You can't have too many Good-Dees

Dee is MIA

2009-07-11T12:03:00.010-04:00

I swear I am the busiest, laid off vegan in the world. I've been MIA because a zillion reasons, obviously- or I wouldn't be the busiest laid off vegan in the world. So....where have I been? First it was a trip to my parents' in Altoona, PA for a long 4th of July weekend....see how thrilled Goods was....

That great pic of Goods was taken while we were at the Delgrosso's Fireworks - a tiny clip of the fantastic display is downloaded on my Flicker Account. The display was almost 30 minutes long and, as I said before, FANTASTIC. I recorded the whole show but I have know idea how I could download the whole thing since it's almost 500mb - so you will just have to take my word for it...or go next year to see them. BTW, the sauce they make is kick ass and now some of it is VEGAN. I think my friend "J" Delgrosso made sure I had a selection of vegan sauce to choose from - and get this....it's organic. I'll review the product once I use it- hint hint "J" I'm still waiting for my samples.

So what else has been occupying my time??? Well I'm working on & trying to pull of the biggest surprise that will occur in a couple of weeks. So, of course since it's a surprise, I can't tell you....YET....so that has helped to make me the busiest laid off vegan.

BUT I have cooked, like once....I finally broke down and bought VEGAN BRUNCH...and the first thing I made from it, well the only thing I made from it.....BEER-BATTERED TOFU. I know, not the healthiest thing in the world...but it was sooooo yummy.
It, the recipe, made a ton of batter so I also threw in some onion rings - what do you thing we were going to have a salad with the fried tofu???? Okay, we did that too, but if you are going to be bad, you might as well be really bad....

And the great news about the beer-battered tofu - IT FREEZES AND HEATS UP JUST DANDY! It' made a lot, and there was NO WAY our bodies, which are our temples, could handle eating all that fried-goodness, even over a weeks time - so I experimented with a piece in the freezer & took it out and popped it into the toaster oven and it worked!

Okay, you ask, what is else on my slate that is making me the busiest laid off vegan??? Well after the biggest surprise I'm ever going to pull off, Goods and I are taking a long weekend to google into each other eyes, and be all lovey dovey. Well maybe not so much but we are going away.

Then the next weekend that we get back we are on our city's garden tour. We will have some last minute things to do, like wash all the dead fish flies and spiderwebs off the house and pull a few weeds that snuck in while we were away. So that is also another reason why I am the busiest laid off vegan...projects, projects and more projects.

So watch for me back, after the first of August, for at least food posts....I might sneak a couple of other short posts in before that....but don't hold your breath on that.

I leave you with my most adorable kitty, who loves, loves water and has found that there is water in the pond - so she is partaking of it. Don't worry, she didn't drink that much - just enough until I got the camera to take the pics.....

Flower of the week- June 22, 2009

2009-06-22T20:05:00.007-04:00

This weeks flower of the week - I present.....LILY!Not really, Lily is far from being in the posey family
....so how about a WATER LILY....

and how about a land LILY.....

So-DEE-licious Coconut Milk

2009-06-16T09:25:00.004-04:00

I know- yet another post that isn't related to the Belmont Stake's theme dinner - but I promise, it's to rain for the next few days- I'll do it then - but till then this is my new addiction....I found this at our local grocery store, it's by TURTLE MOUNTAIN- the cost was $3.59 for a half gallon...and worth every penny. I love it on cereal, poured over fruit, or in smoothies. it has 50% of your daily requirement of B12 IN JUST ONE CUP - which equals 90 cals. Also 30 % of your required Vitamin D. Trust me - try it you'll like it!

And someone else in our family has a new addiction too....Fluffy (real name Saphire, but come on, she is really Fluffy) I was having some popcorn with nooch on it and for some reason I thought about mixing some nooch and water for Lily (humm, think it was the cocktails that were thinking for me). Well, Lily started to lick it up, then was chased away by Fluffy to finish up the treat...Look at the fluffy addict-

They didn't barf it up, and Fluffy had the treat a second time a couple of days later, so I'm assuming all is good giving kitties nooch. If you know differently, please let Fluffy know, there is no way I'm breaking that news to her!

Till next time!

Flower of the week- June 15th, 2009

2009-06-15T08:31:00.007-04:00

And it's a mystery flower..... I don't remember where the ID tag is to tell you the name of it, but I love this plant. The leafage is pretty all season, and the flower reminds me of Queen Anne's Lace - here is a closer looksee....

...and a bonus to this plant, it has given be 2 volunteers that I have planted else where in our gardens.

