Chronically Distracted

Yum.

(in Seattle)




and Yum.




And I dare not leave out more of the Serious Pie (best pizza place!), which this time had potatoes on it that were delicious in a cheesy kind of way.



I love going to cafes to hang out. Optimal homework places, when they're not playing Beyonce over the sound system . . .

The view from Ivar's restaurant in Seattle (one of many, probably!):


My delicious meal?

Clam Chowder, Mmmm. One of my favorite meals that I can have even less often than before. Let's just say that I wasn't too worried about salt when I was in Seattle.


I am not a big fan of fish. I at one time loved eating salmon and sushi. I'm not allowed to eat sushi anymore, got kinda sick of salmon. Not this salmon though:


This was probably one of the more mellow moments of the Seattle vacation. A great vacation.

I've been watching some Anthony Bourdain No Reservations lately, and I wish I could just eat. Cook anything I want eat anything I want. Experience good food and know it when I taste it.
The problem is I don't have enough basic cooking experience to even know what to do with food after it's in the kitchen. I have to look it up.

The plan is to keep cooking new stuff so I can understand how it all fits together. That plus grad school? Yeah, grad school is definitely taking precedence.

Maybe after I graduate I'll start a 365 a la Julie&Julia but with just any recipe I choose. I would loooove that.
Hopefully with less break downs. Is it possible to be a fangirl for food?

Also, weird result of having to cut down on food and sugar and cooking almost everything on the pioneer woman's website is that I hate watching food network unless it's a contest show.

Way up here,


we saw this ,


and I ate this.



We all ate this

and this


So, so delicious. And rich. And delicious.

Pizza close ups, yummy Serious Pie



Molten Chocolate, all gone.


What's this? Where are we going now?

Best pizza place, so, so good. In Seattle, of course.




Close-ups to come.

At the sushi restaurant connected to the Hotel Max.

My new nemsis, miso soup (it has soo much salt, but it's sooo good):


BBQ eel bowl with rice and assorted veggie stuff. So good, but also probably more salt than I should be eating . . . it was yummy though.


When we flew into the city I couldnt help but think, wow, this place is kinda ugly. That would change after a few days there.

It's late and I'm taking my medicine, drinking out of my pretty sigg water bottle. The most beat up of all my bottles.

There is a vegan coffee cake (with blueberries folded into the batter) baking away in the oven and the smell has finally come out to tease about the taste.

My vegan brunch tomorrow will probably not go off without a hitch (I would love to know what that expression originated from). But the coffee cake will be ready, and the french toast will be good, I think, even if the omelets and tempeh bacon might not be amazing. Tempeh bacon? Yeah, total experiment. I'm too curious for my own good.

Baking makes me happy. Cooking, more of an anxious thing. I love baking.

~ ~

So you think you can dance is a current fixation of mine, and since I love dance and music I wanted to share my favorite dance from the season. Just a note that this vid could be considered NSFW or for the younger peoples. They had a reprise of this number on the season finale. (I was totally "she's really good but, eh, whatever," about the winner, but only because she wasn't one of my initial favorites. She's a total cutie and powerhouse though.)
Evan, the guy, made it to the top four through a combo of charm, talent, and popularity, and I forget at what point Randi got voted off but I loved all the dances she and Evan did together. He's style is broadway, so of course I love him. The dance style here is contemporary.

Thus, here is the song that I danced around to while I cooked away:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

I started reading this book Fall 2008 in my Global Food Web class which started me on my whole “I eat grass fed and/or organic meat, try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, try not to eat meat in restaurants *coughnevermindtheantelopeburgercough*” thing.
Since it’s a class, of course, we only read parts, but given the ease with which I read it, sooner or later I knew I’d finish the whole book.

I’ve planned to finish books from classes before, but this is the first time I’ve actually followed through.

The book follows Kingsolver and her family as they move from Arizona to Virginia and begin an experiment where they only eat local food (with the exceptions of coffee, chocolate, and I believe cranberries for Thanksgiving). They do this by utilizing their new space to grow a great variety food, the knowledge (acquired from various places) to make cheese, can tomato sauce, freeze various kinds of food, harvest turkeys and chickens, make up new recipes, and work the farmers’ markets. The family even gave up bananas, which I cannot ever seem my family doing, given the addiction to smoothies.

