First things first, thank you guys so much for all of the wonderful Bonzai Birthday wishes – and especially to Salekdarling for the ‘birthday present’ in the tip jar! Your support is what keeps me going and it means so much to me. Thank you!!!

So, it’s finally the weekend (Happy Weekend!), and thank goodness for that. The next few days I’m all about massive productivity! Isn’t it incredible how the ‘little things’ of life (emails, phone calls, bills) become much bigger directly proportional to how long they *don’t get done*. Ha!

So what’s on your agenda for the weekend? What’s on your mind right now? And what do you want to see more of in the next year of Bonzai Aphrodite?!

Oh and FYI, for those of you who participated in the recent vegan bake sales for Haiti, I’m so happy to announce that nationwide earnings topped $25,000. That’s a ton of money guys! So thank you everyone who participated, whether through baking or buying. It really made a significant impact!

As usual, the Feedback Forum will remain here at the top of the page all weekend, so if you’ve got an idea or a question or you just want to introduce yourself and say ‘Oi!’, you can stop back by any time. This is your community, so get involved and have your say!

Have a peaceful (or productive!) weekend!

Um, wow guys. Seriously. See that not-so-good picture up there? That’s because I was like, “yeah whatever who needs a pic OM NOM NOM”

I devoured a plate, and then another . . . and then I had to get more! It’s pretty amazing stuff! This is the ‘you-won’t-believe-it’s-vegan’ dish to fool your omni friends. Or, if *you’re* the omni, this is an awesome way to get your rich creamy alfredo deliciousness, without the killer dose of cholesterol and saturated fats. Everyone wins – especially your taste buds!


Ingredients
1 lb pasta of your choice

small head of garlic, maybe 4-6 cloves

small-medium white onion
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon cooking wine (I used dry vermouth)

1/2 cup Earthbalance™
2 cups alternative milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cooking wine (I used dry vermouth)
1 heaping tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to your taste level
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 12-ounce pack firm Silken tofu

5-6 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup frozen peas


Instructions
Preheat oven to 450. Wrap the garlic cloves in tin foil and place them on the center oven rack to roast. They’ll need about half an hour or so – set a timer or remember to keep an eye on them! You should smell ‘em when they’re ready, mmmm.

While the garlic is roasting, dice your onion. Place a pan over medium heat and add the oil. Sauté the onion until glassy, then reduce the heat to low and add 1 tbsp of the wine. Continue to cook until the wine reduces and the onion has browned (NOT burnt! be careful!)

While garlic is roasting and onions are going, put all the other ingredients (minus the corn starch and peas) into a food processor or blender. When the garlic is done, remove it from the oven and unwrap. You’ll need to let it cool a bit or you’ll burn your finger tips. Carefully squeeze the mushy roasted clove goo into the mix. Add the onions. BLEND!

Put on a pot to prepare the pasta. I’m sure you don’t need instructions for this part.

Put on a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Transfer the sauce from the mixer to the pan and allow it to warm. Spoon the cornstarch into a small bowl and then add enough of the sauce mix to create a thick paste. Slowly stir this into the sauce to thicken it up. Allow it to continue heating, stirring frequently to avoid bottom burn.

When the pasta is done and drained return it to the cooking pot. Pour in the peas and the sauce, mix well, and serve! Eat until you’re blue in the face!

Happy Birthday to this no-longer-wee website, and Happy Birthday to all of you, who make up her heart!!! Part of me still can’t believe a year’s gone by already. I’m still getting the hang of this! I’m still just getting started!

Another part of me can’t quite believe it’s only been a year. Was it really just 13 months ago I was working my unfulfilling day job? Has it only been 12 short months of covering such diverse topics as gardening and urban farming, sustainable fashion and an ambitious manifesto, backyard chickens and indoor seedlings, tons of vegan sweets and savory treats, ten life-changing challenges, and so much, so much more? And of course, a year of inspired contributions from each and every reader – the blog comments and personal emails and dialogue with each other throughout the site. You all have grown this little seed of an idea into something greater than I’d ever dared to dream of.





For the first 6 months of Bonzai’s web life, I posted every. single. workday. (whew!) Since then, barring medical breaks, I’ve maintained a schedule of 4-5 posts per week. All in all I’ve written over 250 entries and articles. And we’ve received hundreds of thousands of visitors!

Articles I’ve written have been featured across the internet, most notably on sites like Lifehacker and Apartment Therapy’s green blog Re-Nest. The most popular posts continue to be for DIY hygiene and cleaning recipes, like deodorant, drain-o, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, and hair gel. Who’d have though!?

I’m so proud to say that I’ve done all of this without accepting any advertising offers! Bonzai Aphrodite operates free from external financial influence, and will continue to follow the PBS/NPR model of ‘viewer/listener supported’. You’ll never have to question my integrity – I can promise you that.