For kicks and giggles, I'm throwing in a bonus photo of a yellow finch that was getting ready to take a bath in our stream.

Ain't it tweet????? Have a great Monday!

Grilled Cabbage

2009-06-10T11:20:00.003-04:00

I really do have a Belmont Stakes post as promised....I just have to have some time to compose it...you know, laid off people DON'T HAVE TIME! Geez, how did I ever work and have a clean house????

Well until I get to that post, here is a very yummy grilled cabbage post. My mom is notorious for sending envelopes with clippings of recipes, coupons and household tidbits. Uhmmmm, confession, I usually throw them away - one, most of the recipes have 3 or 4 non vegan ingredients in them and I'm just not interested in veganizing them....but this one - caught my eye. Sorry, I have no source of the recipe, except for it was clipped from somewhere by my Mom. But here it is....

Grilled Cabbage

1 medium head cabbage (about 1.5 lbs)
1/3 c butter, softened
¼ c chopped onion
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp pepper

1. Cut cabbage into eight wedges; place on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 24” x 12”). Spread cut sides with butter. Sprinkle with onion, garlic salt and pepper.
2. Fold foil around cabbage and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

I followed the above recipe loosely –
1. I used just standard foil, since I was out of heavy duty, and it worked just fine.
2. I sliced the onion, and put it between the wedges.
3. I didn’t measure the butter, I just slapped it on the cabbage from the tub (I use Earth Balance, a non-dairy butter)
4. I used garlic POWDER liberally- I don’t normally add salt to my food, and we love garlic, so for us, more the better.
5. I added some other spices, like dried parsley and paprika, but I’m wild like that.
6. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will put whole cloves of garlic, or slices in the mix.
Other then that, I followed the recipe to the “T”

BEFORE PHOTO......
AFTER PHOTO.....

This was soooo good, so buttery and sweet. (I love organic cabbage, I think it has such a nice milder flavor then the chemical injected stuff too)

Can't wait to make it for people that don't like cabbage - this will win them over! I actually had to send back a copy of the recipe to my Mom so she can make it.

5 out of 5 forkers for this one!!

And no horsing around, I will really get to the Belmont Stakes post- what a hoot it was!

Flower of the week - June 8th, 2009

2009-06-08T10:46:00.006-04:00

Well technically, it's not a flower, but it's a beautiful bush- Rainbow Leucothoe- shade loving evergreen.A closer look of the striking new growth of pink, creamy yellow and coppery tones, stand out against the mottled green and whiter mature leaves. Produces white dropping flowers.

Enjoy your MONDAY!

Simple, Boring and Dee-lious

2009-06-04T10:32:00.013-04:00

I haven't been blogging- maybe because I haven't been really cooking anything exciting - BUT THAT WILL CHANGE THIS WEEKEND. We are having a themed event Saturday and of course I will share all the deets next week - but until then- here is the most exciting thing I cooked last weekend...Sad, but yummy.
At the top, you have- okay, we had....stuffed red pepper. To the left WE had, grill potato(es), and then grilled yellow squash. Goods had marinated grilled mushrooms too, but I wouldn't let them touch MY plate.

So the dinner all started with some surprise bargains at Kroger. I bought Goods some baby portabella mushrooms that were marked half off - $ 1.39 / 8 oz. Then a couple of weeks ago I ran into this bargain!!

Half price baby! I bought 2 and stuck them into the freezer.

So I made some stuffed peppers using the above faux meat. I mixed in some chopped onion and green pepper, and stuffed the mixture into halves of red pepper. I also stuffed a non-so-baby portabella mushroom that I found in the package, for Goods of course.....

I still had some "meat" stuffing leftover so I baked that separately in it's on tiny baking dish. Look how cutesy it is.....

I actually just came across that little munchkin dish when I was sorting through items to put out in my yard sale - to say the least, that little munchkin dish was staying with me!

Then the potatoes were simple....I halved them, and gasp, I cooked them in the microwave. Note: THIS IS NOT THE NORM FOR ME! I can't stand the microwave, but we were having waterline clogging issues with the washer and, well, priorities, thus we were poisoned with the mircrowaves. After the waves were done blasting the potatoes, I doused the potatoes with olive oil, and tons of spices - garlic powder, rosemary, onion powder, parsley, paprika....who knows what else.

Then an action photo of Goods cooking....

Everything, except the peppers and the munchkin dish (oven baked), were thrown on the grill for cooking....here you can see the mushrooms (gag)

I don't remember what I did to the squash...but everyone knows how to do grilled squash.

See, boring.... nothing special, but it was yummy.

