Link Love!

This is a total mishmash, but whatev!

- Oat Bean Waffles! "I love waffles, but I don't like how I feel after eating them. Then I ate a waffle that changed my life!"

- Alternative lawn seed Oh, apartment life. You kill me.

- Quillisascut Farm School

- Seed Savers Exchange

- Seattle Goats! !!!!!!!!



- The Backyard Homestead and Urban Homestead

- Home Grown Revolution

- Low Impact Living

- Chicago's City Farm



- Growing blueberries in containers, more here.

- Inside, rather than outside: Cardboard Stampede



- Snoqualmie Gourmet is a local-ish creamery that makes my absolute most favorite ice cream of all time. French Lavender, of course.

- Re-usable sandwich baggies

- Embrace Your Inner Farmer. This is a great local blog.

- Make your own mineral makeup

- Oh, and then there's this:

Dirt.

I'm still alive.

!!!!!!!!

Wowee.

What have I been doing? Beats me. Work has been busy busy busy, which means no secret blogging. I've been trying to be outside a lot more lately, yet for some reason I feel like I haven't been outside much at all. I need to go camping.

Laila loverface and I are going down to Portland at the end of next month for three days, and now I am wondering if I can get her to detour on our first night and camp somewhere. Hint hint hint. HiLailaIloveyou. :)

Saw Star Trek last night, went to happy hour with some of my favorites, my snails keep reproducing, I keep planting more things, and my carrots and cilantro are both sprouting as of this morning.




The weirdest thing of all- is that since I've pretty much nearly quit drinking and going out- my social life has very drastically depleted (which I think is a good indication of the value of some of my friendships)- however- I finally feel now like I have so much more of a life. I am busy all the time, but most of it isn't based on plans or obligations. I am pretty much taking a full fledged break from sewing, because it stopped being fun for me. I'm just trying to live my life the way that I feel is the best for me right now- and that happens to be pretty secluded. I haven't been going to any bike events or parties or any other shenanigans. I'm in bed by midnight on the weekends, and up by 7:30 the next morning.

I'm really excited to start reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I keep trying to convince Matao that we should get goats and chickens. For some reason he's not giving in. Maybe it has something to do with living in an apartment. Whatevsssss.

I dunno. What you been doing?

LOOKIT!

Oh Sundays, I do love you.

Woke up early, ate Poptarts in bed (OMG bad), drove to the Eastside and hung out with Matao's mama for a bit. Bought lots of honey, cereal, goldfish crackers, tuna, and bread at COSTCO. Came home and made a huge salad and tuna cakes for lunch. Tried to take a nap. Matao left for work and I went to go buy plants. Ended up spending $40 on pots, plants, seeds, and soil. Went to Goodwill and bought an ugly little stand for $5.

AND NOW I HAVE THIS!



Jalapenos, tomatoes, basil, peppermint, and lavender. I'm hoping to find another cheap/small table to put up next to it so I can start my cilantro and carrot seeds. We will see. I decided not to do any gardening in our "yard" since as of last night we have RACCOONS. Oh, the horror. I almost had Cape Disappointment flashbacks. So, instead I'm doing it this way.

The really cool thing about the entryway of my apartment is that it has huge windows and gets a ton of light, so it will more or less work just like a greenhouse. Hopefully our neighbors won't hate me. I'm pretty sure they already think I'm weird, since there are always 200 bikes sitting out there, and I just started composting (ew not in the entryway). Whatever, suckas.

Speaking of bikes- I'm selling my sweet little Frankenstein single speed. It breaks my heart a teenie little bit, because it makes me think of my loverpants Amoo who has left me for bigger gardens and actual beaches. Slutbag. It just seems practical at this point- as no one is riding it and all it really does anymore is take up space. It is ridiculous looking and almost but not quite embarrassing to be seen on. But hey- if you happen to be looking for a small, cheap, basic, almost sort of cute single speed/fixed gear- I'm your lady. It's pretty much ready to go- although I'd throw some cages and straps on there, just for good measure. And by "I'd"- I mean that you should.

