Six weeks and six days

Yup, that's how long it is until Eric and I tie the knot. We had a very productive weekend as far as the wedding checklist goes. We ordered groomsmen gifts. Check! Ordered yarmulkes for ceremony. Check! Picked up toasting flutes and cake cutting set. Check!

Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my mom and sister. We had lunch at Chipotle, which was very good. Similar to Baja Fresh or Q'doba but everything is fresh! Then we went to see Sex and the City which we all enjoyed.

Saturday night, I made some raviolis I picked up at Whole Foods not too long ago. The brand is Rising Moon organics and we had the artichoke olive flavor, which was also vegan. However, they also have regular cheese ones too. They were delicious and pretty low in calories!

Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with our families. Eric and I took our parents' out to lunch to Krogh's, a local bar and grille with yummy food! They have an awesome bean taco salad, which I love! Plus, its right across from Lake Mohawk, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk after lunch.

After our delicious lunch, we weren't very hungry for dinner Sunday night. So I made the marinated home fries from the Made From Scratch cookbook. I wrote more about that cookbook here. Sorry, no pic but they were delicious. Diced the potatoes, then boiled, then marinated with tamari-oil-mixture with onions, then sauteed with lots of garlic and onions and peppers, topped with FYH soy cheddar. Delicious!

Hummus

I should first mention that in my previous post, I was being sarcastic when I stated that I love the near 100 degree heat. However, it was nice getting out of school early yesterday because of the intense heat. Today, it was in the upper 80s, hot, but much nicer compared to the last four days!

A couple hours ago, I was contemplating what to bring to work for lunch tomorrow. I decided on a whole wheat bagel out of the freezer. A perfect accompaniment to that bagel would be some hummus. So I pressure-cooked some chickpeas and made Veganomicon's simple and easy hummus recipe.

I have to say that my simple homemade hummus I think totally beats any of the store bought varieties. And, trust me, I've probably tried just about every kind.

Sorry for the lack of photos the last couple posts. I'm lazy!

Hot Hot Hot

I just love the near 100 degree heat, especially when we've got no air conditioning at home or at school. (Technically, we do have window air conditioners for the bedrooms, but we haven't had time to put them in yet. And, where we live, by the time we go to bed at night, the heat isn't quite as unbearable.) This is the third day of this horrendous heat wave.

On Friday, I decided to try out the indoor grill we got as an engagement gift several months ago. It was easy to use and great fun! I grilled up some chili lime corn, portobello mushrooms, and yellow squash. I will definately be using the grill some more this week!

Note: The photo of the grill came from the Williams-Sonoma website and I doubt those are vegan sausages!

Dog v. Mama Deer

So Norton was out in the woods doing his business. I was a few yards away keeping an eye on him when I noticed the mama deer and her baby close by.

Well, guess who noticed them at the same time?

Norton decided to go run after the baby fawn.

Mama Deer decided to kick his ass.

I heard a scuffle and some yelps and Norton came back to me running, dirty and disheveled but otherwise okay. I hope he learned his lesson.

Yumminess

Monday, on our way to see the new Indiana Jones (which we both enjoyed), Eric and I decided to stop at the pool and patio store to look at patio furniture. Well, we ended up purchasing a table and four chairs for our deck at a great price! Since the weather was so nice Monday night, we ended up eating our dinner outside and it was wonderful! I made these tempeh "buffalo" wingz and they were so good!


Tuesday night, I decided to make those spicy Italian vegetarian sausages that everybody's been blogging about! Though it took some time to gather all the spices needed, they were really easy and came out delicious!

Alice got me in the mood to try my hand at paella last night. It came out pretty good! I used basmati rice, some vegetable broth, a can of whole tomatoes, onions, garlic, yellow squash, red and green bell peppers, turmeric, thyme, paprika, saffron and salt and pepper. And I threw a couple of the sausages in there!

Tonight, I decided to crack open Vegan with a Vengeance and try something easy. So I made the garlicky kale with tahini sauce. It was delicious! I threw some white beans in for protein and made a microwaved-baked potato to go with it.

Our New Neighbor

My house is quiet and peaceful, yet I listen to a symphony of sounds outside my back door. I can hear a multitude of frog calls and crickets too. We've got tree frogs and other kinds of frogs too here.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I had a visitor hanging out in my front yard. It was a painted turtle! Norton's friend, the eight-year-old boy across the street, informed me that it was a painted turtle, and yes, they bite. The turtle didn't stick around that long though! He moved much faster than I expected he would!

My Garden Center Find

Tuesday, while at the local garden center looking at shrubs, I heard a lot of "talking" coming from the pond. Then I found this guy hanging out in the pond. Not sure if he was a toad or a bullfrog. He was very loud though! And cute!

Five Things

I've been tagged by both Bianca and Alice (in Veganland) to do this five things meme. I've done this one before but I'll do it again. Here are the rules.



The rules:



1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.

2. Share 5 facts about yourself.

3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names, linking to them.

4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. When I was a teenager, our cat Tiger had three litters of kittens. Between each litter, we truly did try to get her fixed, but every time, she would run out of the house and get herself knocked up again! It was so much fun having kittens in our house for a year straight! The first litter was two kittens (though one was stillborn), and the second litter had three kittens. They were born on Christmas Eve so we called them Dancer, Cupid and...Striper! We got to keep Striper after I begged and pleaded and cried. After that, we had five more kittens! Five! But we gave all of those guys away.



