I had to laugh this evening, as I was watching TV and saw the "RECE$$ION BUSTER!" ads from whichever furniture company.  Because nothing saves you money quite like spending only $1,699 on a new TV...  Got me thinking about better ways to recession-proof yourself.  Music I've already mentioned, but food is another good one, and it's delicious!

We aren't the perfect role models for having a good supply of healthy, homemade lunches packed for ourselves, but we do cook a few times a week, and it's usually very good, if not totally freakin' awesome food.  Not to mention far less expensive than taking ourselves out to eat.  Sometimes, these meals take planning, skill, and careful attention to cooking times and details.  Other times, they're quick, cheap, and just as good.  Natalie made dinner tonight, which went like this:

- 1 large red, yellow and green pepper, sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 package veggie chicken tenders
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. soya sauce
- 1 tbsp. white wine
- spaghetti
- salt & pepper
- veggie parmesan cheese
- olive oil

Toss the chicken strips, peppers and onion in some olive oil, stir fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Add the balsamic vinegar, soya sauce and wine, cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Pour it all over a big plate of spaghetti, season with salt and fresh ground pepper, parmesan, and drizzle some more olive oil over all of it.  Yum!

It makes for a very satisfying, colourful, delicious meal, and takes all of 15 minutes to prepare.  And there's enough left over for both of us to eat it for lunch again tomorrow.  I shall recession-proof my kitchen!  Stay tuned for my upcoming cookbook, the RECE$$ION BUSTER COOKBOOK!!!!!  It would be a hit, if everyone wasn't too broke to buy cookbooks.

I always feel bad posting after John. He is so literary. I'm so simple. Alas.

As compromise, I will get to post about all the exciting things. (Not that John's new song isn't exciting)

The baby is coming along nicely. My parents took to calling my belly "Wee Hamish", and that name has sort of stuck. So here is a picture of Wee Hamish at about 10 weeks. 



I know the pictures aren't that big, but no one wants to see my belly up close.

John and I have also booked our flight for our babymoon! (or honeymoon. Whichever). We're going to spend a week in Hawaii in May! I'm very excited.  

Last night at band practice I was sitting on the couch with Codie, the guitar player/singer for The Blazing Violets.  He earns his living as a photographer, primarily through freelancing with Edmonton's daily paper, The Edmonton Journal.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side you're on) the news industry is getting hammered by all of this economic turmoil, and the Journal cut all of its freelancers.

With the loss of his main gig, and the projected downturn in retail sales that's bound to impact my job as well, we got to talking about future work, income and the like.  There was a pause, and Codie looked at me and said, "Well, I guess the only thing to do now is become rock stars," to which I replied, "I'll drink to that!" upon which we clinked together the glasses of water that we were both drinking, and then laughed hysterically.  The hilarity of toasting aspirations of rock-stardom with tap water prompted my immediate procurement of a nearby acoustic guitar, and I started to compose the music and lyrics to a new song, dubbed "The Recession Era Rock & Roll Toast." 

It's a lot of fun to play with The Blazing Violets, and I'm so pleased that we've finally seen our hard work come to fruition.  We'll be releasing our first full-length recording on Saturday, March 28th.  Codie and I have also started an acoustic duo side-project, just for fun, and we'll be playing at some open stages around town soon.

I think that playing music with friends is just about the best thing that a person can possibly do with their time.  The benefits from it are incalculable.  It's a daily reminder that regardless of what's happening in the world, I can find peace, love and fulfillment in music.  Good friends and good music are reliable, enjoyable, and recession-proof.

This past Christmas, I got a USB microphone and some recording software from Natalie, so I'm going to try to learn how to use it a bit better, then post some musical content to this blog.  First item on the agenda:  The Recession-Era Rock & Roll Toast.  It'll be a smash.  Until then, keep on rockin' in the free world!

Hello all!

A little baby "triumph" today... One of my pair of jeans no longer buttons up! I'm getting my baby belly!

I've decided that instead of being sad about this (I don't even like the jeans that much) I will just be very excited. Hoorah!

Now if only I could feel the same way about my skin. Ugh.

Anyway!

Vegan Christmas was, in my opinion, a huge success. We had a veritable feast of vegan goodies, and good friends.

On the menu! For appetizers, we had spinach-artichoke dip, bruschetta, and a delicious shallot-squash dip (last two courtesy of my friend Scott), served with breadsticks and crackers.

The main course was tofurkey (yum), lentil loaf (we were worried that we wouldn't have enough food, so John made this...It was unnecessary, but delicious!) , mashed potatoes, mashed yams, red cabbage, glazed carrots, peas, stuffing, dumplings, and gravy! 

