Playing Catch Up (Project 358: Days 111 - 121)

Oh, goodness me, I am so far behind on blog posts, that I'm beginning to get overwhelmed. So, I'm gonna go ahead and get a bunch of these Project 358 posts out of the way all at once, so I can get on to the more substantial ones tomorrow night (hopefully?). Here we go again, catchin' up...

Day 111: Si, Muchos Gracias!

This is a sticker from my new favorite restaurant, Gracias Madre. On the down side, it's in San Francisco. On the upside, it's another reason to get my ass to San Francisco! Stay tuned for a full review of the restaurant in a future post!

Days 112 and 113: Photos to come in a separate post, the contents of which I cannot disclose at this juncture. Oh my, isn't the suspense just killing you?? (Don't let it. I'm only trying to get you to keep reading my blog. My ego depends on you!)

Day 114: Remnants of Kid Dinner

Day 114 was my mother's birthday, her 60th in fact. I knew that she was struggling with this number a bit and decided that while we were at my parents' house for dinner that night, I would take a beautiful candid portrait of her and then write a heart-felt blog post tribute to her. Aaannd...then, life happened. Amidst the typical chaos involved in the process of leaving the house with children, I forgot to even bring my camera. And then I neglected to realize I forgot it. Beautiful candid portrait of Mom? Didn't happen. After a lovely, but tiring, dinner (see: kids), we came home and put the little ones to bed. Bleary-eyed and thirsty, I headed to the kitchen to fill my water bottle. It was there that I saw a) my camera, which reminded me that I had not yet taken a "photo of the day" and b) the sad plate of food pictured above which quickly, and without much thought, became my photo subject. Heart-felt blog post tribute to the woman who birthed me? Sorry, Mom. Maybe the one I wrote last year can suffice?

Day 115: "Look What I Found, Mom!"

A little backyard treasure, discovered by my daughter. Our neighbors have a peach tree; I assume that's where this came from. Isn't it beautiful? So simple and yet, so complex: the potential for an entire tree, contained in the palm of a small child's hand. Miraculous!

Day 116: For The Birds

A bird house, a preschool craft, decorated by my beautiful, sweet, incredibly creative son. The birds have yet to inhabit it, but it is still one of my favorite things in the back yard.

Day 117: Confounding Creepy Crawly

As I was picking aphids off of my beloved green babies (aka, my vegetable garden) the other night, I came across this strange little creature. As I'd hate to dispose of a possibly beneficial insect, I let the little guy be. Still, for future purposes, I'd like to know: do any of you know WTF it is? Is it going to suck the life out of my plants?? I need to KNOW, people!

Day 118: Cinco de Mayo Feast

My husband loooooves to eat Mexican food and, lucky me, he also finds great pleasure in cooking the stuff! This past Thursday, he channeled that love into a delicious Cinco de Mayo feast. To drink: margaritas. Side dishes: homemade (spicy!) Mexican rice and mashed pinto beans. Main course: vegan "carnitas" tacos topped with tomatoes, avocado, spinach, and homemade salsa. YUM! (For the carnitas, Stephen followed (roughly) this recipe from the awesome blog, Vegan Dad. It was super tasty!) Thanks, Hubby!

Day 119: Date Night, Miyagi Sushi

Stephen and I had the best date night on Friday, starting out with dinner at Miyagi and finishing off with an incredibly entertaining comedy show at Laughs Unlimited. Above is the salad we consumed, feverishly (ohmygoditwassogoooood!), during dinner. Cucumbers, strawberries, seaweed, carrots, sesame seeds, and sunflower sprouts in some sort of vinegar based HEAVEN. Give. Me. More.

Bonus Photo!

The above photo is a bonus (how exciting!); I simply had to share how incredibly awesome these sushi rolls were. The roll on the left is the "Vegan Roll," filled with all sorts of yummy vegetables and wrapped in some fancy paper-thin soy thingy. Result? Deliciousness! The one on the left is called the "Tricky Nicky" or something along those lines. It's got asparagus tempura and sweet potato inside and is topped with avocado and some seriously tasty sauces. Need I say more? Get me back to Miyagi!

