Is car free the way to be?

My husband and I sold both our cars two years ago. We did it for environmental factors as well as financial factors. It was a decision we thought long and hard about. I rarely regret this decision.

We are very lucky to live in a city where it is possible to survive without a car. We are within walking distance to grocery stores (one of which is open 24 hours), a pharmacy, tons of restaurants, a movie theater and the subway. Being only 2 blocks from the subway allows us access to pretty much everything in Boston and to many places outside of Boston.

As some of you know, I am almost 8 months pregnant. And this whole notion of living car free is being challenged daily. Not only are we being challenged by our family, some friends, my doctor and society but also by ourselves. Can we raise a baby without owning a car? What if there were an emergency? Wouldn't it just be easier to own a car?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I do know that I don't want a car. Just the thought of paying insurance, or a loan, maintenance, gas, taxes, having to deal with parking permits, the undeniable parking tickets, street cleaning schedules and just the overall stress of driving in the city makes me want pull my hair out.

I know there are parents in this world who live and live successfully without an automobile. I know we can do it. I know it'll be difficult and we will have to adjust our lives. We've lived two years without owning a car and we have done pretty okay for ourselves. So I don't know if it's possible to raise a child without a car, but i'd like to give it a really good try.

vegan quiche!

SO, the conversation went like this:

Husband, "Honey, what's for dinner?"
Wife, "Let me see what we have in the fridge. Okay we have one pre-made crust, LOTS of frozen veggies and one box of tofu".

The answer was vegan quiche! Very easy to make and really really yummy. I liked it MORE than regular egg based quiche. It was totally flavorful and delicious.


Apologies for the poor cell phone picture.
Does not do it justice!

Ingredients for Tofu Mixture

1 Package firm tofu
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
1/4 cup soy milk

Ingredients for vegan "cheez"

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon oil
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Veggie ingredients

Any veggies will do. I used what i had, which was:

1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 cup chopped spinach (i used frozen but fresh is fine)
1 cup broccolli

Other ingredients

1 pre-made pie crust


1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Sautée onion in olive oil. Add veggies. Cook for a few minutes, but don't let them get soggy or mushy. Remember, the veggies will warm with the rest of the quiche in the oven! Set aside.
3. Combine ingredients for "cheez" in small saucepan. Whisk it! Then, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Stir constantly for 2-4 minutes, or until thickened.
4. Use a food processor to chop up the tofu mixture. Add "cheez" sauce and purée for a few more seconds in the food processor. Then, take the blade off your food processor and stir in the veggies with a wooden spoon.
5. Spoon the entire mixture into the pre-made pie crust.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until you can stick a knife in the middle and have it come out clean.
7. Let it cool for a few minutes. It will thicken upon standing.


Enjoy!

quick morning update

I promised myself i would write more in this blog. I'm not doing a very good job but my excuse is, life has been busy. Even more reason to document it, I guess.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant and feeling really good. So much to do and so little time! His room is coming together quite nicely and I cannot wait until he occupies it. I'm FINELY working on the quilt that I wanted to start many months ago. I'm loosely following the same pattern that I posted earlier about. I'm not very good at following patterns, i like to color outside the lines :) So i'm sort of doing my own thing.

I've been thinking about making quilts and selling them on etsy, but we'll see how this one turns out and how much time it's going to take. Work-wise I'm reevaluating where i'd like to be. I'd love to be a homemaker but financially it's just not happening right now. I'm very interested in how our future is going to pan out. I know God has a plan, just wish he'd give me a hint!

Well it's too early to start making breakfast, so i'll work on the quilt for a bit and wait for my husband to wake. Then it's banana chocolate waffle time!

Yum!