Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

This past week has been non-stop action, what with moving, buying things to setup our new apartment with and starting a new job. I haven’t even had the chance to fill my fridge and pantry with much of anything. I’ll wait to take/post pics of the place once everything is settled and looks less like a storage space. Hopefully by this weekend, things will start to settle down a little.

I also discovered that my work is only a mere 5 minute walk away from where I live! I have no idea how I lucked out on this. If you know me well enough, you’d know that I have always lived far from anything and everything. It would always take me an hour to an hour and a half to get anywhere. Even when I was a kid, the nearest playground/park or corner store was a 15-20 minute walk!!! And so with that I must say that I’m really liking this new arrangement. I especially like my mornings (i was never a morning person before), as I sip my morning cuppa tea out of my Jamie Oliver mug that says “Big Fella” on it, I step out onto my back porch and there right in front of me is the beautiful Ipswich River.

My cat is definitely not as jazzed as I am. For the past 4 days she’s been turning away from me every time I tried to pat her — probably thinking I’d move her to some other strange place. She even started drinking her water by cupping it with her paw first. Only tonight when Tim and I put together some furniture and laid down a soft rug did she start to get back to her old self. She’s sleeping beside me right now.

The only thing that’s really missing right now is sharing these new experiences with my friends and family who are far away Hopefully some of you will come and visit!

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

When I moved down here I was prepared to wait for at least 3-4 months before I would even be able to start looking for work, and up to 2 years before I would even see any signs of my green card. But, within about 2 months of my wedding, I was able to get my work permit, a job offer, and a green card. This is a lot of change and a lot of excitement all at once. I even found the perfect apartment to move into. Things are really looking up. Let’s just hope I don’t jinx everything.

As soon as I received my green card, Tim and I drove up to Canada to surprise my little sister on her birthday. It was the best timing alright! We couldn’t stay for long but it was worth making the short trip. Can’t wait to go back again.

In food making news: I tried the Jamie Oliver Killer Mac N Cheese recipe and it was a huge success (even the family’s African Grey Parrot loved it). It was gone so quickly that I didn’t even get a chance to photograph it. The recipe called for 10 cloves of garlic, but I went with only 6 and that still kept it quite tasty. I also used shell pasta instead of elbow macaroni and cut down the amount of tomatoes from 8 to 6, which was more than enough. Other than that the instructions for the recipe and the ingredients are all a great match! Next time, I might add some sundried tomatoes, a little extra cheese or maybe even some different cheeses. I know I say this often lately, but this is the perfect meal for a rainy autumn or winter’s day.

Tomorrow I’ll be making a vegan mac n cheese and a pumpkin pie so I’ll have more to post later on.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

When I was about 4 years old, potato salad was one of my most favorite dishes to scarf down on. Unfortunately, I think I ate so much that I developed an aversion to it. It took about 24 years for me to start falling in love with potato salad again. My dear friend Terzo, who reignited my love for this starchy salad, sent me her recipe and I adjusted it a little (see below). I also included my mom’s recipe for White Bean Soup, which is excellent when served on any cold autumn or winter day. Put these two together at your dinner table, add a freshly baked loaf of bread and you’re golden!

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Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

For years I’ve wanted to make my own pizza from scratch, but I was basically intimidated by the whole idea (seemed like a huge undertaking – especially since pizza is so inexpensive and readily available in these parts). However, last week I really looked at the recipe (Jamie At Home cookbook), all of sudden, it looked do-able. With all this free-time on my hands I figured, “Hey what the heck… what’ve I got to lose?”

Making the dough was a little messy, especially since I didn’t really know how to handle it, but the dough rose perfectly in the end. I left it refrigerated for a couple hours which helped it rise a little more. Rolling it out was probably the easiest part. I ended up making 8 medium-ish thin-crust pizzas. The dough was crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside! Next time I’ll try it with semolina flour as well, just to see how different the crust will taste like (which I didn’t have at the time).

The tomato sauce was fairly simple and quick to make. Just a little basil, garlic, whole canned plum tomatoes and salt/pepper and presto! It does however take a little elbow grease to push the tomato sauce mixture through the sieve / strainer.

