NEWS

I just heard from my daughter. She'll be arriving in New York tomorrow, sans puppy. Bindi will stay with a friend in China and, who knows? She may end up going with him to his home in Germany in 6 months.

What a night and morning this has been. More gray hairs.

D.

Not The Best of Times

I was planning on a blog post this weekend about my daughter and picking her up from the airport. This morning we were planning to drive to JFK to be there when her plane was scheduled to arrive at 1:15. Last night we received word that she had missed her flight. All went well from Xiamen (where she's been since August) to Shanghai; but, then she could go no further. Because of this:

Shortly after Courtenay arrived in China, her interest in this little girl took off at a rapid pace. She adopted her as quickly as she could. Bindi was just a little thing when she brought her "home" to her apartment.

Since then, she's been part of Courtenay's China experience. Now, we aren't a family that's naive about traveling in China; Courtenay checked with the airport at Shanghai no less than 6 times to see if she needed to do anything further to take Bindi on the plane. She had one of her teachers speak to people at the airport as well, just in case she wasn't understanding their Chinese or they weren't understanding her English. They assured her that she was all set, or however they say that in China.

Anyway, this morning, rather than driving to the airport, we are waiting to hear when these two girls will be catching a plane. I just hope it's soon!
So, not the best of times. But Courtenay is safe and folks at the airport thought she'd only be delayed a day. I have no idea what this will mean financially but we'll deal with that when the time comes.

Hope your Sunday is much more relaxing than mine,
D.

Eat Your WINTER Veggies!

Today I read an article on Whole Living.com about winter vegetables. You know, all those root veggies that, if you were smart, you harvested in the fall and have stored for the winter? Mmm-hmmm....I didn't do that either.

Never fear, these are the veggies you'll find in abundance right now at your local grocery store or co-op. Two of my favorite veggies are considered "in season" right now: Brussels Sprouts and Yams. We often prepare our yams (or sweet potatoes, we aren't picky) by drizzling them with olive oil, sprinkling the outsides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and then baking them until they are super tender. By baking them longer than is really necessary they start to crystalize, making them even more sweet. By doing this, we've found we don't need anything else on them. No butter needed!

This week we've had some very cold evenings and Hubsy cooked up this hot number on one of those nights:

 Spicy brussels sprouts,

 baby bok choy, 

and Sushi rice.

So good.

Are you cooking up winter vegetables this time of year? Give something new a try the week! It's really fun to have something new.

D.

Make Yer Own: Vanilla Extract

Yesterday I picked up four vanilla beans at the Co-op to make my own vanilla extract. I used rum with this; but, according to some research, I could have used brandy or vodka. It seems the vodka might take longer (up to 6 months) while some sources I found said that rum can produce good flavored vanilla in a couple weeks! I'll let you know how this batch turns out. 

In the meantime, I'm planning to have a little experiment with different alcohols to see which one gives the best flavor (once I pick up some brandy and vodka, that is).

I'm listing a bunch of things on ebay today and generally just enjoying being home on this very frigid morning. Negative 11 degrees when I got up.  Not fun.

What's up in your world on this MLK Day?

Pantry Challenge and Spelt Waffles

This month, I'm joining my blog-friend, Angela, on her January Pantry Challenge. Her challenge is perfect timing since I've been anxious to clean out the cabinets and move towards a more vegan diet. I haven't finished all of my cabinets yet, but here's a peek:

(As you're probably aware, I'm also trying to eliminate plastic and I cringe a bit when I see the plastic that's still in the cupboard. Especially the Bob's Red Mill products. Such wonderful goods but all in plastic. Sad, really.)

One item that I had forgotten I had (and discovered in my pantry cleaning) was Spelt Flour from Bob's Red Mill (See? I really like their stuff!).  I have never used spelt flour but felt like Spelt Waffles would be a wonderful Wintry Saturday Breakfast. Sounds good, right? Well, I am a bit on the bare side in the cabinets these days, but with a bit of substitution, I came up with these yummy (though non-vegan) spelt waffles.

Here's the recipe:

Spelt Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

We topped them off with berries and maple syrup.

I have to say I'm really having a blast with this. I had forgotten how FUN cooking can be!

Now to find a good lasagna recipe...

D.

Vegan Dinner

After watching Forks Over Knives, we've decided to eat far less dairy and little to no meat. We haven't eaten red meat in close to 20 years, so that isn't a problem at all, and I was a vegetarian for a long time. Still, I'm realizing how many recipes can be easily swapped out to become more plant-based and healthier.

Here's one of our recent dinners. This was a Curried Split Pea Soup served over baked sweet potatoes. I never would have thought to put the two together; but, it was really good.

The soup in process:

Organic veggies from the co-op and old spices (it's time to clean the cupboards!)

The soup is made in two parts. First the split peas and onions are boiled in water along with the spices.

Then the veggies are added, producing a flavorful and thick soup.

Whenever I make this again, and I surely will, I think I'll try cooking the veggies in curry and spices first and then adding the water and split peas. Although it was very good, I think that would enhance the curry flavor.

Tonight we're having Black Beans and Quinoa. What's cooking with you?

D.

Busy but Focused

A belated Happy New Year everyone! We were away between Christmas and New Year's which means I didn't get my usual time to reflect and organize during that time. I really like being at home during the holidays, but we had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. It was well worth the traveling.

I am feeling very focused on two things in particular for the coming year. I hope to finally have my car parked in the garage, for one thing. We've lived here for 8 years and have used our garage for anything but parking a car. There really isn't much in there, and the weather has been springlike lately, so there's really no excuse for this one.

The other major focus of the new year is a combination of adopting a plant-based diet and committing more fully to no waste. To that end, Hubby gave me a bunch of glass jars for Christmas and the other day we drove down to Brattleboro to do our shopping. They have so much bulk food at the Co-op there that this could prove to be very easy, indeed.

This is all that we brought home. I love the mesh bags I bought on Etsy and the only thing here that is non-recycleable is the plastic for the dried fruit. They were already wrapped. We'll have to check into this.

And, finally, I'll continue on my 1000 item simplification this year. In December, I only managed to eliminate 20 items, so my total for 2011 was 846. Pretty good, but I do have lots more to sort through.

I'm seeing the new year as a continuation of all that I've been working on for the past few years. Goals feel very much within my grasp now, perhaps because they aren't out-landish goals or perhaps because I've made small steps over the years. I'm feeling more focused than ever which can't be a bad thing.

What about you? Any big goals for the new year?

I'm off to clean out my cabinets and fill my jars :). Enjoy your Sunday.
xo
D.