Engagement photos of Batman and Wonder Woman
June 13, 2013 at 11:18 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Batman, engagement, Jason Plotkin, love, photography, photos, Three Things Thursday, wedding, Wonder Woman, Wordless Wednesday
I am sorry I have been behind. This post was supposed to be Three Things Thursday, but Tuesday’s post was supposed to be photos from our recent trip to Michigan. Well, I didn’t take any photos.
Also, I missed my wordless Wednesday chance, but this Thursday will be partially wordless anyhow.
Here are some of our engagement photos:
Three Thing Thursday — June 6
June 6, 2013 at 11:03 am | Posted in Three Things Thursday | Leave a commentTags: "Country Roads", aunt, country roads take me home, death, engagement, engagement photos, Jamieson, Jason Plotkin, John Denver, memorial, Michigan, newspaper, photos, trip, YDR, York Daily Record
Photo by Jason Plotkin
No. 1 — We had our engagement photos taken on Sunday! A good friend of ours, Jason Plotkin, took the photos. I work with Jason at the newspaper and he is a PHENOMENAL photographer. He is amazingly giving, too. He also is a geek like us, and took some awesome geeky shots. I can’t wait to show my family and friends the work he did. And I can’t wait to show off our save the dates!
No. 2 — Speaking of the newspaper, we had some changes this week. Some are not so good, and the others … well, those have yet to be seen. A lot is going to happen at our office in the last six months of this year, and it is going to be a bit of a bumpy road. But if my training has taught me at least something, there is always a downhill to rest your legs after the climb. Things will be figured out, one way or another.
No. 3 — “Country roads, take me home, to a place I belong …” We are heading to Michigan tomorrow! Unfortunately it is under sad circumstances: Jamieson’s great aunt and god mother died. She had been struggling with cancer for a while. There is a memorial and a wake on Saturday. This trip will be tough on us for other reasons, too, because we are leaving Friday night and returning Sunday afternoon — it is a nine-hour drive. But it will be good to see the family and friends again.
Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes: Hummingbird muffins
June 1, 2013 at 11:00 am | Posted in 50 States 50 Vegan Dishes | Leave a commentTags: 50 States 50 Vegan Dishes, Bob's Red Mill, brown sugar, cream cheese, eggs, February 1978, Greensboro, honey, hummingbird, hummingbird cake, Hummingbird muffins, Jamaica, lightened, Meatout Mondays, Mrs. L.H. Wiggins, North Carolina, Nutiva, protein, protein powder, Runner's World, salad oil, Snack Food Association, sugar, sugary rich, the great honey debate, vegan, vegetarian, York Central Market
(This post first appeared in the No Sweat, York, blog for the York Daily Record/Sunday News.)
Photo by Bethany Fehlinger. Left: pre-baked muffin; Right: baked muffin.
When I picked the dishes for “50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes,” I didn’t realize at first that I chose so many cakes and baked goods.
Now, as I am re-assessing my diet, the dreaded sweet treats are at every turn. So, when my weekly Runner’s World nutrition email popped into my inbox, a new, healthy recipe fell into my lap. It fit perfectly within my “50 Dishes” parameters — Hummingbird Muffins.
Let’s take a step back: Hummingbird Cake was first submitted by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina in the February 1978 issue of “Southern Living.” It called for 2 cups of sugar in the cake, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of “salad oil” and a cream cheese frosting that added even more butter and sugar. Even the updated “lightened” version isn’t so light. The pecans make it even more southern, as they are grown in the South.
So, why is it named “hummingbird”? There isn’t a definitive answer, butsome theories include the idea that eating the cake makes you hum with happiness; it is sugary rich, just like the nectar hummingbirds love to feast on; people love this cake so much they hover over it, just like hummingbirds do to their food; and/or the cake originated in Jamaica where the national bird is a breed of hummingbird.
Let’s get back to the food. A rich and sugary cake won’t fit in my diet, so the hummingbird muffins seemed promising. I will say that this original recipe also calls for way too much sugar, but I didn’t want to experiment too much on my first try. I think that less sugar can be added to the honey, and the brown sugar taken out of the crumble topping.
