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Archive for May, 2011


It’s Just a Salad

In Restaurants on May 31, 2011 at 12:09 pm

Romaine, artichoke, chickpeas, carrots, tomatoes, olives

There are some things I want in my life. I want the weather to be warm. Until I want it to be cold, of course, for the holidays. I want to give more than I take, celebrate more than I complain and sweat my ass of in yoga every single day. I’d like cats and children and some mismatched-yet-somehow-perfectly-paired dishes. I want friends who drop by just because, family who live in the same time zone and mornings when my cell phone isn’t the first thing I reach for.

I’d like to travel far and often, to start a magazine that doesn’t suck, to teach yoga, to open a restaurant. I want a home that’s small but comfortable with lots of windows (and screens) and a garbage disposal and a dishwasher and a washing machine and a garden and a magical as-of-yet-nonexistent contraption that cleans all cat hair without me noticing or doing anything at all.

Today I’m picking up (and signing, presumably) the lease for my new place. It has none of the things on my list. None. OK, cats. Check and check. It’s small and dishwasherless and a little rougher around the edges than the last place. But it’s also cute (oh so cute) and the neighborhood is walkable (and full of restaurants… and bars) and I’ll have an office (an office) and room for a little raised garden. I’ll decorate it (I promise, self, I promise.) and I’ll clean it and I won’t let Ralphie scratch anything of importance.

I’ll drive two miles to yoga instead of 27. I’ll make my humble little kitchen a Food Network set. On Saturdays, I’ll bike to the market precariously balancing the coffee and muffin I grabbed at the bakery down the street. And on my way home I’ll eat lunch at this place.

Crisp (Charlotte, NC)

That’s where I am now. Eating a build-your-own with romaine, chickpeas, carrots, artichoke hearts, olives, char-grilled tofu and roasted lemon vinaigrette and overthinking the hell out of the paper I’m about to sign.

It’s just a lease. It’s just a move. It’s just the next step.


Lunch on the Lake

In Holidays on May 31, 2011 at 11:32 am

No swimming for 15 minutes.

All sandwiches should be consumed in the middle of a large body of water. Am I right or am I right?

Despite the impending doom of an afternoon closing shift at work on a holiday (just kidding–I asked begged to work; time and a half, y’all. time.and.a.half.) I insisted on pretending like I was on vacation for the first half of the day.

We took Waldo to the park...

Drank beer on the boat... (Stew did)

And lunched on the water.

I’d call it a pretty perfect Memorial Day… even if it did end folding pants for six hours.

Flawless pant wall brought to you by Katie

Work hard, play hard. Chase salads with shots of buttercream frosting. Balance, my friends. Balance is what I’m after this year.


Watermelon Lemonade

In Drinks on May 30, 2011 at 8:52 am

Easy watermelon lemonade

In case the 90-degree temperatures weren’t proof enough, last night I saw my first lightning bug of the season, which means summer is officially here. To celebrate my favorite season and my favorite fruit of my favorite season (you following me here?), I whipped up this super simple, light, refreshing watermelon lemonade.

I made this virgin because, well because it’s 9 o’clock in the morning. But that won’t stop me from serving it over mottled mint leaves with a shot of vodka. You don’t mind, right?

Watermelon Lemonade
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Drink
Author: Katie Levans
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 c seedless watermelon
  • 2 c water
  • juice of two lemons
  • 1 Tbsp honey (or agave or maple syrup)
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth
  2. Separate pulp using a strainer
  3. Serve over ice with mottled mint and, uh, vodka
Calories: 45 Fat: 0g Sugar: 9g Protein: 0g

Happy summer!


Hey, Weekend.

In Holidays on May 29, 2011 at 10:55 pm

Two for one. Double entendre.

Oh, what a marvelous weekend it has been. It started yesterday afternoon when my new friend Rachael and I made a beeline straight from work to Cowfish for cocktails. OK, maybe there was a detour at Anthropologie on the way. Did you know I have never stepped foot inside an Anthropologie until this week? It’s true. Did you also know that I want everything in the store? I do. This is what working in the mall does to me.

Our waitress sized us up pretty quickly as “those girls who probably want the rejected drink orders that were messed up at the bar and will tip well upon receiving them.” And boy are we ever. I got a margatini (which is basically just a margarita in a martini glass and is no longer on the menu but if you ask for it they’ll make it), which was accompanied by a key lime martini reject. I graciously accepted both.

Coconut crusted onion rings

I snacked on some of the world’s greatest coconut onion rings but saved myself for dinner later with Stew at a middle eastern restaurant. Speaking of which, how would you pronounce THIS:

Foul maddams

If you’re thinking foul as in foul ball and maddam “Oh, hello madam” then you would be my friend. You would also be WRONG, my friend. It’s FOOL MA-DAH-MAHS. WHAT. Learned that one the hard way.

Fattoush, hummus, grape leaves

Today we had an, uh, “exciting” morning? And then I went to pick carrots out of the garden.

Carrots!

And eat lunch with Stew’s family.

So many chips.

And round out the day on the lake with my brother.

Lake!

Happy weekend to all and to all a good night.


Chai Breakfast Cupcake

In Baked Goods on May 29, 2011 at 10:55 am

Chai-spiced cupcake with banana coconut cream

Finger-licking–no matter how mind-blowingly delicious a food is–is, in my opinion, always completely inappropriate. I don’t care how much you enjoyed your meal. Now I can’t enjoy mine because you’re sucking remnants off your hands (and God only knows where those have been).

So it pains me a little bit lot to confess that I just used my finger like a damn squeegie to salvage the smear of banana coconut cream from my leftover breakfast cupcake plate. I’m embarrassed. And oh so satisfied.

Hello, Sunday.

Everyone knows that “muffins” are really just cupcakes without frosting but some brilliant person had to come up with a new name so people wouldn’t have to admit that they’re eating cupcakes before noon. Kind of like how someone had to come up with mimosas and bloody Marys to make drinking champagne and vodka before noon more chic.

Naw, don't worry about it. I'm a MUFFIN.

The muffin… cupcake… muffcake (??? ew.) I made this morning is definitely more breakfast than dessert. It’s whole wheat, refined sugar free and fat free (until adding nuts and toppings) AND it has chai in it. Chai = breakfast.

Naturally, this baby is a twist on Katie’s single lady cupcake. And by “twist” I mean I used her exact recipe but swapped chai concentrate as my liquid. I’m so talented.

Chai Breakfast Cupcake
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Vegan, Baked Goods
Author: inspired by CCK’s Single Lady Cupcake
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total time: 17 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 6 Tbsp whole wheat flour
  • 2 Tbsp apple sauce
  • 2.5 Tbsp chai concentrate
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 banana
  • 2 Tbsp coconut butter
  • 1 tsp chai concentrate
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or spray two muffin cups
  2. Combine the flour through baking soda ingredients in a bowl and pour into muffin tin and bake for 12 minutes
  3. For the cream topping, combine banana, coconut butter and chai in a small food processor. Process until smooth.
Serving size: 1 Calories: 120 Fat: 8 Sugar: 5 Protein: 4

Don't you dare lick your fingers.


Caturday 5/28/11

In Cats on May 28, 2011 at 7:58 pm

Weazadillo

Oh lawd, it’s Caturday, right?

It’s been a busy, fun-filled day. For me. Not the cats. The cats are furious and plotting my death. Weaz even enlisted the help of her diabolical sidekick Mr. Armadillo. I don’t stand a chance.

Ralph doesn’t need backup, though. Ralph will take me down with one angry glare.

I won't look at you or you might die.

If you (like my mom) assume I am dead when I don’t post Caturday, please rest assured I’m still kickin’. I just got up ass early to go to yoga, went straight to work, straight to the bar and now straight to dinner. Hello, even Saturday mall workers need Saturdays. Am I right?

I am right.

You are wrong.


Chickpea Blondies

In Baked Goods on May 27, 2011 at 2:49 pm

Vegan, gluten-free chickpea blondies

It’s official. I have a big, fat crush on Chocolate-Covered Katie. I just can’t find anything she makes that I don’t absolutely love. It’s completely out of control, I tell you.

In fact, I’ve started a “CCK Must Try” recipes page in Evernote just to keep track of all the chocolate-covered creations I want to get crackin’ on.

CCK’s chocolate chickpea blondies are brilliant. A simple mix of chickpeas, sugar, nut butter and chocolate chips (no flour at all!) somehow comes together to create a perfect little treat.

Help. I'm obsessed.


Victory.

In Dinner on May 27, 2011 at 5:41 am

My life.

Last night I got that pizza I was craving. I also discovered that The Bachelorette is on Hulu and that they do, in fact, stream Bravo shows. I gave up TV way back in March and honestly haven’t watched a single mind-numbing program since then. (We did catch Michael’s farewell using Hulu as well, but everyone knows The Office is not mind-numbing.)

