Soup's On!

I've been back in New York for a few weeks now after spending an amazing and utterly life-changing four months in Ghana! And...it's cold as hell, so you know what that means? Time for soup. If you can imagine, cooking in Ghana was tough. Not only was there a lack in accessibility to the ingredients I needed, there was often times a lack of gas in the stove (or in the entire country for that matter). Even when we had gas on the stove, they were really janky. It was a boil to death/ burn or nothing situation. So, when I first got back to America and was staying at my mom's place with complete access to her fully-functional kitchen and wide array of ingredients, plus the painfully cold weather (hey, it was 103 degrees almost everyday before I left, ok!) equals tons of staying inside and cooking!

This recipe is adapted from The Gorgeously Green Diet's Turkey Chili. My changes are written in italics. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil (I used coconut oil because it has a higher smoking point than olive so it is healthier for cooking foods for longer periods of time)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (I double, maybe tripled this. I love me some garlic!)

1 1/2lbs organic ground turkey (Obviously I omitted this entirely. I added another cup of kidley beans two cups of pinto beans)

1 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 ground cinnamon (I would probably omit this next time I make this recipe. It made the chili a little sweet and I like mine with more of a spicy kick)

1 tsp salt

3 cups vegetable broth (I used a bit less as I like my chili chunky!)

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I've made this without before but it actually adds a very crucial, smokey flavor)

1 15-oz can kidney beans (or two cups of dried beans that you cook before hand. cheaper and healthier :)

1 15-oz can whole organic tomatoes

1 medium zucchini, cubed

2 medium carrots, grated

2 cups stemmed and chopped rainbow or swiss chard (I substituted kale for this because that is what I had and also because I love kale, hence the name of this blog!)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (Didn't do this because I don't really care for cilantro and did not have any of this. I just added more kale!!)

I also added about 2 small jalapeño peppers because I am a spice addict!

What I used:

You don't need these exact brands for this recipe, these are just some great kitchen staples that worked wonderfully for me!

Check out my sweet paper towel backdrop! I'm so professional.

From left to right: Trader Joe's Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, The Wizards Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth, Trader Joe's spices and Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

What I did:

First I cooked up all the beans together. I soaked the beans overnight and then discarded the soaking water, covered them with fresh water and brought it all to a boil. I let them boil uncovered for about 5-10 minutes, skimming off the foam from the top of pot (that's the part that gives you gas. gross. Then I covered them and cooked them for about 40 more minutes.

Then I tossed in the veggies and spices and mixed it all together. I covered it all with broth and let it simmer until the veggies were fully cooked and the beans were nice and soft.

Then I tossed in the veggies and spices and mixed it all together.

I covered it all with broth and let it simmer until the veggies were fully cooked and the beans were nice and soft. Viola! Delicious, filling veggie chili! I froze half of it in small containers that I can just throw in a pot and re-heat when I don't have time to make dinner from scratch. I kept the rest in the fridge and ate it throughout the week as a soup, mixed into grains or rolled up in a brown rice wrap.

gurl power!

It's Women's Empowerment Week, so I decided to share with you some of the ladies who I find to be most inspiring:

-Oprah: I mean, the woman does everything and fixes everyone's problems. She is the shit!

-Alicia Silverstone: Inspires me to help myself by being healthy all while helping others and feeling great about it. She's showed me that even the little people can make a HUGE difference and that you don't have to be all fancy pants to be eco.

-Tina Fey: Proves that women can be smart and funny and extremely hard working and successful and a mother and a wife and still be real and down to earth. (She was my high school graduation speaker and the whole time I was squeezing my friend's hand and squealing because of how amazing she was. love her.)

-My mom: Well, first of all, this woman raised me, and my brother (mad props to that) and has dedicated her entire life to making sure I am happy and healthy. My mom is my best friend and I can only hope to be half as good a mom as she is :))

And...I'll send you off with a cute, pink quote...

First Linky-Links of 2011!

-Reasons to love New York 2010

-how to be a 20-something. very true.

