It's Spring!

It's a beautiful day today!   Everywhere you look there are orange poppies popping up   In our yard, in our neighbors yards, on the side of the roads, on the moutains.  They are so pretty!  I love the Spring.

One of my favorite flowers is the Sweet Pea.

They are so fragrant.  I put some on my nightstand.

As you can see Merlin is enjoying the weather and flowers as well.  Although he is laying under the bird feeder!

Cleo and Ace trying to look for trouble.

Peaches!  Our one peach tree is loaded with peaches this year.  I can't wait until they are ripe.

If you are looking for a yummy hot cereal that's gluten free try Cream of Buckwheat.

This is Keaton's new favorite and I've gone through 3 boxes already within a very short period of time.  The brand we are buying is Pocono %100 Organic Cream of Buckwheat.  It has a very mellow flavor nothing like the taste of buckwheat flour at all.

This is the buckwheat cooked.

For dessert last night I made some vanilla cupcakes from VCTOW.  Made some vanilla pudding.  Sliced up some strawberries and melted some chocolate with a bit of non-dairy milk. Then I put it all together to get this!



Yumminess!

Enjoy your beautiful day. 

Moving forward....

Hi ya'll!   I want to thank all of you for your kind words in regards to the loss of my father, they meant alot to me.   I'll always have some wonderful memories of him to cherish.  This whole experience has reminded me to enjoy every minute with my family/ friends and let them know how much they are appreciated and loved because life can change in an instant. 

Moving forward...we've added an addition to our family for the time being. 



Ace dog and Keaton

 When my sister said she was moving back to CA. and couldn't take her dog, I offered to take him.  I just didn't want to see another dog taken to a shelter.  The problem here is that I didn't really discuss this with Dave and on top of it when Ace was brought to us I found out he wasn't neutered or updated on his shots.  Uhhhhhhhh what was my sister thinking!  Anyways with these unforseen costs I looked around to find a place that would help with costs for neutering a pitbull and found one.  It's called DAWG and they will even update his shots.  So we are on the list and waiting for the call when we can take him in.

 He is the sweetest dog!  He instantly fit right in with Cleo and Merlin kitty.   He is a love bug, friendly and very submissive.  He loves everyone.  He's actually been so good for our dog Cleo, who is almost 8yrs old, she's getting alot more exercise now.  He wins the hearts of all upon meeting him. Can we keep him when all is said and done?  I hope so.  Dave still wasn't planning on the addition so we will see but he does dig the dog and getting attached to him as well.  If all else we want the best life for him in a happy loving home.  I'll keep you posted.




Cleo and Ace

 Where's the food?  Here's my favorite snack below

Kale Chips Cheezy style

I've posted these before and you can find the recipe here.  This time I only used
1/2 C. soaked cashews
3 T. tahini
3 T. lemon juice or more for a thinner sauce
1 Tomato
1 red bell pepper
dash of salt
Blend together in food processor.  Pour onto kale leaves.   Lay kale leaves on a baking sheet put into an oven at 200 with the door left open for about 4 hours.  I turn the baking sheet half way through and also flip the kale leaves over as well.

In loving memory...

Unexpected things happen everyday and there is just no preparing for it.

In loving memory of my dad, John-1937-2011, who unexpectedly but peacefully passed away during his afternoon nap.

He was one of the most selfless, kind, giving and loving people I knew.  He loved people, was very social and he loved animals too.

 So many memories.  Breakfast was his favorite meal and the waitresses at the coffee shop loved him.  I remember as a kid going to breakfast with him and the employees would say "Hi John!" then he would go help himself to coffee. I remember when he worked graveyard hours and in the morning when we'd wake up for school there would be cat food in the garage for the stray cats( my mom never did dig that scene.)  Our love of animals came from our dad.  I remember one time he ran into a fast food restaurant and bought a meal for a homeless man, I'm sure there were many more he did the same for.  There have been people my mom never knew about just calling or showing up at the house with stories about how kind my dad was and how much they enoyed the many conversations and/or visits my dad had with them.  After all of these years my mom is just finding out how truly wonderful and caring my dad really was.

