Eat Up, Carnivores

My mom anxiously called me during a commercial break on ABC's evening news tonight and asked me if the national news aired at the same time in DC as it does in Mpls. Yes, Mom, we get the news here too. It was cute, though, --she saw that the upcoming story was on beef production and thought I'd be interested -- and I was. So I tuned to ABC and was hugely disappointed. The story was a good one -- informing the public of this latest beef recall (380,000 pounds!) and pointing out that the E.coli we're always hearing about comes from - *dramatic pause* - cattle feces. Mmmmm. Gives your Hamburger Helper a little zing, eh?

ABC had the right idea, and even referenced the new documentary, Food Inc and interviewed Michael Pollan (great book, check it out!). The let down came in the G-rating format they chose. If you're going to talk the talk, walk the walk and SHOW America the obscene and graphic images that is our factory farming operations. That's where those neat little burgers on the "barbie" came from. It was just way too mild. I'm sure ABC would hate to cause middle-America to gag on their beef stroganoff while eating dinner & watching TV. I gagged on my veggie stir-fry, just hearing about factory farming. Ugh,

For those of you who want to take the risk, keep eating your animal products. And if something tastes a little funny in your meatloaf, don't worry - that's just cow poop.

Only in DC

Have I ever mentioned that I have a part-time gig babysitting? If not - I'm telling you now. I work at a nonprofit and am not the most financially brilliant person you will ever meet. A second job helps support my food addiction. :) They are a great family who found me on care.com - a website I used for occasional babysitting gigs. But they have me over two nights a week and one day on the weekend, so I don't NEED the additional gigs. It's great. And they live literally 4 minutes from me. Perfecto!

Anyhow, tonight I was babysitting for them (two boys - age 4 and 6) and we decided to play with sidewalk chalk. I rediscovered my love of the chalk. They keep telling me to draw more roads on the driveway, so they can drive their cars. Then of course we need buildings! So I draw a house...a school...an office building...a factory. And I say, "I think our neighborhood is complete!" And the older boy says, "I don't think so". "What is our neighborhood missing?" I ask. And he replies, "What's a neighborhood without a Lincoln Memorial!?" HA. Only in DC would a 6 year old say that! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Since my dad is quite possibly me only regular reader, gotta give him a shout-out. Wish I could be home to bake him something special, but I WAS able to be home last weekend, for my grandmother's funeral :(, so at least I got to see him and give him a card in person. We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Acapulco. YUM. My dad and I have always been close...I'm definitely my father's daughter. I get my appetite from him, I get my sweat glands from him and I get my love handles from him....what more could I girl ask for?! :) On a more serious note, I am thankful for everything he has done for me. I always tell him I'll even it out someday, when I put him in the best nursing home money can buy! :)

I'm sure Dad would appreciate my delicious lunch today. I made a pan of stuffed manicotti yesterday. YUM. My mom always made these amazing stuffed shells, so I was hoping to replicate that (sans cheese & egg). I found a pretty good recipe online and tweaked it a bit. I think it turned out great. Might add some fresh garlic next time... (not the prettiest picture, but don't judge a book by its cover!)

Vegan Stuffed Manicotti

1 box manicotti or large shells
1 package soft tofu
1 block vegan mozzarella cheese (grated)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic salt (might try a few fresh, chopped cloves)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of any marinara/spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta, according to box. Mash tofu in medium bowl. Add most of cheese (set aside a handful), tomatoes and spinach. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onion for a few minutes - until just starting to brown. Add to mixture. Add garlic /salt, sea salt and basil. Mix well. Fill shells with mixture and place in non-stick pan. Pour marinara sauce over the top and top with handful of cheese. Bake at 350-degrees for about 20 minutes, or until heated all the way through. Enjoy!

Seriously

I was asked by two different people on the crowded Metro today if I wanted their seat. Two different people. I was chosen out of a crowd. Do I really look that bad after my 1-mile speed walk?? People think I'm going to collapse and die if I don't get a seat?? And I was wearing a flowy shirt today, so then I of course panicked that people were thinking I was pregnant. Therefore I had a salad for dinner. Just to be safe.

Red & Sweaty

I walk .8 miles to the Metro every morning. I ride the orange line for about 10 minutes (5 stops) and then walk another .8 miles to work. If you're keeping track, that's over 3 miles a day total. Plus I usually take a walk over lunch. Let's round up to 4 miles.day for drama-sake. OH! And I walk my dog about a mile twice a day. So I walk approx 6 miles per day.

Yet I've gained 3 lbs since moving here. Go figure.

