tempeh tacos & summer pasta

Two dinners as of late...

Tempeh Tacos & Mango Salsa  (vegan)

ww tortillas

tempeh, tamari, onions, cumin, chile powder, black pepper

black beans

fresh tomatoes

fresh cilantro

mango salsa (mango, cucumber, jalepeno, red onion, cilantro, lime juice)

This Is Summer Pasta On The Porch  (vegetarian)

ww penne, aldente

fresh tomatoes

mozzererlla

fresh basil

olive oil

sale & pepe

urgh

Welcome  to my life.  As both a math education major in undergrad... and a high school math teacher.

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trip to guernsey?

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My copy of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society arrived at my local library branch a few days ago.  And ever since I picked it up last night, I haven't been able to put it down.  After realizing that I have been reading oh-non-stop today, I decided to take a break to investigate this magical channel island nestled between England and France.

The novel is a series of letters back and forth among the many characters.  Some short, some long.  It has me wanting to write letters to my long distance (or nearby) friends.  Real letters.  Sent via mail.  Anyone down?

I caught myself (a few times) wanting to be Juliet -- writing letters back and forth with people she has never met only to develop everlasting friendships with.  To meet Dawsey and Kit.  To play in the wild flowers that lie in the meadow outside her little house just before the cliffs.  To have tea with silly Isola.  And to dream about The Elizabeth that so haunts (in a good way) the story.

I have a feeling that Juliet and Dawsey are perfect for each other.  Shh.  Don't spoil anything for me.  So long as she is not with Mark.  He's just not right for her.

I thought that now, with a mere 50 pages to go, would be a good time find pictures of Guernsey Island.  I love a book that removes you from the present reality and captures so much of your attention that you daydream about what life would be like if you yourself were the protagonist or the character in the corner.

I found some great old photos of Guernsey.  Perfect -- because the novel is set in the 1940's after German Occupation of the Islands.

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I found a few sites that have cottages to rent weekly if anyone is up for it.  Yes?

new love = gardening?

I admit.  This was my first time planting flowers.  Why I never ventured to plant before... I don't know.  Despite the sweat dripping down my face in this 98 degree weather we're having, I enjoyed being outside, jamming out to some tunes, and gettin' in the dirt.  I made no attempt to arrange them in any order.  I'd rather they mingle.

It's not much, but it's a start. I got the flowers from The Gardens of Blackhawk Hardware -- a tucked away gem in the Park Road Shopping Center. 

I've usually always planted mostly herbs and some vegetables.  With Athens' crazy water ban during the summer, maintaining a garden just wasn't possible.  This year, I started late because we didn't move in to our new place until the very end of May.  But I was able to start some basil, cilantro, mint, parsley, cucumbers, and a tomato plant which we decided to hang -- never had a hanging tomato plant before (all of these purchased from some lady at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market). 

He's kind of worn down from the storm last night.  :(

Jessie's "a new title"

I thought I'd pass along a dear friend's most recent sharing on her blog.  I suggest reading "the grass is always grassier" before reading "a new title".  Jessie is attempting to redefine the title of Stay At Home Mom. 

You have to watch the videos of her children.  They. Are. Adorable.

Jessie is perhaps one of the most amazing women I have ever met, and I have the pleasure of having a friendship with her.  Her outgoing personality, sense of style, and willingness to share her life with me has moved me.  I was introduced to Jessie by my husband, who has been good friends with Jessie and Mark for quite some time.  They were one of the first couples to welcome me to Charlotte, and I'll never forget their warm hospitality and instant acceptance.

yoga-time

I thought I was in heaven this morning when I found the yoga studio at the Y not-so-crowded.  It was my first yoga class in well over a year (urgh!).  The few yoga classes I tried to go to last summer were just too crowded for me.  And the instructor went through poses way too quickly.  I had a bad taste about the Y yoga classes until this morning.

It brought me back to my college years where I frequented RubberSoul.  Man how I miss the luxury of practicing yoga 5 times per week (no full-time job, just studying).  At the time, RubberSoul just took a $3-5 donation per class.  You can't find that price anywhere here in Charlotte.  :(

I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite yoga poses.  These are my top 5 poses, mostly focusing on balance, opening the hips, and just overall feel-goodness.  Enjoy.

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 #1  Tree.  My students often laugh at me because I find myself standing like this, minus the praying hands, during class.  Yeah... they think I'm weird. 

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#2  Dancer.  After "tree",  go straight into "dancer".   

