cody bear’s friends

here’s one of the funnier things we saw at work this week.  one of our clients (a hospital) returned this pc to us for service….

now, not everyone is great with computers, BUT, if you are medical staff at a hospital that may one day be treating me or someone i know….i really hope you know how to turn on a pc.  also….do you need this as a reminder? if someone shows you the button one time, will you need a note taped on to remind you?  ever again?

ok…well, we were cracking up about it! then…it was time to get ready for one of our coworkers 50th birthday party!  l and i made this…

gosh, i sure hope you can tell it is an e!  the picture turned out cool because we had the party on the cyc(cyclorama) in the photography studio.  i love the cyc! i wish all the walls in my house had curved bottoms!

then the party, followed by leftovers.  we had soo many leftovers, (the caterer was just so so) but, not many containers.  here is my friend m with the mug-o-asparagus i had to take home.

the party was great and the birthday guy loved it.  there was some jerkiness, but i’ll talk about that tomorrow….once i’ve cooled off a bit! also, the guy in charge of the beverages only brought one case of beer for fifty people. DUH!

i did end up carting the cup of veg home i the honda’s cup holder.  i was snacking on the asparagus en route. it was good.  traveled well.

that’s right! we try really hard to stay green. but still, there are a few more things we are going to try to work on every day from here on out.

1. i waste food. i do. example. i buy a loaf of healthy bread (about 3.69).  then i bring it home and i never eat it. i end up throwing it out when i realize it is probably gross and i have no idea how long it has been in there. i’m not doing that any more!

2. take better care of my health. this way i lower my risk of getting sick as i age and resources won’t be wasted on my healthcare. (that’s the theory, anyway) but you never know. somethings are beyond our control. but, i do want to get into better cardiac health….

3. the world is full of negativity. and hate. i promise from here on out to stop making fun of the flds ladies’ hair do’s anymore. or people in general. just IN CASE my picking on folks is contributing to the planet’s negative vibe.

4. i am going to RE-ATTEMPT to stop drinking soda. the packaging (can, plastic, whatever) isn’t helping this planet. besides it is TERRIBLE for me. i HAVE to quit. (as i sip my icey coke…)

5. ride my bike to the grocery store more frequently. (its a very short ride, but i don’t like riding my bike if i have to buy big things.  i just don’t feel comfortable carrying a twenty-four pack of cottonelle on my handle bars.)

ok, that’s good for now. i’ll probably add more soon.  we’ve actually been doing a good job at our recent efforts: buying locally grown veggies,  new water filtration system, reusing bottles, etc.

…so…i think we’re going to do all right!

i’m super excited with my new client: a local organic farm!  they’re friends of mine and i am so glad they finally decided to do a website!  their veg are amazingly delicious and diverse!

i love their farm and i wish they would adopt me and cody bear.  it would be great to quit my job, pack up our stuff and move to their beautiful land, about an hour outside of town.

truthfully, cody bear is a city dog. i don’t know if he would last very long in the wildlands.  for him….off leash, without a bag of yummies sans tweezers and filtered water is wildlands. but i digress….

look forward to pictures of herbs, chunky root veggies, crisp leafy greens and succulent fruits!

i’m bored at work today, so i am starting this new blog tradition.  PLEASE PARTICIPATE.

get ready to rock cody bear’s first mad lib thursday!

here’s how it works:

i have a story, you guys leave me some words, i will plug them into the places i have determined that need to be replaced.

i pick the best set, or combos of sets and put it into my tiny story, and poof….our first mad lib!

here’s what i need: 

7 verbs

1 noun (a type of container)

2 nouns

4 adjectives

2 adverbs

look! you’re already brushing up on your basic grammar skills.

ok. let’s do this!

 took the canon to my friend’s organic farm to get some shots of veg!  i am going to do their website and they’re going to pay me with vegetables!