2. I was fourteen years old when I came to the realization that I would become a vegetarian one day. In Global Studies class, we saw a video of how some culture (I forget which one) killed a pig. On that day, I gave up pork. A year later, I tried to become a vegetarian by giving up all other kinds of meat and chicken. However, after subsisting on two weeks of salads and nothing else, my mother convinced me to eat chicken and turkey. I really did become a vegetarian five years later--in the frozen foods aisle at Shop Rite! I was a hungry college student, and had the fixings for a turkey sandwich in my basket; turkey, mayo, bread. While perusing the frozen foods section, I was amazed at the selection of vegetarian foods--veggie burritos, veggie burgers, etc. It was then that I realized that becoming vegetarian was feasible. Now, nine years later, I'm on the path to becoming a vegan. I'm almost there!

3. I've always loved to read. When I was a kid and Mom told me "lights out," I'd frequently read by the light of the digital clock! I still love to read but don't have the time to read as often as I wish I could. Because of my short attention span, I'm constantly enthralled in several books at once!

4. I love road trips. I've been to 37 states and can't wait to go to two new ones this summer on our honeymoon to the Pacific West. My longest road trip was on a 31 day drive cross-country. My longest road trip by myself was from NJ to Columbia, Missouri, which was about an eighteen hour trip. On the way home, I even stayed in a hotel by myself which was kind of creepy and kind of exciting.

5. I still don't know what I want to be when I "grow up." I love teaching but I dream about starting an animal sanctuary. Sometimes I dream about staying home all day long with my pets so I can bake yummy vegan treats!

I tag Eric, Jess, Jennifer, Michelle and Veggie.

A Baby!

Eric and I have a baby! No, it's not what it sounds like. We have a fawn! She looks like Bambi and has been spending a lot of time on our front lawn. Eating grass, sleeping. Norton tried to chase her today and I had to stop him and convince him that she is his little sister.

Isn't she cute?

Happy Shower!!!

(Photo: my mom, then me, Eric and his mom)

We left the house Saturday mid-morning to attend a high school graduation party--a month before the actual graduation. I suspected it wasn't really a graduation party we were heading to. And, I was right. It was my shower!

My mother and the bridal party held the shower at a nice Italian restaurant and everything was wonderful. It was so nice to see so many of our friends and family. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of great gifts too!

I was exhausted when we got home that night but Eric had one more surprise in store for me. He had a shower gift for me too! Eric bought me five vegan cookbooks--Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan with a Vengeance, The Joy of Vegan Baking, Vegan Italiano and The Asian Vegan Kitchen.

Sunday morning, I tried out the waffles recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking, though varied them by making them cinnamon apple waffles. Later on that morning, I followed the basic chocolate cupcake recipe in VCTOTW but added some chopped up thin mint cookies to make mint chocolate cupcakes to bring over my brother's house for his birthday. Yummy! And I loved using my new mini food processor and KitchenAid stand mixer too!

Cotton Candy and Veggie Heaven

Today we had our annual carnival at school. The kids love it; there are games, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn, and inflatable jumpy things and slides. Us teachers love being outside for hours while the kids run around on sugar highs. For real--one of my third grade female students had twelve cotton candies!!! TWELVE!!! And then we are supposed to teach them all afternoon long after this insanity?

The carnival was set up right outside my classroom so well before 9:00 this morning, the aroma of popcorn was drifting through my windows. So when I finally was able to go outside today at 10:00, I had my morning snack of fresh popcorn (chock ful of coconut oil!) and cotton candy.

After school, I spent a couple hours in Montclair, a great town. I lived there a few years back so it's always nice to go back. My first stop was The Bread Company, a tiny organic bakery blocks from my old apartment. I had only visited this bakery maybe twice in my six months of living in the neighborhood, but I remembered their yummy breads! Well, the woman from the bakery actually remembered me, even though I hadn't been there in at least four years! So most of their breads and sweets are vegan and many are gluten-free as well. After much deliberation, I chose a chocolate ginger treat to bring home to share with Eric for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

After perusing Montclair's great independent bookstore, I decided to have dinner at Veggie Heaven, an all Vegetarian Chinese restaurant that I'd been wanting to try for a while. It did not disappoint--I had tofu with mushrooms and brown rice with a little extra spice and it was delicious!

The real reason for my being in the area was to take a drive to the next town over to pick up our finished wedding invitations. And they came out perfect! I am so pleased and impressed! If you're looking for some custom invitations, check out Hyland Creative Design. Melissa did a wonderful job.

Well, I'm exhausted after my super-long day. But it was a good one!

(I forgot to mention that I sampled some grapefruit at Whole Foods today. I always thought I hated grapefruit. But it was tangy and I liked it! Yay!)

Oprah goes vegan!

Well, for 21 days, anyway! Oprah is doing a 21 day cleanse, in which she's eliminating all animal products from her diet, along with caffeine, sugar, alcohol and gluten. This cleanse comes out of Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness. Here's what Oprah has to say...

How can you say you're trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?

Read more here at Oprah's blog...also check out Vegan.com's podcasts related to Oprah's challenge...

Indonesian Coconut Rice and Tofu Teriyaki

Tonight's dinner was simply amazing. I wish I had a better photo for you but Eric borrowed my digital camera today. I made the coconut rice from Vegan.com's top ten list and a simple tofu teriyaki recipe that I found at Whole Food's website and some microwave-steamed broccoli. I'm not sure that I'd make the rice again on a weeknight; it was a little time-consuming throwing all the spices together, but was well worth it! I used jasmine rice instead of the brown rice that the recipe calls for and it came out fabulous.

Last night, we had Vcon's sauteed chickpea cutlets. With it, I thinly sliced half of my giant sweet potato for sweet potato "chips." I had my cutlet with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice; Eric had his on an onion roll with some salad dressing. We enjoyed the cutlets and would certainly make them again!

For those readers who were commenting on the size of my sweet potato, there is nothing wrong with "big and beautiful," however the immense size of the thing makes it a bit too awkward to handle!

