WIP Wednesday: garden progress and something awesome

I want to first apologize for my lack of posts this past week...  It was a hectic and bothersome week, and though I thought of you often, I wasn't able to make time to write anything.  Or really even cook anything good.  We had brussels sprouts and french fries for dinner Monday night.  Seriously.  But anyway...

The garden is coming along so nicely!  Lookit!

sprouts!

They live!  Those are some radishes and lettuce of some kind (I've been having a hard time keeping track of what is in what pot for now...that will all change once they are actually recognizable plants.  Oh, and no I can't read my handwriting on those sticks.).

And then there's this:

circle of...life

A little fairy ring of sprouty happiness!  Almost big enough to start thinning.  They grow up so fast...

And beets!

strain your eyes, they're there

Even the herbs in our little kitchen window pot are starting up:

little basil (or parsley) and chives

So yes, the garden is doing very well.  I'm so pleased!  They only just started sprouting on Monday really...and they've grown so much since then.  I didn't even show you all of what we've got goin' on.  Sadly, Michael's out of town and our babies will practically be toddlers once he gets back on Saturday.  Sorry, it's just way too easy to personify these plants.  We've got a lot invested in them and I care about them so much!

Oh...  hey there, bloggy buddies.  Did you notice something awesome about those photos?  I did promise awesomeness in this post as well.  Hmmm...  Did I fail to mention last week that I ordered a digital SLR?  Well, I totally did!  And it came today!  And it's raining so I can't go outside and take photos.  So here's some other examples of what my fabulous new (well...gently used and 4 years old) camera can do.

It can take pictures of the inside of my fridge.

crowded

It can take pictures of the bed.

messy

It can take pictures of my cat.

mrow!

Heck, it can take pictures of both my cats.

so happy to oblige

It can take pictures of stuff I'm gonna eat tonight.

ingredients!

It can take pictures of my sink.

tempeh for din

It can take pictures of garlic.

and up close, mind you

And it can even take pictures of my blogging station.

computer!

Which brings me back to where we started.  Did you notice?  How awesome?  Did you see all that selective focusing?  The shallow depth of field?  Did ya?  

Color me excited because this girl has finally got a decent digital camera (Nikon D70 for those who are interested) and can show off the photo skillzzzzzz.  Yeah!

Now.  Off to make dinner and take an awesome picture of it.  Stay tuned.

WIP Wednesday: greening up 2 ways...well, actually 3

I feel bad about using plastic shopping bags.  We all should, really.  I couldn't really afford to buy a bunch of reusable bags though, so I decided to make some.  Out of my old tshirts that will probably never fit again because I'll probably never be a size extra small ever again.  I have all these old shirts that I love...but never wear, so this is a way for me to use them again and help out the environment.  The funny thing is that most of these shirts are from a store I worked at for awhile, and I had a major Volcom obsession for awhile and now all my shopping bags (except for like...2) have their logo.  Fun.  Psssst....these were really, incredibly easy to make.  Like ridiculously easy.  If you have a sewing machine (or just a shitload of patience), you can do this.  Looky here:

amazing how those xsmall tshirts stretch 

They hold so many groceries!  That's only three of around ten that I made.  Here's what you do:  

1. Find a tshirt that you don't wear anymore.

2. Cut off the sleeves, but keep the seam that holds them on intact (for stability)

3. Cut out the neckline so it's wider.

4. Turn it inside out.

5. Sew together the bottom hem (I did it twice for extra sturdiness).

That's it.  Go make your own grocery bags!  You no longer have an excuse not to.  Also, as you can see in that photo, Kroger is now carrying these Tasty Bite Indian dinners that you just microwave up and the ones that are vegan say vegan on them.  Which is pretty much unprecedented in West Virginia.  I was so excited that I had to buy one!  Haven't tried it yet, but they seem good.  Added bonus?  They're lower in fat and calories than most of those microwave meals, so you don't feel all gross after eating it (I'm assuming).  You might have also noticed these:

even greener

What's the point of using a reusable shopping bag if you just fill it up with your produce that's in those silly plastic produce bags?  If you're like us, you buy a lot of produce, either at the store or at the farmers market.  Well...fret not, my friends.  There is a way around it!  Some people, like our buddy Amy at Tahinitoo, make their own out of lightweight nylon.  There's no fabric like that at my fabric store, so I ordered some bags from Etsy from a girl who is making these (at $2 a bag) to pay for her college education.  Go check it out!  They are as light as the plastic bags so they don't screw up the scale, plus you are (yet again) helping out the environment.  And helping a kid pay for college.  Where can you go wrong?  They come in sizes small, medium, and large with these nice little ribbons to pull everything shut.  Rad!

Another way we are greenifying our house is by starting an indoor garden.  We made a trip up to Lowe's on Monday to get supplies...here's our seeds:

so many exciting veggies and herbs!

