Remember Cats

Wisdom

2012-02-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

I got the upper half of my lower wisdom teeth removed on Friday, and spent the weekend vegging out, eating various pureed bean soups, and on Percocet. I went through about a zillion pages of refinery29, and was inspired to wear something colorful and put-together, which is rare in ~~January~~ February.

Never mind the swollen cheeks and stomach - those are side effects of the procedure and medications, respectively.

Blouse - Anthro, last summer
Skirt - thrifted, originally H & M
Cardigan - ebay
Shoes - Sigerson Morrison for Target, found on the street

This was the first time I did my nails in 2012.

Detail of the shoes. I ended up changing into flats, and nearly falling over despite sitting on the bus, so it was a better choice.

My husband ordered a new blender after ours bit the dust for the occasion, which came with a bonus prize for the cats:

What I wore to put our lives back together

2012-01-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

So far, Rj has been recovering well from his perforated appendicitis with peritonitis - no abscesses so far!

I've worn a green sweater belted over a black patterned dress with these boots twice this week. Oops. Lately, I've been thinking about the fact that my husband and I could have very easily died within 90 days of each other - if I died after getting hit by a car, my husband would probably not have realized the mild pain in his abdomen was from his appendix bursting. As it was, we still made it to the hospital with very little time to spare.

Sweater - thrifted
Dress - Forever 21, Summer 2011
Leggings - AA
Boots - secondhand

What I wore to accompany my friend to participate in Project Unbreakable.

Blouse - secondhand Banana Republic
Dress - J Crew (on mega-sale)
Boots - ebay

Appendicitis

2012-01-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, my last hiatus was due to my own mortality scare. I had taken this outfit the day after my last update, on Wednesday the 11th, and meant to post it.

Dress - thrifted, originally Banana Republic
Sweater - Old Navy, 2008 or so
Belt - ebay
Shoes - thrifted
Necklace - ASOS

On Thursday, I had a promising job interview, and came home to tell my husband the good news. He was home sick, since he'd been constipated for a few days, and told me he had a pain in his side. A friend told us about his appendectomy last year, and he had similar symptoms, so I rushed Rj to the ER. We were actually too late by a few days - his appendix had burst fairly asymptomatically - so after it was removed, he had to stay there for a few awful days.

Our friend Meredith got Rj a fantastic cheetah from the hospital gift shop. Ondine is pretty comfortable with it:

Opal is a little more cautious, and has been sizing the cheetah up. They were both far more terrified of the balloons his co-workers sent, though - Ondine was too afraid of them to eat, and I didn't even know that was possible. It was funny at first, and we just put the balloons out of their way, but Opal woke us up at 5 am by mewing constantly, even until she was panting, and seemed to be having a breakdown of some sort, so we ended up having to pop them.

Hello 2012

2012-01-10T10:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't updated in about 3 months. I'm embarassed by the suckiness of my blog, so I might as well give it another go while before I scrap it altogether. I put off writing for so long because I was hit by a car on November 7th 5 minutes after I took this photo:

I wrote about it on the Kensington blog. I was very lucky to be able to get up and walk away from it - I had to, because it was a hit and run - and it's given me a lot to think about.

I'm trying to dress a bit more adventurously using the clothes I have in 2012, but it's difficult to get the motivation to do so in winter. Here are photos of some of my outerwear.

Everything in this outfit is secondhand! The purse is slowly falling apart, though.

I needed to replace my fall coat after my hit and run, as it was covered in blood (still is, I can't bring myself to clean it but my husband doesn't want me to throw it away), so I picked this up from Old Navy after I ordered replacement glasses.

On modesty

2011-10-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

A recent post on clothedmuch made me think about modesty and our expectations of it. For example, according to the standards she and other Mormons follow, this is modest: the shirt has sleeves and is high-cut, knee-length (well, almost) skirt with a slip under it.

Top, tights, coat - H & M
Skirt - Pretty Girl, 2009
Shoes - Naturalizer via clothing swap

In my neighborhood, however, this makes me a harlot. Skirts are supposed to reach past your knees, and don't think your lower legs have escaped scrutiny! If your tights are thinner than 60 denier, you are not modest. Also, wearing brightly colored tights makes it worse - wearing bright colors is frowned on, as it will encouage men to look at you! Oh, and my shirt does not entirely cover my collarbones. Plus I'm a married woman without covered hair, so I may as well be wearing a sign that says "open for business" to some.

Obviously, all Jewish people do not adhere to the same standards of tznius (modesty), and many of the ones who do are not so judgmental. It is strange to me that my outfit would be considered modest by many people online, yet I'm consistently one of the least covered up women I encounter during a walk around my neighborhood.

An ex-boyfriend lived in terror that his religious grandfather would see us together, because he was afraid his grandfather would point at me and yell "HARLOT!" I suppose I have lived with the expectation that this will someday happen.

If you are going through hell, keep going

2011-10-24T20:30:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been feeling something that's almost optimism. I got a third job last week, and although it's one day a week, I'm going to learn software that will help me find a more full-time job. Additionally, it's slowly occurring to me that I really can make a living writing non-fiction online - if other gluten-free food bloggers found their niche, I think I certainly have one, and I've applied to write for other sites. In the worst case, this means I will take a break from the confidence-crushing job search and work on my writing - and I did need a break from it.

I even wore my well-fitting mod boots to celebrate, even though walking in heels makes me nervous.

T-shirt - who cares?
Belt - ebay
Skirt - vintage, via etsy
Tights - Century 21, 2010
Boots - vintage, via ebay

On so-called budget blogging

2011-10-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Cartoon-heart had an excellent entry about the world of fashion blogging, go read it! In particular, I liked this part:

Sure, I’ve always felt isolated from wealthy, upper-echelon bloggers like Jane from Sea Of Shoes, because I couldn’t possibly imagine having their capital or closets. But now I feel equally isolated from the bloggers who claim that they represent real women with real budgets. And I believe that the reason is because where fashion blogging in its infancy had no rules, it’s now an Industry in and of itself, and in order to be successful you have to hit a certain amount of checkpoints. Everything is starting to feel eerily similar.

In that vein, here is a dress I got for a dollar at a flea market last year. I have the wrong hair, wrong body type, and wrong budget and sense of ethics to do this professionally, but it's still writing output.

Dress - flea market
Belt - ebay
Shoes - vintage Ferragamos, via ebay
Bag - thrifted

Details:

Fall has fallen

2011-10-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

What I wore to work yesterday. This cat sweater is my new favorite thing ever.

Sweater - H & M, gift
Skirt - Pretty Girl, 2009
Tights - H & M
Shoes - Ferragamos, ebay

I got this secondhand Old Navy anorak, and I have mixed feelings about it, mainly because it feels like a tent on me unless it's tied very tightly. Old Navy is the worst offender with vanity sizing, but a lot of other stores are getting there.

There were never any good old days, they are today, they are tomorrow

2011-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

I recently learned that many of my former co-workers left the first school I worked at a year or two after I did. I regretted leaving when I did because I jumped from the frying pan and into the fire, from the snakepit into a pit with more poisonous snakes and possibly sharks, etc. I heard from the grapevine that a former co-worker of mine got screwed out of his job at a really prestigious NYC school because he made the same mistake I did - he googled his prospective boss, and did not believe what came up.

This made me feel better and worse. Better, because this co-worker was one of the few adults I'd ever met who truly had his shit together. While I was struggling with the girl who plagiarized Hansel and Gretel and other ridiculous classroom management problems with the 7 minutes of training I received from the Teaching Fellows, his students were good when he left the room. He had been able to lesson plan and grade papers and have a life after work, while I had a Thursday ritual of eating ice cream in my bathtub between work and night classes. My apartment is not a hall of cleanliness now, but then, I lived off of my floordrobe and paid my brother to do the dishes, and when he stopped, I didn't do them for months. I had no idea how adults dressed, and got rid of everything fun from my wardrobe, and bought drab, ill-fitting clothes from Goodwill. We ate from Misery Taco more often than I can count. I still don't have a credit card, or any credit, since I was lucky enough to not have student loans. Despite all of this, someone much more prepared than me, with actual goals, organizational skills, ended up in my position. It makes me feel worse, though, because something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

I'm not even sure it's possible anymore in this economic climate. I know a former professor who does customer service, and many former teachers struggling to get it together, trying to find a backup plan after their dream job was a nightmare. I feel that I have learned how to be an adult in all of this - my apartment is not a biohazard anymore, we cook most nights, and I know how to present myself as an adult. I don't have any real goals at the moment, aside from reading 100 books in 2011, but having goals hasn't helped so far. One of my friends, one of the many people in my generation who got a master's and did everything she was supposed to, is thinking of joining the military as an officer to acheive her goals.

The book I'm holding has 75 people waiting for it when I'm done with it! It's a weird thought.

Jacket - Forever 21
Blouse - Anthro, thrifted
Skirt - AA, April 1st giveaway
Necklace - street vendor

Inspiration

2011-09-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Is it bad that I take photos of well-styled mannequins for fashion inspiration?

On the mannequin at Daffy's:

The cardigan and my dress are casualties of my closet - I'd been wanting to find them all summer, and finally did when I cleaned out my closet. Between this and the Anthroholic scandal, I'm glad I seem to have finally gotten it through my thick head that I do not need any more clothing (unless we're counting replacing my AA winter leggings, which are all stained and/or have gaping holes in the crotches).

Dress - Target, last summer
Cardigan - J Crew, last winter
Belt - thrifted
Shoes - vintage, via eBay
Earrings: n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com

Bunny necklace, from etsy:

I wore a much more masculine outfit on Friday - I have got to wear these shoes more! Any suggestions are welcome, especially if they come from my closet. I bought these in 2009, when oxfords with a feminine shape were in, and they're much trendier now.

Jacket - Forever 21, 2008 at latest
Blouse - H & M
Pants - J Crew
Shoes, bag - thrifted

Anatomy of a catfight

2011-09-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Since we've raised Opal since 7 weeks after her birth, we know her very well and can anticipate her actions. So, when I saw this, I knew she was planning to strike.

Making sure the coast was clear.

Padding over:

Morally conflicted...or just waiting for the right time to strike.

Almost...

POW!

If this was a cartoon, there would be a cloud of dust.

Ondine shakes off.

All is right again.

We got a new couch to replace our falling-apart IKEA one. Home is where the cats are.

Fummer?

2011-09-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's been so rainy here lately, and humid but not hot, so getting dressed is confusing. I don't want to give up on summer yet, so I put on a sunny yellow sundress to go to work yesterday, but I'm practical and put on good boots and a decent jacket.

Dress - Target, secondhand
Boots - Steve Madden
Jacket - Forever 21, at earliest 2008
Necklace - vintage

Fall wish fulfilled list

2011-09-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

The changing of seasons is marked by wishlists on fashion blogs, but frankly, I have ~~too many~~ enough clothes. I decided to do something a little different while cleaning out my closet - that I'd take photos of all the fall clothes I already own and like to remind me that I can mix and match plenty with what I have.

Without further ado, here is my wish fulfilled list:

Shoes. Left to right: vintage mod boots, thrifted Saks 5th Ave loafers, vintage Ferragamos (these have been resoled twice), UO oxfords from 2008 (resoled once), and Bass boots with fleece lining.

Dresses: vintage tweed, vintage shirtdress ($1!), thrifted Banana Republic bodycon dress, yard sale UO dress, thrifted sweaterdress, H & M striped sweaterdress.

More dresses: Target clearance (09 or earlier), thrifted linen dress, vintage velvet bodycon dress, Anthro trench dress, Target 08 faux wrap dress, H & M shirtdress, Target 08 shirtdress.

Sweaters: vintage beaded cardigan, resistor cardigan, thrifted vintage wool sweater with lion patch, Gap 2009 sweater, Anthro cropped jacket, discount sweater.

Blouses - pretty much entirely thrifted.

Skirts, plus some old flannel shirts I forgot about. I have a pencil skirt rainbow comparable to Hillary Clinton's pantsuit rainbow. Also almost entirely thrifted, with a few old ones from Forever 21.

Miscellany - the purple pea coat is from H & M from 2008, and the tweed is from Forever 21 from 2008 at latest. The high-waisted pants are from Forever 21, checkered pencil skirt was thrifed, leopard scarf was from a street vendor, and socks from all over. Yes, those are shark socks on the right. When I was a teacher, my students told me I had the best socks out of them all every year.

Accessories: lion hat from the 2008 Union Square holiday market, yard sale vintage Coach bag, H & M bag.

My few recent purchases: thrifted Anthro top, sale J Brands, and sale Dolce Vita sandals.

Detail of the blouse - it has raccoons on it!

