...A Pretty Realistic Vegan Turkey...

...since I wasn't going to be the only Vegan at Mom's Thanksgiving Dinner celebration...

..I thought I'd go to a little bit of trouble to make a nice-looking (and tasting) Vegan Main Dish...

...starting with just some Seitan and Nutritional Yeast as the dry ingredients...and then mixing in the savoury wet ingredients...

...just kneaded in the bowl for a bit...

...and then shaped and trussed and ready for the oven...

...and I also made a Vegan (and sugar free - subbed Stevia) Impossible Pumpkin Pie...

...then I took the Vegan Turkey out after about an hour...

...and unwrapped it...

...then I thought I'd use rice paper to 'glue' the yubba skin onto the seitan...

...after you dampen it...it gets all stretchy and sticky...

...so I draped over the seitan...

...and stretched and tucked...

...and got out my package of Yuba that I got at the Asian market...

...and when I opened the package...my first thought was that it didn't smell very good...but it definitely looked like skin...

...so I got it wet and draped it over the rice papered seitan...

...trussed it back up...

...basted it well...and then several times during the half hour of cooking time that remained...

...and I was really pleased with the result...

...I think it'll be perfect for Thanksgiving dinner at Mom's...

~Have a lovely day!

...Happy Thanksgiving...

...wishing you a lovely Thanksgiving...filled with friends...family...food...many blessings...and peace...always peace...

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

...since it's just gotten pretty chilly here...

...I took all of our gloves-mittens-hats-caps-scarves out of the hall closet...and gave them a good wash...

...matched them up and put them back in a bin in the top of the closet so we can just grab what we need to keep warm...I also donated a bunch...as we had WAY too much...

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

~Have a lovely day!

...Saving Cilantro...

...yesterday...I went by the Latino Market...I don't go every week...because it's kinda out of the way...but whenever I have to go to Lowes...I stop by there...

...and I got some green onions...some roma tomatoes...a perfectly ripe avocado...I really have much better luck finding ripe ones here than at the regular grocery store...where they are either too hard or too soft...

...and TWO bunches of fresh cilantro for 50¢ each...

...I know fresh cilantro is controversial...but we love it here...I like to add it to soups and stews...and to store-bought salsa too...it just makes it taste so fresh...

...but it wilts and goes bad pretty quickly...so I chop the stems and some of the leaves in the food processor...

...and then I roughly chop some of the leaves/tops...

...and pack it into my mini muffin pan...first the processed bits...

...and then some of the leaves on top...

...pour over a little bit of water to hold it all together...

...and pop it in the freezer...and out pops these little cubes of cilantro goodness...

...I put them into a baggie and I can pull out some 'fresh' cilantro any time I want it...

...do you like cilantro?...

~Have a lovely day!

...Over the weekend...

...we were gifted a big bag of freshly dug beets...(insert great big smiley face here)...I love beets...

...so...I got those cooking a big pot...

...I love how easy they are to peel this way...they're really a pain to peel before they are cooked...

...and then I pickled them all...except for a few of the baby ones which I ate on a salad for dinner...

...and I went shopping...of course...

...I got some perfectly ripe mangos...a few pears...one Asian pear...one Kanzi Apple...this one is new to me...and you know how I love trying new fruit...

...and a bag of CUTE baby lemons...

...and I found some decent hot house tomatoes so I put those in the windowsill...

...organic potatoes and onions...and a NC grown cabbage...

...and see that big bag of pecans...that was another harvest gift that was left on our doorstep...

...I separated it into 2 cup baggies...and gave a bunch to Mom so she can make pecan pie for Thanksgiving...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...Dinner and a movie...

...it really is soup weather here...and the Man made a big pot of black bean soup and I made Nanny's Mexican Cornbread to go with it...

...and we had a fire in the fireplace...

...it's time for COZY...

...and the movie is still the Durrells in Corfu...

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

~Have a lovely day!

...Sworn In...

...we spent the day with Scout...and family (so much family...the recruiter had extra chairs brought in and said that he'd never had so many 'supporters' of one recruit)...

...Scout had joined the Air Force ROTC last year at College...and then waffled a bit...but finally today he is sworn in to the Air Force Reserves...

...and we had a wonderful day visiting with family and friends...before and after the ceremony...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

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

...Breakfast was some toasted homemade bread with Bee Free Honey...and coffee with Cashew Creamer...

...then...sometime up in the morning...I used the leftover coffee to make a 'Mounds Latte'...by adding some cashew cream...and some coconut and chocolate flavored stevia drops...delish...

...then a simple lunch with grilled cheese...

...there's something so comforting about grilled cheese...

...served with tomato soup of course...

...afternoon snack was a grapefruit...plain...sweet and tangy...

...later while we were making dinner...I whipped up some guac...I had already made the chips...and we had some leftover white and yellow tortillas so there was variety...

...dinner was one of my 'bowls'...YUM!...

...with banana n'ice cream for dessert/snack later...

...that really seems like a lot of food in retrospect...

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

~Have a lovely day!

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

...I'm not sure exactly when I saw this cute/funny T-shirt idea...(I'd give credit if I could remember)...

...however...I do remember when we bought these grey t-shirts...

...they were for a pre-teen Scout to wear for P.E. class in ND...and I remember how funny we thought it was that they said Phy Ed (like PHI) instead of P.E. ...regional differences in language are so interesting...don't ya think?...

...anywhoo...he outgrew them a long time ago...so they got handed down to me...and there are three of them...

...and I just wore them around the house and such...but I didn't love the boxy fit...(they're boy's shirts after all)...so I got out a t-shirt that I do like the fit of...it's quite a bit more girly/curvy...

...and used it as a pattern to cut some shape into the boxy tee...

...then I cut out a stencil from freezer paper...and ironed it on...

...spounced on some green paint...

...the most satisfying part of the project...peeling off the paper to reveal those crisp clean lines...

...it turned out so cute...I'll get a photo of me wearing it...

...what's in your workbasket?

~Have a lovely day!