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Archive for December, 2010


Snack Pack

In Baked Goods on December 31, 2010 at 11:03 am

Snack Pack!

I once wrote about a very different kind of Snack Pack, but this one is definitely better.

Cute little pack

I decided to whip up some treats for my friends, including:

The chocolate chip cookie brownies came about when I had a little brownie batter and a little cookie batter left. I decided to bake the brownies in cupcake liners since I didn’t have enough for a full pan. Then I decided it would be brilliant to put the cookie dough batter on top.

It was.

Everything is vegan and everything is also made with olive oil. Olive oil isn’t really recommended for baking since it imparts a detectable taste in the finished product, but I like that taste and it’s the only oil I ever have on hand so I went with it.


Georgia on My Mind

In Holidays on December 31, 2010 at 10:38 am

The view

Yesterday I drove down to Georgia to spend New Year’s Eve with my college friends. We’ve convened at Sandwich’s house, and since I think the Sweet Tater blogger-reader relationship has progressed beyond basic factual information, I am no longer going to explain why her name is Sandwich. You have to just accept that as fact.

This is what she looks like:

7 years ago anyway

My trip got off to a rocky start with an early-morning visit to the DMV. Now my new decal is in place and I am no longer a criminal. Three hours behind schedule and a mere four exits into my drive to Georgia, I had that familiar sinking feeling that Weasel must have escaped when I was loading up my luggage. Face flushed, near hyperventilation and sensing vomit might be traveling up my esophagus, I turned around and went straight back home. Where I found her (and Ralph) already asleep on my bed.

How do people have children? Does that ever-present sense of doom and despair never go away? If not, I shall remain childless and cat-iful the rest of my days.

When I finally got in around 7:30pm, my friends were already knee deep in video games, beer, tasty treats and MORE CATS. TWO CATS. I shall feature them tomorrow on Caturday.

We made vegetarian chili, danced and sang our hearts out and I was the first to bed at 3:30am. Who am I?

There’s no telling what went on after I went to bed because this morning I was greeted by this guy:

Hello


Pardon Our Dust

In News on December 30, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Bonus points if you can name that show

Sweet Tater is moving!

Don’t worry, not far. I’m making the switch from wordpress.com to the self-hosted wordpress.org. To me, this is a terrifying and confusing process, which is why I hired someone else to do it. Better safe than every post deleted, right?

What this means for me is access to more plugins, more freedom to customize the blog to my liking and, yes, the ability to monetize with ads. Maybe. Eventually. One day. If I get monetarily desperate. No movement on that front yet.

What it means for you, the reader, is that the site might be down anywhere from 24 hours to three days (though I’m told it shouldn’t be more than an hour). After that, it’ll look exactly the same as it always has until I start messin’ with it. We’re making the leap tonight at 9pm EST. Here’s hoping all goes smoothly.

If not, you’ll find me like this:

Name that show! Name that show!***


Oh, Today

In Weird on December 29, 2010 at 11:02 pm

Hello, gorgeous

Today I forgot to eat lunch. I don’t know how this happened and if you know anything about how I eat about every three hours, you don’t either. It started with an ambitious effort to create eight four-piece baked good packs for my friends, was intercepted by a run in with the coppers, led me to three different government offices, culminated with me in tears at the DMV and ended with this plate of goodness and an hour-long Taylor Swift special.

Sounds about right.

Perhaps it was unwise to start my baking adventure–chocolate chip cookies, brownies and peanut butter cups–at noon considering that’s when I usually eat. Afterwards, I thought. I’ll just start it. Food in an hour. No problem.

Yes. Good.

Then Stew asked me to take him to pick up his car. Hmmm, now we’re pushing almost 2pm. I will get cranky if I don’t eat. It’s five minutes. The brownies need to cool anyway. Food in five more minutes. No problem.

What’s this? Flashing blue lights in my rearview mirror? Again?? I did manage to not burst into tears this time, which, were I not 25 freaking years old, would be a grand accomplishment. Still, with my tail lights in perfect working order after the last incident, I had no idea why I’d been stopped this time. Ohhh, the cop did. My damn license plate decal expired months ago.

I responded with semi-legitimate shock. I never received anything in the mail. I just moved over the summer. Maybe it got lost in the shuffle between two homes? Yes, I’m aware my mom emailed to reminded me about two months ago. No, I don’t know where the courthouse is. AS;LFJSDFuuuudge. Yes, I got a ticket.

After thanking the officer for pulling me over (how many times can that happen in one month??), I headed to the DMV to clear this shit up. Let’s talk about what a terrible idea that was. I was trembling (happens every time I get pulled over no matter what), without food going on six hours (unheard of for me) and I was entering the gates of hell.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the DMV is how you have to wait in line just to be told you’re in the wrong place. I also hate any situation in which I owe money that I’m willing, nay, desperate to pay, but there’s too much red tape in the way to get it done. Go here. Bring this document. Sign this. Visit these THREE OTHER OFFICES.

No. I want to pay you. Please let me pay you. I will make it rain dolla billz down upon your wretched little establishment with a smile on my face like Snoop Dogg in a strip club if you will just let me pay this here. now. please.

If you’ve ever been to the DMV, you know this did not happen. I had to grace the entrance of two other government offices and get on the phone with my mom in Illinois who had a tax collector in Greenville on the phone with me in Rock Hill before I had all the bulllll in order that I needed back at the DMV, which, by the time all of this had been cleared up, would be closing in 13 minutes. Good. Very good.

Food didn’t come into the equation until 7pm, at which point I created myself a glorious feast of roasted broccoli, baked tofu, brown rice, green beans and avocado and plopped down to watch a Taylor Swift special on E!. Glory, glory hallelujah.

I want Taylor Swift to write an angry post-break up song for the DMV. She’s feisty.

Oh oh OH. And I’ll be back at the DMV tomorrow. Of course. In my best impression of the fakest, meanest, most insincere girl you’ve ever had lie to your face about how “cuuuuute” you look: I can’t wait! ;) LOL <3

Who can tell I’ve been watching T Swift in action? My night is sparkling. Lay offfff.


Vegetarian Cat Treats

In Baked Goods, Cats on December 29, 2010 at 11:21 am

Peanut butter cat treats

Wrought with guilt over abandoning the cats for a week, I did what any sane person would do in such a situation: I made cat treats the second I walked in the door. Truly. I don’t even know if I took my coat off.

I wish I had a recipe for you, but I used this mix from Target that they got for Christmas:

Cat treat kit

Complete with fish cookie cutter

It’s a simple enough process. Add water, mix…

Roll

Cut

Arrange

Once they’re baked (and cooled–important!), feed them to the wee little cat that has been impatiently waiting.

Now, please.

Did she love them? See the dramatic reveal of Weasel’s taste test. Ralph was none too impressed.

For the record, I didn’t eat one. Even though they’re vegetarian. And I really, really wanted to.

Fact: I ate dog biscuits as a child. My mom had to hide them from me.


Back-to-Normal Beast

In What's for Lunch? on December 28, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Lentil quinoa salad

I do believe this is something Miss Gina would refer to as a salad beast:

  • lentils
  • quinoa
  • shredded carrot
  • edamame
  • cashews
  • apple cider vinegar
  • olive oil

Of course I’m sad to be away from my family after such a wonderful Christmas, but I’m always happy to get back to my own food.

As my food reverts to its old, pre-holiday ways, so, too, is my level of physical activity increasing. I was sick every second of my trip home–from the minute I stepped onto the plane until we got back last night–so I wasn’t really up for much movement. I did manage to dig deep for a couple very mild yoga sessions to round out my 25 Days of Yoga, but other than that, I sat.

I no longer use the “F” word (fat) to describe myself (thanks, Caitlin). I know better than that. So after a month of cookie inhalation and stagnant couch-laying, I reverted to another (I think) kinder word: squishy. I think squishy is an accurate way of describing how I feel right now. I don’t really weight myself except to make sure I’m hydrated before and after yoga (if I’m dehydrated the number will drop drastically), but after returning home I was interested to see how much weight I’d gained. Jen taught me the average American only gains one pound from Thanksgiving through the New Year. I gained zero. Why?

I lost muscle mass. Sitting around doing nothing and lifting nothing heavier than a Christmas cookie meant that I lost muscle mass but gained little else.

Back to yoga

So I was more than happy to meet up with Caitlin for 90 glorious minutes of superflow hot yoga to get some muscles back. I expected to feel weak after my week of illness, but I found my body responding with surprising strength and endurance. A little rest (and a lot of cookies) never hurt nobody.


Snow Capped

In Breakfast on December 28, 2010 at 10:47 am

Snowy PB banana soft serve

We arrived home last night just in time to catch the tail end of the remaining Carolina snow. I can’t imagine it’ll stick around too much longer.

Since our fridge and pantry are barren, I was left to forage through the freezer to find breakfast. I settled on peanut butter banana soft serve over toasted spelt bread.

Topped with coconut for a snowy effect.

Happy day!


All the Scuttlebutt

In Restaurants on December 27, 2010 at 2:40 am

Veggie burger

Though I’ve been made fun of for being “too soft” after moving south and frequently reminded throughout this particular trip that we are experiencing a “heat wave” with temperatures above freezing, I would like to quickly complain about how cold it is here.

Lake Geneva

That’s Stew standing on a damn lake. Nonsense. Stew loves this snow business, and while I can appreciate it for a few days once a year around Christmastime, I’ll take heat any day of the week.

My family celebrated the end of the holiday season with an obligatory burger run. Everyone does this, right?

We trekked up to Wisconsin so Stew could stand on a frozen lake and my parents could get the infamous Scuttleburger from Scuttlebutts. [I MUST give a shout out to Aubrae for always saying "What's the scuttlebutt?" as if it's not a hilarious thing to say. You should eat here.)

Scuttlebutts

I was surprised to find a veggie burger on the menu–your standard Gardenburger brand. Nothing to write home (or complain) about.

We also started with onion rings.

Yeah boyeeee

And this bottle of ketchup was full when it arrived at our table.

We're embarrassed

But not as embarrassed as we are when mom breaks out her new reading glasses WITH HEADLIGHTS.

Stew demonstrates

This is my ridiculous life.

Tonight Stew and I met up with my friends from high school (all male–does this say something?) and unless those jerks are big ol’ liars and do not read my blog like they claimed, I must also give a shout out to: Tony, John and Greg. But not Mike because he didn’t even know I had a blog. (Y)


The Situation

In Video on December 27, 2010 at 2:15 am

Don't judge me

So my brother got everyone a gag DVD for Christmas, but perhaps what he was not prepared for was my sister and me both thinking our gifts were seriously awesome things we would have purchased for ourselves.

YES

I dare someone to tell me what is not awesome about a dramatic owl movie. Sister = defended.

