Artichoke Stuffed Portabella Shrooms


This will take you about 5 minutes to prepare minus the baking time:

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
can of artichoke hearts (drained)
italian seasoning
dried parsley
salt
garlic salt
rosemary/sea salt grinder or other spices
8 portabella stuffer mushrooms

Preheat over to 425 degrees.
Take the stems out of the mushrooms and put them into the food processor. Add cream cheese, artichokes, and spices to taste to food precessor and blend until smooth. Spoon mixture into shrooms and bake until warmed throughout.

You can top these with vegan cheese before baking if you like.

Buffalo "Chicken" Wraps with Lime Cilantro Basmati Rice



This is a very easy and tasty meal. For the wraps you will need:

tortillas
soy chicken patties or nuggets, cut into pieces
bag of lettuce
roma tomatoes, dices
button mushrooms, diced
onion, diced
fresh cilantro

Buffalo Sauce:
red hot sauce
melted earth balance margarine

Ranch:
1/2 cup mayo substitute
1/2 cup milk substitute (I use almond)
rosemary salt grinder
celery salt
dried parsley
garlic salt
dried parsley

1) Cut up "chicken" and heat in skillet until warm
2) Prepare "ranch" by putting mayo and milk along with spices to taste in food processor. Sit aside
3) Prepare buffalo sauce by mixing hot sauce with melted Earth Balance to taste. Take warm "chicken" out of pan, put it in a plastic bag and pour in the buffalo sauce. Shake and sit aside.
4) In a bowl combine tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, cilantro, and salad mix. Pour "ranch" over veggies.
5) Lay out your tortillas and prepare your wrap: tortilla, "buffalo chicken", veggie/salad ranch mix, and wrap up.


Lime Cilantro Basmati Rice (Similar to Chipotle restaurant rice)

You will need:

2 t Earth Balance Butter
4 t fresh cilantro, chopped (or more if you like)
1 1/2 C basmati rice
1 cup water
1 t salt
juice of 2 limes

In 2 qt saucepan, melt butter. Add rice and lime juice and stir well. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, cover, turn down to low and let simmer for 15-25 minutes until rice is soft. Remove from heat, add cilantro and fluff with a fork.

My first Seitan Sausages & Chickpea Pasta Soup
I've been battling a cold for over a week now. All that's left of it is a nasty cough, so tonight I was craving some hot, spicy soup. I chose Chickpea & Pasta Soup and it did seem to clear my cough a bit temporarily. The recipe is shown below. Add other veggies if you have them on hand.

Since I've been sick my favorite past time has been surfing the internet for veg recipes or recipes I can veganize. Out of my huge stack, seitan sausages made it to the top of the list.



Just finished a batch of seitan sausages and I am so proud! I'm not posting the recipe yet because I think they need more flavor. The texture is good but they need more taste appeal. I'm encouraged enough to keep working on these.

Chickpea and Pasta Soup

If you don't like spicy, this won't be for you. It isn't super hot but more than some people will want. It turns out like a cross between veggie chili and veggie soup.

4 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes
3/4 c chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped celery
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 T italian seasoning
1/8 t crushed red pepper
1 C farfelle (bow tie) pasta
2-3 t lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste


Combine all in large stockpot, cover and cook over med-low for 45 minutes to hour.

Raw V8 Style Juice
I've had a V8 or 2 in my day an while I liked the flavor, there are a few things about it that make it less healthy than juicing your own fresh veggies.

For one thing it contains a lot of sodium which didn't really matter to me when I was younger but I try to watch it now. And, everything is from concentrate and it's been pasteurized so you aren't getting the full effect of the veggies. I've also heard rumors that V8 isn't vegan, it is however listed as vegetarian according to this page. There's a little vegetarian icon included. This does not mean it doesn't contain dairy derivatives hidden in the "natural flavors".

V8 Juice Ingredients: Tomato Juice from Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Reconstituted Vegetable Juice Blend (Water and Concentrated Juices of Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach), Lemon Juice from Concentrate (Water, Lemon Juice Concentrate), Salt, Natural Flavoring, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Citric Acid.





