Awarenivore

Back from Kripalu - Garlic Season

2010-09-26T19:29:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of thegardenerseden.com The first part of Foundations of Ayurveda was INCREDIBLE. I have so much to say, and it will slowly come out is a series of millions of blog posts. In fact, I think it's really going to shape the direction of this blog. Awarenivore meet Ayurveda. Courtesy of itztours.com While I was away, Autumn came to Old Pump Road. Actually, I was able to usher it in

Okonomiyaki gone Local

2010-09-09T12:07:00.005-04:00

We all have our cheap and fast go-to dinner. Maybe it's mac n cheese, or breakfast for dinner in the form of some sort of omelette. Why is it that at the end of the day, there are always eggs in the fridge? (...and of course when we've decided to bake, eggs are the only thing we're out of?) Okonomiyaki are Japanese pancakes - I've read that the word 'okonomiyaki' means, 'everything' or '

Italian in September

2010-09-08T13:29:00.002-04:00

Working for tripwolf (for a few weeks longer), I look at maps all day, and it properly and evilly tickles my travel bug, and usually without much release... Last week I wrote a blog post for tripwolf about Florence, and waves of nostalgia came rushing in. I've been lucky enough to spend over 6 months in the city. It was the place of my first ever apartment, living with 6 other girls while

A free weekend

2010-09-04T10:47:00.001-04:00

This summer has been a great one, a busy one! I think the last 8 weekend I have had some agenda, some driving plans or adventure. This weekend, I get to enjoy Vermont! Jamie had thought of going down to New Jersey to visit friends and family, but the weather down there (Earl!) helped to make our decision to stay around here much easier. Phew. It's been a long week. I don't think I have ever

Purification through Heat

2010-09-02T20:04:00.000-04:00

Tapas - one of the Niyamas, which is one of the 8 Limbs of Ashtanga yoga, is very relevant to my life right now. "Tapasya implies a self-discipline or austerity willingly expended both in restraining physical urges and in actively pursuing a higher purpose in life. Through tapas, a yogi or spiritual seeker can "burn off" or prevent accumulation of negative energies, clearing a path toward

A change is gonna come...

2010-08-31T08:50:00.000-04:00

I recently came to the conclusion that is it difficult for me to change. Change is hard for everyone, or at least the cliche says so, and though I feel as though I have always sought shift and movement (travel), there are a lot of deep set habits that are really hard to break ( or begin....) Most relevant for this blog is to write about how I eat. I grew up in my parents' garden, and they even

A quick appetizer

2010-08-26T14:07:00.003-04:00

It's been a while, and I have a lot to write! Coming soon - today I just want to share a quick recipe that I am proud of... It's that kale salad, then wrapped in zucchini shavings and pinned with a toothpick. Wilt raw kale in lemon juice and salt (1 or 2 tsp) Throw is some fresh herbs - parsley is ggrrreat. Shave a zucchini with a veggie peeler Roll a tiny bit of the kale up in each shavings

Help me out!

2010-08-18T14:44:00.000-04:00

I just entered the Anthony Bourdain Medium Raw Challenge - it's an essay contest, and I hope mine can hold it's own. The winner gets 10 grand and their essay published in the next printing of Bourdain's book. Please help me by voting for my essay here. I love you.

Meteor Showers

2010-08-14T09:06:00.004-04:00

I believe that observing the moon cycles connects us with our natural world. These huge and seemingly otherworldly objects are surrounding us continuously, and perhaps even affecting our daily lives (or our fate) yet our viewpoint is literally closed off to them a majority of the time. Most of the time we don't turn our mind away from the small, petty details of our human lives to look up, or

Recent Recipes and more to try

2010-08-06T12:38:00.004-04:00

Zucchini exploding season. We have our own coming from the garden, and last night I picked up a CSA share from Jericho Settler's Farm because a friend was out of town and was nice enough to give it to us! So, herein I am drowning in the zukes. I secretly desired this overload after reading Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. :)I finally got to make the recipe I was tortured with during my

Armageddon - Are we riding the crest of the next Agricultural Revolution?

