Tourlou (Greek vegetable stew)

One of my favorite veg-friendly restaurants in Rochester is Aladdin's. I used to work in the neighborhood and would often get take-out to take back to the teen center. My good friend and former coworker, Greta, recommended that I get this dish the first time I went. As usual, Greta knows the best of everything in this fabulous town. I've been hooked ever since.

This evening, after a very stormy day, I managed to leave work with clear skies and a cool breeze. I hopped on my bike and headed to the Monroe Village Farmer's market, by far my favorite of all the city markets. I had gazpacho on the brain, but after I saw a beautiful eggplant, I decided to try to replicate Aladdin's tourlou recipe.

The key here is cooking this for a long time. I mean, at least 45 minutes. The longer it cooks, the better. I didn't really use a recipe, but I'll probably look for some to tweak this recipe. So here goes:

1 medium eggplant, sliced and quartered
1 smallish zucchini, sliced
1 small onion, sliced (I didn't use this, but I'm sure it would be lovely)
1 block tofu, frozen*, thawed and cubed 
1 large clove garlic, minced
2-3 Tbs olive oil (I used MUCH more than this, to replicate Aladdin's dish!)
1 14-oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes (probably any chunky tomato sauce would work)
1-2 Tbs lemon juice



Saute the eggplant, zucchini, garlic and tofu in the olive oil. I used less oil to start so that I got some nice browning. Not necessary, but a nice touch.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until the tofu is nicely brown. Add the tomatoes and about a half can of water. Cook on medium to medium high heat for 30 minutes until the zucchini and eggplant break apart and incorporate into the sauce (you may have to smoosh them with a spoon). Add the lemon juice and another splash of olive oil. That's it!

I'm going to eat it on toast once Adam comes in from doing yardwork. If you have parsley, make sure you put a bit on top.

*Aladdin's uses chickpeas, but I didn't have any. Freezing tofu is a nice technique if you're sick of plain tofu, or if you're looking for something that won't fall apart as much. If you have bad luck with frying breaded tofu (it falls apart, it doesn't soak up the breading, etc.) I would suggest trying this out. It's also a great way to keep tofu around without having to change the water daily (we buy our tofu in bulk. If you buy it in the individual containers, no water changing necessary).

I also have another fruit crisp in the oven. This time I'm using peaches, rhubarb, blueberries, and plums. I put both nutmeg and cardamom in, so we'll see if it's a bit too spicy.

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. Last week, I accidently bought $18 worth of chocolate chips from the bulk section of the food co-op. I was eating about 5 handfuls a day, when Adam told me that he really likes chocolate chips, but only when they're wrapped up in sugar, oil and flour. He's very tactful. So I whipped these up. Unfortunately, this made less than 2 dozen cookies, and they've been devoured in less than 24 hours. Need I say more?

1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C buckwheat flour*
1 C quick oats
dash of salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/ C oil
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 C sugar (agave and maple syrup work too)
2-5 Tbs water
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 scant cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix ingredients together, adding the chocolate chips last. Let the batter sit for a few minutes. Spoon 1/4 C blobs onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them as they cook.

I adapted this from a recipe in the Rabbit Food Cookbook, by Beth A. Barnett. Her recipe calls for less oatmeal and lots of shredded coconut, which I didn't have. It's neat that not having all the ingredients grants you the right to copy someone's recipe.

*You don't have to use buckwheat flour. Use all whole wheat, or some unbleached all-purpose flour.

