And right now, the garden job is getting way more attention than the writing job because… well, I don’t know exactly why.

Is it because it’s winter time and my brain is not at its best?
I really do struggle with staying focused on any one task during the winter. At least a week ago, I sat down to write a draft of this post and then somehow ended up playing with this garden design tool for, oh, an hour and half or so. #hahawhoops

Is it because the gardening stuff is more exciting?
There’s always something that needs to be done at any given time [email the sanitation guys! finish those bylaws!]  and even when there’s not, it’s not hard to invent something [order more seed catalogs!] on the spot that suddenly needs doing.

Is it because… well, is it because  the gardening stuff is something you can’t really fail at? Um. Well. I guess, if I’m being honest with myself (and with you)… yes.

If I write up an application for a grant on the garden’s behalf and get turned down? “Well, that’s too bad, but no big deal, right? I’ll just find another and try again.”

Now, if I write a query for an article or submit a piece somewhere and THAT gets turned down…? “I’m not cut out for this. Oh god, I must suck at this. Maybe I’m not actually a good writer and no one will ever publish me and I think I’m going to go watch TV or something so I don’t have to think about this any more.”

Why is that? Why is one rejection no big deal but a similar rejection crushes me under its boot heel? 

Maybe I’ll never know why, exactly — and maybe the why doesn’t even matter. Maybe, if you get right down to it, I need to learn how to tap into my inner honey badger and just not give a shit.

I’m not making any resolutions for 2012.

Although I’ve made them here in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 (I don’t know what happened to 2010) with varying degrees of success, this year I’ve decided to pick a couple goals to strive towards.

I know this isn’t outrageously different but there is a subtle difference. I see goals as something to achieve, while resolutions are something to fix. A goal is “become a great cook” while a resolution is “cook 3x week.”

Perhaps a better example might be the resolution I set last year: write one pitch a month.

Well… I didn’t do that. I didn’t even come close. And rather than feeling like this was something I could do, I just felt like a failure. What was the point of  trying when I’d already flopped?

Compare that with the goal I’m setting for 2012: work really really hard at becoming a successful freelance writer.

See what I mean? There’s a difference, right? Instead of a resolution that I could easily not do, that goal is something I can pick up any point and keep on working towards.

Do you set resolutions for the new year? Or do you set goals? 

Well, most of it went right there.

After a number of really generous donations last month, we were able to buy a ton of stuff we needed, including the rakes and wheelbarrows you see being used above. Since then, we’ve built compost bins and started a weekly drop-off point for compost materials and had two major clean-up efforts. We’ve started a Change By Us NYC project and a Twitter account. We’re raising funds to build a combination greenhouse/chicken coop. Oh, and I gave a slightly dorky interview to a neighborhood news site.

It’s a bit like having a part-time job (although one in which I get paid in good feeling instead of actual currency) and I’m still working out how to balance it along with my home life and school and writing (not to mention the shameful amount of time I spend trying to beat my friends’ scores at Triple Town).

I’m sure it will all fall into place soon… right?

I’ve got what I fondly think of as peasant hands.

They are not elegant and tapering aristocratic hands you would find playing a harpsichord. They’re slightly small for a grown woman, but with square meaty palms, ideal for kneading dough or picking up babies or butchering chickens (I presume).

Nail polish goes a long way towards making me me feel like my hands belong more in 2011 and less in 1911, so when I was offered a chance to try a new line of all-natural, water-based nail polish, I gladly accepted.

I do try to seek out products with less chemicals whenever possible, whether it’s shampoo or lip gloss or hand cream. And I love nail polish. Really. I feel a little undressed without it. However, I’m not keen on the amount of crazy toxic chemicals I know are in it, so I was thrilled to find an alternative. So, I applied two coats (hard to tell in the photo, but it was a great looking dark teal color) to my clean, dry nails. It dried quickly and had no chemical smell to it at all.

And after less than 24 hours, it looked this:

THAT IS RIDICULOUS.

It wasn’t as if I painted my nails and then dug a garden or scrubbed the bathroom or went spelunking. You are looking the wear and tear of a Saturday spent taking my kid to her art lesson, followed by a little browsing at the bookstore, then settling in for a night of Netflix. I didn’t even wash the dishes that night. Say what you will about conventional nail polishes, but that’s what my favorite essie polish looks like after a week of wear, not less than a day.

But I think what galls me most about this all-natural nail polish…? It’s $15 a bottle.

Look, I don’t like writing shitty reviews of a product (which is why I’ve opted to not name the manufacturer) but COME ON. For $15, I expect at least slightly longer lasting wear than what I get from a $1.99 bottle of Wet’n'Wild.

So… is it good? An unequivocal NO IT IS NOT from me.

Bananas don’t last long in our house. The bowl of fruit is just steps away from the front door, and it seems like I’m always saying “take a banana with you! we need to go now! here! eat this on the way!”

But occasionally, a banana will get too ripe before we can eat it, at which point I peel it and freeze it, assuming I will use it at some point in the future. (Okay, so… sometimes I just find the frozen bananas at the back of freezer, have no idea how old they are, and chuck them, but I do usually use them. Eventually.)