If you don't have a juicer, get one as soon as you can! You'll be able to make wonderful concoctions like this Raw Veggie/Fruit V8.

All you need is a juicer and a variety of veggies and fruits. I used 1 cup salad blend, 1 bag baby carrots, 1 tomato, 1/2 a bunch of celery. I only had one tomato or I would have used 3 or 4. You can add a pinch of sea salt if you like. More tomatos will make it taste more like V8. You can also add some fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, oregano

This juice is super fresh and very good for you!

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Have I mentioned how much I love vintage owl stuff? Well, this is an owl necklace from my collection. It's really big and really great! I've not seen another one like it and the best part is I paid only $1 for it at a junk store. Baaahahahaha!!



Tempeh Reubens, Owls and Stained Glass


Danny had a JCPenney gift card from Christmas so we got this fabulous Dale Tiffany Stained Glass Lamp. I love it! The colors are bold and vibrant and it looks perfect in the corner of the living room.

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I got to work today and on the counter was this super cool owl necklace. Mom made it and surprised me!!

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Tonight for dinner we had Tempeh Reuben Sandwiches which turned out good. The recipe I used called for more soy sauce (1/3 cup soy sauce and only 1/2 cup water) and though I LOVE salt, it was too much. So I have adjusted it for you in this recipe. Also, low sodium soy sauce would be better but I did not have any. You can use less soy sauce if you want or maybe substitute something else for part of it, but I think 1/4 cup would be a good amount.

Tempeh Reuben Sandwich

Makes 2 sandwiches

You will need:
8 oz package of tempeh

Marinade:
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium if you can get it)
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t caraway seeds
2 t spicy brown mustard
a clove of minced garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 c sauerkraut
2 Hoagie Style Buns

Sauce:
3 T mayo
3 T ketchup
3 T minced pickles
1/4 t lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Cut tempeh in half then slice down the middle to create 4 pieces.
So the tempeh will soak up the marinade better you need to boil it for 20 minutes.

While tempeh is boiling prepare marinade by combining marinade ingredients with a whisk. Set aside.

Prepare sandwich sauce by combing all sauce ingredients with a spoon and sit aside.

After you have boiled the tempeh, remove from water and blot with a paper towel to absorb excess water.

Put tempeh in a small baking dish and pour marinade in. Shake to be sure all the tempeh is covered. Bake for 40 mintutes. Flip tempeh over half way through. While this is cooking, warm sauerkraut over low heat until warmed throughout.

Remove tempeh from pan and start preparing your sandwich. Bottom of bun, tempeh, sauce, kraut and top of bun.

Optional: you could top this with lettuce, tomato and onion if you want.

Mystery Plant, Antique Vanity & Michael Jackson
Beautiful day today, in the 50's. Made Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches (recipe in earlier post), big salad with butter lettuce, green olives, avocado, red peppers and Italian dressing. I can't get enough butter lettuce, it's so tender and has a nice flavor.

Just finished watching This Is It!- documentary of Michael Jackson's final days. Michael had it all the way up to the end!

"I really feel that nature is trying so hard to compensate for man's mismanagement" - Michael Jackson

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plant with no name

Danny got me this cute houseplant today and though I've seen them at Lowes before, I have no idea what it's called. The tag just says assorted houseplants. It looks like peas growing all over it. The plant had to be hung, if not all those little peas would make great cat toys and I don't know if it's a cat-safe plant or not.

If anyone out there knows what this is, let me know.

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I love antiques, not country crocks and old tools but functional furniture, jewelry, scarves, clothes, etc. We found this vanity back in the summer and got it for the bargain price of $90. I'd been wanting a vanity forever, but all the new ones lacked the character I needed. This one had just a few flaws but made up for it in charm... lots of mirror space, visible drawers and hidden drawers behind 2 doors. The vanity didn't come with any kind of seat which was okay because there was this rough looking old stool we'd brought with us from the last house. Stain and a fabric cover made from a vintage sweater and now it looks like it belongs with the vanity. See the top of it in the middle there? I fell in love with the fabric but the style of that sweater was not good! Makes a much better stool seat cover.