Day 120: This Photo Makes My Heart Feel All Bursty

The above photo was taken at Farm Sanctuary, located in Orland, CA. A full review of our trip to this beautiful farm is forth coming! Best Mother's Day ever!!! (Stephen had to work on the actual Mother's Day, so we celebrated on Saturday instead.)

Day 121: So Lucky To Be A Mama!

I snapped this photo with my camera phone* on the couch with my kiddos today. Gosh, those little monsters can drive me absolutely bonkers sometimes, but I wouldn't trade 'em for nothin'. Being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me, hands down.

*Yes, my phone is ANCIENT, which explains the stellar quality of this photo.

Self Portrait Series - 1 (Project 358: Days 108 - 110)

Our Spring Break was a busy one this year. My younger sister got married on Friday, so the days leading up to the big event were filled with the bachelorette party, the rehearsal dinner, and many frantic moments trying to tie together all the loose ends. It was a lot of fun, and it was wonderful getting to spend so much time with family, but by the end of it, Stephen, the kids, and I were all completely worn out. Hence our decision Monday night, the last night of Stephen's vacation, to order takeout from our local Japanese restaurant, Ninja Sushi. We ordered vegetable tempura, miso soup, and kappa maki (cucumber roll). As always, it tasted fantastic and was worth every penny.

Day 108: End Of Vacay Take-Out

The morning Stephen had to go back to work, Evan got up early to spend some time with Daddy before he had to leave. This has become their pre-work ritual. They chat and eat breakfast together while Elinor and I laze around in bed a while longer, lightly dozing. When it was time for Stephen to leave, Elinor was still asleep, so Stephen turned on a movie for Evan in the living room and kissed the three of us goodbye. A few minutes later, Elinor woke up, climbed out of bed, and headed down the hall to see what her brother was up to. I layed in bed a few moments longer, wishing I could let myself drift softly to sleep, but knowing that leaving my children to their own devices was a very bad idea. Grudgingly, I pulled myself out of bed, put on my slippers and glasses and headed down the hall, wondering what sort of scene I would find. Elinor singing and dancing on the kitchen counter using my chef's knife as a microphone? Evan hiding in a corner eating an entire bag of dark chocolate M&Ms? These children were capable of anything.

Much to my surprise and delight, I found the two of them snuggled under a blanket on the couch together, watching a movie and looking at the pictures in a big book of children's poems. I smiled and kissed them, took a photo to capture the precious moment, and thought, Hmmm...maybe I should go back to bed... (Don't worry, Stephen, I didn't. I know better than to push my luck.)

Day 109: Angels (When They Want To Be)

When I first started this Project 365 I remember reading on the Flickr website a suggestion to take a photo of yourself at least once a month. I thought this was a good idea and decided that I would give it a go. Before I knew it, January had passed and I had not taken a photo of myself. February and March soon followed, both lacking the inclusion of a self-portrait. Last night, I put the kids to bed and was sitting down on the couch for some much-needed veg time when I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet. Feeling uninspired to photograph anything in my house, I decided to take a self-portrait. Hopefully I will remember to do the same for the remaining eight months of the project. This rapid aging process I seem to be experiencing lately must be documented!

Day 110: Self-Portrait, April 2011

Project 365: Days 102 - 107

Day 102: Daddy Braces Himself For Impact

Day 103: Mid-Lick

Day 104: My Lovely Little Fam

Day 105: My Munchkins At The Wedding

Day 106: Fail. No photo.

