American Amber

POTW

2009-09-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend my mom, aunt, future mom-in-law and future sister-in-law came up for my first wedding dress fitting. Here is a picture of all of us after the happy event:

Sierra Club Foodies Committee

2009-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

I recently joined the North Star Chapter (aka the Minnesota Chapter) Foodies Committee. Not only that but I was asked to do a short review / write up for our meetings and I just completed my first one and I wanted to share it here:

September's Foodies Committee Meet-up:

A few weeks ago I read the description of the North Star Chapter’s Food Committee: “Celebrate local and/or organic food and restaurants with the Food Committee on the first Wednesday of every month. Bring great ideas, great conversation, and if you're hungry, buy yourself some dinner!” Based on that, I was in, and ready for my first meet up.

On September 3, I entered the French Meadow Café hungry and a little nervous as to how it would all play out. Much to my pleasure, the evening was filled with fantastic local food, wonderful people, and thought provoking discussion.

There were nine of us gathered around the table of French Meadow that night. The group was diverse, with a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and careers. The conversation reflected this mix, and the topics varied from nuclear energy to home brewing beer and baking. The common ground of our interests, however, a main point of conversation, and the reason we were all there that night, was our love of food.

As I mentioned, the restaurant that we visited in September was the French Meadow Café which is a restaurant created by the French Meadow Bakery. The first statement under the “Heritage” section the French Meadow Bakery’s website site says it all, “French Meadow Bakery began with a purpose, to introduce the world to flavourful, nutritionally beneficial foods using only what's necessary from the planet's most natural and abundant sources.”

Since 1985, creator Lynn Gordon and French Meadow has been doing exactly that, earning it the prestige of being the longest continuously-running certified organic bakery in the U.S. The Café’s is located on Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis. French Meadow also has locations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Air Port and on the State Fair Grounds. French Meadow serves a wide range of food that will please both meat lovers and vegans alike, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Our group was there for dinner, and to start, we had a plethora of options to choose from for beverages. The beer and wine list is very good and features many organic and local options. As for food, three of us (including myself) chose the fish special, which was a river trout served with a fennel cream sauce over roasted vegetables. The fish was cooked perfectly with the sauce and melted as soon as it hit your tongue.

The second most popular dish, chosen by two people, was the grilled tempeh rueben, which is vegan due to the substitution of tempeh for corn beef and spiced tomato-soy aioli for thousand island dressing. This sandwich and the Thai tempeh which was ordered by another group member looked delicious and were huge: plenty for dinner, especially since the plate included a pile of organic greens with a wonderful vinaigrette.

Unfortunately, because all the food was so yummy, we all filled up, and no one had room to try some of the tantalizing deserts that were offered. The next time I visit French Meadow I will be sure to save room.

After our meal, I was happy to see that local doesn’t mean outrageously expensive; my meal, a beer, tax and tip cost me around $25.00. Not bad.

Joining this club was a great idea and I look forward to our next meeting, October 1, 2009 at Brasa’s St. Paul location. Hope to see you there!

Links of Interest:

Foodie Committee Blog

Foodie Committee Team Page

North Star Chapter Website

Autumn Brew Review

2009-09-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

The tasting guide is out for this weekend's Autumn Brew Review and I just thought I would post it here: http://www.mncraftbrew.org/downloads/ABR09TastingGuide.pdf

If you are going to be there, look for me and say hi, I will be hanging out drinking with my tasting glass holder and a great group of friends.

Mixology -- Amaretto Edition

2009-09-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

After hours of research and trials (aka finishing off a bottle of Disaronno) I am ready for my first installment of Mixology. Amaretto is a liqueur that got its start in northern Italy. The liqueur gets its name because of its distinct flavor. The name is a diminutive of "amaro" which in Italian means bitter, which is from the mandorla amara or bitter almond. However, don't let the bitter name fool you, Amaretto base is bitter almond but then the sweetness factor is kicked up with the use of sweet almonds and sugars, although it isn't overly sweetened and has a nice smooth balance.

If you don't think you have heard of Amaretto before, you can thank the branding skills of liqueurs like Disaronno and Lazzaroni. I think it is impossible to hear Disaronno and not think of the bar tender in the cheesy commercials saying Disaronno on the rocks.

There are plenty of classic cocktails that highlight this drink such as:

The God Father

1 part Amaretto

1 part Scotch

Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

French Connection

1 part Amaretto
1 part Cognac
Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

The Lady Finger

1 part Amaretto

1 part grapefruit juice

Pour all ingredients into an old fashion glass filled with ice.

My two favorite classics that I tried were:

Amaretto Sour (leave that sour mix crap to the children):

2 oz Amaretto

1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

1/4 oz Egg white (optional)

Pour all into a shaker filled with ice and shake well and then strain over a sour glass.

Amaretto and Cream

2 oz Amaretto

1 oz Cream

Pour into a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain over crushed ice in a low ball

A drink I came up with is also super tasty, it is kind of like Dr. Pepper:

2 oz Amaretto

4 oz Club Soda

1/2 oz Rose's Lime

Pour into a shake filled with ice and shake well. Pour the whole thing into a low ball.

So pick up a bottle of this liqueur, it is a classic with a lot of fantastic drink options. Or you could always just have a Disaronno on the rocks.

POTW

2009-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

This week's picture is my kitchen table. Ahhh the bounty of summer:

Stuff I Hate

2009-09-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

The new "yoga" American Apparel ads. For a description of my hate, you can pretty much read this post by my buddy Blaine in his blog: American Apparel Yoga Porn Ad – Seriously?

Now I like American Apparel, I love that they are a non sweat shop option for shopping, however this ad campaign is too much. What is up with advertising these days? (I must be an old lady.)

Thanks for pointing this out to me Blaine, I needed something to be disappointed in today.

Wonderful Cookbook

2009-09-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than finding an excellent cookbook. I am one of those nerdy people who loves to read cookbooks even when I am not looking for something to make that instant. Because of this, I have fallen in love with the cook book The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. The book profiles different culinary regions throughout Minnesota and highlights restaurants, farms and their favorite recipes. The recipes are very diverse and include all sorts different meals and occasions. The farm and restaurant stories are probably the most interesting part for me, the stories also feature some beautiful photography. A bonus is that the forward of the book is written by Garrison Keillor which you might know from A Prairie Home Companion. An excerpt follows:

I can never be a boy again standing barefoot in a garden on a sunny day and hold a ripe tomato in my hand... but this lovely book gives me hope that something beautiful that I thought had passed away has actually come full circle and that other people in Minnesota share this same longing for fresh food.

