The Potato Vine

Progress on la Hacienda

2011-09-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Bear and I are pretty well settled now. Our office just is still full of boxes. Given the number of home improvement projects we have in front of us, we know we need to prioritize.

This summer we planned to have my parents visit. We weren't expecting that I'd be in a new home. This is relevant because my dad is a furniture refinisher who also refinishes kitchen cabinets. Given that this is only the third time my dad has come to the sunny state in 12 years, I thought that perhaps I should take care of this convenient timing and ask if we could perhaps complete a family home improvement project and, of course, my extremely generous father said he'd love to. My dad and I have never done something like this together and I'm super excited to get started. Speaking of -- the start date is October 3rd. Yep, just 11 days away!

There's a lot that has to be done prior to his arrival in order to make this work.

Some demo of two walls needs to be completed. Rather than knocking three interior walls down (one of our many plans), we were persuaded by Bear's dad who suggested that the walls be retained in some way to maintain the character of the home. It was built in 1949 and really does have tons of charm. So, given that good input, we decided to create cut outs in two of the walls to open up the space but still retain some separation between kitchen, dining, and living room. One cutout will be at counter level so that it will be functional as a peninsula (not an island because it is open on three sides rather than all four). The peninsula will be in the wall that is between kitchen and dining. The other cut out is in the wall between kitchen and living room and will be at bar height so folks in the living room can sit there while others are cooking.
I really wanted the demo done before my dad and rest of the family got to work on the cabinets because I didn't like the idea of all that dust and debris occurring after there were like-new beautiful cabinets.
Because I want to do any remodeling in this house as green as possible, that is why, in large part, we've decided to keep the cabinets and refinish them rather than replace them. There are absolutely ways to save money in doing green remodeling, but there are also sometimes increased costs. So far, I think the cost reductions on several products will more than make up for the cost increases. Still, because the cabinets are so old, we couldn't find off the shelf ones to match for the peninsula and above the frig cabinet. There is also this incredibly weird cabinet where the size is completely different than the others and there is no counter below it. So, in order to get these necessary cabinets we had to have them made custom. One plus to this is that a local craftsman gets this work. Also, we're still saving at least half the money it would have cost to have all new cabinets.
The cabinet doors and drawers need to have the current finish stripped off of them. This is something my family could do together, but it would greatly increase the work (and yucky work at that!). We found a local person to strip them for a cost of only $14 average per door/draw. This was a crazy good price given that my dad charges $45 per door. Of course, he works outside of Philly and we're in a small town. My dad is very reasonable in the Philly area.
We need to select hinges so that our cabinet maker can make sure they are hung and work prior to any finishing work. The selection is done, but installation still needs to be done. Well, the cabinets still actually need to be made!
There is some cracked trim that needs to be replaced so my dad can stain it the same color as the cabinets.

The process so far has been mostly super fun. Some frustration with professionals resisting my green choices, which I'll post on later, but our contractor has been very open to suggestions including my request to shop at the local Habitat for Humanity store that has screws and nails that are either able to be reused or have been abandoned. I asked him if I was being a pain on that latest request and he said, "No. It's interesting to think about things differently and I'm learning. My past clients just didn't think of these things." I hope that will change.

Two Weeks in the House!

2011-09-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure it has totally set in yet that I own this house. The first two weeks, honestly, have been pretty exhausting. Here's some highlights.

There were a fair amount of things that we didn't notice prior to occupying the property.

Door is missing a trim piece.
Outdoor light seems to have a wiring issue; won't turn on.
Pass through in dining room has splitered trim.
Toilets both have problems.

Plumber said we'd need one new one, but we fixed it without having to get a new one.
The second toilet still needs to be fixed.

There were several missing light fixtures.
The dining room pot lights locations make absolutely no sense.
There are crazy wires coming out of the floor in several places. In one case there's an extension cord and two cables. Who walls up extension cords?
There are all new windows, which rocks, but they easily go off the tracks.

Our backyard is apparently Wild America. Oh, Sadie.

Sadie, our dog, turned into a hunter and treed a racoon. Occurs 5:30 AM
Barked at something outside the back fence like a maniac and we couldn't get her to stop. Occurs 3:30 AM.
Goes nuts, we go out to see what's wrong and immediately are hit with skunk smell. Despite the fact that the skunk already spraying her. Sadie is still viciously going after the skunk until she has it cornered in our shed (which we plan on getting rid of, apparently a good idea). Bear was finally able to convice her to come to him. Wow, did she stink! Occurs 12:15 AM. Yeah, I'm sure our neighbors are too happy about our arrival.

Whenever we think that we've decided what to do with the very outdated and poorly planned kitchen, someone else gives us a great idea. That's fantastic, but our heads are spinning a bit.
We buy a pendent light for over the sink to replace one of the missing fixtures that just had a hard plate and a bulb - no outlet box. Nice.
The light in the garage doesn't work, which is quite problematic considering we still need to get a lot out of there and I work during the day.
We need window coverings on all the windows. None of them had curtains, blinds, or anything. The front rooms of the house all have these beautiful big windows, but the large middle panels are not the same size. So, after quite a bit of time at Home Depot we figured out that there was no way to get the same blinds for all three rooms. We got ones that we thought were similar for the room that didn't fit the other blind type. Well, that one was completely see through. What the heck?! Why have blinds if they are see through? Weird. Back to Home Depot to return them. After checking with two different stores, I finally found some blinds that looked fairly similar, but they're not bamboo like the other two sets.
A fairly big thing -- we found out a few days before closing that we needed to replace the carpet in two rooms. There were several issues regarding what flooring we wanted to do or could do. End result - carpet in both rooms, but it couldn't be put down until a couple days after we moved in so furniture for those two rooms were strewn over the rest of the house.

You can see why I haven't been blogging! Please don't take the above as complaining. We love the house! Bear and I are pretty much in laughing mode at this point.I could perhaps rename this blog The Adventures of Home Ownership.

As for my last post about my no alchol experiment, I decided on 30 days. It has been no problem at all. Actually, I'm really liking it. Having come from a family that we joke "drinks for a living" (love you Mom!), alcohol is present at every get together/function/meal. So, this is definitely different. Maybe I'll introduce the idea to them. Theresa mentioned that her friends did Dry July. That sounds interesting.

A Big Day

2011-08-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

I signed the final paperwork for the new house today. I should have the keys Thursday or Friday. Big new adventure!
Another big turn of events - I've decided to stop drinking for a bit. I haven't decided on a specific time period, but I think it is necessary. I also think it is important to make this commitment out loud (and apparently in writing) to make it real. I haven't figured out a length of time yet for my wagon period. Let me know if you have suggestions. This is quite an experiment for me and not one I ever thought I'd take on voluntarily, but I guess you never know.

I feel like alcohol has been affecting my happiness project and health so time to try a change. We'll see how it goes. Buying a new house is a major life change. It seems like the perfect time to start living the life I want to lead (at least to the degree that I can make that happen).

House update

2011-08-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

My offer on the house was accepted a couple weeks ago and it looks like we'll be moving in some time next week! Having moved already twice since October, moving again really sucks, but it will be worth it. I'm super psyched because I've convinced Bear to go with movers. Ah, now I just need to box everything up!

I'm really looking forward to all the plans we have for making the house ours. Remodeling is in our future. I'm also so happy to be creating a home with Bear. I am a lucky person.

What is America?

2011-07-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

I, like so many Americans, am sad these days. I wonder what's become of my country, but then I am reminded that we've never lived up to our ideals. The debt ceiling debacle has preocuppied us all. What will happen? How can our leaders be so irresponsible? Obama has come significantly to the right without appeasing Republicans (especially those Tea Party folks) while significantly disappointing his own party, but even with the President's shift, it isn't enough for the GOP. It seems like reason has been lost. Truth has been lost. We're only left with rhetoric. As I said, these days make me sad.
At the same time, I realize that we've never yet lived up to our ideals. Equality. Opportunity. Democracy. Really? Where are they? We stay in countries where the majority of the nation doesn't want us. Is that democracy? We are currently living in a time of one of the greatest levels of inequality of income and wealth. Our unemployment rate is so bad that there are not opportunities for those who want to work hard to earn a living.

When I'm feeling so low about the country, I try to hold onto those things that make America great. In the end, however, I find it is the people. It is amazing the kindness you can find in our everyday residents. Their generosity for others is profound. Their desire to succeed (i.e. be able to support their family) is almost endless. They can lift me up.

A column published in the New York Times today was example of being uplifted and so saddened at the same time. Charles Blow writes about how the Buffolo Soldiers - the segregated Black soldiers of World War II - who were largely erased from our history and how elites in the American military were clearly racists. His grandfather experienced this directly. My heart actually hurts when I read these stories. His grandfather was an American hero, but because of the color of his skin, we erased him. There's no other way to say it. His heroism was ignored and diminished. What happened to the American promise of equality? This is just another example of us not living up to the wonderful ideals that the country holds.

I ask myself sometimes, "What does it mater if we have ideals if we never live up to them?" Can there be justice is America? Are we too mired in racial inequality that we may never rise above it?

It perhaps shouldn't be surprising that our country's legislative leaders could put all of us in financial jeapordy because maybe they just never see reality. If they can't see the bravery of a Black soldier who fought bravely for his country, maybe they just can't see anything.

An Artist Lost

2011-07-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

I was very sad to read today that Amy Winehouse has died. She struggled so much in her short life while still producing amazing art. She was tragic in many ways and her death is as well. I will miss the music I won't ever get to hear from her.

Made an offer on a home!

2011-07-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

After seeing five homes, one really stood out. Perhaps the best thing is that it is a sound investment AND I love it. (You're right Theresa. I need to love it.) Now we have the waiting game. Torture! The seller has until Monday evening to respond to the offer. I sure hopes she responds sooner.

Is owning a home part of my Happiness Project?

2011-07-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know! I love fixing up houses and creating gardens. On the other hand, a house is a big committment. It will tie me to the town I am in now. And, are we at the bottom of the market? How would we know? I need to think seriously about this. Any advice on what I should be considering?

We're looking at two houses tomorrow and Bear is super excited about one of them. The location is exactly where we want to be. We'll see how it goes. I'll report back.

Happiness Goal: Working Out, Wk of 7/11/11

2011-07-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

My reasonable goal of three workouts a week worked great for me this week.

Monday: yoga & swim
Wednesday: yoga
Friday: core and conditioning & swim

The very smart LC came up with idea of adding some strength training into our routine. We did lunges,squats, planks, pushups & more. I'm sore! That is to be expected but I was surprised by how sore yoga on Wednesday made me. I thought yoga was only meant for making you feel all good and relaxed! But really,I was glad the session was more of a workout than I expected.

LC has given me options for the next five days so we know I have to get to at least three of those workouts!

I'm Back

2011-07-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

How cruel of me to leave this blog on my little niece's sickness and not tell you the results! It's a good thing only a handful of people ever read this blog! Anyway, she's a happy and healthy 2 year old who brings great joy to our family.

Been away from writing here for over two years. Geesh. Been thinking lately about how much I miss it. Plus, some nice people told me how they miss my writing. Oh, so sweet. I'll need to get a hand again on this blogging thing though so I ask your patience.

The idea to blog again came to me somewhat as a result of reading The Happiness Project. The excellent book encourages us to think about what makes us happy and/or what can make us happier. In thinking about such things, I realized how much I miss writing. It doesn't even matter if no one reads it. Somehow writing sooths my soul. So, I'm going to start it up again.

My life is so different from when I started this blog and even when I stopped writing it in November 2009. I'm sure those differences will reveal themselves as I continue to post. I'm still trying to work out/trying to be some kind of novice athlete. I'm still trying to be a good person. I still like to bake vegan and cook (although lately do both only rarely). I still value my friends and spend a good deal of time nourishing those relationships. But life never stops moving and changing, which consequently changes us. So, in many ways, I feel like a very different person while somehow still retaining the core of who I am. Ugh, I'm already feeling so boring! Alas, I guess it doesn't matter if I'm really only writing for me ;)

Other than starting to post again because I realized how much I missed it, I also want to start blogging again because it can be an excellent way to remember what most people remember without assistance. The summer that I graduated high school I was in a severe car accident. I suffered a head trauma that was as bad a concussion as you can get without going into a comma. There didn't seem to be any long lasting injuries at the time, but I (and friends and family) have realized over time that it had a significant impact on a specific kind of memory that I have great difficulty recalling. The recall problem is with lived events. I can remember almost every flower I was ever told the name of. I have great reading retention, especially with research studies. I didn't, however, remember that I attended the home run derby one year after I attended it. My partner at the time (with his infinite patience and sensitivity) reminded me the following year after he told me he recorded the home run derby for me and I asked how he knew I liked the home run derby so much. I was able to remember us going to the previous year's event, but only after he provided a few reminders. It always makes me so upset when I realize that I forgot something so big or important that I end up remembering it from that point on. So, I've tried to start a scrap book of sorts to remember things, but it isn't going very well. I decided I might do better with this sort of venue. I guess we'll see.

I mentioned the Happiness Project. One of the major points of the book is that it is unlikely you will follow your goals if you don't hold yourself accountable for them. Writing again is just one thing I'm doing as part of my Happiness Project. I'll likely blog about the others as a means of holding myself accountable for them so briefly here's a few things I realized so far make me happy and their associated goals.

Reading at least one newspaper a day makes me happy. In fact, I especially love being able to comment to others about how I find particular news exasperating, sad, or uplifting. So, I've set the goal of reading a newspaper at least 5 times a week. Given that, you'll likely get some newspaper commentary here. You can skip it if you don't like that stuff.
Working out greatly affects my mental health. In recent years I was able to maintain a work out schedule because I focused on racing events. I don't know if that's the best for me right now. Instead, I want to focus on working out with friends (My friend LC is so great for encouraging me to do this!) and exercising for both physical and mental health. I've had this crazy expectation that the only way I was really doing justice to working out meant that I had to do so 6 days a week (that was my schedule in my best training periods). What that has meant is that I would get so discouraged when I missed a day that I would get so down on myself that it would snowball into not working out at all. Hence, I've set a goal of working out three days a week. That's doable and I think that with that goal I might even work out more. We'll see. Again, you'll likely see me posting on my progress on this goal here.
I realize that in order to be happy, I need to figure out how to accept/like/love my body. No easy task for most American women. So sad. Lately, I've been fighting my body and so upset with it, but a friend saved me. SB said to me earlier this week that always thinking you're too heavy results in becoming more heavy. Instead, she encouraged me to think about being healthy and maybe weight would come off slowly and naturally. Ever since, I've been trying to work with my body rather than against it. This mental shift has helped tremendously. Of course, it didn't hurt that she said I was already beautiful!
Another source of happiness comes from spending time with my relatively new partner (9 mos.). I'm going to call him Bear in this blog because his friends say he's a bear of a man. He's so kind to me. He makes me laugh. I feel like I can be whoever I am at that moment with him. I've told him my struggles and he hasn't run. In fact, he's been a pillar of support. I guess I always thought there was something like destiny, but meeting him confirmed to me that the universe knows what it's doing. So, spending time with him is definitely a happiness priority, but that runs into a problem . . .
I need enough sleep to be happy. Bear works night shifts. I work during the day. It is possible to not even talk to him Tuesday through Friday if I go to bed before he gets home because I have to leave in the morning for work before he wakes. Summer has been better, but this is a problem. I haven't figured out how to deal with this yet, but I'm going to have to work on it especially because without good sleep, it is very hard to keep up a regular workout schedule.
I might have to drink alcohol a bit less to have all the other happiness goals met. (Mom - this doesn't mean I have a drinking problem!) When will I blog? Well, I likely need to do that in the evening. Okay, but it is usually in the evening that I have a few drinks with friends. Maintaining my relationships with friends is absolutely essential to my happiness. (Should have been its own bullet point.) So, I've decided I will need to do more breakfasts and lunches with friends rather than after work drinks. It will help that next week starts up an exercise group that works out in the evening and I plan to join it. Also, drinking sometimes can lead to sluggishness the next day, which leads to difficulty working out. You see, it can be an issue.

I don't just plan to blog about my Happiness Project goals. I guess we'll just see where this adventure takes me. Sometimes I just think like I'm writing, which I know is weird. So, those pieces will likely find a home here as well. All in all, as I forge ahead, let me know if you have suggestions! I'm glad to be back.

Ella Update

2009-06-17T13:07:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone who sent positive thoughts for my family! I really appreciate it. The poor baby headed home today from the hospital. She was there from Sunday to Wednesday because she kept running a fever and they couldn't figure out why. All the crazy tests they took came out negative so I guess it was just a virus or infection that her little 3 week going on 4 week body had a hard time with. Let's just hope the fever stays away!

Need Positive Thoughts

2009-06-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

My three week old neice< Ella, is in the hospital. She has a fever and they don't know exactly what's wrong for her. I feel like there's nothing I could do to help, but realized positive thoughts from others might help. Prayers, mantras, regular old postive thoughts sent her way -- I'd really appreciate anything.

LC's Back!

2009-05-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Last summer my friend LC was my stable training buddy until she got pregnant, which was super happy news. Now she's back to training, which is great news for me! I need someone to help me get out there. So, with her help, this was my training week.

Monday - Swim, one mile
Tuesday - 45 minute run
Saturday - 1 hour run (3-2s)
Sunday - Tomorrow I'm riding with my other training buddy LA, should be about 25 miles

Could have been better considering I was planning to ride on Wednesday and planning to swim on Friday and neither happened thanks mostly to work, but overall, not so bad.

A Late Mother's Day Post

2009-05-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

The only remaining reader of this blog, my mom, has pointed out that she goes to the Potato Vine every day to find zip. So, in her honor, here's a late mother's day post.

My inclination is to organize my thoughts in honor of my mom using words that remind me of the woman who I'm lucky enough to have as my mother. So, here it goes.

Strength - My mom raised my brother and I by herself for about 7 formative years. I was two and my brother was an infant when my biological father and my mom split. It would be a tough task for anyone to raise two young ones on her own and yet my mom did it with such style and grace. I learned a tremendous amount from her just observing how she lived her life.

Fun - I love to travel with my mom and do pretty much anything with her. She's adventurous! I'll never forget the time in Mexico that she jumped off this incredibly high cliff to water below. Unfortunately, her legs came out from under her and she ended up with a huge bruise on her poor ass, but she never regretted it for a minute! I could only laugh with amazement from a safe distance. I didn't have the guts to make such a plunge!

Appreciative - One of the greatest things about experiencing things with my mother is that no matter what it is that she's doing it is "the very best _____ I've ever tasted/had/did!" I mean this seriously. I can't tell you how many times she's told me that a salad was the very best salad she's ever had in her life. Every new scenery she experiences, she says its the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. It is so nice to be with someone who appreciates things so genuinely.

Catholic guilt - Sorry, ma, but no one's perfect. She's an absolute champ at both feeling it herself and doling guilt out on others. You ask for some examples? "Little One, how can you live in California, so far away from your family?" "Little One, how can you not have come to visit in so long?" "Little One, have you called your brother lately?" It's always in the name of love though!

