so, what did you do on friday?

My husband broke his hand.

Surgery is scheduled for 1pm Thursday. He is having a rod put inside along the bone. It will stick out about an inch for 8 weeks or so and then it can be removed through a second surgery. I would be grossed out, but it's actually pretty similar to Bina's surgery last fall. The doctor seems really great. He came highly recommended by a friend and was quite impressed with the break. Surgery seems pretty straight-forward, though prayers are certainly welcome.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, originally uploaded by Meagan Vanover.

SERVES 4

Ingredients

* 1 cup quinoa
* 2 cups water
* 4 large green peppers (or 6 medium)
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 bunch of basil, chopped
* EVOO
* 1 large tomato, diced
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 1 small can of tomato paste
* grated Parmesan and shredded Italian cheese

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cook quinoa as per packet.
3. In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in EVOO
4. Fold in quinoa and add tomato paste, tomatoes and basil.
5. Place peppers in baking dish and fill with quinoa mixture
6. Sprinkle cheese over peppers and bake in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.

To quote my neighbor...

From Aimee:

Yesterday my lovely city issued an emergency water ban until further notice. This means no watering grass, flowers, gardens, washing cars, or swimming pools this summer. Are you serious? So my lawn we have worked so hard at to get in good shape is now going to burn??? Does New Haven really need help loosing home values with something like this? Houses are already going for HALF of what we paid 6 years ago. Do I understand that some people in the village are having water pressure issues? Yes. Has this been going on for 6 years and yet city council has failed to do ANYTHING about it? Yes. Mike Barnet, I understand you have a job to do and accept you have to make unpopular decisions. Who am I mad at? The Village. The Village of New Haven has let internal political turmoil dominate the landscape and only rarely addressing true issues of importance. We have pushed the water system to its breaking point and now we are forced to make quick decisions to rectify the situation. Guess what, I don't care. I'm sorry if the Village doens't want to feel pressured into making a decision, but guess what, you have brought it on yourself. Fix the system and allow watering again. This is now VERY personal. Click here to see the story.

reviving the victory garden

for mothers day, i got a fence and some cow manure. this would probably be an awful present to anyone other than me, but it's exactly what i had asked for. adam and i spent the better part of the weekend creating a 4x8 foot vegetable garden, and refueling all of the pots on the deck. this year, we're going to have an impressive crop of lots of random things that the kids picked out. i truly can't wait. we have so many varieties of lettuces, peppers and tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, edamame, broccoli, sugar snap peas, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin and even a watermelon. yes, i'm aware of the fact that we're going to be overcrowded. that's where those years of biology and charles darwin come in.

we've always gardened. i've been interested in gardening for as long as i can remember. i had hoped to instill that love of the earth, recycling and composting into my own children. it happened, and they may even love it more than me. you should hear them talk about the rain barrel. sheesh! anyway, my husband has been inspired every year to grow a fabulous garden of salad or salsa ingredients, and he gets bigger ideas with every year. we've always have a fabulous crop of our home grown, organically harvested produce. after five years of tuscan pot gardening, this year, we had planned to plot a small garden outside of the container.

long before green was the new black, we were planning away our own little victory garden of the future. well, being environmentally friendly and eco-conscious are now quite trendy, and with the slipping economy, more people are turning back to the garden. what a perfect resurgence in victory gardens. we still have some painting and cosmetics to work on, and possibly some marigolds to plant to ward off my sweet bunny, but we'll see. for now, i could not be happier.

we've already inspired a number of people to create their very own victory gardens. now it's your turn to sow your seeds, spread the message, and promote a little us history. where do you start? here's a great site right here.

happy earth day

ironically, i'm celebrating by driving more than 60 miles in a gas-guzzler to buy my kid a recycled bike.

call her green for the children who've made her

each week, i have one real goal- to create less waste.

i've always been a bit of an environmentalist, but i never really had an actual perspective on waste until i moved out to my current home. you see, we unknowingly built our home less than five miles from a landfill which accepts more than 40 tons of garbage from canada every single day in addition to our own county's trash. five years ago, the landfill was scarcely visable above the treeline. today, it towers overhead resembling a mountain at a ski resort. though it is extrememly well-managed, there is nothing glamerous about this north face.

so five years ago, i decided that if we had to live near a landfill, in a community that does not offer curbside recycling, that we were going to have to do our part to ensure that not everything ends up in that landfill. we started recycling what we could- bottles, of course, but also papers are taken to a collection box that help raise funds for our public schools, we bought a composter and put everything that can go in, turned, and then put back into our soil and enrich our little postage stamp parcel of earth which was raised and groomed from nothing- brought back from the dead which now hosts a collection of kingdoms and phylums which would make any biologist smile.