Check it right here. See how cute???

Bike To Work Day

HOLY CRAP I ACTUALLY RODE MY BIKE TO WORK THIS MORNING!

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I REALLY need to figure out this whole showering/not being filthy at work thing once and for all- because I really, really miss riding in the morning. I did a little wet bandanna wipe-down/hair dry before changing, but I still feel pretty grimy.

Anyway.

Today was "Bike to Work Day" which meant that a ton of people were riding this morning, and there were also a ton of "Commute Stations" along the way- where if you stopped you'd be bombarded with Smartwool socks/lights/food/water bottles/metro passes/all sorts of other stuff. I normally wouldn't have really cared too much, but I have a major Smartwool addiction (I could quite literally cover my entire body in it if I needed to), so I wasn't trying to pass up free socks. I MEAN COME ON.

So yeah, free socks! I also had a nice mini-asthma attack which was really cool. I started carrying honey water with me just for that reason- and yes- it does really help. So hooray for not dying. Right? Def.

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I'm making an entirely vegan meal for my office today (we do Friday lunches) and I'm probably more excited than I should be. Coconut soup with brown rice, and a cucumber/pineapple/peanut salad. NOM.

Where Have I Been All Your Life?

Oh sweet babies. I am right here.

I have been very busy being very grumpy and getting rained on and breaking my grandparents car and mostly just being rather miserable and feeling quite sorry for myself. I think I'm over it now.

I took today off from work. I was already feeling like I really needed a day to just mellow out a bit- but then I woke up feeling very queasy/nauseous/weak and decided to call in after I attempted to take a shower and felt like I was going to pass out. Most of my day has been spent in bed watching CSI re-runs online (don't tell anyone), making weird noises at Matao, and eating toast and yogurt. Matao finally dragged me out of the apartment to get tea at Pete's and then I finally (!!!) made my compost bin and started playing with rotten food and worms! YUM! And on that note... here's a super kick ass recipe that I made up a few weeks ago. Then we can talk more about compost.





Whole Wheat Linguine w/ Red Pepper Goat Cheese Sauce, Fiddleheads, Chantrelles, and Fresh Basil

6-8 oz fresh whole wheat linguine noodles (would also be GREAT with gnocchi)
6 oz goats milk yogurt (cows milk yogurt is fine too- just make sure that it is PLAIN and UNSWEETENED)
6-8 oz goat cheese
2-3 pieces of jarred roasted red pepper (or just make your own- I used half of a fresh red pepper)
1/3 to 1/2 lb fresh wild fiddleheads (check farmers markets- can also sub asparagus)
1 oz dried chantrelle’s (fresh are great if you can get them!)
1 container fresh basil (I think these are around 1 oz? found in the produce section)
Olive oil
Sea salt

Begin by soaking your dried mushrooms in hot water for half an hour (skip this step if using fresh). Prep fiddleheads by trimming off the brown ends where they were picked, and rinsing in cold water. Boil 3 cups of water, and add fiddleheads. Reduce heat to a simmer, and let cook for about 15 minutes- until soft but not mushy. Strain mushrooms and fiddleheads, reserving liquid from both. Using a cast iron or other heavy skillet- heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over med-hi heat, then add mushrooms and fiddleheads with a healthy pinch of salt. Sauté until just browned, then set aside.

Boil water for pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Combine yogurt and roasted red pepper in a food processor or blender until smooth. Using the same skillet (from mush’s and fiddle’s earler)- Add red pepper/yogurt mixture, 1/4 cup of reserved liquid, and crumbled goat cheese. Whisk over medium heat until cheese is melted.

Add cooked pasta, fiddleheads, mushrooms, and chopped fresh basil to your skillet. Toss until all ingredients are evenly coated with sauce. Serve with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, and freshly grated asiago, if you have it.

This recipe can also easily be made vegan- just simply sub the yogurt for non-dairy milk, and the goat cheese for Toffuti cream cheese! Hooray!