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#3  Pigeon.  Opens the hips.  Hurts a little... but a good kind of hurt.  ;)

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 #4  Plow.  I like a variation of plow where I place my knees into my eye sockets.  Or I massage my forehead with my knees.  Sounds weird.  But try it.  You'll love it, too.  Note:  After plow, your body will want the counter pose, "fish".

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 #5  Eagle.  Another balancing pose, similar to "tree".  But this one really opens up my traps and upper shoulders to relieve the stress that tends to build up from being on a computer all day.  Except I don't usually have a cheese-ball smile on my face.  ;)

knitted snuggly

So most of the women in our circle of friends here have had or are about to have children.  It's truly a blessing to be surrounded by such caring and confidant mothers.  And when it comes to baby showers, I've found a knitting pattern for a bunny snuggly that I absolutely love.  And the mothers do, too.

I got it from one of the ladies who runs Charlotte Yarn on East Blvd.  These ladies are incredibly friendly and generous with their time.  I feel like I can walk in there any day, and they will drop what they're doing to show me how to perfect my mattress seam or anything else.  I haven't quite gotten the same response from other yarn shops in the area.  With some, you ask them a question or for help, and they want you to pay $20 an hour for a class.  Urgh.  Not this place.

I saw this little snuggly sitting on some yarn, and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the women working actually made up the pattern.  Below, you will see the pattern completed with bunny ears.  There are also bear and mouse ears.  Cute.


With no further ado, here are some sub-par pictures of my recent snuggly gift I made for a dear friend and co-worker.  We were about to present our hamper full of gifts to her when I remembered that I had forgotten to take a few photos of the finished snuggly before wrapping it up... so these are the best photos I could salvage from my non-smart phone.

 

I chose a light purple machine washable yarn for the body and pink yarn for the stitching.  I then made a card to go around its neck (If you don't have lettered stamps on hand, they really come in handy for crafty card or label making projects).

Next knitting project (once I have $$ to buy some yarn):  Montavilla Market Tote.  

I've always wanted one of these bags.  They've been taunting me at Earth Fare every time I see them.  So I've decided I'll just make my own.  Why not?  I've got some time on my hands for the next 9 weeks...

summer has officially started

Grades are in.  Report card envelopes have been stuffed.  Classroom is clean.  Keys are turned in.  Done.  Done.  Done.

And my summer vacation has officially started.  :)  What a year it has been.  I somehow managed to survive the many setbacks that occurred this year.  From pulling in my teacher desk in the rain at 5:30am the morning that school started, not having heat through most of the winter, to my classroom lights mysteriously not working for a month.  Tell ya what, I've never had a job more challenging than teaching this year.  I had some of the best and some of the most challenging students.  All I know now is that I am so ready and deserving of this summer break.

Here's a peek into my Summer Top 10 To-Do List (in no particular order):

1. Plant flowers in the front and along the side of our house.
2. Sleep in.  Often.
3. Read the rest of The Hunger Games Trilogy... plus a lengthy list of other books.
4. Make more dishes out of my favorite vegan cookbook.
5. The River Bound 15K at the White Water Center.
6. Attend a good friend's wedding.
7. Start and finish a braided winter hat.  Bright red.  I want a bright red one.
8. Visit my family in Georgia.
9. Write a curriculum for an independent study program I created at my school.
10. Go to more concerts.  Next up:  Over The Rhine and David Gray.

Simple Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

My vegan/vegetarianism has hummus being a staple of my diet.  It is packed with flavor while adding quite a bit of protein.  I mostly eat it as the base of a sandwich with avocados, tomatoes, sprouts/cabbage (if handy), and salt and pepper.  Yum!

Warning: I eye-ball everything and prepare things according to taste.  So the following measurements are mostly guesstimates.  Adapt it to your own liking.

Also note:  I usually use freshly cooked garbanzo beans/chick peas.  They taste 10x better.  But when you don't have time to sit around for 3-4 hours while they cook (because I didn't on Sunday), canned beans work just as nice.

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans or a little more than 2 cups of freshly cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup tahini (think peanut butter but with sesame seeds)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained (I opt for the more peppers the better.  J agrees)
2-4 cloves garlic (depending on how snuggly you plan to be later), chopped/minced depending on how good your food processor is
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp freshly ground pepper
and a little less than 2 Tbl tamari (or substitute soy sauce) -- this is my secret ingredient :)
less than 1/2 cup of water to thin the hummus out while processing.

Place all ingredients (except the water) in a food processor.  Add water slowly, and blend until you reach the desired consistency.

I prefer my hummus kind of thick and chunky.  I can't have it pouring out the sides of my sammy at lunch time.

