The Ghosts of Christmas Meme

Since I have now been tagged four times for the "7 random facts meme" by Liz, Stacey, Al, and Sarah; I figured it is about time I got around to posting it! And since I recently saw The Christmas Carol at the theatre, I'm going take a stroll with a few Christmas spirits. And I'll throw in a recent dinner as well. As the clock strikes 1 am, I am visited by...

The Ghost of Christmas Past

1. When I was in grade school, I won a poetry writing contest and the prize was getting to go see Queen Elizabeth when she came to Houston (an aside: I was first accused of plagiarizing but then they realized I was merely using another author's style, but it was pretty traumatic to be accused of such a thing as a fourth grader). I still remember the very royal feeling dress that I wore to the event.

2. My first marathon attempt was when I was 17 years old on the coldest day I can remember in Houston. I dropped out of the race around mile 13 with a mild case of hypothermia. After that we had two days off from school because of icy roads. (I later completed my first marathon while living in Colorado)

3. I used to have a serious love for the frozen Stouffer's corn souffle when I was growing up. Now that my taste buds have matured a bit ( i.e. I need more spice), the kicked up southwestern corn pudding was just the thing to send me down memory lane last night. (from veganomicon, served with chile cornmeal crusted tofu and mango salsa)


The Ghost of Christmas Present

4. Now my current obsession is Maine Root Ginger Brew. I just had to say something about this because Stacey predicted I would. I am trying to be good though and limiting myself to just four per week. Beware though, this is not your standard ginger ale. If you take a big gulp, it will come back to bite you in your throat!

5. Not sure why, but I got all into the holiday spirit this year and decided to get my first tree as an adult (and after much research on the environmental consequences, I went for a real tree). I even carried on the tradition from my childhood of making fudge to have during the decorating process. And it finally made me appreciate that my mom got us an ornament every single year, because now I can look back and remember picking them out. And funny, my ornaments seem to mimic my obsessions at the time (I got a cupcake this year).
6. I have itchy legs. Seriously, even though I live in a pretty humid climate, I have terribly dry, itchy legs. The moisturizer I'm using right now just isn't cutting it (Alba). Any suggestions?

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

7. I've been in somewhat of a blogging slump, but that will hopefully change soon with the new year. I do have a major holiday sweets post coming your way next week. As my brother would say, "wait for it". There's much more where this came from...

For the two of you out there that haven't been tagged yet.... you are now tagged if:

1. you're looking out your office window (or at your cubicle wall) right now wishing you were anywhere but there
2. you like having nuts stuck in your teeth

The Vegan 100

When I first saw the Omnivores 100 list, I kind of threw up a little inside my mouth (oxtail, foie gras? ew). Thank goodness Hannah came up with a Vegan 100 so all of us vegan foodies could play along without having to cross out half the list due to ethical reasons. You should play along too!

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (and mine are in blue)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment on Hannah's blog once you’ve finished and link to her post
5) Pass it on!

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie - I love me some spinach in my smoothies!
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis - ick! some faux meats are really too creepy!
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme brulee
7. Fondue - chocolate counts, right?
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle - I've had the oil, but never even seen the real thing
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries - while hiking near Seattle one summer, we pickes a ton of mountain blueberries and made a crisp!
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche - made my own!
28. Caviar - had a tiny taste and thought is was waaaay too salty
29. Baklava - had this at vegan bootcamp!
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas - addictive little boogers
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - this is all thanks to John
46. Stroopwafle
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi
49. Glazed doughnut - I think I've hit the triumvirate of vegan donuts: Mighty-O, Voodoo, and Ronald's
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese - I had a tiny bite for free at the Seattle Veg Fest!
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada - had a lot of these on our honeymoon at St John
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips - might have never tried them if it weren't for VeggieGirl!
61. S’mores - please send more for my birthday! (the sweet&sara kind, but I've also done the homemade route)
62. Soy curls - ordered these in bulk, so I'm all set
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages - Julie's are the best!
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe - I love little green fairies
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake - somewhat embarassing to admit...
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes - must get over my fear of crepe-making
83. Tings - oh man, now I really want some
84. A meal at Candle 79 - one of the best meals of my life!
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan - a good reminder to make some this weekend
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips - thanks to Bazu!
94. Yellow watermelon - I hope I find this someday...
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough - one of the benefits of lots of vegan baking!

With the only failing grade in my life (66/99, discounting the haggis), I really need to get to work on trying some of these!

I Wish I Was A Little Bit Taller

I have nominated myself for two "memes" of sorts, one because I wish I was taller (more on that one later) and the other because I was bored at work and wanted to have fun with flickr.

