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Tofu curry with rice
This is my very first cooking recipe I am writing about. And it is actually one of the very few recipes I am able to cook. For your information: I am not a great cook at all (and my name is not Jamie Oliver). But I am patient and I am learning, especially from m-c’s cooking magic (obviously inspired by Jamie… LOL).
So let’s get started with the TCR recipe (=Tofu Curry with rice). It’s really easy to prepare and healthy too… and veggie-friendly… and even vegan-friendly for really complicated people ;-).
The ingredients:
We need one onion 
and some potatoes 
and broccoli 
and coconut milk 
and basmati rice 
and tofu 
and some garlic 
and one carrot (sorry no photo, just try to imagine how carrots look like) and some curry powder (it looks similar to that: ::….:…:::..).
Try to buy organic vegetables, for example here! So you can make sure that your vegetables did not soak up any pesticides.
The cooking process:
1 ) Cut the onions in small pieces and put some sunflower oil into a pan (I am using a Wok with a cover, which is practical for cooking vegetables) together with the onions. Cut the broccoli into small pieces.
You see some carrots in the background, right? Please cut them as well. And don’t forget to peel and cut the potatoes. BTW, I love cutting vegetables and I spend a lot of time on it. It has a relaxing effect on me.
2 ) Heat the pan with the onions. Add some roughly cut pieces of garlic to the onions. Wait until the onions become “golden”, but not brown. In the mean time, please cut the tofu in 3D cubes.
3 ) Put some curry powder into the pan and stir the onions and garlic with it. 
4 ) Now put the potatoes, the broccoli and carrots into the pan. Close the pan and let it broil for a while.
5 ) Pour the coconut milk into the pan and mix the vegetables with it. At that time I add some salt’n'pepper. Close the pan again and let it cook, at small heat for 5 minutes.
6 ) If you are organized than you could have prepared the rice already. I did not, so I have to do it now. I use 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, if I eat alone. 
7 ) Put the 3D tofu cubes into the pan. Let it broil for 2 more minutes, or less if you think. The target is to not get soft vegetables. I like them crisp!
8 ) After the rice is ready, you can eat. I am always very proud if I cooked something by myself. Bon appetit !
PMS?
Problems Men Started - This is a note to myself to check out the book, with such a title I’m eager to get to know its content… blink!
Norway
Something to inspire you dear readers. I believe this picture of the day by Hanne is taken from somewhere in Norway.
(Whisper…)
Etsy, people who make a living making things
I was immensely inspired today by Etsy founder’s announce about new funding coming their way. Through his personal approach, his announce summarize how Etsy started, the details about the new investment, and where is the company heading to.
I’m sharing here parts of this announce, which i found myself inspired by for two reasons: first because it shows the power of a simple idea put in place by friends together, and second, for the way corporate information is shared here - with heart, authenticity and passion - something the old’corporate world will probably never learn how to do.
In early April of 2005, I sat in an orange chair facing an open window. It was nighttime and the lights were off. I was back in Brooklyn after a brief residence in Paris, and I was about to sketch the initial ideas that would become Etsy. Working with three friends - Chris, Haim and Jared - Etsy went from these ideas to a site live on the Web in about two months.
Then the story of Swimmy is used to explain the big idea behind Etsy…
So our vision is to be the eye — to be a kind of organizing principle. We do not want Etsy itself to be a big tuna fish. Those tuna are the big companies that all us small businesses are teaming up against.
Those big companies are holdovers from the days before the Web existed. And any company that is being run the same way now as it was before the Web came about is due for some massive restructuring or deflation.
Etsy is a company born on the Web, literally. I see the company itself as a handmade project, and we’ll continue to build it this way. There’s much more to do, and we’re up for the challenge. But we need more than people to get there.
And at last but not the least, in the many points explaining why Etsy needed these all brand new 27 Million dollars:
We believe that the current economy, favoring megacorporations and supersizes, is unstable. People who make a living making things, especially those we have on Etsy, will play a key role in revitalizing and stabilizing the world.
Something to daydream
This photo is for you to daydream. It was created by Austrian architect and artist Hundertwasser and it is called Waldspirale (translated it means “spiral forest“).
