Pizza Amazing!

When I met Andrew I hardly ever ate pizza. I had overdone it with mozzarella while studying in Italy (my host family considered it a vegetarian food group). Therefore I was taking a break from cheese. But since back then my guy measured the value of his food with a ratio of calories to cost, pizza was high up there on the list (calories being considered a Very Good Thing to somebody with his metabolism). Since it was his favorite food (and relatively cheap) we ate a lot of pizza--and sigh, I grew a bit more plump.

Once we become old people who tend to eat at home, we became thrilled with the frozen pizza selection (made in Italy, mind you) at our local TJ's. Though they are only about $4 each, after a few years the flavors are now tired and too familiar. So now my new favorite trick is to buy the bagged "almost whole wheat" pizza dough and make my own pizza creations.

Every pizza we have is different and pretty much just depends on what's in the fridge. Most are pretty good but a few have been incredible:

THAI CHIK'N PIZZA
(Note: this picture does not do it justice.)

It is based on a recipe with the same name I read about in Vegetarian Times Magazine. I generally have trouble sticking to any recipe and tend to stray and substitute a lot.

I have Andrew stretch the crust onto a baking sheet and then we pre-bake it a bit.

I made the pizza sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, chili paste, curry powder, some sugar, sesame oil, and a bit of fresh garlic and ginger. So spicy and good!

Then the toppings were: crimini mushrooms, Maui onion, red bell pepper, a yellow summer squash, and chopped Veggie Chik'n Strips from Trader Joe's.

I then sprinkled it with mozzarella and baked it. Once out of the oven, I put a slice of avocado on each piece and topped it with a faint drizzle of sweet chili sauce.

Onolicious! I will certainly be repeating this Asian Fusion creation (in some variation). Who would have thought peanut butter and pizza were a good combo? My favorite Italian word works here: Incredibile! In-cred-DEE-bee--lay!

My Latest Love

I'm awfully fond of flowers. I've considered having them in my house an affordable luxury (thanks to Trader Joe's) during the past few years. They give you a spiritual lift and I find myself gazing at them enough times throughout the day that the price has seemed worth it. But my latest joy has been growing my own.

My newest favorite flower is the calendula. I sowed the seeds directly in the early fall. I didn't water them while I was away for a month and they are still the stars of my garden. They are related to daisies and are a medicinal plant. Calendula are the key ingredient to many salves and tinctures. I plan to make my own skin cream from the petals I've been drying.

They are also edible. You can cook them with rice (they've been referred to as the poor man's saffron).

I think they're becoming pretty popular. I've noticed them in advertisements in two separate magazines I read. Plus, if you type them into google trends (what Andrew and I do for fun on Thursday nights) you'll see a ton of people have been searching for them in 2007--while very few googled them in '06. The number one city where people look them up? Portland, Oregon.

I'm so predictable. Still, I'd recommend these awesome blossoms to any beginning gardener--they are SO easy to grow!

My tulips are poking up and I've cut a few daffodils and purple sweet peas too. I'm currently seeding more plants for my cutting garden. Be on the lookout for future posts about zinnias and dahlias.

Update: I just discovered calendula has been named Herb of the Year for 2008 by the International Herb Association.

Ten Things You Now Know

I just discovered I was "tagged" (over a month ago) by my friend Bekah. Which in blog speak means you have to write 10 random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged. Though I don't think I know ten people who blog, consider yourself tagged if you read this (and you have a blog).

1. I've been thinking about trying to make yogurt for the first time. I'm not big on dairy (besides good cheese) but yogurt has an important place in my mornings. I was vegan for a month (Jan. 2006) as an experiment and I found the only thing I really missed was yogurt.

2. I love the Neti pot I bought while home for Christmas on Maui. I just developed allergies in the last few years and they were wretched while I was home. At first it burned (like the feeling of jumping in a pool and having water shoot up your nose) but I realized it was because I used sea salt and not non-iodized table salt in my mix. Plus it has to be the perfect warmth so you don't feel it. I'd recommend it to anyone who has any congestion issues. It makes you feel all cleaned out and refreshed--like you just got out of the ocean. I used to associate the practice with yogi extremes I knew as a child (weirdos) but it is all hip and mainstream now--it was even
recommended on Oprah!

3. I adore making lists. I write them all over the place. Places to visit. Things to read. People I want to write letters to. Movies to watch. All kinds of wish lists. I carry tiny notebooks on me everywhere so I am always prepared to add to my lists.

4. I like lifting weights. I met my boyfriend while lifting weights. I haven't been doing it consistently like I used to but every time I do I wonder, "Why don't I do this more? I love it!" It's very empowering.