I usually try to make a soup every week to have for lunch at the office and this week's came from this book and I would like to share it. It comes from Chef Joan Foster of the Brewed Awakening Coffeehouse.

Potato Spinach Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 cups potatoes, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, chopped
2 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Put 5 cups hot water in a large saucepan. Add the first seven ingredients. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add water if needed. Add the rest of the ingredients. Heat and stir until cheese is melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

I added some extra grated cheddar cheese and some green onions to the top of mine:

State Fair, A Lesson in Digestion

2009-08-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

I try to eat right, but there are some times when in the name of fun and being Midwestern all that must be thrown aside. One of those times is the state fair. Being from Wisconsin, I am partial to theirs, with the giant cream puffs. However, Minnesota also has a super fun one. I decided to document all the tasty travels along the way.

My first treat of the night was brought to me by Ryan after my volunteer shift at the Sierra Club booth. It was Swedish egg coffee. I have had the pleasure of having egg coffee before as my Norwegian Lutheran Church growing up always served it at their annual lutefisk dinners. Unfortunately, the state fair version was not the fatty creamy stuff of my youth. It tasted more like greasy instant coffee.

My second treat was something a little more substantial, Polish sausage on a stick. Although it was no frills, the sausage had a nice amount of spice to it and was served with a yummy honey mustard.

Third was a fair treat that I have had before, deep fried pickles. What surprises most people (including me) when they first get these is that they are actually sliced deep fried pickles as opposed to a whole pickle on a stick and fried. The slices actually make it great because they get nice and crispy. These can be found inside the food building and come in original and cajun. I would suggest sticking with original, as the cajun is a little too much flavor.

After hearing about it, there was no way that I was going to miss Summit's Beer on a Stick. Super cute idea if you ask me. They had three of their offerings (which included their Pale Ale, Oktoberfest, and Horizon Red Ale) in a balsam wood tasting paddle. The only problem was that it was hard to hang on to especially if you have the wrists of someone who types all day. Also, unfortunately the paddle didn't make it home as Ryan forgot he had it in his back pocket, sat down and it snapped in half.

Who can go to the state fair and not get a big glass of milk? I enjoyed mine while walking through the Moo barn.

After a trip through all of the barns (including my favorite the Oink barn) I was ready for more food. I think it should be a crime if you go to a state fair and not have any roasted corn.

By far my favorite treat of the fair was the fried green tomatoes. They are crisp and refreshing, yet at the same time salty and crispy. If you haven't given them a chance, try them. I also suggest you top them with some Tobasco.

With a name like Potato Tornado how could I not try this? Surprisingly, they weren't super greasy and at $2.00, not a bad value.

Probably my least favorite of the night were deep fried cheese curds from Mouse Trap inside the food building. They were expensive for the amount you got and were so salty that they were almost inedible. When something stands out after a day of eating salty fair food as too salty, you know that is bad.

Another highlight of the night was the Maple Syrup Soda from the Local Foods booth located right outside of the eco building. They just carbonate actual maple syrup which makes for a delish drink.

The final treat of the night was a massive cone of cotton candy.

With a full belly, I ended my annual trip to the state fair. Surprisingly, I made it through all of that with no heart burn!

S-U-C-C-E-S-S

2009-08-31T10:56:00.004-07:00

THATS THE WAY YOU SPELL SUCCESS!

For the first time since I started having a budget and daily tracking every last penny, I finally came in under budget the month of August! I couldn't be happier that I am coming around and really starting to see results from these life changes. I am not going to lie, although I am under, it isn't by much and I needed to have a pretty low key weekend in order to stay on track, but I did it.

In addition to coming in under budget, I also had 8 no spend days this month, which comes out to about two a week. And, I put away 1/4 of my take home pay to savings for vacation funds and nest egg savings.

This is totally motivation now to stick with it. Also, law school has started for Ryan again which means that will make for much less going out and much more savings.

POTW

2009-08-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling uninspired as of late to write, my apologies. For this week's picture of the week is not one that I took, but is of something I spend every day in, the IDS Center in Minneapolis. I work in the IDS Center, which is the tallest building in the Twin Cities. However, the ironic thing is that I work on the fourth floor of the tallest building in the Twin Cities. So here it is, next time you walk by, waive to me.

Recipes - Chipotle Blue Cheese Coleslaw

2009-08-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

If you cook regularly for bbqs and pot lucks, there is always one dish that stands out from the rest and that your friends request you bring every time. For me that dish is my Chipotle Blue Cheese Coleslaw. This dish a great spicy and different spin compared to the usual bland and overlooked side dish.

Ingredients:

1 Small head of purple cabbage (you can use green but the purple color really makes it more attractive) diced to small pieces
1 Lemon
1 Small jar of mayonnaise
2 to 3 Chipotle peppers with sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
1 cup (about) of crumbled blue cheese
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small food processor add in the mayo and the chipotle peppers. I usually do three peppers which creates a lot of heat. Also, you should note that if you want to make this the night before rather than the day off, use one less pepper because as it sits the heat increases. Blend completely, the mayo will turn a very pretty red orange color (taste the mayo at this point to check to see if it hot enough for you, you can always add another pepper if you want). Take the mayo and add it to the cabbage and mix in a large bowl. Next, squeeze the juice of the lemon in to the mayo / cabbage mixture and mix again. Finally, mix in the blue cheese, salt, and pepper. That is it, super easy, and will be requested by your friends for your next cook out.

POTW

2009-08-20T06:25:00.001-07:00

This week's picture of the week is from an awesome disco party I attended at 1st Ave. last saturday night. American Amber Disco Edition:

Stuff I Love - Iraqi Baseball

2009-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am a baseball lover and a Rachel Maddow fan, but the story of the Iraqi baseball team made my love of both increase greatly.

In mid July I saw a Rachel Maddow clip talking about a McClatchy news story about the Iraqi baseball team. Batting coach, Hamze Madlool (only 26) formed the current team, despite earlier teams failing during the civil unrest the country was experiencing:

Players on that club and the baseball federation president, Isma’eel Khallel, got e-mail and telephone threats from Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaida Iraq. The insurgents accessed them of playing “an occupation game.” However, it was lack of money, not death threats, that sent the earlier team to the showers.

Money was a problem for the current team as well. The Iraqi Olympic committee would only contribute enough money for them to join some international baseball federations. This left them with a small dismal amount of equipment and not enough money for equipment. The ENTIRE team’s equipment included:

A five year-old softball bat, a threadbare cap, three scuffed balls and nine second-hand gloves from a flea market.

