Off line

Hi world!

I've been offline. We've been in transition and in between I didn't have so much computer access, which has been great in some ways, and limiting in others. I'm looking forward to a happier medium in the near future. In good news, we're two weeks into having a home and it's actually starting to look like one. Nothing like storing your stuff for a year to realize how much crap you have. 

Christchurch



The now fallen cathedral

 We spent a few days in Christchurch on our trip, and met a lovely woman and her son in SE Asia who live just outside. We've spent a lot of time thinking about the city and our friends this week.



The Lord's Prayer in Maori and English in the cathedral





Matteo and Delphine



Today...Last Year

Sydney from the ferry. Pretty, no?

Books, etc.: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

I've been trying to branch into non-fiction, and my husband is starting a business, so there are lots of business-y books hanging out near me. I picked this one up, and must say, thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not entirely sure if it will stick with me when I'm not consciously thinking about it, but it's worth a shot. For me, the best part is thinking of somethings as parts of what they call 'the path', and not necessarily about motivation. Sometimes the best way to get people (or yourself) to not do something, is to make it so you can't do something. Duh, seems simple no? An interesting, fun and quick read, I'll let you know if it helps with any major life changes.

Tasty Bits: Greek Pastitsio

While we were traveling, we made mental notes of all the interesting international foods we wanted to learn to make and integrate into our repertoires. Close to the top of the list was pastitsio. It's a Greek sort of version of lasagna, one of the casseroles that Greek grannies make in the morning and leave around all day for their hard laboring kids and grandkids. It is hearty, warm and tasty, and with this recipe, not that bad for you!  It's from Food.com, we used ziti as bucatini is hard to find, but I do think it makes a difference, so we'll keep looking. We also used veggie beef, which is not at all noticeable in this one, and makes it even healthier. It feeds four people, about a meal and a half (call it 8 mid-sized servings), and makes a nice meal with a Greek salad. Opa!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bucatini pasta or 8 ounces ziti pasta
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb ground beef (or veggie ground beef substitute)
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried mint flakes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook macaroni; drain, and return to pan.
2. Stir in the melted butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup milk, and the egg; set aside

3. In a a skillet or large saucepan, cook ground beef and onion until meat loses its pinkness and onion is soft; drain excess fat.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, the 1 teaspoon salt, mint flakes (if used), cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; set aside.
5. In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then mix in flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
6. Slowly stir in the 2 cups milk, stirring well after each addition so that no lumps form.
7. Cook and stir on medium high until cream sauce starts to thicken; stir for one minute more, then remove from heat.
8. Beat egg in a small bowl, then pour into cream sauce, stirring briskly.
9. Blend in the 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.
10. Layer half the pasta mixture in a 11" x 7" (or 2 quart) baking dish.
11. Spoon the meat mixture evenly on top, then the remaining pasta.
12. Pour cream sauce over top, to cover completely.
13. Bake, uncovered, at 350F for about 40 minutes, or until hot and lightly browned.
14. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Books, etc.: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

I put off reading this book because I thought it would make me an instant vegetarian (again), and I wasn't sure I was ready to give up meat-y goodness indefinitely. (Un)Fortunately, that was not the case. I was excited because I had heard the book was beautifully and emotionally written. I love few things more than good fiction authors writing great personal essay work (see: Barbara Kingsolver's short essays, not Animal Veg.). But this I found disorganized, and at points just plain repetitive. More than anything I found myself hoping for just one more interesting anecdote (which I expected the bulk of the book to be, duped!), rather than one more clumsily explained paragraph about how factory farming is mean. Don't get me wrong, factory farming is TERRIBLE, I know that, and I already try to eat little or no factory farmed meat and will continue to do so. But what I was really hoping for was an impassioned discussion about the feelings around meat eating or not as he struggled with how to raise his child, and in that I was disappointed, it's just another meat is mean book. So, I'll work on taking down my meat intake (which is already pretty low), and reminding myself to make sure that my eggs, fish and meat are coming from responsible places (which is easy in my neck of the woods), in order to hope that someday everyone has as good of options as we do here in hippie dippy Northern California. JSF, see you when your next work of fiction comes out.

Back in the Country Blogging

So, when we got back to the country, I spent some time thinking both about life and my blogging future, two *totally* equal issues, right? In terms of life, Mike & I are working on getting together a happy little stateside life for ourselves, working on jobs, someday apartment, unpacking and general wedded bliss. Two things are now happening, 1) I am feeling super nesty because we have been unsettled for too long, and it's winter and 2) as a result of our trip, I have a renewed and energized desire to be more conscious about my choices in life and more crafty. I really like having a hand involved in the things that go into our lives. So here goes, a blog filled with what I'm reading, making, cooking and thinking about, and some random anecdotes, because that is also a big part of my world.