Tag Archives: national geographic

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Dear god it has been hot. It has been in the 90s all week, and the humidity has been high. It isn’t helping that I’ve been making BBQ sauce downstairs and it has been boiling/cooking down for the last 3 1/2 hours. Yup, that is what happens when you make BBQ sauce from fresh tomatoes. The plus is that I now have a bunch of sauce that I can freeze and pull out as I need it over the winter. But it is making my house really warm.

I noticed something I’ve stopped doing. I use to keep a log of all the produce I got from my CSA and made a list of meals I was making with it. For example I got 16+ lbs of tomatoes and only used 9 of those pounds for that BBQ sauce. More mind boggling is that for the average price of organic tomatoes is about $4 per pound, that makes my BBQ sauce $36 for 3 jars! I have to say the tomatoes alone is the main reason why my CSA pays for itself.

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 quart of purple tomatillos
1 quart of green beans
1/2 pint blackberries
1 large spaghetti squash
8 lbs slicing tomatoes (about 12)
8 lbs big ass cherry tomatoes (more like tennis tomatoes)
3 asian eggplant
3 bell peppers (2 green, 1 mostly red)
3 red italia peppers
2 poblano peppers
4 white onions (very small)
1 lb 4oz okra

What I’m cooking:
BBQ Sauce (9lbs of tomatoes cooked down and frozen for future use)
Tomatillo Coconut Ice Cream (working on a new recipe)
Black Bean & Tomatillo Soup (using a few tomatillos, more tomatoes, and a poblano pepper)
Bhindi Masala from Isa Does It (tomatoes and okra)
Black Bean Tacos with roasted peppers and fresh salsa (peppers and tomatoes)
Jajangmyeon Spaghetti Squash (spaghetti squash, older zucchini, and maybe peppers)
Eggplant Stir-Fry with Green Beans and Cashews (eggplant and green beans)
Maple Cupcakes for Jon’s Birthday (using absolutely no produce ^__~)

What really stinks is that I was originally planning on making some Nacho Tots with some peppers and maybe tomatillos on top. Then as I started to make this list I saw that I never wrote down the planned recipe for the eggplant and green beans. *cries* I keep seeing photos of roasted potatoes and french fries and have a weird desire for them. Actually, I’ve been really craving processed starchy comfort foods but keep knowing that I should really be eating all this great produce. *sigh* I guess I shouldn’t complain. We got 16lbs of organic tomatoes, which at retail prices would of been $64! Better start eating.

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This old YA novel shows us how far women’s gymnastics has come — and how far it hasn’t

This is an interesting review of an old 70s book targeted for teenage girls. It talks about how much the sport of gymnastics have changed in pop culture and how the pressures on girls have changed. What I find funny is that the main character criticizes the Russian team for being TOO athletic, while today, Russian athletes have criticized the team USA for taking the grace out of the sport. I am all for taking some of the “dance” and “grace” aspects out of the sport, as they are starting to look a little silly. Don’t agree? Watch the men’s floor exercises and then watch the women’s. What is with all the these weird octopus arms ladies?

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The Secret Lives of Cadavers

My work is a little weird. I work with two people who are pretty open about death. We have talked a few times about how we would like be buried. Yes, I know what I would like done with my dead body, and Jon knows this too. It is his fault for making me watch Six Feet Under and made me aware of the funeral business. I am not 100% what I want to have done, but I am considering donating my body to be a cadaver after reading this article. 

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Simone Biles’s adoption defies a foster care system that punishes black families

This is a nice article talking about how the foster care system in the USA is broken and racially bias. They talk about Simone Biles because she was very lucky to be adopted by her Grandparents, as appose to being placed in the foster system. I’ve heard a lot of shady things about the foster system, and I remember reading a memoir about being placed in the system for school.

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This “wacky wallpaper house” in Minnesota will assault your eyes with patterns galore

Totally a fluff piece but I am loving this. Offbeat Home features a house that is just so beyond matchy matchy. Would I want to decorate my house like this? Uh no. I actually was a little dizzy the day I read this post and just felt more sick from looking at all that pattern! But there is something admirable about being so over the top that it works.


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Who is this moody hawt babe? It’s Alexa enjoying her friends wedding. Lately Alexa has been super busy helping with the planning as she is part of the wedding party. And I know from my wedding, if Alexa is part of the party, she helps out a buttload. I am sure her friend Tara got a kick ass wedding, and got tons of help from this lovely lady.

Has anyone been watching the women’s world cup? Whenever they have their games aired on TV my husband and I watch, even when it is in spanish. Thank goodness for Telemundo. I kind-of want to watch it with my nieces since one of them is playing soccer right now. But I am also aware she is just going into kindergarden, so you know, she only kind-of interested in soccer. 

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
5 cucumbers
1/2 bag shelling peas
1 quart strawberries (last of the summer)
1 bunch of beets & greens
1 bunch of collard greens
1 bunch purple kale
2 heads of lettuce
1 head nappa cabbage
1 head spring cabbage
4 small squash
garlic scapes

What I’m cooking:
Pickles (some kombucha pickles, other brined)
Shelled Peas and went straight into the freezer
Banana Ice Cream with Strawberries
Beets Chips (beet greens for smoothies)
Buffalo Collards & Chickpeas (will be on the blog Monday!)
Kale, black beans, and rice with a tahini dressing
Chickpea salad wraps stuffed with kohlrabi (last week) and lettuce
Stir-fry with nappa cabbage and kohlrabi (last week)

Food:

1) I am usually not into cutesy food recipes and 2) these are totally not vegan, BUT I find these cute bacon shortbread cookies a great idea for vegans baking for omni-dads. I try not to buy non-vegan products as gifts for people, but my Dad is uh… stubborn about his meats. But he sure love sweets. I would love to try making these vegan for maybe his birthday?

These lentil and roasted cherry tomato dumplings are making me drool on my keyboard. I hope the tomatoes are strong this year from the farm.

I would LOVE to try out this new Vietnamese restaurant Same Same. Hopefully they mean vegan when they write vegetarian.

Fashion:

If I lived in Philly I would buy this dress in a heartbeat for night biking!

This outfit.

Need more cats in your wardrobe? Here is a great tutorial on how to make cat socks.

Other:

I love how Lacy writes, it is to the point and has a lot of meaning. Her recent post talks about “eating clean” and hits so many topics on the nail. I love eating well, I like eating things that make me feel good. But I don’t like some of the culture as it gets over analytical and therefore damaging. When I talk to people there is a lot of confusion of what is healthy and what isn’t, and a lot of it have to do with “clean eating” concepts.

I think is honestly the best Daily Show episode ever recorded.

Talking about the Daily Show, there is an interesting article asking where is the conservative Jon Stewart?

Find all the sheep on google maps!

National geographic has a great article talking about the structure of a dolphin’s brain. Really interesting for all those animal nerds out there.

And here it is, your moment of zen.