Twitter of/du: 2008-01-29
- found someone in the Netherlands to exchange material with me for the 6×6 project
(http://www.flickr.com/groups/6×6/) #
How cold can you get?
Here is Chris, freezing, as you can see by the way he’s trying to hold his teeth from clapping together. Hard to believe, but as an Austrian, he loves our cold Quebec winter!
Etsy Naughty
One cool way to relax after a hard day of paper work (!) is to virtually overfill a shopping cart on Etsy. At least, that’s something i like to do, and etsy is perfect to grab all kinds of goodies and art to fill-your-cart-till-you-drop. By the time i reach the counter to pay, the compulsive envy to buy has often left - yes, virtual shopping can save you lots of money.
Today i have found this artist who’s creating beautiful custom made naked couple sculptures in clay. To get your own clay avatar, you must send him a description of hair and skin color, sizes of body parts (!) and some more information such as tatoo images. Looking forward to see mine - aren’t you?
The science of enjoying life
“Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are conventionally considered “useless,” will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously. The arts are the science of enjoying life.”
Focus
End of the month, time for tax papers. You are now reading words written by the worst procrastinator ever when its time for paper work - even if i know this will take me just a few hours, i dont like numbers, so anything will distract me from getting going.
‘Keeping Focus While Beating Back Distractions‘ is a list of really interesting tips to keep your focus laser sharp, and your urge to procrastinate at bay.
The ones i like most are ‘Take frequent, smaller breaks‘ - this is your chance to nap often dear at-home-worker, and ‘Switch activities constantly‘ - its just like that, i work better if i switch of activities often, and no, dont blame the attention disorder, i’m just like that!
Creacamp 2008
Enfin fière d’annoncer les prochaines dates de Creacamp pour cette nouvelle année! Les voici, les détails se trouvent sur creacamp.org:
- Off Creacamp le 20 février 2008, de 18h à ++
- Présentations Creacamp le 3 Mai 2008, comme d’habitude nous sélectionnerons 4 présentatrices pour cette édition, alors contactez-nous si vous aimeriez présenter vos créations, parler de votre cheminement créatif. Svp d’abord consulter le guide de présentation!
Avec pour thème principal la créativité au féminin, creacamp est une rencontre regroupant les créatrices DIY d’ici pour que ces dernières présentent et échangent sur les projets dont elles sont à la tête.
Elles confectionnent des vêtements à partir de matériaux recyclés, documentent sur le web le grouillement de leur communauté, créent leurs propres magazines, receuils de poésie, bijoux. Elles utilisent le web pour partager et étendre leur créativité, et documenter leur processus.
L’événement se déroule avec de courtes présentations qui ont pour but de faire valoir les talents, idées, et expériences de chacune, et de promouvoir la création de liens entre les créatives d’ici. Les présentations sont données par des femmes, mais tous sont invités à faire partie de l’audience.
To learn what is Creacamp / Pour plus de détails sur ce qu’est Creacamp: Creacamp Infos.
Cat Power’s Jukebox
In the line of the great female acts of my generation stands the very talented Chan Marshall, known as Cat Power, who launched a new album this month after publicly coming out of a hard time, recovering from a life of drug and alcohol abuse.
Jukebox features covers from Billie Holiday and James Brown, and is now available in stores and on iTunes.
Unfortunately, no MP3s will be made available for podcasters, as said in the conversation taking place between the label and Cat Power’s fans on Matador’s blog - “No MP3 coupon though - with all the publishers involved for the many cover songs, we can’t get permission.”
Vu d’ici’s topo on Cat Power:
- Watch Cat Power as she openly shares about her recovery in a NYT interview,
- young Cat Power video - lovely dance gestures, how sweet she looks in this video!
- Lived in bars video,
- New York New York cover which is on her latest album, Jukebox.
Listen to Cat Power in podcast #52.
Love relationships in 2008
I saw this on the status updates of Facebook and was fascinated.
We are in 2008; that’s how it looks nowadays, if you break up with someone and jump into a new love relationship.
