Thursday, December 10, 2009

Pita & Pomegranate

My lunches were either boring or repeats most of this week, so I didn't take any pictures until today: green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives and olive oil-vinegar dressing, hummus, pita chips, and a wedge of pomegranate.

The shmoo and I like sharing a pomegranate when they're in season. We lay out plastic on the table and load up on kitchen towels, then tear into the beautiful fruit and eat the jewel-like seeds one by one. Pomegranates are super-healthy and oh, so pretty, but I'm especially drawn to them for their spiritual symbolism. Persephone ate a pomegranate seed in the Underworld and was condemned to stay four months in the Underworld every year. During these months her mother Demeter mourns for her and causes cold winter to cover the land. Pomegranates figure also in some Christian and Jewish traditions.

Why, I even have one tattooed on my shoulder!

57 comments:

Terra D said...

I had pita and hummus today as well. Yum! How do you make your salad dressing?
Thanks!
P.S. Sweet tattoo!

ts said...

WOW! I've been reading your blog for a long time and my image of you being a quiet shy person has been blown away by that killer tattoo! That is awesome!

Marianne (frenchfriestoflaxseeds) said...

Awesome tattoo :)

jademond said...

haha, I must second Haitian-American Family of Three :-)
I really like the myth about Demeter and the snow. So lovely!

Jennifer said...

Your tattoo is GORGEOUS! It took my breath away.

ZippyZu said...

Really nice tattoo- totally unexpected! I love it :-)

Unknown said...

Ohh hummus, now I want some.

I absolutely love your tattoo! It's so big and lovely :)

Heather said...

I just had to say your tattoo is so beautiful! Reminds me of William Morris stuff actually.

C.J. said...

My son and I love pomegranate, too. He is only 18 months, though, so if I don't watch him, half the seeds end up on the floor if he gets too excited. :D

Heather said...

That is such a beautiful tattoo.

Toni @ Imperfect Pregnancy said...

That is some intense ink on your arm.

Liz M said...

I never knew that you had such an amazing tattoo! My visual of you has also changed :) Now I REALLY want you to come to my house and hang out and make me lunches but I guess I'd have to match your workplace salary ;)

Ana said...

I love hummus!
Now, really, do you have that tatoo??

Jennifershmoo said...

Yes, that's my arm! You can see more pictures of it on my facebook page, but I pulled this one from the tattoo studio website because it shows the pomegranate so nicely. That was taken the day she finished the final ink work; the colors are so vivid.

eesh said...

Wow I've been reading your blog for so long and would never have guessed you for a tattooed person! That's some amazing artwork!

Susan Yuen said...

Wow, that is an awesome tattoo!

M Walsh said...

guuurl your tattoos are so cool ^-^

"Guppy" Honaker said...

Your lunch looks delicious! We have a pommegranite tree in our yard, very prolific!
- David
Top 10 Reasons to Drink Aloe Vera Juice

Millie said...

I am not a tatoo person but your tatoo design is amazing. I also love the way you display your food...great job!

http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com

parallelliott said...

Have you seen The Color of Pomegranates?

Anonymous said...

Ohhh I totally love the tattoo! And Im hungry, I need humus with pita chips!

Meredith Peruzzi said...

Count me among those who never expected you to have an awesome full sleeve like that! So beautiful!

I too love pomegranates but they are pesky little buggers to deal with...I recently noticed Whole Foods sells JUST the seeds which seems much more convenient!

Unknown said...

That is one AWESOME tattoo!!!! How long did that take?

katie said...

Pretty tattoo! Today I finally got Vegan Lunch Box Around the World and just skimming through the recipes makes me hungry. That salad looks delicious, too. =)

Jessi said...

I have been reading your blog for a couple of years now, and I'm in the group that did not expect you to have a full sleeve tattoo. It is a GORGEOUS tattoo. I am so ready for another tat! Thanks for the food inspiration and the ink inspiration. Peace!

Ilana said...

nothing I love more than pomegranates. gorgeous ink. uh...is it vegan?

Mariana said...

jennifer, i made a vegan loaf with your magical loaf studio, and oh it's so good! i am eating it all the time (im the only vegan at my house, so leftovers are all for me)

maltagirl said...

that tattoo is absolutely luscious! so beautiful. thanks for sharing it!

Velvet said...

That's a stunning tattoo - SO beautiful!! :-)

Just wanted to say that I finally bought "Around the World", and it's fantastic! However, since I bought it in ebook format (I'm running out of book storage room for physical publications!) I was disappointed to realise I didn't get the beautiful photos from the paper book. Oh well, I'll have to drool over them on your blog instead, and at least my toddler can't rip the pages of an electronic book, right? :-D

I love pomegranates too, and share them with my 16 month old when I can get them nice and fresh. He loves picking at the arils with his fingers, and gets the juice all over his chin. So cute.