For the fall, Opal has selected to dress in more business-appropriate clothing - the blue brings out her anomlic dichroic eyes:

While Ondine has selected something more...derelicte. This was not posed.

Recent stuff

2011-09-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

What I wore to eat a gluten-free sandwich and half of Rj's gluten-free pizza. I have gained 7 lbs since being diagnosed with celiac, and I have no idea where it went. I was afraid the hurricane would leave me in a worse food situation than most, so I'm glad I stocked up on healthy soups at Target beforehand. Anyone know what the people in the evacuation shelters were fed? I almost don't want to know.

Lace bodysuit - ebay
Tank top - old
Skirt - H & M
Shoes - Ferragamos via ebay

What I wore to work on Monday:

T-shirt - Target
Skirt - H & M, secondhand
Necklace - ASOS
Shoes - UO, 2008 and recently re-soled

I found time to do my nails in between waiting out the storm and taking Opal to the pet E.R. on Sunday. She had a nasty case of pink eye, along with a cold that Ondine had that hit Opal much worse, but she's so much better now.

Opal's eyes were so red and swollen that Rj and I kept saying "OPAL'S NOT HERE, MAN." Her pink eye medicine needed to be rubbed into her eyes twice a day, and it's really hard to kick a sick kitty off of your pillow, so I will probably look forward to explaining to a doctor how I got pink eye soon.

I wore one of my favorite dresses yesterday. It's one of my favorites because I don't have to wear a bra with it, which is really rare for me!

Dress - Anthro via Century 21, 2009

Lady in red

2011-08-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

After cutting the pink ends off of my hair, I've been wearings lots of red!

Opal came in to swat at my necklace:

Top - Forever 21
Skirt - Forever 21, secondhand
Shoes - Dolce Vita

What I wore to navigate around South Brooklyn on one bus fare - I went from Kensington to Bay Ridge to Midwood on $2.25!

Top - Banana Republic, 2008
Skirt - H & M
Shoes - Ferragamos, vintage

Despite my newfound celiac, I still kept some old loaves:

Deadly nightshade

2011-08-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

What I wore to break into the hugest eggplant I've encountered. It's 2.14 lbs, and already 2/3rds eaten. Next to Opal, for comparison:

It looks like I am picking a wedgie here. Perhaps I should re-think my policy and take a few more outfit photos, but I get enough odd looks from my neighbors as it is. I'd feel silly asking my husband to take my photos, even if he was available to, so outtakes it is.

Blouse - Banana Republic, secondhand
Necklace - ASOS
Skirt - French Connection, thrifted
Shoes - Ferragamos, secondhand

Embracing my German heritage

2011-08-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I kind of love that it's acceptable to wear socks and sandals outside now. I'm still breaking these in, and needed the extra padding.

Blouse - thrifted
Tank top - H & M, old
Skirt - PriceMart, from 2003
Socks - Uniqlo
Shoes - Dolce Vita

Without the blouse, which is how I wore it for half the evening.

Space blouse detail:

What I wore to take Ondine to the vet, and learn that she gained almost a full pound on weight maintenance food, and an ear infection to boot. Any tips on giving a cat ear medicine? She loves it already.

Tunic - allegedly a dress from Forever 21, gifted
Jeggings - H & M, 2010

Wednesday

2011-08-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

I hate breaking in new shoes, so I try to get it over with as soon as possible. You can see a few of the band-aids on my feet, but not the four I added later during the day. I pretty much buy a box of band-aids anytime I buy a new pair of shoes, thrifting included.

One of my former students laughed at his parents on facebook for buying tacky for buying a chocolate brown couch while the rest of their furniture is black. I am glad I did not run into him yesterday.

Dress - UO, last year
Shoes - Dolce Vita
Purse - thrifted

Rj bought me these earrings from n-e-r-v-o-u-s, which I've had bookmarked for years. They're so light!

Lessons learned

2011-08-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Note to self: don't wear white shirts when it's very humid out. Yuck.

Blouse - H & M, 2009, free
Skirt - AA, secondhand
Belt - vintage crocodile belt I've been wearing all the time, eBay
Necklace - Forever 21, March
Shoes - Dolce Vita

I want to get the pink cut off of my ends - my hair doesn't do well when it's long, and my ends are so split due to the bleaching and Opal - but I cut my bangs too short, and should really wait a week or so to get them evened out.

Paint it black

2011-08-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

I've been departing from my usual sweet, modest style these days. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm not fighting it, either.

Top, skirt - old sweatshop retail
Belt - vintage, via eBay
Shoes - Dolce Vita

Split ends

2011-08-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting the pink ends chopped off, since they've been splitting very badly. This turned out to be Opal's fault - she chews on the ends of my hair while I sleep!

Dress - Primark, via eBay
Belt - vintage, via eBay
Shoes - H & M
Hat - thrifted

She's lucky she's so cute. We met up with the woman who gave us Opal in September, and she was pleased that Opal is thoroughly spoiled.

My first vegan gluten-free meal: Singapore Noodles

2011-07-28T09:02:00.001-07:00

I've actually prepared this before, but now it's special - it's a noodle dish I didn't have to alter in the least, unless we're counting the gluten-free soy sauce I used.

I originally found the recipe from Budget Bytes. I added baked tofu for protein, and I used Fat Free Vegan's recipe for it.

Ingredients:
-1 half pound of mung bean vermicelli
-I block of tofu, drained
-1 tsp curry powder
-1/4 cup of soy sauce
-1 tp sesame oil
-A lighter oil for sauteing
-1 tsp hot sauce of your choice
-2 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice - I favor eggplant for this, and added carrots and zucchini
-Scallions (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut the tofu into slices 1/4 inch in thickness, if not smaller. Marinate in soy sauce for 10 minutes.

2. Place the slices of tofu on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, and turn the tofu over.

3. Begin boiling a pot of water. Submerge the noodles in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.

4. Begin sauteing the vegetables in a pan.

5. Drain the noodles, and place them in the boiling water for 1 minute. Strain, and run under cold water. Toss with curry powder. Take the additional step that I forgot to, and cut the noodles to a more manageable length.

6. Remove the tofu from the oven, and cut it into small cubes. Add these to the pan with the vegetables. Add the noodles, and stir to combine.

7. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and hot sauce. Pour over the pan, and stir to combine.

8. Serve, with scallion garnish. Add additional hot sauce or soy sauce as desired.

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright

2011-07-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

This was just one of those outfits that gets unwanted male attention. Fortunately, no one raised my blood pressure by catcalling me, but I felt some visible stares that were unwelcome.

Hat - street vendor
Top - secondhand
Skirt - actually a dress from H & M, secondhand
Shoes - the same H & M sandals I've worn into the ground

Evidently I've used this title before, but it's relevant today - my Frank Lloyd Wright pin fell off.

I'm bound to pack it up

2011-07-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

Welp, it turns out I have celiac disease, and can no longer eat wheat. The jury's still out on whether or not I can have my infused vodkas, as they're made from grain, but I definitely cannot have all of this:

Empty cabinet:

Polenta I made in the crockpot - more on that later, but for now let's laugh at the shape.

Eggplant, stir-fried in a pool of olive oil with lemon juice and smoked salt:

Summer squash and turkey sausage saute. This diagnosis means I will be eating a lot of squash. I will also have to find some gf meat alternatives, as I think a lot of the substitutes that are more involved than tofu contained gluten.

Polenta lasagna!

My portion of it:

I can't say I'm thrilled to have celiac, but I am glad that's all it is, and that I was diagnosed quickly. My energy has returned, as has my motivation. On the shallow side, my stomach is much flatter, as well, now that I'm not so bloated from eating wheat.

Go big or go home

2011-07-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

I've felt a bit better lately, and hopefully I'll have a definitive diagnosis next week. Thanks for the well wishes, everyone!

I thrifted a light gap dress last week that was made for my bolder accessories:

Dress - thrifted, Gap
Shoes - H & M
Necklace - ASOS
Belt - vintage, via eBay

Blah

2011-07-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

I've been so bad at updating lately because I've been facing some health problems, and have had no energy to write about anything at the end of the day.

What I've been wearing, most recent first:

Thrifted dress, originally Anthropologie
Thrifted purse, Payless shoes (all of my summer shoes are either broken or uncomfortable, this was cheaper than getting repairs)

Top - Modcloth, 2009
Skirt - retail from a local store ages ago, pre-2006 for sure
Sandals - Payless
Hat - street vendor

The necklace was a gift from my friend Erika - it's a phospholipid bilayer!

Day and Night

2011-06-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, I felt like the total opposite of myself stylistically. A ridiculous percentage of my closet consists of ~~non-threatening~~ sweet day dresses. Exhibit A, also known as I finally fixed the sleeves here:

By contrast, what I wore on Saturday.

Blouse detail, appropriately fitting into the night theme. I'm trying to wear it more but I'm already out of ideas on how.

Opal also has an extremely fun night game. She bats at the tree lamp we have in the living room, which means a few of the bulbs face our window. This attracts moths, which she bats at and monitors.

Ice queen

2011-06-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

It looks like I have a new hobby! Everyone needs a hobby, even the chronically underemployed. I made three sorbets in the past week, following this technique. I've found that, as a rule of thumb, 1/2 cup of sugar syrup should go with every cup of strained fruit puree, along with 2.5 tsp strong alcoholic beverage.

Strawberry pear sorbet: I used 2 cups of overripe strawberries, 1 pear (a little over a cup), and 1 cup of rhubarb. I didn't taste the rhubarb at all.

I made mango basil sorbet with 2 mangoes, and added 2 T of fresh basil to the sugar syrup. This was by far the creamiest, smoothest sorbet.

Mulberry strawberry sorbet. Rj and I harvested more mulberries (by which I mean he picked most of them - he was able to reach many more berries!), and I used equal amounts of mulberries and strawberries. Mulberry season is almost over, and it makes me so sad that most people don't bother with them. Most of the trees in Brooklyn were planted a few decades ago, and it seems strange that knowledge was lost in that time.

Sunny days

2011-06-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

What I wore to work to deal with particularly obnoxious patients, and to be reminded that I am a particularly slow biker. My brother says that my vintage bike has very heavy gears, so let's go with that.

Dress - secondhand, Target
Shoes - Nine West outlet, 2008
Necklace - Topshop

What I wore to the Mermaid Parade on Saturday - I was so tired by the end that I didn't even set up a self-timer to get a real photo.

I wish I was a little bit taller

2011-06-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

A lot of people I meet from the internet are surprised I'm not taller than I am - apparently I look tall in photos? I'm a bit less than 5'5, everyone!

Tank, shoes - H & M, a few months ago
Skirt - thrifted

Rj and I went out for lunch in Park Slope, and I finally picked up some Brooklyn Gin. The bottle is gorgeous, and we're going to save it after the gin is gone.

Foraging, food choice and privilege

2011-06-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been gathering a ton of mulberries these days. I spend less than an hour a week picking or otherwise gathering them (read: smacking the tree over an upside down umbrella), 30ish minutes cleaning them thoroughly, and then clipping the stems. I usually prepare several recipes with them within 24 hours, because they go bad very quickly.

It occurred to me that choosing to pick berries, or worse, paying to do so, is an incredible form of privilege. On the other hand, not knowing how hard it is to harvest food, or what goes into making our food what it is in general is also extremely privileged. Racialicious had an article about food sweatshops and the workers of color who feed us that ties into this.

It reminds me of discussions of choice, both in the context of food, such as "I choose to eat local/organic food" and "I choose to be a stay-at-home-wife/mom, bake high quality artisan breads for my family and throw them elaborate birthday parties" contexts. What is a choice for a lot of white upper and middle class women is backbreaking labor, long hours, and low pay for poor women of color. This doesn't mean we shouldn't do those things, or that they don't have value, but we do need to re-frame what choice means.

I made mulberry sorbet from scratch on Tuesday, and without an ice cream maker. It was a lot of work for less than a pint or sorbet, but it was delicious. The alcohol is necessary to make sure it doesn't freeze too quickly, which results in larger crystals.

Ingredients:
-2 cups of fresh mulberries, stems removed
-2.5 T water
-1 T lemon juice
-3.5 T sugar
-2 cardamom pods (optional)
-1 inch grated ginger (optional)
-2 tsp port wine or other fruity liqueur

Directions:

1. Run the berries through a food processor, and crush through a sieve using a spoon. You will end up with a frustratingly substantially reduced quantity of berry product:

2. Put the cardamom, grated ginger, lemon juice, grated ginger, sugar, and water in a pot on the stove. Heat it until the sugar dissolves in the water. Remove the cardamom pods.

3. Combine the mulberry juice and syrup, and mix thoroughly. Add the port wine.

4. Put the mixture into a closed container in the freezer. When it's halfway frozen, run it through the food processor again to break up the larger crystals. Put it back in the freezer, and leave it overnight.