I realize The Situation (and the Jersey Shore as a whole sloppy unit) is a bit harder to defend. I know this. But I love me some Jersey Shore. I follow the entire cast on twitter (don’t judge me), watch every second of every season and follow their every shenanigan in real life.

I can’t say that I approve of Snooki being dropped in the ball in Times Square on New Year’s Eve or JWOWW writing anything but bathroom graffiti or notes to Sammi about her boyfriend smooshing with grenades, but I’m sick of people bitching about these kids making money for doing nothing. You wish you could make money for doing nothing, too. We all do.

So excuuuuse me for supporting Sitch in his latest money-making scheme: a fitness video.

I’m not about to give you a full rundown of this gem because it would take forever and I’ve only done one section, but I can tell you this much… He says “pretty much” no fewer than 46 times in the intro to Awesome Abs alone. Not to mention:

  • A section entitled Juiced Glutes sounds pretty much incredible.
  • And watching him awkwardly try to “coach” girls by humping hugging them is pretty much perfect.
  • And the fact that the other dude in the video is referred to as “The Unit” is pretty much the best thing ever.

So this video is pretty much worth buying.

Yep


Christmas Dinner

In Holidays on December 25, 2010 at 10:28 pm

Dinner

Psych! We eat dinner on Christmas Eve. Christmas Christmas is reserved for watching this:

 

Mmmmhmm

But last night had a whole lotta this:

 

Pretty

Veggies from Stew and me

Post-bread-crumb-and-baking veggies

Mom's famous twice baked potatoes

Happy with the selection

The actual meal was a big ol’ hunk of beef tenderloin. I can’t imagine how it escaped a photo.

 

Merry Christmas!


Christmas 2010

In Holidays on December 25, 2010 at 4:54 pm

Merry Christmas!

I think this has been one of my most favorite Christmases on record. Stew is here and my sister’s boyfriend Colin came, too, so it was fun to have a nice big crew around.

This ornament from 1985 is proof that I’ve been called Tater since the day I was born:

Tater on the foot

In addition to just really enjoying having everyone around, I also got some awesome stuffff…

Chef coat!

HD Flip!

Babycakes cookbook!

Cooking classes!

Looks like somebody’s determined to make a chef out of me after all.

I also got loaded down with survival gear for my trip to Nicaragua in March, including:

A snake bite kit!

A foon! (fork-spoon, AKA spork)

Plus a hammock with built-in mosquito net, battery-operated fan/light and travel pillow. I’ll be the most comfortable person in the whole jungle.

Hilarious highlights:

Hot Tater

Of course.

Hope you and yours had a lovely day!


Caturday 12/25/10

In Cats on December 25, 2010 at 10:07 am

Merry Cat-mas! From Ralph and Weaz, with love

Merry Christmas Caturday from the frigid north! Our yard looks a little something like this right now:

SNOW

Don’t worry. Ralph and Weaz are toasty warm down in South Carolina. Though I hear they’re about to get hit with about 4 inches sometime today… Of course we finally get snow after we leave.

My Christmas Grinch heart grows three sizes and then shatters into a million pieces every year when I have to leave the cats alone for the week. Well, not alone. Who do you think I am? Jen and Brittney are holding down the fort as the resident cat ladies, which I appreciate sooo much more than they know. Leaving pets is the worst.

They tried to convince me to bring them.

I is a present?

BUT I LOOK CUTE

And SOMEBODY even stowed away, but I found her.

Nuffing to see here.

But I don’t think they mind having me out of the house.

We don't.

Nah.

Because, after all, Christmas is kind of a busy time for them.

Santa Weaz

Santa Ralph

Shhh. Don’t tell them I told their secret. And do NOT tell your cats the truth about Santa. They’ll be crushed.

Merry Christmas!


Water Project Winners

In Giveaway on December 24, 2010 at 6:45 pm

The Water Project

Congratulations and Merry Christmas Eve to:

Jessie!

Jack!

You’ll be receiving a copy of Meditations from the Mat of your very own. I hope you love it!

Namaste


Christmas Eve Eve

In Holidays on December 24, 2010 at 10:21 am

Ready for Santa... or tequila.

Twas Christmas Eve Eve and all through the house

The liquor was flowing

 

Photobombed by Dad

I borrowed my sister’s blouse

I have no clothes

Mountains of food were laid out on the counter with care

Sure we cooked it

Very "Home Alone" of us

While visions of Oreo balls danced through our heads

BALLS

With Dad playing video games

Wii have so much fun?

And Mom playing host

Cassidy used to be little

We’d just settled in for the holiday toast

Skinny Girl margaritas

When out at the bars there arose such a clatter

It beckons

We drove (soberly) straight to them to see what was the matter…

Driver

Today awake and in pain with my throat swollen shut

I realize staying healthy for Christmas, I did anything but.


Fa-la-la-la-lafel

In Restaurants on December 23, 2010 at 5:28 pm

14-salad sampler platter

What’s Christmas without some merry falafel jingle balls? Pretty much Christmas as always, I suppose. But who wants Christmas as always when you can have a 14-salad sampler plate and handfuls of deep-fried chickpea fritters? I don’t. I want falafel.

Merry Falafel to all

Stew, Mom and I had lunch at Expressly Leslie, a delightful vegetarian cafe that I fell in love with over the summer. Why, oh why did this place not exist when I lived here?

We “split” the sampler platter, which features all 14 of Leslie’s salads… and by “split” I mean Stew ate it. I also go my own falafel salad plate with red cabbage slaw, hummus and tabbouleh.

 

Joy to the world

We’re here four more days and want to eat at Leslie’s eight more times. Wish us luck, what with the holiday closings and all. Hrmphh. I guess we’ll just have to ration the leftovers we brought home.


Beaten Biscuits

In Baked Goods on December 23, 2010 at 10:41 am

Beaten biscuits

Beaten biscuits are a curious Southern delicacy that don’t have a whole lot of business on this blog about my vegetarian adventures, but they did have a huge part in shaping my childhood memories of the holidays.

My family makes beaten biscuits once a year, every year. Lard, white flour and milk combine to create the biscuits, which are then topped with butter and stuffed with salty country ham. Basically very, very good for you. I haven’t had one since I stopped eating meat, but I’ll still pitch in on the prep.

Mmmm lard biscuits

Because beaten biscuits date back to a time before baking powder and baking soda, a labor intensive process of kneading, folding, pounding and beating was used to work air bubbles into the dough that would serve as a natural leavener.

My family, however, uses a machine.

Beaten biscuit machine

Who wants to crank?

You twist the screws on the ends to raise and lower the press, starting wide and gradually tightening it as the dough smoothes out. Even with a machine, working the dough is a challenge. Manning the crank is a real workout and that responsibility is usually reserved for adults or children who insist they can do it. Note: They probably can’t.

If I remember the story correctly, my granddaddy designed this machine and they don’t really exist outside our family. Try a Google search for “beaten biscuit machines.” You won’t find many. I did find this woman who uses an old machine as a printing press now.

I don’t see ours being retired for other uses any time soon. This is probably what the family most looks forward to every year. Maybe I’ll make a lard-free version…

Stew and a biscuit

I made a turtle


Seasons 52: Winter

In Restaurants on December 23, 2010 at 10:16 am

Farmer's Market Vegetable Plate

When my dad picked us up at the airport yesterday, he suggested we stop at Seasons 52 on the way home because it’s “the only place Tater will eat.” Fair enough. He said he took my sister to Portillos (for Chicago dogs) when he got her, so this was a far better choice in my opinion. Obviously.

I ate at Seasons 52 earlier this year when I was on my Girls’ Weekend in Florida, and I got the exact same thing I had last time: the winter vegetable plate. Seasons changes their main menu every, er, season… and the specials menu changes weekly. Hence, the name Seasons 52. My plate had:

  • Golden beets
  • Carrots
  • Asparagus
  • Cranberry tabbouleh
  • Grilled tofu
  • Butternut squash
  • Roasted Bosc pear (best ever)

Dad's pork taco flatbread

Stew's veggie sandwich

Everything on the menu is under 475 calories, which is pretty light for a full meal, in my opinion, but once you add an appetizer, a couple drinks and one these little shot glass desserts, you’ve got a decent little meal that won’t make you want to unbutton your pants.

Shots of dessert

I had the chocolate coffee one, Stew had rocky road and dad had carrot cake.

Dad works the lights

Dad busted out the flashlight on his phone to help me out with the restaurant’s dim lighting.

Some things never change…


Snow Time

In Travel on December 22, 2010 at 6:46 pm

We maaaaade it

We’re here. And so is the snow.

I had a cold set in yesterday, so my flight looked a little something like this:

Vitamin C

Sparkling water and white chocolate curry cashews

I just love food

This was my first experience with EmergenC and there won’t be a second. No one ever needs 1600 times the RDA of vitamin C. I’m sorry. I know it exhibits low toxicity (the median lethal dose is 11.9 g per kg body weight in rats), but I still just don’t need that much. Give me an orange.

The cashews were something I dug up from the depths of my backpack leftover from finals. White chocolate and curry might not sound like a delectable combination to most, but I assure you it is. Stew disagrees. Strongly.

The book, Turning the Tables by food critic Steven Shaw, is enthralling… to a big ol’ food nerd. While I’m unimpressed by Shaw’s ability to nab a table at a fully booked, high-end New York restaurant (he’s a damn VIP everywhere he goes, after all; this is not something I can swing no matter how many tips he throws my way), I do love following him along as he gets behind the scenes and into the logistics at places like Tom Colicchio’s Grammercy Tavern and NYC’s massive Tavern on the Green.

Though you’d think he would turn up his nose at humble hot dog carts and the like, Shaw is actually equally as interested in the inner workings of such foodservice establishments.

I say all the time that my all time favorite job was waitressing. I just love everything about the whole intricate operation. It’s a good read if you’re into understanding restaurants beyond the food.

Stew loves snow

I like it for a day or so


Plenty: A Review

In Books on December 22, 2010 at 1:17 am

By Alisa Smith and JB MacKinnon

I recently finished reading Plenty, a book detailing one couple’s year-long challenge to eat nothing but foods grown (or raised) within 100 miles of their home in Vancouver. Dubbed the 100-mile Diet, their adventure sparked a movement that has people all over the world reconsidering what it means to really eat local food.

One of the most interesting things about the story is comparing my life and eating habits to the way they eat on the 100-mile diet. What would I have to give up? On the other hand, how many countless new foods would I be introduced to for the first time?

They talk about hundreds of types of apples, tomatoes and other heirloom fruits and vegetables. I can’t help but note the fact that I can count the different fruits and vegetables I eat on fingers and toes. What happened to the biodiversity of our food? Factory farming happened, that’s what. Farmers churn out what the people buy (or what the government will subsidize) and this has left us with some pretty slim pickings. Look around the grocery store. Doesn’t it feel a little off?

