Kitchen Successes and NieNie Love October 31, 2008

Some things I made in my kitchen this last week that turned out lovely:

 

Homemade Pizza.  I made my own dough for the first time.  Who knew it was so easy?  and tasty? topped with my own sauce (roughly: 1/2 can tomato sauce, 1/2 can tomato paste, fresh garlic, basil, fresh cracked pepper, salt), chopped zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, broccoli and a little bit of mozzarella on top.  oooh so good.  you really must try it.

 

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula:  I made some changes to this recipe.

• I cut all of the amounts in half, since I’m cooking for two and a half people.
• brown rice fusilli pasta instead of the less healthy semolina version
• rice milk/soy creamer instead of the heavy cream
• scale back the lemon or leave it out entirely.  delicious!

 

Eggplant Parmesan:  After going to Olive Garden a long time ago, I made up this recipe trying to imitate their eggplant parm.  it’s delicious if I do say so myself

• Cut one medium sized eggplant into 1/2″ rounds, 
• grill on george foreman or grill pan until softened and nice grill marks appear (about 4 mins. per side) let cool slightly, 
• dip in soy yogurt and breadcrumbs (I usually make my own from sprouted bread and italian seasonings). 
• top with a little cheeze if you desire or vegan parm (i like to use the “Almesan” recipe from Veganomicon.)
• bake for 15 mins or so, until crispy (I used the toaster oven since I was making such a small portion – it uses less energy and is easier to keep an eye on).  
• Serve alongside sauteed greens or the traditional, spaghetti (homemade marinara, whole wheat/brown rice/quinoa spaghetti) .  mmm…

 

These muffins and these cupcakes. I used less sugar than called for both of these and they were still delicious.

 
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread.  oh. my. goodness. I made some alterations to this recipe:

• applesauce instead of the (whole stick!) of butter, no joke.
• organic turbinado sugar and cut the amount in half (the applesauce adds a lot of sweetness)
• organic plain yogurt instead of sour cream.
• dark chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips and cut the amount in half.

This was sooo good.  My husband asked me not to spoil the experience by telling him all of the healthy alterations I made

 

These past food-related posts have really pointed out my love for NieNie and her food blog: CuisineNie.  I’ve read her blog, Nie Nie Dialogues, for well over a year.  It has been a favorite ever since Carla sent me the link.  I liked it so much, I even went back and read all of her archives!  She is an amazing woman, with impeccable taste and a wonderful ability to capture and convey the beauty of every day life.  If you haven’t read her blog or heard the story of what has happened to her and her family these last couple of months, you really must read this article.  Please join me in praying for Christian and Stephanie and their family.  
Oh, and you are going to want to check out her sister’s blog, C Jane Enjoy It, as it is also fabulous.

Less is More October 18, 2008

I love our new home. It’s a lovely rental in an entirely different neighborhood than we were living in before, a neighborhood which I love.  We are so close to a really great park, really close to Trader Joe’s, which I frequent, and super close to El Gitano, best mexican food in town.  The streets around here are lined with trees and adorable, well kept little old homes.  We have a backyard now, which is so nice.  Now instead of looking out onto the traffic, Elena looks out into the backyard and watches for the neighbor’s kitty and says hello to all the squirrels that flock to the compost bin, which is adorable if you ask me.  

Favorite part about our new place?  Surprisingly, it is the smallness.  When we first started looking for a new place, smaller was a priority for me.  We have roughly half the square footage of our last place, which wasn’t necessarily excessive anyway.  But now, I spend my days in roughly 650 sq. ft.  and I love it.  Do dishes and watch elena play in the living room?  yes please.  Always know where she is just by peering over my shoulder?  yes, thankyouverymuch.  In our last place, I was constantly following her from one end of the house to the other.  Now, I only feel like I’m chasing her when she runs away and says “bye”, which is my cue to come get her and say “boo!”  It’s her favorite thing.  Guaranteed to lighten even the worst of moods.

I love that just having dinner cooking warms the whole house.  no joke!  I love that in my kitchen everything is conveniently located within my reach.  In our old kitchen I felt like I was always running in circles.  No more!  Not only is our place small, so is our oven and refrigerator, which has also turned out great. It’s more energy efficient, since I’m usually only cooking for two and a half people and there’s no more feeling like things get lost in the abyss of the fridge.  It forces you to keep things neat and organized, which is quite nice.  And speaking of keeping things neat and organized, this place is so much easier to keep neat and clean!  Since I can almost always see Elena, I am able to get so much more done and it doesn’t hurt that there’s less to clean, what with less space and all.  Less space equals less dirty counters, dirty floors, etc.  and the smallness makes it obvious when something is out of place.  I may not be the most organized person by nature, but an organized and clean space makes me really happy.

Overall conclusion: less is more. 

It’s another case of happier people, happier planet.  Less space to heat, less space to clean, and more simple happy life. 

here are some photos of the space before we moved in, I’ll post some of it with our stuff all moved in as soon as I take some.

