Earlier in the month, I worked my first shift at the co-op. I opted to do a receiving shift, wherein I arrive at the store before it opens to receive shipments, arrange and display produce, label produce, and check prices. Other than the basic duties outlined in the job description, I didn’t know what to expect. Turns out, it was really fun! Because the store was closed, it was easy to get work done but also to get to know the other members working with me. It was a good group of people and I look forward to my recurring Saturday morning shift. I’ve also been shopping at the co-op more frequently and eating a lot of delicious fruit and veggies. (Part of the reason I like my shift is that I get to shop after I’m finished, right as the store is opening and the produce shelves are still stocked!)

The following day, June 3, I participated in the Tour de Brooklyn. It was a 20-mile bike tour through my home borough with over 2,000 other cyclists. Needless to say, it was crowded and there was a lot of stopping and waiting. I managed to be caught on camera before the start, though! Crews from the local newschannel NY1 were there, covering the tour, and I can be seen in the background, fixing my hair, at about the 0:45 mark. It’s a low-quality video and you can barely even make me out but I’m there! I can now say I was on TV. Hehe.

On June 8, I gave a presentation at SUNYLA 2012: Fashioning the Library of the Future. I talked about my project creating library video tutorials while I was employed at Lehman College. I had a good turnout and thought my session went really well, with a lot of input & discussion from the audience. For those who are interested, my slides are available on the conference website or by following this link directly: From backstage to center stage: Librarians as actors in video tutorials (PPT).

While all this was happening, though, I was also nervously preparing for a job interview. I was selected to be interviewed for a new position, Instruction Librarian, at my current place of employment. This is a huge deal as this is an exciting opportunity for me to work at a college I like with colleagues I admire doing work I find incredibly interesting, challenging, and rewarding. I was interviewed by a committee of my library coworkers yesterday and hope to move on to Phase II of the interview (wherein I give a short presentation, on a topic yet to be determined, to my colleagues in the department) in the coming weeks.

Since interviewing is stressful, I took the day off and, because it was absurdly hot (95°F!), spent it eating ice cream, napping with my cat, and then going to see the New York premier of Sleepwalk With Me at the BAMcinemaFest with Alex. It turned out that our seats were kind of amazing–if all we wanted to see were Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia talking about the movie. (In the photo on the left, Alex and I are in the second row right in front of the podium. I’m behind the girl in the pink-ish top at Ira’s feet.) However, they were very unfortunate for watching a movie because we were so close and so far off to one side. I spent the evening craning my neck and seeing distorted images projected on the screen. But! It was a fun movie and a great experience nevertheless. I’ve been a fan of Mike Birbiglia the comedian for a while now… and now I consider myself a fan of Mike Birbiglia the film writer, director, and actor, too. (Oh! And while waiting to get into the theater, I spotted a familiar face but couldn’t quite place him. Later figured out that it was John Mulaney. Makes me wonder how many other comedians, actors, and celebrities were at the premier that I just didn’t notice. I’m bad at spotting famous folks.)

I’ll be back in the BAM opera house next week for Radiolab Live: In the Dark. I hope our seats are better, although it’s all so relative, it’s hard to know what to expect ahead of time.

The fact that my veganism causes others to have to change their dinner plans is kinda sucky. So I immediately texted her back and said I’d be bringing vegan desserts for everyone to enjoy. In the end, not only did I bring sweets from the amazing Clementine Bakery in the Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn but I also brought a nutrient-packed salad that I threw together in about 30 minutes. I’ve been on a Mexican kick lately (I love Mexican food!) so I created this bean and avocado salad:

Ingredients

• 15-oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 15-oz can sweet corn kernels, drained
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, deseeded & chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp vinegar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the drained & rinsed beans and corn.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, red onion, scallions, and jalapeño to the bowl.
3. Now it’s time to add the chopped avocado.
4. Season with salt and pepper, using as much or as little as you like. (I like a lot of black pepper!)
5. Add the lime zest and juice.
6. Add olive oil and vinegar.
7. Toss everything to coat evenly.
8. Add the finely chopped cilantro and mix well.
9. Enjoy!