Another eye-opener for me was watching an 18-year veteran vegetarian slowly work meat back into his diet. The pair start out as vegetarians and end up eating their fair share of seafood and eventually beef. I don’t think I’d do that no matter how comfortable I was with the farming practices. They do, however, mention farmers who name all of their cattle, a rare sign of respect you won’t see on factory farms, or about other farmers who would slaughter their animals in their sleep in an attempt to lessen the animal’s trauma, or still others who said prayers for each slaughtered animal. Interesting.

Stew and I have already talked about taking on the 100-mile challenge, but we’re cheating and waiting for springtime, which, in the south, is pretty much a cake walk. Baby steps, y’all. Baby steps.

I’ve thought about what I wouldn’t have within 100 miles: olive oil, tofu, tempeh, grains of any kind (goodbye quinoa, rice [dear God, rice??],oats, etc.), sugar and so on. But if I learned anything from Alisa and James, it’s that a little persistence and a lot of patience will lead you to just about any crop you want. They even found wheat at the end of their year. Eight months without bread, pancakes, rolls and the like will lead you to bust out your extreme crop-finding skills, apparently.

So yes, we’re up for the challenge… once the sun is out and plants are growing again. Like I said, baby steps. Luckily, North Carolina is filled with vineyards.


Thank You Giveaway

In Charity on December 21, 2010 at 7:05 pm

Get a copy of your very own

Though I still have three days left to go, I thought I’d share an update on the 25 Days of Yoga.

Thanks to your generous support, the 25 Days of Yoga fundraiser brought in $310! Well beyond the $250 goal!

THANK YOU: Adam, Stew, Sandwich, Marie, mom and dad, Katy, Angela, Paul and Sue, Lindsey M, Penny, Julia, Karen, Kerri, Jessie, Lindsay May, Glanz, Meg and Alex, Lindsay M, Anna, Hannah, Emilie, Nikki, Cynthia, Jack, Isaac and Amber. You are all wonderful.

I’ve talked with The Water Project (PS – they’re located right here in Charlotte!) and though they won’t have specifics on our project until early January, they can tell us that our funds will be assigned to a project in Sierra Leon.

These are some recent projects completed in the area (photos from The Water Project):

Water
Changes
Everything
THANK YOU

I can’t thank you enough for supporting this effort, but in an attempt to try, I am giving away two copies of my favorite yoga book: Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates.

Find excerpts here, here and here.

To win one of the books:

  1. Leave a comment here
  2. Tweet about the giveaway and leave another comment here
  3. Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave another comment here
  4. Post about the giveaway on Facebook and leave another comment here

I’ll pick a winner on my 25th day of yoga, Christmas Eve.


Breakfast Taquitos

In Breakfast on December 21, 2010 at 12:11 pm

PB&J breakfast taquito

Since discovering the world’s greatest tortillas, I’ve been on a tortilla-eating rampage. Tortilla with avocado. Tortilla with peanut butter. Tortilla with olive oil. Tortilla. I know that one time (like, a day after starting this blog) I thought some other tortillas were the best tortillas ever. But I was wrong. Maybe it’s because I was still working out then and it clouded my judgment. Or maybe those really are the best flour tortillas, but these… these are the best (packaged) corn tortillas in the world: Maria and Ricardo’s Tortilla Factory.

I’ll rant more about the tortillas themselves some other time. This post is about what to do with them… Make breakfast taquitos. Duh.

I’ve already eaten my fair share of PB&J tortilla roll ups so this morning I decided to bake them into crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside taquitos.

Mmmmm me gustan los taquitos

Oh, the joy.

Just spread on your favorite nut butter and jam… or chocolate… or Nutella… or pumpkin butter… or cheese and beans… or ANYTHING. Roll into a cute little taquito. Spray with olive oil. Dust with cinnamon… or salt… or chili powder… or whatever makes sense with your ingredients. Bake on 400 for about 8-10 minutes until browned and crunchy.

Tah daaaaah TAQUITO


Posts You Didn't Read

In Weird on December 21, 2010 at 12:02 am

The Worst of 2010

While the blog world is busy making “Best of 2010″ lists (and maybe I’ll do that too), I thought I’d take pity on 10 of my least viewed posts of 2010 and try to throw some traffic their way. I don’t make a damn penny off this site, so that’s not really the issue. The issue is that you’re hurting the blog’s feelings.

This is coming from a girl who couldn’t play with one toy at a time because she thought the others would feel left out… and who also felt the same way about even more inanimate objects like napkins and plates. When one is used, the others are sad. Please don’t make my posts sad.

Sweet Tater’s Least Viewed Posts of 2010

  1. The Crab Vending Machine – Leave it to China to dole out live crabs like a bag of Fritos
  2. Sting Ray for Dinner? – The cownose ray better watch his back because the Virginia Marine Products Board has it in for him.
  3. Ellie Krieger Cooks a Big Mac – Food Network’s resident Registered Dietitian embarrassed herself and the entire profession with this blatant display of McDonald’s advertising dollars at work.
  4. This Actually is Boring – I eat a tempeh sandwich… again.
  5. Blueberry Frog Frozen Yogurt Owned My Soul for a While – The west coast can take Pinkberry and shove it. Blueberry Frog is where it’s at, y’all.
  6. I Wasted Untold Hours on Etsy… Again – Posting recaps is almost as good as buying things. Almost.
  7. Mrs. Q is Fed Up with School Lunch – You may not know that my school food obsessions led me to find mysterious Mrs. Q back before she was famous for anonymously trying to take down school food from the inside.
  8. Why Trans Fats are Bad and How You Know They’re in Your Food – Looks like sommmebody is back in school.
  9. Easy Oat Crackers – This is really a fantastic recipe (not mine). Five ingredients. Do it.
  10. Vegan Chocolate Ginger Pie – This recipe from Aarti veganized by me deserves some attention. I think it’s probably in the top three desserts I made this year.

And there you have it. Arguably the worst posts on the blog this year.

You are so very welcome.


Asian Quinoa Salad

In Dinner on December 20, 2010 at 10:05 am

Asian quinoa salad

I realize that “asian” is far too vague a descriptor considering the world’s largest continent technically encompasses everything from China and Japan (what most of us white folk consider “asian”) to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

While I can’t claim that this dish encompasses the collective cultural flavors of one (let alone all) of those places, I can safely say it fits the American description of asian food because it contains: sesame oil, cashews, edamame and soy sauce.

Asian?

Here’s how it goes:

Asian Quinoa Salad

Quinoa, 1 cup
Vegetable stock, 1 can (or two cups)
Zucchini, 1 shredded
Carrot, 1 shredded
Edamame, 1/3 c shelled
Cashews, 1/4 c
Sesame oil, 2 Tbsp
Lime, juice of 1
Chili flakes, sprinkle
Liquid aminos (or soy sauce), 1 Tbsp

Cook the quinoa in the vegetable stock. Mix in shredded zucchini, carrot, edamame and cashews. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Pour over the quinoa. Serve warm or chilled.


Juice Pulp Apple Muffins

In Baked Goods on December 20, 2010 at 9:51 am

Apple muffins from apple juice remains

Still wondering what to do with juice pulp?

Earlier this week Stew and I made apple juice (incredible) so I decided to use the leftover pulp to make muffins for Jen’s party.

Once again, I used this basic vegan zucchini bread recipe but made all kinds of changes:

  • Apple pulp instead of zucchini
  • 1 c brown sugar instead of 2 c white (because that’s all I had)
  • Flax egg instead of egg replacer
  • Peanut flour (because I was a little short on regular flour)

Apple muffins

The result was a perfectly moist little apple muffin. I could get used to this whole juicer thing…


Sweet Tater Talks 3

In Video on December 20, 2010 at 9:07 am

It's tiiiime

I’m starting to enjoy this. Week 3 only took me like an hour and a half from script to YouTube upload. Holla. I also think I look significantly less miserable than in week one. You are welcome.

This week:

  • Maybe Activia doesn’t help you poop?
  • FDA releases first ever estimate of total antibiotics used in farm animals (hint: A LOT)
  • Kids will try anything to get high, including nutmeg
  • Science proves hash browns are good no matter what you do to them
  • And Ralphie wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas

A fun fact: The final “roar” from Ralphie/Lion is actually a walrus sound bite from iMovie.

Watch: Sweet Tater Talks 3


Beans and Bread

In Dinner on December 19, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Let's clean out the kitchen...

Since we’ll be Christmas traveling starting on Wednesday, it’s time to clear out the kitchen or risk massive food waste. We actually don’t have many perishable items teetering on the edge of extinction. Tonight’s use-what-you’ve-got meal had more to do with the fact that I don’t want to go grocery shopping than with the fact that our canned and dry goods must be consumed NOW.

I sauteed kidney beans and lima beans in olive oil and pesto and added tempeh, shredded carrot and chili flakes. This was served atop fair trade quinoa alongside a spinach salad with a dressing Stew whipped up and croutons I toasted from my baguette that’s nearing the end of its days.

Few things in this world are more perfect than beans and bread… namely a combination of the two on the same plate.

I’ll be eating this until I board the plane…


Tacky

In Holidays on December 19, 2010 at 1:09 am

My Tacky Sweater Party plate

Today I woke up determined to not be worthless. Going from work + school + associateship to… nothing has left me feeling quite off.

Anyway, I went straight from my bed to yoga and thought things were going pretty well. But after that I went straight back to my bed and slept for three hours. My winter depression has settled in thick and heavy like the stanky gray cloud that’s been hanging over South Carolina the past few weeks. Yesterday the sun came out and I bolted outside like an escaped mental patient. Vitamin D!

But things picked up tonight when I attended Jen’s Tacky Christmas Sweater party.

The hostess

I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. Topics covered ranged from douching with bleach (don’t do that!) to John Tesh’s sexuality (totally straight), Delilah’s race (totally white) and my Jessie Spano-esque experience with caffeine pills (don’t do that either). And there may or may not have been a cinnamon eating contest. Hilarity.

The spread

There was so much food. I was thrilled. Jessie’s butternut squash pasta was awesome and Jen’s egg nog cheesecake was killer.

Jen's egg nog cheesecake

I brought a quinoa salad and apple muffins. Photos of my own food might have been wise…

I looked a hot mess in this $7 shirt from Sears. It features a cat atop a pile of presents.

Oh dear

But Lindsay’s husband took the cake for ugliest sweater in his handmade light-up reindeer ensemble.

Jen's dog looks like Ralph in dog form.

Diana brought her famous dough balls elaborately arranged as a croque en bouche…

Diana's dough balls

And we had a merry time attacking them like paprazzi.

Flashy... lights?

Three more days of losing my mind with nothing to do then it’s off to Chicago for Christmas. How many tacky sweater parties have you attended this season?


