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:

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

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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!

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

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your tattoo is GORGEOUS! It took my breath away.

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

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ohh hummus, now I want some.

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  8. 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

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is such a beautiful tattoo.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is some intense ink on your arm.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 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 ;)

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

    ReplyDelete
  13. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, that is an awesome tattoo!

    ReplyDelete
  16. guuurl your tattoos are so cool ^-^

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

    ReplyDelete
  18. 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

    ReplyDelete
  19. Have you seen The Color of Pomegranates?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous7:22 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
  21. 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!

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

    ReplyDelete
  23. 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. =)

    ReplyDelete
  24. 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!

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

    ReplyDelete
  26. 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)

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

    ReplyDelete
  28. 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)

    ReplyDelete
  29. 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

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

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous9:50 AM

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

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  33. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  34. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  35. 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. :-)

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

    ReplyDelete
  37. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  38. What a beautiful tatoo.

    ReplyDelete
  39. 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.

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

    ReplyDelete
  41. 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! :)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous10:11 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
  43. 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...

    ReplyDelete
  44. Nice blog :), I can recommend a new service to get free visitors to your blog - http://www.viralblogtraffic.com

    ReplyDelete
  45. 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

    ReplyDelete
  46. 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

    ReplyDelete
  47. Anonymous7:41 AM

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

    PS: Fabulous tattoo

    ReplyDelete
  48. Wow! I love the colors in your tattoo!

    ReplyDelete
  49. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Fabulous tat!!!

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

    ReplyDelete
  51. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous5:01 PM

    That is seriously one cool tattoo! :)

    ReplyDelete
  53. 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!

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

    ReplyDelete
  55. 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

    ReplyDelete