Goodbye, camera. Hopefully you're bringing someone else lots of joy.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
This Sucks.
I bought a new camera, an Olympus Stylus Tough 3000. I took it out last night to use it for the first time ever AND LOST IT. My last memory of using it was in Jumby Bay, where I used the wrist strap to put it on my elbow. I don't know if I set it down or dropped it, but I've checked with both bars, mall security, and my friends without any luck of finding it. Someone must have picked it up.
Goodbye, camera. Hopefully you're bringing someone else lots of joy.
Goodbye, camera. Hopefully you're bringing someone else lots of joy.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Some Great Photos
These photos appeared on fb today. Love it.
Keith, Heather, Me, & Greg
Greg wants my tiny hat, I think.
Work it if you've got it.
Keith, Heather, Me, & Greg
Greg wants my tiny hat, I think.
Work it if you've got it.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Random Mix of Thoughts [Edited]
After dining at Sublime, Cristin and Jess decided to embark on a month of mostly vegetarian eating. I am thrilled! We have decided to do a little supper club where we each select a dish to prepare for everyone else. So far, we've enjoyed couscous stuffed peppers and chili with cornbread. I wish I would have known the peppers were supposed to have feta because I could have grabbed faux feta from Whole Foods. For the chili, Jess omitted the beef, used red beans instead of black, omitted the sour cream, and added butternut squash. I managed to photograph my leftovers with my new camera. Also, I can't say enough good things about Wildwood soy yogurt.
Elliot made a beet, lime, and lemongrass soup from my new cookbook The Vegetarian Slow Cooker. Jess bought a baguette to serve with it, but apparently the lady working in the bakery at the local grocery store laughed at her for asking for a bread without eggs. Totally silly that the bakery worker would act like that, because artisan French breads should never contain eggs or dairy! She clearly is not a foodie.
I also finished reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. It was definitely an odd book. It's focused on analyzing issues with tons of pop culture references, some of which were a little before my time or were totally obscure. I did appreciate the sections on internet pornography, Christians who interpret the Bible literally, and how apples and oranges really aren't that different. I'm debating which book to select to read next from the stack I borrowed from Cristin.
I recently noticed that the author of Vegan Lunchbox has decided to give up veganism and become a "nutritarian." No offense, but wtf?! This label is a fancy term for health conscious omnivore. It's her choice to make, but it's sad that people will find her books and blog and possibly think that veganism is about only eating a little bit of animal products. Hopefully it doesn't confuse anyone about what is and is not a vegan lifestyle. It's strange to think that she's launched her writing career based on being vegan and has made money from her cookbooks, only to switch to this new "nutritarian" bit. Lame. When I read her entry describing this change, I was immediately reminded of this shirt that says Never Trust an Ex-Vegan. Nothing against ex-vegans, but it's just kinda funny to see that printed on a t-shirt.
It's starting to look like the holidays. It's chilly outside, people are decorating, and I've started buying gifts. My camera and Eclipse DVD have arrived, so my presents to myself are here. :)
Elliot made a beet, lime, and lemongrass soup from my new cookbook The Vegetarian Slow Cooker. Jess bought a baguette to serve with it, but apparently the lady working in the bakery at the local grocery store laughed at her for asking for a bread without eggs. Totally silly that the bakery worker would act like that, because artisan French breads should never contain eggs or dairy! She clearly is not a foodie.
I also finished reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. It was definitely an odd book. It's focused on analyzing issues with tons of pop culture references, some of which were a little before my time or were totally obscure. I did appreciate the sections on internet pornography, Christians who interpret the Bible literally, and how apples and oranges really aren't that different. I'm debating which book to select to read next from the stack I borrowed from Cristin.
I recently noticed that the author of Vegan Lunchbox has decided to give up veganism and become a "nutritarian." No offense, but wtf?! This label is a fancy term for health conscious omnivore. It's her choice to make, but it's sad that people will find her books and blog and possibly think that veganism is about only eating a little bit of animal products. Hopefully it doesn't confuse anyone about what is and is not a vegan lifestyle. It's strange to think that she's launched her writing career based on being vegan and has made money from her cookbooks, only to switch to this new "nutritarian" bit. Lame. When I read her entry describing this change, I was immediately reminded of this shirt that says Never Trust an Ex-Vegan. Nothing against ex-vegans, but it's just kinda funny to see that printed on a t-shirt.