Yet, that doesn’t stop them from playing the game that they have come to love:

At one practice last week, the players — most of whom had just finished university exams — spent their time on drills. The sandstorm that had hung over Baghdad for days had cleared off. Under blue skies, in 110 degree heat, they ran laps around the field, then tossed their three balls back and forth in an Arabic version of a pepper warm-up. None of the players owns a pair of spikes, so they all wear Chinese-made, off-the-rack running shoes.

Now here is the awesome part, due to the article and Rachel Maddow's coverage of it, offers to help the team started to come in from everywhere: Click here for a video of the awesome results.

This story is what baseball is really about, it isn't million dollar contracts and doping scandals, it is a group of people getting together to share a sport loved around the world.

Sources:

msnbc.com

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/71740.html

Our Beer Story

2009-08-19T06:32:00.001-07:00

If you want the play-by-play of our beer that we brewed, pop on over to Ryan and I's beer blog Beer on the Brain.

Midwestern Domestic Goddess

2009-08-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

There are few things in the world that I love more than having a domestically productive day on Sunday. Yesterday, Ryan and I had an amazing one. However, in the interest of full disclosure, it didn't really start off that way, nursing a vicious, large St. Pauli Girl caused hang over almost destroyed everything; but with some Gatorade and a nap I was back on track.

My Sunday Accomplishments:

Beans and Jalapeños were picked;
The garden was watered;
Beans were pickled and canned (spicy dilly beans are one of life's joy);
Jalapeños were pickled and canned;
A slow cooker of soup was made;
Bloody Marys were drunk; and
Ryan and I brewed our first batch of BEER! It was so exciting and now the month long wait to see how it turned out will seem like forever. We did an Amber style ale for our first try. I will have pictures of the process on the blog soon. I am happy to report it is already fermenting, the air lock was releasing beer scented bubbles this morning.

What a wonderful day.

Stuff I Love - Book Worm Edition

2009-08-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to mention one of my favorite websites of this past year, goodreads.com. Goodreads is a website where you can not only, track books you have read, review and rate them, but mark books you want to read in the future (which is great for me because I will hear about a book, want to read it and then forget about it) and interact with other people.

I am a bit of a bookish girl and always hated that I couldn't remember the name of a certain book or author I like. This website keeps it all in one place for me. I can also set categories on my books to group them together (mine are classics, fiction, non-fiction, food, and memoirs) which helps me be able reccomend books to people and gives me an interesting perspective on my reading habits.

There is a social networking aspect to it as well. You can have "friends" on goodreads and see what they are reading and comment or you can recommend a book to people virtually.

They also have extensive lists that people vote on for all sorts of things (must reads, best women’s literature, etc.) which is a great help in finding new books in addition to their "if you liked this book check out these" feature.

If you are a fellow book worm, check it out and add me as a friend I am always curious as to what other people are reading. Here is a link to my profile.

Recipe - Summer Veggie "Pie"

2009-08-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here is an awesome way to use up some of the fresh garden produce of this season. Although I found this combination of veggies great, work with what you have in your garden. I say "pie" because there is no crust, although I am sure it would work well if you wanted to add one.

Ingredients:
2 - Tomatoes sliced into discs (I used my garden's green zebras and grape tomatoes)
1 - Eggplant sliced into discs
1 - Zucchini sliced into discs
1 - Hungarian wax pepper sliced into discs (Any pepper will work, but these added a great heat)
1 - Leek diced
2 - cloves of garlic diced
1 - handful of basil leaves chop if they are large
1/3 - cup (about) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 - cup (about) White wine
1 - pad of butter (may be omitted and use olive oil if making this vegan)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. In a pan at medium heat add the butter (or oil if vegan), leeks and garlic. Cook until soft and then remove from the pan and add them to the bottom of a pie pan (which is greased). On top of the leek and garlic mixture simply layer the slices of veggies in an alternating pattern. Once all of the veggies have been added, sprinkle the basil over the top along with some salt and pepper to taste. Finally cover the "pie" with half of the olive oil and all the wine. Here is what it looked like before I added it to the oven:

Bake the "pie" in the oven for 20 minutes then add the remaining olive oil over the top before baking for another 20 minutes.

While this recipe will heat up your house on a summer day, it is well worth it. I suggest eating it with some crusty garlic bread.

Last Week's POTW

2009-08-11T12:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I know I missed last week's Picture of the Week, I have been super busy lately. Here is the picture though:

This is not my camera work, but this is my future sister-in-law getting married. Ryan and I got to see Annie and Joel get married on August 1, 2009. I couldn't have been happier and it was a beautiful wedding.

Mixology

2009-08-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

So, you probably have learned by now that I love the culture and history involved with food and alcohol. I have decided one goal I would like to go for is to become knowledgeable on all things booze. I am already an avid beer geek, trying new things, cooking with it, and soaking up its rich history; however, I'm a bit in the dark when it comes to other alcoholic beverages and will be sharing what I learn here on my blog under the tag, Mixology.

For my first learning experience I am trying to learn more about the world of liqueurs and cordials. One of the first mistaken opinions that I had (and that many people do) is that although liqueur and cordial is often used interchangeably, they are in fact two different things. A liqueur is flavored with flowers, herbs, seeds, roots, plants, or bark, while a cordial is generally prepared with fruit pulp or juices.

Liqueurs date back centuries and were originally used as "medical cures" for "all that ails ya." They have been made in just about every country of the world and almost all are sweet, with a highly concentrated, dessert-like flavor. Also several are made from secret recipes and processes, which leads them to be known only by their proprietary brand names (think Chartreuse or Benedictine both made from ancient recipes created by monks).

Liqueurs and cordials have long been enjoyed in European countries, especially as an after-dinner drink. Maybe its Americans' lack of gathering around the table for a long meal followed by desert, or maybe its our desire for the most alcohol content bang for our buck, but liqueurs and cordials are used mostly to add flavor to cocktails in the US rather than be the highlight of a drink.

That will change for me (and you) as I discover what liquers and cordials have to offer.

Julie & Julia

2009-08-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

My feminist group got together last night for a prescreening of the movie Julie & Julia which is being released this Friday. Wow, it was fantastic! To see a trailer for this movie, click here. This movie is based on two books Julie & Julia, which I have not read, and My Life In France, which I have (and is a wonderful read). The movie is basically two stories, the first is of Julia Child's move to France with her husband, Paul Child which inspired her to start cooking and eventually co-writing Mastering The Art of French Cooking. The other story is of Julie Powell and her husband Eric. Julie is about to turn thirty with a failed writing career and a dead end job, when she decides to start a blog of her trying to cook all 536 recipes in Mastering The Art of French Cooking in 365 days.

