First MoFo post, and it's about tea

Alright, so I need to get back on track with blogging, and Vegan MoFo sounds like the perfect time to do so! I'm going to try my best to post something every weekday for the month of October.

Today's post, since I'm consuming it right now: tea! I've always liked it, and am trying to get back into it more. While I may not drink it every single day, when I do I am a total tea snob - NEVER from a bag (there's actually a good reason to avoid bags), and generally it's not something boring like Earl Grey. It's really about the same price as buying tea bags (well, tea bags of reasonable quality - Lipton will always be the cheapest but who uses that outside of iced tea?), plus the tea is fresher and you often have many more flavor options. Like right now, for instance: I love Republic of Tea's Pomegranate Green tea, but it's super fruity so I cut it with Tea Haus's China Lung Ching, or "Dragon Well." I'm trying to drink mostly green tea because 1) it contains a decent amount of caffeine 2) it has tons of antioxidants and magical powers and 3) I like its taste and can drink alot of it.

What healthy benefits does tea have exactly, you ask? Ask and you shall recieve:

Anti-cancer properties
Increases metabolic rate

Possible anti-diabetes effect

Boosts mental alertness

Boosts immune system

Lowers chances of cognitive impairment

Lowers stress hormone levels

Therapy for HIV patients

Reduce inflammation for those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Inhibits growth of bacteria that cause bad breath
Helps stop excess iron damage for those with iron overload disorders

Benefits associated with caffeine

Effects on obstructive sleep apnea-related brain deficits
Helpful in treating bacterial and fungal infections

Anti-venom effects (!!!!) - can help treat snake bites!

Reduces the risk of stroke

Improves Cardiovascular health

Treatment for Anogenital warts (ew)

Now, if you drink loose tea you need to invest in a few pieces of equipment. When at home, I use my trusty Bodum Assam pot. I love it! While it may seem pricey, these thing hold up super well and do a really good job - and you can just toss everything in the dishwasher when it needs to get cleaned.

Work is a little trickier. Sometimes I bring my Bodum pot into work, if I really want alot of tea - like four cups worth. But usually, I use my fun little lollipop-like infuser and a cute vessel - like right now I have 12 oz. tumbler featuring ghosts and other Halloween ghouls. Luckily, we possess a tap that instantly produces near-boiling water, so I'm all set in that regard. Other alternatives include microwaving or getting an electric kettle, which are neat little items.

And one of the biggest benefits for me is that I save a ton of money not running through the Starbucks drive-thru!

World Spice (not to be confused with Spice World)

This weekend brought me an amazing and unexpected gift: World Spice just underneath Pike Place market. I'd heard about it from a Seattle-area PPKer, but never really pursued it. We happened upon it by chance and I am so glad we did!

It's a supercute, totally packed spice shop where they really encourage you to smell and taste everything. Buying spices in bulk is 100% the way to go than buying them in the grocery store, because your spices are fresher and, more importantly, much cheaper. World Spice has a pretty cool setup where they display 1oz jars of each kind of spice. This is good, because they sell their spices and blends in 1oz increments - this allows you to see how much you are buying. It really illuminates how much you pay for packaging when you buy spices pre-packaged.

Even if you don't live in the Seattle area, they do sell online. Not sure how the prices and shipping rates compare to Penzey's, but I can assure you they have excellent service. Also, they carry a wide range of salts, which is so cool, including the famed black salt included in Vegan Brunch's omelet recipe. Basically, it makes tofu tastes just like eggs, which is creepy yet neat.

New toys!

Boy, oh boy, am I going to have fun in the kitchen this weekend! Not only do we have NOTHING planned Sat/Sun (and it's staying that way!), but I also have a plethora of kitchen items arriving this week, and some that I recently accquired. Best part: they all cost me about $10 total, because I had a ton of gift cards!

From Williams-Sonoma: pizza stone, pizza peel (wooden cutting board-looking thing you use to get pizzas in/out of the oven), pizza chopper (totally badass, as you can see at right), new spatula, and a waffle maker.
From Amazon: IMMERSION BLENDER (I have dreamed of this day for so long!), and copies of Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and Vegan Brunch.
From random used bookstores in the San Juan Islands (visited this past weekend w/ the parents): Millenium Cookbook, Vegetarian PacNW (probably somewhat outdate but I'm ok with that), and American Vegetarian Cookbook. Yaaaay!!!!

