Now that we have hired a ridiculous amount of folks at work, hours have slimmed down a bit. I’m very okay with this, as it gives me time to actually sit back and enjoy the summer… Something I didn’t get to do at all last year thanks to summer school. I requested two days off this week– the fourth and the fifth– so I could enjoy a proper Independence Day, but it looks like I get to have the first through the third off, too! Five day weekend? Hell yes!

Lately I’ve been going on bike rides like mad! I never rode much in the two years we’ve lived here ’cause it’s so easy to get around on foot– unless you’re going to a neighboring city, there’s no real reason to ride a bike or drive a car. Unless, of course, that reason is the Bottoms!

“The Bottoms” refer to the rural part of Arcata between the city and the beach. It is the best reason to hop on a bike in the late afternoon, just when the sun starts to make its descent towards the horizon. The road is pretty rugged and not really made for skinny tires, but it zig zags between vast amounts of farm land. And where there’s farm land, there’s cows!

Oh, how I love cows. They are such gorgeous beings, though some of these looked a bit sad with warts or tumors on/around their faces. Poor guys… Er, gals! A few days previous to this particular ride I had gone on the same route with Chris and two of our future room mates, Kristina and Katie. We stopped a few times for photo shoots with the cows and they were not having it! This day, though, they couldn’t get enough! They kept following Chris and I up and down the fence, hamming it up for the camera. Too precious.

I also finally got to take photos of this spooky, seemingly abandoned house that I frequently pass by. I have no idea if anyone occupies it, but the prayer flags above the porch are really intriguing to me. Usually abandoned homes are so nondescript aside from their decrepitude. Maybe someone does live there? I’m too chicken to knock on the door!

If you keep riding past the scary house for a few more miles, Mad River Road will eventually take you to the beach. From my house, it’s just shy of an extremely satisfying 15 mile round trip– one that is littered with these fantastic signs warning you about entering/leaving the Tsunami Hazard Zone. I know tsunamis are serious business, but these signs crack me up.

Between bike rides and work, I’ve been doing a ton of vegan baking! The other day I made lemon bars, which disappeared in a matter of seconds. And today I finally got my hands on some wheat germ (you’d think this hippy town would be overflowing with wheat germ!) so tomorrow I will be tackling oatmeal and date cookies. I may throw some coconut in there, too, ’cause that’s how I roll!

I also finished designing my new web page so I can start selling prints / dino dude earrings and generally existing under the guise of an artist, rather than my usual outfit of lazy-bones gamer girl who loves to cook and update her Flickr.

My only problem is my moniker… Or lack thereof. I’m having trouble coming up with a good domain to register. Suggestions would be helpful! Unfortunately, my name is so painfully boring that any sort of formation of it is already taken a hundred times over. There goes my easy way out! Drats.

In case you’re wondering, the exclamation point in the title was extremely necessary. This was the first time I made bean burgers and, despite a huge bump in the road, they turned out wonderful with the help of a little improvisation.

The recipe I was using, which I transcribed by hand from a cookbook at Meg’s house in Brooklyn!, called for four shallots. I piled all the ingredients into my food processor, with shallots on top, and started pulsing the mixture… But the shallots just stayed put. Eventually I took half the mixture out, processed it, and then the other half… But the shallots didn’t chop. Eventually I became ravenously hungry and depressed that my bean burgers looked more like a bean dip, so I picked out all the large pieces of shallot and left it at that.

To resolve the goopy over-processed problem I doubled the bread crumbs. The consistency of these patties is great, even though nothing like the recipe had intended. I overcooked each side to get a nice, flaky, charred-bean skin around it.

So! Here’s the recipe as I made it. I’m sure the original is fantastic, but I’ll never know! I like this one too much, now.

Bean Burgers:
Makes 4-8 patties

1 can Kidney beans, drained
1 can Black beans, drained
1 can Cannellini beans, drained
8 oz. Breadcrumbs
1 heaping tsp Chili powder
2 stalks Celery, halved and chopped
1-2 Shallots, minced finely
Cilantro, to taste, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

- In a food processor, combine all ingredients except for half the breadcrumbs. Blend until creamy. Place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until chilled.

- Add the rest of the bread crumbs and mix by hand. If you wish, you can reserve some of the beans from being creamed, and add them in now, too. Form into 4-8 patties, flatten between the palms of your hand, and store in the refrigerator inside an airtight container until ready for use.

- To cook: heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Pat flour onto each side of the burgers and fry for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until it becomes dark and crispy.

Serve on a toasted bun with all your favorite fix’ns! These burgers are vegan, but I couldn’t resist a sprinkling of feta on mine! :x

I also enjoy eggless canola mayonnaise, mustard, avocado, cilantro, black pepper and an unnatural amount of fresh lime juice.

Chris is an official college graduate now, and when the semester was winding down I knew I had to get him a gift. He’s not one for overly fanciful things, or even things in general, so shopping can be a bit trying. When the only ideas he could give me were for silly books I knew I had to start thinking outside of the box. And then I remembered: Think Geek!

I hadn’t been to the shop in ages, but if there’s anything Chris loves it’s Rubik’s cubes, and I would’ve bet my life they’d have some sort of alternative cube. I seriously wasn’t ready for this, though. Behold: the Irregular IQ Cube!

This thing is insane. I thought it’d give Chris something to tickle his brain with now that school’s out forever, not to mention the fact that he has mastered the normal cube to the point where it must be a bit of a bore now. He’s perplexed and determined all the same– a sign that I picked the right gift. There’s one more nerdy part to his brain-tickler graduation gift, but it hasn’t arrived yet so my lips are sealed!

Of course, I couldn’t leave with just that. I hadn’t been to Think Geek in so long, I forgot what amazing things they have to offer the repressed nerd in us all. Honestly, I could empty my whole bank account in one fell swoop. I managed to only buy myself one thing, the Atomic Tupperware set. They’re fantastic! Dishwasher / Microwave safe, and they nest for easy storage. My kinda tupperware!

Holding back didn’t do a whole lot of good, because the next time I go back I know I’m just gonna burst! I built up quite a shopping list…

I would’ve easily dropped $40 on a “What the Frak?” hoodie, had the smalls been in stock.

And, while we’re on the subject of the best SciFi television show ever, my dream home will have these sprinkled along the walls, framed and matted of course!

With the Equal Measure cup, I can satisfy both my geeky and foodie desires. Two birds, one stone!

Needs no explanation. Every home should have one of these.

And then, of course, the t-shirts. Sweet Jesus, the t-shirts!

Like I said: my whole bank account!