Where I've Been

August has been a rough, rough month. At every turn, something happened that upended my routine, making it impossible to blog and nearly impossible just to catch my breath.

My best friend, who gave birth to my godson in July, unexpectedly lost her father. Then this happened, which sent my entire hometown and the surrounding area into a tailspin of heartbreak. The boys were students of both my best friend and my cousin. That same day, there were two other accidents in the same area: a car crash and a plane crash. Eight people died within a few miles of each other and within hours of one another.

Last week at the airport, we experienced an earthquake (though everyone, myself included, thought it was a bomb). Being evacuated from an airport in an emergency is NOT fun. We spent time in Maine with Jesse's family and our stay was unexpectedly extended when hurricane Irene decided to make an appearance.

August has certainly been a lesson in letting go, experiencing strong emotions without judgement, being grateful for those around me and learning that no matter how carefully you plan, life will always take you places you did not intend to be.

September, I welcome you with open arms.

{Image credit: Jeremiah Blatz}

Delicious Dishes

Miso Udon Stir-fry from Appetite for Reduction. Let me yet again proclaim my love for this cookbook. It gave us a bowl full of yumminess: udon noodles, broccoli, azuki beans, swiss chard, green onion, miso, and assorted spices. It also taught me a new method for cooking broccoli, which I know I'll use all the time.

White bean and artichoke salad from Color Me Vegan. This one will be making many a repeat appearance in our kitchen. It was perfection.

Jesse made a southwestern shepherd's pie from Vegan on the Cheap. Another book full of winners. This was hearty, spicy, comfort food at its best.

A vegan peach galette, courtesy of Chloe Coscarelli's website. Very easy and very tasty.

Delicious Dishes: Papa Pea's Jambalaya

Earlier this week I told you about my discovery of the Peas and Thank You blog and how Mama Pea's new cookbook arrived at my door recently. My first foray into cooking from it happened to be in the form of Papa Pea's Jambalaya.

I try to make recipes close together that have similar ingredients so that nothing goes to waste (i.e. two things with cilantro so I don't buy a bunch and only use a tablespoon). This week I used celery in my very favorite lentil soup recipe, so I searched for some other way to use the remaining stalks. Enter Jambalaya! I was leaving for a work retreat for a few days, so this was the perfect way to help stock the fridge for Jesse before heading out of town. It includes meatless sausage (in the form of Field Roast chipotle sausages) and since I hate meat substitutes (an entire post in and of itself for another day), this was a perfect time to try this one. I love that it only needs one pan too, if you used pre-cooked rice.

The final dish:

Revelry Review: Vegan For Life

Vegan? Thinking of going vegan? Love/like/know a vegan? Want to eat less meat or dairy but not sure how to do it in a healthy way? If so, then you need this book. Vegan for Life by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina is a must-read. It's essentially an encyclopedia for all things nutrition-related as they pertain to veganism.

There are entire chapters dedicated to certain vitamins and nutrients. I thought I knew all there was to know about b-12, but I was wrong. They also discuss raising vegan children and being vegan during pregnancy, veganism for the over-50 crowd, transitioning to a vegan diet, managing your weight, heart disease or diabetes, sports nutrition and whether or not soy is safe, plus much more. This is a terrific resource to have on hand in case you need an answer to a question that you or someone else has.

The only thing I didn't like was that the "Why Vegan?" chapter was left for the very end. It seemed out of order! Overall though, this is an information and fact-packed book that provides all you need to know to be a healthy plant-eater. I never once felt like I was reading something too scientific or boring, which books of this type can sometimes be. Jack and Virginia have inspired me to clean up my diet (which was about 90% vegan anyway), given me a new knowledge base, and have given me responses for the many, many questions and concerns that others have about veganism.

On the Concept of Home.

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."~Maya Angelou

I left my childhood home when I was 18. I moved to Washington, DC to attend George Washington University. Since then, I've called the DC metro area home. Or at least I've thought of it as my home base. In recent years, I've tried very hard to think of home as anywhere I and my loved ones are rather than a single physical place.

However, the other day I heard Miranda Lambert's song "The House That Built Me". "If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave/ won't take nothing but a memory/ from the house that built me." My eyes filled with tears and I was desperately wishing to go back to the house where I grew up in New Jersey. Maybe it's the nostalgia that comes with being so close to 30 years old. Maybe it comes with growing up in general. Maybe it's something else.

You see, a few years ago, we had a house fire. The entire inside had to be gutted. Our dog and our cat died in the fire. Clothes, pictures, furniture and knick knacks were destroyed. I know that they are just things, and I didn't even live there at the time, but our entire lives were turned upside down for quite some time. My Mom, divorced with two kids living away from home, decided to move into a condo on the water that had much less maintenance rather than spend time fixing up a far too big house for one person. When I say I'm "going home for the weekend", what I mean is that I am going to spend the weekend at my Mom's condo in the town next to where I grew up.

Someone I went to high school with bought our old house and will presumably make a life there for his family. Now the inside looks nothing like it used to. New kids will grow up there, celebrate holidays there and make memories there. The house that contained all of my good childhood memories will serve that same purpose for an entire new family. There's a sort of palpable and painful beauty in that fact. I look forward to one day giving my children the same sort of home that I once had.