Kindness - My mom is one of the kindest souls that I'm blessed to have in my life. She cares deeply for her family and generally dotes on children.

Determination - I was very proud of her for fairly recently making a commitment to get healthy and losing a good amount of weight. She got on an exercise regime and has really stuck to it! I'm super impressed by her.

You've probably guessed that my mom is a very special person. People are continually surprised that we talk on the phone everyday, but I couldn't imagine my life without her in it on a daily basis. She's a rock for me in many ways and me for her. We're a team. We've made it through this life that way and we're very lucky to have done so. They say we don't get to pick our parents, but if I had any say, I would have picked my mom every single time.

That Cow's Killing You!

2009-04-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hey. Sorry for the long silence. Had to pass this story on. A major thorough study indicates that the people who eat a good deal of "red and processed meat" will die sooner. Stop eating it! Or if you must, at least eat less! Your body, the animals, and the environment will thank you.

Sunday Wrap-Up: Week 4

2009-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty good week. I guess after the ridiculousness of actually gaining weight the week before shocked me into seriousness!

Monday: 50 minute run. Oh, yeah! It was a group run and my buddy LA was supposed to join me, but she got stuck at work. That sucked because we run at about the same pace. Well, honestly, right now she's a much stronger runner than me, but she's nice enough to stay with me. Without her, I was by my lonesome, but my coach rode next to me for awhile. Actually, that was a mixed blessing. He was riding his bike next to me so I felt bad stopping for my intermittent walking. Hence, I went about 18 minutes and 30 seconds before he rode away and I had a well deserved break. So, I didn't systematically work in walking breaks. It was basically a 50 minute run with a few one minute walking segments.

Tuesday: one hour spinning class at the gym. It felt pretty good really.

Wednesday: at work until late

Thursday: One hour swim - 2,000 yards. I came home from that work out and told CC, "The Little One is back!" That's right people. I'm back in business.

Friday: Just my commuting to work exercise

Saturday: ride with LA for 2 hours and 29 minutes and we went 30.7 miles. It was pretty great. We went to a small town that is up a fairly steep hill. I felt good but definitely was getting tired on the way back. I noticeably slowed down. Still, I didn't wake up this morning with sore legs to that's good news!

Sunday: Wanted to do yoga, but missed the time slot so, I ran. The good thing about running is that you can do it at any time. I did one of the loops in the park close to my house. I ran 35 minutes and 30 seconds. I ran 10 minutes and walked 1 minute and repeated. I was proud of myself for getting out there without the group or a friend to entice me. I need to do that more.

Weigh In: 124! At least we're now moving in the right direction! Just 10 pounds to go. Geesh, that sounds like a lot. This one pound lost was hard earned.

At the end of this week I'll be in L.A. for a work meeting. When ever I travel, it is difficult to stick to the exercise and food plans, but I'm going to have to be serious.

Vancouver Day Four: Part 1, Ah, the Sun!

2009-04-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

Our Saturday in Vancouver was the day to really see the city and we were so excited to get beautiful weather! CC's last obligation was over a little after 10 AM and we were planning on leaving a little after that. But, we couldn't go out and be tourists on an empty stomach! So, first some breakfast.

Fortified we walked from our hotel to almost the entrance of Stanley Park. I had finally convinced CC that it would be a good idea to rent bikes to tour around. I'd asked him to do it on several trips and he was never very enthused. This time though we would be riding around in a park and he loves parks so he said yes. Yippee!

The park was absolutely beautiful and big. The bike path goes all around the park, which is also all along the shoreline. You bike on what they call the sea wall.

The first park feature we came across was a series of totem poles (scroll down). They were beautiful and were a great way to honor the traditions of First Nations people.The view of city skyline from the park is breathe taking. As you go around the park, the views continually change. Here's the view from the totem poles area.
This little food hut in the park by a children's area had veggie dogs! So, of course, we had to get one of those!While I was generally a big fan of this park, the "petting zoo" really bummed me out. Why? I can't believe we send such bad messages to kids. It makes sense that children become okay with eating animals (if they ever examine it) because we've taught them since they were very young that animals are only useful in so far as they serve you. Hence, let's cage them up just so your little hands can pet them. What the hell? Great idea.

Back to the happy description of our wonderful day . . . the back side of the park was all in the shade because it was on the seawall behind a pretty steep cliff. I was so glad we had bought gloves! [Okay, so I know I try not to buy new, but our hands were freezing so I think it was a necessity and they became my only souvenir.]

Once we got all around the park, we decided we surprisingly up for still more biking. We had planned to return the bikes and cab it to Granville Island because I was interested in going to the Granville Island Market. I was happy though to skip a cab ride and continue on via pedal power. We continued all along the coastline. There were great bike trails/lanes for miles! Vancouver is really bike friendly.

We decided on a route that would take us through the 2010 Olympic Village. On our way we biked past the Vancouver's Science World. The museum is a really interesting structure and is right next to the Olympic Village.It was so neat to see the Olympic Village under construction. The athletes will have a beautiful view of the mountains where I assume lots of events will take place.

After a look around the development of the Olympic Village, we kept on heading to Granville Island. But, the description of our activities there and our final dinner will have to wait. We did so much that it's hard to get it all in one post without boring y'all. So, part 2 Vancouver Day 4 will have to come soon.

Sunday Wrap-Up: Week 3

2009-03-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it is actually Monday morning, but alas, here's my week wrap up.

Tuesday: 30 minute run with LA (run 4 minutes, walk 1) and then a 50 minute swim
8 * 25 = 200 yards
4 * 50 = 200 yards
6 * 75 = 450 yards
4 * 75 = 300 yards
12 * 50 = 600 yards for a total of 1750 yards

Wednesday: 45 minutes of Pilates

Friday: 40 minute swim

Saturday: 20 minutes gardening - believe me that counts! All that bending over is a real work out for my hamstrings! & a long walk with CC

Sunday: 1 hour 5 minute ride in insane winds so that we only went 13 miles. Then, ride to work still in crazy wind, ride to gym, 1 hour of yoga, and rode home.

Weigh In: 125! Yep, I gained 2 pounds! That's what three weeks of getting back on track does for me. So, yesterday I went back to writing everything down that I ate and tracking the calories. Well, until KG asked to do dinner. Rats! Oh, and PLEASE don't say, "Oh, Little One - you're gaining muscle." I don't care at this point. I feel yucky and that's what matters.

Enough crankiness. It is a new week so let's see what it brings.

Vancouver Day 3: Dinner

2009-03-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

From what I read, I wanted to check out the neighborhood called Yaletown. The magazines all said it was some kind of "hip, urban" area. Since we had a late afternoon snack, CC and I were fine with a late dinner. So, we decided to walk from our hotel to the Yaletown area and then have a cocktail and maybe an appetizer prior to finding a dinner place.

The first cool hipster place we stopped at was Plan B. As was the case with pretty much every menu in Vancouver, they had veggie samosas on their menu. Given my deep love for samosas and the neat atmosphere, we thought this was a good first stop.We sat at the bar and the bartender (with yet another accent that we couldn't pinpoint) asked us what we'd like to drink. I was open to options and interested in what he specialized in. He, not so humbly, said he could make anything well. So, I said I'd like something in the realm of a mojito, something with fresh fruit and an herb like mint. CC ordered a Manhattan. Unlike the bartender at Cin Cin, this one didn't ask if he wanted it with rye or bourbon or if he wanted it up or on the rocks. Hence, he made it as he wished, which was interesting. It was with bitters, Crown Royal (which my Dad loves), some kind of dry soaked cherries, and the liquid they were in. CC liked it.

We also ordered the samosas, but said we need to make sure they were dairy free. Unfortunately, (and kind of strangely) the house samosas included cottage cheese! I never heard of that. And, then, they didn't offer us anything else because they said nothing was vegan on their menu. It was kind of a bummer because a chef at a place like that surely could make something vegan, but wasn't interested in doing so. Still, the bartender was wonderful. He knew we were looking to eat dinner and so he even did his own Google search for a Vancouver veg restaurant for us. So sweet! They may not have vegan food, but I'd definitely recommend the place for a drink!

We decided to do a bit more walking around Yaletown and see if we could find a restaurant more suitable for vegs. I have to admit that the pickings were slim. We decided on Milestones. They seemed to have a few dishes that we could make veg and even some veg items on the menu.

The waiter was very nice, accommodating, and good. He explained that they had a bellini on drink special with a shot on the side. Hmm. Again, not the bellini I know. Hello, Canada! That's a shot of Malibu rum on the side.As an appetizer, I asked the waiter if he could ask the chef if he'd be willing to do the garlic bread without cheese or butter. He came back saying that the chef would be willing to do a version, but that it would be different than just without cheese and butter. We were down with that.
It turned out that I considered the app the best part of our meal. The basil olive oil was sublime and the olive tapenade under the bread was wonderful.

For our main courses, CC ordered the Shanghai Noodle Stirfry and I ordered Red Curry Chicken bowl without the animal of course. CC loved his meal. It was exactly what he was looking for.
I didn't have as high a review for my entree. It was just too much red peppers. There wasn't enough variety. It was pretty much only red peppers and bok choy. Maybe if tofu was added, that would be better, but I think that in general it just needed more variety.

I can be a bit OCD so there was one major thing that really kind of bugged me throughout our dinner. When we arrived, the booth right across from us was full of dirty dishes. It was never cleaned off. When we left almost an hour and half later, the dishes were still on the table! At one point a hostess came over and moved the dishes together and then later someone picked up the martini glasses, but then the rest of the dishes sat close to one another for an hour and a half! Then, when we were eating our entrees a six top (table of six) left and ALL of their dishes were left. Their dinner dishes were still on the table! As a former server, I can tell you that is a ridiculously huge no-no. You just can't do that. You likely won't be surprised to know that those dishes also sat the for the rest of the time we were there.

Our particular waiter was very good at clearing tables and got rid of dishes in an appropriate amount of time. I suspect there was no manager on duty because I can't believe those things are okay for what is supposed to be a fairly fancy restaurant.

It was very chilly (well, for us Cali folks) and we had walked quite awhile to get to Yaletown, so we decided to cab it back to the hotel. All in all, it was a very nice night. Of course, that's pretty much always true when I have my CC with me!

My Musings

2009-03-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Have I ever told you that I love the ridiculous movie Because I Said So? I totally love both Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore. And, even though it is apparently a one and a half star movie, I've watched it literally dozens of times. I can't help loving it, but it got me musing tonight.

I'm wondering the following, which I'm sure no one will comment on, but I'd love it if you did. Can we love someone if we don't really know them completely? Can we really love them if we do know them, but decide to simply refuse to admit some of what really makes them who they are? In other words, can it be love if we deny part of what makes them who they are?

Vancouver Day 3: TLO Sleeps

2009-03-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm generally a healthy person. I find that when I'm starting to get sick I can usually fight it off. I'm afraid that Day 3 in Vancouver was a lot of me trying to fight off getting sick. Still, we were able to work some fun stuff in.

First sign of illness - I didn't get out of bed until CC finally said, "Sweet pea it's 10:30." Holy crap! Despite still feeling like my eyes didn't want to stay open, I got into the shower. We went for an early lunch because CC had an afternoon work commitment. Surprise, surprise, we walked to lunch in the RAIN!

After lunch, I went back to bad. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. CC came back to get me out of bed after his work stuff and we decided some fresh air might do me some good. Plus, it had stopped raining!

It was about 3 PM and we wanted to see Canada Place because it has these iconic sails. It is also in the harbor. It provides a beautiful view both of the city skyline and the mountains across the water. We even got to see a water plane land, which was pretty darn cool.

After walking all around Canada Place, we stopped for a beer at Lion's Pub, which I just realized from their website is part of some richy rich-ass club. We had no idea! It just seemed like a really cool Britishy pub with lots of good beers on tap.

The menu kind of cracked us up, but it was so quintessentially Vancouver! We were consistently struck by what an international city Vancouver was. Everyone seemed to have a different accent. Almost every nice restaurant we checked out had Indian samosas on the menu and in general, menus seemed almost weirdly international. So, this pub rather than having a British-themed pub menu, they had a variety of greek items, bruschetta, thai spring rolls, french fries, and much more. Because I was getting peckish, I decided to order a greek salad and some pita with hummus.I have to admit that both were a bit strange. The greek salad had no greens or lettuce of any type (but maybe it is us Americans who make the greek salad strangely). The "pita" didn't seem like a pita at all except that it was cut in triangles. It was just too thick. Even the hummus was a bit off.CC helped a bit with the pita and then had to get back to the hotel for another work appointment. After I was done, I also went back to the hotel to rest a bit more. There's more to tell, but dinner is going to have to be a future post because I have to get to bed!

Sunday Wrap Up: Week 2

2009-03-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

In my travels back home, I almost forgot my Sunday wrap up and it's just my second one! I still have 2 days in Vancouver to post about, but here's the rundown on exercise this week.

Monday: Group training session, 30 minutes running followed immediately by 20 minutes in the pool

Thursday: 45 minutes on a stationary bike in the hotel

Saturday: 30 minutes run/walk on treadmill in hotel; about 15 minutes on bike riding around Vancouver

Sunday: zip, was traveling

Weight: ? wasn't at home this morning to weigh in

It wasn't a great week, but considering I was traveling, I'm glad I got this much in.

A Great Rainy Day: Vancouver Day 2

2009-03-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Being able to wake up when I wish is seemingly so rare that it makes me gleeful. I got out of my very comfy hotel bed about 8:40 AM. I was in the gym by 9 AM. I was happy with myself for actually working out when I'm away. That's tough!

Breakfast - was fairly late given the morning workout. I went to Mosaic in the hotel. I just had a bagel with sliced tomatoes and coffee. They even had soy milk! They scored star points for that.

CC was done with his meetings at 12 PM. I had just returned from breakfast at 11:30 AM so I wasn't up for lunch, but was happy to go with him. He had a fairly unexciting burrito.

We then headed back to the hotel because I had a scheduled conference call with colleagues. Of course, once we made the trip back, I learned via email that one of the participants had cancelled it. Nice. Oh, well.

Okay, back out onto the streets of cold rainy Vancouver. Now, at about 2:30 PM I was hungry. CC and I wanted to check out The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver so we decided to go to their bar and see what I could order. Our hotel is right across the street from The Fairmont. Check it out.

The hotel was as gorgeous inside as it was from the outside. I just wanted a small bite to eat, but ended up with this huge pizza sans cheese.

After the Fairmont we crossed the street to the Vancouver Art Gallery. CC and I enjoyed it. We especially liked the 2nd floor, which included contemporary pieces that invited folks to participate in the display. My favorite was a sound proof room with electric guitars, piano, bass, and drum set. The music you play is heard in the lobby of the Art Gallery. It was pretty cool.

Dinner was nondescript Thai. We were with a bunch of people who I went to graduate school with. It was great to catch up with them.

Given that's it rained off and on the whole time we've been here, Vancouver might best be visited in the summer!

Vancouver Day 1 Dinner

2009-03-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

Our first day in Vancouver resulted in a great restaurant so our expectations were high for dinner. The concierge recommended walking down two blocks to Robson and that street would have lots of different options.

Despite walking in the rain and cold, we were happy to be together and decided that as a result of our huge lunch we actually weren't hungry yet so we decided to get a drink first. We ended up at Cin Cin. The wine and spirits list was crazy impressive.

The bartender was very nice and helpful. I had two glasses of delicious wine. The first was a light British Colombian red wine. The second glass was even better. It was a Super Tuscan. CC had a Manhattan. We were living it up.

After our cocktails we were thinking Indian food would be good. We found a restaurant called Salam Bombay that had a whole vegetarian section, which we always appreciate. We ordered the same thing we always do - vegetable samosas, channa masala, aloo gobi, and what ever bread doesn't have milk and sans the butter (often roti, in this case parantha).

The atmosphere is really nice. It is on the second floor so you can see the city below. The service was excellent and the staff welcoming.

The vegetable samosas were probably the best I ever had. Generally they taste the same where ever you have them, but these were definitely different. The crust around the samosas was much fluffier and it had a different balance of spices. They were fantastic! Here's a picture with some chutney on it.

My main course was also wonderful. I always order channa masala at pretty much every Indian restaurant I go to so that makes it easier to compare across restaurants. This dish was exceptional. The chick peas were perfectly cooked. The raw sliced onions on the top were nice (some restaurants do that some don't) and the few slices of caramelized onions on the rice were also an interesting touch.

CC also really liked his dish. We were generally very happy with our choice and wouldn't be too upset if we ended up back there for another meal!

Vancouver Day 1

2009-03-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

CC and I arrived to a rainy chilly Vancouver, Canada this morning. The hotel we're staying at is very nice. The style is modern. Our room has a city view. I'm generally happy with it so far.

I was fairly hungry so we headed out with our Happy Cow list of restaurants to see what we could find within walking distance, in the rain, without umbrellas. Needless to say, we weren't super interested in walking really far.

I apologize for being a bad blogger because, unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the hotel room so I don't have pictures of the food, but I do have a restaurant recommendation. Maybe that redeems me? We went to a vegan raw food restaurant called Gorilla Food (on Richards close to Hastings). They don't seem to have a website, but I found a review here (not written by a vegan).

It's a small place that is actually kind of underground. You walk down a few stairs to get to it, but the ambiance is peaceful. Their menu includes appetizers/snacks, entrees, desserts, smoothies, shakes and juices. I always go a bit crazy when I can have anything on the menu so I ordered a smoothie, appetizer, and main course. CC helped with the app and ordered a strawberry shake.

The appetizer was Thai lettuce wraps. It was good. I especially appreciated the very gingery sauce that was served on the side. We think the green wrapping was kale. I felt like I was getting healthier with every bite!

My smoothie was made with bananas, pineapples, orange juice, and kale. In very unvegan fashion, CC shuns green shakes so I was glad to have him taste how delicious it was! I believe it was called a Helio-Tropic shake.

For the main course I had Falafel (raw of course) and CC had the Green Taco (nut meat). They were served in huge lettuce leaves. We both respectively liked our dishes, but geesh I was starting to get very full!

Conclusion on Gorilla Food - vegans in Vancouver should definitely make an effort to visit this restaurant!

When we were finished, the rain had picked up a bit and CC had to work so we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way we walked by a coffee shop that said it was all organic. My experience has been that those are the kinds of places that likely have vegan options but don't advertise it. The place is called Trees Organic. What was there in their cheesecake case but a vegan chai cheesecake?! I was psyched so despite not being hungry any longer (travel is not good for my get back to my ideal weight plan), we order one piece to split.

It looked very good. However, it tasted like crap. Not kidding. It was really bad. So, while I REALLY appreciate companies that are interested in providing vegans with options, I cringe when I know anyone who eats the dish labeled "vegan" is then going to have confirmed for them that all vegan food sucks. The consistency was all wrong and so was the flavor. It was just all around bad. And, considering the number of delicious vegan cheesecakes that I've had, I was bummed that folks would think that's how vegan cheesecakes taste. Oh, well. Again, I do appreciate their effort. On a positive note, they seem to have good progressive principles regarding their selections of coffees to sell.

We still have dinner ahead so here's hoping I remember that darn camera!