The plots intertwine beautifully and contained romance, excellent food and lots of laughs. I have to mention that Meryl Streep as Julia Child is knock out performance. I was worried that I was just going to watch the movie and the whole time be thinking that is Meryl, not Julia; but she really transformed especially with the hardest part of the character, that signature voice.

I have put the Julie & Julia book on hold at the library (position 14 of 20 holds unfortunately) and can't wait to read it. In the mean time I found these two articles from the NY Times about the movie: Film Food, Ready for its "Bon Appetit" which is about the food designer of the movie, and Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch which is by one of my heroes, Michael Pollan.

As someone who treasures her own copy of Mastering The Art of French Cooking and as someone who just loves food I highly recommend this movie. Oh, and for those guys that are worried they might get dragged to this by their significant others, have no fear, Ryan also really enjoyed the film.

Excellent Opinion Piece on Getting Outdoors

2009-08-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ryan sent me this wonderful NY Times opinion piece entitled How to Lick a Slug and I thought it had such a great message I would pass it along to you folks. Basically it talks about what a shame it is that less and less families are getting outdoors and enjoying all of the wonderful parks, trails and camping that America has to offer:

Paul, a fourth grader in San Diego, put it this way: “I like to play indoors better, ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.” Paul was quoted in a thoughtful book by Richard Louv, “Last Child in the Woods,” that argued that baby boomers “may constitute the last generation of Americans to share an intimate, familial attachment to the land and water.”

An unfortunate byproduct of less families taking an interest it getting outdoors is that these amazing places aren't being kept up for future generations of families to enjoy. I love that America has all of these parks and want conservation and enjoyment of them to continue which is why I'm a proud Sierra Club member. Get outdoors America! : )

Stuff I Hate

2009-07-29T13:25:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this article yesterday on the Huffington Post with one of the most outrageous big agri lobbying commercials I have ever seen. Click here to view the commercial. This commercial is coming out due to the idea that is being kicked around to help pay for the proposed changes in the health care system with "a 3 cent tax on soda and sugary beverages -- cuprits in high calorie, no nutritional value product market. This proposal would generate $24 billion over the next 4 years." Brilliant is what I say, we tax so many things in this country that are bad for us (i.e. cigerettes and alcohol) why shouldn't one of the major contributors of America's obesity (thereby diabetes and other health problems) join the ranks of taxed substances?

Our overall estimates show that the annual medical burden of obesity has risen to almost 10 percent of all medical spending and could amount to $147 billion per year in 2008. Other studies have also quantified the extent to which obesity influences aggregate health spending. For example, Kenneth Thorpe and colleagues found that obesity was responsible for 27 percent of the rise in inflation-adjusted health spending between 1987 and 2001.

Lets face it, our country has a soda and obesity problem. According to the CDC: "[s]oda consumption has changed — a lot. The typical person now consumes 190 calories a day from sugary drinks, up from 70 a day in the late 1970s. That 120-calorie increase represents about one-half of the total daily caloric increase during that span."

Also these over the top, "hell yeah USA! Unhealthy on commodity corn as I wanna be" commercials makes me want something like this to happen even more.

Articles of reference:

NY Times - Sodas a Tempting Tax Target

Huffington Post - Food Companies Fight Soda Tax Proposal Despite Straggering Obesity Epidemic

Health Affairs- Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity

Recipe - Salmon Marinade

2009-07-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend at the BBQ we attended I whipped up a delicious salmon marinade for grilling that turned out to be a great success and very easy:

Asian Inspired Salmon Marinade:

Ingredients (makes two servings):
2 Salmon steaks
1 Tablespoon of horseradish
1 Tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
2 Teaspoons of black sesame seeds
1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 Tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce

Directions:
Put all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. Place the salmon steaks in the marinade and let it set in the fridge (I let mine sit for about 5 hours). When the grill is ready, place the steaks on the grill and cook them for a quick 2 minutes on each side (that amount of time got me done on the outside with that great salmon rare pink on the inside).

To serve this, I put the steaks on top of a salad with a mix of lettuce from my garden, spinach, green peppers, capers, black sesame seeds, and red onion. For the dressing of the salad I used a mixture of: 1 part white wine vinegar, 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, a turn of fresh cracked black pepper, garlic salt and red pepper flakes.

Try this the next time you grill out, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Way to Go MPLS

2009-07-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

I frequently check in and read the Huffington Post blog/website. Today I noticed an article for the top ten local foods restaurants in the nation, and Minneapolis made the list! For the full article click Here. Minneapolis was number 9 on the top 10 list and here is the little blurb about it:

With 22 lakes and 170 parks, Minneapolis boasts a green cityscape, which also translates to its local cuisine.

Best Green Eats: Cafe Brenda serves local vegetarian and seafood meals at its well established restaurant. Brasa Rotisserie uses natural free range poultry and pasture raised meats at this Minneapolis favorite.

Also within that article a website was mentioned that seems really cool called the Eat Well Guide. It is a search tool to find local and substantible restaurants, food co-ops, CSAs, farmers markets, etc. Also this seems like a great tool in order to find restaurants while traveling.

Crazy Fun Weekend in the City

2009-07-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I had our first weekend staying in the City this month, and we made the most of it. Friday night was pretty quiet, we just went and saw The Hangover with our friends Dan and Jenny. It was super funny, probably more so since we were drinking.

Saturday was just about as perfect as you can get. I awoke to the smell and sounds of Ryan cooking me bacon and hash browns for breakfast. We then headed off to the Minnesota State Zoo which was awesome. The best part was it was cool outside (I would say low 70s) so all the animals were super active. We got to see a bear stand straight up on its hind legs and hop into the water. We also got to see a tiger walking underneath a bridge that we were standing on. This zoo is a little pricey ($16.00 for an adult) but totally worth it.

After our zoo excitement we headed off to our friends’ house for a bbq. I wound up having a great conversation with my friend Jade and her friend Vanessa about what we think the world could use at this point in time to be a better place economically and about nationalism. It is so nice to be able to speak with someone of varying opinions and have an actual productive conversation. I'm happy to have met Vanessa as well, she is leaving soon to go teach English in Korea and will be blogging about it. If you want to check it out you can follow her at So You Must Speak Korean.

Lastly on Saturday Ryan and I headed off to a house party of a friend of ours. With a short stumble home and a Pizza Luce baked potato pizza at 2:00 a.m. our Saturday was over.

Sunday was equally as pleasant, it started with a bloody mary with our friend JoBot at the Bulldog and mojitos on the roof of Solera listening to music. Last night we played a killer game of monopoly with Dan, Jenny, and JohnBro, which Ryan won (I think he must have cheated some how to beat me).

So, after all that I am back to work already. I think I need one more day of weekend.

