(The pics I posted of our furry family members showed their tags with all our info, so I had to delete them. Next time, I promise.) Hope you liked our photos and that they encourage you to keep on gardening!
Welcome to my blog and the vegan creations that I make for my family. Instead of being caught up in worrying about what makes a more noble vegan, I just aspire to give my family good, quality food that doesn't harm any fuzzies. I hope you like some of them, as well. Enjoy!
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Thursday, August 26, 2010
Garden Pictures - August, 2010
(The pics I posted of our furry family members showed their tags with all our info, so I had to delete them. Next time, I promise.) Hope you liked our photos and that they encourage you to keep on gardening!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Red Potatoes Two Super Easy Ways
That's it, folks. Hope you liked my little tour of one of my favorite spuds. Simple stuff, but good. And both of these dishes can definitely feed five hungry vegans.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Rustic Lentil Zucchini Soup
Rustic Lentil Zucchini Soup
Ingredients:
8 cups of water
1 cup of lentils
2 Tbs. of homemade bouillon or one cube of store bought bouillon
5 zucchinis, chopped
1 - 28oz. can petite diced tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 cup of pre-cooked brown rice
Directions:
Put the water and lentils in a large pot together on medium heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients, except the rice, and continue cooking for another fifteen minutes or until the lentils are completely cooked and the veggies are tender. Add the rice and stir five minutes before serving. Great with a hunk of good bread and a side salad. Feeds five hungry vegans.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Happy 101 Award and fun stuff!
I received this cute award from Rose at http://www.flyawayvegan.blogspot.com/. If you've never been to her site, you are missing out on one of the most outstanding gourmet, beautifully photographed vegan blogs that exist! Can anybody say "cookbook"? Please?
Thank you, Rose! So, without further ado, here's how the award works: I list ten things that make me happy. Then I list ten blogs that make me happy. Please keep in mind that there are way more than ten blogs that make me happy, so this is just a short list. I also like more than ten things - can you tell I don't like being restricted? But, I did my best. Read on!

Ten things that make me happy in no particular order:
1. Cooking, creating recipes, trying new recipes, reading cookbooks, cooking with my children, blogging about cooking, reading cooking blogs.
2. Organizing small things like cupboards, drawers, closets, making lists (lovin' this!), creating budgets, creating homeschool lesson plans, micromanaging.
3. Watching Rutger Hauer and Adrian Paul movies/television shows.
4. Spending real quality time with my husband, where we can actually look into each other's eyes without a big splotch of food landing on my cheek or hearing something crash in the next room.
5. Photographing my children, my husband, my parents, my pets, nature.
6. Spending time with the Lord either in His Word or in prayer or in song or in thought.
7. With my husband enjoying individual daughter/son dates with our children where they can pick the restaurant and the activity for the night.
8. Standing outside, regardless of the weather, looking at the sky whatever time of day, looking at trees, watching critters.
9. Cultivating our garden and watching my husband do the same.
10. Sleeping in a cozy bed, stretching under the covers, not hurrying anywhere, able to slumber luxuriously with or without the kids in bed with me/us.
Ten blogs/bloggers that make me happy in no particular order:
1. Carissa at http://www.elilaiann.blogspot.com/ shares my love of the Lord and the vegan life.
2. Fayinagirl at http://www.glutenfreeveganfam.blogspot.com/ makes very creative dishes, which her site's name exemplifies.
3. Shenandoah Vegan at http://www.shenandoahvegan.blogspot.com/ questions who she is and why she is here on her unique vegan blog.
4. Maggie at http://www.livingfoodjunkie.blogspot.com/ is a vegan and part raw-foodist young mom.
5. Michelle at http://www.lovinlivinvegan.blogspot.com/ makes vegan dishes to feed herself and a very supportive omnivore hubby.
6. Stacy at http://www.shortycanburn.blogspot.com/ is doing a great job with her brand new vegan blog.
7. Evelyn at http://www.evelynparham.com/ is a raw foodist that also offers helpful advice.
8. Michelle at http://www.lillythedirtyduck.blogspot.com/ shares her daily fumbles and joys with the animal friends she has, her husband, and her love of vegan food.
9. 100 to Go at http://www.99togo.blogspot.com/ is working on her journey of losing weight and getting to her goal.
10. Susan at http://www.fruitfulwords.wordpress.com/ is a local Christian woman and friend of mine who periodically pens encouraging words.
Thank you, all, and have fun!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Seitan Pasta Sauce Over Angel Hair
Seitan Pasta Sauce Over Angel Hair
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 and 1/2 cups of seitan, chopped small
1 green bell pepper, chopped small
4 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 - 29 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 - 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 - 4.25 oz. can chopped olives
1 - 7 oz can diced mild green chiles
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 lb. pound angel hair pasta
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the seitan, green bell pepper and mushrooms. Saute for several minutes until the bell pepper softens and the mushrooms release their liquid. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the noodles, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook for at least another two hours, stirring occasionally. A few minutes before the sauce is ready, prepare the pasta according to package directions. Serve the sauce over the pasta. I recommend a light pasta and a light side dish to offset the heartiness of the sauce. Makes a big pot of sauce, definitely enough to feed five hungry vegans!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients:
2 - 1 lb. bags of vegan chocolate chips
12 tsp. creamy peanut butter
Directions:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. To do this, take a small pot filled half-way with water. Put it over high heat. Put either a medium pot or a medium mixing bowl on top of the smaller pot. Add the chips in to the top pot/bowl. You don't want the water to boil, so when it gets pretty hot, just turn it down to medium. Stir the chocolate chips until they melt, just a few minutes. Set aside. Fill a cupcake tray with paper cupcake liners. Spoon 1 and 1/2 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate into the bottom of each liner. You mainly want to be sure that the bottom of the liner is completely covered. Spoon one teaspoon of peanut butter onto the center of each chocolate bottom. Finish covering with the remaining chocolate. Chill for about an hour, until firm to the touch. These actually are easier to eat if they come out of the fridge for at least five minutes first. Before that, they are a bit too hard. But don't let them warm up too much! Makes one dozen, which feeds five hungry vegans for a couple of days.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Summertime Corn Salad
Summertime Corn Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 - 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1/4 lime juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 of a medium red onion, chopped small
1 tsp. salt
Directions:
Toss all ingredients together in a medium-sized serving bowl. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Feeds five hungry vegans.