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Archive for March, 2011


Stew’s Moroccan Stew

In Dinner, Stew on March 31, 2011 at 8:54 pm

Moroccan stew from Alan Roettinger's "Speed Vegan"

I met with my advisor today and it looks like my life in the fall will… suck. No, that’s too whiny… My schedule will suck. Night classes galore coupled with my 20 hours of associateship work and topped off with a cherry of misery in the form of a thrice-a-week in the morning math class is really throwing my game off. I am miserable thinking about it.

Maybe, just maybe, Stew will make me things like this every single night. Because I’ll never be home before 9. I want to die… Actually, I want to bail on my whole master plan. It’s not the fun, inspiring adventure I thought it would be. It’s draining and expensive and soul crushing. That’s how I feel right now.

Tonight’s dinner is from a book I was asked to review: Alan Roettinger’s Speed Vegan. Honestly, I haven’t spent much time with it but if all the recipes are as good as this stew, the man has done something right. Stew did say, however, that it took him a good hour and a half to make the meal. Not too far off from most of the nightly cooking we do but would hardly be considered “speedy” for most.

It also contains approximately one billion spices that, thanks to our recent foray into Indian cooking, we happened to have on hand.

Spiiiiiiices

It’s really a great stew that, served with brown rice cous cous and some socca, makes a lovely, end-of-a-long-day meal. And I can only assume… great leftovers, which I’ll be needing for another packed lunch tomorrow.

Whiny much? You bet I am.


Popcorn and PB Cups

In Snack on March 31, 2011 at 7:40 am

A match made in heaven.

I highly recommend that you do the following:

  • Purchase (or pop your own) bag of popcorn.
  • Salt it.
  • Purchase (or make your own) mini peanut butter cups. [Mine are from Trader Joe's]
  • Eat them at the same time.

Indeed.

This flavor combination has inspired me to make a popcorn peanut butter cup. Oh yes. It will happen.


Ooooh… Freekeh

In Products on March 31, 2011 at 7:39 am

Freekeh burger salad

In an attempt to get our Trader Joe’s vegetable masala burger habit under control, I purchased a new frozen TJ veggie burger a few weeks ago. (They’re good but we will never stop eating vegetable masala burgers… ever.) The first ingredient on these new burgers? Freekeh wheat.

Come again?

If you’re like me and have created an outrageous voice for your cats that’s something like a Spanglish-Russian-four-year-old hybrid, then “freekeh” to you is just how the cats would say freaky. But because no one is crazy enough to do or think that, I knew I needed to do some research and find out what freekeh wheat really is…

Apparently freekeh is harvested when the wheat is still yellow and the seeds are soft. This is then roasted, sun-dried and cracked into smaller pieces. Freekeh is a common cereal food in Arab cuisine.

It also makes a good burger.

The first time I ate the freekeh burgers, I think I was a bit too eager to eat my lunch and didn’t cook them enough so they were kind of soggy and mmmeh. Stew’s solution to this was: Fry the hell out of them in lots of oil. Don’t mind if I do…

That seemed to do the trick and I got a nice crispy sear on the outside of the freekeh burger. Success.


Cake Batter Candies

In Dessert on March 30, 2011 at 6:13 am

Vegan cake batter candies... that failed.

Over the weekend I was determined to make a vegan version of cake batter truffles. Sadly, I botched them big time. Stew still loves them but I am none too impressed. I know where I went wrong (too much xanthan gum made them, uh… gummy) so I’ll give it another go… sometime.

Until then, you have to just dream about them. Or come up with a recipe and let me use it.

Make me not gross.


Make the Fireflies Dance

In Restaurants on March 29, 2011 at 6:04 am

Veggie burger at Six Pence (Fort Mill)

Remember Sixpence None the Richer?

Of course you do.

That “Kiss Me” song permeated every cranium from here to Hawaii… It’s still played on the terrible radio stations I listen to. (I still listen to the radio. What year is it?)

Anyway, Stew and I had dinner over the weekend at Six Pence Pub in Fort Mill. He was craving the nachos we had that one time and I was craving exiting the house. We succeeded in addressing both concerns.

Stew's nachos and hushpuppies

I got a veggie burger. I knew it would just be one of the frozen ones but I wasn’t up for nachos and the vegetarian options kind of disappear after those two choices. I wasn’t unhappy with it though. I described it to Stew as a “good bad veggie burger.” You know, a bad cheap frozen veggie burger that, for what it is, is pretty good.

You know what I’m saying.

Stew's beer


PB Chocolate Pudding

In Dessert on March 29, 2011 at 5:01 am

Peanut butter chocolate pudding... vegan. 3 ingredients.

We all know about the wonderful world of banana soft serve. A lone frozen banana and a few mix-ins can be whipped into a frenzy of glorious creamy ice cream-esque soft serve.

What do you do though when Mother Nature plays a cruel, cruel joke on you and throws your sweety, sunny 75-degree days into a frigid toilet of 40-degree rain and despair? Who wants soft serve then? Not this girl.

This girl wants pudding.

Three simple staple ingredients combine in 30 seconds flat for a whole-food treat that will satisfy your sweet tooth… without any added sugar.

3-Ingredient PB Chocolate Pudding

Banana
Peanut butter, about 1 Tbsp
Cocoa powder, about 1 tsp

Combine the three ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

You are very welcome.


Pizza Night on the Cheap

In Dinner on March 28, 2011 at 9:00 am

Homemade pizza is cheapa (sorry)

I’m not sure how it happened but somehow over time Sunday has become our weekly pizza night. We get the absolute biggest pizza available at Fuel (probably the maximum size that will fit in their ovens) and top it with a million vegetables. When it’s all said and done, we’re out $20 (TWENTY DOLLARS).

So last night we wanted our pizza night but we did it a bit more economically by making it ourselves.

Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough – $0.99
Trader Joey’s marinara sauce – $0.70
Organic zucchini – $0.44
Red onion – $0.19
Tomato – $0.37
Artichoke heart – $0.75
Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella – $1.33

TOTAL: $4.77… and it serves two.

Rationality wins.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Why have we been buying $20 pizzas when this was just as good? Never again.

Perhaps you are wondering why I ate vegan cheese considering vegan cheese makes me want to die. Ever since I sampled Follow Your Heart back at the FNCE Expo, I have changed my tune about vegan cheese. But only their vegan cheese. Daiya makes me gag. Even just thinking about it… I shudder. Follow Your Heart is, in my opinion, the only suitable vegan cheese alternative.


Sandwich Satchel

In What's for Lunch? on March 28, 2011 at 6:31 am

All wrapped up with a surprise inside

There’s something so satisfying about food wrapped up into a neat little satchel-esque parchment paper package.

I anticipated a rushed and unpleasant lunch for Friday since I’d be jetting straight from lab to an interview to volunteer work so I nipped that in the bud Thursday night by packing up a cute little lunch complete with parchment package tied with a bow.

Hooray!

Inside I had packed a tempeh sandwich with spinach, Stew’s pizza hummus (which he calls lasagna hummus) and avocado.

Tempeh, spinach, hummus, avocado

I curtailed the overnight browning of my avocado by mashing it with lime juice before spreading it on the sandwich. It turned a bit but not enough to make it inedible.

I ended up getting out of lab and hour early and was able to enjoy a nice leisurely lunch on the porch after all. I’m still glad I planned ahead and will probably be packing many parchment-wrapped sandwiches for the remaining four weeks of school that I can tell are plotting to steal my soul…


CCK’s Baked Oatmeal

In Breakfast on March 27, 2011 at 9:04 am

Baked oatmeal with banana coconut butter

Oh Chocolate-Covered Katie, how I adore you. I have stood by for far too long ogling the unique whole-food creations Katie comes up with but somehow have never made any of them. That ended Sunday morning when I went on a hunt through my favorite bloggers’ recipe indexes to find breakfast (I love using bloggers as a cookbook) and was reminded of her adorable little baked oatmeals… AKA boatmeals.

A simple mix of oats, cinnamon, apple sauce and rice milk yields a moist, chewy, perfect breakfast cake.

Banana coconut butterrrr.

Topped with my own blended mix of 1/2 banana, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 tsp coconut butter, this was easily the best breakfast I’ve had all year.

Action shot... hold on to your butts!

I’m already plotting a TJ Maxx run for more 1-cup ramekins so I can make these en masse to have ready every single morning this week. Say I won’t…


Falafel and Hookah

In Restaurants on March 27, 2011 at 8:30 am

Salad sampler plate + falafel at Sahara

I’ve never been a smoker. I was a rule-follower extraordinaire growing up and as any good D.A.R.E. graduate knows, smoking cigarettes would break the rules. Once after college in a display of absolute drunkenness, I grabbed a friend’s cigarette (who, by the way, only has them when he’s shwasted) and took one lone puff for which I was endlessly ridiculed because apparently I did it wrong. Learned my lesson.

Despite being surrounded by weed in high school (hey, it’s what small-town kids do), I have also never smoked that. Just not my thing. I avoid hookahs, too, but that’s just because I consider the sharing of one mouth piece to be an excellent way to get herpes.

Herp Machine

But since I was with some people that I trust to not be herp-ridden Friday night, I tried my hand at my first hookah. We had double apple flavor but mostly it just tasted like nothing to me. It wasn’t until yesterday that Stew informed me I was probably just doing it wrong again.

I give up on smoking. It’s fine.

One thing I will never give up, however, is falafel. And though you can get both falafel and hookah at Sahara in Rock Hill, I think I’ll stick to my dear and loving deep-fried nuggets of chickpeas and love.

And wine. Of course, wine.


Caturday 3/26/11

In Cats on March 26, 2011 at 8:40 am

Ralllllph

Happy Caturday to all. We have had a pretty uneventful week over here. I ignored life as I know it, bailed on most of my responsibilities and didn’t even manage to take many cat pictures in my “free” time.

Photograph me.

She’s not supposed to be on the table, you know. But I just don’t have the heart to spray her in the face with the water bottle. That’s Stew’s job.

Pets are hard… training them and cleaning up poops and whatnot. I had this epiphany the other night as I was pulling up to my house… It was that I am in no way at all ready for children at all because as I was parking I was thinking, “Please don’t let the animals bother me the second I walk in the door.” I knew this wish was futile and, sure enough, there they were sitting so close to do the door I couldn’t even open it. Just like always.

