Slow Saturday

We're sitting here in the midst of a tremendously loud thunderstorm. And maybe doing a little napping while we're at it. I don't think there's anything quite as cozy as dozing with somebody you love while hearing the rain and staying dry...except maybe breaking out a little popcorn and a bottle of wine. Maybe later!

We scrapped our shopping plans, since a bike full of wet groceries didn't sound so good, but luckily we've got plenty of leftovers to tide us over. Instead, we made banana walnut pancakes this morning, and watched our way through the third disc of 24 (our take so far: riveting, but sometimes a little too intentionally so, at the expense of consistency or believability. But we're still pretty hooked). 

So here's a total non sequitur: some of my favorite ways people have gotten to our blog (compliments of StatCounter)...

Besides useful searches like "review jennifer block pushed," "vegan birthday cake," and "kefir recipe," we've also had

"films with gory birth scene"

"smell from campground bathroom"

and

"okay to drink sour milk"

Apparently we've got quite the reputation out there. I wonder if those people found what they were looking for.

Interesting Article

"What I'd say if I'm wrong about climate change" is an interesting article that answers a skeptic's question of "What if global warming isn't real?" If you're not familiar with No Impact Man, his is a pretty awesome story, and he's a very articulate blogger. His year of no impact makes us look like a couple of cigar-smoking oil drillers in comparison!

I worked from 7pm-3am (yep, you read that right) last night/this morning, so I'm happy to let somebody else do the coherent posting!

Things That Go Ick In The Night: Or, How To Clean Up Cat Vomit

That's what we get for switching cat foods, I guess. Luckily it came out of the (white) carpet with the following method:

1. Pick up any large, wet chunks. (For this, I was thankful that we had a lone surviving roll of paper towels stashed under the sink from awhile back. And I was proud that I managed to hold my gag threshold firmly in check, for the most part.)

2. Sprinkle with baking soda to absorb remaining moisture. Let sit for a few minutes and then scoop up.

3. Combine vinegar with hot (nearly boiling) water in approximately 1:2 ratio and pour on spots. Vinegar will foam when it hits the baking soda, further breaking down any stains.

4. Sop up the remaining vinegar.

I came up with this method based on my love for baking soda and vinegar, as well as my dad's advice that "HEAT CATALYZES A CHEMICAL REACTION." It worked great. Give it a try sometime!

*Note: our camera batteries are dead this morning, so instead of a visual play-by-play, you'll have to settle for this bizarre tank top by printfection to give you an idea of what our morning was like.

This Time Last Year...

We were all in Zihuatanejo!

Matt and I had the time of our lives, and we hope everybody else did too. So many wonderful memories that will last us a lifetime.

And I guess it's a good thing we did it when we did, in light of the recent shark attacks there...From what I can tell, at least the two fatal attacks were actually in Troncones, about 30 miles northwest of where we were. But still.

Got Quinoa?

Tonight for dinner we had quinoa salads, leftover soup, and a splash of red wine.

First, the quinoa salads--something I was introduced to at the Farm. Because the woman who made them is a published author, I'm probably not at liberty to publish her recipe. But, you can find several recipes for good Tofu Aioli on the internet--one is here--and you can get creative in combining the quinoa (or another cooked grain) and a variety of cooked vegetables, using the aioli as a binder. Over a bed of greens, it's delicious, filling, and healthy, as well as vegan.

The soup was something I concocted over the weekend, and contained tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, black beans, corn, and a few pinches each of salt and chili powder. The pureed tomatoes, combined with water, were the base. To thicken it, we used cornmeal, a tip we'd read somewhere which lends a Mexican flavor to sauces and soups (we also used it in Matt's hot sauce).

And the red wine was a bottle of Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre, which a friend brought over for dinner yesterday. I'm usually a wimp when it comes to red wines, but I found this one delightful.

Other than that, I worked last night and came home to sleep the sleep of the dead (or at least the night nurse). Starting on a holiday night was a pretty good way to ease back into the swing of things after being gone 2 of the past 3 weeks. 

After dinner tonight, we went out for a bike ride to pick up a few things. We're in a money-saving mode (more extreme than usual) this month since I haven't been around to work much, so since we were both desperately craving dessert (perhaps in reaction to our ultra-healthy vegan dinner), we decided to do the frugal thing and whip up a batch of ice cream using things we had on hand, and eat it over a leftover brownie.

