The ups and the downs, the twists and the turns

Hi friends. Let me explain why I have been intermittent with my posting. Although I knew it would be difficult to commit to  fully plant based eating, it's been harder than even I thought it would be. Intellectually, I knew that I would have starts and stops, but when I did, I would feel so bad. Guilty. I would feel that it wasn't right to be blogging on a vegan blog if I wasn't walking the walk. Last night, I realized, if I was having the difficulties, maybe others were also. Maybe there was someone else laying in their bed, beating themself up over cheese, or eating the wrong butter, or whatever. I decided last night that I would start writing about it ALL, the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people just like me, who understand the benefits of eating vegan, not only for our health, but for the environment, and for the love of animals, but who are traveling this path and hitting obstacles. If you are like me, and live in a very small, rural, southern city, maybe you find it difficult to go out to eat and find things that are vegan, (sometimes even vegetarian), so you give in and eat the cheese laden food, or whatever it is. Last week, I found myself at my favorite Mexican restaurant, and I ordered my usual dinner off the veg options, a bean burrito and a chalupa. I received my dinner and it had a cheese enchilada instead of the chalupa, since my dining companion also had their dinner, rather than send it back, I decided to go ahead and eat it. I knew full well that it was going to cause my terrible tummy discomfort later, but I chose that over inconveniencing every one else. WHAT? Ridiculous right? I need to worry about me. Later when I suffered terrible issues, my dining partner said rather simply, "you should have just sent it back, I would have". Maybe that's the right answer after all. I also struggle with the fact that I live with a carnivore, and even though he will eat the veg meals I prepare, I feel bad about "making" him do that. When I stated this he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "If I wanted something else I would make it myself, I do know how to cook", well ok. So, I'm here, letting it all hang out, and trying to be more about ME and less about everyone else. How do you deal with all these issues?

My New Favorite Thing...

One of the things I've missed most since beginning my vegan venture is yogurt. I love yogurt. I have loved yogurt since I was a little kid and my mom would buy the kind that had the fruit on the bottom, my sister and I would make great productions of turning it over into our bowl so the fruit would come out on top. We even racked up a few yogurt food fights under our belts. She may have won, but I'm not confirming that. Anyway, I had tried many of the dairy free yogurts available to me. As I've said previously, I live in a small area so my options aren't always large. I had tried the soy yogurts, and although I could tolerate the Silk brand, it still had that taste that's hard to identify other than knowing I don't like it. A few months ago my local natural food co-op in Tallahassee had the SoDelicious brand coconut milk yogurt, but I found that very sweet. Yesterday while shopping there, (btw the name of the co-op is New Leaf Market and is located in Tallahassee Florida, if you live in the area, be sure to visit them, you won't be disappointed), I found SoDelicious Almond Milk Yogurt. I was pretty thrilled since I love almond milk and was looking forward to sampling the yogurt. Wow, it's so fantastic. It's greek style, so very thick and creamy. I tried the blueberry and vanilla flavors, and neither let me down. If you've been missing yogurt you should definitely try this. I'm not being compensated in any way for this endorsement, just trying to bring the things I love to others. You can see how much I loved it by the scraped clean container in the picture below:

It's a little pricey at $1.89 a container, but I'm willing to scrimp on something else to have a couple of these a week. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can make another trip to New Leaf Market to add a few more. For now, I'm one happy yogurt lover.

So easy a kid could make them....Chewy Granola Bars

Hi all, we've been a bit hectic here with Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac preparations. Early in the weekend it was looking like we here in Florida would take a direct hit from Isaac so appropriate prep needed to be taken. We've learned around here to always take these things seriously, although there are still people who brush it off, we are not among them. In 2004 Hurricane Frances spawned tornadoes in my town that completely leveled my workplace, and many homes. Scary stuff. So Sunday we made sure we had plenty of water, restocked our dwindling flashlight supply (my grandson loves a flashlight and often squirrels them away) and picked up our yard chairs and various things. By Monday we knew that the hurricane would go more towards New Orleans, but that of course with these storms you still have to be on alert for all the other things, like the tornadoes. School was cancelled for Tuesday. Come Tuesday we really only had a few showers and no other effects. So that brings me to the post, my grandson spent the day here with me since he was out of school. He wanted to bake, so we decided on his favorite granola bars. I think I've mentioned in the past that I am always trying to substitute healthier options in his diet. He used to love those overly processed, overly sugared snack bars, but he now loves this version. Especially since he can almost make them by himself. He's not allowed to touch a stove (he's still only 7, even if in his mind he's an adult). These things are delicious, simple to make, require no baking, the only cooking involved is to heat the agave and peanut butter to mix it well and warm it. They are also easily adaptable to other tastes but these are the ones that appeal to my darling grandson and he eats them for snacks. I grind the almonds because he doesn't like nut pieces in his food, but I want him to have the health benefit of them, you of course can chop them. 

Kid Easy Granola Bars

1 3/4 cups Brown Rice Crisp Cereal

1 cup Rolled Oats (not the quick or instant stuff)

3/4 cups almonds ground up 

3 tbs flax seed ground

1/3 -1/2 cup agave (it kind of depends on how liquidy your peanut butter is)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, of course you can use a chunky also

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

And here's how to do it as demonstrated by the 7 year old.

Step 1. In a med/ large bowl, add first 4 ingredients, and mix them together.

 Step 2. In a small pan stir together the agave and peanut butter and heat until just warm and combined well. Add vanilla. Pour onto dry ingredients. This is the adults part of the job.

 Step 3. Mix slightly with a spoon and then using your hands mix all ingredients until well combined and all dry ingredients are well coated.

Step 4. Taste the product. I always tell my grandson to taste what is being cooked so you know if you have to make changes. My instruction to him is that his hands and his mouth are two of his best tools.

Step 5. Pour into an 8x8 pan that you've lined with wax paper (for easy removal). Using your hands, pat mixture down firmly and evenly. 

Step 6. Refrigerate well, at least 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator and pull out of pan.

Step 7. Also the adult's part. Slice into 6 strips, and then slice the strips in half, to make 12 bars. I wrap each in wax paper and then refrigerate until he's ready to grab one for a lunchbox or snack. 

And that's it. You've got kid friendly, kid easy, healthier, delicious, non processed granola bars. You've also just created kid memories by spending time with the child in your life in the kitchen. You've also created an opportunity to talk to that child about the food they put in their body without making it a lecture. A win all the way around. Brian and I hope you enjoy his favorite granola bar. 

Soup for Everyone....

