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Archive for December, 2009


NYE 2009

In Holidays on December 31, 2009 at 11:49 pm

The Cazbah

Around 3pm I started to feel like I could once again function in society so Stew and I decided it’d be ok for me to at least go to dinner lest I ring in the New Year like the 90-year-old woman that I am–watching Dick Clark with two cats in my lap.

We made a 9pm reservation at The Cazbah because I had a $25 gift certificate (Restaurants.com, do it). In hindsight, 9pm was rather bold considering I get tired around then and have been sick. But we soldiered on and I was just fine.

The stipulation on the gift certificate is that you have to spend $35 to get $25 off. No problem. The Cazbah is a tapas bar so it’s easy to order lots of little plates.

We started with tempura asparagus and spinach dip.

Tempura asparagus

The asparagus tasted really fresh, which is surprising considering the season. But the spinach dip still blew it out of the water.

Spinach dip in a bread bowl

Stew and I were the only ones classy enough to consume the bread bowl in which the dip was served. It was delicious.

Next up I had the Asian house salad–carrots, tomatoes, wonton strips and ginger dressing.

Asian house salad

It was only ok. Too much dressing and not enough veggies for my liking. But my main course was fantastic. Triple tomato penne.

Triple tomato penne pasta

Super good. And Stew had the chicken crepes.

Stew's chicken crepes

Which I’m pretty sure he loved because they certainly did not last long.

We had a few dollars left to reach our $35 cap so we ended the night with the apple almond tart (or, appre armond tert if you are me and can’t speak properly).

Apple almond tart

Stew pretended like he wasn’t too interested in dessert, but his spoon came flying across the table when this baby arrived. It was amazing.

I’m very happy I was able to go out for a nice low key evening to ring in the New Year. Unfortunately, I still feel quite hellish. So my first order of business in 2010 might just be vomiting. Hot damn.

Unlike most of the other bloggers, I don’t have any resolutions to share or year-end reviews. I will say that 2009 was a pretty interesting year. I fell in love hard and for the last time (technically at the end of 2008) and have loved every minute of it.

Happy New Year

All of my friends moved to big, exciting cities and left me as the official crazy cat lady–though I would have maintained that title regardless. I got hooked on yoga and am toying with the idea of teacher training. And I started this blog as a way to keep myself entertained, but it has evolved into more than that.

Thanks for following along, sharing your stories and keeping me motivated. I wish you the best in 2010.


Sick as a…

In Health on December 30, 2009 at 9:14 pm

Pleh

Let’s talk about how dramatic I am about illness. Aside from being a super hypochondriac and always thinking minor ailments will kill me, I am also very vocal and helpless when I’m sick. I whine and complain because it makes me feel better but then I refuse medicine and help when others offer. Ask my mom. I’ve done it my entire life.

I will also cry just because I feel bad for myself. Ask Stew.

I don’t get sick very often so when I do I definitely think it’s the end of the world. In fact, today’s sore throat, fever and achy body have rendered me 100% useless. I couldn’t even bring myself to blog. I also don’t take medicine. Ever. I don’t like to put weird stuff in my body. As a kid, this included putting weird stuff on my body and I had a paralyzing fear of bug spray. I know, I know.

We are currently in the eye of the hurricane, though, because I caved and finally took some ibuprofen because my mom said to. That took down the swelling on my tonsil so I could swallow and gave me a minute to eat some lentil soup. Food always makes me feel better but the hot soup also sent my fever over the edge and I started sweating like crazy.

Thankfully, I do have a reliable team of doctors monitoring my condition.

My doctors

Stew picked up medicine for me and made sure Ralphie, Ricky, Chill and a bobblehead cat were on call. Thanks guys.

And now… back to HGTV. The best part of being sick is definitely the TV…


Lovely Leftovers

In Dinner on December 30, 2009 at 12:14 am

Roasted veggies and salad

I burned out the light over my stove letting it burn all night because I’m scared of spiders. This is a good thing because the only replacement bulbs I had were far more lovely than whatever was in there before.

Doesn’t that plate of leftovers Stew brought me look gorgeous?

100-watt lighting does a body good.


Non Attachment

In Yoga on December 30, 2009 at 12:09 am

Sigh

I park on the street. Apparently cars parked on the street are fair game for drunk drivers out for a joy ride on a Monday night.

One of the yoga sutras, vairagya, teaches non attachment. I certainly haven’t read all the sutras nor do I understand them (How can I practice non attachment when I’m so attached to yoga?) but I can grasp the concept of freeing yourself of material things.

In my world this doesn’t mean giving up material things but freeing myself of my dependence on and attachment to them. Today it meant not jumping to the conclusion that my life was over now that my car was dented. I simply called Geico, called the police, dropped some F bombs because it makes me feel better and moved on with my life.

It was definitely the least dramatic I’ve been about something like this in a long time. Thanks yoga.


The Taco Bell Diet

In Gossip on December 29, 2009 at 11:38 pm

Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet

Think you’ve tried every diet available and still can’t lose weight? Well, here’s one more to add to your FAIL list… The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet.

The Drive-Thru Diet features normal, everyday girl-like-me Christine and her amazing 54-pound weight loss fueled by Taco Bell Fresco items–those with 9 grams of fat or less.

This sounds familiar…

Deja food?

There are several hilarious elements of the Drive-Thru Diet:

1. The Word Frescolution – Resolutions are annoying enough. Now this word comes along just in time to capitalize on the 2010 diet trends.

2. Christine’s Photoshopped Taco Hold – This woman is no where near a real taco…

I'm really holding diet pills

3. This Hilarious Disclaimer on Every Page

The fine print

“Drive-Thru Diet is not a weight-loss program.”

Enough said.


Angry Vegetarian Rant

In Health on December 29, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Here comes the Angry Vegetarian

I’m pretty quiet about my vegetarianism. I do think my way is probably better than yours (talkin’ to you, red meat eaters), but it’s not really any of my business what you do or do not eat. Frankly, I do not care.

I do, however, care that you always feel the need to tell me what I should or should not be eating, that my diet is void of this or that, and that you think healthy eating is “anorexia”.

So since you’re so damn interested, here are my responses to the oh-so-common questions about vegetarianism.

But how do you get protein?

Well, a woman my age should get around 45g of protein each day. Where do I get mine without chicken, beef or fish? Where would you like me to begin? Beans, nuts, nut milk, tofu, quinoa, etc. If you do the dairy thing, you could also add eggs, yogurt and cheese. I don’t really do the dairy thing (or the meat thing) and yet I survive. A smoothie with almond milk in the morning, nuts as a mid-morning snack, beans and rice for lunch, apple and peanut butter before yoga, tofu for dinner. I’d say that’s sufficient.

For the love of God, PROTEIN

Did you know that excessive protein consumption can contribute to osteoporosis? Yeah, get over your calcium obsessions. It’s the damn protein, says the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A study at the University of California San Francisco found that elderly women that eat high animal protein diets have much greater loss of hip bone density than those who consumed animal protein.

Didn’t God give humans dominion over all creatures?

Steering clear of any religious debate, I will simply direct you to the fact that humans are not designed to tear, break down and consume animal flesh. Look at your nubby little teeth, your rounded fingernails. You are not a tiger, my friend. You look more like a hippo, truth be told. So regardless of whether or not God intended for you to be the ruler of all things, he did not design your body to eat all of those things.

Why do you care so much about animals when humans are dying?

I don’t care so much about animals. I mean, I do… but that’s not necessarily why I’m a vegetarian. Yes, factory farming is atrocious and the treatment of the animals there is wrong, plain and simple. Have you ever seen a chicken truck? Alright then. But beyond the treatment of the animals is the treatment of the employees and the environment. Factory farms like those owned by Monsanto are known for descending on small, poor, rural towns to recruit low wage workers only to expose them to terrible work conditions and later drop them like a bad habit. They round up “illegal” Mexicans, too, and then turn them over to immigration when they’re done. Forget cruelty to animals. Cruelty to people.

It's not all about poor animals

Factory farms are also fucking up the world we live in. The residual pesticide runoff from those hell holes is infecting any clean land that would have been left for organic farming. Their cows are also burping and farting up more methane gas than the ozone layer can handle.

You’re too thin.

Well, you’re too fat. Are we done now?


Treadmill Workout #1

In Workout on December 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Treamill workout, yer doin it right

While I’m fighting crowds and inevitable delays at O’Hare Airport, I have pre-posted this workout for you to enjoy. You’re so welcome.

I don’t know why I numbered this workout as if I plan to make more them. Maybe I will. But I probably won’t. I no longer have a gym membership since I’m addicted to yoga. But since my parents have a treadmill in the basement and I happen to be home, this happened…

Cardio/Strength Circuit

Strength – 25 pushups, 25 squats, 25 crunches

Cardio – 5 min on treadmill

Strength – 25 pushups, 25, squats, 25 crunches

Cardio – 5 min on treadmill

Strength – 25 pushups, 25 squats, 25 crunches

Cardio – 5 min on treadmill

Strength – 25 pushups, 25 squats, 25 crunches

Congratulations. You just did 100 pushups, 100 squats, 100 crunches AND 15 minutes of cardio.

So let’s talk about this for a second… Don’t worry, I definitely can’t do 25 pushups in a row. I start each cardio circuit with 15 pushups. Then I do my squats and crunches and finish up with my last 10 pushups. It was pretty doable.

Speaking of squats and crunches… mix them up. Start with 25 standard squats for the first circuit. Then try sumo squats, one-legged squats, lunges, whatever. Same for abs. And you don’t have to do 25 reps. If you’d rather hold, say, a plank for like 30 seconds, knock yourself out.

You also get to pick whatever you want to do for cardio. I did:

3 minutes of brisk uphill walking (speed 4, incline 7)

1 minute sprint (speed 8, incline 1)

1 minute cool down (speed 4, incline 3)

It is also imperative that you watch Food Network while you do this. NOT OPTIONAL

Give this kind of circuit training a try. It’s a fun, quick and comprehensive workout.


So It's Snowing…

In Holidays on December 27, 2009 at 12:25 pm

Snow

Just in case you’re not up on national weather trends–and why would you be?–I’d like to take this time to inform you that it’s snowing in the Midwest. A lot.

After 48 straight hours inside, I started to go a little stir crazy. So I piled on my parents’ snow gear and headed out with the dog.

Preparing

Ready?

It took my mom’s snowpants and jacket, dad’s furry hat and brother’s boots to get me looking that awesome.