-A new year rolls in: how 2011 is celebrated around the world

-20 pieces of advice from artists and photographer in 2010

-This is what kids around the world are eating for lunch at schools.

-So cool! A woman's life story told in intricate hand-stitched tapestry

-Miniature man-made landscapes. You'll never believe what these are made out of.

-Photo manipulation at its finest.

-I know, I'm ODing on this website, but these 3D photo sculptures are actually incredible!

-A weekend read: (IN)DECOROUS TASTE amazing photos//style//design//

All photos from www.indecoroustaste.com

p.s. sorry these pictures are HUGE but I think they are so beautiful!

a solution to my resolutions

So it’s 2011. My hangover has left the building, the beer cans are (mostly) cleared off my coffee table and I am feeling clear headed and ready for an efficient new year (I’m also currently on jury duty and have a TON of time to kill, so that helps) I am a big fan of resolutions, but there is nothing worse than setting a goal that is completely unattainable (like, do not get stressed in 2011. Ahhh I just got really stressed out!) I think it’s nice to outline things you already know you should do, but having something in writing helps me actually stick to it.

1. Be a more productive/ functional human! This includes getting dressed EVERYDAY and actually pulling myself together more-planning nice outfits out, learning new ways the style to my hair (still trying to master the fishtail braid) and while I’m not the biggest proponent of painting your face with make up, lets be real, everyone looks better with a little swipe of mascara.

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2. Make healthy choices- only eat real, delicious food. No more processed fake shit in my body! And don’t let other people poorly influence me to eat things I don’t want at times I don’t want to eat (or drink, for that matter).

-carve out time to exercise and really push myself to do it. About 99% of the time I show up to the gym after thinking I’m too exhausted or stressed to go, I am so happy I forced myself to go.

-60/40 cooked to raw foods ratio (juices included esp. go for green juice!) Green juice makes me feel like a superhero.

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-Drink more water (start mornings with room temperature water with a squeeze of lemon) See! It’s good for your hair, skin, breath, appetite…

-Find better ways to wake up, sans caffeine. I already gave up coffee a year ago and was never really a soda drinker, but I’ll put this on here to make sure I stick with it this year and also feel accomplished for already making a healthier choice by sipping tea when I need a little jolt. That being said, I also want to get more into tea this year-like, have a variety of green and black teas for the morning, and delicious herbal teas for an after dinner treat!

-Upgrade my morning routine. This includes streamlining my a.m. habits and figuring out how long things actually take, and how I can be more efficient about them (like cooking my oatmeal while I wash up and get dressed) especially now that I have to rely on the subway to get to class/internship/work.

-Make my evenings more efficient too-do something calming before bed like reading or stretching (or perhaps a few crunches, those never hurt anyone!) rather than watching 30 Rock and snacking until I pass out. I am definitely more of a night owl, so I want to do what I can to make my mornings easier. These include picking out my outfit for the next day, making sure my bag has what I need in it for the day, having prepared meals to take with to avoid ravenous thoughtless eating, etc.

-Meditate, even if it’s just for the five spare minutes I have that day…on the subway.

-Absolutely no smoking- I started smoking when I was 14 and always thought that it was just “not cute when you’re old” so as my twentieth birthday present to myself, I gave ‘em up. They mess with my skin, they affect my physical abilities, my sleep, my anxiety, they cost $12 a pack…you get it, there just really is no to benefit of smoking cigarettes. I’ve slipped up a few times since quitting, but I want to make 2011 a smoke free year! *well, free from tobacco smoke ;)

Photo: My own

-Make and stick to a regular vitamin regime (multi, calcium, vitamin b12, skin/hair/nail formula..)

-Remember the little things-dry brushing, bubble baths, facemasks, sauna (the main reason I’m still paying for my gym membership) doing my nails, coating myself in shea butter, flossing…they really do make a BIG difference

3. Make time for me- don’t let other people dump all their baggage on you and stress you out, realize when you need to step away from other people or social plans and just do something on your own. I want to make more time to just sit with my own thoughts and visualize what I want to get done. I need to stop letting other people hold me back from being productive and stop being afraid to take risks and do things on my own.