It's starting to look like the holidays. It's chilly outside, people are decorating, and I've started buying gifts. My camera and Eclipse DVD have arrived, so my presents to myself are here. :)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
A Weekend for the Record Books
For those of you sauntering over here from Cristin's blog, this might seem a bit repetitive, so I apologize in advance. I do have something after the food stuff that isn't included on Cristin's blog, so stick around for that! :)
This past Friday, I went to Sublime, an all vegan restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. My roomie, Ling, just passed her candidacy exam before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so she didn't really get a chance to celebrate. She organized a trip to Ft. Lauderdale as her celebration. The restaurant was extremely cold, but the ambiance was nice. The bathroom even sings a song about washing your hands when you enter. Our party included myself, Ling, Bri, Cristin, Jess, and Elliot. Everyone coordinated to order something generally different from each other so we could try as many dishes as possible. I was hell bent on getting a bite of everyone's food and forced everyone to order dessert. Mean, I know, but it's not every day I can order ANYTHING on the entire menu and not have to worry about what the ingredients are. As Cristin pointed out, there were a lot of substitutions made in the cooking. Not all vegan cuisine relies so heavily on faux ingredients, but I think the restaurant thinks it will show people they don't have to give up all the foods they love. There's still "beef" and "cheese" in veganism. I would have preferred a few more dishes that didn't rely so much on substitutions. I'm glad that I went to Sublime and got a chance to try their food. It was delicious overall. Interestingly, they were doing a promotion where you received a $20 gift card if you spent more than a certain amount. We clearly did, so we got the gift card. I said as the lone vegan in the group that I should get the card. Everyone agreed, but then Cristin stipulated that I could only have it if I would use it to take someone on a date. Since I'm not ready to date (in any way, shape, or form!), the gift card is hanging on the fridge at Cristin and Jess's house for when I am ready. It's going to be super dusty by the time I'm ready. *le sigh
I'm happy to have friends that are willing to be adventurous in their eating habits, so that way I have someone to share the alt-cooking experience with. I'd like to try another nearby vegan restaurant - Darbster in Lake Worth. Since raw food was suggested as the next adventure, I found these two places online: Pure Living Food in West Palm Beach and The Soma Center in Lake Worth.
Our dishes & some comments:
- Appetizers: pesto polenta, bread with garlic margarine, and eggplant rollatini. I've never had polenta before, so I was unsure of what to expect. The texture is obviously gritty, but the taste was pretty good actually. The eggplant rollatini had tofu ricotta (similar to what is in the VwaV cookbook), faux mozzarella, and was breaded and crispy. It was delicious, but I also really LOVE tofu ricotta.
- My dish: Shepardless pie with a side of brussel sprouts in a yellow Hollandaise-type sauce. The shepardless pie was a little salty, probably due to the mashed potatoes. The beef was replaced with Gardein crumbles. The menu said the pie would include jalapenoes, but I didn't taste any. I also ordered a side of mac and cheese, just because there are a million variations of vegan mac and cheese on the internet. It was not a faux cheese melted onto pasta, it tasted like the cheese was a mix of margarine (likely Earth Balance) and nutritional yeast. It was baked in a little ramekin so it had breadcrumbs on the top. It was as good as I expected it to be, so I think I'll try to find a similar style recipe for the next time I want to cook mac and cheese at home.
- Bri and Jess's dishes: Penne Puttanesca - The noodles were tossed with tomato, basil, capers, olives, and roasted peppers. The sauce had a nice little kick to it, but we all agreed there should have been more veggies included in this dish. Not only for flavor, but also just for color.
- Cristin's dish: Broccoli and cheddar quiche with a kale salad - Cristin ordered a quiche when she went to Sublime before, so she knew what to expect. It looked like a giant slice of tofu cake, haha. The taste of the quiche was good, but she said the kale was bitter because it wasn't cooked. Very strange to serve a bitter vegetable raw.
- Elliot's dish: Mushroom ravioli - The menu said the pasta was made in-house. The ravioli were very flavorful; they had an intense mushroom flavor, so I don't think I could have ate several of them. I have only recently started eating mushrooms, so I don't think I would have been able to enjoy a full order of the ravioli.
- Ling's dish: Margherita pizza - As simple as it sounds. It was a wheat crust topped with rice cheese, diced tomatoes, and basil. I really like rice cheese, so I was happy to see it being used in a restaurant. Pizza Fusion offers Follow Your Heart for their vegan cheese, but that's soy based. Not that there's anything wrong with soy, but it's not for everyone.