I love soup!!! There, I said it. I would happily eat soup every single day of the week and twice on Sundays, or other days also. . It's a great meal with some bread on the side, or salad, it's a great snack. I'll even eat most soups barely heated. I just love soup. My favorite soups are the ones where I start with one idea and start adding other things as I find them in the refrigerator. I try to make a pot of soup once a week and will usually eat it all week. My favorite cooking pot for soup is my slow cooker. Whatever genius invented the slow cooker is one of my favorite people, whoever that is. This past Sunday I took out my trusty ancient slow cooker for a soup session. When I say ancient, I'm not kidding. I'm pretty sure it's from the 70's, and yet it still works wonderfully, and it's huge so I can make alot of soup. Anyway, I digress. I wanted a soup with some substance, so I knew I wanted it to have beans, of course lots of veg, and I was in the mood for some spiciness. Hence I put together this soup that we will call Spicy Black Bean Veggie Soup. It simmered all day and we've been eating it this week. On Monday it was dinner with a cornbread muffin and salad. The rest of the week it's been lunch and/or snack. It was such a big hit that it's actually gone. So sad. This made about 10 large servings but of course you can freeze some of it for later use. The good thing about this is that  around here it will likely always be a bit different because I tend to throw in things I have fresh from the garden, or as in this instance I had some fresh corn from the farmers that I had forgotten about and decided to put in. Soup is forgiving and hard to ruin. So while I was perusing the crisper, cupboard and such this is what I came up with. Blackbeans, potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes (from my garden), 3 ears corn on the cob, carrots, onion, garlic, okra from my garden, a quart of tomatoes I had canned from my garden. Yes this had the makings of a beautiful soup. Here's the recipe, but seriously use it as a guideline and throw in what you have, I promise it will be delicious.

Spicy Black Bean Veggie Soup

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots diced
2 med. potatoes, chopped, I leave the skin on you can do what you want
2 med sweet potatoes, chopped, again, I leave the skin on
3 ears fresh corn, kernels taken off the cob, if you don't have fresh and want corn, use frozen about 1 1/2 cups
1 cup sliced okra (I like okra in soups, and that's it, cooking it for a long time in a soup or stew takes away the sliminess)
1 cup butterbeans or lima beans (also from my garden)
1 can blackbeans drained and rinsed or 1 1/2 cups cooked
1 quart fresh canned tomatoes, or of course you can use regular canned, go for a 28oz can of crushed or diced
3-4 cups veggie broth
2 1/2 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 or 2 chipotle pepper, chopped *
*here's a chipotle pepper hint, I open a can and throw the whole thing in a blender and process until a paste, then I put it in an ice cube tray, abt 2 tsp per cube and freeze and then  place in a ziploc bag and return to the freezer, so whenever I need chipotle pepper I just pull out a cube, if I only need a little I can slice some off a cube, in this recipe I used one cube.

Instructions

1. Set slow cooker to high. Chop and prepare all your veggies.

2. Add all veggies into crockpot, top with beans, tomatoes, broth and all spices. Give it a stir.

3. Cook on high for about 4-5 hours or low for 8.

4. When ready to serve just dish it up in a bowl, squirt a slice of lime all over it and enjoy. If you want to freeze some just allow it to cool and then put in freezer containers and you'll have delicious soup whenever you want it. Of course, like most soups, it tastes even better reheated. Enjoy

Simplicity.....

Part of the title of this blog includes the words "and the road to a simple, happy life".  I have been shown by the universe (or whoever is out there), that a simple life is the one that brings me the most peace, and so my greatest happiness. I have more than once in my life, lost everything and yet those times directly afterward were the most serene, and also were the times I felt the most gratitude towards life. How can this be you ask? Those times taught me to be grateful for everything I did have and received, and so I was. Naturally what follows with such gratitude is that the universe gives you more and more to be grateful for. Not everyone remembers in times of such abundance to be as wholeheartedly grateful, I certainly am guilty of that. When I stop and take stock in my life, I know without a doubt how much I have, but at times those insecurities step in and I am afraid to lose it all again. I start to question, "what will happen if A occurs?" "what will I do if B occurs?" and of course, I, like most people, start wanting more, I think mostly it's a coping mechanism that tries to make me believe if I have more and more and more I will be safe. The truth is, I know no one is ever "safe", things happen, LIFE happens, and anyone can lose at anytime. So what to do about it? I can toss it around and around and around in my mind, worrying about what might happen down the road, and likely I'll bring that very thing to myself. Orrrrrr....I can just let it be, enjoy all that life brings me, and try to get back to that more simplistic life where I was grateful for everything. This of course is my challenge. When I first moved to this home, there were no gardens, no flowers, no outside plants except for a few trees, so we started from scratch. The first thing I did was make a small butterfly garden. Something I have wanted for years and years and years. I never had the space or money to do it, now I was faced with the space, although still not much money. I went to Lowe's, found 2 butterfly bushes that were near dead and marked down to 1.00 each. I bought them and put them in the little space I had created. then I got a couple more plants that had been marked down. Another time I splurged and paid full price for a hummingbird feeder. All in, by the time I was done, the little butterfly garden cost me a total of about $40. It has brought me immense joy for 2 years and probably will for alot more. The butterflies flock to it and in late afternoons it is covered in butterflies, and the two hummingbirds that frequent it every morning bring a smile to my face with their antics. I have since put many plants, flowers etc throughout the yard and have spent and respent alot of money doing so. None of it brings me as much joy as that little butterfly garden. I need to remember the lesson that has taught me, simple things done with so much joy mean the most. I don't need the most cooking utensils or the latest gadgets. I don't need to buy more and more books, I have a wonderful library 10 minutes away that provides very current books on many subjects. Do I love books? absolutely. Do I need to own them in my home? No, I just love to read, that's what brings me joy. I was reading a blog recently about paring down your wardrobe how much you actually wear of what you own and I started looking in my closet to see what I wear. The author was correct, I wear about 20% of what I own and some of the things in my closet I haven't worn in 2 years and let's not even start with the shoes. Crazy right? yet I was considering going to buy some new clothes just a few days ago. I've now decided to not buy anything new until I have cleared my closet of those things I do not and likely will not wear, including the shoes. Then maybe I'll pick up a couple things to supplement what I already own, we'll see. To tie this all up let me just bring up one other thing. When my children were young and we were out in stores, they would beg for this or that, and my question was always "do you NEED it, or do you WANT it?" and if it was something they really needed then we would discuss it, if it was something they wanted we would wait a week and see whether they still wanted it, most often they never brought the item up again, if they did then we would work out a plan on how they could save to get it. I need to remember that lesson.

Thanks for reading and let me know any of your strategies to keep your life simple and joyful.

Score one for the grandmother....