4. Find some fabulous role model(s) and get inspired by their accomplishments and set my own goals to work towards

5. Be a doer-don’t get stuck in a cycle of school, come home, sit on ass…actually take advantage of living in the best city in the world and even take time to leave the city occasionally to see some nature and so I can really appreciate how great it is.

6. Be more confident- with my style, socially and in school.

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7.Work on many projects and actually finish things that I start. This year I have a bunch of things I will be working on-this blog, a series of vegan dinner parties/ artist collective, a jewelry line and more!

8. Educate myself! I have no doubt this will come hand in hand with that last resolution but there are so many things I want to learn this year-vegan baking, more sewing techniques like embroidery, about crystals, all about tea, vintage clothing, about music, jewelry making, food politics…Oh and I have about a million books I want to read

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9. Stop wasting time getting anxious/self-conscious/upset about things. Kick those toxic thoughts in the baby-maker the second they start infesting your mind. I won’t even waste more time thinking about how those thoughts make me feel.

10. Do what makes me feel happy and magical! (I think the first 9 resolutions do this, but I wanted to make ten resolutions to round it out)

What are your resolutions for 2011?

the new MEAT in my life...

I started my new internship at VERAMEAT today. Here's a little but about the company taken from their website:

Each piece of VERAMEAT jewelry mirrors a self-sufficient life form with a sculptural presence. Hand-crafted in New York City from such fine materials as ecologically sound recycled silver and pure 14k gold, VERAMEAT designs are artfully refined contemporary heirlooms to inspire your own individual flair.

VERAMEAT is Vera Balyura, a teller of winding tales in search of the extraordinary. Born in Ukraine, she recalls woodcarving with her grandfather, horseback riding in Utah & moving to New York to be a high fashion model all before the age of 14. Each design reflects a personal (yet universal) inspiration—from traveling the world, making music, maritime ny sagas, botanical structures of light, futuristic visions of rogue spacemen in beer, and before history.

VERAMEAT’s collection is characterized by richly articulate surfaces, wearability, and subtle details exacted with precision inherited from her grandmother, a surgeon. The repertoire is playful and ferocious: Hearts stitched by hand into Godzilla Robot’s gilded circuit board show he has love; A Deathly Beautiful Ballad keeps vigil reinventing your finger; Dinosaurs devour fried chicken yum; When Knight in Shining Armor bumps against your heart, you’ve made a friend for life.

I'm doing typical intern-y stuff like putting together orders to ship out and bookkeeping what not but Vera is super chill and cute and so is her little doggie Fred (who is a girl!) We talked a bunch about how she started her company, the industry etc. while I packed up jewelry in boxes. I already want to buy so many of her pieces but even after my employee discount I think I will be broke if I don't narrow it down to one or two things. I'm going in again tomorrow because there is a lot to be done between all the holiday orders and preparing for the biggest shipment yet---to Urban Outfitters! Huge! I'm really excited to be jumpin' on the band wagon with such an awesome company that is obviously going places while staying conscious of it's impact on industry workers and the environment.

hopefully santa reads my blog ; )

"Gift giving is the purest expression of friendship,"

-Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)

I've been makin' my list n checkin' it twice...here's what I've come up with:

Not that I NEED yet another pair of glasses, but these vintage inspired frames by Warby Parker deliver one pair of glasses to someone in need with every purchase. Now that's eye wear with a purpose!

Again...no where near a necessity but isn't life so much cooler through a kaleidoscope?

Ok so these I actually NEED. Osborn Alpaca Party Vegans are handcrafted in Guatemala and inspired by their traditional kente cloth. These shoes are comprised of woven cotton and the soles are made out recycled rubber tires instead of leather, thus vegan. Aren't they just perfect all over!

By purchasing PACT Organic Underwear you are supporting and encouraging organic cotton farmers, responsible labor practices, and businesses that form partnerships with nonprofit organizations dedicated to positive change in our world. This limited edition Winter Lights Collection was designed by Yves Behar especially for the Lighting Hope for Haiti program. The prints represent colorful plays of light and celebrate the nostalgia and festiveness of holiday lights.

