Lynn - More Hip than Hippie

The title of this post is in honor of the 4th Anniversary of the "More Hip Than Hippie" show - a free podcast about green living with over 225 episodes under their belt. If you're looking to learn more about sustainability without being bored, episode one is a great place to start.

After walking and listening to said podcast this afternoon, I snacked on some fresh figs -

The one on the right was uber ripe and sweet. On the left, not so much.

I listened to a relaxation tape, did some blog reading, and got to work on dinner. Well, it really wasn't much "work." I let the oven take the wheel tonight, at 350 degrees. First, I scrubbed and pierced some sweet potatoes and threw them in. After half an hour, I flipped them over and opened this package:

Lightlife Garden Veggie Tempeh

On top of a sprayed baking sheet, I split the tempeh block in two and added a tablespoon of Trader Joe's Island Soyaki Sauce to each half.

Next to the tempeh went half a package of frozen broccoli florets with some olive oil, salt and pepper. About 25 minutes later it was all done diddly done.

I'd say it tasted more hippie than hip.

For dessert, a slice of leftover Blondie Bread:

And a calcium chew with a tootsie pop.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions about baked goods - I can't wait to try them in future trials....and to answer your question, Diane, I got the Dr. Oetker box mix from Whole Foods.

Check out my guest post at Ashley's site! (Thanks for the feature!)

Also giveaways galore! Snackface is having one to celebrate her 6 month blogiversary, Low and Behold is giving away some natural beauty products, and ZestyCook has a Pom Giveaway.

Off to watch my beautiful and talented friend Joy Osmanski guest star on "Better Off Ted" tonight!

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Lynn - Albert Camus Flakes and Leftover Lox

G'day, blog mates!

Today began with a hike on my favorite trail. I listened to two back-to-back episodes of KCRW's Good Food podcast - there was a great interview in the June 20th one about the etiquette of taking pictures in restaurants for blogs and such. Good news - the expert said it was okay! Not that I would stop if she said it wasn't....

I bought something to new to try for breakfast -

Kamut Flakes - pronounced Ka-Moo. When I picked this up I thought of the existentialist writer Albert Camus.

They look like oats:

But they don't taste like them!

I prepared them the same way I do with oatmeal - water, half a banana, flax seeds, egg whites, an organic plum, and some agave nectar. They're much nuttier and less creamy - I bet they would be good savory, since the sweetness of the fruit and agave were lost competing with the heft of the grain.

With some cranberry zinger tea -

After a quick house cleaning, I met my friend Skye at our usual meeting spot, The Grove.

The Grove is an outdoor mall that a lot of people I know find irritating, but I absolutely adore. After all, I am a Jersey girl - malls are in my blood.

There's a fountain with koi that is choreographed to music -

Surrounded by chain stores galore -

And even a trolley that moves a few hundred feet around the complex.

Skye and I love to meet here once a week, window shop, and catch up. It's perfect during the weekday, but on the weekends I avoid this place like the plague - parking and crowds are out of control.

I love you, Grove!

The Albert Camus flakes didn't hold me over as well as oats usually do. When I got home I was more than ready for lunch. I made myself a sandwich with the leftover lox from Sunday's brunch.

On Ezekiel Whole Grain Bread - lox, romaine lettuce, sweet relish, and ....

a few squirts from this new bottle of german mustard.

Followed by a new soup from Trader Joe's -

Nuked in a coffee mug with 1/2 a crumbled Weetabix -

I wasn't diggin' this soup too much. At first, it tasted like warmed V-8. But weirdly, the more I drank it the more it grew on me. By the end it reminded me of Chef Boyardee, which I used to adore as a child. (Random trivia - I went to high school with Chef Boyardee's grandaughter.)

Munched on this organic apricot too -

Followed by a calcium chew, 2 green pills, and an Apple Pie a la mode Creme Saver

I've been having a lovely, leisurely day today. In case you haven't noticed, my weekends/weekdays tend to blur together since I don't have a 9-5 job. Actors have waaaay too much free time, but I've gotten pretty good at not going crazy without anything "official" to do. Christy and I addressed a lot of this in our now defunct podcast, "Actors Off."

Anyways, in the past decade that I've been acting, this time of year has typically been slow, but the recession is definitely not helping things. It's a bit ridonculous. Luckily, I have a blog to keep me busy! Thank you all for your comments and suggestions - it really helps me from going batty.

The Healthy Lawyer is having a cookie giveaway!!!!

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Lynn - The Baked Goods Monster

I'm not a baker.  But boy, do I love baked goods.  Ever since finding out about my high cholesterol a few months ago, I decided to start making my own low-fat treats at home.  I have a stash of boxed mixes and plenty of butter/oil-swapping ingredients in my pantry, just in case the baked goods monster comes a-knocking.

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Blondie.

Blondie who?

Blondie Bread.

SAY WHAT?!?  That doesn't even make sense.

I know, none of this does.  I didn't follow any of the package directions.  I used applesauce in place of the melted butter, egg whites instead of eggs, and a loaf pan instead of a brownie pan.

 

The ONLY non-stick baking pan I own is a loaf pan, so absolutely everything I bake is in loaf form.  I do love a loaf.  I even enjoy the word loaf.  Loaf, loaf, loaf, loaf, loaf, loaf....

And like all the non-fat baked goods I make at home, it tasted really moist and bouncy.  Dare I say, rubbery?  To be honest, I kinda like the consistency, but I understand it's not for everyone.

 

With some TJ's non-fat fro yo, this hit the spot with minimal cholesterol damage.  Good night, monster..