On my way back to the kitchen to make more jelly donut cupcakes for work tomorrow.

Saturday in Baltimore

So Saturday started off kind of sucky. I had to go to the doctor's office for some routine bloodwork. It was not fun. I do not like shots. But the nurse did give me a juice box which was nice!

Then back home for some Mario Kart--I heart Mario Kart! And, then on to our Baltimore outing! Eric got me tickets to see The Swell Season. The Swell Season is really Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova, the musicians who wrote and starred in the movie Once.

So after making the four hour trip to Baltimore, Eric and I had dinner at The Yabba Pot, an international vegan cafe near Johns Hopkins University. The menu features specials, which change daily, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, etc. We both opted to have the royal platter. Between the two of us we had barbequed tofu, amazing brown rice, cabbage stir fry, queen's greens (which was kale, onions, tomatoes and spices), some other spinach curry and black bean chili. The food was delicious and we saved room to split a vegan snickerdoodle cookie afterwards.

The actual concert was held at The Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, an absolutely gorgeous venue with perfect acoustics. Glen and Marketa were amazing together live. Some of Glen's Frames bandmates performed as the back-up band, too.

Long drive home. Stopped a couple times for gas, caffeine, and to fetch Norton from my parents', where he spent the day. We made it home at 4:30 am.

(The photo was not from last night but was of another live show. Photo by Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto.com)

One Big Sweet Potato!

So today was my organic produce pick up day from Purple Dragon. In our box of goodies was a sweet potato. Have you ever seen a sweet potato this large???

Amazing Cupcakes

I decided to bake the jelly donut cupcakes out of Veganomicon to bring to my parents' house on Mother's Day.  They were simply amazing!!!  And easy to make too!

Norton cuddles!

This weekend, Norton decided to sit on my lap for a good cuddle.  In some photos, Norton doesn't look that big but I think he looks like the big dog that he is in this photo!

Spy King?

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser wrote a piece for the New York Times on Wednesday titled "Burger with a Side of Fries." Apparently, the Burger King Corporation hired a private security firm to spy on the Student/Farmworker Alliance in Florida. The aim of the Student/Farmworker Alliance is to improve the lives of migrant farmworkers by eliminating sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the fields. This group uses peaceful methods of protest--such as their recent petition to ask Burger King to pay these farmworkers a fair wage. Read more here..

Top 10 Vegan Recipes

Today I came across Vegan.com's collection of top 10 vegan recipes for 2008. The recipes come from this year's top vegan cookbooks. I'm eager to try some of these for myself! The Indonesian Coconut Rice and Root Beer Float Cupcakes sound especially delightful! Enjoy!

What a Week!

Monday evening, I attempted to upload some photographs from my camera onto my computer. It wasn't working so I decided to restart. This was a bad idea because my trusty Mac wouldn't go past the startup screen! Ugh!!!! Last time this happened, Eric reinstalled my operating system and that seemed to work at fixing the problem. Well this time, that didn't help. So yesterday, I left my Mac in the hands of the genius at the Apple store. It's still under warranty and they can probably fix it. Unfortunately, I didn't back anything up though! Supposedly, they will back everything up for me before zeroing out the hard drive! I am so stressed about this and hope it works!

Tuesday evening, my allergies started acting up...and badly! Sore throat, stuffy nose, sneezing fits, the works. This morning, when I woke up with a pounding headache, I decided it was finally time to whip out the neti pot and allergy meds.

I wish I had some more fun and exciting things to write about right now!

Busy Week!

I have several blog posts in the works--I haven't had the time to post them or upload the pics but I'll get to it, I promise.

It's been a crazy week! I spent all last week working on wedding details every day after school. Saturday, I had my hair and makeup trial. Sunday, we went to a bbq at my aunt and uncle's house.

I saw 2 movies this week--during the week, I watched Sicko and on Saturday evening, we saw Juno. In my opinion, they are both must-see's! I wouldn't say Sicko is enjoyable in the way that Juno is. But it is a Michael Moore documentary. Draw your own conclusions...

Pizza!

Over the weekend, I was thinking about the fact that I hadn't had pizza in at least a month. I kept thinking about it and thinking about it.

So on Sunday, on my way home from Omega (which I still must blog about), I made a stop at Whole Foods. I picked up a few staples for the week, including Follow Your Heart soy mozzarella and some pizza dough.

When I got home, I made a pizza! I used some jarred tomato sauce with roasted garlic, onions, vegan pepperoni, fresh basil and parsley. It was so yummy! I found the cheese to be very tasty as well.

It was so good that I wish we had some more pizza left. But we finished it for lunch today. I guess I'll have to just make it again!

My New Water Bottle

I'd been planning on buying of these aluminum water bottles anyway, because the #7 hard water bottles leech chemicals into water. Ewww, gross. The reusable water bottle I have now is a #5 plastic one. Supposedly safe, but I'm not taking a chance! As I posted last week, Eric and I received coupons for free Sigg water bottles through their website. Today I ordered mine. Here's the one I chose.

Roasted Zucchini

A few years ago, my mom gave me a mandolin (not that one exactly but you get the idea). At the time, I didn't think I needed it. I gave it to my grandmother--or so I thought. Well, I guess I didn't because the other day I found it in my kitchen cabinet. Older and wiser, I now know that every kitchen needs one of these things!

So tonight, I decided to make roasted zucchini chips (along with these Ethiopian lentils and a big salad). Eric swore he didn't like zucchini. I was pretty much convinced that if I cooked zucchini in the right way, I could get him to eat it. So using my found mandolin, I sliced the zucchini paper thin, tossed it with a teaspoon of olive oil, some thyme and salt and pepper. I then roasted the zucchini slices in my toaster oven for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees. They came out crispy and delicious. Not only did Eric eat a serving of the zucchini...I caught him having seconds! Pretty amazing, I think!

