can you imagine having a yoga class here?
i can!
last night allison and i wandered over to baltimore's lavish conservatory for an evening of yoga with an instructor from charm city yoga, my home studio. we arrived early and strolled through the tropical room, the dessert room, the orchid room...

the class was slow and peaceful and was followed by a time of walking meditation through the night-filled conservatory.

there is even a conservatory cat who lives among the tropical plants and probably destresses the giant goldfish swimming languidly in their pool.

a gathering

1

tuesday we had a scrumptuous gathering. 15 people gathered around good food and passionate ideas. two men from baltimore's united workers
came to our home to share their stories and the stories of the struggles faced by low wage and temp workers from baltimore to egypt. the conversation and questions were both troubling and inspiring. i hope that something good will come out of it. both for the united workers and for our guests and ourselves.

Give Me S'more Cupcakes!

Once upon a time I got in the mood for cupcakes. I looked through my cookbooks and nothing looked peppy enough. Even my Vegan With a Vengence book didn't help. I was missing some key ingredients. I've tried to be innovative with baking before, and it's fallen through. This time, though, it worked. Isa Chandra Moskowitz gave me a helpful springboard in her Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World. I don't own the book, but have baked from my sister's copy before. This time I looked it up on good old Google Books.

I still didn't have all of the ingredients. I had to improvise. Here's what happened: delicious, nutty, fluffy S'more cupcakes that melted in our mouths. We nibbled on them while watching Glee and couldn't stop raving about them (even while Kurt's Valentine sang his romantic failure of a song, breaking all of our hearts for Kurt, if only for a moment).

Nutty S'more Cupcakes
¾ c brown sugar
¼ c cashew or peanut butter, melted
¼ c canola oil
1 ½ c milk alternative
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp powdered ginger
¾ c graham cracker crumbs

Icing:
1/4 - 1/3 c milk alternative
1/4 c earth balance
1/4 c peanut butter
1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c powdered sugar, as needed

1/4 c organic dark chocolate shavings

How To:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tin.
Mix brown sugar, melted nut butter, oil, milk alternative, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt into a separate bowl and mix. Add graham cracker crumbs. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to wet in three batches, mixing well each time.

Fill each muffin tin ¾ of the way full. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until toothpick, knife, or other utensil inserted comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely before icing (my problem with patience is clearly apparent here).

For Icing
Mix together earth balance, soy milk and peanut butter well. Add powdered sugar by the tablespoon, mixing well, until a thin icing is formed. Add graham cracker crumbs. Mix well. Refrigerate until cupcakes are cooled.

Assembly:
Slather a generous amount of icing on top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle generously with grated chocolate. Add a broken off corner of a graham cracker for an added flourish. Serve immediately and enjoy!


I'm making these again on Tuesday for our United Workers Open House. Pictures to follow.

if i could just put all of my wishes and all of my good things and strengths and passions into one big pot, stir them up all together, mince up garlic, ginger, some juicy red onions, thyme and some rosemary, stir and stir, play a little regina in the background, dance a bit while it bubbles, sit in that patch of sun that hits the dining room table just right while it simmers, read a chapter of my book while it boils, and then, just as the sun is setting, while the basilica bells chime seven, i would ladle it out into a white clay bowl (it would be red, like tomato, making stains on the side), and slip in a wide, deep spoon. the first taste would be knowing. i could slip my mouth around the spoon (it might click against my teeth)and pour in the liquid. it wouldn't hit me, it's not too spicy or too rich, it would settle, deep and flavorful, into me. by the end of the bowl i would be scraping up the last drips. i might even set down the spoon and lick the sides of the dish. but it would be enough. i wouldn't go back to the pot and look into the garlic residue, clinging to the shining sides, and wish i had made more. everything in me, every ingredient needed would have gone in, and i would know just what step to take next. i would go out, well stirred, well seasoned, and richly ready for what is to come.

i felt just just like this walking home yesterday.

the sun was so rich and beautiful, but you know if you stop in the shade you'll be cold. i stopped beside the library, where the heat had been swallowed up into the wall and sidewalk. i think that our faces need the sun most of all. there's something just lovely about the sun on anything, but when i turned my face toward it, when i faced into the warmth, all of these grey layers of cold and slush, of frustration and bad ideas just peeled down off of me, over my grubby old boots, and away.



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