My TV-free commitment start in March and we canceled the cable all together a few weeks later. All this time I was thinking my days of Bethenny, Rachel, Patti and all the Real Housewives were over. I was wrong. And this could be a problem.

The best part? Top Chef. Top Chef Masters. Top Chef Just Desserts.

I will remain technically TV free, but it appears I will have my cake pizza and eat it too. Victory.

And can we talk about The Bachelorette for a minute? I think at least 6 of the guys on this season are gay. There. I said it. Also, Bentley? Best plot line ever. You are a tool bag.


Berry Cupcake for One

In Baked Goods on May 26, 2011 at 8:14 am

Quick vegan cupcake with strawberry coconut frosting

Chocolate Covered Katie is at it again, this time with her single lady cupcake. I have yet to make something from her recipe index that I didn’t love. So check her out.

I must confess that I kind of violated the single lady cupcake code of honor. First of all, I made two of these. Second of all, one of them was for a man. And we shared it. Because I wanted the other one for breakfast. I’m a single lady cupcake fake. It feels good to share.

Anyway, whether you make one or one dozen of these babies, I think you’ll be happy with the result. They come together in 60 seconds, bake for 15 and are inhaled instantly.

Mmmm toppings

I topped mine with a simple combination of coconut butter and homemade strawberry jam. (I could eat that alone with a spoon all.day.long.) Then I added blueberries for flair.

You can find Katie’s original single lady cupcake recipe here. I went with the applesauce option and added walnuts.

Make this.

Since I went with the fat-free option (applesauce instead of oil in the cupcake) these are definitely best hot out of the oven. Fat-free baked goods tend to set up a little tough and dry after a day. HOWEVER, I’m eating the other one for breakfast as we speak and it’s pretty damn amazing. So there’s that.


Pizza?

In Dinner on May 25, 2011 at 9:49 pm

This is not pizza.

Tonight I could not figure out what I wanted to eat. I was whining about how I’m “bored with our food lately” and Stew was offering up suggestions–”I could run to the store… I could make something… I could pick something up”–but his efforts were futile.

The problem, I fear, was not that we didn’t have food or even that we didn’t have food I wanted. The problem, naturally, was that I think I wanted this:

Pizza, son.

And maybe some of these:

Yes, these.

I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve had Pizza Sunday. Maybe it’s because I can’t seem to keep up with what day it is at all. My schedule is erratic and all the days flow together. For example, tonight is my “Friday.” Which would make Friday my Sunday? Which means… this girl is eating pizza on Friday. The real Friday. Not “my” Friday.

What’s happening? What day is it?

At any rate, I was pretty pleased with our dinner of roasted broccoli, chickpeas and zucchini, quinoa, baked beans, carrot sticks and Stew’s homemade ranch hummus. But it doesn’t mean I don’t still want pizza.


Prioritizing Horribly

In Rant on May 25, 2011 at 9:30 pm

Lunch... actually.

Sometimes I wonder if people hear me whine about being broke (I am) and then hear me talk about all the food I eat and wonder: “Why doesn’t she stop spending so damn much money on food?”

Because I just won’t. And T.I. will tell you why:

That doesn’t really apply at all, actually. I just like that song.

In short: food is a priority for me. Perhaps for you it’s nice clothes or a new car or exotic vacations or makeup that isn’t scraped out of the corners of a compact you’ve had for over a year. I don’t really have any of those things. But I eat exactly what I want all the time. And to me, that’s fine. To each her own.

I actually don’t think my food spending is too terribly out of control. To be perfectly honest, it can’t be. I don’t have enough money in total to be spending as much as people probably think I do on food. I budget. I shop sale items. I rarely eat out (on my own dime… Stew… … awesome boyfriend… wink). Nevertheless, I do spend significantly more money on edibles than I do on anything else. I’m comfortable with that.

Dressing in a Patron bottle. It's fine.

Despite food being a top priority in my life, I’ve felt a little disconnected from my diet as of late. Work is busy, funds are low and my meals are eaten in a painfully short 30-minute break whenever my shift allows. Sometimes I pack awesome things:

Exhibit A - raw lasagna and berries

And sometimes I pack this:

Sweet potato, gold fish, raw macaroon. It's fine.

Trail mix, worst smoothie ever, homemade poptart scraps

I’ve started to feel a bit like I’m “prioritizing horribly” but, really, I think I’m just doing the best I can with what I’ve got. And if what I’ve got is very little time in the morning, a week-old sweet potato, goldfish from the break room and a free macaroon nabbed from our opening event, so be it.

I have nothing to complain about. I have food. Period. That’s more than many can say.


Desperate Times

In Coffee on May 24, 2011 at 9:00 am

Coffee... chai... choffee?

I like coffee. I like it a whole lot. Ever since Stew taught me that the best part of wakin’ up, in fact, is not Folgers, I have been hooked on the good stuff.

At times I will drink coffee black. These times include espresso at the end of a long and slow dinner or terrible office coffee when there is simply no other way to get through the day.

First thing in the morning, however, is not one of those times I will drink black coffee. It doesn’t make any sense but my rationalization is that I feel too dehydrated to drink coffee alone. As if somehow the splash of almond milk I add is in any way refreshing. It’s not. Plus, coffee is not a diuretic, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking it is.

Sadly, I’ve been out of almond milk the past two days and haven’t gotten around to making more. So… uh… I’ve been cutting my coffee with… chai.

Ehhhh

Chai in a box, yes. Don’t you judge me. It was the only thing short of pickle juice I could think to pour into a drink. I think this was a wiser choice, yes?


Snapshot

In About Me on May 23, 2011 at 12:21 pm

Sums me up

When I went to take a picture of my lunch the other day, I realized this photo reveals some interesting tidbits about the life behind this blog. Should you be interested, the trinkets on my desk signify:

  1. I’ve spent some time in Spain – The skull and frog paperweight to the left is a symbol from the University of Salamanca found carved into the intricate facade of the Universidad Civil. Legend has it that if you can find the lucky frog (or rana de suerte) without any help, it will bring you good fortune and romance. I studied in Spain during my senior year of college and went back again for work two years after I graduated. I love it. I miss it. I never did find that damn frog on my own and now he sits on my desk as a constant reminder.
  2. I am quite superstitious – I collect heads up pennies and believe they have magical lucky powers. (So you can imagine how soul crushing it was to not be able to locate that frog in Salamanca, right?) I will stop and pick them up no matter how embarrassing it may be to stoop and dive for an almost worthless piece of currency. And should I find it to be tails up, I move around it like it’s a rotting corpse. In fact, if pennies fall in my house and land tails up, I leave them where they are until someone else (Stew) comes along to collect them. The heads up pennies are all deposited in a small gold piggy bank.
  3. I am a cat lady – The magazine under Incendiary is Cat Fancy. Don’t judge me.

Do you find little odds and ends around your house that look like nothing but hold part of your life story? I think all homes should be decorated with items that mean something.


CLT Food Bloggers 5/21

In CLT Food Bloggers on May 22, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Julie's strawberry cream pie

When I started my never-ending masters program, I had a professor sit us down and read through a list of student quirks that drive professors batshit crazy. The usual suspects were on there:

  • Texting in class with your phone in your lap and thinking no one can see you staring at your crotch
  • Missing class and emailing to see if you missed “anything important” (hint: professors think everything they say is important)
  • Missing class and expecting a private tutorial to get caught up
  • Missing class in general

The one that really struck a chord with me, though, was this (in my own words): Don’t complain. Don’t complain about your work load, your test questions, your class times or anything else you can think of to complain about (and you’ll think of a lot). When it’s all said and done, you picked the classes and times, you picked the field of study, you picked the school. What did you think, they’d hand a diploma for watching Food Network and reading blogs? (I kinda did.)

The point of this rant is simply to say that we all have things to complain about–bills, in-laws, homework, work work, working out, sickness, gas prices, taxes, weather. The list goes on an on. Sometimes when I feel the heavy weight of such burdens bearing down on my life, I step back and remind myself that I’m the one who put myself here. It’s easy to blame my professors, my bosses, my family, friends and enemies. But, truly, I chose this. All of it.

There are other more pleasant times when I think of this, too. Like today at the second Charlotte Food Bloggers monthly meeting. Sitting around a picnic table filled with like-minded food lovers and their vegetarian-friendly potluck creations, I felt very happy to be where I am.

Happy feast

Often times I think it’s so easy to look at the bad things in our lives and blame ourselves for messing up, giving up or otherwise failing our way to that point. We blame ourselves for creating that miserable life. But when it comes to the great times–the picnics with friends, the perfect 15-minute nap at the end of a brutal hot yoga class, the sense of accomplishment at the end of the semester–we tend to forgot that we created that life too.

I’m working hard to enjoy every day, to really celebrate this life. There’s no reason not do. I’ve done the negative/pessimistic/realist thing for long enough. I think I’m ready to just be blissfully content.