Along with all these great, informal, relatable details about what it’s like to live with such a close connection to the food, Kingsolver’s daughter includes many great recipes (there’s a zucchini chocolate chip cookie recipe is amazingly delicious, a classmate of mine made them for our last day potluck and they tasted so, so good) that the family made throughout their year, and Kingsolver’s husband includes great deal of information of the more statistical kind, like what is happening to our food sources, vegetable, fruit, and meat, and to our earth.
Kingsolver has a lot of information crammed in between personal stories about the hows and whys of what they are doing and their decision to do so.
It’s a great non-threatening (well, depending on who you are, her convictions might be a bit strong for some) introduction to the various environmental reasons for taking a hard look at what is going on with the food that is supposed to nourish our bodies and souls.

I just wish this kind of food was available to all people, no matter the income. What a wonder it would be to have the choice to eat like this accessible to all, so that eating healthy was not determined by class but by choice.

And! (on a hopefully more positive note)
If you’re interesting in checking out the recipes in the book, here’s the website full of recipes:
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

Next book up: Racism! More specifically Racism Explained to My Daughter by Tahar Ben Jelloun
A hundred pages into it (halfway through the book) and it’s been a real good read. Maybe I'll read something less intense after that.

My birthday this year had quite a magical tone to it, for me, even though the day didn’t go exactly as I planned it. I’m flexible, so as long as we cooked the dinner I planned, played scrabble, found out our ages on the wii fit, and watched the second episode of Firefly, I knew I’d be happy!

( Pictures! They are out of order. Just so you know. )

Finished the book, but I haven't finished my thoughts-written-out, so that should be coming up soon.
Good book too, makes me want to grow a garden.



Which I did!! There shall be pictures up soon. It's so purdy. Family planted it together, my dad built it (I helped), and together he and I picked out veggies and planned.
I am a lucky girlie.

I've probably shared this link before, but with my slowly increasing, if somewhat whiny, efforts to be healthy, looking at many of these pictures make my arteries hurt. Obviously I have to encourage others to check it out (which I found through mr. boyfriend thanks to kokopellinelli ): http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/page/1

Mini-update over!

ETA: To be honest, there are probably some things on that website I would eat if it were allowed. But it's not, thank goodness.

Today we all went to the zoo. :D. The Oregon Zoo.
Before that we went to the rose garden and the japanese garden, where everything is serene, beautiful, and luscious, depending on where you looked.

Now I'm watching the fantastic Tony awards, Next To Normal looks amazing. :D :D What can I say, it's been a good day.

And at the rose garden we found the name of a rose, on the lists and lists of the roses names. The rose plant named Cinco de Mayo. Obviously I had to investigate:



I like it. Not sure why it's named Cinco de Mayo, but it's quite an attractive flower.
It smells beautiful at the rose garden.

Then, later at the Zoo, I saw this beautiful creature:

A barn owl up close.

These too:




Later, I shared an amazing burrito and nachos with mr. boyfriend at http://www.laughingplanetcafe.com/, and I'm extremely jealous that there isn't one where I live. Tomorrow is back home where I'll only have wistful memories of Portland to cling to until my next visit.

I'm a horrible person.

I ate an antelope burger.

It was amazing. Almost a nutty flavor, lighter than beef, and delicious.

If I could I would blame my father, the vegan. Because he suggested it to me, and, I have to admit, my eyes lit up. Obviously it was my decision in the end, and it was a delicious decision.
We were eating at a restaurant I had been curious about, via pictures ms. honeybear had been posting in her flickr. Everyone else had or shared delicious veggie burgers (I know 'cause I had a piece). I became the lone animal killer, but in my defense every other animal on the menu looked to be, by the description, the kind grown and raised in a healthy environment.

Also, it's kinda a thrill to be able to say I ate an antelope burger. All my carnivorous friends are gonna be jealous.

My vegan father, whom I have many memories of eating steaks with, thought I'd like it 'cause he tried it, and thank goodness for sane portions because I was actually able to eat the whole thing. With some fries, of course. We also asked the waiter if they could go easy on the salt.

It may not be my proudest moment (it wasn't my not-proudest moment either), but it was so good and it gave me a little story to tell.