Next food post, I promise, will be much more exciting!

Have a great weekend!

Flower of the Week - June 1,2009

2009-06-01T09:32:00.001-04:00

They are popping up all over - Monster Poppies!

Recycling Food

2009-05-30T07:44:00.013-04:00

Since I've been laid off, I've been more conscious of not wasting food...I know, I should have been doing that all along- hey, better late then never.

Here we have a photo of nothing being recycled- At the top of the plate we have fresh asparagus, from the garden, just sauteed in a little olive oil with red pepper-oh and of course garlic. The bottom left I made meatloaf - this recipe is from Vegan Vittles- Better Burger recipe on page 106. I kick it up a notch and add some finely chopped walnuts, chopped onion and peppers - form it into a loaf and bake- it's lovely every time. The potatoes are Vegan Yum Yum's Potato Salad with Herbed Dijon Vinaigrette and were they ever yum yum. I didn't have the fresh parsley so my garden grown, but dehydrated parsley had to do.

So now onto the recycling the food....
What I do with the leftover meatloaf....no pic, sorry, but I crumble it up and use it in spaghetti sauce. When we had it this time I used jarred sauce - Muir Glenn. I found a pack of three jars for like $5 at Costco, so I buy that all the time. This time I doctored it up with some roasted red pepper and sauteed onion and loads of garlic...you know to keep the vampires away.

I've been trying to use stuff up in our pantry that I've bought in the past on the fly, because they looked interesting- here is one of them...

OH- what can I do with that? I have you in suspense huh? Well I made this mess-What kind of mess is that you ask?? Well it's a recycled mess! The stuffing is Vegan Yum Yum's mustardy potatoes, fried up with leftover veggies from the fridge - broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions. Topped that with the Bengal Lentil's....here's a nutter photo minus the white goop that is on it in the above photo.....

What is the white goop you ask??? Well it is a previous batch of botched up Buffalo Mostarella Cheese from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook - my batch ultimately failed, it didn't solidify...it was more of a sauce- definitely yummy though....so we've been as a sauce as we desired- Freezes great- so no waste!

And they wrap you ask???? It's not what I tried to make before that failed....It's just simple garbanzo bean wrap recipe.....

1 cup of garbanzo bean flour

1 cup of water

your seasonings of choice- like I used
italian seasoning
garlic powder
garlic onion
ground pepper

Mix all together and let set for a half hour. To cook, lightly - and I mean lightly, spray a frying pan with oil (I found if you use too much the "pancake" will stick). Pour some batter into hot pan, flip with lightly brown...cook the other side (dahhhh). This is where it gets tricky - now flip the pan and make the "pancake" flip into the air and catch it on a plate...this is a crucial element in the recipe, the extra air gives it some extra fluffiness. I'm guessing people, that you figured out that I'm also giving you extra B.S. too, that last bit of instruction is totally optional- cool, but optional.

Now you ask....(you ask a lot of questions) "Do the wraps stay together when you pick it up to eat that mess????" Well technically, no, they fall apart after a couple of bites- but they look cool for the photo, and most importantly the whole concoction taste good together - SO USE YOUR FORKS PEOPLE!

All food was rated 5 out of 5 forks

Okay- enough questions from you'all today....I'm out.

Is it Rhu-berry or Blue-barb Crisp???

2009-05-27T10:19:00.011-04:00

Rhubarb crisp, fresh from the garden....well it doesn't look like much but it is soooo tasty. The really really (I mean really) crunchy topping is a recipe from my Grandma M. - the topping belongs with her apple crisp recipe but I thought I would borrow it for this concoction- and am I glad I did.
I got my rhubarb from here....our garden.
As you can see, HENRY had to get into the picture. Henry got demoted to the garden when he failed to keep the gray heron monster bird, away from our fish in our pond....So now our yard looks like Mission Impossible - JUST TRY MY FEATHER FRIEND TO SNACK ON OUR FISH! (BTW all our fishies are safe & accounted for!)

...oh, back to the recipe at hand.

What you need for topping:

1 c. white sugar

1 c. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

dash salt

1 egg replacer - prepared (Ener-G)

mix all the above together with fork~the mixture will be somewhat crumbly, but not all of it.

The Filling:

3 c. chopped rhubarb

1 c. blueberries

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1 Tbs. flour

Mix all the filling ingredients together and put into greased baking dish.

Looks something like this:

The disperse evenly, the topping, on top of the filling mixture. Try and cover all of it. In preheated 350 degree oven, bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 mins.

TAAHHH-DAHHH- it will look like this.

and out of the bowl....on top ice cream to boot!

