July 05, 2009

Whip It Up II: Week One

Confettipotatosalad

It's the second annual Whip It Up Challenge and, for my first attempt at summer cooking, I put together the incredibly simple Confetti Potato Salad. I was looking for a mayonnaise-less potato salad that we could mix up and haul down to the big 4th of July spectacular in the park.

This recipe is basically vegetables coated in light ranch dressing, so it is neither complicated nor sophisticated. In fact, I would say that it is pretty much the exact opposite of complicated and sophisticated. It's quick and easy and pretty tasty as far as salads that only take 10 minutes to prepare go.

The recipe is after the jump.

Continue reading "Whip It Up II: Week One" »

July 04, 2009

Happy 4th!

Happy4thjuly

July 03, 2009

Gorilla Pod

Gorillapod3

Don't forget to enter today for a chance to win a Gorilla Pod!

July 02, 2009

On Eating Green

EatgreensSo, I’m a vegetarian. Many of you have asked in the comments or via email about why I am a vegetarian and so I am going to explain why I gave up meat, eggs, and, to a large extent, dairy.

I’ve avoided writing about this in any meeaningful way for a number of reasons, but mainly because people have a tendency to (1) insistently defend their own habits or (2) explain why I shouldn’t be a vegetarian, both of which are completely unnecessary.

The thing you have to know is: I am not judging anyone who chooses to eat certain foods. I could care less if you eat steaks or chicken nuggets or pork loin for dinner. You can eat Twinkies every night for dinner, if you want, and we can still totally be friends. Seriously. During high school my diet consisted of two things: Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles and Dr. Pepper. If you eat meat, cool. If you don't eat meat, cool.

Also: I have a nutritionist. No need to explain how being a vegetarian means that I am not getting enough calcium or protein or B-12 or whatever. I can assure I am getting all those things in ample supply.

Alrighty then.

Here's the lowdown:

+ I do not eat meat of any variety

+ I eat eggs only when they are baked, in small quantities, into something else (breads, pastas). We do not have eggs in our home (when a recipe calls for an egg, we actually use flax, which is still really strange even though we've been doing it for a year)

+ I almost never purchase dairy products for our home, but will pretty freely eat dairy when at a restaurant or a friend’s house (or an ice cream parlor) (if you invite me to your wine and cheese party, not only will I eat the cheese, I will appreciate that cheese like nobody else)

Here’s why we went vegetarian:

Last July, Will and I decided to give up meat for a week. Will, who has long had problems with his shoulder, an old baseball injury, read an article on ESPN about vegetarian athletes and their seeming ability to heal faster after injury. This spurred the week-long hiatus, a sort of experiment in vegetarianism.

During that time, Will brought home a book, The China Study, about the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever conducted. The findings?

People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease … People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease.
The book is pretty persuasive and we decided not to go back to eating meat. That simple. And, soon enough, we cut out eggs and dairy products, to a large extent, too.

Look, I know that studies should be viewed critically and that there are about one billion studies about nutrition, all of which contradict one another in various ways (eat carbs! don't eat carbs! eat eggs! don't eat eggs!). However, the study was long-term and strikingly comprehensive, not to mention that the findings have been validated time and time again.

And, I believe in a plant-based diet for one really good reason: I feel so much better. It could be because I eat less animal-products; it could be because I largely replaced animal-products, by necessity, with more fruits, vegetables, and grains. Either way, it’s working for me.

Last July we agreed on a free day--one day a month that we were free to eat meat. I haven’t used any of my free days since last July at Michael Mina (a night which involved tuna tartare, caviar, and foie gras--if you do it, do it right) and, honestly, I don’t really feel any desire to eat meat. That doesn’t mean that I don’t completely reserve the right to eat a fat juicy BLT one of these days.

Leave comments if you have questions that need addressing and I’ll put together a follow-up post.

July 01, 2009

Don't Leave Home Without It

Just after Will clicked "confirm" on two flights into Mérida and two flights out of Cancún, I realized that my passport was no longer valid.

Awesome.

The good news is: you can get a passport in two to three weeks, door to door.

The bad news is: they are gonna make you pay for it.

After spending two hours and almost $200, I twittered:

Passport renewal fee: $75 / Expedited processing fee: $60 / New photos: $12 / Overnight shipping there: $17 / Overnight shipping back: $15.

Instamom immediately responded:

Leaving the country for a few days: Priceless.

Grace in Small Things: 35/365

1. Our town was voted one of the Top 25 places to Live Well by Forbes!
2. Having a summer chock full of fun plans
3. Sparkling water with orange
4. Minty lip gloss
5. A crisp apple

Audrey

Audreylp

This Flickr set of Audrey Hepburn photos is just wonderful.

June 30, 2009

The So Pink Drink of Summer: Basil Vodka Gimlet

Basilgimlet

It's summer, officially, which means it's time to break out the cocktail shaker and shake up some basil vodka gimlets. I told you about this drink last summer, if you recall, but it was already almost the end of summer and you, like me, had probably already spent most of the summer drinking those pre-mixed margaritas.

This year, I'm on time: bringing you the recipe for the basil vodka gimlet just as the heat is rising into triple digits.

My job here is done.

Also, check out Refreshing by Design: a guide to summer bartending, when the only frost is on the glass.

June 29, 2009

Gorilla Pod Giveaway

Fireworksdavis

The countdown is on to the big 4th of July Celebration. It's Will's favorite holiday--no gifts to buy, no decorations to set up, just a whole day centered around food, fireworks, and, if you are in Davis, cycling.

To kick off the 4th fun a bit early, I'm giving away an Original Gorilla Pod, perfect for use with point-and-shoot camera varieties, perfect for photographing fireworks. I absolutely love taking photos of the fireworks on the 4th, using a slow shutter speed and my handy Gorilla Pod to reduce blur, so it seems like the perfect 4th giveaway.

Of course, the winner won't get the Gorilla Pod until after the 4th, meaning that it won't help you much for this year's fireworks displays, but if you save some sparklers, you can do some fancy photography when your pod arrives.

It's handy in lots of other ways, too. Like, traveling, for instance:

Gorillapod-1

Just go ahead and use an ancient sculpture to get a great self-portrait.

We'll pick a winner on the 4th--I'll let Will conduct the drawing--and we'll ship out the prize promptlyish thereafter.

Gorillapod

Tell us what you love about the 4th of July in the comments for a chance to win. You can blog or Twitter about the contest for more chances to win, but make sure you leave another comment telling us you've done so!

June 25, 2009

Pink Goes {Orange}

Orange

Details are here! I've also gone {yellow} {coral} {green} and {gray}.

BlogHer

So Pink Suggests

Just Saying:

  • The ballet people are champagne drinkers; a younger, more exciting crowd than the opera people. --Walter Nurena