That's it.  Super simple.  Garnish it with some pine nuts, olive oil, and a sprinkle of paprika.

The hummus keeps in the refrigerator for at least a week.  We go through ours pretty quickly.  The humus will thicken with time, so just add small parts of water to it and stir, and you should be fine.  When olive oil gets cold, it hardens.  So setting the hummus out before consuming will likely help your consistency, too.

All hummus recipes vary.  My mother prefers lemon juice instead of the tamari.  I've tried one that adds apple cider vinegar... and that just tasted weird to me.

Variations:  You can substitute the roasted red peppers with a combination of any of the following:  edamame, jalepenos, or artichokes.  My favorite combination involves replacing one can (or equivalent to) of the garbanzo beans for cannelini beans and instead of roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts.  The cannelini beans have a creamier consistency.  But the variation above is J's favorite, it is often made more often.  :)


Another variation note:  If you do not use roasted red peppers, you will likely need to up the olive oil.  Use your judgment.

Enjoy!  Let me know if you like it or have any suggestions.

-Kate

Book Review: The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follett

 

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Tom Builder, Ellen of the forest, Jack Jackson, Prior Phillip, Aliana... and the loathsome William Hamleigh and Bishop Waleran... all characters of this one of the most epic stories I have ever read.  Taking place in the early centuries of England, cathedrals are built, torn down, and rebuilt again; famines and poverty strike the people; love stories are kept secret and shared with readers; political corruption within the church makes you sick; greed and jealousy spawn hatred and violence; love and justice attempt to prevail.

It was a "next page" clicker (aka. page turner).  Follett has a real talent for evoking emotion from readers, to the point where I almost didn't want to pick up and read more because a character that I hated (yes... hated) was still alive.  Brilliant.

Supposedly there's a series out about the book.  BBC maybe?  I'm planning on checking it out soon.

Careful -- it's a long story.  I read it non-stop over spring break in London and was surprised that I had only arrived at 49%.  For those non-e-book users, you have to get used to not seeing your progress by how far your bookmark is when you stand the book on end.  That doesn't exist in e-book land.  Instead, you have a percentage bar at the base of you page that tells you how far along you are.

Regardless of the length, the author did an absolute fantastic job with the story.  I'm actually disappointed that the story is over.  It's been a companion for over a month now, only because recently I've been very busy with school, moving, and unpacking.

What's next?  Not sure.  I have four books arriving tomorrow.  Real books.  With paper pages.  I try to alternate back and forth between my Kindle and books.  Two of them are about marriage and wifedom, one is about how to "purposely" raise our children (of which I do not have, but thought would be interesting to read), and one centering on student leadership (I'm planning on teaching a Leadership Education unit next year in one of my classes).  I'm sure they will make their ways into a post in the future.

Half Marathon Update

2nd half marathon = check

Well to begin, we got this notice upon check in.

Check out 2(a).  Yeah.  Seriously?!

So after a pretty good night's rest, I woke up at 5:00am to get dressed and head down to the Rec Center where check in was being held.  I passed on the bagels and cream cheese.  What an odd thing to serve just minutes before you run 13 miles?  Or at least I thought so.  Instead, I opted for a banana right when I woke up and some "goop" about 15 minutes before the race.  Bad decision.  The goop was disgusting.  I was feeling it miles 1-4.

After the pretty steep hill mile 3-4.5, it was mostly downhill the rest of the way.  The views were amazing.  My favorite part was a 3 mile trek along the "old highway" which was an old dirt/gravel packed road.  Switchbacks all the way down the mountain.  At the base of the mountain, we ran right next to a river and streams for another good mile or two.  The trees blessed us with some shade.  And we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Fortunately, there were no black bear encounters.  However, a mangy looking pit bull decided to run up to me, jump on me, and run with me a few yards around mile 7.  I was absolutely terrified!  All I could think about was how he was going to bite me and how inconvenient that was going to be.  Ha.  The woman I was running with also flipped out.  She basically just grabbed hold of me and started screaming.  Somehow, I remained calm and told the dog "nooo" in my awesome-dog-parenting voice.  It worked.  He backed off.  Praise Jesus.

6 miles later I was done.

So all in all, the race went really well.  A few minor aches and pains here and there, but nothing major.