The cats are definitely the best adult decision I have made to date (I don’t make a lot of decisions, you see) and they bring me more joy than most humans I know. But sometimes… I just want Weaz to not yell at me when I come home. Is that so much to ask?

Oh hi. I was waiting for you so I can meow incessantly.

When I got home that night I realized I didn’t want the animals to bother me, they bothered me more than ever. They literally stood within three feet of me the entire night. To my right…

Pay attention to me.

To my left…

PAY ATTENTION TO ME.

Ralph is a bit less needy on the independent-to-clingy-as-hell spectrum. Ralph and I have this mutual respect for each other’s time and energy (until she realizes she wants to go outside). Weaz… not so much. But I suppose that just as much as she meows and clings to me and really just won’t EVER shut the hell up, I am constantly petting her, scooping her up and rubbing my face in her stomach (what? I don’t do that).

So while the battle to be more annoying rages on with my pets, Stew has adopted a 10-year-old dog with built-in annoyance control that just sleeps all day.

Aw.

He does, however, pee without warning. Like an old man. We’ll get him Depends…

Yes.


Noodle Lab

In School on March 25, 2011 at 11:48 am

Noodles!

Today’s lab was all about… NOODLES.

I’m so glad to be done with all the starch pastes, fat separations and other inedible experiments. Let’s eat some food.

The group made six versions of pasta:

  • Austro-Hungarian drop noodles – AP flour
  • Austro-Hungarian drop noodles – high protein flour (14%)
  • Gnocchi
  • Linguini – AP flour
  • Linguini – whole wheat flour
  • Matzo balls

My group was on gnocchi duty…

Roll and cut

Boil

Serve

This was a fun lab because it’s the end of the year and we’re all kind of over… everything. Pasta is super simple to make and comforting to eat. We heated up some jarred pasta sauce and one group whipped up a garlic oil infusion so we could sample something other than bland noodles.

Nooooodles

I’ve never understood why vegans eat pasta. Not a single one of our recipes was without egg. I know that the dried pastas you buy at the grocery are often made of just flour and water but I do not expect that to be the case in most restaurants. Any vegans have a noodle explanation for me? It’s always baffled me… So anyway, if it’s important to you to avoid eggs, always ask what’s in your pasta when dining out. My assumption is that if it was handmade on site, it has eggs. Anybody know?


Smoothie in a Hurry

In Breakfast on March 25, 2011 at 8:36 am

Hello, beautiful.

I like a lot of bad reality television (no, I did NOT catch the season finale of Jersey Shore last night so do not say a word), so much so that I have decided to give up television entirely for the month of April. It’s part of lululemon Charlotte’s Commit 30 initiative and I’m really looking forward to it. Stew is even in on it and has agreed to cancel our cable. So who wants to hang out with us? We have all kinds of free time now…

Not all that has come from my reality TV habit has been bad. In fact, my commitment to prepare and eat a wholesome meal no matter how busy I am or how late I’m running (uh, 5 minutes behind right now…) comes from Real Housewife of New York Bethenny Frankel. Pre-Housewives days, Bethenny competed on Martha Stewart’s Apprentice (that existed… truth) and in her book Naturally Thin she talks about how the other contestants lived on energy shots and candy bars but that she made a point to prepare three meals a day every day. I like that.

So here is my healthy meal this morning. It through my schedule off a wee bit but I like to think it was worth it.


Saved by Stuffed Onions

In Cookbooks on March 24, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Stuffed onions from The 4 Ingredient Vegan

I’ve had kind of a difficult week since returning from Nicaragua. Not difficult in the “oh woe is me, my life is so hard” sense (I refuse to think that way after that trip, thank you) but more so in the “ack, I’m miserably depressed and won’t get out of bed” kind of way. The trip weighs heavily on my heart but I think there’s more to my wampy attitude than last week alone.

Four days before leaving on the trip my professor pulled me aside and asked if I still really wanted to go; she said I’d been visibly miserable in class for several weeks and she was concerned about my desire to go through with it. I was exhausted, overwhelmed and fed up with my life and she was right, I had looked miserable for a while. I choked on tears (that someone would even think to ask) and assured her the trip was not at all making me miserable. It was my life in general that was causing me distress and I kind of wanted to escape from it. I swore up and down that Nicaragua was exactly what I needed.

That turned out to be true and it was a perfect week. It gave me a chance to put my life on pause, to completely disconnect, to think about and help others outside myself and to kind of cease existing (in my world, anyway) for seven glorious days. Coming back, though, has been a challenge. I’m questioning everything in my life–what I do, who I am, who I want to be–and, upon noticing that that’s kind of a heavy load, have completely retreated.

All this to say… last night I really, really, really wanted to cook a nice homemade meal. The kitchen is without a doubt my favorite place to be, my safe zone if you will, and I wanted to just stand in there for hours and make food. I skipped my third class of the week (oops?) and went to town on a feast from The 4 Ingredient Vegan.

By Maribeth Abrams with Anne Dinshah

I received this book from the publisher last month with the request that I review it. Upon first flip through, I was all set to tear this baby to pieces. Many (most?) of the recipes call for vegan mayonnaise, vegan cream cheese and other fake, processed atrocities. Many of the recipes also contain more than four ingredients. But since you can’t judge a (cook)book by its cover unprepared recipes (and because who really cares if there are more than four ingredients?), I decided to give it a chance.

I selected the:

  • Stuffed Onion Casserole, pg 94
  • Asparagus in Corn Sauce, pg 99
  • Halvah, pg 136

Incredible stuffed onion casserole. INCREDIBLE.

I don’t know why it never occurred to me to stuff an onion but now I wish it had been my idea. Pungent red onion halves are stuffed with a creamy mix of split peas, amaranth and spinach (and I added hot sauce, oregano, garlic and liquid aminos) and then baked for a full hour until the skins are beautifully caramelized and the stuffing begins to brown and crisp.

Stuffed Onion Casserole
from The 4 Ingredient Vegan

5 c water
1 c split peas (or lentils)
1 c amaranth (I used quinoa)
6 large red onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch spinach
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Prepare your split peas using three cups of water. Use the remaining two cups of water to prepare the amaranth. Trim of both ends of the onions, slice in half, peel and hollow out so that only the three outer layers remain. Save your onion centers. Spray a casserole dish with olive oil and arrange the onions hollow side up like little bowls. Chop the remaining onion centers and saute in olive oil until soft and translucent. Throw in spinach to wilt. Mix in a big handful (I used half a bag) of spinach and the amaranth/quinoa. Add all of this to the split peas/lentils, season as you’d like (they only use salt and pepper in the recipe) and spoon into the onion bowls. Bake on 350 for 1 hour until the onions caramelize.

Little onion bowl

I hope I was allowed to actually share that. Recipes aren’t copyrighted, right? So long as you reword the preparation steps? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. This is in  no way my recipe… but you should make it.

To go with it, I went with the oddest side dish I could find in the book: asparagus in corn sauce. What, pray tell, is corn sauce, I wondered. Turns out, it’s just a slurry of water, corn, celery, cumin, salt and pepper. Truly. All that in a blender. Bam. Done. Then it’s poured over asparagus that was lightly steamed for 30 seconds and all of that goes into the oven for 30 minutes. It doesn’t photograph well but man is it good.

Asparagus in corn sauce

This was such a perfectly slow, simple homemade meal. Exactly what I needed midway through a not-so-pleasant week of the blahs.

I’ve really got to hand it to The 4 Ingredient Vegan. I had some serious doubts but this book pulled through in a pinch. I’m willing to give the other recipes a try… just not the ones with mayonnaise.


No Lightbox, No Problem

In Photos on March 23, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Don't worry, my camera still sucks.

Here’s the thing… I’ll never try to convince you I’m a food photographer. At the very least, I try to make my pictures of food look not blurry, not orange, not covered in cat hair and somewhat appetizing. This is often easier said than done when working with my busted ass point-and-shoot Casio Exilim (oooooooooo). It straight up will not take pictures in lighting other than broad noontime sunshine and whether or not it will actually focus at any given moment is a mystery. It’s a persnickety little nugget but it gets the job done. Believe you me, I’m not about to buy a real camera because I wouldn’t know what to do with it. (That I am broke is beside the point.)

So working with my crap-era is not always easy but I’ve found some work arounds (none of them remotely advanced)… iPhoto’s “Enhance” button has saved countless photos from the depths of darkness. Boosting saturation and lowering the yellow tint also helps. I like to set up a black foam board in the background so you can’t see that Weaz is on the counter it looks classy. And putting things on my bamboo cutting board makes the photo look, uh, you know… good?

I’ve learned from watching the pros that natural light is your best bet for a decent photo regardless of how much you paid for your camera. But when I’m occupied until 8pm most nights of the week, not even daylight savings time will save my photos. I understand lightboxes are a suitable alternative to natural light and while I’ve read every tutorial imaginable, I can’t bring my lazy ass to actually make one.

However…

Tah dah!

This refrigerator came conveniently pre-assembled. You can do… I don’t know… “stuff” with it…

Like side lighting...

... and back lighting.

Overhead works without my arm shadow showing up.

As you can probably tell, these photos still aren’t good. But I am oh so very pleased with myself for Macgyvering a dismal photo set into one that is at least workable. High fives all around.

My fridge always looks like this.


Veggie Sandwich 101

In What's for Lunch? on March 23, 2011 at 12:18 pm

Raar

Finding a quality vegetarian sandwich that’s filling (but not made entirely of cheese), tastes good (and isn’t made entirely of cheese) and is actually made of vegetables (imagine!) is not always easy when dining out. You’ll generally find the usual suspects–tomato/basil, grilled cheese and PB&J–but a real vegetarian sandwich requires a bit more effort.

Although Subway is laughing all the way to the bank charging you $5 for a sandwich composed of toppings that are usually free on their other offerings, a vegetarian sandwich that’s truly worth a shit is a big deal and not something to be taken lightly. You can scour the restaurants in your area for something more than sub-standard but I’ve found you’re better off making vegetarian sandwiches in your own kitchen. After all, they’re cheaper this way and are easily packed and portable in seconds.

Only good will come of this...

By about 10 o’clock this morning I was craving the sandwich to end all sandwiches. I wasn’t quite sure what this would be but I knew I wouldn’t find it in Rock Hill, SC. So I surveyed the contents of my fridge, picked up what was lacking (uh… bread and PICKLES) and got to work. Hey, if I want lunch at 10:45am I’m gonna eat lunch at10:45am.

