Love It.

After a great lull in my travels (over a year!), I am pleased to say that this spring and summer, I am back at it.

This spring kicks off with a trip to visit family in Arkansas with my brother, who I haven't seen since November! We're driving from Denver to Bella Vista, AK. If you know of anything cool to see between those places, PLEASE let me know and we'll try to swing off the interstate for a minute.
I'm also SO HAPPY to announce that I am attending a conference hosted by my nutrition school, Institute for Integrative Nutrition, in New York City on May 5th and 6th. I haven't been to the city in years, and I want to spend the four days that I am there seeing friends, eating and walking around. Hear that, friends in NYC? Come find me!
In July, I am flying to London to travel with my beloved friend Sarah. We're planning all sorts of shenanigans, and if you're in Europe this summer, let me know and we will find you.

I am aware that posts like this come off with not a little bit of "braggadocio" (to borrow a term from True Grit). Obviously I am psyched about all this travel, but I wouldn't blab it all to you if it weren't for these two reasons:
1. I know that with often with envy comes action. When I see people off doing wonderful things in amazing places I think, "Why aren't I there?" and then, "What can I do to get there?" So, let this get you OUT THERE with me.
2. One of my favorite parts about traveling is meeting up with friends (or friends of friends) in strange places. I have had coffee with a friend of my friend's mom in Hawi, Hawaii, roamed a cemetery with a childhood friend of Sarah's in Paris, stayed in Olympia, Washington with a guy I met at the Smoothie Shack in Maine, and celebrated a birthday of my boss's son's friend in Antigua, Guatemala. Sound confusing? It was, but there is always fun to be had with friends or quasi-friends in new places!!

What are YOU excited about this year? What are your travel goals this year, or this lifetime??

xoxo

Emily

Spring Spring Spring!

Here is another thing I love about spring: ADVENTURES!
I am like a bear in the winter. Or rather, I want to be like a bear in the winter but I am forced outside by the sheer fact that I physically cannot hibernate. So I love spring because all of a sudden I have the desire to do all sorts of things that I deem impossible during the frigid months.

A dear coworker told me about an antiques barn about an hour away from Burlington, so on a whim yesterday morning, Dustin and I meandered North to find it. We took a wrong turn at one point and found breakfast at Mix Bakery in Jeffersonville. I had DELICIOUS blueberry pancakes and strong coffee, which is about all I need in a morning. The barn was full of treasures, but alas the one that caught my heart exceeded my wallet...  

Bear claw.

Bear claw bracelet. Want it!

The Melt.

I love this time of year for a bagillion reasons. Here is one:

All sorts of weird things get lost in the snow all winter and watching them resurface is an added treat to spring. 

What do you see popping up? 

Chicken Soup

It's such a waste to throw away a perfectly good roast chicken carcass, so I decided to try making stock. This turned out to be a great idea, because I made delicious soup out of what would have been tossed! Of course, you can also roast the chicken yourself.

How I made chicken stock:
Put the bones and whatever fatty meat or gristle is still attached in a pot with a few quarts of water. Add whatever tired vegetables you have in your fridge, which for me were carrots and large red onion. Bring this to a boil with a couple teaspoons of salt. Reduce heat to simmer and let it do its thing for as long as you are around the house. I found that after four hours, mine tasted like a nice hearty stock, but I know you can leave it on much longer. Add water if it boils down too much. 
After the stock tastes the way you want it to, strain it with a colander (or pick all the bones out).

How I made chicken soup:
Olive oil
Garlic, shallots, or onion
One or two carrots, cut into wheels
A cup of pasta, uncooked 
Chicken, torn into bite size pieces
Whatever stray veggies you have in your fridge

Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Dice a few cloves of garlic, or a shallot, or an onion and add to hot oil. After they have softened, add the stock and carrots. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Then add chicken and any other ingredients you feel the soup needs. I had cooked collard greens that I chopped up and added at the end. If your veggies are raw, add them before the pasta. Fresh herbs would also taste lovely sprinkled on top. I would have added ground fresh ginger if I had some, too.
Salt and pepper it to taste. And I always add a dash of Sriracha!

Beat It.

Because I live in a university town, I see the cold and the flu passed around quite often. I recently saw an instagram picture of a drawer filled with DayQuil, NyQuil, Aspirin etc. with the caption reading something along the lines of, "I've been sick for weeks and my drawer is piling up."
I am aware that I sound exactly like my mother when I say this, but usually when you get a cold, it is because you are sleep-deprived or over-worked. Taking DayQuil and powering through the day may seem productive, but long-term it is only a disservice to your body.