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DIRTY THINGS!!!

So I made my own compost bin today by punching holes in a cheap-ish garbage can with a pocket knife. Probably kind of dangerous and dumb, but I managed not to chop any fingers or eyeballs off... and I still have all of my teeth. I've been saving leftover food/produce/scraps/bits and pieces for the past couple of weeks so I had a good amount of "wet" to add. I raided the pots in our little side "yard" for dirt (which was full of worms, yesssss!) and threw all of that in there with some shredded newspaper and leaves for my "dry". So pretty.



And here's our ridiculous looking little side yard and patio that I'm hoping to whip into shape this spring. We'll see how that goes. I'm afraid of bugs.



Oh, and here's me. Looking 15. Just in case you forgot what I look like because I've been hiding out for 80 years.




I think that's all I've got!

Babes On Bikes On Walls

She was mine first.




My lovely lover Laila!!!

Via Spin Fast Die Young via Fixed Gear Blog

Gardening and Compost Resources!

Container Gardening:

Vegetable Gardening In Containers

Container Gardening Guide

Ten Vegetable Superstars You Should Grow (Seattle specific)

Northwest Gardening Forum

Good Enough to Eat: Eat well from four containers on a deck



Composting:

How To Start A Compost Bin In The City (With Little Money)

163 Things You Can Compost

Flickr Compost porn

Composting bins and supplies

Basic breakdown of composting

Whatchu Know 'bout...

Composting and container gardening?

I know I'm (almost) a little late in the season to just now be thinking about it- but I just recently discovered that there is a tiny side yard at my apartment. No one uses it for anything, and right now it's pretty overgrown with weeds. There is a patio and a grassy area and I would ideally like to start composting and setting up some boxes to garden in.

Only thing is- I have never done either of these and it's not something I want to go into blindly and thus waste a ton of effort/old food/money.

Ideally I would love it if someone wanted to spend some time with me setting it all up and educating me, but even just knowledge from afar would be so helpful. As well as anyone who would be up for helping me clean up the yard and build and set up containers and a compost area. I know that doesn't sound like much fun- however I would love to have a partner in crime to share the area/garden with. I can also promise you lots of home-cooked meals, even if our garden only grows dandelions.

Yeah???

Run, Run, Run

I am back on a Tegan and Sara kick. Super-mega-bigtime. Yesssssss.

Yesterday when I got home from work I had plans to meet up with Becca and Renee at Gasworks. I came home, changed out of my work clothes, and started throwing crap into my bike bag. I realized that my U-lock was sitting out in the entry way of my apartment, so I went out the front door to grab it. HA HA. The door slammed shut behind me. I had no keys, no phone, no wallet, no nothing on me. I am seriously so lucky that I had a t-shirt on over my tank top and actual shoes on my feet. Our landlord doesn't live on site, and NO ONE was home in my complex. I ended up walking all the way up to Fremont, first to check and see if my roommate was at her dance studio, and then to steal Matao's phone from him at work. I spent half an hour on the phone with my mom, having her go through all of my old emails trying to find my roommates phone number. I was finally able to leave her a message, and then I walked down and met up with Becca and Renee at Gasworks nearly two hours after I had planned. Becca let me steal her hoodie, then we walked up to Wallingford to get food to make fajitas. More walking back to Becca's. I like walking, quite a lot, normally. HOWEVER- walking nearly 7 miles (I Google mapped my route later) in gladiator sandals with a new foot tattoo when I was not ready or expecting to be walking ANYWHERE was not my favorite thing. Regardless I had a really, really good night. Matao picked me up later and and we swung by my apartment just to see if roomie was home, which she WAS but apparently couldn't be bothered to put forth the effort to call either of the numbers I had explicitly asked her to call if she came home. Oh, the rough life I lead.

Anyway. I just needed to whine for a hot second.

A bunch of us did this really dumb, but kind of special thing the other day. If you want the story you'll have to ask in person. Nine of us have this now. I'm the only female.

Australians are very persuasive people.









You're next.