5. Enjoy!

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright

2011-06-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that biking with a crinoline is not a great idea.

Top - Modcloth, 2008
Skirt - yard sale, $1!
Shoes - Urban Outfitters, 2008

Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired earrings - Rj bought them for me at the Art Institute in Chicago.

I didn't realize that the skirt was a designer brand until someone else pointed it out to me - apparently Joan Vass knitwear goes for a lot, which means I should try to wear it more.

This looked breezier in my head

2011-06-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

I had a really productive day! I got up early, foraged red and white mulberries, worked out, made a healthy lunch of baked white beans, fiddlehead ferns, and risotto, walked to work with Rj, got local blog material, and I'm about to start a homemade yellow curry dinner. I even found a $20 bill on the street! I considered using part of it to buy a lotto ticket, but your chances of winning are pretty much the same with or without the ticket.

Blouse - Banana Republic, secondhand
Skirt - Forever 21, last year
Necklace - street vendor
Hat - thrifted
Shoes - Ferragamos

One of my earliest photos of Ondine - this was not staged.

In the summer in the city

2011-06-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

What I wore to run errands in the heat wave this week, which included running to Target and the DMV. I love lightly lined cotton dresses in the heat as much as I love ridiculous sun hats. It's disappointing that clothing manufacturers stopped including linings in their summer dresses in the last few years, because slips are hellish in this weather.

Hat - street vendor
Dress - Pretty Girl, 2008ish
Shoes - Payless
Necklace - ebay
Bag - H & M

Rj bought me this dress, because he knows about my retail sweatshop ban and my love of all things feline. I wore this to have too many happy hour frozen margaritas (in this case, two) and get really sick as a result.

Dress - Forever 21
Shoes - Payless, ages ago
Hat - thrifted
Necklace - vintage, ebay

Detail: this is the trendiest detail shot ever. What have I become.

Beetlejuicy

2011-06-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ever since I picked up this blouse for $4 recently, I've had difficulty wearing it in a way that didn't look Tim Burton-esque, especially with my hair being so technicolor these days. Here is attempt # 1:

Blouse, belt - thrifted
Skirt - Pretty Girl, 2009
Shoes - Ferragamos, via ebay
Cat - free

Opal is definitely starting to look more like a cat than a kitten! Compare with my first photo of her + clothing:

I am glad she is now litter trained and doesn't chase her tail on the bed at 3 am, and that she's been consistently adorable.

Mulberry Madness

2011-06-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

I went mulberry foraging again today! My solitary presence attracted much more attention than my brother and I working together did on Thursday, including, but not limited to, unwanted offers of help and possible marriage proposals from older Eastern European men. I hate living in a sexist society.

On Thursday, I made mulberry muffins and mulberry jam! Xzhibit would be proud.

Today, I made and froze the filling for a mulberry-rhubarb pie - mulberries have an incredibly short shelf life, even in the fridge, and I have no idea when I will see enough people to justify making a full pie. I may have a mulberry party when my mulberry vodka infuses more! From left to right: mulberries with vanilla bean and almonds, mulberry with rhubarb, cinnamon, and a tiny piece of vanilla bean, and mulberry with orange and lemon. I may brown some sugar and add it to the first two, and throw a few cardamom pods into the third. If I gather more berries, I may make mulberry sweet tea vodka.

Speaking of sweet tea, I gave a Southern sweet tea recipe a Northeastern twist (I have been reading way too much tastespotting, apparently) with my last handful of mulberries!

Recent purchases

2011-06-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I held off on buying new clothes this week, because there was a massive yard sale in my area, such that I only saw half of it because I got everything I wanted in the first two blocks. I finally have a bread machine!

Ridiculously bright 70s maxidress - I may or may not hem it or try to sell it. I lucked out, since another woman bought most of them before I got there, but this one just wasn't her size.

80s dress I have already hacked the sleeves off of.

The other big purchase for the week was Ondine's lion cut from a local pet grooming place.

Before:

After:

Cleaning up nicely

2011-05-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

I did a very, very brief temp job today, and wanted to test if I could hide the pink in my hair on short notice. I did ok!

The office was also right next door to an Anthropologie, and Tuesday is their sale day. They offer full refunds for products, no matter how used they are or how long ago you bought them, which makes passing it by harder, but I'm trying to want less in general. I reminded myself of all of the DV and cat shelters who could use the money more, which worked.

Hamsa necklace - street vendor
Dress - Anthro, sale
Headband - vintage scarf
Bag - thrifted
Shoes - Target

Never fully dressed without a cat

2011-05-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to take a hiatus! I've been busy and in a funk since my last post. I do have cool new hair, though. I dyed the tips, which are in need of a trim anyway, so that I'll be forced to get a haircut if I get a real job interview. I dyed it with Special Effects dye because the chances of that happening soon seem slim.

Top, necklace, hat - thrifted
Skirt - AA (free!)
Shoes - H & M

This top goes further than a Hawaiian shirt - it's a rainforest shirt! Appropriate for the tropical humidity today.

Wisdom

2011-05-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

I had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday! My gums pretty much feel fine, and there's little swelling. Of course, after the first and last time I took Vicodin yesterday, my left eye decided to droop. I'd have almost preferred they drooped evenly.

At least I had the wisdom to wear these pants I got from a swap last year today - they feel like pajamas! Bell bottoms are apparently cool again, as if anything I liked in 6th grade can really be cool, so I'm glad I didn't spend money on them.

Blouse - H & M, 2007 or 2008
Jeans - swap
Belt - thrifted
Pendant - ebay

Detail of the pendant, which sort of matches Ondine:

Practicality

2011-05-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hey look, a practical biking outfit for once!

Blouse, belt, shoes - thrifted
Pants - H & M
Necklace - TopShop

Detail of the blouse + necklace:

Don't judge me until you have tried my way of life

2011-05-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's work outfit:

Detail of the resistor cardigan + a gifted glass pendant that looks like a virus coat.

Dress, shoes - thrifted
Cardigan - Conway, then altered
Tights - Hue

I know what you're probably thinking - "Can I see more photos of your dress, taken on a different day, with some cats?" The answer is yes.

Opal, getting Rj's nose:

Me, with Ondine. I'm always worried Opal isn't growing enough, but the only cat I have to compare her with is Ondine, who is, lest we forget, a big kitty.

Navy, brown, and black

2011-05-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Of course we've been having cold and rainy weather on days when I work, so I can't ride my bike there, but excellent weather on days when I have tons of stuff to do and can't justify taking a few hours for recreational biking. It hasn't been raining enough to keep the pollen in check, which is terrible, and I managed to get another sunburn on Sunday, this time on the back of my neck, which was covered by a scarf the entire time I was outside.

I am The Worst at updating this these days - I've been so busy lately, between my jobs and family commitments, that I am ordering fiddlehead ferns from freshdirect because I haven't had time to get to the farmer's market.

Cardigan - thrifted
Dress - Target, 2007
Tights - sockdreams and UO
Boots - Steve Madden

Layered tights:

I may stop putting my outfits on the wardrobe_remix group on flickr, since the only feedback I get is from creepers with lots of photos of women favorited and 0 photos uploaded. Every time I put photos in that group, I have to block at least another one of those accounts.

Spring at last

2011-04-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

Rj and I went to Chicago last week for a few days, and it was so cold and rainy in New York before we left that we were surprised to come home to Spring - almost as surprised as we were that everything in Chicago closes early, and their restaurants serve Big Gulp sized beverages when you order a soda.

Tweed - Forever 21, 2007
Necklace - street vendor
Lace shirt - AA
Skirt - H & M
Bag - thrifted
Shoes - vintage Ferragamos, ebay

I'm still not entirely sold on this top, but the details are lovely.

I was also surprised to end up with a sunburn on my shoulders on Tuesday, after spending less than 3 hours in direct sunlight. Having a sunburn in a northern latitude in April is a new badge in paleness.

Blouse, shoes - H & M
Pin - Art Institute of Chicago
Skirt, bag - thrifted

Rj bought me this Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired pin at the Art Institute. Chicago does not have suggested donations for admissions at their museums, which made me appreciate NYC that much more.

Cream, tan, brown, and black

2011-04-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Since today will be the only remotely Spring-ish day in Brooklyn this week, I decided to emulate this outfit on what would a nerd wear.

The ankles on these shoes hurt so much less with tights!

Cardigan - J Crew
Necklace - Forever 21, secondhand
Skirt - Old Navy, 2009
Tights, shoes - Target
Scarf - street vendor
Coat - H & M, 2009

Oops, the trench coat has a polka dot lining, so I accidentally paired dot-on-dot. Every much more successful fashion blogger seems to have a tan trenchcoat, but I can't justify getting it with this one in my closet. Black fits in with the Hasidim in my area much better anyway, and seemed appropriate for Erev Pesach today.

The cats are also dressing up these days - Rj ordered them free dog shirts during AA's April sale/giveaway, and we don't regret it. Surprisingly, Ondine hates wearing a shirt so much more than Opal does - Opal barely seems to notice.

Inspiration

2011-04-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

On Alexa Chung:

On me:

Sweater - secondhand Banana Republic
Belt, dress, bag - thrifted
Shoes - Ferragamos, via ebay

First bike ride of 2011!

2011-04-11T17:10:00.001-07:00

Last week was tough, and I probably have an eye infection, but I was thrilled to be able to ride my bike for the first time this year! I have terrible eyesight, so I wanted to wait until it stayed light out for long enough.

I sure exercised my middle finger a lot today. A woman on a bicycle makes men even more inclined to be vile from cars and on the sidewalks than usual, and I had no patience, especially after several double-parked cars opened the driver's side door when I approached. One guy apologized for the latter before I even considered reacting, possibly because my facial expression could have killed.

The saleslady at the secondhand store was so weird when I expressed interest in this dress! She kept saying the mannequin was "large" and "uhh, womanly," and insisted I try it on before buying it. Even if it looked like garbage on me, it wasn't her business, and I was vaguely insulted that I don't look "womanly" enough.

Dress - secondhand from Topshop
Earrings - UO in 2007
Shoes - Ferragamos via ebay

Detal of the womanly, womanly collar and pattern.

The Tell-tale scarf

2011-04-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

What I wore to walk with Rj to Park Slope, and end up having dinner next to a Zack Braff look-alike who summarized the story "The Tell-Tale Heart" for her as if it wasn't middle school canon.

Scarf - vintage
Blouse - Banana Republic, secondhand
Jeans - Forever 21, 2009
Necklace - Forever 21
Ring - ebay
Shoes - Target

The shoes surprisingly didn't hurt until about we were 2.5 miles into our walk, and the shoe part itself was fine - it was the ankles that were killer. I'm not sure if the scarf bow looked too over-the-top, but I liked the pop of color.

Nails + evil eye ring. The glitter gradient was surprisingly easy - wr2bam has a tutorial on how to do it, and I think my nails look like a birthday cake now.

Touching cat photos

2011-03-30T20:30:00.001-07:00

This has been an especially good week for cat photos. I think that's the most unemployed thing I've said...so far.

Monday's outfit - Opal wouldn't stop mewing until I picked her up, self-timer be damned.

Ring - etsy
Dress - H & M
Belt - thrifted
Leggings - AA
Boots - ebay

This week's nail polish, which has surprisingly not yet chipped. I would estimate 20% of my small nail polish collection is glittery.

Hey look, I accidentally used the rule of thirds here. Opal's having trouble getting under the door these days, and Ondine stopped her for a mandatory cleaning before entering shared territory.

Hi, I am really top-heavy. I think my ferragamos would have added more interest, but it was supposed to rain today.

Top - H & M
Necklace - Forever 21, shortened
Skirt - secondhand H & M
Tights - old
Shoes - Naturalizer via swap

The cats are rarely relaxed near each other for more than a few minutes, so I was delighted to see them napping together last night, even though it's not quite the most heartwarming pose.

All buttoned up

2011-03-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

I don't enjoy the cold weather, but at least that and the precipitation have staved off high pollen by a little. Pollen.com is your friend, and raw apples and pears are not.

Blouse - H & M
Dress - thrifted
Leggings - AA
Boots - ebay
Ring - etsy

Nails - I lack the dexterity to do glittery transitions and keratin-based masterpieces, so I went for modernism.

2 personas, 1 weekend

2011-03-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

What I wore to a bridal shower on Saturday. I had originally planned to wear a dress, but much like re-doing my nails, I just never got around to it.

Earrings - my grandma's
Blouse - Banana Republic
Skirt - thrifted
Tights - Target
Shoes - Ferragamo

Mommy-daughter manicures are so passe. Mommy-kitten manicures are where it's at.