Sunday Wrap Up: Week 1

2009-03-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

Every time I have a plan for regular posting, it doesn't work out so you shouldn't expect that I'll actually stick to this, but we'll see. Here's my idea -- not every workout is really post worthy, but a weekly wrap up could possibly (?) be interesting. We can also track my goals this way and see how I'm doing.

So, here it goes . . . This week was the beginning of the spring season of my women's tri group.

Monday - I ran with my group and was then sore through Thursday. Ridiculous.

Wednesday - I was supposed to ride with LA, but we were worried that we didn't have enough day light left after work. Plus, my legs were still feeling like they were going to fall off because of the Monday run. I wanted to do something though so LA came over and we walked for 50 minutes in the park.

Saturday - almost 30 mile ride with a pretty good hill

Sunday - yoga

Weight: didn't lose a single pound, 123

Goal weight: 114, was when I felt best and was bad ass with my training.

[Side note: don't take this as being obsessed with my weight. I just want to feel healthy and good and I try my best to not let that be dictated by society, but I also recognize that I'm a woman living in a racist hetereonormative patriarchy and as much as I try to resist it, it inevitably affects me.]

Any way, that's week one. Tomorrow night is a scheduled group run/swim. I better be there or be square.

I Thought It Was A Good Ride

2009-03-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my training buddy LA and I had planned to go out for a ride at 9 AM. I invited KG to come along. I always love having KG with me!

At 8:45 AM KG called to say that she had not slept well and when she fell back asleep in the morning she had then overslept. She was going to try and catch us. Considering she's a stronger rider, I figured that would likely happen.

LA and I started off to a stronger wind than I was expecting, but I was happy to finally be back on the bicycle. Brace yourself to hear how long it had been since I had been on the bike . . . Nationals, September 20th, 2008! Oh and I might as well tell you now that I also still haven't been in the pool since the race either. Yeah, I know, I'm not much of a triathlete.

But back to what I thought was a pretty perfect ride -- it was almost 30 miles up a long gradual hill, a good amount of climbing. I was a little worried it would be really tough for me, but it was actually fun! I didn't even get into my granny gear (the one that makes turning the pedals the easiest, usually reserved for very steep hills).

My goal was just to keep LA in eyesight. She's been riding lately so I was pretty sure she was going to kick my ass going up the hill. She was ahead of me for a good portion, but about 2/3rds of the way up I caught her and we both got to our agreed upon stopping point at the same time. Yeah TLO! It took us about an hour and half from our start to our turning around point.

The climb was beautiful and I was feeling great, but I was still happy to turn around to go down hill. On our way down we went past KG. I didn't stop because (a) she loves to climb so I was sure she'd want to make it to the top and (b) LA was not that far behind me and has crashed a few times going downhill so she's very scared going down and I didn't want to freak her out by stopping.

The ride down was not as fun as usual because the wind felt like it was going to blow me off my bike. The good news though was that when we changed direction on the flats the wind was at our backs and gave us a nice push. I couldn't believe that I felt so good. It was actually really fun ride and I felt great about it until . . .

Later in the day I called KG to invite her and her partner over for dinner because their kitchen is being remodeled and they're sick of takeout. When she answered the phone she said something like, "So, I guess you're calling to apologize?" I was completely flummoxed. I had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently, she had turned around when she saw us and tried to catch us almost the entire way back into town. She was sure we had seen her but just never slowed down to allow her to catch us! I was shocked. I had no idea that she was behind us that whole time. I assumed she continued up the hill. LA never saw her either!

We're idiots for not knowing she was behind us, but at least we weren't such horrible people that we saw her back there and never slowed down! Still, it is going to take me awhile to live this one down. I did make her a four course meal last night though that hopefully will help me make up for it!

Meat Out March 20th: A Proposal

2009-03-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

What if all us vegs could convince one person to go meat free for March 20th? Think of how many animals could be spared. I'm throwing down a challenge.

Calling all vegs . . . get at least one person to go animal-free on March 20th. Please comment on this post to let me know that you're on board. Hell, if you get more than one person, even more gold stars for you!

Mom - will you be my "meat" out candidate for 3/20? It's just one day :)

Walnut-Dusted Fettuccine with Carmelized Veggies

2009-03-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

I've previously posted that I was lucky enough to be able to test some recipes for Robin Robertson's forthcoming book Vegan on the Cheap.

This time I tested her Walnut-Dusted Fettuccine with Carmelized Vegetables. Wow. The thing that always impresses me about Robin's recipes is that the combination of ingredients and flavors she puts together is so unique. When I read other people's recipes, I can generally intuitively figure out what the final recipe is likely to taste like. Often Robin though totally surprises me and when I read the recipe I say to myself, "Really? Those ingredients are going to add up to make X?" The stroganoff from Vegan Planet was a good example of this. And yet,every time she's put things together beautifully and I'm very pleased by the final dish.

The Walnut-Dusted Fettuccine with Carmelized Vegetables is a really great recipe. The butternut squash, especially carmelized, gives the dish a slight sweetness. There are ground roasted walnuts and parsley on top that add great texture and depth. With recipes like this, I definitely recommend her new book!

When it is closer to publication, Robin even agreed to do a blog interview here. How rad is that!

Sore: Feels good

2009-03-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Our spring triathlon training group is starting up again so I have a new chance to recommit. We ran (I more like jogged) last night. Between that and gardening on Sunday, my legs are sore. Considering it isn't a feeling I've had in quite awhile, it's surprisingly nice.

Some Hawai'i Pics & Tidbits

2009-03-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

The above picture was the view from my hotel balcony. I did actually make it back from Hawai'i, but barely. The trip back was simply hellish. I never mind flying and am one of those people who generally don't mind delays. I get a lot of work done in airports and sometimes, even better, I get a chance to actually do some fun reading. I didn't feel that way at all this time though.

My best friend was having her baby non-shower open house that day (2/14) and I was really hoping to be home in time. Not only did I not make it, I didn't get home until about 5 hours after it was over. Plus, it was Valentine's Day. Aren't you supposed to be with your sweety that day even if you don't do all the consumer bullshit? Regardless, of the twists and turns, I did eventually get home even if I did return a little worse for the wear than when I left (ended up with a bronchial cough).

As I posted previously, my time in Hawai'i was almost all work and no play. I never ventured very far from the hotel, which is not at all like my normal travel behavior. I only had one free day and I found myself really exhausted. I was glad that I worked out a way to spend most of the day by myself. I needed the alone time. I ate a late breakfast after sleeping in. The hotel breakfast buffet sucked for vegans, but I didn't let that get me down!

After breakfast I thought I should see a bit of the beautiful surroundings outside my doorstep so I walked a couple miles along the beach. It was really beautiful. Here's a nice shot.
Check out how close I am to the birds below! Hawai'i really helped me with my bird phobia. I even let a white pigeon hang out on a railing within arm's reach. It was a bit scary, but I was brave!

I get on food kicks. My current one is veggie pizza sans cheese. I had that several times in Waikiki. My favorite one was also at my favorite spot. The bar was called Mai Tai, was right on the beach with amazing drinks, and was the bar for the beautifully newly renovated Royal Hawaiian. The chef threw some arugula on the top. It was great!

The drinks at the Mai Tai were also incredible! Two in particular impressed me. One was a fresh blueberries muddled drink with rum, I believe. The other was a coconut milk, basil, and vodka drink (again, I believe). If I'm ever in Waikiki again, I'll definitely be at that bar and if at all possible, I'll be staying at the decadent Royal Hawaiian.

All and all it was a good trip, definitely not a vacation, but a good trip. Still, I'm looking for a much needed vacation for this summer. Any suggestions for a place to visit that will make me finally stop working and just relax by the pool and ocean for one week? I do have a short break coming up - Vancouver, Canada on March 18th for a few days. I'll need to work, but plan to not over due it.

In Case You Think It is All Glamorous

2009-02-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

I arrived at the Honolulu airport at 5:30 AM for a 7 AM flight. Because of delays, however, I have to leave on the 11:30 PM flight to Cali. No, I'm not kidding. I've been in the Honolulu airport for 11.5 hours at this point. Yep. Not kidding. I did watch the slam dunk contest though, so I guess there's that.

Another Day in Paradise: Hawai'i

2009-02-13T00:02:00.001-08:00

Well, it was actually another day of back to back sessions in one hotel. What a day. I think I may be the luckiest person on the planet. I can't imagine what I could have possibly done to deserve this incredible life.

You shouldn't take that to mean that my life is easy. It is not in any way shape or form. In fact, it is almost too hard to take some times. How, you ask, can these sentiments both coexist? It is hard to explain as I assume that how each of you feel about your complex lives is hard to explain.

As I sat in training sessions over the last three days, several times I was overwhelmed by emotion. For those who have been reading this blog for awhile (or are my amigas), you know I'm in higher education. What, you may ask, could possibly be emotional about the cold world of academe? It is true that life in university settings can be cold, distant, and sometimes overly intellectual, but that's just not the work I do. That doesn't mean that all kinds of academic work isn't valuable, because there are many ways to contribute. All I'm saying is that such work is not what I do.

My research and teaching are inseparable from my activism. For me, I don't know how else to be so when people think they're complimenting me for being passionate about the topics I work on, I get kind of uncomfortable. It isn't that I don't appreciate their compliments. The issue is that I just don't see it as special. I don't see any other way to be. It is like congratulating me for breathing.

Still, I don't think women should be modest and despite the fact that I shock people quite frequently, I refuse to undermine my own accomplishments and work. Men don't and they shouldn't, so neither should women. My point is that while I realize that I'm not sure what else I would do but follow my activism, I also know I'm fucking (sorry ma) good at it. I get shit done and that is something if of which to be proud.

The project that I'm currently working on (which is why I'm in Hawai'i) is the biggest accomplishment of my life and for the most part, it isn't really an intellectual project. It is about helping ensure women's safety and responding when they've been violated. It is about creating change. It is about being a true sister who is working with women to figure out what they need and how I might be able to do my small part to help meet that need.

So, as I sat in these sessions the last few days, I found myself almost randomly overwhelmed. Holy shit. Have I really done this? Have I figured out a way to get people who can really create change to sit at the same table and work with me on ending violence against women. How the fuck did I do that? Really? Have I set in motion, with the help of many others, a set of actions that will actually have a very direct effect on women's lives? Wow. The opportunity is incredible, but the burden now is also immense. I have some how (don't ask me how because I really don't know) figured out a way to get people to almost completely change the way they think about female victims of violence and be committed to prevent that violence from continuing. Holy crap. Just writing about it shakes me regarding how much that rocks.

Still, I can sit in a room and talk for hours about why all of this matters. I can be truly passionate, evidence-based, and offer clear recommendations, but if no one listens and no one cares, it wouldn't matter at all. So, I sit here and am enormously grateful for the people who may not have totally jumped on board immediately with all I asked, but found a way to keep listening so that today they're different than they were yesterday. They're definitely different than when I started this project. I could never ask for more. I may sound conceited when I say I kick ass for doing what I'm doing, but I never forget for a single second that I could do absolutely nothing without others. It just isn't possible.

With all of this, you might have guessed that I haven't seen much outside of a few blocks of my hotel and you'd be right. But, I'll always remember Waikiki as the place that made real for me this new journey that I'm on. I'll remember Waikiki as the place that allowed me to support people who had made major changes in their own thinking about the world over just a couple of days. I'll remember it as a place that exposed to me the challenges, obstacles, accomplishments, and support related to trying to reduce and respond to crimes against women. It will always live in my heart as the place I realized that what I'm doing matters.

None of this was the great relaxing day on the beach or a boat tour, but hell, maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Tonight I feel sated. Hawai'i has already done more for me than I ever imagined.

Aloha

2009-02-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

I was in meetings all day, but I did come up to my room for lunch and to check out my partial ocean-view. Very nice. The beach is just across the street from the hotel, which is giant. You can see details on the hotel here.

The training today was really good. It reminded me though of how much work needs to be done with this new project I'm starting. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say, it is a bit overwhelming.

Dinner was a salad bar, but it was pretty good. Lunch was a veggie burger. I had some crappy mango daiquiri, which I obviously won't be ordering again. I definitely had much fewer drinks (just two and both were very watered down) tonight, which was good.

One of the cool things about this conference is that several of my former students are here and it is so rewarding to hear about all their amazing accomplishments. They rock!

Oh, and a definite highlight of the day - I saw a whale jump! He just kept jumping. I guess he was happy?

All in all, a very good first full day in Hawai'i. Tomorrow more meetings that hopefully will be as fruitful as today's.

I'm in Hawai'i

2009-02-10T03:02:00.000-08:00

Yeah. I know I have a great job. I'm here for work and really should blog about it. Will you read if I tried to actually post about it? Does it matter since I keep telling my friend AS that I post because I like to write? Regardless if you read, I think I'll try to post. We'll see how I do.

Vegan friends - I had my usual of lots of drinks (yeah mai tais!, okay that's totally Hawai'i) and a pizza sans cheeze and as usual people around me noted how good it looked.

Very Late Christmas Meal Post

2009-02-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas in Pittsburgh with my brother's family in their new home. It was beautiful and wonderful to be with them. My parents were there with us and my sister's family came for Christmas day as well. Hence, the Christmas meal was 11 people. While this may seem like a large group to some, my Christmas dinners where I grew up often ended up over 30 people. Yeah, big Catholic family.

This year our Christmas meal was pretty darn fantastic. For a Thanksgiving meal we had decided to try the Celebration Roast rather than the Tofurky we usually have. It was okay, but CC and I decided to have Christmas with no processed food or animal-like substitutes this time. This is what we came up with . . .

As usual, I was hopeful that I could convince some folks at the meal that vegan alternatives could be delicious and they wouldn't even miss their carnivorous ways. Never really seem to be able to do that though. First mistake - mashed sweet potatoes. I guess it is pretty common for people not to like sweet potatoes? Really? Who knew? Most of the dinner party wouldn't even try the sweet potatoes. So much for convincing them with that dish!

The second dish I made was a green bean casserole. This went over much better and I think people genuinely liked it. CC and I absolutely loved it. I can't believe I haven't made it again yet. Maybe for Valentine's Day! This was just like the omni's eat at holidays. Look, it even looks like the "regular" green bean casserole.

A third side was regular mashed potatoes. This was made by my brother. He put some potatoes aside for us vegans and mashed them with Earth Balance and soy creamer. Holy crap. Insanely good. I had no idea my bro had some kind of potato magic. He credits the beaters. He beats the potatoes with electic hand beaters. (Baker that I am, I've only used them for making icing!) I don't know what it is for sure, but I'm also of the mind now that using soy creamer really makes a big difference. When recipes call for soy milk or creamer, I usually go with the milk because I always have it on hand. However, both the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole called for soy creamer and they both did end up super creamy!

Instead of a processed meat-like sub, I decided to make the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon, which I got shortly before Xmas for my bday. They were great!

Overall, a very satisfying meal. We might not have won over any omnis, but I guess I'll never stop trying.

Chocolate Blueberry Crumble

2009-01-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned recently, I have the distinct honor of being able to test some recipes for Robin Robertson. Oh, happy day! I've been so jealous of all those fabulous vegan bloggers who have tested for cookbooks.

I have to say that I've found the testing experience super fun, but also kind of stressful. I'm so worried that I'll mess something up and it will be me who's the problem and not the recipe and then I'll give the wrong feedback. I was almost neurotic with my emphasis on doing things exactly as called for in the recipes.

I just have to tell you all about this particular recipe because it is definitely reason to get Robin's newest book, Vegan on the Cheap, when it comes out!

At first I was a bit skeptical of chocolate and blueberry together in a crumble. Hmmm. Just seemed a little odd. Oh, but I should never have doubted Robin! This recipe is perfect and even better because it is an unexpectedly (for me at least) fantastic combination! And, as a bonus, it is beautiful. Both CC and my friend KG loved it too. The crumble was just the perfect sweetness and I loved it warm. Overall, you can tell my recipe report was a big thumbs up on this one!

Yoga in the AM

2009-01-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

I used to get up regularly between 5:00 and 5:30 AM to swim or spin. I haven't been in that routine for quite awhile. I woke up Monday morning though and at 5:30 AM kissed CC and told him I was going to the gym. In a voice that indicated he thought I was delirious, he explained it was just 5:30 AM. I said, "I know. I'm going to swim." Then he was awake and excited for me.

Yeah. Yeah. Big deal. Of course, once I let the dogs out I realized there was frost on the ground and I thought to myself, "there is no way in hell that I'm getting in that pool with frost on the ground." Let me remind you -- the pool at my gym is heated to about 80 degrees, but it is OUTSIDE! I was once tough enough to do it, but there is no way I was this Monday morning.

I had already made up my mind to go to the gym though so I decided I'd have to see if they had a yoga class and if not, I'd swim. Out to the car. Scrape frost off car window. Drive while saying over and over again, "there better be a yoga class."

Success! There was a 6 AM class. I must admit that I pretty much hated it the entire time, but heck, I'm not used to being up at that unholy hour yet.

Tuesday I was supposed to run in the evening with my team, but my first work engagement was at 7:30 AM (yes, really) and I didn't leave work until 5 PM so when I was riding my bike home, I knew there was just no way I could run.

Instead, I fell asleep some time very close to 8:15 PM. Going to sleep so early though left me no excuse regarding going to the gym again this morning. Wake up 5:30 AM. Get out of bed. Let out dogs. Confirm that once again there is frost on the ground. Make hot tea. Scrape frost off car windshield. Drive to gym saying over and over again, "there better be a yoga class."

Success yet again! I did still hate it, but it wasn't as bad. So, it is running or swimming, but so far I have gotten in two 6:00 AM yoga classes this week. I'm going to think of that as an accomplishment.

Obama Getting Shit Done for Women!

2009-01-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

Within just days of being in office, President Obama reversed the global gag rule. How's that for saying women matter? How's that for being clear about how much you value a woman's right to control your body? Take that! I love it.

Then, today I woke up to news in this morning's paper that legislation that will overrule the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision is headed to Obama's desk. In complete denial of how discovery of discrimination works, the Court had ruled inthe Ledbetter case that a person only had 180 days from the act in question to claim discrimination. The bill out of Congres would relax the strict restrictions on discrimination suits that were a result of the Ledbetter ruling.

And, can I just say that I love that the White House web page refers to the Vice-President's partner as Dr. Jill Biden? Dr! Most times people like to hide that women are educated, especially when they are married to powerful men! They're supposed to be quiet ladies behind the scenes. They're not supposed to be all smart and stuff.

All of this just makes me want to sing, "Oh happy day!" Times have changed and very quickly. I have no allusions that ending the global gag rule, working towards letting women sue for discriminatory acts, or actually recognizing when women are Dr.s, will suddenly bring an end to our racialized heteronormative patriarchy, but hey, we're at least making steps in the right direction.

Edited to add: Just when I was feeling good, I read this and damn. How do you fight the patriarchy when you just used it to win election? Crap.

144 Posts Read & some interesting stuff?

2009-01-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

So, I totally know that I haven't posted in almost 10 days and you're like, "What the hell, lady! Why do we care that you finally finally finally caught up with all the stupid blogs you read?!" Well, that's not really nice of you!