My 100+ Things

1. New Trek 7000 bike
2. Old road bike, "Magdalena"
3. Old mountain bike, "Sprocket"
4. Panniers
5. Bike tools (lube, patches, etc.)
6. Helmet
7. Black purse
8. Wallet
9. Sunglasses
10. Water bottle
11. Rain gear
12. Keens
13. Chaco flipz
14. Old tennis shoes
15. Newer tennis shoes
16. Black heels
17. Black flats
18. Red sandals
19. Brown kitten heels
20. Brown flats
21. Light brown heels
22. Cookbooks (too many to list right now)
23. Library (will work on reducing this)
24. Daypack
25. Backpack (for weekend trips)
26. Snowshoe sleeping bag
27. Quechua sleeping bag
28. Lafuma sleeping bag
29. Half dome 2-person 3-season tent
30. Inflatable sleeping pad
31. iPhone + charger
32. Purple purse
33. Outland purse
34. Black J Crew dress
35. Brown J Crew dress
36. Purple cords
37. Blue work dress
38. Grey work dress
39. Grey stretchy dress w/ belt
40. Suit
41. Brown patterned jacket
42. Grey pencil skirt
43. Brown pants
44. Skinny khakis
45. Boot cut khakis
46. Black patterned jacket
47. Light blue collared shirt
48. Light green collared shirt
49. Black collared shirt
50. Coral collared shirt
51. White collared shirt
52. White collared 3/4 shirt
53. Brown short sleeve dress
54. Black 3/4 dress
55. Blue plaid 3/4 dress
56. Grey/blue striped short sleeve dress
57. Yellow skirt
58. Grey striped skirt
59. Blue confirmation dress
60. Black 3/4 sweater
61. Navy blue wrap dress
62. White collared short sleeve shirt
63. White silk dress
64. Black woman-of-honor dress
65. Chartreuse T #1
66. Chartreuse T #2
67. Peach short sleeve knit
68. Orange print short sleeve sweater
69. Grey hip length sweater
70. Cream colored cardigan
71. Gray cardigan
72. Peach cardigan
73. Old brown cardigan #1
74. Old brown cardigan #2
75. Teal wrap shirt
76. Black polka dot wrap dress
77. Teal silk dress
78. Green zip up pullover
79. Magenta scoop neck 3/4
80. Grey long sleeve t
81. Yellow cardigan
82. Brown v-neck sweater
83. Red striped v-neck sweater
84. Peach pilly cardigan
85. Brown pullover fleece hoodie
86. Magenta long sleeve thermal
87. Brown turtleneck dress
88. Lobby days upcycled t-shirt
89. Grey sweatshirt
90. Black zip up hooded fleece
91. Brown zip up heavy fleece
92. White heart hoodie
93. Purple belted plaid shirt
94. Magenta sweatshirt
95. Green graduation dress
96. Brown brocade coat
97. Purple sundress
98. Red and black sundress
99. Teal sundress
100. Navy blue short sleeve dress
101. Light blue Anthropologie dress
102. Peach strapless dress
103. Winter coat
104. Grey hooded sweatshirt
105. Grey and pink striped dress
106. Black t-shirt
107. Brown cami
108. Yellow v-neck tank
109. Black scoop tank
110. Flowered knee length skirt
111. Brown bermuda shorts
112. Brown high waist shorts
113. Black cami
114. Red plaid shirt
115. Purple banda shirt
116. Green t-shirt w/ yellow flowers
117. Light blue hiking pants
118. Grey hiking chinos
119. Orange henna cami
120. Teal fan t-shirt
121. Grey Adopt t-shirt
122. White koufax t-shirt
123. Black feminist t-shirt
124. Quoi de neuf t-shirt
125. Blue v-neck 3/4 shirt
126. Tan tree pose t-shirt
127. Teal long sleeve shirt
128. Pink cami
129. Multicolored yoga tank
130. Tan and purple halter tank
131. Buddha t-shirt
132. Go vegan upcycled t-shirt
133. Brown v-neck yoga shirt
134. Grey cap sleeve shirt
135. Light blue tank
136. Polka dot jammies
137. Peach nightie
138. Cream jammie pants
139. Striped jammie shirt
140. Blue scoop neck t-shirt
141. Black scoop neck t-shirt
142. Mustard scoop neck t-shirt
143. Lime bicycle t-shirt
144. Grey strapless shirt/skirt
145. Blue Nike t-shirt
146. Pink yoga pants
147. Old black yoga pants
148. New black yoga pants
149. Black knee length shorts
150. Green J Crew tissue t (long)
151. Green tie dye hippie t shirt
152. Pink Kylee t-shirt
153. Khaki AE capris
154. Maroon soft shell
155. Black poly pro shirt
156. Magenta poly pro leggings
157. Teal fleece pullover
158. Black fleece sweatpants
159. Amelia t-shirt skirt
160. Purple yoga capris
161. Brown prana pants
162. AE flare jeans
163. AE skinny jeans
164. AE straight jeans
165. Aeropostale straight jeans
166. Green purse
167. Green wrist purse
168. Green silk scarf
169. Blue scarf
170. Gold scarf
171. Teal fake pashmina
172. Magenta silk scarf
173. Plaid hat
174. Brown belt
175. Teal messenger bag
176. Fleece slippers
177. Gold party heels
178. Alarm clock
179. Grey undershirt
180. Black short shorts

To be continued...

the simple life

Someone's turning 25 this week!