Saving money never tasted so good.

Three Cheers For Ginger Beers

Or ginger ale; same thing. Here's how we did it:

Ginger Beer

Start with:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup grated ginger (a 3-4" piece, peeled and grated)

3/4 cup water

1/2 liter (or 1/2 quart) of sparkling water

Tie up your grated ginger in a piece of cheesecloth. Place the ginger, the water, and the sugar in a small saucepan. You want to steep the ginger like a teabag. Bring the water and sugar to a boil together until the sugar dissolves, and you're left with simple syrup.

However, if you've got a gas stove, be careful that the ends of the cheesecloth bag don't hang into the flame, or you'll be left with this: 

As I noticed and held the flaming pot aloft, Matt was laughing so hard I had to tell him, "Hey, I could use a little help here!"

After you put out the fire, squeeze out the cheesecloth, remove, and discard. Add the ginger syrup to the sparkling water in a ratio of approximately 1 part ginger syrup to 2 parts water. Adjust to taste, and add a squeeze of lime if desired. Serves 2. Classy lime garnish optional.

Delicious!

When Life Gives You Limes...

What do you do? We fell prey to a 20-for-$1 sale and now have, oh, about 18 limes we don't know what to do with. It seems a little labor-intensive and silly (not to mention kind of wasteful) to just juice them, but I can't find a single recipe that calls for actual limes, as opposed to just the juice. Any thoughts?

EDIT: I actually did find a recipe for lime marmalade in our Produce Bible; it would use up 12 whole limes, but it would also use a mind-boggling 10-1/4 cups of sugar...

Getting Back In The Swing Of Things

This weekend has been a great one so far. On Friday night, we were able to go see Garrison Keillor, which we have long wanted to do. Yesterday, we lazed around most of the day watching the Cosby Show and just hanging out, and then were invited over by some friends who were housesitting and grilling out. I love barbecues because they mean (at least in this case!) things like corn on the cob, fruit, lemonade, and brownies...

Today we're cleaning up the apartment (and listening to the new Counting Crows album, which we downloaded for $8.99 from Amazon) and then riding our bikes to the grocery store. Here's the menu for this week:

Roasted asparagus, onions, & mushrooms over pasta

Mattar paneer over rice

Quinoa salads with potato wedges

Veggie pizza and salads

Curry w/ tofu over rice

Spicy peanut noodles

Chili & cornbread

Corn & Black bean tamales (at the Farm, I got the idea to add pureed black beans to the filling--lots of fiber and protein)

We're also in the process of trying to get me ready to work nights tomorrow and next week (which I chose because Memorial Day is my holiday to work, and since Matt is off, it gives us a longer stretch of weekend together), which means sleeping in late and trying to stay up late as well. It's tiring work, but somebody's got to do it!

Back From The Farm!

Which may come as a disappointment to those who found themselves as delighted as I did with Matt's turn as substitute blogger. But, my week on the Farm was absolutely wonderful. Not so much life-changing (though in many ways it was) as it was life-affirming: a great big nod to me that I'm going in the right direction. I was down there with a group of 15 women, including five British midwives and two German, and we had an amazing time sharing stories and comparing notes and laughing and getting to know each other. Sitting around with people like Ina May Gaskin and Juliana Fehr, who were some of the first writers/midwives to kindle my interest in midwifery back in nursing school, made me feel like I was really a part of a community--and one worth belonging to. I was also struck by the quantity of practical, hands-on skills and knowledge, as well as pure wisdom, that could be lost to obstetrics and midwifery if there aren't younger people willing to apprentice themselves and carry the torch. Looking around at the other women from around the world and realizing how much we had in common to unite us was inspiring and meaningful, and renewed my sense that the outrage I feel when I come home from a day of "induction and C-section" (as I like to call Labor & Delivery) isn't misplaced or abnormal. On top of that, we did a lot of laughing and really bonded.

One of our sessions with Dr. Fehr

The gang, in front of our cabin 

Ina May (a fellow Iowa girl!) and me

Incidentally, I was also able to embrace my vegan side, and surprised myself with how great I felt. Of course, a diet that extreme is also much easier to embrace when somebody else is shopping and cooking for you! But, it reminded me that even if I do eat eggs and dairy, there's probably a lot more I could be doing with grains and tofu to help me achieve the level of energy, and, yes, regularity that I found on the Farm. So that's something that Matt and I will be working to incorporate.