I'm just so happy to finally have caught up that I couldn't help sharing this huge accomplishment with you. And, if I'm a reader of your blog, I did catch up on your posts. I couldn't comment a lot because it already took me hours to catch up, people!

Perhaps Google Reader isn't really a good thing? Maybe it just puts pressure on us? Nah, it's like good pressure.

Other things of note so this isn't a completely ridiculous post without any interest -- I just tested my first recipes for Robin Robertson. Fantastic, I tell ya! I recently got a book contract with a university press. You thought I was working a lot before? My dog has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, which I promise to post about. Some one out there must figure out a way to help me to get back to working out. I did my first catering gig -- baked for about 300. That's what I'm talking about! Decided I'm unlikely to want to bake for 300 again. [Those suckers didn't even realize their desserts were vegan! Instert evil laugh here.] Am totally psyched that our President has already taken names and kicked ass! I read a fabulous book called A Wall of Light, which my book club rejected when I recommended it. Oh, I feel sorry for them. My brother's partner is pregnant with a girl fetus. One of my best friend's is pregant with a boy fetus. And, my cousin just had a baby. Don't worry, I won't let their procreating ways wear off on me!

Okay, does all that stuff help jazz up this otherwise completely mundane post? Food posts soon, I promise.

Loving: A Reflection

2009-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful evening with a friend and then came home to my best friend (CC) and then opened a gift from yet another friend. F* I'm hella lucky!

I have such a great life and I'm so glad that I realize that. Perhaps the best thing about my life is that I love and am loved. I have incredible friends. I don't know how. I often reflect upon the fact that it seems unfair that one person (me, the little one) has so many amazing people in her life. Really. How can that be? Doesn't that seem strange that somehow I'm a person who got so damn lucky? Maybe, I did something pretty great in a past life? Something has to explain my incredible bounty. [My delivery Chinese food tonight was sans rice so maybe that is paybacks for all my otherwise good luck? he. he.]

I'd like to think I attract more great folks into my life by appreciating each and everyone one as they enter my life. Of course, it all started with my Mom. She's always the trendsetter. In her I found my first hero followed by many thereafter.

My conversation with my dear AS tonight led me to thinking about what makes each of my loved ones special to me. Why do I love them? For some, it is obvious. For some, it is more complicated and for others, it defies reason. Sometimes we love just because we love. Maybe, because we should. Maybe because we know on some level they deserve it. I don't know.

Sometimes my relationships are in the context of being someone's teacher and sometimes I'm the pupil. Rarely, it is unclear who is who. BR is one of those cases. She was the one who sent me a wonderful gift that I came home to. It was her own creative published work. Amazing. Unique. Thoughtful (that sounds too trite for what it really was). Deep maybe is better, but not really. Tortured is perhaps more appropriate. Brilliant, definitely. Maybe you've met someone who is completely in a league of her own and yet doesn't seem to totally get that? Well, that's my impression of BR. She thinks it is nice that I still am interested in her life. The truth is that I'm lucky she gets my genuine appreciation for her and utter confidence that she is someone truly special in this world. Okay, so maybe she doesn't get the last part, but it is the truth.

AS, BR, KG, CB, there are so many wonderful people in my life who I appreciate every day and learn from more often than not. 2008 was a pretty incredible professional year for me (you might have noticed the thousands of times that I mentioned how busy I was), but the highlights that really matter involve loving and being loved. Those relationships are what make my life the rich environment that I'm so blessed to muck around in.

Costa Rica: A Vegan Food Report

2009-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

To be fair, this is really more of a report of vegan food in the San Jose area of Costa Rica. Given our work obligations, we were unable to venture too far outside the capital.

As previously mentioned, there were a great deal of black beans and rice eaten by CC and me. Costa Rican breakfast "tipico" consisted of black beans and rice and a tortilla shell. We had ours sin huervos (w/o eggs) of course. [I'm likely spelling all the Spanish words wrong.] We were able to go to a few restaurants, however, that we like very much.

Tin Jo was one such place. It had a large menu of a mix of Asian foods including, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Indian. A feature we really appreciated was that the last page of the menu was all their vegetarian options so they took all the veg stuff and put it in one place. Nice!

I know I'm a bad blogger for not having pictures of the food, but it was a working dinner so it wasn't appropriate. Here's what we had (three of us shared): Apps - steamed potstickers and veggie samosas; Entrees - kung poa (sp?) tofu served in a really cool birds next, a Thai coconut tofu curry, and an Indian Vegetable curry.

The apps were both really good. The best dish was the Thai curry by far. The kung poa was fine but surprisingly lacked spice. The Indian curry, I'm afraid, really wasn't good. It seemed to include all the correct spices but the balance was off. It was also insanely hot (spicy hot, not temperature hot).

The service at Tin Jo was excellent and the ambience very nice so I would definitely recommend it for any veg heads traveling to San Jose.

Another place we ate was the Gran Hotel Costa Rica. (I have some pics of this one!) It is an old architectural wonderful hotel and the waiters were almost crazy in their service. It was quite funny to see the two older gentlemen who served our several tables occassionally squabbling among themselves over our service.

For our drink order, I had asked about wine. Our server replied, "red or white?" Hmmm. That didn't bode well, but when in Rome. On our way in, I had seen wine coming out of like a faucet thing, but in retrospect, that might be to control the humidity. Who knows. I went for red and, honestly, it was good.

The salad with huge hearts of palm was incredible.This area of the world, of course, has incredible tropical fruit. Besides drinking fruit juice almost all the time, they also have whole fruit at many meals. Here was mine at dinner. I remembered to take a picture just before I finished. The whole bowl had been full. Delicious!
Next up is a Middle Eastern restaurant called Lubnan. This food was fantastic! There was a vegetarian combination. Everything in it was vegan with the exception of one yogurt based dip. The combination included hummus, babaganoush, tabouli, and falafel. Really, really yummy.

In general, San Jose restaurants were very economical, cheap even. You could get good quality food for reasonable prices. The next restaurant is the extreme of that - fast food vegetarian! It was kind of fun. Almost every dish on the menu included vegan spam. Check this out.
It was awesome because when we started going through the whole, no cheese, no . . . song and dance, the waiter interrupted and said, "sin lactose," no dairy! Rad. Of course a veg place should get vegans, but it was still nice to be understood.

We ordered the veggie sandwich, which of course included the veg spam. Can you see it in the pic?
Even the veggie burger included a slice of veg ham on top of it! We couldn't help but giggle.

The last food I'll report on in this post is an appetizer I got on our one beach day - fried plantains and black been dip. It rocked!I have to go to work so I'll leave my final restaurant report for another time. Preview - Hotel Grano de Oro. The experience was quite posh.

Getting Teary-Eyed

2009-01-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

As the Inaguaration approaches, I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed. Every time I really think of the significance of this new presidency and what it says about the goodness of the American people, my eyes well up. I'm so happy to be alive and be able to see this.

I'm starting to count down to Tuesday. Can't wait! I'm very glad that my town is throwing our own ball. It will be fantastic to celebrate this momentous occasion with like-minded folks.

A New Year Workout

2009-01-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

A promise to myself in this new year is to get back to regular workouts. Tonight was a scheduled run with my group. I ran for about 25 minutes and then walked with my old buddy LC for 35 minutes. It was nice to catch up with her.

Some of the women in my group are going to do Thursday evening trainer rides. That's when you put your bike in a stationary trainer thingy and you can ride your bike indoors. It might be fun to try it out. I know the Veg* Triathlete has previously posted about her indoor bike training and I'm kinda interested to try it. A fairly sizable problem though is that I don't have a trainer and I think they're pretty expensive. We'll see.

Back From Costa Rica

2009-01-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

We arrived back in the States late on Sunday night. As soon as I have some time, I'll definitely post some pics of food. Unfortunately, we mostly ate rice and beans so there won't be a ton of stuff, but there are some good restaurants to report on.

Oh, and I promise to catch up on blog reading. It has been so long that I'm actually scared to open my Google Reader!

Costa Rica Earthquake: We´re Okay

2009-01-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I had promised to post each day and that has come nowhere near happening. Our days have been insanely packed and the two computers at the hotel get a lot of use.

I wanted to quickly let folks know that I am unharmed by the 6.2 earthquake that hit Costa Rica. Apparently many are missing and confirmed dead, but the group I´m with is all okay.

We´ve been in San Jose the whole trip but tomorrow I´m heading for the beach for finally (HOPEFULLY) just a bit of relaxation.

We´re in Costa Rica!

2009-01-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

We just arrived last night for a week in Costa Rica. It was brutal getting here because we had a very lengthy layover, but here we are! It is a work trip, but stuff we like to do. I really want to shut my eyes for just 15 minutes before our next activity, but wanted to post that I´d be trying to do at least a short post on our trip every day this week.

A quick highlight - there was no hot water this morning and I couldn´t bear a freezing cold shower so I waited. The good news was that by 2 PM, I was able to have a hot shower. Always better to look on the bright side of things!

New Year's Stroganoff

2009-01-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Day I decided to make the Wheat-Meat Stroganoff from Vegan Planet. It was fantastic! CC and I both loved it. I didn't salt it enough, but that was my fault. I'll definitely be making this again! I know you're supposed to make this with wide noodles but all the ones at our grocery were egg noodles. Bastards!

Despite my German roots, I think I only had stroganoff a couple of times in my life so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. This is what the sauce looked like when I was simmering it to thicken.
After that was done simmering for 25 minutes and the sour cream and seiten were added, the consistency was really nice. (see top picture)

Oh, and we have all the support stuff on the computer for pinky so upcoming pics should be better! Happy New Year all!

A Birthday Present For You!

2008-12-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

My birthday was Saturday (December 2oth). It was a great day. I went into New York City with a couple of my cousins, my mom, and one of my aunts. We didn't really have any specific plans so it pretty much turned into a pub crawl. Heck, it was cold out there and we needed to duck into places to keep warm!

I had my first Bloody Mary before I even left the train station. How's that for a birthday?!

But on to the gift that was also for y'all - my CC got me a cute new pink camera for my bday. As soon as we figure out how to work its fanciness, there will be much better blog photos! I can't wait to take some food photos to share with you.

Teaching Reflection: Grading Rubrics

2008-12-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

At the end of the semester as those of us who are profs are grading away and those of you who are students are working tirelessly on papers and studying for finals, I thought a teaching reflection on grading might be in order.

A few of my colleagues were using grading rubrics a few years back and were big advocates. I was skeptical, but I thought I'd try it. I've been won over for sure. Of course, there are lots of ways to structure and use rubrics so these reflections are obviously on my own experience alone.

Here's some reasons why rubrics work for me.

1. They directly focus my grading efforts on the requirements of the assignment.

In the past I found my grading heavily influenced by a student's writing ability. That isn't necessarily a bad thing and could even be a good thing depending on the assignment. But, I was so focused on their often inadequate writing that it was hard to assess the content of what they were writing. Hence, students might have been handing in assignments that substantively hit the main concepts I wanted them to, but their grades weren't necessarily reflecting that.

In creating rubrics I can assign weighted points for different requirements of the assignment, which can still include assessment of their writing quality. For example, applying course material can be worth 20 points, quality of writing 20 points, citing appropriately 15 points, analysis 30 points, etc. Then when I score the quality of writing, I'm just focusing on that issue in that category of the rubric rather than it completely dictating their grade.

It also forces me to make sure the student met all the requirements of the assignment even if she was a good writer, which before might have inflated her grade. If each requirement is assigned a specific score, then if students don't address all the components, their grade will ultimately reflect that. For example, if students were supposed to apply a particular course concept as one requirement and they failed to do that, then they would receive a zero for that component of the rubric.

This has made my grading way more efficient because it has trained me to look for exactly what it was that I required of the students and examine how they met that requirement. I'm also not hemming and hawing over the final score ("Er, is this an 82 or really an 85?), but rather just scoring each component as I go and their final grade is simply a calculation of those subscores.

2. The rubric helps guide students' efforts and serves as a teaching tool.

For all major assignments, I now share the rubric I will be using with the class as part of their directions. That way they can see not only each requirement reflected in that rubric, but they can also see how much each component is worth before actually working on the assignment. When I review the directions for the assignment in class, I also go over the rubric and my expectations within each section.

I also use the rubric as a template for feedback. I usually don't just give a student the score. Instead, I also usually include a rationale. For example, if appropriate citation is worth 10 points and the student includes in-text citations, but not a works cited, I would give them a 5 out of ten and then explain why next to the score. Students then understand exactly on what aspects of the project they lost points and why.

In using the rubrics for an entire class section, when I'm finished I can usually get a feeling for which requirement students overall seemed to struggle with and then I address that in class when we review their graded work. Students tend to just look at the grade of the assignment and then put it in their notebook (or worse the trash) unless instructors can illustrate to them that even after they received their score, they can still learn from it. Giving a general overview of how students did and then discussing where they struggled helps students think through why they handed in the work that they did and how they can improve in the future.

3. Creating rubrics forces me to actively analyze what I want students to do in the assignment and how. It makes my directions much clearer.

Using rubrics makes it necessary for me have to sit down and identify all the requirements and then weight each of them based on how important I think they are to meeting the learning goals of an assignment. Often I will go through several versions of a rubric to make sure that it accurately is going to measure student learning. After utilizing a rubric, I might make significant changes to it if I assign the same paper or project again.

4. Students almost never express misunderstandings or anger over their grades any more. [a nice bonus!]

Of course, this may be happening for all sorts of reasons, but I definitely think a good chunk of the reason is because they feel like they understand why they achieved what they did. I always gave tons of feedback in the margins of the paper and then a few sentences to paragraphs at the end of the paper discussing what they did and did not do well, but students seemed to have difficulty understanding that all of those comments were an explanation of the grade. With the rubrics, it is very clear to them where they lost and gained points and why. Plus, because they have the rubric ahead of time, they can't say they didn't understand that a particular requirement was "so important."

So, what do you think of all this business? Students and teachers - do you think they are useful?

Our Homemade Ornament

2008-12-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Our good friend AS invited us to a really cool holiday party. She asks each of her friends to create an ornament (that doesn't need to be holidayish) that represents them or their relationship with her. Not being the crafty type, this kinda freaked me out, but I'm not one to let my AS down!

CC and I wanted to make something that represented both of us. I came up with idea to use wine cork 'cause, ya know, you might have picked up that I'm a wine lover. CC thought we could do something with the cork and paperclips. We talked about something to do with running since we both run. We also talked about something tri-related.

I took a nap late Saturday morning and woke up to an almost completed bike ornament. It was perfect because we're both bike commuters! I just needed to do some hot glue gunning. How's that for crafty?! Check out our completed project.
Don't tell anyone, but AS said our ornament was the best! Oh, yeah baby!

I'm A Winner!

2008-12-14T19:19:00.000-08:00

Jenn from Vegan Dance if you Want To awarded me a proximidade award. Here's the description of the award.

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Isn't that so sweet?! I love the idea that this is an award for building relationships and community. When I first started this blog, I had no idea that there were communities of bloggers or networks that develop via blogs. It is interesting how there are now a pretty good number of people who've I've never met in person, but because of their blogs, they're a regular part of my life. As I've written recently, I'm very thankful for those cyber-relationships.

Now on to the fun part of granting this award to eight other bloggers.

Theresa, Tropical Vegan [I'm looking forward to hearing about your travels!]

Jen, Veg*Triathlete [Walk away from the boy and pick up that computer again! Smile.]

Amanda, Walking the Vegan Line [You've probably already won this like 10X since you're such a giving member of the vegan blog community. Still, well deserved!]

sarchan, Emo Potato [I still owe ya for that great pumpkin beer cupcake recipe!]

Tami, Vegan Appetite [She is the tester extrordinaire. I love reading those posts!]

Lindy Loo, Yeah that Vegan Shit [No one writes about food like this woman!]

Vegan Run Amok [Although I'm afraid she's quit the blogging thing, I think she's the best!]

Katy, Legally Vegan [I like new blog look!]

And, why I'm at this, I should mention that like a million years ago Theresa was kind enough to grant me an E for Excellent Award and I was a total shit-head and never posted about it. I was and still am, however, extremely grateful to Theresa and appreciate it a ton!

Thanks you wonderful bloggers for your support!

French Toast Cupcakes

2008-12-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Every year my tri group gets together for the holidays. We run first and then feast. Everyone brings a brunch dish. It's good times.

I brought french toast cupcakes, a Bake and Destroy recipe. [Totally forgot to take a pic, but Bake and Destroy has up a photo of her cupcakes if you go to the link. Given, her cupcakes definitely look better!] I've made this recipe previously for a local candidate's fundraiser and apparently forgot to blog about them (or at least I can't find that post if I did). Wow, with all the errors, who could imagine that I recently was honored with a blog award? I'll be posting on that soon.

Back to french toast cupcakes . . . Cupcakes for breakfast can only be good, right?!

A Sore Run

2008-12-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

You know what happens when you run 7.6 miles of hills (rollers really) when you have only run less than a handful of times in a few months (even if you ran it really slow)? You have difficulty walking for three days. Today was the first day I seemed to be able to get around fairly normally. Given that, what should I do tonight? Run, of course.

We had a scheduled group run this evening at the track. Because the track just goes in a circle (duh), I like those workouts when I'm of the mind to go easy or maybe even mix in some walking. I can do that when I don't have to keep up with the group. When we're running at night on sidewalks or bike trails, you definitely feel a need to keep up with your fellow runners. Unfortunately, the lights weren't on at the track and the gate was locked so we ran on the nearby bike trail instead. Ah, the best laid plans . . . foiled!

The coach had us mainly doing repeats though so that allowed me to not have to over do it.

Let me tell you, my legs weren't feeling very good. My training buddy and marathon relay teammate wasn't giving me any sympathy. She was like TLO "it's been three days!" She was basically telling me to suck it up. No rest for the weary!

My coach was also kind of giving me a hard time for not showing up for workouts and at the end of the run said I'll see you on Friday with a kind of fake punch to the shoulder. Because he never pays much individual attention to any of us, when he does, it definitely makes us feel obliged. So, I guess I'm running Friday. Damn, he's good!

Hey You Vegan Bloggers and Blog Readers

2008-12-10T20:24:00.001-08:00

Very short post: Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of bloggers (especially my vegan pals) are either on hiatus or rarely posting? Is it just the ones I read? Maybe everyone is taking it easy between Thanksgiving and the December holidays? What up?

An Enchanted Evening in Sonoma

2008-12-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

On our way back from Sequoia National Park, I convinced CC that an overnight in Sonoma was a good idea. Yeah that he went along with it!

I had contacted the Eldorado Hotel to ask if they had a vacancy because we had stayed there in the past. They said they didn't have one. Of course, I was a bit ticked when I walked by their hotel and they had a vacancy sign out. Sure, someone likely cancelled, but they had my email address, why not call or better yet, why not ask for a phone number in case some one cancelled? I wasn't impressed. CC thinks they're snobby.

After checking a few other places and finding no room in their inns, I decided to check Hotwire to see if I could come up with something. They indicted they had a 4 star hotel for $168. What?! And, it was the only hotel with a vacancy so we went for it. Turned out that it was the MacArthur Place and it was absolutely incredible!