Clancy was ready to rock, but I only made it about 15 minutes.

SNOW!

So now that I’ve ventured out into the snow, can I go home now?

Endless snow

Seriously though.


Amy's Tamale Verde

In Products on December 27, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Delicious tamale from Amy's

I ate something very delicious yesterday. Mmm, I want it again.

I finally tried Amy’s tamale verde–a monterrey jack cheese-stuffed tamale covered in green tomatillo sauce and served with a side of rice and beans–and it was amazing.

I was kind of nervous since the picture on the box makes it look like it’s overflowing with cheese, but it turned out to be a minimal element.

Amy's tamale verde

The tamale is actually flat with just a thin line of cheese in the middle. I prefer that. Weird creamy sauces in excess are not my thing.

Anyway, I had this over a giant pile of lettuce because I like the combo of cool and crunchy with warm and gooey. So good.

I want it right now.


The Dairy Threshold

In Weird on December 27, 2009 at 11:57 am

Trader Joe's Greek yogurt

My threshold for dairy tends to wax and wane from gimme-that-cheese to the-sight-of-that-yogurt-makes-me-want-to-die. I don’t know what my deal is with it. It just makes me a little queasy sometimes.

I never drank milk as a child. Ever. I was the kid that had to have a special juice box during snack time. I ate only my cereal and left behind a bowl of sugary milk. The thought of actually drinking a glass of milk makes me ill.

There’s really no telling when the aversion will strike. Take, for example, the Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt above. I got two of those earlier in the week. I had one yesterday for breakfast with some wheat Chex (because I can’t eat it plain–too milk-like) and loved it.

But today just the sight of it glopping into the bowl made me gag. I had to immediately switch gears and go for oatmeal instead.

It’s the same with eggs. I think they sound like a good idea and they are a good idea for the first few bites, but then I get really nauseated. What’s up with me? Does anyone else have this weird dairy phobia?


Caturday 12/26/09

In Cats on December 26, 2009 at 9:20 am

Weasel and Ricky

It’s a sad day to be away from the cats on Christmas AND Caturday. But since I’m trendy and awesome with my new Mac, I asked Stew to get them to ichat with me. He said no. Don’t you worry. I have a few pictures of them saved up from before I left.

But first, meet my childhood cats…

Smelly

Gracie

Both were strays that wandered up from the cornfield. I only had Smelly for a short while because my parents wanted to give him away to a lady in the neighborhood. When it came time to hand him over, I locked us in my room and refused to come out. He was eventually put down for cancer and I went ballistic. Smelly was probably just a barn cat who lucked out with a real home and family toward the end of his life.

Gracie, on the other hand, was definitely a house cat who got dumped by an irresponsible owner. She (actually a he–long story) was very social and loved our dog. I assume she lived with one at some point. My parents finally caved when Gracie came along and I got to keep her. She died a few years ago of very old age the day after my birthday. Oh, and about the gender… I assumed Gracie was a girl because she was pretty and because my cat lady neighbor checked her out and confirmed. Her first trip to the vet taught us she was actually a neutered male. Too late. Already Gracie. Poor gender challenged Gracie.

Now that Christmas is over it’s time to get Ralphie’s credit card debt under control.

Buy now, pay laterz

She’s so irresponsible.

Baby Weasel begged (nay, threatened) me not to go.

You'll be sorry

She thought she was coming with me so she spent several hours watching Dogs 101 on Animal Planet to prep for meeting her cousin Clancy for the first time.

Weasel loves Dogs 101

Meet Clancy

But I left her at home so this will surely be on the ground when I get back.

Payback

I expect a cat video chat later today (STEW).


One Size Fits All

In Health, News on December 25, 2009 at 10:21 pm

One Size

Fits All

A spread in next month’s V Magazine shows plus-sized model Crystal Renn (age 23) working it alongside a slim (and arguably pre-pubescent) Jacquelyn Jablonski (age 17). Both are 5’9″ and have been styled and posed identically in the photos.

If you weren’t looking at them side-by-side, would you consider Crystal to be plus-sized? With Crystal in the picture, is Jacqueline’s body type still what you’d consider to be “normal” or “desirable” or is she suddenly “too thin”? Are you a little surprised to find that the “perfect” bodies in magazine ads and editorials are those of children?

Think about it. Interesting.

See more on FitCeleb.


Define: Figgy Pudding

In Dessert on December 25, 2009 at 6:36 pm

Figgy pudding... NOW

My favorite verse in “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (as performed by an all-star cast of Disney characters) is:

Oh give us some figgy pudding.
Oh give us some figgy pudding.
Oh give us some figgy pudding
And bring it right here.

Ha. It’s just so demanding and un-Christmas-y. Watch Donald nail it at 2:08 here. I trust everyone grew up with that same 12 Days of Christmas Disney Sing-a-long on VHS.

So what is figgy pudding anyway, and why does Donald Duck want it so desperately?

Figgy pudding–AKA plum pudding, Christmas pudding, steamed pudding, etc.–is a traditional British holiday dessert dating back to the mid 1600s and akin to fruit cake. But fear not; figgy pudding is filled with dried cherries, cranberries and figs rather than those revolting bright red and green sugar globs found in fruit cake.

NOOOO

And you know what else? Figgy pudding has not one… but two liquors in the batter–rum and cognac (or brandy). You can also dump that liquor on top of the finished cake and light it on fire. Tell me that’s not awesome.

I’d definitely eat it.

For more on figgy pudding, see NPR’s article and figgy pudding recipe.


Christmas 2009

In Breakfast, Events, Holidays on December 25, 2009 at 1:18 pm

Monkey bread

Merry Christmas from frigid Illinois. In keeping with tradition, I woke up at 2am but didn’t actually drag myself out of bed to see what Santa brought. And yes, you better believe we still get Santa presents… and stockings.

Love, Santa

Mmhm, I'm 24

Christmas breakfast always includes monkey bread, smoothies, fruit, coffee and beaten biscuits with ham.

Smoothies

Coffee with cinnamon

Beaten biscuits

Beaten biscuits are an old family recipe. My granddaddy actually created a special machine used for rolling out the dough, and we make them every Christmas. They’re made of lard and are generally stuffed with country ham, so trust I do not eat them. Everyone else goes crazy for them though.

Namaste necklace

Purse

MacBook

Cat plate

Cheese tasting

Grey pearls

My little sister made that Namaste necklace. Pretty amazing, right? My older brother hired her to do his Christmas shopping as well so the cheese tasting kit is from him/her. The cat plate says, “Everything tastes better with cat hair.” Ha. The ring is awesome because I’ve never seen grey pearls. I can finally stop yelling about how heavy my purse is. And I am officially now a Mac user.

I honestly didn’t expect to get anything since I knew I was getting the computer. So I’m a little overwhelmed and very thankful. Now it’s time to eat. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good bite. Haaa, made it up myself.


The Griswolds

In Events, Holidays on December 24, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Merry Christmas Eve

Tonight we had our standard Christmas Eve dinner–steak, twice baked potatoes, salad and rolls. Every year. Without fail.

Christmas Eve dinner

My dad was really disappointed I didn’t get a close up of the steaks. “But they were perfect.”

I had a potato and salad–one of my favorite meals.

My annual plate

And crustless brownie pie with white chocolate pudding and raspberries for dessert.

Crustless brownie pie

Every Christmas Eve my family watches Christmas Vacation. It’s tradition. It’s also tradition that everyone falls asleep before it is over.

We’ve all seen this movie no fewer than 20 times, but it never ceases to incite uproarious laughter. And so, in the spirit of giving, I present to you and early Christmas gift…

10 Best Lines in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

10. Margot: Well why is the carpet all wet, TODD?
Todd: I don’t KNOW MarGOT.

9. Clark: Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass.

8. Eddie: Merry Christmas. Shitter was full!

7. Clark: If I woke up tomorrow with my head sown to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.

6. Ellen: I don’t know what to say except it’s Christmas and we’re all in misery.

5. Aunt Bethany: It’s a funny squeaky sound.

4. Audrey: He worked really hard, Grandma.
Art: So do washing machines.

3. Clark: I mean nippy out. What did I say, nipple?… Tis the season to be merry.
Mary: Well that’s my name.
Clark: No shit.

2. Clark: And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he’s gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.

1. Clark: Hallelujah! HOLY SHIT. Where’s the Tylenol?


Tapenade Flat Bread

In What's for Lunch? on December 24, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Tapenade flat bread and salad

My mom made a delightful tapenade spread with black olives, tomatoes, basil, etc. I had that and feta cheese toasted on half a ciabatta roll along with a nice big salad.

Stew doesn’t like olives all that much but I think he might love that spread. Very basil-y.


Must Move

In Workout on December 24, 2009 at 4:42 pm

The forgotten treadmill

Now that the 25 Days of Yoga are over and I’m housebound under piles of snow and ice, I felt it was high time I put my parents’ treadmill to use.

I am hooked on yoga and definitely do not plan to let it go, but I definitely missed good old cardio… and so did my body. Stew made fun of me the other day when I was panting while talking on a leisurely walk (uphill) downtown. That, my friends, is a sure sign you are no using your lungs enough–which is odd considering how important the breath is in yoga.

Anyway, I’m not big on treadmills because I’d rather run outside. I’m also not big on running these days because it inevitably hurts my feet and knees. But when you’re snowed in and armed with new arch support inserts, it’s time to hit the treadmill.

SofSole gel arch

These arch supports by SofSole were great. They fit perfectly inside my shoes (and match, too) and provided comfortable support.

With these in I was able to do 30 minutes alternating running and incline walking.

5 min – incline 7.5, speed 4

5 min – incline 3.5, speed 4

5 min – incline 1.5, speed 7

I did that circuit twice for a 30-minute cardio routine. Quite enoyable.


25 Days of Yoga Recap

In Yoga on December 24, 2009 at 11:37 am

25 Days of Yoga

My 25 Days of Yoga holiday challenge came to an end yesterday. In case you missed it, I decided to do yoga every day for the 25 days leading up to my return home for Christmas for several reasons:

1. In the month of November I neglected to take advantage of my unlimited monthly membership and felt like I was wasting my money. I thought a personal challenge would encourage me to attend class.

2. Commercial America has decided to make Christmas a time of great stress, anxiety and excess. I thought yoga would distract me from all of that.

3. The holiday season is filled with parties, food and drinking. I thought a dedication to something healthier would keep me from throwing my new lifestyle out the window.

