my toes are freezing

ten comments today at work on the green tights and turquoise wedges. i get them every time i wear the yellow tights too. ha!



this looks like one of those seventies cookbook pictures. the ones where the food always looks really oily and orange, but i swear this food tasted really good. whenever j and i are really lazy about cooking dinner (which is often) this is one of our standby meals. a bag of the trader joes frozen arribata pasta (not an std), can of beans (usually cannellini or chickpea), and whatever veggies are on hand (in this case zucchini. spinach is good too). it's got a little kick to it, which i love and can be completed prepared and consumed in about fifteen minutes.

oh yes, and i've decided to participate in the veganmofo. twenty posts in the month of october about vegan food. i can do it. the vegan food part isn't the problem. it's the finding the time to post part and remembering to snap a picture. but i'm motivated. wish me luck!

summer's been busy. blah, blah, but really it has been. j and i just walked home from a street/craft fair. we had plans to go back tonight and listen to some more bands and drink more beer, but j is napping on the couch from all the beers consumed earlier. there were something like fourteen breweries there selling their wares. j did not stray far from the beer tent the whole five hours we were hanging out. alas, no beers were consumed by i even though i was interested. i did feast upon the blue nile vegetarian sampler plate. it was a little on the skimpy side in terms of portions, but the food was delicious. spicy lentils (in hindsight, i should have skipped for the sake of my stomach), garlicky greens, and some spiced (but not spicy) vegetable mix served on injera. yum!

an ulcer is currently ruining my days and regular eating habits. i've been learning by trial and many errors what foods i should be avoiding. food that may not taste spicy to my mouth is turning out to be too spicy to my stomach. boo.

regardless we ran in to tons of old and new friends down at the fair. a friend of mine makes birch bark jewelry and gifts. i bought this adorable birch headband from her. i also picked up a johnny cash and sewing buttons from here. hopefully, we have some time to stop back there tomorrow and pick up a few more things i was eyeing and to take advantage of what may be the few remaining warm days in michigan.

the ulcer is really hindering our food choices around here these days. i was told to stick to bland foods, which is almost impossible. who wants to eat bland foods al time? not i, apparently i'd rather lay awake with stomach pain and heartburn. like i said, i'm learning... slowly. i've being eating a lot cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and soy yogurt. we did veganize this broccoli gratin recipe from everyday food last weekend. i only picked up one head of broccoli at the farmers market last week so we ended up halving the recipe. we used plain soy milk and soy cheese (teese is good). j was in a cooking mood so he made it while i sorted bills and mail (fun!). we ate it with corn on the cob (also from the market). it was the perfect simple, creamy, comfort food to soothe my weary stomach after a week of assaulting it with pizza, penne arribiatta, and taco bell (!). this recipe is definitely going in to our regular rotation and we'll probably try it with pasta shells or potatoes mixed in.

we've also been devouring an obscene amount of chocolate chip cheesecake. i picked up a cake at whole foods on wednesday to celebrate mine and j's third wedding anniversary. so good, chicago diner cheesecake. we've both been sneaking bites here and there straight from the fridge.