Day 107: May Be Time To Get This Boy To The Dentist

Project 358: Days 95 - 101

Day 95: Watching The World Go By

Day 96: Being A Mommy Is Serious Business

Day 97: Orange Blossom At Dusk

Day 98: Art, Patiently Waiting To Be Made

Day 99: Hippie Child, Apple Blossom Festival, Sebastopol

Day 100: Flowers Outside the Legion of Honor, San Francisco

Day 101: Oddities, General Bead, San Francisco

Dinners, Lately

Perhaps inspired by my husband's culinary cofidence, I have been experimenting more in the kitchen these days, choosing to view dinnertime as an opportunity for creative expression, rather than a chore. Okay, so that may be romanticizing the whole thing a bit, but I have found that I enjoy cooking much more when I am not tied to a recipe. And the results have been fantastic! Here are a few things that I've made:

Brussel Sprouts w/Tempeh Bacon and Toasted Pecans, Brown/Red/Wild Rice Blend, Baked Sweet Potato

The brussel sprout dish pictured above was inspired by a similar one (using real bacon) featured on a PBS cooking/gardening show I watched recently. For my version, I used store-bought tempeh and infused it with a bacon-like flavor using this marinade recipe (alright, so I did use one recipe). As the tempeh finished marinating, I washed the brussel sprouts and then threw them in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water for about two or three minutes, just enough time to take away the raw edge. I then trimmed and quartered (or halved, depending on the size) the sprouts before setting them aside. Next, I took a handful of pecans and popped 'em in the toaster oven, heated to 400 degrees. I removed the tempeh from it's marinade and placed the strips in a heated skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. When the bacon had browned a bit, I added a diced shallot and the brussel sprouts. It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten about the pecans, which really only needed to be toasted for about 5 minutes. About half of the pecans were salvageable, so I chopped those and tossed them into the pan as well. Mixed it all together and finished it off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I am so proud of how this dish turned out. Stephen and I both thought it was delicious (and even better the next day, cold). I served it with a mix of brown, red, and wild rice and baked sweet potatoes topped with Earth Balance, salt and pepper. Actually, Stephen opted to put brown sugar on top of his. I realize this is common practice, but I just don't get it. Sweet potatoes are so sweet on their own! Hence the name, I guess. Also, next time I'll be sure not to cook the potatoes quite so long; they turned out rather mushy.

Cheese-less Hella Veggies Pizza

It is official: pizza does not have to be smothered in cheese in order to be delicious. The beautiful pie pictured above has not an ounce of dairy on it and, believe me, it was supremely scrumdiddlyumptious. The night that we ate this, I was looking to make a quick and easy meal, so I went ahead and used a store-bought crust (Mama Mary's Thin 'n' Crispy). While I can appreciate a big thick chewy crust, my personal preference is for thin and slightly crunchy, so Mama Mary's was perfect (plus, it's completely dairy-free, whereas many store-bought crusts include cheese). They also have a whole wheat version but, unfortunately, my grocery store was not carrying it at the time. One of these days, when I have more time on my hands, I'll have a go at making my own crust. My dear friend Keri makes a delicious one that she swears is super simple (and can be made using whole wheat flour). If I ever get around to doing that, I'll be sure to write a post about it.

Now, getting back to the pizza I actually did make. First, I brushed the crust with a thin coat of olive oil, followed by a very generous coat of bottled tomato basil pasta sauce. Next I took one sliced zucchini, one coarsely chopped red bell pepper, a large handful of sliced white mushrooms, and a couple small handfuls of baby spinach and threw 'em all into a large bowl where I drizzled and tossed them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I spooned the veggie mixture onto the crust and sprinkled the whole thing generously with Italian seasoning. Finally I popped it into a 425 degree oven for ten minutes on a pizza pan and an additional eight minutes directly on the rack. And then, I ate it. Well, we ate it together, Stephen and I, every last crumb. And didn't feel gross and bloated afterward. Now that's my kinda' pizza!