I also took out the eggs to veganize the dish, as the bananas and applesauce already in the recipe are usual substitutions for eggs in vegan baked goods. I think the eggs are added by Runner’s World for added protein, but are totally not needed. There are a few other things I veganized, using Nutiva hemp protein powder and Earth Balance; and I used Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour and old-fashioned oats.
This isn’t a “true” vegan muffin, as it contains more than a 1/3 of a cup of honey. There is the great honey debate, but I personally eat it if it is local (yeah, York Central Market!) and it helps my persistent seasonal allergies.
Continue Reading 50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes: Hummingbird muffins…
50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes: Mission burritos
May 25, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in 50 States 50 Vegan Dishes | Leave a commentTags: beans, burrito, Chipotle, Daiya, East Market Street, guacamole, meatless, meatout, Meatout Mondays, Mission, Mission burrito, Mission district, New Eastern Market, No Sweat York, Qdoba, rice, Roburrito's, salsa, San Francisco burrito, tortilla, vegan, York
Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
(This recipe was first featured for Meatout Mondays on the No Sweat, York, blog.)
I love burritos.
With Roburrito’s, Chipotle and Qdoba in the community, you can’t go wrong finding a burrito that is both vegan and hearty.
I eat Roburrito’s so often, some of the workers probably know me by name or by my order (“A vegan potato meal with ginger ale, please.”) I mix it up by going to different locations, so my addiction isn’t pronounced. (Though my favorite to-go is the East Market Street location, and my favorite sit-down place is the one in the New Eastern Market.)
Both places offer a style of burrito called a Mission burrito or San Francisco burrito — so named because it first became popular in the 1960s in the Mission district of San Francisco.
My square burrito. Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
The greatest part of this burrito? It is customizable. A few items are considered staples: a large, flour tortilla, rice, beans and salsa. There also can be a filling, such as a meat, fish, soy meat or potato, and then other add-ins such as sour cream, cheese, avocado or guacamole. Obviously, because I am vegan, there is no animal products or by-products. The burrito is still yummy and filling.
Traditionally it is wrapped in tinfoil and eaten right from there, peeling the layer back as you eat. However, since the homemade burritos are fresh, cut the foil and begin the feast! Plus, I seriously can’t fold a burrito correctly, so I just scarfed these up quickly.
A can of black beans and a cup of brown rice can probably make up to 5 Mission burritos.
Ingredients
- 1 bag of boil-in-a-bag brown rice
- 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 container of guacamole
- 1 jar of salsa, mild
- 1 package of Daiya cheese, cheddar or mozzarella
- 1 package of large, burrito-style white tortillas
Recipe
- Cook the rice according to the package. It took me 10 minutes to boil the water, and 10 minutes to cook the rice.
- Drain and rinse black beans. Place them in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 15 seconds.
- Set up your station: Rice in one bowl, beans in another; guacamole, cheese and salsa opened and ready.
- Put one tortilla on a plate and place in the microwave for 15 seconds. It makes the tortilla softer and easier to work with. If you have a tortilla steamer, use that instead.
- Place close to 1/3 cup of rice in the middle of the tortilla. Place 1/4 cup of beans on top, then 1 heaping tablespoon of guacamole and salsa. Add about 1/8 cup of cheese.
- Roll: Fold one side over the center until the filling is two-thirds covered. Tuck in the left and right sides. Roll the covered filling toward the last open side until the burrito is completely covered and rolled.
- Enjoy! It might be a little messy, but worth it.
Three Things Thursday, fourth week in May
May 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm | Posted in Three Things Thursday | Leave a commentTags: beans, black thumb, container garden, Container Garden Chronicles, CSA, garden, Goldfinch Farm, green thumb, lettuce, memorial day weekend, pepper, pepper plant, plants, rain, Smart magazine, Three Things Thursday, Thursday, tomatoes, watermelon
My garden! Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
No. 1 – I planted my garden! Last year, one of our publications started the “Container Garden Chronicles.” Because I am on a new staff this year, I decided to participate. I have done container gardening before and have worked on Goldfinch CSA for two years (going on three!) so I hope I know what I am doing.