- Desserts: Coconut cake, chocolate nirvana, and pumpkin cheesecake. The coconut cake was very moist and had a nice texture to it. The chocolate nirvana was extremely decadent and definitely way too rich for one person to enjoy alone. The pumpkin cheesecake was the dish I was the most curious about because I wasn't sure how the cake would be textured. I couldn't tell if the cheesecake was made from really soft tofu and a soy-based cream cheese. I mostly tasted a cinnamon apple sauce taste over the pumpkin, which I was fine with because I don't particularly care for pumpkin flavor. The cheesecake was not as firm as I remember dairy-based cheesecakes being, but it was still tasty.
- Cocktails: Tangito (looked great with chunks of citrus in it), watermelon margarita (mine!), Lychee, and a spiked cider (sake and cider, odd combo).
This past Friday, I went to Sublime, an all vegan restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. My roomie, Ling, just passed her candidacy exam before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so she didn't really get a chance to celebrate. She organized a trip to Ft. Lauderdale as her celebration. The restaurant was extremely cold, but the ambiance was nice. The bathroom even sings a song about washing your hands when you enter. Our party included myself, Ling, Bri, Cristin, Jess, and Elliot. Everyone coordinated to order something generally different from each other so we could try as many dishes as possible. I was hell bent on getting a bite of everyone's food and forced everyone to order dessert. Mean, I know, but it's not every day I can order ANYTHING on the entire menu and not have to worry about what the ingredients are. As Cristin pointed out, there were a lot of substitutions made in the cooking. Not all vegan cuisine relies so heavily on faux ingredients, but I think the restaurant thinks it will show people they don't have to give up all the foods they love. There's still "beef" and "cheese" in veganism. I would have preferred a few more dishes that didn't rely so much on substitutions. I'm glad that I went to Sublime and got a chance to try their food. It was delicious overall. Interestingly, they were doing a promotion where you received a $20 gift card if you spent more than a certain amount. We clearly did, so we got the gift card. I said as the lone vegan in the group that I should get the card. Everyone agreed, but then Cristin stipulated that I could only have it if I would use it to take someone on a date. Since I'm not ready to date (in any way, shape, or form!), the gift card is hanging on the fridge at Cristin and Jess's house for when I am ready. It's going to be super dusty by the time I'm ready. *le sigh
I'm happy to have friends that are willing to be adventurous in their eating habits, so that way I have someone to share the alt-cooking experience with. I'd like to try another nearby vegan restaurant - Darbster in Lake Worth. Since raw food was suggested as the next adventure, I found these two places online: Pure Living Food in West Palm Beach and The Soma Center in Lake Worth.
Our dishes & some comments:
- Appetizers: pesto polenta, bread with garlic margarine, and eggplant rollatini. I've never had polenta before, so I was unsure of what to expect. The texture is obviously gritty, but the taste was pretty good actually. The eggplant rollatini had tofu ricotta (similar to what is in the VwaV cookbook), faux mozzarella, and was breaded and crispy. It was delicious, but I also really LOVE tofu ricotta.
- My dish: Shepardless pie with a side of brussel sprouts in a yellow Hollandaise-type sauce. The shepardless pie was a little salty, probably due to the mashed potatoes. The beef was replaced with Gardein crumbles. The menu said the pie would include jalapenoes, but I didn't taste any. I also ordered a side of mac and cheese, just because there are a million variations of vegan mac and cheese on the internet. It was not a faux cheese melted onto pasta, it tasted like the cheese was a mix of margarine (likely Earth Balance) and nutritional yeast. It was baked in a little ramekin so it had breadcrumbs on the top. It was as good as I expected it to be, so I think I'll try to find a similar style recipe for the next time I want to cook mac and cheese at home.
- Bri and Jess's dishes: Penne Puttanesca - The noodles were tossed with tomato, basil, capers, olives, and roasted peppers. The sauce had a nice little kick to it, but we all agreed there should have been more veggies included in this dish. Not only for flavor, but also just for color.
- Cristin's dish: Broccoli and cheddar quiche with a kale salad - Cristin ordered a quiche when she went to Sublime before, so she knew what to expect. It looked like a giant slice of tofu cake, haha. The taste of the quiche was good, but she said the kale was bitter because it wasn't cooked. Very strange to serve a bitter vegetable raw.
