happy thanksgiving

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We had our usual family gathering, which was wonderful. I broke my raw food diet for the day with much success, I felt fine and was ravenous! This is a typical hors d'oeuvres for our family. Pigs in a blanket (that were a little charred by my grandmother, which has never happened before, she’s an amazing cook), the most delicious shrimp and cocktail sauce, loads of fantastic cheese and crackers, pomegranate that I brought, crudités and dip, meatballs, even nachos made an appearance later for the younger kids.


I was too caught up by dinner to snap a photo, but it was great as well. Turkey, amazing cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top, broccoli, salad... delicious. For dessert, apple pie, pecan pie (with homemade whipped cream, I’m craving more already!), a pistachio pie (not good, made by a cousin, tasted like crayon) and pumpkin flan. Just a decadent meal. A sign I didn't eat enough -- I'm hungry again now!

a new way

My first week of being a raw foodist surely has had its ups and downs, from waking up Wednesday morning very alert and in no need of coffee like usual, to being lethargic and suffering from chills on other days. I went from Monday to Saturday without knowingly consuming anything that was not raw. On Sunday we went iceskating in Central Park with some friends, and afterwards we went to a health food store. One of our friends is a vegan, and as I was looking around, I came across some Raw Revolution bars. In a hurry I grabbed a few, after my friend promoted the brand as being absolutely raw, since she knows the owners. I gobbled down a chocolate and hazelnut bar. When I got home I was looking over the label again, and I noticed in the corner it said 82.2% raw. Gasp! I felt like a conservative Jew (well, I am a Jew) who just found out they had eaten a non-Kosher meal! The horror. I got over it.

Today I was full of cravings as well. Hot dogs, pizza, sandwich, oh my! After the partially-raw debacle, I started to rethink the diet. Perhaps I should eat as raw as I can, but also incorporate some cooked food, excluding all artificial sweeteners and coloring, sugar, gluten, preservatives, and dairy. That way I can have turkey on Thanksgiving!

I've already gone back to some non-raw ways. This afternoon I happened to open the cupboard to see some Herr's Natural Blue Corn chips. The only ingredients were certified organic blue corn, safflower and/or sunflower oil, and sea salt. No preservatives. Sounded very whole foods to me. So I made some guacamole and ate them together. Not awful. Doing this now and then helps put off the preoccupation with food that many dieters face. It gets very boring sometimes with such a limited food palette, and no bread-like substances.


I just made a delicious mango, banana and spinach smoothie. I love making smoothies. This one included one mango, one banana, up to a cup of water, and a handful of spinach. Don't worry about the spinach part, it adds loads of nutrition, but isn't noticeable in the taste at all.

Another asset to any raw food diet is a good juicer. One day I'd love the hefty Greenstar juicer ($499). For now, though, I love my Breville Compact Juice Fountain ($99.95). Also, the other day I ordered a Excalibur dehydrator ($209.95) -- an early Hanukkah gift from my mom (hi, mom!) Once it comes, I will be able to make raw fruit leathers and dried fruits, as well as my own, completely raw fruit bars! Yay! So that's a "taste" of my new life as a now "high-raw" foodist. More to come.

greenmarket

I don't consider myself to live extremely close to the Union Square Greenmarket, so I tend not to go down there for produce. But I should! I went there today to score some raw honey from Berkshire Berries, and I also picked up two zucchinis while looking around. Then I ended up buying some lacto-fermented sauerkraut from Hawthorne Valley Farms. I can't really say I've ever had sauerkraut, but I saw it was raw, and they offered as many tastes of their varieties as I wanted! Not bad. An acquired taste.


But, wait, why does it matter that the sauerkraut is raw? And, hey, the honey is raw, too? I began a raw food diet on Monday. Not to be confused with a raw vegan diet because I'm no vegan (no, I can't let you go, sashimi!) But I love this new and fun way of eating, especially because I hope it to cure a lot of my digestive issues and promote overall better health. I'd like to post more about my new raw lifestyle, but that I think will depend on interest. Interested?

ikea business

I found a link to the Ikea Business website from a new favorite blog, Linda & Harriett (they make an amazing letterpress 2009 calendar for only $24.) Over at Ikea Business, not only do they have a quiz to figure out what style you are (I'm Scandinavian Original!), the website is mostly video-based, with local shop owners talking about an showing off the solutions they use from Ikea.



I love how Shakti Yoga & Living Arts in Maplewood, NJ uses the stripa shelves to hold business cards, and then bulletin boards above. I found the Ikea Business website to be inspiring, not just for business owners, so take a look over there!

mr. gorbachev, break up this wall!

This is my living room, or at least the right most 70% of it. My living room is an 11x21" box, and the entire southern wall is blank. 21 feet of blank! I know frames should go on this wall, but I don't know where, and I don't know what it ought to look like in the end. I don't want to go overboard with holes and shelving, since we are moving in 6-8 months. I was thinking of getting 2-3 large posters to hang behind the TV, and then maybe I could have a small cluster of photographs and prints in line with the dining room table. What do you think? I'm stumped.

Please excuse the mess! I always forget to clean up before I take photos of my apartment!

(Clicking on the image above should link to a larger version.)

design at school

My favorite professor in the entire college is the head of the film department. Unlike his colleagues, his office isn't stark white and blank, there are several framed movie posters, and each time I go in there, I find myself admiring the decor, for an office!


I love the clocks in a row, though I don't think they are accurate! I'd love to do this in a home, as a horizontal line with 3-5 clocks that are a bit more modern.



I don't remember seeing this poster before, and I love it. It's the Italian poster for "The Postman Always Rings Twice," (1981) starring Jack Nicholson.



The poster for my favorite movie, "Chungking Express," by my favorite director, Wong Kar-Wai. I love the look of matted posters, but this one really works unmatted.



I've got to get me this poster for A Bout de Souffle (Breathless), another favorite film of mine. It's $49.99 on Allposters.com.



This corner needs work, but I love the wooded frame on the left. I know it is of some page from a newspaper, but I don't know exactly what it is or which publication. Anyway, I love to frame historical pieces like that.



And to conclude, this is one of the rooms I have class in. It's what I stare at for 75 minutes, twice a week, and I've always pondered this side of the room. Though not tactfully hung, I love the two frames to the left. And the mix-matched bookshelves. I'm usually one to try to have the same of one kind of item, like chairs or, shelves. But I kind of like this. It works with the shelves so full as they are. I could see a whole wall of different colors and sizes of shelves!

night run

After a dismal, rainy day, it was such a calm, warm evening at the dog run. But it was already dark at 5 o'clock. Doesn't it seem weird? Every year it always feels odd during this transition into winter.

favorites on flickr

It's been such a hectic week, and I know I've been slacking in my blogging duties. So I thought it would be a nice time to share with you some of my favorite photographers on Flickr!


Hello Naomi is my most recent find, and she is the cupcake master! (Or mistress?) I have a weak spot for bakers, I wish more than anything that I was talented in that field, but alas, I'm not!



If Naomi is the cupcake queen, then * luna * takes the cake for polaroids. Sometimes I can't believe the results she gets with her camera.



Bea Peltre of La Tartine Gourmande has inspired me so much lately with her food photography. She makes me really care about learning more advanced techniques.



Abi is my favorite Holga-er! I love square photography!



I'm not sure how I found Samantha Lamb, but she is so fab, she blows me away with amazing color and light.

Hope you see some new photography to admire and to inspire you, too!