2010-08-06T11:59:00.016-04:00

Photos of the latest yummies.Jamie and I were in New York City last week - I was called down to meet with my boss and tripwolf COO, Sebastian. (Meet Seb.) He was in the city that week because his fiance lives there at the moment.We spent two nights in Jersey, and one between Brooklyn and Queens. Its so fun to get a taste of the different neighborhoods and boroughs one after the other, and enjoy

Blessed Herbs, Day 4

2010-07-29T13:08:00.003-04:00

Hi, again. I'm doing a lot of work for tripwolf today. My mind feels ok, I can still focus, but I think I am forgetting things more easily. I always have a bit of struggle keeping things in my brain, but they seem to be fleeing faster today....Sleeping in a lot this week - I suppose I like the excuse, but I also like to wake up, and be tempted to get even more work done by making myself a cup of

Blessed Herbs, Morning 3

2010-07-28T10:37:00.003-04:00

This morning I woke up with abdominal cramps - all night wanted to get up to go, but our upstairs toilet is not working so well. I have been taking two of the digestive stimulators at night, but i think it may be too many. I have already gone to the bathroom 5 times. I am only going to take one tonight, and I am also going to take fewer toxin absorber shakes, drinking simply more juice, tea

Hiking Camel's Hump

2010-07-27T17:39:00.009-04:00

There are now at least a few camels in Vermont, but I am assuming they arrived in only the last 20 years or so. A friend had recently mentioned to me that the large mountain, that most of us know as Camel’s Hump, has a native named of Crouching Lion. This refers to the (now extinct?) Catamount, a large mountain lion that used to dominate this region.Anyway, Jamie and I hiked this mountain on

Blessed Herbs Cleanse, Day 2

2010-07-27T16:52:00.004-04:00

Hello.It's day 2 of the liquid fast. I have been blessed with a quiet Tuesday, a beautiful weather Tuesday, so I am simply working from home, taking my day slowly, and taking time to sit outside, and now, write. :) I am not so much feeling hungry, which is refreshing considering the fruit fast Ashley and I did last autumn was more difficult. I felt like I was starving the whole time, and always

Another RAW Potluck

2010-07-20T17:45:00.009-04:00

Photo by George Mihaly...This time at my place!I made an all local dish (well, PA peaches were thrown in there, but they were sold at the local farm stand) that consisted of blueberries, raw corn right off of the cob, cubed peaches, a cubed tomato, chopped mint and parsley. I thought it was amazing, and no dressing or sweetener! I got the idea from a cookbook I saw in Maine, that told of

Self-preservation

2010-07-18T11:43:00.004-04:00

We all innately desire the ability to provide for ourselves, yet we rely so heavily on others for the basics to live.Most of us don't feed ourselves, and only half of us might cook for ourselves. I don't want to get too negative, because there are certainly benefits to our modern society - more time to follow our passions and spend time with friends, and less time worrying about whether we will

No Food Guilt

2010-07-13T10:16:00.009-04:00

When was the last time you ate something in which every part of it was good for you?Eating healthy on vacation is tough. I was in Maine last week, and I ate well, but bologna sandwiches and Bailey's I would not consider healthy. Even as I placed the stuff in my mouth I was thinking "Why am I eating this?" Tummy overrules my brain often.I believe that the raw foodists are on to something, and if

Isn't that a contradiction?

2010-06-29T00:18:00.009-04:00

...was my brother's response when I told him I went to a raw potluck last night. Well, there was luck (pot?) and delicious food.(Alright technology, you win. I'll bring my camera more places, and not be too good to stand behind it. )Vermont feels like a tropical place in the summer time. Humid and lush - it's like during the 6 months of winter the trees are holding in their energy for so long

Lit Crit

2010-06-16T15:58:00.005-04:00

Who actually enjoys reading literary criticism?Reading it usually gives me the same headache as watching Judge Judy. I feel like if some kind of art is bad, it should just be allowed to wither to the wayside. If for some reason it gains a following, it won't taint art, the rest of us will still know it's crap.I'm putting this out there because it is a required supplement to my application to a

Local is good, raw is...enlightening?

2010-06-10T09:58:00.018-04:00

A couple of my yoga friends, Kyle and George, have been exploring and glorifying in the raw food world. Kyle has been completely raw after an intense switch two years ago, and George has been re-writing the (new) book himself since about January this year.I have seen some amazing documentaries about the power of raw food - and I believe every bit. I have never doubted int he power of good food,

Making Chili in June, among other things

2010-06-06T17:18:00.007-04:00

Another chili story...at least I think there's one down there already...I am opening a Woodchuck's 802 - yeah, I guess it's past 5 p.m., but I can't decide if this weekend was productive enough for me to be drinking. I suffer from some kind of mania that's guilt driven. I'm also actually thanking the loud music right below my office for scattering my thoughts a bit. Rainy Sundays tend to bring

Mind drift, cloud shift

2010-05-30T20:34:00.003-04:00

Sunday evening, Jericho, vermont, early summer and later Spring all rolled into one. We've been lucky this year - the last few brought a month-long drizzle in June. There has already been a long, fruitful Spring. I've wandered through my forest for the first time, foraged my first ramps and nettles, and come closer to this spot of land. Its eas because it's so much like my childhood home. Not

Ancient Futures (is already a book)

2010-05-25T14:38:00.006-04:00

"It may be absurd to believe that a primitive culture in the Himalaya has anything to teach our industrialized society. But our search for a future that works keeps spiraling back to an ancient connection between ourselves and the earth, an interconnectedness that ancient cultures have never abandoned." (Helena Norberg-Hodge)It's this quote that opens a chapter in Three Cups of Tea, the

Peepers and Counting Receipts

2010-05-22T21:24:00.009-04:00

Soon after we moved in last May I began collecting my grocery receipts in a small drawer in our kitchen.It was separate from the 'stuff' draw that Jamie hoped we would not have. I think it's inevitable, because we just have a certain amount of stuff that doesn't belong with anything else, and happens to be small enough to fit in the drawer. You always know what will be in there - lights, scotch

...checking in.