For many years I have struggled with getting my darling grandson, who recently turned 7, to eat a bit healthier and to try new foods. Mostly to little avail. I'm proud to report that yesterday afternoon I felt like I had won the lottery with him. Yesterday was the first day of school, he started 2nd grade, which is pretty exciting. He spends most afternoons at my house once school is out, so he was here. Now, here's the thing, I love my daughter-in-law (well, ex daughter-in-law actually), and I think she does a great job, except when it comes to food. Due to the fact that she has the worst eating habits of anyone I've ever met in my entire life, my grandson has inherited those habits. I am constantly at war with trying to change his eating patterns, and we have made headway. So back to yesterday. I was getting his snack for school today ready, (I try to do that so I can get him to eat a healthier snack), and yesterday when I asked him what he'd like for snack, he said "I don't care grammy, just pick a healthy snack. Woo hoo. So I did, we made a bowl of fresh green and red grapes and filled his bottle with water (his choice). Then he said he would like to take lunch to school instead of getting it in the cafeteria. So together we made a peanut butter and strawberry jam (homemade, no sugar) on whole grain bread, cut some pears and he picked a LaraBar for his treat. I was incredibly proud of his choices and reminded him of what all those choices would do for his body. He went home and all was great. This morning his mom had to go to work early, so I got him off to school. As soon as his mom left, he said, "grammy, momma  added another snack to my bag and I told her that you already made my snack, but she didn't listen, so can you just take it out", so I looked in his bag and she had added a bottle of Hawaiian Punch and a snack cake. Sugar and more sugar. Not wanting to go against his mom I asked him if he was sure he didn't want that, he said no just take it out, I don't feel good at school when I eat that. So I took it out. Tell me why, anyone would rather a child eat sugar laden snacks and drinks than the healthier things that he clearly wanted? Can anyone explain this? I don't want to get into power struggles with her, but I want my grandson to have the healthiest chance he can at life. His mom is severely overweight and I don't want that for him. It's not that I'm completely against treats for my grandson, because I'm definitely not. I just think they need to be treats and not habit, and I think they need to be thought out and not just processed sugar filled junk. I'm so proud of him that he today he made great choices and I try to reinforce those behaviors. Whenever I try to discuss his eating with his mom she says "well it's better than eating nothing at all, and it's all he will eat"....I've tried to tell her that he will eat other things, especially if there is no option, but for some reason she will not listen. Does anyone else out there have these struggles, and if so, how do you deal with it? For now I will just continue to talk to my grandson about what different foods do for the body and the benefits of healthier foods vs. the problems with processed, sugary foods. For one day at least, we succeeded, now on to the next.

Working on healthy, whole food living....and how this one gal deals with stress.

There are times when life just seems to move along so quickly, you blink, and another day, week or month have passed by. This is the way it seems of late. So many things happening, end of summer, getting my grandson ready for a new school year, and plenty of family drama. Most of it, I can deal with in an easy manner, family drama on the other hand seems to just suck the life out of me. Especially when it's the type of which you are not in control and can do nothing for the people you love who are hurting. What I tend to do in these situations is try to move out of my head, which for me involves creating...whether it be cooking, crocheting, art, it doesn't matter, as long as I can forget the world for a short time. And now on to other things...

I have been working on ridding my life, body and world of processed things. A couple years ago I tackled my diet coke addiction, and now I only have one every once in a great while. Most often I don't even think much about it. What I replaced it with however is Crystal Light Lemon Tea. Maybe not as detrimental to the body as soda, but still, it is a processed, manufactured imitation sweetener, and I know those artificial sweeteners are not good for you. So, this past weekend, after reading a blog about real food (seriously, I read an entire years worth of blog posts on the matter), I decided to kick the Crystal Light. I have replaced it with water to which I add lemon and lime slices if I want it flavored, and I also made a pitcher of homemade Chai Tea Latte using almond milk and a bit of agave to sweeten it. So far it's been easy sailing. I do find myself wanting the other a couple times a day, but I just pour myself the Chai and sit and savor it and it seems to do the trick. Considering I was drinking 2 quarts of Crystal Light a day, I'd say that's pretty awesome. The other things I am working on is processed vegan faux items. These things are really no better for anyone than processed everything else. I would rather see someone eating the vegetarian versions than the nasty meat stuff, but for me, I want to be eating natural foods. This morning I made my own "meat"balls, using chickpeas, mushrooms, seasonings...it's a recipe I have been using for awhile and it's really great. I use the same base items to make a "meat"loaf that is delicious, especially for sandwiches. I feel better about myself when I am making my food from whole foods and I know what is in it. I've made a vow to myself that I will use what I already have on hand but any purchases made going forward have to be whole food items, or contain 5 ingredients or less and I have to be able to pronounce and understand what each of the ingredients are. It made my grocery shopping this weekend take quite a bit longer as I searched through items but it was great knowing that I was doing good things for my body.

One other thing, which basically combines the two previous things I talked about, creating and whole foods. I dug up the first sweet potatoes from my garden on Sunday. It was one of the greatest feelings. I love gardening, I love growing food, and this is the first sweet potato patch I've ever done. Here are my two beauties:

These are the first two sweet potatoes fresh out of the ground, dirt still attached.

Seriously, this potato was huge, it's larger than my hand, and I don't have petite hands. It fed two of us, no problem.

My babies, all cleaned up and ready to be baked. Momma's so proud.

Deliciously baked, needing nothing to adorn it. The outside was rubbed with a bit of olive oil and salt before baking.

So friends, that's the latest. I hope you also have ways to deal with the stressful days of your life, whatever that is. Here's till next time.

Red Velvet Pancakes on a leisurely Sunday Morning....followed by crazy Mondays

Around here, I strive to make Sundays a quiet, leisurely experience, sometimes it doesn't always work out as planned, but this past weekend included the perfect Sunday. Often, any perfect day has to include perfect food, and this one was no exception. Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup was the definition of perfection. Earlier in the week, while doing things around the house while my grandson watched cartoons, I happened to catch the latest IHOP commercial, they were hawking their latest pancake, Red Velvet. This of course made me want them desperately. Knowing I couldn't go get them, we don't have an IHOP around here, and they definitely are not vegan, I tucked the thought away. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case turned out, the thought didn't want to stay tucked, so after a couple days thinking about that beautiful stack of red pancakes, I calmed myself with the thought that I would attempt to make my own on Sunday. Well, Sunday rolled around, and while I was lazily enjoying the paper and my coffee, I remembered the pancakes. After a look through the kitchen, I decided I definitely had everything to make these glorious beauties, and set to the task. The result was everything that the name Red Velvet should conjure up, fluffy, light chocolate flavor, tangy deliciousness. Any person worth their Red Velvet knows that it must, must, MUST be accompanied by cream cheese, which I luckily had half a container of Toffuti Cream Cheese left, so I mixed it up with some syrup and almond milk to make a delicious syrup. The recipe is below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I plan for it to be on my Sunday morning breakfast menu regularly.

Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs sugar
1 1/4 cups soy milk
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs red food color

1. In measuring cup or bowl, mix together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside.

2. In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and sugar.

3. To the soy milk mixture add the oil, vanilla and food color. Mix well.

4. Spray a skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat. Pour batter by ladle full or 1/4 cup measure onto griddle and cook until bubbles begin to pop. Flip over and cook an additional 2 minutes. Keep warm in oven at 200 degrees until all are cooked.

Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

4 oz. toffuti better than cream cheese
1/2-3/4 cup pure maple syrup
almond milk as needed

1. With a mixer at high blend the cream cheese until fluffy, add the syrup and mix well. Add almond milk until you get the consistency you like. It should be pourable but not too thin.

