Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Market!

Yesterday, Brett and I went to the local market. Kaiserslautern's Farmer's Market is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturday is the standard day for us, and they have more vendors then. But we were out of town this weekend and needed veggies stat, so we headed downtown.

Let's start with the artichokes. Aren't these simply gorgeous?!


Then I picked up some random beans. They were pretty, and I love beans, so I thought, why not?


And of course, I got a kilo and a half of tomatoes. You can never have enough!

This is what our kitchen looks like after a market day:


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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Derby Pie!


So my mother and mother-in-law make this FANTASTIC dessert called a Derby or Kentucky Derby Pie. It is basically a chocolate chip pecan pie, and tis the best thing that ever came out of the South (besides collard greens, of course).

Most desserts I try to veganize fail the first few times. I often give up or just wait a few months to try it again because I'm not a dessert person, and if I have sweets lying around, I or my darling sweet tooth of a Hubby will devour them within a couple of days.

This confection, however, is a family favorite. And because it's been so long since we've had one of mom's famous Derby pies, we decided to make one ourselves.

I cannot give out our family's secret recipe, but if you are interested, I'm sure Google can appease you.

To veganize, simply substitute Ener-G for eggs and Smart Balance vegan substitute for margarine.

We started with dry...
Added in the wet ingredients...

Baked...

And ATE!


Sunday, July 17, 2011

Package!

My twink, Sarah Flory, sent me a package last week. We got it yesterday, and it is filled with vegan delights! See for yourself :)






And my favorite part, are her notes...




My phone photography is not the greatest...my apologies.

We also received Asian noodles for cooking, and yummy chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies!!! I've almost finished the chocolate chip and can't wait to devour the oatmeal :)

I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful friend. Love you SWF!

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Friday, July 15, 2011

Another dinner

Every week we eat at least one dinner at the Zima house. Last night we had eggplant medallions and spinach and white beans.



Mine was sans cheese




Patton being a snuggle butt with Brett and Shawn.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Cubans

We were downtown today and meandered into a nice little cigar shop. And yes, cubans are legal in Germany.

Seeing as we can't buy these nice little commie treats in the states, we picked some up.

After a nice dinner, and walk in the park, we fired them up.



Goofing off in the park




Lighting his first Cuban cigar




Shawn with scotch and a cigar. Classy.







We all had to give it a try.

And that is what a true summer night looks like, folks.

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Our Weekend


I forgot to post about our weekend!  Oopsy!  

We had a smashing Independence Day, complete with friends, a flag cake, and the gnarliest of vegan cookouts. 



Vegan burgers, veggie kabobs, cous cous salad, corn, and mac and shews - what more could you want!?

After the fest, we headed down to the "Man Cave" and played Rockband as well as SingStar Dance.  Fun!

Inside Job


Matt and I just finished an amazing film!  It's a documentary called "Inside Job", in reference to the financial crisis of 2008 and the deregulation of the financial industry.  Mind-blowing.

If you are at all interested or a little TO'd about what happened in 2008, as well as the dealings leading up to and after it, please take a look.  

Especially since I have started work (WOOHOO!!) as a Member Service Representative at Service Credit Union, I've become more interested in banking and what not.  However, this one was Matt's recommendation, and I thank him!  Please check it out!

Want to watch a trailer?  Click here!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Patton loves Tofu!

Sir Pookerson was whining today as I was making something with tofu.



Naturally, I gave him some. He loved it!!



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Friday, July 1, 2011

Excitement

Some women get excited when their husbands surprise them with flowers. I get excited when my husband gets mail like this:






That's right. Matt is finally receiving mail from the right people :) I am one happy wifey!

And NO, he doesn't not identify himself as a Democrat, and certainly not a Republican. But he has obviously been involved in some good things to have received this letter. Smiles!

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My Husband


I think about this every day, but I am so grateful to have met Matthew Barrett Cole.  There is no doubt in my mind that we were meant to be together.  You live your whole life hearing people say "I love him/her more every day", and you wonder what they mean.  Now I know!

What I love most about Matt is that he is openminded and willing to try new things.  Not once have I asked to him to make his favorite foods vegetarian; he was done that on his own.  The best part is, it's not for me - he truly wants to try it.

There are so many things we've tried together since we've met, and SO many places we've traveled to.  Since the summer of 2008, Matt and I have been: on a road trip from Phoenix to Auburn, Las Vegas (twice!), Crooked Island, Bahamas, The Dominican Republic, Germany (all over), Innsbruck, Austria, Kauntertal, Austria, Venice, Italy, Laandgraf, The Netherlands, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Bruxelles, Belgium, and Paris, France.  Oh, and I forgot Luxembourg!

We both love to travel, experience new cultures, and enjoy cooking and eating different foods.

It's also fun to look to the future with someone you know will be there.  We plan where we want to move next, what our kids will do (aka, they will know another language fluently, they will be nerds, play soccer, dance classes, vegans, etc), and we've even talked about where we may like to retire.

As our three year anniversary is celebrated on Independence Day, I will be thankful for many things.  My country, those who have fought for it, and my favorite soldier, Matthew Cole.