VEGAN PB&J

I've been thoughtfully experimenting with cooking...and VEGAN baking! Here is the PB and J cookie recipe that I have adapted to make VEGAN. The cookies lose NONE of their flavor and I feel like the banana just adds to the wonderfulness that is PB&J.

ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened (USE VEGAN BUTTER!)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg (USE HALF A BANANA!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons grape jelly (FORGET GRAPE, use Raspberry)

preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl whisk together peanut butter, VEGAN butter, and brown sugar until smooth and whisk in egg (Banana that has been smooshed) and vanilla. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring until blended.
Roll pieces of dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. On a large baking sheet arrange balls 2 inches apart and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes. Working quickly, with the back of a 1/4-teaspoon measuring spoon make an indentation about 1/2 inch in diameter in center of each cookie. Fill each indentation with slightly heaping 1/4 teaspoon jelly and bake cookies 10 minutes more, or until golden. Transfer cookies to racks to cool.

This makes about 30 cookies! yummmmm.

Chili!!! VEGAN style...

    2 cans dark kidney beans
    2 cans pinto beans
    2 cans chili beans
    1 medium-sized onion, chopped
    1 large tomato, diced
    1 can tomato sauce
    1-2 tablespoon jalapeno peppers, minced (I use the store-bought ones from a jar)
    2 tablespoons of jalapeno juice
    1 teaspoon seasoning salt
    1 teaspoon mild chili powder
    1 teaspoon black pepper.
    1 teaspoon curry powder
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.


Directions:

Use a crockpot or some other slow-cooker for this...Simply place all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook. Cook on low for several hours (7-8)

Cornbread is a must with this.

Be careful, this can be VERY SPICY!  You may want to adjust the amount of jalapeno juice.

Preparation time: 8 hours

Fancy Tomato Soup!

Ingredients:
7-8 plum tomatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup halved carrots
1 cup red pepper
5 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons butter/vegan butter
1 cup thinly sliced onion
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp pepper
2 cans vegetable stock
1 cup milk
½ cup flour


In food processor:
Combine all but one cup of tomatoes, the celery, carrots, peppers and garlic. Process until pureed and then put in stew pot.

Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan and add onions. Cook until they are almost translucent and add the rest of the tomatoes. Cook on low until onions are fully translucent and then add to the stew pot with other ingredients.

Add spices and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, add milk and flour (after you’ve mixed them in a measuring cup) and continue to cook for 45 minutes on a medium heat.

Serve with some grilled cheese and you have the best comfort food EVER! :)

SO MUCH NEWS!

Wow. It hasn't even been that long since my last post, but boy do I have some news!

We'll start with NYC: It was great to see Jen, her studio space she is working so so so hard on, visit some fun places that were inexpensive (like P.S.1 and the Sculpture Center and the Center for the Book Arts), eat some delicious/cheap food! OMG WAS IT GOOD! I want hummus, now.

Jen, as a friend, inspires me. She always has. This trip proved it. I came away with ideas about studios, her insight about group studios really helped. A few ideas for projects/writing endeavors sprung up out of the ashes. AND, I decided what my next tattoo will be and I am dying to get it. I know I could go on and on about Jen and how much I admire her and love her, but everyone knows. I'm thankful for her.

Before I left for NYC I got a TEACHING JOB!

Let me elaborate on this: Polaris Charter Academy is a school in Humboldt park, currently taking k-4th grade students. I worked at that school during my year in Americorps 2 years ago, during their first year open. It was chaotic and messy and made me into a stress ball. But, I SURE did miss my students! I was so distraught that I would not be able to teach art there AND go to grad school that I had a panic attack...it was rough. This year, they were looking for an art teacher (very part time position) and I called them! They were so happy and thanked me for reaching out, but really...I'm so excited I could pee my pants. Because of the part time nature of this job, I know I will not become burnt out on teaching, like I have in the past. The school has the best teaching philosophy I have ever seen and I am excited to be a part of it again and learn from my coworkers as well as my students. I start lesson planning immediately and teaching next Tuesday!

This weekend: SO much going on. I have my screen printing workshop on Saturday and Sunday, a Caesura meeting Sat night, Laura's housewarming, farmer's market with friends Sunday...plus some lesson planning...

Speaking of Laura....
We have a lot of talking to do, but we spent all morning yesterday AND today driving around looking at store fronts in the logan square area...we found one....today that is AMAZING. It is raw and being renovated to our liking (if we take it- which we probably will). Wtf do we need a store front commercial space for, you might ask? Well...We're in need of real studio space and are going to set it up so that there will be 4 artists in this space at a time. I'm interested in setting up a nice papermaking area. But the main goal of this is to not only have a nice place to work but to hold events in, workshops for ALL ages, open studios, maybe sales/shows...it is evolving as I write this. I'll know more about it after Saturday, but I am so excited. And I keep worrying about the cost of it all, but I've decided that it will be an investment...and I can make it work if I really try.

