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!!!

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!

#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!

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!

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!

You guys are awesome! Happy New Year!!!

The first holiday season that Damian and I spent together, I was a starving college student. So I thrifted the softest cashmere sweater I could find (this was pre-vegan), disassembled it, and sewed it into a pillowcase. I needlepointed ‘Damian’s Head Here —->’ into the corner. Damian, who is sort of obsessed with really soft things, loved it. It’s still on our bed.

Last year we made all our gifts together – our attempt at canning. All our friends and family got our truly terrible plum syrup, sugar-free strawberry jam, and tomato starter sauce. Hey, it was our first time! And it’s the thought that counts, right?

Anyway, there I go reminiscing. Pregnancy and the holidays have got me all nostalgic! But all of this story-telling serves a purpose: to introduce this years gift projects. First up – candle making!


How To Make Candles In A Crock Pot

All you need is some wax, some wicks + wick bases, and some candle-holders. I used soy wax because it’s vegan and I think it makes superior quality candles (just my preference, I love soy candles!). It’s available at any craft store along with a selection of other options. I used precut wicks that came in their bases, because they were really cheap. But you can also buy wick string and cut it yourself. Both are available at the craft store. For candle holders, I just used a bunch of shot glasses I’d purchased years ago for a party, and never even opened. You could also upcycle your old candle holders, or hit the thrift stores for anything from shot glasses to tea cups, whatever you can imagine can become a funky candle holder.

Optional additions include color (candle dye is available at the craft store) and smell. I used eucalyptus essential oil, but you can also buy scents specifically designed for candles (though you certainly don’t need to and can use any essential oil you’ve got). You’ll also probably want a wooden skewer for stirring hot wax (a chopstick or a length of wire, like from a hanger, would probably work just as well)

Once you’ve gathered all your supplies, set aside some time when you’ll be around the house for a couple of hours. I made these candles on Sunday afternoon, whilst cleaning the kitchen and then suggling with the husband for movie time. Just make sure you’ll be nearby and available for frequent checks. You don’t want to deal with a waxy mess (or worse!).

1) Spoon the pieces of wax into your candle holders and arrange them in the bottom of the crock pot. Don’t overcrowd and definitely don’t stack! Turn the crock to high, cover, and go do something else.





2) 20-30 minutes later you can check back. Your wax will probably be melted and you’ll probably notice your candles aren’t as full as you’d like. So carefully add more wax to each container. You may have to do this for a few rounds.





3) When the candles are as full as you like and you’ve let them get good and hot and melty, it’s time to add the essential oils. You’ll need to call for an assistant. “Assistant!”





3.5) He was very helpful. So, using a dropper add 5-15 drops of your odor-of-choice to each candle. I wanted a more mild, mellow vibe so I only used 5 drops. If you were to use color, this is where you would add the dye as well.





4) Stir it up! (note bulging belly creeping into the pic)





5) Add your wicks. Carefully insert them and make sure they’re centered. They should stay straight up on their own, so don’t worry about that.








6) Turn the crock pot off. Leave it uncovered. Go do something else.





Over the next few hours the wax will cool and harden. They’ll be hard enough to handle if you’d like to remove them after a few hours, but give them at least 6+ hours before you really toss ‘em around. They need plenty of time to get good and set.

And that’s it, just a few hours of monitoring and six easy steps gets you these adorable, customized gifts that anyone would be delighted to receive. They’re so cute, no?





Happy Holidays!

• If taking on a main course seems overwhelming, never fear – you have options! There’s the ever-prevalent Tofurkey, available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and online. There’s also the amazing Celebration Roast from Field Roast, a soy-free ‘grain meat’ company. This one is a bit harder to find, but it’s often at Whole Foods, and online ordering is always an option.
• For the more adventurous, you can create your own, homemade Un-Turkey. Here’s an awesome seitan roast recipe, and here’s an amazing instructional video.
• I also love the idea of stuffed gourds for Thanksgiving! If you’re fond of traditional flavors, you’ll love this recipe, complete with video, from Compassionate Cooks. But, if you’re into something a bit more exotic, these Moroccan Couscous Stuffed Squashes sound amazing! (just replace the butter with margarine and the chicken broth with veggie stock).
• Finally, I’m super in love with the look of this Celebration Pot Pie With Pumpkin Biscuit Crust from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen.