It also sparked a conversation about my annoyance over a few green websites touting vegetarianism and veganism as a great saving grace. As if, if we would all become either of those the world would be saved. I think being a vegetarian or a vegan is and can be extremely important, whether for health reasons or to protest the horrible treatment of animals done by too many companies. But calling it the great saviour is not true, when if everyone became vegetarians we would have to cut through so much land and kill habitats for many animals. On top of that, supporting sustainably grown animals that have grown over time to rely on a healthy farming system to survive, like cows and chickens, we keep the variety of farm animals that are out there from dying out.

I may be a horrible person who eats meat, but I'm gonna try to do it in good conscience, and eat vegan and veggie when I can 'cause that food is gooood.

Also? I totally ate an antelope burger. :D

(To even it out, I also ate at laughing planet again, bowl of organic potatoes, corn, broccoli, and cheddar cheese = YUM).

Oh the drama!
Ups and downs of emotions, the highs of graduation, the lows of moving, the low of mis-counting the days of the 365 so I have to go through the 350s again, the highs of getting things done, the lows of having more things to get done.

Time for an up!

Life after graduation, it's been pretty sweet. My room is messy, but that's normal. My closet is becoming a baby step closer to being organized; see I have all these plastic bin/drawers in there with no idea what's *actually* in them, but now! I'm labeling, and it's real nice to actually have some clue as to what's hiding behind the closet door.

Even though I probably decided on the purple window decoration, the purple flower print comforter, the purple window spinny thingie, when I was in my tweens and teens, it's a surprising soothing color (more lavender than purple, I guess). The room looks purdy, and I feel comfortable in it, which didn't happen as much before. I'm converting it back into my space, and not the holding room for me and stuff between dorm rooms. The purple may be why I've been craving lavender, or I just really want to relax. I'm not entirely sure what craving lavender means.

There's this nice concrete motion forward, 'cause I have classes I'm going to get into and things I'm going to learn and organization that I'm going to make happen all because I want to, because it will feel good to know where everything is and how to get to it. That includes stuff in my room and knowledge in databases.

Also, I cooked something good!! My summer plans consist of crocheting, video gaming, cooking, and organizing. An reading.
I cooked this yummy-ness, some artichoke dip whose only non-vegan ingredient (as far as I can tell) is the parmesan cheese: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-artichoke-dip-recipe.html
I made it all in one pan. It's nice and light, not heavy like artichoke dip usually is. Mmm. Garlicky too. Yummm.

And I hung out with Ms. M, she knitted and I crocheted, and wow it was nice to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen in a few months.

Really, looking it over, I'm off to a good start!

The only good things about today were the vegan banana walnut muffins (Mmmm) and seeing Stark Trek with the parents.

It was really, really, really good. Like, totally AWESOME.

I loved it, my parents loved it, so great.

And that's all I got for today. (My brain has been kidnapped or run away for greener pastures. Let me know if you see it.)

Oh! Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w4vk5OZmn8

I . . .
have been utterly failing at feeding myself again.
Once again, I admit that I go to weight watchers meetings ("lifetime" member, weigh ins once a month, not as weird as it sounds. I think) and have recently felt the need to count points again. But whenever I count points I end up getting anxious about eating just the right amount and then I don't eat food that's filling then i'm hungry all day. rargh.

I realized yesterday, what with the potluck frenzy, and because of goraina's lovely comment yesterday, that people's reactions to my food restrictions or my attempts to reel myself in from indulging are interesting.

By that I mean I had a conversation where a person was teasing/joking with me that not being able to eat too much salt and watching the saturated fat content just made life so bland (which I don't think is true because my mom makes crazy delicious low salt low sat fat food all the time). This didn't bother me much, but like I wrote to goraina in the previous posts comments, it's a little like being a non-drinker in a society that pretty much embraces it all the time.

People either get defensive or can't believe it. I've had someone shake their head in disbelief over my dislike of drinking. Not that the above situation is exactly the same, it feels like a much lighter reaction to food compared to how defensive some people get around people who don't drink, but it had similar tones. Like you're not living the way you "should."

Not that I've really done that much! Being the nerd school girl who's not a big fan of the partying high school/college lifestyle. (not strange, I know, but I get a lot of looks).

