...2.27...Dinner and a Movie...

...we got takeout from our favorite local Thai restaurant...they are still not open for seated business...it's takeout only...and we're happy to support them...I got their 'red curry' with tofu...and it was really more like a soup...I got spice level ONE and it was still too spicy...haha...I'm such a spice wimp...

...and for the movie...we actually didn't have anything lined up...or in mind...so we watched two different (very different) series...my choice was one episode of Father Brown...and the Man (always the history buff) chose one episode of the Hitler Chronicles...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...2.26...Friday Favorites...

...today's favorite photo...this little sweetie 'smiling' for the camera...look at those adorable dimples...

...the kiddos are settling in well to island life...they will move into their apartment on the 3rd and their shipment of all their stuff arrives on the 4th...

~Keep smiling and have a lovely day!

...2.25...What I Ate in a Day ...as a Vegan...

...well...for breakfast...I had a half of an everything bagel with vegan cream cheese and a big mug of vegan cafe au lait...

...then mid-morning I had a grapefruit...just in sections...and some hibiscus tea...

...for lunch I made a vegan grilled cheese...

...to go with this veganized Panera tomato basil soup...Copycat Panera Tomato Bisque Soup Recipe...that's the original recipe...the only subs are VEGAN chicken bouillon for the stock..and 1/4 cup Silk Cashew Almond for the half and half...she calls for parmesan to sprinkle on top...but I didn't do that...but if you like it like that...there is of course Vegan parm...

...afternoon...I finished off the little red velvet mini cupcake/muffin thingies...

...for dinner I sauteed the rest of the peppers that were getting wilty in the fridge...green/orange and red...I didn't have a yellow one...but that would have been prettier...and the last - also wilty - roma tomato from the windowsill (must be time to go shopping...haha)...

...and made some spanish rice, a salad...that's baked tofu under the A1 sauce...and a packet of corn from the freezer...and tea...of course...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!

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

...so I've finished the one large back piece...and I'm pretty happy with the shaping...now I'll crochet a fuzzy cream coloured edging and the strips that will make it look 'pieced'...

...what's in your workbasket?...

~Have a lovely day!

...2.23...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made VEGAN GNOCCHI DE SEMOULE AVEC VEGAN PÂTE À CHOUX - PATALINA...

...we served it without a sauce...just topped with vegan cheese and broiled...it was delicious...and Julia was right...they were definitely puffier and lighter than potato gnocchi...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

...2.22...Over the Weekend...

...it was just a nice cozy winter weekend...I did lots of things I love...knitting, reading, exercising, baking...and lots of FaceTime and remotely visiting with friends and family...

...we had a little bit of wintry weather...not the white fluffy kind either...

...but the kind that breaks branches and causes power outages...we did have a few branches down...but we did not lose power at all...just a few flickers...

...I did the weekly InstaCart shop...and we sure did get some GREEN bananas...oh well...they will ripen...

...we had a couple of these Sam Adams beers leftover from the Baby reveal party...and no one here likes them...so I used one of them to make some Beer Bread...it's super easy...3 cups flour (self-rising) - one beer - 2 T sugar - 2 T melted Earth Balance...that's it...

...it's perfect hot from the oven...and then it's best toasted for leftovers...it's not really a good sandwich bread...

...I had gotten a Red Velvet cake mix to make while Our Airman was here...but we had so much food planned...and only so many meals with them...that it just never happened...so I mixed it up...and made some mini muffins for me...because the part of a cake that I like best is the crust and the top...and there's a lot more of both on a mini muffin...

...however...the Man...is the complete opposite when it comes to cakes...the lighter/fluffier/more-crustless the better for him...so I took the other half of the mix...and made one 9 inch cake...

...my beautiful crusty little muffins...

...and then I sliced the cake in half and made a quick vegan cream cheese icing and stacked it up for a pretty half-cake for him...

...I made some vegan mayo...

...and used half of it to make some vegan ranch dressing...

...and I made my favorite tofu pudding...just tofu, chocolate and sugar...

...and I baked some tofu and tempeh for meals in the upcoming week...

...and...this cotton slip has been in my sewing box for a long time (about 5 years - haha)...so I finally got it out and fixed it...and now it's soaking in Oxy-Clean...because it was quite yellowed...hoping it will return to whiteness...but if not...no matter...it's underwear...and I'll wear it anyway...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...2.20...Dinner and a Movie...

...I sauteed some peppers and onions...

...I took some of that pullable seitan beef...and toasted a roll...and added some vegan cheese...