Close-up of the earrings:

I wore this to brunch on Sunday, during which I had to order the unlimited mimosas, because they were a much better deal than a lone one.

Apple-shaped women aren't "supposed" to wear loose tops with an undefined waist, but I loved the pattern on this somewhat cropped top so much that I put it in my cart on Forever 21's website weeks ago without attempting to try it on beforehand.

Top, necklace - Forever 21
Pants (more like leggings!) - J Crew
Ring - etsy
Shoes - H & M

As a bonus, here's an attempt at a comprehensive family photo. Good job, Ondine, on not matching our outfits and not looking at the camera!

Put a bird on it!

2011-03-19T06:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, it was so nice out that I was able to go bare-legged!

Top - Forever 21
Necklace - thrifted
Skirt - H & M
Shoes - Ferragamos

Skirt detail.

I walked around lower Manhattan before picking Rj up from work. A pigeon decided to fly within inches of my head, and I felt exactly like this Portlandia sketch.

To be even more ridiculous, I will discuss how this skirt reminds me of Opal, and not solely because of the coloring. Opal was a tiny, needy 7 week old kitten when we first adopted her, and this is what would happen if one of us left her alone in the bedroom to use the bathroom:

She reminded me of this song, because her mews were so needy, chirpy, and adorable.

While we're at it, I may as well mention that Ondine has always reminded me of an owl:

Opal is much bigger than she was, but she still sleeps on my pillow and snuggles with me. Soon, she'll remind me of a full-grown snowy owl - I knew I should have lobbied harder for Hedwig!

Local business, international woman

2011-03-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

What I wore to take care of some blog stuff in Midwood before going to work at the allergist's office. I have two jobs and I'm still underemployed, and yesterday I had the realization that I am a pink collar employee. I often have quibbles with choice feminism, but it did remind me that, in our sexist society, we don't often have a choice - it's survive within the system, or perish outside of it. I've been a pink collar employee my whole life - teacher and receptionist are the jobs most often staffed by women. In both jobs, I've been paid for much less than my work has been worth, and I'm tired of it. As a bonus, teachers were especially insulted when Cathie Black, a woman with 0 educational experience, was nominated to be chancellor in NYC. The head of the AMA, bar association, and police commissioner will always have relevant experience, but the assumption is that teaching is just so easy that anyone can tell them how to do it. Blogging is probably the least pink collar job I've had - it may even be white collar.

For this International Woman's Day, I'm going to avoid buying sweatshop retail until the next one, unless I somehow get a job that requires me to wear more suits than the two I own and it starts immediately, and probably bras and underwear. It's mostly women and children who staff sweatshops, and we all suffer as a result of the economy based on cheapness above all else.

I was inspired by caffeinerd's outfit, and decided to emulate it.

On her:

On me:

Sweater - Old Navy, 2008
Necklace - secondhand, originally Forever 21
Skirt - Beverley Boutique (store in Midwood), 5+ years ago
Leggings - American Apparel
Boots - Steve Madden

In walking around Midwood, I was reminded that I'm not Jewish enough to be considered part of the local community, but still not gentile enough to be considered part of the others. In the space of 10 minutes on the same block, a kosher store employee asked who told me about the business, and a Brooklyn guy outside of a dive bar remarked to his daughter "hey, look, a Jewish girl is coming!" My identity is often perceived by the communities that exclude me.

Homemade vegan Thai iced tea

2011-02-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

I have been on the biggest Thai iced tea kick lately, but I can't afford to spend $3 on a drink that is mostly ice, and the disposable plastic cups aren't too great for the environment, either.

Ingredients:
-2/3 cup of Thai tea leaves - I bought mine online, thus ensuring that I'd find them in Brooklyn
-1 2/3 cup of water
-1/2 cup of sugar
-Half and half or vegan creamer - I used Trader Joe's soy creamer

Directions:
1. Boil water. Pour over tea leaves, and allow to steep for 4 minutes.

2. Strain the tea leaves into a heatproof container with the 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

3. Chill in the fridge overnight. Pour half over ice, and add a small amount of preferred creamer to the beverage.

I made mine in a french press, but my third one broke, so I will be making this in a pot.

I kind of wanted to do an experiment, where I went to see how long I could go without shopping at Trader Joe's. I've had the privilege of shopping at stores with bulk bins for grains, beans, and spices, which reduces both packaging and food waste. I bought a bag of walnuts from Trader Joe's in November, and I'm still working on them. I bought the necessary amount of slivered almonds from the co-op, and they're gone. I don't understand, for instance, why Trader Joe's feels the need to plastic wrap 3 zucchini together onto a plastic tray instead of selling them individually. I could never eat that many before they went bad, and if someone needed that many, the plastic parts are still unnecessary. I don't like that their cheeses are sold with such high weights - it took my household a month to go through a quarter pound of gruyere, so if we'd bought a half pound from there, it would have surely gone bad. They don't always have the best prices, either - their whole wheat gnocchi is $1.99, but it's $1.49 at the nearby Russian supermarket. They do have the best prices on almond milk, second to Fairway, but they're out of it every time I go there. They're also much bigger on selling prepared food than staples, like most supermarkets - that they sell hummus, but not tahini, is testament to it. Plus there's the whole using undocumented workers in wine production to keep prices low, which means their wages are most likely low.

On the other hand, it's a rather pointless experiment. Businesses primarily exist to make money, and Trader Joe's is probably better for the environment than most brands. As a plus, their advertising isn't offensive to me, because they don't. I should work to support local farmers and local businesses alike, and of course, reduce the packaging I consume, but that's on me, not them.

When Rj and I picked up Opal, we'd originally planned a trip to Trader Joe's, but followed the free kittens sign instead.

Not quite how we took her home, but it's cute to imagine anyway.

Fun story: someone who writes for Brokelyn overcharged me for cheese at Trader Joe's. Sadly, it was not the person who wrote the article about how to avoid being overcharged, but it's still ironic.

Nerd-inspired outfits

2011-02-24T11:51:00.000-08:00

This week, I decided to emulate a few outfits from What Would a Nerd Wear:

Red pencil skirt:

Sweater, top, belt - thrifted
Skirt, necklace - Forever 21 via ebay
Boots - secondhand via ebay
Socks - Target

With the exception of my socks, the entire outfit was secondhand!

I wasn't quite as close to emulating this outfit of hers - I do have a similar scarf, but my gray sweater is too dark and shapeless, and the most neutral light cardigan I have has too much awesomeness to cover.

lol nice natural pose, Sarah:

Cardigan - vintage
Blouse - secondhand, Banana Republic
Jeans - Forever 21, 2008
Boots - Steve Madden
Bag - H & M

Cardigan detail. This looked so blah on the rack, but I tried it on following a whim and it was 1000% more spectacular. I've been looking for a fawn-colored cardigan for ages, and the beading is gorgeous, and it's certainly more unique, sustainable, and less box-shaped than anything J. Crew has to offer.

Frothy rage and frosting

2011-02-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

While I technically have two jobs, I do spend a lot of time at home (going outside is expensive) and I'm unemployed. I'm married. I am, by default, a stay-at-home wife. I am a feminist, and I reject choice feminism. This makes me feel like a hypocrite, even though I didn't have a choice in losing my job. Sure, I do make much more of my food from scratch than I would have if I still had my career, and my apartment is cleaner than when I was working and we paid my brother to do our dishes, but I'm not this person. I'll quote the worst parts to avoid giving her more pageviews.

Don’t sleep in: When my boyfriend wakes up at 6, I get up with him, turn on the television, chat with him, and try make him a simple breakfast, maybe scrambled eggs or just cereal and juice. It’s bad enough that he knows I’m home all day, no need for him to think I sleep until noon.

Keep the place clean: When I was working, the cleaning usually didn’t get done until Saturday — now it’s part of my daily to-do list. Like any other busy person getting ready in the morning, he throws his clothes on the floor, takes a shower and leaves the floor wet etc. Why leave it there for him to take care of when he gets home? To be spiteful? I’d much rather pick up behind him — I don’t want to live in a messy home either.

Sexy Time: Everyone knows there is nothing more important in a relationship than that special time between the sheets. I have eight to nine hours everyday to send out my resumés and clean and make dinner, by the time he comes home from work I am well rested. Frankly, there’s no real reason (time of the month aside) why I shouldn’t be ready and willing when he is. I try very hard to keep my boyfriend happy and this is a key part of doing so.

Ok, so it's actually almost entirely terrible, and it turns out I can't even pick the worst part.

My response:

As a result of my own job loss, I’m technically a stay-at-home wife. The apartment is much cleaner than it was when I was employed – we used to pay my brother to do our dishes – and I cook more.

However, my husband is a grown-ass adult, and can figure out breakfast for himself if he wants it. He’s also figured out how to pour his own beverage, too. Sleeping past when he leaves for work doesn’t make me lazy, either. I did that Ben Franklin shit when I had a real job, and it didn’t make me healthier, wealthier, and wiser. Also, sleeping past 6 is lazy, but going to booze at lunch specials isn’t? Spoiler alert: Betty Draper ended up unhappy, too.

There are plenty of “real” reasons for not being dtf whenever your man is around, like, say, being depressed about how crushingly badly your job search is going, or worn out from cleaning the outside of your windows, or just plain not feeling like it. If you both have high sex drives, that’s great that it works for you, but it doesn’t work for everyone. I also promise you that all men do not have off-the-chart libidos and would go to any length to get it from anyone halfway attractive – that’s sexist against men, and keeps them from talking about having lower sex drives for fear of being considered “not masculine.”

Her article is curiously devoid of ways employed partners can help their unemployed partners happy, or nice treats for us. It's assumed that staying home involuntarily is such a fucking vacation that we don't need validation. The discussion of how to keep yourself happy and sane is only presented as a corollary to keeping your man happy. Even saying "treat yourself to a soap opera" would have been an improvement, as it would imply that women deserve something selfish for their work.

I bought more Meyer lemons, and made these cupcakes again. Since the frosting from the first time around was vile, and I still have a ton of home grown spearmint in my freezer, I decided to try a spearmint frosting.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything remotely close to what I was looking for. I ultimately went with a buttercream frosting, with a small amount of homemade simple mint syrup and dried mint leaves. I put a few mint leaves on a plate, set the microwave to 70% power, and heated the mint leaves for 2 minutes, turning halfway. I then crumbled the leaves into the frosting.

And yes, folks, my husband helped me make and clean up from these cupcakes in addition to eating them. I expect more from a man than I do from my cats, although even they have the responsibility of being cute and keeping the apartment vermin free.

Ondine's additional job is official hat tester, of course.

Pan-fried parsnips and purple potatoes

2011-02-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

Despite sounding like a Dr. Seuss description, this is a fantastic dish. I adapted and simplified it from Not Eating Out in NY. The only non-local ingredients were the condiments! I am now entertaining fantasies of making my own hot sauce this summer.

Ingredients:
-1 parsnip, peeled
-3 medium purple potatoes
-Equal parts soy and hot sauce, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat flavorless oil of your choice in a cast iron skillet. Slice the parsnips and potatoes thinly. Fry on each side for 2 - 3 minutes, or until slightly crisped and tender.

2. Mix soy sauce and hot sauce. Add to pan-fried veggies to taste - you'll want between 1 tsp - 1 T per serving. Serves 2.

I bought this hot sauce today solely for the name, but ended up going with the $.50 ligero kind for this dish, and my lips were still burning.

Spaced out

2011-02-19T11:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's outfit:

Yes, I'm aware my legs would look longer if I tucked the blouse in. Too bad.

Blouse detail. I'm considering selling the blouse, because space-patterned stuff is so trendy now, but it's not available at lower price tiers yet. I like it a lot, and thrifted it for cheap, but I think I could get between 10 - 20 times what I paid for it. I'm afraid of missing the opportunity to get more for it, since I've missed so many opportunities already.

I did some apartment maintenance this week - scraped and repainted some water damage. Ondine, despite not knowing her name, is pretty good at staying away from things that are toxic to her - onions, tea tree oil, and paint. Opal is smarter than Ondine, as she knows her name and has figured out how to open our dresser drawers, but didn't realize that wet paint is bad, and proceeded to walk across the freshly painted windowsill. I can't tell who of us was less happy with the subsequent bathing and cleanup that followed.

As a treat for doing so much exhaustive cleanup, I painted my nails Thursday night. I seem to have missed this 90s trend the first time around. I'm going to skip out on flares, though, since I had enough of those.

Out of clever titles

2011-02-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

It's been almost warm enough to take photos of myself in a billion layers outside.

