a shot from Polly's wedding!

i had to photoshop my dress because it came open in the front a bit. woops!

green smoothie!

i've been reading a lot about the benefits of dark leafy greens and also green smoothies, so this morning when i discovered that ryno ate my last apple, i headed into the kitchen to experiment. "eat a banana," he told me, knowing full well that i have a love/hate relationship with bananas... the taste and smell doesn't bother me in the least, but the feeling of biting into a mushy, warm banana is enough to keep me away from them.
this smoothie is the first green smoothie i've ever made at home, and i must say that i'm pleasantly surprised! i was worried about masking the taste of the spinach, but the fruit definitely did it's thing. yum!



mango-spinach smoothie

ingredients:
2 ice cubes
5-7 cubes of frozen mango
1 banana
biiiiig handful of spinach
& enough soy milk to make it blend easily

blend & enjoy! this combo makes enough for one big glass of smoothie, as pictured.

post DC thoughts...

well as jess just filled you all in, DC was great. probably the best(read : crazy) 48 hours of our lives. but i wanted to recap on some unfinished pictures that i had left out previously. so here goes nothing.

here are the pics of our bikes that i had mentioned earlier:
as you can see, buki likes hanging out near the bikes.

also, we have mentioned on here before on what a task it can be to clean the dishes or make due with our rather small kitchen, accommodations, etc. so i thought i would show you how it goes when your oven range is super dirty:
and how it looks after the bear-cleaning:
today(monday) jess and i have off from work, it has been very nice to relax and take it easy. jess is making some sloppy joes with texture vegetable protein(tvp) that will be amazing, and i have been watching some law and order criminal intent. tomorrow, i plan on biking to work, and may even meet bonnie on my way to work one day so we can bike together.

in the next few months, we will be going pretty tight on our budget. we plan on going to galena in october, to our most favorite B&B. so we both will be practicing some extreme self control. no records, no pyrex, no mani/pedis, and not going out to eat much. it will be well worth it that's for SURE!

DC craziness!!

our whirlwind trip to DC for polly's wedding was great! we left right after ryan got out of work at friday and set out for what would turn out to be a pretty crazy 12 hours! the first few hours went great until the weather shifted and and we drove threw what we later found out was a tornado! we nearly ran out of gas in ohio because the gas station we stopped at had no electricity, goodness! after some illegal u-turns and crazy driving, we were back on our way. things went rather swimmingly despite our own exhaustion but we kept trucking despite having to sleep in a mcdonald's parking lot for an hour just outside of the city. when we were driving through pennsylvania and maryland, it was already very late and so so dark, not to mention the fog!

we got into DC around 7 AM, walked around for a bit, and killed some time until sticky fingers opened! we split a sticky bun, an everything bagel with tofutti cream cheese, and i had a yummy cupcake & the best soy cappuccino ever! i also had temptation vegan soft serve, which was pretty much the best thing in the universe!

its so nice to be able to go into a place and order anything off the menu without having to worry about ingredients... sticky fingers is definitely an inspiration and even more motivation to open my own vegan shop! the treats were great, as expected... everything was perfect! unfortunately ryan wasn't able to get a chili dog like he wanted to, but i'll make my own interpretation this week to satiate the craving! they also had things like vegan breakfast sandwiches plus tons of other bakery/pastry items and cookies. unfortunately we didn't get to sample everything but i would definitely have loved to! we had to leave room for our lunch at java green! ryan had the turkey/bacon club with some popcorn "chicken" and i had the "temptation" grilled tempeh sandwich with a side salad. also very yum!







we also went and saw the pandas, which was the GREATEST THING EVER! the pandas were great, and the one panda was a total ham! he climbed the tree and huffed and puffed and totally loved the attention from the "audience"! we watched him munch on some bamboo and play in the water, too!







the wedding was lovely and it was great to meet some of ryan's friends. we both had great time despite some driving frustration (google maps is very unreliable, we've found out) and my dress being wrinkled! we ended up getting dressed in a starbucks bathroom and i put makeup on in the car in what was 100+ degree heat... overall a great time with some ups & downs along the way but everything worked out great. we took a hybrid cab back to the hotel since we both had a buzz going and ended up crashing around 9. we woke up, had a breakfast, and head out at 7. needless to say we made great time, and were back home before 6.

best 48 hour vacation of my life!

busy busy bears!

what have we been up to?
eating yummy food, re-organizing & cleaning, recovering from bear-falls, and getting ready for DC!

speaking of obsessions-collections...