Silver Lining October 17, 2008

photo credit: mattyp/flickr.com

We are all feeling it.  I know it.  We all are.  Food prices have gone up.  Gas prices overall have gone up and as we enter into fall and winter weather, we are reminded that the cost of heating our homes has gone up as well.  Whether the effects have been big or small, I imagine some have come your way.  My prayer for this season of economic struggle in our nation is that we face it.  Let’s face it, we can’t afford our old ways of living.  We can’t afford to keep on with the same old habits of consumption.  We can’t afford to keep seeking out happiness and convenience in the same old ways.  I hope that in this time as we face the financial crisis, we will all admit that it’s not working.  We need to change.  

My prayer is that this season of economic struggle, a struggle that is being compared to the great depression, inspires us all to look to the generations before us and glean from their wisdom.  I pray this economy helps to teach us to slow down and make things ourselves.  I pray this season encourages mothers to stay committed to breast-feeding.  I pray people are inspired to take the time to enjoy walking or riding their bike to the store instead of driving.  Let it be a time where families enjoy more home cooked meals around the table and turn off the TV and various electronics and find ways to spend quality time together.  Let this be a time where we get to know our neighbors.  A time when we borrow from and share with each other instead of buying.  Let this holiday season be a time where we buy hand made or buy used as a way to support one another.  I hope it is a time when people slow down from this fast paced life and enjoy the meditative nature of things like hanging clothes on the line rather than throwing them in the dryer.  I pray it is a time where people enjoy better health as they eat more whole foods and less take-out and processed snacks, even if it is because they can’t afford it.  I pray that we will find joy in cuddling up in warm sweaters and heavy blankets as we turn down our heaters.  I pray that our hearts begin to swell with gratitude for things we used to take for granted.  I pray that we find our joy in simple everyday things. I pray that we will remember that our treasure is in heaven and in the things that are eternal: each other.  I pray that we will embrace the inspiration to change and let this become a time where we find ourselves happier and enriched by the sacrifices demanded by our shrinking pocket books.  Oh, I do pray that we can see the silver lining and make some lemonade in these sour times.  And let’s do it together, shall we.

Vacationing in California… October 7, 2008

We celebrated the one year anniversary of moving to Bellingham by going on vacation back to California.  It was sort of ironic and appropriate at the same time.

HIGHLIGHTS:

 Mexican Food

 Seeing Favorite People:

my dad

Brian’s mom

My brother, Ryan, and his girlfriend (and my dear friend) Kathryn (2 people I hadn’t seen in way too long that I love SO MUCH!)

Rhiannon and her husband, John… Rhiannon will forever be one of my favorite people on the planet.  I love her so much.  She is like a soul sister, if ever there were such a thing.  It’s so lovely to be around someone who knows you so well and just “gets you”, know what I mean?

We all got sick which was not so great.  But seeing everyone was oh so lovely.  Most lovely was the two-day trip to Carmel… the most beautiful place ever.  Honestly, probably my favorite place on earth.  We got married there and now you see why…

Elena is not used to going to the beach… she is used to going to the shoreline of Bellingham Bay which is mostly covered with rather large rocks and pebbles.  So, she was positively enthralled, running back and forth in the sand, wanting to chase the waves, but needing mommy or daddy to hold her.  She took naps in the ergo while we shopped (at Anthropologie, no less… aah, bliss) and walked along the beach.  We also had a lovely time hiking around Point Lobos a bit.  Oooooh, I love it there.  So many memories.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been more time to spend there or date-night with my husband…  but, saying good-bye to Ryan and Kathryn after just one day=sadness.  But, all in all, a lovely and much-needed vacation.  

We won’t talk about the nightmare plane-ride home with sick and tired toddler or the fact that the car wouldn’t start when we got to the parking lot near the airport in Seattle.  I’ll just keep all of that to myself because I’d rather forget those details!

Elena and the Green Smoothie October 3, 2008

Delicious green smoothie in a re-used to-go cup.  Because Elena likes straws and new things.  (Also because I like re-using things and feeding her healthy tastiness.)

Doesn’t this make you want to drink one?  mmm… spinach and oranges…

Corners of Our Previous Home: A Farewell Tribute October 2, 2008

Dear little House on the corner of Ellis and Lakeway,

I will miss you.  So fresh and brightly painted, with your lovely chocolate brown moldings… you made me happy.  You brought me within walking distance to my favorite coffee shop and the loveliness that is downtown.  I loved watching the traffic out the front windows and watching Elena say hello to all the trucks and buses that she loves so.  Thank you for all the memories.  Here is a random sampling of my favorite corners of our home when you were ours:

P.S.  I will not miss the noisy upstairs neighbors, the parking lot next door, the huge heating bill or the lack of bathtub or backyard.  Oh, and i won’t miss the mouse we left behind that we couldn’t seem to catch!  Shhh… don’t tell the new tenants.