This first one I saw on Hannah's lovely blog. Each photo represents something about me. (click on the image to view larger size)
The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Amanda
2. What is your favorite food? peanut butter
3. What high school did you go to? Elsik (*edit* our mascot was the ram, which is what came up on flickr)
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Johnny Depp
6. Favorite drink? water
7. Dream vacation? Nepal
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up? a mom
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One Word to describe you. complicated
12. Your flickr name. vegan noodle

For the second meme, Shellyfish used a unique way of tagging folks by listing five random categories, one which called on those who feel a bit vertically challenged (I'm 5'2.5" that 0.5 " is very important to me). So here goes, this one is a bit long...

What were you doing five years ago?
I was living in Boulder, CO working toward my masters degree in Geology. That pretty much consumed all my time.

What are five things on your to-do list today?
1. return a double stack cupcake holder with a completely stupid design
2. bake a mini chocolate mocha cake
3. suck it up and put some gasoline in my car
4. start preparing to cohost GVT next week
5. menu planning for weekend dinner party

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. peanut butter on just about anything
2. fresh fruit
3. tortilla chips with mango salsa and guacamole
4. roasted chickpeas
5. chocolate, duh

What are five things you would do if you were a millionare?
1. Go bicoastal and get a place in San Francisco and on the coast of Massachusetts
2. Give a big chunk to Society of PEACE so we could do some serious vegan outreach
3. Use one of my new residences as an animal sanctuary
4. Travel the world
5. Open up a vegan bakery and not have to worry about making a profit

What are your 5 bad habits?
1. starting projects and not finishing them
2. leaving clean clothes in the dryer for days
3. don't read as many books as I should
4. a weakness for kitchen toys
5. letting produce go bad before I use it

Where are five places you have lived?
1. Houston, TX - the suburbs
2. Fort Collins, CO
3. Boulder, CO
4. Babenhausen, Germany and Chester, England (for about 5 months)
5. Houston, TX - the city (way cooler)

What are five jobs you've had?
1. hostess at The Black-Eyed Pea (even in my pregan days I was scared of the food)
2. soils lab and field assistant
3. taught Intro to Geology laboratory
4. writing environmental impact statements for reclaimed mines
5. geologic modeling research and applications

Five people I tag (again borrowing from Shellyfish), if you...
1. bite your nails
2. secretly listen to Britney Spears while driving
3. wish you had a pig as a companion animal
4. consider yourself a scientist
5. ate a cupcake this past weekend

(I just realized that I reavealed five more things about me with this list, except #2, really) Next post will include food, and a prom picture (yikes!).

Getting In The Spirit

The holidays are all about giving for me (and spending time with loved ones). So for Christmas gifts for family, friends, and coworkers, I headed into the kitchen and did some serious baking. In preparation, I got out all the ingredients for each of the seven kinds of cookies that needed to be made. Then I separated my measuring cups and spoons into those for dry ingredients and those for wet (this greatly decreased the amount of dishwashings in between batches). And of course, I put on my DTV apron and cranked some tunes (Amy Winehouse, I know... I think her parents asked us to boycott the album so she'll get help with her addictions, but I really like cooking to it).

