Friday, January 10, 2014

...vegan ham...

...I made Tracy's vegan ham again...

...I've made it before and I've got a copy of the recipe in my binder...but sadly Tracy's blog (and its recipes) no longer exists...
...this time I didn't put the loaf in the juice can baker that I made...('cause I've not seen it since the move to W.V.)...
...I just shaped it into a loaf and put it in a stainless steel bowl to bake...it has to bake for a long time...
...I may just like this shape better anyway...
...it certainly slices perfectly this way...
...so delicious...
...served with the simple butternut squash...

~Have a lovely day!

...I thought y'all might like Tracy's recipe...

Tracy's Vegan Ham/Vegan Bologna

Mix in a Bowl:
1 1/2 cups gluten flour,
1/3 cup soy flour.

Set aside.

In a blender, mix the following:

150 g Silken Tofu (about 5 ounces)
1-cup water
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp black pepper
1 ¼ tsp garlic salt
1 ¼ tsp onion powder
¾ tsp liquid smoke
½ MSG (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable bouillon
1 ½ tsp paprika
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Blend until smooth. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and mix well. Add extra gluten flour as needed, to knead into a dry ball. Let sit 1 hour. Knead again into a firm, smooth ball.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large juice can with foil and/or parchment paper. Place gluten ball in the can and press down firmly into the can.

Mix together and pour over the gluten:
1-cup water
½ tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp vegetable bouillon
1 Tbsp tomato juice
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp onion powder
Cover can with foil and place can in oven. Lower temperature to 250 degrees and let bake three and a half hours. Remove from can and cool on wire rack.

Thursday, January 09, 2014

...butternut...

squash...
...talk about a super easy side dish...this is it...

...I slice my squash into rounds first and then peel it...it's easier to get the tough peeling off that way...I think...
...then dice...
...spritz with oil...I used olive oil...
...sprinkle some fresh rosemary over...
...and simply bake until slightly carmelized and tender...
...what could be easier...5 minutes prep time...1/2 hour in the oven...and you're done...
...I don't know what it is about roasted vegetables that makes them so delicious...but it's something...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

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

...in the W.I.P. department...I'm nearly finished with the secret socks...but of course I can't show you those yet...I've managed to knit both sock at once...and now I'm at the toe...just trying to decide whether to make the toe red...and/or print Left and Right on them...'cause there's definitely a left and a right...or just finish them plain...

...anywhoo...
...with the upcoming ski trip...it was time to get all the gear out and make sure it still fit and that no repairs were needed...

...as you can see...repairs were definitely needed...
...so I got out a needle and thread and stitched those holes right up...
...good as new...well...the waterproof-ness may have suffered...

...what's in your mending basket?...

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

...No School...i.e., Pumpkin Waffles...

...ok...now it's cold...but to keep things in perspective...it's -12 right now where we used to live in North Dakota...

...so there was no school today...
...and I happened to have some leftover pumpkin...so I just mixed that up with some spices and a little bit of flour...
...I didn't add any liquid (except the egg replacer) so the batter is kind of thick...
...spoon the batter onto a hot waffle iron...
...and bake...
...until it stops steaming...
...it smells wonderful as it bakes...
...and it bakes up crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside...
...serve it with the maple syrup your sissie sent you for Christmas...

Pumpkin Waffles

1 cup pumpkin
1 EnerG egg
6 Tbls self rising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and bake in a hot waffle iron until it stops steaming...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, January 06, 2014

...from my back deck...

...over the weekend...
...a fluffy North Dakota-like snow fell all night long...
...we woke to fairly frigid temperatures...(minus 11 C)...and it didn't warm up all day...
...from my back deck...
...from the front...

...the high tomorrow is supposed to be 10...
...in other news...Scout's mouth is much better and he has been fitted for his tux for Winter Formal...

~Have a lovely day!

Saturday, January 04, 2014

...3 M's...and an H...

...I talked to my Mom and she said she just delivered the last of my Christmas presents to my siblings...so now I can show you the craftiness...
...I used my window lightbox technique to transfer the pattern onto the last of my dish towels from North Dakota...you can read more about them here...
...and then I just embroidered away...(the book was 'We are all completely beside ourselves' - our Book Club book for last month - I really liked it)...
...just a simple back stitch...
...3 M's...
...and an H...
...I realize that one of the M's doesn't have the one little curlique...not sure why...
...and I used the towels to wrap up the presents for my brothers, sissie, and Mom...

...and they each got a Peace ornament and a little Christmas Tree ornament too...

~Have a lovely day!

Friday, January 03, 2014

...Butternut Squash Soup...

...it's so very cold here now...and a nice warm soup is definitely on the menu...and I happen to have a butternut squash sitting on the counter...and my friends over at The Rooted Vegan just posted a recipe for said squash soup...
...thick and creamy and just right for dinner last night as we watched the snow and the temperature both fall...
...and it would make a nice first course to any dinner...

...Hop over to The Rooted Vegan for the recipe!

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, January 02, 2014

...Grandma's Mashed...

...when Scout was really little and we would visit my Mom...she would always have a big dinner for us...and it almost always included mashed potatoes...

...and little Scout loved...LOVED!...Grandma's mashed potatoes...so much so that he would ask for "Grandma's Mashed" at home...

...my own mashed potatoes were usually just a quick affair of potatoes run through a ricer/masher...a quick dollop of soymilk and Earth Balance...and give it all a stir...Grandma's are a little more involved...requiring a mixer and another bowl...so they remain a kind of 'special' dish at our house...

...Scout's mouth has healed enough that he can eat soft solid food now...and the very first thing he asked for was...you guessed it...Grandma's Mashed...
...cook some potatoes using your preferred method...these are just microwaved and peeled...
...use your ricer/masher thingy to mash them up...
...put about 3/4 cup of vegan milk and 1/4 cup of Earth Balance in a container and heat until very hot...
...add some salt and pepper...
...turn on the mixer and pour in your milk/butter combo...
...then whip it...whip it good...(remember that Devo song)...HA!
...and you'll have the very best mashed potatoes in the world...Grandma's Mashed...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

...Happy New Year!!!

...Wishing you a blessed 2014...
...we un-decorated today...

...and had our traditional New Year's Day dinner...you can read the complete story of this southern tradition here...
...Black-eyed peas...and greens and cornbread...so hopefully we'll have luck and money enough for the new year...

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

...white deer...

...look what Scout and I saw on our way home...
...a sweet little albino deer...
...she must have been born this past spring or early summer...we had actually had a glimpse of her once before but couldn't get tot he camera quickly enough...so we were really surprised to get this second chance...
...albino deer occur about once in every 30,000 births...
~Have a lovely day!

Monday, December 30, 2013

...Vegan Gratin Jurassien

...a new post over at The Vegan Version...
...creamy and delicious vegan scalloped potatoes...Vegan Gratin Jurassien

~Have a lovely day!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

...toothless...wisdom toothless that is...


...funny things he said on waking up...

...'how long have you been here?'...I said 'where?' (because of course I'd been there the entire time)...and he said...'in that chair?'...

...'can you check that they got them all 4?...I think I swallowed them'...'it feels like I swallowed them'...

...'my face feels funny'...

...'everything feels funny'...

...'I can't see'...I said 'open your eyes'...

...'why is everything so funny?'...he said while laughing...he laughed at everything...
...all in all it wasn't that bad...he's home now and resting comfortably (with the help of some drugs)...we have a timer set to change out the ice packs every 15 minutes...and A² will be over later...

~Have a lovely day!