Gardein Tuscan Breasts, Rotini w/Kale and Tomatoes, Oven Roasted Asparagus

The meal pictured above was my least favorite of the four featured in this post. BUT, patting myself on the back here a bit, the one thing I didn't really like about it was the thing I didn't make myself. Vegan chef Tal Ronnen has a (fairly) new line of plant-based (vegan) imitation meats produced under the brand name Gardein. The "Tuscan Breast" pictured above is one of the products from that line. Now, I think Tal Ronnen is totally awesome and I am fully supportive of this line because it seems to be helpful in getting meat eaters to sample the veg lifestyle (the textures and flavors are strikingly similar to the "real thing"). That said, I don't really think this stuff is for me. For the most part, I try to avoid fake meats for the simple fact that they are highly processed and I'd rather have a diet made up of mostly whole foods and less processed soy products such as tempeh and tofu. That said, I've been known to cook up a Boca Burger on nights that I'm eating alone and don't want to bother with anything more complicated. The funny thing is, when it comes to processed fake meat, it tastes best to me when the meat it is imitating is processed itself. You know, chicken nuggets, sausage patties, that sort of thing. I mean, Morningstar has some products that taste good. (Unfortunately, though, they all contain eggs and dairy. Sad face.) When processed soy products try to imitate plain old unprocessed meat, something gets lost in the translation. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just too realistic and that realism is exactly what turned me off. Either way, I will not be buying those again (but that doesn't mean you shouldn't!).

For the pasta dish, I boiled whole wheat rotini and threw a bunch of chopped kale in during the last minute. After draining the pasta/kale mixture, I put it all in a bowl and mixed in grape tomatoes (halved), fresh basil, the juice of one lemon, sea salt, black pepper, and nutritional yeast, which gave it a slightly cheesy/nutty texture and taste. This side dish took center stage as Stephen and I gobbled it up greedily. For the second side dish, I tossed asparagus in olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper and oven roasted it to perfection.

Later, as I was packaging up the leftovers, I decided to chop up the leftover asparagus and throw it in with the pasta. I added a splash of balsamic vinaigrette to keep it from getting too dry and stuck it in the fridge. The next day, we had a delicious cold pasta salad on our hands. Our forks were fighting in that bowl, let me tell you.

Seitan and Veggies in Red Curry Sauce Over Brown Rice, Spicy Oven-Roasted Purple Potatoes

My husband loves Thai food. He says that it is right up there with Mexican as his two favorite types of food. Coincidentally, he is the one that first introduced me to Thai food. (And I introduced him to Indian; our love was based on curry.) It had been a while since I cooked a Thai-inspired meal, so I decided to give it a go with my new-found culinary confidence. Now, I could've gotten all fancy and created my own curry sauce but, honestly, I'm not feeling that confident yet. Plus, I was tired. I mean, I have kids, which, dude. If you don't know, I'm telling you: that shit makes you tired. Anywho, I opted to go the store-bought route and picked up a jar of Thai Kitchen's Red Curry Paste and a can of their Lite Coconut Milk. I simmered the two together with one tablespoon of brown sugar before adding one sliced yellow onion, one sliced red bell pepper, and one 8 oz. package of seitan. I stirred in some chopped fresh basil near the end. I served this delectable dish over brown rice. On the side, I served spicy oven-roasted purple potatoes: purple potatoes chopped and tossed in olive oil, curry powder, ground coriander, ground turmeric, a touch of ground red pepper, sea salt, and black pepper and then roasted in a 475 degree oven for 30 minutes. They were perfectly crispy-soft with just the right amount of spice. 

Stephen really enjoyed this Thai-inspired dinner and made it very clear throughout the entire meal. It is so rewarding to me to have a husband who is so vocal in his appreciation of the time and effort I put into a meal. Makes it all worth it. Even better, there were plenty of leftovers for him to take to work the next day, which saved us money and him time.

.  .  .  .  .

Okay, so this was a pretty lengthy post. Hopefully at least a few of you made it through.

What have you been making for dinner lately?

Project 358: Days 87 - 94

Day 87: Ha. Ha.

This made me laugh out loud. Still, I'm not sure if it's really funny, or not funny at all.

Day 88: WTF?