POTW

2009-07-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

This week's picture of the week is also from the cabin trip up north. This was taken Friday night at sunset and I just love it:

On My Way

2009-07-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last week in my financial post, although I have been doing good in some ways, I have been failing at keeping track of my spending. My blog buddy Tipper suggested to me the website Mint.com and I decided to check it out. WOW, what a fantastic tool and the best part about it is, it is free. I have always wanted to get a program like Quicken but with the cost being up to around $90 and having access to it only on one computer, it just wasn't practical. Mint is an application which is run through a website which means that I can access my budget and track things from anywhere with an internet connection which is perfect for me. Here are some other reasons why this is such a great program for me and might be for you as well:

1. It connects directly to your bank accounts (savings and checking) and your credit card accounts.

2. It just takes your information from online banking and inserts it into several different spread sheets and labels them accordingly under different areas of your life (i.e. I just recently got Liebe spayed and since my credit card account was charged by "Midway Animal Hospital," it came up as a vet charge. Now this system is not perfect but with a little weekly or daily maintenance everything should be easily filed.

3. It lets you set a budget for any number of things and then gives you a running tally of where you are in your budget for that month. This is an especially useful tool for me so that I can visually see that I am spending more money on say my "bar tab" budget than my "honeymoon savings" budget.

4. It does graphs that break down where your money is going by month or by year. Here is an example screen shot of a break down, that I found online:

There are only two drawbacks that I have found so far. The first is cash tracking. There is no super easy way to enter in on a daily basis what you are spending in cash. However, after poking around I found a solution to that. There will be a transaction listed as "ATM Cash Withdraw." Within that transaction you can use a feature called "Split" and break it down in as many ways as you want and label them accordingly so that you can track cash, it just takes a few extra steps. The second is that since it is a free program you have to deal with some ads, but it is by no means out of control. There is just a tab at the top of the screen that says "ways to save" which suggests that instead of your current credit card you could switch to this bank's card and save some money.

So, hopefully this will help me even more on my penny pinching journey. I really think this tool might be exactly the push I needed.

I came, I saw, I mooned a pelican

2009-07-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

This last weekend a group of friends and I (nine of us total) headed 2.5 hours north towards Alexandria Minnesota for a weekend of cabin enjoyment. Unfortunately, the weather didn't exactly cooperate and it was chilly all weekend, but that didn't stop us from having a blast. My friend Tanya said that I could share the pictures she took with all of you:

The highlight of the weekend for most of us was the pontoon ride we took:

The whole mooning a pelican thing wasn't just a catchy title:

Enjoying a moment of sunshine playing hacky sack:

And finally Ryan, Jenny and I decided that we weren't going to let the weekend go by without getting into the lake. HOLY GOD was it freezing and we only stayed in there for a couple minutes:

Amazing Food Makes Me Happy

2009-07-20T11:47:00.001-07:00

Ryan and I share a love of fantastic food and we had a wonderful experience at a restaurant yesterday that I thought I would share. It was sunny out and we had just gotten back from a cabin trip on Sunday when we decided to check out a restaurant that we have been meaning to try, Barbette. Here is the description from the website:

Barbette has received "best of's" from local press for its late night dining, desserts, wine list, and, of course, those French fries that accompany the steak frites. Barbette uses local and organic ingredients as much as possible, presenting beautiful food in a casual, eclectic, bistro atmosphere. Says Star Tribune reviewer Rick Nelson: "I reveled in a meal that tasted far more expensive than the final tab suggested..." and, " a restaurant that can be enjoyed by diners of all ages."

Barbette was founded in February of 2001. Formerly the site of Cafe Wyrd, an espresso bar, it was re-imagined to be a full-service neighborhood joint serving excellent food & wine. Lisa Carlson, who had worked at Laspinasse with Gray Kunz, and with Christian Delouvrier, was the founding chef and quickly took a few prizes on the Minneapolis restaurant scene. In June of '04 Chef Ty Hatfield earned a 3 star review from the Star Tribune.

Upon entering this space, I could tell that we were in for a treat. The decor is relaxed and cozy with great art every where. Our waiter was fantastic, super knowledgeable and just the right amount of friendly. Now on to the really important part though, the food:

For starters we had half a dozen Oysters from Virginia (they were Cohn or Cone I’m not sure on the spelling), served with lemon, horse radish, and a house vinegar. They were delicious, not too briny and very creamy.

Next both Ryan and I had a cup of the soup of the day which was French onion soup. It was excellent. You could tell the stock was made in house which was lovely and really beefy tasting instead of the overly salted kind which I find with a lot of restaurant's French onion soup.

For my main part of dinner I had the field greens salad with oven roasted grapes that comes with a white balsamic roasted-garlic vinaigrette. It hit the spot. Normally I don't love the idea of fruit on my salad, but the grapes gave a great sweet contrast to the savory vinaigrette.

The only draw back to Barbette is that it is a little pricey, for our meal plus two glasses of wine and a beer the total without tax and tip was $61.00. However, that price is worth it when you think of the quality of the food. Plus, since the chef likes to use local ingredients, the money I spend stays local rather than sent all over the country / world. Next time you are looking for a great dining experience in Minneapolis, check it out.

POTW

2009-07-16T11:06:00.001-07:00

This week's picture of the week was going to be one of me having epic amounts of fun at Miller Park, instead this is the picture of the week:

Because I left my camera at Ryan's parent's house and won't be able to get it until two weeks from now when we go back to Milwaukee for Ryan's sister's wedding.

Tomorrow I am headed up north for a weekend of fun and friends at a cabin. See you all on Monday!

Update On My Financial Goals

2009-07-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

It has been about a month since I originally stated my financial goals so I thought I would look over them and give an update:

Goal: Have at least one (preferably two) no spend days a week.

Status: I have been really good at this, especially since summer time is always busy, and it is hard to schedule a no spend day. Unfortunately, it is usually just on no spend day rather than two a week.

Goal: Track all my spending and where it is going.

Status: I pretty much have failed on this, big time. I try to be good but I lose track, forget to bring a piece of paper with me to write things down, and basically just get lazy. In fact, I totally forgot about this goal. Starting to today, I am starting again with hopefully a better result.

Goal: Use what I have.

Status: I have been great on this one. I have repaired some clothing instead of giving it away, and just yesterday I took some of my work shoes to a shoe repair place to get them fixed instead of buying new ones. I still need to go through my closet and organize things and fix them, but that will happen soon enough.

Goal: Be a better consumer.

Status: This is another goal that I have been working very hard on with alot of success. I am currently at 2 months with my Made in China boycott, which is hard, but possible. Also, I have been bringing my lunch at least 3 times a week which is a big improvement for me.