The success or failure of a vegetarian sandwich hinges on the perfect, delicate balance of just enough:

  • filling protein
  • flavorful fat
  • chewy bread
  • crunchy raw vegetables

Pickles are required and the bread should be lightly spritzed with olive oil, toasted and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper.

1 - Stew's pizza hummus; fat, flavor, binder

2 - Tomatoes; texture, flavor, nutrients

3 - Pickles; salt, crunch, rainbows, unicorns

4 - Lettuce (romaine); crunch, filler, greeeen

5 - Tempeh; protein

6 - Avocado; fat, flavor, Jesus

7 - Yellow pepper; crunch, color, nutrients

8 - Carrots; because they should go on everything

Any questions?


Birthday at Cowfish

In Restaurants on March 23, 2011 at 7:00 am

Hoooooly moly onion ring

Last night I went to dinner at Cowfish with Kelly, Brittney, Diana, Caitlin and Michelle to celebrate Jen’s birthday. It was great to get to see everyone since I’ve been MIA for a while due to school being ridiculous and then the whole Nicaragua trip.

I’d like to thank whoever ordered the fat plate of onion rings for the table but before that I think I’d like to thank God that these things exist. Incredible, massive, eaten-with-a-fork-and-knife-like-a-steak onion rings. (Oh, with coconut breading.)

Steeew

Margatini

Tuesday is $5 martini night at Cowfish so I went with a margatini, which as it turns out is just a margarita (which made me happy) in a martini glass (which was actually a wine glass because the martini glasses were in high demand). I prefer a wine glass (or a short glass even) to a martini glass. Who can drink out of those ridiculous things? No one.

Stew's portabello burger

Stew got the lamb burger but with a portabello instead. I think it’s topped with tzatziki and some kind of fried hunk of cheese. It was really good.

 

Tuna salad without tuna, plus tofu

I got the tuna salad without tuna plus tofu. We could truly not be more confusing when ordering at this restaurant. Their poor staff is really patient with us though. My modified salad had mixed greens, edamame, beets, carrots, fried tofu and soy ginger dressing. I got judged for not eating my flower.

Happy birthday, Jen!

Cupcaaaaaake

We rounded out the night with vegan cupcakes and a giant gong to celebrate Jen’s existence. Hooray!

Due to some mix ups with orders on the other end of the table, Cowfish graciously comped this meal. I donated $20 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina to make it even. Yes, we absolutely tipped the waitress. (You can see my policy on getting free stuff here.)


Cadbury (Not Creme) Eggs

In Holidays on March 22, 2011 at 3:46 pm

Cadbury mini eggs

I may take some heat for this (especially this time of year) but Cadbury creme eggs are… disgusting.

What, pray tell, is at all appealing about a gloppy, sticky, overly sweet mess of goo that is gross on taste alone but whose appearance is equally as off putting?

Ack.

Truly, you’ll sooner catch me popping Peeps before you’ll see me suck down a revolting Cadbury creme egg. My brother loves Cadbury creme eggs–loves them–and Peeps, too, for that matter. These fools even stuffed a creme egg inside a Peep.

Oh, the humanity.

Me? You won’t find me anywhere near a damn Cadbury creme egg. Ever. I do, however, enjoy a nice big handful of Cadbury mini eggs–solid milk chocolate in a thin sugar shell.

Yes. Approved.

When is Easter anyway?


Nicaragua: The People

In Nicaragua, Travel on March 22, 2011 at 10:13 am

Little Ginger

The people of Nicaragua were hardworking, humble, strong, caring and at times very shy. It was a joy to get to know them and I was thrilled to be able to communicate with them. Language barriers can be frustrating and uncomfortable and I was lucky to have enough of a Spanish foundation to interact. I suppose my bachelor’s degree isn’t so worthless after all.

Despite a tumultuous and violent period of civil war that carried on as recently as the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nicaragua is a peaceful, safe place today. The secluded rural communities we visited exist as a result of that war where people from cities fled for safety. Though we studied the Contra War as history prior to leaving, that event is still very much a part of present-day life for most Nicaraguans. Many of the people we interacted with while there fled during the war, fought during the war and lost loved ones during the war.

I learned on our last day that one of our coordinators–a kind, smartly dressed middle-aged woman–was a guerilla fighter in the mountains we stayed in. And one of the farmers lost both of his sons during the war. One was literally dragged out of the house and shot in front of him the other died after being impaled on a fall down a mountainside in an attempt to escape attack.

No one talked to us about these things and I honestly don’t know if they talk about them at all. Would I? Probably not.

Lillian, age 10, in her Justin Bieber shirt

Marlon, age 13

Neighbors in Tierra Blanca

Tierra Blanca

Neighbor, 27 years old, and her two children

The people, especially children, loved having their pictures taken. The woman above actually stopped me as I was walking by her house and asked me to come in and take pictures of her family. We ended up spending about an hour in her front yard teaching her some English words and learning about her life. She and her friends sang us a song–Cuando levanto mis manos… When I lift my hands. They said the only songs they knew were from church.

Singing

The kids were amazing. Everywhere we went they trailed us in a pack asking when we could play ball with them.

Pack of kids

You said you'd play with us.

That was in Tierra Blanca, though, where our school (and professor in particular) has forged strong bonds with the community. They know us, expect us and trust us. A 40-minute hike up the mountain to the more secluded town of Rocha presented us with far more timid children who weren’t quite sure what to make of us.

 

Little girl watches us paint her school in Rocha
A boy shows off his snack at school

Boy watches us paint in Rocha

On the morning we left Tierra Blanca we were lucky to catch Juan and Reina’s 80-year-old landlord stopping by to check on the place.

Don Orlando

Orlando is an adorable man with a kind heart. He lets Juan and Reina live on his property rent-free and comes by often just to chat. He lit up when he saw us and spoke just a few words that I think summed up the attitude of the Nicaraguan people: “I hope you feel at home here. That is the most important thing.”


Nicaragua: The Food II

In Nicaragua, Travel on March 22, 2011 at 9:29 am

Tortillas in Pueblo Viejo

It was sad to leave Tierra Blanca on our third day. I was comfortable in my hammock, with the family and at their kitchen table but I was very much looking forward to seeing a new area. We met up with the other half of our group in the nearby “city” of Matiguas. I say “city” because none of the “cities” in Nicaragua are anything like cities as I know them. They don’t have big buildings or street lights or Starbucks on every corner. They do, however, have electricity, which means they have refrigerators, which means I drank this:

And it was awesome.

Vegetarian plate at a restaurant in Matiguas

First lunch in Pueblo Viejo: beans, rice, tortilla, cheese

Learning to make tortillas. Highlight of the trip.

Breakfast in Pueblo Viejo: rice, beans, eggs, AVOCADO

Lunch: rice, beans, tortilla, cabbage, green beans

Pineapple!

Last Supper: rice, beans, potatoes, cabbage, tortilla, cheese

Breakfast: beans, tortilla, watermelon (!)

Lunch before leaving: beans, tortilla, rice, cabbage, cheese

Juice box after a 2-mile hike (with luggage) to the bus

Dinner at a buffet in Matagalpa called Oasis

We left Pueblo Viejo on Friday to travel to Matagalpa, which would put us just two hours from Managua (where we’d be flying out Saturday) rather than five, making it far more likely we’d actually catch our flight. This was an exciting night for all because it meant dinner in a restaurant and a night in a hotel… with a real shower… and a real toilet… and a bed that doesn’t hang from the ceiling.

I actually concluded that my hammock was far more comfortable than the bed at the hotel but that’s beside the point. This post is about food.

I only changed $25 of US money to Nicaraguan cordobas. That got me through an entire week and I honestly spent probably $18 of it in the last 24 hours, much of that at the airport.

Subway at the airport. Tastes like America.

Bon bon for dessert at the airport

Traditional cookies on the plane

Veggie burger and fries at Chili's in Miami Airport

And this x 2.

I truly thought I might die after eating my first American meal at Chili’s. After a week of simple, clean foods, this was just overload.

Coffee, hot sauce, chocolate, cutting board

$25 goes a long way in Nicaragua. I lived, ate and used public transportation for a week and still had enough money to bring home organic coffee, hot sauce, chocolate and a cutting board. Success.


Nicaragua: The Food I

In Nicaragua, Travel on March 21, 2011 at 9:59 am

Reina's kitchen in Tierra Blanca

Leading up to the trip, we were warned by our professor to expect little of the food. Rice, beans and tortillas would be about it for the week and we would likely lose weight. “Consider it your Nicaraguan diet,” she said. Since rice and beans make up a majority of my diet anyway, I wasn’t at all concerned about the food situation. What I didn’t expect, though, was to love it so much.

Dina's kitchen

I wasn’t sure how to share my account of the food because I have a picture of every single thing that passed my lips over the course of the week. I’ve decided to break it into a two-part photo journal to get it all in. Looking back on it now, the meals look far simpler and more repetitive than they felt at the time. I guess doing the physical work we were doing and living the way we were living made every bit of food look like a feast.

Dina in her kitchen

All of our meals were prepared by the women who hosted us in the kitchens featured above. In Tierra Blanca Reina cooked for us and in Pueblo Viejo Kandi did. Once on an expedition out of town to Rocha, Reina’s oldest daughter who is 18 came with us to cook lunch. One night the woman who lived behind the house we stayed at in Tierra Blanca invited us to dinner at her house to thank us for playing with her son Junior.

Junior excited to have us over for dinner

We drank filtered water to keep us from getting sick. I didn’t learn until the last day that the water being filtered came straight from the river–leaves, twigs and all. I don’t know where I expected it to come from but I never got sick so it hardly matters anyway.

Our beloved/dreaded filter

We ate a lot of food–in both quantity and variety–and it’s important to point out that the way we ate is not the way these families eat on a daily basis. Part of the money we paid for the trip went to buy the food that would be prepared for us throughout the week. With this money special things like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, textured vegetable protein (TVP), processed cereals, powdered milk, cookies, pancake mix and even syrup were purchased.

Fresh produce is not common

These are not things the families can usually afford and out of pride or cultural practice or a combination of the two, they never ate with us or even so much as touched the food until we walked away from the table leaving it as “trash.”

