White Bean & Artichoke Dip

I based the following recipe off of the comment on this recipe:
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 t fresh rosemary
· 2 t dried basil, thyme, Italian spices or whatever you prefer
· 1 can white beans (15.5 oz), drained and rinsed
· 2 t extra virgin olive oil
· 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
· 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts (set aside 4 hearts), packed in water and drained
· Lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and/or pepper to taste
· 1/4 c nutritional yeast
· 10 kalamata olives, pitted
· 2 oz pine nuts
· 1/8c of sun-dried tomato pieces, as a topping

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put everything except for the 4 reserved artichoke hearts and the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor and blend until it has an even consistency.
3. Add the reserved hearts and pulsed a few times until they're chopped up but still chunky.
4. Spoon into a shallow baking dish (8" oval or 6x6" should fit).
5. Top with sun-dried tomatoes, pressing them into the dip slightly. Make a little design if you're a nerd like me.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges and tips start to brown.

You could also serve it cold, just let it sit for 20+ minutes before serving to the let the flavors meld.

Use as a spread on bread or sandwiches, or as a dip with chips, crackers or veggies.
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I actually made a Double Batch Chickpea Cutlers before this, so the oven was already hot. I make the following changes:
-leave the gluten out, and put everything else in the food processor. Mix the gluten in last.
-instead of breadcrumbs, use Hot & Spicy Shake and Bake, and 3/4 cup of water instead of the soy sauce and broth (Shake & Bake is salty!)
-a couple drops of lemon oil instead of lemon zest

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners

Via nancylicious:

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."   Ira Glass

Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse - Blog

The CDC released a zombie preparedness kit. Like I said, people like to think about zombies way more than pandemics or floods.

CDC | Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse

I never finished my game but I would like to work on it when I have a break and see if I can use it for zombies, alien invasions, werewolf outbreaks etc.

Designing Streets for Emergencies

I like this take on explaining why street grid systems lead to a safer, more resilient city. It's logical, as opposed to a lot of urban designers who just say "it's ugly, we don't like it" or talk about density and paved surface areas.

Sometimes the people who don't care about the environment do care about themselves and their families, and you need to tailor your argument to them. I don't think it's being dishonest, as long as your facts are correct. Tailoring the message to your audience is a basic communication skill.

I also like how traffic is good for business, and narrow streets have fewer accidents. So far I haven't seen a great argument for hiking parking rates or creating pedestrian areas for business, though. It's so risky to own a business, the owners are not going to want to experiment based on what a planner thinks is good for society.

Cul-de-sacs suck, though, and it really is dangerous to only have a main road in and out of an area. I love being able to take side streets to avoid traffic, buses, garbage trucks, construction, etc. I have like 20 routes home depending on what variables are in play.

Designing Streets for Emergencies | Medill National Security Zone

Make Your Own Veggie Chips

This one is definitely going on my list:

Make Your Own Veggie Chips - Project - Food News - CHOW

I also had some parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes and leeks to get rid of, so I made maple-roasted root veggies based on this recipe (I added 2 small chopped leeks).

My garden is mostly in the sunroom/arctic entry because it's still in the 40s at night and we have another cold front on the way (boo!). I want to transplant my tomatoes, damn it! The beet seeds are finally going in the ground today, though. YEAH.

Jane Jacobs, Andy Warhol, and Eyes on the Street

Jane Jacobs, Andy Warhol, and Eyes on the Street: Places: Design Observer

Reading list: old life vs new life.

Royal wedding live online

BBC News - Watch the royal wedding live online

It's pretty cool that I can sit here, partially tipsy on my couch in Seattle, watching a live feed of what's happening in Westminster Abbey right now.

Also, between the wedding and the Kentucky Derby next week, it's a good time for millinery. Also also, I like that there are different words for hat-making and they're both fun. Haberdashery is a tad more enjoyable to say, though.

Make A Cheap & Easy Solar USB Charger With An Altoids Tin

Make A Cheap & Easy Solar USB Charger With An Altoids Tin : TreeHugger

Altoids aren't vegan, but Trader Joe's sells a knockoff type that has a similar sort of tin. It may work?

Buying in bulk and selling them for cheap might be nice, or they'd make good gifts for eco-minded friends.

I picked up a bunch of dried bamboo today and I'll be going back to get more. I hope I manage to complete projects with these a little faster than those pallets I picked up 9 months ago that are still sitting in my driveway. Le sigh.

Working Best at Coffee Shops - Conor Friedersdorf - Business - The Atlantic

Working Best at Coffee Shops - Conor Friedersdorf - Business - The Atlantic

I've noted this before. Coffeeshops have just enough distraction and noise that I'm forced to blare music over headphones and really focus. I can crank out so much in a short amount of time.

Plus I can't procrastinate as easily. I'm never sure if my internet browsing or Google reader feed will serve up something embarrassing, risque or NSFW that others might glimpse and judge me by. I'm also not about to watch a TV show instead of working.

Matt swears he can only work in libraries sometimes. I think it may also have something to do with always working with music in the background. I can't work in silence. It drives me crazy. I'm hyperaware of every sound I make, every click of my keyboard. Each minor change in the environment pulls me out of my focus. At a noisy coffeeshop full of banging portafilters and music and people laughing, I'm in my focus until someone specifically grabs my attention. Either that or until I'm out of coffee and go to drink an empty cup several times. That's how deep in I am.

On an unrelated note, it's a beautiful sunny day. I know I shouldn't garden because I'll be doing some of that the next couple of days, but damn, I want to go play in the dirt.

Why I hate Mountaintop Removal

NASA Satellite Photos Show Coal Mining Destroy a Mountain Range Over 25 Years : TreeHugger

Really, people? Really? You suck.