I found that a daily commitment to yoga did, in fact, eradicate most of the unpleasantries I typically encounter during the month of December.

I avoided unnecessary shopping by buying 100% of my gifts online and shipping them straight home. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the hype of mall shopping, but when I do that I end up just shopping for myself and wasting money. Without the time or desire to do traditional shopping, I was able to spend more time doing thing I actually enjoy–sending Christmas cards, cleaning out the pantry and donating food, and baking.

I experienced little desire to eat cookies and drink cocktails all month (except gingerbread cats). Coming home every night covered in sweat and in desperate need of a shower makes it kind of difficult to meet up for happy hour or take part in a bar crawl. It does make me kind of lame, I guess, but I feel better for it. My body also doesn’t react well to alcohol anymore. I had less than one glass of wine last night and have downed three bottles of water this morning as a result.

And I definitely got my money’s worth out of my membership.

There were some down sides to my daily practice of hot yoga, though. I failed to responsibly rehydrate myself so I suffered some unpleasant symptoms of dehydration during the third week. As a result, I spent most of my final week practicing at home out of the heat. I also took two full days “off” and spent an hour reading Meditations from the Mat. In all, I practiced 17 days in the heat, 6 days at home, and had two days of reading.

I would never recommend to someone, especially a beginner, that they engage in 25 straight days of hot yoga. It can be very stressful on the body. I do think, though, that a daily yoga practice is very beneficial.

I will say, however, that by the end I was itching to move. Yoga is all about stillness in body and mind. It’s about clearing all thoughts, settling into a pose and controlling your breath. Maybe I’m just not disciplined enough yet, but around day 20 I had an urge to just run and pant uncontrollably.

I’m glad I did it. I’ll continue to do it. And I think I’d eventually like to get certified to teach. Eventually.


Feliz Navidad

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 23, 2009 at 8:40 pm

My festive plate

In true Christmas spirit, we had a Mexican-style feast for Christmas Eve Eve dinner–fiesta lasagna, spicy Spanish rice, enchiladas and beans. Quite a spread.

Lasagna

Rice

My mom pulled these recipes from her family cookbook, compiled by my cousin.

Family Recipes

Weird animal girl

You better believe I’m the one in the all gray outfit playing with the dog. I did have the flu, which would explain my outfit except for the fact that I would have worn that any day from about 1989 to 1996.


Home Sweet Home

In Events, Holidays on December 23, 2009 at 8:23 pm

Not South Carolina

After much insanity, I finally made it home. In case you missed it, my flight got canceled last night, but I was re-booked on a flight at 6am today. This meant a wake up call of 4am.

A.M.

Despite waking up outrageously early, I was still pressed for time to make it to the airport before the 1-hour cut off for check in. I did, however, have time to blog this morning. Priorities.

Anyway, poor Stew was, of course, rushing to get me there on time since he was present the last time I missed a flight and broke down sobbing in the lobby. Having already realized I would never make it, I decided to call United and see if they’d check me in over the phone and then just print my boarding pass when I arrived. At that precise moment, Stew flew by a cop and got pulled over.

He did, in fact, get a ticket but the cop was cool since we were trying to catch a flight. And I did manage to get checked in over the phone so we were good to go…

Until I knocked his coffee all over the center console (where the window controls are) and shorted out the power windows… in the down position. If we put one up, another would go down. Disaster.

So we drove to the airport in 30-degree weather with one window down. Poor Stew.

Anyway, I did finally make it home and made a beeline for some oatmeal which went undocumented since I inhaled it so quickly. Then my mom took me to Trader Joe’s because that’s all I’ve been talking about for days.

Trader Joe's

People that live near a Trader Joe’s don’t know how good they have it. The prices there (for organic stuff, no less) are incredibly low. I couldn’t get much since I’m flying, but I did snag some sesame cashews, coffee and some amazing gluten-free rice and bean chips.

Rice and bean chips

They’re like tortilla chips but way better. We tried to find me some decent boots while we were out but just came away with some inserts that will at least make mine more comfortable, albeit cold and wet.

When I got home I killed a bowl of vegetarian chili with rice/bean chips and… cheese curds! Welcome to the Midwest.

Vegetarian chili, obviously

And Stew’s favorite Rolo pretzels for dessert.

Sorry, Stew

My dad gave us an early Christmas present to keep us entertained while we’re snowed in under the blizzard (that probably won’t actually happen). Hint:

I won!

Yes, we are absolutely too old to still get toys for Christmas. Whatever, we say.


White (Gingerbread) House

In Weird on December 23, 2009 at 11:20 am

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com

Check out the White House in all its gingerbread glory.

This baby appears to be a true feat of humanity and also a drain on much White House staff time.

They even replicated the First Lady’s garden.

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com

Check out Obama Food-o-rama for more.


Canceled Flight Food

In Restaurants on December 22, 2009 at 7:34 pm

Perfect for canceled flights

So my Christmas travel plans have been a bit of a mess. For months my parents and I have been discussing my Wednesday 12/23 arrival. I was all set to fly into O’Hare, have my dad pick me up on his way home from work, and be home in time to eat vegetarian chili.

Hm. Too bad my flight was actually today. Luckily, my dad figured this out yesterday and gave me a heads up. Unluckily, I arrived at the airport to find some crazy ass dropping all of his luggage down the escalator and screaming like a maniac. For some reason I decided to run toward the threat (seriously, bombs?) and help him drag his bags up the stairs. All the while he was screaming at an airline employee that he was going to “get her name” for not watching his bags for “30 fucking seconds.” AH. BOMBS.

No, don’t worry. No bombs. Just a crazypants. The best part? He approached the top of the escalator backwards while trying to wrangle his bags and toppled over backwards screaching profanities all the way to the ground. I was right behind him with his bags and had to do some tricky maneuvering to avoid crushing him.

I got to the top of the stairs only to find that my boarding pass didn’t have a gate on it. So I checked the board and found, yep, FLIGHT CANCELED. Damnit. I just dealt with this lunatic and won’t even get home tonight.

Stew always insists on parking and walking me in (because he is fantastic) so he was still there to take me back home.

We decided to celebrate one more night in Greenville with a trip to Guadalajara.

I had a potato taco salad…

Potato taco salad

… which was pretty much mashed potatoes in a deep-fried taco shell. High five!

Also, this happened…

Mojito

I’ll be heading home tomorrow at 6am–if the ice storm in Chicago holds out. Fingers crossed?


The Green Room

In Restaurants on December 22, 2009 at 7:17 pm

The Orchard Sandwich

Today I went to lunch at The Green Room, a relatively new restaurant on Main St. Stew ate here a while ago and wasn’t blown away, but they had me at “parmesan truffle fries.”

Perhaps I thought this was the best sandwich I’ve ever had because I had such low expectations. Or perhaps it was just one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had.

I got The Orchard Sandwich–gorgonzola, apples, walnuts, greens, fig balsamic vinaigrette on toasted ciabatta.

Blowmymind. It was fantastic.

I was only able to eat half but brought the rest of it home with me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to eat it before leaving to catch my flight so I tossed it.

What a cruel, cruel joke, then, that I arrived at the airport to find my flight canceled. Thanks a lot, O’Hare. I hate you.


The South Rises Again

In Gossip, News on December 21, 2009 at 8:41 pm

I made it myself

Six of the top 10 happiest states in America are located in the South, according to a report in Science. My new (as of 6 years ago) home of South Carolina is #8.

My dreamlands of California and New York aren’t faring so well at #46 and (wamp, wamp) #51, respectively. (DC made the total 51.) My childhood home of Illinois is #45. Rankings relied on economists’ quality-of-life data as well as information from a nation-wide satisfaction survey of 1.3 million Americans.

I whine a lot about South Carolina. I think it’s mostly the lack of real cities and zero tolerance for vegetarianism. Sigh. But apparently things could be worse. Sorry, Cali. You are only good for my dreams and favorite reality shows.

Tomorrow I’ll be flying home for Christmas with the family and I’ll be able to tell you the second I land in Chicago why Illinois is at the bottom of the list: winter. That’s my vote anyway. I hate winter in Illinois. You know we only got snow days when the temperature dropped so low that the diesel in the school buses congealed? Yeah. No amount of snow could cancel school. We’ve got snow plows for that. But miserably low temperatures… ugh. I don’t even own a winter coat anymore.

[via WebMD: Southern States Are the Happiest]


Handi Heaven

In Restaurants on December 21, 2009 at 8:11 pm

Stew's plate of joy

Now that I work two blocks from Handi, Stew has a reason to come eat lunch with me. We like to go for the lunch buffet so we can have a little (orrr a lot) of everything.

And guess what they had today… chana masala! I don’t know if I’ve ever been there when chana masala was on rotation. Joy.

My lunch

My dessert

There was some type of okra dish that was absolutely fantastic. And the warm, sweet carrot halwa for dessert was really good with some cool, crisp apple chunks.


Chocolate Biscotti

In Baked Goods, Recipes and Meals on December 20, 2009 at 5:06 pm

Vegan gluten-free chocolate biscotti

So I’ve had this biscotti idea bouncing around in my head since I made the gluten-free bread the other day. Since it’s a dense bread that doesn’t rise I thought it would slice perfectly into biscotti and bake off nice and crunchy. I, of course, don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to baked goods, but I busted out the KitchenAid mixer for round 2 anyway and took a shot in the dark.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Biscotti

4 c gluten-free all purpose flour
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground flax
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/5 c water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp agave nectar
1/3 c vegan chocolate chips

1. Sift dry ingredients

2. Add water, vinegar and agave nectar. Mix until combined. (I used the bread hook for this. You could do it by hand.)

3. Mix in chocolate chips.

4. Halve dough and pat out into low loaf shapes (about 1/2 inch high) on a greased pan.

5. Cut into biscotti slices and back on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes

Slice and bake, sort of

Optional: Melt remaining chocolate chips over a double boiler. Dip biscotti in chocolate and let dry.

Chocolate biscotti

I can’t decide if I love them or not. They’re good. I don’t know. Gluten-free flour is weird. I mean, I really like them. I just want to taste it and know everyone else would like it. That’s the goal I have for these recipes with dietary restrictions. Quite challenging. I feel like anything dipped in chocolate and then dipped in coffee is a winner, though.


Mongolian Tofu Stir Fry

In Restaurants on December 20, 2009 at 4:49 pm

Mongolian tofu with brown rice

Stew and I went to Doc Chey’s for lunch today. And yes, I know I’m way overdue on that Thai tofu peanut salad recipe replication. I’ll get to it… I promise.

