polaroid saturday

polaroid saturday

black & white profanity.

polaroid saturday

above is a polaroid from ottumwa, ia. where i was born. where my dad is from. where my grandmother still lives. i grew up going to this park, playing on this tornado slide. fond memories.

i love you dad.

doctor brayden

prognosis:

cutest kid in the world!

anatomy of a meal!

pictured above: preparation for a modified version of homestyle bean curd from tigers & strawberries. slices of extra firm tofu, chinese black fungus, salted black beans, sichuan peppercorns, garlic, & scallions.

i'm contemplating starting a food blog so i can have a more appropriate & more streamlined outlet for my foodie ramblings and recipe posting. i've been playing around with wordpress & brainstorming some graphic/layout ideas - hopefully i can get the ball rolling before the semester is in full swing.


ps hi dawn!

happy inauguration eve!

i'm old enough to know that no presidency in the last 20+ years has brought about this amount of excitement and joy. i am awkwardly more hopeful and happy about this than i care to admit, knowing that politics are never a clean business, and there seems to be corruption everywhere. i am generally a skeptic, but tomorrow seems like an opportunity for so much. as i write all this, i am trying to temper all of my hopes and ideals, with a "let's see what happens" attitude, instead of speculating. needless to say i will be glued to the television tomorrow.

a busy day for budget bears...

in an attempt to tighten our belts just a little bit more, we've declared 2009 the year of the budget bear! we've done the appropriate budgeting, figured out what gets allotted to where, and are having fun doing it!

one of the most helpful money saving-tips i've read has been to comparison shop... for everything, not just major purchases. because so much of my cooking deviates from the typical SAD, i've found shopping at "ethnic" markets to be a major cash saver! asian markets have great prices on quality produce and, of course, tons of interesting ingredients to experiment with. a perk of living in aurora has also been mexican markets where i can find perfectly ripe avocados for much less than the local supermarket.

buying in bulk has also proven a valuable technique... shopping the bulk bins at whole foods for flours, grains, nuts & legumes costs next to nothing. also, forget stale supermarket spices! look for an indian market for lots of spices or check out a retailer like penzeys where you can forgo fancy packaging for high quality, potent herbs and spices!

now... i admit that i probably get much more joy out of grocery shopping than the average person. while i certainly don't think everyone has to turn into a total foodie, i think having fun with food can definitely open up some new doors. i spend my days pouring over recipes, writing my own, & experimenting with different foods... but i also have taken the time to understand what i'm feeding my body & why. this has probably proven the most valuable money-saving lesson of all - taking care of my body and treating it right has kept me away from the doctor, off medications, & feeling great.

after we finished some epic food shopping we grabbed our coupon book and headed over to pita paradise for some delicious mediterranean food!






oh, & one last tip! reusable grocery bags, good for the earth & your wallet... here we are modeling some amazing handmade totes our deadformat buddy mel made us!

polaroid saturday

polaroid saturday

2009 the re-cap

So much has happened these last few weeks, we thought it appropriate to begin the year with a re-cap of all things panda-y and holiday-ish. First off jess and I both got new tattoos at our favorite tattoo shop. Jess went to our place to get a tattoo with her father. Jess got a piece of cherry pie(her father’s favorite) with a dad banner. And jess’ dad got a touch up on an old rose tattoo he had, with jess’ name above it. And a week later I got an amazing panda tattoo, below are pics of jess’ and I’s tats:






We were very fortunate to have great holidays this year. We had a good time with jess’ folks while they visited over thanksgiving. And we had a great time running around on xmas day seeing everyone(even if i did have to work part of that day). we had a great new years eve eating thai food with sean and irene. Jess’ and I present exchange couldn’t have been better, with both of us getting fun and surprising presents that we both adored, below is a composite:

ryno got:
dinosaur jr : whatever's cool with me 7"
modest mouse : good news for people who like..
mountain goats : sweden
nirvana : in utero(clear yellow)
sea and cake : oui
smashing pumpkins : machina | the machines of god
sonic youth : goo lp(first pressing)
pedro the lion : whole ep 10"
sonic youth stocking cap!!!!

gesso got:
himalayan sea salt
saves the day - through being cool
braid - rainsnowmatch 7" original pressing
kung-fu panda dvd
beetlejuice dvd
and lots of cute oven mitts... and a cupcake apron!!!!
money with which she bought an ipod touch which she is adoring so much right now

here's some pictures of us crazy cats:


not to mention dad/bonnie/santa got us tons of fun things from ten thousand villages, and other thoughtful fun things. And jess’ parents got us pjs. And of course our families/santa gave us money for records and or culinary fun things.

Another amazing recent development that I mentioned in my last blog, was that we got our new coffee table. I urge anyone to take the time when they visit us to check out this lovely piece of artisanal carpentry mastery. Here are some pictures, but no justice will be served unless you see this in person:





yesterday we went to Chicago. We met up with ben and his lady friend jenny and had a wonderful time. we met up with them at the chicago diner, and enjoyed brunch. we then went to reckless records (of course), rag stock, urban outfitters, and a few other stores. we finished the night at mac's, where all four of us enjoyed their fish and chips. and we all loved it! next time though, we are going to smoke daddy! we had a great time with ben and jenny, it was a shame the night ended so soon, but we look forward to seeing them this summer, and whenever they visit these parts!

so after all of that bloggery, we are so thankful we have each other and family and friends to share our lives with. we are so thankful and happy that 2009 is starting off so well. this year for us, will bring tight budgets, a fun summer train ride to california, a possible 2010 wedding date, and our kitties will be turning two!

happy 2009!

well jess and i are relaxing after a simple yet fun new years eve. we went out to eat with irene and sean at one of our favorite thai restaurants last night, which was a blast. and we rang in the new year with records and kitties and champagne corks flying.