This makes one large bowl of salad, enough to accommodate 8 people as a side. (Perhaps six people can partake if serving the salad as a main dish.) It’s hearty enough to be used as filling for tacos (you’ll just need some warm tortillas) or served simply with a side of tortilla chips. Or on its own! It’s delicious and so good for you.

In fact, it’s so yummy that I recreated it for lunch on Saturday. Now I have enough salad to feed me for days!

*If you’re curious, I’m working on the Bethany Wrap from the Summer 2012 issue of Interweave Knits.

Brooklyn is home to one of the most famous co-ops out there: Park Slope Food Coop. In fact, it’s one of the oldest and largest food co-ops in the United States, having been established in 1973 and being home to more than 16,000 members. However, it’s not as convenient to my home as I’d like and it keeps making the news for unfavorable things, like its militaristic work requirements and the ensuing emotional unrest. So I began looking for other options and that’s when I came across the Greene Hill Food Co-op.

I hadn’t heard of this co-op before and that surprised me: it’s less than a mile (a 20-minute walk or an 8-minute bike ride!) from my house, how could I have missed it? Turns out, it’s a little over a year old and only recently reached 1,000 members. They’re also only open two days a week at this point, which is a bummer but understandable considering they’re 100% member-owned and -operated. (The more contributing members, the more operating hours!) So I decided to make the commitment and filled out the online form to join! The next step was visiting the store to get my member card and shop! So I went yesterday with Alex, got my key fob, and shopped. It was glorious! Well, not “glorious” but “as advertised.” It’s a small space (they’re only using one of the three storefronts–totaling 2,700 square feet–they’re leasing) but it wasn’t crowded… and there is a limited selection of products but it’s all things I shop for on a regular basis. I could see it growing, expanding, and evolving, and I foresee many happy shopping experiences at this co-op!

All that’s left is for me to schedule my work shifts and start working. (The co-op uses an external website to manage the shifts and I haven’t received my login credentials yet.) That’s going to be interesting, especially in the fall when I begin classes at the Grad Center while working full-time. What have I signed myself up for!?

*I’m being optimistic–borderline naive–here. Faculty get some time off for research but it’s not nearly enough. Furthermore, the college will not pay for any expenses incurred as part of my research… so I will need to apply for grants and find funding elsewhere. But it’s still better than what a temporary or part-time position allows me! (Namely: nothing.)

So it was with interest that I read a story reported today in Inside Higher Ed wherein a transgender college student was awarded the right to use the women’s bathroom after having been relegated to “gender-neutral” bathrooms after another student complained about having to share the women’s bathroom with her. (We’ve been through this before, folks: separate does not mean equal!) Toward the middle of the article, though, I paused when I read the line: “The ‘T’ of LGBT is largely forgotten or invisible on most campuses today.” I realized I’m guilty of this.

Whenever I think about LGBTQ college students, I’m actually just thinking of gay and lesbian students. Meanwhile, I know people who have had gender-reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy so it’s not like I’ve forgotten about them or think transgender people are invisible, nonexistent, or insignificant. I guess I just think that transgender people come to terms with their identities later in life so I do not think of them when I think of “college students.” Of course, this is an unfair assumption–and a silly one, given that I work in a university system that is so large and diverse*.

*I can link to many reports for race/ethnicity and age of the students… but, of course, there is no data on sexuality or sexual identity. However, given that there are over 540,000 students at CUNY and that, on average, 3.5% of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and 0.3% of American adults are transgender (numbers that I think are conservative), that means that about 18,935 CUNY students identify as being lesbian, gay, or bisexual and another 1,623 are transgender.

I hope a formal education in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will help correct this kind of thinking and inspire me to learn more about the information needs about LGBTQ college students and help me better assist them–and everyone else–in college libraries.

Equipment
Well-seasoned cast iron skillet, 10 or 12 inches in diameter

Ingredients
(measurements are estimated because I just winged it — adjust to your own tastes!)