There are so many more memories I have, just to much to share.

I will miss him always.

GF Double Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies

Happy March to you all!  So I didn't post much last month.  Hey it was a short month. lol!  Really though I got a stomache flu and intestinal something that just got me down.  Yesterday was actually the first day I was able to eat somewhat of a full meal.  Anyways I haven't really been on the computer much.  I'm back now!

It's been so cold here on the California Central Coast/Valley, we are just  not used to it being in the 50's day after day.  Burrrrrrr!

It snowed up on our mountain a week ago so we took a  drive up to enjoy for a bit.  We brought Cleo for her first snow trip.  She loved it! 

I love my camera!

Of course Cleo found water.

This tree just looks cool.

Drive back down the mountain.



GF Double Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies



My first attempt at making  GF brownies and the result...amazing!!!  They are so so good.  I think I may even go to the extreme and say "perfect".  Seriously that's how yummy these are.  They are a bit crispy-crunchy on the corners and fudgy inside, just the way I like my brownies.  Right now I'm not going to share the recipe because I didn't write it down..hmmm my bad.  I'm pretty sure I have the measurements right in  my  head but I'm going to make these one more time to be sure.  I may even have a giveaway for these.  I'll keep you posted.

Stay warm!

V-day dinner and a homemade donut coconut dessert

Good day to you!  It's raining again which is lovely.  For a while there we were experiencing Spring like conditions which was wonderful for working outside.  Now it's back to being inside for a while.

For our Valentine's dinner I let my son choose the dinner  menu. 

Emerils Tofu with Mushroom Ragu

served on mashed potatoes.

This may look fancy and taste it as well but it's so easy and quick to  make.

Mine actually looks more colorful than Emeril's but it's because I used a whole carrot intead of half of one.  For the mushroom mixture I used shitake and cremini.   This also tastes wonderful using seitan, which is what I used the first time I made this meal. I'd also like to mention that not all tofu is created equal, my favorite is  Nasoya Organic Extra Firm Tofu which has a wonderful texture and taste.

Beckmen Grenache

Dave brought home a bottle of Beckmen Grenache, that I  had mentioned in a previous post, to enjoy with dinner. Beckman rose and red wines are vegan even though it doesn't say it on the bottle.  They also use biodynamic farming practices.

I was trying to come up with something different for our Valentine's dessert and donuts came to mind.   I remember using the donut recipe from Vegan Yum Yum years ago and how much Keaton and I loved them.  How the wonderful memories came back when they were baking in the oven.  The smell was incredible!

You must make these!  These are light and not too sweet.  These are even better than the ones you would buy at a donut shop.  I don't have a donut pan so I used a cupcake pan and then stuck some decorating tips in the middle to give them the hole in the middle.  Once cooled I poured melted chocolate on them then put in the refrigerator to harden.  This is also very quick to make.  To finish off the dessert...

I used a scoop of coconut bliss on top of the donut.  This is my favorite coconut frozen dessert because it's so creamy, light and slightly sweet.  As you can tell I don't like things that are too sugary sweet. 

The donut and Coconut Bliss was then drizzled with homemade chocolate and caramel sauce.

This was another way that I served up this dessert.  This looks really rich and sweet but it's acutally not.

As a Valentine for Keaton I got him 2 bars of Newman's Own Organic Chocolate.  The one bar that is open is a Dark Chocolate Orange flavor.  He loves them and me too!hee hee.

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Vegan Valentine's Day to all of you!