Wow, how embarrassing, I really need to clean this STREAKY mirror!

Vegan Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich



You will need:

Hoagies or other buns
vegan cheese, blend of American and mozzarella is good

2 T Earth Balance Margarine
6-8 oz Gimme Lean or other veg burger substitute
4-6 button mushrooms, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion, chopped


Put Margarine and onions in skillet and saute until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and mushroom and sautee another 2-3 minutes. Add Gimme Lean and heat until mixture is warm throughout. Stir well, place cheese on top and let it melt. I like to put the buns on top this mix and cover with a lid to steam them a little.

That's it, serve and enjoy!

Makes 4 sandwiches

Cheesy Pleasy Rice

This will satisfy any cheese craving you may have as long as you like rice. It's like broccoli au' gratin. I would definately try this with broccoli but just didn't have any on hand.


You will need:

Brown Rice (I used the boil in bag kind, one feeds me)
"Cheese" Sauce Mix
1 T dried parsley flakes
1/8 t celery salt
1 T Earth Balance Margarine

To serve one person a good size bowl, make 1 bag of rice by following package directions.

Follow the directions on the Cheese Sauce Mix (1/3 cup plus 1 T mix and 1 cup water or milk). This should be enough cheese sauce for 1 bag of rice. To your cheese sauce add the parsely flakes and celery salt.

When rice is done, cut bag open and put it in the saucepan with the cheese. Add Earth Balance while rice is still hot so it will melt.


Stir and enjoy!

Soyatoo and Product Review of Amy's Tamale Verde
It was a pretty nice day in Southern Ohio today. The temperature finally made it to 40 and it hasn't been that high forever! I tend to get depressed this time of year waiting for spring to come. It's close I hope.





I'm home alone tonight so I decided to try a new frozen entree from Amy's called Tamale Verde. It's made with organic corn masa, tomatillos and black beans, and comes with rice. The meal is vegan and gluten free. It contains 10 grams of fat, 780 mg of sodium (yikes!) and 7 grams of protein

I don't recall ever having Tamale Verde so this is new for me. The rice is pretty good, no complaints there. The tamale shell itself tastes exactly like corn bread, exactly. It fell apart which made me a little sad. The tamale is filled with black beans, onions, zucchini, corn and peppers and was all around pretty good. Now, for the sauce... yummy. The sauce was the best part but there wasn't nearly enough of it for me. I'd buy it by the jar if Amy sold it that way.

All in all, this was a pretty good frozen entree but it definately needed about 3 times as much sauce. I may buy this again.



After I finished I still felt a little hungry and wanted something chocolatey so I turned to my old stand-by Ahlaska Hot Chocolate . I usually put Sweet & Sara Marshmallows in my cocoa but I had some Soyatoo whipped cream in the fridge that seemed like a nice topper. I love soyatoo on pie but I did NOT like it in my hot chocolate. Can't really describe what it tasted like but it was unpleasant for me. Since I'm low on almond milk I didn't get a chance to make another cup with marshmallows in it. So, I'm left feeling disappointed.

Super Easy Vegan Cheesecake



You will need:

2 tubs (16 oz) of Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1/3 c sugar
Egg substitute equivalent to 4 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
juice of 1 lemon

can of cherry pie filling
ready made pie crust

Preheat over to 375 degrees

I use flax seeds for egg replacer, but you can see them in the final cake, so if that bothers you, use an egg replacer mix instead. To use flax seeds combine 1 T ground flaxseeds with 3 T hot water for EACH egg and let sit for about 20 minutes.

After you have let your flax seeds soak or made up your egg replacer according to directions, combine first list of ingredients together. Hand stirring should be fine, no need to blend.

Pour mixture into crust and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove from the fridge and cover with cherry pie filling.

Keep this in the fridge between servings so it will keep its shape.