Yesterday, there were actually two bananas in the fruit bowl that were headed for the freezer — and with another two bananas there already, it seemed like a perfect time for a banana cake. This theory was immediately borne out by the fact that the entire cake disappeared within 24 hours.

This cake is really that good: somewhat lighter and less sweet than a banana bread, but with big chunks of melty chocolate. You could probably even skip the chocolate if you don’t have any on hand and it would still be a lovely cake.

The recipe is based on the already excellent UBC Cake posed over on Everybody Likes Sandwiches:

3 or 4 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1.5 c. flour (I used a mix of all purpose and whole wheat)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chocolate chunks

Mash bananas and mix in eggs. Add vanilla. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon in a separate bowl, then add dry ingredients to banana mix. Mix well then fold in chocolate chunks. Pour batter into a buttered cake pan. (I used an 11″ x 7″ pan, but you could also use an 8″ or 9″ square pan.) Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

And as the celebrated birthdayee, here’s my wish: help me turn an abandoned lot into a community garden.

I’ve been working with an amazing group of people here in my neighborhood (I almost wrote “my new neighborhood” but I guess it’s not quite so new any longer) and we’ve done a lot in just a couple of months. We’re now an officially sanctioned garden(!!)… but only on a trial basis to start.

By 1 April 2012, we need to be able to demonstrate to the city that we’re established on this site — that means we need to have seedlings growing, some structures built, weeds cleared out, et cetera — and to do that, we need time, energy, and money. We’re already got the first two, so what we need now is the final element.

Before this past August, I’d never really been a part of a community before (not intentionally like this, at least) and while it’s been many things that I did expect — a lot of fun and a lot hard work, mainly — I didn’t know how humbling the experience would be.

There are times when I’m in one of these gardening committee meetings, at a long table where everyone is a stranger to me and usually to each other, and I look around and realize I am dumbstruck by the notion that everyone in this room wants to work together to make this garden happen. 

The neighbor who picked up a flier in the local library is offering his house as a meeting place. The two guys from the nearby design studio designed some incredible looking benches. The people from BK Permaculture brought in a plan for a greenhouse-henhouse combination. And this feeling that I don’t think I can accurately describe wells up and washes over me. A feeling of being small — of being a small piece in a larger whole — combined with humility and awe and gratitude.

So… today’s my birthday and I’m going to ask you to consider donating to my neighborhood’s community garden. Ten bucks, five bucks, a dollar… it all helps (and it’s all tax-deductible, if that’s your thing).

And if you do make a donation, please feel free to let me know because I would love to thank you personally for it. I might even tell you how old I actually am. Okay, probably not, but still.

I know I mentioned these already, but I just wanted to remind you that there’s still time to get some!

The project is now fully funded, which means they’ll definitely be made soon — and which also means you will definitely get these cool caps if you kick in at least $10!

So, remember a while back when I showed you my dinner list and it was almost all recipes from Donna Klein’s book Supermarket Vegan?

WELL.

Everything I have made from it so far has been really good and crazy easy. 

I think the secret to this book’s success is that Klein doesn’t try to force recipes to be vegan that weren’t vegan to begin with.

The only recipes that have tofu are Asian-style recipes which would have tofu in them anyway. There are no vegan substitutes in here either, so no soy milk or fake burger patties. And as it implies in the title, there’s no obscure ingredients in here either — no seitan or tempeh to be found. Everything can be found in virtually any supermarket.

And everything cooks super fast! All the recipes I’ve tried so far can easily be made on a busy weeknight.

Clockwise from the top: Greek Chickpeas and Rice (p. 102, which, okay, I de-veganized by adding feta cheese, but it was still good without it), Cuban Style Fried Rice with Pineapple (p. 113), Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon (p. 118), and Orzo with Mushrooms, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Basil (p. 85).

Also not pictured is the Pasta Puttanesca which is some of the best puttanesca sauce I’ve ever had, vegan or otherwise, which I’ll share with you, if you’re thinking about picking up a copy of the book for yourself:

Quick Pasta Puttanesca (adapted slightly: all amounts are doubled because, trust me, you want extras)

16 oz. spaghetti or linguini
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green pepper
4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 c. canned crushed tomato
1/4 c. coarsely chopped kalamata (or other good quality) black olives
1/4 c. coarsely chopped green olives
2 to 4 T coarsely chopped, drained capers
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain.

Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onions and bell pepper, and cook until softened (about 3 minutes). Add the garlic, stirring constantly for a minute. Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes (if using), salt and pepper; bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened (about 5 minutes). Add  pasta and basil or parsley (if using) and toss to combine. Serve. 

As you probably don’t remember, my kitchen is pretty tiny and I have pretty much zero interior design skills besides which poses an extra challenge for me.

I think I may edit out a few things from this shelf arrangement (like, that one bowl on top of the plates is making me serious OCD-crazy looking at it) and I still need something to cover up that breaker panel at the top there, but overall, this shelf unit fits SO MUCH stuff in such a small space that I’m really pleased with it.