I learned an important lesson today at Doc Chey’s: Never assume a “vegetarian” item actually is. After ordering my Mongolian tofu (which had the green vegetarian symbol next to it) I had this sneaking suspicion that I needed to further clarify the vegetarian request. So I called the server back over and asked of that dish was implied vegetarian or if I actually had to request it. Turns out I had to actually request it. So then she said, “Oh wait, do you want vegetarian or vegan? Because the vegetarian has fish oil.” Huh?

It is never my intention to force people to accommodate my eating style, to understand what it is, or to agree with why I adhere to it. But I do need to eat outside my own home sometimes. So if you are confused by the vegetarian vs. vegan conundrum, here’s a quick break down:

Vegetarian – no meat, no fish, no chicken; sometimes referred to as lacto-ovo-vegetarian (eats dairy and eggs); you can also be just ovo-vegetarian or just lacto-vegetarian if you avoid dairy but eat eggs or vice versa

Vegan – no meat, no fish, no chicken, no eggs, no dairy, absolutely nothing that comes from an animal (yep, honey too)

Raw – only unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees

Pescatarian – avoid animal products except fish

Flexitarian – eat a primarily vegetarian diet but sometimes eat meat/seafood

So yes, when I order a vegetarian dish I do expect that it is free of chicken stock, fish oil, etc. But living in the dirty South, I have come to except (read: ignore) the fact that this request will often go unnoticed. And sorry pescatarians and flexitarians, but in my opinion you are just omnivores. Stop confusing everyone.

I digress. I also had an incredible pomegranate green tea because I was freezing.

Pomegranate green tea

Stew had his favorite Thai tofu peanut salad.

Our fortunes

He was offended that his fortune cookie felt he’d make a good lawyer… and also that I got two smiley faces on mine to his one. It’s because I have a friendly heart and am well admired.


Veggie Pizza

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 20, 2009 at 4:25 pm

Veggie pizza and carrots

I haven’t been feeling very bloggy lately. I think I’m coming down from the Deep-Fried Guy Day high of insane traffic and the negative response to Obese Airline Passengers. I’m also tired, bored, cold and overwhelmed all at the same time. Hence the one post per day theme we’ve had going on as of late.

Fear not. I continue to eat and exercise as always. Last night I made a delicious veggie pizza with gluten-free crust, broccoli and artichokes. Always keep frozen vegetables on hand–spinach, broccoli, artichoke hearts. They make great pizza toppings, soup mix-ins, etc. And since they’re flash frozen almost immediately after harvesting, they retain more nutrients than fresh produce that is transported across the country (or globe) as cargo.


Caturday 12/19/09

In Cats on December 19, 2009 at 9:39 am

Chief Microwave Officer

I apparently have absolutely no concept of what day it is until Saturday when I type the date into the Caturday post. It never ceases to amaze me that it’s not July.

Last night I had a dream nightmare that I was running late to get to the airport and for some reason decided to bring Ralphie, Weasel, another cat and a weiner dog with me in a backpack. I ran around the airport frantically trying to find someone I could bribe to help me get my carry-on full of small animals through the x-ray machine without getting in trouble.

Along came my boss who happened to know the captain and thought he could pull some strings for me. But when I went in to meet the captain I started my first sentence with “um” and his co-pilot made fun of me. When I returned to my unattended bag of animals, someone had placed 6 more tiny kittens in it with a note that said “Please save these, too.”

I panicked, promptly removed the recent additions (for fear they may have feline leukemia), and woke up. I welcome your dream analyses.

Back to reality…

Ralphie was really disappointed she had to share her Christmas present with Weasel.

I hate Christmas

So when Stew got me this raccoon, she claimed it as her own.

Presenting Ricky the Raccoon

Weasel very much enjoyed cupcake night.

Weasel loves cupcakes

But quickly regretted her gluttony and fell into a sugar coma.

I moved to a new office downtown this week and had to take down my animal wall.

Animal wall

But I made sure to leave my mark:

Don't take it down

I trust that whoever moved in left it up for all the office to enjoy.


Gluten-Free Bread

In Baked Goods, Recipes and Meals on December 18, 2009 at 8:39 pm

Gluten-free yeast-free bread

I’ve been eyeing my KitchenAid mixer all week. I was really anxious to use it–partially because I couldn’t wait and partially because I didn’t know what to do with it. I’ve never had a real kitchen appliance before.

So tonight I decided it was time. I kind of wanted to try out the bread hook but I had no plans of using yeast. Nope. Not yet. Give me time.

So I found this yeast-free recipe (which also happened to be vegan) and made it gluten-free. Whew. That’s annoying.

Obviously I did not follow it. I used brown sugar, agave nectar, all-purpose gluten-free flour and added ground flax and chia seeds.

I also decided the bread hook looks a lot like a pirate hook.

YAAAAR

And I love this mixer.

I love you, too

For some reason I thought it would be really scary and difficult–like the first time we tried to use the food processor. COMPLICATED. Do you know how many pieces that thing has?

Not that KitchenAid, though. Plug it in. Flip the switch. I love it.

As for the bread… It’s what you’d expect of vegan gluten-free, yeast-free bread. Oh, you wouldn’t expect it to be good? It is. You just can’t expect it to be like regular bread. It’s much denser and crumbles more easily.

Mmm

I sampled it with Nuttzo and agave nectar. Delicious.


Secret Santa Reveal

In Events, Holidays on December 18, 2009 at 8:26 pm

Secret Santa presents

We did a week-long Secret Santa exchange at the office. Each person receives one small gift each day and then on Friday we have a big Secret Santa reveal at lunch.

Well, I didn’t go to work today and it was absolutely not because Stew and I drank wine and ate cupcakes last night. Don’t you judge me. I won’t burden you with the tale of my first two hours of the day on a blog about food.

Anyway, I couldn’t miss an office event with a record-breaking 33 positive RSVPs. I didn’t even know we had 33 people at the company…

So around noon I dragged myself over to Gourmet Pizza and ignored the food completely. Stew, however, had a gyro salad that he was really excited about.

Gyro salad

I had an awesome Secret Santa and knew exactly who it was from day one because she gave me my gifts with notes on stationery that totally gave her away. Anyway, in addition to the glass cat, hourglass and cat mugs above, I also got two cat bowls for Ralph and Weaz and a sign for my desk that tells me to follow my dreams.

Unfortunately, I was not as awesome of a Secret Santa and I gave Thomas some chocolate coal, dinosaur sponges, magic snow and hot tea. So today I made up for all of that with a Faberware tea kettle (thanks, TJMaxx). Since my gifts were not amazing, I nominated myself for the Scrooge Award and received this gift pack:

Yeah, Slim Jims

Maahaha. Slim Jims.


Cupcake Night

In Dessert, Recipes and Meals on December 17, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Cupcake night!

That’s right. Stew and I are eating gluten-free cupcakes and drinking Cupcake wine.

Because we can.

Cupcake Couture

Cupcakes courtesy of Cupcake Couture.


Portabello Soup

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 17, 2009 at 9:14 pm

Portabello soup

This post is short and sweet but EPIC.

I hate mushrooms. Simply cannot stomach them. Granted, this is not like my hatred for cucumbers. Ew. No. If mushrooms are hidden in something like a risotto I’ll be ok if I don’t think too hard.

Anyway, with as much as I hate mushrooms, I should have definitely hated this portabello soup that Stew’s mom made last night. Nope. Loved it.

It was like a vegetarian-friendly French onion soup–melted cheese and all! So good.

I’ll have to get the recipe.


NYC Anti-Soda Ads

In Health, News on December 16, 2009 at 7:32 pm

Pour on the pounds

So just in case you missed it, the New York City Department of Health is determined to bring the soda giants to their knees in what may be the most aggressive anti-industry-specific ad campaign since Truth went after Big Tobacco.

I believe I featured the ads when they were released over the summer but now I can’t find the post. It’s a big site now. I will get organized. Patience.

As if the print ads depicting human fat oozing out of soda bottles weren’t enough, the NYC Department of Health has released a new live action ad in which a man drinks fat poured from a soda can. A lot of people were really horrified and disgusted by the ad saying it went too far.

Really? In this day of excessive violence and gore in the news, movies and video games, you can’t stomach the site of some (obviously) fake fat? Have you ever seen Extreme Makeover? Hell, that smoothie-like concoction probably tasted good. So no, I’m not offended.

The soda industry, however, is. They argue that soda does not make you fat and that if it did, they offer plenty of diet alternatives anyway.

What’s ironic about the whole situation is that regular soda is actually 100% fat-free. Really. Check your nutrition label. What makes you fat, however, are the 10 teaspoons of sugar that are in it. And no, diet sodas with artificial sweeteners are no better. Don’t even get me started.

So yeah, soda is definitely revolting. The guy-drinking-fat ad is not that shocking given the current state of American media. And… just drink water. Done.


Nuttzo

In Products on December 16, 2009 at 7:17 pm

Nuttzo

So a few weeks ago Kath had a giveaway for $25 gift certificates to her Open Sky store. I was really excited because I know she sells Nuttzo there and I wanted to try it but couldn’t justify spending $22 on nut butter (granted, you get two jars). Imagine my disappointment when every time I tried to load the site, it crashed due to the influx of traffic. (Kath has a LOT of readers.)

I never could get the page to load so I just went back to work, er, my lunch break? Wamp wamp. But then Kath announced later in the day (via Twitter) to email her if you weren’t able to get through. I did and she emailed me back a code to redeem my coupon. Yay!

So, naturally, I bought Nuttzo.

It arrived a few days ago and I am happy to report that it is, in fact, very good… and addicting. It’s made with Valencia peanuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and flax seeds. Whew. So many nuts. That’s what she said.

Multi-nut butter

It’s super crunchy. That’s the addicting part. I like to dig around and find different chunks of nuts.

I had this today with my oatmeal lunch. Yeah, since I drink green smoothies in the morning now I sometimes eat oats for lunch because I miss them.


Stuffed Butternut Squash and Rutabaga Puree

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 15, 2009 at 7:23 pm

Soby's remake

Remember my incredible dinner at Soby’s? Well, tonight I made a humble re-creation of it. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

You may recall that my vegetarian plate at Sobys included a wild rice-stuffed butternut squash, mashed potatoes, broccolini and asparagus. So I made something kind of close.

I started by roasting a butternut squash and two rutabagas with salt, pepper and a little olive oil.

