eat your greens

Recipe: fancy vegetarian shepherd's pie

2011-10-15T17:43:00.013-04:00

One benefit of learning French is that I now have more recipes available to me. And man, this recipe is SO GOOD. It's not something I would ordinarily make, but I tried it around this time last year and was impressed. It was way tastier than I expected, but I knew I wanted to make some adjustments for next time. I finally got around to making it, and I'm impressed with my adjustments too.

First, you have to forget that it's shepherd's pie. If you're expecting a ground beef, pea/carrot/corn, and potato dish that's all mushy and homogenous, don't even bother. I grew up loving the M&M Meat shepherd's pie and have been trying to replicate it with ground round or lentils since giving up beef. It doesn't work. This recipe doesn't try to be that kind of shepherd's pie, and it's better for it.

Second, the recipe has a lot of ingredients, ranging from eggplant to oats to nuts to squash to fresh herbs. And it takes forever to make, since there's chopping, baking, slicing, grating, mashing, scraping, and two phases of sautéing. But it's totally worth it. Just make sure you set aside an afternoon.

As for my adjustments. The original recipe calls for pine nuts. Pine nuts are expensive, and I'm cheap, so I decided to substitute walnuts. Close enough. Also, having the middle layer composed of just spaghetti squash (as per the original recipe) was somewhat disappointing. It was very bland, and almost watery. So I figured a different kind of squash (acorn, butternut, or pepper) would work, or maybe sweet potato. I opted for a mixture of spaghetti squash and sweet potato, and it was pretty tasty, although still the blandest of the layers. Suggestions on this point are welcome. So far I've considered adding margarine, but that's probably not the healthiest option... For the cheese layer, I supplemented the old cheddar with marble because I'm selfish and wanted to save some of the old cheddar just for snacking. :)

Some other notes: The recipe makes a lot of food, so I decided to freeze most of it. I baked all of it at the same time and then put some of the dishes in the freezer (after letting it cool a bit, of course). I figured if I'm running the oven for 50 minutes anyway, I might as well bake all of them at the same time. We'll see how it goes when I thaw and reheat one of them in a few weeks. Also, I used a small spaghetti squash, so my middle layer was pretty thin, which you can see in the photos. I was OK with this since it is the blandest layer, but it could probably have been thicker to improve the healthiness of this meal (i.e. increase the ratio of veggies to bread/potato).

Fancy Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Ease: 2 easy
Time: 5 time consuming
Ingredients: easy
Source: modified from Recettes du Québec

Ingredients:

1 cup oat flakes
2 cups bread chunks
1 cup milk
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (original recipe used pine nuts)
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (original recipe uses fresh thyme)
1 sweet potato (original recipe didn't have sweet potato)
1 spaghetti squash
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 onion, diced
6 potatoes, thinly sliced (original recipe used Yukon gold; I used baking potatoes)
2 cups old cheddar cheese, grated (I supplemented with marble)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

In a bowl, mix the oats, bread, and milk. When the milk is absorbed, add the sunflower seeds, nuts, eggs, and herbs. Set aside.
Cook the sweet potato in whichever way you like. I chopped mine into large chunks (skin on) and cooked in the microwave for 10 minutes. Peel and mash.
Cook the spaghetti squash: Cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds and guts (reserve the seeds to roast like pumpkin seeds!), then cook the squash in a shallow baking dish for 35 minutes at 375 F. Using a fork, remove the flesh into the bowl containing the sweet potato. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.
In a large frying pan, melt half of the butter and then sauté the eggplant and onions until cooked. Remove and set aside.
In the same frying pan, melt the rest of the butter and brown the oat/bread/nut mixture. Add the eggplant mixture back, mix and cook 4 more minutes.
In whatever sized baking dish(es) you like, layer: the oat/bread/eggplant mixture, then the squash/sweet potato mixture, then the sliced potatoes, and top with the cheese.

Cook in a 350 F oven for 50 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the cheese is bubbly and a bit browned.

Recipe: two-ingredient carrot-pumpkin cupcakes

2011-10-10T09:00:00.009-04:00

I've never really been a dessert person, but Pinterest has introduced me to all sorts of tantalizing baked goods, like these no-bake sinful Cookies & Cream bars. I've never made fudge in my life, but this Orange Creamsicle fudge is enough to make me want to try! And then I remember that I'm sometimes a lazy cook, and 7 ingredients is really way too much. :)

A recipe that's gotten a lot of air time on Pinterest, and also among my online friends, is the two-ingredient pumpkin cake with apple cider glaze. I had actually tried this months ago with chocolate cake mix, but I was using it as a vegan cake, so was trying to hide the pumpkin. This recipe makes the pumpkin the centre stage, which makes it a much more autumny recipe. I have been itching to try it again with a different cake mix, and decided carrot might work. But you could use anything really. Yellow seems to be most popular.

I, as usual, prefer to put my own spin on the recipe. I find glazes too sweet (and unnecessary sugar/calories), but the cake would be probably a bit too simple on its own without the glaze. A friend of mine said she added pumpkin spice to the mix, so I opted in that direction by adding a few spices. The cardamom was a flash of inspiration because I used cardamom in an indian-flavoured creamed spinach recipe last night. That said, I'm still calling it two-ingredient because the spices really are optional. The cake would be quite simple/subtle-tasting on its own, but it would still be decent. And if you're a glaze/icing fan, you could do the apple cider glaze from the original recipe, or some cream-cheese icing if that's your bag.

The original recipe is for a sheet cake, but I went with cupcakes. One could also do those oh-so-trendy mason jar cakes, and apparently one commenter made cake cookies. The cookies made me curious so I tried those with the mix that didn't fit in my 12 cupcake pan + 3 mini-cake pans.

How did they turn out? Well.... they weren't the best cupcakes I've ever tasted. They were more like muffins, they definitely had a lot of spice to them, and they were VERY MOIST. Almost like they were undercooked, but since there's no egg to cook I didn't worry about it too much. I double-checked the recipe and apparently I used nearly DOUBLE the amount of pumpkin that you're supposed to use. I thought it was easier to mix than my previous chocolate attempt. Le sigh. In any case, I probably won't make these exactly like this again even if I do adjust the pumpkin amount, but I think it's useful to share my failures too. Next time, I'll use yellow cake mix, less pumpkin, and probably only make the cake cookies - I like my dessert in bite-sized pieces. The recipe I've provided below is how I should have made it; not how I did make it.

Two-ingredient Carrot-Pumpkin Cupcakes (and Cake Cookies)
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 1 very quick
Ingredients: very easy
Source: Big Red Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 box carrot cake mix (other cakes can be used, see notes above)
1 15oz / 443mL can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling! and not a 796 mL can of pumpkin!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/8 tsp ground allspice (optional)
1/8 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

Directions:

Add cake mix (and spices) to a bowl.
Add pumpkin.
Mix well (dry cake mix tends to hide at the bottom). Note that the mixing can take a long time and is quite tiring. But it does mix, so do not add extra liquid!
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease cupcake pan / cookie sheet.
Spoon mix into pan / sheet.
Cook for cupcakes for ~20 minutes, cookies for less. (I don't know the exact time since my recipe was wonky).

Recipe: toaster oven mini zucchini pizzas

2011-10-09T11:37:00.009-04:00

This is the time of year for "too much zucchini", so I've been on the search for zucchini recipes. Pinterest has been particularly useful in this search. So far I've tried dill zucchini chips (not good at all), zucchini fries (meh), and zucchini pizzas (finally, a win!), and a vegetable soup (also meh, but I think that was my fault and not the recipe's). I think that I might just not like zucchini all that much... Perhaps I should have opted for baked goods that hide it better...

In any case, I've decided to post my version of the zucchini pizzas, since I seem to have a problem following recipes without modifying them. In this case I had a good excuse: I don't pepperoni, and I don't have a grill!

Toaster Oven Mini Zucchini Pizzas
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 1 very quick
Ingredients: very easy
Source: Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients:

Zucchini, the fatter the better
Olive oil
Sauce of your choice: alfredo, BBQ, pizza, thai, etc.
Cheese of your choice: mozza, cheddar, parm, etc.
Veggie toppings of your choice: bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, fresh basil, etc

Directions:

Slice zucchini into 3/4" slices. I had a fat zucchini so I did my slices widthwise, but you could also make long and skinny pizzas with lengthwise slices.
Place the slices on a cooking sheet, and brush the tops with olive oil. Broil in a toaster oven for 8-10 minutes.
Flip the slices over and top them with the sauce, toppings, and cheese.
Broil again for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese has started to bubble and brown.
I suggest eating these with a fork and knife, and carefully... No one likes the hot-cheese & roof-of-mouth combination.

recipe: vegetarian sushi (this time with recipe!)

2011-07-11T18:01:00.013-04:00

Kyle had a craving for sushi so we're making it again, just one week after the first time. And it was just as good this time around! I'm actually writing out the full recipe this time, mostly because we finished our package of nori that has the instructions... and I want a permanent record ;)

These instructions are based on what we made tonight.

Vegetarian Sushi
Ease: 4 not very easy (well, it's a bit complicated at first but it gets easy with practice!)
Time: 4 somewhat time consuming (rice preparation, filling preparation, and rolling all take a while)
Ingredients: can be tricky to obtain
Source: general instructions were on the back of our nori package, Yaki Sushi Nori, which be bought from the International Food Market on Wyandotte. Our ideas for the fillings came from previous experience with sushi restaurants.

Ingredients:

1/3 a block of tofu
1 tsp soy sauce
1.5 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp tempura sauce
1/2 tsp hot chili oil
enough water to cover tofu
2 cups sushi rice (we bought ours at International Food Market)
2 cups water
1 Tbsp cooking sherry (our instructions call for Mirin, Japanese Sweet Rice Wine)
1 pc Kombu (dried kelp - we omitted this because we didn't know what it was)
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2.5 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
nori
1 avocado
~ 1/3 - 1/2 of a cucumber
1 carrot
Special Equipment: sushi rolling mat

Directions:

Cut and marinate tofu: Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, tempura sauce, and chili oil (or whatever sauces you'd prefer to use for your marinade). Cut the tofu into long strips about 1/3" x 1/3" x the longest dimension you can get. Add the tofu to the marinade and then add enough water to bring the marinade up and cover the tofu. Set aside.

Cook rice: Rinse rice in cold water several times until water runs clear. Add the water to the rice and let sit for 30 minutes. If you're using Kombu, this is where you remove it. Next, cook the rice until done (we used an electric rice cooker so just pressed "on" and it was done when it popped up). Once finished, remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes. Then fluff with wooden spoon.
Prepare sushi vinegar: While rice is cooking, mix together the rice wine vinegar, the sugar, and the salt. Warm in the microwave for 20 seconds to help dissolve everything.
Prepare fillings: While rice is cooking, prepare the fillings (except the avocado - leave that until last) Tofu: Sauté the tofu in a bit of oil and about half the sauce. Turn down the heat and let the rest of the sauce boil off. Carrot: Using a potato peeler, create long strips of carrot. Avocado and cucumber: Peel & remove seeds from cucumber, then cut into long matchstick-like strips. Cut the avocado the same way.
Prepare rice: After rice has been fluffed, spread it in a shallow pan and sprinkle the sushi vinegar over the rice. Toss with a wooden spoon so that the vinegar is evenly absorbed. Apparently using a fan at this point helps cool the rice to handling temperature and prevents sticky rice. Now you're ready to roll :)

Make maki sushi! Place one sheet of nori on a rolling mat. Moisten fingers and spread rice evenly over bottom 2/3 of nori sheet. I prefer small sushi pieces, so I usually only use about 1/2 cup of rice, which makes a layer about 1/3" thick (but with lots of holes that I can still see the nor through). Make a long indentation across the rice, about 1/3 of the way up the nori (so it splits the rice layer in half - top and bottom). Fill this indent with your ingredients (see below for flavour combos). Lift the mat over and tuck it around the fillings, squeezing a bit to compress the rice. Then continue rolling while releasing the mat as you go. (at this point, Kyle feels the need to give his whole roll a good squeeze. I found that mine worked well enough that I didn't need the extra squeeze. You'll find a technique that works for you).
Cool them: I put the "sushi logs" in the fridge for at least about 45 minutes, because I prefer them a bit cooled and it makes them easier to cut.
Cut them: Then, you cut your sushi into pieces of your desired size.
Serve with soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi. Mmm wasabi.

Serving size: This last batch made 10 thin logs of sushi, each log making up to 12 small pieces (like, really small pieces). For example, this photos below shows the sushi made from 4 logs.

recipe: vegetarian sushi

2011-07-02T18:41:00.006-04:00

OK well I'm not doing a full sushi recipe... I just wanted an excuse to post photos of my very first homemade sushi!! It's very exciting.

I only started liking sushi recently, when I went to a restaurant in Québec called Metropolitain (or Eddie Sushi Bar). There, I tried the cucumber rolls and the avocado rolls and I fell in LOVE with the avocado ones. There was a brief period after that where I would crave the avocado rolls. Anyway, I've been back to that place again once or twice, and I've eaten at a couple of all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants. Some are more miss than hit, even with the avocado rolls :( Not to mention expensive.

I remember my friend and old roommate Erin making sushi at home once, and it didn't look TOO hard, so I wanted to give it a try. Kyle and I picked up the necessary materials on our last trip to International Food Market: a rolling mat, nori (the seaweed sheets), sushi rice, wasabi paste, and pickled ginger. Aaaand we've been putting it off since then. It's intimidating!

I put it on our "weekly meals" list for the week, and we tried it out today, since we knew we'd be home for a while. It took about 3 hours from start to finish, although a lot of that was just waiting. We followed the instructions for cooking the rice and rolling the sushi that were printed on the nori package. Here are the approximate list of steps:

Rinse rice and then soak for 30 minutes
Prepare fillings
Cook rice, then let sit for 10 minutes.
Mix rice with sushi vinegar (rice vinegar, sugar, and salt) and cool a bit while stirring.
Roll sushi!
Cool for about 1 hour (the cooling is optional but it made it really easy to slice nice pieces)
Slice sushi & serve!

Here were our fillings: everything was long thin matchstick type pieces except for the carrot, which was long strips that we obtained with a carrot peeler.

Avocado (of course)
Cucumber (one of Kyle's favourites)
Vegetarian California roll (avocado, cucumber, and carrot)
Stir-fried tempura tofu (recipe below)
Deluxe: stir-fried tofu, avocado, cucumber, and carrot

I enjoyed all of them. They tasted as good as any restaurant, and Kyle even said the tofu tasted better than the tofu sushi we've gotten from restaurants. Yay us. I must say that the tofu was my least favourite, only because it had too much "savoury" taste and not enough "freshness" that would come from a veggie. I preferred the deluxe better because it had the extra veggie-ness.

This makes me want to have a sushi party :D

Recipe: Stir-fried tempura tofu (for sushi)
It's not much of "recipe" since I didn't measure amounts, but it was something like...

tofu, cut into matchsticks
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
tempura sauce
hot chili oil
water

Mix together and let sit for 1-2 hours.
Stir fry tofu in sesame, chili, & corn oil with a spoonful of the marinade sauce.
Let cool; set aside.

recipe: faux tuna (chickpea) salad

2011-05-12T15:38:00.008-04:00

I read about this recipe from a Craftser newsletter. Weird, I know. I've been wanting to make faux tuna salad basically since I obtained the student vegetarian cookbook and saw a recipe there. However, that recipe requires kelp powder, which I have found impossible to find. So when I saw this non-kelp powder recipe, I got really excited and decided to give it a try.

I have a policy of trying a recipe the way it's written before I make any of my own modifications, but I abandoned that policy with this one. I had a couple of flashes of inspiration that could only make it better. First, I added a dill pickle. I think I was inspired by my sandwich making days back at Laurier. Second, I added a bit of nori. I shied away from sushi for so long because I don't like the taste of nori... I think it tastes like fish. But now I like sushi, and Kyle and I bought some sushi making ingredients, including nori. I crumbled up a bit and threw it in there. It didn't take much before the nori became overwhelming though, so be careful. My third flash of insight was kind of random. I was making myself a sandwich at some point after the first day, and I decided to try mustard. Even though I only put three tiny dabs of mustard on a sandwich/wrap, I think it somehow pulled the recipe together and made it more tuna-y.

Some notes: When I ate the salad on the first day, I found the flavours hadn't mingled well enough yet, so I definitely recommend letting it sit overnight. Second, I found that the apple chunks were too big and distinctive, so I'd cut them small for my next try.

Faux Tuna (chickpea) Salad
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 4 somewhat time consuming (lots of chopping + needs to sit over night)
Ingredients: pretty easy to get (except Nori, which is optional)
Source: I found it on Craftster, but googled and found it posted here. Turns out it's originally from a book called Vegan with a Vengeance, but the one I linked above is somewhat modified. I changed it once again.

