco Filling, Tofutti Better than Sour Cream, leafy greens, tomatillo salsa and homemade guacamole. While living with Ben Fowler I learned to make guac like I did tonight, which had two avocados, a half of a tomato, a clove or two of garlic, about 1/4 cup of red onion, lime juice, cayenne pepper and salt. It's good, but I'm open to new recipes if you know of a better way to make it.
While cooking I listened to the newest episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me. I'm a relatively new listener of Wait Wait but I adore it! I'm a sucker for topical humor. It's honestly hard for me to listen to it when I'm riding the bus or metro because I'm not very good at keeping my laughter held in. I was really sad when I learned that Carl Kasell was retiring from NPR's Morning Edition (I got into the habit of waking up to it before going into Finch's starting in like July) but I'm glad he's staying on board with this show. I mean, his impression of Sarah Palin on this episode was priceless.
With our dinner tonight Rachael and I watched 500 Days of Summer and were joined by my other roomies. I was the only sucker who shed a tear. I mean, I'm hopeless. It is a heartbreaking movie. I even knew what was coming this time but I still hurt so bad for that character and NOT just because he's adorable, fragile, and artsy. They targeted me as the type of person who would watch this movie multiple times (20-something romantic [with good taste in music] who has been in True Love and then truly fell right on out with lots of scraped knees and elbows) and they got me. Ooh, they got me.
I replaced the canned tomato&chilies with one fresh chopped mater and some cayenne.
Our other components in vegan taco night included Fantastic Foods Taco Filling, Tofutti Better than Sour Cream, leafy greens, tomatillo salsa and homemade guacamole. While living with Ben Fowler I learned to make guac like I did tonight, which had two avocados, a half of a tomato, a clove or two of garlic, about 1/4 cup of red onion, lime juice, cayenne pepper and salt. It's good, but I'm open to new recipes if you know of a better way to make it.
While cooking I listened to the newest episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me. I'm a relatively new listener of Wait Wait but I adore it! I'm a sucker for topical humor. It's honestly hard for me to listen to it when I'm riding the bus or metro because I'm not very good at keeping my laughter held in. I was really sad when I learned that Carl Kasell was retiring from NPR's Morning Edition (I got into the habit of waking up to it before going into Finch's starting in like July) but I'm glad he's staying on board with this show. I mean, his impression of Sarah Palin on this episode was priceless.
With our dinner tonight Rachael and I watched 500 Days of Summer and were joined by my other roomies. I was the only sucker who shed a tear. I mean, I'm hopeless. It is a heartbreaking movie. I even knew what was coming this time but I still hurt so bad for that character and NOT just because he's adorable, fragile, and artsy. They targeted me as the type of person who would watch this movie multiple times (20-something romantic [with good taste in music] who has been in True Love and then truly fell right on out with lots of scraped knees and elbows) and they got me. Ooh, they got me.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Vegan queso
Tonight I watched Food Inc. and King Corn. I suppose I'll dream about HFCS and sad livestock tonight.
In related news, Rachael's coming over for dinner and a movie tomorrow night. We're going to have tacos and watch 500 Days of Summer. I saw it in early August in the theater with Lindsay and Meghan in St. Louis and had a pretty strong response to it. I'm wondering if time will change that?
For the taco part of our evening I'm going to try out this vegan queso recipe I found on the Post Punk Kitchen forum:
INGREDIENTS
* 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
* 1/4 Cup Flour
* 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
* Dash Garlic Powder
* Dash Chili Powder
* 1 Cup Water
* 2 Tablespoons Vegan Margarine
* 1 10-ounce Can RoTel (or any other Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained)
* 2 teaspoons prepared Yellow Mustard (Not Mustard seed or dijon, just regular yellow mustard)
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all dry ingredients (everything from nooch to chili powder) in a pan
2. Add water to pan, turn on medium heat
3. Stir constantly and once thickened, remove from heat.
4. Add in margarine, rotel and mustard. Stir until margarine is melted.
5. Once margarine has melted, put the pan back on the heat and stir until a bit thicker.
6. Serve over chips, enchiladas or in a quesadilla with seitan and veggies.
7. Eat warm.
In related news, Rachael's coming over for dinner and a movie tomorrow night. We're going to have tacos and watch 500 Days of Summer. I saw it in early August in the theater with Lindsay and Meghan in St. Louis and had a pretty strong response to it. I'm wondering if time will change that?
For the taco part of our evening I'm going to try out this vegan queso recipe I found on the Post Punk Kitchen forum:
INGREDIENTS
* 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
* 1/4 Cup Flour
* 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
* Dash Garlic Powder
* Dash Chili Powder
* 1 Cup Water
* 2 Tablespoons Vegan Margarine
* 1 10-ounce Can RoTel (or any other Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained)
* 2 teaspoons prepared Yellow Mustard (Not Mustard seed or dijon, just regular yellow mustard)
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all dry ingredients (everything from nooch to chili powder) in a pan
2. Add water to pan, turn on medium heat
3. Stir constantly and once thickened, remove from heat.
4. Add in margarine, rotel and mustard. Stir until margarine is melted.
5. Once margarine has melted, put the pan back on the heat and stir until a bit thicker.
6. Serve over chips, enchiladas or in a quesadilla with seitan and veggies.
7. Eat warm.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Here goes nothin'!
Today I read that Joanna Newsom recently announced some early 2010 tour dates, which don't include very many U.S. tour dates but (lucky me!) does include a stop in our fair capital. Tara may or may not have been joking when she said she would prolong her spring break to stay and go with me... but I'm hoping it was a big ol' truth bomb! kaboom.
I also read this blog entry about wellness in 2010, specifically defining Hettler's Six Dimensions of Wellness (physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social and occupational) and overall encouraging people to think about balanced wellness in the new year instead of just deciding to lose weight. I feel like maybe I'm a sucker for feeling a little refreshed by the brand new calander, but my recent life changes have helped to contribute to this feeling as well. Challenges are scary but exciting. I read this article today by this woman who ended up cycling with her husband and twin boys from Alaska to Argentina that was a little cheesy but in the best, most hopeful, life-affirming way.
What I'm trying to say is that 2010 is going to be my jam and I am excited to see you in it. Wanna ride bikes? Wanna go see Joanna Newsom? Wanna help me brainstorm ideas about how to make my place of work more of a community health center? Wanna have a positive, interdependent friendship that also includes jokes and funny and/or cute youtube videos? Wanna convince someone to fund a learning tourism trip where we climb Kili and also contribute to a Tanzanian community? OK cool, let's do it!
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