Roasted rutabaga

Then I pureed the rutabaga with parsley, garlic powder and a little vegetable broth, reserving some of the roasted rutabaga chunks in case the puree was gross. Let’s not forget that everything I do is an experiment.

You shall be mashed

Turns out it was pretty damn good. So I stuffed half the squash with rice and cheese and had that with rutabaga puree and broccoli.

Fantastic but simple dinner. I am happy.


Gluten-Free Prairie Bread

In Recipes and Meals, What's for Lunch? on December 15, 2009 at 6:25 pm

No gluten here

Please note the awesome hourglass in the background. We are on day 2 of the annual office Secret Santa week and so far my Secret Santa is the best. Yesterday I got the hourglass and today I got two bowls for Ralph and Weaz. The way to my heart is through my cats’ stomachs.

Stew says that he’s been feeling a lot better since consciously trying to avoid gluten. This brings me great joy. And so… the gluten-free experiment powers on.

Luckily for us, there are comparable substitutions for just about any gluten-y item you can imagine. In fact, Whole Foods has an entire freezer section dedicated to their gluten-free Bake House line. Cupcakes, muffins, biscuits, loaf bread. We had lunch at the hot bar with Stew’s parents (who just got back from Poland!) on Sunday and they got him gluten-free bread AND gluten-free rice beer. Watch out for drunken elephants.

Katie

Stew

Sue

Paul

Today for lunch I had a Dr. Praeger California veggie burger on two slices of the Whole Foods gluten-free prairie bread. I was really surprised by how good it was. Crunchy, chewy, dense. Mmm. Topped my burger with Stew’s hummus and had carrots and an apple (and two gingerbread cats) throughout the afternoon.


KitchenAid Christmas

In Events, Holidays on December 14, 2009 at 10:05 pm

Somebody loves me

Look what I got for Christmas! AH!

I know I don’t really know how to bake anything and I break most things that I own but I’ve always really wanted a beautiful KitchenAid mixer. So that’s what Stew got me for Christmas.

He has had my present under the tree pretty much since we put it up after Thanksgiving. But I struggled this year to think of something that would top my gift from last year–a photo collage of his family’s old bookstore. I had to get in touch with the historical society and a museum in his hometown to get the images.

Anyway, I’ll never be able to top that. But I finally figured out what to get him and it arrived today so we decided to make it Christmas since I’ll be back home with my family for the actual holiday.

Where's Weasel?

Extra points if you can find Weasel in the tree.

She was ready to go, of course.

Presents

Presents

GIVE ME PRESENTS

Ralphie waited patiently.

Etiquette cat judges you, Weasel

Stew went first and got…

This thing!

It’s a Numark TTUSB for turning his old vinyl records into files compatible with modern day technology so he can actually listen to them. Yay. Special thanks to Adam for the research and recommendation. I had no idea what I was doing.

And then I got…

A KitchenAid mixer!

It’s gorgeous. Stew knows me well enough to go with black. It looks like a car… but prettier.

Awesome

It’s so heavy. I’m so excited. I will have this for the rest of my life. My grandmother still has her original (from the 50s?). Hopefully one day I will have an awesome swing out counter for mine like she does. For now, it sits on the counter. Because it is beautiful enough to take up my precious, precious space.

He also got me a bread bible–Gail Sher’s From a Baker’s Kitchen–to get me over my fear of yeast.

I’m so terrified excited. I love you!


Squasha Masala?

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 13, 2009 at 7:53 pm

Squasha masala

Who is sick of me making up names for foods tonight?

Sorry. I feel you. But there is no other way to describe this concoction I whipped up today.

As you probably know, I don’t approach food in a very structured way. I tend to just throw things into pots, blenders, food processors and the like and see what happens. Tonight I decided to make a soup using my leftover buttercup squash and chickpeas.

So, of course, I threw a bunch of stuff in a pot (onion, carrot, garlic, olive oil, vegetable broth, sage, cumin, chickpeas and buttercup squash) and planned to puree it into a nice creamy soup once it was done cooking.

However, when I went to remove it from the heat I found that it bore a striking resemblance to chana masala.

Exhibit A:

Chana masala

Exhibit B:

Buttercup squash and chickpeas

I knew it wouldn’t taste anything like chana masala (what, with the sage and all) but I kind of didn’t want to turn it into a soup anymore.

So I left it as-was (can you say that?) and had it with a side of broccoli and a plain gluten-free pita bread (made from Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust mix).

It was good, but it’s no chana masala. Now Stew and I will just have to go to Handi this week for the real thing.


Dark Coco(a)nut Bites

In Dessert, Recipes and Meals on December 13, 2009 at 7:42 pm

Dark chocolate coconut bite

This delicious little morsel is made with coconut, almond butter, dark cocoa powder and dates. Cocoanut. Play on words? Get it?

If you like Larabars, you’ll love this. Simply throw some dates (15 or so), coconut flakes (about 1/2 cup), dark cocoa powder (1-2 tbsp), almond butter (2 tbsp) and agave nectar (2-3 tbsp as needed to bind) into a food processor to combine.

You could either roll them into little balls or roll them out and cut into mini bars like I did.

Mini bars

These are delicious. Nutty. Not too sweet. Very good.


New Features

In Uncategorized on December 13, 2009 at 8:22 am

Hello

If ever you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you will notice some new features at Sweet Tater. From me to you, with love.

I suppose “features” isn’t really the right word. They’re just more WordPress widgets I added. Namely a Twitter feed, recent posts list and a Search by Category drop down menu.

New stuff

Now you can see what I’m doing every second of every day without actually getting a Twitter account. You can also quickly see if you’ve missed any of the five latest posts. The new Category Search has by far been the most time consuming but I like it. I’ve actually only made it through categorizing about 10% of my 463 posts. Patience.

I think it’s kind of nice. To see all things Ralphie and Weasel, simply select Cats. To see why I’m obsessed with standing around in a 90-degree room select Yoga. You know the deal.

Please believe I would make this site far more awesome if I could. Alas, I lack such a skill set. Anybody looking for a job?

I’ll continue to play around with it and pimp it to the best of my ability. If you have ideas/requests just let me know.


Gingerbread Cats

In Baked Goods, Recipes and Meals on December 12, 2009 at 9:24 pm

Gingerbread cats love you

I didn’t grow up eating gingerbread as part of the holiday tradition. Just didn’t do it. We made our gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and ate mountains of puppy chow (AKA muddy buddies). In fact, it has never occurred to me to make gingerbread… ever. But for some reason it is all I’ve been able to think about this month.

That’s all well and good but there are several problems with this desire to make gingerbread…

1. I don’t have a mixer of any kind. Not even a hand mixer. Nope.

2. I don’t have a rolling pin.

3. I don’t have cookie cutters… or do I?

4. Stew can’t eat gluten.

5. And for some reason I enjoy trying to veganize baked goods.

As it turns out, Stew got me a cat cookie cutter forever ago that I had forgotten about. So while gingerbread men were out of the question, gingerbread cats were not.

Cat cookie cutter

I don’t have a rolling pin but I do have a jar of spaghetti sauce that worked just as nicely.

No rolling pin needed

And boyfriends make just fine mixers. As for the gluten and the vegan… child’s play. A quick Google search returned a wealth of vegan gluten-free gingerbread cookies. This one was the easiest and called for the least number of weird ingredients. It’s not vegan but that’s a quick fix. Sub 1 tbsp of ground flax + 3 tbsp water for one egg and use Earth Balance vegan spread rather than butter. I used Arrowhead Mills all-purpose gluten-free flour and was very pleased with the result.

So here’s my take on the recipe…

Vegan Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

2 cups gluten-free flour (Arrowhead Mills gluten-free all purpose)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 pinch salt
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
1 stick vegan spread (Earth Balance)
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Mix together “butter” and sugar. Add “egg” and molasses.

2. In a separate bowl, sift all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Combine then place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. Roll dough out and cut into shapes. Baked on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

I was really surprised how nicely the dough turned out considering the modifications.

Lovely dough

 And it was perfectly simple to cut into cats.

Cats!

 I even added some raisins for eyes.

Gingerbread cat

And they were ready to bake.

Cat army

I made Stew a special heart cookie and he thought it was a mitten. Fail.

I am so excited about these. I think they turned out perfectly. Simply on taste preference, I think I’d go a little lighter on the ginger. It was a bit intense for me. Other than that, love it. I recommend this.

Yes, Scrooge is getting into the Christmas spirit. Trying anyway. Today I rounded up a bunch of food to donate, made gingerbread cats and went to see The Rockettes.

I'm a Rockette

We were supposed to get a “wintry mix” today but got only rain. Cold.ass.rain. Gross.

There’s Scrooge. You missed her.


Caturday 12/12/09

In Cats on December 12, 2009 at 8:39 am

Ralphie loves technology

I’m getting a Mac for Christmas (and I’m terrified) so Ralph has been teaching me the ins and outs of Apple products–starting with the iPhone.

All I’ve learned so far is: Do NOT try to take it away from her.

KILL

Weasel continues to float around in her miniature world of crazy.

Heeh?

But she let me sleep until 8am today so I am pretty thrilled.

I am a dragon

Ralphie has learned not to get on the table/counters so we get lots of hilarious pictures of her sitting on the chairs like a human.

Ralph patiently awaiting dinner

So cute.

Stew got me this lovely poinsettia because he is nice.

Not cat poison

 And don’t worry. It’s apparently not true that poinsettias are cat poison. I know because Ralphie already ate some and then I Googled it. We’re in the clear.

Heeh?


Pita House

In Restaurants on December 11, 2009 at 8:25 pm

Stew's Pita House plate

We love Pita House. We just love it. People that don’t like it are of questionable moral character. Seriously.

Proof: There’s something wrong with you if you can’t enjoy falafel.

Exhibit A

Stew had the gyro plate (above) which comes with hummus, falafel, gyro, etc.

I had the Mediterranean salad and a side of grape leaves. I don’t know why I did that. It was crowded and I panicked. I really wanted falafel.

My dinner

The grape leaves were super good, though, and had that warm carbiness I was looking for. I don’t think grape leaves are usually served warm… Are they? But I’m glad these were.

I also bought a fat bag of unsweetened shredded coconut to use as an oatmeal topping. Mmm.


Green Smoothies

In Recipes and Meals, Smoothies on December 11, 2009 at 8:19 pm

Green smoothie

So I’ve taken a break from morning oatmeal the past two weeks to instead start my day with a gorgeous green smoothie. I know it seems counterintuitive to eat hot oatmeal during the summer months and cold smoothies in the winter (especially considering my reaction to temperatures below 70 degrees). But sipping a green smoothie first thing in the morning feels good. So I’m going with it.