Ingredients:

1 19 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp of mayonnaise
1/3 cup onion, diced
2/3 stalk of celery, diced
1/2 granny smith apple, finely diced
1 dill pickle, diced
black pepper to taste
up to 1/4 tsp Nori, chopped/crumbled finely (optional)
bread or tortilla wraps
garnishes like lettuce and tomato
mustard (optional)

Directions:

Mash chickpeas with a fork.
Add vinegar, salt, and mayo.
Add veggies up to the pickle.
Season with a bit of black pepper.
Chill overnight (I tried it after about 1 hour and the flavours hadn't blended enough!)

recipe: spice cookies

2011-05-02T16:33:00.006-04:00

I bought some molasses cookies from Dollarama the other day and was so addicted to them it hurt. They have iron, so that's a plus... but they also have sugar and of course preservatives. I decided to try baking some at home to see if it's possible to make yummy ones. Then I will try to make a healthier version.

I found a recipe off Allrecipes and modified it as per the comments/reviews and tried it out this past Sunday. It's not terribly original on my part since I'm just copying... but they turned out SO WELL that I am posting the recipe anyway. I'm also changing the name because "molasses cookies" just sounds lame.

Spice Cookies
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick (all baking takes long!)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: Inspiration from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup margarine, partially melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground ginger (1/2 tsp + "some more")
1 Tbsp white sugar extra

Directions:

Mix wet ingredients: Mix margarine, sugar, egg until smooth. Add molasses and stir.
Mix dry ingredients: Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
Blend dry mix into wet mix.
Cover and chill at least 1/2 hour (original recipe recommended 1 hour).
Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and then roll in sugar (note that I only rolled one side of the balls to reduce sugar). Place cookies ~ 2" apart on ungreased cookie trays.
Bake 7 minutes until tops are starting to crack. Watch closely because the longer they cook, the harder they get. 7 minutes yields a soft cookie that stays soft at least one day (speaking from experience)

recipe: chicken brine

2011-04-24T08:07:00.005-04:00

My life has been pretty intense since moving to Quebec and starting my PhD, so trying new recipes and blogging about them has been near the bottom of my priority list. That said, things are starting to stabilize and Kyle and I hope to start trying new recipes again, so I'm hoping to make the recipe posting to be a regular thing again!

I know it's strange to see a chicken-related recipe on my blog, since I mostly post vegetarian recipes, but I like to cook roast chicken for Kyle at least once a year because it's his favourite meal since when he was a kid. We usually cook it on holidays when we're not visiting family. Today, it's Easter. I'll be posting my brine recipe, my rub recipe, and my stuffing recipe.

When I first decided to roast a chicken for Kyle, I called upon my sister for help since she is more experienced in the ways of "normal" home-style cooking. She recommended that I brine it. Brine? WTF? Isn't that just salt? Well, I did some research on Allrecipes and sure enough brining is kind of popular. So I tried it and the chicken was really good (this coming from someone who doesn't like meat) so... I can consider myself a brine convert. The brine recipe is pretty flexible since it's just used to soak the chicken and then you discard it. The first one we made had clementine wedges and peel, lemon juice, dried onion, and rosemary. For my second one, I used fresh onion, fresh lemon, dried thyme, and sugar. And this is my third one, and I've mixed it up again.

Lemon-pepper Chicken Brine
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 2 quick (just some chopping)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: Inspiration from AllRecipes.com.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced/chopped
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 medium/large lemon, sliced thinly
4 bay leaves
1/t poultry seasoning
1 tsp + extra black pepper
1 Tbsp brown sugar
tea leaves from 1 used teabag (from my morning tea)
1/3 cup salt
15 cups of water (enough to cover the chicken)

Directions:

Add onion, garlic, lemon, and spices (including tea) to a pot/container that is large enough to hold your chicken.
Measure out the salt, take some and rub it onto the chicken. Pour the remaining salt into the pot.
Rub some coarsely ground black pepper onto the chicken (if you have a pepper grinder).
Add the water to the pot and mix everything around to dissolve the salt.
Add the chicken to the water carefully.
Store the chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour but not longer than 5-6 hours.
Remove the chicken from the brine, discard the brine, rinse the chicken under cold water, and pat dry. For crispier skin, allow the chicken to dry some more by storing in the fridge overnight.

sangria

2010-12-05T08:23:00.003-05:00

I made sangria for the first time EVAR for a potluck this past weekend! I scoured the internetz for inspiration, remembered a few tasty sangrias I'd had in the past, and whipped up my own concoction (I like to keep things complicated.. simplicity sucks).

Here's the recipe. It makes about 5L of not-super-boozy sangria:
1L red wine
1 orange, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 grapefruit, sliced
1/2 cup of raspberries (I'd probably omit these in the future. they got kinda gross in the bottom of the jug).
half a jar of maraschino cherries + a bit of the juice

1L of water
1/2-1 cup of grenadine
3/4 can of frozen mango punch concentrate (any punch could probably be substituted)

1 cup of peach schnapps
1/2 cup of triple sec
1/2 a can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate
3/4 of a can of frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups of water (to turn the frozen concentrate into juice)

1. 24 hours ahead of time, mix the wine and fruit in a jug and store it in the fridge.
2. At least 12 hours ahead of time, make the ice cubes out of juice, water, and grenadine: mix the frozen concentrate plus the water and pour into 4 ice cube trays. Pour the grenadine into the tray (if you're good, you can get layered ice cubes, not that anyone will look at the ice cubes that closely).
3. At least 12 hours ahead of time, add the extra alcohol and juice
4. At the last minute, add the ice to the jugs and serve!

recipe: borscht

2010-10-31T19:41:00.012-04:00

My dad had a large veggie garden when I was growing up, and one of the vegetables we always had great success with was beets. So we'd harvest a bunch, boil 'em up, and eat them warm with a really simple serving of white vinegar, salt, and black pepper. This has somehow resulted in a strong fondness for beets.

So when I saw a large bag on sale, I decided to take the plunge and buy 'em. Now I'm stuck with > 10 lbs of beets and I pretty much only like them served in the way of my childhood. Sooo now I have the challenge of trying to figure out what to do with beets. Enter borscht.

I've never made borscht before. In fact, I've never even tasted borscht before. I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like. But this morning I searched the internetz and stole some ideas from four different recipes I found, and came up with my own borscht recipe. And whadda ya know, it tastes pretty good. I don't know how "authentic" it is, but it's pretty damn yummy (if you like beets, cabbage, and potatoes). So here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

Some notes: This recipe is slightly different from what I actually did. I was such a fan of the mashed potato step that I increased the amount of mashed potatoes below (today I actually only used 3 small potatoes for the mashed amount whereas below I suggest you use 2-3 medium potatoes). Additionally, if I were going to make this soup again, I would probably add 2 cloves of garlic when I add the carrots/celery/potatoes. I love my garlic. Lastly, I don't have cheesecloth, so I created the below (somewhat convoluted) way of flavouring my broth with spices. If you are cooking in a well-equipped kitchen and actually have cheesecloth, by all means stuff the first 6 ingredients into a little bundle of cheesecloth and save yourself the step of scooping potatoes and then draining broth. (see this recipe for how that works)

Nicole's Borscht
Ease: 3 somewhat easy
Time: 4 somewhat time consuming (lots of chopping, two different pots going on, three major steps. but worth it for a soup that is a whole meal!)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: Inspiration from the following four websites, in approximately the order of importance:

Ingredients:

1 bay leaf (or more, if you like)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
3 sprigs fresh parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, crushed with the side of a knife
2-3 medium potatoes, very coarsely chopped
at least 7 cups of water/veggie broth, divided (4 cups plus 3 cups); the final amount will be up to your personal taste.
3 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp oil (I used olive)
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
1 stalk celery, diced
1-2 potatoes, diced
1 cup of canned diced tomatoes with juice
6 medium-large beets, peeled and julienned
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (plus more to taste)
1/2 a head of green cabbage, finely sliced
1/4 cup cooking cream
1 Tbsp margarine
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar (I used a mixture of half brown, half white)
1 Tbsp dried dill
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper
Sour cream (optional)
Fresh dill (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot, boil 4 cups of broth with bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seeds, parsley, thyme, and garlic (use the cheesecloth bundle if you have cheesecloth!). Add potatoes and cook until soft.
Meanwhile, in a LARGE frying pan, fry onions in 3 Tbsp of oil until brown. Add carrots, celery, and potatoes and cook for 3 more minutes.
Add diced tomatoes and beets to the frying pan. Add the vinegar right away ("to keep the colour and taste of the beets", whatever that means). Cook while you do the next step.
Scoop out your boiled potatoes into a separate bowl and mash with the margarine and cream. Drain your flavoured broth through a strainer into a bowl (i.e. RESERVE THE BROTH because you're using it in your soup!). Pour the reserved broth back into the large pot and add all the veggies from the frying pan into the pot. (If you were using the cheesecloth method, all you'd need to do here is remove the cheesecloth bundle and scoop out the potates to mash. no straining involved).
Add a bit more oil to the frying pan and cook the cabbage until it's a bit tender.
While the cabbage is cooking, mix the broth & veggies, then add the mashed potatoes and the salt, sugar, dill, parsley, and black pepper.
Add the cabbage to the pot (yes, you can put your frying pan in the sink now. We're done with it). Stir the soup well and cook, covered, for approximately 20 minutes until you see how much liquid the veggies release.
After the 20 minutes is up, check on your soup and add extra broth/water until your soup has the veggie:liquid ratio you like. Put the lid back on and cook for at least 1 hour.
Optional step (I didn't take this step): Remove some of the soup and blend it, then return it to the pot. This will yield a thicker soup.
Serve with sour cream. And fresh (or dried) dill if you like.

crafts: recent finished (bébé) objects

2010-05-16T21:41:00.006-04:00

I'm gonna be an aunt really soon (what do y'all think of Auntie Nicki?), so I spent a few months making loads of baby stuff for little Sofie. I finally gave (most of) it to Trevor & Jenna, so I feel like I can post it. One item has not been given but I don't think either of them read my blog so... I don't like this is going to spoil anything :)

Snug booties

Vanille slippers (named because I was watching kyle play FFXIII while I made them and the colour matches her hair - "her" being a character in the game, not Sofie!)

Backstrap sandals

Periwinkle Kimono

I'm also going to make some Japanese style booties/baby slippers to go with this... soon... when I have time...

First (and last?) raggy quilt (also for Sofie)

Stuff that isn't for Sofie...
Flame Sandals (not sure who these are for yet...)

And my first tunisian project, a square for a swap I'm doing.

photos: gritty dramatic tutorial

2010-05-02T17:11:00.003-04:00

Kyle and I have decided to try out at least one Photoshop tutorial per week in the hopes that it'll teach us new skills and potentially generate some neat results.

Today's tutorial was Dramatic Gritty Effect. Kyle chose a photo I took at the Toronto Zoo, and I chose a photo I took from the train in Cuzco, Peru. I like Kyle's result, but not mine! I tried again on my own, using a second photo of Cuzco. I think I like the second one better.

Before: Just a bit of my normal photo-enhancing techniques (contrast, levels, etc)

After: My dramatic gritty effect.

Before: No treatment.

After: Kyle's dramatic gritty effect.

Before: Some of my basic photo-enhancing techniques.

After: My second attempt at dramatic gritty effect.

photos: fun with photoshop

2010-04-28T21:53:00.011-04:00

I went birding this past Saturday and finally got some use out of my new digital SLR. I didn't find myself terribly inspired, but I managed to take over 200 photos anyway. I've since been toying with a few of them in Photoshop and I've reminded myself how much I love playing with photos.
Here are a couple of comparisons. The first three are just my typical colour-correcting, make-this-photo-a-wee-bit-more-dramatic suite of changes.

Then I had a beer with dinner tonight and got a little overly creative with the next three. The first is a photo from Arizona, supplied by my friend/labmate Christian. The second and third were from Saturday's birding trip, with a few techniques from 70's/vintage tutorials.

I think my favourite is actually Christian's shot, and I kind of wish it was my photo to begin with :)

I'm hoping to start trying out new tutorials each week so I can learn new techniques. Would you - yea you! - be interested in some sort of tutorial-following photo-editing-a-long? We could take turns picking tutorials and then we share the results... somewhere. Could be fun.

photos: how to use flickr

2010-04-22T18:16:00.016-04:00

piqûre, by me

Last fall, prompted by something I read about "How to get Noticed" (as a photographer), I made the decision to start using Flickr as a place to showcase my best (and favourite) photos (I separate best from favourite since I sometimes like photos that are not objectively very good). Previously, I had been using Flickr for general photosharing as well as showcasing my "best work". Although I never did delete my older "check out the photos of me and my friends hanging out at 70s disco party", because I wasn't sure if this only post your best kick would stick).

hyrule, by me

I've since talked myself into thinking that it's silly to only post my "best" because really... my "best" isn't very good... so why limit myself to only a few images? It's convenient to put photos on flickr for use on my blog and/or Ravelry. So I started putting my yarn photos on Flickr. However, in the past two days, I have been questioning this decision. I've been spending a lot of time looking at my own flickr photos lately, and every once in a while I'll come across a picture and think "hey that one is pretty good", so I wonder if maybe I should only put up the ones I'm proud of.

I don't have an answer. I haven't made a decision. I really enjoy taking the time to pick out my favourite photos and tweaking them in Photoshop to highlight certain aspects. I also like writing a bit of a story for each individual photo. Both actions are near impossible (and pointless?) for mass uploads.

Do you use flickr? For what? Any input for me?
Feel like nosing around my photos before making a comment? Check out my sets.

untitled, by me

crafts: centre-pull yarn ball

2010-04-10T21:51:00.007-04:00

centrepull, by me

I stumbled across a thread on Ravelry the other day about How to make a Centre-pull Ball. I was like "wtf?" But I checked it out, followed the links, and decided to give 'er a try. Turns out I love making centre pull balls, and I want to center-pull ballerize my entire stash. I took some photos of the process, because I think it's not entirely easy to follow when you just read it in words. I've seen hand-winding mentioned a few times on Ravelry, most notably here: Hand-winding (that thread has a video too!)
I like centre pull balls because they don't roll around the floor for kitties to go nuts about. Plus there's something exciting about turning a chaotic mess of yarn into a neatly wound, self-contained, regularly shaped "ball".
I basically found 3 hand-winding techniques:

Pill bottle
Toilet paper roll
Thumb

All are described here.
Here's my version of the thumb method:

tutorial, by me

grab about 6" of yarn to be the 'tail'. This will be the beginning of your ball when you're all done.
hold the 6" tail in your pinky/ring finger while you wind a few loops around your thumb (loosely!)
when you've got a few loops, start winding diagonally so you are sort of winding from the bottom of your thumb to your knuckle
this photo shows the diagonal wind
after winding 4-5 times on the diagonal, grab the entire ball and rotate it slightly on your thumb. Continue winding.
shows after some twists. Note that the tail will have to rotate around your thumb. Just watch for it and give it a tug every once in a while to prevent it getting wrapped up in your ball.
Extra note: be very careful not to wind too tight. Apparently winding too tight can overstretch your yarn, which will then relax to it's original shape once knit/crocheted, which can be dangerous for certain projects.

Photos 7-9 simply show the progression as I kept twisting and winding.

crafts: strange behaviour

2010-04-05T10:28:00.003-04:00

tiny, by me

As you already know, I started actively using Ravelry a few weeks ago, and it's shifted my behaviour in several substantial ways.

I now have a forum I visit multiple times a day, and check obsessively to see if anyone has replied (appreciate me, please!). This of course means that I can no longer nag Kyle about spending so much time on NeoGAF...
I crochet, obsessively. I spend all my spare time (and even some non spare time) crocheting, and I've started writing patterns too. Before Ravelry, I crocheted because I had promised people that I'd make them afghans. Now I crochet because I want to CREATE.
I have turned my photography towards more... practical matters. I spend a lot of time photographing my crafts, and I spent an obscene amount of time photographing my stash (i.e. yarn collection). Who takes photos of their yarn? I do I do!

rainbow swirl, by me

green: vermicomposting

2010-04-02T17:04:00.006-04:00

I learned about Vermicomposting when I stumbled upon Sustainable Dave's 365 Days of Trash. I watched a video or two, read up a bit, and eventually convinced Kyle (the eternal skeptic) to give it a chance. We bought a Worm Factory online (can't remember the store we bought it from, but I quickly Googled it and it's available at All Things Organic). We got a 4 tray system, but I think we could have done with a 3 tray system since wormies don't like most of the produce we throw out (citrus peels, fresh herbs, onions, garlic). There was one point when we had 2 or 3 trays full, but never 4.