Caturday 12/18/10

In Cats on December 18, 2010 at 9:22 am

Beautiful Ralph

Hello and happy caturday to all and to all a good… morning. As you may know, I am in the midst of a 25 Days of Yoga fundraiser for The Water Project. A mere $20 from my fundraising goal today, I turned to the real stars of this blog…

Ralph and Weaz in:

Generosity Thrilled the Cat(s)

There once were two cats who lived a nauseatingly comfortable life filled with cozy, womb-like sleeping quarters and toys galore.

Sleepy Weaz

TOYS

In between gazing lazily out the window for the 14th hour yesterday and watching the toilet flush (where does it go??), it hit them:

In a world of suffering, why should we be so blessed?

[Brett Dennen lyric shout out, heeeeeeey.]

So they decided they could make a difference.

We CAN make a difference

And enlisted the help of their friend Oscar to raise money for The Water Project so that people everywhere could enjoy watching the toilet flush (but mostly so they could have fresh drinking water).

But as it turns out, raising money is hard for a cat…

No money in here, guys!

Nope! Still nothin'!

Nothing up here either! This is hard!

And then it hit them…

According to this, humans have 100% more money than cats.

That’s it! they realized. And Weaz set out to do what she does best: Annoy people until they cave.

Sorry, no puffy vest until you donate.

No donation, no sleep.

I'm watching you.

And what do humans love more than anything in the world? If Weasel has learned one thing in her life, it’s that coming between a human and a computer is the only way to make a breakthrough…

No computer until you donate.

Yeah! Just try to move me.

And if you do manage to wrestle it away from them, they will not let up…

Have you donated today?

Excuse me? Hello... Donation??

And if all else fails, brutal cuteness usually does the trick…

Can't you pwease help us?

So if you’d like to help Ralph and Weaz raise the remaining $20 for The Water Project, head on over to my fundraising page. (If you have to enter an email address and are concerned about junk mail or future solicitations, please feel free to enter sweettaterblog@gmail.com.)

Thanks to the cats for letting me exploit them and especially to our guest star:

Oscar

Want you cat on Caturday? Email pictures to sweettaterblog@gmail.com, subject: CATURDAY.


I Forgot I Made Socca

In Baked Goods on December 17, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Socca a la Pure2Raw Twins

I almost forgot I did this last week. Being out of school and one job makes me feel like time has stopped and the earth orbits around my bed, where I spend most of my hours these days. Hello, winter depression.

Anyway, I’ve been ogling the socca on Pure2Raw since Lori and Michelle first started raving about it. What could be wrong about a chickpea flatbread cooked in olive oil? Nothing.

So with chickpea flour, water and a pinch of salt, I made the leap into socca obsession.

Tah dah

I’m not quite so sure I did it right, but it certainly tasted amazing so I’ll take it.

Stew seems to think it’s tastes like… turkey. I’m not kidding. This is nonsense, but I swear that’s what he said. As in… “When are you going to make that bread that tastes like turkey again?”

Never. But I’ll probably make socca again soon…


Dressing Up Lentils

In What's for Lunch? on December 17, 2010 at 2:36 pm

Fancypants lentils

Lentils are a perfect food all alone in their humble glory. But sometimes a little sprucing up is nice. Gotta keep the romance alive, right? She says, frumped out, unshowered, in her nearly decade-old sweatshirt and yoga pants… day two for this outfit.

Spinach as a salad makes me quite angry. I eat it because we almost always have it on hand for smoothies and soups and whatnot, but when I eat a salad I want it to be crunchy and easily pierced by a fork. Spinach does not do this. My new trick with spinach is to slice it up ever so thinly (into a chiffon, if you will) and plop it on top of soups.

Add to that some red quinoa for carbs, chopped celery for raw crunch and an avocado for awesome and you’ve got yourself a mighty fine little bowl of lentils.

If only it were that simple with me and my hot mess of a winter break life.


What to do with Juice Pulp?

In Baked Goods on December 16, 2010 at 8:33 pm

Juice pulp crackers - carrot, beet, apple

The thing about juicing is you’re left with a mountain of perfectly good pulp that has no business in the trash can. Now what?

Crackers and bread, that’s what.

Juice pulp can easily be converted into crackers, quick breads, muffins, even cookies.

Juice crackers with Stew's hummus

For the crackers…

I referenced Kristen’s post on how to make green juice pulp crackers. Using the 2 cups pulp + 1/2 cup ground flax + 3/4 cup water foundation as a launching point, we mixed in different spices to make:

  • Paprika crackers
  • Spicy chili flake crackers
  • Rosemary, thyme, sage crackers
  • Tahini crackers

Instead of a dehydrator (because I don’t have one), we just baked them like I would just about anything else in the world… on 350.

Crackers and lentils

For the bread…

I used this vegan zucchini bread recipe and just subbed out the two cups of zucchini for two cups of pulp. I also used ground flax instead of egg replacer and 1.5 cups brown sugar instead of 2 cups white.

Juice pulp bread

This is amaaaazing bread and I will definitely use it for all my quick breads going forward–zucchini, banana, etc. Just don’t get impatient, crank the heat waaaay up to “speed things along” and blacken the bottom of the bread.

You have been warned.

All was not lost. It’s still delicious. Super moist. Drool.

The best part? This little adventure–four cracker batches and a loaf of bread–used up 10 cups of pulp from our last juicing adventure and we still have probably six more.

So I can make another bread and not burn it.


Victory is Mine

In Baked Goods on December 16, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Baguette, by Katie (2010)

Raise your flour-covered, dough-kneading fists in the air and scream it with me, “Victory is mine!”

This, my friends, is a baguette.

Baguette

Perhaps you two are unfamiliar because perhaps you, like I, can’t make yeast react, can’t make dough rise, can’t make miracles happen. Well, our bread-failing days are numbered. Our time has come. Our time is now.

I don’t know what made me decide to attempt this disaster-prone baking experiment one.more.time. Maybe it was the loud booming God-like voice inside my head that bellowed, “IT’S TIME.” Or maybe it sounded more like my own voice simply saying, “Let’s do this shit.”

So here’s how it went down…

Having failed one too many bread recipes in the past year, I turned to a man who many (myself included) believe can do no wrong in the kitchen.

Mark Bittman

The recipe.

With his words from How to Make Everything Vegetarian page 707 Fast French Bread or Rolls looking down on me like God over His people, I moved through every single step with much compulsion care. To say that I doubted Mark and myself (mostly myself) would be an understatement. To say that I expected to fail would be more accurate… that 10 minutes into baking, a still flat glob of dough led me to proclaim to Stew that I had botched the bread once again.

But wait. What’s this?? Twenty-five minutes in the baguette starts to rise, as if from the dead. Glory glory hallelujah!

I could hardly contain myself, pacing back and forth in front of the oven, gnawing on celery and carrots like the stress eater that I am.

And finally…

Success

It’s chewy and doughy and has wee little air pockets. Not the cavernous holes you find in the best of breads, but holes nonetheless and a sign that my yeast was hard at work in there burping out CO2 to make the bread rise. Thank you, thank you, you terrible, frustrating little creatures.

Best lunch ever.

I promptly inhaled half the loaf (which, by the way, was supposed to make three or even four loaves… details, details) with a bowl of lentils.

And now I will die happy.


Amelie's Does No Wrong

In Restaurants on December 16, 2010 at 9:58 am

Thai coconut soup and spaghetti squash tartine

When Amelie’s announced on Facebook that yesterday’s soup was spicy Thai coconut, Stew announced that we’d be dining there that afternoon. No complaints here.

I’d just gotten a hurry-up-and-turn-in-your-work-so-we-can-invoice-this-client-ASAP email from work so I knew a little Amelie’s action would speed the process along. I work better in public places. Both silence and music alone make me crazy, but background chatter and music together do the trick.

The key to productivity

I worked for a bit, bailed and went to yoga, came back, ate the spicy Thai coconut soup, which was significantly less spicy than the spaghetti squash tartine that I paired with it, and wrapped up my edits. I hate editing, by the way.

Because I wasn’t full enough and because I’d forgotten what it’s like to be at Amelie’s and not be studying or have somewhere to be early the next morning, we rounded out the evening with a trip to Dolce Vita for half off glasses of wine.

What sounds like a dessert bar, looks like a coffee bar and feels like a surf shop having an identity crisis is actually a wine bar that, after just one visit, is pulling ahead as one of my favorite Charlotte destinations.

Makulu Moscato

What I love about this place is that it’s stocked with one hell of a wine selection but lacks the hoity toityness of your standard wine establishment and wine-drinking crowd. Sign me up.

I had two glasses of Makulu Moscato, a fruity but not too sweet white “with light effervescence.” Love.

Hummus

Greek pizza

We split some small plates and, despite my complaints I was still hungry, called it a night. I’m very much looking forward to moving.


Yoga with Ralph

In Yoga on December 15, 2010 at 1:36 pm

This series if Ralphie-approved!

So Ralphie’s been thinking, and she thinks I talk a lot about yoga but don’t give people anything they can actually work with. So here’s a series that will give you thighs of steel. You are welcome.

Just this week I told Stew very matter-of-factly that I could crush his ribs with my thighs if I wanted to, and I believe this to be true. Those are small bones. These are strong muscles. You do the math. I have the leg power of a clydesdale and I have yoga to thank for this. So next time you need something crushed, you know who to call.

I hate when people turn to yoga only to stretch or work on abs or tighten a butt or get super thighs, but if that’s what it takes to reel you in, so be it. Here’s your thigh workout. But don’t come crying to me when you realize that yoga has changed your life beyond your physical body. Actually do. Do that.

Want to crush things with your thighs too? Try this:

Thigh-Master Warrior Series

[But first! I am not a yoga teacher. This is just a standard series I've seen at every studio I've ever practiced in and every video I've ever reviewed. For real yoga guidance go to a real studio (preferably this one) and work with a real RYT-certified teacher.]

But if you’d like to play with this at home, I’m not stopping you.

Hold each pose for 10 seconds. Try to work up to 15 seconds, then 20, then 30… then A MINUTE. And then come find me because I’d like to shake your hand.

Start in downward dog

Raise your left leg high

Swing it under your body. Hold 10 seconds.

Place it down next to your left hand

Turn right foot out. Rise up to Warrior 1

Open to Warrior 2

Reach left arm back for Peaceful Warrior

Move left arm to inside of left leg for Side Angle

Back to Warrior 2

Swivel right foot and lift onto toes for Crescent Lunge

Bring hands to heart center

Twist over left knee anchoring with right elbow

Back to Crescent Lunge

Bring arms down

Step left foot back to high plank

Lower through Chaturanga (pushup w/elbows in tight)

Lift to Upward Dog

Press back to Downward Dog

Repeat on right side.