Bottom line: I'm so happy to be back home with Matt, and I'm also glad to have had this week to recharge and be inspired. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to connect with a group of other women that way, and it's reinforcing to know that there are so many others out there fighting the good fight.

Hummus Scretchipe

Here is the hummus recipe that Katie had promised:

heaping 1/3 cup sesame seeds (or if you are normal, 1/3 cup tahini)

water

1.5 cups canned or .5 lbs dry garbanzo beans

1/3 cup orange juice

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

7 cranks black pepper

pinch of cayenne

Approximately 1/3 cup water

If the garbanzos are dry, soak garbanzos overnight in plenty of water. They will expand while they soak. Boil garbanzos for approximately two hours or somewhat less, but make sure they are plenty soft. Drain. If using canned beans, drain and rinse. Dry roast sesame seeds in a cast iron pan for approximately 5 minutes. Take off when they start to brown. Do not over-brown or burn or your hummus will taste like crap.

Throw the hot sesame seeds in your good ole Cuisinart food processor and process for at least a minute. Add water slowly until you get a paste on the thin side (this is tahini). Throw in garbanzos, OJ, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Start the Cuisie and add water slowly until you get a dip texture of a desired texture.

Now you got hummus and it's real good. Eat it with crackers, flatbread, regular bread, vegetables, or whatever else you think to put it on. When you add the garbanzo beans, also consider the following tasty additives:

1/2 a medium sized butternut squash, baked or boiled

1 jar kalamata olives

.5 lb boiled carrots, ginger to taste

1 bunch cilantro, replace OJ with 3-4 tablespoons lime juice

1 can artichoke, curry powder, tumeric

double the garlic

double the garlic and add 1 jar good green olives

double the garlic, minced rosemary sauteed in olive oil

4 oz pesto

1 jar roasted red or yellow pepper

2 T honey, lemon juice

handfull of spinach and 1/2 can artichoke

curry powder and/or garam masala

roasted tomatillos

roasted garlic

1-2 vidalia onions, baked for an hour in tin foil

replace OJ with lemon juice, zest of about half a lemon, at least double the pepper

mushrooms-sauted, roasted, grilled, whatever

asparagus-raw or roasted

roasted corn

pico de gallo (cilantro, beans , tomato without watery stuff, corn, jalapeno)

chili powder

black bean

guacamole

Whatever else you think would be good. Enjoy!

A kitchen built for two.

Cooking is a great thing. What better hobby is there. You have to eat, and depending on what and how much you eat, it can help you to be healthier, happier, and to live longer. And, of course, the exact opposite, depending on how poorly you eat. So, why not practice and enjoy it. Well, when you are used to cooking for someone, and eating with someone, making a nice meal for yourself sort of bites. Today, I made a really good, you guessed it, Indian dish: Aloo Sag, or potatoes in a fragrant spinach sauce. But, alas, without my better half (and I really mean that, she is way better), it felt like somewhat of a moot point. I didn't even have the desire to take a picture of it (well, that is usually Katie's job) so this unhappy face is all I could muster. I really love cooking for and eating with Katie, and I already miss her for this short time we are going to have apart. She was really hoping I would post something while she was away, so I am going to try my darndest and do it regularly. The hummus post will therefore come soon. She is having fun on the farm already, but I am missing her here.

Maybe I will just eat at Mc Donald's for the rest of the week.

Saturday's Spoils

We biked about 9.5 miles today running errands. We're slowly developing a roster of favorite haunts around town, and one is definitely The Closet. It doesn't hurt that right next door is the outstanding Great Harvest Bread Company (website: darngoodbread.com), a no-frills bakery whose products have ingredient lists that read just like a recipe--just like they should. Sugar, butter, flour, chocolate, etc. They also give away free, full-sized slices of bread (and butter) and aren't stingy about how many times you go through the line. Love it!

At The Closet today, we picked up this mason-jar-type canister for $2, which I planned to put ice water in, but which worked perfectly for making an extra-large batch of yogurt (since we've got about 3 gallons of milk in the fridge, thanks to the $.99/gallon sale at Fresh World).

