Life In Limbo

Why 30 is Not the New 20 – TED Talk

May 28, 2013

This TED Talk has been making the rounds on Facebook and Twitter, but I didn’t get around to watching it until this morning. Its message feels very timely for me, since I am a 20-something, and since I officially received my undergraduate degree yesterday afternoon, surrounded by my beloved family and friends. I’m so excited but so nervous about what my 20s will hold, and before you ask – no, I have no real plans. Her talk really resonated with me: I’ve got to consciously, carefully craft the life I want for myself, and I’ve got to make it all count. Last year at this time, the idea of graduating positively sent me into a panic. But right now? I feel like it’s all going to work out just fine, eventually. I’m going to be (we’re all going to be) okay.

BBQ Tofu Tacos

May 20, 2013

It’s pretty difficult to write about (and look at photos of) these tacos, because it’s taking all I have not to race to the kitchen and make them right this minute (I have all the ingredients and everythang – I’ll be making them later.) They have become one of my staple meals because they’re so impossibly easy to make and taste so amazing at the end. This is the combo I like best: a little garlic aioli, fresh homemade guacamole, and panfried BBQ tofu. But you could put in whatever you want! Examples: sauteed onions and peppers, a lime cabbage slaw, grated cheese, salsa, refried beans.

I used to make a lot of shrimp tacos, but was looking for a way to make them vegetarian. It took me a while to get the texture/flavour of the tofu palatable, but I’ve finally perfected my panfrying method to give them a nice chewy bite. Exciting developments.

For the tofu: use extra-firm tofu. Press the tofu by wrapping in a paper towel and sandwiching between two plates (preferably with weights [ie. cans of something] on top) for 5 minutes to an hour. This helps a little, but I can often get away with just squeezing the tofu out into paper towel with my hands. Slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the tofu, cook until golden brown and firm. Flip each piece over and repeat. Once both sides are cooked to your liking, remove from heat and coat with your favourite barbecue sauce!

For the guacamole: scoop the contents of one avocado into a bowl. Chop and add garlic and onion to taste (I use about 1 clove, and only a small amount of onion). Add chopped tomatoes if you like ’em! Definitely add chopped cilantro and a little lime juice. Season with salt. Eat some with tortilla chips if you’re super hungry and can’t wait til the main event.

For the aioli: add 1/2 a chopped clove of garlic to a few tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add a few drops of lemon juice and season with salt to taste.

And then, assemble! I like to heat my tortillas in a dry frying pan for about a minute per side so that they become pliable. Top with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Delish!

It really doesn’t get any simpler. Or yummier, in my opinion. And since lately I’ve had a ton on my mind (from exams to convocation to moving to a great European adventure), simple, yummy meals are a huge blessing.

Can I get an om nom? Hope the sun is shining where you are!

Best Travel Carry On Backpack

May 11, 2013

Turns out, my innocent-looking May goals are considerably more difficult to put into practice than I thought. I’m getting ready to leave my apartment of 2 years and also plan a 3-month-long adventure in Europe and it feels like I have a really bad case of crazy brain and yet not much is getting accomplished. “Spinning my wheels” is a phrase that keeps coming to mind. There has been small progress – never did I think I’d be so elated to sell a piece of furniture on Craigslist – on both fronts, but it is still slow-going. There are about a billion unanswered questions that I’m going to need to find answers to in the next 50 days before I leave, but I’ve figured at least one thing out: my bag.

I decided very early on that I wanted to do this trip with only one bag, carry-on sized. I had so many reasons for doing so, but here are a sampling: I never wanted to need help with my bag, I never wanted to pay baggage fees, I never wanted to risk losing my stuff, I didn’t want to have to wait for my bags. If you want more information about carry-on travel, check out Rick Steves’ guide to packing light or One Bag.

So, once that was settled, I just needed to find the right bag. I fell in love almost instantly with Tom Bihn’s Aeronaut, but unfortunately it was just a little too steep for my budget (that didn’t stop me from lusting after it for weeks, however..). Once I wrapped my head around the fact that the bag would cost me as much as an iPad mini, I focused on researching other bags. I wanted a bag without wheels (so I could more easily navigate with my hands free), and that was a “convertible” – in other words, had backpack straps that could be tucked away so it can also be carried like a suitcase. At the risk of exposing just how much of a planner/researcher I really am, I’m showing you my spreadsheet of convertible carry-on sized bags. Maybe it’ll save one of you some researching.

You can access the spreadsheet directly (with clickable links) here. You should know that this list is by no means complete, there are quite a few other contenders that didn’t make it on. Check out some other great bag recommendations at One Bag One World. (I got lost on that site for a couple of days, by the way!)

After a lot of consideration, I decided to go with the LL Bean Quickload Travel Pack. It was the right decision for me: it is an incredibly light bag, it is unassuming and comes in black, it hinges open like a suitcase so I can get at all my stuff without taking everything out and rummaging around, and it has a pretty big capacity.

As you can see, I’m pretty excited about it. As soon as it was delivered (which only took 2 days, which was wonderful), I promptly packed it the way I am planning to for my trip, and started testing the weight by walking around wearing it and holding it above my head. So far, so good. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot of that kind of stuff right up until the day I leave.

Now that I have my bag, and my plane tickets to Europe, things are starting to feel very real, and scary and exciting at the same time. I can’t quite imagine what it’s going to be like or how I’m going to feel, but I’m ready to find out. The hardest part about packing my bag so far has been that once I packed it, I was totally ready to go to the airport and leave all my other belongings behind. Realizing that I still had to deal with all the other stuff in my apartment was a bit of a bummer.

Other equipment shown in the above photo: the personal toiletries organizer from LL Bean, which I’ve had for years but is similar to this model, Toms shoe bags that come with your purchase of Toms, and a cube from Eagle Creek’s Pack-It system (I have the regular and half-size cubes).

Everyday Beauty

May 3, 2013

It’s SUMMER!!! I am pretty darn jazzed about it. So far it’s been full of good food, good friends, good books, and a good amount of catching up with my life after letting things fall by the wayside during exams. I feel very peaceful. I spent a whole day just doing errands like laundry and groceries and going to the library for a big stack of books. I spent a long evening at a great BBQ with lovely friends (we played Jenga as a drinking game – ingenious?). I’ve been reading a lot…enough said. And starting to get back into healthier habits, more green drinks (more on that on this week’s podcast here!!), more running, and I’m even experimenting with meditating (ooh..ahh…). Suffice to say, summer is grand thus far.