The toppings were an assortment of vegetables and dairy/vegan cheese since it was a “build your own pizza party” after all. My faves were the marinated artichokes and the hot cherry peppers.

All in all it was a great learning/baking experience and it’s safe to say that I’ll definitely be making pizza again in the not-so-distant-future.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

Last week I made a bowl of guacamole by following Alton Brown’s recipe. I added a little more salt and only half a lime (kinda watery). In the end, this turned out to be the BEST guac I’ve ever had; people couldn’t stop eating it. Next time I’ll have to double the recipe.

In other news my brother and sister came to town for a little visit. They really wanted to check out Haunted Happenings in Salem, MA — and since I had never been myself, we grabbed the commuter train down to Salem for the day. This is probably the best time of year to check this town out, since so many events are going on. There was a street fair and a 3 museum pass deal, so we took advantage of both. The museums were lacking in real historical artifacts but the tour guides and the incredibly creepy mannequins made up for it. My hands down favorite was the New England Pirate Museum due to the fact that the tour guide was extremely entertaining, funny and knowledgeable about pirates. After a whole day of sightseeing we stopped by Boston Hot Dog and I had one the best veggie dogs ever!

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

With the abundance of Squash right now I had to try Roasted Squash, Corn and Beans from Moosewood Celebrates (if you keep scrolling on the linked page you’ll find the recipe). This recipe calls for the 3 sisters which are the 3 staple crops (corn/maize, beans, squash) that have been used by indigenous groups in the Americas since pre-European colonial times (thousands of years). The recipe calls for Butternut squash but with a myriad of other beautiful squashes calling my name I also picked a Delicata Squash (aka the Sweet Potato Squash). Peeling, cleaning and cutting squash can be a hassle but I was lucky enough that the store had already peeled and removed the seeds from the butternut.
I had never used baby lima beans but I was familiar with butter beans and their slightly meaty, hearty texture. But after trying this I’m not so sure I like lima beans. They were a little too tough for my liking. Next time I’m going to put them in the oven to roast instead of mixing them with the corn on the stovetop as the recipe suggests. I might also add something a little crunchy to the mix like sunflower seeds, sesame, roasted almond?

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

This past week was all about trying new things, which ran the gamut from baking, to crocheting rag rugs, to visiting The Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA.

My first new attempt was crocheting a rag rug. A few years ago my mom taught me how to make granny squares but since then I’ve been a little out of practice. Not having my mom around, I figured youtube, craft blogs and about.com would be the best places to refresh my crochet skills. I used Craftsanity and the Vintage Chica blog posts (tutorials) as inspiration for my rug creation. Ripping old sheets to make rags was quite therapeutic, and the overall crochet process only takes a few hours (for a newbie like me). I will definitely be making these for everyone I know this holiday season (sorry guys).

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Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

• Russell Orchards in Ipswich MA is the ultimate New England autumn destination. Apple goodness! http://www.russellorchardsma.com/ #
• ripping apart sheets to crochet a rag rug. http://bit.ly/NHXcR #
• my cat sits like Buddha. #
• making no-knead rosemary foccacia http://bit.ly/kKxGp #
• my parents are in town! So nice of them to visit (not sarcastic). #
• this is seriously one amazing summer day in late september… you have to be here to believe it! #
• thinking about visiting the Fruitlands museum this weekend http://www.fruitlands.org/home #
• what do you do with a head full of ideas but no idea where to start? #

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

• The Cambridge Carnival 2009 was an incredible mix of music, delicious food, and incredible costumes. http://www.cambridgecarnival.org/ #
• gonna make my mom's greek lentil soup recipe! #
• has got craft projects up the wazoo: crochet rag rug, kureyon log cabin afghan.. Now all I need are the supplies! #
• i so wanna make these Memphis Sweet Potato Fries http://trunc.it/1ylxi #
• Watching The Soup while sipping on some earl grey tea. #
• Philadelphia Libraries are staying open! Thank goodness there is still some good in the world! http://trunc.it/20pxb #
• checkin out the legendary Ahmad Jamal tonite http://www.ahmadjamal.net #

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

• Pupusas with curtido from Dèlicieusus Pupusas: 256 rue Beaubien Est. Montreal
• Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey Tea
• Cuisine Caraïbe Delite on Parc in Montreal . Their sour fruity hot sauce is sooo hot but so good.
• Chocolate truffles from See’s Candies … their truffle filling is so fresh tasting it’s unbelievable they’re cheaper than Godiva (but better).
• Lavender Rice Pudding (homemade by yours truly)
  

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

I’m fortunate enough to have a job that gives me a lot of flexibility concerning my schedule.

