Big Sur bound in da RV!

We packed up Jaks RV, Bri decorated...we loaded it with food and beers, with sarongs and guitars, with boards and potted plants. And now we are Big Sur bound...surfing our way up the coast. We're rocking out to the Tune Yards and laughing and enjoying all of the love and joy the universe has placed in our laps. Let the good times roll...

SD Photo Journal 3

Last night we had a delicious dinner at Grays house on the sea bluff. Woke up this morning, cuddled with Jak and Bri for a bit and then the three of us grabbed Rachael and we all headed to Java Hut for some deeeelicious caffeinated beverages. Picked up my board and wetsuit (I had left them out here last year at my friend Liz's house) and then had a surf at Pipes in Cardiff. It felt super odd to be back in the water...I haven't surfed since December!! But after a few waves I found my groove and was stoked to be back! I will say though, wetsuits fucking suck. Ugh. After surf we stopped at the magnificent Seaside Market and picked up some goodies for lunch, including El Napilito roasted salsa and tortilla chips!! SO GOOD. Alas, after THIS much fun we all snuck in a short nap. Now it's 2pm and the fun is really just getting started...

SD Photo Journal 2

SD Photo Journal 1

SD bound

9:15am sweaty powerful vinyasa amazingness...shower, goodbyes + kisses to my parents, then in the car with Ro, Philly bound. Had an EPIC lunch @ my favorite (Eco-friendly and locally sustained) restaurant GREEN EGGS CAFE. Locally raised and butchered Duck Pastrami!!! With French fries!!!! And coffee!!!! Now, on the plane. San Diego here I come!

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times.

Arianne ("Ari) Green is one of my favorite people. She owns the Zen Den, and teaches classes there throughout the week. As I've said before, her classes are challenging and intense - but wonderful and rewarding. Over the past few months that I've been working at the Zen Den, our relationship has shifted from a casual/business exchange to a wonderful friendship. Ari makes me feel appreciated as an employee, inspired as a student, and loved as a friend. And not only have I become close to Ari, but it was a two-for-one deal and I got her badass hubby Adam as well! Last night they wanted to take me out for dinner as a gesture of gratitude for teaching at the Den, but alas - no babysitter! So instead, we stayed in and Adam made his WORLD FAMOUS spring rolls. I was his sous chef, and I was let in on his top secret recipe -- but I'll never tell. If we told ya, we'd have to kill ya...THAT'S how good the spring rolls are! It was great to finally be able to relax and hang with these two, instead of the usual 15 minutes before, after and in-between classes. Around midnight we finally declared that bed time was in order, and since it was so late I just spent the night so I could be fresh for Ari's 9:30am vinyasa. Coffee, children (the Greens 3 little ones: twin boys {mick and jack} and a girl {lucy}), and conversation filled the morning and then we headed to the studio for class. I got my 80lb ass up in the air a few times, and even found myself *almost in a tripod headstand. Thank you Universe for always sending me exactly what I need, exactly when I need it. Love Love Love and Gratitude to Adam and Ari for being such amazing human beings, and for inviting me into the family. <3

Adam, showing me the A,B,C's of wrapping spring rolls...

Frying em up outside at a high high heat!

Ari was the drink-pourer and the sauce-getter...we were a solid team.

If I told you the recipe, I'd have to kill ya....

Happy Happy

Happy 54th birthday to my beautiful mama, and Happy Easter to all of you!!