We dine family style with food served in big dishes that were passed around the table. All of us commented at some point or another about how pleasant it was to sit down to share a meal without the interruption of cell phones, TVs and life in general.

A mouse crawled across my lap at this meal. Truth.

It was uncomfortable to eat the way we did knowing that the families who so generously prepared and served the food for us struggle to get food on the table for themselves. At the medical clinic, we performed 24-hour food recalls to get an idea of what they were eating on a normal day. Junior’s mom Dina, who had so graciously prepared a real feast for us the night she invited us over, had only consumed beer in the 24 hours prior to the clinic. (She is also suffering from depression and extreme anxiety since her husband left her for a woman in a nearby city.) Her youngest son (about a year and a half old I think) had only milk. His big brother Junior skipped his snack at school so that he could bring it home to the baby. When I asked people about food the general consensus was that it was not sufficient. This year’s bean harvest failed in Tierra Blanca, which will have a profoundly negative impact on the community’s food reserve and their finances to buy more.

Knowing these things makes me feel sad and guilty. It makes sharing the pictures I’m about to share uncomfortable. It also, however, provides an excellent illustration of food insecurity in the third world and as such I hope it sheds light on and draws attention to the problem. I don’t mean to imply that those of us with sufficient food should apologize for what we have. Food is, after all, something to celebrate. But I do encourage people to acknowledge how lucky we are to have it and to reach out to those who don’t.

9-freaking-dollar fruit salad at Miami Airport

Truly disgusting egg white sandwich, Miami Airport

Creamsicle on a 4.5-hour bus ride to Tierra Blanca

First meal: Tortillas and lentil soup

First breakfast: Rice and beans with papaya

First lunch: Rice, vinegar slaw w/tomatoes, boiled egg

Dinner at Junior's: Eggs, rice, salad, plantains

Cereal, granola, powdered soy milk and my own PB pack

Snack break while painting in Rocha...

Crackers and guava jelly (so good)

Jocotoes - tart fruits with a large pit

Lunch in Rocha prepared by Reina's daughter Patrona

Patrona's vegetable pasta (I ate 2 bowls)

Veggie stew w/TVP, rice, cabbage slaw, tortillas

Best coffee. Consumed breakfast/dinner daily. Super sweet.

Special pancake breakfast w/granola, syrup & my own PB

Juan and Reina’s yard was full of trees bearing expensive foods we pay top dollar for here in the states, including mangoes and cashews. Who knew cashews grew like this?

Nope. No one.

When the fruit turns red...

... it's ready.

We tried to get them to crack and roast them but they really thought we were crazy. They just don’t consider them food. They do eat the mangoes when they’re in season and when they’re not, they salt them to bring out the sweetness and eat them anyway.

That’s it for food in Tierra Blanca. On the third day we packed up our hammocks and headed into the nearest “city” of Matiguas where we would meet up with the rest of the group, eat in a real restaurant and switch locations…


Nicaragua: Coming Home

In Nicaragua, Travel on March 20, 2011 at 6:17 pm

Tierra Blanca, Nicaragua

I made it home safe and sound just one day late and not a minute too soon. It’s been a long, exhausting, exhilarating and inspiring week and while I feel I owe you a long and detailed account of what went on, my life (namely homework) beckons. So I’d like to start my Nicaragua recap series with a collection of 20 of my favorite photos (out of 350+) from the trip.

Cordobas. 20 = $1 USD

Built in 2007. Rocha, Matagalpa, Nicaragua

I diligently maintained a journal throughout the week and the following is what I wrote in the final 15 minutes of my flight home from Miami to Charlotte.

Juan and Reina's home. Tierra Blanca

Tierra Blanca

3/20/11

I never expected I’d be the type to willingly miss a perfectly good, on-time flight. Then again, I never expected to have learned so much from having so little.

Tree on Abdel's farm. Tierra Blanca

Family in Tierra Blanca

For a while toward the end I desperately wanted to be home but no part of me ever felt an urgent drive to leave Nicaragua. It’s complicated to want to be in one place without wanting to leave another.

Soylita, Reina's downed parrot

Animals on Juan & Reina's farm

I felt comfortable and safe in Nicaragua. I also felt dirty and sticky and incredibly out of place. I guess spending a week with people who live their entire lives with little more than a change of clothes, only as much food as they can grow themselves and an unheard of (in my world) way of accepting this to be enough made one night alone in a strange city without my luggage look like an acceptable option. After a week in a hammock without plumbing or electricity, what’s one more day?

My idea of English lessons

Student in Rocha's Winthrop School

At surface level, I offered up my seat on our overbooked flight home (in exchange for a $400 airline voucher, free accommodations in Miami, transportation to and from the airport and $15 for food) because I wanted to have the freedom to travel again this year.

A student receives a snack at school

Student in Rocha, more interested in painting

A vacation is a nice incentive, yes, but if I’m honest with myself I’ll also admit that giving up my seat last night was my last-ditch attempt to stop time, to keep myself from hurtling onward back into a life that I just don’t want to live right now.

Baby Ginger. Tierra Blanca

Ginger takes a break

I enjoyed the disconnectedness of living beyond the means of modern communication. It kept me here, not there. Present, not panicked. On Sunday, it was Sunday. I ate tortillas and rice, and a kitten sat at my feet. I went to sleep because I was tired, not because I knew the time. It was raining and dark. My hammock swayed in the wind. The dogs ran something off–maybe an animal, maybe a person, more likely a sound from nothing in particular. The rooster started crowing at 2am with much persistence each hour thereafter. I woke up with the sun. That’s how things went for seven days. Some days we taught English. Some days we painted schools. One day we led a medical clinic and another we built a road. At no point did I make a list of things to do, people to contact or events to expect. I was just there.

Traditional tortillas

That day we got avocado.

So I guess last night I just wanted to stay there. Not in Miami necessarily but there in my calmer, emptier self. My bag was checked and, therefore, inaccessible. I’d been wearing the same clothes since Friday (and likely a lingering odor, too–something like dirt, sweat, smoke and sugary sweet coffee). Somehow none of that seemed unbearable for one more night. In fact, it was exactly what I needed. I clung to my last chance to not be anywhere–or anyone–for 12 more hours.

Dog in Pueblo Viejo

Kitten eating beans (that I gave to it).

In a nice-but-not-nice-enough-to-tell-my-parents-where-I-was hotel, I picked up my cell phone and turned on the news. I’m back in my world but this time I feel like I can do anything.

Plantains in Pueblo Viejo


Caturday 3/19/11

In Cats on March 19, 2011 at 6:10 am

WHERE IS MY MOM

Happy Caturday! I’m pre-posting this on 3/10 before I even leave for Nicaragua, but right now at this very second in time as you read this, I should be en route to the great US of A–likely somewhere in the air between Managua and Miami. I love traveling, yes. But is anything better than the customs agent saying, “Welcome home” when you get back to the States? I certainly don’t think so.

In order to pre-post all the greatness that is Caturday, I have kept a running file full of pictures on my desktop:

CATS. Perfectly normal.

So without further adieu…

Sittin in the window. Yer doin it wrong.

That's better.

Good day, Mr. Stewart. I made you pancakes.

PLACE THAT TINY PANCAKE WITHIN MY REACH

Doopey dooo

And, of course, some Waldo…

Emo Waldo

Happy Waldo

Cool Waldo

Waldo.

That’s it for me posting from the past/future/what(?)! I’ll be back on American soil and in my own bed by midnight tonight. And hopefully into a shower somewhere in between those two events.


Special Cat Treats

In Cats on March 17, 2011 at 6:01 am

Ralph & Weaz's "Special" Cat Treats

When Ralph and Weaz told me they wanted to offer up some “special” cat treats for the bake sale, I jumped at the opportunity. After all, they are the primary traffic drive to this little corner of the internet and I figured they’d bring in some hefty bids.

As you know, things went according to plan, bids flooded in, the trip was financed and here I am. Unfortunately, Ralph and Weaz neglected to mention that they had never actually made their special treats, that they didn’t have a recipe for their special treats and that mostly they just wanted me to have to buy catnip so they could have the leftovers.

So the responsibility fell to me (of course). I scoured the web for “vegetarian cat treat recipes,” of which there is ONE. That one was not to my liking so I tweaked it and now we present this:

Ralph & Weaz’s Vegetarian Catnip Treats

1 c wheat flour
1/4 c chickpea flour
1 Tbsp catnip
1 egg
1/3 c milk (or milk alternate)
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp oil

Mix everything together. Spread it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake on 350 for about 12-15 minutes. It will be like a big flatbread cracker. Take it out of the oven and cut it into bite-size pieces (or shapes of choice) and return to the oven for another 8 minutes or so until crunchy.

Vegetarian cat treats

Store in an airtight container with an extra teaspoon of loose catnip for good measure.


Mexicoke vs. Americoke

In Taste Test on March 16, 2011 at 6:06 am

Mexicoke vs. Americoke

I do believe this is the first time Coke has ever been featured on the blog, the first time I’ve purchased it in years and, subsequently, the first time I’ve consumed it in equally as long.

In case you forgot, I’m still in Nicaragua right now, still eating nothing but beans and rice and tortillas and still keeping the blog alive with these posts I wrote two weeks ago. Shmeeee!

So what the hell is Coke doing here? Let me explain…

Here in the grand United States of America, we have outrageous government-backed agricultural subsidies on commodity crops like corn and soy that make them insanely cheap. For this reason, you will find corn in just about everything you consume (and things you don’t consume, like gasoline, adhesives, antibiotics, lotions… explosives), including Coke. Corn appears in Coke in it’s high-fructose syrup version known, appropriately enough, as high-fructose corn syrup. It’s cheap, cheap, cheap and that’s while you’ll find it in just about every single cheap, cheap, cheap packaged, heavily processed food item on the shelf.

That’s all well and good. I’m not here to lecture you on the horrors of agricultural subsidies. I’m here to host a nerdy science project.

Coke vs. Coke: A Taste Test

So this is the thing…

While Americans are pumping themselves full of high-fructose corn syrup by the Big Gulp-full, our neighbors to the south are still consuming Coke as it was designed in its original formula back in the 1940s… with real sugar. Yes, Mexican Coke is still made with real sugar. So that’s why Earth Fare, a grocery chain that, on principle, sells no products containing high-fructose corn syrup whatsoever, has started carrying Coke. They’re importing it from Mexico.