We also got these exceptionally sturdy insulated (aluminum? stainless steel?) coffee cups for a buck apiece.

And, since our originally herb garden was starting to look a little crowded, we bought this bowl for $4 and relocated the rosemary and the lavender to it--giving the basil and the thyme a little more room to breathe.

While we were repotting, we moved the strawberry to this lovely steamer, which we have adored since we received it as a wedding gift but which we used until it developed a crack. Now it's a beautiful flowerpot, complete with built-in drainage holes and a saucer for underneath!

And, we swung by Fresh World again and indulged in more spinach, among other things. The spread below cost us less than $5, and I'm pretty sure we're set for life now. Or at least for the summer. Most of it we'll probably end up freezing, but first I had to wash it, double-rinse it to try to get the sand off, spin it dry, and de-stem it. It gave me a taste of what life on a commune is probably really like.

Coming Soon...

Matt has agreed to post the hummus recipe this weekend! And, I'm leaving the blog in his hands for the week while I'm gone. So be sure to stay tuned, and leave him some friendly comments to keep him going!

Egg-Free Waffles

Because we're out of eggs and we wanted waffles. So, courtesy of Mr. Breakfast (who also brought us Banana-Walnut Pancakes), we made these. The verdict? Easy, tasty, maybe not quite as crispy as typical waffles, but overall very good. (Mr. Breakfast does recommend increasing one's cooking time "a notch" to compensate for this.)

I like mine with strawberry jam, which I know has nothing but strawberries, sugar, pectin, and my mother's love in it--as opposed to most commercial syrups, which are basically caramel coloring and corn syrup. Mmm.

Since I leave for the Farm at an eye-popping 2:00 tomorrow morning (or should I say late tonight?), we're spending today getting ready for that (which includes dehydrating 2 pounds of strawberries for snacking on the way), and also riding our bikes out to the thrift stores to see what they've got to offer us.

TGIF!

Talk about a hot Friday night date. After dinner this evening, Matt and I walked over to the grand opening of Fresh World, a new "international supermarket" about a mile from our apartment. Inside we found all kinds of produce we'd never heard of, some pretty darn good deals, and the most diverse group of Restonians we'd ever seen. And...some very long checkout lines.

I think it was worth it, though; here's what we got for around $25:

It's like letting your mom check your Halloween candy (except the cats don't take away all the groceries the next day...)

This included a gallon of whole milk for $.99 (yogurt and cheese!), 3 pounds of strawberries for $3 (some of which we'll dehydrate for snacks), and 10 pounds each of potatoes and onions for around $2. Fresh spinach was also a good buy and so we're planning to go back for more and freeze it. We got 2 lbs of bean sprouts for just over a buck, asparagus was a rocking $1.99/lb, sweet corn was 6 for $1, and Matt got some bok choy and some okra he's planning to cook while I'm gone :)

All in all, we got some great deals and it was fun to rub shoulders with such an interesting crowd of people. We're hoping that Fresh World is here to stay.

How's This For a Ringing Endorsement?

Today I was helping my patient sit up for an epidural. As she leaned over into me, the nurse anesthetist remarked, "I saw your bike in the conference room; you must have ridden today." The patient said "Oh, is it Bike To Work Day?" (That's tomorrow.) The anesthetist said "No, Katie's just granola like that every day." And the patient said--

"Well, I know you wear deodorant at least because you smell good."

I laughed and said "Actually, I don't, I just use baking soda."

She replied, "Well, it really works for you."

When was the last time your underarms saw that kind of a compliment?!

In The Fold

In case there was ever any doubt, Matt and I have decided that the folding bikes are definitely one of the best purchases we've ever made.

Our goal now is to keep our car-usage at once per week or less, and so far we haven't had any trouble with it.

It's also reduced our walking commutes by 2/3--from 30 minutes each way to work to 10 minutes. Which gives me the extra 15 minutes I needed in the morning to be getting up on what I consider the appropriate side of 6am. Granted, I can now get up at exactly 6am, instead of 5:45, but hey: that's a big psychological difference.

Grocery shopping has become more a once-or-twice per week affair, instead of the monthly trip it was before, but we enjoy the opportunity to appreciate fresher produce and more exercise. And I in particular am relishing (slightly) increased definition in my legs, and the fact that I can tell a gratifying difference in my endurance level since we started.