It was totally delicious with homemade vegan vanilla ice cream....but it is delicious without it too.

......more to come in the near future...but for now - toodles.

Flower of the Week - May 25th, 2009

2009-05-27T07:25:00.009-04:00

I know, I'm a day late and a dollar short - heehee, because I'm laid off- oh, and really I'm 2 days late because, one Monday was a holiday then Tuesday, well, I was busy being laid off- okay, I had a couple of interviews...possibly more on that later (but I doubt it, real life isn't as fun as blogging!!), and later today- food porn post....but for now - flower porn....

We have tons of Columbine in our yard - reseeds like a maniac, but that is okay, they are so beautiful, and delicate like me......

Really I promise, a food post later on today which includes stuff I picked from our veggie garden!

Flower of the week, May 18th, 2009

2009-05-18T14:54:00.008-04:00

Love love love this plant.....Variegated Solomon's Seal....lookie how purrtteee....

I have it in a pretty shaded area...and it has spread nicely through the years.

I haven't posted in a while....I got laid off last Tuesday and I SOLOMONY swear, I've been busier then when I went to work 8-5 everyday. Goods said that I'm enjoying this lay off way too much :-) That I am. So I'll be doing special "Vegan on a Budget" post through my period of unemployment.....but for now- I must go ~~play~~ work in the yard.

Vegan Chicken Cacciatore

2009-05-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

I know- shocking, no fancy or smart ass title for this entry. Just a plain & simple for a not so plain & but simply delicious meal.

I've never had Chicken Cacciatore, vegan or un-vegan before. Not sure how I even came up with the idea of veganizing this dish- but I did know that I had to use this package of seitan before too long. Oops, I took the photo AFTER I cut it open.

Never had this stuff before - but it was very yummy, not to mention convenient!

So the recipe I was guided by to create the vegan version was from the foodnetwork.com site. It is right HERE. Now you will find my recipe, conveniently right below:

Ingredients:
1 package of seitan
1 c. soy milk
2 Tbs. flax meal
3/4 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. (heaping) garlic
1 tsp. (heaping) parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper.
veggie oil (which on is up to you)
15 ish oz. can diced tomatoes
4 roasted red peppers-chopped (I used jarred)
1/3 c. sliced onion
1/4 c. green pepper chopped

1 Tbs. dried basil

6-8 cloves of garlic- sliced

red pepper flakes
1 c. white wine
thinly sliced lemon (I used only 3 whole slices)

First, combine soymilk and flax meal in small bowl and let sit for 5ish minutes.
Then combine flour, garlic, parsley, onion powder, paprika and pepper. (I don't use much salt, so that is your call if you want to add it)
Slice the seitan to thin - semi-bite size pieces.
Picture time.....

In a cast iron skillet heat some veggie oil up. Once it's hot fix the seitan.
Dip the seitan in the milk, then dredge it in flour. Then fry it in the skillet until crispy, then let drain on paper towel until ready to use. Repeat process until you are done.

Saucy time next-
In a pan w/ a touch of oil, cook onions & green peppers until tender. Then add the diced tomatoes (I drained off some of the juiciness), garlic slices, roasted red peppers, basil, pepper flakes and lemon slices. Let simmer for 20 minutes or so

Lookin' like this at this point....

A closer shot....

After the simmering - add the wine. The original recipe calls for fresh basil to be added- I didn't have any. That's a lie, I have some, but my basil plants are 6 inches tall, still in the little containers just waiting to be planted- but next time I will use fresh basil.

After mixing the wine in, I scooped out 1 cup of the mixture, put it in my emulsion blender cup and puree it...JUST 1 CUP OF IT. Then I put the emulsified part back into the pan and mixed it in. I also picked the lemon rinds, that all that was left of the lemon.

Now, I did not mix the fried seitan into the sauce - I didn't want the leftovers to be all soggy and gooey, so we just assembled the concoction on our plates

Goods had his on regular noodles.....and mine served on a bed of my favorite gluten free soy noodles.... This was totally awesome- Now, again I can't compare it to another cacciatore but I loved the mix of peppers, tomato and a hint of lemon. I really think fresh basil would add to it....so a message to my basil plants "grow babies grow"...but as we were eating, I did like the fact the the sauce was soaking into the coating on the seitan, so I might change things up a bit with adding some of the seitan into the sauce ahead of time.

Can I give it 6 out of 5 forks????

Flower of the Week- May 11th

2009-05-11T10:05:00.007-04:00

Our yard is smelly because we have tons of lilacs blooming now. Three different colors....only 2 featured here, the dark purple lilac, my favorite, isn't completely open yet....but here are 2 that are.