sean presented us with a new coffee table that he made us. we commissioned sean to make this table quite a while ago, but now that we have it, it was well worth the wait. it is perfectly designed to sit two lap tops side by side. and it has a drawer that can house both of our lap tops. needless to say we couldn't be happier. the cats have also been enjoying a new piece of furniture to crawl all over.

jess and i had a great christmas. we drove all over the place delivering home made cookies to family members which was fun. jess and i exchanged presents, and we both are happier than panda bears stranded on a bamboo island. jess got me countless records that i wanted and i got her numerous things she desired.

so it's been a crazy week and a half. i've been working tons, and am looking forward to having the next few days off. tomorrow we are going to chicago to meet up with ben and his g/f. much fun will be had.

swedish meatballs

one package of gimme lean beef
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 T finely chopped parsley
1/2 t granulated onion
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t salt
good dose of cracked black pepper
pinch of thyme
pinch of nutmeg
2 T olive oil for frying

for the sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 T sherry
1 1/2 "beef-style" bouillion cubes combined with 3 cups of water
about 1/4 cup of soy milk mixed with 2 1/2 T of corn starch, plus additional soy milk if needed to thin sauce
squeeze of fresh lemon
lots of cracked black pepper
2 T fresh chopped parsley

half pound pasta of choice, cooked according to package instructions. i used whole wheat "egg" noodles.



combine first 10 ingredients and mix until well incorporated & then shape until 12 1-inch balls.

heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. fry meatballs in oil until evenly browned on all sides.

to make sauce:

on medium heat, saute onion in olive oil until soft. add garlic & cook some more. raise the heat & deglaze pan with sherry and allow reduce (about 5 minutes).

add broth and allow to cook. add cornstarch slurry & stir to combine. lower heat and simmer until thickened. add lemon juice, parsley, & pepper.

if necessary, thin out sauce with additional soy milk.

top noodles with meatballs & gravy & enjoy.

baby it's cold outside...

why bother with a blanket of a sweater, when you can use the snuggie? i guess i need to add one more thing to my christmas list.

buy here! act now and get a second one for free(+7.95 per snuggie) plus you get a free book light. whoa!

mmm, sunday brunch.

there is nothing like a hot plate of delicious brunchy goodness to wake you up on a snowy sunday morning. right now it's -5 degrees (feels like -32!), but ryan & i are both full and happy and ready to stay in the rest of the day.

i made biscuits & gravy, (vegan) broccoli quiche, & breakfast potatoes. mm!

happy birthday to... me!

aw, today was the best birthday ever! last night ryan & i stayed up late and i got to open my gifts at midnight!

i opened up some early gifts beforehand, but all together i gotttttt:

lifetime - jersey's best dancers lp
bikini kill - cassette version of the first two records
bikini kill - self titled lp
haveans to betsy - these monsters are real 7"
heavens to betsy - calculated lp
saves the day - through being cool lp
frumpies - frumpies forever 7"
frumpies - babies and bunnies test press!
kung-fu panda & beetlejuice on dvd.
annnnnnnd set of three new dots pyrex mixing bowls, the pièce de résistance of my pyrex collection so to speak!



we had birthday pie at baker's square... and for dinner we had tonsandtonsandtons of sushi!




i had such a wonderful birthday... i'm such a lucky lady, & ryan went above and beyond (per usual!) thanks everyone for the phone calls & birthday wishes!

polaroid saturday

happy birthday beautiful

today...

today i dropped off jess at school for her last finals of the semester and went to my brother and sister in-laws to do some intense cleaning(for a small nominal fee, if interested please contact, hehe...). i cleaned for 6 and a half hours. goodness it was exhausting. but my brother and sister in-law's anniversary is today, so it was worth it.

in two days it will be jess' birthday. she is very excited about her school being over, i think the prospect of presents may have evaded her since she is so relieved right now. but we are excited to have a long weekend together and not have much of any responsibility. we will be going to swordfish for her birthday dinner. we are more than excited about this.

soon it will be a new year filled with things not known. i cannot wait. i also cannot believe how fast this year has went. the first year of jess and i living together. it's been wonderful. more to come.

polaroid saturday

galena in pictures, & more!

i know i'm a little (okay, a lot) late in blogging, but here are some photos from galena!



(note: every time we stay at hawk valley, we take a picture of us jumping on the bad. so silly bed jumping picture #3!)






i've been pretty busy lately... lots of work to do as the semester winds down and when i actually have some time to relax, i take full advantage of it. we've had a wonderful, lazy weekend... i've been cooking and baking and ryan has diligently cleaned up after me.

i made a wonderful leek & potato soup this weekend. simple, but very flavorful and fulfilling.



ingredients:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 leeks, sliced into thin rounds
half a white onion, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2 pounds red potatoes, cut into bit size cubes
vegetable stock (2-3 cups) [** or 2-3 cups of water with one vegetable bouillon cube.]
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/2 t dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
about 1/2 cup of soy milk
salt + pepper

1. saute leeks, onion, & carrots in olive oil until soft & translucent. add garlic and saute for another few minutes.
2. deglaze the pot with a bit of white wine. add potatoes, stock, wine, thyme, and parsley.
3. simmer on low-medium heat until potatoes are cooked through and fork tender.
4. transfer half of the mixture to a blender. add soy milk and blend until smooth and creamy.
5. add the blended mixture back to pot and stir to combine. salt + pepper to taste.
6. garnish with chopped scallion and more parsley.

i used some leftover black bean sauce from the local chinese restaurant to make tonight's dinner. i cheated, but it was still delicious and, not to mention, a lot cheaper than ordering take-out.



yum.

polaroid saturday