At the potluck I mentioned not wanting to get too much dessert stuffs and someone commenting that it looked too good to hold back. It really did, but I didn't think until later that I didn't have to eat some of everything just because other people did (or seemed to). Duh.

The more I learn about food and agriculture the more alluring being super healthy is. And while I have a great way to go to get the hang of feeding myself successfully (it's so pathetic that I haven't gotten the hang of this yet. I blame end of semester stress.), I am starting to embrace the healthy attitude. Even if the food restrictions make me angry sometimes.

Good thing is so many other things are stressing me out right now that working on being healthier is such a nice thing to concentrate on!

And if you got through all this and thought, what would a Stephen Colbert interview about the topic of food and health be like? You're in luck! Dr. David Kessler, author of The End of Overeating, Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite is interviewed by Mr. Colbert, and it's very interesting what he has to say.




Hopefully I'm not writing this topic to death, but it's just fascinating how food and health comes up in so many places and what strong reactions people have.

A delicious vegan blueberry muffin was chosen as my last snack of the day.



Yum.

pinkberry frozen yogurt is nummy.

El Torito food is salty and spicy. Which a lot of people probably really like.

Although the fried ice cream may have been good, I didn't try any.

When I was little I remember being at a restaurant and watching a man tell the waitress about all the restrictions in his diet. While explaining overhearing this particular interaction to mr. boyfriend I tried to convey how I had a negative reaction to this guy. I knew that he probably had medical reasons to be saying all these things to the waitress, something just made it seem mean or obnoxious. He was an older gentlemen, but I don’t remember hating him or thinking outrightly badly of him. I think the sternness and negative way he went about telling her gave me such a negative impression.

So the negative aspect of the memory is vague. The thought that is stuck to that memory is how glad I felt not to be someone who had to make so many diet restrictions. I’d never have to deal with going on and on about my food with some random waitress, just being another problem and standing out.

(okay, i didn’t think that deeply about it, but reflecting on it now that’s how I feel/felt.)

Fortunately as I join the ranks of those with slightly restricted diets I am attempting to stay optimistic. Try to ask as nicely as possible about the amounts of salt in food as I scan the menu for food that doesn’t have tons and tons of cholesterol.
Unfortunately I had dessert tonight. (My excuse?) It’s just that I had to celebrate! I’m spending the weekend visiting mr. boyfriend!

First off, let's kick this post off with some Hugh Jackman love:

People Will Say We're In Love from Oklahoma!

Today is the sixth anniversary of my kidney transplant. It so strange now that it's become something so regular. This year is a bit special (well, they all are, but you'll see what I mean) because I've moved up to the adult care nephrologist instead of pediatric. Literally moved up, they're on the floor above the pediatric. It's a strange transition to taking over more aspects of my care myself, being responsible for more phone calls, asking questions, going by myself to get my labs done, trying to hold it all together in a sensical way.

Thus far it seems to be going well. Blood pressure is under control. Been exercising. Been eating, well, healthy enough. This weekend is celebration! so I'm totally eating yum food. For example, today we went to le delicious Japanese restaurant, and I had aaaammmazing green tea and black sesame ice cream. The latter tasted nutty and sweet. So good. Also had some perfect crab cakes and veggie tempura for dinner. There was talk of pedagogy, culture, customs, signals, identity, and language during dinner as there were two philosophical professors (my father and a long time friend) and two lovely and highly educated and also philosophical ladies (my mother and myself) present at the quite nice Japanese restaurant.

Of course, I think everyone should go peruse the National Kidney Foundation website, http://www.kidney.org/, especially the quiz (you can find the link at the top of the page). It's quick and fun and informative. (I got all the questions right! And learned stuff, like the fact that Kidneys produce the active form of Vitamin D. Had no idea).

Oh! In other good news, I got 19/20 on my midterm! Woo!
Have A Happy Kidney Weekend! I plan to!

tomorrow: explanation behind the powdered donuts.

Neil Sedaka sings Next Door to an Angel

And I think it's the perfect song for the my Vampire story.

'Cause it's cute.

Worked in the library, read love stories and love poems for homework and 'cause of blog love.

Amazing sukiyaki and convo with my lovely dad.

Gonna make cookies tomorrow and drink yum root beer.