5. I suffer from TERRIBLE vertigo. My neighbors built a three story treehouse--I never made it past the second floor. My knees start to wobble when I'm 5 stories up (say Pioneer Place mall in downtown PDX) and I look down. I literally had to crawl up the last section (the open air part) of a 300 ft bell tower my class was visiting in Siena, Italy. I'm not afraid of flying at all though. Where does this come from?

6. I hope to raise bees and have a chicken coop some day. I have very fond memories of gathering eggs with my elementary best bud Kasumi.

7. I like the experience of going to church (even though I don't belong to one). While I believe everyone has their own spiritual path and don't appreciate the exclusivity of some religions, I like the communal energy and I enjoy praying (and sometimes the singing too even if it is truly not a talent of mine).

8. I love a good library. So peaceful yet full of voices and possibility. Like a free bookstore. Lake Oswego's library was the best! Santa Barbara's is decent. Maui's are pretty rotten. My first "real" job was shoveling and shelving books at the Makawao public library--for $5.75 an hour. So not fun.

9. I think it would be cool to have my DNA tested and find out what my ethnic heritage is. As a yellow-haired girl, I'm obviously mainly a Euro-blend, but I could have some other continents mixed in somewhere.

10. I'm into flossing. I sometimes floss twice a day. When I met Andrew he wasn't religious about flossing--now he's hooked too (but I think he uses WAY too long of pieces, we go through it so fast).Reading this I realize I am a bit nerdy: I like libraries, churches, flossing, yogurt, and chicken coops?

Rain Boot Weather and Birdies

I'm back to California living. I thoroughly enjoyed the rain. It was big news around here, which made me smile because it was NOTHING compared to the thunderous rain of Haiku Maui or the perpetual sogginess of Portland Oregon. After being here for 3 months with rain only twice I started to miss the moisture. I would pop out of bed at 5am and gleefully watch the rain fall, as if it were as exciting as snow. But in California it seems that people treat the rain like snow--the roads get backed up with slow (!?) drivers, people pull off the roads, and there is minute-by-minute coverage and updates on the "conditions."

Ponds and lakes temporarily formed and I now understand the need for our neighborhood footbridge. I see now that this housing area was originally a swamp. Oh, and the earth is so much happier! When we arrived it was raining ash, and it was very brown. Now the grass is green and the trees have perked up. Birds are singing, frogs are croaking. I even put on my pink rubber rain boots and sloshed around in it.

And I've developed a brand new interest: birds! I've never given them any notice--other then shooing them out of the dog food bowl when growing up. But we're not talking sparrows, mynah birds, and withered old sea gulls here. No! Even the seagulls here are charming: they have a polished, classy look, unlike the sky-rodents to be found on Oregon's beaches.

I thought it was a stork, someone told me it was a crane, but after doing a bit of research I can confidently identify this creature found lurking in my garden several days in a row as:

A GREAT WHITE HERON (But the one I saw was bigger). I really love the groovy way it walked, with its long goosey neck.

We have hawks looming about too. With all of this wildlife I've seen some interesting exchanges: On my walk to the gym I saw a hawk swoop down and pick up a ground squirrel which was screaming its life away! Poor little guy was yelling for help. Then the next day I saw a comical looking vulture sitting on the sidewalk, casually working its way through a ground squirrel. And then last week a seagull dropped a rat in the street in front of our moving car!

Today I road my bike to the beach (which is a wildlife preserve) and saw an awesome sight. About 30 of these:
were chilling in some tide pools with a bunch of easygoing seagulls in the mix as well. The California Brown Pelican is an endangered species and nests on Santa Barbara island.

My hummingbird feeder has sprung a leak, but I still can watch those tiny darling things dart and dance around the courtyard just beyond our balcony. Who needs TV?

After being in the rural beauty of home and making fresh squeezed juice every day, I was fantasizing about finding a cabin in a nearby citrus grove and relocating. But this place is really growing on me. I might even break out the binoculars one of these days (I just don't want my neighbors to think I'm spying).

Emily Exposed?

I want to get over my fear of blogging. I love writing! I love sharing! I like being part of a community (even if it’s through wires).

Here’s the thing: I was taught to be cautious and private (don’t identify yourself on the phone to unknown callers, keep an unlisted number). If someone asks for personal information ask “why?” before responding. I even identified a bit with Mel Gibson's character in Conspiracy Theory. I think as a typical oldest sibling, I tend to be more careful than carefree. In fourth grade I came home and was convinced there were “robbers” in our house without a car parked in front of it. I went to the neighbor's house and called home and found my brother was home (mom was up the street). Paranoia?