Most of their rooms have spa tubs and fire places. Ours didn't but who could blame them for giving us the room they did given that we were paying less than half of the advertised cost for one night?! Still, the room was incredible and the amenities were over the top. One of my favorite was the wine reception. Yep, free wine. You know that's so me! They also had a pool, hot tub, movies you could borrow, chocolates on your pillow (we're sure if they were vegan so we passed them on to others), robes, and an amazing continental breakfast was included! The cost of the breakfast at the restaurant if you weren't staying at the hotel was $14.95 so I'm glad we were staying there! Everything was just so luxurious and the gardens beautiful (you can view pictures at the link above). I was in heaven.

At the wine reception we perused their collected area menus to decide on a dinner location. Their restaurant is a steakhouse so we weren't too excited about going there. We hit the jackpot though! Now, don't judge the restaurant by its nonvegan name - Meritage Martini Oyster Bar. What was so exciting about its menu was that it had a vegetarian chef's tasting and then under it said vegan option available. Woot! We called right away and made a reservation. I made sure to ask the host to give the chef the heads up that we'd be ordering two vegan tastings. I love tasting menus because I like to try a lot of different things.

I'll review our dinner, but first went to The Girl and The Fig for a drink. We'd given the Girl and the Fig a few tries before and they just really aren't accommodating to vegans, but we thought the bar might be nice. We ended up with a great bartender, which made the evening even nicer. While CC ordered a boring beer, I decided when in Rome . . . wine tasting for me. I loved the glasses they came in!
The piece of paper you see in the picture is a the name and description of each wine. I liked that because then I got to re-review the information as I tasted.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the host said the chef was told about our vegan request and everything was set for us. We both thought she said the manager would be waiting on us, but that seemed weird. He was fantastic as a server though so maybe that was the case! For example, we asked him if we could have any bread and he apologized for not having brought any but explained that when the bread was taken out of the oven it was brushed with butter. He said he'll have to ask the chef to think about not doing that to some each night for vegans. Nice, no?!

Since the name of the restaurant has "martini bar" in it, Charley started off with a special cocktail. It was called a Screaming Viking and was shaken and poured at our table and then the remainder iced in the shaker. Check this out!We can't remember what was in it, but there was definitely a hint of cucumber.

Our first course ended up also being our overall favorite. It was a canalini (sp?) bean salad. There was nothing super unique about it. We both just found it so perfectly seasoned and flavorful. I know the cooking shows say this all the time, but it really was a perfectly balanced dish. It was so good that I almost forgot to take a picture of it.The next course was a more traditional salad. Honestly, I can't totally remember it now, which is why you shouldn't blog about meals you ate 12 days ago, but hell who's paying me for this? Oh yeah, no one! You can tell from the picture that it includes portobello mushroom. I think maybe the curly things were jicama?The next course was a little eggplant dish. Call us crazy, but neither CC or I like eggplant and people always want to feed it to vegs. Still, we did like this dish. Because of its size, we weren't overwhelmed with too much eggplant. The red on the top is a sundried tomato.At this point of the meal, we were a little nervous. We were only expecting four courses so we thought we were going to have to go back the hotel and eat something else, but it turns out were were nervous for nothing! Our server next brought us a risotto.

I really liked the amount of garlic in it and felt completely satisfied after this course. But wait, there's more! We ended the meal with a trio of sorbets.

We had a fantastic evening and made sure to give the chef our compliments. If you're a vegan visiting Sonoma, I can't recommend the Meritage Martini Oyster Bar strongly enough!

Vegan Food: Sequoia National Park

2008-12-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving week in Sequoia National Park was spent at the Wukasachi Lodge. The only restaurant really was in the Lodge. One of the nicest parts of our stay in Wukashachi Lodge was the restaurant staff. They were fantastic!

The first night we were seated right in front of the fireplace. Sweet! On the menu was a "vegan hummus." We were psyched because whenever a chef decides to identify something as vegan that is an excellent sign. As vegans, you won't be surprised to know that we eat lots of hummus, but we both thought the dish was exceptional. For an entree there was a portobello club. All we had to do was minus the cheese to make it vegan. It was good. CC especially liked it. There was a little too much balsamic vinegar for me. I bet the cheese that was supposed to be on it would have cut the bitterness, but without it, the vinegar was a bit much for me.

Breakfasts were buffet so it was easy to eat around things to be vegan. They even had soy milk, which was a big plus. They also brought me peanut butter for my toast so I could get a bit of protein.

Lunches we ate on our own so we didn't need to worry about them. We generally had dinner at 6:30 PM so we would first have a cocktail. The bartender was fabulous; he was a super nice guy. Was it a bad sign that he remembered our room number after a couple of days? Hah! Hey, we were on vacation.

The next night, however, was an incredible dud. I have no idea what happened. We asked if the chef could make us two vegan entrees. The server said okay. We were served four pieces of steamed asparagus, carrots, and about 6 pieces of squash/zucchini. It would have been bad enough to only have steamed veggies (considering there was tofu on the menu in the portobello clubs), but they weren't even seasoned! It was embarrassing. The veggies weren't even salted and peppered. It was pretty unbelievable. We didn't want to complain, but I felt we needed to ask for guidance considering we still had two more nights there. So, I asked our server what she recommended for the following nights. She said she'd let them know we weren't impressed. Hmm.

We were lucky the next two nights to have Fernando. The same waiter we had the first night. So, night three we were again in front of the fire. Woo hoo! And happy to see our man Fernando. We told him about the night previous and asked what he would suggest. He described someone, I think, as a "junior chef." Fernando seemed to think this person was talented and definitely noted he was an aspiring chef. We were excited! If Fernando said this was a good person to trust, we were in!

Fernando talked to the aspiring chef for us and came back to say that he was interested in making us a vegetable curry. We asked if tofu could be included and Fernando said sure. He also checked in to make sure we were okay with a spicy dish. Yes! CC was especially excited. The dish was fantastic. The seasoning was quite strong, but we both really enjoyed it and made sure to be effusive and express our gratitude to make sure that the aspiring chef kept aspiring. I hope he does!Our final evening in Wukasachi Lodge was Thanksgiving evening. We were really worried that we'd be a problem because they were expecting 500 for dinner. Hence, we made sure to talk with Fernando the previous evening to make sure that we could be accommodated. He said he'd talk to the chef and if there was a problem, he'd call us in our room. Isn't he great?!

In the afternoon, I double checked to make sure and the host said if Fernando hadn't called, all was well. Woot! So, in the AM I decided a Bloody Mary was in order. Hell, it was Thanksgiving! Then, we pretty much relaxed all day with a little football and Oprah. (Remember I was on an Oprah kick.) When dinner came around, we were still a little bit worried, but once we saw Fernando, we knew we were in good hands!

He said they had something already to go for us. We said, "bring it on!" The dish was a tofu stuffed tomato. Delicious! It even included a pomegranate sauce from Fernando's sister's farm. I'm not kidding!
In all, we were really happy with our stay there and were super grateful for the dining room and bar staff at the Lodge! If you ever go, ask for Fernando!

Obama Please Don't Let Me Down Already!

2008-12-07T15:44:00.001-08:00

The person on the left of this picturing pretending to grope a cardboard depiction of Senator Clinton, soon to be Secretary of State Clinton, is Jon Favreau. Mr. Favreau has been named President Elect Obama's chief speechwriter. You can read the Washington Post story here and Feminist Law Professors take on this incident here.

I have to tell you this really pisses me off. How can this possibly be okay? Why must members of the Obama team continue to degrade Clinton? He won already! As you know, I supported Obama over Clinton, but that doesn't mean that I don't value her tremendously. (Sorry about the double negative, but that happens when I'm this pissed.)

In my view, there are many reasons why this just cannot be acceptable and it cannot be enough for Favreau to merely apologize. What does a person who would do this think of women? Why would a cardboard cut-out of Clinton even be at this party? What was the purpose of it? Just to degrade her? Were they also toasting her and her accomplishments? What kind of person makes humiliating gestures to a person who they clearly beat in a competitive environment? Does this make him feel powerful?

Along with all of that, is the fact that this image illustrates the fact that when women are degraded, their bodies are often used against them in order to do that. Why doesn't he pat her on the head, which is another way to indicate someone else is less powerful? Why grope what is supposed to be her breast? The answer is that by grabbing a woman's breast a man is going beyond humiliating that particular woman. He is also indicating or asserting his power over all women. He is sexualizing her and using her sexuality against her. Yes, this is absolutely an act against Clinton, but is also an act against all women. [My argument does not rely on the fact that he knowingly, purposefully, or consciously is doing this.]

I don't want to hear he was likely drunk and didn't mean it. I never believe that shit. I drink a lot and I don't become a different person just because I had too much to drink. I don't turn from a powerful feminist into a raving sexist pig because I've had a few drinks. That is just bullshit.

I don't care that Clinton has accepted his apology and she should not be blamed for doing so. What else can she do? This sexist bull is part of her everyday life. Believe me, she knows that people have done and threatened much worse to her and likenesses of her. If she calls this ass on it, she loses and is once again "shrill." When she accepts his apology, she's not being tough enough. Forget it. Let's stop blaming the victim. It isn't her fault.

There is someone though who absolutely should do something about this and that is his boss! Obama - ya better fire the dude. Do you want someone like that working for you? Do you really get how women feel? If so, fire him. It is that easy. You can't just say, "oh, sorry. I didn't really mean it like that. It was just a joke." What?! If he had held a gun to her head, would that have been a joke? When is something not a joke? Compromising a woman's body, which was exactly what he was threatening (spare me that it was just her image), is a violent act, period. That's it. End of story.

If you want to say that these arguments make me a radical feminist, you'd be right. I am and proud. If we don't stop people (women do it too) from using women's bodies and images of those bodies against them, then we will continue to live in a world where women are constantly subjected to harassment and violence. We can shrug it off as a stupid thing some Obama staffer did as no big deal or we can recognize it for what it really is - clear degradation.

7.6 Miles Accomplished!

2008-12-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

This morning was my team marathon. I had the second and longest leg. It was 7.6 miles of largely rolling hills. The hills weren't too steep, but they were hills. I was unsure I could actually run 7.6 miles today, but I did. There were times that I walked for just a bit, but I really kept that to a minimum. I thought I'd do the 10 - 1s, but I got caught up with all the marathoners and thought I'd be a real wuss if I was walking to complete just 7.6 miles and they weren't and were trying to accomplish 26.2 miles. I didn't walk until 40 minutes in.

I had to stop at a porta-a-potty because, given my luck, I'm also bleeding (or menstruating as some say) and wanted to make sure a red trail wasn't following behind me. (Sorry for those who are squeamish.) Of course, that stop took somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes so that didn't help my time. Overall, it took me around 1 hour 30 minutes, which is just under 13 minute miles. I definitely wasn't speedy, but given my lack of training, I'm glad I could do it at all.

It was fun to compete with a team and great to have all my women's tri ladies there. Twenty of us had dinner last night, which was really nice. My buddy LC had to say TLO, "is doing the second leg?!" I guess that shows that others also thought it was a little crazy. Heck, what was I going to do? My team asked me to do that leg so I did. Our anchor has run several marathons including the Boston marathon twice. She crashed on her bike just a couple of weeks ago though and so actually ran in an arm sling. She is seriously a ridiculous bad ass. If she can run almost 6 miles in an arm sling and separated shoulder, I could suck it up and move myself from the start of 7.6 miles to the end it and I did.

I'm A Crazy Woman: A Team Marathon

2008-12-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

No, you're not wrong. You are correct that I really haven't blogged at all about exercising lately. There is a very valid reason for that. I haven't been doing any. The last time I ran is when I forced myself to do it by blogging about it ahead of time. And, yeah, that was November 21st. Still, I'm apparently competing in a team marathon on Sunday. I'm nuts. My leg is between 7 and 8 miles. I'm not even sure because I'm in denial. I'm going to try and do 10-1s (run 10 minutes and then walk 1), but I'm not even sure I'll be able to do that. I suck. Need. To. Get. Back. On. Track.

Please think positive thoughts for me on Sunday!

Hosting My First Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

I was actually in Sequoia National Park on Thanksgiving, but I really wanted to make my own festive thanksgiving meal. We decided to host a couple of friends on the Sunday after the holiday. It was so much fun!

The ambiance included flowers and foliage from our garden.

The appetizers included local bread with lemon ginger olive oil, blackberry pear vinegar, two different types of tapenade, herb crackers, and olives.The main course.
The menu for the main course was sweet mashed potatoes, Celebration Roast, my Iron Chef stuffing (which was better this time), Brussel sprouts, and cranberry sauce.

My favorite recipe was the sweet mashed potatoes. It made a lot! Check this out.The coconut milk was really a nice ingredient because it gave the potatoes depth and a creamy-ness. There was also curry powder and ginger in the recipe, which was interesting. If you're looking for a not very sweet sweet mashed potatoes recipe, this is for you. I added 4 Tb of maple syrup to give it the sweetness I was looking for.

This was the first time CC and I had the Celebration Roast. It was fine. Our friend AS said it was good, but it really stood out as being the only processed food. I'd agree. Next year I say chickpea cutlets!

The cranberry sauce is a nice whole cranberry sauce. Folks who like their cranberry sauce thin will definitely appreciate this recipe.

Now for dessert.Another reason to give thanks for Oprah, was that I got from her show the idea to trim my pumpkin cheesecake with whip cream (vegan, of course) and then shave some chocolate on the top. You can also see a bit of cinnamon on the top as well. Legally Vegan reminded me how fantastic this cheesecake is and it was a good choice!

Overall, it was a great first Thanksgiving meal to host for loved ones. It was really rewarding!

Hikes in Sequoia National Park

2008-12-01T22:48:00.000-08:00

Not long after our arrival on Monday evening, we found out that Sequoia was expecting a lot of snow. Predictions were for 2 feet! Given that, we decided to try to get in as much good hiking on Tuesday as possible. The feeling was really unique because it felt like we were hiking against time. The clouds were very full. It was overcast and the sun was hazy with what I saw as an impending snow warning. We hiked fast!

Our first stop was the Giant Forest. We began at the museum. We didn't spend but a couple of minutes there because of our concern for getting everything in before too much snowfall. We then headed out on the Big Trees Trail. It is a 1.5 mile loop around a meadow lined with sequoias. It was really pretty and we learned more about the conditions sequoias need to live.

There was also Beetle Rock just a few steps from the parking lot. From that rock there was a fantastic view of the forest and mountain coastal ranges beyond. The picture below is from Beetle Rock.

We then went on to the General Sherman tree, which is the largest tree in volume in the world. The trail was paved most of the way and was downhill to the big tree.

I believe we were at 7,000 feet in elevation though and I'm one of those people who gets bothered by elevation. My breath was labored but it was definitely worth it. We also did the Congress Trail, which included groves called The Senate and The House. After that 2 mile loop, we headed back up the hill.

We had heard that if there was any substantial snowfall, the road north of our lodge would be closed so we thought it would be a good idea to head north in case this was our last chance to see that stuff. It was about an hour drive through the park to the General Grant area.

The General Grant sequoia is the only living national shrine. It is also the nation's Christmas tree. We hiked the flat half mile General Grant loop.

The fancy little National Park magazine indicated that there was also the North Trail loop that began just at the end of the General Grant parking lot. That was also advertised as an easy 1/2 mile trek. We knew this would be our last hike for the day because of the impending snow and darkness. At 20 minutes in though CC started getting nervous. Given the elevation and the weather, daylight was waning and it didn't seem like we had started heading on the backside of a loop yet.

We started to walk faster and worry a bit more, especially when we'd reached 30 minutes into the hike. Finally, we came across a paved trail. If we headed to the right, it indicated we'd be going towards a lake. So, I figured a paved trail can't be too far from civilization and we didn't want to head towards a lake so we went left. Not too much longer we saw people, which made us happy given that we hadn't come across a soul. When we finally finished we couldn't figure out what went wrong. We double checked the magazine and it definitely said the loop was .5 miles. Well, the next day we referenced a different source and it turns out the loop was 1.5 miles! No wonder!

After that excitement, we were glad to be driving back to the Lodge. We got home just around 4 PM.

Sadly, very little snow actually fell on Tuesday night. Wednesday, however, was a combination of snow, rain, and freezing rain, but we still would not be denied. We didn't want to drive given the weather so instead we hiked from our lodge to Lodgepole village where there is camping in the warmer seasons. The trail was 6 miles round trip and was fun even if we didn't especially enjoy the freezing rain.

On Thanksgiving we just relaxed. I guess we thought we earned it.

Overall, the hiking in Sequoia was beautiful and the trees amazing. I was awed by how long they've been on the planet. I couldn't help imagining all the things that happened in this world while they've stood there being peaceful and bearing witness to both our human accomplishments and bitter disappointments.

Giving Thanks: Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

I kinda feel like writing this as a letter so please humor me.

Dear Blog Friends,

I write today to share with you some of what I am grateful for on this Thanksgiving Holiday. I love the idea of a day to give thanks, to reflect, and to discuss those reflections with those you wish. On this holiday, I chose to share them with you.

Those who are close to me know that I changed pretty substantially when my friend GS died a few years ago. I had wished so desperately (and for no reasonable reason) for him to reach his 40th birthday. He didn't. He died of cancer. It was an incredible loss for all who knew him. GS was a person who literally embraced every day like I'm unable to even explain. He loved life, people, experiences, everything really. He was amazing. To have him taken (that's what it felt like), was something that was very difficult to deal with. We lost him in 2005, but in that loss I learned a great deal. My practice now is to make sure that I spend quality time with those I love, to tell them how much they mean to me, and to never take advantage of my time on this earth.

Why I'm discussing this now is that I like the idea that in large part I tell folks I appreciate them without needing a holiday like Thanksgiving. I think pretty much everyone I love knows how deep my affection for them is. Still, once a year it is good to make sure that you reflect on all that you are grateful for and examine why. So, here we go.

I'm grateful for you. Yep, you. There's a reason why I wanted to address this post as a letter. Dear readers - I appreciate you. It doesn't matter if you have never commented on my blog or that I have no idea why you read it. I'm grateful that you read it. The world can feel a lonely place and it is fairly great to think that there are folks out there, some I know and some I don't, who are willing to read what I have to write. That's fantastic of you! Thank you.
I'm also grateful for other bloggers. Reading your posts expands my horizons, but most importantly reminds me that there are really wonderful folks out there who make the world a better place! Thank you for doing it and being you!
Oprah. Yes, I really did just say Oprah. My mom's a big fan of Oprah. On this vacation we've watched Oprah 3 days in a row, which has to be a record for me. Geesh, she really is fantastic though! Today's show was a replay from her 2006 Pay it Forward Challenge. Holy crap it was amazing! CC and I agreed that for the next year we would commit to doing one thing a month that qualifies as paying it forward. He came up with the bright idea of rotating months because he contends that I'm fairly competitive (Nah!) and I might just be inspired to one up him. This will be fun! What can we come up with? I'm looking forward to our adventure. [Theresa's also included me in her Pay it Forward so that post is to come soon. Thanks Theresa!]
Travel: this shouldn't be surprising given that I'm currently on a trip, was in St. Louis only a bit more than a week ago, a bit before that in NYC, and just a bit before that in Philly. I travel a lot! And, I love it! I know I'm extremely lucky to be able to have the resources to travel and, therefore, I really appreciate it. In February look for a report on Honolulu, Hawaii!
Work: I love my job. I'm very lucky to be able to labor at something I love. Even though I work a lot of hours, it is largely on things I want to do and I'm very lucky for that.
Learning: Finally, I'm very lucky to have people around me who are always helping me become a better person. What is better than that? They challenge me, encourage me, and make me think. Amazing, really. I'm extremely grateful that I don't exist in complacency, that I'm always changing, learning, and challenging. Thanks so to all who do that for me.