It's definitely been a trial-and-error adventure. I was uber-excited when we first got it, and despite warnings of "don't overfeed!" I fed them too much and the wormies just huddled up and hid in a corner. Then I added fresh herbs (none of the books tell me I can't!) and onions (even though the books told me I can't...) and the population crashed. My theory for this is that the worms don't actually eat the veggies; they eat the bacteria (& other microbes, etc) that feed on the veggies, and onions & fresh herbs are antimicrobial... We decided to leave the composter alone and we just started throwing our veg scraps in the normal garbage for a few weeks. Eventually, the wormies worked through the food I'd given them and the population exploded (that's a good thing).

I had a few brief moments of panic when I noticed that there were loads of other types of bugs in the worm factory. I didn't know what I was breeding, and I didn't want them hurting my wormies! Fortunately, I was working in an invertebrate lab at the time so I brought a few specimens in and took a look under the microscope with Michelle. Turns out they were collembola and mites and they're good for worm factories!

My next obstacle was that I didn't realize how quickly worm tea filled up (worm tea = the liquid that accumulates in the bottom of the worm bin ... essentially worm pee/mucus?). It turns out that a combination of lots of organic-rich standing water + a lingering population of drainflies (Psychodidae) hanging out in the apartment means that you end up with your very own breeding colony. It got really bad in Windsor and I had to borrow a "pooter" (i.e. aspirator) from work to collect them off my kitchen wall and release them outside.

The next obstacle was moving them, but this one didn't turn out to be that difficult. We stopped feeding them for a while so that they would eat the food that they had and reduce the weight of the worm factory a bit. Then we added some bread/rice a day before we moved because digesting carbs increases heat and they'd be living in the truck the whole time. And lastly, it was above freezing when we moved so no problemo.

Our most recent obstacle has been a major one with some serious consequences. At some point we ended up breeding fruit flies but I think they mostly went away over the course of winter. However, we ended up with a species of fly that looks a lot like bigger fruit flies, but they like really stinky things like kitty litter and rotting onions. These guys have proven impossible to get rid of, thus far. They're not sooo bad, once we figured out a few techniques for managing them (i.e. set up fly traps, avoid feeding the wormies too frequently b/c it lets the flies out, add one plastic layer filled just with paper which makes it hard for the flies to get out). Unfortunately, because of the flies, I haven't been able harvest/sort through the compost very often (because the flies escape in waves when I start rooting around in the compost). My solution for this was to wait until the outside was reasonable (0 Celsius) and root around in the compost then, because the flies would die, hopefully, but the wormies should stay OK. Turns out NO wormies do not like that temperature and I killed nearly all of my full-grown wormies. I still have some babies and I hope they will grow up big and strong, but right now my population is seriously crashed. I think we've almost got the drain fly problem under control (yes, they moved with us to Quebec), and I think the other fly problem will be reduced when I can leave the compost outside for a few days at a time.

Despite all the trouble it's given me, I really like having the worm composter. It's kind of fun to have the challenge and keep a little community living (although I seem to have exterminated my collembola somehow too). And it's nice to get rid of a lot of our veggie scraps without throwing them in the garbage. And the unexpected benefit is that I have a nice collection of vegetables growing (mostly tomatoes and peppers, with the occasional ?? plant).

green: way basics recycled, recyclable, modular furniture

2010-04-02T08:44:00.002-04:00

Found this on FOKaL. Awesome eco furniture from Way Basics. I definitely want this.

green: green thumb; brown thumb

2010-04-01T06:56:00.003-04:00

I kill plants. I have a talent for it. I've bought mini basil plants and killed them. I've planted basil plants from seed and killed them. I've killed endive. My sunflowers and wildflowers simply failed to bloom. I kind of suck at gardening. Which is kind of annoying, actually, since I have fond memories of productive gardening with my dad when I was a kid. Guess it was all my dad's doing and not mine. (OK sidebar because I just remembered: I had a dream last night that I heard white-throated sparrows in my backyard at my OLD house in Unionville. When the bird(s) landed on the fence posts, I could see they were leg-banded, but when I looked closer it was apparent that one of them had 3 coloured film canisters on its legs as colour bands - and of course it didn't occur to me until after the dream that this WTSP must have been the size of a large goose or something. Yeesh, creepy).

Well, I think my brown thumb has (temporarlly, at least) been turned into a green thumb. I have a vermicomposter (more on that later), and every time I try to add fresh compost to my plants, I end up growing tomatoes. Tried to grow daisies last year for my wedding... ended up with stunted daisy sprouts and a giant tomato plant. I also get peppers, and the occasional mystery plant. Thus far, I have not grown anything to proper fruition. The tomato plant got close but it got cold and we moved so I never saw red tomatoes. I planted the peppers too close together so they were stunted.

The truck ride to Québec killed/damaged a bunch of my (insert name of that ubiquitous viney plant here) plants, so I had to do some trimming, resprouting, and repotting. Some of this repotting involved compost. Which means I got tomatoes. Lots of them. Instead of treating them as weeds, I've been replanting them. So far I've got one massive tomato plant (>3'), one smaller one (>1'). I've got other stuff growing too but I'll leave that for another post. These tomato plants grow FAST. Several inches in a week fast.

So, the purpose of today's post is to start a series of photos of my most recently transplanted tomato plant (I'm working on the assumption that it is indeed a tomato).

Here it is, week one, day one (March 31, 2010):

green: old shoes and gym gear

2010-03-31T21:24:00.003-04:00

I've recently hit the end of the road with two pairs of shoes. The "leather" (I think it's pleather...) has cracked and is falling apart in places. Since one of the pairs is boots and I need my boots to be waterproof, this crack renders them essentially useless. But what do I do with them? I don't feel right giving them to Value Village. Why would anyone else want my nasty-ass cracked shoes? Well I found this website online, which gives suggestions on what to do with old gym gear. Since they mention shoes, I'm pasting the ideas here.

Follow Women's Health's recent tips on giving your gear a second life:
Recycle your shoes through Nike Reuse a Shoe program.
Recycle any Patagonia clothing.
Recycle or donate yoga mats through the Recycle Your Mat initiative.

Source: Fit Sugar

crafts: cutest bootie EVAR!

2010-03-29T20:37:00.004-04:00

I just finished the cutest little baby bootie and I NEED to share it with y'all. Well, I don't know how many people read this, but I feel like putting it on a blog satisfies my need to run around like a crazy person showing it to everyone I know (which I have also done, actually...).
The lighting was bad with the photo, but checkitout!

I made it this morning. Now I need to spend some time perfecting the pattern so I can churn out hundreds. And, yes, I do want to make a larger version for myself. How cute would this be in adult slippers? I can't justify spending $70 on real chucks so I feel like this would be a pretty decent second-best ;)
You can read more about it on Ravelry, too.

recipe: nic & kyle's vegetarian chili

2010-03-28T16:27:00.004-04:00

(Originally emailed Apr. 2, 2008)

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

I've added two new people to the list. Julie, from my lab (I've added you in case you find some recipes for your sis or for CR), and Dane who I know from Laurier people (hey, you said you wanted a recipe!). The background info: I (try to) send out a vegetarian recipe every week, seeing as Kyle and I usually try at least 1 or 2 new recipes per week, and I hope that someone out there actually finds something they like.

Today I will share with you my recipe for vegetarian chili. I grew up with my mom's chili recipe: simple, tasty, hearty, but full of meat. And it turns out that it doesn't work well as chili when you just omit the meat. I have tried time and time again to make vegetarian chili and it nearly always ends up tasting "off" and being overly liquidy. So I did some investigative work (including Wikipedia and some recipe sites), plus some trial and error, and finally settled on a vegetarian chili recipe I like. Kyle says it's the best food I make. I don't have a meat substitute in it (I've tried it and I didn't like it), but you could always try that if you wanted. I usually serve this chili with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll chop up some avocado and mix it with lime juice and serve that over top of the chili. I guess green onions would also work as a garnish. We make fresh french crusty bread for dipping.

Some comments from now me (as opposed to me writing in April of 2008). I was searching for this recipe today and I couldn't find it (can't find any recipes in our recipe box since I decided to "re-organize" it. Grr. Then I checked my second go-to spot: my blog! And I realized to my astonishment *gasp* that I haven't posted our chili recipe. As you've already read, Kyle and I developed this recipe together, but the other cool news about it is that we served it at our wedding! The caterer at the Toronto Zoo (Compass Canada) was really great about it and they made our chili for us. How cool is that?

Now as it turns out, Kyle and I have different methods of making this chili. And... his tends to end up better than mine. So I'll intersperse the Kyle Method below.

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

Nic & Kyle's Vegetarian Chili
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick (quick to throw everything in a pot, but long time to let it simmer)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: my mom, plus inspiration from various places

crockpot chili, by me

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 chili or jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 large cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1-2 splashes red wine
1/2 tbsp oregano
1 squeezed lemon (or about 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice)
few grinds/shakes of black pepper

Saute garlic, onion and pepper in a bit of oil for a few minutes - until fragrant and onions are soft. But don't brown garlic.
In crockpot or slow-cooker, combine remaining ingredients and add onions and garlic.
Set crock pot to high until chili starts to boil, then turn heat down.
Boil for several hours. Throughout the day, scoop off the liquid that rises to the top and RESERVE. Do this before you stir it because it's easier. (Kyle method: don't scoop off liquid until the very end)
Before serving, mix some (> 1 Tbsp) cornstarch into the mug of reserved liquid and add gradually back into the chili until the chili is thick.
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, lime-y avocado cubes, etc. Also, fresh bread.
Yum.

pretty things

2010-03-21T07:53:00.007-04:00

I've fallen into a new semi-obsession. For lack of a better term, I'm calling it "looking at pretty things". I'm not quite sure when it started happening, but it hit me full force last weekend, when I spent hours browsing craft, design, fashion, and photography blogs and adding them all to my Reader (and again, when finding images to use in this collage, I just spent another good 2.5 hours). I can trace the factors in this obsession (thrift-store finds & Anne-Marie, wedding-planning, Offbeat Bride, Etsy, crocheting, America's Next Top Model, quilting & Michelle Dobrin, watching hours of Colour Confidential, my new years resolution to "dress better", my yearning to be a real photographer, Buzz, Reader, & the blogsophere), but still the obsession itself kind of snuck up on me. And last weekend when blog-browsing, I was unreasonably excited about skimming through these blogs. I've fallen in love with cotton candy colours and old-fashioned photography, I suddenly care about fashion, and I *need* to redecorate our apartment.

I've created a place for me to store these pretty (and strange and/or interesting) things I see scattered over the web. I'm creating it for myself, not for anyone else, but if you want to check it out, you can.

french: the strangeness of learning a language

2010-03-21T07:36:00.003-04:00

[untitled, by me.]

Learning a new language is such a strange experience. It's like, I'll be sitting there listening to something my teacher is saying, and even though she's clearly speaking French, I can understand her. My brain is ill-behaved and tends to try to translate everything word-for-word, which is apparently a bad way to go about learning a new language. But my brain doesn't listen to me when I tell it to stop translating. And despite the attempted word-for-word translation that my brain keeps trying to do, sometimes when I'm listening to French conversation, I just understand what is being said, before my translating brain can catch up. So I'll find myself nodding agreement even as my brain finally proudly announces that it's decyphered what's being said.

Strange.

Have you experienced anything like this, or am I the only one?

green: eco home

2010-03-16T14:19:00.008-04:00

click on the photo for the original source.

I loved reading about this home, so I'm sharing it with you. Check out the cool supplies this guy uses to build homes with. I'm in awe.

From Interior Design

Bakker's commitment to recycled or recyclable materials gets a full workout inside, too. Since interior partitions aren't load-bearing, he could construct them with structurally flawed concrete blocks found abandoned in a field, where they'd acquired a patina of weathering and stains. Only the drywall fails to meet his exacting eco standards. "Magnesium-oxide board wasn't manufactured yet locally," he explains. Which is why the ceiling and floor sport expensive Australian plywood rather than a much cheaper but dubiously sourced Chinese import. Cabinetry, shelving, beds, and the front door are made of heavy-duty plywood once used to crate mining equipment. "It's so beautiful, with branding marks and stenciled numbers all over it," he says. He adds that many of the house's plywood surfaces were sealed with store-bought soap, "an old technique from Scandinavia."

Reading about this really makes me wonder what it takes to accomplish something like this. Money, obviously. But initiative, land, know-how, connections, influence, skills of persuasion, what else? Is it possible for a "normal" person to build a home out of reclaimed materials, or do you need to be a Big Name?

crafts: recent finished objects

2010-03-14T20:11:00.007-04:00

If you haven't already joined me on Ravelry, you should do so. And for those of you who haven't, I wanted to share some of my recently finished objects. I'm very much into "practical crocheted items" right now, so if you noticed a theme... you're not imagining it. Click on a photo for more info about the project & some more photos.

External Harddrive Case for Kyle

iPod Cozy for Kyle - I'm really proud of this one!

Neon Nuclear Blanket for Jack Borrelli

Cutlery Case for Moi

I've almost finished my first baby quilt and I'm not happy with it. I'm not a good quilter. Quilting requires patience, and precision, and the proper equipment. Quilting sans those things = bad.

A bit of self-appreciation for a moment: my craftiness was featured on my favourite(only) wedding blog, Offbeat Bride.

I also discovered Craftster.org, which I've only spent about 1/2 hour exploring so I'm not sure if I like it more or less than Ravelry. Either way, I've found a bunch o' ways to waste time/procrastinate... and it's going to ruin me (or at least my PhD). I did find a SWEET idea for what to do with jean hems (I now have a reason to appreciate my short legs), and I also found a sweet article on what to do with old jeans, which makes me a happy camper.

Jean Hem Skirt = AWESOME (note: that's not me, and I didn't make that skirt. That's simply my inspiration. Click on the photo for more details)

And the last thing I will share with you for today is: a nifty little program that traces your mouse patterns (dots indicate periods of inactivity). I find it pretty exciting to turn it on during a particular activity and then try to figure out what was going on during that activity. This image was me blog-browsing for 1.5 hours + a shower.

french: FAIL

2010-03-08T16:18:00.005-05:00

Trying to learn interact with people in a language you just barely understand and can hardly speak does a real number on your emotional health. The elation I experience when I've successfully navigated an encounter in French is pretty awesome, but the embarrassment, frustration, and self-flagellation I feel after an unsuccessful encounter are pretty darn awful. I've decided to document some of my wins and fails, in the hopes that it’ll cheer me up, motivate me to improve, and perhaps diffuse some of the embarrassment.

Fail: Pretty much any social encounter. The structure, grammar, and topic of normal everyday conversations are beyond my comprehension. I get maybe 1 in 10 words and have no concept of the flow of conversation.

Win: I needed to obtain proof of registration at Laval in order to obtain a student bus pass. I had printed a form, and was dropping it off at the registrar’s office. Turns out it was the wrong form, and I needed to specify why I needed it so that she could get the correct form. I understood what she was saying, she understood what I was saying (en français), and it was good. It might have helped that I prefaced it by saying “Je parle un peu de français”.

Fail: A new person started at the DUC office a couple weeks ago, and I don’t think he knows I’m a stupid Anglophone. He came into the packed lunchroom one day so I got up to give him my seat, thinking the message was clear. I had misjudged, however, and he was standing near the sink waiting for his meal to microwave as I washed my dishes. He said something to me, which I interpreted to mean either “Are you done with your seat?” or “Can I have your seat?” or something along those lines, but because I didn’t know the specific question he was asking, I didn’t know the specific answer. Solution? I grunted and waved my hands. He seemed to get the message because he left and took my seat. Utter failure.

Win: Actually obtaining the student bus pass required a trip to the mall. We had no idea how this was going to work out, but I started with my usual preface and then stated “Nous avons besoin de le carte OPUS” (recognizing that the grammar was incomplete, but that this was the best I could pronounce). A look of understanding on her face and a bit of an awkward pause prompted “Nous sommes etudiants.” (pronounced improperly b/c I forgot la liason). She handed us a couple forms, charged us the correct amount, we got photos, and voila! Bus passes! Total win, even if I was having a minor panic attack at the time…

Fail: I was at Le Pub for dinner with 4 francophones, and decided that the only thing I felt comfortable ordering was des frites. Seemed simple enough. Turns out the pronunciation is super specific and I can’t say it properly. Two of my francophone friends jumped in to clarify. Super fail. I should have just gone with poutine.

Win: I needed to send a blanket to Mike & Megan’s baby, and had been procrastinating as long as possible. Once Jack was born though… I really needed to send it. I got my phrase ready, based on what I’m comfortable with (I’m uber-polite b/c it’s habit/easy to start ever request with “Je voudrais…”): “Je voudrais d’envoyer ça” and shoved the box on the counter. He asked what service I wanted (well I figured that’s what he was asking, since I didn’t understand him) and I said (totally faking it): “Moins prix”. He repeated, in proper grammar, “Moins char”, to which I nodded. WIN!