Remember that beautiful loaf of whole wheat bread I made a couple weeks ago? So, umm, this atrocity pictured above is whole wheat loaf #2. Yeah. Not so appetizing, right? The recipe I followed (for both loaves) gave instructions for a 1.5 lb. loaf and a 2 lb. loaf. First try, I did 1.5 and it turned out perfectly. Second time around I thought, Hey, why not try a two pounder? We eat a lot of bread...It'll last longer. Big mistake, apparently. WTF happened here??

Day 89: The Family Bed

I recently attended a required preschool parent meeting and when I returned home, around a quarter to nine at night, this is how I found my family. Don't you just want to snuggle right into that photo? Okay, you probably don't. But, gosh, I sure as hell do.

Day 90: Good Things Come in Small Packages

Okay, so I use reusable bags for the grocery store and Target, but have been feeling like I need something smaller to whip out for small or random purchases. You know, a couple CDs, a tank top, or a small batch of farmer's market produce, that sort of thing. Inspired by my older sister, who always has a handy reusable bag (or two) tucked neatly inside her purse, I decided to peruse Amazon and buy one for myself. Pictured above is the bag that I chose. It folds up neatly and discreetly into this charming little strawberry. I made sure to get my hand in the photo so you can see just how teeny weeny it is. Not a bother at all to pop it in my purse, and below is what it looks like in its full form.

Tada!

Pretty cool, no?

Day 91: Evan's "Rainforest" 

If I had to guess Evan's favorite activity of late, it would definitely be drawing. It's the first thing he wants to do in the morning, the first thing he wants to do when he gets home from school, the last thing he wants to do at night before bed. He will sit at the kitchen table for literally hours on end, drawing elaborate pictures and telling even more elaborate stories about them. I hope he never grows tired of creating art. I will certainly never grow tired of admiring it.

Day 92: Pensive Little Man

Oh, Evan Samuel, my how you've grown.

Day 93: Soaking In The Sun

Flip flop weather is here again, hallelujah!

Day 94: Good Morning!

One of my favorite ways to start the day is with a green smoothie. It's such an easy and delicious way to get in a couple servings of leafy greens, first thing in the morning. For this one, a tried to use the following recipe, which I got from VegNews Magazine's online component:

Vegan Southern Sunrise Smoothie

3 cups collard greens

1 banana

2 cups strawberries

3 cups peaches, chopped

2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond)

(I also added some blueberries, even though the recipe didn't call for them.)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Now, I don't know what kind of industrial-sized blender the author of the recipe used, but there was no way I was going to be able to fit all that stuff into my very normal-sized KitchenAid. So, I had to improvise a little bit with the numbers to get it to work. I think I may have been a little heavy-handed with the collard greens because when I first tried it, it tasted very, very green. I squeezed the juice from one lemon into the concoction and gave it another spin in the blender. The acidity of the lemon completely cut through the bitterness of the collard greens and allowed the sweet flavors of the fruit to shine. Even the kids liked it! I thought they might be turned off by the color, but they actually thought it was really cool and sucked their servings down in no time flat.

Thrift Store Finds (Project 358: Day 85)

The sun came out last week, for the entire week, and is still shining bright now as I write this. The temperature has ranged from the mid-70s to low 80s, and I have been loving every moment of it, spending as much time outside as possible. In between playing in the backyard and taking trips to the neighborhood park, I had to run a couple of errands, to Target to buy various household items, and to Old Navy to exchange a sweater I bought online for a different size (which they didn't have, darn it). Walking in to Old Navy, I was overcome with a very strong urge to spend, spend, spend! They had just received a new shipment of Spring clothing: sundresses, flowy skirts, shorts, capris, tank tops and flip flops in every color you can imagine. I felt like a kid in a candy store, my eyes wide with excitement.