2010-05-20T21:19:00.003-04:00

"Mainly, I think that we (and by we, I mean me, again)—against our great wealth of experience to the contrary—harbor the belief that in reaching our goals we will be freed from the neurosis, fear, self-doubt, obsession, and myriad other emotional and psychological discomforts that accompany writing. Or any other kind of work, life, or humanness. If I just find love. If I just get into this

Cheaters and eaters

2010-04-29T15:21:00.008-04:00

I can't resist alliteration.I'm out of the raw milk I picked up last week from Family Cow Farmstand. It's too far to drive regularly, but they are planning on expanding their delivery to include a stop along Route 15 in Essex, and if so, I will definitely join their weekly milk CSA. $5 per half gallon, and yes, $10 per gallon. Not the cheapest I've seen, but delivery makes it possible, otherwise

Meat Share vs. Car Repair

2010-04-18T20:32:00.008-04:00

In line at Hannaford’s, I’m looking down at the black belt where I’ve placed my carefully selected items, knowing it’s going to cost more than it looks like it should. A plastic stick divides my bounty from the woman’s in front of me. I try not to be assuming, but I look out of the corner of my eye to asses her situation. She must have at least 3 children at home, and this week’s dinner looks

Ramps, rocket, redemption

2010-04-14T15:02:00.017-04:00

It's only just hitting mid-April, but I found my first ever wild leeks (ramps). I feel like a Yankee, or Pocahontas, or something equally as idyllic and conjoined with nature.It was a gift from our woods, the first one to come directly to me, unless maybe you would count the pussy willows I found a month ago, before anything had turned green at all. But well, I couldn't eat those.I was actually

Local recipes and perhaps a supper club

2010-04-12T10:17:00.002-04:00

Hello all, It's Spring and I am falling over myself deciding on a meat share, where to get my raw milk, and what I can find/harvest from my woods. I want to share my excitement (and bounty) with everyone!I am going to start exploring and exposing recipes including all local ingredients, and maybe when we get it together, we can have monthly dinner parties.Here's one from last night - a light

DOing it

2009-12-09T18:47:00.007-05:00

I made some purchases today - and desired to make more, but it's December, and Christmas is right around the corner. How come it's only now that I am 26 and an adult that I know what I would ask for?Purchase: Mediabistro.com Avant Guild Membership and Freelance Marketplace subscription. $55 dollars plus $15 monthly.Desired purchase: Down dog t's from stayhuman.comMy new goal is to either submit

Blue

2009-12-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

It's said that starting something new on the first Monday in December is a bad idea. The waves started first. She was sure they were waves, the comforting, familiar sound of white and blue and the whoosh as the water trickled back through the sand. She didn't open her eyes for a long while, wanting to hover in the half awake, half asleep feeling for as long as possible. But inevitably, then

The best peanut butter...ever

2009-11-30T20:13:00.002-05:00

Soy, soy, soy.With the help of The Nutty Vermonter I made some spicy peanut noodles. (she has recipes on her site, but I kind of just threw this one together.)Package of firm tofupeanut oil2 scallionsa red pepper, sliced thinlyparsley3 tablespoons soy sauce1 tablespoon lemon juice1/4 c of Maple and Chipotle Triple Nut Butterone roll of Udon noodles (for serving one, use more noodles for more

Sunday

2009-11-29T13:15:00.003-05:00

Jamie came home. He's showering.We are going to get our Christmas tree.I have put the turkey breast (previously mentioned) in my new crockpot - birthday present!On a bed of:- scallions- onion (chopped)- parsnips- celeryStuffed (under the skin) with:- a ton of sage- thyme from the garden- 1/2 stick of butterSalt & pepper.We'll have home-made cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.

Inspiration

2009-11-28T22:47:00.002-05:00

"Cat" We lay in that bed one sunny evening after making loveand decided to name our first girl Cat, we were goingto name her Cat, but now we have departed forever from ourlove-making, and we will not have a little girl, nor anychildren at all, and I am doomed to become the poetin your dreams who falls continually like the evening rain. -- Richard BrautiganGet lost.

