Thursday, March 31, 2016

...W.I.A.Y. ....

...Today's installment of What I Ate Yesterday...

Breakfast - Vegan Sausage Muffin
...the vegan sausage is Bryanna's recipe...it's really good...and the muffin recipe is here...

Lunch - Leftover Asian Noodle Soup
...using some more fresh pea pods...really yummy...

Dinner - Vegan Reuben, Salad, Hominy
...our version of Vegan Reuben...and the Thousand Island dressing is just some vegenaise, ketchup and relish...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...one of Scout's little Easter presents was a remake of this calendar wall hanging from his room...you can see that it was one of those freebies that you get at Chinese restaurants...from last year...I thought he'd throw it away after the calendar ran out...but he said he liked it and wanted to keep it...but I thought it seemed a little bit weird to have a calendar hanging around from last year...
...so I decided to cut the calendar part off and 'remake' it into 'just' a wall hanging...
...so I cut it in two...and pulled out the strips that were the calendar part of the hanging...leaving the strings from the weaving...
...then I just tied the strings back together on the back side...and cut off the excess...
...I can see a little bit of irregularity where the new seam is...
...but Scout was really tickled with it...and hung it up over his aquarium...

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

...Tuesdays with Julia...

...I spent a really long time in the kitchen...making VEGAN FOND D'ARTICHAUTS À BLANC...and it was all just a preliminary cooking...they're not even ready to eat yet...

...all of the details are at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, March 28, 2016

...Happy Easter...

We had a beautiful Easter...hoping you did too!
~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

...Vegan All American Burger and Fries...

...so for last night's family movie night...we changed up our pizza routine a bit...and made burgers and fries...
...these veggie burgers are so good and so simple...just vital wheat gluten - 1/3 cup, TVP burger crumbles - 1/4 cup, and a Tablespoon of vegan beef flavored bouillon...easie peasie...
...just mix the dry ingredients and reconstitute the TVP with an equal amount of water...
...and then mix the wet and dry ingredients...
...I do this with my hands...it's just easier as this is a pretty stiff concoction...
...then get some olive oil hot over medium high heat...
...shape the burger mixture into patties...it'll make two good sized burgers...
...and then put those into the hot oil to fry...
...and move on to the French Fries...I've posted about how I make crispy and delicious home fries before...

...first of all...you'll need your Grandma's Veg-O-Matic...just kidding...but somehow slice your fries as evenly as possible...
...and don't forget your burgers...give those a turn when they're nicely browned on one side...
...test your hot oil...
...it's ready when it sizzles immediately when you drop in a potato...
...not sure if par-fry is a proper word...but you will partially fry the potatoes...
...and take them out before they are 'done'...
...this sets the starch...and they can wait a while in this state before the final fry up...
...keep an eye on your veggie burgers...and take them out when they are nicely browned on both sides...
...and finish par-frying all your potatoes...I usually make one medium/large potato per person...and it's usually a little bit too much...
...now you're ready for the final fry-up...
...fry until golden and crispy...perfect...
...get your veggie toppings ready...
...and assemble your burgers...making sure to include a dill pickle spear...
...SO DELICIOUS!...I wish I had one now...

...and we watched Inspector George Gently...recommended by Maureen after we finished all of Poirot...we really like it...Thanks Maureen!

...do y'all ever eat in front of the tv?...what are you watching when you do?

~Have a lovely weekend!

Friday, March 25, 2016

...Springtime = Peas and Carrots...

...dontchyajuslove how the grocery store vegetable aisles begin to change with the start of Spring...
...we found fresh organic carrots and pea pods...
...so we got some Earth Balance sizzling in a cast iron pan...this one probably older than me...and given to me by my sweet Mama...just grabbed from the cabinet and handed to me on the way out the door after a visit when I was first married...
...tossed in some thinly sliced carrots...
...and stirred that around in the EB...until slightly caramelized and almost tender...
...then...just on a whim...(or genius inspiration)...I added just about an 1/8th of a teaspoon of ground cumin...and stirred that with the carrots until it was nicely fragrant...
...poured in a cup of vegan chicken broth...
...and then tossed in the yummy fresh peas...
...and stirred those in with the carrots and broth...
...and let those steam and simmer in the broth just until crisp tender...
...and almost all of the liquid had evaporated...
...and then served with some steamed rice...and baked tofu...
...this was just about the most delicious thing I've had this spring...

...what fresh and wonderful things have you found in your grocery this spring?...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, March 24, 2016

...W.I.A.Y. ...

...as I've said before...I am often inspired by what y'all eat...and this breakfast inspiration came from Elizabeth...who blogs at the beautiful Bits of Sunshine...
...she has a breakfast of oatmeal chock full of fruits and nuts...she suggested pecans, raisins, and apple...so that's what I have in my bowl of steel cut oats...she also added sweet potato which I think is genius and I'm going to do that too next time...Thanks Elizabeth...

Breakfast: Oatmeal with apple, pecan and raisin.
...for Lunch I had this yummy flatbread and a salad...and tea of course...but although I took a photo of the bread as soon as it came out of the oven...I somehow neglected to take a photo of the actual meal...

Lunch: Vegan Green Olive flatbread and salad.
...then dinner was out at an Asian restaurant...sorry for the off colour and generally crappy phone photo...the food was good...

Dinner: Teriyaki Tofu and rice, hot jasmine tea.

...so tell me what you ate yesterday...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

...W.I.P. Wednesday...Scout's hat...

...Scout wanted a hat with a 'NO' Superman symbol on it...don't ask...I have no idea what it means...
...but I did help him put it together...we pinned the loops onto the hat...
...and stitched that in place...
...then attached the symbol...
...it was actually kinda tricky getting it perfectly centered...
...but we succeeded...and I guess it would theoretically be interchangeable with other round symbols...in case one tires of the No Superman one...HA!

...what are you working on this Wednesday?...

~Have a lovely day!