This weekend I’m heading off to Ottawa to visit some palz (I haven’t been there since 2005). Can’t wait to checkout Cat Parliament.

A week after my Ottawa trip I’ll be heading off to sunny San Diego for a WHOLE week to visit some of my old pals, including a reunion with my favorite food in the whole wide world : Burritos. I’ve been dreaming about SD burritos! I know I’m a total food fiend. I also can’t wait to visit LA while I’m there (Amoeba, Scoops, Getty Villa in Malibu, Giant Robot, bookstores: Book Soup).

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

I watched the documentary Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of Otis Redding for the second time with a group of buddies and it still sent shivers down my spine. His smile, his dance moves, his passion for music and life - all these keep leaving me in awe and regret that I was never able to see him live. I look forward to seeing more documentaries/works about his life that delve more into his impact on the world of music.

Otis live at Monterey Pop

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

Although the economy keeps slowly swirling down the toilet… I somehow and luckily so ended up finding a job working as a research assistant at a local university. I can’t even begin to comprehend how lucky I am right now. *crosses her fingers*

In my dessert making news: I made some chocolate macarons and my second attempt was not as successful in my mind but apparently thanks to my sister Kat one of her coworker’s wants an order of them. These Parisian treats are highly sensitive to temperature, humidity and overmixing.

The love of my life is coming up this weekend to visit and I am so darn excited to see him. I bought some ingredients to make thai red curry noodles. This will be my first attempt but at least I’m cheating by buying already made red curry and coconut milk from a can.

I’m also trying to do one drawing per day. What you see below is one of those:

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

Back in the 450 area and here is what I have to report:

The snow has forced me to stay inside all day. When I finally went out to shovel my parents driveway it was mild enough to be outside but the winds kept blowing snow in my face. By the time my brother and I were finished shoveling the driveway enough snow had accumulated for us to shovel again! Curses!

Last night I met up with my best friend Nat and we checked out a private screening for a documentary about the history of Rocksteady music in Jamaica called Get Ready to Rocksteady. The cinematography was crisp and vivid. The artists featured in the doc were full of great anecdotes and memories which made up for the little archival footage they presented. I loved that they only had the people involved in the actual movement discussing Rocksteady instead of having newer artists that have no idea what they’re talking about. For some reason I was half expecting Bono of U2 to show up and start waxing poetic about the magic of Rocksteady.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

• Read Like Water for Chocolate voraciously but did not like the ending.
• The Wrestler is the first movie in a long time to really shake me.
• Watching CNN’s coverage of the Inauguration… people have been there since 3am! Apparently someone went to the event wearing diapers, since they don’t want to miss a thing. INSANE!
• I’ve been in Gloucester for almost 3 weeks now and it has been amazing spending all this time with T-man.
• Visiting Portsmouth, NH was great even though everything closes early. Highlights: SecondRun Used Books, Bullmoose Music and the delicious food at The Friendly Toast (all independently owned!).
• Visiting Providence, RI was a mix of emotions
  - Thayer street’s Nice Slice really impressed me with their vast array of vegan pizza slices (one      called “Earth Crisis”).
  - Tealuxe has one of the most extensive tea menus I’ve ever seen. I think I could visit that tea bar for over 2 months and still not try the same thing twice. Thank goodness they have a location in Harvard Square (Shaun? you interersted?).
  - Luke’s Record Exchange in Pawtucket was not what I expected… it was more a music cemetery than a record store. It should be called “Where Casettes Go to Die”. For all you Montrealers it reminded me of the old Mars music store. When you walk in there are t-shirts hanging from the ceiling that have been up there since the early-mid 90’s (NKOTB, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, No Doubt). I thought I had entered a time warp back to 1995.
  - Almost everything we tried to visit outside of Thayer St. closed early (even on a Friday).
• The Golden Girls are like a nice warm bowl of soup.
• Once I return to Montreal I am keeping myself as busy as possible until my fiance visa is approved.
  - I’ll immerse myself in books (best time for self-learning) at my local libraries
  - Volunteer at CKUT radio’s music library
  - Make Parisian Macarons, and Philly Soft Pretzels
  - Open Source Web design course at Studioxx
  - Draw, craft, photograph
  - Surround myself with family and friends

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

2009 will be a year full of new opportunities, patience, creativity, and great friends.