 

Taylor’s roasted sweet potato salad
Crosby’s cherries
Crostini and strawberry jam from me
Julia’s strawberry mozzarella tart with arugula
Allison’s strawberry salsa

My (first) plate

Our meeting today was awesome. The food was out of control. I was going to start a “Highlights for me included” sentence but then I realized I just loved every single thing that was there.

 

Especially this pie.

And this cupcake.

Knowing I was heading to yoga within the hour, I did my best to keep my food intake in check. But when Emma the Southern Cake Queen showed up with her cupcakes, all bets were off. I told myself I’d only eat half and be on my way and, as I’m sure you expected, it was gone before I could say “downward dog.”

I’d like to report that I did not vomit in class despite devouring that cupcakes not 15 minutes before starting. Just another cherry atop a perfect little day.

[Bloggers in attendance that you will love: Taylor, Julie, Kelly, Diana, Julia, Alison, Ensley and Crosby whose blog, we are told, is forthcoming.]


(Theoretically) Raw Brownies

In Dessert, Raw on May 22, 2011 at 5:26 am

Raw brownies with homemade strawberry jam

Since I kind of botched my strawberry poptarts, I had to come up with an alternate offering for today’s Charlotte Food Bloggers meeting. And since the strawberry jam filling I made for the failed poptarts was such a winner, I knew that had to somehow be incorporated. And since I was so totally over baking at this point, I decided I’d be making something raw. And that, my friends, is how raw brownies topped with homemade strawberry jam came to be.

I will eat you.

Raw brownies are one of the world’s easiest yet impressive dessert options. You simply use a food processor to combine:

  • 1 c walnuts
  • 1 c dates
  • 1/4 c cocoa powder

I doubled that recipe and used black mission figs for one cup of the dried fruit when I ran out of dates to make this batch, which fit beautifully into an 8×8-in pan. Simply combine in a food processor and then press into a pan.

I think that doubling the recipe in one batch threw off the ratio a bit because my brownies weren’t coming together so I ended up adding about a 1/4 c of agave nectar to bind. So, in theory these brownies are intended to be raw. But since I used the cocoa powder and agave I had on hand rather than buying raw versions of each, mine are not really raw. Plus, I topped them with cooked jam. What do you want from me?

Pretty

The strawberry jam I completely made up on the spot when I was trying to figure out how to make the poptarts happen. It was surprisingly simple.

Simplest Strawberry Jam

2 lb fresh strawberries, hulled
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional, or could be doubled)
1.5 tsp agar agar*

Combine strawberries, sugar and balsamic (if using) in a pot and heat on medium until sugar melts and strawberries are soft. Stir frequently to prevent burning and turn heat down if necessary. Use an immersion blender to break up the softened strawberry chunks (or use a potato masher). Add in agar agar and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat. Pour some on top of your brownies (it’s up to you how thick you want the strawberry layer) and put the rest in a container to cool in the fridge. It will be very thin at this point. As the temperature drops, the gelatinizing properties of the agar agar will kick in (see below).

*Agar agar is a gelatinous substance derived from red algae. It makes an excellent vegan alternative to gelatin and has strong gel forming capabilities. You can find it in the ethnic food aisle of most specialty markets.

Tah dah, raw-ish brownies


Homemade Oat Milk

In Breakfast on May 21, 2011 at 8:52 am

Homemade oat milk

As you can probably tell, I’ve been on a bit of a homemade milk kick. The thing is, I’m planning to do a little local food experiment starting in July and I’m trying to figure out how to make the things I’ll no longer be able to buy using ingredients I can find locally. Clearly I can’t buy local almonds or oats but I do plan to get my grains from the Carolina Rice Plantation here in SC and can make rice milk that way. Hold on to your butts; it’ll be an adventure.

Unlike the almond milk I wrote about earlier, this oat milk is darker, thicker and sweeter than regular milk. The recipe calls for half a banana, which not only makes it sweeter but also gives it a lingering banana flavor. I found that the almond milk is ideal for coffee, cereal, etc. but that the oat milk is perfect for a smoothie.

Or a smoothie in a bowl.

Granola, sunflower butter, chia seeds

Have you ever tried making your own milk? I’ve found that it’s a lot easier than I anticipated and the result tastes a lot better than I thought it would, too. Give it a try! I’m off to throw together a batch of quinoa milk…

Make your own nut/grain milk


Caturday 5/21/11

In Cats on May 21, 2011 at 5:15 am

Hello.

At 11 o’clock last night I made a horrible realization that I had forgotten to celebrate the cats’ birthday. Granted, I found Ralph on the street and have no idea how old she really is let alone the day of her birth, but I remember Weaz’s quite well because it happened in a laundry basket in my lap. So we decided Ralph would just share that day, too.

That day, I thought, was May 20, 2008, the same as my friend and, at the time of cat birthing, former roommate Jack. But then again, sometimes I can’t quite seem to remember if it occurred on Jack’s birthday or on the day after. At any rate, I panicked, threw a candle in a can of Friskie’s turkey shreds with cheese (their favorite) and hosted an impromptu party in the final hour.

Cat cake

(What kind of mother will this make me? Sigh.)

Way to go.

No, I'm not mad... just disappointed.

I was then informed by Adam who was informed by Stew who we can only assume was informed by me at some point that the cats’ birthday is actually 5/21. Today.

You can't do anything right.

So good. There’s that.

When I think about the fact that Weaz is three years old, I die a little bit inside. We think this makes Ralph four since the vet estimated she was barely a year old when she had Weaz. (What kind of world do we live in where 1-year-old street cats are having babies??)

Anyway,good thing cats never die. Otherwise we’d be a fifth of the way through the 15-20 years I assume they will be around.

Stew says he hopes he dies before the cats because he doesn’t want to deal with my grief-stricken, worthless self when they go. But, again, good thing cats never die.

When it’s all said and done, I guess it’s a good thing we celebrated a little early considering the world will end tomorrow and all.

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for… baby pictures.

Baby Weaz's first hour

I can't even stand it.

Baby Weaz, 5 months

Classic Weaz, couple of weeks old

Little Murray Sparkles and Odelay

Ohhhhh Weaz.

Stinkeyes watchin me sleep. (Ralph's short hair!)

The cat who started it all.

Homeless. I can live with you?

Yes, Ralph. Forever and ever. Amen.

I love these cats more than most humans I know. I’m not kidding. I’d give them both a kidney. Yeah, I only have two. You see what I’m saying.

Happy birthday, cats. I’m not even embarrassed to say you are my very best friends.

What about me, Waldo?


Homemade Vegan Poptarts

In Baked Goods on May 20, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Homemade strawberry poptarts

I have delusions of grandeur. Sometimes I think I’ll travel the world with no money, suddenly become a ballerina at age 25 or save every neglected animal in the world. Most of the time, though, I’m just in the kitchen.

Today, oh today… Today I thought I would make homemade poptarts. No big deal, I thought. People do this all the time. The problem, of course, is that when people like me do this, they do it without paying the least bit of attention to a recipe. OK, a little bit of attention…

I started off with the pie crust from my first ever pie. All the other recipes I saw called for pastry crust (homemade or store bought) but anyone who’s ever eaten a real Poptart knows damn well they are not delicate flaky pastries. Having eaten many a maple brown sugar Poptart in my day, I know that they are, in fact, rather dense and cardboard-y. So I knew that the dense, shortbread-like texture of that pie crust would be a better fit.

Vegan strawberry poptarts

Correction: It would have been a better fit had I made it correctly. Instead, I used too much coconut, not enough oil and the completely wrong flour. As it turns out, a tub labeled AP flour in my cabinet is actually filled with what appears to be chickpea flour. Live and learn.

After rolling out the already not so perfect crust, I realized I was only going to get three poptarts out of this bad boy. I almost, almost gave up but kind of wanted to see how far these three little guys could go. Consider them my children and I was trying to see them through all the way to college. Right? Whatever.

So I kept going. I started haphazardly assembling a strawberry “jam” by completely making up the process. I threw several cups of strawberries, some sugar and a little balsamic vinegar into a pot and cooked away until it reduced. I added 1tsp agar agar to thicken it up and that was that. It actually worked.

These poptarts were supposed to be my contribution to the next meeting of the Charlotte Food Bloggers on Sunday, but I was still doubting things when it came time for assembly and baking so I made a batch of raw brownies topped with strawberry jam as a backup.

Ye Me of little faith was a bit surprised to find that those three unassuming pathetic poptarts came out perfectly.

You made it, little guy

I topped them with a strawberry glaze made with powdered sugar, coconut milk and a little strawberry jam and promptly packed them up to send along with Stew to his End of the World party.

I’m sorry, Charlotte Food Bloggers, there will be no poptarts at the meeting. But I’ll have brownies as an olive branch. The poptarts are excellent but I fear three two and a half would not suffice and, let’s face it, I’m not doing it again.