[not shown: gremlins lunch box]

oh so much fun...

fostering obsessions?

ryan and i are similar in that we both tend to dive into the things we like head first and often go through periods of... well, obsession. that said, we have both been collecting records for a good amount of time now. our collection has grown greatly since moving in together, and i'd say that we're both pretty damn proud of it.

ryan tends to do the searching/trading/buying, however... so my own "baby" is my recently fostered love for vintage pyrex. i was able to score some this weekend while thrifting/antiquing, and i've made some purchases on ebay this week. i'm waiting for two in the mail and we'll be picking up one set of nesting bowls this weekend from a nearby seller.

the first purchase was a full set of gooseberry pink nesting bowls :


the second was a set of three woodland nesting bowls that will complete my set :


the third is a flamingo pink pie plate. i'm going to make ryan a vegan french silk pie and dutch apple pancakes!

30 miles a day...

i have been biking to work for over a week now. it is about 15 miles each way. from aurora to wheaton in the morning, and then back in the afternoon. besides the obvious benefits of saving a lot of money on gas, the benefit of getting a great amount of activity, wonderful sleep at night, and a more balanced mood has really reinforced this plan to cut out driving as much as possible. jess has also been stepping it up in the cooking realm. this week we have been eating so well[not that we haven't in the past ;)] it is such a blessing to come home to a wonderful homecooked meal. i am very fortunate!

jess and i have also been making the best of our new found love and freedom for biking. last week we met at thai village in downtown batavia, which was amazing. this friday we are going to meet at east china inn in downtown batavia. it has been great to make the most of our situation. with this we find ourselves less reliant on our car, and more aware of what is around us, and how much fun it is to bike and get activity.

along these lines, we have also taking some liberties with having a little extra cash, now that we aren't spending cash on gas. jess has been very fond of vintage pyrex dishes, and i of course am still fond of records.

we have yet to show you pictures of jess' new bike, and her old bike that i am now utilizing, so that will come soon. until then keep safe, be aware of your resources, and watch this again:



and now watch my two favorite reprises:

sichuan tofu with garlic sauce

tonight for dinner i made the sichuan tofu with garlic sauce recipe from the fat free vegan kitchen. the only modifications where that i doubled the sauce recipe and baked the tofu rather than pan-frying it. ryno & i ate lots of it with quinoa and steamed green beans. yum!

turning lemons into lemonade?

as posted earlier, we were really at a loss at to what to do with our kitchen when we first moved in. right now we have islands/store in the living area (which is what we're going to tackle next... hopefully we can find a great vintage loveseat!) which is really what makes our kitchen tolerable. a lot of the refurbished apartments in the building have an bar area with a lot more storage/counter space and its definitely enviable, but i'm proud to say we have made it work.

here are some photos i took earlier of the kitchen... in all of its glory, complete with dishes in the sink...


as you can see, our actual kitchen has pretty limited counter space... this is redeemed by buttercup, my kitchenaid stand mixer.

we also have the displeasure of having a single, unnaturally small sink. needless to say, a day's worth of dishes doesn't stand a chance...

we have UNICORNS! and spices. i also have a whole drawer with more spices.

this island is pretty awesome... we keep most of our appliances in it, including the electric knife that ryan brought home from work around thanksgiving!

the second island has measuring/mixing things and some vintage pyrex. ryan got me the hello kitty toaster for christmas, and the utensil holder was one of the first things we bought for the apartment!

i do like our apartment... and even how the "kitchen" is... so here's a glimpse into the panda life!

potstickers!

this morning i made a million yummy potstickers!
i loosely followed a recipe out of an old "wok and stir fry" cookbook i have, and these are totally delicious. i admit to sneaking some of the filling as i worked!