- Elliot's dish: Mushroom ravioli - The menu said the pasta was made in-house. The ravioli were very flavorful; they had an intense mushroom flavor, so I don't think I could have ate several of them. I have only recently started eating mushrooms, so I don't think I would have been able to enjoy a full order of the ravioli.
- Ling's dish: Margherita pizza - As simple as it sounds. It was a wheat crust topped with rice cheese, diced tomatoes, and basil. I really like rice cheese, so I was happy to see it being used in a restaurant. Pizza Fusion offers Follow Your Heart for their vegan cheese, but that's soy based. Not that there's anything wrong with soy, but it's not for everyone.
- Desserts: Coconut cake, chocolate nirvana, and pumpkin cheesecake. The coconut cake was very moist and had a nice texture to it. The chocolate nirvana was extremely decadent and definitely way too rich for one person to enjoy alone. The pumpkin cheesecake was the dish I was the most curious about because I wasn't sure how the cake would be textured. I couldn't tell if the cheesecake was made from really soft tofu and a soy-based cream cheese. I mostly tasted a cinnamon apple sauce taste over the pumpkin, which I was fine with because I don't particularly care for pumpkin flavor. The cheesecake was not as firm as I remember dairy-based cheesecakes being, but it was still tasty.
- Cocktails: Tangito (looked great with chunks of citrus in it), watermelon margarita (mine!), Lychee, and a spiked cider (sake and cider, odd combo).
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tiny Hat
I have a love of ugly/unusual clothing. I usually don't wear stuff that is too revealing. I do own stuff that is extremely revealing, but I think it's best to leave a little to the imagination. ;) However, I frequently wear stuff that is ungodly bright or a little abnormal. I just have an incredibly odd sense of humor. I think that if you wear something ridiculous and are totally confident that you own that look, go for it! You can't take yourself too seriously all the time. So throw on the silliest item in your closet and have a great time! I know it would be easy to say I'm just looking for attention, but that's really not the case. I absolutely loathe most attention-seeking behaviors -- figure out why you crave attention so desperately and stop acting like a jackass.
Anyways, case in point for my love of unusual clothing items: a tiny hat.
When I saw this tiny hat in Arden B on Saturday, I absolutely had to have it. I paired with a vest with ruffles from Arden B. Ta-da! A little ridiculous but totally worth the laughs. :)
Anyways, case in point for my love of unusual clothing items: a tiny hat.
When I saw this tiny hat in Arden B on Saturday, I absolutely had to have it. I paired with a vest with ruffles from Arden B. Ta-da! A little ridiculous but totally worth the laughs. :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Time for a New Look
Since my blog will turn 2 in a few weeks, I have decided to pick a new template. This was a very hippy background and it caught my eye. Hope I don't blind anyone with it! I can't believe this blog turns 2 but only has about 30 posts. I didn't live up to my goal of one new recipe per week, but I learned a lot of new stuff about cooking and I was able to thrive in my vegan lifestyle. :)
This means that my private blog (maintained elsewhere) turns 7 in December! My personal blog should be closer to 8 or 9 years old, but I had to get rid of my modblog account in 2003 because I was being harassed by the friends of my first boyfriend. I never imported those entries into my second personal blog. Whoops. Not that I was doing anything super exciting at that age, but it would be nice to have them for completeness. I was already focused on graduating at the top of my class at 15 (yeah, nerd alert), so my social life was just okay. You don't get any recognition for graduating 3rd, so I was determined to become our valedictorian by the spring of my freshman year of high school. In high school, I had friends and a boyfriend, but I was reasonably tame in my behavior (read: my wildest moments were sneaking out of my stepmom's house for late night bowling with my sister and making out with my boyfriend when my mom wasn't home).
Me at 14
Oh well, I definitely let that wild side come out hardcore at FSU. I do not regret picking a party school that just happened to have a decent science program. My other scholarship offers were from USF and University of Tampa. Both were back-up schools because they were too close to home for the freedom that I wanted. I didn't want debt (thanks Mom for that advice), so I took the scholarship at FSU and spent my Honors stipend on partying. Thanks, Honors College, I'm sure you'd be thrilled to know how I wasted that money.
Fast forward to FSU
This post highlights the fact that I need to scan some older photos of myself. I had quite a different look once upon a time and I think my friends would find the humor in it.