Sprouts!

Thanks to Michelle, I decided to make my very own bean sprouts! They were so easy to do! I soaked some lentils overnight then drained and rinsed them in the morning. I put them in a plastic container and covered them, rinsing them once or twice a day. In just a couple days, we had fresh sprouts for our salad! So easy and so tasty!

Day at the Shore

This morning, Eric and I headed down to the Point Pleasant Boardwalk to play some skeeball, ride the rides--and take our engagement photos! We met our wedding photographer, Josh Lynn, down there--and we had a blast taking the photos! I am so excited because Josh posted a few of them on his blog already! Look here!

While we were down there, we had lunch at Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar. Kaya's is a vegetarian eatery which used to be Veggie Works. I had eaten there often while I was in college and it was a real treat to be back today. We had the most delicious vegan buffalo wings (karma wings)!

Thanks, Eric, for letting me choose vegan restaurants two days in a row!!!!

A Very Martha Earth Day

I hope everybody had a super Earth Day and did one thing to make a positive impact on our planet. Here's how Eric and I celebrated our Earth Day...

We woke up bright and early--5:30 AM. Yes, I'm on Spring Break this week, and no we weren't going to work. Why were we up so early? To head into New York! I requested tickets for The Martha Stewart Show and we were given tickets for Earth Day! So we left at 6:30 and by 8:15 AM, Eric and I were in the line for audience members.




It turns out that it was a special live Earth Day episode! We couldn't have gotten any luckier than that! Well, maybe if we won the eco-friendly washer and dryer that another audience member did win (and she's from the same Sussex County town as us)!

Seeing Martha in person was awesome! Seeing the studio in person was amazing as well. Though it wasn't my first screening of a television show, it's always fascinating to see how many crew members it takes to keep the show going. It's constant motion. Here are just a few of the show highlights...

Jaime Pressly, from My Name is Earl was on the show. She and Martha stamped reusable totes with fabric paint and potatoes to make them a bit funkier.

Simran Sethi, host of Sundance's "The Green," shared some important information about our drinking water and the use of plastic drinking bottles.

Martha also shared some tips for washing and folding towels. She has a new line of towels available at Macy's.

After the taping of the Earth Day episode, we stayed for the taping of some Memorial Day segments which will be airing on May 23rd. Not only did we enjoy watching the taping of the shows, we got free stuff to boot! We each got a three piece set of towels, a magazine, a big book of flags, a coupon for a Sigg water bottle, an outdoor flag-hanging kit, and two free tote bags!

We walked the mile and a half to a vegan eatery in the Village that I was curious about trying for lunch. I'd read about Sacred Chow on Disease Proof and we were not disappointed! I had the shiitake mushroom and spinach salad with South Indian dressing along with the Korean tofu slices. Eric has a tempeh reuben. Everything was delicious and I highly recommend this place if you're so inclined to try it!

As we were on our walk back to the car, I couldn't resist stopping at Sabon, my favorite all-natural luxury bath and body shop to pick up some mud-from-the-Dead-Sea soap! Our last stop was at Whole Body to try some organic Aubrey shampoo--and we got another free tote in honor of Earth Day! Woo hoo!

(On another note, we stopped at Bleeker Records to peruse the basement full of vinyl and happened to stumble upon the filming of a commercial of sorts. A British female musician named Kate Nash was being filmed to seemingly promote herself and the record store. At least that's what I had gotten out of it. We had never heard of her but googled her tonight. She reminds me of Lily Allen.)

Happy Passover!

Happy Passover to my readers who celebrate! Saturday afternoon, I packed all of our crackers, cereals, pastas and other Passover-no-no's into shopping bags and closed them up in our office closet. I'll do my best to keep Passover (and Eric too) but we're not super strict about it. In our home, it'll be okay to eat rice, beans and tofu, as the Sephardic Jews do. (Traditional Ashkenazic Jews would disagree with us, but that's okay. Many Vegetarians follow the Sephardic way during Passover.)

Anyway, Saturday evening we spent with Eric's parents at a Passover seder at good friends of the family. The food was delicious and we had a fabulous time. Afterwards, Eric's parents came back for the night.

Sunday, we were having my family (and Eric's parents, too) for a Passover dinner. I was sort of panic stricken. What was I, a nearly-vegan thinking aiming to cook a Passover meal for my meat and potato lovin' parents? After much deliberation, this is the menu I settled on.

Not Chicken Soup with Matzah balls (made from mix)
The not chicken soup comes from Mollie Katzen's cookbook Still Life with Menu.

Quinoa Tabouli
Sweet Potato and Carrot Tzimmes (I forget where I found this one--someplace online)
Roasted Green Beans with Garlic
Potato Kugel (Mom cooked)

Italian Ices (complements of supermarket)
Various kinds of boxed Passover candies, cake, macaroons--all supplied by Mom
Strawberries

So that was our Passover meal. Having Eric's parents spend the night before worked out perfectly. Eric's mom was a huge help in the kitchen that morning! Everything came out delicious and I don't think that anybody left our home that evening hungry!

Sooo Delicious!

So I've been pretty good about eating vegan at home--I'm finding it harder to do while out, but I'm doing my best.

On Friday, while perusing the local health foods store, I decided to buy some soy ice cream. Some of the labels were horrifying though! 230 calories and 13 or 17 g of fat! Might as well have the Ben and Jerry's in that case!

But then I found this stuff: Soy Delicious Awesome Chocolate. It's sweetened with fruit and only has 115 calories and 1.5 g of fat. And it's yummy!

Can you live like Ed?