As a side note, we've started doing about 90-95% of all our shopping at Trader Joe's. The remaining 5-10% we try to do at the local level, such as farmers' markets. Granted, there are a few holes in the selection, and it is more expensive than shopping at Aldi's, but when we consider the tradeoff between food quality and the time/money/carbon emissions needed to drive to Aldi's, we have finally decided that we're comfortable with it. And the bikes make it practically recreational!

Chai This On For Size

Homemade chai, that is. We got this recipe from the Kripalu Cookbook, which has been the source of many favorites for us. Here's the recipe, along with some of my comments:

Chai

2 heaping teaspoons CTC tea or orange pekoe/pekoe-cut black tea (ie, Lipton; I used decaf so we could drink it before bed)

1-1/3 cups milk

2/3 cup water

1/2 tsp garam masala (see recipe below; many commercial preparations have cumin, which doesn't make for very tasty chai)

3-4 tsp of sugar to taste

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger (optional)

Garam Masala

2 Tbsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp black pepper

1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground cloves

Mix together in a bowl or spice grinder.

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Tea should be a golden tan color when brewed. Adjust for sweetness and serve immediately. Makes 2 cups.

-adapted from p. 324 of The Kripalu Cookbook

What I did was to omit the milk at this stage, and quadruple the recipe. After removing the teabags, I poured the concentrate into a jar and let it cool. Now I have 6-8 servings of chai concentrate that can be combined with roughly an equal amount of milk (or more or less, depending on your taste) and heated anytime. Cheap, delicious, and easy!

Vegetable Soup With Whole-Wheat Dumplings

I made this based on what we had around to use up, and I think it turned out great. Leftovers are even better. And, I don't think it could be any healthier if it tried. Or any cheaper, for that matter!

Vegetable Soup With Whole-Wheat Dumplings

Soup:
3-4 carrots

2-3 stalks of celery

1 onion

Tbsp. each of thyme, sage, and sea salt (or any salt)

Few cranks of black pepper

Handful of dried or fresh mushrooms

6 cups of water

Coat a large pan with enough olive oil to prevent sticking. Dice and saute carrots, celery, onion and mushroom until soft. Add spices. Pour in water and bring to a boil; let simmer until vegetables are tender enough for your satisfaction.

Dumplings:

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine dry ingredients and then add wet. Drop by sticky spoonfuls onto simmering pot of soup, then cover and steam for 10-20 minutes.

We served this with Matt's flatbread and it was delicious. It had all the body and savory flavor of any chicken soup I've ever had, minus the grease on top; and the dumplings were chewy, hearty, and perfect additions to the soup. Make it!

Women's Bodies, Women's Books!

Ever since I purchased it for a song at the Reston Used Book Shop, I've really been enjoying reading Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, MD. She has a lot of wonderful, factual information on the mind-body connection that I found really fascinating--such as the recognizable and documented differences in the personalities and life experiences of women who suffer from cervical cancer versus those who get breast cancer, for example. Reading through her list of common anxieties and stressors, I identified the category that rang true to me--and lo and behold, it was the group identified with chronic stomach problems. Anyone who's known me for very long will recognize the accuracy of that diagnosis!

She also talks about the importance of creativity in preventing chronic health problems. When I thought about it, I realized how much enrichment I really do get from activities like blogging, gardening, cooking, and all the weird do-it-myself-ing I do around here. Ultimately, I also believe it makes me healthier. This has led me to resolve to keep these things in my life to the fullest extent that I can, precisely for their own sake and whether or not they yield visible or tangible gains.

As Northrup is an OB/GYN who believes in natural childbirth (gasp!) and has been through it herself, I found her perspectives on birth especially interesting. Something she says that I plan to pass on to my patients is "Trust birth, and expect the best." How different is THAT from the messages that women get laboring in the hospital? And truly, how much more useful? Fear doesn't make for any better or more prepared care, and it sends all kinds of harmful chemical messages that we know are detrimental to the body.