Seriously, try these. They are just so good.

Now on to Monday. This morning my grandson had an early dentist appointment so he spent the night last night. About 10 p.m. we were having a very loud thunder and lightening storm, and I heard his come running down the hall, he isn't real fond of thunder. So he had to spend the night in my room. The boy just wouldn't shut up, he talked and talked and talked. Nervousness I guess. I learned all about the grand piano he saw at the music store and thinks I should buy, the fact that he would really really love an electric guitar like his dad's, and numerous other things. Finally he fell asleep sometime around midnight. We woke early to more thunder and lots of rain, got ready and headed out to the dentist. Only to find that papa had taken the only umbrella to work with him. Well, just great. So we got a bit soggy running to the truck. Got to the dentist, No Cavities!!! hooray, that was the good news, the bad news was that the back right molar that was coming in 6 months ago has made no progress so we had to have even more (i.e. lots more money) x-rays, and finally Dr. Ben came to the conclusion that he would give it until November and if it was still impacted, it would have to be rectified (i.e. oral surgery, which of course means lots more money). The dentist bill was $140 dollars MORE than what I thought it would be, which required a trip to the bank to transfer money to checking after Dr. Ben. On arriving home, wet and really cold, we discovered a very large puddle of water on the stove top. I'm assuming it came through the stove top vent, but can't completely confirm that. We spent the rest of the day huddled inside, waiting for the day to end it's Monday blahs. Here's looking forward to a Terrific Tuesday. Hope your Monday was a good one.

Boiled Peanuts, Driving the Roads and taking a "YOU" Break...

Do you ever stop in the middle of your busy life and take a "you" break? By a "you" break, I mean something that is just for you, that gives you joy, peace etc... I know it can be difficult with all that goes on around us to take advantage of those opportunities. It's something I have been working very hard at this year. Stopping and really enjoying life and doing things that might not be for other people, it's just what makes me happy. All that brings me to this, my recent "me" break. I live in Florida, northern Florida, the panhandle area to be more precise. It's a stunningly beautiful area, lots of green areas, blue skies, farm land. I haven't always lived here, I spent the first 30 years of my life up north, Rhode Island and Maine. As a transplant I was slow to adapt some of the more interesting cultural ideas of the South. Like boiling peanuts. The first time someone offered me a boiled peanut, the only thought that went through my head was, "why would anyone boil a peanut". I didn't try it, and it took me at least a year before I would try it. Once I did however, I understood why someone would do such a thing, IT'S FREAKING DELICIOUS!!! ok, so back to my "me" break. Yesterday I needed some quiet time, some recharging time. When I want this I generally want to go for a ride, music playing, cold drink handy. I decided to drive to the other side of the county, I picked up a bag of hot boiled peanuts at my favorite roadside stand, a cold diet coke, and drove the roads. It's peaceful, other than the music which recharges my soul, and calming. Truly, a perfect treat. Here are a couple photos I took along the way.

I love seeing the road stretched out before me, beckoning me.

A bag of perfect boiled peanuts, slightly salty, hot, soft.

These little babies are nirvana.

Two great tastes that go great together. I rarely drink soda anymore (it used to be my addiction), but when I have these peanuts they just cry out for an ice cold Diet Coke. I stopped along the road to enjoy my snack.

However you choose to take time for yourself is up to you, but do it. You won't be sorry, and you may just be asking yourself why you don't do it more often. You deserve to be as good to yourself as you are to everyone else in your world. Take a little "you" break today.

Red Velvet Berry Cobbler...the perfect dessert for anytime.

Good morning! As promised, albeit a day late, here is the Red Velvet Berry Cobbler. This is adapted from Southern Living Magazine July issue. You will most definitely want to try this during fresh berry season.

Without further ado, I bring you this yummy treat.

Red Velvet Berry Cobbler

1 tbs cornstarch

1 ¼ cups sugar, divided

6 cups assorted fresh berries ( I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)

½ cup vegan margarine

½ cup vegan yogurt (plain or vanilla)

2 tbs red food color

1 tsp vanilla

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp baking soda

Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

11.  Preheat oven to 350. Stir together cornstarch and ½ cup sugar. Toss berries with cornstarch mixture and spoon into a 11x7 baking dish that’s been sprayed with nonstick spray.

22.  In a small bowl or glass measuring cup combine soy milk, vinegar and baking soda, it will bubble a bit, set aside. Beat margarine with mixer until fluffy, gradually add remaining ¾ cup sugar, beating well. Add yogurt and beat until just blended. Stir in food color and vanilla and mix until blended.

33.  Combine flour, cocoa and salt. Add flour mixture to margarine mixture in mixing bowl, adding alternately with soy milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Spoon batter over berries.

44. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake topping comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before serving

55. To serve, I layered mine in a glass in this order. A large spoon of cobbler on the bottom, a small scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, a few fresh berries, a scoop of cobbler, scoop of ice cream, and top with a few fresh berries.

I hope your Thursday is a fantastic one and you can find the joy in your day. 

I'm baaaaack....with a Slow Cooker Seitan Roast.

Hello there, after a month long break I'm back in full swing. Several things happened on the way to blogging. One is that it's summer and there's so much to do, including having friends visit from out of state, non stop gardening, grandchildren, birthday's and on and on and on. Anyway, I'm feeling refreshed and ready to buckle down again. Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been trying new food recipes, taking photos and the like. So I'll be sharing those in the next weeks. Later today I'll be posting my new favorite dessert. The original recipe was in Southern Living Magazine, I took it upon myself to veganize it, and my oh my is it delicious. A Red Velvet Berry Cobbler. Just sounds delicious right? Like I said, I'll post that one later.

This morning I decided to throw a seitan roast into the slow cooker for dinner tonight. It's really the easiest thing ever and tastes so great at the end of the day. The recipe is a combination of several I've found in vegan cookbooks plus what I used to use in my pre vegan days.

Ingredients:

1 lg vidalia onion sliced
3 lg carrots chopped into large chunks
2 lg or several small red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
2 stalks celery cut into chunks

Broth:
1 1/2 cups broth, I make mine with Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base
1/4 cup red wine, I use a burgundy
1 worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp rhyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

For the Seitan:

1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup broth, I make mine with Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base
1 tbs tamari
1 tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbs Kitchen Bouquet

1. Lightly oil slow cooker and set to high. Arrange onions, carrots, potatoes and celery on bottom of slow cooker.
2. Combine all sauce ingredients and pour over vegetables.
3. In bowl combine vital wheat gluten, onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary and oregano. In small bowl combine broth, tamari, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and kitchen bouquet. Mix broth mixture into dry ingredients and mix well. Knead until smooth. Shape seitan onto a piece of cheesecloth. Loosely fold cheesecloth over seitan and secure ends. Place seitan on top of vegetables and cover slow cooker with lid.
4. I am using a small slow cooker that cooks quite hot, I start it at high until the broth is simmering and then lower the temperature to low and cook for 4 hours. In the last 1 1/2 hours I spooned the cooking broth over the seitan to add that flavor.
5. When done, remove the seitan and vegetables from cooker. I like to make the sauce into a thicker gravy so I put the broth into a small saucepan to thicken. In a small covered container add 1/2 cup water or broth and 2 tbs flour, shake until well combined. Bring broth in saucepan to a low boil and slowly add flour mixture in, it will begin to thicken, allow to boil for 1 minute and then serve over slice seitan.