Since I  didn't  make any sugar cookies for Dave and Keaton over the winter holidays I went a head and made a batch for Valentine'sDay.  Click here for this perfect sugar cookie.  It is a bit chewy and soft on the inside and just a bit crisp on the outside.  If you like a crispier cookie roll it out thinner and cook a bit longer.
Some of the cookies I made into a sandwich style and filled with a raspberry tofutti cream cheese like filling and a chocolate filling.  The Chocolate "Buttercream" Frosting I used is so tasty and it's not loaded with margarine and sugar.  This amazing recipe is from Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs and you really must try it to believe how good it is.  The only change I made to the recipe is that I used cocoa powder instead of carob powder and I added about 1/3C. of organic powdered sugar.

Speaking of love...I'm so in love with this salad!  Dave and I had this for lunch one day so I added the tofu just to make it a bit more filling. The ingredients are bok choy, romaine, edamame, carrots, cucumber, and the noodle and dressing mixture is taken from Gramma's Bok Choy recipe.  Then drizzle with sesame oil.  In regards to the dressing for this, the recipe calls for quite alot of sugar that's really unnecessary especially if you use a different vinegar.  For instance  I used a Green Apple Ginger Golden Balsamic Vinegar(whoosh... take a breath) from Global Gardens, which is already on the sweet side.  You can also sweeten the dressing with other sweeteners if you choose.   For more of a slaw salad you can slice the bok choy and lettuce thinner and use more dressing.  Yum this is so good!  Oh and go ahead and add some chunks of avocado and shredded  nori on top which is also delicious!

Dave, Keaton and I are staying in tonight.  Keaton picked the meal for me to make and I'm making a little something for dessert.  Hopefully it will rain and we can enjoy our evening by the fire watching a movie and/or playing a game.

Enjoy your Valentine's with your sweetie and/or sweetie's! 

Oh and remember to share the love with all of our animals. 

XOXOXO to my Cleo dog and Merlin kittty!

Don't eat it/eat it

Confused by my title?  So am I. Lol!

They say to eat something because it's good for you but at the same time it's bad for you.  

It was brought to my attention this past weekend that on a certain t.v. show, it was mentioned that you should eat  Gouda cheese because there is something in it that can help prevent cancer.  I went online to check it out and it's vit. K2.  You can get K2 in a vitamin,  my vitamins have K2 in them. K2 is also made from the bacteria living in our own digestive track.  Of course our soil has been depleted of so many vitamins and minerals that we do need to supplement a bit even if we are eating whole foods. Going back to the Gouda thing, it is dairy and dairy consumption is linked to a variety of health problems and cancer.  Last I heard eating lots of vegetables, fruit and exercise helps to prevent cancer.  

Then you have the mercury and DHA issue.  Last year on that same show they were saying how mercury is poisonous to the body and  no mercury is good for you.  At the same time they are telling you to consume fish(most fish/shellfish contain mercury) for the DHA. Do I really  have to consume mercury to get  DHA? Personally I think consuming mercury to get DHA would defeat the purpose.  I'll get my DHA elsewhere, from algae like the fish do.  Why don't they tell people about getting DHA that way?  

Then there are those people that take what they hear from the t.v. or radio and apply it to their lives before reading and doing research on their own to back up what they hear.  Always do your research first.

  Spices and herbs are great for you too.  Ginger, tumeric, oregano, etc. are all wonderful for you and when you add these wonderful spices to your food or diet that's great!  I see plenty of people that take the time to add these things but continue to consume foods that have no fiber,  are high in saturated fat and cholesterol..  They are on  medications and continue to have the same health problems because they aren't eliminating bad foods from their diet.  I guess what I'm saying is there is no one food or magic pill to prevent disease.  It's about our complete diet that helps prevent disease.   If people would just eat more of a plant based wholefoods diet they would be building a better, stronger machine to fight against disease.

Food is thy medicine!!!

On that note.

Below is a beautiful pic of a yummy meal we had recently. 

Tofu Picatta with shitake mushrooms, served along with gf pasta and broccolini.  The picatta recipe I always use is from VCON because it's the best!

Enjoy your day!