This got my nerdy food science brain cranking and I decided to bring home a bottle for Stew and blind taste test it against American Coke.

Did you know that in official taste tests, the samples should be identified by random three-digit numbers rather than A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 to prevent testers from trying to make assumptions about chronological order? Truth. So obviously I set it up this way for Stew:

The right way

The Stew way

We each set up a trial for the other and, although I thought I’d surely not be able to tell a difference, both identified the samples.

And then we dumped it all out.

HFCS has a strange mouthfeel, almost like the puckery dryness you get on your tongue after drinking a tea heavy in tannins or something. At any rate, this is conclusive scientific evidence that sugar is better than HFCS.

If you’re curious, today I’m heading to Matiguas, the biggest city we’ll see on our trip (Pop: 10,000), to dine at a local restaurant, drink a cold drink (Coke, perhaps??) and (GASP) USE THE INTERNET.


Leafhead

In Stew on March 15, 2011 at 6:45 am

Fuel Pizza

Happy Stewsday, blog world! Right now, if you asked me on Day 3 of my Nicaragua adventure what I miss more this very second, Stew or that slice of pizza, I think you all know I would pick… Stew. Miss you!

On the agenda in Tierra Blanca today (I wrote and pre-posted this two weeks ago so things could be different) is:

  • Teaching English classes in Rocha (about a 40-minute hike from our hotel hammocks)
  • Painting a school built by our program several years back (All public schools in Nicaragua are blue and white. For some reason, this one was painted red. I’m pulling for blue and white. I’ll keep you posted on that. I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seats…)
  • Hosting a nutrition workshop for the locals

I’m looking forward to all of that. But I hope Stew and Waldo are getting along ok and that they have a cute little date with:

Walking

Pizza!

And a lettuce leaf the size of Stew's head

Stew: “Did you post that awesome giant leaf yet?”

Me: “No… I’m saving it.”

For what? For this!

That monster was seriously balled up inside this tiny side salad:

What?? Give.me.that.now.

It’s easy for me to sit here in my kitchen on my laptop two weeks before leaving, freshly showered and adequately fed, and joke about how much food I’ll be missing while in Nicaragua. But the reality of it is that I’m getting a first-hand look at what life is like for so many people around the world. So jokes and pizza aside, consider this:

I’m sure I miss that precious opportunity right now, but I also know that it’ll still be waiting for me when I get back. Some people may never know what that is. I can’t say I’m out to change that with this trip–it’s too short, the problem too big and my skills/knowledge too limited–but I am probably drowning in compassion right now. And that’s an important step. I know that I am fortunate.


White Lime Cashew Cookies

In Baked Goods on March 14, 2011 at 6:31 am

White chocolate cashew cookies with lime

In case you missed it: I’m in Nicaragua right now. All posts from this week were written and pre-posted two weeks ago. You are very welcome.

Since the Katie of the future just survived her first night in a hammock (we hope) and is probably dirty, sleep-deprived and craving one of these cookies, please say a little prayer for my travel buddies who will have to deal with that and then make these cookies for yourself.

You can thank Maggie for this perfect recipe, which I took and mutilated to match the ingredients I had on hand. Instead of butter, Earth Balance. Instead of eggs, flax eggs. Instead of chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips. Instead of AP flour, whole wheat flour. Plus some lime for the hell of it. Basically, instead of doing as I was told… the opposite.

Still, Maggie’s beautiful, traditional butter- and egg-laden recipe happens to be just so flawless that it survived even my butchering of it.

Perfection.

Plus, plus… it makes approximately one billion cookies. I used my melon baller to scoop out little two-bite cookies and we seriously have at least 40-50 of them. I’d say Stew is still eating these while I’m eating nothing but beans in Nicaragua but really, he probably finished them a week ago.

So make you a big ol’ batch and send some down this way.


PB&J-sadilla

In Breakfast on March 13, 2011 at 7:24 am

Well, SB&J...

Here’s a delightful little breakfast I probably wish I was eating right this very second. At this point–assuming I raised enough money and woke up on time today–I should be well on my way to Nicaragua. Probably sitting in Miami waiting on a flight, in fact…

Odds are I’m exhausted and cranky and hungry as hell. And odds are there is nothing good to eat in the airport. Man, I wish I had a PB&J-sadilla about now.

Of course, it would actually be made with sunflower butter since this is what Stew has been eating by the jarful the past two months. I’m not complaining.

Mmmmm

While this would be lovely, yes, what I need right now is probably a piece (or 12) of fruit considering I’ll be subsisting on beans, rice and more tortillas than I can stand for the next week. (Seriously, that’s all we’re eating.)

God help my innocent travel companions when hungry Katie rears her ugly head.

See you in Nicaragua! You better believe I pre-posted enough content to get the blog through the week. Caturday and all. Who do you think I am?


Blur

In Restaurants on March 13, 2011 at 2:34 am

Landmark Diner / Strip Club?

The last 24 hours have been a blur and if I don’t get them down in writing blogging I will not remember them a week from now.

After Flip Burger we reconvened in the hotel lobby for a raucous post-reception partay. They said we were too loud in our rooms and banished us to the lobby where we were only allowed to stay until 1am. No matter. Once Club Marriott closed down, we hiked it (literally… a mile) to the Landmark Diner–”where the stars meet at night.”

We certainly didn’t see any stars but we did see several women we can only assume work as strippers in the back room annex. You tell me what you think a 24-hour diner hides behind a door that reads: MUST BE 21 TO ENTER. SEE HOST FOR ACCESS.

Ummm, exactly.

Hummus platter

Once we realized we were probably eating in a diner/strip club combo, I felt a little queasy eating my hummus but… I ate all my hummus.

Amber's not a stripper

Friday was one of those ridiculously perfect college-esque nights that can only be recreated when the entire college crew is reunited.

Despite a 3:30am bedtime, I flew out of bed Saturday morning in a PANIC that I had missed my flight to Nicaragua. I didn’t. I hope?

We rounded up the troops for lunch at Flying Biscuit, which is always a good idea.

Hooray!

Aw

Beeeeards

As is to be expected, I got the tofu and tater salad:

Yes

And was quite pleased with myself

A few hours later we prettied ourselves up for the wedding.

Oh hi

Ooooh

So cute.

It was cute. I cried. Grooms crying when their brides walk down the aisle will get me every.single.time.

Stew and I could only stop by the reception for a hot minute before booking it out of there to get me back to Charlotte for my outrageously early flight to Nicaragua (PS – we lost an hour tonight, by the way… not cool).

But not without stopping at Whole Foods first:

Of course

Did you know Atlanta has seven Whole Foods locations? SEVEN.

So now here we are–1:30am but really 2:30, thanks daylight savings?–too late to make sleep worth it but too early to head to the airport yet. And so… I shall pack and repack my bag until I consider it suitably stocked for a weeklong survival.

I have peanut butter and my passport. Those two things will get my pretty far in this little adventure.

I’m electricity (and plumbing) free for the next seven days (and very much looking forward to it!) so the blog will be untouched by me. I did, however, take the liberty of pre-posting at least one feature per day to keep you entertained. And Stew may or may not be popping by every so often to stir up some action.

I am thrilled to be doing what I’m doing. I still can’t thank everyone enough for their support of the bake sale. That is 100% the reason I am going. So thank you again.

Despite an exciting and exhausting past 24 hours, I am very much at peace with this trip. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now and I have made a deal with myself to make every second of it count. When we were just north of Atlanta, my parents called to wish me well on the journey and after I hung up I saw a shooting star. I feel like that’s a good sign. See you in a week…


Flip Burger Buckhead

In Restaurants on March 12, 2011 at 10:42 am

Fauxlafel burger - Flip Burger, Atlanta (Buckhead)

“Wait, stop.” I dramatically heaved my coat, purse and scarf onto the desk chair. My outerwear slumped into a heap where it sits as a biting reminder of winter’s relentless persistence this season. Stew stopped in mid-sentence, likely waiting for a travel-induced nervous breakdown or an vodka-induced emotional rant about how I can’t believe Mike is getting married forever tomorrow, how my friends are the greatest people on earth and how this was the best night of my life.

Instead: “Can we please talk about the food?” My arms swung up over my head and landed at my sides in a gesture of great theatrics; a slight lovesick lilt was evident in the singsong manner in which I elongated and enunciated the word food.

“YES,” he lit up.

“Did you get the intense undertones of black pepper?” I asked, giddy as a schoolgirl.

“Yes. But not overpowering. Perfect. The pickled vegetables?” he added.

“Ugggghhhh. Perfect,” I melted as I tried to make the burger materialize in the middle of the hotel room.

It’s not that I’ve never eaten a damn good veggie burger. It’s not that I’ve never eaten falafel that makes me want to cry. Hell, it’s not even that I’ve never eaten a veggie burger that just so happens to be a falafel patty that makes me want to cry. But I have never, ever eaten a burger this good–from top to bottom, condiments to customer service.

Flip Burger Boutique - Atlanta (Buckhead)

As thrilled as I am for my good friend Mike’s rather important event this weekend (uh, his wedding), I had to turn my attention away from the happy married-couple-to-be to Richard Blais’s Flip Burger Boutique, conveniently located less than a mile from the hotel.

No one was quite sure what to make of me, the vegetarian, recommending a burger joint for dinner. But then again, no one is quite sure what to make of most things I say when food is involved.

But this isn’t just any ol’ burger joint. This burger joint is sleek and trendy like a nightclub but without all the hair gel and Ed Hardy tees. The entire restaurant is washed out floor to ceiling in white decor, something I assume you can only pull off when the food itself is a strong enough focal point to hold down the weight of the entire establishment’s decor.

Sandwich and Jack started with the burnt marshmallow and Nutella milkshake.

Burnt marshmallow and Nutella milkshake

I nabbed a shake-soaked marshmallow and was instantly fireside at a campsite, eating molten sugar off a stick and on a hunt for a graham cracker to round it all out.

With a falafel option on the menu, my decision-making process was non-existent. When falafel is an option, there are no other options. I went with the fauxlafel burger with a lettuce wrap.

Oh happy day.

I don’t even have the culinary vocabulary to describe the flawlessness of this burger. Perfect is all I can say. It’s just… perfect.