Northrup also has thought-provoking material on menstruation and menopause. Just like I felt from an early age that the way our culture treats birth is shameful and degrading and nothing I had an interest in being a part of, I've always felt like the current medical stance on menopause seems overly reductionist and pessimistic. Why would God/nature choose to give women such a short shrift at the close of their childbearing years? Instead, Northrup examines cultures where menopausal women are revered and respected, and incidentally, those women have a much lower incidence of associate physical problems. She's always fair and balanced in noting that there will always be those for whom conventional medical treatment is necessary and successful, but she also raises the point that this doesn't mean that a blanket approach of medical and surgical intervention is right for all women who happen to be undergoing a normal, healthy time of physical change. Sound familiar? The idea that women's bodies, along with their attendant cycles and abilities, are a gift and a privilege rather than a curse is a resounding theme that I try to incorporate in my practice as a nurse, and someday as a midwife. This reminded me that the concept is clear throughout a woman's lifespan, in addition to the times of pregnancy and birth.

I also finished Spiritual Midwifery this past week, and thought it was wonderful. (Not the least of which was the wonderfully 1970's vernacular--such as referring to contractions as "psychedelic rushes" and noting that labor "can be really, really heavy, and you have to help the couple to be more downhome with each other." LOVE IT. I was also flattered when a co-worker told me yesterday that the photos of the women in the book remind her of me!) More than half of it consists of birth stories, as opposed to being a how-to manual; but, there is very clear-cut instructional information at the end of the book. And honestly, sometimes I think you learn more from the stories. It's what I wish there were more of in medical and nursing practice--anecdotes from real experiences, that inspire you and help build up your arsenal of tools and tricks. It's also incredibly inspiring to read about and see pictures of so many people who view birth as a sacrament, instead of something disdainful to be avoided if possible.

Someday, I would absolutely love to teach nursing class on women's health. These two books (along with so many others) would be required reading, and the required viewing would include The Business of Being Born, Birth Day, and Birth As We Know It. (Warning: The last link proves the maxim, created by none other than my wonderful husband, that "You can't see birth without seeing breasts." My husband, who, just this week, called a friend to congratulate him on the birth of his/his wife's baby, and took the time to ask how the labor was--how long? how did it go? Natural or induced? -Do you love that or what?!) Actually, I'd love to make it general education for all college students, as part of a health or women's studies requirement. Because I honestly think that when it comes to knowledge of and respect for the capability of their bodies, at all stages of the lifespan, women don't even know what they're missing.

Here Comes The Headache

I woke up this morning with what I think was a migraine.

I flirt with all kinds of different headaches, most of which seem to stem from either eyestrain or tension in my neck. This one was completely different, feeling like pressure inside my head trying to get out, rather than the squeezing-in feeling of muscle tension that I'm used to. My eyes burned and ached and were extremely sensitive to light. In hindsight, yesterday was strange because all day at work my face was extremely pink and flushed (though my temperature was an annoyingly perfect 98.6; I checked) and my eyes looked kind of bloodshot, despite having had a good night's sleep before. After work, I was characteristically achy and so I took a hot bath and enjoyed a neck massage from my longsuffering husband, and then we went to bed early. Way early, around 8:30. 

And then this.

Besides burying my head in the blankets, I also tried the homeopathic remedy of inhaling a minute amount of cayenne pepper into my nose. It seemed to help a little, clearing the swelling and stuffiness that I felt particularly on the right side of my head. Matt also made me take a couple of ibuprofen, and then I ended up sleeping for another few hours (for a grand total of about 15 hours...). 

When I woke up, I felt much better. Was it the hot pepper? The ibuprofen? The nap? I like to think it was a combination of all of the above. The sleep, in particular, I don't discount--I learned when working nights that if you have the opportunity and perceived need for a little extra sleep, take it. You never know when you might need it! Having agreed to be on call for the labor of a couple I especially hit it off with at the hospital, I can't help but wonder if I might not be in for a sleepless night soon...

Hummus Is A-Comin' In

Just as this past winter was the Winter of Soup, with great success, we have officially declared this the Summer of Hummus (which lends itself to all sorts of delightful wordplay). (I'd toyed with the idea of a Summer of Salad, but let's face it: I just am not that into salad. And hummus is infinitely easier, at least once a batch is made, and higher in protein.)