Tinto de Verano

TINTO DE VERANO

"Summer Wine"

Mom's birthday is tomorrow, April 8th...but she celebrates for a month. So, we are celebrating today. Tonight to accompany the duck my parents will be eating (I'm still being "meat free", aside from meat that we have raised or my parents have killed) I am making some asian inspired sides. I'm doing my green papaya salad and a lemongrass infused stir-fried rice. But, we had some time to kill while Dad was napping...so I figured it was COCKTAIL TIME. The sun was shining and I had some red wine sitting in the house, so I made a spin off of Heidi Swansons' "Tinto de Verano". Her recipe calls for cheap Spanish red wine, a sparkling lemonade or lemon-lime soda, ice and lemon wedges. Well...I had expensive Spanish red wine (thanks to my friend Rochelle who is a distributor of spanish wines and sometimes gives me leftover sample bottles...), a Tempranillo. And I made my own sparkling lemonade by mixing club soda, agave nectar and the juice of one huge lemon and a juicy lime. It's about 1/3 to 1/2 red wine, and then topped off with the sparkling lemony beverage. Serve over ice, in a small glass, with a lemon wedge. DELICIOUS. Que Rica!

Asia Love.

I've been really homesick for my 50 liter backpack and my adventures. Today though I got a little dose of Asia, and it gave me a lil pep in my step. I got to speak some Chinese ("xie xie"), Vietnamese ("kha moun"), and Thai ("sabai de kha") at the Asian supermarket in pleasantville. I picked up some of my favorite Asian fruits, Mangosteens and Dragonfruit, and scored some chive blossoms for a soup I want to make. Aside from the fruit selection, one of the things I adored about Asia was there ability to incorporate anything and everything into pastries (or as they'd say, "bun"). My mom loves red beans, so I grabbed her a Red Bean Bun and a Sesame Ball (which is stuffed with sweetened red bean paste). The adventure to the Asian supermarket wasn't quite as great as being back in Asia, but it was fun to be surrounded by the foreign familiarities. My Chinese wasn't good enough to ask "Where is the tamarind paste", but it was well enough to say 'Thank You', which brought a smile to the cashiers face. And the market is only 30minutes away, as opposed to 30 hours worth of airtime...but being with my family on the holidays...? Priceless. And now I'm going to go enjoy my mangosteen and day dream about Indonesia....

This is a mangosteen.

You slice around the outside hard shell (like you would an avocado, then remove the white center. Enjoy the pods, but beware, some have seeds. This is sweet and tart and tangy and delicious.

This is a dragonfruit. The texture (and even the taste) are similar to a kiwi. Best way to enjoy? Drizzle some lime over it!!

Hank Sauce Round 2

Stopped over Hank Sauce last night on 86th and Landis for more delicious food and some quality time with the boys. Once again, delicious food and good times. If you havent made it over yet, get your butt in groove!! There's even a Philly made HANKS Root Beer!

Garden Time

I helped my mom yesterday grooming dogs, and then when we were done and Dad was awake from his nap we all headed out to putz in the garden. Dad posts up in a chair and points his cane at mom and I, offering up praise and criticism. HE is the one with the green thumb...my mom and I are known to kill even the most hearty of plants. But this year the garden is mostly in our hands, so wish us luck! For her birthday, my Mom received a FIG TREE from her wonderful friend Lori. We planted that yesterday over by the pig pens and the watermelon patch. I am super exicted for this to start baring fruit because I LOVE figs and they are not an easy thing to find in the supermarkets and farmers markets around here.

I had to cut some asparagus, and even though this has been my job since I was a SMALL CHILD, my Dad posted up and supervised my asaparagus-cutting-skills.

The key to cutting asapargus is a sharp, serrated edge knife. You push the knife a few inches down into the soil, cutting the asapargus about 4" below the surface.

Farming is made even better when you are wearing cute, comfortable boots. Thanks to my friend Rob Kulisek for my epic birthday gift: a pair of SeaVees. Now not only am I a champion asparagus cutter -- but I look damn good when I'm doing it!

Instructions for Life

Instructions for Life by The Dalai Lama

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R's:
   - Respect for self,
   - Respect for others and
   - Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and
    think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Spread The Word

Sent from my iPhone

Birthday Month.

Some of the spread I cooked up for Moms birthday celebration (#1).

Mom and Me.

Me and Dad.

Mom and Gary.

Me and Fi, being goofy.

And so my mothers birthday month begins....