Lion hat - Union Square Christmas market, 2007
Sweater - Eebee's
Fishbowl necklace - vintage, eBay
Skirt - H & M, 2009
Bag - H & M
Leggings - AA
Boots -ebay, newly repaired and freshly polished

I'm still planning to wear more dresses, but I recently sold and gave a way a bunch. I'm sick of job searching, and terrified my unemployment will run out, so selling clothes not only helps me clear out some physical and mental space and pad my bank account, but it gives me a much-needed sense of control.

I got your fresh direct right here

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Staying in for days on end is starting to grate on me, but the weather's too awful to go out, and everything is too costly. I decided to do what any normal 20something in NYC would do, and make groceries I normally buy.

There are a billion chai tea tutorials online, and of course I can't find the one I used. To make a chai tea mix, I combined:

-1/2 cup black tea leaves
-Zest of one orange, dried
-Dried slices of 1 inch of ginger
-4 cinnamon sticks
-20 cloves
-10 peppercorns
-1/2 vanilla bean, sliced
-2 tsp cardamom seeds

I had much more success drying orange zest this time - I put the microwave on 50% power for 6 minutes, stopping it every so often to stir and check. It is impossible to find info on how to dry ginger without leaving your oven door open for 15 hours (!!), so I improvised.

Peel your ginger. Shave it, using the peeler. Spread the shavings on a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

To make your tea, use an infuser, or simmer the mix in a small pot on your stove for 15 mins, and strain. Add lots of (almond) milk!

In my second year of teaching, one of my students answered everything that ended with a "dee" sound with "Like deez nuts?" This was real fun while reading J. Deez Salinger's works, though not entirely inaccurate. I left deez nuts out of this granola recipe, with no great loss.

Ingredients:
-2 cups rolled oats
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp salt
-3 T, 1 tsp vegetable oil
-1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine all dry ingredients. Combine all wet ingredients well with wet ingredients

2. Spread onto a parchment paper-lined sheet as thinly as possible. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Flip the mixture over. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Flip again, and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven immediately (this is why mine is so brown - I didn't), and allow to cool. Store in a container in the fridge - I used an old yogurt container.

Blah

2011-02-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

I am so tired of precipitation, and wearing boots in general. I wore so many neutrals today, so I hoped red accessories would jazz it up. I can't tell if I succeeded or not.

Scarf - found
Sweater - Banana Republic, ebay - it's actually charcoal
Dress - Isaac Mizrahi for Target
Purse - thrifted
Socks - sockdreams.com
Boots - Steve Madden

You don't win friends with salad

2011-02-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

I seem to be about 100 years behind on this, but roasted beet salads with carmelized onions and feta over spinach is mind-blowingly awesome.

I peeled and cut the root off of each beet, covered it in foil, and roasted it at 400 F for somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes. The dressing was a chopped shallot in a balsamic vinaigrette.

I managed to almost entirely avoid the superbowl, though we did have a taco salad for lunch today. Is it lunch if you eat it at 6? What about if you slept through breakfast?

I rubbed chicken breasts down with this taco seasoning, which was good, but not the reason I'm bothering to post something so simple. The real reason is the blue corn tortilla crisps.

Blue corn tortillas are $1 and change for a large-ish bag in my area, and keep very well, so I always have them on hand. I cut a few of them into strips, heated a half an inch of oil in my dutch oven, dropped them in for a few minutes, and ate something magical. I may never buy blue corn tortilla chips again. I may turn into one of those people who make homemade doritos.

Lemon party!

2011-02-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

Since today was snowy, and I don't exactly have any pressing commitments these days, I decided to make the most out of the 6 Meyer lemons I bought, instead of making practical foods like healthy dinners or lunches ahead of time, or yet again revising my resume. I can't tell if my resume is just the worst, or if I think it is because I'm so tired of looking at it.

First, I made half-whole wheat Meyer lemon poppy seed mini-muffins, adapted from smitten kitchen.

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
-1/4 cup of white flour
-1/3 cup of sugar
-2/3 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-1/3 cup of Greek yogurt
-1 egg
-1 tsp lemon zest
-1/6 tsp of vanilla extract
-3 T vegetable oil
-1 T lemon juice
-2 T poppy seeds
-1 T fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp sugar, set aside

Directions:
1. Combine and sift dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together in another bowl, or if you're lazy, the measuring cup. Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Fold in the poppy seeds, and spoon the mixture into wrappers in a mini cupcake pan. Bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

3. Heat the remaining sugar and lemon juice on the stove in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved. Glaze the mini muffins with it while they are cooling.

I also made Meyer lemon mini cupcakes with a blueberry buttercream frosting. I'm already sick of the frosting, but the cupcakes are great and even vegan. I'll probably use the muffin glaze on them, if I bother.

From love and olive oil:

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup of flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/8 tsp baking soda
-1/4 cup of sugar
-2 T brown sugar
-3 T vegetable oil
-1/2 cup of regular coconut milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp lemon zest
-1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Combine and sift dry ingredients together. Mix in the wet ingredients until well combines. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spoon the batter into mini cupcake papers. Bake 22 - 25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I also tried to dry some lemon zest in the microwave, which didn't quite fail but didn't quite succeed. Do not do this on 100% power, or your microwave will make scary sounds - one tutorial recommended 70% power, but you could probably even use 50%.

Serious business

2011-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is probably what my serious business adult outfits are going to look like - First Lady jacket, black jeans, boots, variable blouse.

Blouse - Banana Republic
Jacket - Anthro
Jeans - Uniqlo forever ago
Boots - eBay

I finally picked up my new glasses, and I'm as yet undecided on them. I really hated them yesterday, and loved them today. Feedback is welcome.

Kitten mystery

2011-01-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with sustainability, but it's a story I had to share.

Astrokitten, reporting for duty!

We also noticed that Opal's whiskers looked significantly shorter, and seeing as we didn't do it, and Opal couldn't possibly, we were left with one suspect and one motive.

The suspect:

The motive:

CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

Surveillance evidence:

Behind bars:

Yet another pasta salad

2011-01-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Generally, whenever anyone mentions their veganism, they're met with the response "I could never do that - I couldn't live without cheese!"

I'm an omnivore, and I can live without cheese. This is akin to when I told people about my chocolate allergy - people looked at me as if I told them I had cancer. There are a few cheeses I enjoy, and I'm trying to branch out, but I generally avoid recipes that involve copious amounts of cheese.

I dislike most intensely sharp cheeses, which involves most sheep and goat cheeses. I finally convinced myself into trying a brand of feta sold at a kosher supermarket, as it seems silly to live in an area with such good Israeli food, but to buy feta elsewhere. I settled on Tnuva, and promptly threw it on this zucchini whole wheat pasta salad from smitten kitchen, which was lackluster with Parmesan, another cheese I'm not big on.

Ingredients:
-1/2 pound of whole wheat pasta
-2 or 3 zucchinis
-1/2 cup of slivered almonds
-5 T olive oil
-Juice of one lemon
-Cheese of your choice

Directions:
1. Begin boiling water for the pasta. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Slice your zucchini thinly - I used the slicing blade on my food processor. Place the zucchini in a colander, add about 1 tsp salt, rinse, and let dry.

3. Toast your slivered almonds in the oven for 7 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

4. Combine the almonds, pasta, and zucchini in a large food storage container, and add the olive oil and lemon juice. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Add your preferred amount of cheese right before serving.

As for the new feta:

Fry: That's the saltiest thing I've ever tasted. And I once ate a big, heaping bowl of salt!
Bender: Oh, come on! That food was fine! The salt content was 10% less than a lethal dose!

Fortunately, my blood pressure is low, and can absorb a lot of salt. Each one ounce serving contains 518 mg of sodium, nearly a quarter of the recommended daily amount, so even I'm proceeding with caution, lest a friend have to pry the container out of my salt-bloated corpse's hands before deleting my internet history.

First Lady Jacket

2011-01-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

This dress was too tight for me to wear to work. I want to wear it with a navy blue pencil skirt, too, but it was also too tight for work and this weather. I went the opposite, and wore a jacket I think of as my First Lady jacket, because it fits well, looks expensive, and reads mature and respectable. At least, I think it does.

Jacket - Anthro
Dress as blouse - thrifted, Banana Republic
Skirt - Pretty Girl
Belt - thrifted

Kittens and ovens don't mix

2011-01-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't dressed particularly fashionably between Wednesday and today, as my husband and I got our kitten spayed on Thursday and our leaky ceiling repaired in the same day. We've largely stayed home to keep the post-surgical cutie company, and to take drugged kitten photos.

I had an upsetting dream recently that my kitten was in the oven when it was on. She was ok, but her fur was slightly charred. With that awkward transition, here is my clean oven, after Wednesday's disaster:

It was really easy to clean it with household items, instead of risking chemical burns with comparatively expensive and harmful Easy Off. I was traumatized when I was 8 and read a story about a man who confused Easy Off for Off Bug Spray, as people in my family tend to not read labels at times - ask my brother, who put Preparation H on a papercut.

Anyway, here's how to get your oven super clean with minimal cost, harm, and effort:
1. Cover the bottom of your oven lightly with water
2. Sprinkle generously with baking soda, and leave for 6 - 7 hours.
3. Wipe off the baking soda/water/grease mix as best as you can.
4. Scrub the rest with a lightly soaped sponge.

There will be time, there will be time/To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet

2011-01-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize how similar this outfit is to Monday's until I saw the photos!

Today, T.S. Eliot was wrong:

There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

As you can see from the photo, there was no time to prepare a face to meet the faces I will meet. This was the Post That Almost Wasn't. My ceiling is leaking, and I woke up early in hopes of getting my super's attention, to no avail. I started off productively enough - changing the sheets, painting my nails, and pre-preparing the rice and veggies for dinner - but things took a turn for bad when I preheated the oven to make lunch for myself, and the oven started smoking. This meant none of the lunch I planned, and I spent the next hour and a half cleaning the oven so that I could make the dinner I'd planned, which ruined my nail polish, and meant that my lunch was a hastily shovelled in oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts. The zipper on my black knee-high boots decided to break while I was hurriedly getting dressed, of course. I left for work with exactly enough time to get there by train, and realized 2 blocks from home that I'd forgotten to take my Synthroid and other meds.

Work was less bad, except we lost a long-time patient's chart. One of the patients said she liked my skirt, and was sufficiently impressed when I said it was a dress.

Sweater - Old Navy, 2008
Necklace - Forever 21, via ebay
Belt - thrifted
Dress (as skirt) - Target
Ring - etsy
Tights - local store, with AA winter leggings underneath

Post-blahs

2011-01-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today I channeled this kendi everyday post, after a bland sartorial week.

Sweater - Old Navy, 2008ish
Skirt - Gap
Tights - sockdreams, 2008ish
Boots - Steve Madden
Belt - thrifted
Necklace - ebay; originally Forever 21

Today, I felt like having a healthy lunch, following yesterday's mediocre, unsatisfying, and nutritionally worthless lunch at Sbarro. I made this excellent broccoli curry udon - it's vegan, full of protein and fiber, and fantastic.

Adapted from the ppk:
4 oz whole wheat udon
Head of broccoli, chopped
Half medium red onion/red cippolini, minced
Dash of powdered ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup of vegetable broth mixed with 1 T flour
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
3 T coconut milk mixed with 1 T water
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:
1. Boil water for udon. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the udon.

2. Add the broccoli to another pot or pan. Roast with olive oil, covered, for about 7 minutes.

3. Remove the broccoli from cooking implement, and set aside. Roast the red onions for 3 minutes, covered, and set aside.

4. Heat the garlic cloves and ginger powder in the pot or pan for 1 minute. Add the broth, pepper flakes, and soy sauce. Cover and boil for 3 - 5 minutes, until thickened.

5. Add the coconut milk and remove from heat. Divide the pasta and vegetables into 2 dishes, and pour the sauce over. Garnish with sesame seeds.

I had Sbarro yesterday, because my husband's glasses broke irreparably. My own broke last week, and they've been held together by superglue. His eyesight is nearly as bad as mine (think: we can't see the 'E' on the charts). Having good eyesight is a privilege, which becomes clear when you need replacement frames on a 3 day weekend, especially when your prescription won't fit in most frames unless you get special index lenses, and end up shelling out upwards of $400 after your insurance was applied. I've seen a lot of low income kids do badly in school, because the only glasses their parents could afford weren't remotely cool - if they were lucky. If not, their parents didn't have the time or resources to even consider corrective lenses. Of course, this will never come up in discussions of the "achievement gap", unless we figure out a way to blame low income parents for carrying near-sighted genes, or accuse teachers of blinding them.

100th entry

2011-01-16T11:35:00.001-08:00

I've been really, really bad about blogging lately. Between doing paid freelance writing for kensingtonprospect.com and the Midwood blog, writing a how-to buy and wear vintage guide for brokelyn.com (still in the works), and my husband being sick last week, I've been lazy.