and then theres still that issue of general garbage- what to do with it, and where to put it. i'd love to one day own a trash compactor, but this home & funds do not allow for such a novelty. instead i compact anything that can be compacted. water bottles (though fewer & fewer these days) and milk jugs are crushed and re-capped before they go in. loose items are put into other containers (peanut butter jars, etc) to try to save space. each week, my one goal is to only have to put out one can of trash for our family of four, and our two cats. it can't always be done, as the occasional project will leave us with a mountain of trash.

but more often than not, i put out our one can of trash.

and that makes me proud.

because it could easily be two cans. or more.

and because i know that my children will have one less bag of trash to deal with in their lifetime.

i'll leave you with a little jack johnson on this sunny friday. (because who doesn't love a little jack johnson on a sunny friday!)

Three it's a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Because two times three is six
And three times six is eighteen
And the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R
We've got three R's we're going to talk about today
We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
If you're going to the market to buy some juice
You've got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste
And if your brother or your sister's got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we've got to learn to reuse
And if the first two R's don't work out
And if you've got to make some trash
Don't throw it out
Recycle, we've got to learn to recycle,
We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

wii just can't get enough

maybe this is nerdy, but i am really proud.
it was my second time on this pose.

dinner with ease

it's no secret. i rely heavily on the crock pot. vegetarians just don't like to cook meat.

but, here's a favorite (easy) recipe for my fam:

crock pot lemon chicken
1 package of chicken (boneless/skinless) tenderloins or breasts
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lemon pepper
1.5 fresh lemons
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, quartered


cover bottom of crock pot with juice of 1/2 lemon. put the rind and peel into garbage disposal to freshen kitchen. fling chicken into crock pot using fork. try not to think about chicken, nor look directly at it while flinging. sprinkle lemon pepper and ("waiter") pa-pree-ka onto tops of chicken. slice the whole lemon and layer on top of chicken. add butter quarters around chicken. cook on high for 3 hours. serve with rice and asparagus if you're feeling especially fancy.
enjoy!

and now for the world news:

another shitty day for china, as the changsa zoo experiences a huge back-up.

actually, if you want to read something really incredible, check out my friends blog. wow!

i'm meagan vanover for vanover central station.
have a great weekend.

dear tim horton's,

As usual, my toddler and I stopped into TH for our delicious bagels & incredible pumpkin smoothie. Today, however, my son asked for juice, and so I purchased a bottle of apple juice for him. Words cannot express the disappointment when I read the label that the concentrate comes from South Africa and China. How sad that in a day in age where I have to constantly be checking my child's toys, and medicines for dangerous recalls from the toxic country of China, that now I cannot even buy him juice without becoming suspicious of the contents.

TH cannot be so hard up for cash that it has to import apple juice. North America is full of orchards that produce fabulous juices. Please reconsider this products origin. I will be spreading the word to all of my other friends with children, and I can assure you that I will never purchase juice from TH again. It just isn't worth the risk.

Thank you.

thoroughly enjoying global warming

what better way to spend a november afternoon than with ice cream at the park!

the factory has reopened!

prepare the chips! fresh vanover salsa is on the way!

they tried to make me go to rehab, but i said no (or: footpads product review)

(dude, so who *doesn't* love amy winehouse?)

no, but seriously. my feet spent twelve full days detoxing with kyoto's detox foot pads. basically, there is a small tea bag-like pouch of herbs (bamboo vinegar, tourmaline, chitin and detox herbs) that you put on a larger self-adhesive cloth pad that you then stick to the sole of your foot while you sleep. upon application, the pouch smells herbal and is white. within several minutes, the pouch warms due to some radioactive rocks which become activated by foot sweat and the detoxification process begins.

initially, i thought that there was no way that i could possibly sleep like this, let alone for twelve nights, but i actually found it quite soothing and drifted off to sleep. at 6:17 am, i found myself wide awake. being a sound sleeper, and beyond lazy, i never even get out of bed before 7:00, despite my alarm sounding at 6:30. i was awake. oddly awake, and fully energized. my body felt no different. my foot was sweaty and the pad was sweaty, dark brown and smelled strangely like bacon (actually, more like "beggin's strips" -dogs don't know it's not bacon!). adam's pad did not stay on, therefor his data for day one was incomplete.

day two, the bacon scent continued. we learned that you must empty the trash daily, or 800 square feet will smell like herbal bacon pdq. i awoke at 6:13. irritated that i was again, full of energy, and adam's feet were not swollen for the first time in several months.