Do your thighs hurt yet?? Let’s go crush things…


Pancakes, Please

In Breakfast on December 15, 2010 at 1:02 am

Buckwheat pancakes with maple PB sauce

Sometimes you just want some pancakes. For dinner. So last night when Stew announced he was going to buy Cinnamon Toast Crunch (truth!), I made these suckers.

This is not a real recipe and I would not trust it to turn out since I don’t measure anything. But because people will ask… into a bowl goes:

  • 1/2 c buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt, a pinch if you will
  • 1/4 c oats
  • 1 flax egg (I do 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds + 1/2 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp H2O)
  • 1/2 c almond milk

And then into a hot skillet that batter went (about 2 Tbsp per pancake left me with 6 cakes). I topped mine with a maple peanut butter sauce, coconut and raw buckwheat.

Tah dah

They’re dense and doughy. Not your grandma’s light and fluffy Bisquick mix. Not that there’s anything wrong with Bisquick mix. I followed this up with two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Who am I to judge?


Sweet Tater Talks 2

In Video on December 14, 2010 at 5:48 pm

Round 2 went up Sunday

In case you missed it (and I know everyone did), Round 2 of Sweet Tater Talks went up on Sunday.

This week:

  • A not-so-timely Bumblebee Chicken salad recall
  • Thinking about eating M&Ms makes you eat fewer?
  • McDonald’s to launch its copycat Starbucks oatmeal in 2011

Since I was informed I look miserable in Sweet Tater Talks 1, I threw in some fake smiles at the beginning. Weeeeee. Soak it up. It doesn’t come cheap. One day at a time, folks. One day at a time.

As expected, La Weaz makes another cameo.


Protect and Guard This Self

In Yoga on December 14, 2010 at 3:49 pm

Protect and guard this self

Here’s a lovely sentiment from my 15th day of yoga readings from Meditations from the Mat (Day 199):

“When we see our self as the center and separate from everything else, we have to continuously protect and guard this self.” – Zen master Dennis Genpo Merzel

I get two things out of this:

  1. A very “man is not an island” or, on the other hand, “it takes an army” kind of sentiment. We can’t get through this life alone and if we try, we’ll find ourselves constantly guarded, constantly fighting, always working to uphold our isolated self.
  2. A realization that yoga has given me the freedom to let down my guard and just trust–people, myself, my body–both inside the studio and out. I don’t have to waste all my energy continuously guarding and protecting myself because I believe firmly that yoga does that for me. Every single day.

I see this transition towards trust in all kinds of ways–letting a stranger touch my filthy sweaty body to move me deeper into a pose, letting my head fall all the way back in camel, wheel, etc. and knowing it won’t fall off, letting my eyes move upward in tree pose and eventually closing them knowing that even if I do fall, it’s not that far to the ground.

Rolf Gates (the author) moves in a different direction with this excerpt, explaining this:

“One of the easiest ways for me to convince a new, athletic student that there’s something to yoga is to place her in class behind someone twenty years older than she is. Forty minutes later, the new athlete will be seated on the floor, exhausted, watching a woman old enough to be her mother breezing through her practice… The experienced student practices with an ever increasing level of surrender. None of her energies are spent upholding or defending her sense of self.”

I love that.

PS – I’m just $40 shy of my fundraising goal for the 25 Days of Yoga Challenge. If you can donate to The Water Project, please do so here. “Let’s show them the love that we’ve received.”


Pesto Stuffed Portabella

In Dinner on December 14, 2010 at 2:06 am

Pesto sun-dried tomato stuffed portabella

I hate mushrooms. A whole lot.

But look at me… makin’ a stuffed portabella. And with not an ounce of dramatic commentary… I didn’t say:

“Oh god… the gills. It’s like it’s alive.”

“The… smell.”

“Bluuuuuhhhgghh.”

“Disgusting.”

No. I did not.

If you can get past the fact that it’s a mushroom, here’s where this little guy gets awesome: top with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, feta and a sprig (right, Stew?) of rosemary. Cook on 400 for about 15 minutes.

Not so terrible

Everything about it is awesome except the mushroom part, which is slimy and off-putting.

I saw this recipe idea on Grill It with Bobby Flay. What business I had watching Grill It with Bobby Flay is irrelevant. The point is that a show about meat convinced me to cook a vegetable (fungus?) I hate. Congratulations, Bobby Flay. You broadened my horizons tonight. [That's what she said?]


Bloggers and Dirty Santa

In Restaurants on December 13, 2010 at 8:03 pm

Bloggers!

Last night I attended a big giant NC/SC blogger get together arranged by Teri. After a long string of emails, we finally decided on The Cowfish (which I may or may not have pushed recommended… obviously).

In attendance: Jen, Nicole, Diana, Jessie, Brittney, Tanya, Lori, Michelle, Heather, Jackie, Teri

That’s a lot of bloggers. Cowfish was cool enough to present us with a boatload of free appetizers, including the crab rangoon dip, avocado tuna-tini, edamame, Ahi tuna nachos and sweet and spicy Thai cucumbers.

My appetizers

Our servers were also great. I have a soft spot in my heart for people who deal with large-party tables… not to mention one with food bloggers who have a slew of dietary restrictions and special requests. Good work, guys!

In between appetizers and entrees we did our Dirty Santa gift exchange. I brought an insulated lunchbox, which Lori ended up with, and I was lucky enough to nab a set of three Crate & Barrel plates and a cute little spoon courtesy of Teri. I loooove them.

I was all set to order another build-your-own sushi roll but at the last second went with the stuffed eggplant sans cheese.

It looks funny but did not disappoint.

Stuffed eggplant, rosemary potatoes and broccoli

Love love love.

Since I’m going on week two without a camera, my phone has been holding down the fort as resident blog documenting device. As a result I have limited photo evidence that this night even took place. But I did have a wonderful time talking with everyone and getting to know some new people.

I’d also like to give a giant shout out to Francesca who was the first person to ever “recognize” me and make me feel as famous as I ever will in my life. Thanks for saying hey, Francesca!


On a Purple Plate

In Breakfast on December 13, 2010 at 6:20 pm

Go Paladins

Aside from dusting the entire house (dusting, not cleaning), I have been utterly worthless today.

I did manage to organize all my fall semester school notes (nerd alert!) so that they will be of use to me when it comes time to take the RD exam (a million months from now).

I enjoyed breakfast on my delightful new purple plate that I received in last night’s Blogger Bad Santa gift exchange at The Cowfish. (Thanks, Teri!) I’ll post about that on a day when I am less worthless…

Perhaps my greatest accomplishment today was realizing that coconut milk makes the best coffee.

Yes.


Beeritas for Christmas

In Holidays, Restaurants on December 13, 2010 at 9:15 am

Tequila!

I’m not much of a drinker, but I do fall into the: this-birthday/holiday/celebration/end of finals-calls-for-a-DRINK category.

So when I took my final final on Saturday afternoon, I announced on the way out the door that I wanted Mexican food and tequila–two things Stew hears me say so rarely, I’m sure he was just thrilled to partake in the adventure.

It's Christmas!

My foodservice final was a breeze and I came home to find that Christmas came early at our house. We were planning to skip a tree since we’ll be at my parents’ house for the actual holiday, but Stew could tell I was just a wee bit miserable every time I said (sounding just a bit like Eeyore), “We don’t need one.”

An artist’s rendering of me saying we don’t need a Christmas tree:

Wamp waaaamp

So Stew went to Michael’s while I was at my test and got a baby tree, which he decorated with a lone pine-scented car freshener. Perfect.

I got a Livewell 360 bag!

Hooray!

Livewell 360 Core bag

I love it so much.

Stew got a Blu Ray player!

We also did cute little stocking stuffers and the cats got a vegetarian cat treat mix that I suppose I’ll be baking for them sometime this week. It was a delightful little holiday.

So now that our Christmas is over, we can focus on important things… like:

Beeritas

We had dinner at Loco Lime, which feels kind of like your standard Mexican joint (with the cheap prices and tacky decor to match), but the menu is waaaaay better. I asked for a sangria but the waiter got confused and brought a beerita (a margarita made with a beer). It was awesome. The beer cuts the nauseating sweetness of a standard margarita.

I had veggie tacos

Stew had the veggiechanga

And table-side guacamole. Obviously.

It was awesome, but I just couldn’t eat it all. That’ll have to wait until next time I finish a semester of full-time school, full-time work, a graduate associateship… and blog maintenance. Whew. I’m not ready for January.


Aurorae Yoga Mat Review

In Yoga on December 12, 2010 at 9:48 am

Aurorae mat

I recently received a mat from Aurorae, which came at an ideal time considering Weasel has been shredding my others with her eager little claws.

I have three mats all purchased from TJ Maxx for about $15 each–two Aeromats, which I’m not terribly fond of but have done the trick for two years, and more recently a Yoga Rat, which is hands down my favorite.

At $45 MSRP, the Aurorae is no doubt the most expensive. It’s also the thickest of my four, with big fat bubbles for support.

Fat mat

The mats come in six colors, which they claim illuminate your personality. If this is the case, I am now: intuitive, faithful, visionary, energetic and healing. Thank you, pink mat.

Drishti

I noticed immediately that this mat has more of a matte finish than my other shinier ones. In using it, my first comment to Stew was that it was surprisingly slippery, which may be due to this matte finish. This must be something they’re aware of though because it also comes with a slip-free rosin bag, which is basically a little canvas pillow filled with chalk that you dust over the mat.

Slip-free rosin bag

If you’ve ever seen weight lifters or gymnasts dusting their hands with chalk, this is pretty much the same idea. It worked wonders and instantly eradicates the slip issue.

In all, I think the Aurorae mat is a quality (albeit expensive) item. For me, the slip factor isn’t an issue since I use a slip-free towel over my mats for hot yoga anyway. But if you were planning to sweat on this without a towel, you’d wash away your slip-free chalk pretty quickly.

One of the things I like most about the brand is the owner’s story. He turned to yoga after surviving cancer and says, “I am not an instructor or a yogi, just a dedicated student that has enriched his life through yoga and understands what the regular everyday student needs in their yoga practice.”

Click to enlarge

From the manufacturer:

Aurorae yoga mats include illuminating colors, focal point icon, extra long and extra thick yoga mats as well as yoga bags, and yoga accessories. Browse their best reviewed yoga mats, yoga bags and yoga accessories for all your yoga needs.


Lell's Cafe

In Restaurants on December 12, 2010 at 9:19 am

My veggie wrap

An unassuming location sandwiched between a cash advance joint and a Budget Rental Car isn’t exactly the first place I look to find a community-supported, locally-sourced restaurant in a town where the chain restaurant is king. I suppose that’s part of what makes Lell’s Cafe so appealing; the location gives it that diamond-in-the-rough allure, and the owner’s faith in our farmers and community makes it an irresistible stop for anyone with an interest in supporting local food.