NIX Burger Bar

In Restaurants on May 19, 2011 at 10:19 pm

NIX veggie burger

For a vegetarian, I have an odd fascination with burgers. I’ve made it my mission to try every single handmade veggie burger in Charlotte (sorry, no I’m not interested if you just heated up a Boca Burger; try again). I’ve had a lot (and I’m working on a comprehensive ranking page) and I can’t believe I’m about to say it but… I think I may have found a veggie burger that rivals that of Big Daddy’s.

NIX Burger Bar is confusing. From the outside it looks like something Guy Fieri would design and the menu is littered with a host of deep-fried, cheese-covered things topped with crispy bacon.

On point

Menu names include such delights as “Nachos They Mine” and Stew’s pick: the Fiery Orgasm of Death.

THEY MINE

Fiery Orgasm of Death

Things really weren’t looking good for us when our chips and salsa came out and we discovered it to be nothing more than Pace Picante Sauce and some not so thrilling chips.

But then… THEN I got my burger (which was actually an asian chicken breast plate that I subbed out) and I became a believer.

Not chicken

My meal ended up being a veggie burger topped with a soy honey glaze, toasted almonds and red onion and served over spinach with mandarin oranges.

Like Big Daddy’s, this burger is most definitely deep-fried. What sets it apart however, is the fact that it contains whole chickpeas. Whole.Entire.Chick.Peas. CHICKPEAS. I loved this burger and honestly think I’d choose it over Big Daddy’s because the inside tastes so very beany. I’m not sure other people would agree with me though. But this is my blog, isn’t it? And that makes NIX the new Charlotte veggie burger winner.

I think.

Maybe it's more like a tie...


Homemade Almond Milk

In Breakfast on May 18, 2011 at 5:30 pm

How to make your own almond milk

I have really always hated milk. As a kid I had to put in a special juice request at snack time and in the lunch line because if presented with milk, I would pitch a fit. At home I’d eat the cereal out of my bowl leaving behind exactly how much milk my mom poured in. I don’t care much for milk-based things either unless the milk is disguised. For example, sharp hard cheeses are ok but soft creamy cheese freaks me out. Yogurt buried under mountains of granola is doable but doesn’t stand a chance on its own.

The point of this back story is to illustrate that I’ve been drinking milk alternatives for some time now. First it was soy milk but, after hearing excessive soy is not so excessively great for you, I switched to rice and almond and anything else I could find. Except hemp. Hemp milk is terrible.

Homemade almond milk

I usually buy organic unsweetened milks but am not attached to any one brand. Still, I’m not always happy with what’s in these milk substitutes–too much sugar, weird additives, things I can’t pronounce. I always knew you could make your own milks at home but it seemed like a daunting task.

Today I finally gave it a go.

Make your own milk with these guys...

I made almond milk, oat milk and have an interesting quinoa milk currently soaking in the fridge. So far almond is the clear winner–super easy, two ingredients, bright white and comparable to its store-bought counterpart.

Homemade Almond Milk

1/3 c raw almonds, blanched, skins removed
2 c water (plus another 1.5-2c for blanching almonds; see below)
pinch of salt
vanilla (optional)

To blanch your almonds, simply boil them in about two cups of water for several minutes. Remove from heat and pour onto a towel to cool. Once cool enough to be handled, simply pop the nuts out of the skins. (It’s seriously so much easier than I anticipated and took about 60 seconds to peel.)

Combine peeled almonds, fresh water (not what you used to blanch), salt and any flavorings you’d like (vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, etc.) in a blender. Blend until well combined. (I used my “liquify” setting.) Once done, line mason jar with a cheesecloth (I didn’t have one so I used a paper towel) and pour in the milk. The leftover almond pulp will remain in the cloth. Squeeze out any excess milk and save your pulp for other adventures. (I mixed mind with 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast and liquid aminos for a “cheese” alternative.)

Enjoy your milk!

This recipe made 2 cups of almond milk so I’d definitely double it and make larger batches. In terms of cost, the homemade version is a better option for me.

Cost Breakdown

32 oz of store-bought almond milk: $3, $0.75 per serving
32 oz of homemade almond milk: $2.33, $0.58 per serving

For some people the ease of buying almond milk in the store is worth the extra cost. I found the process to be incredibly simple and I appreciate the control I have over the ingredients. One thing to consider with homemade milks is that they aren’t fortified with calcium, B vitamins, etc. like many of the products in stores so you’ll want to be aware of taking a supplement or compensating with the rest of your diet.


Am I Orthorexic?

In Health on May 17, 2011 at 10:52 pm

Healthy lifestyle or mental disorder?

When my medical nutrition therapy professor made mention of a “new eating disorder” classified as an unhealthy obsession with healthy or righteous eating, I knew I had to investigate. She presented it like this: “You know those people who, like, only eat at Earth Fare? And everything is organic?”

Uh, yeah… people like me. So what’s the story?

Orthorexia is a term originally coined by Dr. Steven Bratman in a 1997 article for Yoga Journal. In his original essay Bratman discusses how he was “saved from the doom of eternal health food addiction” after 20 years as a “wholehearted, impassioned advocate of healing through food.”

He goes on to poke jabs at raw foodists, macrobiotics, vegetarians of all kinds, vegans and his own former obsession with organic farming. “[Managing the organic farm]… gave me constant access to fresh, high-quality produce.  Eventually, I became such a snob that I disdained to eat any vegetable that had been plucked from the ground more than fifteen minutes.”

He describes his experience like this: “The need to obtain food free of meat, fat and artificial chemicals put nearly all social forms of eating out of reach.  Furthermore, intrusive thoughts of sprouts came between me and good conversation.  Perhaps most dismaying of all, I began to sense that the poetry of my life had diminished.  All I could think about was food.”

He says he was “saved” from his obsession and subsequently lost his “assumption that there exists a comprehensive and consistent theory of healing diseases through nutrition.”

Bratman has also published a book, Health Food Junkies: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthy Eating–which he self-deprecatingly describes as “extremely non-best-selling.”

Orthorexia is not a part of the DSM-IV and there are no plans to add it to the DSM-V (due out 2013), it is still being recognized as a mental disorder. I’m not so sure orthorexia can even stand on its own as a “disorder.” It seems to me that you start with an attempt at healthy eating which turns into an obsession with healthy eating which escalates to an eating disorder. At that point you would classify and treat it as an eating disorder making orthorexia diagnosis and treatment irrelevant. I suppose this is why it’s still not in the DSM.

So this brings me back to my original question. Is my interest in eating an all-vegetarian, often-vegan, sometimes-gluten-free and, when-I’m-at-Luna’s-raw diet a healthy lifestyle or… a mental disorder? I definitely think about food constantly. My eating habits affect when, where and with whom I can eat. But no, I don’t think I’m “orthorexic.”

For me I think it comes down to whether or not your healthy lifestyle is a celebration of food or a condemnation of it. For me it’s the former. Of course I’m obsessed with food and I think about it all the time, but it’s because I love it. On the other hand, one could obsess over and think about food because they’re afraid of it or because they’re trying to steer clear of “bad” things. That, I suppose, would veer closer to the unhealthy side of the spectrum. Seeking to eat clean, healthy food that tastes good and makes you feel good is most certainly not a mental disorder. But yes, I do agree with what I think Bratman was originally trying to say–that sometimes an attempt at a healthy lifestyle can become paradoxically unhealthy.

A study from the Institute of Health Science in Italy outlined additional screening questions for orthorexia should you be interested in assessing yourself:

So what’s your take on this? Agree? Disagree? Feel like you’re orthorexic or know someone who is? What are the signs? Should it be classified as one of the major eating disorders? On the other hand, is it shooting America in its big, fat foot by condemning healthy eating at a time when obesity rates are higher than ever?

Do share. I’d love to hear thoughts on this one…


Eating at the Mall

In What's for Lunch? on May 16, 2011 at 9:30 pm

... or not.

With work in full swing, I’m back in packed lunch mode. I’m a firm believer that a hectic life is not reason enough to eat garbage or spend money you don’t have on food you don’t really want. Ya heard? In my first three full days (like, 9 to 5 days) of mall work, I found myself stopping by Starbucks every afternoon. Not only do I not have money to drop on that mess, I also don’t want to become one of “those” people. You know who you are.

So now that I’m working in a mall, I feel it’s important to give myself moments of un-mall time. That’s why I’m packing my own food-court-free food and savoring it outside in the grass as far away from fluorescents lights as I can get. For lunch today: leftover raw lasagna and berries. I also had a coconut water, popcorn with trail mix and a raw almond joy bar later in the afternoon.