they have tasty organic veg.  my favs: their chards. YUM.  the okra.  the cucumbers. the tomatoes. the garlic.  the turnips.  it is all so yummy!

and pretty.  eat your veggies….they’re pretty!

guess which newby vegan has developed a soy allergy….

yes…me.  bummer, huh?

in late november i met with a quirky and upbeat nutritionist who was excited about my leap into veganism and urged me to stay away from soy.  for the first few weeks, i cooked fresh veg and whole grains and i felt GREAT!  more energy during the day….woke up without having that congested feeling.  for convenience sake i needed to fall back on tofu, soy sauce, soy products.

i started getting sicker and sicker and (DUH) didn’t even think about the soy.  well, there it was…. a nasty and inconvenient allergy that just kept getting worse for over a month.  (i wasn’t putting two and two together).  i have been without ANY soy now for exactly 7 days and am remarkably better.  truly, the symptoms were gross and i am so much happier.

back to the drawing board on the vegan diet though…can’t fall back on the mock meats and the soy sauces flavorings.  damn…me lovums my soy sauce…

i blogged alot today. that’s what happens when you oversleep…you have to make up for missing an hour of life by posting extra.

things have calmed down now,….so let’s review:

in food AND dreams:

last night i dreamt i was in a restaurant with my friend, m. i was telling her about how i have become a vegan. we continued chatting. then dinner arrived. pizza.

in the dream i sat there chowing on pizza and m. never called me on it.

so…here’s the actual vegan lunch i had:

hummus, toasty warm pita, hidden under the fresh cucumber and tomato is a sassy tabouli and a couple dolmas. (i HATE dolmas….but the rest was great.)

and then….sunset:

as i mentioned in an earlier post this evening, we romped in the sand.

why was this so nice? soon we deal with cleaning for my sister visiting, updating websites, testing teams this weekend, and ultimately…mom’s surgery. you need to frolic sometimes….to build you up so you’re ready for the tough stuff….

regarding my quest for a yummy vegan pizza….i’m getting closer. two weeks ago i had yummy toppings and a weird crust.  tonight the crust was good, the toppings were great.  i needed more though.  didn’t sautee enough spinach or garlic and should have used more olives.

but the real problem…i still miss the cheese.  tonight i missed the cheese because i didn’t have anything gooey holding the toppings on.  i kept having to replace the rosemary, olives, garlic, etc because it just rolled off.  oh well….at least we’re gettin closer.

i am really getting used to having a nice little side dish with olive oil and balsamic handy.  it is tasty…

here’s what is good about this dish:

1.  when you come back into the house from walking the dog, (or whatever you do) the smell of toasted cumin is still there and it is SO comforting!

2. the quinoa(keen WAUGH) - oh man - it is packed with protein because it is a whole WHOLE grain and it just POPS in your mouth, which is fun fun fun.

3.  totally vegan, but packed with nutrients and protein.

4.  a nice change from hot spicy meals without being bland.

roasty toasty veggies with quinoa

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

3-4 tbs. olive oil

2-3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1 bunch rainbow chard, torn in 3-4 inch pieces

7-9 medium mushrooms (whichever mushroom you prefer) , sliced

1/2 water

1/3 cup white wine(i like a plucky chardonay)

salt & pepper to taste

3 cups cooked quinoa (cooked in a rice cooker is great!)

1 glass wine of choice or 1 beer, for sipping

in large hot deep dish skillet,  toast cumin 30-60 seconds over medium heat.  add olive oil, and mix with cumin.  add garlic and yellow onion to hot olive oil in pan.  saute till tender, not burnt.  add mushrooms, mix, cover and simmer for 3-4 mins.

add water and white wine, bring to boil.  add rainbow chard and salt and pepper to taste. ( i heap the salt in!)  saute till greens are nice and tender.  serve over quinoa.

note…i use freshly prepared quinoa. i do not like left over quinoa,….its kind of funky.

another note….try using fresh, locally grown veg!