The one way to fulfill this prophecy is to maintain a positive attitude and not to let any setbacks bring me down (for too long).

I know that if I keep myself busy I’ll be able to really enjoy this year a lot more.

A To-Do list may seem anal and no-fun to many but it really helps me focus my boundless enthusiasm into activities that will actually be semi to fully accomplished.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

After a full week of spending most of my days inside due to the constant struggle of rain vs bitter cold, I was finally able to go outside with just a hoodie and jeans. Gloucester was truly amazing this morning so I decided to go for a walk around the shore. As I reached the hill’s crest I felt this sudden gentle breeze blow through me. It was the warm and salty air of the Atlantic which filled me with a sense of euphoria that I hadn’t felt in months. I walked through a bush clearing which led me to a rocky headland and there I just sat on the moss covered rocks and let the sun shine down on my vitamin D deprived face. I know this will probably be the last day of 2008 that it will be this wonderful so I’m really glad that I took advantage of it. I only wish you were all here to share it with me. It truly felt for a second like I was back in San Diego.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

Spent Sunday runnin around Boston. The train ride into Boston was magical and I say this because Sunday was the first real snowfall this area witnessed. Once the train entered Beverly there was snow coating the trees and made everything look surreal. The trees looked as if they had been individually dusted by a pastry chef. Once I made it to beantown I met up with Shaun, as well as my ol’ pal Nick and his adorable little toddler Sadie. All four of us checked out Bazaar Bizarre and it was pretty BUSY, so busy that I had a hard time even being able to look at what was at each merchant’s/artisan’s table. There were some people there with lil social skills… my pal Shaun was harshly shoulder bumped and I ended up impromptu dancing with a bunch of people who would not let me walk around them. In the end I ended up with a few lil gifts but nothing too crazy.

Afterwards Shaun and I had lunch and then she purchased a banjo… which is very sweet lookin.

Made it back to Gloucester just in time to pick up a christmas tree with t-man’s family. Then went over to Joan’s dad’s place to enjoy some of his famous “Christmas Stew” which reminded me of of Harira. It was INCREDIBLE wish you were all there (all zero of you that are reading this of course).

MY day was overwhelmingly good and maybe too much of a good thing is bad for my stomach since I ended up tossing and turning most of the night.

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

• Bazaar Bizarre Craft Fair Sunday December 7th
• Check out Reliable Market in Sommerville
• Hang out with Joan & Nat and Shaun
• finish my holiday gifts
• Bake holiday cookies with friends and fam
• get ginger snap cookies from wholefoods (since they taste super amazing)
• walk around Rockport and eat a strudel
• knit 2 scarves
• write & record some music

More to be added later (im sorry if this is really stupid to read)

Originally published at lavendergreentea. You can comment here or there.

Nat and I have been in Gloucester, MA for almost a week and I think today was the first day that we pretty much just stayed inside the whole time. Its been great doin some early holiday shopping and not having to deal with the psycho crowds (or maybe this has more to do with the “recession”. I’ve been eatin some pretty awesome food too. Pizza from Gloucester is amazing – must be the ocean air and the sweetness of their sauce. Walking on the beach in the fall is awesome too since people are allowed to walk their dogs. In other terrific news, Joan will be flyin into Boston in a couple of days, so it’ll be great to catchup with my galpal since I havent seen her in months.

I feel bad that I missed Expozine this weekend tho. Hopefully one of you Mtlers ended up going and can let me know a lil bit about what I missed.

And now for some random material things that I’m stoked about:

1) Silk Nog
2) Stash Earl Grey tea (i know I’ve mentioned this before)
3) Waffle undershirts
4) Thinsulate
5) Walkers Shortbread cookies