• 1 ball pizza dough (thawed overnight, if frozen)
• 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp parsley flakes
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 4 pieces quartered marinated artichoke hearts
• 3 baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bell pepper (green), sliced thinly
• 1 Roma tomato, sliced thinly
• 1 handful of leaves of fresh basil, sliced or ripped into bite-size pieces
• Olive oil for brushing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce and spices (including the nutritional yeast, if using it).
3. Roll the dough into a large circle. Line cold cast iron skillet with the dough. (No need to coat the pan with oil if skillet is seasoned!) If there’s more dough than skillet, cut off excess dough (leaving an inch or two along the sides) and fold/press down the edges to create the crust. Brush dough with olive oil.
4. Add a light coating of seasoned tomato sauce.
5. Layer with your toppings in the order given (first artichokes, then mushrooms, etc.) except the basil.
6. Heat skillet on a high flame for 3 minutes to get the pan piping hot.
7. Place skillet in preheated oven for 18 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown.
8. Remove the pizza with a spatula (it should slide right out!), top with the basil, and cool on a rack for 3 minutes. (The lack of cheese means no gooey hotness to burn the roof of your mouth! Score! If you’re using cheese, though, let cool for a few more minutes.)
9. Cut into slices and enjoy!

I couldn’t roll out the dough very much (no rolling pin and no upper-body strength) so it made a very small pizza. I sliced it into four relatively large pieces and ate two for dinner. The remaining two slices will be reheated tomorrow for dinner… or perhaps for lunch. Mmm! So tasty, I’m tempted to eat the rest right now. Om nom nom nom nom…

Many thanks to Nick at Macheesmo for the inspiration with his cast iron skillet pizza recipe! His pizza looks amazing and I’m sure it has something to do with his handmade crust. Next time I decide to make pizza, I’m going to try his pizza dough recipe, too.

On a totally unrelated note, I love Better Off Ted. I’m sad it wasn’t popular while it was in production–it was canceled too early! Two seasons was not enough. If you’ve never seen it, check it out on Netflix–it’s available to watch instantly.

• Roasted Asparagus (Veganomicon, pp. 30-31)
• Mashed Potatoes (Veganomicon, p. 110)
• Chickpea Cutlets (Veganomicon, p. 133)
• Mustard Sauce (Veganomicon, p. 204)

I didn’t really need the recipes for the asparagus or the mashed potatoes… but they’re included in the book for good measure. This has been one of my favorite meals from the book so far! So hearty, so delicious… It’s one of those rare vegan meals you can eat with a knife!

I’m going to get very fat if I continue to cook from this book, aren’t I?

A few years ago, I gave vegetarianism a go and it didn’t turn out so well. (I binged on hard-boiled eggs one day. It wasn’t pretty.) However, I was young and dumb. I wasn’t yet living on my own so I didn’t do much of my own cooking. I just continued to eat the same foods only without the slab of meat on the side. Needless to say, I was lacking in protein (hence the egg-binging) and many vitamins. Things are different now: I cook every one of my meals (except the ones Alex cooks on the weekends when he visits) and I do all of my own grocery shopping. It was partially because of all the wasted groceries (mainly meats and dairies) that I decided to go vegan.

To aid me in my new culinary adventures, I sought out vegan cookbooks. The ones I ended up buying are by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero… and I love them to pieces. Every recipe I’ve made so far has been amazing! They’re appetizing even for those not following a vegan diet: pastas, risottos, sautéed veggies, sammiches, sauces, pancakes, French toast, ice creams … The list goes on and on!

All of the recipes are seriously delicious. Here are some things I’ve already tried:

• Banana-Nut Waffles (Veganomicon, pp. 75-76)
• Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots (Veganomicon, p. 117)
• Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh (Veganomicon, pp. 129-30)
• Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry (Veganomicon, pp. 175-76)
• Spiced Pita Crisps (Veganomicon, pp. 177-76)
• Spaghetti and Beanballs (Veganomicon, pp. 189-190)
• Classic Pesto (Vegan with a Vengeance, p. 132)
• Sesame Scrambled Tofu and Greens with Yams (Vegan Brunch, p. 30)

…and I’ve only had the book for 5 days! I managed to take photos of some of the meals:

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots (Veganomicon, p. 117)
with roasted veggies (Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and red bell peppers)

Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh (Veganomicon, pp. 129-30)
with a baked sweet potato, sautéed kale, and fresh tomatoes

And this is what preparing one of these meals looks like:

Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry (Veganomicon, pp. 175-76)

Because I live in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, I can’t compost all this biodegradable waste at home. But! The local farmers’ market collects food scraps! So I bought a 1.5-gallon compost pail that I’m hauling to the farmers’ market once a week.