day three turned into a mad-scientist type of experiment. adam attempted to move his pad to the precise location of pain above his "sausage" toe, and i switched feet. adam had successful results in relieving the inflammation, and i awoke, again, well before my alarm.

days four-twelve were very much the same result. and though the herbal bacon scent left me somewhat queasy, and i have no logical explanation as to why detox footpads may work, i would recommend that any skeptics try them out. we went into this experiment with zero expectations, therefor any placebo effect would be noted in our studies. one could certainly argue that my increased energy could be a placebo effect, but if anyone has ever seen me in my coma-like state in the morning, as compared to post-detox, i think you would absolutely agree that something has changed my internal clock. adam's foot pain and swelling were noticeably decreased.

possible challenges to our experiment: adam bought new shoes, which fit him well, and have eliminated most pain during the day, but not swelling during the night. we believe that he has a circulation problem. we have also adjusted our diet to limit most carbohydrates, and increase protein and fiber significantly. adam has lost nearly 15 pounds, and i have lost 3. i am currently working on stress-reduction and practicing yoga in lieu of my pilates. though the detox experiment was conducted during my break from yoga, it is possible that i am more chilled than i was last month.

and the bottom line: i believe that everyone should try them out at least once. perhaps they work, perhaps they don't, but they did make at least a temporary improvement in both of us. even on the weekends, i was still (and continue) to wake before 6:30 am. it's not something i'd like to do, but it is a much better feeling that being groggy for several hours every day. though i don't believe that they actually remove heavy metals (my pads were always darker than adam's and neither of ours really lightened up even after day 12) i do believe they have some type of herbal benefit. we paid $10 for a pack of 24 pads from a natural foods store at eastern market. i would not recommend that anyone pay much more than that, because apparently they all come from the same three chinese manufacturers anyway. certainly, the ones on television are identical, but very overpriced. i know a few of you were interested, and had purchased your own, so i'd like to hear your experiences as well. i'll update on my morning energy as my post-detox continues. i'd really like to sleep in again one day. preferably soon.

so go buy them and check them out. unless of course you're taking a fenegreek supplement, in which case, daedra brought up a very good point: if you're already smelling like maple syrup, adding bacon to the mix is only a good thing if you're at a family restaurant.

why you should check out william good

designer nick graham (of joe boxer) reworks garments donated to good will. The end result are totally chic one-of-a-kind creations.
what an awesome way to reduce, reuse and recycle. it just warms my not-so-dirty hippie (alright, yuppie!) lovin', tree-hugging heart.

when blogs collide 218

what a surprise saturday morning to run into the gang of hb at eastern market!

wow, what a marketing strategy!

bh&g: hello mrs vanover, we'd like to extend your subscription to better homes and gardens.
me: oh, thank you, but i'm not interested in renewing.
bh&g: we have an exceptional offer... blah blah... 50% off...
me: thank you, but i never had a subscription. i was getting it for free.
bh&g: oh. well, you can purchase it now... blah blah.. 50% off...
me: thank you, but i'm not interested. i'm trying to cut down on the paper use in my household and i've been wasting the magazines that i do receive.
bh&g: i understand your concern, but....
me: thank you, but i feel guilty sending them directly to the landfill.
bh&g: well you know, you don't have to actually read it. it's more like a coffee table book.

booyah!

fifty dollar peanut butter

no, this is not like the $10,000 martini or the $1,000 pizza. it's just a $50 container of peanut butter.

because my huband and daughter have been going through unfathomable amounts of peanut butter lately, i am forced to renew my costco membership so that i don't have to spend so damn much at the grocery store.

yes, it is true. we do not use costco for diapers, cleaning supplies, family sized lasagna or treadmills. we use costco for ranch dressing, bananas, cheese and $50 peanut butter.

how american is that.

artistic and nutritious

now let's look at some art you made online...

give peas a chance

this morning, i received this in my inbox:

Dear MEAGAN,As a reader of Domino we'd like to give you the opportunity win the internship of a lifetime and be published in JANE magazine! Subscribe to JANE and automatically be entered to win a week at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, home to Food Network's hit show Ace of Cakes, where you'll learn all about what it takes to create extreme cakes.

seriously. what part of that sounds like fun? why, if i actually do desire to be a domestic diva, does this hold no interest to me? why do i continue to blatantly refuse to learn how to cook? why do i make lavish hors d'oeuvres yet continue to serve my family boxed pasta? why can't i just enjoy the beauty in my stove? the art of cooking? oh, why...

the difference between herbivores and omnivores

today when we went to kroger, adam and i each picked out some kind of treat for tonights dinner. adam chose shrimp and cocktail sauce and i bought some creamed spinach.