I swear to you that I have not fallen off the face of the Earth. I have just had a bit of a jumble of things. Not much new cooking has gone on, so no need to bore you with the daily routine that is my food. There are only so many jars of buckwheat I can post before I am certain I will lose you all. I also haven’t had a whole lot to write about and I don’t want to make up blogs about nothing as that also isn’t remotely interesting. I am not here to hear my own fingers tap away on the keyboard after all. So that is about it. But hey, I’ll catch you up on a couple of things and then also a few things that are in the works (and hopefully will be out next week).
1. I quit my job at Healeo.
My decision to to this was based entirely on the fact that I wasn’t able to work enough to make it worthwhile to me. I still am a huge fan of it and will continue to go over there whenever I am in the neighborhood, but I just live too far away and I couldn’t work long enough hours to justify it. I did the numbers last week and I was basically paying to work there. It wasn’t a happy realization for me at all.
2. I did make something I haven’t made in a while…omelette! It is like Spring here in Seattle (or was before the gloom hit is again yesterday), and the chickens have started to lay eggs again. It is SO exciting! I have mentioned this before but I get my eggs from a couple of places. One being my friends who are a mile from me and have 6 chickens and a rooster. They also have 3 ducks and we are hoping that a couple of those ducks are female and will be laying eggs this Spring as well. I also get eggs from a couple out in the country who have a whole flock of pastured chickens. These ladies run free and do whatever they want. They have a house but they only go in there at night for protection and for warmth. It is really interesting to see, but sometimes the hens will get broody and will move eggs and hide them to hatch them. They won’t even be all their own eggs, but might be from other hens so there will be a little flock of chicks that look like different mothers. I keep trying to picture how the hens move those eggs and it is quite an amusing picture in my mind. The vast majority of the eggs are picked up everyday and brought inside to be refrigerated, and that is how I get my eggs. I will never again purchase eggs from a grocery store. “Cage Free” and “Free Range” labels are completely unregulated labels, and the chickens are NOT well cared for. Do not delude yourself into thinking they are. “Certified Humane” is another label that is untrustworthy. Under that label people are able to beak trim or beak cut. This process is done so that chickens won’t peck each other to death. But in a place where the animals are allowed to truly run free and do what is natural the practice is completely unnecessary. Beak trimming and beak cutting is absolute torture. It is painful and again, completely unnecessary when animals are living truly like they were meant to. I found my egg suppliers through friends and also on Craigslist. I highly highly recommend doing this. Not only are the eggs better tasting and more nutritious, but you can also know you aren’t giving money to people who torture animals.
3. I made some Carob energy bars and the recipe will definitely be up soon. I had a craving for carob which is sort of weird. They bring me back to my childhood when my mother used to buy them for me in the bulk section of whole foods. My mom has always been a crunchy granola health nut, and I love her for it! Carob might be an acquired taste, and I don’t really know how to explain it. It is often used as a substitute for chocolate but the only similarity between the two that I can see is that they look similar.
4. I am working on a vegan Jambalaya recipe! It’s Mardi Gras time, and since my mother’s mother was from Louisiana, and I grew up in East Texas I definitely have a taste for Creole and Cajun food. I probably won’t get this done before Fat Tuesday, but that’s OK. I won’t be doing anything for Lent this year since I am no longer a practicing Catholic. Bring on the fat! Laissez les bon temps rouler!
5. I am still working on the proposal for my book. I haven’t even begun to work on recipes yet, I am just a little stuck on how to really “sell it”. I have always had trouble selling myself, and while I know that I am writing a book that people will want to buy, I am just not certain how to explain why they will want to buy it. I’ll keep you all updated though.
6. I have been keeping up with my yoga and I love it! I did injure my shoulder on Monday so I have to take it easy, but I can work around it. Tonight I am going to a hatha flow class with Angela at Maya Whole Health Studio, and I even got Matt to take a class with me on Wednesday. He enjoyed it but wants to take the intro series so he can get a better handle on the proper way to do the poses. Yay yoga!
I hope you all have a good weekend and a Happy Valentine’s Day!
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I so agree about the eggs! I will NEVER buy commercial eggs, whatever fancy label they have. I am constantly trying to explain to people that “organic” and “cage-free” and “free-range” don’t really mean anything, that it’s just a big con to get people to pay more for their eggs by capitalizing on the desire to prevent animal cruelty.
Actually, this was really brought home to me recently. My partner teaches cooking to his third-graders every week. Last week, he decided to do some bread recipe, so he bought some “organic, cage-free” eggs from our co-op. He ended up not using the whole dozen, so he brought them home for us to finish. I didn’t know where they’d come from; we reuse eggs cartons, returning them to our friends and getting different cartons every time, so I thought it was just another carton filled with friendly eggs. I cracked an egg and actually kind of yelped out loud for how awful it looked! The white was weak, the shell was thin, and the normally bright, vibrant yolk was pale and just icky. And the flavor was so pallid. I asked Jeremy what the hell was wrong with our friends’ chickens that the eggs looked like this! He explained about the class project. I felt so horrible, looking at those eggs – I told him, what we’re looking at are the results of factory farming. These chickens don’t get outside. They don’t get exercise or sunlight or fresh air. They’re not fed their natural diet. It’s reflected in the quality of the egg. I wish people would get it. Don’t become a victim to an industry that will never have YOUR best interests in mind, much less the chickens’!
I think I’ll turn my comment into a post. :) Glad to hear from you!
I am still so excited for the book. I need to start a “request” list or something because I keep thinking of things I want healthy-fied but maybe am too lazy to try to do it myself (or really, because I know you can do it better!)
Can’t wait for the carob energy bars. I’ve been making energy bars a la Brendan Brazier from Thrive and they’re delicious. He’s a fan of carob which I just don’t really like but maybe I need to give it another shot. I’m such a chocolate lover that it just seems like a cheap imitation, but maybe I have to stop thinking of it as being like chocolate.
I have been keeping up with my yoga and I love it! = awesome.
The other stuff, I was pretty much aware of but enjoyed the recap. The job thing, totally key for your sanity and self-value not to be working for free and/or going into debt.
All your recipes, awesome.
I make a no bake vegan protein powder enhanced bar that ive blogged about alot. It’s prob got more grains than you’d like though b/c it does have oats. However you could omit and sub in like quinoa or only coconut flakes, etc.
Anyway Marissa Happy Vday!!!!
I am lucky enough to live near a small farm where I get my eggs as well as other veggies & fruits. The chickens are allowed to roam free and while I love this, it is a little disconcerting when one of the chickens is blocking the door to the building where they have the little market! I’ve been pecked by a chicken before (not there, but on my Uncle’s farm) & it is not pleasant so I’m a bit paranoid!
I am totally psyched to see your jambalaya recipe – I love me some cajun food! Can’t wait to see how you make it vegan!
I still do Lent even though I’m long past my Catholic roots, just because I think it’s a good discipline and it does help remind me to be thankful for everything I am blessed to have.
Happy VD Marissa, hope you and Matt enjoy it!