All in all, I think I baked up something like 120 cookies, and that's not counting the biscotti. Here's what I made: chocolate hazelnut biscotti, pistachio cranberry biscotti, chocolate chocolate chip walnut cookies (all from V-con), sparkled ginger cookies, non-gigantoid peanut butter oatmeal cookies (both from VWAV), white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (ED&BV), and homestyle chocolate chip cookies (Vive Le Vegan). I packaged them up in cute holiday boxes and shipped them out to family and friends, hopefully they won't be stale by the time they get there! (a definite bonus for the biscotti, since it's supposed to be crunchy). I was happy with the way it all turned out, especially since the biscotti, ginger, white choc/mac nut, and choco chip cookies were all first timers for me. You can't even ask me to pick a favorite, I just won't do it.... though of the leftover the chocolate chocolate chip ones were the first to go.
In addition to cookies, I decided to make mini-breads for my coworkers. I made the pumpkin spice bread from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I tried both the no-fat (applesauce instead of oil) and not no-fat versions. I found that I baked them quite a bit longer than the 30 minutes suggested for mini-loaves. The result though was a moist, pumpkiny bread that was perfect for the holidays. I wrapped them up and included a handcut, handstamped tag. Though you can't see it from the photo, on the back of each tag I stamped one of my favorite quotes " Be the change you want to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi. Oh, and the green tinsel inside marked those that I made with walnuts, since there are a few of my coworkers with nut allergies.
And finally, to help me get more in the spirit of the season, here is a picture of "Our First Christmas" ornament I ordered from Serendipity Crafts on etsy. We don't have a tree, so it's just hanging in the kitchen, but I figure maybe someday we will (and actually, we aren't even spending christmas together, John heads to Boston tomorrow :-( And also I have a Christmas meme that I saw on zippiknits blog. It was kinda fun to fill it out, you should too (even if you're somewhat of a scrooge)!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? The last two years I have been using cloth gift bags. I got mine this year from the Ole Bag Lady on etsy.
2. Real or artificial tree? Neither. And eventually when I do put one up in our house someday, I'm not sure which to choose. I've seen arguements for both sides. What do you think is more environmentally sounds?
3. When do you put up the tree? Since I don't put one up, and there's lots of other questions about the subject of trees in the meme, I'll answer for my mom (plus I helped her put it up this year anyways). Shortly after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take it down? Shortly after New Years.
5. Do you like eggnog? Bleh bleh and bleh, but I'll take some chocolate peppermint soymilk please.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Tough one, especially since I have a horrible memory. It was probably some of my stuffed koalas since I loved them so much as a child.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope
8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad
9. Easiest person to buy for? My mom
10. Worst Christmas present you ever got? Oh I can't say, that's just too mean for the holiday season... now where are those tacky christmas sweaters....
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Until this year, I never really sent out a card, but this year I did (a photo from our wedding, a faux pas I know) and it was sent via postal mail (of course now I feel guilty for this).
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer... didn't you read my Island of Misfit Toys post?
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually in October, and I shop right up until the last possible day (I'm just slow, or as I'd like to think of it, thoughtful)
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Can't really recall. I'm sure eventually I brought clothes to Goodwill, after all fashions change!
15. Favorite thing to eat on Christmas? Every Christmas I looked forward to my mom's almond puff for breakfast. This weekend I'm going to do some testing to veganize it, I'm trying to be hopeful (but it has lots of eggs:-()
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Always colored. Although I think white ones are classy, I find them a bit boring.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Not a huge fan of Christmas music, but if I had to pick, the Petrosky version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (that was my elementary school, we had our own fun noises and words mixed in) .
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? At home in Houston this year, although for awhile there our family went skiing for several years (Washington, Colorado, Switzerland).
19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.... and of course Rudolph.
20. Angel or star on top of tree?My mom has an angel that moves, the noise the fabric or plastic makes is kinda creepy I think.
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Always one present on Christmas eve then the rest in the morning. Since all us kids have become adults, we've also instituted a new tradition, instead of everyone ripping open their presents at the same time and being done in two minutes, we go in a circle and let everyone open one present at a time, rotating around till everyone is out.
22. Most annoying thing this time of year? Driving, everyone is especially crazy in their car during the holidays. Oh, and I always hated the Christmas music at the Gap (thank goodness I don't shop there anymore!).
23. Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color? Every year growing up we bought or made a new ornament. The tradition continues and that's how we decorate our tree!
24. What do you leave for Santa? Not much these days, but certainly the standard when I was growing up.
25. Shopping? I've done it all online this year and 80% handmade. Thanks goodness because I really couldn't handle the malls right now.
26. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside (or at all?) We have some white lights strung outside that have been there since a xmas party two years ago, does that count? Inside I have our "First Christmas Together" ornament hanging in our kitchen (since we have no tree). Dang that reminds me I have some Christmasy holly stuff I can put on the table, be right back!
27. Favorite Christmas cookie? Okay, much more festive. Now, cookies. I know it's not a cookie but my favorite is fudge. A definite tradition at our house.
28. Do you own Christmassy clothing or jewelry? Definitely not. Does that make me a Scrooge?
29. Do you believe in Santa? Oh how I wish I could....

Meme-morialize

I have been tagged by VeggieGirl and Bazu for a meme! (okay, will someone please explain what that means exactly...I could guess, it's like when you raise your hand in class and know the perfect answer, so you're thinking to yourself "me, me!" so the teacher will pick you.... but maybe I'm way off) Regardless, I will first repost the rules of the game:

#1 Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of your first or middle name.

#2 When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.

#3 At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them, they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

#4 If I’ve tagged YOU (the bloggers that I've tagged are listed at the end), please join in on the fun!

Okay, so right off the bat, I'm going to break rule #1 and use my last name. As many of you know, I am getting married in a week and a half and about to get a new last name! So, to memorialize the last name I've had all my life, I'm going to use it, hope you don't mind. So here goes....

Ellison

E - Engaged (literally) and engaging. Even though I consider myself a fairly shy person, once I begin a conversation with someone, I fully commit myself to that conversation. I find that many people only seem to half listen to what others are saying. Not only do I try and listen, but I also try to engage the person as well, by commenting, asking questions, and being supportive. One of my better qualities I believe.