Here’s my mix:

Frozen banana
Almond milk
POM juice
Carrot juice
Agave nectar
Cinnamon
Ground flax
Kale, boiled
Chia seeds

I cook a big batch of kale on the weekend and keep it stored in a tupperware container in the fridge for use throughout the week. You could also use spinach.

Don’t add chia seeds to your blender. They’ll get stuck in tight places. Instead, add the chia seeds and little water to the glass you plan to use and let them expand a bit.

Add everything else to the blender then add the blended contents to the chia cup. Tah dah.

PS – I just use a splash of POM and almond milk, a little more carrot juice (1/4 c?) and water to thin it out.


Rutabaga, Rutabaga

In Vegetables on December 10, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Rutabaga and buttercup squash

My friends and I like to play this game we so cleverly dubbed “The Vegetable Game.” To play The Vegetable Game, each person in the group will assign themselves a vegetable–anything they want. I am generally broccoli. One person (A) starts the game by saying their vegetable twice and then passes to another player by saying anyone else’s (B) vegetable twice. Person B now says their vegetable twice and “passes” to someone else by saying theirs and so on. Get it?

OK, so the catch is that you have to say the vegetables without ever showing your teeth. Ever. No laughing. No smiling. No fun allowed in The Vegetable Game.

Try it. Cover your teeth with your lips as if you had just removed your dentures and had only gums. Now start saying vegetables. Sound like a fool? We do too. And that’s why it’s so fun.

Stew always insists on being a rutabaga in The Vegetable Game, which is pretty complicated.

Tonight I had my first ever rutabaga AND my first ever buttercup squash. Gah, live a little, Katie. I don’t know what I’ve been depriving myself for all these years. Both were amazing.

Since I’d never prepared them before, I did what I do with most things and just threw them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt.

Rutabagas ready to go

I had heard (on Chopped) that rutabagas are bitter. Lies. I ate a piece raw and found it to be kind of sweet. The final product was incredibly good–kind of like sweet potato fries.

Baked rutabaga fries

I was skeptical that the buttercup squash would be good, though, since it smelled very melon-y when first cut. [Oh my God... is there a Melony character on VeggieTales? Don't steal my idea!]

Buttercup squash smells like melon

But it, too, roasted up perfectly and was very enjoyable.

Roasted buttercup squash

I had servings of each with a bit of split pea soup for dinner.

Dinner

And presenting…

Melony the melon

Call me, VeggieTales. She could be yours…


Rosalinda's

In Restaurants on December 10, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Rosalinda's

Stew and I apparently didn’t get our Rosalinda’s fix at the company Christmas party, so we went back for more at lunch.

You certainly wouldn’t know by looking at it, but inside this unassuming little dive is quite possibly the best Mexican food north of the border.

We started with guacamole, of course.

Guacamole

The cute little flowers are actually behind it, not sprouting out of it. They go a little heavy on the cilantro for my liking (my liking would actually be none) but they somehow managed to find perfectly delicious tomatoes way out of their season. Mmm.

And this was accompanied by a basket of chips and a mysterious green salsa.

Chips

Both of our meals came with soup and today’s happened to be vegetarian (win!)… and mind-blowing.

Soup

It was a very simple but somehow magical mix of corn, peas and rice. So good.

I had the potato tacos even though that’s what I have every.single.time.

Tacos de papa

They’re just so good. And adorable.

Tiny (blurry) taco

Stew had the enchiladas divorciadas–one chicken, one beef… one red sauce, one green sauce. Is that right?

Enchiladas divorciadas

He ate it so fast it was hard to tell what it was. Ooh, burn.

It was a fantastic meal and we were very happy. I only ate two of my three baby tacos and happily did not feel like I was going to die. Satisfied, not full, right?

I love eating (good food) with Stew because he gets so excited about it. I think a culinary vacation is in order soon.


Team Kevin

In Gossip, News on December 10, 2009 at 7:42 am

We love Kevin

If you regret watching the entire season of Top Chef only to find last night that Kevin did NOT win, join the club. Week after week we watched as he prepared real food that normal people would eat (assuming they eat meat), stuck to his belief that simple Southern food can wow snooty judges, consistently made Quick Fire Challenges his bitch, and maintained a beard of epic proportions.

It can’t be denied that he choked on the finale and delivered some crappy stringy meat and a bacon-covered dessert that no one liked. But had the judges taken into account the entire season, I think they would have had to make him the winner. Also, if they’d taken into account who had the best beard…

I do like the judges for the most part. Padma looks way better pregnant so long as she is not wearing that wretched black dress and red go-go boots at a daytime affair. And Tom is great except for his shameless endorsement of Diet Coke.

Sellout

It also can’t be denied that winner Michael Voltaggio is a badass talented chef… or that it almost made me cry watching him beat his big brother Brian and cry in his mom’s arms.

It took me 5 seasons to finally get into it, but in all Top Chef is a great show.

And since I live close enough to Atlanta, I’ll just go eat at Woodfire Grill to see Kevin cook.


Full vs. Satisfied

In Weird on December 9, 2009 at 8:34 pm

I have always been insatiable

My sophomore year of college of I studied abroad in Santiago, Chile. I lived with a very wealthy, very ecclectic family. I also apparently wore a lot more makeup and weighed about 30 pounds more.

The family

Anyway, the mother was Chilean but raised in India where her dad was an ambassador. The dad was 100% Italian and actually stumbled over his Spanish and spoke it with that distinct Italic rhythm. He also did 100% of the cooking in the house which means I ate really incredible, really authentic Italian food.

Gelato. Endless piles of gelato.

I also got dysentery and was hospitalized for the last three days of the trip. It’s hard to tell if I got it from unwashed produce, street vendor food or playing with stray dogs, but I definitely got it.

So many stray dogs to love

I wish I’d been documenting food at the time, because I would’ve talked about how delicious and abundant the freshly squeezed juice is…

Mmm juice

Or how prominent KFC is…

KFGross

Or how drunk you can get riding around on a train that stops only at vineyards…

Tren de Vino

PS – THIS drunk…

That drunk.

Or how gross restaurants that serve only meat are… (Yes, I was a vegetarian at this point.)

Nope, didn't eat it

Or how gorgeous the farmer’s markets are…

Gorgeous

I digress. The point of this post was not to make up for my missed food blogging opportunity. The point of this post is to say that I ate. I ate a lot in Chile, but only when I was at home. When we were on trips there was no vegetarian food on which I could subsist. But when I was home my padre would make delicious Italian food. Naturally, I ate a lot when I could and, naturally, I was often full.

And so, at the dinner table I would say, “Estoy llena.” I’m full.

My madre would correct me every time saying, “No, no. Estas satisfecha.” No, no. Your satisfied.

Apparently it is rude and a bit tasteless to describe yourself as full. In the States this is perfectly acceptable. But in the States is also perfectly acceptable to be full.

FULL

If you think about it, the connotation is a bit garish. My guts and intestines are full of decomposing food.

Ew. Let’s stick with satisfied, please.


What's for Lunch? Flatbread Hummus

In Recipes and Meals, What's for Lunch? on December 9, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Flatbread w/hummus and veggie burger

I came home for lunch today which means I got to eat something amazing.

I had a gluten-free flatbread (just Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust mix) topped with Stew’s hummus, a Dr. Praeger California veggie burger and tomato with a mountain of kale chips on the side.

So so so good. I emailed Stew about it and he came back and made the same thing for himself (sans burger since it’s not GF).

I don’t think I’m allergic to gluten/wheat but I definitly think I have a mild sensitivity. I do feel better when I avoid but I’m not going to go out of my way. I will make Stew go out of his way though…


This is Your Body on Coke

In Health, News on December 9, 2009 at 7:41 am

Any questions?

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to your body immediately after you drink a Coke, you’re in luck. Liz Lewis at Healthbolt has laid out all the unpleasantries for us. To see her original post, click here. Note that I am simply reposting the timeline from her post. These are not my words.

What Happens to You Body When You Drink a Coke?

  • In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
  • 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
  • 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
  • 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
  • >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
  • >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
  • >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth

Lewis did have her timeline checked out by a practicing MD who confirmed the blood chemistry facts.

Bottom line: Do not drink soda. It’s not just Coke. According to Lewis, any soda with the powerful combination of excessive sugar, caffeine and phosphoric acid (and that’s all of them) will cause these reactions.

[Thanks, Stew]


Mobius Strip Bagel

In Weird on December 8, 2009 at 10:02 pm

Pre-cut

Math time.

(MIT professor + renowned sculptor) * BAGEL = Mathematically Correct Breakfast

Full disclosure: I suck at math. Can’t do it. Brings me to tears. Of course I didn’t know what a Mobius strip was until someone made it out of a bagel.

Yes, artist and professor George Hart somehow managed to turn one bagel into two linking halves with one single knife cut.

Mobius strip bagel

If you think that looks complicated, try doing it to a solid block of stone a la Keizo Ushio.

Keizo Ushio sculpture

And oh yes, you can do it with a donut.

[via Serious Eats. Thanks, Brice]


Pizza Night (GF)

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 8, 2009 at 8:52 pm

Gluten-free pizza crust

I couldn’t stop thinking about pizza all day. And so, I ate pizza.

I used the remaining dough from the gluten-free calzones to make mini pizzas for Stew and me.

Toppings

We had tomato basil sauce, red onions, tomato, kale, broccoli (just for me) and mozzarella.

They came out quite perfectly and the crust was nice and sturdy. I’m surprised by the quality of the gluten-free dough.

Mmm

Stew’s pizza:

No broccoli

My pizza:

Yes broccoli

Bake at 450 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. Note: Kale will burn if not covered by cheese. Heads up.


Day 10: 25 Days of Yoga

In Yoga on December 8, 2009 at 6:37 pm

Day 10

Today is Day 10 of 25 Days of Yoga, and look who came with me!

He looks kind of terrified there pre-class, but he did a great job. His performance at his first class was far superior to my first time. I almost passed out.

I’m so excited he came with me. I like a lot of things that I think are really great but many other people would not enjoy in any way–like not eating meat and doing physically strenuous activities in a 90-degree room. But Stew takes interest all of my activities, and that makes me happy.

I really can’t describe how euphoric yoga makes me feel. And doing it every day has been great. I feel better (physically and mentally) than I ever have before.