Our house is smelly to, I have a vase of them in the house, just waiting for Fluffy cat to chew on.

Talking about cats....here is a photo I took of the Catbird waiting patiently for the Oriole to be finished snacking....

The Catbird is one my my favorite birds. Last year we had a Catbird couple stay around all season, and it looks as long as I keep bribing them with grape jelly and oranges, they are going to stick around this year too.

Happy Mommy's Day

2009-05-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

And for my Mommy I made this dragon fly in ceramic class. Can't tell from the photo my the wings are Mother-of-Pearly...I just realized the Mother-of-Pearl and Mother's Day--HA, how appropriate is that???

Then since she LOVES oatmeal cookies, and she doesn't bake them for herself- I sent her a batch of Vegan ones...which she could care less that they are vegan.

I know everyone has made oatmeal cookies before, but I'll still post the recipe just in case some alien just landed on earth, and has never made them.

Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from the Quaker Oatmeal lid

1/2 cup of soften Earth Balance "butter"

1/2 cup of Spectrum Veg. Shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar( I use dark brown)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Eggs Replacer Mixture

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Oats old fashioned, uncooked

1 cup raisins- presoaked in water

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat "butter" and sugars until creamy. Add egg replacer mixture and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down, with a fork. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down with a fork, to flatten. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.ABOUT 4 DOZEN

Happy Mommy's Day Y'all!

I'm sure even if you are not a Mother, you have

guided and enriched lives of young ones.

Muster-Dee Tempeh

2009-05-08T16:43:00.002-04:00

I've been in such a cooking rut. I'm getting to believe that Goods is a picky eater- as he puts it "I'll eat pretty much anything", which he will, but I also want him to enjoy what he is eating.

The other night I was in the mood for tempeh, thank goodness that isn't on his list of "texture foods" that "bother him"- So perusing some cookbooks I saw a recipe for "honey mustard crispy tempeh" (from the Bold Vegetarian, I think)- Since I don't do honey, I winged my own recipe borrowing a few of his listed ingredients. So with no further a do...here is what I did.....

Cut on package of tempeh in 5 pieces, then sliced each of those pieces in half (thickness wise) then I cut that piece in half (length wise) - wow, lets just show you a photo to clarify that mumbo jumbo I just wrote!
Then I put them on a plate and sprayed them with a touch of veggie oil. Sprinkled them with some powdered mustard, garlic powder, pepper, and onion powder. Did it to both sides. Then I fried them in a garlic olive oil blend that I still had in fridge, but you can use any kind of oil. Here it is frying...

After they browned (5 mins each side)- I put them on a paper towel lined plate then transferred to a serving dish. Wipe out the pan to make the sauce.

Then for the mustard sauce:

1 Tbs Veggie Soup Powder
1.5 Tbs. Yellow Mustard Powder

1 C. White Wine

2 Tabs. Maple Syrup

1-2 Tbs. Arrowroot Powder

Combine the first 2 powders and add a little water to make a paste. Pour the wine into the pan, and bring to boil. Add the paste, stir and simmer. Then add the arrowroot, enough to make it into a thicker sauce (you can add some of the hot liquid into the arrowroot before you add it into the pan to make sure it doesn't get lumpy.) Once you get it to the thickness you desire, remove from heat and add the maple syrup. Pour over tempeh. Lookie how pretty.....

I served with baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli. Was a very good combo, and aren't the colors pretty together???

Verdict:

Sauce - LOVED, maybe next time a little more maple syrup? Not necessary, but a thought.

Tempeh - The sauce differently complimented the tempeh. This tempeh, for some reason was strong, next time I will pre-boil the tempeh before preparing it. Also, I think some marination of the tempeh would be good. Maybe in the wine/mustard sauce mixture before it gets fried. I'll let you know when I figure it out. I must say the leftovers are awesome since the sauce covered the tempeh for a couple of days.

I'm giving this 4 out of 5 forks,
just because the tempeh was a tad strong, everything else was great.

The Birdies Returned & Brought Cookies....

2009-05-05T05:55:00.002-04:00

Finally I have been assured, by the birds, that Spring is definitely here. THE ORIOLES RETURNED SATURDAY MORNING! See......

We were all set for them:

Organic Oranges - CHECK

Grape Jelly - CHECK

Camera - CHECK

Then the BLUE JAYS migrate thru....

The above photo only shows a few of the birds....at times we've had 50-100 birds at one time. Well it helps that we bribe them with peanuts.