Last night Michael and I started planting the seeds that specified March for our region.  It was some work (and some money spent...), but well worth the effort (assuming we get loads of veggies out of it).  We have a sunporch on the front of our apartment, so all the containers are going out there.

do you see our garden owl?

Those are the ones that don't need to be transplanted.  Lids on top to keep the kitties out.  Now I really need advice on how to keep cats OUT OF THE PLANTS!  It's a big problem, because our cats are curious to the max and like to destroy things.  If you have any advice, let me know!  

My mom gave me a growlab that I can start seeds in for things like peppers and tomatoes.

happy plantlings

I can't find the list of all of our seeds, but here's what we planted last night:  brussels sprouts, cayenne peppers, chili peppers, scallions, golden beets, red beets, kale, red radishes, watermelon radishes, regular lettuce, mesclun, rainbow chard, and sugar snap peas.  Should be an adventure, eh?  This is all due to a book my brother got for Michael for Christmas called The Bountiful Container by Rose Marie, Nichols McGee, and Maggie Stuckey (thanks, Jonah!).  We highly reccommend this book for anyone with a small space that would be interested in gardening (indoors or out!).

Stay tuned for progress throughout the spring and summer on how our little plant buddies are doing!

The final way of going green is our St. Patrick's day meal.  As soon as I saw the colcannon puffs on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, I knew I wanted to make them.  And I'm so glad I did!

nice little potato balls

These were seriously tasty.  I'd say you should make them all the time.  Not just on St. Patrick's day.  They are lightly crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside, with loads of flavor.  The recipe made more than I could fit on my cookie sheet (which was 30 puffs), so we put the rest in a loaf pan so Michael (the potato lover) could have colcannon loaf as snacks.

tato loaf

To go along with these loverly potato puffs, we seared some tofu according to a sort of tofu recipe that some lady behind us in line at the Healthy Life Market gave us.  Basically, you don't press it, just cut it into steaks (we got 4 out of our cake), salt both sides with sea or kosher salt and leave for awhile to sweat the water out.  Then heat up some olive oil in a nonstick pan and sear both sides until brown.  Adding cracked black pepper to both sides beforehand makes them extra yummy.  

i had no idea this would work so well

They came out with a great texture, but still pretty flavorless (which we figured would happen) so we served them up with some gravy, also via Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.  Mushroom gravy.  And it was freaking amazing.

gravy in the back, croissants in the front

It all turned out so well...  Which made us and our tummies mighty happy.

how can you resist?

I was going to make some soda bread to go along instead of the croissants, but I got some really sad news right when I started cooking and it just didn't happen.  I will make some soon though.  It was all in all a very successful meal, with all the right awesomeness to make vegans happy.

And I don't want to end this post on a sad note, but I do want to say....  Please, if you are depressed and thinking of taking your own life, don't.  There are always other options out there.  Your friends and family will miss you when you are gone, and their pain after that fact outweighs the pain you are feeling now.  I've been in the same position a few times in my life, but let me tell you...  life is a better choice.  You never know what it holds for you.  Please, get some help instead.

In loving memory of my brother's and my friend, Shane.  Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts.

W.I.P Wednesday + a recipe

Ok, I'm telling you right now that knitting when your hands are cold is pretty much impossible. Also, most of the patterns I like that I've found want me to use double pointed needles, which I don't have. Well, I will have them shortly, because I ordered some awesome bamboo ones of all sizes last week, but they're coming from China, so I must wait. That's ok though, because I've been occupying my time with something else: drawing. (Am I the only one who, when they hear/think the word 'drawing', automatically thinks of the old SNL sketch with Mike Myers as Simon, who does 'drawerings' in his bathtub? Just me then? Ok.)


I don't really like to draw. Mostly because I always want what I'm drawing to look real. That's the photographer in me. Mind you, I do know how to draw (and paint) pretty well, as I was forced to take like 5 drawing and 2 (oil) painting classes (which I hated) in my undergrad. They did give me the skills to render subjects onto paper fairly true-to-life. But it takes me hours, for which I do not have the patience. At all. That's why my quickie drawings are... bad? No, lets call them 'whimsical'. That's more like it. Anyway, here, you can judge for yourself.

kitty

Hahaha... ok, seriously, my drawings crack me up. All of these took like 2 minutes (max). And, as you can see, I am currently obsessed with gray and pink markers. A couple weeks ago I happened across these little square pads of bristol board that totally took me back to undergrad and the days of design classes and sketch books (which, again, I hated) and fresh, blank pages just waiting for something totally rad to appear on them. At first, I got one for Michael, because he actually enjoys drawing and is pretty darned great at it. He's always telling me that I should draw, and I'm always telling him that I hate drawing. However, the draw of that fresh, perfectly square (I do love squares) bristol pad was too much for me to resist. Plus, they're smallish (like 6x6"), so they're not too intimidating. So I picked one up for myself, as well. This kitty is my first drawing in the pad.