With that said...are there artists out there who would like to be involved? Does anyone know of any studio equipment (especially paper making equipment) that needs a new home? Please contact me :)

So many good things, so little time.

NYC

going....going....

Gone. (in more ways than one)

Next Friday I will be on a plane to NYC, for that I am thankful. I'll be visiting Jen, for THAT, I am EXCITED AND HAPPY!

I'm thankful every time I leave my comfort zone. Maybe my comfort zone is being outside of my norm, being "alone", jumping at the chance for an adventure.

This summer, I've left a lot. I've been unable to sit still here in Chicago. I'm so lucky to be able to travel as much as I have, and will continue to do this in the near/far off future. It's just refreshing to step off a plane and be a complete outsider, to abandon everything that is Chicago. I enjoy the unfamiliar. I may be going to DC in October with my roommate and friends for a march for gay rights.

I also enjoy the familiarity of a good friend, a good person. Once again, I'll get to spend some time with Jen. Which, of course, is the most exciting part about that trip. She is a rarity and one of the only people I can love without expectation to follow. I can be myself, finally. And enjoy the person that she is.

It is obvious that I need to be alone. I need to focus on my own work and figuring out how to proceed from Here. Here being the present, the decisions I've made recently, the bottom of a ladder to where I know I'm meant to be, and at the same time; the top of a hill that looks frightening from up Here. Here is where I need to be, but proceeding...is what I want to do. It will be a struggle, but it will be easy if I can keep focused.

Someone rudely told me that "they don't need art collectives and vacations to be happy" yesterday...and that isn't it at all. I'm not meant to work retail for the rest of my life and my goal has ALWAYS been to enjoy life and leave the world a little better than the way I found it. That is EXACTLY what I intend do to. I surround myself with those I love. I do what I love because I love it. I do not do it as an escape, living is not escaping...and neither is taking chances. Risks are the most rewarding experiences for me, it's how I learn. I'll never let anyone judge me for this again, I AM happy. I just like to experience life while I can.

With that, I will say goodnight. Photos from NYC and stories will be here shortly!

<3

The PowerBook

"Only the impossible is worth the effort."

A quote from The PowerBook by Jeanette Winters, which is actually quoted like three times in the book. Sometimes these books fall into your lap by way of friends or a random recommendation and they can feel so aligned with your own life...it's a little frightening. This book is definitely one of those books.

I'm feeling so many things, all at once. Not only pertaining to love, but just caring in general. More quotes to explain:

"Put your hand in the water to reach for a sea urchin or a seashell, and the thing desired never quite lies where you had lined it up to be. The same is true of love. In prospect or in contemplation, love is where it seems to be. Reach in to life it out and your hand misses. The water is deeper than you had gauged. You reach further, your whole body straining, and then there is nothing for it but to slide in-- deeper, much deeper than you had gauged-- and still the thing eludes you."

