Monday, January 31, 2011

Church Building Update...and Dedication...

...I just realized that I had never shown you any completed pictures of the new Church addition...

...this is the Fellowship Hall looking East...

...looking West - and the entry...

...and looking South...pretty eh?...

...one of the new classrooms...they're nice and roomy and we've ordered white boards and bulletin boards for each classroom as well...

...the Education Wing hallway...

...the new Cloak Room...

...the Dedication of the new addition...

...everyone enjoying a meal and fellowship in the new building...

...I'm working on a post for the Vegan Version for the dessert that I took to the covered dish supper for the dedication...it's the Charlotte Malakoff...very involved and expensive...

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sunday Sunrise...


...we get such pretty sunrises this time of year...

...I love how the swingset is trapped in the snow...

..and that drift to the right is now taller than my head...there's a path cut through it to the Sacristy door...I'll have to get a picture of that wall of snow...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Vegan Sweet and Sour Cabbage Rolls


...We went to a party back before Christmas and the hostess made a Vegan Cabbage Roll as a main course for me and (I guess) a side dish for everyone else...

...they were delicious and I asked for the recipe...at Church the next Sunday she brought me a scanned copy of a page from one of her cookbooks...so I didn't think that I'd be able to post it here...but a quick search and I found it online at Better Homes and Gardens...isn't the Internet wonderful...


...start by taking off the outer leaves of the cabbage...

...cook the leaves for a few minutes...

...make some brown rice...

...trim your stems...

...chop up some carrots, celery and onions...

...I'm still loving my handy-dandy Pampered Chef chopper...it really does make quick work of chopping...

...mince some garlic...

...add some lemon juice to some marinara sauce (which I didn't have so I whipped some up with some tomato sauce and spices really quickly)...

...add some raisins...

...add a can of drained kidney beans, the chopped veg, and some of the marinara sauce to the brown rice...

...put a spoonful on your cabbage leaves...

...and roll them up tucking in the sides...

...I know the recipe calls for shredded cabbage in a crockpot, but I wanted just the rolls ready in about an hour...so I deviated from the recipe at this point...

...and placed my cabbage rolls on a bed of sauce and spooned some sauce over the top...

...and popped that in the oven...

...then just a little over an hour later...

...supper was served...some mashed potatoes and green beans on the side...sorry for the horrible light - it's so hard to photograph food at night...

...the cabbage rolls were delicious - I think I liked them even better this way - they were a little bit drier and the sauce was a little bit tangier (from being dried out in the oven)...

...DELICIOUS!...

Here's the recipe:

Vegan Sweet and Sour Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients
1 large head green cabbage
1 15-ounce can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 1/2 cups marinara sauce or meatless spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup raisins
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
Directions
1. Remove 8 large outer leaves from head of cabbage. In a Dutch oven cook cabbage leaves in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes or just until leaves are limp. Drain cabbage leaves. Trim the thick rib in center of each leaf. Set leaves aside. Shred 4 cups of the remaining cabbage; place shredded cabbage in a 31/2- to 6-quart crockery cooker.

2. In medium bowl combine beans, cooked rice, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce. Divide bean mixture evenly among the 8 cabbage leaves, using about 1/3 cup per leaf. Fold sides of leaf over filling and roll up. Repeat with remaining cabbage rolls

3. Combine remaining marinara sauce, raisins, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Pour about half of the sauce mixture over shredded cabbage in cooker. Stir to mix. Place cabbage rolls atop shredded cabbage. Top with remaining sauce.

4. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Carefully remove the cooked cabbage rolls and serve with the shredded cabbage. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4 servings Calories406, Total Fat (g)12, Saturated Fat (g)3, Cholesterol (mg)0, Sodium (mg)1476, Carbohydrate (g)69, Fiber (g)15, Protein (g)14, Vitamin A (DV%)79, Vitamin C (DV%)116, Calcium (DV%)18, Iron (DV%)21, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Friday, January 28, 2011

Father/Son Aquarium Project...


...Scout and his Papa are working on a project...

...it'll be a little pool with rocks and running water for Mander...

Thursday, January 27, 2011

...What's for Breakie?...

I'm not sure when we started calling Breakfast 'Breakie'...I guess when Scout was little...

...but I still ask him before bed what he wants for 'Breakie'...silly I know...

...and his choices range from applesauce and oatmeal to chocolate chip waffles (usually only on the weekend)...

...but I often throw in a smoothie instead of his regular orange juice...

...this one has two oranges about a cup of raspberries (not his first choice because of the seeds - but we were out of strawberries)...and a handful of frozen spinach...

...just blend it all up - you can add a little bit of orange juice or water if it's too thick and a couple of spoonfuls of ground flax seeds is good too...

...and it makes plenty of delicious smoothie to get both our mornings off to a great start...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

...Switching Gears...

I know I just showed you the Boy Scout Socks that I'm working on...

...but those are going to have to go into the WIP basket for a while...

...because I signed up to be a test knitter for Christabel's new pattern Amity...

...I was looking for an Easter sweater pattern...and this one looks so pretty...

...Christabel blogs at Herbivore Knits and you can see the sweater there as well...

...and of course I headed to Stuff-Mart...my LYS...where I was unable to find the fancy bamboo yarn Christabel used...imagine that...

...so I'm using Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet...1000 yards of cotton-y goodness in colour natural...so it should go with pretty much anything I decide to pair it with on Easter Sunday...

...I've just finished the short rows at the top of the back and there is a provisional cast-on too (like the socks - funny)...

...and I'm liking the natural/lavender combination that I used for the provisional cast on...hmmmn...I may be looking for some fabric in those colours for an Easter skirt as well...What do you think?...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

...a package from home...

...Completely unexpected...

...I got a package in the mail..

...I love it when that happens...Jack does too...

...this one was chock full of goodies...

...tea...veg broth and yeast extract and a jug of soap (Dr. Bronners) that we got at the co-op in Asheville last summer...sweet cards and some nuts for the boys...

...lots of vegan goodness...just the sort of 'care package' that I needed...

Thanks Mom!

Monday, January 24, 2011

...Scout Socks...Take Two...

...when I was in Apex, NC last summer with my sweet sister I got some Weekend cotton yarn specifically to make some new Boy Scout socks - I still have my old ones too...

...I did a provisional cast on at the ankle and then started the pattern (my own Super Simple Worsted Weight Sock Pattern)...

...and I did another princess sole as I'll be wearing these hiking and I want that smoothness next to my sole...

...once I finished turning the heel I decreased a few stitches (4 - down to 44) for a better fit on my foot...

...I'm loving that princess sole too...

...and...I'm loving the provisional cast on - now I can use the entire skein and make the socks as tall as possible - just knit one purl one ribbing from here and then a red band at the top...

...I like the shape and fit of a top down sock - but I like not running out of yarn like a toe up sock and I want these socks to be as tall as possible…

Sunday, January 23, 2011

...much the same...

This weekend was much the same as last...

...just with an extra boy thrown in for good measure...

...we went to another basketball game...and then back to the 'Swamp'

...now everyone is calling it the Swamp...

...but a lot of sliding was done...Scout came flying off the slide first...

...followed by one friend...

...and then another...

...and we had cots and sleeping bags and winter clothes all over the place...but I'll spare you a photo of all that mess...er...um...I mean fun...

Saturday, January 22, 2011

...what the deer do all day...

...y'all know that little herd of deer that wander into our yard at night...

...I wonder what they do all day...and it seems they pretty much do what our sweet Jack does...they lay around and sleep...

...I counted 18 in this photo - but there's probably more - little babies and such that I can't see...we counted 37 one day...