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Christy - My weekend away

So my husband and I went away this weekend to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. (Unfortunately, none of the food pictures came out because of a focus problem :(

 The hotel offered a free breakfast so we ate that one morning, but then decided it was not "worth the calories" to have again the second morning.  It was the typical omelette, bacon, sausage, pancake and french toast hot section as well as cereal and fruit.  My eggs and veggies were pretty tasteless.  

During breakfast, we talked about the dairy and meat industry and how they own a lot of the politicians in power.  They know that the treatment of the animals is awful and the quality of the products are detrimental to our health but they will never do what is necessary to get the practices changed.  Money talks, even when it comes to our food supply.

We packed some food to bring with us so that we wouldn't have to eat all of our food out.  We had a big salad and some quinoa pasta with squash, zuchinni, onions, and tomatoes.  Then we had some watermelon and grapes for snacks.

And I got my anniversary present!  My husband got me this great book - The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should really check it out.  It is funny and has tons of recipes.  My perfect gift!!!  I needed some new recipes.  I can't wait to share some this week.

For dinner we went out to a restaurant in the hotel and had some amazing seared Ahi with baby bok choy, jasmine rice and a tamari sauce.  We also had soup, salad and a chocolate molten cake for dessert.  Sharing it all - like a good little married couple!

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Lynn - Pretty Young Things, Repeat After Me

We haven't done much today and I couldn't be happier.

While blogging/web surfing I munched on some cherries -

While listening to MJ on vinyl -

and continued the cherry theme with a tootsie pop.

I found myself jumping up and boogie-ing for a number of songs - I couldn't help myself!  I mean, I wasn't moonwalking or anything, but I rarely get up and dance spontaneously around the living room.  Abe reminded me I shouldn't dance with a lollipop in my mouth.  

Good call.

We took a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood - the weather was just gorgeous.  When we got back, I made dinner.  In honor of Michael:

P.Y.T. (Pretty Yummy Tasty) Salad -

 In one pot, cook 1 cup quinoa in veggie broth.  In another, cook 3/4 cup lentils with a bay leaf. In a pan, caramelize a chopped red onion over low heat with olive oil and salt and pepper.   While all that stuff is working, bring yet another pot of water to boil, prep/wash green beans, and cut them into small pieces.

I rarely cook anything with more than 2 burners, and this required 4 -

Once the water comes to a boil, drop in the string beans for about 5 minutes and immediately shock them with cold water.  Then make some dressing with yellow mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

As everything finishes cooking, season/dress each layer.  Since the string beans were already done, I started with them - coat with 1 TB of dressing and some salt and pepper.

Do the same thing with the quinoa, then the lentils (get rid of the bay leaf!) and finally, the caramelized onions (which probably won't need salt).  It'll look like this:

The whole process takes about an hour.  This giant bowl serves 4.

But we only needed 2:

Pretty Yummy Tasty, indeed.  I bet the leftovers will be divine tomorrow, once all the ingredients have gotten a chance to know each other better.

We ate outside, listening to the sprinklers.  Back inside, I had a donut peach, followed by a calcium and ginger chew.

While watching Huell Howser.  If you live in Los Angeles, you might know who he is...but most likely not.  He hosts a number of travel shows on PBS.  I find him quite entertaining.  Apparently, he's been doing this a while.

I've seen him in person a few times, on the main street near where I live.  He's interviewed my local dry cleaning lady.  He's said hello to Julius before.  But that mic has never been shoved in my face.  YET.

Dessert, continued -

Fresh figs with TJ's Tart Fro Yo.  I had another ginger chew after.  Chew, chew.

Man, these pix are weird.  I think I pressed a button adjusting the colors on the camera.  Gotta adjust them right back!

Off to finish watching the BET awards - what in the world is going on with Beyonce's skirt?!

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Lynn - Aw, Snapdragon!

I didn't get home til about 1am last night, so I didn't get as much sleep as I normally do.  I wasn't up for exercise (I wasn't yesterday either - I was actually sore from yoga!) so I spent a long time journaling in bed and blackberrying.  Our only concrete plans for today were to go to our Aunt Shelah's for brunch. We stopped by the farmers market on the way to pick up some flowers - I snapped up some snapdragons.

Here they are - my attempt at floral arrangement:

My cousin Amy showed me how you can make Snapdragons talk.

"Hello, I'm a snapdragon."

Beautiful brunch:

Lotsa lox,

Poppy Seed and Plain Bagels,

Cucumber-tomato-pepper-red onion-feta salad,

Fresh fruit,

Mango Salsa,

Coleslaw,

and Chocolate Coffee Cake from Viktor Bene's

We brought Julius with us, hoping he'd play with his dog cousin Murphy, but he was much more interested in the ball.

They kept their distance

So Murphy decided to join us at the table:

Time to eat!  My plate:

And a small piece of cake - I ate about half of this.  Ooey gooey chocolate and crumbly, flakey goodness.

Plus 2 green pills and my multi, which I brought along with me.

It's so nice to have family in Los Angeles!  We got to catch up with a whole bunch of relatives. Shelah gave us some bagels and a bunch of lox to take home, so you'll be seeing a lot more of the pink stuff in upcoming meals.

Back on our side of town, we dropped off Julius and the lox, and walked 20 minutes to the farmers market just as it was closing.  We scored some terrific deals since vendors were totally pimping their goods.  All of this beautiful organic fruit for $11:

These are my first fresh figs of the season - I am absolutely MAD about them.

Have you noticed my big beautiful photos again?  I am testing out a Mac friendly program called Blogo.  If I'm happy with it, I will have to plunk down $25, but it's worth it so my blog can be the best it can be, right?  I wish I could download free Windows Live Writer, like a few of you suggested, but alas, that doesn't seem to be in the stars for an Apple user like moi.

Happy Sunday!

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