bunnies on a log

Michael and I have been drawing together, then. A lot of times, he'll ask me what he should draw. In this particular instance, I said, "two bunnies sittin' on a log." Once he started, I thought to myself, "Hey, self, bunnies on a log sounds fun to draw." So I drew them too. You need to know that these are all drawn directly with marker. No regrets! No take-backs! Plenty of mishaps. Oh well. My bunnies are happy, as is my kitty.

spooners

When I was little, my parents had (maybe they still do) a double spoon holder on the stove that had a little faces in the depressions and underneath it said 'spooners'. I had no idea what that meant when I was little, but now I do. And I like it! Spooning is possibly the best form of cuddling ever. For the purposes of this drawing, the big spoon looks more masculine than the little spoon. However, in real life (at least mine), I am big spoon and Michael is usually little spoon. That's just how we roll.

I have other drawings, but they really suck, so I left them out. And naturally, all of Michael's drawings are waaaay better than mine, but whatever. I had some fun with some markers and now I have three super cute drawings.

Now, I believe that I promised a bac*n recipe.

Maple Smoked Tempeh Bac*n

1 package of tempeh

3 Tbsp Braggs or soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar/water mixture *

1 Tbsp ketchup

3/4 tsp liquid smoke

2 Tbsp maple syrup

3 cloves garlic, crushed

canola oil or nonstick spray, for frying

*this is kind of...sketchy, and i apologize in advance for lack of better measuring. basically, take a 1/3 cup measuring cup and fill it 1/4 of the way with apple cider vinegar. then, fill to the top with water. hence, a mixture. if you like more of a vinegar taste, add more vinegar than that, and less water. it's up to you.

First up, cut your tempeh into flat rectangles. I cut mine into thirds widthwise, then cut each of those into thirds, then cut each of those in half, lengthwise (so they are superthin). Boil some water in a small saucepan, throw the tempeh in, lower temperature to a simmer and leave it for 10-15 minutes (I do 12 minutes, personally). Drain, and set aside (but not for long because...)

Meanwhile, get the marinade together. Just stir it all up in a tupperware with a lid or a shallow bowl. Once the tempeh is done, put it in the marinade and leave it for an hour. Shake or stir them around every 15-20 minutes (I usually read or watch tv while they are marinating). After you're done marinating, remove garlic cloves and toss.

Get a large cast iron or nonstick skillet hot and ready (I prefer cast iron, but the other will work, if you must). Heat up the oil or spray with the spray (if using cast iron, you really don't need to use any additional oil). Arrange the tempeh slices in the pan (now at about medium heat). They should all fit, but if not, do them in batches. Pour about half (or a quarter, if you're doing 2 batches) of the marinade over them. Swirl the pan around so that the marinade gets evenly distributed. Now just wait until they brown on the bottom. This may take a little time, but really, wait for it, because the lovely crust it gets is completely worth it. Once they are browned, turn them, add the rest of the marinade, swirl, and wait again until they are browned and lovely.

Eat!

The flavor of these is sort of sweet, pretty darned smokey, and completely delicious. Enjoy on a sammich or on the side of some pancakes or a tofu scramble.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make some dinner so that I will not be distracted during the upcoming 3 hour LOST extravaganza. Do Not Disturb!

eta: check out other peeps doing cool stuff at the W.I.P. Wednesday page!

WIP Wednesday, quiches, and muffins

First off, this will be a quick post.  I'm sleepy.  And slighty drunken.  My bad!  And Top Chef is on.  Triple whammy.  Anyway, I've been working on my knit stitches.  This is for my WIP Wednesday (visit shellyfish if you don't know what I'm talking about!).  This is my special knit stitch for sweaters (knit, purl, alternate rows).

Next up is my first try at cable knitting.  You can just see the little swirly-doo.

swirl twirl!

This swirlydoo takes lots of time, but is fun, nonetheless.  I enjoy it.  I want to try making some knit animalpals, but have yet to find any fun patterns.  It will be, though!

Chick-wheat savory muffins

These are Celine's wonderful savory muffins.  Michael made these and we had them with dinner last night.  Then I had one for breakfast.  Then I had one with lunch.  They taste like fluffy falafel!  Wonderful, wonderful.  I fully reccommend that you made theses as soon as possible.  PS - they are my new favorite muffin AND biscuit!

mini quiches

These are the mini crustless tofu quiches from fatfreevegankitchen.com.  I modify mine, using regular tofu instead of silken and other veggies besides mushrooms (none on hand and i just don't like 'em that much).  Still, I garnished them with a little cherry tomato while baking and they turned out wonderful!  Hint:  super spraying your tins with spray oil  makes them come out easier.

all together now

Steamed carrots (on sale, what!) with mustard sauce from Vcon, quiches, and chick muffins.  Lovely.  I especially loves the muffins soaked in the mustard sauce.  Woo!  And now, I must continue watching Top Chef.  See ya!