In the honor of a letter . . .

All my love,
the little one

Wukasachi Lodge: Sequoia National Park

2008-11-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

It took us over 7 hours in the car to get to Wukasachi Lodge. I slept a lot of the way though so I can't really complain. The pictures above and below are of our room.

I thought a nice way to start off our trip would be with a toast (of a Joel Gott cab, yummy!) and some chocolate chip cookies (from a recipe Isa recently posted at Post Punk Kitchen - review later). The hotel glasses aren't the tops, but heck improvising makes things more fun!

Because of the length of the drive, we weren't able to do much more than have dinner our first night. On our way to the lodge though we stopped at Hospital Rock. You can see a picture of it here if you scroll down. We also did a short hike from Hospital Rock parking lot to what would be waterfalls in the spring, but seemed like a fast moving creek at this time of year. It was really pretty!
You can see in this picture that just a few trees in the Foothills area of the park still have their leaves. At higher elevations, pretty much no trees still had their leaves.

All in all, a good first day of our vacation, even with the long drive!

Sequoia National Park: A Thanksgiving Holiday

2008-11-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

For the first few years we were together, CC and I spent Thanksgiving on some kind of trip just the two of us. [Have I told you that in February we'll be together for 8 years? Crazy, no?] The past few years we were feeling obligated to family. We decided at the end of last holiday season that we really need this week for just the two of us.

CC loves the big trees. My theory is that he's so tall that he has a profound respect for things much bigger than him. He! That sounds funny. Anyway, he totally loves big trees like sequoias. We decided last January to plan this week in the Sequoia National Park. We've had the reservations since then. Since Monday, we've been staying at Wukasachi Lodge.

I've got lots to report, but CC's tired and wants to go to bed. We need to be in the Lodge lobby in order to access Wi Fi so I'm afraid you'll have to wait in anticipation for posts on awesome treks in Sequoia, snow, and vegan food (some tons better than others!). I can't keep my baby up on his dream vacation. I'm sure y'all understand! Look tomorrow for a thankful post as well!

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

2008-11-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

CC asked me last week if I was interested in making a vegan Alfredo sauce for the gnocchi we had in the freezer. I had previously flagged a recipe in Vegan Planet for Fettuccine Alfredo so I decided to try that sauce. The flavoring was really good, but it wasn't as thick as we wanted. I remembered reading on Lindy Loo's blog recently that she really liked Vegan with a Vengeance's Alfredo recipe so I turned to that for some assistance. I was looking for something to thicken the sauce up and Isa's recipe indicated that you should add more nutritional yeast to increase the thickness. It worked. The sauce ended up being a little grainy though.
Here's take two. I definitely want to try the Vegan with a Vengeance recipe next. Let me know if you have a favorite vegan Alfredo sauce.

Pomegranate Ginger Cupcakes

2008-11-23T22:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we were invited to KG's house for a potluck. The woman is an incredible cook and nutritionist. She's not a big sugar person. Still, she generally likes my desserts, especially when I try to pick ones that I think she'd like.

I wanted to make something seasonal. I went with Hannah Kaminsky's Pomegranate Ginger Cupcakes from My Sweet Vegan. The recipe is good, but I'm afraid I might have drizzled a bit too much pomegranate reduction into each cupcake right before baking. Because of the bit too much liquid, the cupcakes really stuck to the wrappers. Finally, I always have difficulty with mincing ginger. Is there a secret? It kind of clumps together for me and is hard to get minced.

Anyway, overall the cupcakes were really good. The last icing from Kaminsky that I made was from the Root beer Float cupcakes and I totally loved that, but I have to admit to not being crazy about this particular icing. Likely I did something wrong, rather than the recipe not being superb. I added pomegranate seeds as garnish, which made them look really pretty!

I Ran.

2008-11-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

Yep, I did. I said I would and I did. Wasn't easy, but I did it. I guess that's all that matters.

Quote of the Day: It's Getting Worse

2008-11-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

Now that I actually have girl hair, the number of comments I get about looking like a student have been steadily increasing. For some reason, having hair suddenly has made me look younger to people. I don't get it at all, but there it is. Today I got two declarations that I look like a student and figured they should serve as my quotes of the day.

Pretty much verbatim from TWO different colleagues today -- "Oh, I thought you were a student." In one case, my colleague had seen me coming down the hall, thought I was a student, and was worried I was coming to her office hours. In the other, my colleague got into the elevator and even though she glanced at me, didn't realize it was me until I said hello, which was when she said she thought I was a student and "blended in" with the students in the elevator.

Even worse, one of them (who is also a good friend, and, therefore should know better) said, "You should take it as a compliment." Sure, because you know being young is so much better than being old. Sounds like ageism to me.

And, snap for 3 posts in one day!

Princess Farrah Kitty Gets A Haircut

2008-11-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't the time to be getting our beloved cat a shave. It's getting cold! We had to do it, however, because she was getting so terribly clumpy. In the right margin of my blog, you can see Farrah in all of her former glorious long hair. She's 14 now and just isn't grooming the way she needs to. In the past, she's always had some clumps, but she'd let us get them out for her. She started getting so clumpy that she just wouldn't tolerate us trying to get them out.

I rescued our dog Sadie (thank Beatles for the name) when she was a little puppy. I had previously adopted 2 cats. As a puppy Sadie would get too close and the cats would give her a whack on the nose. Ever since, she always gives cats wide berth. You can see here that she's saying, "Oh, no. I won't look you in the eye. Go ahead Queen of Sheba."

You can see that her cut isn't exactly the lion cut because they had to really trim pretty close to her head and jaw line. She had clumps right under her chin so she lost the big kind of head of hair that is typical with this cut. She's still so cute!In this picture you can see how close up the neckline cut is and my favorite aspect - her cute hanging belly! The best thing about the cut is that Farrah loves it! She's so happy and just asking to be pet constantly. I'll kiss her for all of you.

I Will Run Tomorrow

2008-11-20T18:40:00.000-08:00

I'm posting that here because I absolutely must run tomorrow. I'm in a team event (thank the goddess that they don't care really about speed) on December 7th. I'm supposed to run the leg that is almost 8 miles. The total team distance is a marathon, which is split 4 ways.

Considering I've run about a total of 5 times since my tri in September, I'm in trouble. Must run. It would be humiliating if I didn't do it after posting this, right? Ah, mind games.

A Teaching Reflection: Actions Speak Louder than Words

2008-11-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have no idea how this happened, but it seems like I read a lot of PhDs' and graduate students' blogs. The reason why I say I don't know how it happened is because while some I clearly set out to read for that reason (e.g. Bitch PhD and Feminist Law Professors), most of the other bloggers are vegan food bloggers first and then I find out somewhere along the way that they're in academia in some capacity.

The people who comment on my blog are 98% vegan foodies so I have no idea if folks even read any of my other posts, but so far I'm holding on to my attempt to post about a variety of things. On the other hand, I know that a good deal of people (at least in my unambitious view) read this blog and never comment, so I have no idea why they're reading. If you want to follow my tri training exploits, my apologies for lack of posts on that front in the last couple of months! I guess my point with all this is I have no idea if teaching reflections is something that would interest folks, but in keeping with my tradition of posting what ever the hell I want (and, of course, responding to requests for post topics from time to time), I'm thinking some occasional teaching reflections might help me keep engaged with my teaching while at a time in my professional career that I'm teaching less and administrating more (long story).

So, this semester I have a class that I super enjoy. It is a group of students who are have a good mix of intellectual curiosity and the a willingness to present their own conclusions during discussion. A good proportion also comes to each class section prepared. I also appreciate the fact that they genuinely seem (that word matters) interested in what I have to offer in their journey for knowledge and skill development. I have to tell you - that just simply isn't always the case.

Anyway, earlier in the semester I needed to assign them something in the class that was actually for the purpose of program assessment (oh, the academic world has been taken captive by assessment), which is basically attempting to figure out whether the faculty are meeting the goals of the degree program. Because I felt that the assignment was really about the delivery of the degree as a whole rather than the content of my course, I was ridiculously easy in the grading. However, I was very clear about it. I spent about 15 to 20 minutes reviewing why their assignments were actually sub par and how they needed to improve them in the future. I reviewed major principles of good writing. I even told them that if I was grading under normal circumstances, most of them should expect a grade of 20 percentage points lower. Overall, I tried to deliver the message that they could do better, I believed in them, and expected improved performance in the next assignment.

Well, despite it being 10 years I've been at this gig, I'm still constantly learning (thank the goddess). They just handed in their next written assignment and, again, it was largely crap. If this was a different semester with different students, I wouldn't have been too disappointed, but I KNOW these students could do better. The thing that drives me the most nuts about students is when they just don't put in any time. What is that about? I know they have lots of pressures on their time, but come on! You need to put in the time if you want to succeed.

The point I want to make here though is that I screwed up. In giving them a free pass on an early assignment in the semester, that set their assumptions. It didn't matter that I had told them that such work wouldn't pass in the future. Instead, they paid attention to my actions -- half ass work = decent grade, rather than my words -- half ass work = an appropriate grade for that level of work. They acted as rational beings.

When in doubt, grade that first assignment hard. That will actually help them in the long run because they'll take the course and you seriously. They will work and, therefore, they will learn. Just my two cents.

Now, I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know if the idea of random teaching reflections posts is a welcome one or not really your cup of tea. You can say that! Speak your mind. That is something that I always respect and appreciate. Thanks for indulging me.

A Fan of Vegan Pumpkin Beer Cupcakes

2008-11-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

Back in the days of MoFo (why do they seem so far away?), I came across so many good recipes my head was just kind of spinning. There was one recipe though that spoke right to CC and my combined heart. [Hmm. That's strange to think of having a combined heart, but I digress.]

CC's love of beer, my fascination with cooking and baking seasonal, and my preference for a good cupcake made Emo Potato's (or should it be sarchan's?) pumpkin beer cupcake recipe an absolute must.

This recipe is crazy creative and totally yummy. The consistency of the cake was really fabulous. Whenever I make cupcakes, I bring in three for our department staff folks (that's how you get the perks, people!). They're great at giving me feedback. They also like to discuss rankings of the cupcakes. I love that they each have different favorites. Anyway, one of them who had as her previous favorite VCTOW's margarita cupcake, now she holds the pumpkin beer cupcake as her tops! Way to go Emo/sarchan!

I made them with VCTOW's cream cheese frosting. The recipe for the cupcakes is linked above. Make them!

Garbanzo Mustard Arugula Pasta: My Own Recipe!

2008-11-17T19:48:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty excited about my first true recipe creation. Of course, I've veganized recipes before and my pumpkin chocolate chip bread was kinda my recipe, but I was really just tweeking a banana bread recipe. This is so my own!

For some reason I've been thinking about garbanzo beans and pasta so I just set out to make a dish with things I already had in my house. It was actually very good. It is light at the hot pasta warms the argulua just a bit. The capers give it a nice salt. In general, I was pleased with it.

Please let me know if you make it because I so would love to know what others think! Sorry it isn't really precise below. I was winging it.

penne pasta
2 garlic cloves minced
3 scallions minced [Yikes! Edited 3/09 - that was shallots NOT scallions. Duh.]
1/4 cup margerine
mustard seeds (maybe a tablespoon?)
about a tablespoon and a half of brown mustard
1 can garbanzo beans
two tablespoons of capers
pine nuts (a couple of tablespoons?)
nutritional yeast (maybe a tablespoon?)
arugula

Cook penne according to package instructions.

Saute garlic and scallions in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Melt quarter cup of margarine and add garbanzo beans. Once margerine is melted add mustard seeds, mustard, and capers. Once everything is warmed through add the nutritional yeast and stir it in.

Mix the garbanzo mixture with penne and approx. a handful of fresh arugula.

7 Things About Me: Warning Might Be Boring!

2008-11-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

If you don't like memes, you'll likely want to skip to my previous post on a restaurant review.

I've been tagged by Jenn to report 7 random things about me.

Here's the rules:

Link the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links.

Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random things about the little one.1. I'm afraid of birds. Strange, I know. I'm afraid they're going to peck my eyes out. Believe me, I know that is ridiculous. It even makes me laugh! Still, they scare the crap out of me. The bigger the bird, the more afraid I am. I swear though that they don't like me either.

In general, animals always are tender and kind around me. My theory is that they can sense my veganism. However, birds have been known to circle me when I'm going slow on my road bike (nothing like a reminder that it is difficult to get your ass up that hill!) and pretty much dive bomb me on the streets of San Francisco. I swear! Even my cousin seemed to think they were aiming for me!

While I'm at it, I also hate that every time I tell someone I'm afraid of birds, they immediately proceed to tell me a scary freaky bird story. HELLO PEOPLE! I'm ALREADY a fraidy cat! Too funny.

Oh, I used to think very little was genetic, but I developed this fear in my late 20s and then found out that my paternal grandmother had the same phobia as well. Just weird.

2. Okay, that one was probably too long. I'll make this one short. Hmmm. I hate to be intimidated, but right now given new opportunities at work, I'm intimidated as hell and hope I don't F* up!3. I love watching sports. Pretty much all of them. Okay, not race car driving or bowling or anything involving animal exploitation or silly sports. Ha.

4. In recent years, I can lapse into depression, which is why exercise is so important to my life. And, which is why I need to get my ass back in motion because addictions also raise their ugly heads when I'm not working out.
5. Like Lily Girl, I love to wine taste. In fact, when I was in sucky St. Louis this past week, my friend and I were discussing our favorite things to do and tasting wine with people I love was my first answer. Maybe I'm a winno?

6. I talk to my Mom almost every day of my life. No, you didn't read that wrong. Pretty much every day. They're not usually long conversations, but sometimes they are. We live on the two opposite coasts and when you don't talk to eachother regularly, you miss the every day things that really make up people's lives. I also see her in person at least once every three months, which is partly why I travel so much. I guess you can say I love my Mom or maybe I'm even a Mama's girl? He. That sounds so funny to me.

7. This will likely make you shake your head, but . . . I don't really like kids. What you say? You're a woman, lady! You're supposed to want to love on them and kiss them and hug them and coo and shit. Nah. Not into it. Maybe I don't get them? I like hanging out with them for a short period of time, but I tend to get bored quickly. I guess this isn't totally true. I do like some kids more than others. I really enjoy, for example, spending time with our neices and nephews. Snap, those kids are smart. I know everyone says that about their peeps, but check out this short vignette.Little RW

At home at the family abode: Pop Pop (my dad) tells 4 year old grandson RW to put away his Connect Four game. RW clearly doesn't want to do it. Pop Pop continues to try to persuade him. RW sits down on the floor, picks up the back of the game's box, and acts as if he is reading it.

Pop Pop: "RW can you read?"
RW: "Be quiet. I'm reading the directions."
Pop Pop: "Oh, you can read?" [of course the little twerp can't read]
RW: pretends to read and clearly wants either Pop Pop or his Aunt Little One to ask him what it says. Instead, we wait patiently.
RW: "It says here that you can leave the pieces on the ground."
LAUGHTER FROM HIS PEANUT GALLERY

Come on, now that is funny! And smart!

Actually, I guess I do like some kids. I previously posted about my sweet second cousin before. The real deal is that I don't automatically like children. I pretty much look at them the way I do adults. If they're interesting, I'll want to hang out with them. If not, all their cuteness in the world is not going to save them. Ahhhh, I'm the devil! (but I crack myself up anyway)

The rules say I'm supposed to tag seven people to do this meme, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss. I don't keep up with blogs as I should and I exhausted almost all of the regular bloggers I read during the VeganMoFo freezer tag. I even screwed that up by tagging people who had already done it in a couple of instance. Duh. Meme stuff is not my forte. So, I'll just tag Theresa because I know I didn't tag her for the freezer thing and because I think she's the best! However, if you're one of my Google Readers and have a blog, I also tag you because I'd like to know who y'all are and what better way then to tell me 7 random things about you?

Candle 79, NYC Review

2008-11-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

I was very excited to get to Candle 79 (can see descriptions for all menu items discussed below at that link) when I was in New York City. I had previously been to Candle Cafe and thought it was fantastic.

The atmosphere at Candle 79 is really nice. The lighting is perfect. I sat on the first floor in one of their booths by the bar with my colleague and cousin (who lives in NYC).

Unfortunately, I had a terrible headache and had just finished an extremely long hard day so take my review in that context. The drink I selected was the homemade ginger ale. This was fantastic! You definitely have to love ginger. It was light, refreshing, and delicious.

Vegan restaurants are so few and far between that I'm usually enticed when at one to attempt to try as many different dishes as I possibly can. I also love that I can actually ask the server for a recommendation! Vegans can never do that in omni restaurants. I learned from our server that Candle 79 is known for its seiten dishes, which made sense because there were so many on the menu. She also said the hummus was really good.

I ended up ordering (for the three of us) the hummus, the grilled seiten chimichurri (I think. It was grilled seiten chunks on a stick.) and the nightly soup special, which was butternut squash. On the bright side, the soup was really very good. It wasn't incredibly unique, but was rich with a little spicy kick. The seiten was, honestly, bland. The hummus wasn't special either. Of course, I was suspicious of even ordering the hummus, because come on, us vegans have hummus all the freaking time. Lots of us have ourselves made lots of different hummus varieties. Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan practically has a hummus chapter (which I need to use more, by the way). So, the first course didn't stand out to me as anything fabulous.

When ordering the main course, I made another mistake. I really wanted the special, but my colleague ordered it and I wanted to be able to try something different so I passed. Instead, I again asked for a recommendation and the server indicated that their seiten piccata was their "signature dish." How could I not order it? My cousin ordered the Moroccan spiced chickpea cake. As I wished, we were going to be served three different dishes. Yeah!

By far the best dish was the daily special. It was a crusted seiten. The spices were well balanced and interesting. The chickpea cake was also good. However, I have to admit to not being impressed by the seiten piccata. I'm not sure how to explain what I didn't like about it. The dish was kind of sour or maybe too creamy. It just didn't work. I have a feeling that it's just me though. I'm sure other folks love it.