"No, and I wasn't looking for love either."
"Then what happened?"
"Then. Then what? Then what happened? What can I say? I like being on my own better than I like anything else, but I can't give up love. Maybe it's the tension between longing and aloneness that I need. My own funicular railway, holding in balance the two things most likely to destroy me."
~~~~~~~~
Tension. It's always about tension. In my work, in my love life, in my desires... I highly recommend this book.

On another note. I ordered a bunch MORE of her books after Jennifer lent me this one! I also ordered some books on Hungary because I have started a story based on a dream I had last year and I am linking it to Hungary and my experience there and my family life. It will be a long time before I have anything to post from it (I plan on actually EDITING this one!), but updates on new reads will be frequent until then!

Love.

Caesura: A pause. A break.

After several months of consideration and indecision, I've finally made the choice to leave Columbia this Fall. It's been both a good and a bad year in terms of my education, but I feel I'm making the best decision I can make in this situation. It's strange to think that just over a year ago I was about to START grad school, in a program I was SO excited about, it was all I talked about. It was all I wanted to do. Book and paper or Library Science....which would it be? I had hoped to get so many things out of this program: A strong community (which is probably the only thing I expected AND found), supportive faculty who I could learn from, challenges of the artistic kind and a decent portfolio in the end.

I would have to say that with the supportive faculty I DID find gone and the majority of my classmates unceremoniously kicked out of the program or dissatisfied with it enough to leave...there was no reason for me to stay. I can find everything I need elsewhere.

Instead, I am working on the goals I've had all along. I wanted to start a collective, and now have wonderful accomplices to do that with and help propel it forward. I wanted to start a non-for profit art center of some sort and am learning all I can about them.

Jennifer, Marnie and I have started a collective: Caesura. The hope is that we can keep our wonderful community alive and let it flourish by helping one another, giving each other feedback, sharing our knowledge and organizing group shows.

I've been thinking a lot about the resources I have available to me now...they are almost endless. I have freedom to go where I want and do what I want and LEARN. what. I. want.

This weekend, I am taking a Screen Printing workshop at No-Coast. I'm really excited and if I enjoy it enough I am going to try to become a member there to screen print some posters, t-shirts, etc. to sell on etsy. I did a little bit of screen printing in one of my painting classes, but it's been a while. This will refresh me.

Monday, I start Ukulele classes. I still have a goal to become more comfortable performing in front of people. Plus, I have a beautiful red ukulele that is just begging for some action.

There are exciting residencies, workshops and classes all over the country that I am looking into. Part of me wants to move. Part of me wants to stay put for a while and let the dust settle. I suppose we'll see how I feel a few months from now.

We will see when my next Caesura is meant to occur. When will I have to take a step back and pause.

And think about what is right for me.

Now and then

I just want to grab someone and kiss them.

Other times, I'd rather sleep with my cat. :) And that is no offense to anyone. I just love my cat a lot.

Costa Rica!!!!

What a great idea! I'm so glad I got to go to Costa Rica. It was a little strange at times, having to speak spanish- but it was great practice and now I really want to learn more. I know I can learn it if I actually try...that's the difficult part sometimes though. Trying. Highlights of the trip:

-Hanging out with Amy
-Watching a monkey steal a man's oreos right out of his bag...(photo above)
-the beach- though I am super burnt, I boogie boarded and had fun playing in the ocean for a minute
-Seeing plants and animals that seem to only exist in zoos and Jurassic park.
-Witnessing a drug bust the first night in, on our bus...
-Drinking Pilsen and eating el pollo frito
-Cafe Milagro and their delicious food, coffee and good service!
-rickety bridges...
-suicidal bees
-CRAZY cab drivers.
-the frogs that sounded like crying babies
-having a crab in our room, somehow...
-many other little things...

Who knows what my next adventure will be. Right now, I am happy to be home with my kitty cat sleeping next to me, laundry in the washer, comfortable clean clothes on...I had a nice walk through my neighborhood..I do love it here in Chicago. I like going places, but I think I love coming home just as much.

Oh, summer time: You are fine.

This has been a roller coaster of a summer!  So much change and many new experiences to chalk up and mark off.  Hungary seems so long ago that I'm now finally able to think about it a little more clearly.  That adventure alone will direct my work this coming semester at Columbia and help me grow as an artist, but when I was there I could hardly focus.  Some of the highlights from that trip:

Meeting some interesting people from the residency and couch surfing

Seeing many mamy small galleries

The Ludwig Museum- which was AWESOME.

Delicious food about 50% of the time...

Cappuccinos! 

Baths and flea markets and antique stores. Oh my.

Schonbrunn castle grounds

Delicious Viennese desserts.

The Ballet

As for the me in the now...I've been distracted.  Everything has been unsettled since I returned, but finally everything is falling into place and I am starting to feel less burdened.  I've realized something important, one needs to always trust their first impression.  Shallowness and vanity are characteristics that do not wash away with only a few months.  She was a bump in the road, but now I know better than to take that route.  I have a knack for meeting amazing people, but also weeding out the ones who cannot add anything of substance to my life.  It's a process and I can honestly say that those I choose to keep in my life are inspiring, brilliant, kind people who I adore.  Why would I want any less?

A Costa Rican adventure awaits me on Friday...I bought a plane ticket yesterday after deciding that it would the worth the expense if I was not going to go on a long road trip with Rose.  It will be worth it in so many ways.  I'm so excited to spend some time getting to know someone better, relaxing, walking through lush rainforest to get to the gorgeous beach!  It will be a short trip, but I think it will be such a positive addition to my life.  I've never gone somewhere on a whim like this...with 3 days notice! :)  All of this is refreshing.

Apartment life has improved DRASTICALLY.  My roommates, Jenny and Diana, are awesome and I am SO happy to be in this new situation and apartment and neighborhood!  It feels good to start somewhere new.

Okay, time to go...I'll try to update more often.  Expect amazing photos from Costa Rica in a few days!!!!! WOOOOOOO!

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