Here is a picture of the seitan and veg in the slow cooker getting ready to cook. I'll post one of the finished product later today.

Well, that's all folks for this morning's post. See you later.

Here is the finished roast, it's a smaller roast, enough for 2-3, we had it for dinner with a bit of seitan left over for sandwiches. Seriously delicious. Below the roast is a picture of the dinner rolls we had with it. I'll give the recipe in an upcoming post.

The best laid plans...

Yesterday,  I made a plan for my day. A day with no grandchildren around, filled with doing things I enjoy, like gardening, reading, relaxing etc... Of course, as often happens, the universe didn't decide to align itself with my plan. Luckily I'm one of those people who can adapt to change. It all started off quite well, I sat with my cup of coffee in quiet and solitude, and then I decided to gather the necessary equipment for canning the tomatoes I'd been given: canner-check, tomatoes-check, lemon juice-check, jars....wait where are all my quart size jars? I searched all the areas they might be hiding to no avail. I had only 1 jar left. Well darn. Okay, hmmmm, can it wait until Friday when I have another child free day? No not really, the tomatoes are pretty ripe. Well, that means a trip to the store. Now in many cases, this just involved running down the street, but not for me, the nearest stores selling what I would need are almost 30 minutes away. That requires  putting makeup on, fixing my hair, and since I was going I might as well get anything else I needed. List in hand I headed out. Walmart was first where I picked up salt, low dose aspirin and jars....oh wait, I need a birthday gift for the weekend, a quick call later to see what the recipient would like found me in the sporting goods dept looking for a knife. One Bear Grylls knife later, and I was headed to the checkout. Next up Lowe's. We are building a playhouse for our 2 year old granddaughter, and so far it has been entirely from scrap or discarded wood, we now are at the point to have to purchase the roof material and paint. After checking all the possibilities, seriously I was dragged around through every single item that could be used as the roof until I gave up and left it to my other half in search of pretty paint. That's more my department, the pretty paint part. I chose two shades of purple, and got on my way. Except in Lowe's we received a phone call asking up to pick up a pizza on our way home for the little people. Okay, one more detour and one pizza later, we headed home. By this time, my carefully planned day had been changed by about 2 1/2 hours. Arrived home, canned tomatoes, and then went to relax. What should have happened next was to get on with the rest of the things I wanted to accomplish, what actually happened is none of those things. I sat staring at television, mindlessly. I had a headache and didn't really feel like doing a darn thing, so I didn't. No gardening, no reading, no lovely adult friendly Red Beans and Rice with Vegan Chroizo dinner. I didn't cook at all. I threw together a salad. It was a wonderful salad, but still. And you know what? I don't feel bad at all about it, I don't feel bad about staring at television for hours, or not cooking, or neglecting my garden another day. Life's too short, and sometimes the universe is telling you to watch General Hospital, I recommend when that happens that you take Madame Universe up on the offer and sit down for a good dose of Sonny Corinthos and enjoy. Those moments don't last forever and then it's back to reality. Here's the delicious salad we ate for dinner last night. It's comprised of lots of baby greens (spinach, arugula, chard etc...), banana peppers, Greek olives, onions, and roasted beets, with a balsamic viniagrette.

The sound of silence...

What's that sound....ahhh yes, it's the sound of quiet, beautiful silence. No children today. I won't even know how to act around here. I swear the last two days has run me ragged. Yesterday the 2 year old and the 6 year old little darlings were anything but darling for the first half of the day. Thankfully after a mandatory afternoon nap the 6 year old woke up in a better mood, the 2 year old...well unfortunately I think that's here to stay for the foreseeable future. She's into absolutely everything, she looks adorable doing it, but darn she's a feisty little thing. In addition to my two little darlings their 11 year old stepsister is here this week so she's also been here. She really is a lovely child but while I don't know all the circumstances, I think comes from a less structured background. She craves attention constantly, which is heartbreaking and something I'm not really used to. Last night when I was getting ready to make dinner she asked, "Do you make dinner every night?", and had a bit of incredulity to her voice, I was a bit taken aback and replied, "well yes, how else would we eat? Don't you make dinner at night at your house?"......"no, sometimes we do, and sometimes we just have cereal or ramen or snacks." she then asked while I was teaching her to set the table,"so do you always eat at the table".....okay folks,  here I am about to get on my soapbox so if you don't want to hear it, please discontinue reading the blog. I cannot stress enough, and I know you've all heard it before, but I'm about to say it again, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE eat with your kids at the table as often as you possibly can. I know that in this day of working parents and overload that it can be difficult to pull together a family meal every night, but even if you are all having something different, even if it's takeout, even if it's a bowl of cereal, please set the table, shut off the television, take away the phones, and sit down with your kids (or grandkids) and have a meal together. It gives them a sense of ritual, a sense of family, an opportunity to talk and actually be listened to without other distractions. Even if they protest, I promise you they will be happy for it down the road. I learn many things from my grandson as we sit at the table having a meal. Okay, I'm now stepping off the soapbox. Thanks to those who read all the way through.

Anyway, today is adult time, back to the kids tomorrow and then they are gone for several weeks visiting the other grandparents. I'm not really sure what to do with this luxurious time I have today. I do have to can some tomatoes that were given to me, so that's on the list. I'm also looking forward to an adult dinner, although I'm not sure what that will consist of yet, I'm not used to having that option during the week. Actually having just written that, what I wanted popped in my head. Red Beans and Rice with vegan chorizo and cornbread on the side. I make mine with lots of chunky veggies in it, and the chorizo is out of this world delicious. Okay, that's decided, now what do do with the rest of the day. I need to do a bit of gardening. My vegetable garden is on it's second planting and contains several rows of butterbeans, lots of peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes and okra. My tomatoes are about over, it's just getting too hot here. So I need to see what needs to be done in the vegetables and also my flowers. I think after I do that I'll enjoy some reading time. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, here's a picture of my veg garden:

How do you deal with a picky eater?