If you’re following along on Twitter, you’ll see daily photo recaps of the adventure (when I can manage to get it to work, which is rare). But it’d be more fun if you started your own December yoga challenge. 1 Day of Yoga? Come on. Just try it.


Cooking with Tea

In Events on December 7, 2009 at 8:14 pm

Liquid Highway Cooking with Tea

Tonight was yet another delightful cooking demo at Liquid Highway courtesy of Shannon at Foodie with Skills. The theme was Cooking with Tea and the recipes were once again amazing–honeyed tea vinaigrette and gingered tea fruit compote with fresh ricotta. Mmm.

I had to haul ass post-yoga (Day 9, by the way) to get across town but I refused to miss class (because of 25 Days of Yoga) or the demo (because Shannon is awesome) so sacrifices (read: a decent shower) had to be made. Perhaps if I had gotten up and gone to yoga this morning like I was supposed to we wouldn’t have run into this predicament. Suffice it to say I showered in less than 3 minutes and am not as clean as I should be.

Anyway, the first sampling was of the honeyed tea vinaigrette. I won’t go divulging all of Shannon’s recipe secrets (you can go to her for that), but I will say that this involved infusing the vinegar with two tea bags. Brilliant.

Honeyed tea vinaigrette

Stew and I were thrilled to find that Shannon loves vinegar as much as we do. This made for a perfect dressing. We’ll be making it.

Next up was the gingered tea fruit compote with fresh ricotta. Sure beats bread in a can, right? (Inside joke.)

Pester Shannon for the recipe because it.is.GOOD. It’s a mix of dried fruits in a not-too-sweet, not-too-tart sauce atop homemade ricotta.  Yeah, homemade. Who makes homemade ricotta cheese? Shannon does. And it was glorious.

Gingered tea fruit compote with fresh ricotta

We’ll be making this, too.

Like fools, we forgot that Stew is quite possibly allergic to wheat/gluten and ate a carrot muffin during the demo. Whoops. That will take some practice.

Aside from that misstep on our part, the night was still a delicious success.


Spinach Calzones (GF)

In Dinner, Recipes and Meals on December 6, 2009 at 9:01 pm

Gluten-free spinach calzones

Since Stew has been feeling better when he doesn’t eat gluten and worse when he does, we believe we may be on to something. And so my adventures in gluten-free baking continue. This, my friends, is love. I can’t bake to save my life. But to make his life a little less sick… that I’ll at least attempt.

Don’t get too excited, though. I used a mix.

Gluten-free pizza crust mix

Still, it involved a yeast packet. Yeah, yeast. Baking with yeast gives me nightmares. I can’t make it react. So no, this dough did not rise. Whatever. It was still really good.

I added garlic powder and oregano to the mix because I go into all gluten-free recipes assuming they will be gross and in need of seasoning. I also traded out the mix’s call for eggs and used flax eggs instead. I don’t know why I made the crust vegan and then stuffed it with cheese. What can you do?

Ah yes, the mix… Fat-free ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, spinach and garlic salt. You don’t need measurements. Just do it.

Take small balls of dough and rolled them out into about 4-inch diameter mini pizza crusts. Actually, you could make them as big as you want. Place a scoop of your mix in the middle, fold over and score the edges with a fork to seal.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 450 for about 12-15 minutes.

Calzones

Serve it with marinara sauce for dipping.

Spinach calzone and dipping sauce

I really loved the crust. Nice and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Gluten-free’s not so bad after all.

And there is no limit to the number of stuffings you could make for this. You meat eaters could even add sausage, pepperoni, kittens… No! Not kittens.

If you don’t like small pockets of savory goodness, fill it with sweet goodness instead. Some baked apples or something. Or just leave it flat and make a pizza. So many options.


Christmas Party

In Events, Holidays on December 5, 2009 at 10:51 pm

Merry Christmas!

Tonight was the company Christmas party. How much do you love Stew’s sweater? (It’s his mom’s.)

I won’t get into all the details since I’m trying to keep my day job somewhat sacred in this tell-all blog world. I will say, however, that I did win second place for “Who would you most like to trade lunches with?” High five.

But you just want to see the food, right? Good, because it was damn amazing.

For the second year in a row we had dinner catered by Rosalinda’s–or, the world’s best Mexican restaurant. No lie. This is some of the best Mexican food outside of Mexico that you can get. And I’m talking real Mexican food. Not this:

Not Rosalinda's

I had a tamale, rice and beans, guacamole and some kind of awesome pepper casserole.

Rosalinda's

Delicous. Just really, REALLY good.

I also had pineapple cake for dessert.

Pineapple cake

I loved it. Whipped cream frosting… mmmm.

The highlight of my night was when a group of people started discussing Food Network. I slyly sidled over and hopped on that conversation bandwagon. It’s pretty much the only thing I can enthusiastically talk about.

Some people had not yet heard (or seen) that Paula Deen got smacked in the face with a ham. So they gathered around Stew’s iPhone to watch the magic.

This could be an iPhone ad

Ha. I love that picture.

It’s crazy to me that it’s been a year since the last party… Mostly because last year I got sufficiently wasted and made Stew take me to a walk-up pizza window at, like, 2am for a slice. Sigh. I’m improving with age?


Festive Fruit and Nut Balls

In Recipes and Meals on December 5, 2009 at 12:42 pm

Fruit and nut balls

Ha. That title. Sorry.

Tweaked this idea from Chocolate Covered Katie’s fudge babies. Basically, the idea is just to process nuts and fruit into a paste that can be rolled into balls. Details like what kind of nuts/fruit to use are up to you.

I had pecans, dates and raisins. So that’s what this is. I also added agave nectar to bind (because I think I had too many nuts compared to fruit) and chocolate chips for awesome.

Balls

They’re pretty good. I think all of Katie‘s look way better. So I’ll have to give those variations a try…


Vegan Gluten-Free French Toast

In Breakfast, Recipes and Meals on December 5, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Vegan gluten-free French toast

So it’s not my intention to go vegan (although I subconsciously eat that way most of the time) or gluten-free. I do, however, have a theory that Stew has celiac or some other form of gluten/wheat allergy. So I’ve been doing some experiments. Hence, vegan gluten-free French toast.

How, pray tell, does one make French toast without eggs? Well, I learned via Angela at Oh She Glows that in vegan baking, eggs can be substituted for a mixture of ground flax seeds and water. So I figured I could dip my bread in flax eggs and get a similar result.

Win. It worked.

As always, I neglected to track any sort of measurements. Just mix water and ground flax seeds until you have kind of a runny paste consistency. I added cinnamon to this mix.

Then, spread it on your bread of choice. If you’re not concerned with gluten or wheat, any bread will do. In this case, I used two slices from a tapioca loaf.

Tapioca loaf

I actually like it (only if it’s toasted) but I’m sure there are better options out there. This was just my first time buying gluten-free anything and was all they had at Publix.

Spray a saute pan and cook your toast as you would any French toast–until the flax egg starts to set and get crispy.

Mmmm

I topped mine with a little Earth Balance vegan spread, agave nectar and more cinnamon. It was really perfect. Soft in the middle, crispy on the outside. Just perfect. I don’t even like French toast, but I like this.


Caturday 12/5/09

In Cats on December 5, 2009 at 9:05 am

Heh?

Since when is it December? I’m not ready to say something as annoying as “oh-ten.” Sigh…

The cats have been sufficiently annoying this week. Though the tree has not fallen to the ground, all the glass ornaments within two feet of the ground have fallen prey to cat attacks.

Proof

See? No ornaments on the bottom. Despite my many requests that they NOT play with their toys (a straw and Federico the ferret) under the tree, they continue to do so.

If only I could get Ralphie to follow the rules… because then she could totally regulate Weaz. Like this…

Ralphie for the win

Ralphie moves about life with complete and utter disregard for Weasel’s existence. It is very clear to the rest of the world that Weasel is already sleeping in the backpack. But not to Ralphie. Ralphie wants to sit on the empty backpack.

Weasel tried to get Ralphie to “scooch” one night. No dice.

Pleeeease?

Remember that whiny kid that used to always be like, “Come onnnn scooch over.” No fool, not until you say scoot.

Weasel has been practicing her yoga to strengthen her body and mind for the ultimate Ralphie fight.

Paschimottanasana

Seated forward bend

But Ralphie is a dark ninja lurking in the shadows, impossible to defeat.

Ninja Ralph

Who will win?

Cat Battle line up


Obese Airline Passengers

In Gossip, News on December 4, 2009 at 4:09 pm

 

Should some people pay for two?

EDIT: A controversial picture was taken by an American Airlines flight attendant and posted on airline blog FlightGlobal to illustrate the issue of obese passengers and space limitations on flights. Initially, I re-posted the picture here as well. For the sake of the man pictured, I debated using it at first. But it was already all over the blogs, news sites, etc. and I decided that the comparatively measley traffic to Sweet Tater would not make much difference.

After hearing from two readers, I realized that my post does, in fact, perpetuate that man’s misery just as much as all the others. So I have removed the photo. The rest of this post, however, remains the same as I have not changed my opinion on the issue. I have simply realized that I need to express that opinion without publicly humiliating anyone. Thanks for the healthy debate. I appreciate the feedback, and I knew better.

ORIGINAL POST: First, I definitely feel bad for this guy. I feel bad for him because his size and weight pose terrible health risks but also because anyone that knows him knows exactly who that mystery man is–back of the head or not. He definitely doesn’t deserve this media attention.

However, I also feel bad for the flight attendants and passengers who have to maneuver through an obstructed aisle. I mostly feel bad, though, for the guy sitting next to him who paid for one seat and only got 1/2 while that guy paid for one seat and got 1.5… plus a little aisle.

When it comes to morbidly obese airline passengers, I agree that they have to buy two seats. It’s not prejudice. It’s practical.

If you take up two seats (or three, gasp), you buy two seats. If the flight isn’t full, you should have your second seat refunded.

That’s that.


Cat Food Recall

In Cats on December 4, 2009 at 8:03 am

Don't buy this

Ralphie asked me to share this… Diamond Pet Foods has voluntarily recalled two of its Premium Edge cat foods–Finicky Adult and Hairball.

The foods were found to cause thiamine deficiency in cats, which can cause illness and even death. The effects of thiamine deficiency in cats are both gastrointestinal and neurological–mean your cat may simply over salivate and vomit… or they have trouble walking, walk in circles or fall down.