Fail: Today, I tried to send a book. I thought it would be much easier than the package b/c it’d be letter mail. Um, no. The guy decided that I was an Anglophone and he’d try to make it easy on me by showing me the different prices and holding up fingers for the number of days they would take. Unfortunately I didn’t understand what he was doing and didn’t pay attention to the first price he showed me. So when he showed me the second, I was like “erm…” and figured that the prices were close enough that I just wanted the second price. But I didn’t know how to say that. I tried to just point and say “ça” but he didn’t understand (understandably), so he switched to English. I always classify an English switch as a fail. I think I amused him because I kept trying to speak French even though I clearly couldn’t. He asked me what the package was and I was like “huh?” but he said “livre?” and I was like “oui!” and he asked how much (because insurance is included) and then said “twenty dollars?” and I was like “nah, un dollar” and he laughed. Then he smiled when I said “merci” as he handed me my receipt. So… fail because of the English-switch, but at least he doesn’t hate me for being a stupid Anglophone.

health: do you wii fit?

2010-03-07T10:00:00.012-05:00

routine, by me

My fitness regime has been extremely erratic/inconsistent since... forever.

Elementary & High School: I hated gym class; I hated outside. Briefly considered taking a grade 11 class that used exercise machines, but didn't (probably because it would have required me to take grade 10 gym *shudder*)

there's something about his smile I don't quite like..., by one of my parents

Undergrad: I joined a women's only gym for 4 months when living at my cousin Michelle's place between OAC & 1st year. I decided I actually liked exercising. Did aquafit in first or second year. In 3rd (?) year, I went to the U.Waterloo gym with the boys for several months with interesting results (did you know if a girl does too much "chest-work", she can end up with 4 boobs? true story). Decided I really liked weight-lifting. Tried to go to WLU gym a few times in 4th year, but it didn't stick. Decided I needed a gym buddy.

Costa Rica heavy lifting, by Kyle

MSc: Spent some time in the "crappy gym" at U.Windsor to get in shape for field work, with Jess as my gym buddy (yay!). 3.5 month field season in Costa Rica got me in the best shape of my life. Subsequent inaction gained me 10 lbs in fat (which only finally disappeared when I worked a bizarre 1-week schedule of field work on the vegetarian-unfriendly Limnos + a 2-day stomach bug). Did a few days of gym time in the last year of my MSc with Karan & Jess.

chubby me, by Kyle

The Middle Year: Purchased a Wii Fit in Oct 2008 and started using it 3 times a week when working part-time for Dan. Stopped using it when I started full-time for Jan.

spin, by LG Weddings

PhD: Prompted by the fact that I don't even walk to school anymore, the fact that I'm ALWAYS TIRED, and finally catalyzed by (my favourite photographer) Rebekka's blog post about exercise, I decided to try again. Only thing I can seem to stick to is Wii Fit... so I've been doing 31 minutes every morning. I have Wii Fit Plus, and set up a routine for myself. I find I work best if I have a routine, or else I'll just play two balance games and get bored. So far... it seems to be working. It's embarrassing, but I actually get stiff from Wii Fitting. I was really out of shape, I guess... Also, I'm not as tired in the evenings, which is nice.

What do you do for exercise? Do you Wii Fit? Do you have a routine? What are your favourite exercises (on and off Wii Fit)?

Here's my routine:

Palm Tree
Half-Moon
Chair
Tree
Cobra
Downward-facing Dog
Warrior
Triangle
Sun Salutation
Single-Leg Extension
Lunge
Torso Twists
Sideways Leg Lift
Rowing Squat
Arm & Leg Lift
Plank
Deep Breathing

I'm considering switching Deep Breathing to the very top, but that would require me to delete and reset all my exercises and I'm a bit lazy, since I just got them in an order I like!

crafts: join me on ravelry!

2010-03-01T13:50:00.001-05:00

diablo, by me

Do you knit or crochet? Are you part of that World of Woolcraft/Stitch N' Bitch group back in Windsor that I miss so much? Join me on Ravelry. We can keep track of each other's projects and share what we're working on and have finished!

I joined a year ago but only just started exploring and I really like it. You can search for patterns, add patterns to your "queue" of projects, and start projects just by clicking a link. I've already got 15 different pattern marked as "to do in the future". And I've already started two different patterns I discovered on Saturday. It's fun stuff. So you should join me. It's still in Beta form, so you have to request an invitation to join, but it only takes a few days to receive the invite, so hurry up and join!! *EDIT: After revising the website, it seems that you may not need to request an invite to join... Kaitlin joined really quickly after reading this email so it seems pretty easy.*

And if you're already on Ravelry, I'm pixienicki, like I am everywhere on the Web...

Jack and blanket

recipe: breakfast rice pudding

2010-02-21T10:17:00.015-05:00

pudding

I enjoy hot grain cereals, and I sometimes miss rice pudding. My mom's recipe, however, uses eggs and takes hours to bake. I find it a bit to "eggy", and I don't like the idea of running an oven for 1 hour just for pudding. I've therefore been searching for rice pudding recipes that don't involve the oven, and preferably don't involve eggs either. One day, a bit of inspiration struck me and I figured that I could probably add rice to my cream of wheat and have it be somewhat ricepudding-like. Here's the result. Very simple, and uses up some leftover rice, which is always nice.

I wonder if there's anything I could have done to make this look more appetizing...

Breakfast Rice Pudding
Effort: 1 very easy
Time: 1 very quick
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: me

ingredients

Ingredients:

~1 cup soy milk (I prefer Sensational Soy vanilla)
~1/3-1/2 cup rice
~2 1/2 Tbsp dry cream of wheat
couple of pinches of cinnamon
maple syrup (optional topping - the soymilk is quite sweet enough)

rice

Add soymilk to small pot. Put heat on medium.
Mix rice into soymilk (if it was cold, break it up first).
Add dry cream of wheat one tablespoon at a time. Very slowly sprinkle it into the soymilk while stirring constantly. This helps prevent lumps.
Stir frequently, if not constantly.
As soon as bubbles start regularly appearing & the pudding looks a bit thicker, turn the burner off but leave the pot on the burner.
Stir frequently ~2 minutes or until it's as thick as you want. Note that it will still thicken a little bit once you pour it in your bowl.

this one was just for fun - woo, swirly...

recipe: new recipe in the archives + need help with my scales

2010-02-07T16:41:00.003-05:00

mexican night, by David Bradley

I've decided to backdate my recipe posts back to when I originally emailed them out. Because these tend to be hidden in the archives, I'll also announce them when I post them.

Today I posted:
Mexican Night

Enjoy.

Also, I'm trying to figure out a scale system for speed and easiness of my recipes, since those are the two most important qualities (other than health and taste) I look for in a recipe.

Right now, I'm thinking:

Ease
1. Very easy
2. Easy
3. Somewhat easy
4. Not very easy
5. Hard

Speed
1. Very quick
2. Quick
3. Somewhat quick
4. Somewhat time-consuming
5. Time-consuming

But I've also used words like "pretty easy" and "pretty quick". Where do they fit in? Does "somewhat" mean more or less quick than just "Quick"?
Help!!!

some corrections and comments

2010-01-28T06:53:00.017-05:00

massive pancakes, by me

Soo... it turns out when I type up some comments on French phrases based just on what I hear, I can make some mistakes, but hey I disclaimered it so we shouldn't be too surprised! I double-checked one phrase with one of my French teachers yesterday, and Jess Cuthbert left some useful corrections on the last post. With these helpful tips, I'm going to re-write the list of phrases last week, with some corrections. I might even include some extra phrases.

[brief interjection: If you're reading this on Facebook, you can read the original - non-imported - version on my blog]

I briefly debated integrating some useful things I learned in class over the past two weeks, but I think it could get confusing. So for now I'm just going to leave this post for "The first French phrases I learned to pick out of conversation"

good morning, by me

Parce que --> Because
When I plug "because" into Google Translate, it tells me that there are four options.

car
parce que
autant plus
à fin que

Jess pointed out in her comment that she finds "car" easier to use in a sentence, which contradicts my statement that "car" is for writing and "parce que" is for speaking. I'm tempted to say that I never hear people say "car", but it's also possible that it's more of a subtle sound than "parce que" is, so maybe people do say it and I just don't notice it for what it is. I do find that people do use "parce que" a lot. Kyle mentioned something yesterday that made me laugh because I'd basically posted the same thing on this blog: knowing a few key phrases really helps impose some structure on the conversations we're hearing, so it makes it a bit easier to track the flow of the conversation. " Parce que" is definitely one of those phrases. Ditto for "mais" and "Je pense" and "donc". Now we just need to figure out how to fill in the substance of the conversations!

Mais --> But
The meaning is pretty simple here. I think the translation is quite literal. You make a statement, you want to insert a "but", so you say "mais". So when I'm listening to a French conversation, I hear "mais" after a pause because it's either at the beginning of a sentence, or after a comma in the middle of a sentence.

Je pense --> I think
To me, this seems to be the most common way of expressing one's opinion. Yesterday, the purpose of my "communication oral" french class was practicing the different ways of expressing our opinions. It turns out there are tons of different ways (which, perhaps, I'll detail in another post), but I really seem to hear "Je pense" in pretty much every conversation I've ever listened to.

Bonne journée --> Have a good rest of the day
Jess pointed out that journée is a feminine noun, so this phrase is actually "bonne journée". Way to complicate things, french. Thanks a lot.

Donc --> Therefore, so, then
This was probably the first new word I recognized, which was way back at the potluck Christmas party we went to. I remember thinking "what the hell does 'donk' mean? I've never heard that before". Of course Kyle had never heard of it either. And... I forgot to look it up, so forgot all about it until I started hearing regular French conversation in January. Then, partially out of context, and partially because I confirmed it in Google Translate, I figured out that it's equivalent to "so" or "therefore" or "then". It really jumps out at me, and it's used pretty frequently. Good one to know.

open to anything, by me

J'espere --> I hope
Usually occurs at the beginning of a sentence. I don't actually hear this one that often, but I heard it in one particular conversation quite a bit, and it jumped out at me then, so I've remembered it since then... even though it's not super common.

Quelque --> Some
Very useful. It also gets combined, much like "some" does in English. So there's quelquefois (sometimes) and quelque chose (something).

Meme --> Same
Super useful word to know!!! Often combined with "chose" to become "meme chose" (pronouned "mem shows") which means "same thing"

Les deux --> Both
I hear it a lot in class, such as when someone asks which word or phrase is more common, and the teacher shrugs, nods, and says "Les deux", to indicate they're equally common.

C'est ça --> That's right; exactly
I think that the literal translation is "That's so", or something along those lines... But based on context, it seems to mean "That's right", to indicate affirmation of something's truth. Jess suggests it might be similar to saying "exactly!" in English, when you're trying to agree with a statement that someone is making. I would argue there isn't an English phrase that would be the exact equivalent. Next time I hear a sentence when it's being used, I'll try to note it down and present it in a future post.

Peut-etre --> Maybe; perhaps
Pretty straight forward...

Jamais --> Never
No additional comments.

untitled, by me

-------NEW STUFF-------
Puis --> Then
Jess, I invite you to comment on this one. I started noticing earlier this week that people tend to start sentences with something that sounds like "pwee". I inferred, based on my oh-so-substantial knowledge of French pronunciation, that the word I was probably hearing was "puis". When I Google Translate that word, it gives me "Then". This makes sense, contextually, I think. Any comments from someone who knows more French than me? Side-bar, this is one of the words I have a lot of trouble pronouncing. It involves making funny non-English shapes with the mouth & lips. Curse my English-trained speech-making bits.

Besoin --> Need
Sidebar: One useful thing I learned when I tried to learn Spanish (hah!) was that when you're expressing physical sensations, the grammar is different than in English. You don't say "I am hungry", you say "I have hunger", essentially. So in Spanish, that'd be "Tengo hambre" and in French it's "J'ai faim" ("faim" being one of those tricky words where you don't pronounce the last letter and you have to plug your nose: "faih"... sort of). SOOooo back to the word "besoin". You're trying to say you need something? "J'ai besoin" (J'ai being "I have", of course.) Kyle says this is one of the words that jumps out at him.

fin de la semaine --> weekend
This phrase, when spoken in normal Quebecois French, sounds more like "fin de semaine" (or in English phonemes: "faih duh suhmaih" - or something like that). Bon fin de la semaine is how you'd wish someone a good weekend.

ALSO... someone said something to me at the bus stop today. I kinda just went "uh?" and raised my eyebrows. She repeated herself and smiled, and I THINK she was complimenting my hat so I said "merci" but she left me alone after that. Here's what it sounded like she said, please help me decode it. I'm typing it using English phonemes so I don't pollute your interpretation: Bell voh touque. I'm pret-ty sure I heard "tuque".

alpaca, by Kyle

If you were in Quebec, what phrases do you think you'd want to know how to say? In class, we learned stuff like "what's your name" (and "my name is") and "where do you come from?" (and "I come from Canada"), etc etc. But there's all sorts of little stuff we have to pick up as we go along. Like, I didn't know how to say "hear" or "see" for the longest time, and kept substituting "listen" (i.e. ecouter) and "watch" (i.e. regarder), which makes me feel dumb. I just learned those two verbs today and already forget how to conjugate them. Go me.

So... any tips for me?

en français, s'il vous plaît

2010-01-23T10:08:00.022-05:00

leave, by me

A big part of my decision to do a PhD in Québec City was the fact that I'll ideally end up bilingual at the end. The only problem is the 2-3 years in between where I have to struggle through the painful process of learning an entirely new language. No big.

When we moved here in November, my attempt to learn French was limited to watching French TV. That didn't go over very well, since I pretty much couldn't recognize any words. In fact, spoken French just sounded like a continuous stream. So... things didn't start out too well.

Kyle found this sweet French Assistant website, where you're taught French in a somewhat logical order (i.e. it starts out with French words that are essentially the same as English words. I find this approach works for me). Additionally, we had been to one Christmas social event, and had been around people, so by the time we started school full-time, we were able to recognize a few phrases, and even *gasp* know how to say some ourselves (Thanks to Google Translate, we knew how to say "we're picking up a package" and "we have our own bags", although the grammar is not nearly that nice).

untitled, by me

I'm enrolled in two French classes this semester. One is for speaking and writing, and the second is just for speaking. Each class is 3 hours per week and we must speak French in the class (NO ENGLISH). The teachers even teach in French, which terrified me. Imagine my surprise when I started my first class and actually understood what the teacher was saying. Now... I don't know if it's because of all that failed TV watching, or whether she has a less-Quebecois accent (which is easier to understand for me, since apparently we learn "Parisian French" in Ontario schools), or whether she talks very slow and uses simple words, but I totally get about 80% of everything she says. Which is pretty cool.

So, I'm finding the classes helpful for getting the basic vocab and the grammar rules as well. Kyle is simultaneously working on the French Assistant website (he has field work this semester so no official classes for him), and each evening we review new phrases and words and rules we've learned. And the last source for learning new things is the fact that I'm surrounded by francophones, many from France, some from New Brunswick, and obviously many from Québec. While I don't understand everything I hear (in fact, I only understand about 10% or less, since people talk so frikken fast), I've gotten to the point that I can pick out common phrases. I find this extremely useful for imposing structure into the rest of their sentences. Also, each time I hear a common word or phrase, I go home and look up the meaning and add it to my repertoire of French vocab knowledge. This way, I'm slow building up what I know... and maybe eventually I'll actually have the guts to say something in French to a local. Hah.

revealed, by me

I've been meaning to record the phrases and words I've picked up, thinking maybe it'll be helpful to someone else who's trying to learn French. I think that I tend to pick out the most common phrases, but it could also be that they stand out because they're at the beginning or end of a sentence or phrase... either way, here they are. I should add a disclaimer that in some cases, I'm just inferring the meaning of these phrases and words from context, and I could be wrong. Also, my spelling could be off because I just write them how I think they're spelled.

Parce que --> Because
Really not sure on the spelling, there. Just a guess. It might actually be Par ce que, but it's pronounced sort of like parskuh, in normal every day conversation. Interesting tidbit: In my French Grammaire book, it uses the word "car" in the context that I would have expected the word "because" to be, so I asked a couple of people about the difference. The difference isn't super obvious, but essentially it seems that "parce que" is more often used in spoken language, while "car" is the written, or less slangy, form.

Mais --> But
This is probably one of those words that jumped out at me because of it's place in the structure of spoken French - it's almost always after a pause.

Je pense --> I think
Nearly always shows up at the beginning of a sentence. People use this a lot; it seems to be the most frequent way that people express their opinions. It's often combined with a "que" to become Je pense que..., which means "I think that..." or even Je pense que, oui, which means "I think so, yes" (I'm guessing).