I have a tendency to kill plants, especially in containers. So that is why my tomatoes went into the ground instead. One of the bosses allowed us to plant in the ground on the side of the building. I also am going to plant beans and watermelon there. In the containers are lettuce and one pepper plant. Fingers crossed that I don’t kill them!
No. 2 – It is RAINING! Related to the planting, I have a hard time remembering to water my plants. It is a problem. My plants at home know how to survive without much water. Plus, it has been so hot and muggy outside the past few days, and very, very dry. This rain will break our heat wave and give my little plants a drink.
No. 3 – I can’t wait for Memorial Day weekend because I get to relax. Though, having a day off of work makes things stressful when I get back.
Flickr photo by Scott Robinson — Clearly Ambiguous
Phone hacking and the journalist
May 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Associated Press, Benghazi, debacle, Department of Justice, DUI, First Amendment, First Amendment rights, freedom of the press, government, hacking, illegal, IRS, Jim McClure, Miami Herald, news, politics, President Barack Obama, ProPublica, rights, Society of Professional Journalists, Telephone Records Protection Act, tweets, U.S. government, Westboro Baptist Church, yellow journalism
Flickr photo by Jamiesrabbits
I had briefly heard about the phone hacking debacle from a few tweets and what not. What most people don’t know about journalists is, we really do live by the motto “keep calm and carry on.”
So, the government hacked the Associated Press’ phones? That’s crappy! But now I have to go cover the council meeting/children’s play/downtown march and I don’t have time to sit here and spew hate against the government. I HAVE NEWS TO COVER!
And then two weeks go by, and we think, “What was that phone hacking thing again? The IRS is trying to defame our good name in Benghazi?”
Though, in all seriousness, this issue, on top of the other scandals bursting at the seams, is just another violation that needs to be addressed.
I stand by the First Amendment rights, even when I am upset and angry at the other point of view, even when that other point of view might be wrong or someone just trying to be popular/make money/be a troll. (Westboro Baptist Church, anyone?)
And what I care about, REALLY, REALLY care about, is freedom of the press. Maybe it is because I love my job so much, and maybe because yellow journalism is a thing of the past (right?), but we are civil servants who try to educate and inform the populace. Journalists don’t get paid very well (at least in newspapers), so we must REALLY love our job to stick with it for 20, 30, 40 or more years. (I have NO idea how long my boss Jim has been a journalist, but I could totally be his granddaughter.)
So, what the Department of Justice violated a law — a very old law that has been here since the beginning of our great nation, and the FIRST law, of all things!
50 States, 50 Vegan Dishes: Delaware crab puffs
May 18, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in 50 States 50 Vegan Dishes | Leave a commentTags: 50 states, 50 States 50 Vegan Dishes, 50 vegan dishes, chickpeas, chili powder, crab, crab puffs, crescent dinner rolls, Crescent Recipe Creations, Daiya, Earth Balance, garlic, hushpuppies, kelp, Meatout Mondays, No Sweat York, Pillsbury, seafood, seaweed, Thirty-One, tomato, vegan, vegan cheddar cheese, vegenaise, Vegg
Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
(This recipe was first featured for Meatout Mondays on the No Sweat, York, blog.)
Delaware has a special place in my heart.
My family would vacation in Delaware (Bethany Beach!) often when I was growing up. We stayed in Ocean City, Md., quite a few times, but I remember the first time we stayed at Bethany Beach at a condo complex. It was pure bliss for me. I miss going down there, and I am hopefully planning a trip for this summer.
Delaware, like any coastal city, is known for its seafood. This is why I chose crab puffs for this state.
When I made this dish, it was for a Thirty-One party I had in January.
I didn’t have a lot of time to create these crab puffs, and if you wanted them to look more like hushpuppies, that wouldn’t fly. (Hushpuppies remind me of Long John Silver’s!) Then I stumbled upon this recipe by Pillsbury and rejoiced. Many of Pillsbury’s products are vegan friendly, which is helpful for making a last-minute pizza or finger food for a party.
