Curry without coconut milk...

isn't curry at all.

So today has just flown by!

I started today with some eggs and oatmeal.. my pictures turned out horrible (still figuring this whole blog thing out)... you can imagine what it looked like. (1/2 c whites, 1/4 c oats made with water, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of chia seeds for good fats and some fiber.)

The mister and I then spent 3 (yes 3!) hours cleaning every nook and cranny of this house! Dusting, dishes, vacuum, swiffering, scrubbing... e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! During the cleaning extravaganza I made a smoothie.

and slurped it down before finishing the spring cleaning craziness.

After we cleaned, I took a shower and got myself ready for the day. We were getting hungry for a real meal around 4p and decided to have an early dinner before our radio show at 6p. (Are we 70 yrs old?.. Early Bird Special right?)

I looked at the fridge and realized we just had a few things to use before our trip and decided to make a tofu curry dish... the only hang up was that I was out of coconut milk. I figred it would still be ok and went with it.

First, I cut up some mushrooms, onion, and pressed some tofu.

I opened a can of green curry paste. I love this curry paste! It's spicy and so delicious! I know it's not the healthiest to use canned and not just use curry powders but this stuff is awesome!

Next I sauteed a purple onion I had chopped but went unpictured and after it was nice and sweaty I added the tofu, veggies, and curry paste.

Ok folks, this would normally be when I add coconut milk to create a curry like sauce to soak my veggies and tofu in. Since we were completely out of coconut milk (or any kind of milk for that matter) I decided to just see how it turned out...

And the result? Don't let the picture fool you. The mister (who eats ANYTHING!) and I concluded coconut milk it a CRUCIAL part of a great curry meal. Don't get me wrong we ate it.. we don't waste food around here. But I definitely wouldn't pick to make a curry without having all the ingredients on hand.

But I was atleast successful in clearing out the fridge before out trip.

Moving on.

After our early bird special dinner at 4p we got out playlist ready and headed to the radio station.

Our show rocked tonight and I even have a picture for you!

Well, I'm about to close the laptop and call it a night. The radio station has our annual May Day celebration tomorrow and I will be there to help with crafts, face painting, our plant sell, and our may pole dance. I'll be sure to post tons of pictures for ya'll.

I leave you will on of the songs that had me up and dancing around the station during our show tonight. Enjoy.

Dance Yourself Clean - LCD Soundsystem

Veggie Box Wednesdays!

That's right, folks. It's Wednesday and that means 1 of 2 things...

1) You're like this girl and eating your weight in naan and other delicious Indian cuisine

OR

2) You're like this girl and excited that your CSA box is here and that means you'll actually have fresh produce in the fridge!

So, let me tell you about my box.

We receive a list of what our box with be filled with a week prior to the actual delivery. We then can go through and make substitutions (this is key! The first CSA we belonged to didn't allow us to customize and it was nerve wracking knowing I would have to depend on this box of unknown veggies for a whole week.)

After we decide what we want, we are given options for other groceries to be delivered in the box as well (cheeses, eggs, milk, coffee, chocolate, yogurt, etc.).

The most challenging part of the whole process is actually finding your name. Normally I get there right after work so the room is packed CSA boxes... today I totally forgot it was Wednesday (blame it on a sick day yesterday) and didn't pick mine up until around 6p.

I opened the box and was so glad to see some color from fresh organic veggies!

And these are the goods...

1.5 bunches Ruby Cresent Fingerling Potatoes (the mister's favorite)

2 Cucumbers

3 Grapefruit

5 Oranges

2 Avocados

1.75 lbs Zucchini

.75 lbs Snap Peas

1 pt Strawberries (mmmm!)

2 Tomatoes

1.32 lbs mushrooms (We love them!)

1 bunch lettuce

All organic and brought right to me.

I love knowing I'm helping our family farmers around us and getting quality produce for my family. Ya'll should all look into local CSAs and see what is available around you. It has definitely been a great change to running to the grocery store every other day to buy produce that most likely didn't come from the area and hard to find organic.

Out for the count...

So, I'm sick. I never get sick. Of course it was going to hit me this week. Let me fill you in...

This week is filled with parent-teacher conferences for the end of the school year assessments. While I have been checking boxes left and right for my kiddos on an assessment that is close to 20 pages long (did I mention I teach pre-k?) I've been a little stressed. Well, Easter weekend turned into eat and do whatever you want weekend. Our easter dinner consisted of take out pizza and ice cream. I woke up Monday feeling like death.

I just kept chugging along Monday trying to get everything squared away before I leave for my trip (more on that later) and then I received the call. The all no new teacher wants to get. It was a principle at a school I interviewed with early this month. He told me he was trying every way to get me hired but it turned out my certification in GA read a little different in AK and I'd have to take another Praxis exam in order to be "highly qualified" for this position. I was pretty bummed out about it and then on top of getting sicker, I was just doing to movements yesterday. I hate that. Just being there at work but your mind is in a completely different place.

So, I woke up at 5am to do my daily morning cardio and felt horrible. I snoozed another 45 minutes and ended up texting y boss saying I won't be in today. The first time I have called out but if I was going to need a day to myself, this was the day.

so, my day has been filled with rain and this...

That would be blueberry tea, dayquil (makes me cringe) and lots of tissues.

I'm going to hit publish and rest for a bit... I need something in my belly... Ezekiel bread sounds amazing right now.

Oh, and the trip? I'm going to Hawaii for 2 weeks!!! I'll write a whole post on that later.

Peace.

Well, hello there..

So, I've had this "blog" set up for awhile now (read: over a year) and could never really commit to writing often enough to have a blog. Well friends, this is it. I'm getting the itch to start a new activity and I really want to try this whole thing out.

I guess this should be somewhat of a introductory post. Here goes nothing..

My name is Melissa and I'm a 24 yr old southerner that made "The Great Move" from Atlanta, GA to a small town in Alaska. I graduated in May 2010 with a dual degree in ECE and Sp. Ed. and moved up here to find more teaching opportunities. I moved with my partner of 6.5yrs (We aren't married but I HATE saying boyfriend all the time and we are committed so it's a done deal) and our 4 yr old basset hound, Penelope James.



Our little family at Dog Island, Fl June 2010



We moved in the middle of the summer and throughly enjoyed all of the summer activities AK had to offer around us...




blueberry picking while on a hike...




biking...




running...




enjoying live music outside...




becoming volunteer DJs at the local radio station...




and general exploring.

The winter came around and it just made for different outdoor activities...


Penelope's walks turned a little cold...



skiing...




enjoying live music INdoors...


and now spring is here and I'm ready to get back outside for some warmer activities. This has been an exciting year and am really excited about what is in store for me! I'll document all of the craziness here and welcome comments and suggestions about the blog.

I want this to be a place where good wholesome food is eaten while enjoying this beautiful planet we live on. This is a blog that follows a health conscious 20-something Georgia peach navigate life in Alaska.

Peace.