And then for dessert, my friend Amber made Christmas themed blueberry cranberry (I think cranberry? I'm not good at berries) loafs, which we ate with peanut butter and chocolate soy ice cream.

Yuuummm... *pats belly*

(I dare any of you to suggest that this is the reason for my pants not fitting) 

After dinner, we played Tsuro, HedBanz, and Give me the Brain. Much fun was had by all. Mostly me.

Today is January 25th, and it is the day that we celebrate the birth of the animal free dinner!  Natalie taught me something interesting from her Classics courses and her trip to Rome last summer; it's a saying - "Sit tibi terra levis" - that translates to "May the earth be light upon you."  Apparently, it's carved into headstones all over Italy (and perhaps elsewhere also?).  A rather nice sentiment for those who are buried.

I'm a firm believer that everything in life is cyclical.  We get exactly as much out of life as we put into it.  Likewise, the weight of consequences of our own actions will always fall most heavily on our own shoulders.  When we choose, even just for a single meal, to nourish ourselves in a way that is beneficial to the natural world, we've lessened our burden on the earth, and so too will the earth lessen its burden on us.

If you happen to read this entry, please join us on tonight, January 25th, and every January 25th to come, in preparing and sharing a meal with friends that contains no animal products of any kind.  Veganism means avoiding meat, dairy, honey and any other animal products.  This is our second year, and we hope to share the occasion with our friends and family, just as they have done with us for so many Christmas dinners in the past.

Sit tibi tera levis, everyone, and may you be light upon the earth as well.

I'm trying to remind myself that I've made a New Year's resolution to keep a blog.  I did it while I was living in PEI (see eastcoasting.livejournal.com if you'd like to know what I was up to while I was out there) and it was quite cathartic.  This one isn't going to be as political or opinionated - more observational and newsy than anything else.  I'll try to post at least once a week with updates about life in general.  And other miscellany.

Most of what I've studied about writing suggests that I ought to write about what I know and love.  Thus, most of what I post will probably have something to do with food, music, or both.  Writing is good for me, so this will undoubtedly be beneficial.  I'm the type who doesn't accomplish anything unless I write it down.  For me, written history of my actions through journals, blogs, even homework assignments, makes the past real, and the future possible.  When I write, life goes fairly smoothly.  When I don't write, things tend to become chaotic and disorderly.

Being married, keeping a home, and thoughts of becoming a father prompted me to get my latest tattoo - a beautiful calligraphic piece that says 'Do Not Be Distracted' in sanskrit writing.  It's finished except for the colour, which will be completed on my birthday, at which time I'll post some pictures.  It's my permanent daily reminder to avoid the barrage of distractions offered by the world that take me away from the important things in life - my family, my friends, and my music.

As this blog evolves, the content may begin to develop some sort of structure - I'm thinking about some sort of weekly cooking show - but until then, expect more brain-dumps and randomness.  Unpredictability is the spice of the blogosphere... or something like that.  Check back again soon!

Hello again! What an eventful two weeks it has been...

On January 4th John and I drove down to Three Hills to visit with his family. It was a really lovely time - we spent some time playing board games, and visting. And eating. Mostly eating.

I'm back in school, just taking one course. Originally I was scheduled for two (Race and Racism in the Modern World, and Greek Prose in Translation), but I dropped Race and Racism when I realized that, for the two classes, I had nine required texts... And then I found out I didn't have the pre-reqs for the Greek prose class (d'oh). So I switched to a course on Gender, Age, and Culture... So far it's really interesting, and I'm glad I'm taking it.

John isn't taking any courses this term. He was registered in a year-long English course, but decided to drop it this term because it wasn't stimulating enough. This way he can focus on his music, and...me! 

( More big news... If you click here! )

Welcome to 2009!

Any resolutions? I've decided that I'm going to try and be more social this year, and get out with friends more. I also want to learn how to sew. John wants to take drum lessons and to play instruments more often. He also wants to set out a plan to be a drum teacher and start his musical career. We've also both decided that we'd like to visit Turkey and Greece, so we're going to start saving up extra money - hopefully we can make it our two year anniversary gift to one another!

John and I thought that an excellent meal would be a good way to kick off the New Year. I made a vegan sweet potato lentil chili, which turned out really well. (John agrees, but he doesn't have much of a choice).

Here is the recipe, for anyone who is looking for a comforting stew to try out...

( Sweet Potato Lentil Chili )
I would recommend using a little bit less cinnamon (unless you love cinnamon), and maybe reducing the water a little bit.

Hope you all enjoyed your holidays!