Bon journée --> Have a good rest of the day
Really not sure on the spelling with this one, because it's only ever spoken, as far as I can tell. It's what cashiers say when you're leaving. Took us a couple awkward moments to realize they weren't saying "Bonjour", which obviously has a slightly different meaning (one is for greeting, the other is for saying goodbye).

Donc --> Therefore, so, then
Usually shows up after a pause in a sentence, or sometimes at the beginning. I don't see this one written, but I hear it a lot. One of the first words that jumped out at me. Took me a really long time to figure out what it meant.

J'espere --> I hope
Usually occurs at the beginning of a sentence.

Quelque --> Some
Very useful. It also gets combined, much like "some" does in English. So there's quelquefois (sometimes) and quelque chose (something).

Meme chose --> Same thing

Les deux --> Both
I hear it a lot in class, such as when someone asks which word or phrase is more common, and the teacher shrugs, nods, and says "Les deux", to indicate they're equally common.

C'est ce --> This is so
I think that the literal translation is "This is", but I often hear this phrase in isolation as a statement. From context, it seems to mean "That's so" or "this is so", to indicate affirmation of something's truth. I'm also not sure on the spelling. I definitely hear this one a lot, since I've started recognizing it.

Peut-etre --> Maybe, perhaps
Kyle informs me that the literal translation is "Can be". I hear this phrase in isolation, in which case it's often combined with a shrug. Or I hear it at the beginning or end of a sentence, when people are making some sort of suggestion.

Jamais --> Never
This is a recent recollection for me. I kept hearing it in conversation, and couldn't remember what it meant. Then out of no where the word "never" popped into my head, and I've since confirmed it on Google Translate. Awesome.

There's also a lot of basic terminology that's been useful. "Ce" and "cette" are "this", depending whether your noun is masculine or feminine. "Semaine" is week (and it's feminine). All the numbers tend to jump out at us, but I was never very good at remembering them all, so I have a bit of difficulty figure out exactly what the numbers are as they're saying them... But at least I can recognize them as numbers!

And one last useful tip, for anyone who's going to visit Quebec. It's about interactions with cashiers at grocery stores, Pharmaprix (i.e. Shoppers), and other stores. Kyle and I had been going to grocery stores for a while when this story happened, and we always managed to bungle through it, thanks to some very understanding and patient cashiers. We learned very quickly to say "Nous avons les sacs" before they could ask us any of their own questions about "sac" because we never know whether they're asking if we have our own or if we want to buy some! In any case, every once in a while a cashier says an extra word after we tell them we're paying with debit, and we're never quite able to catch what they're saying, so we usually just look confused and they make their own decision about whatever they've just asked us.

One time, I bought bus tickets (billets d'autobus) from a convenience store and the woman said something that sounded like "montant?" after I had given her my debit card. I gave her the appropriate confused look and said, somewhat sheepishly, "Je ne comprends pas". She then mimed for me, by gesturing at my money total and saying "Le meme?" and then pointing upwards and saying "ou plus?". Which I gathered to mean, do I want the same amount or more money. I just pointed at the total and grunted. She took that to mean "meme". ANYWAY... that was when I learned that whatever word they're saying, which sounds something like "montant", means cashback. But the story's not over...

Last week, Kyle and I went to this little farmers market type store (like a way more expensive Joseph's that really likes their styrofoam - in fact, all stores in Quebec really like their styrofoam but I'll leave that for another post), and tried to pay with debit. The woman then said her "montant" word, and Kyle looked at me for help. I said firmly "NO", and Kyle repeated it, and the woman gave us a look like we were absolutely crazy. I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Well... I emailed a fellow anglophone (from Michigan) who's been here for a few years, and he explained for me. Apparently the cashiers are saying "meme montant", which, if you read my notes above, means "SAME MONEY". i.e. where a cashier in Ontario asks "cash-back?" meaning "do you want more money", the cashiers in Quebec ask "same money?" meaning "do you want this amount, or do you want to add cash"... so the appropriate response is actually "Oui", or "meme montant"... If you say "Non", you have to supply an additional amount that they add to the total. Oops. Keep that in mind - super helpful.

too cold for chess, by me

I actually feel pretty ridiculous when listening to French conversation right now. Mostly I hear gibberish, especially if I'm not concentrating really hard, but then someone will say one of these phrases and it will totally just pop out at me. It would be like the written equivalent of typing in 12 pt font and then using 16 pt bold on certain common phrases. Has anyone else experienced something like that when learning a new language?

recipe: one new recipe post in the archives

2010-01-17T08:01:00.003-05:00

Good Lovelies, by me

crafts: how to make a 'sackboy'

2010-01-10T07:40:00.033-05:00

little big cake, by LG Weddings

So, you like Little Big Planet, and want to make a sackboy. If you're like me, you'll Google your brains out trying to find a pattern you like. I didn't find any patterns I liked, so I made up my own crochet "pattern" through trial and error. My first attempt took at least five attempts (tearing up and starting over) until I got the head right. The arms and legs were much easier (only one or two tries). I've crocheted three full sackboys (plus one lone head) in total, and they all ended up slightly different; I can't seem to keep my style consistent, and I didn't try to write down a pattern until the third one. Below, I've made an attempt at step-by-step instructions on how to make my third sackboy.

Pattern: Sackboy
I'm providing this "pattern" (I think you'll understand why I keep using quotes in a minute or so) free, and I ask that you do not sell any items you make with this pattern. Gifts are OK, however! This little guy took me about a day, but that's including all the photo-taking and writing down instructions. My first sackboy took a few days because of all the trial and error.

Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, if anything is unclear or if you think I've left anything out. I'm open to modifying my "pattern" to make it clearer and/or better. And if you end up writing your own pattern using mine as a starting point, I'd love to link to you since not everyone will like my pattern.

sackboy, by me

Some notes, before you start: I've never been a very good pattern-following crocheter (is that a word?). I started crocheting only a couple of years ago and I've followed maybe 2 patterns in that time. Most of the stuff I do is building off other patterns, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. So I treat my "pattern" below as guidelines, and I therefore leave it pretty open. You'll see instructions like "crochet in a spiral for 6-7 rows" or "chain 5 or 6, depending on how you feel". If this doesn't sound like the kind of pattern you want to follow, you may want to try one of the more specific patterns elsewhere on 'the internets'. On the other hand, I don't want you to be intimidated by my lack of specifics! One of the reasons I love crocheting so much (cf knitting) is that it's so easy to rip up a few rows and start over. So... jump in and give it a try.

Some general notes: You make the sackboy in 5 parts: 1) head & body; 2) two arms; 3) two legs. You start from the top of the head and work almost entirely in a sc spiral, increasing and decreasing as you go, down to the body of the body. I used a size 3.75 crochet hook and (um...) "standard" Bernat yarn (can you tell I don't know much about yarn...). The pattern will need to be adjusted for thicker or thinner yarns and hooks. I can't tell you how to do that... it's trial and error, as I said. :)

Abbreviations:
sc = single crochet (video)
ss = slip stitch (video)
ch = chain (video)
dec = decrease by single crocheting two stitches together (video)
2sc = increase by single crocheting two single crochets into the same stitch (video)

HEAD
Start & first round:
Make a magic adjustable ring (video)to start, and then make 6 sc into the ring. Tighten and tie tail to working yarn (this ensures your head won't end up with a hole in the top), and then ss to the first sc.

2nd round & remainder of the top of the head:
Chain 1 (counts as 1 sc), and then alternate (approximately*) between sc and 2sc in each stitch. When you get around to the start of that round, do a sc (or 2sc) into the first stitch in the round you're just ending. In other words, continue in a spiral around and around. When you've done another round or so, you'll shift more to a sc, sc, 2sc, pattern (rather than sc, 2sc). You're aiming for a circle that's approximately flat and disklike (a bit of a dome is more true to the character), with perhaps a bit of an ovalish shape to it (rather than circular). When your head disk is the size you'd like it, finish the circle with a ss.
*I say approximately because mine went something like this: sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, 2sc, ...

Side of head:
ch1 to start. sc in back loop only of the previous round (this helps create a sharper line between the top and side of the head). After you've completed the first round (for those who like numbers, mine was about 27 stitches around), sc (both loops, not back loop only) in a spiral again, 1 sc in each stitch from the previous round. If you keep your stitches nice and tight, you'll eventually notice a cylindrical type shape start to appear.

After approximately 3 rows, while on the part of the spiral that corresponds to what will be the left or right side of your sackboy's head, do one 2sc to increase by one stitch. Continue sc around to the other side of the sackboy's head and do one more 2sc to increase again. Continue sc in a spiral for one more full row, or where you think the mouth should start.

Mouth & eyes:
The mouth starts a couple of stitches in from the absolute side of the head. You're going to have to eyeball it because I don't have any numbers for you (sorry). At one side of the mouth (this will become the corner of the mouth), do ch stitches until you have a chain of a length that seems like the right size for a mouth when you hold the chain next to where it would have been had you been continuing sc. Then do one sc to connect the chain back to the spiral. Again, you'll have to eyeball where you want the other side of the mouth to end. For me, I did a chain of 14 stitches and then I skipped 10 sc from the previous round.

Once you've got your mouth outlined, it's time for the eyes. I used little black shank buttons (guess how long it took me to figure out the name of that kind of button... way too long) that were in a big mixed bag of buttons from Value Village ($2.99!). I've since tried putting normal buttons on a plush doll and it just looked creepy so I think this is the way to go. I positioned my eyes about halfway between the top of the head and the mouth. Once I knew where one eye was going, I pushed in through so I could see the shank from the inside when I turned the head inside out a bit. I then sewed the eye on by doing repeated loops through the hole and surrounding yarn. It takes quite a few loops because the button seems to want to fall out of where you've got it. Keep checking, periodically, to see if your eye is firmly attached. When it is, do a couple knots to tie it off. Or you can do like I did, and just start sewing the second eye with the same thread, because it seemed easier at the time.

To make the inside of the mouth, you'll need cardboard and two small pieces of fabric (black & red). I used a triscuit box from the recycling box and some fabric scraps from a some shirts/PJs I've modified. Like most things so far, sizing the piece of cardboard is a bit of trial and error. I started by making a rectangle, then folding it in half and shoving it inside my sackboy's mouth to see roughly how big of an oval it needed to be. Then I'd trim bits off until I had the right size. I usually make the bottom of my mouth smaller than the top or else sackboy ends up with an underbite. I cut the black fabric to be large enough to fully cover the cardboard and then have some overlap on the back (it's this black fabric that will be used to attach the mouth lining to the "lips"). For my past two sackboys, I glued the black fabric onto the cardboard, and then glued the red tongue onto that. However, I couldn't find my glue yesterday, so I sewed the mouth and tongue instead. This makes things a little less neat, although quicker because I didn't have to wait. Up to you, whether you prefer sewing or gluing. I, personally, have terrible sewing technique, as you can see.

When the mouth lining is done, it's time to sew it inside. Basically the idea is to turn the head mostly inside out and sew the mouth lining to the inside loop of the crocheted part that outlines the mouth. Make sure you've got the cardboard the right orientation - I've sewed one in upside down before. I found it helped to do a couple of stitches in the corners of the mouth first, just to keep it in place as I started sewing. I didn't sew through the cardboard - I just used the black fabric. When finished, turn it right side out.

This next part is optional. I Like to put a cardboard disk in the top of the head to help keep its shape. But the LBP sackboys have rounder heads. Up to you. I just cut an oval out of cardboard and shoved it into the top of the head. Then I stuffed the head. For stuffing, I used shredded up napkins that would otherwise have been thrown out (no, they weren't used. They were simply impractical since they left silver sparkles on anyone who used them!).

Neck & body:
Now that the head and eyes are in, and the head's stuffed, it's time to start decreasing. Do 3sc after the connection of the mouth (the right side of the mouth), and then start alternating dec, 1sc, dec, 1sc until you think it's the right size for the neck. Stuff a bit more stuffing in there before you start increasing again. To increase for the body, do 2sc in each sc around for one row/round (still working in a spiral), and then alternate sc, 2sc for another row until the diameter is good. Then sc in each sc around continually until the body is approximately the right length (mine was ~1"). Dec 1, sc about 3/4 of the way around the body and then dec again. sc about 1/4 of the way around and then dec again. sc, sc, sc, dec, sc, sc, dec, sc, dec, and then alternate sc and dec until you're really small. Cut the yarn so that you have about 2 inches left, and thread through the loops of the last row. Pull tight and do a slip knot to close the bottom hole.

ARMS & LEGS
[note: these directions are for the exact arms on the sackboy above. I think they're a little large so I would have decreased the initial number of chains by 1.]
Arm:
Row 1: ch7
Row 2: sc into the 2nd chain from the end. sc to the end
Row 3-6: ch1, sc to the end
Row 7: ch1, sc to the end, and then do another sc into the last stitch ( you should have 2sc in the last stitch from the previous row)
Row 8: same as row 3-6

Fingers:
continuing from the last stitch of row 8, ch 5. ss into 2nd ch from the end, and then sc in remaining 4 ch. ss into one of the stitches in the last row you made for the arm. ss into one stitch over, and make another finger (5ch, 22, 4sc). repeat until you have four finger. For the thumb, do 4 ch instead of 5. You may need to play around with the fingers a bit, to make sure you get the placement correct. I kept making 6 fingers by accident because my arms were too many stitches wide. When the fingers are done, cut the yarn with about 3 inches left, and use it to sew the arm (i.e. fold the arm in half). Tie off but leave some loose yarn so you can tie the arms onto the body.

For the second arm, follow the same directions except the first finger has 4ch and the last finger has 5ch.

Leg:
Start and round 1: Make a magic adjustable ring and make 6sc into it. Tighten and tie with knot and ss.
Round 2: ch1, then do 2sc, sc (approximately alternating again) for one round. You want a flat disk. ss to first sc to make the loop.
Round 3 and rest of leg: ch1, then sc in back loop only of previous round. continue for one round. When you've completed this next round, instead of ss to the first stitch, continue in a spiral but doing normal sc (not back loop only). Continue sc for one row.
dec 1. Add a little cardboard circle to keep the foot round and flat.
sc in a spiral for 2 more rows. dec 1.
sc in a spiral for ~5 more rows, then start alternating dec, sc, dec, sc until you've gotten quite small, but not too small. Add stuffing to the leg. Cut the yarn with a couple of inches and loop the yarn through each sc in the last row you made. Pull to tighten, do a slipknot to tie it off, leaving a bit of yarn to attach the leg to the body. Do the other leg in the exact same manner. It might be useful to count your rows (i didn't), because I ended up with 2 legs of slightly different length. I hope Eric doesn't notice...

ASSEMBLY
The exact assembly technique is up to you. I just left lots of 2-3" threads on each body part and then used those to attach the limbs to the body. For the legs, I used a single loop through the body to attach each leg, which leaves the legs pretty mobile. If you wanted your sackboy to stay locked in a particular position, more sewing is necessary. For the arms, I needed two loops: one for the top of the "shoulder" and one for the "armpit". I then used a small crochet hook to grab each loose thread and pull into into the body cavity.

Voila! You have a sackboy.

rainbow cake

2010-01-04T17:54:00.005-05:00

it's a frikkin rainbow cake! Photo by Aleta Meadowlark

My mind... it eez blown.

Go to Omnomicon to find out how to make it. It sounds ridiculously easy and I must find an excuse to make it soon.

recipe: two new recipe posts in the archives

2010-01-04T15:07:00.005-05:00

red, by me

...2009...

2010-01-02T08:28:00.015-05:00

escape, by me

Reflections on 2009:
I started this blog at the end of 2008, thinking that it would eventually become a replacement for my email list of recipes I used to send out on a (roughly) weekly basis.

From my first post.

#1: this is a place for me to post recipes that I've sampled and decided are worth sharing.
Also, as most people who know me have already realized, I'm a bit of an eco-nut. This blog will #2: give me a place to comment, rant, and rave about various environmental topics. Furthermore, I've recently become very concerned over my consumption and how much waste people produce. I'm on a personal conquest to reduce waste in various ways, such as reusing and mending items that would otherwise be thrown out. So I will #3: post stories, comments, and how-to's on my quest to reduce waste.

But then, the unthinkable happened. In January of 2009, I got a job. For whatever reason, this job caused me to think that I didn't have enough time to maintain my email list or recipe blog, and I stopped posting. This lack of posting probably had to do something with the fact that I got married in Sept of 2009... so all of my free time went to DIY wedding planning and projects.

DIY, by LG Weddings, cropped by me

Around May or so, Kyle quit his job at Sutherland to take up at position in my lab at U.Windsor. This was a good thing from one perspective (he didn't have to do customer service calls anymore, he was learning about a new kind of biology, he was working within 5 feet of my desk), but was also somewhat awkward at times (I was technically his 'superior' given that I had 4 months more experience and knowledge on the job). We worked in this lab until November, because....