Finally, I must give some thanks. Firstly, foremostly, and foreverly, to my AMAZING HUSBAND who was the catalyst and carrier for all of this. Damian encouraged me over and over to quit my job and pursue my passion, and he has continued to support me unfailingly throughout this crazy, oftentimes incredibly stressful, process. It is absolute truth that this site would not exist if it weren’t for him (hell, he designed it!), and I cannot thank him enough for that.

And then, of course, YOU GUYS. Thank you thank you for making my dreams come true! You all amaze me and inspire me and make me excited to wake up and ‘work’ every morning, and I just can’t thank you enough for that. I wanted to show a little gratitude (and support one of my favorite local businesses in the process), so I’m giving away these adorable, special addition underwear from Herbivore Clothing Co! All you have to do to enter is visit the Herbivore site and then leave a comment here. I’ll randomly select one lucky winner next week. Boys and girls are welcome to enter (there’s boxer-briefs as well), and non-vegans can play too as long as you don’t mind sporting ‘Veganism is for Lovers’ on your bum! Good luck everyone!





So what’s next for Bonzai Aphrodite? BIG THINGS my friends! Damian and I are scheming to expand, and I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I always tell my readers to “Dream big – no, BIGGER”, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I hope you’ll come along for the ride!

On the first Monday of every month, we take on a ‘mission’ – a shift or habit or inspiration – to work on together. There’s strength (and support) in numbers! On the last Thursday of the month, we reconvene to see how far we’ve come.





#10

Today is the first anniversary of Bonzai Aphrodite (!!!), and it also happens to be the 1st of February. That means it’s time for our tenth Monthly Mission (ten already!). But I wanted to do something more symbolic this time, something very special to honor this little blog’s birthday.

What could we do to represent the values and ideals that we aspire towards here? What single step could epitomize :

Certainly not something as focused as composting or going no-poo. These are awesome acts, to be sure, but they’re too directed to represent an entire ideology.

Bonzai Aphrodite is all about simple changes; about understanding the truth that altering our actions can add up to impactful magnitude. So, here’s your challenge for the month – Start A Piggybank.

That’s all. Easy as pie. We’re all going to start saving our change, in order to make some change! I’ll tell you more at the end of the month but for now you’ll just have to trust me.

So start saving those coins! To move things along, get in the habit of breaking bills instead of fishing for exact change. You’ll hardly notice the difference in your wallet, but you’ll end up with a lot more weight in your piggy! Try to get change from each transaction, and aim to contribute to your bank every single day. Of course, you needn’t break dollars into quarters just for the sake of adding coins! You want this to be natural, to become a habit.





Stash your coinage at the end of each day. If you don’t want to invest in a ‘real’ ceramic piglet, that’s fine! There’s tons of other wonderful ways to stylishly save. You can custom-make a piggybank out of old plastic bottles, as evidenced above, or an old coffee tin, shown below.





As well, you can always just decorate a glass mason jar! Cover it with a favorite fabric, or decoupage it with lovely images clipped form magazines. Hell, you can toss your change in a cereal bowl if that’s what works for you! The point is to begin collecting ‘change’, in a mindful and meaningful way. Because we all know that ‘change’ is more effective, when it’s collective!

So, will you accept this mission and join in??





BONZAI!

*** I had a lot of trouble finding sources for these photos and I hate not acknowledging artists. I apologize, and if anyone can help me give credit where credit is due, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! ***

Let’s begin with a little gratitude, shall we? I want to offer a giant THANK YOU to readers Eden and Courtney O. Eden, for sending me (well, my son really) a lovely little hand-me-down gift package (#17!) and Courtney O., for hitting that tip jar over there on the right. Thank you ladies so much for your kindness and your generosity!

And, THANK YOU to everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes! You all helped to give me such a splendid birthday, and begin my 29th year just right (with lots of love!) So THANK YOU!


And now, as always, Happy Weekend! What’s on your mind, guys?! Let me hear what you have to say! What do you want to see more of here on Bonzai Aphrodite? (as we prepare to enter our second year live!!!)

As usual, the Feedback Forum will remain here at the top of the page all weekend, so if you’ve got an idea or a question or you just want to introduce yourself and say ‘Oi!’, you can stop back by any time. This is your community, so get involved and have your say!

And now for a few announcements (quite a bit of business this week . . . )

1) Vegan Yummies for a good cause! Isa Chandra Moskowitz of the Post Punk Kitchen has done an amazing job of organizing a collection of vegan bake sales to benefit Haiti. We all know how much they need the money, so check it out and if there’s a sale near you, support it! I’ll be bringing a heavy wallet and a ready appetite to the Portland sale this Sunday!

2) Send me pics of this month’s thrift store finds! I want pics of your best pillages, submitted to info@bonzaiaphrodite.com Please include your first name and the city/country you found it in.

3) Send me the names and addresses of the BEST secondhand stores in your city, and maybe a brief description of why they’re so rad. I want all the top secret hot spots you know of in every city you’ve been to! info@bonzaiaphrodite.com, and please include name and addresses.

Okay, fin! Finis! Finito! Have a most marvelous weekend!