Lell's Cafe - Rock Hill, SC

Eat here.

Lell’s is a Community Supported Restaurant (CSR), which means it doesn’t receive loans from banks. Rather, members of the community make financial investments in the venture in exchange for food and drink. But it’s so much more than money and food. To me, a CSR has a far greater mission. It’s about preserving the forgotten singularity of the American town, about supporting the economy and about becoming intimately aware of what real food is, where it comes from and why it’s important.

To say that I’m excited about this would be an understatement.

Yeah

No tomatoes in winter. Deal with it.

I had the veggie wrap above, which has hummus, spinach, carrots and (in the winter) a sun-dried tomato tapenade. Fresh tomatoes are only available when fresh tomatoes grow. I love that.

Stew started with a dirty chai, which is a chai latte with espresso, and a Tastes Like Summer sandwich, which is mozzarella, roasted red pepper, spinach and basil (only in season).

Blowmymind. So good.

Tastes like summer

Stew also rounded the meal out with a ginger truffle.

Ginger truffle oooooh

This restaurant is exciting, inspiring and (from the looks of it when we were there) thriving. I look forward to many more visits and (hopefully) many more CSRs popping up around the country.


25 Days of Yoga Guest Post

In Yoga on December 12, 2010 at 8:35 am

Lauren from Run Yoga Repeat

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I’m a new blogger over at runyogarepeat.wordpress.com. When I saw Katie mention a guest post about her yoga challenge, I wanted in. I love yoga, and I love sharing yoga with others.

I started going to yoga freshman year of college. My school offered free classes, and there were some weeks where I went everyday or most days at the noontime class. I started to get really excited about the class and how it made me feel. I was used to running or the gym for exercise, and yoga was something different. Something unique. I felt strong, energized, powerful, relaxed, and peaceful. I would enter class frazzled because of all the things I had to do and leave with a clear mind.

I continued to do yoga throughout freshman and sophomore year and tried a few classes at a studio during the summer and vacations. I recently transferred schools, and I have fallen even more in love with yoga. The yoga classes at my new school have helped me better my practice. I have tried new poses that I was scared of (headstand!), as well as focus on the correct alignment of other poses. I have also felt more relaxed and meditative during savasana, partly because of the modifications our teacher does by pressing down on our shoulders and forehead with lavender scented hands.

One of the many reasons I love yoga is the challenge. Running and yoga both challenge me physically and mentally. The difference is in yoga, I embrace the challenge and focus all my energy on each posture. I use my energy to deepen my practice and mind. When I run, I challenge myself, but there are times I just want to give up. In yoga, I look at the challenge of a difficult pose or class as an opportunity to become stronger and feel better. Instead of giving up, I breathe through the moment and focus on how it makes me feel. More likely than not, it makes me feel happy inside. It is my me time of the day.

I have decided to do a yoga challenge during the holiday season as well. It is hard to get away from the busyness of the season. I hope know my yoga challenge will help me appreciate the holidays, my wonderful life, and my strong body and mind.

I am looking forward to the many hours on my mat in down dog and warrior poses. I cannot wait to challenge myself even more and relax in savasana. Most of all, I am excited for the peaceful mind that will help me enjoy and be grateful for so many things during the holiday season.

[If you'd like to submit a guest post for the 25 Days of Yoga (you don't have to be participating; just share your yoga experience in general), send the content to: sweettaterblog@gmail.com.]


Caturday 12/11/10

In Cats on December 11, 2010 at 8:54 am

Good work, Ralph.

Happy Caturday! Did you notice today is 12/11/10? I only did because I typed 10/11/10 into the title and thought, ” Aw maaaan, I missed 10/10/10.” But then I realized it’s not October. I’d like to start by saying that this week I was made aware that this exists: Cat Workout. That is all.

Aaaaalso, sometimes I get the feeling La Weaz gets all the attention on Caturday, so here’s a tribute to all the hard work Ralph puts in each day as a cat.

Like Tim Gunn, she critiques all of my outfits… even Halloween costumes.

Make it work.

She guards the house…

Mostly I just want dinner.

And she warms the bed…

I'm just sleeping. Do not disturb.

What about me?

Look what I tan do!

I tan wead. What zis say?

So you see? Cats aren’t just animals that walk around your house. They do things all the time…

Look at Katy’s Samson using his body to make sure the back of the couch is level.

Exactly.

And making his rounds on Christmas Eve.

All in a night's work

Samantha’s cat folds laundry…

And keeps it toasty warm.

Hannah’s Jack and Charlie are just awesome.

This

NEVER

happened!

THIS NEVER HAPPENED

In closing, Stew’s grandpa sent me this delightful cat vs. bird video and Ralph is going nuts trying to figure out where the chirping bird is…


Did it All for the Cookie

In Holidays on December 10, 2010 at 10:26 am

Cookie time!

Last night’s cookie extravaganza at Brittney’s house turned even this Scrooge into a happy little holiday elf.

Here I am being helpful

I woke up this morning ready to be home for Christmas, wandering around in my pajamas for days on end and not once stepping foot outside in the snow. Two more weeks…

I had a really wonderful time last night. In attendance: Jen, Kelly, Jessie, Cindi, Caitlin, Jen, Lindsay, Andrea and most importantly:

Clyde

Look at that little nugget in his festive winter wear.

Caitlin may or may not have tried to dognap him

There was a LOT of food…

Fooood

Jen's nut pate was awesome

My non-cookie food. (times 2)

It's cocktail tiiiiime

But you don’t care about food… or vodka. We’re here for some damn COOKIES.

Jen's cranberry cookies

Kelly's ginger snaps

My loot

I couldn’t sample everything, but I did put away Cindi’s brownie-stuffed chocolate chip cookie (YES), a million of Jen D’s candy cane chocolate bark things, my own salted chocolate-caramel cookie and Jen M’s first vegan baking experiment.

As predicted, I did throw up this morning. I’m not even kidding. I bet I haven’t been sick in well over a year. I think it had a lot more to do with how quickly I inhaled my breakfast, how nervous I am about the final I’m clearly not studying for and how early it was than with how much sugar I ate last night. But I feel a lot more hardcore when I say I ate Christmas cookies until I puked.

On that note… Happy Holidays! Who wants a cookie??


Vegan Heavy Cream

In Vegan on December 10, 2010 at 8:08 am

Vegan heavy cream how-to

I suppose it would help if I explained how I made all of Martha’s butter-, milk- and egg-heavy recipes vegan yesterday. People did, in fact, call me out and remind me that heavy cream is not vegan. I suppose it doesn’t go without saying that everything I bake is vegan because I haven’t purchased eggs, cow’s milk or butter in over a year. So when I say “milk,” I mean soy, almond, rice, etc.

Heavy cream is another story though. Because milk substitutes are usually fat-free and very low sugar, they simply won’t cause the reaction that full fat cream would.

One cup of heavy cream has 821 calories and 88g fat (54 of them saturated). Soy milk, on the other hand, has just 120 calories and 5g fat (0.5 saturated) in 1 cup. While I knew I’d never be able to up the calorie and fat content to full cream status, I knew I could at least work in some saturated fat.

Enter: the humble coconut. People seem to be afraid of coconuts because of their saturated fat content, but the fruit has medium-chain fatty acids, which I understand are processed differently (better) in the body than the long-chain fatty acids in saturated animal fats.

So…

Vegan Heavy Cream

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup soy milk (or rice, almond, etc.)

Combine milks and let simmer on the stove until it reduces down to 1 cup. Substitute in recipes as 1 cup of heavy cream.

Reduced

It’s still no where near the nutrient profile of heavy cream, but you now have a much thicker, sweeter, fatter, animal-free milk to work with. I used it for Martha’s chocolate-caramel cookies with great success. I can’t promise it’ll work everywhere, but if it works for caramel, I’d say you’re good to go with just about anything.


Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

In Baked Goods on December 9, 2010 at 10:54 am

Lemon cornmeal tea cookies

If you’re drowning in a sea of salted chocolate-caramel, the only thing that will save you from sugar coma is a lightly sweet, subtly tart lemon cornmeal cookie with rosemary essence. [Note: Martha's recipe is not vegan. I used Earth Balance instead of butter and a flax/chia egg instead of real egg.]

This little guy just screams for a mug of tea and a snowfall.

Goods

Globs

Greatness

The rosemary is subtle. Just one sprig placed atop each cookie for baking gives your taste testers that ooh-what’s-THAT-I-detect-in-there moment.

So who’s coming to the cookie exchange tonight? Bet you wish you were now. WINK.


Salted Choco-Caramel Cookies

In Baked Goods on December 9, 2010 at 10:44 am

Salted chocolate caramel shortbread cookies. Aw hell.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “Damnit I wish I had the richest, densest, most outrageously delicious cookie on the face of the planet,” then has Martha Stewart got a deal.for.you. [Note: Martha's recipe is not vegan. I used Earth Balance instead of butter, vegan chocolate chips and my version of vegan cream, which you can find here.]

Presenting salted chocolate-caramel shortbread cookies in all their buttery, sugary, chocolatey glory:

Angels sing. Doves fly.

Not just caramel, no… chocolate caramel. Not just a cookie, no… a dense block of solidified butter. Not just sweet, no… salted sweetness.

Not just that… vegan.

Get you one.


Accidoodles

In Baked Goods on December 9, 2010 at 10:37 am

Whoops

While I’m not an excellent baker, I consider myself a master of messing up recipes for baked goods. This is a title I hold in high esteem and I’m sure you do, too. I don’t know why it’s so impossible for me to follow a recipe; I do know how to read.

Sometimes my slip ups are unsalvageable, but other times… they become accidoodles.

An accidoodle is a recipe-gone-wrong that becomes a snicker doodle. Sort of. Obviously.

To make accidoodles, simply:

  1. Try to make this, but instead of combining the butter with 1/4 c brown sugar, dump in 1.5 cups regular sugar.
  2. Stare at it blankly when it won’t combine.
  3. Set aside. Make this recipe for real this time.
  4. Come back an hour later to stare blankly at the bowl of sugarbutter a bit more.
  5. Throw in some flour.
  6. Applaud yourself for thinking of that.
  7. Add baking powder. Lots of it.
  8. High five yourself for thinking of that.
  9. How about a flax egg? No no… two.
  10. A little soy milk? I think so!
  11. Glob it onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
  12. Cook for about 10 minutes on 350… because all cookies bake at 350, right?
  13. Take them to a food blogger cookie exchange.
  14. Hope all goes well.
  15. If (by some miracle of God) people ask for the recipe… say it’s an old family secret.

Oh, and eat one. They’re totally good.