I was planning to wear this yesterday, but we ended up staying in. This is dress # 3

Dress - Old Navy
Belt - thrifted
Leggings - AA (they're navy)
Boots - Steve Madden
Ring - etsy

Opal, with a snow leopard plush from a tub of cubs

Don't worry, Ondine's not too big for the cheetah one.

As Ondine and Opal are fierce predators, I do want to start raw feeding them this year, though probably after Ondine loses a little more weight on her commercial diet food. Ondine isn't big on raw meat, but Opal will chow down on raw and cooked meat alike, so we're supplementing her wet and dry foods with it. We won't be quite as extreme as the fishing cat's caretakers, but I do want to give them the best life possible.

This is also why we've held onto the box cat gym they made for themselves.

Conflict clothing

2010-12-30T11:55:00.000-08:00

My husband and I are going to a vintage-y themed classy New Year's Eve party, and I'm not sure which dress to choose.

Option 1

This is a lovely embroidered dress from White House/Black Market. I love it, but it's not vintage or vintage-y, and the waistband isn't forgiving of cheese.

Option 2

Forever 21 dress I've worn once.

The item I'm most conflicted about is my grandmother's fur coat. She had this custom-made in the fur district in the 1960s (so we're 100% sure it's not cat, at least), and it fits me perfectly. I doubt I'd wear this more than twice, as it makes me feel very morally uncomfortable, not to mention a target for paint. On they other hand, I have very few things of hers, and as she had a very small family and I look the most like her/have her sense of style, and it would be nice to have an heirloom.

Detail of the fur/embroidery/my dusty mirror.

My first successful attempt at a cat-eye.

How to wear a pleated skirt like an adult

2010-12-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

I bought this pleated skirt from Old Navy on super-sale last year, and crammed it into my closet. I'm still told I look like a high schooler, despite having taught them for 3 years, and I'm loathe to make myself look even more like one. I especially want to avoid creeps who like the schoolgirl look, so I made sure to avoid elements of that.

Most private schoolers would probably not wear boots, a striped shirt, and a circle scarf in their uniform, so I felt this was safe.

Scarf, top - H & M
Belt, boots - vintage, via ebay
Earrings - UO

Earrings:

I think turtlenecks are definitively adult. I wore mostly neutrals, so the attention could be on my ring.

Turtleneck - Target
Necklace - Union Square holiday market, 2008
Ring - Sarah Lewis
Belt - Thrifted
Socks - sockdreams.com
Boots - eBay

Even Opal approves of this ring - it's very bold!

I think ascot tie blouses, patterned blouses, and non-collared blouses would go well with this in an adult way, as well. I tried it with a blazer, but it was still a bit too prep school for my liking. I'd also go with a fitted sweater, but avoid having collars and cuffs showing, and avoid cardigans.

Old pants

2010-12-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

So, after trying on many pairs of cropped tan pants, I've come to the conclusion that none of them fit me. It's just as well - I dug these out of storage. If only it was warm enough to wear them this way!

I actually took these for clothed much's rule breaker pool - I rarely emphasize my shoulders, but life is too short to hide your body.

Blouse, shoes - H & M
Pants - Gap
Belt - vintage, etsy

What I wore today, to go to work and take a final - the blouse is not tucked in!

Blouse - thrifted, Land's End
Jeans - Forever 21
Boots - Steve Madden
Necklace - vintage, ebay

Vintage holiday dress

2010-12-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's pretty taboo to admit this in the blogosphere (especially the fashion sub-sphere) or most circles I travel in NYC, but I am not a fan of Mad Men. I know it's feminist and socially liberal, and the fashion is outstanding, but I just can't get into it. First, my husband is a graphic designer, and I have a problem with shows that show professions but leave out the degrading, frustrating work. Shows that depict teaching are the worst with this, but this is pretty bad. Where's the approval chain? Where are the clients who don't want to pay because there's a typo, but don't tell you?

Secondly, the few instances of comic relief seem to be "look at how people in the 60s didn't realize things were dangerous!" I loved the X-files, but cannot get into Fringe, because the former had comic relief without distracting from serious episodes, and the latter does not. It's just too tense otherwise.

However, I still love vintage clothing and style. This commercial is my all-time favorite, and there's nothing about it I don't like. My all-around awesome friend Meredith was probably in the focus group for this ad, so we can thank her for it.

Saturday's outfit - I bought this dress at a flea market almost exactly a year ago, and haven't worn it since. It's perfect for the holidays, because it's not overwhelming.

Dress - flea market
Belt - thrifted
Leggings - AA
Boots - vintage, ebay
Bag - H & M

Jeans and the boots with the furrrr

2010-12-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

I will choose looking dorky over being cold anytime. Today, this meant wearing high waisted thermals under my jeans, which were visible when I lifted my arms, and much more insulated boots than my form-fitting riding pair. I may have failed slightly at being fashionable, but I succeeded at being sustainable and warm.

This isn't the best photo of me ever, or even today, but I'm reminded of Carrie Fisher here. She's awesome, so it was the obvious choice.

Shirt - some outlet, purchased in 2006
Cardigan - J. Crew, recent
Jeans - 7 for all Mankind, thrifted in 2007
Boots - Land's End from at least 15 years ago

These boots were my mom's, from when my brother and I were in elementary school, which makes them at least 15 years old. It's strange to think I can remember something 15 years ago!

Detail of the necklace and cardigan:

Comfort foods

2010-12-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

I've been eating fairly healthful foods before I leave the apartment to take care of my commitments - blueberry beet smoothies, vegetables, whole grains, the whole deal. Then, I go outside to run my errands, freeze my poorly insulated (despite layers of thermals) tuchus off, and end up eating some iteration of pasta and high cholesterol for dinner.

I even had Rj pick up veggies and chicken breasts to make a stir-fry over brown rice on Wednesday, but I didn't have the energy to cook it at 8:30 pm - however, I got a second wind around 1 am, and made pasta carbonara. The peas and tricolored Ronzoni garden harvest pasta were so I could delude myself that it was somewhat healthy. I used Hormel bacon pieces in the interest of saving time.

Lazy pasta carbonara - makes two servings

Ingredients:
-1/2 lb of pasta of your choice
-1/4 cup of grated parmesan
-1 egg
-2 pieces of crispy bacon, or 2 T Hormel bacon pieces
-(Optional) 1 cup of a sweet-ish veggie of your choice - snow peas are ideal, and some people enjoy tomatoes.

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to directions on package. Combine the remaining non-veggie ingredients - I usually do this in the measuring cup, to save on dishes.

2. Drain the pasta. Heat olive oil (or bacon grease) in the pasta pot - re-add the drained pasta, as well as the egg mixture.

3. Cook on medium low, stirring continuously, until the egg is cooked. Mix in veggies, and serve.

Today, I was planning to make the stir-fry, honest. Then I had my Micro lab final, which was fair, but involved me doing the same 3 gram stains repeatedly 5x each until I had results that pleased both me and the professor. Gram staining isn't particularly difficult, and we've been doing it since day one, but I was hallucinating cocci in the field of vision of my microscope at one point, because I'd been staring at it for so long. I then ran errands on Flatbush Ave, and froze bitterly while I waited for a bus. Sometimes, New Yorkers will wait a ridiculous amount of time for a bus, and then two show up at the same time 30 minutes later. Three buses showed up at the same time, eventually. I spent my time fantasizing about changing into my brand new flannel pajamas (to replace the duck pajamas that just passed their 5th birthday) and eating Martha Stewart's mac and cheese recipe. The stir-fry will have to wait another day.

Martha Stewart's mac and cheese recipe, adapted for those of us without dishwashers - serves 4

Ingredients:
-2 2/3 T butter, plus more for greasing casserole dish
-2 2/3 T flour
-1 4/5 cup of milk
-1/4 loaf of leftover french bread
-2/3 cup of shredded gruyere cheese
-2/3 cup of shredded cheddar
-2/3 cup of shredded gouda
-1/4 lb of elbow macaroni
-Cayenne pepper powder, powdered nutmeg, and black pepper

Directions:

1. Shred your cheeses, and mix thoroughly. Grease your casserole dish with butter.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Begin boiling a pot of water. Melt 2 T butter in a pot. Add the flour, and whisk. Slowly add the milk. Heat on medium, whisking frequently, until thick and bubbly.

3. Melt 2/3 T butter in the microwave. Cube (or tear) the bread into small pieces, and toss in butter bowl to coat. Set aside.

4. Parboil the elbow macaroni - cook it for about 3 minutes or so, until the outside is cooked, but the inside isn't. Strain, and put into the casserole dish.

5. Put 2/3 of your shredded mixed cheeses into the bechamel sauce, along with a sprinkle of cayenne, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix - the cheese should be melty.

6. Mix the cheese sauce with the pasta in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese, and top with the buttered bread. Bake for half an hour, or until the top is browned. Wash the rest of your dishes while you're waiting, because you won't want to move after you've eaten it.

How to live cheaply and sustainably - 52 dress pick-up

2010-12-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

Clean out your closet. Or, if you don't have closets, have an idea of what you have. I had to clean the linen closet today, because the plastic bags and extension cords prevented the door from closing, and since it's right near the bathroom, anyone who visited knew we had a messy closet. During the hour I cleaned it, I found we had:

-Gift labels and sufficient wrapping paper (glad I didn't buy any more!)
-3 electric toothbrush heads, and 4 regular toothbrushes
-1/2 pack of generic whitening strips
-5 sulfa pills and a refill
-2 opened bottled of DayQuil, and an open blister pack of it.
-2 opened bottles of Centrum, and several various mineral supplements
-An econo-sized bag of Halls cough drops.

After deciding against opening the world's grodiest CVS, I moved onto my closet, which also couldn't close because of all of the crap in it. This is how I learned I have 52 dresses. The dress pile, compared to the relatively normal blouse one:

Some are dresses I've worn nearly to death, and others are still waiting for their debut. Some cost $1, and some were closer to $80 (though admittedly very few). I even found a few I'd been looking for for awhile - they were stuck to other dresses.

Pile height:

If I try to rationalize it, I could say that I have one dress for every week of the year, which sounds almost normal. I wish I'd known about Dressember about a week earlier, since I could clearly manage that for 2 months without real effort.

Here are a few possible reasons I have so many, compared to my relatively reasonable quantity of everything else:
1. Better fit than pants and some skirts
2. I have, at times in my life, been terrible at putting together outfits, and dresses are easier to manage
3. #2 especially holds when you are bleary and exhausted in the morning, and need that extra 5 minutes of sleep.
4. At a certain point in the school year when I was a teacher, my laundry became part of a floordrobe ecosystem, and buying new undies and a dress was easier to manage than defloorestation.
5. I have shopaholic tendencies - they run in my family.

On the plus side, they all fit, are either still trendy or fairly classic, and if I'm invited to a wedding or perhaps opera with 10 minutes' notice, I'll be set.

How to dress warmly, for serious.

2010-12-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

I really hate when you're looking for cold weather fashion, and someone posts reed thin tall women in miniskirts and OTK socks on bare legs. I'm fairly thin myself, and as someone without much insulation, low blood pressure, and Raynaud's syndrome (which makes your extremities turn blue really fast when you're cold), I don't play with the snow.

What I wore to buy a vintage dresser off of craigslist - it was thankfully a block away.

You best believe there are thermals under this.
Sweater - Anthro, via ebay
Jeans - 7 for all mankind, thrifted
Boots - Bass, via ebay

What I wore to work and class today:

Dress - thrifted
Necklace - thrifted
Leggings - AA winter leggings (with thick tights underneath)
Boots - vintage, via ebay

Accessories detail:

Opal loves perching on me, so she's been in a lot of photos lately. Here's one of Ondine, for balance - this is the box we brought Opal home in!

How to make your antique furniture nerdy

2010-12-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

This blog was supposed to be about sustainability, and in many ways, it still is. Most of the produce I use, including nearly all of the meat, is from local farms. Most of my clothes have either been in my closet forever, or were bought secondhand. We're working on buying furniture built to last, which is very difficult in this day and age - our IKEA couch is slowly collapsing, as are the chairs we bought from there less than 1 1/2 years ago. There are very few manufacturers of high quality furniture, and they are obviously prohibitively pricey. Buying used old furniture is a gamble, as well, due to bedbugs. Of course, you risk gaining bedbugs from pretty much living in NYC, so you have to calculate your risk - I'd feel safer getting used furniture from my neighbors, as I live in an area with little to no bedbugs, than, say, Greenpoint, the bedbug capital of the city.

So, Rj and I bought this antique bar a few years ago. I'd always meant to use it as a display, but I wasn't sure what.

After I'd had an awful, soul-crushing, career-ending day, my friend Stef surprised me with a box of X-files merchandise. Nothing says "cheer up" like a box of Mulders!

