Tuesday, May 31, 2016

...The Week of Hair...#2...the braided loop...

...this is an up-do that I use a lot...just because it's so simple...and it takes about a minute...
...you'll just need a small elastic...I use one that matches my hair just so it won't show...and a hair clip or barrette...
...begin by braiding all of your hair...centered and straight down the back...and secure with the elastic...
...then just loop it back under itself...and secure with the clip...
...I pull up a little bit of hair on the underside of the fat part of the braid and tuck in the ends of the braid...not really necessary...but it makes it nice and neat...
...and there you have it...less than a minute...

...countdown 4 more days to short hair...

~Have a lovely day!

...The Week of Hair...#1...the braid-wrapped bun...

...believe it or not...it's that time again...

...time to get all this hair cut off and donated...

...roughly every two years...three years this time...I get a haircut...and not just any haircut...I get it all cut off and give it away...so this year it's a little bit longer than the previous few donations...

...I donate my hair to Children with Hairloss...

...of course...some previous year's donations have been documented here...

2007
2009
2011
2013

...if I've counted correctly...since college when I first donated...this will make 13 times that I've donated over a foot of hair...13 feet of hair seems like a lot...but really it cost me nothing to grow it out...such an easy donation...

...so this Saturday...I'll get it cut again...but until then I thought I'd show you some of things I do with it when it's long...believe it or not...short hair is a whole lot easier to manage...
...for today's do you'll need the following:
a bun maker that matches your hair
an elastic that matches your hair
a few bobby pins - I used 4
...begin by pulling all your hair through the center of the bun maker...
...then spread it evenly around and hold it in place with one hand...
...with the other hand pop the elastic over the hair/bun maker...and release...
...straighten out the 'leftover' hair...
...and divide it in two...
....braid each side...
...and wrap each braid around the base of the bun...and pin in place with a couple of bobby pins...
...done...this up-do takes less than 5 minutes to create and I like it because it's easy...it stays put...and non-binding...

...I hope you'll donate your hair...

...countdown 5 more days to short hair...

~Have a lovely day!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

...Easy Homemade Fresh Vegan Pasta...

...well...I didn't cook with Julia this week...but I did make an utterly delicious vegan pasta...totally fresh and homemade...

...there's a lot of vegan pasta out there...but I wanted to make a filled pasta...a sort of ravioli/tortellini filled with vegan cheese...

...and since I had seen pasta made with egg before...I just set out to make an egg free version...
...I gathered some ingredients...flour, salt, soymilk and oil...and made a little 'well' in the flour...
...and defrosted some flax seed goo from the freezer...and mixed the liquid ingredients together...
...and poured that into the flour...
...and then just mixed with my hands...
...until a nice dough formed...
...and then I kneaded it for a few minutes...
...until it was smooth and elastic...
...formed it into a log...
...wrapped it in plastic...
...and let it rest while I made some tofu ricotta...I crumbled up some firm tofu...
...and I used this recipe from Happy Herbivore...
...I think it made too much 'ricotta'...but it tasted awesome...
...then I unwrapped the fresh pasta...
...and just pinched off sections and rolled them out...
...got out my little potsticker maker...
...dipped my finger in some water and ran that along the edge to seal...
...put a scant teaspoon of tofu ricotta filling in the middle...
...sealed it up and trimmed the excess...
...and then out popped the cutest little vegan ravioli...
...then I just repeated the process...
...the only problem I had was putting too much filling in...
...you don't want to overstuff the pastas...although it's somehow tempting to do so...
...see that one on the bottom left...I had to patch it a bit because it was overstuffed and split open...
...and I was right...too much tofu ricotta...that's fine though...it'll be a perfect salad topping too...
...then I made some VEGAN CHAMPIGNONS SAUTÉS AU BEURRE...
...and some vegan spaghetti sauce...
...cooked the pasta...
...just a few at a time...so they don't stick together...
...four ravioli make a good sized serving...
...topped with sauce and mushrooms...
...and served with salad bread and red wine...
...although it took quite a bit of time to make...it was definitely worth every minute...it was so delicious...

Vegan Pasta

1 2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup of flax seed goo
1/3 cup of soy milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

...mix liquid ingredients...and mix salt with flour...then make a well in the flour...and pour in the liquid...mix with hands until dough forms...then knead for several minutes until smooth and elastic...wrap in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes or so...then unwrap and shape however you want...I made ravioli...but I think I'll do it again and make something much simpler...like just roll it out and cut it into strips for some fresh homemade linguini...

...I hope you try some homemade fresh vegan pasta...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

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

Breakfast - tofu - english muffin, orange slices, coffee with Cashew Cream...

...after breakfast I was on my own...the Man left for a conference...and Scout had school and work...
Lunch - dill cucumber sandwich carrot and celery sticks

...so I didn't have to consider anyone else's wishes...
Dinner - Greek Salad with Vegan Feta, Crescent Rolls

~Have a lovely day!