Liebster Love!

Leaping Libesters, Batgirl! While I’ve been busy studying the ingredients lists on all my groceries and snapping photos at every Vegan Pledge meeting, blogger and almost-Philadelphian Vegan Rescue nominated me for a Liebster Award! Before I get to the details of that, I want to thank Jessica (a.k.a. Vegan Rescue) for such an honor. I recently discovered her blog and have been sharing her posts with friends because her recipes are just that amazing. Can you imagine anything more worthy of a summer supper outdoors than Corn Fritters with [vegan] Mayoketchup Sauce? And guess who ran to the nearest farmer’s market to pick up some fennel after eyeing her Raw Fennel & Grapefruit Almond Salad? So to have her include me in her company … two words: mind blown. Thank you Jessica!

On to the award! First things first, the rules (there seem to be multiple sets floating around):

Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
Display the award on your blog.
Answer 10 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a fewer than 1000 followers (comment on one of their posts to let them know).

My Answers to Vegan Rescue’s Questions:

What is your favorite comfort food? A big bowl of Asian noodles, preferably with lots of tender-crisp greens some heat, and maybe some pan-seared tofu.
What is your dream job? I used to think that I already had the perfect mix of jobs because I am both a university professor and a fitness instructor, but maybe some day I will move far far away and teach yoga classes to visitors at an elephant sanctuary.
What is your favorite way to unwind after a long week? I love sitting down to a really exquisite and interesting glass of wine and a light snack, and then maybe curling up with a novel or film later in the evening.
What inspired you to become a blogger? I teach writing, and I wanted to see if I could maintain a steady stream of short writing, much like I ask of my students. I’ve also had people ask for recipes when I post photos of my cooking, so this seemed like a good way to combine my writing and my cooking.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? As with the “dream-job” question, I feel like I’ve been so lucky to have visited so many amazing places: Thailand, the Peruvian Amazon, Belize, Indonesia, but I’d really like to visit Myanmar – and, for something completely different from my usual tropical inclinations, I’d love to see the Northern Lights!
Do you have any hobbies (other than blogging)? Travel, fitness, film, reading … I sometimes make jewelry, of course I enjoy cooking, wines, fashion, coffee …
What is your biggest fear? Not doing enough, not making a positive impact, not leaving the world in a better place when I die.
What is the best advice you would give yourself 10 years ago? Follow your instincts and regret nothing. Even if things don’t turn out the way you imagined, at least you will only have yourself to blame 😉
How long have you been blogging? About 2 years, but I took a break for about 6 months.
What is your favorite blog post? I’m not sure if this means mine or someone else’s, but if it’s mine it would have to be my Birthday for Giving. I wanted to do something meaningful for my birthday, so I set up an Indiegogo campaign to benefit the Friends of Asian Elephant Hospital in Lampung Thailand, the world’s first hospital for elephants. Even though many of the donors were friends and family, my post got a lot of traffic, and I did end up with some international donors.

My Nominees (apologies if any of you have over 1000 followers):

My Questions for My Nominees:

Who is your ideal reader?
How long does it take you to write a blog post?
What is your most ridiculous pet peeve?
What is one thing about you that would surprise your readers?
Who is your favorite writer?
If you had to describe yourself as a food item, what would it be and why?
What is one skill you would like to learn?
How have you improved with age?
If you could change the ending to one movie, what would it be?
How do you think the public would react to your version of the movie in Question #9?