Hummus is one of those things (much like tofu and Indian food) that I'd given a brief, cursory chance early on in my vegetarianism and since disdained, until I was reintroduced to them by Matt at a later age (and with a considerably broader palate). We first made hummus a few weeks ago, and I've been hooked ever since; given that it's nothing but sesame seeds, chickpeas, and seasoning, it's pretty much the perfect food, both in terms of healthy and cheap--especially paired with Matt's chapati flatbread, which is nothing but whole-wheat flour and water, dry-roasted to perfection. 

The first batches we made were a pretty basic rosemary-garlic hummus. Yesterday Matt made a killer cilantro-lime hummus. And here are the variations we've come up with so far that we're planning to try in the coming months:

Spinach and artichoke

Curry

Tomatillo

Vidalia onion

Roasted garlic

Lemon pepper

Mushroom

Asparagus

Roasted corn

Pico de gallo

Garden blend (with chunks of carrots, peppers, etc)

Chili powder

Black bean

Guacamole

We can't wait!

Today (Pangea Day)

Besides washing my hair a couple of times...we also biked to the farmer's market in the rain (mostly greens at this time of year), and then went out for Indian with a couple that we're friends with. They invited us over to watch the Pangea Day Film Festival, which we hadn't even heard of!

What did we think? Well. The concept (bringing together people from all different countries at the same time to be exposed to films about daily life in many different places, in the interest of furthering global cooperation and understanding) is a great one. But, like so many things, the application fell flat. A few of the films, especially ones related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict("Combatants For Peace") and one called "The Americana Project," about the reunion between a Cuban-American and his Cuban family, were really thought-provoking and good. However, there were also a number that had nothing to do with daily life or global understanding--they were just overly artsy and weird. It seemed like the filmmakers were using the festival as a vehicle to get "noticed," without any regard for the purpose of the assignment. On the other hand, the festival organizers chose which films (and which parts of films) were shown; from what it looks like on the website, there were many that would have been more appropriate which they didn't show. I could have used more actual glimpses into the daily lives of world citizens, and less obtuse artistic posturing.

The program interspersed segments of film with interviews and musical guests, and I think this is where the project really fell off the trolley. The music, in large part, seemed uninspired, and at times inappropriate. There was a bizarre performance called "My American Prayer," which seemed out of step with the purpose of, you know, including all countries in Pangea Day. It seemed orchestrated by Dave Stewart, whom the announcer referred to as "the LEGENDARY Dave Stewart," but who I couldn't have identified if you'd put a gun to my head. Apparently, he is the singer-songwriter for the Eurythmics...can't say I've given them much thought lately. The performance went on forever and involved some awkward canoodling between Dave and a young female violinist. Huh.

During another filmless segment (of which there were many, encompassing a total of probably an hour and a half of the four-hour "film" festival), there was an interview with the founders of the organization Combatants For Peace. These were fascinating men with amazing stories, but the interviewer literally cut them both off to switch back to the absurd musical performance of Dave Stewart. It seemed rude, and again, out of keeping with the supposed spirit of the day.

So...we're glad we watched it, and we appreciate the intent. We just wish the execution had lived up to its potential.

Instead of Sham-poo, I shall call it...

Sham-CRAP. 

Or a just plain sham.

Which is lame, because I really wanted to like it, and because actually my scalp did look and feel pretty darn good. I would say better than with anything else I've tried, actually. And it smelled great! But my hair? Like stiff, greasy FUR on my head. Now, when I mixed it up, I had questioned the wisdom of combining the soap with the apple cider vinegar, because one is very basic in pH and one very acidic, and it seems like doing so would just cause them to cancel one another out. And in fact they did end up clumping together in the jar, and I think it's what made it so difficult to get out of my hair. But just in case my ratio was wrong or something, I added a little more soap and a little more vinegar to the mix and washed my hair with it again. 

Same result.

So, since I've had success using the TJ's soap, and I've had success rinsing with the vinegar, and I don't believe that the addition of a few steeped herbs would make such a gross difference in the greasiness of freshly-washed hair, I'm going to believe that that was the case. Tomorrow (two showers is enough for today!), I'm going to try mixing up the shampoo sans vinegar and then doing the vinegar rinse afterward.

I'll let you know.

Even More Kitchen In The Bathroom

I haven't posted an update on my crazy hygiene practices lately, so I thought I would. 