Goal: Pay myself first.

Status: I have been pretty good on this one. Unfortunately there have been some big ticket items lately (getting the car fixed, getting the pug spayed, etc.) so I haven't been able to pay myself as much as I would like but I have been doing it. Ryan and I also started a savings of $50.00 month each to cover our expenses in Vegas when we go in November.

So, overall I a pretty proud of myself with my current status. There is room for improvement, but that will come in time.

Love, Baseball, and Sangria

2009-07-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Ryan and I headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a super fun filled time. Originally we planned this trip because we had tickets to two of the Brewers v. Dodgers baseball series, however it also worked out to sneak in the meeting of the Toner and Simatic parents this as well.

First, the baseball. If you some how missed this, I am a HUGE Milwaukee Brewers baseball (also baseball in general) fan and luckily Ryan also is and going to the games together is something we really enjoy. Side note, one of my life goals is for Ryan and I to see a game at every major league ball field. This weekend the two games we were going to see were the Brewers up against the team with the best record in baseball right now, the LA Dodgers.

Friday night we went with Ryan's family (Mom, Dad, Sister Annie, and Future Brother-in-Law Joel) and had tickets for a table in the TGI Fridays section of the stadium. I originally had my doubts about whether it would be fun or not to see a game from the restaurant, but was happily surprised with what a blast it was. We were seated the furthest table to the left in this picture outside, which is right on the edge of right field:

What I didn't know about the Friday's section in the park is that with the price of the ticket, you get $38.00 worth of food and beverage. I was stuffed with chicken wings and beer during the game, which ruled! Also they have a bathroom just for the Friday's customers which cuts back on the game time missed. An added bonus for the game was that I was within heckling distance of Manny Ramirez. I think I almost lost my voice yelling at that cheater. Unfortunately, the Brewers lost in extra innings on Friday, but they pulled off a fantastic win during the Saturday game we went to.

On Saturday Ryan and I pregame tailgated with our friends, Colin, Cathy, Ben, and Jodi which is always a great time. It really reminded me of what a crime it is that not all stadiums allow tailgating. The game was jam packed with everything I wanted to see: Catalanotto's first home run, Coffee sprinting his ass off for a coffee break, an awesome Counsell triple to start the game, and the cherry on the Sunday, a Hells Bells save by Hoffman.

Unfortunately, Ryan and I forgot our camera at his parents house when we headed home so it will be a couple weeks until we get the camera back and I can get all the pictures up that I took at the games.

As we headed back home on Sunday, we had the meeting of Ryan's and my parents. I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous at the thought of my parents meeting my future parents-in-law, but I shouldn't have been. Both Ryan and I are really lucky to have grown up with great, supportive, and loving parents. Everyone got along well, and everything went smoothly . . . well almost everything. Because this is my life, something ridiculous had to have happened. Within the first five minutes, Ryan's mom accidentally bumped the table and BOOM an entire full glass of red wine sangria dumped all over my mom who happened to be wearing all white and light tan. Man, if you ever want to have a nervous tension breaker, cover one of the guests red wine. Luckily, my mom is easy going and we all had a good laugh and proceeded with no other unfortunate accidents.

POTW

2009-07-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my beer post earlier this week, last weekend we went to my parents house. I have amazingly great parents and grew up in a loving awesome home. On top of that my Dad built the house I grew up in by hand. So this week's picture of the week is my parent's house:

Recipes

2009-07-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

One of my hobbies that I really love is cooking. From time to time I thought it would be fun to share some of the recipes I have created and really enjoy making.

The first is a dish that I love making and eating in the spring and summer, a steak and spinach salad with blue cheese. Spinach is in season this time of year, this is important to me because I make a point to buy local and in season whenever possible. Another thing to note before I continue with the recipe, since this includes steak, know where your meat is coming from. The environmental, health, and moral responsibilities we make when choosing what we eat is so important, especially when it comes to meat. Check out eatwild.com on some great information regarding both the health and environmental benefits of eating pasture raised meat. Ok, now off the soap box and into the kitchen.

Steak and Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese

Ingredients (makes 2 servings):
1 lb - Steak anything without a bone is great
1 - Pad of butter
1/2 - Red Onion (thinly sliced)
1 - Clove Garlic (finely chopped)
1 - Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 - Cup (about) red wine
2 - Tablespoons of worcestershire
2 - Tablespoons of capers
2 - Teaspoons (about) of white wine vinegar
1 - Big bunch of spinach, enough for two plates to be mounded slightly
2 - Celery stalks (chopped)
1 - Tablespoon flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1/3 - Cup blue cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. At medium heat add the oil to a deep big pan. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and garlic.
2. Rub salt and fresh cracked black pepper to each side of the steak and then add that to the pan with onions and garlic and add a pad of butter on top. Cook the steak on each side about 5 minutes for medium.
3. While that is cooking, in a bowl mix together the wine, worcestershire, and capers. Once you flip the steak to the other side, add this mixture to the pan.
4. While the other side of the steak is cooking, on two plates place the spinach, parsley and celery. Over top of that, drizzle a little white wine vinegar.
5. When the steak is done, pull it out of the pan and let it rest for a minute in order for it to retain its juices. After rested, thinly slice the steak and add to the top of the salad.
6. Over the top of that, drizzle the red wine, capers and onions.
7. Finally top everything with blue cheese and add some extra fresh cracked black pepper if that is your taste. I like to serve this dish with a few peppercinis on the side.

Enjoy!

Stuff I Love Beer Edition

2009-07-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was back home visiting friends and family in Wisconsin. This means stocking up on some Wisconsin beers that I can't get up in Minneapolis. I have always had a love of New Glarus Brewing and whenever I see something new by them, I will give it a try. This led me to buy a sixer of their Black Wheat. Apparently this is a Winter seasonal release, but regardless the season this beer is a WIN! Here is the description from New Glarus' website:

Our Black Wheat arrives to relieve the bleak bore of Wisconsin's winter. Rich and chewy this bottle conditioned Weiss is bursting with Midwestern wheat, oats, rye and finished by malted barley. This style is a rare gem even in the Black Forests of Bavaria. We brew it now as an accompaniment to meaty feasts or to sip near a roaring fire.

Expect this beer to pour the deepest black body topped by an opulent head of lip smacking foam. Roasted chocolate and toasted caramel notes brim over the top. Lavish spice aromas of clove and cinnamon are promoted naturally by the yeast we import especially for this most individual of brews. While some find comfort in a familiar glass, this brew will satisfy the bold explorer who dares to be...
Style: Weiss
Flavor: Roasted chocolate and toasted caramel
Alcohol: 5.75%

This beer does pour dark, way darker than a standard dunkel weiss. The roasted chocolate and caramel notes do come out along with the clove smell but at the same time it is smooth. It is easy to drink with a dry roasted malty taste that is fairly carbonated. The overall rating from BeerAdvocate.com on this beer is an A-, which I would agree with.