This shall keep me sane. Sane enough that I don’t go completely apeshit on some poor, unsuspecting Starbucks employee one day…


Strawberry Picking

In CLT Food Bloggers on May 16, 2011 at 1:14 am

Perfect little berry

Today was a beautiful day for picking strawberries so the Charlotte Food Bloggers did just that. It was warm with a light breeze and overcast with big fat cumulus clouds that almost (almost) rivaled my favorite Illinois sky.

Perfect.

We met up at Miller’s Farm in Fort Mill, SC and, although I was late, the group wasn’t tough to spot.

They're the ones with the tripods.

Standard.

Normal.

Naturally, I came without cash and was digging up quarters in my cupholders when Diana swooped in and saved the day buying me my very own 5-pound basket.

I filled that sucker to the brim.

My mom always took us berry picking in the summer. I feel like the season is much later in Illinois and, therefore, much hotter. We lucked out with perfect weather but I still got sunburned despite my sunblock. My dermatologist will love that on Wednesday. :[

Last weekend Stew and I actually dropped in at the South Carolina Strawberry Festival.

"Strawberry" Festival

But after finding THIS GUY to be the only strawberry in sight, we were in and out in about 15 minutes flat.

You I cannot eat.

Needless to say, the bountiful harvest of real strawberries that I picked today was much appreciated indeed.

I will eat you.

Next week we’re meeting up again with strawberry-based food items. I’m thinking I’ll make Poptarts…

Oh but wait… the best part of the day… ANIMALS.

Juicy the pig

Aggressive donkey

I trust you like strawberries. (Stolen from Julie)

I’ve washed, prepped, stored and frozen my berries. Oh, and I ate my weight in them, too. I’m just hoping some remain for my Poptart project. All in all, a lovely little Sunday.


Pewter Rose Perfection

In Restaurants on May 15, 2011 at 9:00 am

Zucchini and squash "spaghetti"

I feel like I’ve lived a million lives since Monday night when Stew’s parents and grandpa came into town to celebrate his birthday early and Mother’s Day late with us. It was a rather extravagant way to spend a Monday. Maybe all Mondays should be lived as such.

We started at our house with Stew’s homemade hummus and beer from OMB. Then we headed up to Petit Philippe for wine and chocolate.

Stew looks like his mom, right?

Ooooh, fancy chocolates

I don’t usually splurge on the fancypants chocolates so I was lucky to get to partake in sampling this plate. They also let us try some basil orange white chocolate that was in the works in the back. That was probably my favorite.

Our plan for dinner was Pewter Rose, which is where we went for my birthday when we first moved here almost a year ago. (I miss last summer. I miss last summer. I miss last summer.) Looking back at things we were doing a year ago crushes my soul. We are so far from what that was. This year hit me like a train and now it’s carrying me forward so fast that I don’t even know what’s happening anymore.

We haven’t been back since and I have no idea why not. The food was incredible.

Origami at Pewter Rose

Pewter Rose, Charlotte NC

I started with the heart salad, which sounds far scarier than it is. It’s grilled romaine heart, artichoke hearts and heart of palm. Pretty clever little plate, I’d say.

Heart salad

Romaine lettuce should always be grilled. Always.

For my entree I had the zucchini and squash “spaghetti,” which was just thinly sliced vegetables that resembled pasta noodles. It was covered in the most perfect spaghetti sauce and topped with mushrooms that I didn’t even hate.

"Pasta"

Stew got the vegetable lasagna and a side of truffled macaroni and cheese. Ha, yes. Don’t even ask. I made fun of him until I tried the mac and cheese. Totally worth ordering two pasta dishes.

Just like my birthday last year, we rounded out the night at Amelie’s for, uh, more chocolate.

Ooooh aaaah

Chocolate chocolate chocolate

I got two mini tarts and that was more than sufficient.

Mini tarts - one fruit, one chocolate

Not a bad way to spend a Monday.


Light Green

In Dinner on May 14, 2011 at 7:35 pm

Green green green green

That plate is sitting on the hood of my car.

It’s been a hell of a 72 hours but we successfully unloaded, sorted, folded and organized what I would predict to be no fewer than 50,000 pieces of product for what will be the ballin-est lululemon store in all the world. The days have been long and exhausting but I’ll take standing and folding over sitting and typing any day. AN.Y.DAY. I hate offices.

I wasn’t feeling a repeat raw dinner tonight because I was craving something light and green (I realize a raw dinner qualifies as such but it really tastes like legit lasagna). Enter: leftover zucchini “noodles,” steamed kale, avocado, quinoa and leftover pesto.

I really did use my car.

And Stew's.

Part of me was too exhausted and perhaps too full from last night’s feast (and today’s workplace pizza lunch break) to make something more thrilling. Then again, there’s also the little fact that it has been brought to my attention (by myself) that a combination of stress and M&Ms has resulted in a minor weight gain in the ass-al region of my… ass. I know that hearing a skinny person talk about weight gain is perhaps the most frustrating thing in the world but I also realize that reading a blog in which people lead you to believe they’re inhaling cakes and brownies and, uh, M&Ms and still rocking 6-packs is equally frustrating as hell. So I’m here to say that I’ve been eating a whole lot of cakes and brownies and, uh, M&Ms and I’m gaining weight. Just a little. Plain and simple.

Finals are over. Summer is here. The weather is beautiful. And my life is good. Hectic, but good. So I can finally get back to being myself, which, consequently, involves a slightly smaller bootay. It’s fine. An interesting thing about weight gain now versus weight gain, say, two years ago is that it’s.just.weight.gain. I no longer equate it with my self worth or my happiness or any other absurd, distorted thoughts. I equate it with weight gain. Plain and simple.

No diet or exercise plans in the works. Just a slow and steady M&M detox. I don’t think any foods are ever off limits. You can certainly eat cakes and cookies and M&Ms and rock a 6-pack if you want to. You just can’t eat as many as I have as of late just because you have 100 pages of graduate papers due and 5 finals to ace in, like, a span of a week.

There’s that. Acknowledge it. Adjust. Carry on.

Just eat this. And a sweet potato. And probably hummus.


Caturday 5/14/11

In Cats on May 14, 2011 at 5:25 am

TURN ON THE AIR, SUCKA

Since I’m writing this last night… assuming we made it through Friday the 13th in one piece, Happy Caturday! Weaz insisted we watch horror movies but we ate raw food instead.

Not only was yesterday a “freaky Friday” of sorts, it also marks a significant win for the cats (and Waldo) in the epic battle: AIR CONDITIONING.

Yes, due to animal protest, we finally did turn on the air.

Turn on the air or I turn on the KILL YOU

Without air, I will surely perish.

Wait, what?

The cats (namely Weaz) are dramatic as hell about the heat but the decision to turn on the air was more for Waldo and (a tad bit selfishly) for us. His breath is like rotting pile of feces-stuffed wheel of cheese and when he pants that’s what the whole house smells like. It was definitely time.

And now I would like a treat.

Now I can sit upright! (Look at her feet)

Now that everyone is happy we can all rest comfortably.

Especially Waldito.


Happy Birthday to Stew

In Events, Raw on May 13, 2011 at 11:14 pm

Almost-raw chocolate strawberry pie

I fear I was more excited about Stew’s birthday today than Stew was. Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent the last three nights prepping an epic (albeit labor intensive) raw feast to celebrate his existence. I had so much fun putting this together I told him we could go ahead and count it as my birthday, too.

Yay!

It was kind of hard to keep a secret since we share a kitchen and all but he was banished to his office for three nights in a row while I worked so that even though he guessed exactly what I was doing (“Can I guess? Are you making raw food?”), he never got to see or taste anything until today.

This morning I gave him his special birthday menu so he’d dream about it all day while I was at work. It included:

  • Light lemon hummus – Puree of zucchini, sunflower seeds and tahini seasoned with lemon and garlic and served with crudités
  • Raw lasagna – Marinated zucchini noodles, spicy tomato walnut meat, tangy macadamia nut cheese, basil walnut pesto and wilted spinach piled 13 layers high
  • Dark chocolate strawberry pie – Dense and fudgy raw coconut brownie crust topped with strawberry banana soft serve, fresh strawberries and rich chocolate fudge

Raw sunflower seed and zucchini hummus

Raw lasagna

Chocolate strawberry pie

He didn’t get any other gifts other than an “I love my hound dog” sticker and a pound of Dilworth Coffee so I insisted on wrapping the lasagna up for a dramatic reveal.

Do you know how hard it is to wrap lasagna?

Everything was de.li.cious. and I’m calling this my crowning culinary glory. Recipes will follow later this week but for now… I need to pass out.


Berrybrook Farm

In Restaurants on May 12, 2011 at 9:33 pm

Vegetable tempeh sandwich

Surprise and delight. It’s something we talk about a lot at work. And since I am living and breathing work for the next week or so, I’m talking about it now. You know what’s surprising? This little old-timey market in the middle of Charlotte.

