Back to civilization!

Well, maybe civilization is too strong a word – I love my little microcosm of flora, fauna, and family. But I’m a city girl at heart, and I was starting to feel like I was trapped in a terrarium! A really pretty one, but still – trapped is never a good feeling. Add to that the not so startling revelation that stay-at-home parenting is not my calling, and it was time to get back on the workhorse. So, I wrapped up my incredibly long summer vacation, went for one last leisurely mid-week run, and reëntered the workforce (hence my absence from the blogosphere).

It’s a happy coincidence that my first couple of job offers fell through, because they would have put me out in suburbia – which is my personal ninth circle of hell. Instead, I am working in Chapel Hill – a gorgeous campus, surrounded by brainiacs, hippies, and even a few brainiac hippies…suffice it to say I have found my niche. No, it’s not Chicago, but it’s progressive and beautiful and besides, when I need my big city fix, we’ll just take a long weekend in NYC. 

lazy days of summer

This picture pretty much sums up our week:

Look closely, and you will see a nearly solid sheet of water just a few feet behind Nina.  It rained, and then it rained some more, a 48 hour torrential downpour.  I wasn’t able to go running, so I decided to make a double batch of cupcakes instead.  Between the pizza last Sunday, the cookies at the beginning of the week, and now the cupcakes, I was burned out on making anything that takes more than a few minutes.  As a result, we’ve been basically eating picnic food the past few days.  Granted, it is yummy picnic food – hummus, guacamole, homemade veggie burgers, orzo salad – but it is still picnic food.  The most ambitious thing I made was quinoa tabbouleh, and that was only because I had vegetables coming out of my ears and I didn’t want to throw anything away.  It was pretty good, though (recipe here).

As soon as the sun came out Nina suited up and made a bee line for a basin of rain water.  The flowers were happy, too.

Breakfast of champions

What do you do when you’ve got ripe bananas and no one will touch them? You make cookies, of course.

Nina was up early today and we made these at the crack of dawn, so as far as I’m concerned, they count as breakfast food. She wolfed down a cookie before they were even cool, and Mario will probably eat the rest of them in the next couple of days. You can see the recipe here.

Safety First!

I want to make it clear that any time I am using the MP3 player that recently changed my life, I am NOT using it irresponsibly.  That is to say: while I am barreling down a deserted country road where very large trucks are wont to fly by way over the already posted 45 mile an hour speed limit, pushing my usually sleeping toddler in a jogging stroller, on roads with so many twists and turns that one can barely see more than a tenth of a mile ahead of them at any given point – I am not blithely trotting along with both ears plugged in, music cranked, and no ability to hear what’s going on around me.  I have the music going to only one ear, and the volume is turned down as low as possible without being inaudible.  Also, because I have seen way too many people just a few years my senior with marked hearing loss, I am totally paranoid and actually switch ears when I am at my turnaround point.

Safety first.  That is all.

Go Bears!

In anticipation of the Bears’ first game of the season, I made a “Chicago Special” pizza. For those not from the windy city, a Chicago special is mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and sausage. We devoured the entire pizza in a matter of minutes, but it was so worth it! You can view the recipe here.

Although Nina has had pizza in the past, this is the first time she actually liked it. Who knew I would be so excited to see her stuff her craw so full of food? Good thing she knew the sign for “more”, because there was no way she was going to get the actual word out.

Chew on This

I have finally posted my first recipe, with several more to follow as soon as I find the time. If nothing else, my husband will be able to make me one of my favorite meals if I’m ever not in the mood to cook.  You see, I have the handwriting of a serial killer, and the few things I’ve managed to scrawl out on random bits of paper are not much use – plus they are mostly covered in purple crayon. 

Anywho, whenever I post a new recipe I will cross-post a description here, along with a link to said recipe.

My recipe blog is called Chew on This!, and is located here: http://chewonthisvegan.wordpress.com/

Am I really that stubborn?

For those of you who know me really well, I can already hear a resounding, collective “YES!”, and you don’t even know what I’m referring to yet. 

This afternoon I finally caved and used an MP3 player during my run.  What the hell had I been waiting for, and why didn’t any of you beat me over the head with one of these fabulous little magical devices and force me to use one sooner?

I’ve always been a purist when it comes to running – minimum gear, and absolutely no music.  I enjoy the cadence of my shoes hitting the pavement, the rhythm of my breath, and the rich, ambient sounds of my environment.  But holy holy, was I in for a surprise today!  Amazing how a little Smiths, Belly, R.E.M., and Smashing Pumpkins could make me run twice as hard and twice as far as I’d planned on when I set foot outside this afternoon.

Of course, now I’m obsessed with my playlist.  Anyone wanna take bets on how long before I break down and buy an ipod?