So now you are wondering which birds brought the cookies. I must confess, they didn't....but I did make some Peanut Butter Chunky Cookies per Goods request.

Sorry for such a poopie picture - I was on the fly when I took it, no amount of PhotoShop could help it either.....but the recipe isn't poopie - totally yummy. It comes from the Jiff Website, I'm reposting it with my changes.

Ingredients-
3/4 cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening (Spectrum)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs rice milk
1 Tbs vanilla
1 egg replacer
1 3/4 c unbleached flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4-1 c. coarsely chopped unsalted
blanched roasted peanuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Combine peanut butter, Shortening, light brown sugar, rice milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Add prepared egg replacer. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda.
Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Stir in chopped peanuts.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake at 375ºF for 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.
Makes 3 dozen cookie

Just a note - THESE ARE GREAT COOKIES!
Definitely 5 out of 5 forks.

Flower of the week - May 5th, 2009

2009-05-04T11:34:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm bringing back "Flower of the Week" - I ditched buying fresh flowers for the house in the winter time, when the economy took a spiral. But now that it is spring, and things are sprung, I'm going to use Mondays to feature flowers or plants that we have growing in our yard.

The first plant I'm featuring is one of my all time favorites......

The plant name is: Epimedium x Youngianum - or commonly known as "Fairy Wings" - and here is a closer look to see whyI not only love the flowers (that bloom for 3-4 weeks) but the leaves are a beautiful heart shaped so it adds dimension in our garden for all of the growing season. It's a part sun to light shade plant. Highly recommend this plant if you are in the 5-8 planting zone (some varieties are 4-8 zone)

~Signs of Spring~

2009-04-22T18:00:00.000-04:00

Seeeee.....a sign of SPRING!
No, the above photo isn't from Fall, we actually still have 2 pumpkins left from Halloween, as Lily poses with the 7 month old pumpkins.

Here's a real sign of Spring.....

And another, the Green Heron's are nesting....

Thank goodness they pick the Detroit Zoo to nest at, not our neighborhood....they've visited our yard before, eyeing up our fish in our pond- don't they realize they are my PETS??? Here's a closer look at the beasts....

And yet another sign of Spring- Goods doing Spring clean-up in the pond....and yes the water was FREEZING.

Then Goods got to rest on our new double chaise lounge at the tiki hut patio.

Goods, if you are reading this, make a note to take off the canvas cover off the roof.

And it was a beautiful Saturday, weather wise, so we immediately think of PICNIC FOOD!

Planned menu of:

Fake Chicken Patty Sandwich

Baked Beans

Corn on the Cob

It was a long day of yardwork so I went and checked the freezer- shoot, no Boca Chicken Patties, so I did have to make my own after all. Well, they really weren't my own, I borrowed the recipe from Vegan Dad- I used his Chicken Wing recipe and made my own patties...lookie...

I baked them in the oven as you do the wings, then Goods threw them on the grill for a bit. They were excellent. I think next time I will just dip them once in the breading instead of twice, that you do for the wings-they were a tad bready, and really crunchy...but I liked that! When I was forming the patties, one of them thought about falling apart, but I just pinched it back together. Here is my plate, I'm bunless...

My condiments are on the side, one of which is Bubbie's Pickles - they are the bomb! The corn was from Kroger's and it was great- very sweet and tender- soaked in their husk and done on the grill. I have bought it a few times lately, and it's been great every time.

The baked beans, well they cooked all afternoon in the crockpot - I can't tell you my secret recipe, well one, because I don't want to, and the other reason is because I wing it each time I make them.

Since I was talking about beans....I made a Gluten Free Chocolate Cake - out of Black Eye Peas....Are peas considered a beans??? Well close enough...

I've been trying to cut out as much gluten in my diet as possible and I've been testing some "different" recipes and this was one of them- It was like Puddin' cake. It should have been called "Protein Packed Puddin' Cake". The recipe was from Bittersweet Blog - link for recipe ***here*** (and she has much prettier photos of the cake too). Next time I'm going to bake it in a 8" x 8" pan and see how that turns out...just because the cake was so thick. The cake wasn't too sweet, which I prefer....you know, because I'm sweet enough.

And just for fun....a photo of a new addition to the Detroit Zoo-

He was saying to me - "Hey were is my piece of Protein Packed Puddin' Cake" - yes, I think he was.

All food rated 5 out of 5 forks.

Spicey Cakey

2009-04-16T12:49:00.001-04:00

Sorry about the poopy pick, but at least I smoothed out the fork prints before I took the photo.....