VARIATIONS: You could do different kinds of toppings or maybe a chocolate crust

Mango Crisp


I absolutely love mangos. They're so juicy and sweet! This cobbler is sure to please.

You will need:

For Topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 T water
1/3 cup almonds or other nuts (optional, I did not use)

For Fruit Filling:
6-8 ripe mangos
1 T lemon juice
2 T all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Other:
Earth Balance margarine (vegan margarine)
Vanilla Soy Ice Cream (I used So Delicious brand)


1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) In a large bowl mix together all topping ingredients, first the dry, then the wet. It will look dry.

3) To make filling, peel and cut up mangos into chunks. Mix them in a bowl with lemon juice, flour (from filling list), and sugar (from filling list)

4) Place filling in 8 by 8 baking dish and cover with topping. Cut up Earth Balance margarine into small chunks and lay pieces all over the topping. This will help get it golden brown.

5) Bake about 30 minutes or until topping turns golden brown

6) Serve warm with ice cream

Portabella Burger with Special Sauce



For 2 sandwiches, you will need:

2 large portabella mushrooms
1 ripe avocado
1 tablespoon mayo substitute
1 1/2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon lime juice
garlic salt to taste
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 kaiser type rolls or buns
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup water
earth balance margarine (a trans fat free vegan margarine)


1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2) In a baking dish that has a tall rim, like this one:


Stir together 2/3 cup water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, mushrooms, salt and pepper.
Bake these at 425 for 20-30 minutes (baking time will depend on size of mushrooms) Start checking them at 15 minutes. They should be soft but not burnt!

4) Cut rolls in half or use buns. Coat with melted earth balance spread. Place them on baking sheet and put in the oven with the mushrooms. Keep your eye on these, they should get slightly brown and crispy but not burnt.

5) In small bowl, add avocado. Smoosh it with a fork. Add spicy brown mustard, mayo, lime juice and garlic salt to taste. Mix up and put aside.

6) When mushrooms are done assemble your sandwich, spread avocado sauce on top the mushroom. You can garnish with tomato, lettuce, etc. if you want but I like them with just the sauce.

Enjoy!

Leek Stew with Dumplings



This will take some prep time but is so worth it in the end! I found this recipe online and made several changes. You can use any collection of spices you want.

Ingredients:

canola oil or vegetable oil to sautee the veggies

3 leek stalks (use only the white, minus the very bottom, and about 2 inches of the green, but make sure to remove any brown spots. Discard the top. Cut the part you are going to use into rounds

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

bay leaf: optional, I did not have one

about 20 baby carrots cut into small rounds

3 celery ribs, halved lengthwise and chopped small

4 garlic cloves minced or 2 tablespoons of the jar kind

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

8 cups water

3 veggie boullion cubes

1 or more teaspoons of garlic salt

salt and pepper to taste


FOR DUMPLINGS:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 t celery salt (you really need this)
4 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons almond milk


1) Bring 8 cups water to a boil and add boullion cubes. Stir to dissolve and reduce heat to low. Set aside.

2) Heat oil in large saucepan and add to it the onion, leeks, bay leaf, thyme, basil and parsley. Cook about 10 minutes until veggies become translucent but do not let them burn.

3) Add carrots, celery and garlic and cook about another 10 minutes until carrots start to become more tender.

4) While veggie are cooking prepare your dumpling dough by combining first the wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in another bowl, and then adding the dry to the wet. Stir well and sit aside for at least 5 minutes.

5) When carrots have started to soften, add nutritional yeast to the veggie blend and then add the boullion broth that you made. Now add your garlic salt and salt and pepper to taste.

6) Cover and bring to a boil.

7) Now, drop your dumplings down into the boiling water, like you were making drop bisquits. I like mine small, but it's up to you.

8) Cover and boil for about 25-30 minutes.

Hot Spiced & Spiked Cider
This will serve approximately 12-24 people. You can leave out the rum if you want.