I ended up taking the PhD position that I mentioned way back in January, and Kyle and I moved to Quebec in late November. Soon after we arrived here, Kyle was accepted into a PhD position as well, which will also start in January. So we've been adjusting to the new location, learning French (very slowly), and taking some time to be lazy before school starts up again.

Other accomplishments of note include the fact that I helped start a craft group (which is either calling itself World of Woolcraft or Stitch N Bitch) with Michelle back in Windsor. See, I had caught a whiff of the crafting bug starting way back when I knit myself a scarf for my Harry Potter costume. But then I discovered crocheting (thanks mom!) and I can't stop. I finished Kyle a blanket, crocheted a blanket for my cousin Michelle as a multi-year Christmas/birthday gift , have made wristwarmers and a hat for myself... plus I'm currently working on about 5 different projects right now. I also dabbled with quilting by making myself a rather spiffy purse, but I am beginning to think that I don't have the patience or precision required to have quilting as my craft of choice.

triplex, by me

What this all leads to is a shift in the focus of this blog. I've been doing a lot of writing lately, either emailing friends and family updates and stories about Quebec or updating my Offbeat Bride Tribe profile, and I like it (the writing, that is). So I'd like to continue writing without being restricted to recipes and green-ness. I therefore propose that I can write about anything that comes to mind, but it'll likely revolve around:

recipes
crafts
environmentalism
adjusting to Quebec
photography?

and there might be a touch of "Hey I read an interesting journal article about ducks today". I'm not sure if anyone will read the things I write, but please feel free to comment if you are a reader - I like to know if anyone's visiting.

Eco-Minimal

2009-05-31T09:26:00.005-04:00

I thought that this post would be about how I am coining a new term: Eco-Minimal. But I just googled it, and it seems to already be an established term, specifically pertaining to architectural design. Ah well. I'm repurposing it for my own life.

I came up with the term "Eco-Minimal" in response to so many of the terms that have sprung up as a result of the Environmental fad, like "Green", "Eco-Friendly", etc. Companies are using these terms loosely, green-washing customers into thinking that they are doing more good for the environment than they actually are. The term Eco-Minimal, for me, refers to the fact that people can probably achieve the greatest reduction in their own impact on the environment by reducing their consumption. For me, this means Reduce first. Then reuse. Recycling as a last option. The goals would be:

Avoiding buying things, at all.
Avoiding buying new - opt for used instead.
Only buying things when needed - avoid frivolous purchases.
Sharing and borrowing.
Freecycle.org is my friend.
Reusing and repurposing - either DIY or by purchasing items made from repurposed materials.

When I say that I am trying to make my wedding eco-minimal, I mean that for each decision I make, I ask myself a series of questions.

Do I truly NEED this item or wedding component?
Is it necessary? (e.g. garter, excessive decorations)
What harm is done creating this product for a wedding? (e.g. cut flowers, food)
Will it get wasted, and thrown out? Or can it be used again? (e.g. cake, centrepieces, favours)
Does it use new materials, or can it be adapted to use materials that would otherwise go in the garbage? (e.g. apparel, decorations, centrepieces, favours)

If it doesn't pass that series of questions, we don't include that in our wedding. For example, we're not having a cake, because it's more likely to be thrown out than a smaller series of various cakes, pies, and other desserts.

When I say I try to live my life eco-minimally, I mean that I try very hard not to buy items unless I truly need them (I'm working on this - as Kyle says, malls are my kryptonite). And I do try to buy used, although I could be better at that. I also try to avoid throwing anything in the garbage that could potentially be used by someone else. This includes broken electronics (someone out there probably knows how to fix it), broken glass (there are many crafty people out there), etc. I try to reduce and reuse before I recycle. The obvious here is avoiding buying items that have excessive packaging (I don't buy individually wrapped treats, for the most part), and repurposing packaging when the product is used up (I have a colourful collection of empty body butter containers I use for jewelery and small items, pasta sauce lids act as tea bag holders).

Green Gift-wrapping Ideas

2009-05-31T08:05:00.006-04:00

Any time I receive gifts, I ask people to refrain from using wrapping paper and to reuse or recycle materials instead. This is very important to me, since I think wrapping paper is a terrible waste of trees.
Some creative eco-minimal gift-wrapping ideas are: using part of the gift as the giftwrap (e.g. linens), using newspaper, maps, other fabric (curtains you were going to throw out), clothing, posters, washed and dried chip bags, etc.
Here are some creative ways to decorate gifts using recycled materials. Click any of the pictures to open a new window with instructions.

Four Different Recycled Material Bows - you can use string or a needle and thread instead of metal brads

Origami Flowers - Use colourful magazines or used post-its

Another Recycled Bow - Use magazines or old wrapping paper

Yet Another Recycled Paper Bow - Magazines work best

Bow (Brooch) from Reused Soda Cans - can therefore be disassembled and recycled afterwards!

Some artist's interpretations - the brown paper + magazine cut-outs is really creative!

Lots of paper crafts - use magazines

Flower Garland from magazines - can be downsized to be used as a bow

A collection of ideas on Green gift-wrapping

Some of these ideas are eco-friendly

All sorts of crafts with recycled materials

The picture at the top of this post is of two gifts I wrapped for Christmas 2008. The one on the left uses chip bags for the bow and ribbon that I had received on a previous gift (I keep EVERYTHING). The right one uses "ribbon" cut from brown mail paper from a gift I received in the mail, and magazine strips for the bow.

News, no recipe

2009-01-13T20:59:00.007-05:00

Photo: Completely irrelevant, but pretty hilarious, photo of my cat Darwin acting as "Jabba the Cat"
I don't feel up to typing out a recipe right now, so I'll try to do that later in the week. In the meantime, I do have some news items.

I have a job! I have a 3-month contract working for a professor at the University of Windsor. It's full time, and it has possibility of extension afterwards. I'm identifying aquatic insects half the time, and analyzing data the other half. That may not sound interesting to most of you, but I'm very excited about it.
I am taking a graduate course in GIS (geographic information systems). I'm pretty excited about that too, since it's a pretty useful skill to have for environmental, ecological, and conservation work.
I've been talking to a professor at Laval University, in Quebec, about possibly doing a PhD. This particular position is much closer to the kind of research I'd like to do in the future.

So, as I always seem to do, I'm again making the excuse that I don't have time to cook or post recipes. I've tried to turn to "quick" meals, like ones that you can just throw in a crockpot, and I'm getting 50% or less success. I stuck veggies, chickpeas, and a few spices in the crockpot this morning hoping to come home to a delicious meal. It was Oooookay, but there was something "off" about it, so I won't try that again with this particular recipe. I'm still taking pictures all the time... I just need to find the time to type up the recipes. I also spend a bit of time editing the photos to make them look decent, since the lighting in our kitchen is quite poor. So the whole posting thing is time consuming!

In any case, here's a list of the recipes I've posted:
Hot Channa and Lazy Naan
Mom's Caesar Salad Dressing
Gingery Squash Soup
Sesame Tofu
Picante Pasta
How to Peel Tomatoes
A Delicious Mix of Pureed Vegetables
Some nutritional information on Iron
Pad Thai
Pizza Pasta
Curried Vegetables
Taco Salad
Fiesta Burrito Bake

I've also been trying to label each recipe with a set of tags. There's a list of tags at the right hand side so that you can click on a tag and find all recipes tagged with that word. Seems useful, no? At least once I have lots of recipes on there, anyways. You'll also be able to quickly realize that: a) I like Indian and Asian foods best; b) I like easy or very easy meals; and c) I enjoy tofu. If you can think of a tag that would be useful/informative, please suggest it in the comments section of the blog.

Lazy Naan

2009-01-06T16:59:00.005-05:00

In my Hot Chana recipe, I said I'd post a recipe for lazy naan. Well here it is.

Naan, in it's very literal sense, is a flatbread that's been cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven. It's delicious and doughy and stretchy and a little bit toasted on the outside. You basically rip pieces of it off the big piece and then use the bread to grab a bit of food (mainly Indian, for us) and then stuff the whole thing in your mouth. It's a bit messy but that's just the way it goes.

Now we don't own a tandoor, and sometimes we're too lazy to make puri or chickpea pancakes, flatbreads that don't require a tandoor. So instead, we've got a lazy flatbread that we call naan. We buy a bag of pitas (any kind of flatbread will do, basically, but we like those greek style pitas. the nice thick ones. we buy ones that actually are called 'naan'), and cover them in a butter/margarine mixture and then toast them in a frying pan. So easy. The following recipe is for 4 pitas.

Lazy Naan/Flatbread
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: pretty easy

Ingredients:

4 flatbreads of some kind
~1/2 - 1 tbsp margarine or butter (if butter, soften a bit)
sprinkle of tumeric (less than 1/4 tsp)
sprinkle of cumin (less than 1/4 tsp)
sprinkle of garam masala (less than 1/4 tsp)
sprinkle of cayenne pepper (less than /1/4 tsp)
any other spices you think would go well

Directions:

Mix the margarine/butter with the spices until nice and uniform and soft
Spread the mixture on each side of the pitas
Fry each pita on medium to medium-high heat until slightly toasty and brown on both sides (flipping halfway through).

Mom's Caesar Salad Dressing

2009-01-06T16:41:00.006-05:00

(Originally emailed June 2, 2008)

Kyle and I have been in a bit of a recipe rut lately. I've recently started going to the gym (yay step class!) and so we don't have as much time to cook in the evenings. We therefore haven't been all that adventurous with our meal choices. However, I have started taking pictures of some of the recipes I have sent (or plan to send) out, so you can look forward to some photos to go along with my recipes. I also plan on putting these recipes on a blog for easy reference, but I'll still email them all out.

Anyhoo, I love Caesar salad, and the one I love best is my mom's homemade Caesar salad. A few weeks ago I got the recipe from her so I'm sending it out to you. Also, if you're looking for it, there is such a thing as vegetarian worchestershire sauce. It's the store brand at A&P. I think that's Equality brand?

Photo: Caesar salad, mom-style, with simulated bacon bits

Mom's Caesar Salad Dressing
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: easy
Source: my mom

Ingredients:
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/3 cup white vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic
couple shakes of salt (add more if tastes flat)
1 (raw) egg
dash lemon juice
couple dashes worchestershire sauce

Blend for 5 minutes in a blender until homogenized and frothy. Pour over bite-size romaine lettuce pieces, and top with loads of Parmesan cheese (I like the Kraft dried stuff here, but fresh stuff could also be a good garnish on top). Mix together and serve. Of course you could always add extra ingredients, like croutons or simulated bacon bits (like photo) or slices of lemon, but I like to keep it simple. Add more or less garlic and lemon juice to your taste. I like serving this with pasta.

After emailing this recipe out, I received a tip: if you're looking for a healthy oil alternative... try grapeseed oil.. I bought some yesterday infused with garlic, and another one infused with lime... its incredible, healthy for you, and has a very high smoke point so it pretty much doesn't burn! great for salads.

Update & Gingery Squash Soup

2009-01-01T12:23:00.006-05:00

I hope that everyone's holiday season has been going well!
I haven't been sending out /posting recipes for many reasons:

I've been busy and/or lazy with the Holiday Season
Kyle and I have both had bad colds, resulting in us being less than enthusiastic about cooking and trying new recipes. And when we don't try new recipes, I don't have anything to send out in emails because we rely on the same 15 recipes.
Normally we shop once a week, but since we don't really like walking for 45 minutes in the cold, we've dropped it down to once every two weeks. This results in us trying fewer new meals and eating more ready-to-eat meals. And then it snowed one week and we were sick so we didn't go shopping for 3 weeks (maybe even 4???)
Kyle doesn't get home until 6:30, so I end up doing most of the cooking myself (I still only have a part-time job in my old lab, so I make my own hours and come home by 3pm). I don't really enjoy cooking for 1.5 hours on my own, so I'm less likely to try new meals.
Of the new recipes we have tried, I still feel like they need a few tweaks before I send them out. Some of these recipes include:
- cream of mushroom soup: I combined two different recipes and got to use our brand new food processor (Christmas gift!) and it was OK but not creamy enough and had waaay to much thyme
- mashed russet & sweet potato: I loved this one but Kyle was bored by it. The major problem was that the potatoes took too long to bake - i don't like running the toaster oven for 1 hour just to bake potatoes - and we ended up with chunks in the mash because we got impatient. I'm currently trying to find a way of baking potatoes in a way that takes less time and energy
- gingery butternut squash soup: I'm starting to wonder if maybe I just don't like squash soup all that much because I seem to find problems with just about every soup I make. I'm giving up on this recipe and posting 3 recipes below and you can pick your fave.

Instead of trying new recipes, I've focused my energy elsewhere. I've been trying to photograph every meal we eat, as well as some of the steps in the preparation stage. Also, I've been updating the blog by slowly working through the photos, where I'll add an older recipe to my blog once I have a photo to go with it. No photo for this recipe, but just picture yellow blended soup ;)

Gingery butternut squash soup: Lauren's version

1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 T fresh ginger (minced)

Saute with 1 T olive oil until onion is cooked.

3 granny smith (or similarly tart) apples (peeled and cubed)
1 medium or large butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
2 potatoes or sweet potatoes (cubed)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Add to pot and bring to boil. Simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender or food processor.
Salt and pepper to taste. Jay likes to add hot sauce to it too.

GINGERY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP: Michelle's version

2 onions (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
In a large soup pot, saute in 1 tablespoon oil until onion is translucent

2 apples (peeled, seeded, chopped)
1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cut into cubes- you can substitute 2 cups of cooked winter squash here too!)
4 cups/1L chicken (sub veggie if you want) broth

Add to large soup pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley...and enjoy!!!!

(I like to add a splash of soy milk just for consistency too.....)

Not as Gingery Acorn Squash Soup: Nic's version
(I had tried making the above versions but had a disaster where I let it cook all night and it tasted grooooosss. So I was kind of wary to try it again. Instead, I used their recipes as a base and used up some things that were in my fridge, like a really old granny smith apple, a half going bad sweet potato, and some shriveled ginger. Sounds good, eh? Hehe... I found that the ginger taste of the soup was really mild, which may relate to the fact that the ginger was no longer fresh. I also found this soup very starchy and thick, which may relate to the potatoes and maybe also to the type of squash. Adding water helped if I found it too thick, and I actually liked it - until my 4th day in a row of eating it!)

1 onion (chopped)
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
1 apple (peeled, seeded, chopped)
1 acorn squash (peeled, seeded, cut into chunks)
1 russet potato
1 half medium sweet potato
4 cups veggie broth

Saute onion and ginger in oil until onion is translucent
Add apple, squash, potatoes and broth and bring to boil. Simmer until veggies are tender
Let cool a bit and blend in a blender or food processor.

*** Energy saving tip: When I know that something has to simmer for a while, I usually turn the burner off a few minutes before I want it to be done. The burner usually stays hot for a couple of minutes so the soup will stay boiling/simmering for that time. Plus with a soup as large as this, it really retains its own heat so it will continue to cook a bit long after you turn off the heat. Plus, you have to let it cool before you can blend it anyways, so you might as well turn off the burner as soon as possible. ***

Sesame Tofu

2009-01-01T11:58:00.006-05:00

(Originally emailed March 19, 2008.)

I stumbled across this recipe online and Kyle and I loved it when we first had it. It was a little overpoweringly sweet, so we've reduced the amount of honey in it. Also, serving it over more rice helps cut the sweetness. It's very quick and simple, which I like. It's also pretty healthy if you serve with broccoli and brown rice. Tip: If you're serving it with rice (and I suggest you do), make sure to start the rice just before or right after you start pressing the tofu, or your tofu and sauce will be done and your rice won't (this is especially true with brown rice)!

Photo: Sesame Tofu with broccoli and brown rice
Sesame Tofu
Effort: very easy and pretty quick too!
Ingredients: Easy
Source: Jewish Vegan and Whole Foods Market

Serve with steamed bok choy or broccoli, sautéed watercress or eggplant, and brown rice.
Note: this is the original recipe. Try it out and then decide how to tweak it for yourself (e.g. we use less honey)

14 ounces / 1 block extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup cornstarch or flour for dusting
canola or corn oil for frying
1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces \

Sauce
1/3 cup honey (we reduced it to about 3 tbsp)
3 tablespoons tamari
3 tablespoons finely minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil (not toasted)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1–2 teaspoons red chili flakes

Wrap tofu with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Put another cutting board or heavy plate on top to press out liquid about 20 minutes.
Stir together sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer sauce while you cook tofu.
Dry drained tofu with paper towels and cube. Dust very lightly with corn starch or flour.
Heat <1cm>
Serve with remaining sauce for dipping or to drizzle over vegetables.