Are you anything like me? Does it seem like life just slips away so quickly and you aren't sure where the days go? Well, that's where I'm at these days folks. I can't believe it's been another full week since I posted. I really mean to update this every day or at least several times a week, but lately it just doesn't seem to happen. I made a vow a couple years ago, and really reminded myself of it at the beginning of the year, it was to be fully present in every day. So many times I found myself trying to do so many things at once and never give anyone or thing my full attention. Especially with my grandkids I want to be there fully for them. They spend most of their awake time with me, and they deserve my attention. Last week I had them every day Mon-Fri from 8a.m. until about 8p.m., except on Friday they left about 6:30p.m., so it's been busy and crazy. I haven't had days like this since my daughter was 2 and I was a stay at home mom (I soon learned I needed to work outside the home to maintain sanity). When you can start singing the songs from Super WHY  and Sid the Science Kid, it starts getting rough. They will be going to visit their other grandparents in Georgia for 2 weeks, and while I'll miss them, I will be glad to have some adult time and catch up with friends and just relax with a book. Last night we had a battle royale here over dinner. I had made a baked pasta with Daiya cheese, a beautiful tossed salad and garlic bread. My granddaughter of course just ate, she loves everything her grammy makes, but my grandson is the pickiest kid ever, and just because he liked something last week, doesn't mean he will this week. He's 6. So it started with me preparing him before dinner by saying what we would be eating and that I wanted him to try a bite of salad, (he's firmly against salad, won't even TRY it). I told him I bought him a special salad dressing that used to be his dad's favorite when he was a kid, and all I wanted him to do was try one bite, and he had to chew and swallow it. Once we sat down to dinner, he absolutely refused. Not only did he refuse to try his salad, he proceeded to scrape all the sauce off his pasta and would eat only the garlic bread dipped in the sauce. I told him it was pasta and he loved pasta, but he said, "THIS is not pasta", ummmmmmm yes Brian it is, it's just a different kind, it was Ziti. The boy would not put one bite of it in his mouth. So I told him that was fine, it he wouldn't even try to eat his dinner, there was no dessert, that's the rule. Dessert last night was homemade vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies we made earlier in the day. By the end of dinner, he had eaten nothing and left the table, about an hour later he started with it wasn't fair because everyone else got cookies and he didn't. Well, I explained (once again), that everyone else ate dinner and he didn't. He stomped off muttering about it not being fair. Seriously, it's all just exhausting. I know kids are like this, but this is the pickiest kid I've ever come across in my life. My son was picky about vegetables, but I could hide anything in a salad and he would eat it. If this grandson of mine even sees a speck of green in something, he demands to know what it is. So after that lovely dinner, a day full of playing Uno, Wii bowling, chasing the 2 year old and such, I fell into bed at 9p.m. and slept slept slept. I'm not really sure what to do about this boy and his eating habits, especially at dinner, do I make one dinner and adapt to his eating habits, do I make what everyone else likes to eat and make him eat it (and how exactly do I MAKE him eat it?), or do I make dinner and make something separate for him? Any advice out there?

Well, they just arrived, so it's off to face another day. Let's hope it's battle free.

Monday morning catch up...

I've been a bit negligent of this blog for the last week, in my defense I've been really ill with this cold/respiratory infection/bronchitis, as well as still attempting to care for the grandkids. On Friday I spent the entire day in bed except to get up to get drinks and such. Saturday and Sunday I started feeling a bit better, and today, well my lungs still feel horrible but I'm trying to be optimistic. I found a new vegan dilemma through this, alot of over the counter medications contain animal products like gelatin. Since I'm not a huge fan of taking meds for every little thing, I hadn't realized this in the past. I spent 45 minutes in the cold medicine section at my local CVS trying to find something, a lovely pharmacist came to assist me, and considering my high blood pressure the only medication I could take, was not vegan, and actually wouldn't have helped my symptoms at all. She told me that I couldn't take anything at all that would clear up the head congestion since it would also raise BP. Then she suggested things I could do, like a Neti Pot. Have you ever tried this before? Seriously, that thing works. It worked so well I went back to get one for my son who has serious chronic sinus issues. So the Neti Pot along with my tried and true Cayenne Tea for chest congestion, and lots of juices and water, has me feeling a bit better this morning, (at least after I woke and hacked up half a lung). So now that we covered all that, let's get on to some other activities. Last week I picked blueberries at a nearby farm and so of course that meant blueberry jam, my grandson's favorite. I don't generally recommend canning with young children around, all that boiling water, boiling syrup etc...can be dangerous, but I didn't have much choice, I like to can the same day I pick for that delicious freshness. We set about canning. I'm using it also as a science lesson for my grandson, now that he's out of school for the summer I'm trying to keep his mind engaged. So I explained that in canning you have to be very precise, you have to have just the right balance of acid and alkaline and you have to carefully measure or your end product won't taste great and may spoil. Here is our end result:

14 jars of beautiful Blueberry Jam, we gave away some and stored the rest in the canning closet along with the Strawberry we made in March, we now have enough jam for the entire year. While putting it away, my grandson said, "I like that we never have to buy jam because we make it ourselves, that's better right grammy". It sure is sweetie.

On Sunday we had to can tomatoes, I had about 25 pounds that needed canning, so even though I had planned to do absolutely nothing, instead I found myself doing tomatoes. If you've never canned tomatoes, be forewarned, it's a bit of a job, well worth it, but definitely one of the most time consuming and laborious canning projects. You have to peel the tomatoes first, this is done by plunging them into boiling water, then ice water, then the skins will slip off, then you core and chop them. Since I was doing crushed tomatoes, for use in spaghetti sauce or soups, I then had to crush them in the pot while they came to a boil. Then you get to pour them into the jars, and get them into the water bath for 45 minutes. I can only fit 6 quart sized jars at a time so I had to water bath in 2 batches. Sounds like fun right? Maybe not so much, but as I said, the result is very much worth the effort. When you open a jar in January and you smell fresh tomato, it's wonderful. Here's those results:

11 quarts of crushed tomatoes. Yum.

That's the end of my canning adventures. On to some of the delicious food I've been eating.

Although I haven't been in the mood for much food, I still have to eat and feed the little people, here is one of the things we ate last week, recipe follows:

Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Daiya Cheese Sandwich

This tomato soup is seriously delicious, but here's the thing, I don't know exactly how many tomatoes it takes, I generally just pick what I have, cut the larger ones, the smaller cherry tomatoes stay whole, and I fill a large baking sheet, once it's full I know I have enough. Sorry to not be more precise.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Assorted tomatoes, enough to fill a large baking sheet
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 med onion cut in wedges
3 tbs fresh basil chopped
4 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350.
1.Cut any tomatoes larger than cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters. I use a variety of tomatoes, whatever is ready in my garden, in this batch I had alot of sun gold tomatoes and yellow pear, so the soup is lighter in color. Add the garlic cloves and onion to the baking sheet. Drizzle Olive oil over all, sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes, until everything is carmelized.
2. Add everything on the baking sheet to a food processor along with the basil. Pulse until it's the consistency you like, chunky or smooth is up to you. I make it smoother for the kids but chunky when making for just myself.
3. Add tomato mixture to a saucepan with vegetable broth and allow to come to low boil, reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes, just enough to mingle the flavors.
I always serve this with a grilled cheese made simply with whole grain bread and Daiya Cheddar Cheese. Enjoy.
I hope your day and your week is filled with joy, now I have to run to make some pumpkin muffins for the little folks.