we're going to have them for dinner tonight with miso soup. they're super easy to make!

vegan "pork" potstickers

these potstickers are traditionally prepared with ground pork. i'm not a huge "fake meat" fan, but one of my favorite products is lightlife smart ground. smart ground worked perfectly, but i'm sure these could be made using ground seitan, crumbled tempeh, or crumbled extra firm tofu.

ingredients:
1 package lightlife smart ground
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T of finely chopped scallion
1 t of grated ginger (i used a microplane grater)
2 t sesame oil

2 t sugar
1/4 t molasses
2-4 T light soy sauce (i just eyeballed)
2 T seasoned rice vinegar
1-1.5 T mirin
salt to taste
1 t sesame oil

1 package of vegan wonton/dumpling wrappers (most are)

prepare sauce in a small bowl and set aside. i did this by sight/taste, so adjust to suit your own palette.

heat sesame oil over med-high flame and saute garlic, scallion, and ginger until fragrant. add smart ground and stir to coat.

add sauce to pan and quickly stir fry. transfer filling to separate bowl.

create a station with filling bowl, wrappers, a work space, and a small bowl of water for sealing the wrappers.

hold the wrapper with the point facing towards you. spoon 1-1.5 T of filling into the center of the wrapper.

wet finger with water and run your finger along the edges of the wrapper (it will feel sticky, which is what you need to properly seal them)

pinch together the ends of the wrapper making sure the filling does not come out. make sure that there are no air bubbles in the potsticker.

continue until filling is gone!

to cook, heat sesame oil over med-high heat and add potstickers. once the bottoms are browned, add enough water to just cover the potstickers and put a lid on the pan. allow potstickers to steam for 5-6 minutes or until water evaporates.

serve with dipping sauce of your choice and ENJOY!

an (almost) all day affair!

i made the veganomicon acorn squash & black bean empenadas today and goodness, did it take a while! this morning before work i roasted the squash for the filling and made the pastry. when i got home, i put together the empenadas, baked them up, and served them with tortilla chips, fresh salsa, and an avacado dip. i had a perfectly ripe avocado hanging around but no limes or lemons for guacamole, so i mashed it up and mixed it with some salsa verde i made a while ago. it was a yummy meal and well worth the time!

when life knocks you off yr horse-bike, you have to get back up....

so in the last few days i decided to start riding my bike to work, thursday went great. it took an hour and half to get there, and an hour twenty minutes to get back on thursday. on friday however, things did not go so smoothly. i crashed my bike on the way to work. my bike ride is about 16 miles and i crashed about half
way there. now the pain aside, my intial feelings were how inconvienced i was, with blood running down my left knee and my left hand, i dusted my self off, straightened out my handle bars, and got back on my bike. when i got to work i bandaged myself (with help from a co-worker) and did the work thing and then biked to batavia to have thai with my sweetie.so long story short, my knee and my hand look like raw hamburger . and goodness do i want to not move. but i figure just like the old saying goes. when you fall off the horse-bike, you have to get back on. truer words have never been spoken.

this weekend has been productive for jess and i, we each got some fun thrift shopping...jess got some fun cooking items and a new top and i got some new pants and a few new shirts. and i also got to stop atkiss the sky to pick up radiohead's the bends. which is a solid classic nineties album, that i finally picked up.

so great weekend, we had mostly relaxing times. defintly could use another couple days of simple pleasures(with out the bike accident of course!).

by the way, the way i take to work, is called the prairie path. and here is the map of my journey, including the trek i take, and where i died:



this week i plan on biking all week, lets hope i can survive!

some more thrifting & lazy nights

this afternoon we went thrifting/antiquing and i was able to find some more vintage pyrex pieces! i think these are 60s-70s era, but i've been researching some other 50s pieces that i'll keep my eye out for. afterwards we went to downtown geneva and stopped in the spice house and kiss the sky, two of our favorite local spots. i bought some great indonesian cinnamon and ryno got a radiohead record!
when we got home we did some bear things. despite currently being broken from a bike accident he will most likely blog about, he was kind enough to hang my cast iron skillets on the wall in the kitchen and i reorganized the cupboards. this freed up a lot of space in our virtually non-existent kitchen - something i'm constantly messing with in the pursuit of functionality. this is what we've had to work with!