I was so stuffed (damn those three starters!) that I wasn't able to eat dessert (or finish my entree for that matter) right then. I wasn't going to give up on a dessert though so I decided to order one to go. I order the chocolate almond joy to be enjoyed in my hotel room a bit later. Holy crap! This was definitely the highlight of my meal. It was wonderful. It was light and rich at the same time. The chocolate mousse was the perfect consistency and the chocolate ring surrounding it added a nice crunch. The coconut taste really rounded out the whole experience. Extremely well done. I'm picky with my desserts so this should definitely be understood as a triumph.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but think I didn't order so well. Also, my expectations were so high that it might not have been fair. I definitely want to go back and next time will try all different stuff. Well, except I'll be getting that dessert again!

Interestingly, when I was back home, I told my friend KG about my Candle 79 experience and she knew immediately where I went wrong. [She's owned restaurants and a local tamale business.] She said you should never order the "signature dish." According to her, it is for "the masses" and, therefore, will be more acceptable to mainstream eaters than to diners who are open to unique tastes and combinations. I never knew that! So good to know!

Have any of you been to Candle 79? What was your experience? Any recommendations for what I should order next time?

A Long Delayed Election Post

2008-11-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to receive inquiries about my "blog silence." Where you ask is the little one? Well, right now I'm actually in St. Louis, which as far as I can tell is a pretty sucky city, but maybe that's just me. CC reminded me that almost everyone in the city voted for Obama, so, I guess, there is that.

Anyway, my lack of posting is at least in part because I'm stunned. I learned a lot about my country on election night. I learned the American people are much more than I gave them credit for. I learned that they are more the type of people that Obama believed they are than I did.

This doesn't mean that I think that we're suddenly not a racist country. Of course, we still are. But the fact that the American people elected a man with black skin with a name of Barack Obama, is just amazing to me.

The fact that Obama received a higher percentage of the white vote than Kerry did is illustrative. Obama also won a greater proportion of both male (this was a big deal!) and female voters. Latinos voted for Obama as compared to Kerry by 13 percentage points. His campaign brought people together. People who previously were very far apart.

Unfortunately, we were also reminded in this election of the continued work to be done. Proposition 8 was passed, which altered California's Constitution to include that marriage is reserved only for male/female couples. On one hand we made a huge leap forward in saying that all Americans are equal, but on the same night we also inconsistently said individuals who love someone of their same sex are not going to be treated equal. There's obviously still work to be done.

Visiting the Big Apple

2008-11-02T05:01:00.000-08:00

I arrived in NYC around 4 PM yesterday. I am here for work so I even flew direct, which I pretty much never do. Even better, I'm not traveling alone. My coauthor, who has now become a good friend, is also traveling with me and we're both getting the star treatment! Our hosts sent a car to pick us up at the airport. Yep, there was actually a guy holding a sign with my coauthor's name on it. Can you believe it?! I never thought I'd ever be me at the airport by a car service!

We then headed into the heart of city. We're staying in Times Square. Talk about hoards of people! It is a nice hotel. We decided that we'd take a bit of time to get settled and then meet for dinner. I was in charge of picking the place and she said she'd be happy with a veg restaurant. Rock on!

A colleague had recommended Zen Palate and it was only a few blocks away so I made us a reservation there. Even though we were a bit late, they weren't ready for us. It is a small place (we ate on the "fine dining" side) so we stood outside on a beautiful night chatting until our table was ready.

Once we sat down, however, we realized that they didn't serve wine - no good. Our very nice server explained that we could buy wine right over there (I just followed his pointing). The wine shop was fantastic! It is owned by an Australian native. I asked him to recommend a bottle of wine. He recommended two and his reasons were so convincing and the prices really modest that I decided to buy both of them. Don't worry we didn't drink both!

The one we did drink had the following info on it Orzada (name of the wine I think), Carignan (?) Valle del Maule, Chile (location of vineyard I think), Odfjell Vineyards (winery I think). Even in NYC the bottle was only $16.99 and it was absolutely fantastic. The proprietor had sad it was probably the best value in the store and I believe him. We actually stopped back in after dinner to thank him for the recommendation. I'm going to look into getting me some more!

Okay, now to dinner. . . . It was really good. We ordered way too much food, but I really wanted to try different stuff. We ordered two appetizers. I was really bummed because the Scallion Pancakes weren't vegan, but the server said they could make them vegan if they left the soy ham out (eggs). Rad! So we had those and some type of crispy seiten app that I can't find on their menu right now. I had asked the server what other vegan appetizer he would recommend and that was it. My friend RM had never had seiten before and loved it! Unfortunately, it was pretty similar to my main dish though, but that ended up being fine. The server also brought us the Taro Spring Rolls on the house. Nice! They were also very good - not too heavily fried.

My main course was Sizzling Medallions. It was seitan. The describe the dish as "crispy wheat gluten filet a l'orange, with fresh asparagus, mushrooms, string beans and red onions on a sizzling platter." RM's selection wasn't vegan so I didn't get to try that.

All in all, it was a very good meal. I enjoyed introducing RM to new vegan cuisine. I'd recommend it if you're looking for Asian food in a fairly laid back atmosphere where you'd prefer to bring your own alcohol (or, of course, not partake).

Tonight I'm at the mercy of RM's family. Supposedly we're headed for a vegetarian Indian restaurant. That would be awesome. On Tuesday night I want to try to go to Candle 79. I've only previously been to Candle Cafe. We'll see if I can make that happen.

Final VeganMoFo Post: Reflections

2008-10-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

VeganMoFo has been really interesting for me both as a blogger and a blog reader. I've discovered several new vegan blogs that I find pretty great. In fact, they kinda set in motion a whole examination of why I'm blogging and what I should be blogging about.

Here's the issue based on what I see as observation or fact. I'm not a very good cook. I mess up all the time. I pretty much never create my own recipes or do anything all that innovative. On the other hand, I have read lots of posts over this month that are genius. Lots of vegan food bloggers regularly write their own recipes and share them with the masses via their blogs. I'm just no where in their league. And, who's even reading my vegan food posts? I think it is just other vegans.

While, you know, I honestly love you vegans (!), I'm not sure my vegan food posts are doing anything for ya. I don't offer you recipes or make things that are super creative or even out of cookbooks that are very recent. Hell, I still don't even f-ing own Vegonimocon.

I think my contributions might lie in illustrating that even a clueless cook like me can be a vegan. Or, maybe my contributions are more likely not even in food at all. Maybe I should stick to vegan politics? (hence my vegs for Obama pic above) I don't know. In general, I'm very glad to have participated in VeganMoFo. I learned a lot both from others and about myself. Ultimately, I count 26 MoFo posts that I did out of a possible (based on one per day) of 31. I think that's pretty damn good, but I'm not sure the quality was all that great. At least you know that I'm committed to a vegan lifestyle and promoting it in any way I can even if I'm not very good at it. Thanks to all of you VeganMoFoers for teaching me so much this month! Y'all are damn impressive!

The Run: Nationals, Part 4

2008-10-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my long over due final segment on Nationals.

Coming off the bike, CB was right there at the edge of transition telling me how great I was doing and cheering me on. It was fantastic to see her! I felt like I was on track coming off the bike and was so happy with my nutrition. Despite having lost a water bottle, I drank most of what I wanted to and consumed what I wanted to for food. I think that's why I felt pretty good going out on the run. Plus, I tried not to totally go all out on the bike so that I had nothing left for the run.

This transition was much quicker so I was happy about that. CB yelled how great I was doing and as I was running out of transition, she said, "Remember to keep it slow and steady!" I have no idea why she said that because I hadn't necessarily told her that was my plan, but it was perfect. I kept saying that over and over again in my head while I ran and it REALLY helped!

Right out of transition the hills start. The bike leg had a small portion of flat, but the run was only up or down. There was really no flats at all except for about 30 feet coming out of transition. It was killer!

As soon as I got on the main road, I just got super excited. The fact that I was competing at Age Group Nationals set in and I was just happy. I actually yelled something like, "Aren't we having fun? This is supposed to be fun!" I was still smiling at that point.

On the very first hill a woman passed me and then kept just a little ahead of me the whole run. I had told myself that walking up the hills would be fine and I had seen a teammate doing that at the beginning of the course (she was finishing up because it was an out and back), which reminded me that walking would be okay. The problem was that I had a no walking rule prior to the last abysmal race I did. When I started out the run though, I just decided, "This is Nationals. I'm NOT going to walk." So I dragged my slow ass jog up and down the hills. The woman who had passed me early on walked up every single hill and for some damn reason I still was unable to catch up with her. Ugh! It was driving me nuts.

At about mile 4 I started to think (probably partly 'cause I wanted to catch that damn woman) I wasn't running hard enough because I wasn't in excruciating pain. This is a Olympic Distance triathlon. I should be hurting! So, I decided to try and pick up the pace. I was able to do that going down one hill and did pass a different woman, but still couldn't catch my rabbit. After picking it up for about a 1/4 mile, I just couldn't keep up that pace and just had to slow down.

Even though my jog got slow, I never walked. I am super proud of that.

The thing that really sucked though was that there were hardly any spectators or supporters really. Plus, because all the speedy speed-asses were done so fast, people were actually walking on the course to leave. That was pretty sucky and kind of unkind. Plus, with like throngs of people walking by me as I'm struggling to finish, only a couple of them even cheered me on. It was so weird because that is not like any other tri that I've ever done. In every other tri, folks have been incredibly supportive and cheering a lot. In fact, they seem to especially do that for the slower folks like me. I suspect they assumed I was embarrassed for being so slow because this was Nationals, but I tried to feel no such thing. Of course, their lack of even acknowledgement that some of us were still on the course didn't help matters.

The really interesting thing is that for most races, I really wasn't even all that slow. My pace was just a bit over 11 minutes miles, which I don't find to be that bad consider I had already swam and biked. Of course, I would have preferred 10 minute miles, but whatever.

Overall, I felt really good about the race. I ended up being a little faster than my goal time so that rocked. My coach seemed really happy with all of us so that was also really nice.

Vegan Book Club: VeganMoFo

2008-10-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

In the month of October my good friend KG hosted our book club. We read the book Three Cups of Tea, which everyone in the world (or at least our community) seems to be reading. Since I've joined the group, they've been really great about making most of our food for book club vegan. I'd like to think I won them over with the vegan meal I made them, but I think it is much more likely that they are just kind, generous people.

KG is a pescatarian (although she calls herself a vegetarian) and is an amazing cook so I always look forward to meals at her house. She out did herself this time.

These creative women generally try to cook around some kind of theme in the book. The host does all the cooking and then each of us bring a bottle of wine. Before we started with wine this time though, KG had tea made for us with little sugar cubes because Afghanis take their wine with sugar.

Here were the main dishes. This first one is kale with "feta" made of tofu. It was delicious! I loved the slightly sour taste of the feta.This next dish I'm not exactly sure how to describe it was kind of like a Meditarian risotto type dish. It had artichokes, tomatoes, and other veggies in it.The final dish was my favorite. It was butternut squash stuffed with apples, walnuts, and I think dried cranberries. It was delicious! Sweet, but not too sweet.Don't ya wish you were in my book club? I'm a lucky woman!

Back to My Old Tricks: VeganMoFo

2008-10-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I promised to bake cookies for an event that an area nonprofit was organizing. I needed to drop them off today, but was too tired after traveling across county yesterday (I was in Philly for the weekend.) to bake them last night. So at 7:30 AM this morning I was up to bake the cookies.

I decided on chocolate chip cookies because I've made them a ton and they're quick. As I was measuring the flour, I was even thinking to myself that I haven't made a huge cooking mistake in quite awhile. Nothing like the curry incident. Good job little one!

I must have totally cursed myself with that prideful moment because when the cookies were baking, I suddenly smelled burning. Yikes! While the picture above shows nice looking cookies, this is the real story.
Over 30 cookies - burnt! They were too bad to serve. If this baking endeavor was just for the fam, I definitely would have called it quits and headed to work, but I had to take a deep breath and start again. I had promised at least 2 dozen cookies.

This guy cheered me up after a long day though. He's taking after his sister. She's always in a suitcase as you can see from the right side of the blog.
Thanks Shakespeare, aka Shakey, for making me smile!

VegNews Readers Please Explain

2008-10-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite magazine is VegNews. In it I see many of my political and ethical positions reflected and reinforced. I love it for so many reasons, but I am flummoxed by an item in the recent Veggie Awards 2008 edition. On page 40 of the magazine, it indicates that 30,000 VegNews readers who voted in their Veggie Awards chose Tony Gonzalez as their favorite vegan athlete.

I'm confused. Am I missing something? Because, all the evidence points to the fact that he's not even a vegetarian. He eats fish! Maybe he's changed his ways. I posted before about the fact that I was really upset by the fact that he was billed as a vegan when he wasn't. If McCain says he's an environmentalist, that doesn't make him one. If someone says Gonzalez is a vegan, that doesn't make him one either. But maybe he gave up salmon? VegNews readers what am I missing?!

My Freezer: VeganMoFo

2008-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Tami of Vegan Appetite tagged me to reveal the contents of my freezer. I'm happy for the direction of what to post for VeganMoFo today [thanks Tami!] because I'm telling you, I'm running low on initiative for MoFo. I guess it's good that this is the last week.

I can't help but attribute who is responsible for each item and why. CC, HT (our former roomie), and I can really pick different stuff, which maybe is why we all got along so well! With no further ado, the contents of my freezer.

Tomato paste (me, I was told you could freeze it. I still haven't tried the frozen portion though)
Edamame (totally me. Two different bags half used actually, duh. from edamame hummus)
Nate's Meatballs (we love these!)
Pecans (from CC's gram who lives part of the year in Texas and says those are the best pecans)
Coffee (container and a couple bags; CC is an addict; my heart palpitations only allows a little for me)
Bananas (several; I hate to waste food and they work for smoothies!)
Several blue ice thingies for picnics/road trips/my sore knee
Ice wrappy thing that keeps white wine cold (one of my favorite all time gifts!)
Frozen berries (HT's idea so we can make berry cobbler any time)
Frozen corn (totally CC; I really don't like frozen veggies!)
Frozen peas (CC again; I blame the midwest in him for his love of peas.)
Pesto (the crappy one that I posted about the other day and still have some left)
Basil (I blame HT for this one and threw it out after I took the freezer pic)
Ginger (me; CC doesn't like ginger but he's the one who told me folks keep it in the freezer to make use easier; how the hell do I know? I followed that direction)
Helen's Kitchen Asian Meals (CC, he likes to try anything new and likely spotted this at a grocery and had to try it. I've never even heard of it.)
Rising Moon Spinach Florentine Ravoli (we all love this!)
Yves tofu dogs (all of us again)
Whole wheat round and long rolls (CC is succumbing to my preference for bread healthier than the white stuff)
Tapioca pearls (HT; we have no idea what to do with these so I guess she's got to come back and use that. Here that HT!)
Cooked frozen squash (This sounds just disgusting to me. CC's best friend gave it us before we helped drive her across the country to her new home on the East Coast. If this gets used, it is all CC.)
Boca Chx Patties Original (Our go to when we're too tired to cook for real.)
Boca Chz Patties Spicy (even better!)
Boca Vegan Burgers (we pretty much never eat these because we prefer the chx patties)
Trader Joe's Fruit Floes Lime Juice frozen popcicles (HT, as far as I can tell, neither CC or I have had a single one, which probably explains why they're still in the freezer. HT moved out a year ago in November. Pathetic, I know!)

Wow, that seems like a lot! I bet you couldn't tell we had all that jammed in there from the photos!

I'm supposed to tag 5 bloggers to do this as well. I thought it would be a good idea to tag folks who I just discovered because of MoFo. I totally understand if you'd rather pass, but consider yourself tagged, if you are listed below. Of course, I encourage any other exhausted MoFo bloggers to also use this as a post. What's in your freezer?

Jenn at Vegan Dance if You Want To
Down Home Vegan
Emo Potato
Heathen Vegan
whoville

A Vegan Among Us: VeganMoFo

2008-10-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

I'm in the burbs of Philly visiting my family. They're much better about the fact that I'm a vegan now. Hell, it has only been almost 11 years. Still, there is always this sentiment that I'm kinda being a pain.

My brother really likes to cook for the family and he usually does a good job making me stuff, but then he also almost always asks me, "and what are you going to eat." I understand he doesn't want to have to make separate dishes for me all the time, but it makes me sad that they don't think it is possible to even just have one meal (ever!) that maybe we're all eating vegan. I'd be happy to cook for everyone, but that never seems to be option.

When I make my "own" dishes, I feel the pressure (which I know many vegans do) to make the best stuff ever or it just perpetuates the, "see, vegan food isn't very tasting" crappola.

So, last night my bro made omni mac and cheese and said how about I give you some elbows to do what you want with? With the limited ingredients I had, I tried to make a red sauce that looked and tasted good. Of course, I had volunteered to make vegan mac and cheese, because as you know, CC and I have tried out our share of different recipes for that, but my bro wasn't going for it.

Tonight members of the extended family are coming over so we'll see how that goes.

8 AM Pesto: VeganMoFo

2008-10-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Because of work and community engagements, I ate out Monday through Wednesday. The previous weekend, however, I had purchased a few things that I was worrying would go bad so I decided that I should make pasta before work Thursday morning.

There is a local guy who makes tofu and is branching out to other spreads and stuff. He makes a pesto that is vegan so I figured I should give it a try. I suspect pesto is one of those things of which people really have their personal preferences. One of the favorite pestos I make is arugula pesto. I say this because I have to admit that this pesto was not very good even though I really wanted to like it. It was too thick and kinda too lemony.

It wasn't bad and I was happy to have it for lunch, but I likely won't buy it again. Still, I appreciate him for making it vegan!

Left Over Smoothie: VeganMoFo

2008-10-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Left Over Smoothie - that really doesn't sound good, but these were largely fruit left overs! I know that lots of vegans make smoothies on a regular basis, but I rarely do. The last time I had a smoothie was when I thought it would heal me. Most of the time when I make smoothies it is because I didn't get to fruit before it is going to be overripe soon. In this case, because I used so many different types of fruit but only needed just a little bit of each for the dessert sushi, I had quite a bit of left overs.

CC wouldn't even try it because it was green. But, hey there's lots of good green smoothies, right?! I thought this was pretty good. The contents were pineapple, pear, kiwi, mint, mango, and a frozen banana.

In case you're wondering, I took the picture of the smoothie with CC's family's old tea set because I also had a cup of green jasmine tea. Plus, it is nice, no?

Halloween Cupcakes: VeganMoFo

2008-10-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

I guess the dessert sushi wore me out because I haven't VeganMoFo posted since Sunday. We have a (work) guest in town and I decided I should at least make her dessert after all the meals in restaurants. I decided on Halloween themed cupcakes. The chocolate cupcakes are from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe.I have no idea why the pics are fuzzy, maybe it gives a scary look? [no idea why this is all underlined either]

Dessert Sushi: VeganMoFo Iron Chef Challenge

2008-10-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

As I previously mentioned, this Iron Chef Challenge initially freaked me out, but now I am indebted to kittee for forcing me to be creative! I'm super glad she said we were "free to interpret sushi in a non-traditional way." [Also, thanks to Jenn for your suggestions and offer to help. Super sweet!]

Don't ask me why, but as soon as I decided I was going to try this, I wanted to figure out a way to make a dessert sushi. Maybe it is because I love making desserts so much or maybe because I've been trying to do kind of unexpected things (at least to me) for these challenges.