L - Longing for the mountains. Even though I grew up here in Houston, I was able to escape for 7 years to Colorado (where I earned my degrees) and in that time, fell in love with the outdoors and more specifically, the Rocky Mountains. I still have fond memories of field camp (looking at rocks outside for five weeks straight!), driving through southern Colorado, listening to Tom Petty. And some of my proudest accomplishments are climbing a handful of the state's many Fourtneeners .... now if I only could have brought enough rocks with me to make Mt Elbert a little bit taller (I think they made a mistake surveying Whitney). Anyhow, I miss the mountains here in pancake-flat Houston, but I travel to them as much as possible!

L - Learning to be an adult. Even though I just turned 28, I feel the same as I did in high school (okay, maybe a little different). Maybe it is something about my generation, but many of my friends have struggled with this transition as well. The reality of a full time job was the hardest thing to swallow, I just want to be free sometimes. I guess I'm just trying to find the right balance between freedom and responsibility. I'll get there someday....

I - Inlaw or outlaw? I am related (somehow) to an outlaw in the old west, John Wesley Hardin. The story goes that it used to be our last name too, but to distance ourselves from this guy, we changed it to Hardy and kept it as a family name (both my dad and brother's middle name today). Funny story, my mom and I were traveling in Ireland and went to a Texas-themed restaurant (the food was awful) and actually saw his wanted ad on the wall, how weird!! Oh, and also my family can be traced to the group of 300 original Texas settlers that Stephen F. Austin led here in the early 1820's. Pretty cool, huh?

S - Scientist. I remember having one of those chemistry experiment kits growing up, lucky for me, mine had all sorts of cool things since my dad was a chemist. I would like to think of myself as a fairly quantitative, analytical person, which is why I am drawn to science (and subsequently why I have trouble writing, scientific writing teaches you not to use adjectives, so you'll have to excuse my redundancy of words like "yummy" when I describe my food). I have my masters degree in geology, and love to look at rocks and think about the time, place, and conditions they were formed under.

O - Organized and a bit obsessive. Yep, I'm a planner. I like to be on time, even ahead of schedule. Not to say that I can't ever be spontaneous, but I'm much more comfortable if I can anticipate anything that comes up. And I have probably mentioned my slight OCD tendencies. My current obsessions includes wedding planning (I promise I am not a bridezilla, ask John), planning my next travel destination (St. John, USVI), and of course veganism (which includes cooking wonderful vegan food for everyone and promoting animal rights).

N - Nailbiter no more. I used to bite my nails like mad, up until pretty recently. I still find that if I'm nervous I revert back to it. I have a vivid memory of being in elementary school and trying out that stuff you paint on your nails that tastes bad, in order to get you to stop biting them. Well, I forgot I had it on and ate a dinner roll (at Luby's, how embarrassing to admit that) with my fingers and it was disgusting.

Okay, so there you go, a little more about me. Hope it didn't bore you to tears. This worked out well because I haven't been cooking anything spectacular for the last few days anyhow. And here are the people that I'm taggin for this meme (7):

Pleasantly Plump Vegan

Melisser from Urban Housewife

Tamara from McFarland Designs

Don't Get Mad Get Vegan

Veg-a-nut (when she recovers from her daughter's wedding this Sat!)

Vegan*asm

VKO from Lifestyles of the Chic and Vegan

Oh, and since I'm the bride and can do whatever I want (teehee) I'm adding one more:

Gekius

A random photo of me from the Airplane Vortex in Sedona. Don't I look like I'm gathering energy?

Muffins from the Garden

Breakfast on the go is just a fact of life sometimes. I usually prefer to sit down, have a tall glass of vanilla soy milk (I've never gotten used to "adult" beverages, i.e. coffee, tea, etc) with some cereal or peanut butter on toast, or quinoa mixed with banana, pb, and agave nectar. But lately, sleep has been winning the morning battle, so I have turned to a grab-n-go style breakfast. Sunday I made these Garden Muffins from Damn Tasty Vegan. My first muffin to include veggies, I was so proud! They have the perfect balance of subtle sweetness and hearty whole grains that I crave in the morning. Out of curiosity, I calculated the nutritional information (yes, I'm a bit of a science nerd, plus I like numbers). Just a note, this probably isn't exact, data source is ingredient labels and the USDA nutrient database....

Garden Muffins Nutritional Info (per 1 muffin, including optional walnuts)
Calories: 164
Fat: 6.5 g
Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 3.75 g
Protein: 3.6 g

In other news I've been double-tagged for a meme by VeggieGirl and Bazu, which I will hopefully post before the end of the day!