Have you seen the HGTV show "Living with Ed?" I haven't caught it yet(not sure if it's currently airing) but I have heard a lot about Ed Begley, Jr. lately. What an amazing guy. Ed is a real environmentalist. He retrofitted his VW Rabbit to run as an electric car. He rides his bicycle to Hollywood events. Ed and his wife Rachelle co-star in their living-green reality show.

Ed also has a book out called Living like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life. Check out the website for Living with Ed here. Also check out the website he created with two partners--Fixing the Planet. His websites and book offer tons of ideas for sustainable living.

Ed will be speaking at the global green Expo in Jersey City next weekend but I'll be here instead...oh, well.

Organic Fruits and Veggies Coming Soon!

Thursday, to be specific! I'm joining a Glen Ridge, NJ based organic fruits and veggies co-op called Purple Dragon. I tried it out about 4 years ago and really liked it but for one reason or another, never stuck with it.

Purple Dragon is a great way to support local and organic farmers if you live in New Jersey or New York. There are groups all over. If you're lucky enough to find out in your area that has an opening, join! Deliveries are made biweekly and you'll get a 15--30 pound supply of organic produce. It's always a surprise to find out what's in your bag! I find the price to be extremely reasonable for organic produce--roughly $46, every other week. And, because it's a co-op, everybody volunteers to help sort through the deliveries every so often.

Although the produce is not always exactly local, they do buy local whenever possible. According to the website, Purple Dragon shops "up and down the East Coast, Eastern Canada, the rest of the US, Europe, New Zealand, and certain farms in Central and South America and the Caribbean."

I think it's a great way to support small, organic farms throughout the year when it's not always possible to buy locally.

What's in YOUR processed fruit drink?

Processed stuff is bad for you. I know that. You probably do too. Read this feature about how the additives in fruit drinks and candies are linked to Attention Deficit Disorder. In a recent study, "normal" children turn hyperactive after ingesting small amounts of these additives. Scary stuff.

Are you a locavore?

The word locavore was the Oxford Dictionary word of the year for 2007. But do you know what a locavore is?

locavore--the name of a person who only eats locally grown and produced foods

The word didn't even exist until 2005! The locavore movement began in San Francisco when a group of "concerned culinary adventurers" challenged people to eat local foods only for the month of August back in '05.

Over the past year or two, I think we've all begun learning why it's so important to eat foods grown close to home. Supporting our local farmers helps our local economies. Big corporate owned factory farms put more and more family owned farms out of business every day.

Did you know that our food travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to our supermarkets? So how fresh do you really think those strawberries in your refrigerator are? Buying food in this way (the way that most of us Americans do), has detrimental effects on our economy, global warming and our health.

I just finished the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a year spent in the life of Barbara and her family who, for a one year period, live the lives of locavores. On their Virginia farm, they grow mostly everything they eat. And the rest is all local--with the exception of a few staples like coffee and spices. Most of us aren't going to be able to grow all of our own food. But I highly recommend this book. It really is something that we need to think about as the outlook for our planet grows more and more dire on a daily basis.

We don't need to have an all or nothing mentality about it. Personally speaking, I've begun to really read the labels of products. When I ran out of honey recently, I chose the honey produced in New Jersey as oppose to the kind that was flown in from far away. When our local farmer markets open for season, I'll spend an extra few dollars to buy produce there. Baby steps count!

Read more about it...

The New York Times article

Time Magazine

(Pic came from here...)

Spring Cleaning

Spring has sprung! I hope you're having a lovely week wherever you live! I'm certainly enjoying the nice weather this week!

Who doesn't want their home to feel fresh and clean for Spring? As part of my Spring Cleaning resolution, I've decided to begin "banning" icky cleaning products in my home that are full of chemicals. Isn't it better to spend a little more money on products that are better for us?

I realized this the last time I cleaned my bathroom quite recently. Although the chemical products left the bathroom sparkly and shiny, I had to open every window in our upstairs to air the house out! I was coughing and felt like I could barely breathe!

So, I've decided to pay a visit to Target this week to pick up some Method cleaners.

There was an interesting feature over at Grist this week. Eight organic bathroom cleaners were tested. It's here if you're interested...

Where do YOU get your calcium?

As I'm on my voyage to becoming a near-vegan, I'm learning a lot of interesting information about foods that offer the most nutritional bang for the buck.

The million dollar question I hear is, "You don't drink milk? But where do you get your calcium from?"

Dark, leafy greens. Calcium-fortified ricemilk.

And broccoli! Did you know that a serving of broccoli has as much calcium as a serving of cottage cheese! (And I'm pleased to report that Bianca posted how she recently made some vegan cottage cheese. Woo hoo!)

How green is your candidate?

Newsweek's cover story this week compares the three presidential candidates and where they stand on environmental issues. The article is here if you are interested...

Ever try a neti pot?

I've been fighting a cold/sore throat/cough all week long--just after I boasted last week that I hadn't been sick all winter long! I'm doing everything possible to avoid nasty meds. I'm using some of the natural remedies on Earth Clinic. I'm gargling and drinking lots of hot tea! I decided to try one of these neti pots. Anyone ever use one? Read more here...

A Month of Organic Living

I decided on the way to work this morning in the nasty pouring rain to feature sustainable and organic living this month in honor of Earth Day. So lets talk chemicals. We all know they are bad for our bodies and bad for our planet, yada, yada, yada. Personally, I'm trying to be a lot more aware of what I put in my body these days. Natural, unprocessed fruits and veggies, whole grains. For the most part. (I did have a 1/4 of a bagel this morning minus the cream cheese. Not so bad.)

But how often do we really think about what we put on our skin? The shower gel we use? The moisturizer and face wash? I just read that the skin is the largest organ in the body. Do you really want to be rubbing chemicals into your skin that can cause harm to yourself?