Berrybrook Farm

And you know what’s delightful? That it operates a wee tiny vegetarian/vegan pickup counter inside. I stopped by after back-to-back classes (at Hilliard and at Be Yoga) to refuel. I debated countless options and eventually went with the vegetable tempeh sandwich topped with avocado and cilantro pesto. Yes, I ate the cilantro and didn’t hate it in that form.

Fuel

I plopped myself right down on that cute little front porch and pretended I was taking a rest stop on the Oregon Trail. Fun fact: I have had dysentery.

No I haven't.

I was in Chile in 2005 petting stray dogs and eating street food and drinking tap water. It was inevitable. I was hospitalized for my last three days. It was the worst. It may come as a surprise, but unlike many a failed attempt at Oregon Trail, I did not end up dying.


A Cereal Kind of Day

In Dinner on May 12, 2011 at 9:22 pm

Oh yes.

Today was one of those exhaustingly invigorating kind of days. The kind of day where I don’t sit down for 12 hours straight. The kind of day where I never once know exactly what time it is. And the kind of day that ends with cereal for dinner. You know what I’m talking about.

We’re gearing up to open the store so I’ve got three straight days of box after box after box to unload, fold and display. I kind of love it.

Knowing I’d have a long day of standing ahead, I started my morning off with hot vinyasa at Y2 and, honestly, by about 3pm I was aching for another hour of practice. My cubicled body just isn’t used to standing all day anymore. I’m thrilled to be doing it though. Human bodies aren’t made to sit all the time. If you can move you should move. That’s how I see it.

Two things I can’t wait to buy:

Bow tee

Vinyasa scarf

But naturally I will wait because I have no dollars. Speaking of… I got an apartment. Holler. And a bright red couch. Who am I? I’m slipcovering that couch. Obviously. I’m a neutral girl. Believe it.

When I got home I put the finishing touches on Stew’s epic birthday dinner for tomorrow night. I won’t give anything away yet but I will say that this is my crowning culinary glory. It’s taken me 6 hours of prep work and probably another couple tomorrow but I find it to be the most enjoyable activity there is–cooking for someone you love.


Taquitos I Dream About

In Best, Restaurants on May 12, 2011 at 6:26 am

Taquitos vegetarianos

Mushroom,  avocado, cotija, roasted  red pepper, caramelized onion and cilantro  in a  crispy taco shell. On their own, I’m not so sure I even like half of those ingredients. But once they’re finessed and combined into Cantina 1511′s famous taquitos vegetarianos (and smothered in some kind of mood altering mole-type sauce, of course) they form what is without a doubt the absolute best meal I’ve ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant. [I'm keeping a running list of the best things I've ever eaten. You'll find it in the navigation bar at the top of the page.]

Stew has been eating these taquitos since the very first time we went to Cantina sometime last year. Deterred by the mushrooms, cilantro, cheese and countless meals I’ve eaten consisting of bland, mushy slop from other “Mexican” places, I always erred on the side of caution and got things like salad or fajitas. Dumb, Katie.

I love you.

Plus, this meal is so completely mind-blowing, Stew never saw fit to share with me so I had no way of knowing how perfect it really is. Several weeks ago (I’m not sure what came over me), I ordered the taquitos myself and Stew got a salad. Perhaps it was a sign of the end of the world…

Flawless. These taquitos are flawless. The crunch of a crispy fried shell gives way to a perfect mix of mushrooms, avocado and caramelized onions. Somehow, it doesn’t taste like any of those things. But whatever that final mix is is far greater than the sum of its parts, I’ll tell you that. It’s topped off with a light drizzle of cream and a lighter sprinkling of cotija cheese. This is where “Mexican” restaurants usually blow it: drowning everything in some sort of low-quality dairy product. This garnish happened to be the perfect complement to the tangy red sauce that coats the taquitos.

Pale in comparison

The reason I never wrote about these taquitos weeks ago when I first tried them was because we ate in the bar at night and I knew my pictures would never ever do them justice. So here they are in all their glory in the lunchtime lighting of Cantina’s patio.

I will undoubtedly get a call from Stew today requesting dinner at Cantina. Wait for it…


Here Comes the Storm

In Smoothies on May 11, 2011 at 8:01 am

El Luchador smoothie - peanuts, cacao, hemp milk

The storms that have been tearing up the south the past month are making the apocalypse loonies look pretty legitimate. You’ve heard the world is ending on May 21, right? Best live it up, y’all. I heard on NPR that true believers of this movement have quit their jobs and are spending their savings to ZERO in an anticipation of May 22 not coming. Crazy.

I’m not on board but I do find it unsettling that we’ve had such intense storms tearing through all over the country. Call me crazy but something tells me it’s global warming and not the end of mankind. Just a thought.

Tornado alley?

Hey neighbor

As far as I know there weren’t any tornadoes last night but our cheap plastic fence can’t handle the 60mph winds the storm threw at it so it collapsed in a heap. The table and umbrella were also on top of my car. No big deal on our end. I’m hoping there wasn’t worse damage elsewhere.

In honor of a strong and powerful storm, I have for you a strong and power smoothie: el luchador from Luna’s. I wasn’t feeling much like a luchadora last night when I ordered it. In fact, I was being rather helpless. I had picked up a couch for my place and didn’t feel comfortable driving with it sticking out the back secured with only the straps I could find at the Family Dollar. So I called Stew and made him come up. He was rewarded with dinner at Luna’s. My appetite has been shot (hey stress) so I got el luchador.

Fighter

It’s like a grown up, far healthier version of my old peanut butter banana smoothie with organic peanuts, cacoa and hemp milk. Remember that time Stew made a boyfriend version of the smoothie with an ice cream sandwich blended in? Not quite what I drank last night… Hopefully mine put a little fight back in me.

I’m off to get my butt handed to me at Hilliard Studio. Hope everyone in my area is ok following the storm!


Garden to Table

In Garden on May 10, 2011 at 6:00 am

This is on the hood of Stew's car. Truth.

Perhaps you’ve heard (here, here and here) that I’m a little excited about this little garden we planted. Unfortunately I neglected it a bit lot during finals and had to swing by over the weekend to salvage the remains of our nearly-ruined broccoli harvest. The horror.

Some of the broccoli had already (or at least almost) flowered but I managed to wrangle up a big sackful for dinner. I was also thrilled to death to find that our potatoes were producing at an impressive rate…

TATERS

The onions were also on their last leg so I nabbed the last of them and now have more onions than any one person should ever possess. Ever.

I’m new to this whole community garden thing and I’m pretty sure I got the go ahead to help myself to plots that have been more or less abandoned for the summer… but is it wrong to take vegetables from another plot if you’re pretty positive they were left there to perish? Because that’s how I got these turnips.

I'm not ashamed.

Mario approves.

Hell, I wish someone had picked our broccoli before it flowered. And that’s why I’m gonna eat those turnips and never look back.

I took our harvest and made a beautiful dinner of roasted broccoli and charred green onions, skillet potatoes with garlic, onion and manchego cheese and baked tofu. We topped it off with mmm sauce which Stew had prepared in quadruple amounts on “accident” purpose. So perfect.

PS – I really did take that first picture on the hood of Stew’s car. Who needs a lightbox when your boyfriend drives a white car?


Sandwiches in Summer

In What's for Lunch? on May 9, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Tempeh sandwich with muenster, carrot, bell pepper

It seems a bit off but I like to eat toasted sandwiches in the summer. Nope, not in the cold harsh months of winter that call for warm, crunchy, carby comfort. No, I eat them when it’s 95 degrees outside.

Toasted sandwiches take me back to this time last year when I had just bailed on adulthood, quit my job to start school and moved with Stew to a townhome with a pool. Toasted veggie sandwiches were the lunch item of choice on days when I dragged him out to the pool in the middle of his work-from-home day, which for me was the middle of my nth hour of doing absolutely nothing. It was a beautiful thing, a simpler time.

Simple.

This year I don’t really know what doing nothing feels like. I don’t really want to go to the pool because I know I won’t have it in another month and then I’ll whine about it. I put a deposit on a place in the city for myself and he’s moving away to work on music. It’s good, we tell ourselves. And I think it will be. But I miss last year a lot.


Teff Flour Bake

In Breakfast on May 9, 2011 at 6:39 am

Teff breakfast bake with honey & SB butter

Weekdays are for rushing around like an idiot, packing four bags–one for workout clothes, one for school books, one for food (duh), one for essentials (driver’s license, money if I have any, etc.)–and sucking down smoothies on the way out the door. Weekends, however, weekends are for baking. Even if it’s quick and simple.

As a kid, I remember waking up on Sundays to the smell of bacon, biscuits and coffee. I’d eat countless biscuits stuffed with fat slices of sharp cheddar cheese and then sprawl out on the living room floor mimicking my parents’ morning newspaper habit. The only difference is that they read for the news. I read for the “Free to Good Home” pets section of the classifieds. Priorities.