for dinner i made one our go-to quick and simple meals and it definitely hit the spot with some wine. coming from an italian background, one of the first things i ever learned how to cook was a simple tomato sauce and pasta. right now i just throw everything together, so these measurements are just estimates. like most cooking, seasoning and spices are definitely dependent on an individual's taste. ryan and i both prefer a more chunky sauce, but give the tomatoes a quick whiz in the blender before adding them to the pan for a smooth sauce.

better than jarred tomato sauce!



ingredients:
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T extra virgin olive oil
one large (28 oz.) can of organic diced tomatoes
2-3 fresh basil leaves
1/4 t dried oregano
pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
optional: swirl of dry red wine
optional: a few generous pinches of crushed red pepper flake

one package whole wheat angel hair pasta

1. while water is boiling for pasta, heat olive oil over medium flame and add garlic. sauté until fragrant - make sure not to burn the garlic or else your sauce will be bitter!
2. add tomatoes and bring to a simmer. add basil, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper. if using wine, add and continue to simmer until alcohol is cooked out. if using red pepper flake, add to taste.
3. continue to simmer while pasta cooks. strain pasta (reserve some pasta water), and add to pan with the sauce, adding enough pasta water to moisten the pasta. stir to incorporate and served drizzled with a bit more olive oil, if desired.

some new finds...

ryno & i did some successful shopping today. after we picked up my dress from the tailor, i bought some comfy bike-riding pants. afterwards we went thrifting and i found some really lovely vintage pyrex nesting bowls and a cast-iron grill pan that's in great shape! i've been making tons of fresh salsa recently, so it seemed like a pretty good way to break in my new bowls!


fresh salsa!

ingredients:
5-6 small/med size tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1/4 of a large red onion (or sweet white onion, if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of lemon or lime
optional: handful of chopped cilantro (i've been making it with cilantro a lot recently, but couldn't find a good bunch at the store today)

chop everything up!
mix everything together - most of these ingredients are suited for my preference. add or leave out to suite your own taste.
add sugar, salt, pepper, cilantro, and lemon juice. let sit to let flavors meld or EAT!

Some things that make the internet worthwhile...

The internet has brought us some lovely things in the past, including 1337speak, O RLY? and, more recently, LOL CATS. There have also been some... uhhh.. more interesting things, like 2 Girls, 1 Cup (don't worry, that's a wikipedia link!)
In my constant search for more and more entertaining internet media, I have come across this blog, and its message is pretty damn clear while remaining consistently hilarious.

Youtube, as most know, also hosts a plethora of relatively worthwhile media. I mean, where else can you find this?

There are actually some worthwhile things out there, though... one of my favorites being Free Rice. Sometimes its nice to be able to feel good about wasting time at your job!

my favorite season...

MOREL MUSHROOM SEASON!

so i am super happy, because my mother gave me some morel mushrooms that she and my step-dad found in the wild...morel hunting season is a relatively short season, and it's pretty much the vegan's equivalent to deer hunting season i suppose...

anyway, fried morels is one of my favorite things...prepping morels is pretty simple, just bread them and pan fry em...so yeah, super yum! i hope to find more later this week, hopefully tomorrow morning before work???? this was also fun, because jess had never tasted morels before today, and they have a unique flavor/taste...they are now one of her favorite foods as well...DOUBLE YUM!

i leave you with a pic of a few morels:

even when your mornings are like this....

cats are pretty much still better than children.

why cats are better than children:

need i say more?

what have we been up to??

here's a collage i threw together of some photos i had hanging out on my computer (its mostly food!)



note the cupcakes - these were awesome mini chocolate cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting. mm! i love my mini cupcake pan!

also... tonight ryno & i celebrated the end of my first year of "real school" (aka: not art school)... it's gone pretty fast, hopefully i can be DONE soon!