I use Aveeno face wash and moisturizer. I thought it was a good product. But according to Skin Deep, a site that rates beauty products, my moisturizer is rated high hazard! It has ingrediants that are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies and other gross things. And they perform animal testing. So I think when I have some extra money, I will be definately buying some organic products for my skin.

Going greener!

I'm constantly debating how we can make our lives greener. Lately, I've been eyeing the Toyota Prius but, not only can I not afford a hybrid vehicle, but I still have 2 1/2 years left of payments on my Matrix.

As I'm reading the wonderful book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I'm realizing the importance of locally-grown, organic food. However, right now, there is really no local produce to be had! And the cost of organic produce tends to be astronomical! So oftentimes, I'm buying the conventional-flown-in-from-Ecuador produce from the market. But I'll make a conscious effort to do better, come summer, when local produce is available.

Today's April 1st. Yes, it's April Fool's Day, but we also observe Earth Day this month. I have a list of things I'd like to do to turn Kermit-like this month, such as joining Green Dimes and learning about composting.

Today, my AAA membership is up and instead of renewing, I've decided to join the Better World Club. Their services are comparable to AAA but they are an environmentally conscious company. They donate 1 % of their total revenue to environmental cleanup and advocacy.

Healthy Eating

I've spent the last four weeks eating healthy. Healthier that I've ever been in my life. I mean when I lost 70 pounds after college with Weight Watchers, I don't think I was eating this healthy! And, it's working. I've lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks.

Preparing healthy foods is not only expensive but it's so time-consuming! I feel like I spend hours in the kitchen everday! In the evenings, I make Eric and I breakfast smoothies and salads to bring to work. I pack healthy snacks that don't come out of a package! Stuff like carrot sticks and hummus and lots of fruit.

On a side-note, I think I've consumed more bananas this week than this guy!

Yummy Vegan-ness

No, I'm not a quite a vegan but I'm pretty close to it. At least, I'm trying. I've found some really amazing vegan food blogs and a book I've seen mentioned numerous times is Veganomicon, a vegan cookbook from these people. It includes 250 recipes of some really yummy sounding things. I perused it at Barnes and Nobles yesterday but opted not to buy it right away.

Last night, Eric got home, and I would say he's a good munkee. After spending a few days nervous that I was joining a vegan cult, he decided to purchase the book for me online. Yay! I can't wait for it to come.

There are a few recipes available online on their website. Tonight, I'm trying the vegan caesar salad.

Eat to Live

About three weeks ago, I went back to Weight Watchers and have been really motivated about eating right. I'm trying to not only eat less, but eat more veggies and natural foods and less processed garbage.

A food blog that lately, I've been enjoying is called Fat Free Vegan. From that blog, I learned about the Eat to Live Diet.

The next day, I went out and bought the book.

I'm going to do the six week plan in which you get most of your calories from nutrient rich vegetables and fruits, some whole grains, beans, tofu, etc. Animal products are to be used minimally or not at all. Sugar and salt intake is limited as well. Yes, I'm a vegetarian but I like cheese. But I'm excited about this new way of eating and I want to see if I can do it.

Progress!

I'm so excited to say that, for two weeks now, Norton has been doing utterly fabulous! We wanted to see how he would do if we stopped crating him. See, we had little choice; Norton basically ate his way out of his second metal crate. Well, he's been doing great! He is still on his meds but hasn't been getting frantic when we leave him alone. It's such a relief. We can actually go to work and not only that, but have a life, without feeling guilty about leaving the dog. We can go out without worrying the whole time! It's wonderful!!!! But when we get home, we still "check for damage." And when we find no damage everyday, we praise Norton for being the best doggy ever!

So, here's what happened when we got home from an outing yesterday. As we finagled the key in the front door, I wondered what toy would be in Norton's mouth when he came to greet us? Would it be the talk to me treatball? Or the kong? Or the toy cell phone?

None of the above. Norton met us at the door with a slice of bread in his mouth. Apparantly, Norton jumped up and grabbed a loaf of Weight Watchers bread off of the counter and ate half of it while we were gone.

I was relieved that he ate the bread and not a wall.

Eric was relieved that he wouldn't have to "eat that dry bread anymore."

So it was a happy day for all of us!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

...won't you wear a sweater?

March 20th would have been the 80th birthday of Mr. Rogers. As a tribute to Mr. Rogers (who died of cancer five years ago), everybody is being asked to wear a sweater on that day.

Remember when, at the beginning of every show, Mr. Rogers would put on his cardigan sweater and change his shoes?

I mentioned to a fellow teacher I work with the idea of promoting this in our school on March 20th. But the sad part is, I bet our young students wouldn't even know who Mr. Rogers is.

Instant Karma

Today, while Eric was making a purchase for himself at the Sharper Image, he surprised me and bought me the cd, Instant Karma, the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Long title. Instant Karma is a two disc set of John Lennon covers by artists from Aerosmith to Jack Johnson. According to the website, "it seeks to mobilize millions around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan. It combines the power of John Lennon's music recorded by some of the world's best-known artists, together with cutting-edge forms of instant activism enabled by Internet and mobile technologies. "

The back of the cd reads this...

The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilions have been displaced.

Click here to take action...

Ever sleep in an igloo?

Last night, we watched a special on the Icehotel in Sweden. I'd heard of the Icehotel before but the show we watched was fascinating! Everything in this hotel is sculpted of ice. In your hotel room, you're sleeping on some animal skin on a bed made of ice and snow. The hotel bar, a happening place, is made of ice. Instead of having some ice in your drink, your drink goes in a glass made of ice. Amazing! In the morning, you're awakened with a glass of hot lingonberry juice. According to the website, they suggest you spend one night in the icehotel and all remaining nights in a heated chalet type hotel.