If you can still find a six pack of this, check it out, you will not be disappointed. Otherwise until next winter comes around, any of the New Glarus brews are worth a taste.

POTW

2009-07-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

For this week's picture of the week, it is the one, the only, Liebe J. Puggerton. She is one of my two doggy daughter (Brownie B. Bear the French Bulldog being the other). This week Liebe was successfully and safely spayed, and is currently recovery. Here is her smushy little self:

Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest

2009-06-29T17:08:00.001-07:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I love going to beer fests. Ryan, my friend JohnBro and I went to the first annual Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest on Sunday. We had a great time, although I had a few problems with the event: (1) the bands were a side note, they should have been louder so they could have been heard more than 20 feet from the stage; (2) location, it was in a parking lot, thank god it wasn't hot out otherwise it would have been miserable out there; and (3) although there were 50 breweries there, they were all pretty standard and many of them were just serving out of bottles instead of tappers (for me part of the reason I go to these is to be able to get beer on tap I normally can only find in bottles). On the good side of things, the lines moved nicely, all the staff was professional and nice, and the crowd was great. I would attend this event again in the future.

Now for the beer, as I mentioned, most of beer there I had already had the pleasure of tasting. A person can never argue with sampling delicious beers from such breweries as Barley Johns Brew Pub, Surly Brewing Co., Flat Earth Brewing Co., Founders Brewing Co., Boulder Beer Co. (their Mojo IPA which they had there is one of my personal favs), Futhermore, Capital Brewing, Victory Brewing Co., Lagunitas Brewing Co. (if you haven't had their Undercover Brown or their IPA find it and try it), Left Hand Brewing Co., Tyranena Brewing Co. (their Hop Whore which was not served at the fest is the stuff dreams are made of), and Rogue.

The beer highlights of the day for me were the following:

Capital Brewery's Blonde Doppelbock -- I have never had the chance of having this on tap before and oh man was it good. "A deep golden color leads one to an extremely flavorful, yet very drinkable beer of great character. 8% ABV"

Founders Red's Rye P.A. -- Probably my favorite of the day. "Serious hop bitterness along with unyielding grapefruit bouquet from the Amerillo dry-hop. Balance with the malty richness of four varieties of imported Belgian caramel malts. Pours a crimson with creamy tan head. A generous addition of rye malt accentuates a spicy crisp finish. 6.6% ABV"

Grand Teton Brewing Co.'s Sweetgrass IPA -- This was the only new brewery to me for the day and with beer like this, will seek them out more. "Crisp and fragrant with a generous, yet smooth hop character. The sweet bouquet and spicy flavor come from the combination of five hops and Idaho grown barley."

And the two losers of the day:

Magic Hat Brewing's #9 -- Where did this beer come from. Over the past couple of months this beer has invaded all the beer bars and craft stores around. It isn't horrible, but it is by no means a stand out either, it is my over hyped winner of the day.

Crispin Cider Co. -- To be fair I didn't even wait in line to taste the stuff. It was clear, need I say more?

Here are some photos from the day:

Two of My Loves Combined

2009-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know there are two things that I love very much: knitting and beer. One of mine and Ryan's hobbies is going to beerfests / beer tastings. At these events you are often given a tasting glass to use. The problem with this is there is no place to set these down when you are trying to make notes about the beer, using the rest room, etc.

The solution, tasting glass holders that hang around your neck. Upon seeing other beer nerds with purchased versions of these, I figured I could come up with a knitting pattern to make my own, which I am going to share with you. This pattern is worked in a rib so it will fit a variety of tasting glasses, and is also super easy.

For this pattern use a standard cotton or acrylic yarn that can be worked with 5 American size 8 double pointed needles because this pattern is worked in the round.

Key: k = Knit, p = Pearl, and tog = Together

Cast on 32 onto 4 needles, leaving one needle to work the round.
Working in the round, follow a k2, p2 rib pattern until the tube measures 4 inches.

To start to finish the piece, k8, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k8, k2tog.
k7, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, k2tog, k7, k2tog.
k6, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k6, k2tog.
k5, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k5, k2tog.
k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog.
k3, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k3, k2tog.
k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog.
k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog.
Bind off the remaining stitches and weave in the end.
For the strap, simply work a stockinette stitch (knit on one side pearl on the other) 5 stitches across until the strap measures a length that is comfortable for you.
Finally, just sew the strap to the base and ta-da you will be envy of beer nerds everywhere.

Pictures of the Weeks

2009-06-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I already missed a POTW. But I had taken them, its just that I haven't had a chance to up load photos recently.

So this week I have two POTWs.

Here is last week's picture. This is from a bike ride that Ryan and I took down by the Mississippi River. My bike is the blue one:

This week's POTW is from a cabin trip I took last weekend with a bunch of friends. Here I am enjoying our boat ride:

Stuff I Hate

2009-06-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

So, despite my attempt and desire to be a generally positive person, deep down, I am a sassy girl and I have decided to create a Stuff I Hate tag to mirror my Stuff I Love tag.

For my opening Stuff I Hate post, I give you the BK Super Seven Incher:

Itemized hate list:

1. Obviously intentioned imagery of burger fellatio.

2. If the photo and big title wasn't enough to make you go ewwww and walk away, there is the full description:

Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the new BK Super Seven Incher. Yearn for more after you taste the mind-blowing burger that comes with a single beef patty, topped with American cheese, crispy onions and the A.1. Thick & Hearty Steak Sauce

3. Next is the fact that they can come up with this fancy ad campaign from the ad agency of Crispin Porter Bogusky, however they haven't yet been motivated enough to post and disclose the (and I use this term loosely) "nutritional" information. I can only imagine what a healthy treat this thing is.

4. Even better, for the low price of $6.25 you can get the seven inches of fat AND a giant soda and fries. Am I the only one that sees that large amount of food for such a cheap price as exactly what is wrong with America's eating culture? Subsidized, improperly corn fed beef with a side of commodity high fructose corn syrup on the side.

I guess I am just left feeling that if you are the type of person who will eat this monstrosity, you are less likely to receive an actual blow job.

Feminism

2009-06-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am part of a very interesting group that I found using the website meetup.com called The Dead Feminist Society, and I have been to three of their meetings. I don’t always agree with what is being said and the great part about the group is it is welcoming enough to hear a dissent among the group.