Hot Chana and Puri

2008-12-24T12:17:00.010-05:00

I'm playing around with blog formatting, especially since I'm turning emails into blogs. If you have any comments on preferred formats, please let me know

(originally emailed April 30, 2008)

Photo: Hot Chana with Moghlai Spinach, basmati rice, and storebought 'naan'

I thought that I might not send out a recipe this week because I haven't been particularly inspired lately. But then I ate dinner tonight, and it was delicious, so you're hearing about it.

Kyle and I bought a vegetarian indian cookbook a while ago but we've been intimidated by it because the recipes are written in a funny format. Once we started cooking from it, however, we found out that it's actually quite easy and the food is good. We picked a meal called "hot chana" (Chickpeas with very hot spices), because we both love ordering chana masala from indian food restaurants. However, we were supposed to make it last week and I just kept putting it off because we also decided to make a flatbread and for some reason I thought it would be a lot of effort. Well we had to make it today because it's the last meal on our "weekly schedule" of meals, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did it take less than 1hr to prepare (including 1/2 hour sit time for the flatbread), but it was also delicious and tasted like actual Indian food (always exciting). And because I made use of one of my 2 new cilantro tricks, I'm going to share those with you too. I find that one bunch of cilantro is too much to use up before it goes rotten, so I've tried to find things to do with it to avoid wasting. (tricks to follow in a different post)

We had this meal with a Puri (fried, puffed whole wheat flat bread), which was a new one for us. I started cooking chickpea flour pancakes with our Indian meals, but chickpeas with chickpea flour pancakes? It's a bit much.

The hot chana meal + flatbreads was a good amount for 2 people, but we've already figured we're going to be hungry in a couple hours. It would have been nice to round it off with some sort of green veggie, and maybe a potato dish if we were feeling particularly ambitious. In the future I will probably share a spinach recipe (David showed us this one - it's GOOD), and a potato recipe from this veg indian cookbook.

Photo: Hot Channa with the lazy version of naan (recipe to be posted at a later date)

Hot Chana (chickpeas with spices)

Effort: easy

Ingredients: semi-easy. It calls for black mustard seeds which I can't find anywhere. And hing, which I also can't find. But I just use normal mustard seeds (bulk barn), and omit hing.

Cookbook: Indian vegetarian cooking in your home

1 Tbsp veg oil

1 tsp cumin seed/mustard seed/sesame see mix

1/4 cup onion, chopped

3 Indian bay leaves (I used regular bay leaves)

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (or 2 cilantro cubes, as I used)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp salt

1/2-1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/8 cup veg broth

1. Put onion, bay leaves, cilantro and garlic in a bowl.

2. Put cumin, coriander, salt, red pepper, tumeric and garam masala in another bowl

3. Rinse chickpeas

4. Heat oil, cumin/mustard/sesamee seed mixture in a pan until seeds pop.

5. Add onion bowl and cook until onions transparent.

6. Add spice bowl, followed by chickpeas and veg broth.

7. Mix (simmer if desired), and serve.

The chana recipe recommended serving with puri (below), although rice and/or other breads could work. I tend to eat this along dish with another Indian meal, such as Shahi Paneer, Moghlai Spinach, or Potatoes.

Puri (whole wheat flat bread)

Effort: easy

Ingredients: easy if you're willing to substitute

cookbook: Indian Vegetarian Cooking at your house

1 cup (Indian) whole wheat flour (I used regular whole wheat flour and it was OK)

1/4 TBSP veg oil

dash salt

optional: dashes of cumin powder, coriander powder, hot pepper, tumeric

1/4 + a little bit extra warm water

1. Mix flour, oil and salt into a bowl. Slowly add water, just enough to form a firm dough, and knead until smooth. Cover and let rest at least 1/2 hour.

2. Knead dough briefly. Divide into small golf-ball sized balls. Roll out into 6" rounds on an oiled board. Heat veg oil in wok or frying pan. Add a little salt to oil to keep it from smoking.

3. Fry one puri at a time, holding them under oil on first side until they puff. Turn and fry until light brown, and drain on paper towels.

Picante Pasta

2008-12-11T16:02:00.006-05:00

This is my first email that I also post to the blog simultaneously. Go me!

I think eventually I'll phase out of emails and just go to blogs... However there are ways of getting notified of new blog posts so you don't have to remember to check it all the time. Either way, there will be dual posts for now. The blog will be the only place I post photos, though. Although I'd like to point out yet again that taking photos of food is REALLY REALLY HARD.

I can't remember if I've told this story but I'll tell it now anyways, at the risk of repeating myself. I'm a big fan of Freecycling (Freecycle.org - where you give away stuff you don't want anymore and you get stuff for free), both to get rid of stuff I don't want and to get stuff that I do want. A few months ago, I grabbed hundreds of recipe cards off some woman who must have been collecting them for years (literally... there were some very 50's style recipes going on there). I sorted through them and grabbed anything that sounded remotely interesting (weeding out all of the meat recipes), and I still ended up with well over 100 recipes. A lot of them are dessert recipes (which means I'll probably never make them), but some of them were salads and a few were pastas or other veggie-based entrees. Today's recipe is one of those. It's from a series of recipes called Grandma's Kitchen, and it's actually called "Linguine with Picante Sauce" but I've just been calling it Picante Pasta and there's no reason that it has to be linguine, so whatever. The recipe sounds a bit weird because it involves black beans + pasta, but I was very happy with the end result. Topping it with mozza cheese made it extra yum, too. I've modified the directions slightly because I don't agree with the order they were written in.
As always, I suggest chopping all of the veggies up first so that the actually cooking part isn't stressful.

Picante Pasta
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: very easy
Source: Grandma's kitchen card (modified from)

Ingredients:

8 oz linguine (I broke my linguine noodles in half because I"m a slob and can't handle full-length linguine without making a mess of myself)
1 med onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp veg oil
2 1/2 cups canned stewed tomatoes (we used diced)
1/4 cup picante sauce (we used plain ol' salsa)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano
4 oz finely shredded Colby Jack cheese blend (we used mozzarella because that's what we had on hand)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat veg oil in large skillet over med-hi heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and mix well. Saute until onion is tender.
Add undrained tomatoes, picante sauce (salsa), black beans, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and mix well. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cover.
Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes; remove cover. Increase heat to med-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is the desired consistency, about 5 min.
Meanwhile (around step 2 or 3), cook pasta using package directions; drain. Rinse quickly and cover to keep warm.
Serve sauce over pasta (either one large platter or individual plates/bowls), sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.

How to Peel Tomatoes

2008-12-08T06:54:00.004-05:00

I learned this technique from David Bradley.

Score tomatoes crosswise on both ends (ie: the stem side and the opposite from stem side) so that you have two "X" marks
place tomatoes in a heat proof dish (not plastic!) so that all your tomatoes fit in one layer but there isn't much extra space around them (I usually use a pot)
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and let sit for a minute or two while you do something else
If they're big tomatoes, flip them over so both sides get exposed to the hot water
Come back and scoop one tomato out at a time - simply grab the skin and pull it off. If all goes well, the skin should just slip off. If it's being difficult, give it some more time or just use a small paring knife to help it out

A Delicious Mix of Pureed Vegetables

2008-12-07T08:07:00.006-05:00

(originally emailed on 2008-12-28)
Happy holidays everyone!

I kid you not about the name of this recipe. It sounds odd, and it ends up looking pretty weird too. But I found it really tasty (once I added a few extra things) when served with pita bread. It takes a long time to make, but it's mostly chopping and then let everything simmer for an hour, so it's not bad. I've even had success with for crockpot cooking, too (I'll add directions at the end). I'll point out the extra ingredients that I added.

Also, the previous post contains a lot of information on Iron. Apparently it is somewhat easier to become anemic if you are vegetarian, because the iron in plants is more difficult to absorb than that in meat. I did some research to find out some facts about iron, as well as some of the foods that are rich in iron. Some of them were really surprising.

A delicious puree of mixed vegetables
Effort: easy
Ingredients: very common (fresh dill is the most difficult, but it's essential so don't omit it! and garam masala can be picked up at any bulk barn)
Cookbook: World vegetarian (Madhur jaffrey)

1/4 cup peanut or olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pealed and chopped
1 fresh hot green chili (use more or less as desired)
1 med. onion, peeled and finely chopped
10 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed, well washed and chopped (note: a bag in the produce section is about 8oz. we used that amount and it worked out well)
10 green beans, cut crosswise into fine rounds
1 med. carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into fine slices
1 med. potato, peeled and cut into small dice (Note: if you cut the chunks small enough, you can leave the peel on for extra nutritiousness - including iron)
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped (instructions on how to peel tomatoes here)
1 med zucchini, cut into small dice
1 very well-packed cup of chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup yellow split peas (we couldn't find any so we substituted lentils which we boiled for 10min before adding)
3 cups water
2 tsp salt
margarine / butter (Nic's addition)
garam masala (Nic's addition)
baguette and/or pita or other flatbread (to eat the puree with)

put oil, garlic and chili into a very large pan (we used a wok) over med-high heat.
when garlic is golden, add onion, spinach, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, zucchini, dill, split peas/lentils, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer
cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
-turn heat up slightly to med-low, uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
add salt and mix.
mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Crockpot Directions

put oil, garlic and chili into a medium pan over med-high heat.
when garlic is golden, add onion, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes
Put spinach, dill, and split peas/lentils into the crockpot. Add the other veggies from the pan, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer.
Cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
turn heat up slightly to med-low (or the higher crockpot setting), uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
add salt and mix.
mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think of it. I'm curious if these are useful at all!

Iron

2008-12-07T07:45:00.003-05:00

One of the difficulties with a vegetarian diet is that it can sometimes take a bit more work to make sure you're including all of the nutrients you need in your diet. The one I have the most difficulty with is iron, although I had difficulty with this even when I ate meat so that's not too surprising. I scoured the internet for information on iron, and this is what I found (note: I apologize in advance for the table formatting. Try visiting the original webpage if my table is difficult to read):

Iron
How much iron do you need?
Life Clinic.com
Recommended dietary allowance for iron is:

10 mg a day for men age 19 and older and women age 51 and older who are not menstruating
15 mg a day for women 19-50 who are menstruating
30 mg a day for pregnant women
15mg a day for breastfeeding women

Iron - What Foods Can It Be Found In?
KidzWorld.com
There are two kinds of iron: heme iron is found in red meats, fish and poultry, and is better-absorbed than non-heme iron, which is found in enriched cereals, leafy veggies and raisins.

Unlike calcium, which is already found in your body, iron can only be obtained from food. It's found in everything from raisins to red meat, such as liver. Other good sources of iron are fish, eggs, beans and leafy green vegetables, like spinach and lettuce. Eating breakfast is a great way to fill up on iron - try an iron-enriched cereal, such as bran flakes, and add raisins for sweetness and flavor. And top your meal off with a glass of prune juice - it may not taste great, but it'll definitely fuel your bod with energy. Generally, only about five to 10 percent of the iron in food is absorbed, unless there are low levels of iron in the body, such as after menstrual bleeding.

How can I get the most out of my iron foods?
McKinley Health Center
The following factors will increase the iron absorption from non-heme foods:

A good source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) - i.e., oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, broccoli, and strawberries, eaten with a NON-HEME food
A HEME and NON-HEME food eaten together
A NON-HEME food cooked in an iron pot, such as a cast iron skillet

The following factors will decrease non-heme iron absorption:

Large amounts of tea or coffee consumed with a meal (the polyphenols bind the iron).
Excess consumption of high fiber foods or bran supplements (the phytates in such foods inhibit absorption).
High intake of calcium - take your calcium supplement at a different time from your iron supplement.

UGeorgia Health Center

Choose lean meats, fish and poultry - the iron in these foods is absorbed better than the iron in plant sources.
Eat vegetables and grains with lean meat - the average absorption of iron from plant sources is low, but increases when these are eaten with meat, poultry and fish.
Eat iron-rich legumes - dried beans and peas are the most iron-rich plant products in our diets.
Combine iron-rich foods with foods high in vitamin C - a glass of orange juice with your breakfast can more than double the amount of iron your body absorbs.
Avoid drinking tea or coffee with your meals - a cup of tea with breakfast can block 3/4 of the iron you would have absorbed.
Cook foods in an iron pot whenever practical - spaghetti sauce simmered in an iron pot for about 20 minutes increases its iron content nine fold. This would work as well for other acidic foods.
Eat iron-fortified foods - iron-fortified or enriched breakfast cereals and other foods can help boost your iron intake. Be sure to combine them with high vitamin C foods like citrus fruit, broccoli, cantaloupe, strawberries or kiwi to increase absorption.

Iron in Low-Fat Foods
SOURCE AVERAGE SERVING IRON (MG)
SEAFOOD
Clams 3 oz 14
Oysters 3 oz. 6.6
Shrimp 3 oz. 2.5
Tuna 3 oz. 1.3
MEAT AND POULTRY
Chicken (breast roasted) 3 oz. 1
Duck (flesh only, roasted) 3 oz. 2
Sirloin (lean, broiled) 3 oz. 2
Turkey (breast, roasted) 3 oz. 1.2
Turkey (drumstick) 3 oz. 2
LEGUMES
Lentils (cooked) 1/2 cup 3.3
Lima beans (cooked) 1/2 cup 2.25
Dried beans (cooked) 1/2 cup 2.3
Split Peas (cooked) 1/2 cup 1.25
Tofu (raw) 1/2 cup 6.65
GRAIN PRODUCTS
Cream of Wheat (reg, cooked) 1/2 cup 6
Fortified breakfast cereal (Total, e.g.) 1/2 cup 18
Pasta (cooked) 1/2 cup 1
Wheat germ, toasted 2 Tbsp. 1.3
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Apricots (dried) 1/4 cup 1.5
Broccoli (cooked) 1/2 cup 0.6
Brussels Sprouts (cooked) 1/2 cup 1
Peaches (dried) 1/4 cup 1.6
Peas (cooked) 1/2 cup 1.26
Potato (cooked, with skin) 1 medium 2.35
Prunes 1/4 cup 1
Raisins 1/4 cup 1
Spinach (raw) 1 cup 1
Spinach (boiled) 1/2 cup 2
Squash (winter, acorn, cooked) 1 cup 1.37

LifeClinic.com
Good Sources of Iron

* Animal liver, kidney and heart
* Oysters
* Iron-fortified bread and cereal
* Lean red meat
* Nuts
* Egg yolks
* Dried beans and legumes
* Blackstrap molasses
* Dried fruit
* Dark leafy green vegetables
* Foods cooked in an iron skillet

VRG.org
Dried beans and dark green leafy vegetables are especially good sources of iron, even better on a per calorie basis than meat. Iron absorption is increased markedly by eating foods containing vitamin C along with foods containing iron. Vegetarians do not have a higher incidence of iron deficiency than do meat eaters.

Food Amount Iron (mg)

Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 8.8
Blackstrap molasses 2 Tbsp 7.2
Lentils, cooked 1 cup 6.6
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 6.4
Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 6.3
Tofu 4 ounces 6
Bagel, enriched 3 ounces 5.2
Tempeh 1 cup 4.8
Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 4.4
Swiss chard, cooked 1 cup 4
Black beans, cooked 1 cup 3.6
Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup 3.5
Turnip greens, cooked 1 cup 3.2
Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 3.2
Potato 1 large 3.2
Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup 3
Prune juice 8 ounces 3
Beet greens, cooked 1 cup 2.7
Tahini 2 Tbsp 2.7
Veggie hot dog 1 hot dog 2.7
Peas, cooked 1 cup 2.5
Black-eyed peas, cooked 1 cup 2.3
Cashews 1/4 cup 2.1
Brussels sprouts, cooked 1 cup 1.9
Bok choy, cooked 1 cup 1.8
Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 1.7
Raisins 1/2 cup 1.6
Almonds 1/4 cup 1.5
Apricots, dried 15 halves 1.4
Veggie burger, commercial 1 patty 1.4
Watermelon 1/8 medium 1.4
Soy yogurt 6 ounces 1.1
Tomato juice 8 ounces 1
Green beans, cooked 1 cup 1.2
Kale, cooked 1 cup 1.2
Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 1.2
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 1.1
Millet, cooked 1 cup 1.1
Sesame seeds 2 Tbsp 1

TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow,com

Total® cereal 1 cup 18
Grape Nuts® cereal 1/2 cup 8.2
Instant plain oatmeal 1 packet 6.7
Wheat germ 1 ounce (1/4 cup) 2.6
Broccoli 1 medium stalk 2.1
Baked potato 1 medium 2.7
Spinach 1 cup raw 0.8
Dried peach 5 halves 2.6
Raw tofu 1/2 cup 4
Lentils 1/2 cup 3.3
Kidney beans 1/2 cup 2.6
Chickpeas 1/2 cup 2.4
Beef chuck 3 ounces 3.2
Dark meat turkey 3 ounces 2
Blackstrap molasses 1 tablespoon 5

Pad Thai

2008-11-30T10:24:00.006-05:00

I lurve this recipe. It's so easy and so tasty. It's also one of the "gateway" recipes I used to make Kyle kind-of-sort-of like cilantro. In reply to my email I was asked a few questions (is there something you can substitute for the ketchup? can you omit the cilantro? what other veggies would you add?), and I have since modified the recipe to include some of the suggestions. The original recipe did not have tofu or red pepper. Here are my answers, based on the original email:
"Don't omit the ketchup. The sauce doesn't end up tasting like ketchup, so don't worry. Cilantro is not necessary if you hate it. However, Kyle hates hates cilantro and I added about 1/8 of a cup really finely chopped and he was OK with it. I think it makes it better because the cilantro is cooked a bit. But if you hate cilantro, then no point in buying it, right. I wouldn't add other veggies... pad thai is usually pretty simple. Maybe some chopped red pepper. And I"d probably add protein next time by frying up some tofu, chopped into small cubes... right now it's pretty protein poor. If you're not into tofu yet, this is an OK way to cook it to start getting used to it: Chop it up until small cubes - about 1-2cm on each side. Marinate it in a little bit of soy sauce, garlic, ginger and veg broth for as many hours as you can. Then dump the tofu (sans soy sauce) into a frying pan with sesame oil.. Fry the tofu until it's brown and crispy (this might take a while). Then add it to the pad thai in the last step when you're adding everything else. Even people who don't really like tofu tend to like it when it's prepared that way."