Tentative menu plan:
Saturday - cornbread waffles w/ blueberry sauce from VB, pizza of course!, tomato basil soup, and maybe slow-cooked seitan just to see how that works
Sunday - chocolate beer waffles from VB, tomato rosemary scones from VB (on the pizza stone), possibly slow cooker pot pie of some sort

And tonight I already prepped my first slow-cooked meal from FFVSC: a peanuty, apricoty South African stew. I am so excited to get home from work tomorrow! More excited than usual, in fact.

I want this book

Spencer, take note. My birthday IS coming up.

Not only does this look like a really cool cookbook, it's written by the founder and former editor of Bitch magazine! Plus, I think it's all vegetarian and vegan, which is even better!

Basically, she takes the local/organic food concept and makes it both easy and accessible for us mortals. Let's face it, we all don't live off of farmer's market produce and eggs harvested from our coop out back. However, everyone could benefit from eating food grown closer to home that is in season, because it tastes better and is much better for the planet.

And this book is only $8. Go buy it from Powell's if you don't want to support a giant (but Seattle-area!) corporation; it's $10 there, still a bargain for a solid cookbook.

Alive!

Yes, I suck, haven't blogged in two months. Tons has been happening that is very blog-worthy, but I've been lazy. I think my goal is going to be short burst sort of posts, a few a week. That way, I can put something useful out into the world that isn't work intensive. Set the bar low so you can always come out way over it, right????

Today: Odwalla bar product review.

I love these things. They have great stats for breakfast - I'm not hungry first thing in the morning, so I end up eating my breakfast after I've arrived at work. These are great because they require zero prep, don't smell, and don't make alot of noise when you are eating them (can you tell I work in a cube?!).

Specifically, the chocolate chip peanut flavor is EXQUISITE. I'm on board for anything that tastes like a candy bar for breakfast. The stats are perfect for a meal - 230 cals, and a decent amount of fiber and protein. With a banana as my mid-morning snack around 930 or 10, its a perfect morning, food-wise.

The downside is that they are crazy expensive, so I usually buy them on sale and stock up. The best price I usually find is $1/ea. Seems high still, but when you figure that's the cost for a meal it's not too bad.

BONUS: go to http://www.healthysnacksdirect.com/ and use code HGirl20 until 9/15. It's for 20% off, which puts them at exactly $1/ea. Plus they have lots of other good stuff on the site so the discount allows you to stock up on other tasty items!

Guacaparagus

Avocados are awesome. I just really started to appreciate their fabulousness about three years ago, and now I love them. They are full of healthy fats, nutrients, and are an excellent way to feel satisfied without eating junk food. Some fun facts:

-The Aztec word for avocado was ahuacatl, which means "testicle tree"
-Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit.

-Rudolph Hass, a postman, patented the Hass avocado tree in 1935. The first Hass avocado tree is still alive and producing fruit

-Avocados contain more potassium than bananas

Now, the major drawback to this wrinkly green fruit is the fat and accompanying calorie content. If you normally eat a lowfat diet, its not a big deal, but we can all identify with wanting to trim calories here or there. This recipe is a great way to do that - it combines asparagus and avocado to create a delicious version of guacamole. Awesome with chips or crackers, this is also tasty as a sandwich spread. I found the original version in the Moosewood cookbook, and tweaked it a little for my purposes.

Guacaparagus

-1/2 lb asaparagus, with tough ends trimmed off and cut in 1" pieces

-1 clove garlic, chopped

-1-2 T lemon juice

-1/4 c. onion

-1/2-3/4 ripe avocado

-1/2 c. fire roasted tomatoes, drained (you can use regular, fresh or canned, if you prefer)

-Cayenne pepper + hot sauce

1. Steam the asparagus for 10 minutes, until very tender

2. Let the asparagus cool a bit, then pulse in a food processor with the lemon juice, onion, and garlic.

3. Add the avocado, tomatoes, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and some hot sauce to taste (I used about a teaspoon). Blend to desire consistency, and you're all done!

Drinking and running....combined!

I've been lazy with blogging (specifically taking interesting pictures of things and writing about them), but I figured I'd throw out a few niblets for your enjoyment.

While somewhat disappointing in respect to my post-work and weekend activities, I found this NY Times article about the health benefits of alcohol interesting. Basically it questions all of the studies linking moderate drinking to health benefits. Jury's still out.

In a similar vein, here is a good Runner's World article about alcohol consumption and running.

Lastly, in order to get enough miles to bump me up to Elite status on Northwest I was thinking about doing the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll half marathon. That is, assuming I don't die running the Seattle one in a WEEK AND A HALF. Oh god, that's coming up really damn fast! Well, I did over a ten-miler this weekend, and one two weeks before that, so I should be good to go. But I'm still slightly terrified.