Morning Crankies...

I woke up this morning feeling a bit sluggish and tired, as the day has progressed, it's turned into a case of the crankies. I'm not even sure exactly what I'm cranky about, I just feel off. Do you ever get that way? I think it has to do with the lack of sugar. After several starts and stops over the last few weeks, I'm finally on day 4 of a sugar detox, so maybe that's what it is. If that's the case, then from the reading I've done, by tomorrow it should pass. I just have to stay strong today and not cave in to every cell in my body screaming for sugar. As for the rest of my journey, the vegan part, it's going very well. Summer is a great time for me to have dived in, with all the beautiful produce everywhere, and the natural desire to eat lighter, it definitely makes this easier, at least for me. Have I mentioned previously that I also try to limit my intake of processed foods? I think our world has become one in which we depend on all these processed foods, and we wonder why we have become a society of obese, sick, people. The old adage, you are what you eat, really is true, at least that is my belief. On that note, I try to limit as much as possible the processed foods from not only my diet, but that of my grandkids and other half. Limiting mine is easy enough, theirs on the other hand, can be a real battle, but I continue to try. Yesterday I was really craving a sandwich for lunch, but since I don't buy any of those processed veggie meats, I didn't have anything on hand to make one, other than peanut butter, so I decided to try my first ever Chickpea Salad. I can't believe how delicious it is. Here's my finished sandwich, it's on a wheat bun, with lettuce from the garden and a bunch of banana peppers, with the last of my spicy garlic pickle spears.

And here's the recipe:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 stalk celery
1/2 med vidalia onion
1 carrot
2 tbs reduced fat vegenaise
1 tbs spicy southwest mustard
1 tbs relish (I used a homemade zucchini relish)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Place chickpeas, celery and onion in food processor and pulse until chopped and combined.
2. Place shredding blade on processor and shred carrot into chickpea mixture.
3. Add vegenaise, mustard, relish, salt and pepper and mix together.
4. Chill and devour.

It made quite a bit and I'll be eating this for lunch again today. Dinner last night was a summer squash casserole with a pile of steamed broccoli on the side. I've been eating lots of fruit to stand in for the sweets I would have been eating previously. A bowl full of watermelon, cantaloupe and blueberries is sweet in the best sense of the word. Now I just have to keep busy and keep my mind off the sugar beast and hopefully this will subside.

End of School Celebrations, Summer Storms, Pinkeye and lots more...

My day was quite hectic and full yesterday. After a breakfast that consisted of pineapple and blueberries (plus a slice of french toast for the 2 year old,  Millie and I headed into town in the morning to run a few errands. She was acting a bit out of sorts, so I should have been forewarned, but somehow was unaware of the day that was about to unfold. The first clue was at the cable company as I tried to figure out A.) why my bill was $50 higher than ever, and B.) why I couldn't seem to get a digital box sent to me for my third tv (4 calls to the company, with 4 assurances that it would get right in the mail, didn't get me one). Millie was really clingy in there and fussy, not her usual happy self. After the very lovely lady fixed all my problems, including refunding and $8.50 charge I had been overpaying for the last 9 months, ($76.50 credit? yes please), and giving me the digital adapter I needed, we headed out to WalMart. Have I mentioned I hate WalMart? Well, I do, but it's a necessary evil in my area where the options are very very few. We stopped in Subway for some lunch and as I settled in for my yummy Veggie Delite Sandwich, I noticed Millie's eye was red and a bit weepy. I called her mommy and left a message to call back so I could see if she had poked it or what was up, and we ate our lunch. Next up, WalMart Shopping. My list wasn't so long, just a few things from different departments, I promised my grandson pizza for his end of school dinner, and needed some personal items, wanted to pick up pool toys for the kids and a couple other things. Millie was really acting up, which is very unusual, she's generally good as gold in the store. By the time her mom called back, while we were looking at new potty chairs, her eye issue had increased and I knew by then it was the dreaded Pinkeye. Great. In my haste to get out of the store at that point, I stopped really concentrating on what was being put into the shopping cart. NEVER a good idea. Head to the checkout. OH MY GALOSHES!!! $284 dollars later, honestly I still don't know how that happened. Moral of this story? If impending doom seems to be happening, (i.e. cranky 2 year old, puffy, leaky, red eye, and increasing frustration and headache?) just leave the store, leave the cart, make your escape and get out while you can, because nothing good can come of it. As we left the store and headed to the truck, it started sprinkling, and Millie, wiping the raindrops off her arm, looked up at me with her one adorable eye, and one red monster eye, and said "uh, oh". "Uh oh is right sweetie pie", let's get home. Half way home, the downpour started, the lightening began and with it the soul shaking thunder. Great. I decided to get to the school and pickup my grandson and just get home. The downed tree across the road wasn't going to stop me from my mission, and we finally arrived home. An hour later, everything put away, snacks handed out, toddler eye wiped numerous times, I finally settled down to put a warm compress over her eye and realized it was now BOTH eyes. The day was getting better. She was getting naughtier, although her brother was on his best behavior, and we started making pizza. Dinner done, table ready, sit down to enjoy, Millie decides to show a new trick, take a drink, hold it in her mouth and see if she can spit it out, really far. Yep, she can. After 3 times of being told to stop, her cup was taken away. Dinner finished, kids and kitchen cleaned up, settle down to relax. Yeah....right. A demon took over that darling little toddler's body and she proceeded to go crazy. My grandson came into the back room where I was straightening up, "Grammy you better come out here, Millie's sitting on top of the table". Indeed that's where she was, sitting on top of the dining table. Take her down, tell her no, she runs to the tv, grabs the Wii sensor bar and runs off with it. Take it from her, tell her no, she opens the entertainment center door and slams it closed. All right missy, that's it for you. Timeout. It was her first ever. Here she is:

Finally, mommy came home, kids left, grammy sat in perfect silence trying to recover. What a day. On a much happier note, it was my grandson's last day of first grade, he is now officially a Second Grader. It's amazing to me how much he's grown and learned this year.
And here are some pictures of my food today, no picture of the veggie sub, I was too preoccupied with the Toddler Terror.

A beautiful bowl of fresh pineapple and blueberries. So delicious and light.

Whole wheat crust, simple marinara with basil, homemade vegan pepperoni (recipe from Vegan on the Cheap), red onion, green pepper, Daiya cheese and sprinkled with red pepper flakes. 

Let's hope today goes a whole lot easier than yesterday did. Finger crossed.....okay, toes too. 

Wonderful Wednesdays...