Inspire
I know i should not be blogging, i’ve got the hardest task to do, which is to dig in and work on my own project. A project laying on the shelves since more than 5 years, a cherished one. The kind of project you so want to see real, the one you want to hold in your hands - and at the same time you just cant start, because of the possibility of failure.
Only this afternoon i was sharing with someone about how i long to find and read vibrant blogs, the ones you can relate to, where entries are meant to share someone’s creative process, written from an open heart. Often these blogs put me back on track, make me feel understood by others who are on a similar path. I do cherish these blogs, and the creatives behind the keyboard!
Here is one of them, Swirlygirl, as to remember me that i should share more of these addresses in the next weeks.
Snow white
Surprisingly, i found myself in love with winter. I walked about an hour and a half today, just to see the snow over the grass, over the threes.
Thinking of the complex design and beauty of each of these snowflake is just amazing - brings you back to the magic of life, magic behind this planet we are on.
Let’s dig and see the wide variety of beautiful crystal shapes we miss to see each day. Here is a little guide to snowflakes from which i took the pictures below:
A little more inspiring, the researches that have been made, showing that thoughts can influence the patterns of snowflakes…
“Using high-speed photography, Dr. Masaru Emoto discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific, concentrated thoughts are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, polluted water, or water exposed to negative thoughts, forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors. The implications of this research create a new awareness of how we can positively impact the earth and our personal health.”
Hope.
1000 Journals Project
I’ve been talking lately of the web as being a tool for us to share and communicate from Soul to Soul. This is for me the most interesting aspect of the web - a tool we can use to grow and expand our creativity with, and not just a tool to serve entertainment, marketing, and advertising purposes.
Here is a project called the 1000 Journals Project, an ongoing collaborative experiment started in 2000, attempting to follow 1000 journals throughout their travels. The goal of the project was to provide a method for interaction and shared creativity among friends and strangers.
If i would ask among you dear readers, Who is an artist?, would you raise your hand?
8 years later, the project is now a book, and a movie which will be presented on February 10th at the Berlin International Film Festival.
More infos on their blog, found on Sparkletopia.
The Green Challenge
On my todo list is written, and this since last october, that i’ve been tagged by Luce and must write what i am doing to introduce environmental sustainability into my daily life - i know it’s been a while, but i could not end my list before now.
I’ve been scanning through the changes i’ve done over the last years to participate in the healing of our planet, and re-reading what i wrote, i see that i sound quite pessimistic, and i’m sorry for that, it’s just really hard not to get confronted to issues which are really pushing my buttons. I love our planet, and when i look at what was done over the last 100 years, i feel hurt and saddened by how quick we destroyed what we should cherish. Our planet, the plant, animal and mineral kingdoms, and of course ourselves.
Still, i hope my answers can inspire some of you to move on, make changes, share and help other changes - and most of all, stay positive and joyful about the great opportunity of change that lays before us!!
* * *
I support local agriculture
Since a year now, i get my fruits and vegetables delivered by Le Jardin des Anges - this way i support local organic agriculture, and get my food delivered with love and care by a friendly human being.
You can do the same, and either get your basket delivered or you pick it by yourself. You can find a listing of organic agriculture producers here;
I buy organic
Yes it is not the least expensive choice, but local and organic products are often much healthier.
Think that what you buy in food chains and so called groceries might be cheap, but you’ll pay of your health sooner or later. Nature is already paying the price for each and every mass produced food that you buy in the average grocery chains, so do humans wondering why cancer is now an epidemic.
A good rule of thumb i use before buying goods or food is asking myself if LOVE, meaning a careful and passionate human touch, was put into what i am about to buy - more than often the answer is pretty clear about if i should or not buy!;
I do not consume meat
I am vegetarian since 2000, i love animals and i do not wear fashionable animal skin, might it be shoes, clothes, bags, belt, and so on. Thus, i am not contributing to a system which exploit and slaughter animals in savage ways, in the same way that it is destroying our environment.
If you are thinking about becoming vegetarian, the web is full of resources about why we do not need to consume animal products anymore, here are some highlights:
A major 2006 report by the United Nations summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry. Raising animals for food, the report said, is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale ….”