Maybe I nabbed some of Stew's onion rings

We are big Top Chef fans and, as such, are big Richard Blais fans. If you’re not watching this season (Top Chef All Stars, mind you), you should be because I think Blaze is about to take the cake… and then douse it in liquid nitrogen. He’s hands down the most consistent–and most likable–chef on the show. Now that my dear sweet Carla is out of the running–and now that he’s fed me the best damn burger on the planet–I’m pulling for Blais 100%.

Maybe I’ll grab one of these to go tonight as a last supper of sorts before I’m living in a hammock for a week in Nicaragua. I like that idea.


Caturday 3/12/11

In Cats on March 12, 2011 at 6:35 am

Good day, Weaz.

Happy Caturday from ATL! I insist on at least catching the vows at my good friend’s wedding so I’m compounding the stress of my Nicaragua trip by tacking on an extra 1o-hour roundtrip adventure to Atlanta. We’ll be there barely 24 hours. Good work, Katie.

Ralph and Weaz are pissed, of course.

I can't even look at you

Your soul, I crush it

You need zis book? Sorry.

I will miss my nightly family dinners with these two and Stew:

Maaahaha

But I shall return with many tales to tell around the table.

Waldo remains unmoved by my departure:

Weeeee. PET ME

And he’ll be going on a roadtrip with Stew:

Sitting: You're doing it wrong.

Ralph and Weaz will also be holding down the blog while I’m gone. Here’s hoping the censor themselves…

Haaaaha, in the guestbook at Amelie's...


In the Bag

In Weird on March 11, 2011 at 9:20 am

I'll miss you, dear kiwi

My mission to eat as many fruits and vegetables as humanly possible before my trip was a smashing success and I’d say I easily ate my weight (which appears to be on the rise due to similar upward trend in the consumption of THIS) in produce this week. High five. (Speaking of Borat… did you know that Sacha Baron Cohen is not an idiot? I heard him on NPR yesterday and he’s actually kind of brilliant. And considerate. And hot.)

Anyway, I’m so ready for this trip. Just don’t ask me if I’m read for this trip. Stew made that mistake last night and I gave him the: “Can we not right now?” Truth. I feel fully confident and ready in my own mind but when people start asking particulars (like where my passport is) I get all antsy. PS – I know where my passport is.

Bag ladyyy

The luggage above sums up my life for the next 48 hours (and on to the next week). Sadly, only the bag on the right is coming to Nicaragua. From left to right we have: my backpack for lab today, my overnight bag for a wedding I insist on catch before hopping on the plane aaaand my bag for Nicaragua.

So I’m not home much during the day but yesterday I was here long enough to see this:

I did NOT adjust the saturation on this

Is he kidding me with this?? He matches his handkerchief! (I can safely say I have never typed the word handkerchief… handkerchieves for all! Another word!)

Losin’ my mind, losin’ my mind… Here’s my breakfast, y’all:

Smoothie bowl


Maggie’s My Hero

In Dessert on March 10, 2011 at 9:39 am

Best.brownies.ever.

I had to have a proper photo shoot for the baked goods Maggie sent along, lest they disappear in less than a week (you heard me) without any documentation for me to drool over when they are but a memory.

Those brownies… are the best brownies I have ever eaten. And I’ve eaten a lot of brownies. I’m actually doing my final baking lab on the effect of different plant-based fat replacers in vegan brownies. I fear they shall pale in comparison.

We also got her famous Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz cookies, which should be dunked in coffee. But not for breakfast. OK maybe for breakfast…

Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz

Aaaaand let’s not forget the Best Ever Chocolate Chunk cookies, which are… the best ever.

Best.ever.yes.

I’m a firm believer that the success of a chocolate chip cookie lies in the salt. When eating these cookies, every once in a while a substantial grain of salt will dissolve on your tongue and melt your heart. So perfect.

Thanks, Maggiiiiiiiiiie! Let me know when your bakery is up and running. I shall be your business partner taste tester.

Seriously Weaz???


Second Harvest

In Volunteer on March 9, 2011 at 10:50 pm

That's me!

I spent my afternoon up in Charlotte sorting through mountains upon mountains of salvaged food items at Second Harvest. As part of my Community Nutrition class, we are required to donate 6-8 hours of our time to a local food-related non-profit organization and as expected, I got hooked on day one and will now be making this a regular occurrence. You know, with all my free time…

So.much.food.

I was the only newbie in the warehouse this afternoon. The cast of characters included a delightfully chatty administrative assistant from Cleveland, a friendly guy from the “northeast”, a handful of regulars and two full-timers: Mr. Anthony and Ms. Gracie.

Ms. Gracie has been running the floor for 27 years. She flew through my “orientation” like she’d been there, done that a few thousand times: “See this dented can? No good. Toss it. But this dented can? Fine. It’s good. The bags with holes in them… no good. Toss it. Boxes with holes… fine. But only if the inner bag is in tact. Dry goods here. Cans here. But not broth. Broth over there. Am I confusing you?” she pauses for a breath. “Don’t worry. I double check every single thing. People have to eat this, you know. I check it all.”

What stays and goes at Second Harvest

It doesn’t look too sophisticated but up on the wall are up-to-the-minute recalls of food items. Today’s culprits: Spaghettios, Slimfast, Skippy peanut butter, Bumblebee chicken salad and a slew of Kellogg’s cereals, including Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks. All of it goes straight to the trash. I’d seen the Bumblebee recall months ago but some of the others were just released last night. So heads up.

I was pretty proud of myself when I caught a tainted case of Slimfast, two boxes of Froot Loops and several cans of Spaghettios. “You caught on quick, Kate!” Ms. Gracie announced at the end of the day. This, of course, only after I’d tossed two bags of off-brand cinnamon toast crunch into the cereal bin only to find Mr. Anthony waving them around seconds later, “These have holes in them, people!”

Cheeeese

I did feel a real sense of accomplishment being in the warehouse today. Any work that doesn’t involve a desk or a computer is time well spent in my book. But it wasn’t just three hours of mindless sorting. The reality of what we were doing and where that food was going was not lost on me. Especially today, just three days before leaving for a part of the world where poverty and malnutrition are the norm, I was rocked by the sheer quantity of food surrounding me at Second Harvest.

I guess what I have a hard time understanding is that with so much surplus, why do people go hungry? I just can’t get it to add up in my head. Standing there in that room, up to my eyeballs in perfectly good food, it seemed to me that we have more than enough for everyone. It’s just not fairly distributed. But then again, hunger–and its intricate (and intimate) ties to poverty–is a complicated beast. I won’t pretend to understand or have the answers.

But I will gladly give up three hours a week sorting cans. PopTarts, mayonnaise and potted meats may not be on my list of recommended foods for a healthy life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of choosing healthy foods, or any foods for that matter. In some situations of chronic hunger and food insecurity, calories trump nutrients. A PopTart for breakfast may not be a green smoothie, but it sure as hell beats nothing at all.


This Week

In School on March 9, 2011 at 9:22 am

What study nights look like

This week is just… hilarious. The amount of work I have to complete before I leave for Nicaragua is truly laughable. Last night was a blur of beans, hot sauce and coffee followed by lots of studying of information I will not retain for today’s test.

At least this fruitless effort was interrupted by a delivery from Maggie:

Gooooooods

Including cookies the size of Stew’s head:

Yes.

And brownies that got me this excited:

EEEEEEE

I’m doing my best not to get frazzled, just trucking on through to Friday. What else can I do, really?

Standing between me and boarding the plane Sunday morning: test this morning, volunteer work this afternoon, class tonight, work tomorrow, case study tomorrow night, lab friday morning, drive to Atlanta, wedding Saturday, drive back to Charlotte that night, meet at the airport at 4:30am.

Hahaha. This makes me laugh just looking at it.

LET’S GO.


I Am Completely Stopping

In Yoga on March 8, 2011 at 9:27 pm

Stopping. Nothing. Trust. Feel.

Tonight in yoga I heard something that really kicked me in the face, in a good way. The instructor started the class reading a series of complementary phrases to pair with our “in” and “out” breaths. There were 12 pairings total but four stuck with me and, I believe, will become my new mantra:

[In] I am… [out] completely stopping.

[In] I expect… [out] nothing.

[In] I trust… [out] my resources.

[In] I feel… [out] my support.

How perfect is that? Again:

I am completely stopping. I expect nothing. I trust my resources. I feel my support.

I can’t tell you how many days I go barreling through life, unable to stop, engrossed in expectations of what-if, doubting myself and feeling like I’m doing it all completely alone. If I take five seconds to recite this in my head, it’ll remind me that:

I have complete control over what I’m doing and where I’m going. I can stop any time I want. I can just be for a second.

I don’t have to know what’s next. Right now will do just fine.

I have everything I need to do everything I need. I am not without. Not without money, not without food, not without family and friends, not without an education, not without love. I have resources.

I am loved and supported and I’m never alone.

I just loved that so much I had to share. Do any of those resonate with you? Do you have a different mantra?


Veggie Mountain

In Dinner on March 8, 2011 at 6:10 am

You're all I ever wanted (yeah)

I’m doing everything in my power to eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as humanly possible over the course of the next six days because come Sunday I’ll be on a beans and tortillas diet for a full week. I’m quite pleased with the food we’ll be eating (some travel mates have never eaten a bean) but lord knows I’ll be craving something green about 24 hours in.

Stew just asked me what I want to eat as my last meal before I leave and, honestly, it’s probably just this mountain of vegetables. And maybe half a pan of sunflower blondies for good measure…


Stew’s Sunflower Habit

In Products on March 7, 2011 at 9:33 pm

An addiction stays on tight like a glove...

I wanted to give you all a little peak into Stew’s habit, his dirty little secret, if you will…

You see, about a month ago we went to brunch with Kelly and Brad. They mentioned ever so casually that, you know, sunflower butter is good. We mentioned ever so casually that maybe we’d grab a jar sometime. Sometime happened to be 15 minutes later when we went to Trader Joe’s and nabbed a hit. Before the week was over, it was gone.

I got another one. And soon it was gone too. And another met the same fate shortly thereafter. Before I knew it the pantry was stocked with a whole slew of sunflower butters, an emergency back up supply, you know, for… emergencies?

We do everything with it. We put it in cereal and oatmeal, in hummus and in blondies, on toast and on a spoon straight into our mouths. I say “our” because mostly I don’t want Stew to feel all cornered like this is an intervention. But really… this is an intervention. Too bad he’s too busy making SUNFLOWER BUTTER BLONDIES to listen to me. The man has a problem.