Nachos Nachos Nachos

In Dinner on December 8, 2010 at 9:06 pm

Indeed

Tonight on my way home from yoga, over the deafening roar of the Taylor Swift CD I’ve been blasting for a month, came a peculiar rumbling from beyond:

NACHOS NACHOS NACHOS

“Whoooooa there, cravings,” I thought. I didn’t even know I liked nachos this damn much until Stew and I ate them after the wedding on Friday.

So there I am on 77 South, the night was sparkling (right, Taylor?) and all I could think was:

NACHOS NACHOS NACHOS

Stoplight after stoplight after stoplight. Park car. Greet cats (“Hola gatitaaaaaaas!”). Breeze past doting boyfriend. Shower (skip hair washing). Beeline for the kitchen.

Chop chop chop. Rinse. Sprinkle. Microwave…

Behold.

Instead of cheese, Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar. Instead of black beans, chickpeas. Instead of iceberg lettuce, spinach.

Instead of cravings… satisfaction.

That bad boy went from existing to digesting in about 3 minutes flat.

And now, strangely enough, all I can hear is:

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE


Midweek Meditations 2

In Yoga on December 8, 2010 at 2:05 pm

Namaste, little Weaz

If you’re participating in 25 Days of Yoga, I hope you’re enjoying it. It’s day 10 for me, and I feel great.

Here are some things that have jumped out at me this past week in my yoga readings from Meditations from the Mat:

If you need a better reason to give yoga a try…

“When I was a kid, there was a sense of magic all over the place. I used to love fairy tales. But you get into adulthood, and it’s gone. There was a real hole in my heart, and that started to feel like a hole in my life. Yoga filled the hole, and it renewed my faith. There is magic, there is guidance, there is spirituality, there is God.” – Natalie G., yoga teacher

If you think yoga is only physical…

“I came to yoga for the cross-training benefits, but after a while a few classes turned into more. I didn’t see the effects right away, but the, all of a sudden, I was doing things that I could never do before.” Vicki E., yoga student

“Again and again students say they come to yoga to work on their flexibility, or to tone their abs, buns and thighs, but that something else has kept them coming back. Something else has blossomed in their hearts. Yoga opens the door to the life that we have yearned to live.”

If you have trouble holding poses when it gets tough…

“The first year and a half of yoga was really hard, emotionally and physically, and I wanted to quit. There were so many painful things, I somethings didn’t know how I would get through class, but I stayed with it. I think some of what I was learning by sticking with yoga was also helping me to learn how to stick with my partner. I worked on not leaving when the going gets tough.” -Martha M., yoga student

If you find yourself jealous of more advanced students…

“Yoga was the one area in my life where I didn’t compete. I’ve settled into being a student. I am willing to learn, but it’s not about getting better, or better than the person next to me. Now I admire other students for their dedication.”

Namaste!


PB & Grape

In Breakfast on December 8, 2010 at 10:46 am

PB&G

Man, oh man… I hate me some grape jelly. I think it is by far the worst of all the jellies/jams (strawberry being the best, obviously).

This doesn’t stop me from putting fresh grapes on my peanut butter toast, though. Oh no, it does not.

Haters gon' hate.

This also didn’t stop me from eating my body weight in this bad boy as a child:

What dreams were made of in 1992.

Speaking of 1992… I just heard a fellow university student announce her birth date: January 31… 1992.

NINETEEN NINETY TWO??

When observing my campus population, one of these things is not like the others… that thing is me.


Follow Your Heart Cheese

In Products on December 7, 2010 at 8:51 am

Follow Your Heart cheddar cheese

I met Mike from Follow Your Heart last month at the FNCE Expo. I walked by his booth, looked at his cheesy toast bites with much skepticism and said, “I hate vegan cheese.”

Smooth, Katie. But it’s true. I do hate vegan cheese. My first, second and last experience was with Daiya and the thought of it still makes me gag. For some reason, I tried a sample of Follow Your Heart anyway.

I described it here: “This was a pretty exciting moment for me. Perhaps you’ve heard that I hate, hate, hate vegan cheese. My experience was with Daiya, and my experience was terrible. I gag just thinking about it. I didn’t even want to try this mess again but I figured an expo hall was as good a place as any to throw up in front of a group. Wait… that’d be bad. But guess what… I loved it. Vegan cheese success! I never thought I’d see the day.”

Winner

Mike and I chatted at length about my conversion from vegan cheese-hater, about food blogs and about how I hate his main competitor but everyone else seems to love it. I attribute this to advertising. This past week, he sent along more samples… LOTS. I now have mountains of Follow Your Heart cheese.

Oh no, I thought, what if I don’t like it that much? What if I was in an Expo Hall-induced delirium when I tried it? What if… I still hate vegan cheese?

A taste test was in order.

Onto a cracker.... into the microwave

Melty cheese success

Yes, I still like it. Considering I didn’t gag, didn’t tell Stew to take it away, didn’t shudder hours later and announce, “I almost threw up thinking about the cheese again,” (all of these things happened last time I had vegan cheese) I’d call it a success!

It also shreds beautifully, which I didn’t believe would work because the texture is so soft. Get ready for pizza…


Carrot Apple Ginger Juice

In Juicing on December 7, 2010 at 8:31 am

Who decided this had juice inside?

I’d like to know who looked at a carrot for the first time and thought, “Yeah I can I definitely get juice out of that.” Because then I would like to hug that person.

Stew and I juiced for the first time last night, which sounds so much dirtier than it is.

Sleazy

Make no mistake, we didn’t go out and buy a juicer. I laugh in the face of purchases over $10 on this the day my second semester of tuition is due. [Shudder] No, this is a loaner from Stew’s parents. Can you call something a loaner if the person you took it from doesn’t know you have it? Until now?

At any rate, Stew borrowed it from his parents house when we moved because they are out of the country for a while. Might as well put it to good use while they’re away, right?

Right!

Into the juice beast went a sack of carrots, five or 6 apples and two chunks of ginger…

Action

Reminds me of this gem from my childhood:

Play Doh Fun Factory

But instead of terrible salty noodles (don’t act like you never at Play Doh!), it makes…

Juice! (and lots of pulp)

Our one wee bag of carrots made a LOT of juice. Probably 8 cups? Who knew there was that much juice in a carrot? We were a little bummed we didn’t have something green to juice into it. Next time… And there will be a next time.

Have you ever juiced? What’s your favorite combination?


Socialized Gender

In Health on December 6, 2010 at 3:17 pm

Mmmhmmm.

A few weeks ago, a lovely dietitian came to speak to one of my classes about what she does in the field. I admire her work and enjoyed hearing her presentation. One thing that caught me off guard, however, were these horribly sexist pamphlets on teen weight she passed around.

Featuring socialized gender at its finest, the pamphlets come in pink for girls and blue for boys. The messages on each perpetuate the horrendously false belief that weight management should be about strength for men and about looking good for women.

The pamphlet design makes it abundantly clear that these weren’t printed any time post-1995, but why do they still exist? Are we not over this yet?

Yes, weight management can be about strength, and yes, it can also be about looking good. But I know plenty of men who want to look good and plenty of women who want to be strong (and vice versa). In the end, shouldn’t it all be about being healthy? Living a long time? Caring for the vehicle that will carry us through life with just half the care and attention (and money) we put into the vehicles that carry us around town?

I certainly think so.


Substantial Sauce

In What's for Lunch? on December 6, 2010 at 3:00 pm

Spaghetti squash

I felt a nagging twinge of guilt following Thanksgiving week due to the amount of waste I threw out (hello, half  a pie; garbage for you after a week…). We’ve been nursing leftovers for a while now, but I can only go so long before my food safety classes start to crash my tasty week-old food party.

After having to throw out a bunch of stuff, I vowed to make use of the fresh produce in my fridge before it was… not so fresh.

Into a skillet went a zucchini. Into the oven went an entire head of broccoli. Into a jarred spaghetti sauce went all of this plus half a tempeh loaf, and on top of a bowl of spaghetti squash it landed–a pretty substantial little meal.


Nachos and Nuptials

In Restaurants on December 5, 2010 at 6:56 pm

Best nachos of my life.

Friday night, Stew and I attended a lovely little wedding in Charlotte.

Ralphie took this

Cute little bag o' caramels

I spied some bacon or something in the mashed potatoes so it was mountains of veggies for the vegetarians…

Vegetables galore

This then led us to Six Pence on the way home where we inhaled the best nachos I’ve ever eaten and pickle chips that didn’t really thrill me.

Six Pence

Dranks

Underwhelming pickle chips

It pains me to disapprove of a pickle chip because they are just so good, but these were not.

The nachos, however, were exactly what I want in a plate of… nachos. Melted cheddar, not sauce. Beans, not meat. Mountains of fresh veggies.

The waiter even gave us that whole, “Wow, y’all did some work on THAT,” thing that makes you realize you’re not really supposed to be able to finish the whole thing. What can you do?


Sweet Tater Talks

In Video on December 5, 2010 at 2:09 pm

Uh oh...

As if having written documentation of my almost-every thought, action and F-bomb weren’t enough to ruin my reputation for the rest of my life, I’ve decided to delve into the world of internet video… not THAT kind of video, you dirtbags.

Fully clothed!

Sweet Tater Talks will (ideally) be a once-weekly rundown of the latest food happenings from policy to reality TV, blogs, product reviews and everything in between. But since this mother took me a good 4 FRIGGING HOURS to complete last night… Let’s just say I’m not making any promises.

I’ve always been a writer, not a speaker. My public speaking professor (who was also my journalism professor) told me to stick to writing. I’ll take that as a challenge, kind sir. Let’s not forget I hold in my possession a trophy for my instructional speech on how to make a bubble machine in third grade (or somewhere around there). Don’t worry, I’ll teach you one day.

Before I reveal the link (because I’m still kind of humiliated but going to do it anyway), here’s a look behind the scenes:

The set

The attire

The director

I bet you news anchors never wear pants. Ever.

And without further adieu, I present:

Sweet Tater Talks – Season 1, Episode 1: Tom Vilsack loves cheese, Top Chef All Stars Season 8 kicks off and the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act finally passes the House.

That’s right, I called it a “season” and an “episode.” A girl can dream. Hate on, haters.


PB & Pear Toast

In Breakfast on December 5, 2010 at 10:07 am

Peanut butter and pears on toast

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the peanut butter + fruit combo extends far beyond jellies and jams.

I’ve found that you can top just about any fresh fruit with peanut butter and call it a success. Fruits I’ve eaten atop peanut butter toast include:

  • Strawberries
  • Grapes
  • Kiwi
  • Apples (obviously)
  • Dried apriocots
  • And now… Pears

It works

This was actually yesterday’s breakfast. I was up until 2am working on my first ever Sweet Tater video that shall never see the light of day and fueling the venture with brownies so I wasn’t met with my usual morning hunger today. Give it time…


Caturday 12/4/10

In Cats on December 4, 2010 at 8:47 am

I am special!