Ok, so realistically, there's nothing especially wonderful about Wednesday, it's kind of like the middle child, slightly forgotten, everyone know's it's there, but ehhhh nothing special. Unless of course you make it special. Part of my ongoing self renewal, self awareness, path, I try to find things to be grateful for everyday, as well as things that renew my soul. Today I have plenty of little things, nothing big, but as they say, the little things add up and make me realize what a good life I have. I had to go to the grocery store today, I do the bulk of my shopping at Publix about 50 miles away. I like them because of the great deals and the large availability of vegan items. I had little Millie this morning so off we went, halfway down one of the aisles she was trying to hop out of the cart and I told her she couldn't jump out, but asked what she wanted, she pointed to the shelf displaying tiny muffins, "Cookie" she plead. Instead of the nice relatively clean muffin, Papa gave her a sugar dusted mini donut. As many of you know, that leads to big big messes. It did put a smile on my face though as she stuffed the last half in and smiled and said, "cookie". I love a 2 year old. So darn cute. The great savings I got on many things I needed put the next smile on my face. The only part of the trip today put  a frown on my face was when I wanted an Iced Coffee, apparently there isn't one darn place that makes it with non dairy milk. WTF mates? I really wanted that. We made the trip back home and got everything put away, watched a little Barney, and then I asked her if she was sleepy, she jumped up and went to her bed, no fuss at all. Another smile on my face. I sat down to some peaceful time and a bowl full of beautiful watermelon, one of my favorite things on earth....another smile.

The beautiful bowl full of tomatoes picked from my garden sent the next smile.

I think I'll make a tomato salad to go with dinner tonight. Now I just have to figure out what's for dinner....some days that can be a problem, I would be happy with something very light, (it's in the mid 90's again), but my grandson will want something else, so I either have to make 2 separate meals, or combine the different preferences. I'll let you know how that turns out.

So, all in all, although it's only 2p.m., I have already found so many things to be grateful for, and so many things that make me smile. I'm truly blessed. Now if I could only get Dunkin Donuts to make me a fat free non dairy Iced Coffee, this truly would have been a Wildly Wonderful Wednesday.

I love a Sunday morning...

One of the things that gets me through a busy week is looking forward to Sunday morning. I don't know about you, but I long for it all week long. Waking up early, sitting with my cup of coffee and the Food Network shows, lingering over the Sunday paper. Seriously, who wouldn't love that? I walked through my garden this morning and picked a few tomatoes, some bell and banana peppers. It will probably all become a salad for lunch. This week has been a tough one and I'm looking forward to quiet. With watching my grandkids at the same time I was battling the "Killer Cold", plus trying to get numerous projects completed, I feel (and unfortunately, look), exhausted. Yesterday was Millie's 2nd birthday. Yay!!! It was an outside party, did I mention it was 99 here yesterday? I was sorely tempted to get into the kiddie pool with them, but I restrained myself. They cooked hot dogs on the grill, and had cake and other lovely junkie stuff. Myself and the hostess's sister are both veg and often find ourselves in the situation at get togethers where nobody has thought of providing food that we can consume. How do you handle a situation like that? Often I make something myself to bring along, or just don't have anything until I get home, but I was thinking about situations like this last night. My mom taught me that when you have people over you take into account their likes, dislikes, allergy etc...is that a lost teaching? I still do it, when I have people over I always keep their tastes in mind when providing food and drink, and even though I don't eat meat, and quite frankly find it really disgusting to have around, if we are having a family get together, like a cookout, we provide meat options as well as the veg options. Well, enough of that, on to some of the food I've had this week. Although I have been a bit too under the weather to blog, I still took pictures to share with you now. First up, a beautiful taco salad I had for lunch one day. The night before I had made taco's for the grandkids dinner, using Boca grounds as the base. The taco salad was made from those leftovers with lettuce and orange cherry tomatoes from my garden, red onion, black beans, salsa and a dollop of guacamole.

It was so delicious. I also squirted lime all over it.

On Friday night we had a simple dinner from the makings in the garden. The highlight was a platter of Fried Green Tomatoes. If you've never had them, quit reading right now, go find some green tomatoes and get em cooked, because you are missing out on something amazing. I picked about 4 small to medium green tomatoes, and sliced them up, sprinkled with salt and pepper and let sit for 10 minutes. Here they are:

After they've been sitting, I pat them with a paper towel slightly and then continue with the recipe:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients
4 medium green tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 inch thick, sprinkled with salt and pepper
1 cup fine white cornmeal
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 TBS Creole Seasoning, I use Tony Chachere's
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup almond or soy milk
3 tbs canola oil

1. You will need 3 shallow bowls for dreding. In first bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. In second bowl add your milk. In last bowl combine cornmeal, breadcrumbs and Creole Seasoning.

2. Dredge your tomatoes in flour, tapping off any excess, you want a very light coating. Dip in milk, shake excess and dredge in cornmeal mixture to get a nice thick coating.

3. Heat a cast iron skilled with the 3 tbs of oil. If you don't have a cast iron, use the heaviest skillet you have, it will hold the heat better and you will need less oil.

4. Cook tomatoes in skillet over medium heat about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. If you are cooking a large batch, keep them warm in oven set at 225 degrees.

Sauce

1/2 cup Veganaisse
1/4 cup relish, I use a homemade zucchini relish
1 tbs Louisianna Hot Sauce

Mix all the ingredients together, serve with the tomatoes.

And here is the finished product:

Okay, now you know how to make them, run and do it. As for me, this is how I plan on spending the rest of my Sunday, it's going to be another 99 degree day, so that means lots of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade:

Hit and Run...

I'm pretty sure there is a very large truck out there somewhere with bits of me all over it's tires. It has to be what hit me and then kept running back over me, because only that could have left me feeling as lousy as I did the last week. Fortunately, I believe I am on the mend. I can actually breathe out of my nose and mouth again, my lungs don't feel as though they are being squeezed in a vise and I'm not coughing up said lungs. Yay!!! Seriously folks, I'm not sure what kind of virus it was, but it hit every part of me and really played havoc with my asthma. But....I'm baaaaaack. My meals over the last week consisted of whatever I could easily grab, lots of fruit, cereal, etc...nothing to write home (or blog) about. What do you eat when you are feeling sick? For me I often want spicy comfort type food when it's a cold. When I was on about the second day of feeling sick I threw together some things in my slow cooker and it turned out delicious eaten over brown rice. Basically it was spicy lentils and chickpeas in a tomato broth, lots of Indian type spices. It really hit the spot when my head was very congested. Now that I'm feeling a bit better I need to tend to all the things I've neglected in the last week. Any one who's in charge of a household understands that. The other news to report is on my garden. Gosh I really love my garden. Makes you want to vomit right? Sorry I go on and on but for years I wanted a beautiful vegetable garden and now I have one and I take such joy from it. Anyway, on to the news, just before I started feeling ill I had pulled up all the potato plants and then the green bean plants, which had come to their natural end, and planted butterbeans. Well, they are up and starting to grow. We also pulled up the squash and put in sweet potato, I'm not sure if they'll grow, it may already be too hot here for them, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If you have a garden I hope you get as much happiness from it as I do. If not, I hope you find something today that makes you smile. Hope it's a great one...