Sides

• Stuffing! Mmm, I love stuffing. This Sausage Stuffing looks divine, as does this mouthwatering trio of options.
• Vegan mashed potatoes are really easy – just sub alt milk and Earthbalance™ for dairy milk and butter. But if you’d rather go a non-traditional route, why not trying these Crash Hot Potatoes or Bubble and Squeak Cakes from Vegan Yum Yum.
• And what are potatoes without gravy?! You can find a super simple gravy recipe over at VegWeb, and a slightly more complex mushroom gravy recipe from Isa over at the Post Punk Kitchen. Plus, here’s a gluten free gravy from Book Of Yum.
• Green beans are pretty integral, right? Here’s a few of my favorite dishes I’ve come across: This Green Bean Casserole from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, and another Green Bean Casserole from Vegalicious.
• And finally, the candied yams (or other such sweet potato delicacy). Another one from Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen, this Pecan Topped Sweet Potato Casserole looks great. And don’t forget, marshmallows aren’t vegan, but you can find incredible Dandies available online here.

Desserts

• The Vegetarian Times offers an easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe.
• Here’s another Pumpkin Pie Recipe, this one soy-free and gluten-free too, woo-hoo!

Whew! That should set you up pretty nicely. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rhonda is my 2009 Thanksgiving Turkey, but unlike the nearly 45 million unlucky others, Rhonda will be alive and well the morning after T-day. Rhonda and her rescued companions will live out their days feeling the sun on their backs, enjoying the pleasure of a summer dust bath, and living a truly free-range existence.

But many other birds – literally hundreds of millions of birds – are not so lucky. If you want to learn more about the poultry industry in general and the turkey industry specifically, including ‘cage-free’ fallacies, here is a great place to start. Or if you’re just interested in becoming better acquainted with these affectionate animals, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau shares inspiring stories of her own experience working with rescued turkeys at Farm Sanctuary.

If you’d like to get involved and help, you can do like we did and sponsor a turkey too! A one-time donation of $25 goes to the turkey of your choice, and you’ll even receive an adoption certificate in the mail. What a wonderful way to celebrate a holiday centered on the principals of caring and sharing, no?

Compassion – now THAT is something to truly be thankful for!

“Save A Turkey – Eat Tofu”

In my hometown, Summer Solstice is a great grand affair. There’s a crazy parade with open entry, an annual theme and floats and stilts and bikes and trikes and costumes and ART, everywhere. It draws all kinds of people, and the little ones run wild like tiny face-painted gremlins, while the last of the old hippie enclave strip to their skivvies and dance around like big body-painted bohemians. What a party!

Imagine my surprise when I realized that this was just a regional thing. Or maybe just an aged hippie thing (big ups to all my parents!)  Most people, in fact, do not even celebrate the longest day of the year. What a shame! 

This year, we kicked off the first day of summer with our first official BBQ. I wanted to try something different, and decided to dust off that old bottle of mezcal.  Mezcal is related to tequila, but is derived from various agave plants. Tequila is solely a product of Blue Agave. But mezcal has a distinctly smokey flavor, and it’s amazing and smooth and mild and it makes a totally mean margarita. I absolutely adore this liquor, and I brought back as much as I could from my honeymoon in Mexico!

With it’s seriously smokey flavor, mezcal just seems suited for grilling. And what better way to offset the the intensity of agave liquor, than the sweetness of agave syrup? The result was perfect synergy.

That there drink is a watermelon daiquiri, also highly recommended!

Ingredients:

2 pineapples – carved, cubed, and skewed

1 cup mezcal

1/2 cup agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

First things first, make a mezcal margarita.

Next, soak ~15 bamboo skewers, an hour at least, so they won’t burn on the grill.

Combine the mezcal, agave, vanilla, and cinnamon in a glass jar with a lid. Shakey shakey shakey (it helps to do a little dance). 

Construct the skewers and then a few hours before grilling, drizzle them liberally with the mezcal mixture. [I assembled the skewers and the marinade separately the day before, and then did the drizzle the next morning]

Grill those suckers! Braise them frequently and rotate as well. Try to use up all of that mezcal mixture. They’re done when they darken and soften, but you should taste them to test. Keep tasting. Mmmm, yeah. Taste MORE!

And have another mezcal margarita. To summer!