I notice lots of my friends as they approach their birthdays writing posts about goals, things they're thankful for, what they've accomplished and what they know now. I think it's an important way to track growth and encourage lifelong learning.

Recently, I stumbled upon a great blog that is all about minimalism. Reading through a list of how to reduce your consumer urges and create a more simple lifestyle, I realize there is so much that I already do. The big thing is not owning a car. 97% of the time I get around by bicycle. Sometimes I ride on Adam's xtracycle. I very seldom ride the bus, and, unfortunately, I rarely walk these days. Less than 1% of the time I depend on others for their motor vehicles, but that is generally a "carpooling" type situation and not me bumming a ride.

Other things that help create a minimalist lifestyle are eating less meat, cooking instead of eating out and buying in bulk and using less packaged foods. I do this rather well, though I really enjoy eating at the fabulous vegan-friendly, locally-owned restaurants that we have here in Rochester. Adam and I are busy and sometimes it's easier to grab some take out so that we can spend our evening hanging out with Kevin, Wallcat and Jilly in the garden.

One of the main things this blog talks about is getting rid of stuff. I am a pack rat and a consumer, and I am the first to admit it. I can't tell you how much junky stuff I have around that serves no purpose whatsoever. I couldn't believe how long it took me to move into the house with Adam, especially since I have never had much space to keep all of my belongings. Of course, during the move, I was too anxious to get moved in to properly sort through piles and get rid of what I didn't need. So now it's here, occupying the voluminous space in our turn-of-the-century home.

So. I'm turning 25. I already have a lot of minimalist experience under my belt. I believe we should be free from being owned by our things. I believe that I will be much happier if I reduce the amount of money I spend on things I don't need. I believe that changes I make towards creating a minimalist lifestyle will benefit the life and home that Adam and I share together. It will allow us to make improvements on our beautiful house and spend more time on those improvements than simply sifting through clutter every week. It will make it easier for us to move and sell the house if we choose to do so, and it will make more space to fill with friends, family and possibly some more non-human animal friends.

I'm going to own less than 100 things this year. I have no idea how long it will take to get down to that, since I haven't the slightest idea how much I actually own. But every week, I will sit down and purge old papers, knick knacks and possessions that have no purpose. I will make a list of all the things I want to keep, and begin to throw out the things that don't make the cut.

To see what a 100 thing list looks like, go to this dude's site.

I'll be creating a list in a future post and editing it as I go along. I'm not sure that me lamenting the "history" and "sentimental" of certain items I dispose of will be that fascinating to read, so I'll try to cover the lessons I learn along the way.

Also, I've already started getting rid of books I don't want through this website. It's not quite "getting rid" of them, since you earn credits to be sent books on your wish list, but at least you can get rid of things that don't fill you up, and then fill your shelves with the ones that matter.

So let's get this started. 25 is going to be a great year!

Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp

I modified a recipe I found in a book called "Celebrate the Harvests!: Michigan Farm Markets and Farm Stands." I bought the book at a used book store in Michigan and have never looked for a recipe in it until now. After a long season of rhubarb, I've taken several stabs at the best berry crisp recipe ever, and this is the closest I've come. The original recipe didn't call for blueberries, but clearly as a Michigan cookbook it should most definitely utilize them. As a note, I always make weird substitutions, so feel free to use whole wheat flour or pastry flour instead of buckwheat, different berries, brown sugar, etc.
Rhubarb mixture:
2 heaping cups of rhubarb, chopped
1 C fresh blueberries
1/3 C sugar
3 Tbs Buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg or ground cardamom
3 Tbs soymilk
2 tsp tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

Stir ingredients together and pour into a 9-in pie plate (glass is best).

Topping:
1/4 C canola oil or margarine, melted
1/3 C sugar
1 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs maple syrup
1/2 C buckwheat flour
1/2 C quick oats
1 tsp cinnamon

Stir the topping together and sprinkle on top of the rhubarb mixture. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. If the top begins to burn, use foil to cover for the rest of the cooking time.