Truly, I am a people person (humans are totally my favorite animal), I love my friends intensely, and I’m ridiculously loyal. Still, I tend to be selective about who I share myself with. I’ve even been called a snob a few times, if you can believe it (one person said they USED to think I was a snob before they knew me).

I am particular, that’s all.

And I'm working on being more accepting and not holding everyone I know to unreasonably high expectations.

So opening myself up for criticisms and congratulations from people I might not know makes me wonder. How does that work? All of you blogger friends (from real life) might have some answers.

Also there are the people I do know in person. Will I offend people? I once called a European cousin a chocoholic in a mass e-mail. He took it as an extreme insult and was very upset with me. I suppose I don’t like confrontation, but that’s the nature of public exposure.

So here it goes… I feel my skin getting thicker every second…

I’m blogging!

October Air

I want to get into a classroom soon. I'm a good teacher and I want to be of service. Several teachers I've chatted with in the area me tell me that subbing is the best way to get my foot in the door. And that there are a whole pile of teachers about to retire. But that it's still a tight market... but I do hear positions open up when teachers quit to marry rich men. ha.

I've been really really missing the kids I nannied for too. The Olsens really became my family and I have more roots to Oregon than I realized. It was recently the anniversary of Graham's passing. That angel boy is free now, but he is still so alive to me. It can be hard to comprehend.

I know that the classroom thing will happen... and I look forward to the kids, the surprises, the community, and the learning. But in the meanwhile I've been fulfilling my need to nurture in other ways. I'm becoming master of my domain. In my unemployment I have turned into a bit of a desperate housewife. I've been cooking and planting and arranging and displaying and organizing. I even have a vintage apron I found at a thrift store back in the day. After the intensity of last year I am enjoying all this "me" time.

I've planted bulbs for the first time. I love the spring surprise of daffodils and tulips and yummy smelling hyacinths and paper whites. I'm excited by the bounty of fall and have been making a lot of yummy stuff.

Tonight was: Butternut squash pizza. It was a very gourmet experience (and incredibly delicious). I made up the recipe: it has ricotta cheese, a cream sauce, mushrooms, and squash of course. I love squash so much, I've even been adding it to omelets with good results!

Andrew got me a green sewing machine for my birthday. It is adorable. I love how he encourages my creativity (he bought me an easel last year and now he keeps begging me to write children's books). I need to come up with some simple sewing projects now. Any ideas?

Oh, I also got a splendid, spunky little goldfish for my birthday. I gave him a million names, my favorite being Fluffy. He died yesterday though. My mom warned me that they are toilet food. I didn't cry but I felt like it. I think he came with a parasite. I really was a good fish mom.

Andrew and I took the tandem bike out yesterday. Santa Barbara is an amazing location: we rode down by the beach and then up in the foothills, stopping for a hike through an organic farm. I love how fresh flying against the air on a bike makes you feel. Plus, you can go really fast when there are two people.

Much Love, More Later.

Emily

Grape Fields

On Tuesday we headed inland to some nearby vineyards for wine tasting. We headed up the coast with our new friends (coupled engineering grad students that live across the courtyard) and hit up Firestone Winery, the oldest in the area. $10 for 6 samples, their spiel, a tour of the facilities, a free wine glass, and including another tasting at a nearby winery seemed like an excellent deal! I enjoyed seeing the "live action" processing plant. It reminded me a bit of the Tillamook Cheese factory in Oregon. All of the tourists (mostly European) posed for pictures in front of the stacks of oak barrels in the cool storage room. I got a sense the Firestone family is politically conservative since they had prominently displayed photos of all the "great" visiting republicans since Reagan.

Being tourists.

After this satisfying stop we headed out on a stroll recommended by Best Walks in Santa Barbara. I loved being out in the open farm land under the clear bright blue sky. We drifted through the fields, stopping to munch on fresh grapes, and landed at the adjacent associated Curtis Winery. After picnicking under the cool shady trees, we headed inside. This was a much smaller "boutique" winery. Being the only visitors, we were well attended to. Fortunately, our friends were schooled in wine (they had arranged a wine club in undergrad) and were able to ask intelligent questions about the processing and flavors. Our jolly "host" was a character and we bonded over time spent in Italy. He even broke out some special stuff for us--my favorite was a VERY expensive desert wine that tasted like nectar. Yum.



















Our feet were dusty by the time we hiked back to the car. We took the inland route home and from the car I saw the small Danish village of Solvang, Lake Cachuma, and a stunning view of the Channel Islands off of the coast.

I look forward to next time and to sharing this jewel of a place with my friends and family. Come visit!