J and I spent the rest of the morning walking around the little town of Black Mountain.  We meandered through their "tailgate market" which consisted of a bunch of craft tents ranging from wood working, pottery, jewelry, etc.  Had lunch at a great little local restaurant that had some of the best grits and apple butter I'd ever had.  I opted for the carb veggie plate:  grits, herb roasted potatoes, and a watermelon, canelope, and mint salad.  It tasted like summer, and it inspired me to stop by the farmers market to pick up a mint plant once we got back home.  Plus, they served me water in a mason jar.  Yes please.

I'll probably try to sign up for this race again next year.  I think the downhill-ness has spoiled me.  :)

Happy Birthday Brother!

Today is my brother's 23rd birthday.   As children, he put up with the bossy older sister for way too long.  Bless his heart.  And now, Charley is perhaps one of the most remarkable men I know.  He's overcome quite a bit in his lifetime, and I am extremely proud of the man he has turned in to.  So today's post is a celebration of my brother, Charley.  Happy Birthday Lil Bro Char.

The white hair.

1st grade, I think?

Our trip to England.

Our B&B in Half Moon Bay, Summer 2004

With Dad, likely at a show.

I have no idea what that is.

 

Working.

 He's a great golfer.

Typical.

New Zealand.

 Out on the lake.

I think he won some $$ on this horse race...

My grad school graduation... and the mohawk.

Camping.  And cold.

Happy Birthday!

The Downhill @ Dawn

So I have my second half marathon this Saturday morning.  I'm feeling a little nervous about it.

My first half was the infamous Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon in Atlanta, Georgia two years ago.  I was a full time graduate student and part time waitress, so I had plenty of time to train during the months leading up to it.  Race day was freezing cold.  But then after mile 7 or so, you start to get a little toasty.  :)

I found a great 12-week training schedule by Hal Higdon.  You can find it here.  I like it because it gave you a day of rest, easy workouts to offset the harder workouts, and focused on cross-training, stretching, and strengthening as well as running.  I stuck to it pretty religiously except for the week before when I came down with a serious upper respiratory infection.  Despite the setback, race day was fine.

And ever since I crossed that finish line, I knew I wanted to run another one.  And soon.

Well, it turns out that training for the race had taken a toll on my hips and pelvic region.  I was all out of whack.  A muscle near my hip had started hurting about a week or so before the race, and I just tried to push through it.  Thinking that it was just a strain or something.  Turns out it was much more serious than I had thought.

After several chiropractic visits and x-rays, I was out of commission for a while.  Then after moving up to Charlotte, I found an amaaazing chiropractic office, LifeSpring Chiropractic.  After more x-rays, a consultation, and $$, they had me back and running a few weeks after starting.  What relief to not feel any pain when I ran!

So here I am.  Two days before the next race.  And nervous.

Due to some work related stress, moving, and some minor aches and pains, my past few weeks of training hasn't been all too great.  I signed up for this race about 9 weeks in advance, and thus found an 8-week training program that seemed to fit my schedule.  You can find it here, the "beginner" one.  This plan had two days of rest scheduled each week, with 3 days of running and 2 days of cross training.  With the busy teacher lifestyle, the early mornings, and evening commitments, this was a pretty good fit.

The biggest challenge I faced this time around was getting motivated to exercise after working all day.  Tell ya what... waking up at 5:30am, dealing with cool and not-so-cool high school teenagers allll day long, and then the heat of the summer creeping in... my body wasn't all too excited about exercising.  Thus why I'm nervous.

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The race this weekend is the Downhill @ Dawn Half Marathon in Ridgecrest, NC (Black Mountain area).  It's just outside of Asheville, and thankfully starts at 6:01am (sunrise).  Which translates into much cooler weather.  Hopefully.  Fingers crossed.

The race is technically a "downhill" race -- just meaning that there is an overall drop in elevation.  There are still a few miles of hills worked into the course, but I've been promised that the majority of it is flat or mostly downhill.  Starting up the mountain and finishing in the little town.

It's being hosted by Ridgecrest Conference Center, a Christian retreat center nestled in the North Carolina mountains.  The views on the course should be pretty sweet... with wooded mountain roads/trails, streams, rivers, and deer sightings.  Very different from the downtown Atlanta road race.

So wish me luck!  And in case you are interested, here are a few items that I cannot run without:

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My Camelback waist pack.  Water every mile.    

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My Wave Inspire 7 Mizouno's.  (I've been running in Asics for the past 6 years, until I put these on my feet).

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Jelly Belly's Sport Beans.  These are easy to eat "on the run" and I can really feel a boost of energy 10 minutes later.  I prefer the assorted flavor pack... just to keep things interesting.

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And my iPod shuffle my hubby got me for Valentine's Day this year. 

Stay tuned for a post-run follow up!