Summary: Do not buy this cat food.

Message approved by Dr. Ralph


Cosmo Swine Flu

In Gossip, Health, News on December 4, 2009 at 7:50 am

Hahaha... bear hugging...

Last week Newsweek tore Cosmo magazine a new one for their fully ridiculous spread (plus diagrams) on how to avoid swine flu… but still have sex!

I’d really like to make fun of this more, but I think I’ll let the diagrams speak for themselves. And what they’re saying is: “To avoid swine flu, one must be a creepy weirdo who refuses to kiss while having sex, blows kisses to avoid mouth-to-mouth contact, considers arm squeezing an appropriate replacement for hugs, and bumps fists like every giant D-bag in history.”

[via Newsweek... via Stew]


Dinner at Irashiai

In Restaurants on December 3, 2009 at 10:34 pm

Sushi at Irashiai

Tonight Stew and I had dinner at Irashiai. Ask him to try and spell it sometime…

I had the Thomas roll (above)–tomato and tempura asparagus–and a tofu salad.

Tofu salad

That Thomas roll is incredible. The tofu salad was delightful. Mmm, I want it again.

We also shared edamame and Stew had sake. Ew, I hate sake.

Edamame and sake

Stew’s dinner was a (blurry) salmon lemon roll.

Salmon lemon roll

Mmmeh, that picture is wretched. The roll, though, is lovely. I’d like to try it sometime sans salmon…

The awkward people in the booth behind us kept introducing themselves to the hostess and the waitress. Like, “Hi I’m Jeremy and this is my girlfriend…” What? Do people do that now? Am I that antisocial? No. That is weird.


Chia Seeds

In Uncategorized on December 3, 2009 at 7:05 pm

Chia seeds

You probably already know that chia seeds are great for growing a coat of vegetation on small terra cotta pets.

Ch-ch-ch-Chia

What you may not know is that chia’s wee little seeds are also a powerful superfood. I just ate some apricots dipped in peanut butter and then dipped in chia seeds.

Perfect

The consumption of chia seeds dates all the way back to the Aztecs who would eat them for endurance during conquests. In fact, many Indians in Mexico and the Southwest used to often subsist on chia seeds alone during expeditions.

So what’s the deal with them?

Highly Hydrophilic – Chia seeds can absorb up to 12 times their weight in water. Mixing chia seeds in water results in a thick gel-like substance. This gel forms a barrier in the stomach and slows the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar leading to increased endurance. Translation: Your food will fuel you longer if you add some chia seeds.

Protein Absorption - The protein in chia seeds is easily and quickly absorbed during digestion meaning it can be rapidly transported for use in cells.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids – Chia seeds are a vegetarian source of the wonder fats found in fish. Omega 3 is necessary in order for your body to absorp Vitamins A, D, E and K.

So what do you do with them? Anything. Sprinkle on salads. Add to cereal. Mix in smoothies… Or dip in peanut butter.

[Source: Living and Raw Foods]


Yoga Granny

In Yoga on December 3, 2009 at 8:10 am

The Yoga Granny

I got really excited when I was finally able to do crow pose without falling on my face.

And then I saw 83-year-old Bette Calman breezing through that and far more difficult poses and realized that I am nothing special.

Owning the crow

If ever you have felt that you are too old to start doing yoga, here’s your inspiration.

[via Oddity Central]


Lentils w/Avocado and Brown Rice

In Recipes and Meals, Soup on December 3, 2009 at 8:06 am

Lentil soup

I’d like to eat last night’s dinner again right.NOW.

I had lentil soup with a little brown rice, chopped celery (raw) and avocado.

I really love the addition of raw crunchy items to my soups. Hence, the celery. So good.


Green Smoothie Gets Even

In Recipes and Meals, Smoothies on December 2, 2009 at 8:48 pm

Green smoothie here to kick your ass

In response to last night’s Deep-Fried Guyday, my breakfast decided to kick saturated fat in the pants in the form of a lovely green smoothie. Suckit, deep-fried Eggo waffle.

This beauty consisted of:

1/2 frozen banana, sliced
Frozen strawberries
Almond milk
Water
POM, just a splash (it’s like gold)
Ground flax
Agave nectar
Kale, boiled

Sound gross? It’s not. It is actually a common practice of healthy people to blend spinach, kale and other leafy greens into their fruit smoothies for an extra boost of awesome. Don’t worry, you can’t even taste it.

You saw right

Spinach can go in raw, but when it comes to something meatier like kale you’ll want to cook it. I made a batch on Sunday (just boiled it in water for a few minutes) and have it stored in the fridge for quick morning smoothies on the run.

It was delightful and perfect.

However, since I missed my morning nut butter oats, I just had to have those for lunch. I’m addicted to oatmeal with peanut butter in the morning. I start thinking about it the night before and get really excited. If I even think about visiting Kath or Jenna‘s blogs (where I learned the art of nut butter and oatmeal), I salivate like Pavlov’s damn dog. That’s weird.

Weirder yet? I put my carrots in it… It was lunch, after all.

Nut butter oats. Eat it.

This is 1/3 c oats, 3 chopped dried apricots, 1/2 banana, ground flax, cinnamon and agave nectar. I have found that apricots in oatmeal are amazing. Apricots dipped in peanut butter will blow your mind.

Oh, and while all this eating was going on today, Sweet Tater was featured on the WordPress homepage. Wouldn’t you know it that my least healthy post of all time got the feature. What can you do?


Deep-Fried Guyday

In Weird on December 2, 2009 at 8:15 am

The Goods

Let me just begin by saying… Don’t try this at home.

There is a good chance I’ll lose much of my readership for the battered and deep-fried adventure I’m about to share. Calm yourselves. It was all in good fun. For all intents and purposes, it is a lesson in what not to do. So sit back and take notes, America, because this is why you’re fat…

First, some background… Last week Stew had a party. Everyone at his party brought Little Debbie snack cakes. Adam was one of those people. He suggested we do something with the mountain of leftover snack cakes. I suggested we deep fry them (truly not expecting it would really happen). Of course, Adam actually has a deep fryer. So this happened:

Deep-fried Hostess cupcake

If you want to gain weight, clog your arteries and most likely burn your mouth, this is how you deep fry snack cakes.

1. Dust with flour

Dust with flour (oatmeal cream pie)

2. Dip in batter

Dip in batter (Eggo waffle)

3. Drop in fryer

Fry

4. Eat (but really… please, don’t eat)

Deep-fried oatmeal cream pie

We made a deep-fried oatmeal cream pie, Rice Krispie Treat, Hostess cupcake, standard vanilla sandwich cookies and an Eggo waffle.

Deep-fried Eggo waffle

The standard vanilla sandwich cookie was by far the most popular.

Deep-fried vanilla sandwich cookie

And the Rice Krispie Treat was an epic fail.

Deep-fried Rice Krispie Treat

I tried a little of each and didn’t think they were terrible but didn’t think they were amazing enough to actually ever eat.

The guys were pretty pleased but also not blown away.

Deep fried snack cakes are straight gangsta

We closed out the night with a casserole of death made of Rice Krispie Treats, leftover batter, oatmeal cream pies, and caramel sauce that baked while we watched the season finale of The Hills. Yeah, I had my fun too.

Snack cake casserole

It was terrible.

So that, my friends, was deep-fried Guyday. It was great fun and I don’t think anyone ate enough of the goods to want to die this morning. All in moderation?

Adam’s house is like a McDonald’s Playplace for grown men. It’s full of musical instruments, TV and movie collectibles, piles of CDs, DVDs, etc. But I managed to find a Vanity Fair (what?) and “made” them watch The Hills with me.

Oh, and Adam gave me a deep fryer.

Ah, my very own

If you feel so inclined, watch the Eggo taste test in action.


Obesity is Expensive

In Health, News on December 1, 2009 at 8:04 am

Obesity in the workplace makes employers cringe

Employers across the country are cringing at the cost to provide health care to their employees, but a small startup in greater Boston has a big idea that may help reduce corporate health care spending.

A whopping 75% of our country’s $2.5 trillion health care spending is attributed to four chronic diseases: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In most cases these diseases are preventable when combatted with a healthy diet and exercise. Oh, and no smoking, of course. By 2018, obesity related health care spending is expected to jump to $344 billion.

Researchers found that if we could lower our national obesity rates back to where they were in 1987, we’d cut obesity related health care spending enough to cover the entire uninsured population of the United States.

So a small band of people in DC have started The Full Yield, a corporate wellness program designed to get employees healthy and save employers money on health care by focusing on healthy whole foods. Says Full Yield CEO Zoe Finch Totten in a NYT interview, “We need to put food back in the heart of health care. It’s the cheapest way to deal with health and the simplest, and definitely the most pleasurable.”

Amen.

I’m was not sure how I felt about The Full Yield, as part of the program involves purchasing their pre-packaged meals in your corporate cafeteria or at participating grocery stores. I think you’re much better off making your own food. However, a Full Yield rep contacted me and explained that the meals are not a requirement but a convenience designed for the American lifestyle. They do support cooking at home.

According to The Full Yield, “We see it as an infrequent purchase, not one that is made every day.  Also, I think you’ll be happy to know that 1,000 recipes for delicious, quality, healthy meals and snacks will be posted on our website.  We’re also posting a large number of  short educational videos that demonstrate how to prepare specific foods.  We definitely advocate home cooking!”

I still want to make sure they don’t go down the slipperly slope of making profits under the guise of making a difference like such atrocities as Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice whose meals are low cal and low fat but pumped full of all kinds of other garbage fillers. We shall wait and see…

But I do support The Full Yield belief that our health is in our own hands and that wellness starts with food and exercise, not prescriptions and pills.

Check out The New York Times for the full story.


Obviously: More Exercise = Better Sleep

In Fitness, News on December 1, 2009 at 7:40 am

Not necessarily in that order

An article in The New York Times reveals the shocking truth that more physical movement throughout the day results in better sleep at night. I’m gonna have to pull the obvious alarm on this one.

In his defense, the writer Anahad O’Connor wrote it as a myth vs. fact piece. People have always said exercise helps you sleep. Is this true?

Well obviously this is true. A recent study found that for every hour a child is sedentary during the day, they will take an additional 3 minutes to fall asleep at night. Sleep onset latency–or the time it takes to fall asleep–ranged from 10 to 40 minutes in their test subjects. That means that those on the higher end were sedentary for 13 hours of their day.

How long do you sit idle during the day? Consequently, how long does it take you to fall asleep?