Other side:

Vintage dresser we bought from one of our neighbors on craigslist. Are cats nerdy? They sure are popular on this internet.

The view from bed. I Heart Guts is definitely geeky, if nothing else is.

How to remain fashionable in an "uncool" part of Brooklyn

2010-12-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

Kensington is near Ditmas Park, which is moving up in esteem, and Kensington will no doubt gain some of the overflow, though I doubt (and hope) the demographics will change significantly. I learned last night that my great-uncle and his wife lived in an apartment quite literally down the block from where I live now, and my grandparents lived nearby until they bought a house. I hope it remains as friendly to the working class and Jews as it has for the past four decades.

I love a lot about my immediate area, though it is sorely lacking in shopping, compared to other parts of NYC. Most people would suggest going to Manhattan or trendier areas - and I do - but I also enjoy supporting southern Brooklyn's economy, as it's where I'm from.

Sweater - Eebee's (discount store on Kings Highway)
Leggings - Target (at Brooklyn College)
Shoes - Nine West outlet, Kings Highway
Purse - secondhand Coach

I bought myself this pleather jacket for my 25th birthday, along with a much nicer camera. It's my new favorite toy, though I'm still working out the kinks.

No, my camera isn't broken - the black spot in the lower right corner was Opal investigating the source of noise.

Pleather jacket - thrifted at SBH, on McDonald Ave between Ave P and Kings Highway
Shirt - H & M
Jeggings - Conway
Boots - vintage

I also got a fantastic (and cheap!) haircut and style at Punta Cana, a Dominican salon on Cortelyou road. Small, understated pendants seem to be ~in~ this season, so I wore this lovely necklace my friend Erika made.

Pear (and apple) gruyere pies

2010-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

In addition to making the stuffing, rolls, and everything but the cranberry jelly from scratch, I also made a pear gruyere pie with thekitchn.com's recipe, and some apple ones with the leftovers. Medal, please. I assembled the ingredients on Tuesday, and put it all together Thursday afternoon.

As this was the first pie I'd ever made from scratch, I learned rolling out the dough is especially difficult. First, it's too hard straight out of the fridge, and agonizing to work with. It then instantaneously reaches room temperature, which is about 400 Kelvin in my building, and sticks to every single surface while falling apart. This pie looks much more like it needs shapewear to smooth out its lumps than I'd planned. It was, however, tasty.

Gruyere crust:
-2.5 cups of flour
-1 tsp salt
-1 T sugar
-3 ounces of gruyere, grated finely
- 20 T unsalted butter, cut into small cubes - you could probably get away with less
- 6-7 T ice water

Directions:

1. Toss the dry ingredients and cheese together in a large bowl.

2. Put them in your food processor with the butter. Pulse, until it looks somewhat cohesive and the larger butter pieces are pea-sized.

3. Place the mix back into the large bowl. Add small amounts of ice water and mix until it begins to clump. When this happens, check to see if it can make a lump between your hands. If this is the case, divide the dough about 60/40, flatten into disks, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least overnight.

Port wine pear (or apple) filling

Ingredients:
-4 lbs of the fruit of your choice
-1/3 cup of white sugar
-1 cup, 2 T port wine
-2 1/4 cups of water
-3 tsp vanilla
-3/4 tsp ginger
-1/3 tsp nutmeg
-1/3 tsp clove
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-3 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, liquids, and spices in a large pot over high heat.

2. Peel, seed, and quarter your fruit.

3. By the time you are done, the spiced wine mixture should be boiling. Add the fruit, reduce heat to low. Poach until the fruit is fork tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Remove the fruit from the pot, using a slotted spoon. Slowly add the cornstarch to the spiced wine, while whisking to ensure that clumping is minimal. Remove from heat when it reaches a syrupy consistency, and store.

Assembly:

1. Roll out your larger quantity of pie dough into thin-ish sheets - they should be less than 5 mm thick. Line the bottom of your pan with dough.

2. Add the poached fruit, until it reaches the top of the crust.

3. Roll out the smaller quantity of pie dough. Try to make an attractive top - people are going to eat that.

4. Brush with a beaten egg. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until it begins to brown.

5. Use your leftover dough to make cup pies in a cupcake tin - the original recipe was for an 11 inch pie, and I have a 10 inch pan, so I had enough leftovers for 6 cup pies.

Opal attempted to help make and eat the pies. She recommends serving it warm, with vanilla ice cream.

Sausage Apple Cornbread stuffing + green beans with shallots

2010-11-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's Thanksgiving meal. I made everything from scratch, except for the cranberry jelly. It's not real if it doesn't have ridges. Who would put cranberries into cranberry jelly? That's just disgusting.

This experience has once again reminded me that slow food is really, really hard work, and there is a good reason Pillsbury and Stove Top exist.

Apple Cornbread stuffing - adapted from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients:
-3/4th of a prepared cornbread (I used this)
-2/3 lb of turkey sausage
-One apple, peeled and chopped
-2/3 cup of diced onions
-2/3 cup of carrot shreds
-3 slices of whole wheat bread, cubed
-2 cups of stock of your choice

Directions:
1. Brown the sausage in a pan. Once sausage is browned, remove, and add to casserole container. Cook onions and carrots in the same pan until the onions are browned.

2. Combine remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, until browned.

Green beans with shallots, adapted from smitten kitchen.

Ingredients:
-1/2 pound of fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
-1 T butter
-2 shallots, peeled and sliced
-Salt, pepper, and lemon juice, to taste.

1. Steam the green beans in a microwaveable bag - I find 3 minutes works.

2. Melt the butter in a pan. Cook the shallots until translucent.

3. Add the steamed green beans to the pan, and stir until they are well-combined with shallots. Squeeze lemon juice over the pan, and serve.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

"Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives... and to the "good life", whatever it is and wherever it happens to be."
-Hunter S. Thompson

Vegan (lactose free) butternut squash rolls

2010-11-23T15:01:00.001-08:00

I first made these a few weeks ago, when I was tired of squash soups and risottos, but had 4 cups of local squash cubes just chillin' in my fridge. These are highly versatile, and as enjoyable with Nutella as they will be with whatever else you serve on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:
-2 T warm water
-1.5 tsp yeast
-1/2 tsp sugar
-1 cup of mashed squash
-1/3 cup of hemp milk
-3 T olive oil
-2 T, 2 tsp brown sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup of whole wheat flour
-1 cup of white flour

Directions:

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients. Allow the yeast to proof, 5 - 8 minutes.

2. Add the milk, squash, oil, brown sugar, salt, and squash. Add the whole wheat, and mix thoroughly - you will probably need a hand mixer for this. Stir in the white flour.

3. Knead for 10 minutes. Let rise until doubled, about an hour.

4. Punch the dough down. Separate into 10 pieces, and allow it to double again for at least another hour. Bake at 400 F for 11 - 13 minutes, or until golden.

Sunday outfits

2010-11-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

What I wore last Sunday, to go to the farmer's market and walk to Park Slope. These shoes only started to hurt after mile 4!

Top - Forever 21, secondhand
Jeggings - H & M
Shoes - Nine West
Earrings - street vendor

Today's outfit, though I traveled much less.

Cardigan - Old Navy
Belt - vintage
Skirt - American Apparel, secondhand
Tights - Conway
Boots - vintage, via eBay

How to play down back seamed tights

2010-11-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

Now that I have several pairs of back seamed tights, and 0 pairs of nude tights, I decided to wear them, rather than wait for a nice event to wear them to, since they would just gather dust.

I think the length and looser (well, not pencil) cut of the skirt and low heels make it more work appropriate.

Sweater - vintage, altered by me
Skirt - vintage
Tights - ASOS
Shoes - Payless, 2007
Earrings - Street vendor

I was posing in front of my quasi-bar - I was thrilled to find the middle alcohol bottle/case set in a Salvation Army in Goodwill yesterday, and anything that motivates me to clean is good.

The face of weight loss and sensible food

2010-11-13T11:19:00.001-08:00

This has been a blah week, which is why I'm updating with Wednesday's outfit on Saturday. I took Ondine to the vet for her weighing - in September, she weighed 15.5 lbs, which put her in the "medium dog" class of pets by weight.

Not great photo, because she was unhappy with the kennel:

Cardigan - Target
Blouse - thrifted, Odille
Skirt - vintage Pendleton
Tights - sockdreams.com
Shoes - vintage Ferragamos

We had all expected Ondine had gained weight, since kitten food has significantly more fat than diet cat food, and she always tries to grab Opal's food when she has the chance. It turns out, she now weighs an almost slender 14.1 lbs. I guess all of that being chased by a tiny kitten worked out for her.

The face of weight loss:

It was a busy day, so I had a sensible breakfast of steel cut oats with apples and walnuts. Recipe from budget bytes, though I would reduce the apple juice next time, as I found it too tart.

ngredients:
-1/2 cup of steel cut oats
-1 cup of apple juice
-12 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 cup of brown sugar (or molasses mixed with white)

1. Boil apple juice and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Stir in the oats, then remaining ingredients.

2. Reduce the heat to low. Stir somewhat frequently until oatmeal reaches the desired thickness. Top with chopped apple and the nuts and milk of your choice - I used walnuts and hemp milk. Save the rest - this made 3 filling servings.

Faking wellness + hair

2010-11-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

I managed to scrape 100 on a quiz I took on material I studied after I'd taken nyquil and drank chamomile tea, after feeling off at work, so I guess dressing like I'm well works. All of the layering kept me warm!

I liked the idea of a navy blazer with white pinstripes over a burgundy skirt with white and navy pinstripes.

Blazer - thrifted, part of a Tahari suit
Sweater - thrifted, Banana Republic
Blouse - H & M, 2007-ish
Skirt - thrifted, 2008
Tights - sockdreams.com
Shoes - Payless
Necklace - Forever 21

I hadn't planned to wear this necklace or glitter flats, but I think they added some interest to an otherwise WASP-y outfit.

This photo brings me to my natural hair color/texture - namely, I still have no idea how to describe it. It's been this color for as long as I've been alive, save a brief interlude we'll call "college," and I'm still not sure what it is! It's too dark to be dirty blonde, but too golden to be light brown. It's not red enough to be strawberry blonde, either.

Then there's the texture - I wore my hair straightened today. The top 2/3rds of my hair sometimes dries naturally like this, which is pretty neat:

Unfortunately, the bottom third dries completely pin straight, so it looks ridiculous when I wear it natural. I wear it up 95% of the time for this reason, since I'm far too lazy and eco-friendly to style it.

Unflattering blouses

2010-11-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

Normally, when I get sick, I give up on my clothes pretty quickly. I have a busy week ahead of me, though, so I decided to try to psych myself better. This, and lots of hot chamomile tea and dayquil have helped. I've had both of these blouses for years, but rarely wore them until they were Tucked In Just So to be flattering.

What I wore to Target:

Earrings - sweet 16 present
Cardigan - thrifted
Blouse - Forever 21, over 4 years ago
Jeans - Forever 21
Flats - payless

I felt really run down, but I'm glad I dragged myself out there on Saturday, because I got a $10 gift card for answering questions about my freezer bag buying habits!

What I wore today, to go out to dinner with my parents. Yes, it's the same cardigan as yesterday. I wore it for a ~pop of color~. This psychology textbook is from 1973, and it still has homosexuality as a disorder, disturbingly.

I was inspired by this - if anyone knows the source, please tell me, so I can credit!

Cardigan - thrifted
Blouse - H & M, free
Skirt - Pretty Girl
Socks - sockreams.com
Pearls - overstock.com

Pumpkin Party

2010-11-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

I somewhat recently got 7 cups of pumpkin puree from a 6 lb pumpkin. This entry marks almost the end of my pumpkin party - even this pumpkin is pumpkin'd out:

I'd previously made pumpkin spice cream cheese, but pumpkin puree is a lot more lactose intolerant (and bovine) friendly.

Pumpkin Butter, from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
-2 cups pumpkin puree
-3/4 cup of apple juice
-2 tsp ground ginger (I'd cut it down to 1 next time)
-1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1 3/4 cups of turbinado or white sugar
-1 T molasses
-2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot on the stovetop. Stir thoroughly, and bring to a boil. After it's boiled for a few minutes, reduce heat to low. Stir every so often, and simmer until sufficiently thickened, at least 30 minutes.

Budget Bytes also inspired me to use my rarely touched steel-cut oats. This yields three servings, so it's good for a few days.

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup of steel cut oats
-1 cup of pumpkin puree
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 cup of brown sugar (or molasses mixed with white)

Directions:

1. Boil 2 1/4 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Stir in the oats, then remaining ingredients.

2. Reduce the heat to low. Stir somewhat frequently until oatmeal reaches the desired thickness. Top with the nuts and milk of your choice - I used walnuts and hemp milk.