SHROOMS! Can never have enough shrooms! This year I really want to start growing my own herbs and veggies and this Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden looks so fast and easy to use.

A dress form has been on my wish list for about 5 years now and I keep putting off getting one because it is a bit of an investment (financially and spaceially) but I finally need to suck it up and just buy one already. I know it will make my life so much easier!

This hand embroidered and sewn necklace by spinthread is gorgeous and so meticulously made. It's the kind of thing that I could figure out how to make myself, but definitely don't have the patience for. Plus why no support fellow crafters while your at it?

My roommates will probably kill me for adding another appliance to our already overcrowded kitchen, but having a slow cooker seems like such a life saver in the cold winter months, especially when I'm super busy between class, interning and working. How nice does coming home to a warm, fully cooked meal or waking up to yummy steaming oats sound?

Well, hope I was good little girl this year. Happy holidays errbody!

xx

Cookin' with Coolio

So...Coolio has a cookbook. It's called Cookin' with Coolio: 5 star meals at a 1 star price. "It's the Ghetto Gourmet!" and includes both Ghettalian and Blasian cuisine. It's definitely not vegan in the least bit, buuut his interview on npr is hilarious as is the entire Cookin' With Coolio Channel on youtube.

T-Gives 2k10

This is the first year of my life that I will be out of America for Thanksgiving. Even though I was not a turkey eater for most of my life, I still loved the tradition of sitting around a table filled with friends and family, laughing and talking about what we are most thankful for. That is, until I realized the reality that is the carcass of a bird in the middle of our table. Alicia Silverstone, as always, says it best " I mean, if we are being grateful, it would be beautiful if we were mindful of non-violence and looked to see how we can give back, instead of just taking. We feel terrible at the end of the meal anyway because we gorged ourselves on food that our bodies don't handle well. These are the foods that are nasty to our bodies and nasty to the planet…. and not to mention nasty to the turkeys!" It can be a kinda hard being the only vegan at a non-vegan gathering, especially one that is centered around gorging oneself with meat until the point of near explosion. Just a few fun-facts about Turkeys from The Girlie Girl Army:

-Between 1965 and 2000, the weight of the average turkey raised commercially in the U.S. increased by 57 percent, from an average of 18 pounds to an average of 28.2 pounds, causing commercially-bred turkeys to suffer from crippling foot and leg problems.

-Also catering to consumer preferences for “white meat,” the industry has selectively bred turkeys to have abnormally large breasts. This anatomical manipulation makes it difficult for male turkeys to mount the females, eliminating these birds’ ability to reproduce naturally. As a result, artificial insemination is now the sole means of reproduction on factory farms, where breeder birds are confined for months on end.

-Every year, more than 46 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving holiday dinners, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you think these birds are as incredible as we do, you can join talk show host and animal advocate Ellen DeGeneres, Farm Sanctuary’s 2010 Adopt-A-Turkey Project spokesperson, in starting a new tradition this year by adopting a turkey instead of eating. Visit adoptaturkey.org for details or call the Turkey Adoption Hotline at 1-888-SPONSOR

Here are some good links from around the web to help plan an amazing turkey-less T-Gives:

-Farm Sanctuary

-Operation Turkey Undercover: The Frightening Truth About Your Thanksgiving Day Bird. Yeeek.

-Guest blog post from Farm Sanctuary's Gene Baur on The Kind Life plus this recipe for Wild rice cornbread stuffing that looks so so flame!

-Ten fascinating facts about Turkeys and Thanksgiving alternative traditions.

-The New York Times published a collection of vegetarian Thanksgiving ideas

-Archive recipes from Fat Free Vegan blog

-Care2.com wants you to have a very vegan Thanksgiving and shares some myths about Turkeys too!

-Forgo the highly caloric meal altogether: try out this five-course Thanksgiving meal in songs

-Thanksgiving is not just about gorging yourself and being wasteful. Read: how to have and eco-friendly Thanksgiving.

