#73: Eat at Native Foods

Well, hello there. Long time no see... I don't think I've posted on here in about 3 months, but it feels good to be back.

This weekend was a busy list weekend for T and me, in addition to visiting the Long Beach Farmer's Market we managed to cross an additional item off of our list... Eating at Native Foods in Costa Mesa.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, Native Foods is an all vegan restaurant that first opened back in 1994. They have a lot of fusion dishes combining flavors from different regional cuisines as well as the veganization of some old favorites. Theresa has been in love with the place for a long while now, and has been dying to take me there.

Theresa had the Oklahoma Bacon Burger (which she is apparently unable to resist whenever she goes there), featuring seitan, BBQ sauce, tofu bacon an assortment of veggies and fried pickles. I opted for the Scorpion Burger: a blackened tempeh patty with chipotle sauce and avo. We also decided to split a side of sweet potato fries and a strawberry shortcake parfait. Everything was quite delectable... particularly the fried pickles. One of the things that I really enjoyed is that all of the "meats" are made in house, so the quality is much better than the standard Gardenburger.

I definitely recommend a stop by Native Foods if you find yourself in the area. (Even if you aren't veg, the food is still worth it. Their menu even points out items that are recommended for first time diners)

Until next time.

-Nick 

#5: Go to Farmer's Markets in 20 different cities

Farmers Market #1: 
Sunday, July 3rd 
Long Beach, California
Alamitos Bay Marina (Marina &2nd St.)

I love my home town's market because it is in our marina and includes a huge arts and crafts section. Here, Nick and I enjoyed sampling the local, seasonal produce- a lot of berries, plums, apricots, peaches, etcetera, the live music and a delicious fresh "very berry" scone from a local baker.  We purchased eggs from a local farm, locally produced vegan body lotion made from Bolivian cocoa, a bundle of fresh lavender, and a gorgeous bouquet of irises and mexican bush sage grown in Oxnard. And of course, it isn't a trip to the farmers market without some fresh (pomegranate) apple juice.

Thanks for reading :) Love, Theresa

#100: Finish our bachelors degrees

On May 21st I graduated from Saint Mary's College of California with a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal and Civic Studies and a minor in Music. It was a fabulous end to an amazing chapter of my life. Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

#60: first harvest and more

Parsley... yum :)

Cilantro

Basil

#13: Take Piano Lessons

I hate to admit, but my mother was right. I regret the decision I made to stop taking piano lessons when I was younger. I became so bored with the lessons, never got a chance to play songs that I really enjoyed, and dreaded recitals. Lame excuses, I know. (I didn't entirely give up on music though. With the guidance of an amazing mentor in high school, I fell in love with the guitar. As a music minor, I took two guitar and voice classes during my undergrad at St. Mary's but these didn't seem to fill the void that was left from my break-up with piano.)

This past Christmas, Nick gave my a keyboard and I signed up for piano lessons with three other girls at St. Mary's. Able to read music but out of practice on the piano, I was at an awkward level, s0 our teacher worked with us each individually during our one hour time slot, two days a week. I was SO stoked to be back and playing, until I found out we had a recital at the end of the semester. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I wanted to drop the class, so I called Nick to explain the situation and he convinced me to just do it.

And of course, it was totally worth it.

Having to practice playing piano this past semester definitely helped get me through the stressful and crazy days. Playing piano is so calming and inspiring. (Admittedly frustrating at times.) I actually loved going to lessons this time around. We began with learning folk melodies from tons of different cultures, along with many different scales and technique exercises. My favorites pieces I played this semester are: Duet Exercise #42 by Ferdinand Beyer (because this meant I got to play with my piano teacher who is a phenomenal pianist), Arches by Paula Dreyer, Op. 39, No. 1 by Kabalevsky, and Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

All of a sudden- it was time to choose our songs for the recital. It was too late to drop the class. I had to do it. NOT stoked. My piano teacher selected Memory by Andew Lloyd Webber (from the musical Cats) for my recital piece. I practiced religiously, and tortured Nick, my parents, my friend Molly, and even the little girls I babysit, who all endured listening to me play the song for them (or via Skype) in hope to be comfortable playing in front of a crowd, which is clearly not my forte.

I survived the recital and actually ended up playing decently. You know that feeling you get after succeeding at something? ... like you can save the world? Yeah- that's how I felt.

I absolutely love playing piano again :) Lessons learned: 1. Don't be a quitter 2. Practice makes perfect 3. Music is medicine for the mind. 4. Don't touch a Baby Grand, you'll just get greedy.

Next piece to conquer: The Entertainer by Scott Joplin

Thanks for reading! Love, T

#60 Herb Garden Updates...

Parsley

Marjoram

#60 Lookin' good!

Cilantro and basil

Parsley

Marjoram

#90 Don't eat out for a month

In hope to save some money for my future adventures in Italy, I've decided to start #90 on our list ("Don't eat out for a month"). The kick-off meal: One of my favorites- seitan and broccolini over brown rice. Inspired by: Vegan YumYum. Simple and delicious. Maybe #90 will also lead towards checking #71 off our list (Cook all recipes in a cookbook)? -T

#60 (Days 8, 9, 10)

Marjoram and thyme:

Cilantro and basil:

#60 (Day 7)

The marjoram and parsley are sprouting!