Here are some tips on how to get better:
Get miso soup take-out and eat it in bed:
Miso soup is essentially a light broth with seaweed and fermented tofu. It sounds iffy, but fermented food is great for you even when you're not sick and seaweed is a superfood that helps strengthen your immune system! Also, miso soup usually runs for under $4, so it's affordable and SO much better than a salty can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle. (If you're reading this in Burlington, Asiana Noodle Co. has great miso!)
Drink water and herbal tea:
You know this already.
Stay away from coffee and sugar until you feel better:
Coffee and sugar can make you feel temporarily energized and lull you out of rest mode. After their effects wear off, you are stuck somewhere suddenly feeling like you have been hit by a train. If you crave sweetness, eat raw honey (on whole wheat toast, in tea, in hot water). It's packed with minerals, antioxidants, and probiotics.
Stay Away from Dairy:
Whether or not you are lactose intolerant, dairy is not an easy food to digest. It also helps form mucus, which is the last thing you want when you are already sick. Give your digestive system a break while you are at your worst. Try almond milk instead!
Eat as may veggies as possible (cooked or raw):
This is just a good practice in general, but it's especially important when you are sick because your body can easily digest them, get the energy it needs, and focus on fighting off your cold.
Rest. 

Bummerland

I haven't written in a while because, honestly, it's Farch. A combination of the months of February and March, it is cold, long, and filled with false promises of spring. Just yesterday, I walked down a sunny, warm, pedestrian-packed Church Street, and I could tell that everyone was high on thoughts of SPRING. I started to imagine the leaves budding and even entertained the thought of buying an iced coffee. But today, the weather report said, "12, feels like -4." So that is Farch. 

I drink tea, I make sure to walk to town and back at least once a day (two miles total), I eat seasonal food and read Vanity Fair, work on my nutrition class, and watch a little too much Netflix, but I'm still letting Farch get me down. 

What do you do to combat this strange time of year?

Houston

I just returned home after a surprise visit to Houston, Texas to join my grandparents, uncles, and parents for a week. I have a soft spot for Texas, and I suspect anyone who has been there shares it with me. There is something grand about the enormous state, filled with all kinds of people. Houston alone boasts over 90 spoken languages (according to my uncle), and more importantly it is the childhood home of Beyonce.
So I apologize for only posting pictures of food, but really all I did on this trip was eat, drive, walk around a bit, and play boardgames. Although highly enjoyable, these latter activities are not so amusing in photographs...

Here are my recommendations if you happen to have a day or so in Houston:

*Go to the Museum of Fine Arts (it's free on Thursdays). It has a nice little collection of impressionists and lots of shiny gold primitive artifacts.

*Go to the Galleria, the ENORMOUS shopping mall complete with ice rink. It's a an ode to consumerism and mustn't be missed.

*Walk around Montrose, then counteract the exercise with a slice of French chocolate cake from Empire Cafe. Wash that down with hibiscus iced tea!

*Buy weird things such as miniature octopus, dried cuttlefish, or mung bean cakes at the Korean grocery store 99 Ranch Market. Also, eat all the free samples of fresh cooked dumplings, spring roles, etc.

*If you decide to partake in the nightlife, soak up the booze afterwards with a bowl of pork vermicelli at Mais in Montrose, open until 4am on weekends.

As always, explore, nose around, and eat EVERYTHING.

And if you're lucky, have wonderful hosts like mine. Thank you again George, Larry, David, and Thang!

How to Clean a Bat Skull!

My father majored in fisheries and wildlife in college and he cannot resist a good dead animal find. So when my grandfather found a dead bat underneath his end table, he promptly cut off it's head and put it in a mason jar of water. Queue one month later and here we are to remove its skin.

What you'll need:

One skull (we used bat)
Hydrogen peroxide
Tweezers
Rubber gloves
A strong stomach

Carefully peel the skin off the skull, making sure to keep the jawbone attached. Soak the skull in hydrogen peroxide until it is adequately bleached. Leave in the sun for a few days until it is thoroughly dried. Enjoy on a shelf, in a glass case, or on a necklace!

Bat head, ears included.

The skull soaks in hydrogen peroxide.

So little!

Vergennes Laundry

I love love love this place because they really take care in making their food and drink. Pictured is their grapefruit-zested "morning buns," potato tarte with rosemary and creme fraiche, and what remains of a cappuccino.

Dumplings At Last!

For those of you that know me well, you know that steamed dumplings are high on my list of favorite foods. My aunt recently gave me a recipe and vague instructions and I finally worked up the courage to make them. Biting into this hot, salty pocket made me SO HAPPY. Making these little babes is exciting and actually quite simple.