ANYHOW, by the time I walk my third .8 mile stretch of the day - leaving the office to take the Metro home - I get on the Metro a hot, sweaty mess.

(Did I mention no on forewarned me about humidity in DC? A coworker informed me today that DC was built on a swamp. Well, now that was dumb! Today was 88-degrees with 90% humidity. SERIOUSLY.)

Getting back to the Metro. I get on it, literally dripping with sweat and my face is a lovely shade of neon red, courtesy of my Chaffee-genetics. I was stuck standing, as the train was full. A few stops in, someone got up from a seat next to me and exited the train, leaving an empty seat. I apparently looked as though I was having a heart attack because an ELDERLY WOMAN standing next to me offered the seat to me rather than sitting herself. WHAT?! I'm a healthy (albeit slightly chubby) 27 year old! I don't need to sit! This grandmother thought she was better off standing and letting the apparent heart attack victim sit?? Puh-lease.

I let her sit down, mopped the sweat droplets out of my eyes and turned back to my book. Hmpf!

Letting Grandma Go

I write this blog in tears. Tears of heartbreak, even though I should not be sad. My Grandma's preparing for her eternal home in Heaven with our Father. We used to laugh about how openly Grandma talked about being ready "to go". She's not a typical Grandma. She was always pretty sassy, sarcastic and no-nonsense. But that's what everyone loves about her.

Over the past 3-5 years, she's been experiencing small strokes (called TIAs), had some bleeding on her brain - caused by her blood pressure medication, go figure - and just had a rough few years.

I consider myself a devout Christian. I know when times are bad, I need to put everything in His hands. But it's hard to understand His plan some days. Grandma has done so much for others over her life. She has worked hard -- she never had it easy. And you think in her old age, she should be able to just relax and live happily ever after. Instead, she had to take care of and watch my grandfather slowly slip away from Parkinson's. Even as her own death approaches, it's slow and miserable. I just want her to be able to let go and be with Grandpa again on the other side of the Pearly Gates.

She's my only grandparent that I was able to know. By the time I reached an age where I could communicate, Parkinson's had already taken a hold of my grandpa. And my dad's parents were killed by a drunk driver before I was even born. It makes me mad. Why did I get the short end of the stick?

I know this is a depressing post. But I needed to write some of this down. My heart hurts. And the fact that I am 1,100 miles away as she goes through this certainly doesn't help. But she has family there with her and I KNOW she knows how much I love her.

Taking Care of Business

Hi! So sorry I haven't posted for such a long time (that's, of course, directed to my 4 followers). :) It's been a busy few weeks. My brother got married (I rocked the cleavage-baring dress that I mentioned a few posts ago). I have been working my butt of at PETA - we've been a bit short staffed, but have taken care of that problem with a couple of FABULOUS new hires! And I also got a second job, doing some part-time (evening/weekend) child care for a family a few miles away. It's a great way to pay off some of my cross-country-move debt....and it's a relaly nice family, so I'm happy to help out.
Combine all that with my needy dog and my 9 hrs per night sleep requirement, not much time for blogging. :)

However, now that life should slow down a bit, I'm determined to make more of an effort to see DC and be more social. When my friend Grant was in town in April for a school conference, one of his friends from school introduced me to her good friend, Eliza, who lives in DC. With Eliza and I both being good ol' Minnesota girls, living in DC, we naturally have something in common. She asked if I wanted to grab coffee today, so we met near her apartment in Capitol Hill. That area is SO CUTE. When I was doing my apartment hunt from Minneapolis, I thought about Capitol Hill, but decided against it, because it really is hard to pick the safe blocks from the unsafe blocks when you're not living there. I felt safer staying out in Arlington, but I could see moving to CH at some point down the road. Find me a nice politician to marry. :)

So Eliza and I grabbed some lunch at her apartment (she's a vegetarian, so that made deciding on what we'd eat easier). Then we walked a few blocks to a cute coffee shop for some iced coffee/chai to combat the humidity. We wandered around the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. I keep saying this -- but it's unbelievable that there are so many historic sites in one city! I think I could play the role of tourist for years and never see it all! My dad mentioned that he's got his eye on plane tickets, so hopefully he'll come visit soon. He would really love the National Mall. And my mom & sister are also talking about visiting this summer!

So it was a good day, and I was glad to get out and do something. Made a quick stop at Whole Foods on the way home and am now preparing to make a little homemade Pad Thai for dinner. I've also got some great new recipes that I'm anxious to post and talk about, but that will have to wait for another day. Oooh, and get out and buy some corn on the cob -- it's in season and deeeeelish! :)