This cake reminds me when I was little and my parents would treat us with this awesome spice cake bar from a local grocery store - I thought that was the bomb but....this is the best spice cake! Really, it's so moist- I've made it numerous times - but to warn you...the icing recipe needs to be halved. I do usually make the full recipe and freeze the unused portion....but if you use the whole amount, the recipe would be called cream cheese icing with a hint of spicy cake.

Directly off of Cookie Madness website: (with my notes in brown)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp vinegar
5 Tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
1/2 c raisins

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
5 tablespoons margarine,
softened8 ounces vegan cream cheese softened
1/8 teaspoon butter extract - didn't use
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (except for raisins). Make 3 wells, add vanilla to one, vinegar to one and oil to one…pour the warm water over all and add raisins, stir only until combined…don’t over mix. (sorry but I didn't make the 3 wells, I just dump the stuff in all at once) Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Let cool completely, then prepare frosting.
In a mixing bowl, beat together margarine and vegan cream cheese. Beat in butter extract and vanilla. Stir in sugar. Beat until fluffy. Spread over cooled cake.

EAT & ENJOY! Definitely 5 out of 5 forks!

Quick-A-Dee-Quick

2009-04-09T12:36:00.007-04:00

It was like a eating at fast food restaurant (gag) last night. We whipped up this meal in no time (excluding the sweet potato that was baked in the oven)

Along with the Sweet Potato we had~

**Vegan Dad's Maple BBQ Tofu**

**Dijon-Dill Brussel Sprouts**

The Maple BBQ Tofu~ Awesome. Recipe here - directing you to his site. My changes: I only had garlic chili sauce, so that is what we used. Used the brown sugar (dark) as he suggested. Also added some chopped green onion with the tofu as it was cooking.

The Brussel Sprouts~ I was skeptical - DILL & BRUSSEL SPOUTS?? Well the reviews were good from the Allrecipe website so I went for it, and I'm I glad I did!! Outstanding! Here's a closer look.....

The original recipe is here, but I made enough changes that I think I'm allowed to share it with you.

Dee's Nutty Dilly Dijon Brussel Sprouts

What you need:
Brussel Sprouts - 1 pkg
6-8 Cloves of Garlic (keep nice size pieces)
Vegan Butter
1/2 c TOASTED Walnut pieces

3 Tbs. Melted Vegan Butter
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 - 1 tsp. Dried Dill Weed
Pepper to taste

Brussel Sprouts cleaned and halved. I'm sorry I don't have an amount, at my store they sell them in prepackage containers - like they do mushrooms. Steam Brussel Spouts (w/ garlic gloves) until desired tenderness. Drain water off. Add approx 1 Tbs. of vegan butter, and brown those puppies up. After browned, put into serving dish. Now, melt 3 Tbs. vegan butter to pour on the brussel sprouts, and toss with the mustard, lemon juice, dill weed, pepper and toasted walnuts. Now now you are ready for your tastebuds to explode!

Quick, Easy and Delish! (oh and GOODS HELPED!!!)

This dinner was definitely 5 out of 5 forks
(I'm brining back my old ranking system)

This Stuff is the Dee-Shizzzz...

2009-04-09T12:28:00.004-04:00

Rich and creamy and delish!
But is it really VEGAN with "Live Cultures" in it???
Kind of creeped me out as I ate it.

Twilight- Dinner & a Movie....

2009-04-04T04:04:00.009-04:00

With the release of the TWILIGHT movie on DVD, I thought it was time we had another "theme night" dinner - So Dinner & THE movie it was. So, what do you serve at a vampire inspired dinner?????

Well of course you start out with Bloody Marys....

In the Bloodies I had celery spear, but also homemade pickled green bean, carrot strip and asparagus. Goods' SIL gave us the asparagus, and I made the others (always on hand in case we have a Bloody Mary). Recipe to follow at end of post for the pickling of the veggies, but here is a photo of the almost empty jar....

For pre-dinner food- homemade red pepper hummus served with organic veggies....hummus recipe from "Vive le Vegan"

Then the dinner menu was:

*Black Pepper Stake Tips
*Mushroom Raviolis w/ Garlic Bechemel/White Sauce
*and Chickpea flat bread w/ another attempt of a Garlic Spread.

We found these, on our shopping trip to Whole Foods...

They were totally awesome....you would swear you were eating "the real thing" which kind of freaked me out. The sauce was great...a little tiny bit sweet side, but oniony and peppery.

I took one of many the chickpea flatbreads I made previously here, out of the freezer. This time I made a NEW garlic spread...to keep the vampires away of course..