These cute little puffs can be a great dish for dinner, paired with a fresh salad or sauteed veggies. It only dirtied two bowls and a cookie tray, and took about 30 minutes to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet or (1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, plain variety)
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained and mashed
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- A dash of hot sauce or chili powder
- 1/2 cup of Vegenaise (vegan mayonaise alternative)
- 1 fake egg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kelp or other seaweed powder (optional)
- 3/4 cup of shredded vegan cheddar cheese (Daiya brand used)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped plum/Roma tomato
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon vegan margarine (Earth Balance used)
Recipe:
- In a medium bowl, pour in drained chickpeas and mash until desired consistency. Add garlic and hot sauce or chili powder and stir. (If you have kelp powder or another seaweed powder and want a more sea-like taste, add a generous teaspoon.)
- If using fake egg, follow directions on the container and make one egg. (I usedVegg, which gave the dish an eggy flavor. But it is not needed to keep the filling together.) Add Vegenaise to the bowl and mix.
- Pour egg/mayo mixture into chickpea mixture. Stir.
- Add chopped tomato, green onions and vegan cheddar cheese. Stir until incorporated. Set the bowl aside.
- Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix melted butter. Wipe your cookie pan with oil or use a vegan nonstick cooking spray.
- If using dough sheet: Unroll dough on sheet; press into 12×8-inch rectangle. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough on sheet; press into 12×8-inch rectangle, firmly press perforations to seal.
- Cut into 2-inch squares. Brush with butter.
- Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until puffed. Take out and let cool for 1 minute.
- Spoon a generous tablespoon of chickpea mixture on each square.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until golden brown and tops are set. Serve warm.
Three Things Thursday
May 16, 2013 at 10:00 am | Posted in Three Things Thursday | 6 CommentsTags: 20s, baby brother, Beaver Street, blogging, Book Buzz, college, Comic Book Wednesday, graduation, jobs, Ladybug Baking Company and Cafe, Meatout Mondays, No Sweat York, Smart magazine, Twenty & Change, vegan, vegan meetup, Wonder Vegan, York, York Pa., Yorkblog
Vegan cupcakes from Ladybug Baking Co.
Thing No. 1 – I’m back! Yes, I know, I am a horrible blogging person. I abandoned all of you.
You see, I blog. A lot. You might not notice it, but if you went to Yorkblog.com (specifically Twenty & Change, Book Buzz, No Sweat, York, and Smart Magazine), you would see my blogs up there weekly, for most of them. I do a Meatout Mondays post, a Comic Book Wednesday post and a green living post on Thursdays. I try to write about living life in my 20s, but I am quite boring.
Which led me to abandon Wonder Vegan, because I am just boring. Sorry.
But now I am back, and I am going to try and make this blog useful. Will you still follow me?
Thing No. 2 – The monthly vegan meetup was this week. We met Tuesday at Ladybug Baking Company and Cafe on Beaver Street in York. Jessica, the owner, was kind enough to open her shop outside of normal business hours so we could meet and enjoy vegan, yummy food here in York. A big THANK YOU to Jessica for hosting us!
Next month we hope to do a potluck again, but we will see. Details are being finalized.
Baby brother, baby sister and me
Thing No. 3 – My baby brother is graduating college on Saturday! I can’t believe he is 22 years old and stands a full 6 to 7 inches taller than me. And now, the baby bro is going to be a teacher! (At least if he can find a job soon. Boo, recession!)
The baby sister is finishing up her second year at college and looking for a summer job. It is the mad dash time of year, which is something I haven’t experienced in a few years.
I hope you will join me again and read my posts. I welcome suggestions!
The Confident Woman — getting behind
February 5, 2013 at 10:33 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentI apologize for being behind on this blog post series, but I accidentally broke my netbook (!) and it is hard to blog otherwise. Typing on my smartphone is a pain, especially when I try to juggle a book under my elbows.
I promise to try and catch up, though I might switch ahead to the time period I am in.
Look for more posts, more focused on food and my exercise plans, and maybe a little wedding talk!
Thanks!
The mystery of Wonder Vegan
Who is Wonder Vegan? Is she that strong Amazonian who wants to spread peace & save our world, with her lasso of truth and killer muscles? Well, you'll have to figure that out on your own.
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