Growing all the crops to feed farmed animals requires massive amounts of water and land—in fact, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food.6,7 Our taste for meat is also taking a toll on our supply of fuel and other nonrenewable resources—about one-third of the raw materials used in America each year is consumed by the farmed animal industry.
Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States, and since factory farms don’t have sewage treatment systems as our cities and towns do, this concentrated slop ends up polluting our water, destroying our topsoil, and contaminating our air.9 And meat-eaters are responsible for the production of 100 percent of this waste—about 86,000 pounds per second!
You can read the complete article here and also ask google.
I try to inform myself and be a responsible consumer
We heavily research on finding ways to be independent from a system which makes each of us consumers participating in exploiting the planet.
More than ever, i think before i buy - who created this product, at which cost, in which conditions?
My wish is to get out of a system who made us dependent on energy, unworthy goods and most of all, a system that industrialized the alimentary chain, not for our good health, but for profit - this, at a terrible cost. Also, we respect water and dont over-use it.
Word of mouth
I think the best way to change our world is little by little, and by word of mouth, sharing with family and friends what i know about sustainable practices, changes in our way to consume, eat and live. I know they trust and love me, so my words have much more impact than those of any politician;
Diva Cup
I’ve made the switch to the Diva Cup a year ago - so i’m not part of this ‘feminine care product’ industry anymore.
If you are not aware of it, please know that in 1998, 7 billion tampons and 13 billion sanitary pads and their packaging made their way into landfills and sewage systems in the USA alone - so for each women making this change, we’ll all benefit, and nature too;
I ride my bike and walk
I do not own a car, i rent one if i need it and i am really careful with my use of this vehicle. I ride my bike and walk from april to november;
I recycle everything that can be recycled
and have lately gave up on the green recycling basket, switching it for huge transparent recycling bags, this to stop polluting with recycling goods flying around our streets on recycling days;
I carry my own reusable bag
I refuse the bags offered when i shop;
Composting
Unfortunately, we are not yet composting. We tried last year, but not owning a garden makes it impossible to compost on a balcony. But the experience we had with composting was really uplifting - and i advise you to do it if you have a small square meter of grass on which can land a composting box. To see organic waist turn out as super healthy earth was a magical experience, so was it to reduce our trash waist at half a plastic bag per month!
I have a short resource post on how to do your Urban Composting, read it here.
I am supposed to tag some other people, but i wont, i suggest you just go on and post your own green challenge - and let me know so i can read it!
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Loading ...Inspirations
Current loved ones:
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Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
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The Power of Your Other Hand : A Course in Channeling the Inner Wisdom of the Right Brain, by Lucia Capacchione
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New York Notebook, by Laurie Rosenwald
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The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, by Timothy Ferriss
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Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Recently loved:
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Succulent Wild Woman, by Sark
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Energy Medicine, by Donna Eden
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Monocle Magazine, by http://www.monocle.com
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The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams, by Deepak Chopra
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Earth: Pleiadian Keys to the Living Library, by Barbara Marciniak
Soon:
- A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf
- Tout sur le compost, by Lili Michaud
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Moments
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Bloggers T
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Hello!
I am m-c, an artist and communicator. I love to inspire people through my art, writing, and my passion for the creative potential of web publishing tools. I run meïdia, a creative studio, and Creacamp.
Bonjour! Je suis m-c, artiste et communicatrice. Ma mission est d'inspirer les gens, et ce, à travers mon art, mes livres, et ma passion pour les outils web. Je suis à la tête du studio de création meïdia, et de Creacamp.
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Etsy or Flickr. I love mail! -
My Books
Get your copy of my book, First Thoughts on life, blogging, and the creative process. See a preview of the book here.
Orders: The book can be ordered via Etsy, blurb, Paypal. Click here to get to know more.
Je suis co-auteure de Pourquoi bloguer. Mon chapitre, Bloguer pour réseauter, a été rédigé dans le but d'inspirer les gens intéressés par le potentiel de réseautage des outils de blogues : étudiants, artistes, travailleurs autonomes, gestionnaires d'entreprise, curieux et patenteux de tout genres. Commandez votre copie dédicacée en me fesant parvenir un courriel.
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