VEGETARIAN "CLAM" CHOWDER

 
I really, really love this recipe.  I have never been a fan of seafood, but was always still intrigued by clam chowder.  I have been wanting to veg-ify a clam chowder recipe for a while--and it turned out great!  The nori gives it a bit of a sea flavor, and the chewiness of the shiitake mushrooms fill in for what I imagine the texture of a clam is like.  I also thought about buying Old Bay seasoning, but kept it simple.  Maybe next time... And, oh my goodness, I am in need of a better camera.  So sorry for the out of focus pics--my current one requires perfect lighting, and it was fading fast when I made this...someday soon! You get the idea of what the ingredients look like though...

Nori in hot water.

Shiitakes.

Vegetarian "Clam" Chowder:
* 3 large carrots
* 3 large stalks of celery
* 2 large potatoes
* 1 large onion
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
* salt and pepper
* 1 c. of hot water + 1 sheet of nori, crumbled
* 2 c. water
* 1 c. milk (I used unsweetened soy)
* 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
* 1/4 lb. shiitake mushrooms, chopped
* 3/4 c. corn (fresh or frozen)
* 1 vegetarian boullion cube (I use Rapunzel)

Chop onion, celery, carrots, and potato into about 1/2" chunks.  In a large dutch oven or soup kettle heat oil on medium.  Toss in vegetables, fresh thyme, salt and pepper (I used about 1/8 tsp. of each).  Saute, uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add hot water/nori combo along with 2 c. of water and bring to a boil.  Cover, then reduce heat to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, let vegetables get tender, and stir occasionally.  Add the boullion.  In a separate cup or bowl, stir the cornstarch into the milk until dissolved and chunks are totally broken up.  Add immediately to the soup and stir to mix it through.  Add the corn and mushrooms, stir to combine (don't cook the mushrooms too long, you want them to stay chewy and have a "clam" like texture).  Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread or crackers.  Yum!

JAM: NECTARINE BASIL & CHERRY!

It's jamming season again!  My friend Jeanne was just in town last week from Ithaca, and she loves fruit picking as much as I do.  So--we headed out to Brentwood, CA, where there are a ton of u-pick farms and spent the day picking cherries, peaches, and nectarines.  So yum!  We ate many of them, I froze a bunch, and what was left was turned into jam...It was a local affair--of course the fruit we picked-- but also lemons from our tree and basil from my garden.  I have been dreaming of using basil in sweet jam for the past few months, and settled on a basil/nectarine combo--delicious!  Holy wow!

I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, as usual.  I get mine at Whole Foods.  I also just use the VERY simple recipe included in the box.  I always make my jam with the minimal amount of honey or agave called for in the recipes--this is fruit, not candy, people!  :)

Raf was on his way out the door for a stroll, when he saw I was about to pit cherries with my new/vintage cherry pitter (69 cents at the thrift!).  These things are pretty fun to use (it launches the pit right out), so he changed plans and helped me instead.  Cutest helper ever...

Yikes--it looks like a bloody mess when you pit cherries!

I only made a small quantity of each--I am going to hoard those babies this year!

Deliciousness on a graham cracker...

So pretty!

p.s.  I added about a handful of chopped basil to the nectarine batch--it gave it just the right amount of basil essence.

LUNCH!

One of my Dad's favorite sandwiches that I remember as a kid was fried bologna.  The stuff makes me cringe as an adult, but I remember liking it when I was little until I started making connections with animals and meat.  Growing up on a farm and petting the sweet little baby cows and then realizing that they were what I was later eating...well, it didn't sit too well with me.  I stopped eating meat from our farm and would only eat meat my mom bought at the store.  I know this makes no sense in terms of quality, humane practices, etc., but I was really just starting to make those connections.  I didn't become a vegetarian until college, and it still took a couple of years.  My roommate freshman year (who is still one of my dearest friends today--hi Courtney!) was veg and often urged me to eat that way too.  She was my first introduction to eating meat free, but I still wasn't 100% wanting to give it up.  I stopped eating red meat my junior year, and tried new ethnic foods for the first time around then too, opening up a whole new world of food options.  I remember one day, I was in the dining hall eating with friends and I cut into a piece of chicken.  I looked down and saw the striations of muscle and my brain went "ding!  hello!".  I was pretty grossed out and pretty much went vegetarian at that point!

ANYway...long story short--I don't miss meat and it has been a long time, but I do miss certain preparations and sauces of dishes I used to eat.  I've figured out ways to recreate many of them.  And every once in a while I remember something such as fried bologna.  I made it (with healthy and gourmet touches, of course ;) for us the other day.  I used Tofurkey "bologna", lightly pan fried in a bit of olive oil and added Vegenaise, dijon mustard, baby spinach, and I carmelized a huge Vidalia onion and put it all on toasted sprouted whole wheat bread.  It was very, very good and with a side of carrots and kumquats--a perfect lunch!

GARDEN SPACE--FINALLY!