My first ideas all included seaweed and I kept trying to figure out how I was going to make it desserty and still use seaweed. I told my book club last night that I was going to be trying sushi today and good ole' KG pulled out a vegetarian sushi book. This woman has tons of veg cookbooks (and even a Vegetarians for Obama pin that I so covet). The name of the book is Vegetarian Sushi Made Easy. Just what I needed! Not only was this veg sushi, but it's made easy. Woot!

I decided to use as an inspiration their Fruit Canape Finger Sushi. Here's the picture from their book.They made several different suggestions of fruits and combinations. I kind a went my own way in terms of exact ingredients once I used them for the inspiration. I still had an uphill battle, however, because ever since my previous partner took our rice maker, I hadn't successfully made rice. What you say? What the hell kinda vegan are you? Oh, believe me, I know. Don't think I don't hang my head in shame. What might be a solution to this fairly significant problem?
Buy a rice maker! While I would have preferred to find a way to get it used because buying things used is basically how I roll now, time was of the essence so off to big box store I went. I got it cheap though so there's that. Thanks Iron Chef Challenge for hopefully now ending my sincere embarrassment that I never freaking make rice. Hilariously, even though I'm pretty sure I did everything right, there was still some burning of a bit of rice. Amazing. We'll hope that was a fluke.

Obviously, I had never made sushi rice before and followed the Vegetarian Sushi Made Easy directions. I made one minor alteration. Their recipe called for a table spoon of honey, which I don't eat so I made that agave instead. I was told that sushi rice called for white rice vinegar, but theirs didn't.

The first step included soaking the rice for one hour in sake, water, and with 4 inches of kombu. I had no idea what kombu was and doubted my local co-op would carry it, but they had a rad little sushi making section. That even had pickled plums and other stuff I wasn't expecting. There were lots of different "sea vegetables, " including kombu.

The book said to add the water, sake, and 4 inches of kombu to the rice and let it soak for one hour. I wasn't sure exactly how they wanted the kombu in there so I put the sheet in like below and after I took the photo, shoved the rest of it down into the water.
After 1 hour, I cooked the rice in the rice maker and then let it sit in the maker for 15 minutes after that. Once it sat, I then took it out of the rice maker and added the remainder of the ingredients to make it sushi rice. Once the rice was all shiny, I followed their directions for making "finger sushi," which basically entails shaping the sushi rice into rectangles using just your fingers and hand. It was definitely much easier when I kept my fingers damp with cool water.

While the rice was cooking, I had been dicing, toasting, and determining bottoms for my dessert sushi. Here's a shot of some of the ingredients pre-prep. I was particularly happy to be able to purchase local sources for several ingredients, including the rice!

Ingredients for my dessert sushi include: (these are in the pic) mango, lemon, persimmon, kiwi, pear, apple, fig, pomegranate, (following not in the pic) mint, toasted coconut, grapes, toasted pecans, crystallized ginger.

Here's a shot of the prep. I particularly like the look of the persimmon, which had a star in the middle of it. I was initially excited to include the persimmon because I thought it was local. They do grow around here pretty plentifully, but it turned out that I guess I was a little early in the season and the persimmon I got was a Japanese one! How apropos.

Mostly what you see above is the fruit cut for the bottom of the dessert sushi. The kiwi looked great, but it was a little limp for eating.

I ended up doing each one uniquely. Here's several shots of the final products.I knew that Japanese crane would come in handy some day!Rather than carrots as a garnish, the orange in the corner is sliced persimmon. One piece is sushi rice on pineapple with persimmon on top. One is a fig with rice and grape. The final piece has sushi rice on a pear with fig slices and toasted pecans.A couple to mention in this shot include the kiwi with mint and the pineapple with crystallized ginger and mango.The above shot is of kiwi, sushi rice, grape, and persimmon. The above is dessert sushi of pear, pomegranate seed and toasted coconut. I really like the toasted coconut as an ingredient.Above we have a sushi dessert that includes fig, mint, and toasted coconut. Another one is on pineapple with mango, crystallized ginger and toasted coconut and the final one is persimmon, pineapple and kiwi.In the above batch, I like the mint standing up at attention.

After all the hard work, what goes better with dessert sushi than a dessert martini? While I was working away on the chopping and assembling, I had chilling vodka infusing with mint and pomegranate seeds. It was just what I needed to help me write this Iron Chef post!

Here's to kittee for coming up with this week's Challenge! It was super fun!

A Woman I Love

2008-10-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Watching John McCain in the debate the other night talk about abortion really irked me. I was absolutely appalled that he could actually put air quotes around the health of the woman. (I'm not a fan of when people say the health of the mother because unless she has children as a result of previous pregnancies or adoption, she's not a mother.)

I've learned a lot about my position on abortion recently. I'm a feminist who has never really had to deal with abortion in "real life." Instead, I've read about reproductive rights extensively and even teach about the subject. Still, I was unsure how I would behave if I unexpectedly found myself pregnant or how I would feel if a loved one were in such a situation.

Several weeks back now, I was suddenly there. One of my best friends told me she was pregnant through a fair amount of tears. I had never seen her cry, which is a big deal considering she's an amazing person who has faced many situations in which tears would be appropriate. For example, she had a couple of family members die in the World Trade Center Towers on September 11th. Her father, most likely because of his service in Vietnam, suffers from a disease that has resulted in the loss of all his hair everywhere on his body. As far as I can tell, our place of employment has exploited her kindness and professionalism in a variety of ways. Her younger sister has been seriously suffering for a couple of years with a series of illnesses that they can't figure out. Still, I never saw her cry until that day. The day she told me she was pregnant.

She's happily life partnered and comparatively comfortable financially. The issues that the media and people like McCain would have you believe were at play - she just didn't want to have a kid, she was irresponsible, etc - were simply not present. The reason she was crying and I felt like my world was crashing in on me when she told me the news was because she suffers from two different heart ailments. She wasn't supposed to get pregnant. Ever. It is very simple. Pregnancy can kill her.

I can't tell you how scared I was at this news and how scared I still am today. The mass of cells can not supersede this incredible human being. A woman who inspires students daily. A person who is admired and loved by all who know her. How could we contend that a conglomerate of cells inside her body could possibly be more important than her? How could we say her "health" doesn't matter McCain?

She has an advanced degree. In fact, she's one of the smartest people I know. She's extremely conscious of her body and very healthy. With all of that, she didn't find out she was pregnant until a little after 12 weeks. She had bled. There was no reason for her to suspect she was pregnant. They had used birth control. She found out because she was throwing up so much. She had called out of work because she thought she had food poisoning. Of course, we know now that wasn't what it was.

So, think about this. She's a person with all the advantages in the world. Yet, she doesn't find out she is pregnant until the traditional Roe window of three months has almost expired. Still, she suffers from lifelong heart conditions that makes carrying a fetus extremely risky for her health, and, yes, her life. Is this what you mean by the health exemption being manipulated by "pro-abortion extremists," McCain?

I don't care how late in the pregnancy it gets. My friend's life matters. She should not simply be used as a machine to produce. I worry about her all the time. I can't imagine how she must feel.

How do you get across admiration and deep love? I don't know. She teaches me things all the time, which is so wonderful considering I was first literally her teacher. Will this all work out? She's okay so far. The fetus/body snatcher/mass of cells also seems to be okay so far. I offer salutations to the universe that both will stay that way. But, I promise you, I will fight with every ounce of will in my body to save her if necessary. I will do everything in my power to support her choice of a "late term abortion" if it becomes what she needs. I can't lose her.

So, things are different in my life and my political views now. Reproductive rights are no longer abstract to me. They have a face and it is one I love.

Deep Shit: Iron Chef Challenge III

2008-10-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I had committed myself to participating in all of the Iron Chef Challenges during VeganMoFo, because, you know, Iron Chef Challenges are just totally up my alley, but now, I'm in some seriously deep shit. Katie from Don't Eat of the Sidewalk was consistent in picking seasonal ingredients, which I really liked.

This week Kittee is picking the ingredients and she picked fucking (sorry Ma) sushi! CC hates sushi so while I love it, not only do I rarely get it, but my still fairly new kitchen skills have not gone anywhere near sushi. Ahhhhhhhhhh! I don't know if I can even do this! Fuck. Sorry again. This might take all my skills and all day Sunday. Wish me luck.

HT - want to come up and help your poor little one?

A Salad Out: VeganMoFo

2008-10-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

CC and I decided we'd meet downtown after an exhausting week. Our first choice was way crowded so we went for option number two. I was craving a salad because my crazy work schedule had resulted in a less than stellar (in terms of healthy food) week.

The salad we decided on included strawberries and sliced almonds. I'm of the mind that all good salads include some kind of nut and some kind of fruit. Of course, any salad with avocado is also tops. I can live on avocado alone!

We also ordered a "Wild Mushroom" pizza. It had mushrooms and kalamata olives on it. No cheese, of course. No pic because I apparently was enjoying myself so much that I forgot to take one.

Everything was great. Just what we needed. The drinks didn't hurt of course. A great night. One of the things we like best about where we live is that we rarely need to drive. We walk or bike downtown. We walk or bike to work. We can pretty much walk or bike most places. We realize we're incredibly lucky. Anyways, a nice night.

Nightcap: VeganMoFo Style

2008-10-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that this is an awfully shitty MoFo and I'm running low on good ones of late. So, if you doubt my vegan prowess, go check out my last Iron Chef Challenge and maybe that will redeem me?

Perhaps you'll feel bad for me and realize I needed that nightcap considering I didn't get a chance to eat a single thing today (with the exception of a cup of coffee if that counts) until 2:30 PM and didn't get home for work until 7:30 PM. I really need some crap to get off my plate.

Back to the nightcap. It is Kahlua and soy milk. Delicious. Just what I need. I feel like Kahlua should be on a I Can't Believe It's Vegan list. All good.

The Next American President in 19 Days?

2008-10-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

I came into the last debate a half hour in. Everything I saw kept me amazed that we have the opportunity to actually elect such an incredible person to be the next President of the United States. There were actually times when I teared up.

What wasn't at all surprising was the hoard of political commentators who immediately said that McCain clearly gained and won. Bennett started the whole argument and was actually contending that Senator McCain won! What the hell? Was he watching the same debate? Perhaps not surprisingly 10 minutes later when the polls were available, Bennett was missing. Where did he go? That was kind of weird.

The polls - yep, you guessed it. Obama won hands down. There was no doubt as far as the American people were concerned. McCain only won with Republicans. Obama won with both Democrats and Independents - and by a lot. It was kinda hilarious to see the pundits suddenly back track from their "McCain won!" statements. Maybe that's why Bennett left. He at least had enough commitment to his cause and views that he wasn't going to change his position.

After they saw the numbers, the "analysts" were pretty much universally of the opinion that it was pretty impossible for McCain to close the gap in 19 days. Can I really believe this? Can I let myself?

A little disclosure - because I've kinda lost all faith in the American people after they re-elected Bush, I have kept aloof, definitely emotionally aloof, from the possibility that we could have real change in the U.S. As I watched the final debate tonight, I realized there is no doubt now. I'm invested. I realize we have an opportunity to actually elect a person who has the values we need and the policy ideas that can improve this country.

I'll let you in on another secret. Even though I might come across as kinda intense (or some of my male students tell me), I'm super sensitive. The fact that Obama has some how ignited a deep sincere hope in me is very scary. I'm not sure what I'll do if he doesn't win.

Would I still be an American? If Americans reject a chance to actually put our country on the path that we need to be on and instead chose division (and hatred in some cases), could I live with that? Could I still consider myself American? I don't know.

The thing that matters most to me in this world is justice. It is why I fight tirelessly for women, equality for people of color and poor people, the LGTBQ community, and animals. It's hard to live in a world that daily doles out injustice like it's going out of style. We have the chance to choose justice, but will we? What will U.S. voters do?

I'll be in the cradle of the U.S. on election day, New York City. On that day, I'll either rejoice like I have few times in my life or feel a sorrow so deep it will be painful. It is up to you America. Please do the right thing.

Breakfast at Glenelly Inn: VeganMoFo

2008-10-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

The picture above is of the specialized menu that the owner of the Glenelly Inn in Glenn Ellen, CA made for me when I was a guest at her inn. You can tell I'm late posting about this given that the date is July 20th, but that's what VeganMoFo is for - catching up on vegan food posts we should have already done!

With only one day's notice, the owner was kind enough to make me an entire vegan breakfast. The menu consisted of freshly squeezed orange juice, fruit, corn muffins, and tofu with salsa and vegan sausage.

Glenn Ellen is a tiny town outside of Sonoma. The Glenelly Inn cottages were very nice and the grounds beautiful. It is nice to find a bed and breakfast that is willing to accommodate vegans!

Sorry this is so short, but I need to keep up my streak! We're pretty much half way through VeganMoFo and I'm still 15 for 15!

Chocolate Mousse Pie: VeganMoFo

2008-10-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

So you can probably tell by the picture that this dessert was so inviting that I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture! It is another recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Don't ask me what the hell is up with that picture! I mean, shouldn't I be like totally banned from food blogging considering the rest of y'all take the most beautiful pictures and I can't even get a passable one? More reason for why I really shouldn't only food blog, but this MoFo is making it hard! Don't ya feel bad for the poor little one? [I promise Jen to finish my race report soon!]

This is the Chocolate Mousse recipe that I put into an Oreo cookie prepared crust. I was supposed to make raspberry sauce with the raspberries, but I didn't get to it before we wanted the pie. The mousse is fairly rich so I think the raspberry sauce would definitely work well with it.

I ended up making the raspberry sauce the next day. The recipe was also from Joy of Vegan Baking. CC used the sauce not only on the pie, but also on ice cream. It was super easy to make and delicious! I'll definitely be using that recipe the next time I'm looking for raspberry sauce.

Pumpkin Pie: VeganMoFo

2008-10-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

What goes perfectly with a Thanksgiving dinner? Why, vegan pumpkin pie, of course! I believe this was the first ever pumpkin pie (vegan or otherwise) I made. Last fall I made a delicious vegan pumpkin cheese cake, but not a pumpkin pie.

The pumpkin pie recipe was from The Joy of Vegan Baking. It called for firm Silken tofu, but I only had soft Silken tofu. I think that affected the consistency. I really loved the flavor and the toasted pecans on the top. I'll be making this recipe again with the firm Silken tofu. CC gives it 5 out of 5 stars!

Iron Chef Challenge 2: VeganMoFo

2008-10-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

This week's Iron Chef Challenge had as its secret ingredients pears and nuts. I stuck with the theme of picking strange (considering their nonveganness) inspiration recipes. It is kind of like HGTV shows that talk about the Inspiration Rooms. Instead of Inspiration Rooms, I have Inspiration Recipes.

Last week's Iron Chef challenge had as its Inspiration Recipe Autumn Chicken Pot Pie. My vegan alternative came out incredibly delicious and is definitely a recipe I'll be making again. I think I'd leave the apricots out next time though.

Anyway, on to today's challenge! The Inspiration Recipe for this week was South Beach Diet Friendly Whole W heat Stuffing with Sage, Italian Sausage, and Pear. Isn't that ironic and kinda funny? I think all that the South Beach-eat-animals-all-the-time-diet-crappola is sad. My Iron Chef Challenge keeps the carbs low and the protein high without slaughter! I even added almonds to put a little one spin on it. Oh yeah, and to make sure I had the two secret ingredients covered.

Here's The Little One's Stuffing recipe based on the Inspiration Recipe.

A little olive oil
4 cups whole wheat sourdough bread cut up into cubes (hmm. does sourdough increase the carbs? good thing I don't really care about that)
1 Tube Gimme Lean Vegan sausage
Vegetable Broth (probably about 1 cup - see below)
5 stalks of celery, chopped small (my celery stalks were fairly small. I'd say four if they aren't.)
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 Bosc pears (skins left on), chopped small
1 T chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp thyme
Equivalent of one egg using EnerG Egg Replacer
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
salt and pepper to taste

Something you need to decide at the outset is whether you like your stuffing bread crispy or not. I wasn't sure so I followed the Inspiration Recipe, but once I actually tried the stuffing I decided I would have preferred it less crunchy. Next time I'll skip this step. Here it is - preheat oven to 350. Toast the 4 cups of bread for 20 minutes.

While bread is toasting, slice the Gimme Lean and then brown it on both sides in olive oil. While that is cooking, chop the other ingredients. Once the Gimme Lean sausages are all browned on both sides, add a couple of table spoons of vegetable broth to the pan and then cook the celery and onion in there until softened, about 5 minutes. [I think next time I'll cook the onion and celery in Earth Balance instead of broth.] Add the 2 chopped pears, parsley, sage, and thyme. After a couple of minutes add the almonds. After a couple more minutes, you should be ready to combine it with the rest of the stuff.

Mix all the ingredients together - bread, sausage, sauteed combination, EnerG Egg Replacer equivalent of one egg, and about a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Put in oven (still at 350) covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Uncover after 20 minutes and then bake an additional 20 minutes.At this point it was good, but I wasn't particularly appreciative of the hard toast so I added a bit more vegetable broth and put it in for 10 more minutes so that it would be hot and done at the same time that our delicious Tofurky roast was.Here's our early Thanksgiving meal. My Challenge stuffing, red potatos, onions, carrots, and a slice of Tofurky roast made a fabulous meal!

I even made my first ever pumpkin pie, but I'm afraid that's going to have to wait until tomorrow's MoFo. This has been enough for one day! What am I thankful for on this early Thanksgiving? Why, VeganMoFo, of course!

Delivered Chinese:VeganMoFo

2008-10-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

Considering that CC and I are pretty much sick as dogs, I suggested that we order Chinese food to be delivered. Our local Chinese restaurant has a whole "natural" vegetarian menu. Gosh, I love living in Cali! Above are my current two favorite dishes - Kung Pao Chix and Sweet and Sour Chix, both vegan of course. They were yummy! Hardly are they jammed pack with antioxidants or other such good things that we likely should be eating, but our mouths thank us.

After a few days of pretty crappy VeganMoFo posting, tomorrow I promise big things. I'll be participating in the Iron Chef Challenge and I'm excited about my plans. Last week was really fun (although more chaotic than I would have like) so I'm looking forward to this! The secret ingredients are pears and nuts. Wish me luck in creating vegan deliciousness!

Grilled Cheese: VeganMoFo

2008-10-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, this VeganMoFo is exhausting! Isa was nice enough to say we only have to post 5 times a week, but now that I've been posting every day, I REALLY don't want to mess up my streak. Therefore, here's a boring ol' grilled cheese.I generally don't eat vegan cheese because I don't think it tastes all that amazing and it is super processed, but my period made me do it. Of course, almost every time I break my rule and eat said cheese it makes me sick to my stomach. Yep, that's what happened last night as well. That's what I get.

Maybe it's not the VeganMoFo that's making me exhausted maybe it's, I don't know, (a) the period (b) the cold and/or (c) the bullshit work stuff I've been having to put up with lately. Isn't the little one so pleasant today? Loving me means loving me even when I'm cranky friends. ;)