The spread is suppose to be a lot fluffier (compared to what we get at a local Mediterranean restaurant). I think if I had THIS, I could get the consistency I am looking for. I'll be working on this recipe, so no post yet.

I really want a Vita-Mix, but for those who don't know, the economy isn't the best, especially in MICHIGAN, where I am...but I really NEED one of these...foofoo cocktail season is coming up too. I guess it's always good to have dreams.....

On to the "mushroom" ravioli. If you have read the TWLIGHT Book, or have seen the movie, you know that Bella ordered mushroom ravioli when she and Edward were at a restaurant. So that is why it was on our Dinner & a Movie Menu. I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, so I put minimal amount it the stuffing mixture.

So for the ravioli stuffing I mixed:

sauteed chopped portabella mushrooms

sauteed shallots
sauteed minced garlic
cooked chopped spinach (fresh)
mooshed up extra firm silken tofu
vegan Parmesan cheese
vegan mozzarella cheese shredded
dried italian seasoning

I don't have amounts because I winged it. We then (Goods helped) put a scoop of the stuffing on a wonton wrapper, wet the outside edge of the wrapper with water and placed another wrapper on top. Pressed and sealed. (also did some trimming)

After completion, we boiled them in water for maybe 5 minutes- until they floated to the top. The batch looked like this....
Served with a Garlicky Bechamel Sauce:

Sauce Recipe:
4 cloves chopped garlic

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup vegan milk
salt & pepper

Saute the garlic & butter in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in "milk". Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

And the final product..... The verdict...Loved them, except for the fact the wrappers had EGG IN THEM. I can't believe I didn't check the package before I bought them....that is so unlike me. I did eat two of them, guilt ridden with every bite, but the deed was done. I will definitely make them again with VEGAN wrappers, once I find them....they are out there I've heard. Goods really liked them too, he had them again as leftovers with spaghetti sauce, which he preferred. Now don't think they are like REAL raviolis, the wrapper makes the raviolis really light, unlike the noodle dough. Oh, and they don't store well- leftovers was like on big blog of ravioli.

The movie was enjoyed by both of us. Of course the book was better but I will be looking forward to the next movie.

And now for the Pickled Green Bean Recipe- amounts depend on how many you do, I don't actually do the canning process on them, they are just put in the refrigerator until ready.

The juice:
Boil together a mixture of

1/2 water & 1/2 vinegar

In jar put:

whole cloves of garlic

1-2 tsp kosher salt. (2 tsp for qrt size jar)

Cleaned whole green beans
Carrot spears

Pour "the juice" in jar to cover veggies.

Add a sprig or two of the whole dill (big flower part)

Refridge for at least a couple of weeks until pickled.

Black Lotus Brewing Co.

2009-03-31T13:51:00.008-04:00

Last Friday Goods and I were off to Whole Foods....it's a little jaunt away, so we don't get to go very often, but afterwards we thought we would try an new place for some grub. Black Lotus Brewing Co. in Clawson, MI.....
Of course I previewed the menu on line like any good little vegan would do. They had loads of vegan options....but ended up not having any VODKA, so I ended up with a beer with a hint of apricot in it. Not bad for beer. They had free popcorn too! I love popcorn so I scooped some up......

It was a pretty place....had setting outside too. Here is a pic of Goods trying to contain his excitement....

Goods had un-vegan food, but I had pizza, with tempeh, pineapple and toffuti cheese. I asked for extra sauce on it, but it didn't happen.

It was good, but nothing exciting. Here's another pic of the place in the other direction - they have a stage for entertainment...Good's wouldn't let me go up and dance, he can be a stick in the mud at times........

I doubt that we will go back, one because it's a jaunt away, and two, they don't have vodka....but it was nice to go to a place that I had loads of options!

Dee's a Little Squirrely....

2009-03-30T07:06:00.002-04:00

I love squirrels, I'm just nuts over them. They are just so cute and fuzzy, not to mention- so trainable. I really should have a squirrel circus, but that would be so un-vegan of me.

They come to our kitchen door looking for nuts...His name is John. And if you can guess why, then I'll send you and autograph picture of John

This is an OLD photo, this is Big Mamma....I wasn't expecting her to jump on me, but I acted all cool about it.

Guess I wasn't going fast enough for her, she had to try and speed things along....

They have ME eating right out of their hands, or would that be paws???

So you get the gist, that I love squirrels. So now you can you can just imagine my excitement when I found this T-shirt, for Goods, at a local Marshall's....

(thank you Goods for modeling)

Fluffy, was not amused, she thought she should be the one on her Daddy's chest instead of that squirrel.

THE END