Friday, April 30, 2010

Meximeg

Eat your heart out, Alison Rediger. You're not the only one who can do a food posting.

Confession: I have been jealous of Alison Rediger's blog. It is filled with the glow of newly wed bliss, seascapes, and sumptuous dinners. Through it, she keeps those who love her from far far away in touch with her life in Pacific Grove, California artfully and charmingly. In short, she's a pill.

So here's my attempt. I made a Mexican feast for my parents and I, evidenced by the photos below.

We had fajitas with avocado, cilantro, green peppers, sweet onions, sour cream, finely shreadded cheddar, and Tapatio hot sauce served on garden veggie tortillas. We had this with fried plantains, and a very special side salad (see recipe below).

Finally, we had pinapple with chili and lime. This is one of my absolute favorite foods; when living in Mexico, I was known to eat it until my tongue bled (you think I'm kidding? ask my then roommate, Jessica Heinemann).






Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears), raw or cooked
2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled Feta (2 ounces)
Directions
Heat oven to 400° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.
In a large bowl, combine the corn, jalapeƱos, lime juice, oil, walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with the Feta before serving. (Note*: do not overdo the feta! You will be tempted to, but don't do it.)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Uniform Project

Ten days and counting left for The Uniform Project! I am utterly inspired by the NYC woman who decided to wear one dress for one year (she had seven copies made), accessorize with only upcycled and donated accessories and blog it out.

Why would she do this?

To raise money for Akanksha, a charity that puts underprivilaged Indian kids in school. Here's the back story:

The Uniform Project Trailer from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.




And the rest is history! Sheena wears some hideous things and some glorious things. I love that she is brave enough to even let viewers vote whether her look is "batty," "brave," "hot," "cute," "try harder," or create your own tag. Some of my Favorite days include:
May 18 and 7; June 20; July 25; August 6 (!); September 3, 5, and 26; October 30 (one of my favorites on my birthday!) & 31; November 27; Janurary 29; February 5; and April 19.


And some duds in my book:
August 12, 28, & 29; September 15; October 2; November 18; December 4; January 30; February 15; and March 13...but you can't say she's not "brave"!

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

I'll be donating this week—I've enjoyed her efforts and creativity so much that I can't help myself; if you're inspired or feel so moved, donate too!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Uhmazing Upcycling

Etsy has been covering the The Daily Green's Heart of Green Awards and showcased some of these lovelies on their Web site. I'm basically going to abbreviate the blogpost Etsy did so the following writing isn't all mine; I wouldn't cut and paste if they hadn't said it better than I could.

Plastic BottlesThe U.S. discards 13 million tons of plastic annually — more than 12% of our overall waste — and barely 7% of the plastic we discard is recycled. The biggest proportion of that plastic waste comes in the form of plastic bottles (beverages as well as personal care products, cleansers and the like) and packaging. How about a plastic bottle greenhouse? Or a colorful outdoor wall? That's what this sewage treatment plant in Scotland tried, to great effect:










Clothing
Together with leather and rubber, textiles makes up 8% of the U.S. waste. Hand-me-downs, second-hand shops and swaps can take a lot of those old clothes off your hands, possibly even at a profit — unless, of course, you want to use the fabric for something better, like a door draft snake made from old jeans, or this stylish clutch, made from old neckties by Christine Wick:











Glass
Accounting for 5% of U.S. waste, glass is infinitely recyclable. Just add heat! We still only manage to recycle 23% of it, though. I'm guessing that low rate isn't because everyone is using old glass bottles to make new cups, new roofs, or new serving plates.

LOVE the rootbeer and wine bottles with the sanded lips so you don't cut your pouter!












And how cute would these be if your hubby were in a baseball league by night and a businessman by day?

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Daisy

This is Daisy.

She was my father's 60th birthday present.

She smells good, makes baby puppy noises, and poops more than mammals ten times her size.

We had our pick of two pups and we chose the feisty one, though, she's catatonic in these pictures as I took them during her nap.

Her favorite food is celery cut into tiny, non-stringy chunks with peanut butter on them.

She's evens softer than she looks.

She's three pounds of love and misbehavior.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Also Reading

Stiff by Mary Roach. As it turns out, I should've specified "Stiff (book)" when searching for this photo on google (oops!).
Anyway, so far it's great; I'm a little more than halfway through and the author does a good job of disconnecting your mind from thoughts that lead you to think of cadavers as people while maintaining a measure of respect for the "remains" or "expired." Read it to find out why it's okay for us to do visitations and viewings of our deceased loved ones and how the trend started, how long a cremation takes and the surprising resiliance of the body under such stress, how bodies are used to solve crimes, test armor, and generate humane weapons (oxymoron? not quite if it's the difference between a fatality and a momentary debilitation of the offender). So far a great book for the none-too-squeamish.

Thursday, April 1, 2010