-Recipe: Vegan and gluten-free Cranberry Quinoa Stuffing. yum!

-Or if you plan to go out for Thanksgiving dinner, CleanplatesNYC shares their top picks for a veg-friendly Thanksgiving.

image source

World Go Vegan Month

November is World Go Vegan Month-the perfect time to celebrate veganism and encourage non-vegans around you to try it out. Here are some vegan resources I would like to share:

ARTICLES:

-how to avoid being a judgmental vegan.

-Planet Green's 10 Vegan recipes for fall

-all you need to know about factory farming.

**Bloomburg Businessweek published an article on November 4 called “The Rise of the Power Vegans.” The article features vegans such as Las Vegas entrepreneur Steve Wynn, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, and high-profile Americans such as Bill Clinton who are experimenting with a plant-based diet.

-101 reasons why I'm vegetarian

RECIPES/ FOODBLOGS:

-Barnivore (vegan bear and wine guide)

-Bob's Red Mill

-Chef Chloe Coscarelli

-ChooseVeg

-cute and delicious (crafts & vegan treats)

-Elana's Pantry (Gluten Free)

-The FatFree Vegan

-The GirlieGirl Army

-Golubka (raw)

-Gone Raw (raw)

-Happy Herbivore

-The Kind Life (bible, also new recipe index)

-Little House of Veggies

-Living Vegan

-Manifest Vegan

-Papa Tofu!

-PETA's Vegan Startup Kit

-Post Punk Kitchen

-quarrygirl

-stonesoup (5 ingredient recipes)

-SuperVegan

-Vegan Coach (good basic how-to guides)

-VeganDad

-Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit

OTHER RESOURCES:

-Baking Substitution Guide

-Butterball (Calculators and Conversions )

-Still Tasty (Ultimate shelf life guide)

-Clean Plates NYC (like zaggets but for healthy restaurants)

-4coursevegan (check out the archives for menu planning ideas)

-had to include this bit of food porn

-The Vegan RD Thoughts on being vegan from a dietitian's perspective

-VeganHealth.org

-Care2 Food and Recipes

-Recipe Matcher (find recipes using what you already have)

-Vegan Porn (News and Information for the vegans who get it)

-VegNews Magazine

November Linky-Links

Today is America Recycles Day! Woo. Even though I am not in America, I would like to celebrate by noting some dope recycled things out there

-these bangles made out of recycled newspaper are real cute. and they're made in Brooklyn!

-I recently discovered and quickly became obsessed with Osborn handcrafted shoes. They started to ditch leather soles use recycled rubber tires aka also vegan! yeeee!

-Genius! Jar tops that allow you to transform your old jars into real kitchenware. So futuristic.

-Bodkin often uses vintage or salvaged textiles in combination with other eco-fabrics like organic cotton. I was totally blown away by the hand-dyed cotton pieces in their Autumn/ Winter 2010 collection. Check out the laundry list of natural items used to make the dye!!

-8 ways to reuse a t-shirt. dope!

-"Just because it's a green shoe doesn't mean it has to look like an Earth shoe or Birkenstock." True that. And if you don't already agree, check out these awesome shoes by Olsenhaus made out of recycled T.V. screens.

in other eco news...

-The Free People blog is has a ton of great diy projects, like this diy dream catcher. Who would have thought to use it for anything besides catching your dreams?

-VOTE for your favorite eco-fashion designer

-The Rise of the Power Vegans:Steve Wynn, Russell Simmons, Bill Clinton and a comparable cast of heavies are now using tempeh to assert their superiority. A look at what gives.

-The only reason I an excited to return to cold weather: new vegan boots!

-Food as art: art as food.

-Why you should bake with weed!

-A look at fashion industry labor regulations- or should I say not-so-regulations?

Oh, and couldn't leave out these gems...

-Four Loko banned in New York. Probably a good thing?

-The Sabbath Manifesto:designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world. So jumpin on the band wagon on this one!

-50 reasons to be pretty damn euphoric you live in New York City.