[In case you're curious--not that I'm enabling or anything--we've tried Earth Fare brand and Once Again, but Trader Joe's reigns supreme.]


It Begins

In Travel on March 7, 2011 at 6:23 am

Rice and beans till you cry for mercy

T-minus one week to Nicaragua and I can’t wait! Last night we went to my professor’s house to eat dinner together (we’ll be sleeping, sweating and–unfortunately–pooping in close quarters so it’s time to get to know each other) and pack up the medical supplies we’ll be taking down.

Busy little elves

Everything was donated by a doctor’s office that shut down. We have suture kits, children’s vitamins, syringes, gloves, feeding tubes, gauze, anti-fungal cream, ibuprofen and piles and piles and piles of other things I’ve never seen… Nine duffle bags full!

We nutrition students will have our hands full when we get down there. Based on data from last year’s trip, all people (babies and children included) drink more coffee than water, almost no one eats vegetables and fruit consumption is rare. Frequent incapacitating headaches are a common complaint among adults and children alike and milk, cheese and eggs are rarely (if ever) eaten. Though caloric needs can be met on the bean/rice/tortilla diet, vitamin and mineral deficiencies run rampant.

For dinner we had what we’ll be having every single day for every single meal for the entire week we’re there… rice and beans (and chicken for the carnivores). I’m down with this. Rice and beans are a perfect meal, in my opinion. I also can’t wait to eat a traditional tortilla; they’re made daily at 4:30am.

Of course I’m excited about the food…


Food Coma Recovery

In What's for Lunch? on March 6, 2011 at 11:22 pm

Vegetables!

After last night’s extreme gluttony, I woke up feeling like I’d been on a heavy bourbon binge. Really, I only had… five drinks. And three were part of a tasting flight of wine. But I’m not the drinker I once was, oh no. So what I needed today was to go heavy on water, tea and vegetables and light on sugar, salt and alcohol (obviously).

Lots of tea

Smoothie cures what ails me

[Please behold baby Weaz watching in wonder as I eat this smoothie in a bowl. It is incredible. I've watched that video at least one thousand times today. Worth it.]

I studied approximately one billion hours today and still feel like I know nothing that needs to be known for my two tests this week. I think I’m distracted by my looming departure date for Nicaragua (seven days, yes yes y’all).


Old Lady Tater

In Restaurants on March 6, 2011 at 9:05 am

Stew's hummus and salsa

Yesterday our friends Meg and Alex came up from Greenville for a little tour d’Charlotte. We are determined to force encourage them to move here. Though I’m pretty much 90 years old at this point, I did my best to throw down like a 25-year-old–with both food and drink… the food being more my strong point.

We started with Stew’s hummus and salsa and some beers at home.

Ralph.

Followed by wine and chocolate at Petit Philippe.

Wine...

... and chocolate.

Followed by margaritas and Mexican at Cantina…

Twiggy margarita

Table-side guacamole

Veggie fajitas

Followed by dessert at Amelie’s.

Chocolate layer torte

Overdo it much? That’s why all of this was followed by this:

Tum-tuh-tuh-tuh-TUMS

Needless to say, I am currently dehydrated, still full and eating more Tums. All in all, I’d call it a pretty successful, if not excessive, night.


4th Time’s a Pancake

In Breakfast on March 5, 2011 at 11:59 am

Banana Bread Waffles

It’s rare that I feel like I have any time to sit back and actually enjoy my weekends. I usually barrel through full speed ahead on to Monday. It’s also rare, unfortunately, that I feel like I am able to do special little things for Stew–like botch batch after batch of waffles and then make him eat them.

For some reason, I’ve never made a waffle. I mean… I stood watch as a child when my mom did it, but I, Katie Levans, have never prepared a waffle from scratch with my own two hands. Today was the day.

I followed a recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Make Everything Vegetarian… except I made it vegan. Things were going well but then this happened:

1st time

2nd time

You know how they say 3rd time’s a charm? Well…

3rd time

You know what I say?

4th time's a damn pancake.

Forget you, waffle maker.

We still ate the remnants.

Good enough is good enough


Caturday 3/5/11

In Cats on March 5, 2011 at 8:35 am

Weaz will eat your soul

I can’t believe it’s taken me a year and a half of Caturday posts to realize it has the word turd right in the middle of it. How very fitting.

Ralph and Weaz would like to thank everyone who bid on their “special” catnip-laced treats in the Thursday’s bake sale. Paige, I hope you’re ready for what’s to come…

Best.ever.

Unfortunately, the little turds waited until last night to tell me they don’t really know how to make the treats they auctioned off. So it looks like that duty will fall to me. Also, I cannot tell you how hard (and how long) I laughed when Stew sent me the picture above for the bake sale. I’d emailed him the original asking: “Can you put some chef hats on these fools?” And that’s what I got back. So funny.

Notice how Ralph is a hefty 10 pounds heavier by now? She was post-partum (and post-surgery) depressed in that picture…

Now she's fat, happy and eats at the table

Don’t worry, Weaz gets her share of food, too…

Izzat... broccoree??

Weaz’s favorite food is definitely bread. My roommate Lindsay and I used to find wee little baby Weaz tooth punctures in our bread bags if we left them on the counter.

And just in case anyone thinks I’m a little too crazy about cats, a person who did this exists:

(Plural)

Someone loves their cats so much they felt it necessary to add an “S” to the image of a single cat to make it plural. I hope someone in Charlotte knows whose van this is because I would like to meet this person.

PS – Have you seen the Fancy Feast Engagement Commercial? It takes crazy to a whole new level…

Heeeeere's Waldo


Anderson’s Coffee

In Coffee on March 4, 2011 at 1:26 pm

Anderson's Coffee (Thanks, Sam!)

Stew’s little brother got us some amazing espresso beans for Christmas (along with a super cute demitasse set. When our supply started to get low, Stew panicked and texted to let him know. A few short days later, we had a delivery on the doorstep.

This one is Anderson’s Coffee from Austin. Based on what I know of Austin, which deals almost entirely with the food scene, I suspect that it is the greatest place on earth.

This coffee confirms my suspicions.

I actually worked caffeine out of my life about this time last year. I only drink a cup of coffee each day but at the time decided I didn’t need it. It has slowly worked its way back in (decaf just doesn’t taste good) and I’m happy to say it has been welcomed with open arms.

I don’t feel like I need coffee in order to function and I still only drink one cup a day but I do need it to at least taste good and decaf just wasn’t doing that for me. I may give it up again for the summer when coffee appeals to me less anyway. But with this sack of goodness sitting in the cabinet, I highly doubt that.


Dairyload

In Restaurants on March 4, 2011 at 9:21 am

Black bean hummus wrap

Stew pried me away from my computer during yesterday Bake Sale extravaganza to take me for a quick lunch at Lell’s, our neighborhood community-supported restaurant. This was the dairy-heaviest meal we’ve had in quite some time. Cheese in my hummus wrap…

Milk in Stew's chai

Cheese in Stew's quesadilla

A cheesecake in our cookie?

We got what we assumed was an oatmeal cream pie that, after consuming, we now assume could have only been two raisin-less cookies stuffed with pre-baked cheesecake filling. Seriously. That’s what it was. Not complaining. Shit.was.good.

Bake Sale Update

My head is quite literally still spinning from yesterday. I have many an email to send, payment to collect, thank you to express. Sadly, I also have lab this morning and volunteer work this afternoon. Please rest assured that everything went smoothly on the technical side. Your win was recorded and your goods will be on the way shortly. Thank you again to everyone who participated–by donating goods, bidding or spreading the word. I can’t even believe how perfectly exact that grand total was to what I needed. I cried. Thank you so much.


Thank You

In Events on March 3, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I’m not usually at a loss for words but I just don’t know what to say.

I don’t know what I expected to happen today but this was not it.

$1,079.55

The original total cost of my entire trip was $1,075.00. Seriously. Are you kidding me? [PS - It's Andre "champagne." $4. Please, we're on a budget here. Stew bought it.]

In December I put down a $500 deposit to hold my spot. Unfortunately, the funds were somehow misallocated at the university and were instead put towards my tuition, unbeknownst to me. For three months I lived (and budgeted) assuming I had just half the cost left to pay. It wasn’t until last Friday that I learned I still owed all $1100 (and that higher-than-expected airfare had upped it to $1200). I panicked, decided without a doubt that I would back out and went to bed trying to figure out how I’d tell my professor that I just couldn’t go anymore.

Instead, I shot out of bed at 3am on Saturday and started planning the bake sale.

I can’t thank you all enough for your support–be it a baked good, craft, bid or spreading the word. I am in a state of shock. Maybe I’ll be able to form coherent sentences tomorrow.

For now, just thank you. I’ve got my malaria pills, typhoid pills, diarrhea pills and a sore arm from a hepatitis shot. It’s so on.


Nicaragua Bake Sale

In Events on March 3, 2011 at 10:59 am

Open 10am EST - 10pm EST 3/3/11

***BIDDING HAS CLOSED***

IF YOU WON AN ITEM YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL WITHIN 24 HOURS. PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE VIA PAYPAL TO sweettaterblog@gmail.com.

Sorry for the confusion! The auction was apparently set to “WordPress time” (whatever that is), which, it appears, is one hour earlier than Eastern Standard Time. As a result, the auction closed at 9pm EST instead of 10pm. Sorry to anyone who was planning to swoop in at the end and win Ralph and Weaz’s cat treats (I know that’s what you were all waiting for). Unfortunately, I can’t reopen the auction or we’ll lose the earlier bids. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO BID, DONATED AND SPREAD THE WORD.

Thank you for visiting my bake sale to fund an upcoming service learning trip to Nicaragua. [To read about the trip, click here.]

All the items below have been generously offered up by bloggers from all over North America and I truly can’t thank them enough. I hope you find something you simply can’t live without. When you do, this is what happens next…

How to Bid

  1. Click the MORE link next to the item’s description. Your bidding page will pop up in a new window.
  2. Enter your bid, name and email address (I’ll need this to contact you if you win)
  3. If you’re the highest bidder, the computer will let you know with a friendly pop up window. If not, it’ll let you know that you’ve been outbid.
  4. At the close of the auction, if you are the highest bidder you will be prompted to pay for your winnings via Paypal. I will email you requesting your contact information for shipping. I will then pass this along to the blogger responsible for your goods and they will get them out to you within two weeks. (You can work together to determine an ideal delivery time for both parties.)
  5. Legal mumbo jumbo: Sweet Tater cannot guarantee the integrity of “gluten-free,” “vegan,” “dairy-free,” “soy-free,” “raw,” or other dietary labels on baked goods. If you are highly allergic or ethically inclined, please make this very clear when communicating with your baker or (better yet) consider a non-food item. Please do not let your winnings sit around for a month, eat them, get sick and then tell me I made you sick. Please.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am so grateful.