Baking-soda-as-shampoo experiment? Eh...okay. My hair gets reasonably clean, but it's sort of a pain to do, it takes awhile to get the baking soda worked in and then worked out; and, I don't like the way that the combination of baking soda and vinegar and scalp somehow smells, inexplicably, like beer. (A smell I don't care for.) On the trip, I've been shampooing with Trader Joe's Castile Soap (basically a slightly less tingly--go peppermint oil!--and less expensive version of Dr Bronner's), which works wonderfully on our counters and dishes (dilute with water in a spray bottle) and also does a pretty good number on hair. However--I'm also still the less-than-proud owner of a less-than-comfy scalp, and I'm still hoping to rectify that by natural means one of these days (since steroid creams other medications haven't helped either, in case you're wondering). 

My latest attempt? Right now I'm whipping up a (tiny) batch of this shampoo, which is as follows (I'm making a half batch and also adding lavender, because I have it and I love it; I'm omitting coconut flakes, which I don't have):

1 T fresh rosemary

1 T fresh thyme

Few sprigs fresh lavender

1/2 cup water

Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes; strain solids out and discard. Let come to room temperature, then add the following:

1 T castile soap (such as Dr Bronner's or Trader Joe's)

1 T apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp vegetable oil (using olive here)

Shake and store in a clean jar. I'll let you know how it works. Note: my half cup of water simmered down to about a tablespoon, so you probably wouldn't want to make any less than a half batch.

HOWEVER, lest you think my love affair with baking soda is over, fear not. I found on our camping trip that it is absolutely the bee's knees as far as a natural deodorant goes. One application before we left (I patted my armpits with rubbing alcohol to kill any germs and give the baking soda something to stick to, then patted on some BS; but doing it just damp from a shower works, too) lasted me a record 2-1/2 days without a shower, including some heavy hiking (and thus sweating), minimal clothing changes, and sleeping in the woods. If that isn't a test of mettle, I don't know what is. It also has the added benefit of being scent free (on account of bears, etc), aluminum free, extremely cheap, and--hey, we're already carrying it around anyway, to brush our teeth with.

Vinegar, on the other hand? No matter how tightly you think you sealed the bottle, you can still end up with it all over your suitcase, prompting your husband to wonder aloud if that strange...SOUR smell is from camping, or mildew (or a wife not wearing deodorant?) or what? So imagine our relief to figure out that it was "just" a bottle of apple cider vinegar spilled all over the place. So for travel, I think I'll stick to baking soda.

For more information on baking soda as deodorant, this (hilariously titled) post was waiting for me in the Google Reader when I got back--how timely! Including a link to this exploration of just how "green" baking soda really is--a question that's been on my mind, and I'm sure on yours, too.

When Life DOESN'T Give You Lemons

I fell in love with True Lemon back when I still drank quite a bit of Diet Coke (working the night shift) and I loved the way it tasted with a lemon slice in it. ("Twist of lemon" Coke always tasted sort of bitter and off to me.) After packing a lemon slice in my lunch a couple of times, I was happy to discover there was a more portable option: True Lemon, which does in fact taste just like a squeeze of lemon.

Shortly thereafter, True Lime was introduced; and, now, True Orange.

They're basically packages of crystallized fruit juice with no added sugar or preservatives, so they're a classy way to dress up a glass of water. You can also reconstitute the amount of lemon or lime juice needed for recipes, if you use such things infrequently or don't happen to have them on hand.

You can go here for a free sample. And when you do, they'll also send samples to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains

The last leg of our trip involved hanging out at my aunt and uncle's cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains--which we absolutely loved. A couple of long days of reading and hiking and a couple of evenings of drinking too much wine (or was it just enough?) and grilling on The Big Green Egg (which is TOTALLY INCREDIBLE--we grilled asparagus, peppers, Vidalia onions, and portabella mushrooms and had them over pasta one night and salad the next), while enjoying the fabulous scenery, were exactly what we needed.

Atlanta!

While in Atlanta, we hung out with my aunt and uncle, ate a couple of amazing meals, and hit the Georgia Aquarium. 



My aunt was also awesome enough to book us into the Presidential Suite at the hotel she works at, and...wow. A hot tub, a bidet, and more rooms and space than our apartment (about 2-3 times over). We enjoyed living in the lap of luxury for a night, sandwiched in between nights in the mountains!