...and made a perfect Vegan Philly Cheesesteak sammie...

...and made a little cup of vegan beef bouillon for dipping...

...and that was delicious...I do love a good sandwich...

...and the movie was...The Boyfriend...this 1971 version with Twiggy...

...I was thinking there was a hole in my film knowledge when we heard this mentioned in another British sitcom we were watching (Hyacinth)...as neither of us had ever even heard of it...we were children of the 70's...but maybe we were too young when it came out...but we'd certainly heard of Twiggy...so that's the background of how we came to watch it...I enjoyed it...but then I like musicals and I'll be singing/humming "i could be happy with you if you could be happy with me" all weekend...haha...

...it was sweet and funny...and very very 70s...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...2.19...Friday Favorites...

...we're so happy that the kiddo's time in quarantine is over...and they can now get out and enjoy their beautiful new island home...

...looks like the little one is all tuckered out...

~Have a lovely day!

...2.18...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...for breakfast I made a vegan McMuffin thingy...baked tofu, vegan Violife cheddar, vegan bacon bits on a toasted English muffin...it was a yummy start to the day...

...for lunch...I whipped up some vegan ranch dressing and cut up a Roma tomato and a cucumber...

...and I made some deconstructed vegan tuna salad...with some chickpeas from the freezer, nori sheet cut up, and sweet pickles and I ate that with some bread...

...afternoon snack was just my daily banana, nuts, and flaxseed...that I have every day for potassium, selenium, and Omegas...

...for dinner I mixed some Bulghur wheat with some TVP Burger to make sloppy joes...

...and I made some crinkle cut fries to go with it...and a big salad using up the rest of the small batch of vegan Ranch...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!

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

...so...I carefully checked my gauge...and started knitting again...

...I think this version will be more like what I imagined...I think I may have flared the extra bottom bit a little too much...but I think I can deal with that when I crochet the border...I'm certainly not frogging again...haha...

...it's going pretty quickly because it's on size 10.5 needles...

...what's in your workbasket?...

~Have a lovely day!

...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made a pretty amazing VEGAN SOUFFLÉ À LA VANILLE...it puffed up quite nicely...

...and you have to serve it immediately or it will deflate...so...it's a really warm dessert...and the texture is like a slightly fluffy pudding...

...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

...2.15...Over the Weekend...

...I did the weekly InstaCart shop...Jack is always so interested in the bags...

...not sure what's new here...more VioLife Cream Cheese...and we got the Heinz 57 we didn't get for the last couple of weeks...

...lots of fresh veg...so weird to have someone else choose that for me...of note...miso...and two red peppers...a gorgeous eggplant...a perfectly ripe pear...and another cauliflower...to make some more nacho dip so I can share a proper recipe...

...the fourteen hour time difference means that we're either already in bed or almost so...when the kiddos are having breakfast...here's Our Girl with her mouth full of Cheerios...still absolutely IN LOVE with FaceTime...this transition would be so hard without it...

...she offers us bites...and we say nom...nom...nom...like we've eaten what she's given us...and she plays peekaboo with the phone...and she gives lots of kisses...I'm sure the kiddos have to clean their phone after a FT chat...haha...

...Our Airman was telling us about a meal they got from the Spouse's group (while in quarantine all their food has had to be delivered)...and they had a peach and cherry pie...which I thought sounded awfully good...and I had frozen that leftover cherry pie filling from when we had vegan cheesecake...and we pretty much always have frozen peaches for smoothies...

...and I also had a single frozen pie crust...so I just turned that upside down over the filling...

...it was a really delicious pie...I'll remember that combination for future pies...

...our APO boxes finally arrived...so I got one packed up and sent off...just with a couple of baby toys... and a few odds and ends the kiddos left here (i.e., two single socks...haha)...and a surprise for Our Airman...that I'll show you once the package has arrived...

...our ADT batteries were reporting as "low"...so we ordered new ones and installed those...so now I've got to find a recycling center for these ones...

...Kitten is enjoying the box that those batteries came in...she's so funny...if there's something on the floor she's either in it or on it...

...we celebrated Valentine's Day...quietly at home...in the traditional fashion...with cards...

...and flowers...these roses are so pretty and they smell so good...definitely brightening up a rainy weekend...

...the Man's chocolates that I got him kind of pale in comparison...

...for Valentines Day dinner we got a contactless delivery pizza...

...so that was fun and nostalgic as we often did that when we were dating...

...and finally...I've been working on a new 'themed' sock pattern for St. Patrick's day...we'll see if I actually make the socks...haha...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!