A cup of cabbage (napa or savoy works best)
One grated carrot
About a cup of ground pork, beef, or bean curd
A bit of grated fresh ginger
One egg
Salt and pepper
Wonton or dumpling wrappers

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper, wet the edges with a paper towel, and pinch tightly shut. Heat a pan with a small tablespoon of olive or peanut oil. Fill the pan with dumplings, making sure not to stack or overlap them. Let them sear for a minute, then add a cup of water, cover, and let steam until all water is evaporated, about ten minutes. Cook off all dumplings in batches and enjoy with soy sauce!

Photos by Dustin Underhill and me.

[Aforementioned toast and cappuccino]

Saturday.

This here is a moment of cappuccino, toast, and oversized turtleneck bliss. August First in Burlington, Vermont is my favorite coffee shop to go when I want someplace warm and quiet. Have a great weekend!!

Portuguese Kale Soup

Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables.

This soup is warming, filling, and an excellent use of winter vegetables.

Half a bunch of kale (usually about half a pound), collards or beet greens
1 pound boiling potatoes, I used yellow russet
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 carrot
Optional: chicken or pork sausage
Extra-virgin olive oil

Remove the stems from the kale, wash the leaves, and cut them into bite size strips. Chop the carrot into wheels. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small chunks. 
Bring the stock to a boil and add salt. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for about four minutes. Add the kale and cook for a few more minutes. Add a splash of olive oil. If desired, add the sausage.

I eat this with a dash of hot sauce (food repair kit). I also added chopped sweet potato because I had one already cooked in the fridge.

Nut Butters

I found this jar of pure magic that is macadamia nut butter that I made with a friend while in Hawaii. If you're living on your own and a variation of a peanut butter sandwich is often what's for lunch/dinner/(breakfast), it helps to switch up which butters you use so you don't feel like you're eating a dog food diet.
This article from Cooking Light explains the various textures and flavors for different nut butters:
Nut Butter Primer

Open Face

Here are two of my favorite sandwiches to make for lunch:

Delicious open-face bagel sandwich:
Toasted and buttered bagel 
Ripe avocado
Grated carrots
A hard boiled egg
A generous handful of mung bean sprouts
Salt and pepper

Good peasant bread
Herb goat cheese
Baby arugula
A hard boiled egg
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Grocery Getter

A lot of people that I talk to want to eat well and prepare beautiful food but don't think they can afford to do so. I am always surprised by how little I spend on groceries for how much pleasure I get out of cooking and eating well. So here's what my (winter) shopping list usually includes:

kale
carrots
baby arugula/salad greens
avocado
eggs
milk, sometimes yogurt
rolled oats
peanut butter
good bread (ezekiel bread is my splurge: http://www.foodforlife.com) 
goat or cheddar cheese
sweet potatoes
apples
lemons
salted sunflower seeds

I also have on hand: sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic.
With these ingredients I make soups, salads, sandwiches, oatmeal, granola, and snacks, and my grocery bill is rarely over $25.
Over the next couple posts I'll share how I make these ingredients into meals!

Winter Excursions

To take advantage of the relatively warm sunshine yesterday, I drove to Shelburne Farms to visit the few remaining winter animals. I learned that goats enjoy both scratching their heads and eating discarded Christmas trees, and that even well-loved cows stand around in several inches of their own poo. So what do you do to get outside in the winter?

"All cooked vegetables, whether boiled or roasted, become wonderful salads. They need only a handful of tasted nuts, chopped fresh herbs, a few vinegar-soaked onions, and a sharp vinaigrette. It's really all most food ever needs. The combination may be the universe's only reliable youth serum."

-Tamar Adler, An Everlasting Meal 

Roasted Vegetables with Rice and Relish

I made on this little dish Christmas as a light lunch after hours of nothing but sugary treats.

Seared asparagus, brown rice with cranberry relish, and roasted beets and carrots

Put carrots, beets, and any other vegetables you want roasted on a pan and rub them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook at around 400 for roughly an hour, or until you can easily poke a knife into them.

Cook brown rice (I prefer short grain) according to the package (usually about 45 minutes).

Heat a half inch or so of water in a cast iron skillet and add clean, young asparagus. Cook with a cover until you can stick a knife into them with little resistance. Pour the water out of the pan, drizzle olive oil on top and sear until nicely brown. Crack pepper and salt on them, and add good balsamic vinegar if you have it. 

Combine a few cups of cranberries with a whole orange, a few tablespoons of cane sugar (or honey), and a dash of cinnamon in a food processor. Mine is broken, so I chopped it all by hand, which was enjoyable because I had plenty of time but not recommended if you do not. Pulse or chop until the ingredients look like relish!

Enjoy this meal with some seared salmon or maybe a slow-cooked meat like rabbit or pork if you have some.