Pad Thai
Effort: med-easy
Ingredients: pretty common (rice vinegar and rice noodles would be the only difficulty)
Cookbook: I can't remember where I found this recipe, and I've made modifications anyhoo

8 oz rice noodles, uncooked (I just used one package of rice noodles)
1 block tofu, cubed (1/2 " cubes work well)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil, divided (+ extra for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced red onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bean sprouts (i usually omit these and it still tastes good)
1/2 cup grated carrots (i usually add more than this)
1 red pepper, chopped into med-small dice
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

- If you are can plan ahead, chop tofu and then marinate it in a bit if soy sauce, garlic, and lime juice for several hours (or overnight).
- Cook noodles according to package directions (usually this involves pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for 3 minutes). Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Sprinkle with sesame oil to help prevent sticking. Set aside.
- Saute tofu over med-high heat in 1 tbsp sesame (or chili) oil until it starts to take on some brown colour. Set aside.
- To makes sauce, combine ketchup, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat veg oil in a large, non-stick wok or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add the tofu plus all of the vegetables (bean spouts, carrots, green onions, red pepper and cilantro). Mix well. Add noodles, mix, and cook until noodles are heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle individual servings with chopped peanuts.

Pizza Pasta

2008-11-30T10:13:00.007-05:00

I'm a big fan of "slop-in-a-pot" type recipes, where the ratios and amounts of different ingredients are suggested, rather than fixed. This is one of those recipes, which explains why I don't give measurements. I make it veggie-based but it can easily be made to simulate meat (use fake pepperoni/ham on top, or put Yves veggie ground round in the sauce) or fully meaty. I'll take suggestions for pizza toppings, because I'm getting pretty bored with my usual.

Some example combinations:
- Mediterranean: Prepare as below. Top with black olives, feta, oregano flakes, red and green peppers
- Spicy: Mix fresh minced garlic and chopped up hot peppers with the sauce before adding to the pasta. Top with chili flakes, red and green peppers, green olives, and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

Nic

Pizza Pasta
Effort: super easy
Ingredients: super duper easy
Cookbook: an ex-boyfriend's mother + a recipe card

Pasta (I like rigatoni, but medium-sized shells, penne, or macaroni would also work. Use as much or as little as you like - leftovers make good lunch)
1 large can/jar of Pasta/tomato sauce (add lots of oregano and basil to make it zippy)
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Possible toppings:
Green/red peppers
Hot peppers/jalapenos
Olives
Onions
Mushrooms
meat/shmeat
garlic/roasted garlic
fresh basil leaves, chopped
extra cheese (feta, parmesan, cheddar, goat)
chili flakes
oregano flakes
shredded spinach
small broccoli florets
zucchini

- Cook the pasta and drain.
- Mix the pasta with the sauce - make it nice and saucy because baking it will dry it out (if you're adding fresh crushed garlic, it might be good to add it in with the pasta and sauce or else you'll end up with concentrated bites of garlic once it's all cooked).
- Pour the pasta&sauce into a baking pan (you want the pasta to make a layer about 2 inches deep)
- Top with mozza cheese (variation: add half of the cheese to the pasta and sauce in the stage when you're mixing together, and then top with the other half)
- Top with your favourite pizza toppings (mushrooms should go under the cheese to avoid drying out too much)
- Bake at 350 until cheese is melty and veggies seem cooked (around 20 min is good, but more is probably better. You can also broil in the last 2 minutes to brown up the cheese a bit).
- Serve with garlic bread, because garlic bread is delicious.

Protein tip:
Both pasta and cheese cheese have quite a bit of protein. You could also add some veggie ground round to the sauce (found in the produce section of a grocery store). it makes a pretty good substitute for ground beef and adds loads of protein. I recently tried veggie sausage and it was really bad, so I'd stay away from that. There is also veggie pepperoni but if you're still eating meat, you'll probably want to avoid any simulated deli slices since they only start tasting good once you haven't eaten meat for a year or so.

curried vegetables

2008-11-30T10:09:00.003-05:00

My attention was drawn to this one because it looked so simple - it uses frozen vegetables! Most of the meals I cook take a long time to make because of all the chopping, so it was nice to have a shortcut. And I think frozen vegetables are healthier than canned ones. I don't normally like raisins, but they provide a nice sweet complement to the other flavours, so I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!
Nic

Curried Vegetables
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: common
Cookbook: favorite brand name Vegetarian cooking 1997

1 package of Rice a Roni herb & butter (I couldn't find this variety, so I used Uncle Ben's fast and fancy wild rice and herbs - it was good too.)
1/3 cup raisins (i might reduce this amount in the future)
2 tbsp margarine or butter
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp curry powder
1 package frozen carrot, broccoli and red pepper veg medley (I used "california mix" with broc. cauliflower and carrots, while adding fresh red pepper and a few sliced mushroom. I'm sure most variations and combinations would be OK)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

1. prepare rice-a-roni as package directs, adding raisins with contents of seasoning packet (or with Uncle Bens, I waited until the water was boiling before adding raisins)
2. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt margarine over med. heat. add onion and garlic; saute 3-4 min. add flour and curry powder; cook 30 sec, stirring frequently.
3. add frozen vegetables, water and salt (If using fresh veggies, consider adding them slightly before the frozen ones). cover; bring to a boil over high heat. reduce heat and continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve rice topped with vegetable mixture; sprinkle with almonds. (note: I bought slivered almonds from bulk barn and then toasted them in a frying pan on medium heat for a few minutes. yum)

You could serve this with some yogurt, if you were so inclined.
Also, it says it makes 4 servings, but I think that might be child-sized servings. If I made this again and wanted actual 4 servings, I might make an extra 1/2 cup of rice, plus add a few more veggies, to bulk it up.

taco salad

2008-11-30T10:03:00.004-05:00

Taco Salad
Effort: med-easy
Ingredients: common
Cookbook: Student's vegetarian cookbook, Carole Raymond 1997, 2003

1 tsp veg oil
1 cup frozen corn
1 tbsp water
1 tsp ground cumin
1 med avocado, fairly ripe
1 tbsp lemon/lime juice
1/2 med. tomato, chopped
2 tbsp chopped green onion (including green part) (Nic: I prefer more onion)
2 cups salad greens, torn into bite-sized pieces
Baked tortilla chips, crumbled (I like those yellow corn ones, rather than Tostidos, for this recipe)
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (this can be omitted, but it makes it taste extra good)
tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)

- in small pan, combine oil, corn, water and cumin. cover and cook on med. heat for 3 min. uncover and cook for 1-2min until water evaporates. set aside.
- slice avocado lengthwise and remove seed. cut lengthwise and crosswise slices in the flesh, making a grid pattern. scoop avocado cubes out of shells and into med. sized bowl. stir in lemon juice. add corn mixture, tomato, and scallion.
- spoon salad onto handful of greens. crumble a handful of baked tortilla chips and sprinkle them on top. toss on cilantro and a shake (or more) of Tabasco if desired.

fiesta burrito bake

2008-11-30T09:38:00.006-05:00

On November 5th, 2007, I sent out an email to some friends and family stating that I was starting a recipe mailing list. The first two recipes I sent out were Fiesta Burrito Bake and Taco Salad.

Fiesta Burrito Bake
Effort: easy
Ingredients: common
Cookbook: favorite brand name Vegetarian cooking 1997

1/2 envelope Club House Marinades seasoning - Tex Mex flavour
1 can refried beans
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
10 (6") flour tortillas (get whole wheat and it's healthier)
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (I usually omit the tomato)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

- Preheat oven to 375 F
- in small bowl, combine seasoning powder, beans, sour cream and water. Spoon bean mixture onto tortillas, then roll.
- In a 13 x 9in. baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, arrange rolled tortillas; top with tomato then cheese.
- Bake covered for 15minutes. Remove cover and continue baking until cheese is melted and tortillas are heated through.
- serve, if desired, with shredded lettuce, sour cream and guacamole

Nic's comment: goes really well with "taco salad".

what is this blog about?

2008-11-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

For a few months now, I have been emailing recipes to my friends and family. I've had it in the back of my mind that a blog would work better, especially for cross-referencing the different recipes, so I finally got around to creating one. So #1: this is a place for me to post recipes that I've sampled and decided are worth sharing.
Also, as most people who know me have already realized, I'm a bit of an eco-nut. This blog will #2: give me a place to comment, rant, and rave about various environmental topics. Furthermore, I've recently become very concerned over my consumption and how much waste people produce. I'm on a personal conquest to reduce waste in various ways, such as reusing and mending items that would otherwise be thrown out. So I will #3: post stories, comments, and how-to's on my quest to reduce waste.

recipe: mexican night

2008-05-13T09:03:00.001-04:00

(Originally emailed May. 13, 2008)

[If you're reading this on Facebook, you can read the original, non-imported, correctly-formatted version on my blog]

I don't have time to type up a recipe this week either, so I'm stealing one that Jess typed up for me when we were putting together the Base Cero recipe book. This meal was a weekly occurrence in Costa Rica, and probably our favourite too (well, at least it was my favourite). It's very easy to prepare, seeing as it just involves a lot of chopping and a little bit of heating, and it's customizable so anyone can enjoy it. One of the neat things about Costa Rican food is that they have so many different brands of hot sauces, which all taste slightly different. So for our first few Mexican Nights, we put a different hot sauce on each tortilla as a taste test, to determine our favourite sauce. I unfortunately became slightly addicted to my favourite hot sauce (Chillerito!) and since then I've been bugging people to bring me back some from Costa Rica. Fortunately, one of the girls who just came back was able to find a bottle for me, so my supply of Chillerito will last until August 2009. Phew. I don't know what I will do when I don't know anyone in Dan's lab anymore! Anyways, this meal is clearly up to the individual, but it's fun to have tons of toppings on the table so that it's colourful and chaotic. Thanks to Jess for typing it up for me :) (note: Jess was the Mexican Night chef for most of last summer in Costa Rica).

Jess adds: Mexican night is a fairly low-stress meal that requires a lot of chopping, but it's delicious and filling. You can make the tortillas however you want to, so adjust recipe according to your tastes. This meal works best if you chop veggies into very small pieces rather than large chunks.

Some comments from now me, as opposed to 2008 me: I managed to convince a couple more people to bring me back some Chillerito, so my supply will last me at least a few more months. I will cry when it is gone. In the meantime, I'm trying to find substitutes. Frank's hot is delicious, but not a good substitute for Chillerito :(

mexican night, by David Bradley

Mexican Night
Effort: 1 very easy
Speed: 4 not very fast
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: Stéphanie Doucet

Ingredients:

flour tortillas (as small as you can get. like the little ones in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store)
cheddar cheese, grated
refried beans (black work best)
cumin
hot sauce
rice
hot sauce (chillerito or Tio Pelon)
diced cucumber
diced tomatoes mixed with minced cilantro
diced red pepper
onions
sour cream
guacamole (avocado + lime juice + garlic + sour cream)
eggs

when heated, these'll become "cheese lakes"

Instructions:

Start rice.
Make guacamole and keep in fridge. (Jess' instructions: smush up an avocado, add the juice from a freshly picked limon (half lime, half lemon, grows out back), add a minced clove of garlic, and a spoonful or two of sour cream)...oh how I miss the limon tree.
Start heating the refried beans... throw them in a pot, add a pinch or two of cumin, and a few shakes of hot sauce.
Chop up all the vegetables, and put them in their own bowls.
Put tortillas on a baking sheet spaced apart. Add some grated cheddar to them so that the cheese will melt and coat one side.
Stick tortillas in the oven at a low temperature, and pull them out as soon as the cheese is melted (if you leave them in too long, tortillas will crisp up too much)
Scramble some eggs (this only takes a few minutes, which is why I leave it until the end).
Put the last few things in bowls (rice, scrambled eggs), put the hot pot of bubbling beans on the table (with a trivet underneath), and stick the sour cream and your hot sauces of choice on the table.
Assemble tortillas as desired and CHOW DOWN!
Optimal tortilla-assembling order: Beans, hot sauce (spread with spoon), rice, guacamole, veggies, + anything else.

What other toppings would you put on tortillas like this?

recipe: green peas and mushroom green curry

2008-04-09T06:58:00.000-04:00

(Originally emailed Apr. 9, 2008)

Kyle introduced me to Thai food within the first few months of me being in Windsor, by cooking a large curry for our lab group (I'll be sending that recipe out shortly). Since then, we've bought several cookbooks (one vegetarian thai) and have visited several Thai restaurants. After going to a few restaurants, Kyle decided that green curry is his favourite curry, so we had to try making it ourselves. We found a "green curry" recipe in the World vegetarian cookbook, but it turns out it was Indian curry... so we took out the spices, threw in Thai green curry paste, and now it's pseudo-Indian/Thai green curry. We've made it 3 times probably, and every time we make it we're surprised at how quick it is and at how tasty it is. The last time we made it, we added tofu to make it more filling. I'm going to give you our recipe rather than the one from the cookbook, seeing as they're pretty much different recipes. It's best with jasmine rice but I bet basmati would work well too.

nightscape, a completely un-recipe-related photo by me

Green Peas and Mushroom (Thai/Indian) Green Curry
Effort: 1 very easy
Speed: 1 very fast
Ingredients: relatively easy to get (Bulk Barn and International sections of grocery stores are your friends); or super-easy if live in Windsor
Source: modified substantially from World Vegetarian (Madhur Jaffrey)

Ingredients:
3 cups shelled or frozen peas (we use frozen)
4 tbsp water + 1/4 cup water
1 to 1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (in Windsor, we bought ours from the International Food Market in those little tins. We stocked up before we moved to Québec.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp canola oil
1 brick firm or extra firm tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tsp whole cumin seeds (easiest found in Bulk Barn)
about 10 medium mushrooms, sliced or cut into quarters

A note about the steps. Kyle and I share the cooking duties, meaning that we cook together for almost every meal. We usually split up the duties so that I chop and do a lot of the prep work, while Kyle tends to make sauces/spice mixes and handle the actual cooking/stir-frying/stirring duties. I don't know if I've said this explicitly before, but I find it very important to make sure everything is prepped before turning the stove on. So that means cutting all veggies, getting the spices out into small containers, mixing the sauce ingredients, etc. With Kyle and I cooking together, sometimes we can relax that, but if I am cooking on my own I always try to abide by the "prep rule" because otherwise I end up overcooking/burning things. If I was making this meal alone, I would chop the mushrooms and get out 2 cups of peas. Then cut the tofu and start frying it (and then the mushrooms) while I made the sauce.

Start (jasmine) rice.

Cut tofu.

Make sauce: Put 1 cup of (frozen) peas into a blender/food processer/Magic Bullet and blend a bit. Add 4 tbsp of water and blend to a puree. Add curry paste, salt, and cream. Blend again.

Fry tofu: Put most of the oil in large nonstick frying pan over med-high heat. Add half of the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for about 10 sec. Add tofu and saute until starting to brown. Remove tofu from pan.

Cook mushrooms: Add some more oil if necessary, and the remaining cumin seeds to the frying pan. Let sizzle and then add mushrooms. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture that you blended in step 3. Rinse out the blender with some (~1/4 cup) water and pour that into the pan as well. Stir gently and cook for 1 minutes.

Add tofu and remaining peas.

Turn heat to medium, stir gently, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Serve hot, over jasmine rice.

Do you have any comments on the style this recipe is written in? Do you like the steps to be numbered? Is it OK that the posts get really long when I skip lines between steps, or is it annoying because you have to scroll down more?