What do you think of as home? Has that concept changed for you over the years?

Delicious Dishes: Summer Succotash Quesadillas

Last week I was scouring the interwebs looking for some dinner inspiration when I came across the Peas and Thank You blog. Mama Pea's writing style is hysterical and full of delicious-sounding things to cook. Her girls are absolutely adorable and I aspire to one day have a family like hers that likes to eat healthy, veggie food. I recommend checking out her blog if you like any of the following: veggies, little kids or laughing.

I immediately pre-ordered her new cookbook (and it arrived late last week--more on this later!), and in the meantime, we tried this recipe from her blog: Summer Succotash Quesadillas with Mmm Sauce. First, you cook up zucchini, red pepper, onions, corn and lots of yummy spices.

You also blend up the Mmm sauce. I wasn't crazy about it on its own (I don't love the taste of nutritional yeast), but it was delicious on the quesadillas.

You heat up a pan with some cooking spray and lay down one whole wheat tortilla. Put on some Daiya, some of the mix and cook away. It was my first experience with pepperjack Daiya. It's melty and yummy.
Cut it up and then you're all set! It's a quick and easy weeknight meal. Here's Jesse's dinner: the quesadilla plus a big salad of baby spinach, edamame, cucumbers and carrots.

August Intentions

1. Spend time perusing South Africa travel guides and make a list of must-see and would-like-to-see places. We also need to decide which of the optional activities we want to add to our tour.

2. Enjoy a few bliss-filled days in Maine mid-month with Jesse and his family.

3. Get into some sort of physical activity routine. In these terribly hot DC summer days, late night walking speaks to me. I also want to get back into going to yoga more regularly. I like the idea of having times for exercise to write into my planner.

4. Write in my paper journal or art journal at least three times a week.

5. Save money towards our trip!

"In August and everything after, I'm after everything..."~Adam Duritz

Delicious Dishes: Jesse edition

Jesse cooked last week and it was so delicious! He made the Chimichurri tofu from Appetite for Reduction, which I think is my new most favorite tofu recipe. If you like cilantro, you will love it. That cookbook is simply full of winners. If you want to eat healthier but still have things that are extremely tasty, definitely purchase it ASAP. We've tried a lot of the recipes and not a single one was anything less than stellar.

As sides Jesse prepared mashed sweet potatoes and a salad. It was so nice to come home and have dinner nearly finished. He also did the dishes! What a man!

The Big Reveal: South Africa!

Remember how I told you earlier this year that I had won two round-trip tickets anywhere in the world from my employer? Well, after months and months of agonizing and countless trips to stare blankly at the travel section of Barnes and Noble to get ideas (let's be honest--pretty much everywhere in the world sounds amazing!), we have reached a decision: from December 8 to December 20, we will be in SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing a zebra in its natural habitat has long been on my bucket list. I am head over heels in love with their beautiful and crazy stripes. Every time I see one I am amazed that something like this exists in nature. And now I will get to see them in South Africa!

We are doing a tour with Gate 1 Travel, which includes: two nights in Johannesburg, where we will take a tour of the apartheid museum, a few days at Kruger National Park for the game drives so we can see the animals, a day spent sightseeing in Swaziland, where I am told there are some amazing handicrafts to be had, an estuary cruise in St. Lucia to see the alligators, and a domestic flight from Durban to Cape Town, where we'll spend four days seeing wineries, Robben Island, the Jewish museum, and so much more. If you like to travel, I highly recommend that you sign up to get emails about Gate 1's travel deals. They are really well priced and several people that have traveled with them loved their packages. I can also give you a referral code for $100 off your trip!

We decided on South Africa after it was suggested by many friends and co-workers who said it was their most favorite place in the world and because several people said to take a trip that you would never do once you have children. Voila! South Africa. Vetoed places included the Greek Islands (not the right time of year--but we will get here one day!), Argentina (cheap enough that we could do this on our own later and could take kids here), Peru (altitude sickness is a factor for Macchu Picchu but it also fits in the "cheap enough we could do this on our own later" category) and Thailand (sounded good in theory but we realized we weren't all that in love with the idea later on). South Africa fit all of our criteria, plus it just sounds amazing!

I am excited to spend the next few months planning, reading and gathering information!

Delicious Dishes: Pea Pesto Pasta

I love nearly everything ever posted on Smitten Kitchen (minus the meat dishes, of course). A few weeks ago I saw this post for Linguine with Pea Pesto, which I knew I had to save for an upcoming dinner. I have a hit-or-miss relationship with basil, so I sometimes love regular pesto and sometimes not so much. Jesse isn't really a fan either, but the pictures from this recipe looked delicate and delicious, with no basil in sight. It's easy too! You cook up the peas and give them a whirl in the food processor (reserving some for tossing with the pasta later) with some parmesan, olive oil and toasted pine nuts. It turns a bright green color:

Once you cook the pasta, you set aside some of the cooking water and mix the pasta, pesto, water and peas. As you can see, we had whole wheat penne in the house, so I used that instead of linguine. I added some chopped tomato on top for color and nutrition. It's yummy and very filling! It came together in less than a half hour, so this would make a great weeknight meal.