This month’s meeting has a really interesting topic and I wanted to discuss my thoughts on it here. This is the description for this month’s meeting:

We call ourselves feminist, but do we share a common definition? Join the Dead Feminist Society of Minnesota on Wednesday, June 24 when we gather to discuss the definitions, instigation and consequences of living with the "F" word. We will discuss, together, the following questions:

1. If you claim to be a feminist, how do you define it? What is "feminism" to you?
2. When did you first identify yourself as feminist? Was there an event that led to this? A person? An experience?
3. Did someone in your history inspire your commitment to feminism? Tell us about your gender-role models, the importance of your family examples.
4. Have you ever been made to feel bad or discredited for your views on gender equity and feminism?

Here are my thoughts on the questions we are going to discuss:

1. I do claim to be a feminist. I define it in several different ways, first that women and men should be treated equally when it comes to freedom, rights, and opportunities. Secondly, I like to think part of me being a feminist is reclaiming femininity. When did it become a side note or inconvenience to be a mother? How did we come think that breastfeeding is inappropriate? What is wrong with wanting to cook and provide for your families’ needs? I have been hearing more and more of these types of statements from media, government, and younger generations that I want to set straight. Isn’t part of equality being able to make the choice of what is right for you and your own family? I also feel like women have a chance to be leaders in the eco movement and government.

2. I think I started realizing that I was an actual feminist around 14. I say an actual feminist because that is honestly when I realized that there was a term to describe this type of thinking, and it wasn’t common to believe in and actively want equality.

3. I have always been a fan of Gloria Steinem and Eleanor Roosevelt, who I think are common feminist role models. My gender-role models are my parents, they raised me to think the way that I do. I love and feel very lucky that they turned me into the opinionated, giving, wanting-to-know-more woman I am today. One of my current feminist role models is Dr. Vandana Shiva who is a leader in the ecofeminist movement.

4. Constantly, especially when I mention that I am part of a feminist group. It is often based on mistaken impressions that a feminist can’t be pro-sex women who love men. I also hear that many people don’t believe men can be feminist, which is foolish. In addition, the media is very anti-feminism in their remarks of so-called post feminism. To quote Gloria Steinem in a recent interview she did on MPR, “the idea of post feminism is as foolish as saying post democracy.”

I am really looking forward to this discussion tomorrow night and will let you know how it goes. The meeting is set to have over 40 in attendance that will be broken down into 4 groups and I will be charge of moderating one of those.

Stuff I Love

2009-06-15T16:34:00.001-07:00

I am going to be using the Stuff I Love tag to highlight products, websites, and other things that I love so much I want to share with you.

For my first stuff I love post I wanted to talk about my love (read addiction) to Etsy.com. Here is the discription of Etsy from their website:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

It is a great place to find one-of-a-kind items for gifts or yourself. The layout of the shopping is super user friendly and the pictures are always interesting and draw me in. There is even a way to shop local on there and will find sellers that are in your area using your zip code.

So check it out, in future stuff I love posts I will be sharing some of my favorite Etsy sellers.

Picture of the Week

2009-06-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

One of my goals with this blog is to do a Picture of the Week every week to show my life and use my digital camera more. I have always been the person who brings their camera to events but forgets to use it, so hopefully this changes things. For the first one I thought I would just use this picture of me from last night. Here I am, American Amber:

Yoga

2009-06-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means "to join" or "to yoke". Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment.

That is probably one of the best definitions I have found for Yoga. My personal experience with yoga has been taking a classes once in a while but I never really found a place that felt right, or where I could grow into my own practice, until now. I recently went to a free workshop and at The Yoga Center of Minneapolis and was blown away by the experience. The class was with the owner of the center and her story was very inspiring and her open / understanding personality was a perfect fit for someone like me. I made the jump and signed up for two classes. The first being an "absolute beginners" course which is described as follows:

The Absolute Beginner Starter Class is for those new to yoga, and meets once reach week for 4 weeks. This class will provide you with the tools to get started: yoga classes, fundamentals of yoga asana (poses), pranayama (breath work), and answers to your questions on the various forms of yoga or your personal practice.

The second class that I signed up for is actually a pass system that I can use in several different classes so I can figure out what type of yoga would work best for me. My first Absolute Beginner class is this Thursday.

As I build and grow in my practice I will update the blog under the tag of Yoga. Wish me luck!

Link of interest: http://www.yogacentermpls.com/default.asp

Financial Goals

2009-06-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

With the economy the way it is today, lots of people are looking for ways to save money and I am no different. With Ryan (my fiancé) in law school, a wedding next year and just day to day living, it makes it hard to focus on the bigger picture sometimes but I have recently set some goals to help me stay on track:

1. Have at least one (preferably two) no spend days a week. No spend days are a trend I have been hearing a lot about lately and I think it will work for me. Basically, you just make a point to not spend anything during the day. Sounds easy right? Well in some aspects it is, however, what I have found is it really points out my impulse spending and the need to plan my days better (i.e. lunch or coffee).

2. Track all my spending and where it is going. While this doesn't immediately save me money, it does point out where it is going and I am not so quick to spend when I realize how those $20.00 take out trips really add up.

3. Use what I have. Like most Americans, I already have plenty of material things in my life to entertain and clothe me. Instead of being so quick to go out and buy the latest new item or seasonal piece, I will try to repair and reuse something I already have.

4. Be a better consumer. This goal goes hand-in-hand with number 3. Another American consuming habit that I have unfortunately picked up is buying disposable products. Rather than buying cheap stuff that will not last or I will only use once in a while, I will save my money and spend on well made necessities that will last me a while.

5. Pay myself first. Finally, I want to make sure to put some money from each paycheck into my savings account.

I will be checking back in with my progress and sharing money saving techniques under my Financial tag.

What's in a name?

2009-06-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

To me, the hardest part of starting a blog is coming up with the right name. There are so many things to contemplate in choosing: should it go off my name, should it represent an interest of mine, or should it be something completely off-the-cuff... decisions, decisions.

It also made me think about what I want to cover in this blog, and the answer I came up with was, well, me. I would like this blog to reflect my journey through life and discovering how I fit into this amazing world.

All these options and questions finally led me to my title, American Amber. American, because what more American thing is there than having the freedom to talk, think, and express yourself in as many ways you can think of? Amber, because that's me, a 27 year old woman living in Minneapolis, MN originally from just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. To be fair it is also a pun related to one of my interests: beer.

So I hope you check back in and learn a little more about me and my interests which include the following: living mindfully, good food, cooking, crafting, beer, politics, trying to save money, supporting local, yoga, knitting, volunteer work, Minneapolis, dogs and all sorts of other nerdy things.