Rejecting flattering outfits

2010-11-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Normally, I tuck my blouses in to my skirts, to make my waist look thinner and my legs look longer compared to my torso. On Wednesday, however, I tried a different silhouette.

Blouse - thrifted, Odille
Cardigan, skirt - thrifted
Shoes - Payless
Sweater clips - vintage
Pearls - Overstock.com

Sweater clips close-up:

I've been thinking a lot about the political implications of flattering clothing lately, but it didn't really click until I'd read this:

From fish monkey:

First, the notion of 'flattering' dressing, as practiced by What Not To Wear and its ilk, is pretty much predicated on the notion that the most desirable silhouette is a tall, slim hourglass. While this is indeed a preferred shape in our society, this is by no means the only shape, and while there are certainly benefits to looking like a tall slim hourglass, a sane person may choose a different silhouette for a variety of reasons...the common sentiment seems to be that the bodies who deviate from the ideal should hide themselves as not to offend the general public. This is really where the notion of age- and shape-appropriate dressing comes from -- to minimize public's exposure to the horrid, horrid deviant bodies that are too fat, too old, too anything.

And what about people who are reasonably close to the ideal? For them, flattering dressing is an option to actually pass as a societal ideal -- with heels and cunningly placed belts and flared skirts, they might be able to create the coveted illusion of a tall and slim hourglass. This is a trap even more sinister, because it feeds that pernicious aspirational dissatisfaction. I just need to throw on a pair of Spanx and wear one long unbroken line of color to create a longer leg line and... what? The ultimate reward of flattering dressing is to be perceived as societally acceptable and therefore desirable.

And this constant assessment of female desirability is what so many feminists have been raging against. So feeding into the status quo by creating a flattering silhouette is not exactly revolutionary -- although there may be a need for it; I understand why many women would choose to project this silhouette. When not playing a game is not option, playing by the established rules seems sensible. And yes, there are rewards for conforming (just like there are punishments for not conforming). Choices are not made in the vacuum, and some are inherently harder -- there's no shame in taking an easier path. Really, who wants to struggle all the time?

I've definitely fallen into that trap - my boobs are too big, my hips clearly denote my infertility (which is why I don't have to take birth control, evolutionary psychologists). I was told by a guy in high school that I should have some boob fat put into my butt. That was supposed to be helpful. That's another problem with "flattering" outfits - we'd be angry if our worst enemies told us our arms looked too fat for those sleeves, but we're supposed to thank our friends for pointing this out.

There is nothing wrong with my broad shoulders, tummy pooch that persists even at my fittest, or not particularly perky DDs. According to lots of men (and worse, women), Real Women do not look like me, but I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a fake woman. I'm also certain I won't be struck by lightening if my legs look shorter, but from the way a lot of women are taught to fear wearing unflattering clothing, you'd think that was the case.

Happy any other calendar day + cookies

2010-10-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

I do enjoy Halloween. Due to a series of odd timings, the only time I got to wear my incredibly awesome Halloween costume was last weekend. I like in a mostly Jewish/Eastern European neighborhood, which means we've had 0 trick or treaters and saw maybe 5 kids in costume all day. At least I should be able to wear this costume for Purim, since they'd get it.

Introducing Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield, from The Nanny:

Hairpiece - some store on 14th st
Dress - Forever 21 (this is allegedly knee length)
Shoes - found on the sidewalk

I bought a mutant 6 lb pumpkin from the farmer's market last week. Next to my 15.5 lb mutant cat, for comparison:

I got about 7 cups of pumpkin puree from it, and, after spending a solid hour pureeing and scraping, do not plan to do that again this year. However, now I have a ton of pumpkin puree to use up. I'm a bit tired of pumpkin spice baked goods, so I tried these cookies, which are a nice change of pace. If you're using canned pumpkin puree, you'll want to reduce the sugar.

Opal approves, as you can see.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
-2 cups of flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 1/4th cups of sugar
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup of vegetable oil
-1 cup pumpkin puree
-1 egg
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-1 cup of chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 2, but I'm moderately allergic, so that's too many for me)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients, and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

2. Spoon very small amounts (less than a tablespoon) of dough at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet - these expand like crazy!

3. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are brown.

Sunshine on a rainy day

2010-10-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

In trying to make the most of clothing I rarely wear, I put together one of my favorite outfits yet. Also, take note of the 3.5 year old Creative Zen mp3 player - it holds 4 GB, which is nothing these days, but it's still going strong.

Cardigan - thrifted
Blouse - thrifted, probably vintage
Skirt - Forever 21, 2008
Shoes - vintage oxfords

Check out the ridiculous pattern on this blouse - I couldn't decide if I loved or hated it the first three times I saw it at Goodwill last year, but finally relented, because it caught my eye. It largely sits in my closet, though I'm working on that.

Bright fall lunch for a muggy, rainy, humid day:

Roasted and curried butternut squash soup - vegan friendly! Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
-1 cup of squash pieces
-One small onion, halved
-1/2 head of garlic, in wrapping
-1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
-1/3 tsp brown sugar
-1 tsp mild curry powder
-1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
-Yogurt or coconut milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Rub the garlic with olive oil, and wrap in aluminum foil. Place that, along with the onion and squash, on a baking sheet. Bake until the squash is browned in places and fork tender, which will take 35 - 60 minutes, depending on the size of each piece.

2. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skin into a food processor. Follow with roasted onion, squash, and a few tablespoons of vegetable broth.

3. Add the processed veggies to vegetable stock. Add spices. Cook on medium on the stovetop for 10 minutes.

4. Add 2 tablespoons of yogurt or coconut milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Vegan butternut risotto

2010-10-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

I spent all day either obtaining or preparing food, so it seems fitting I should write about it. Butternut squash was, like zucchini, a food I hadn't even considered trying until I saw it at the farmer's market, and I regret waiting.

This recipe is great because it contains 1 serving of vegetables, much like Chef Boyardee. Seriously, my parents could have gotten me to eat more of that shit if I knew it had any nutritional value aside from calories and sodium. I hate ads like this, because they underestimate kids, and they're painfully unfunny.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
-1 cup cubed butternut squash
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1/2 small onion, diced
-1/2 cup Arborio rice
-3 tablespoons white wine
-2 1/2 cups of warm vegetable stock
-Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Steam the butternut squash for 10 - 15 minutes, or until tender. Mash, and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Cook the onion for 2 minutes, then add Arborio rice. Cook until the onion starts browning.

3. Pour in the wine (I keep typing white whine...), and stir until it evaporates. Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3rd of the stock. Stir until all liquid is absorbed. Add the next 1/3rd stock, and stir until it is absorbed. Repeat with the last amount of stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and enjoy.

College student/former teacher

2010-10-25T18:02:00.001-07:00

Friday's outfit is definitely the most casual I've left the apartment in ages, except to buy groceries. This might be because my version of casual was cool in 2006 in Williamsburg, but less so now. I also rarely wear sneakers, and thus don't have particularly cool ones.

Earrings - PriceMart?
T-shirt - Atlantic Antic, 2009
Hoodie - Pretty Girl, 2009
Jeans - H & M, old
Converse - Target, 2007

Thursday's outfit for lab was a bit more put together, but just as comfortable. For lab, I try to dress comfortably, because it is four hours and very tiring, but also to convey that I am an adult, and older than most of my classmates.

T-shirt - Forever 21
Scarf - found! So free.
Earrings - thrifted
Jeans - H & M (yes, the same ones)

I dressed much nicer today, for work and a midterm. I love this neutrals/schoolteacher trend, especially because it means that people who called me frumpy for wearing the exact same thing 2 - 3 years ago are copying me now. Yeah, whose skirt is too long now?

Top - UO
Skirt - yard sale - $1! And it has pockets!
Shoes - vintage
Necklace - vintage
Earrings - street vendor

Skirt pattern detail:

Sausage cheddar burgers with homemade roasted garlic biscuits

2010-10-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

As a result of my lactose intolerance, even hard cheeses can be difficult on me. I rarely buy milk, unless I have several recipes planned for it, or else it will go to waste. I usually keep yogurt, since it is extremely low in lactose, and can be kept for a long time before it goes bad, thanks to lactic acid bacteria. This biscuit recipe, adapted from hillbilly housewife, is good if you're like me.

Roasted Garlic biscuits

Ingredients:
-10 garlic cloves
-1.5 cups of flour
-1/2 T of baking powder
-1 tsp of salt
-1/4 cup of vegetable oil (I use sunflower)
-1/2 cup of yogurt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Chop peeled garlic cloves into halves or thirds. Put them in an ovenproof dish, and cover with parchment paper. Cook until the cloves just start browning - this took me 10 minutes, but it varies.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the vegetable oil, and stir gently. Add the yogurt, mix, and knead 10 times.

3. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface with a rolling pin or sufficiently hard object (hurr hurr I'm 13) - it should be 3/4 inch thick or so.

4. Cut the biscuits out, using a mug for shape. Re-roll out the dough if need be. Press half-roasted garlic pieces into the top.

5. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until ligthly browned.

Sausage cheddar burgers

I love this recipe because it's so easy to use a lot less meat, and bulk up with healthy fillers.

Ingredients:
-1/3 lb of turkey sausage
-1/2 cup of shredded cheddar (or more)
-1 small onion, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, diced

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Shape patties to be approximately the same size as the biscuits.

2. Bake at 375 for 10 or so minutes, turning once in the middle.

Kitten's first vet visit

2010-10-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

Our adult cat, Ondine, tends to yowl in her carrier the entire time she's in there. Opal surprised me by being quiet and calm in the cab and waiting room. Ondine is usually very good during the exam. Opal then surprised me by struggling and shrieking much harder than an underweight kitten seemed able to for a tiny blood test - you can see she still had a little blood on her leg later, when she was licking her wound.

$167 later, I went home with my newly vaccinated, FIV and leukemia negative kitten. Opal's been napping since - the vet warned that the vaccinations might make her sleepy, although I have no complaints there. Apparently Opal is underweight, and the vet thought she was a month younger. I guess that's balanced out by my extremely large, 15.5 lb adult cat.

No one gives a stink eye like Ondine:

What I wore to feel awful

2010-10-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I studied for a midterm that is actually next week, had a migraine that had me consuming Advil like candy and miss several events, including a friend's birthday and a cat show, and contracted a UTI that isn't responding to the fistfuls of cranberry product I've been consuming. At least I tried to look good while feeling terrible.

Leotard - Danice
Skirt - Forever 21
Tights - sockdreams.com
Purse - Target
Shoes - vintage

Dress - yard sale; originally from UO
Shoes - vintage Ferragamos via eBay
Hair clip - etsy

I thrifted these shoes well over a year ago in Philly, and this is my first attempt at wearing them outside.

Blouse - thrifted
Sweater - Old Navy, 08
Pants - gap
Shoes - thrifted

Microbiology midterm

2010-10-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, I'm halfway through microbiology - my lab midterm was Thursday, and my lecture midterm is tomorrow. I've learned a lot, namely, that there are germs on everything, and I would like to never, ever contract MRSA. Most of them are ok, but this does present some problems, namely in the food industry. Pasteurization is at the lowest end of food sterilization, especially for milk. Sorry rawsome food dudes, but heating milk to 72 degrees Celsius doesn't really change the integrity in any meaningful way, and sure beats listeria. At the high end, guacamole and hummus are pressurized at 1300 psi, to lyse bacterial cells while maintaining the end product's flavor and nutrients, so making your own hummus is good for the environment in many ways. Canned foods are in the middle of this spectrum - they're heated at 121 degrees Celsius (250 Fahrenheit) for three minutes to kill botulism spores.

So, processing your own food at home, especially if you're using local produce, has advantages beyond saving on the price, packaging, manufacturing, and transportation. Additionally, canned foods are usually more sugary or salty than their fresh counterparts in order to discourage microbial growth, so processing your own food can help you cut down on those things. I've been making my own hummus for ages, but recently branched out into pumpkin puree. Of course, after I finished, I wondered what the hell I was going to do with almost 2 cups of it. Here are two easy uses for it.

(Note: if you are, for some reason, using canned pumpkin puree, add much less sugar to both recipes)

Pumpkin spice cream cheese

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice

Directions:
1. Beat all ingredients together in a bowl. Store in fridge.

Pumpkin spice mug cake - this is probably slightly healthier than a mug brownie, and definitely more seasonal.

Ingredients:
4 T flour
4 T sugar
2 T pumpkin puree
1 T vegetable oil
1 T water
Pumpkin spice, to taste

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in mug.

2 Microwave on high - your time may vary, but it needs at least 1 1/2 minutes.

3. Enjoy.