well, im off to the no-internet world of the bahamas (!!) tomorrow. it might be a kind of weird trip. it was kind of unexpected. 

i will post some pictures when i get back!

xo

this year one of my new year's resolutions was to try  twenty NEW recipes. Seeing as its only february, i think i am easily going to surpass my goal! Last year I really didn't cook as much as I used to, so this year i am making a real effort! Also, I wanted to branch out from the same recipes i'd been making f-o-r-e-v-e-r. AND use those cookbooks! Also, I am trying use cheap foods with as little packaging as possible. I hate packaging.

so far, I have made:

1. Peppery Potato "Gratin"
2. Garlicky Kale with Tahini Dressing
3. Curried Split Pea Soup (I made this twice, it was so good! also, it seriously costs, like, a dollar for a whole giant pot)
4. Weirdo pumpkin-potato soup that i made up myself (the pumpkin was frozen from when we made jack-o-lanterns!)
5. Fruity Coconut Rice
6. Kashmiri Gobi (Indian-style cauliflower....mmm)

I've also been making a lot of the ol' andrea standbys like hash browns and borscht and pad thai and hummus and baba ghanoush...

In the near future I'm hoping to try:
- some manner of sweet & sour-ish tofu dish a la lotus pond
- a beet salad
- more greens with various dressings
- savory crepes

we are in athens after 10 days in the islands.

today we visited the acropolis (parthenon, theatre of dionysios, etc....) 

tomorrow... HOME! we arrive in vancouver at 230 pm... lets hang out!

well, I've powered through some more books and i am well on my way to reaching my goal of 30 books in one year!  

proud? hell yes. 

#s 1-15 can be found here

#16) THE RED TENT (Anita Diamant)- fiction about women's society in biblical times. interesting enough but a little too "lunar cycle-menstruation-childbearing," etc.. for me. and i'm the type of girl who is pretty into all that menstruation-talk stuff.

#17) SUITE FRANCAISE (Irene Nemirovsky) - An unfinished book with an incredible story behind it. About the German occupation of France in WWII, written by a Jewish woman who lived through some of it but who was eventually sent to Auschwitz and murdered. Her manuscript survived and was just published now, 60 years later. About the ordinary lives of a wide variety of French people (both Parisians and those from provincial towns..) in 1940-41.

#18) WATERSHIP DOWN (Richard Adams) - Action, Suspense, Emotion... Just what does it mean to be a free rabbit? Seriously, i could not put this down. just ask mark.

#19) NEVERWHERE (Neil Gaiman) - I think that this book about a secret dangerous world in the tube stations and sewers underneath London is better if you are familiar with the city. I tried to read it before I had been there & just didn't get it.

#20) THIEF OF ALWAYS (Clive Barker)- I read this one 10 years ago but had forgotten everything about it. I read it really quickly this time. spooky tale about a haunted mansion and a boy hero!

#21) FRAY (Joss Whedon et al) - I can't hide my nerdiness anymore! this one is about a vampire slayer in the future!



I am also partially through the book about crows that i was reading (its still in BC and I am not) and i am currently reading MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Euginides. Although it's 500+ pages, I can tell it won't take me long to finish this one. i can't put it down.

I'm feeling like I might actually reach my goal this year!

i was wrong.... i'm actually on book #4 right now b/c i also read the comic book STREET ANGEL which was incredible!

also, i have recently found out that buffy season eight is being released as a comic book..... ! 

an army of slayers.... oh man.

AND, i love veggie samosas with all my heart. that is all.

Hope that everyone had an awesome holiday! i am feeling rejuvenated after mine, for sure. on friday my little guinea pig & cat came with me to the mainland. we drove on the ferry which was an adventure in itself. we've been here for almost a week now -- crazy! i can't believe i get 10 days off from work for xmas. i have never had that before! so exciting. 

i really missed my family this year though. they are all on pei and i am on the west coast. hopefully next year we will all be together. it seems like we have all finally overcome a lot of the sad things in our past as a family and things are looking up for each of us individually and as a family! i can't wait to see my mom when she comes out to visit in may! 

but here in bc i did have an awesome xmas! 

# saw the new james bond movie -- we smuggled in our own homemade guacamole. SO much garlic!!
# set up our little christmas room. so many lights & a little mini tree.
# gave mark the "top secret project" christmas present. finally! and salmon doubts.
# had a delicious veggie christmas dinner (well, our version was anyway) at mark's mum & dad's. mushroom gravy! 
# charades!
# i made borscht for the first time and it was SO GOOD.
# watched an epic 4 hours of the season finale of survivor. i made coconut pancakes with pineapple sauce. 
#  went swimming in richmond & on 2 crazy waterslides! one really twisty one & one really fast tube one.
# walked all over one day -- then ate too much sushi at the eatery and went to see the new pedro almodovar movie, volver.
# buddhist chinese food with leanne, etc... on xmas eve!
# singalongs! christmas carols! 
# train ride in stanley park... frozen toes, but still so much fun! 
# coming up with new years resolutions for 2007. more on that later!