Solace

2009-11-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

My family tells me that they consider me their 'food' person - that my ideas and attempts inspire them to learn more, or make better decisions, and cook good food. This makes me feel good. Being in Burlington, I meet people every day who inspire me in this regard, most I am intimidated to even get into a conversation with. Sometimes I feel like I am one of those people who have yet to move past

First slush tonight

2009-11-27T18:04:00.005-05:00

And I'm staying in.I want skills. But more than just the skills (which are easy enough to gain) I want to get good at them, to do them over and over again until it becomes true knowledge and meditation. Like baking bread: Bread idea.Guess that means taking the time to do something, regularly. I hope I am capable of something like that. I am comforted in some ways that perhaps this is a skill

2009-11-27T16:25:00.001-05:00

There has been too much coming and going.I'm reveling in my aloneness here, your aloneness therea bit crazy and wild-likeendless opportunitiesfor me in this 1200 square feetof alone.

Turkey Twice as Good

2009-11-24T22:01:00.007-05:00

I am not really referring to the leftovers Thanksgiving turkey supplies us with.I spent twice a much on a large breast (get the giggles out) for Jamie and I - locally and organically grown not far from here - as it would cost to buy a whole turkey from Price Chopper. I was reaffirmed in my decision after seeing a slide show about where Butterball turkeys come from, how they are conceived, live,

Meat in my salad

2009-11-20T14:19:00.010-05:00

Travel is inspiring of course - it can expand our mind and perspective in many different ways. Spending 3 days in different airports and people-watching is part of this inspiration. Inspiration to not end up like many of the people I see. Inspiration to never eat fast food again. Inspiration to boycott shopping forever. (I spent about an hour imagining the blogging possibilities not purchasing

Recipes to Make this week...or next

2009-09-20T22:16:00.004-04:00

I had to post the links to them here, before I lose the tabs. Holy MMMM...all local, too.Volunteered at Rural Vermont's Tour de Farms today...more on that later.ApplesauceZucchini Polenta Chevre TartinPeach Bacon Bleu Cheese looks incredible saladOk, and two more - Carrot Cilantro Soup!Acorn Squash stuffed with corn Pudding

Delicata

2009-09-15T14:59:00.004-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sminor/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0OH, little striped almost-gourd-squash - it's good to see you! Thank you, Mazza family, for growing huge quantities of these little guys, and selling them for little more than $1 each.Once the first hint of fall hits the air, I become torn between wanting a few more hot summer days, and driving out immediately in search of hayrides and or

Tomato's hit by blight - Slow death or green food

2009-08-28T15:17:00.006-04:00

Hi!I have about 35 shiny green tomatoes sitting out on my deck, that about 30 minutes ago were happily hanging from their stems - their spotted, crispy-leafed stems.A week or so ago, a friend came by and as I was bragging about how many tomatoes were on my vines, he casually asked if we had any blight problems, since so many people do. I did not then, but I swear, the next morning, leaves were

A Natural Dichotomy - Steve and Wendy's Eggs

2009-08-24T10:40:00.002-04:00

First unedited installation of "Arguments and Attempts to be an Awarenivore"Since recently moving to Jericho, Vermont, I have decided to embrace the 30 minute drive into the ‘city’ and am excited to take part in things I think define a ‘country lifestyle.’ (Not completely blind to this idea, I did grow up in Maine owning and caring for an

Feed us to Death

2008-02-25T20:08:00.000-05:00

It’s a sunny Monday and I am tip-tapping away on the keys with these mint green fingernails of mine. Guilt wrenched me this morning, as it always does when I have been drinking the night before. I think more than drinking; it’s when I have smoked a cigarette or something, too. But all that wouldn’t matter so much if I hadn’t woken up alone. I think that is a universal; if we share our

Published on DELI

2008-01-29T17:55:00.001-05:00

http://www.thedelimagazine.com/kitchen/"Dynamic Rockers Ellis Ashbrook seems like it’s just a New York for the convenience. Rather than using

The Strange Hours Travelers Keep

2008-01-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

I like to keep this phrase in mind...perhaps it's another reason I love travel. Time doesn't matter either, only place, really. It's a living in the moment kind of phrase.I am working on the Silent Mind road journal, and this phrase is incredibly relevant to that piece and that trip.Shows ends at 2 a.m. normally, but then there's the settling money issues with the club owners, packing up (this

A Thousand Times...

2007-12-27T13:03:00.001-05:00

I keep referring to this Pablo Neruda quote in hopes that it will apply to me, but in the most strengthening and lucrative way possible. It is associated with the waves, and how they are "torn down a thousand/times a thousand," but "a thousand/times resurrected." Well, the number may be arbitrary, but writing's a game that will surely bring you onto the same field of play.I'm in the middle of