Activities include ice sculpting, dog sledding, car racing on an ice track, snowmobiling, and northern lights excursion tour.

They even have an icechurch for people who would like to get married here.

Every year, they must rebuild the hotel. Of course, it melts when the weather warms up!

I clicked on the availability on their website just out of curiosity. I tried a couple random dates--for the year 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. And they were all booked up! This place isn't cheap but isn't as expensive as you'd perhaps think. After you convert to the US dollar, the iceroom runs about 300 per person, per night.

I think I might add staying at the icehotel to my lifelong list of places to see.

Out West we go!

This week, I finally began officially planning our honeymoon. I booked our airfare and most of our lodging. Here is our plan:

8/4 Fly out of Newark into Portland, Oregon on an early evening flight. We'll get to Portland at 9pm Monday night and we'll be staying in Portland through Friday.

8/8 After driving to Mount Hood, we'll head up to Seattle, where we will stay until Monday.

8/11 We'll spend this night at North Cascades National Park. We'll we'll actually be staying at an inn nearby. North Cascades looks gorgeous! There are glaciers and all!

8/12 British Columbia, we arrive! We'll spend two nights in Vancouver.

8/14 Two nights in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We'll be staying at an amazing little inn right by the ocean and a huge nature preserve.

8/16 Back to Seattle for one night.

8/17 Fly out of Seattle back home.

Using Trip Advisor, I was able to find some amazing bed and breakfasts for us to stay in. We will be going in a little over five months!

Let me out!

In anticipation of a real snow day!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Sort of. Well, my mom got the name Marisa from the actress Marisa Berenson but I'm not named after her. My Hebrew name is Naomi Rifka. Naomi is for my great uncle Nat and Rifka is for somebody but I don't remember who.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
When Susan and Tim got engaged!

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
Sometimes

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?
Duh. None.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Not yet.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
I love sarcasm.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE TONSILS
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Maybe in my younger, crazier days. But, no.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?
Special K with berries or kashi.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM Off?
No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Eh. So-so.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?
Mint chocolate chip. Cookie dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
I'm observant. I can tell a lot about a person soon after meeting them but I can't think of one thing.

15. RED OR PINK?
Depends on my mood. I do love pink though.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My lack of organization.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
I miss my friends who I can't see that often. I miss my Shayla.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
If you want to do a survey, go ahead and do this one.

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Tealish sweater. Brown pants.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
2 fun size twix bars

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Andy on the speakerphone.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
lime green

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
The ocean. Fresh baked bread. Chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Andy

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course or why would I spend the rest of my life with him?

26. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Umm...baseball, I guess.

27. HAIR COLOUR ?
Blondish.

28. EYE COLOUR?
Hazel green.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

30. Your favorite food?
Indian. Thai. Ethiopian. Dark chocolate.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings!!!!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Princess Bride

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Well, I like cold weather better than hot. But I do like my summers off so it's a toss up, I guess.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Love 'em both!

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT?
Anything chocolaty. Tiramasu!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Jenn.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND ?
Most everyone else.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
"Life and Times of the Thunder Bolt Kid."

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
WFUV.org

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT?
Didn't watch last night, but tonight, watched The Martha Stewart Show!

42. FAVOURITE SOUND
The sounds of the beach. The ocean surf crashing and the seagulls calling. Norton's snoring.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
The Beatles!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
US Virgin Islands

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Not really sure.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Edison, NJ.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I dunno.

Last Night's Eclipse

Anyone see the lunar eclipse last night? It was really awesome! I think it was the first lunar eclipse I've ever witnessed. If you missed it, I'm sorry, because you won't have another chance to see a lunar eclipse until the year 2010.

The moon had a reddish tint and if you looked to either side, you could see the star Regulus on one side and Saturn on the other. Of course, I couldn't tell which was which.

I told my third graders about it yesterday and a few of them were lucky enough to be able to stay up until 10:00 to see it! I remember when I was in third grade, we had a solar eclipse. Well, my teacher told us that we would become blind if we looked at it. I remember feeling terrified that whole day to look anywhere near the sky lest I become blinded! It's nice knowing that it's not harmful at all to look at a lunar eclipse!

(Photo credit: I got the photo from this page and it was shot by Hal Laurent from East Baltimore.)

New Babes

Kayla turned 3 weeks old yesterday! It's amazing how during those first few weeks and months, babies change so much! Here's a cute photo of her sleeping on her changing table from this past weekend.

Here's a promised photo of Vincent Joseph! This was taken Monday while they were still in the hospital. Mom, Dad and Vincent went home on Tuesday and are doing well, albeit a lack of sleep!

AccuWAIT!

In the year 2008, how can seemingly intelligent people still fall into these crazy fad diets? I have a coworker who does the Accu-Weight Loss program. She has a bead behind her ear, which is the acupuncture aspect of the diet. She is supposed to rub this bead to keep focused. Here are some of the rules of the diet.

1. Only eat between noon and 6pm.

2. For two days, you can only consume whole milk products. You must have 2.5 cups of milk and/or yogurt. Thats all you eat on your milk days!

3. The next two days, you consume vegetables only. You get 2 servings of fruit and up to 1.5 lbs of veggies. Thats all you eat on your veggie days!

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until you get to your goal weight.

So, basically, you are starving your body on this diet. There are no whole grains and there are no sources of protein other than the milk. Our bodies work best when we combine many different healthy foods and eat them in moderation. I like Weight Watchers the best but in my opinion, the best diet is not really a diet but a plan you can live with permanently!

Anyone ever hear of this crazy diet?

Wedding Registering Madness

I couldn't wait to begin the whole registering process back when we got engaged last Spring. Everything we had for the kitchen pretty much was either hand me downs from Eric's parents, my parents, college leftovers, and other stuff I got really cheap.

