Food pics

Dinner last night was whole grain rotini pasta with a kind of home-made pesto sauce.  I was craving pesto, so I mixed together some of the ingredients that make up red pesto.

Finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes
Garlic
Olive oil
And yellow peppers (for fun)

Some spinach on the side.

Breakfast this morning was Weetabix, soy milk, soy yogurt and half a banana.

Off to meet Ged for lunch.

Ciao!

Amanda

Oh, Sweet Temptation

Happy Monday to everyone.  Florence is bustling with the usual crowds of tourists this morning, despite the gray sky.

I've had an interesting weekend, which always makes blogging a little easier.

The entire weekend's weather looked like this:

I like to call this a "bipolar" sky.  Amidst the dark, scary cumulonimbus, small fractions of blue were trying to peek through.  This shot was taken Saturday in San Gimignano.

That's a town about an hour southwest of Florence.  Here are a couple more shots from there:

The reason I'm telling you about my Saturday day trip here (besides the fact that San Gimignano is a cool place) is because I encountered a moment of weakness in the old Tuscan town.

Besides featuring old castles and guard towers, there's also supposedly the world's best gelato.  Ged and I walked into this place and looked at all the pictures of famous celebrities and public figures eating this gelato, including Tony Blair.

Ged had to get some.  Who could blame him.

I, however, felt like throwing a tantrum.  I backed into a corner and watched as flocks of people ordered various flavors and sizes.

As I watched people lick the insides of their cups that were filled with the gelato pictured below, I kept thinking to myself Why the f*** am I torturing myself like this by putting limits on my life?  Why can't I just be like everyone else and forget about the cow's milk and enjoy the World's Best Gelato?  

(source)
I was upset.  I was jealous.  I was pissed off because here I was feeling like a caged animal being taunted and teased.

I know I've made the personal decision to choose the lifestyle I'm living, but gosh darnit, sometimes it's really hard, especially in an environment where your lifestyle isn't supported or even recognized.

I wanted to give up right then and there and eat that ice cream.  I wanted to stop being vegan and forget about all the crap I've been telling myself since I became vegan (i.e. you're preventing animal cruelty, helping the environment).

But I didn't.  I walked stomped away with a grimace on my face and sat down to think and calm myself for a minute.

An, as always, Ged was there to help me simmer down and think about how important being vegan is to me.  I know how this probably sounds--I need someone else to convince me that my lifestyle is a good one?  Well, yes, I did.  In that moment of weakness, I needed someone to support me and tell me that I was doing the right thing, even if that's not the lifestyle he personally practices.



I actually cooked a very nice vegetable platter for Saturday's lunch.  We had a ton of veggies in the fridge that were begging to be sauteed.  

Some boiling, olive oil, garlic, pan frying and voila!  The fresh al dente asparagus was the best.

Here's to hoping your day is lovely and full of strength to resist any kind of crap that may tempt you.

Published.

Hello.

I've recently been published in The Florentine, an English-speaking local newspaper in Florence.  I wrote a small piece for them about an upcoming Fourth of July celebration in the city.

It didn't involve any reporting at all, really, but I'm still thankful for the opportunity to have some "international experience" when it comes to being published.  This is definitely going on my resume.

Update on the fast:  It only lasted about 1.5 days.  In order to have a successful fast, you need to limit physical activity, however, the thing I'm learning about Florence is that you should take advantage of good weather when it's available.  

The downpours of rain have been horrendous lately, and the thunder and lightning are shockingly bright and loud.  That means I need to ride my bike whenever blue skies, which means I can't afford to be sending my body into "shut down" or "cleansing" mode right now.

Fast(ing)

Today has been a quiet day.  The weather has been dark and wet, ruling out pretty much all outdoor activity, and Ged is busy working all day.

I think all of those things make for perfect ingredients for a FAST.

I'm fairly new to fasting for health reasons, so I've had to do my own research on the subject to make sure I'm going about it the right way.  Why do it?  I love the idea and feeling of cleansing the body.

The best Web site I've found is this one.

Since I'm not an expert or even experienced with fasting yet, I'm taking it slow.  I plan on fasting for only a few days, listening to how my body reacts as a measure for exactly how long I can last.

I decided that a fruit fast would be best for me because I'm not sure I can physically or mentally handle the determination and strain of a water fast.  Tomorrow I'll pick up some apples, oranges and bananas for my fast.

Ever tried a fast?  How did it go?

The Oily Truth

Even though I'm in Europe for the summer, thousands of miles away from my home in the United States, I'm still very much aware of what's going on over there.  Namely, I'm referring to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

I was able to watch some English language news this weekend from the BBC, and I really started thinking about the way I personally abuse oil.  While I try to walk, bike or take the bus whenever possible, I am a big fan of road trips in the car and I use my PT Cruiser to go grocery shopping almost every week back in Florida.  

I want to stop being so wasteful.  And after reading and hearing about this terrible news, Ged and I decided not to use the car this past weekend.  

We both wanted some beach time and Viareggio on the West coast sounded like the best choice.  

It's on the top left of the map below.

(source)
The train ride there was one hour and 45 minutes.  It was so much better than driving.

• We didn't have to fill up the car with gas.
• No waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
• Time to sleep/read.

I would definitely take the train again.  

On the return trip, Ged and I saw a beautiful bike in the caboose.  It was truly inspiring to see someone traveling around with this nice bike, and it made both of us think about the endless possibilities of taking the train all over this hilly country with our own bikes.

The bike was a Specialized Tarmac, and it was floating like an angel from the hook on which it was hung.  Here's what it looked like:

(source)

Unfortunately, the weather in Viareggio wasn't good beach weather.  The clouds were dark and heavy with rain.  And not long after we arrived, the skies opened up and drenched the streets.

I did have possibly the best slice of pizza in my life here, though.  

Potato deliciousness!

Dinner was a tofu, spinach and garlic combination made by Yours Truly.

While I know my effort to abstain from oil may be insignificant compared to the world's oil usage, I still think I can make a difference.  Maybe that's the optimist in me.  

And I encourage you to do the same.  Instead of taking the easy way out and jumping in your car, truck or van for a simple trip to the post office, bank, grocery store or work, why not try the alternatives:

• ride a bike
• take a bus
• take the metro/train
• or simply walk there

It might seem hard to give up such a convenient method of transportation, but every time you start your car, try thinking about what's happening near the shores of Louisiana, what Obama is calling the "environment's 9/11."