…I’m such a hippie, biking to the farmers’ market to compost my vegan scraps. Oy.

I love my bike. My boyfriend got me a 2012 Salsa Casseroll for the winter holidays and I’ve been riding it for a month now. I fall in love with it all over again every morning and then again every night. I miss it when I’m not riding it and I’m frustrated when I have to walk somewhere. (For 5 straight days two weeks ago, I couldn’t ride my bike — my fault, not the bike’s — so I took the subway to work and walked the 3 miles home. What do you mean it takes 3 times longer by foot to cover the same distance!? my mind kept yelling.) So now I not only look forward to work everyday but I also eagerly anticipate my commute.

…Unless it’s raining heavily or the winds are blowing at over 50 MPH. Then, yes, I’d rather be somewhere indoors but only because I hate being wet and fighting the wind to stay upright.

So when I realized this morning that my bike needed to go to the shop for some adjustments (derailleurs, brakes), I dreaded the possibility of having to leave my bike there overnight because I’d only be getting in around closing time. Instead, I spent about 15 minutes in the shop as the mechanic fiddled with some knobs and tightened some cables… after he ogled my bike and his buddy let out a wolf whistle. (The attention wasn’t expected but it was definitely appreciated.) It was a painless experience and I left with my bike, ready to tackle another day of commuting duty.

I’ve been consistently riding in to work at least 4 days out of the week. (We had a flurry of three-day weekends that I’ll miss going into a strictly-five-day-workweek March. I also had off-campus meetings that didn’t lend themselves to being bike friendly, as I stuck around afterwards to grab lunch with colleagues and/or travel back to campus with coworkers.) This would have been another one of those weeks — what with an off-campus meeting first thing tomorrow — but I think I’ll suck it up and bike there. It’s under 8 miles of mostly bike lanes. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, too. (High of 46°F! As much as it worries me that this winter can barely be classified as winter, I love that the mild weather keeps me on my bike.)

I had yarn left over from my mom’s shawl so I decided to make myself a hat. I have the hardest time knitting things for myself because I am so picky. I had actually knit another hat with this yarn but decided that I didn’t like it… so I ripped it all out and gave this pattern a go.

This hat was such a pleasure to knit! The pattern was written really well and I loved that the cable decreased into the crown. (I couldn’t believe that this was a free pattern, actually, because of the clever construction.) The only modification I made was to knit the brim in 1×1 rib for 1.5″ instead of 1″ because of my own preference for longer brims.

I think it turned out really well (albeit slightly too slouchy) and I hope to get a lot of use out of it. I haven’t really worn hats this winter yet because the weather has been so unpredictable: it’s 30°F one day and 60°F the next! Overall, though, this winter has been very temperate — but I’m not complaining! It’s great biking weather so I don’t have to bundle up too much when commuting to work.

I wanted to make something for my mother but she’s notoriously difficult to shop for. Both my parents are like that, actually. It’s hard to get gifts for people who have everything they want and/or need. So I thought a shawl would be a good idea. She talks about how cold it is in her office (year-round, not just in the winter) so I figure it’d be nice to have an extra layer to bring to work.

The pattern makes a long scarf but I wanted more of a shawl. (My mom is very specific about the kinds of clothes and accessories she wears.) So I used a heavier weight of wool and slightly larger needles and went to town. Since it’s not going to be worn wrapped around the neck, I made it slightly shorter. When I finished knitting it, I wasn’t thrilled with the width so I really blocked the you-know-what out of this scarf. I got an extra 3 inches of width and maybe 2 inches of length. Its final measurements are 13″×70″. Because I blocked so aggressively, though, the yarn lost most of its sproinginess and squishiness. It really looks like a lace shawl now. Hopefully it’s retained some of its warm so my mom can get lots of use out of it.