This means that my private blog (maintained elsewhere) turns 7 in December! My personal blog should be closer to 8 or 9 years old, but I had to get rid of my modblog account in 2003 because I was being harassed by the friends of my first boyfriend. I never imported those entries into my second personal blog. Whoops. Not that I was doing anything super exciting at that age, but it would be nice to have them for completeness. I was already focused on graduating at the top of my class at 15 (yeah, nerd alert), so my social life was just okay. You don't get any recognition for graduating 3rd, so I was determined to become our valedictorian by the spring of my freshman year of high school. In high school, I had friends and a boyfriend, but I was reasonably tame in my behavior (read: my wildest moments were sneaking out of my stepmom's house for late night bowling with my sister and making out with my boyfriend when my mom wasn't home).
Me at 14
Oh well, I definitely let that wild side come out hardcore at FSU. I do not regret picking a party school that just happened to have a decent science program. My other scholarship offers were from USF and University of Tampa. Both were back-up schools because they were too close to home for the freedom that I wanted. I didn't want debt (thanks Mom for that advice), so I took the scholarship at FSU and spent my Honors stipend on partying. Thanks, Honors College, I'm sure you'd be thrilled to know how I wasted that money.
Fast forward to FSU
This post highlights the fact that I need to scan some older photos of myself. I had quite a different look once upon a time and I think my friends would find the humor in it.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving Weekend
Although this year has been REALLY rough, I am thankful for the friends that have helped me through everything. I think Ling, Bri, Cristin, Jess, Elliot, the kickball guys, and some of the guys from work have helped me the most through the drama and the hell that is your existence during exams.
Ling, Bri, and Me
In an attempt to expand my friend circle, I went out of my way to meet some of the external graduate students at my institute. I got some cookbooks as a gift from Cristin and I was introduced to Jess through a guy in our environmental health & safety department. It's nice having friends that are a little older, so they can offer advice for situations with a different perspective from my other friends. The three of us have really hit it off, and I truly appreciate all the advice they've given me as I've struggled with school and life. When we played kickball this summer (Bri was also on our team), we met some hilarious engineers and we've become friends with them too. It's nice to feel like I have a life outside of the workplace, even though my work friends are really great.
Cristin, Me, and Jess
Outside of my friends, I am thankful for my family. We might be the definition of dysfunctional, but I love my mom very much and my sister even told me she loved me over the holiday repeatedly. (This is a rare event, I usually get a single "I love you" when we talk.) I was disappointed that my dad was drinking and everyone in our family ignored it. *le sigh* Anyways, I didn't cook a very elaborate meal for the holiday. I made chicken-less nuggets, baked potatoes, and fruit salad for my Thanksgiving meal. Not traditional at all, but simple and reasonably healthy.
In the American spirit of materialism, I went shopping today with Ling. I bought 2 identical pairs of jeans from Express, a corset-style top and a vest with ruffles from Arden B, and an Olympus Stylus Tough digital camera and pre-ordered the Twilight Saga: Eclipse DVD set from Amazon. Ling bought a TON of stuff, but she definitely deserves it after taking her candidacy exam last week.
Ling, Bri, and Me
In an attempt to expand my friend circle, I went out of my way to meet some of the external graduate students at my institute. I got some cookbooks as a gift from Cristin and I was introduced to Jess through a guy in our environmental health & safety department. It's nice having friends that are a little older, so they can offer advice for situations with a different perspective from my other friends. The three of us have really hit it off, and I truly appreciate all the advice they've given me as I've struggled with school and life. When we played kickball this summer (Bri was also on our team), we met some hilarious engineers and we've become friends with them too. It's nice to feel like I have a life outside of the workplace, even though my work friends are really great.
Cristin, Me, and Jess
Outside of my friends, I am thankful for my family. We might be the definition of dysfunctional, but I love my mom very much and my sister even told me she loved me over the holiday repeatedly. (This is a rare event, I usually get a single "I love you" when we talk.) I was disappointed that my dad was drinking and everyone in our family ignored it. *le sigh* Anyways, I didn't cook a very elaborate meal for the holiday. I made chicken-less nuggets, baked potatoes, and fruit salad for my Thanksgiving meal. Not traditional at all, but simple and reasonably healthy.
In the American spirit of materialism, I went shopping today with Ling. I bought 2 identical pairs of jeans from Express, a corset-style top and a vest with ruffles from Arden B, and an Olympus Stylus Tough digital camera and pre-ordered the Twilight Saga: Eclipse DVD set from Amazon. Ling bought a TON of stuff, but she definitely deserves it after taking her candidacy exam last week.
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