The end of my first week of summer after a rather hellish first year as a grad student called for a real Sunday morning. So yesterday I made a double batch of Ashley’s baked buckwheat for Stew and me but with teff flour instead of buckwheat.

Smother with toppings. Obviously.

We topped them with sunflower butter, honey and coconut and I sipped a most glorious iced coffee with rice milk. I swear I’m kicking the caffeine habit… sometime. I keep telling myself it’s not the pick-me-up I crave; it’s the ceremony of it all. The smell, the taste, ritual of brewing. That I don’t care to part with just yet.


Luna’s Tasting

In Restaurants on May 8, 2011 at 8:50 pm

Biblical breakfast. Luna's (Charlotte NC)

Well I could get used to this… I’ve been to Luna’s three times in one week. THRICE. I can’t stop myself.

On Friday morning I met up with a coworker to sample some menu items for an upcoming catered event. It’s a hard life I lead, you see. I went from hungover (from two glasses of wine the night before… yes, two) to happily floating through a blissful raw/vegan/organic food high in less than an hour. It was a beautiful thing.

White pomegranate tea

I started with a white pomegranate tea and the Biblical Breakfast–artisan sprouted bread with coconut butter, peanut butter, almond butter and fig preserves. Perfect, I tell you.

Then it was on to sampling for our event…

Bircher muesli

Buckwheat blaster

Coconut almond macaroons

It was all so insanely good. I was like a… vegan in a vegan restaurant. Luckily I had a logical counterpart with me to think big picture things like overall menu planning, pricing, etc. because I was all: “YES EVERYTHING IS GOOD. GO.”

I want to eat here every single day of my life. One of the coolest things Juli, the owner, said was that she and her staff don’t consider themselves chefs, but artists. I think that is such a perfect way to look at food.


Pinky’s Westside Grill

In Restaurants on May 7, 2011 at 10:23 pm

Veggie burger at Pinky's

It’s no surprise to me that there’s a shortage of vegetarian food in the south. I’m in the land of chicken-fried, bacon-garnished, gravy-laden food and I’m well aware that all vegetables are simmered in chicken stock. It’s just the way things go down here.

Make no mistake, I can create a suitable vegetarian meal just about anywhere I go. Creative menu finagling and keeping your server on your side will take you a long way. Still, it’d be nice to be able to order right off the menu without making special requests that piss off the chef. And while I know I can get a “vegetarian plate” out of just about any restaurant, sometimes I just want a burger and fries… or something deep-fried that isn’t from a chicken. I just want some animal-free bar food, ya heard?

So hooray for Pinky’s Westside Grill and their abundant vegetarian offerings.

Charlotte, NC

Wiener Wonderland

Even the “Wiener Wonderland” includes a soydog.

Stew got the veggie burger, beer and fries.

Burger

Beer

Fries

Sometimes you just need a big fat sloppy burger on a white bun. With sesame seeds. Vegetarians have needs, too, you know.

As for me, if given the option of falafel, I will order falafel every single time. So this happened:

Falafel salad

Joynugget

I highly recommend Pinky’s for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. You could please everyone here.


Caturday 5/7/11

In Cats on May 7, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Ralph in a box

I’m running behind on Caturday today because I’m too busy being a responsible adult. Not only did I update my computer and turn off my computer for the first time in like a month… I also got my oil changed. Bring on the responsible adult award.

Exactly (Source: Hyperbole and a Half)

Weaz has been responsible. She helped make the bed…

I learned from Martha Stewart.

And Ralphie is on recycling duty.

Reduce and reuse, sucka.

We’ve also been plenty active. I went to back-to-back classes this morning–superflow at Y2 Yoga (my favorite) and my first (0f many) butt whooping at Hilliard Studio Method. If you’re in or around Charlotte or just come to visit, you have to take classes at these two places. Have to. I’ll go with you. Ralph and Weaz insist.

 

Namaste.
Cat pose.

Waldo has successfully done nothing at all today.

Ehhhh hate on, hater.

But he at least looks polite while doing nothing:

Good day.

While Weaz looks like this:

Doop.

Weaz also has no table manners.

MINE.

You gonna eat dat?

She’s a lost cause.


Blogger Book Club

In Book Club on May 6, 2011 at 5:51 pm

Cupcakes + Books = Yes.

I don’t care what anyone told you in middle school; reading is for cool people. I’ve been a reader my whole life ever since my mom propped me up on a pillow to listen to my brother’s bedtime stories as an infant. We were regulars at the library, participated in Pizza Hut’s Book It program (duh) and made it rain on the monthly Scholastic Book Fair. Beyond that I was also a proud member of Junior Great Books, a book club for the “advanced” kids at my elementary school. (My mom ran it.) I was also in TSP–Talented Student Program–which the mean kids renamed Totally Stupid People.  I hope none of them have succeeded in life.

THE POINT IS… I’m in a book club. I’d almost say I started a book club but mostly I just kept throwing the idea out there for several months until someone else took the reins. (Thanks, Caitlin!)

Forget night clubs. I'm in a mf BOOK CLUB.

Our meetings are being held monthly at FABO Cafe where we plan to drink wine, eat cupcakes and, oh, I guess talk about books. For the inaugural meeting, our only goal was to pick the first book. We threw around ideas, voted and agreed on this:

Feel free to read along with us. Perhaps you’d like to start your own club in your city! And we can all eat cupcakes and get drunk and tweet about books. It’ll be magical. But if you hate this first selection, talk to Brittney. It was her pick. WINK.

Book fuel


Cinco de Mayo Tamales

In Holidays on May 5, 2011 at 2:16 pm

Viva Mexico

Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated throughout the United States than it is in Mexico? Truth. It’s also not their Independence Day. That’s September 16 and is a much bigger deal. It must be because we love Mexican food so much. And tequila. Also pinatas… And stereotyping.

I have neither tequila nor pinatas to offer up on this lovely day but I do have tamales and isn’t that enough? Yes.

I’ve made tamales once before but I used foil instead of corn husks and it was really kind of just a sad operation all around. This time I decided to fully commit and come armed with an arsenal of goodies from the latin supermarket, including nopalitos, corn husks and masa. If only I had also done my research and realized that proper tamale-making is a multi-day affair. I started at 7pm the other night. When they finally came out of the steamer around 10, we opted to save them for another time.

Soooo we'll save these for another day then...

I used a masa recipe that I found at Adventures of Superwife but I halved everything to avoid creating a billion tamales at one time. Then I stuffed them with my own mix of kidney beans, onion, garlic and  nopalitos.

They’re good but not quite good enough to brag about. I ate mine with a small salad, sauteed zucchini and broccoli slaw, avocado and a squeeze of lime. Sure beats a plate o’ slop found at Americanized Mexican places. Ack.

Are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo? I should certainly hope so.

Tacocat needs a shot.


Just Can’t Get Enough

In Restaurants on May 4, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Quinoa-kamut burger

I can’t believe I just tainted something so perfect as lunch at Luna’s with a Black-Eyed Peas song lyric for a title. Alas, it’s true… I just can’t get enough Luna’s. Sure I just ate there 48 hours ago, but wouldn’t you come back too if you were greeted with a quinoa-kamut burger? You would.

I got another lemon kombucha because it’s a.ma.zing and they make it right there in the restaurant.

Lemon kombucha

They brew it on site!

Juli also let us nab some raw coconut macaroons.

Yes please.

Hello I love you.

I’m trying to save my second macaroon for Stew. It’s not easy. That, my friends, is love.

I also had the good fortune of meeting Lucille the bread baker. Remember those dense, warm crostini with walnuts and cranberries that almost made me cry? She makes those and a wealth of other carby delights. She has an awesome story–lived in Germany for 20 years and France for a bit, learned to make traditional artisan breads the European way, came to the US, realized our breads suck (it’s true, they do) and started selling her own.

As you can see, it was awful.

Would you call me crazy if I said I’ll be back on Friday? Well it’s Crazypants McGee to you.


Chai Green Smoothie

In Smoothies on May 4, 2011 at 2:26 pm

Chai green smoothie. Yeah, boy.

This morning I thought I had this really brilliant idea to add chai tea to my green smoothie. (PS – Have you read Jess’ story about her mom’s “tai chi”? So good.) It was a good idea, a brilliant idea even.

But you see, I pulled a Sandra Lee on my semi-homemade chai tea smoothie and used this impulse buy I picked up at Target one day. I have no idea what came over me…

How'd you get in there? :[

Hate on, haters. It’s totally good. And decaf. And the ingredient list is short. But then I see today that Jenna has gone and made her own chai tea and now I’m feeling a little inadequate.