We have had a dismal-looking backyard since we moved into our apartment almost two years ago.  It was totally overgrown and full of old junk. We have a giant window overlooking it and I would often sigh and daydream about cleaning it up and making it a nice space to hang out and grow a little garden.  A while back I asked my landlord to fix the gates--we had some random sketchy guy back there one night and another one in broad daylight removing (and taking for himself) the metal legs of a long ago discarded table...  Creepy!  Anyway, she fixed the gates, hired someone to level the ground out a bit, and then had some mulch dropped off.  It was a HUGE pile of mulch and it was starting to grow weeds.  One morning I had enough of daydreaming about it and just went out there and started cleaning it up.  I moved some of the mulch and then Raf helped me move more of it the next day.  Finally I put a call out a couple of ladies in our building and they were totally down, so we got together and finished cleaning it up!  I used old boards and an old wine crate as raised beds and added organic soil and compost.  One neighbor planted flowers, and I planted a vegetable garden (Early Girl tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, swiss chard, zucchini, and herbs--not bad for a little plot!) and replanted the succulents that were looking sad along the side of our building.  It looks so nice when I peek out our window!  What a happy space!  Now, I just can't wait for the harvest and for the blackberries growing along the back fence to come in...Yay!

So, we are east coasting for about 9 days (NYC and then visiting family in Massachusetts).  Raf had a conference in New York and I was more than happy to join.  Especially because he needed to be in Midtown.  Mind you, Midtown is my least favorite place to be in Manhattan (sooooo touristy and busy and crazy and plastic), BUT it is right near the Garment District, where I love to shop for jewelry supplies.  And it is pretty great to be centrally located when there because I love to walk everywhere.  So, I spent most days wandering around and getting my New York fix.  I seriously love and miss that city.  I spent the first day with Olivia (an FIT student! and friend from my acting class in Ithaca).  She is so adorable and sweet and it was great catching up with her.  We spent most of our day downtown:  ate a yummy Thai lunch, did some window shopping, ate some ice cream :) and ended our wander on the High Line (a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side).  Very cool and beautiful green space...

                                                            Olivia!

                         I loved these flowers over the streets in Little Italy.

                                        Old school sign in Union Square.

                            Weird vegetable "juice" I had from a food cart.

                             I LOVE the displays at ABC Carpet & Home...

                                                     More displays.

                                Pretty details on the fire station building.

                                                Happy street flowers.

I left the city with tired feet, creative inspiration, lots of yummy food in my belly, and some amazing loot that I can't wait to get home and start creating with!  We are now doing some serious relaxing with Raf's family and enjoying these next few days before heading home...

RECENT LOVELY THINGS.

Life is good.  I am still trying to figure out my creative and career directions, but that will all unfold when it is supposed to.  In the meantime, I have been a busy bee.  Making jewelry, cooking up a storm, working (Sala, catering, and helping my new pal, Diva of Linea Carta for a show she recently did), and putting a vegetable garden in my backyard (pictures of that soon...)!  We also recently confirmed that we will be living in England for 3 months starting sometime in August for some work that Raf will be doing.  It is pretty exciting to be going on another adventure together!  Anyway, here are some nice things going on lately...

Some new jewelry.  All of it is at Sala in Berkeley.  I am hoping to update my etsy soon and open my new etsy shop too!

This is an Anthropologie dress that I coveted at one point.  It was expensive.  I scored it the other day (brand new, btw) at a local thrift for PEANUTS!  Win!

 This antique armoire was FREE on the street in front of the building next to
ours.  Are you kidding me!  I shimmied it by myself a few hundred feet to get it in front of our garage and then called my sweet neighbor pal, Dorothy.  She was home--yay!  We got it into my apartment.  It is now the happy (and pretty) new home of Raf's things that needed a better home.  :)

Speaking of Raf, it was his birthday this past week.  We ate some yummy food.  I made him an (almost vegan) dark chocolate cheesecake.  It was pretty darn delicious.  I made it in a 6-inch cheesecake pan--perfect amount!

And I got to spend some quality time with our (previously mentioned) sweet neighbor/pal Dorothy...sigh...she is a dreamboat.  And a ridiculously talented author!  You should read her books--but beware, they are addictive!  Anyway, she and I went for a lovely walk and then out for sushi at one of my favorite restaurants in Berkeley: Cha-ya (totally vegan Japanese food).  It was delicious and beautiful, as usual...

Happy Monday/week! <3

WHEN I GROW UP...

I have been really struggling lately with what creative and career directions I want to take in this little life of mine.  Patience is not always my virtue, but I have been trying really hard to just meditate on it and put as much love and positive energy out there that I can.  I think that the key ingredients for moving forward are keeping a creativity journal, trying to make something with my hands (and heart) every day, and be full of gratitude for the every day, simple and sweet things that my life has in abundance!  Oh, and speaking of creativity, I posted some linoleum and wood cut prints on my etsy today...Happy Monday!