Thanks again for the fantastic blog. Such an inspiration, even to an omnivore like me.

Gill, in Edinburgh (Scotland)

Velvet said...

Ohhh. Ignore that last comment about no photos. I have no idea what happened when I first looked at the ebook, but now I can see them!

I'm all excited now! Off to the kitchen with me. :-D

xx

Unknown said...

I am really missing your posts this week...actually, I am having withdrawals! :) I can't wait for the next one....

Anonymous said...

I've been a huge fan of your blog, and now I'm an even bigger fan of your INK!!!! Nice :)

Uyin said...

Wow.. nice tatoo.. I wish i could do the same..

cheers!
http://the-maternity-scrubs.blogspot.com/

artsycraftsyivy said...

That is some gorgeous ink on your arm, Jennifer!

The other reason I'm commenting is I just wanted to tell you how much I LOVE both your cookbooks. I use your food processor pizza dough recipe all the time--it's been called phenomenal! And I just made the baked beans--OMG--best I've ever had! Best baked bean recipe in THE WORLD. I think all your recipes come out great, but those two in particular are sticking with me. Worth the price of the book alone. Thanks!

Karon's kids said...

Have you ever had pomegranate molasses? I just recently tried it and I think it's possibly the best food ever. I keep looking for excuses to use it.

Jennifershmoo said...

No, I haven't had it, but I've heard it's awesome! I want to try it. I love regular molasses, so I should adore pomegranate molasses. :-)

ninja said...

I'm not a big fan of pomegranate but this combo looks delicious!

isla vista food co-op said...

WOW!!! i've been following your blog for a really really long time, and this image of your tattoo has brought everything full circle. this may sound shallow... but i think i love you a little bit more right now ;)
thanks for everything.

MommyNur.se said...

What a beautiful tatoo.

Jennifershmoo said...

Aw, you guys are all so nice! I love my tattoo, too, and haven't regretted it for a second. It makes me smile when I see it, even though I've been told my arm looks like a Thanksgiving table runner. LOL

Now if I could only take more lunch pictures for you all! It's been difficult these last few weeks with the holidays and winter weather and my car breaking down. I can't even describe how stressful my life feels right now, like just when I can't think I can take any more something else gets piled on. Hopefully things will calm down soon.

Unknown said...

I just picked up your vegan lunch box book from the Library.. SO excited to read it!! :)

Change4_theVegan said...

YOU, are my inspiration! i decided to become a vegan for the new year. i was nervous because i thought of vegans as just people who ate carrots all day, and i was fine with that, but after the first few days of anger from no dairy or meat, i was giving up almost. then, i found your blog, and you have given me so many ideas, and so much hope. i am so thankful! i created this account JUST to tell you this! i look forward to being your student! :)

Unknown said...

nice tattoo.
Please visit for free ebooks
http://www.ebooktub.com/

jademond said...

look what I found:

http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/02/16/

isn't that cool? would be much coller if vegan...but I thought you'd like it...

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Dina Farmer said...

Awesome tat! Makes me wanna go get some more! I love your book! I got the first one which works just perfectly for my husband and me. I tired the Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins. I'm still waiting for them to come out of the oven as I type. I can't wait to try making the Hummus sandwich! I'm in love~! Thanks so much for writing these books. I'm going to pick up the second one too when I find it at Borders~! Thank you thank you~!!

Dina

American Phil said...

in vegan and have to tell you i love your blog. the tattoo looks super cool! follow mine if you get a chance! lots of stuff on tattoos as well as veganism sometimes...
www.ramblingforever.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your consistently awesome vegan lunch ideas... mind if I add you to my blogroll?
(freshfantastic.wordpress.com)

PS: Fabulous tattoo

Iris said...

Wow! I love the colors in your tattoo!

Chelsie said...

Just found your blog and I am super excited by what I see already! Trying to decide which stainless steel bento boxes to purchase for my family and I'm wondering what size the one in the picture is. Thanx!

Annodear said...

Fabulous tat!!!

And thank you for sharing all these awesome food ideas :-)

tess said...

Fill a large bowl with cold water and break your poms open under water facing away from you. The juice doesn't spray on your clothes, and then you just retrieve your seeds and pom sections from the water and dry off. Thanks for all the lunch ideas. Sometimes lunch gets boring.

Anonymous said...

That is seriously one cool tattoo! :)

Unknown said...

Haha, this sounds like an amazing mix or flavour! I am looking for some more recipes on my <a href="http://www.myveganplanet.com>vegan recipes</a> website, and the pomegranate may just have to feature some time soon!

amanda said...

Wow! What a tattoo... Now I love these vegetables...
healthy childrens recipes

Ryan and Alex said...

I love the ink on your arm! I usually don't like a lot of color with tattoos but that is very beautiful.

www.veganlick.blogspot.com

Crystal Gem said...

Succulent!