To illustrate:

My boxed chai on the left, Jenna's homemade on the right

You see what I’m saying. Nevertheless, the breakfast was heavy on awesome. To make it Sandra Lee-style you need:

Chai Tea Green Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1.5 c rice milk
1/2 c boxed chai tea
1/2 c frozen spinach
1/4 c oats
1 tsp mesquite powder (optional)
1 Tbso ground flax (optional)
1 c vodka (totally optional, Sandra would do it)

Throw it all in a blender and go to town. There you have it.


Through Every Open Door

In Yoga on May 3, 2011 at 11:32 pm

King dancer. Nay... queen.

My yoga practice has been lagging. This lack of commitment coupled with my triumphant return to running has left me feeling creaky and tight. I haven’t been to my “home” studio for almost a month because I’ve been caught up in activities surrounding the end of classes and the start of my new job. One of my biggest struggles in yoga is remembering that the practice is mine and about me no matter where I go. I have a tendency to get attached pretty easily. I fall hard and fast and don’t like change.

Not only does this lack of flexibility not work in yoga, it doesn’t work in my life either. At work we’re outlining our personal, professional and health goals for the next 1, 5 and 10 years. I consider this a rather daunting task. I don’t know what I’m doing 15 minutes from now much less 10 years down the road. I think the rigidity of my life has left me feeling a little stagnant and is halting any moves I could and should be making toward the future. The biggest challenge I find in writing the goals is that I’m writing them as broken, tired (and let’s face it) terrified me and, as a result, am crafting my future from within the confines of how I see and feel right now. I’m not pushing myself to get what I really want. I feel like I’m writing down what I know I could achieve pretty easily.

Peaceful warrior pose

So yesterday I went to a studio that’s relatively new to my practice and took a class with hands down one of the best instructors in the city. She was talking about how yoga doesn’t really start until we start to feel uncomfortable. When we want to fidget, release, fix our hair, scratch our heads, essentially run from the pose… that’s when the real yoga begins. “What good is a pose I already know how to do?” she asked. “It’s the one just beyond that I’m striving for.” So I guess where I am right now–uncomfortable, distracted and fidgety as all hell–is where life really begins.

In the class, we were practicing dancer with a strap. We don’t use straps at my studio so I set mine down and went into the beginner version of the pose as I know it. Safe, predictable, comfortable. The teacher walked by and said, “Try the full pose.” Having never tried it in my life I said, “I can’t.”

What’s cool about yoga teachers is they’ll never try to force a pose on you. So she walked away and left me to myself. When we got to the pose on the other leg an assistant had moved over to my mat. She asked if I was up for it and I decided to give it a try. What good is a pose I already know how to do, right? What would it look like to go one step further? The answer is the picture at the top of this page.

I’m excited about that picture and that pose. I’d never tried it because I never thought I could do it. What good does that do me? How many other doors have I closed on myself? I guess it’s time to find out.

CATS REQUIRED


Luna’s Celebratory Lunch

In Restaurants on May 2, 2011 at 8:27 pm

Raw brownie. Raw brownie. Raw brownie.

Finally, my day has come. Last time we went to Luna’s Living Kitchen I had already eaten and had to watch in agony as Stew savored the sprouted quinoa-kamut burger. (White whine.) So to celebrate the end of my semester, he took me there for lunch. So I’d stop whining about it, I assume. Or so he could eat it again. Both.

Kale salad

I had a gorgeous kale salad with tamari almonds and veggie “rice.” I have no idea what they use to make the rice but I’ve heard that people use cauliflower to make raw rice. I don’t even care. It was amazing.

Nasturtium salad

Stew had the nasturtium salad (look it up), which came with guacamole, sunflower pate and moooore veggie rice.

Hey boy.

Lemon kombucha for me. Ginger ale for him.

And I rounded it out with an order of “hummus,” which is actually a sunflower seed puree.

Blow.your.mind.

The bread! The bread!

Holy canoli (can’t stop saying it try to stop me). This.was.perfect. The bread… dear God the bread. It had big hunks of walnuts and cranberries in it. Warm. Guuuhhh. Handmade daily By Lucille.

And just in case the meal weren’t perfect enough, Juli brought out a dessert they’re working on. This is just the base. They’re planning to top it with a layer of strawberries, another brownie and cashew cream. Shut your mouth. I know. I know. It’s the best thing ever.

Raw brownies own my soul.

Happy glorious wonderful day. I’m so glad it’s summer. Got you this.

PS – In case anyone wants to poo-poo our raw meal and say it’s not enough for a rabbit… we’re both still perfectly satiated 7 hours later. SE.VEN. And that never happens. Fiber.


In the Midst of Chaos

In School on May 2, 2011 at 10:11 am

In the midst of chaos, eat vegetables.

So I may not be the poster child for having my shit together but I like to think that over the past year and a half of mayhem, I have done a pretty good job of keeping my composure and at least upholding my core values surrounding food and health. Sure, my shower and sleeping schedules have been a bit erratic but my fresh produce intake has been pretty steady. Win some, lose some.

Though my peanut butter M&M consumption has skyrocketed the past couple of weeks, so has my vegetable consumption.

A healthy diet should be viewed on a long-term macro scale not a nit-picky micro-level obsession about every single thing that enters your body. There are no bad [real] foods. (I consider processed diet crap a non-food, mind you.) You can eat anything you damn well please so long as your overall diet is balanced… or perhaps a little vegetable heavy, in my opinion.

lululemon manifesto

Perhaps you are familiar with the lululemon manifesto. It’s a set of phrases that guide the culture of the company. My favorite is “Do it now, do it now, do it now.“ If I were to create my own collection of phrases that guide my life, the first would be:

Excuse me, studying. I need some zucchini.

It’s great to have drive and motivation and a desire to achieve success. And maybe those things require losing sleep, lots of stress and working more than you play. So be it. But it’s my firm belief that without your health, you won’t make it very far in your overachieving life. And without a sound diet and regular physical activity, I don’t see you feeling too terribly healthy. So when things start to get a little crazy, sit your butt down and “eat a goddamn vegetable.”

Exercise and stay hydrated, too.

Another thing that changed my attitude toward my “stressful” life was my trip to Nicaragua. My time there made me completely reevaluate my life and how I view it. A week in a hammock in the mountains of Matagalpa makes my work stress and school stress and life stress look like a resort vacation. Perspective can go a long way. When you’re in the midst of chaos (and eating your vegetables, I presume), step back and look at the bigger picture. In the grand scheme, it’s probably not so bad.

Stew says that I had a markedly different attitude when I got back from Nicaragua. At first, it was almost apathy; I couldn’t be bothered to care about anything so insignificant as going to class. After a few weeks of readjustment, I think I got a better handle on balancing my responsibilities without letting them run my life and without forgetting where I stand in the greater global scheme. I’m happy about that.

And so, my first year and a half as a a grad student comes to a close. There are lots of changes coming up in the next couple of months and while the past 15 months have certainly drained me, I think I grew a lot and learned even more. On to the next…

PS – Stew got me: something sweet (chocolate PB pretzel truffles), something deep (Chris Cleave novel), something shallow (Cosmo, cringe), something for the cats (mouse!) and something catchy (mixed CD) to celebrate the end of the semester.

End of semester presents from Stew


Soft Serve Bfast Cakes

In Breakfast on May 1, 2011 at 10:30 am

Prickly pear cactus cakes topped with banana soft serve

This has been the weirdest couple of days. I had a final Saturday morning so it’s thrown off my whole weekend swagger. Swagger? You heard me.

I slept past 5:30am like a normal person, watched Trump get skewered by Seth Meyers at the correspondents’ dinner, ate a lovely little plate of prickly pear cactus bars topped with sunflower butter and banana soft serve and am plotting a run here in a minute. I feel like a human again.

Today marks the end of my first lululemon commit 30 challenge.

See ya, Jersey Shore.

Other than watching the Royal Wedding at Caitlin’s house this week, I haven’t been near a TV much less watched one. In fact, we cut our cable off entirely. I also rearranged the living room so that the TV is no longer the focal point.

I thought it would be harder to cut out TV than it was. At the time I was probably watching 14-20 hours a week (at least 2 hours a night), which is completely ridiculous considering my overbooked schedule. I mean, that’s another part-time job. I found that I was cutting out important parts of my life (yoga, time with Stew, time with myself) but still had time to watch a 2-hour episode of The Bachelor. There is something very wrong with that.

I don’t think TV is all bad. But I do know that most of the shows I watched were not bettering my life in any way. Jersey Shore, Hoarders, Real Housewives and anything else I can find on Bravo provide entertainment, yes, but in the end it’s just a way for me to shut my mind off and avoid my own life by living vicariously through a handful of train wrecks who make me feel better about myself. I don’t know about you but I’d much rather turn off the TV than my mind. Since giving up TV I have:

  • Started reading again
  • Started running again
  • Cooked more
  • Slept more
  • Stressed less about school

We don’t have any plans to turn the cable back on but you may find me knocking on your door when season 4 of Jersey Shore (FROM ITALY) is on. I really can’t miss that.