I baked this and topped it with Cashew Cream:
Using a food processor, blend together 1 Cup unsalted cashews, 1 cup hot apple juice, and 1 Tbs maple syrup. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or serve hot.

Serve to someone you love. <3

love this

Astrid Chair, Chocolate, Anthropologie

what i ate tonight

I came home from the market today with a few interesting items. I found a bit of petite basil, purple, not quite spicy yet, and new garlic with the leaves still attached. With not much in the house, I was inspired to keep dinner simple.

I threw a pound of rotini in a pot of boiling water, and set to roughly chopping the garlic. You can use the whole bulb and up the stalk a few inches, just like scallions. I also salvaged some sun dried tomatoes that had been soaking in oil in the back of the refrigerator. While the pasta cooked, I heated the garlic and sundried tomatoes in some oil in a pan. Once the pasta was ready, I drained it and threw it in the pan, stirred everything together, and then threw in the basil at the end. Inspired at the end, I tossed in a couple of chopped strips of fakin' bacon, already cooked and a dash of balsamic.

I'd say it turned out pretty well, though next time I'll probably use less pasta or more goodies. A different pasta might have worked worked better, too. Shells or linguine come to mind.

I also picked up another quart of strawberries and a bunch of rhubarb. You know what that means...dessert-making night!

Time to finish my wine and watch some Jeopardy!

Happy Thursday.

letter to a friend in the stanislaus

i wrote this letter to a dear friend who has returned to the stan for another year of trail work. the hard part about letters is that you can pour your heart out, but then you have to send it off. i'd like to remember these thoughts that i'm sending to the professor, the philosopher, my dear friend and trails brother. it goes like this:

two years ago this weekend, i took my first trip to relief reservoir with you, ice, justin, renae, amanda, gage and kip. i think you and i both woke up early to meditate--remember that camp we found because it got too dark to keep hiking? well, i'm hoping you're having a grand time in our mountains.

i miss them every day.

sometimes i try to recreate

backcountry like eating oatmeal

just after dawn or using

my daypack, just because

i can, or walking a really

long way, because after

backcountry, everything's

just a short walk. i went

to a beautiful park called

Stony Brook in New York,

and it had waterfalls and

huge gorges. It's

just amazing. But

nothing can compare to

the first day we saw

Upper Relief Valley, or

those waterfalls at the

old BC camp. Or the

sun set over Emigrant

Lake. I still have my

dream catcher made

from the willows of

our meadow. I don't

think it catches dreams,

it just keeps my

backcountry dreams

safe. to think about

on a rainy day.

i miss you, o,

and the mountains and

rivers and trails and

the resounding "Yes!"

that we said to life.

Take care of the Stan.

Love,

Emily

grand machine

but we're all just part of some giant grand machine
too big to really understand
but we'll do our jobs till we break down and fall
[electric president]

oh, hello spring.

yesterday was the first day of spring. 

i don't know how we managed to finally arrive here, but here we are. it's inching along towards the end of march and before we know it, snowstorms will be forgotten in the bliss of budding plants. 

i've been working at my new job for 6 weeks now, and, as my dearth of posts suggests, it has kept me very busy. as the project coordinator for an NIH grant studying smoking cessation in the dominican republic, i spend most of my time organizing meetings, preparing documents and translating between english and spanish. it is a fun job, at times stressful, but definitely right where i want to be. sometimes i bike the 7 miles into work, though mostly i take the bus. it is a long commute, and leaves little time in the beginning and end of my days, but as i become more accustomed to it i will work on reading, listening to podcasts, and getting some much needed time to think.

i am sensitive to the seasons and very vulnerable to them as well. yesterday was wonderful and horrible, mostly because of my topsy-turvy emotions. but something about suddenly arriving at a point that i have desperately hoped for all winter long makes me unsettled and frantic. i don't feel i'm prepared to begin the new work that is required in springtime. i haven't finished my winter projects. and i certainly haven't prepared mentally for this change in life's pace.

i went back and forth this morning in deciding whether i should go to church. i should have recognized that this is the argument the lazy part of my brain has with the one that knows what's best for me. when it comes to things that are always good for me, like yoga, church, cooking, cleaning, exercising....it's always the times that i least want to do it that it is most important that i do. 

something is unsettled in my heart, but the spring season will set it right. i just have to keep a strong hold on knowing what is best for me: love, friendship, hot tea, and quiet spaces. 

happy spring.