Sincerely,

Katie

Baking BeCAUSE
Auctions RSS Feed Auctions RSS Feed


One Day I’ll Know the Day

In Travel on March 2, 2011 at 3:02 pm

Wednesday?

I keep telling myself that one of these days my schedule will slow to a normal human pace and I’ll have the capacity to actually know what day it is. Until then, this will keep happening…

I woke up bright and early at 5:20am to hike it up to yoga. I was pumped to try my first ever Ashtanga class even if it was a full half hour early than my standard hot vinyasa. Since I’m running on adrenaline, nerves and coffee these days, it was pretty easy to get up.

I was so damn proud of myself as I rolled into the parking lot at 5:59am but my mini celebration ended as abruptly as it had started when I noticed mine was the only car in the entire parking lot.

Ashtanga is at 6am on Tuesdays. In case you, like I, weren’t aware… today is Wednesday.

No matter. I parked it (literally) in the lot and studied until my trusty–always at 6:30am every single weekday no matter what–vinyasa class started.

Then I hightailed back the other direction to make my appointment with the university’s travel nurse. Today’s vaccination/immunizations:

  • Hepatitis B
  • Typhoid
  • Malaria

Oh my.

Plus some meds for traveler’s diarrhea and a DEET-errific bug repellent. Yeah buddy.

Let’s do this trip already. I’m too far in for it to fall apart now. Fundraiser starts tomorrow!


Bake Sale Preview

In Events, Nicaragua on March 2, 2011 at 7:37 am

Get ready...

Hold on to your butts, food lovers, have I got a treat for you… I am so humbled, proud and hungry to present a drool-worthy collection of goods donated by some of your favorite bloggers. Not hungy? (WHY??) Don’t worry, we have some crafty goods, jewelry and dog treats, too (though some people would eat this–not saying who).

All these items will be on auction tomorrow–Thursday, March 3 from 10am EST to 10pm EST–to benefit my service trip to Nicaragua. (Read about the trip here.)

To make this project–the time, the cost of ingredients and the cost of shipping–worth these wonderful, generous bloggers’ time, I am starting each item at $20. Get your game face on. It’ll be a battle…

Oh, and to make things interesting, I’ve asked a few Sweet Tater celebrities to pony up some goods. Ralph, Weaz and Stew will all have items to sell tomorrow. We’ll keep those a surprise.

Nicaragua Bake Sale Preview

Heather's Customized Snack Time Cookies

Heather is offering up her customized snack time cookies–your choice of three sweet and three salty mix-ins. Vegan optional (based on mix-ins selected). Shipping to US only.

Maggie's Cocoa Brownies

Maggie's Famous Chocolate Buzz Buzz Cookies

Maggie's Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Maggie is donating a killer sampler pack: 1 dozen Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter (with or without walnuts or nuts of choice), 1 dozen Double Chocolate Buzz Buzz Cookies (which, by the way, were featured on Emeril) and 1 dozen Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies (with or without nuts of choice). All are shamelessly laden with eggs, butter and gluten. Overnight FedEx anywhere in the contiguous US.

Kelly's Chocolate Date Truffles

Kelly has offered here lovely Chocolate Date Truffles. (Look for them to be featured on Savor NC today!). Vegan, gluten-free, raw. Shipping to US only.

Julie's Coconut Chai Savvy Scones

Julie is donating her Coconut Chai Savvy Scones. Vegan optional. Shipping to US and Canada only.

Marie presents L's Snickerdoodles

Marie is offering up L’s Snickerdoodles. Contains eggs. Shipping to US only.

Gracie's Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal Cookies

Gracie is giving us her Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies. Shipping to US only.

Caitlin's Sunflower Butter Bars in a Ball Jar

Caitlin will send along all the fixins for her Sunflower Butter Bars, lovingly arranged in a Ball jar for you to prepare yourself. Vegan. Shipping to US only.

 

Joy’s Pearl and Swarovski Crystal Bracelet

Joy will create one custom necklace or bracelet made from pearl and Swarovski crystal. Shipping anywhere.

 

Kristina's Chocolate Truffle Torte

Kristina is maker her Chocolate Truffle Torte. Gluten-free. Shipping to US only.

 

Moe's Soft Caramels

Moe will send you your choice of two soft caramel flavors: Twist & Stout (beer & pretzel), Lavender Thyme, Classic Sea Salted or Cardamom Rose. Made with local Happy Cow cream and butter. Shipping to US only.

 

Julie's Flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Julie is making her Flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. Gluten-free. Shipping to US only.

 

Courtney's Butterscotch Blondies

Courtney is contributing her Butterscotch Blondies. Shipping to US only.

 

Brittney's Pinwheel Cookies

Brittney is making her Pinwheel Cookies in your choice of: Orange/Chocolate, Raspberry/Chocolate or Almond/Chocolate.

 

Kelly's Knit Cup Cozy

Kelly is crafting the cutest Knit Cup Cozy. Shipping anywhere.

 

Liz's Party Hat Tea Towels in pink

Liz's Party Hat Tea Towels in green

Liz's Cherry Pickin' Tea Towels

My generous and wonderful friend, mentor and crafter extraordinaire Liz is providing three sets of tea towels, which will be auctioned off as separate items so more people can get their hands on them. Shipping US only.

 

Jessie's Heath Bar Chocolate Chip Blondies

Jessie is making her Heath Bar Chocolate Chip Blondies. Shipping to US only.

 

Angie's Crunchy Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Angie is making her Crunchy Peanut Butter Dog Treats. Lilly-approved. I would eat these. Just saying. Shipping priority mail, US only.

 

Lori and Michelle's Raw Vegan Cocoa Kremes

Lori and Michelle, owners of Twin Cakes Bakery, are offering up their Cocoa Kremes. They’re raw, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and low sugar. Shipping US only.

 

Kaitlin's Healthy Berry Muffins

 

Kaitlin is donating her Healthy Berry Scones. Shipping US only.

 

Angela's Chocolate Crunch Dessert Granola

Angela's "Favourite" Breakfast Granola

Angela will send you your choice of her Chocolate Crunch Dessert Granola or her “Favourite” Breakfast Granola. (You’re my “favourite” Canadian, Ange! I’m getting US spell-checked all over the place for that U.) Vegan. Shipping to US and Canada.

 

Carob Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Andrea is making her Carob Chip Pumpkin Cookies with raw sugar, organic cage-free eggs and sea salt. Shipping to US only.

 

Meg's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread?

Meg is donating Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and the picture above is her punishment (reward?) for not sending along a picture of the actual baked goods. Vegan, cat-free, cat food-free. Shipping to US only. (It’ll probably look more like this. If you’d actually rather have this sleepy kitten in a bowl of food, bid like you mean it. We could make it happen.)

 

Jen's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Jen is making her Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars. Shipping anywhere in the US.

Katy's Custom Ad Widget or Blog Buttons

Katy is offering Custom Design of 1 Ad Widget or up to 5 Blog Buttons (like the one above for her blog). Shipping is… irrelevant. Digital, baby.

Katelyn's Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffies

Katelyn's Gluten-Free Raspberry Amaretto Cookies

The lovely Katelyn is offering two items: Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffies (vegan, soy-free, sugar-free) and Raspberry Amaretto Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free). Shipping to US only on both.

Upon completing this preview, I am blown away by the outpouring of support from so many people I truly admire so much (and stalk so often). Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has contributed baked goods. I can’t say it enough. And a special thank you to my friend Adam who made sense of the technical side of the auction and, you know, did it all for me.

Now… let’s eat.


Vegetable Count

In Dinner on March 2, 2011 at 6:27 am

Vegetable-ful

Eating this mishmash of leftover foods last night, it occurred to me that actually trying to count all the individual plant products going on on the plate would prove to be quite a challenge. So here goes:

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Green beans
  • Tomatoes
  • Parsley
  • Bulgur wheat
  • Red peppers
  • Artichokes
  • 1 lone mushroom (a stowaway on my pizza slice)
  • Onions
  • Asparagus

Good lawd. I think that covers it. This isn’t normal. I mean, it is for me. But it’s not at all, really.

And since it’s National Nutrition Month, let’s check off the following colors:

  • Red
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • White?

Suuuuure.


National Nutrition Month

In Events on March 1, 2011 at 9:17 am

GREEN

Today kicks off the start of the American Dietetic Association’s National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme is:

Eat Right With Color

My meal last night was heavy on the green side:

  • Green beans
  • Green broccoli
  • Green avocado
  • Green PICKLE

While I haven’t had time to fully research the benefits of chlorophyll (the green pigment in fruits and vegetables), I found a few claims:

  • Aids in gastrointestinal problems
  • Promotes formation of red blood cells
  • Treats bad breath
  • Detoxifies toxins that cause cancer
  • Assimilates calcium and other heavy minerals
  • Fights infection

Not too shabby, right? Plus, all the green things on that plate also taste good.

I’ll try to share tips on working more brightly colored fruits and vegetables into your diet throughout the month. For now, just try to get as many colors onto your plate as possible.


Smoothie in a Bowl

In Smoothies on March 1, 2011 at 9:04 am

Smoothie in a Bowl #2

I feel it is worth repeating that smoothies in a bowl, inspired by Kath, are awesome. I had my first one last week and was surprised to find that the bowl and spoon really change the whole smoothie experience. I find that eating it this way makes me feel more satisfied and also, in some mysterious magical way, makes it taste better. Eat it to believe it, folks.

Mmmmm toppings

I stepped up my game with the toppings today (again, inspired by Kath) with:

  • Love Grown cocoa granola
  • Coconut flakes
  • Sunflower butter

The smoothie itself is:

  • Frozen banana
  • Rice milk
  • Frozen spinach
  • Cocoa powder
  • Mesquite powder
  • Ground flax

So good. It’s like eating a big bowl of ice cream. But better.