And then I remembered something, a New Year's Resolution I made waaaaay back in January, that I haven't even begun to fulfill yet: "Shop at thrift stores (for clothing, decor, housewares) as much as possible before buying new." Hm. Well, I really don't think Old Navy qualifies as a thrift store, so I gathered up every ounce of resolve I had in my body and left the store empty handed. I made plans in my head to visit a thrift store later in the week.

On Thursday, I headed to Thrift Town in Carmichael to see what kind of second-hand goodies I could find. I love Thrift Town because it is huge and super-organized. Clothing is sorted not only by type (pants, shirts, dresses, etc.), but also by size and color. This really cuts down on the amount of time you have to spend digging for gold.

This is what I found:

Day 85: Thrift Store Finds

• Blue Corduroy Pants, BCBG Max Azria, $3.99
• Yellow Plastic Pendant Earrings, Brand Unknown, $1.99
• Vintage Belted Dress, Ann Taylor, $3.99

When I say vintage, I'm talking 80s vintage. I mean, look at the wide belt. And, the thing has shoulder pads. Still, I kind of see it as an 80s era nod to the 40s and think if I removed the shoulder pads and possibly had it shortened to about knee-length, it could be pretty cute. Here is a picture of the fabric up close (it looks almost black in the photos, but is actually navy blue):

And here is closer view of the earrings:

I love, love, love the color yellow, but it is not the most flattering shade for my skin tone. Accessorizing with it is an easy and fun solution to this predicament. These earrings allow me to delight myself with the sunny shade without making myself look like death warmed over. They provide the perfect pop of color to a basic jeans and tee or black and white ensemble.

While standing in the checkout line, I noticed this giant tub of foam stickers shaped like the letters of the alphabet: 

It was brand-new, completely full and priced at $1.99. I decided it was too good a deal to pass up, considering this sort of thing would cost roughly 5 bucks at a place like Michael's. The kids have been having fun crafting with them, but I may end up donating the tub to Evan's preschool classroom.

So, to recap, I purchased a pair of pants, a vintage dress, a pair of earrings, and a Tub O' Foamies Stickers all for the low price of $11.96 plus tax. It didn't exactly cure my urge to buy pretty Spring clothing, but overall, I think the trip was a success.

The Sacramento area is loaded with thrift stores, antique stores, and cool second hand clothing shops. I look forward to checking out more of them in the future, indulging my urge to shop, without the guilt of creating more waste. Win-win!

Freshly Baked

See that bread? You guys, I totally baked it myself! Okay, so I actually threw a bunch of ingredients into a bread machine and let it do all the work, but still! Would you look at that thing? Pure whole wheat perfection. (Did I mention that I made it myself?)

Bread is expensive. A decent loaf of 100% whole wheat sandwich bread that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup can run you upwards of $4. And even if it doesn't contain HFCS, it often contains preservatives or weird (no doubt genetically modified) soy ingredients. Just what, exactly, is enzyme-modified soy lecithin, anyway? And why do I need it in my bread? The lovely loaf of bread pictured above was made from eight ingredients, all recognizable to me: water, oil, salt, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and active dry yeast. Bonus: it's vegan. No milk in this bread, folks!

The best part is that it's totally delicious. No, wait! It's that the kids love it. Or that it's cheap! Easy! Makes the house smell like a dream!

I am totally sold. Thanks, Mom, for the hand-me-down. I'm gonna use the hell out of it.

Last Night's Dinner (Project 358: Day 84)

Day 84: Last Night's Dinner

Panko-crusted tofu cutlets, quinoa, steamed kale seasoned with garlic and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

Mustache March (Project 358: Day 83)

Day 83: Mustache March

Some guys in the fire department celebrate "Mustache March" every year by growing out a mustache (the only facial hair allowed in the department) for the entire month of March. This is what Stephen's looked like yesterday, the final day of the month.

It actually doesn't look that bad on him, but I can't say I'll be sad when it's gone, which he swears will happen after this next medic rotation. I'm not so sure I believe him. He's got several guys in the department, and his son, telling him it suits him well and he should keep it. 

Hm. What do you guys think?