Our first registry was created at Williams-Sonoma. We figured it would be easy because it was a small store. We registered for a handful of things there. And we got some of them as engagement gifts.

Then we began a Fortunoff registry as oppose to a Macy's registry. My mom said Fortunoff was better. From visiting either store, they seemed the same to me. So we registered for our "fine stuff" at Fortunoff.

We registered for much of our everyday stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond.

We were done. Or so Eric thought. Then these things happened.

1. Martha Stewart came to Macy's!
2. I realized Macy's has a better website than Fortunoff.
3. Rumors began floating of Fortunoff going belly-up. (Okay, it seems as this point that Lord & Taylor is buying them out.)
4. I visited Crate & Barrel the other day, in search of the perfect everyday glasses, and decided we must register here!

So we decided to abandon the Fortunoff and Williams-Sonoma registry in favor of having only three registries--Crate & Barrel, Macy's, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

So yesterday, Eric and I went to Crate and Barrel to register there. It was amazing. We didn't argue. Not once. We always argue when it comes to registering. So if you're looking to buy us a gift, please don't shop at Fortunoff or Williams-Sonoma because you won't find much left there!

Three Day Weekend

I love three day weekends. Even if I do have to go to the dentist tomorrow.

Today we're seeing Kayla again so I'll post more photos today or tomorrow!

And speaking of babies, Kayla's not the "baby" of the family any longer!

My cousin, Andrea, and her husband, Frank, became first-time parents this morning! They had a little boy, Vincent. It all just happened so I don't have any other details as of yet but its very exciting!

Yesterday, Eric and I explored the little town of Andover. It's ten minutes from where we live and it's home to tons of antique shops. We had a delicious lunch at a cute little coffee house called the Gristmill Cafe. We spent some time wandering around the shoppes in town and bought a couple cute things.

Then last night, Eric got yet another birthday dinner. We had Ethiopian lentils and Ethiopian green beans and potatoes. The green beans and potatoes were a new recipe and they came out pretty good! All in all, it was a healthy and delicious meal!

After dinner, we watched The Princess Bride. It's a movie that I had never seen before but it's one of Eric's favorites. It was a cute movie.

Eric v. Abe

Today seemed like a fitting day to compare Eric M. Munkee to Abraham Lincoln. A fun fact that you may be unaware of is that they happen to share the same birthday! Yes, it's true. Did you know that they have other similarities, too?

Eric loves KFC and while I doubt Abe ever had the opportunity to try their hot wings, he was born in Kentucky. Abe also bears a remarkable likeness to the colonel.

Did you know that Abe was the first president to wear a beard? I think that Eric may very well be one of the first Asians to sport one too!

Abe served as captain of the military. While Eric is by no means affiliated with any sort of military, he is captain of his Strat-o-Matic hockey team, the East Coast Earthquakes. At least, I think that's what his team is called.

Did you know that Honest Abe "clerked" in a shop? As a teenager, Eric never worked in a supermarket as a cashier or grocery bagger. He blames his inability to bag groceries properly on this key fact.

Happy Birthday, Munkee!

Today is Eric's 33rd birthday. Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

On Sunday, we invited Eric's parents and my family over for dinner to celebrate Eric's birthday. It was a wonderful day.

Here's the cake that I baked for Eric. It's a stadium cake! I used the stadium bundt cake pan that we received as an engagement gift. The football cookie in the middle was a gift from Ashley and Joe. Even though I did not think we had any use for a stadium bundt cake pan, it's not a bad thing to have. The cake was definitely a hit!

No More Polaroids

I read online today that Polaroid is shutting down the instant photography aspect of their business. They've already ceased production of instant cameras and will stop manufacturing the film for them (though they do have enough film to last through 2009).

How sad. I admit it. I haven't owned a Polaroid camera in years. Back in 2000 or so, I had one of those Polaroid sticker cameras. They were very popular at the time!

No matter your age, there's still something magical about holding that Polaroid photo in your hand waiting for it to develop.

When my friends took me out for Hibachi on my 29th birthday, I received a birthday Polaroid souvenir. It's still on my refrigerator.

Here's a "vintage" Polaroid commercial from 1979.

Isn't she lovely?

Look at this funny babe, one hour after birth. Isn't she precious?



Kayla's first picture with Grandma


Kayla and her favorite aunt!

PuppyBowl IV

I watched some of the SuperBowl with Eric. Because I had to. But on commercials, we watched the PuppyBowl. The PuppyBowl, in my opinion, was so much better than the SuperBowl. It was sooo cute!!! There were no winners. There were no losers. Just puppies playing on a fake football field.

And, during half-time, there was a kitty show.

You can even go on their website and vote for the MVP.

And, I found out that all the puppies and kittens come from shelters. Eric says we can't get one though. :(

A Big Day

Well, today was a big day. Not JUST because the Giants won tonight's Superbowl.

Today marks the one year anniversary of my first date with Eric. One year ago today, I never would have believed it if somebody had told me I was going to marry that guy. It was a good date. I liked Eric's sense of humor. He seemed like a nice enough guy and we got along well.

The next day was Superbowl Sunday, but instead of watching the game, I was spending the day with a girlfriend. We made pizza and brownies and watched a movie instead. While I was there, I had gotten an email from Eric asking me out for another date.

I asked my girlfriend what she thought. Should I go out with him again? She and I decided, why not? First date went well. Might as well give it a try.

Tonight, I want to thank that dear friend. That first date turned out to be the love of my life.

And six months from today, we'll be married.

And wedding plans are moving along...yesterday we had our second premarital counseling session with the rabbi AND we picked out our wedding rings! We've found a new videographer since the whole Celebration Studios nightmare. And we've contracted somebody to design custom invites for us! Yippee!