Most people give you a funny look when you utter the phrase ‘vegan barbecue’, but I’ve never understood this. In my mind there’s no cooking method that’s *more* suited to veganism. Just food on fire – it’s so primal, and maaaan does it make good vegetables!

Every year my friends and I have a Summer Solstice BBQ because we are crunchy hippie types, and every year I bring something funky because I am a freaky food geek type (last year was mezcal grilled pineapple). Lately I’ve been really into cultured foods and I’m currently sort of obsessed with all things fermented. But I won’t launch into my love-lecture on gut flora, we’ll save that for another time . . .

Miso is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented rice or soy bean paste. There are many varieties with endless flavor profiles, but all tend to add a certain salty quality. Besides its benefits to the belly, miso is high in protein and many vitamins and minerals (specifically the B vitamins). But mostly, it just tastes great!





Ingredients:

Corn on the cob (I recommend buying only organic corn and corn-containing products, as virtually all conventional corn has been compromised by GMO)

White Miso paste


Instructions:





Take an ear of corn and gently peel back the husk, being careful that it doesn’t detach from the stalk. Remove the silk strands.





Spoon out a dollop of miso, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon or so, and use your fingers to rub it into the kernels. Fold the husks back up and you’re good to go. Grill until just barely charred (see top photo).

That’s it! The miso imparts a very subtle flavor, but it’s delicious. No need for ‘butter’ or salt or pepper – the miso takes care of it all!





Happy Summer!!!

Just a quick reminder my dears, this coming Friday is Bike To Work Day – the third Friday in May. This is, of course, in honor of bike month which spans the entire month of May. And serendipitously, all of this relates to the Monthly Mission this May, to drive less!

Alas, I work from home so I won’t be able to participate directly. *But*, I will be sending Damian off on his bike that day, and I encourage – no, beg! – each of you commuters to do the same. And if you’re interested in other events, you can see what’s going on for the rest of the month in your city, here. I must say – I’m jealous! (I’ll be thrilled when Waits is ready for something like this)

Just a friendly reminder from your favorite eco-cheerleader (that’s me!) Happy pedaling!

Itty Bitty Bonzai is a collection of tiny tips and tricks for living a life more mindful. Small actions, collectively and compounded, become a powerful force of change.

#17

So the holidays are over and you’ve got a pile of greetings and gift cards, on display and collecting dust in a corner of the living room. But they’ve got to come down eventually, and unfortunately most will find their way into the rubbish bin.

Of course you, diligent Bonzai readers, would never trash that precious card stock, I’m sure. We’re all recyclers here, are we not?

But what about doing one better? Instead of tossing them in with the newspapers and tomato tins, why not hold on to them for later use? Simply remove that pretty (and valuable) front! (leaving the back, inscribed with your relative’s well wishes, to recycle) Now you have a brand new post card, a clever thank-you note, or a lovely gift tag!

You can also wrap a gift in simple brown paper (re-use a paper grocery bag), then tape the recycled card front to it, to add a festive image.

So save your holiday cards for the next years festivities! But don’t forget to save other cards throughout the year – this works equally well for Valentines, birthdays, and beyond!

BONZAI!

Happy New Year! I used a random number generator to select our three winners, and here they are!







First was #68, Jill, who wrote: “I have no bag. I only have pockets and sometimes I don’t even have that. I hope I win!”

Congrats lady! Now you have a bag!







Next up was #31, Sara, who said: “I don’t know why I’m doing this, I have so many bags already but those are so CUTE! :) Novica’s mission is pretty amazing too.”

Sara, a girl can always use another bag. ;) Congrats!







And lastly, we had #46, Minna, who commented: “Haha, all of a sudden there’s like 45 comments :D That is such a cool drawing! I wonder if people outside of the USA can enter :P”

Yay! You’re comments are always so positive and sweet, I’m so delighted that you won! (and of course, anyone in the world is eligible here)


Congratulations to our winners – you should be receiving an email from me shortly.

And thank you to everyone who entered. I hope that this will be the first of many giveaways here, so make sure and check in again soon. And mostly, happy new year to all of you!

Everyone knows that the new year is a traditional time for starting over.

I was always the sort to eschew the new years resolutions. “Everyone always breaks them anyway,” I’d say. I think my friends and I all tried to quit smoking together one year. I lasted about 3 months – others didn’t even last the night.

But then in early 2008, I found myself in a very, very bad place. Would you believe I was a totally bitter, negative person? It’s true. I’d never dealt with depression before and it took me damn near a year to figure out what was going wrong. The sadness itself was brought on by a multitude of factors, but suffice to say it left me in a pretty bad way. I was lonely, lost, unmotivated, and squarely in the center of a quarter-life crisis. I knew I needed to do something radical, before I lost myself forever.

So I did. Not overnight and not without trial (and error), but I wrote a journal about the breakthrough, here, if you’re interested. I began to practice positivity as a lifestyle. I made sweeping changes, looked at myself critically, imagined what I wanted to become. A lot of the work I did during that time served as inspiration for this article. And of course, it led me here (among other places). Just a few months later I was launching Bonzai Aphrodite.

The turn of the year seemed a perfect time to put my vision down on paper. I do believe that having a reference point, the simple act of writing something down and thus entering it into the world, can be a powerful force in manifesting that goal. I had 10 new intentions that I kept in a Word doc on my desktop. It’s entitled 2009 – Living the Dream, and along with my ‘resolutions’, I record my strategies for happiness, my sources of inspiration, and a list of the books I’ve read (I always try to read more than I did the year before). I make sure to open it at least once a month, to read over my 10 intentions and remember the bigger picture.


Resolutions for a New Year:

1) I can be whoever I want to be.
2) CLARITY → VISUALIZE → MANIFEST
3) Practice being a good wife. Be good to Damian. Try to make sure that every day, his life is better because of me.
4) Make realistic, ambitious lists. Cross off everything. Then, allow satisfaction and relaxation.
5) GET PREGNANT IN 2009. Get happy before getting pregnant. Get happy.
6) Enjoy food. Eat healthily. Eat with intention and moderation and pleasure.
7) Walk the boys every day I am able.
8) Exercise every day I am able.
9) Worry less about money. Worry less about the future. Worry less.
0) Never get a ‘real’ job in 2009!




This year there are less intentions – I’m coming from a very different place, after all. But I still have a few (always will, I hope!), and on new years day I’ll write them down in a new Word doc.

What about you, my dears? Do you believe in setting intentions? Do you you make new year’s resolutions, or are you more the type to skip the gimmick?

Lots of Love and wishing you all the best and brightest year of your lives!