Happy frigid Caturday! I don’t know about your house, but catsicle season is well under way here at Caturday headquarters. (Yes, my cats drink out of a glass next to the TV. Don’t hate.)

Weaz looks like this when it gets cold:

Catsicle

But this post isn’t about the cats being cold. This post is about their drug habit.

Let's go to Taco Bell

Earlier this week they broke out their stash (two tiny catnip toys that have to be almost two years old at this point) and got high as kites.

CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP

CATNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP

I guess catnip never goes bad. [Unlike McDonald's, which I was informed a billion times of yesterday when I shared a photo of it not rotting.] And I guess you’re surprised to see that Ralph and Weaz aren’t the standup citizens you see portrayed here on Caturday. This is just what happens when cats reach internet stardom at a young age. Things go downhill by age two. Hugs not drugs, y’all. Hugs not drugs.

My name is Ralphie and I disapprove of this message.

While Ralph and Weaz were out getting blitzed (do you say that about drugs?) their new internet friends were out doing respectable cat things:

Molly’s Gracie-Lou (best name ever) volunteered to mentor (torment-or?) at-risk youth dogs…

Bad dog

Turned good dog. Success. (Gracie-Lou and Liberty)

Lily’s Link is a devoted environmentalist who does volunteer water safety checks and teaches us how to conserve water…

ALL CLEAR

No water for you

Amelia’s Jerry wraps presents for homeless shelter kittens and fosters orphaned stuffed animals…

Every kitten should have a toy on Christmas

So much love to give

He also put his good looks toward a good cause by modeling for a calendar and donating the funds to charity.

Lookin good, Jer!

Thanks to those who shared photos! You can send yours along to sweettaterblog@gmail.com, subject: CATURDAY to be featured.


GM Apples Up for Approval

In News on December 3, 2010 at 12:11 pm

Genetically modified apples won't brown

I don’t know about you, but I’m so over genetically modified foods. The problem with this, of course, is that no amount of due diligence will prevent you from consuming these products here in the US considering Monsanto’s GM seeds control about 95% of the food supply and likely cross-contaminate any fields that aren’t GM. Their soybeans are everywhere, and according to my food hero Marion Nestle, Monsanto’s GM sugar beets make up 95% of that crop.

The latest and greatest (?) genetically modified food up for approval by the USDA are apples from Okanagan Specialty Fruits. These franken-fruits will resist oxidative browning when bitten or cut.

Hmm, a food that won’t age… sounds like something else we eat a lot of here:

180-day-old Happy Meal won't decompose

I realize a GM apple is a far cry from a Happy Meal, but would you agree that food is meant to go bad? Food is supposed to go stale, get moldy and (oh, the horror) turn brown. This means it’s real. This means it’s probably organic. This means it’s safe to eat (pre-decomposition, of course).

Additional problems with these GM apples cited on Food Safety News include:

  • People will assume a non-brown apple is fresh when it very likely is not. The longer it takes to brown, the longer it can sit in a truck or on a shelf losing precious nutrients without you ever knowing it.
  • The very real possibility of cross-pollination of GM apples with conventional apples could make it damn near impossible to avoid eating them if you don’t want to.
  • It’s an “unnecessary interference with nature that could have severe unintended consequences on the environment and human health.”

There are some claims for benefits, too, like: ”improved agricultural performance (less labor, energy, and cost input), reduced usage of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, more efficient land usage, ability to grow crops in previously unfavorable environment leading to improved ability to feed an increasing world population, improved sensory characteristics and nutritional attributes of food, removal of allergens or toxic components, and improved processing characteristics leading to reduced waste and lower food costs to the consumer.”

Still, the USDA sums the whole issue up nicely: ”There is an ongoing controversy over the benefits and risks of this technology, and concerns about unforeseen consequences of its use.”

What’s your take on genetically modified foods? Do you eat them? Do you realize you’re eating them even if you just said you don’t? You are.


Get Used to It: Cowfish

In Restaurants on December 2, 2010 at 10:10 pm

Oh lawd.

Y’all go ahead and let me know when you’re sick of hearing about Cowfish because I will not tire of eating there any time soon.

I won’t tire of:

1/2 off wine on Wednesdays

Or these lettuce wraps

Or these fried delights

Or seeing Ric Flair there

Rumor has it homeboy lives upstairs. So if you’re a fan of sushi and burgers AND pro wrestlers from the 80s, then this, my friends, is the place for you.

I got the ahi tuna burger sans tuna and + 1 veggie burger. I had carrots, beets and ginger slaw.

"Have mercy!" cried Uncle Jesse

And Stew got the green monster: veggie burger + fried jalapenos, avocado and wasabi.

Mmmhmm

We are well pleased with the Cowfish. Well pleased.

PS – Have you ever SEEN a cowfish?

Delightful.


Beards BeCAUSE Yoga

In Yoga on December 2, 2010 at 9:52 pm

We <3 sweaty yogis

Last night I ventured out of the comfort of my “home” studio to attend a charity class for Beards BeCAUSE at Yoga One.

They’re raising awareness about domestic violence and donating the funds to battered women’s shelters. I met one of the founders, Scott, when I was covering the BBQ festival from a vegetarian angle so I was happy to contribute. They’re just shy of $25,000 so far this year and are hosting their finale party tomorrow night at Amos’ Southend. If you’re in the Charlotte area, stop by.

The studio is so much different than mine–younger, grittier… in a basement. SILENT. I really liked it. The lack of music threw me for a loop at the beginning since it’s so pivotal for the classes I do at the other studio, but it actually didn’t bother me at all and I found that the class seemed to go by faster without it. How odd.

Yoga One

It was a sweaty good time and I’m sure I’ll be visiting again.

One of the things I’m looking forward to throughout this month is visiting new studios. I think I need to remind myself that, while I adore my studio, I really just adore yoga. And that should be my focus. When I left Greenville, I swore I’d never do yoga again because I missed my studio so much and never thought I’d find anything comparable. Look at me now. You never know what’s out there.


On Dairy… Again

In Health on December 2, 2010 at 8:51 am

Hmmm

Dairy has always made me a little bit uneasy, but my relationship with it kind of ebbs and flows (which I talked about here). It doesn’t bother me if it’s in something, but I would never drink a glass of milk and yogurt doesn’t really work for me unless it’s mostly cereal and/or fruit. Hard cheeses aren’t usually a problem, but soft cheeses gross me out.

When I was a baby, I was allergic to cow’s milk. I’d break out into an adorable rosy, red rash on my face. People told my mom I was beautiful; she laughed and said I was having an allergic reaction. When I was elementary-aged, the thought of having to consume a carton of milk at school sent me into panic mode (because I hated it; I didn’t know then that I’d been allergic as a baby and had grown out of it by then) until the snack volunteer arrived with a special juice just for me. At home I’d eat all the cereal out of the top of my bowl and dump the full bowl of milk right down the sink.

It’s at once a taste thing and a texture thing, and more recently has been twinged with a side of ethics. But I’ve concluded, I think, that I’m not ethically opposed to the consumption of dairy. At all. I’m ethically opposed to the treatment of dairy animals (and egg layers, too, for that matter). I find the consumption odd, yes, since we are the only creatures on earth that consume milk after infancy and that we consume it from another animal’s body outside the human race. But for now anyway, I don’t think I’ve concluded that makes it the “wrong” thing to do. So I’m not vegan, but I eat that way often.

At any rate, I had to choke down this yogurt yesterday, so thick the spoon stands up on its own:

Hmmmmmmmmmm

I don’t believe in eating things I don’t like just because they’re good for me–here’s lookin’ at YOU mushrooms and cucumbers. But here’s the thing: I have this theory that my once gigantic, thick curly hair is getting flatter and flatter over time, and I’m testing to see if it’s (non)dairy-related.

Exhibit A: 2007 (Hey Glanz!)

Exhibit B: 2010

Am I right?

So here’s my question: Despite consuming adequate intakes of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and macronutrients (fat, protein, carbs) from primarily non-animal foods, could the source of these nutrients have an impact on something like… hair?

You tell me! (Please. I really don’t know.)


Mid-Week Meditations 1

In Yoga on December 1, 2010 at 7:56 am

By Rolf Gates

At my old yoga studio, our teachers would often read passages from Meditations from the Mat at the beginning and end of class. Sometimes the words resonated with me and other times I didn’t listen at all. Kind of like class. Or church.

When they hit me, though, they hit me hard. As the cheapie I am, I refused to buy the book myself and instead carried around a borrowed copy from the library for far longer than I’m sure they would have liked until Stew took pity on me and bought it, as he so often does.

I used it as a guide during last year’s 25 Days of Yoga and am back at it again. The idea is to read one passage per day for 365 days. I’ve read the book in its entirety but never over the course of a year. Because I tend to revisit the first half of the book over and over and over again, this time I decided to start on Day 185… because that’s the page that fell open on Day 1 of 25 Days of Yoga 2010.

While I certainly won’t copy anything in its entirety because I think Rolf Gates did a tremendous job gathering all of the excerpts and organizing them into an inspiring sequence, I will share some snippets, my reactions and my best persuasive tone when I say, “Buy this book.” That sounds fair, right?

Some things I’ve enjoyed this week:

  • “We can practice yoga simply as a means for physical well-being. If, however, we choose to make the asana [poses] an integral aspect of our spiritual path, the stakes become very high.”
  • “If I am unwilling to give up a few of my rights–my right to potato chips and cream cheese brownies, for example, or my right to the money I can earn by overworking, or my freedom to stay up until three to finish a good book–then I will not realize my full potential on the mat. It’s that simple… When I am eating the wrong foods, my practice is directly affected… I lose strength, focus and sensitivity… I am forced to reconsider my definition of freedom.”
  • “For each of us, sauca [purity] is a journey of discovery. What works for you? Dairy, no dairy; meat, no meat; lots of sunshine, very little sun; lots of stimulation, or quiet solitude; long ambles, or power walks. We each find our own way to health and balance.”

See my 25 Days of Yoga 2010 page for more information on my December challenge, and please, please, please consider donating to my fundraiser for The Water Project, which brings sustainable water to the neediest places in the world.


Brownie Time

In Baked Goods on December 1, 2010 at 7:36 am

Indeed

Last night after Stew’s epic battle: shepherd’s pie, I announced it was brownie time. And it was.

I remember in my food composition lab over the summer my professor asking if anyone had ever actually made brownies from scratch. In my mind I scoffed and thought, “Of course.” But I hadn’t. I’ve only ever made it straight out of box. As it turns out, making it at home is equally idiot-proof… almost.

I used this recipe and into a bowl went:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Tah dah

Stupid-easy. And I topped it with chocolate chips too.

Unfortunately, I broke through the idiot-proof barrier and over-baked it so it’s more like a cake than a dense, chewy brownie. Why, oh why must baking forsake me so?