4 pretty oranges (washed and dried well)
2 oranges (to be sliced into wedges)
2 apples (to be sliced into wedges)
cloves to decorate oranges
1 gallon apple cider
4 cinnamon sticks
2 1/2 to 3 cups light rum (depending on your preference)

1) Stud pretty oranges with cloves. Make holiday designs if you want. Place oranges in punch bowl
2) Cut other 2 oranges and 2 apples into wedges and put in punch bowl
3) Heat cider and cinnamon sticks over medium heat in saucepan for about an hour
4) Pour cider mix over oranges and apples and add your rum to taste.

Serve warm

Thanksgiving Preparations & Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie Recipe



We will be having Thanksgiving dinner with my family tomorrow and I'm in charge of making the dressing/stuffing, a "cheese" ball and pumpkin Pie. The "cheese" ball turned out great and by tomorrow the flavors should all be blended together. It's been so warm here that I still have calendula in the garden so I was able to use it to decorate the top.
My Vegan Cheese Ball recipe






Vegan Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie Recipe

You will need:

1 ready made prebaked crust

1/2 a package Sweet and Sara Vanilla Marshmallows

PIE FILLING:
1 15oz can of pure pumpkin
1 cup almond milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 T molasses or agave
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t cloves

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Using 1/2 a package of marshmallows: cut or tear each marshmallow into 1/4 and place them directly on top of the prebaked pie crust. You can use the other half for another recipe, roast them, or eat them straight from the container.

In a bowl, combine all pie filling ingredients together until totally smooth, no lumps! Pour this mixture on top the marshmallows and bake for 1 hour.

So easy and so darn good!

The Joy of Vegan Creamer

For many years, there was no good alternative to dairy based creamer. Even the ones that were labeled as dairy free contained milk proteins which made them unsuitable for vegans and those with severe allergies to milk derivatives. Then, the folks from SavingOpusOne came up with the perfect solution! These individually wrapped creamer packets are not only delicious, creamy and vegan-friendly, they're all natural and completely lactose-free. And to make them even better, they are made from organically grown soy.

I'm not a coffee drinker but sometimes I like cream in my hot tea and this does the job. Thank you SavingOpusOne!

Purchase SoyGo Creamer

About Mineral Makeup
It seems that a lot of mainstream cosmetics companies have jumped on the bandwagon and started creating mineral makeup, but after a trip to a local big box store and careful examination of the ingredients in these products, I think they are way off base. Mineral makeup should be pure, without preservatives and chemicals, but these products are chock full of stuff I would NEVER put on my face such as talc and other nasty stuff:

TALC: The dangers of talc have been well characterized by studies that show it to be similar in structure to asbestos, a well known cancer causing agent. Even more disturbing is a study that showed that women who used talc in their genital area had a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. This is particularly disturbing since this cancer has such a poor prognosis when diagnosed at an advanced stage. Equally unsettling is the fact that talc has been associated with lung cancer when inhaled on a frequent basis. Because the particles of talc are so tiny, they can easily enter the lungs and set up an inflammatory reaction. This inflammatory reaction can cause short term problems such as pneumonia as well as chronic problems such as lung disease and cancer. Studies have shown that talc miners who are in contact with this substance on a daily basis have a higher rate of lung cancer as well as a higher rate of nonspecific mortality. SOURCE:
Ehow.com


Please take a look at the ingredients when picking out your makeup!


Revlon Colorstay Mineral Makeup
Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (0.9%)
Inactive Ingredients: Talc, Silica, Nylon 12, Polymethylmethacrylate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Perfluorononyl Octyldodecyl Glycol, Grapeseedate, Polyethylene, Mother of Pearl, Topaz, Quartz, Serica (Silk), Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Lactobacillus/Eriodictyon Californicum Ferment Extract, Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract, Malva Sylvestris Flower Extract (Mallow), Dimethiconol, Dimethicone/Silsesquioxane Copolymer, Copolymer, Triethoxycaprylysilane, Lecithin, Alumina, Lauroyl Lysine, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Mica, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163)

Maybelline Mineral Power Blush
Polyethylene, Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, PTFE, Synthetic Wax, Cetyl Dimethicone, Acrylates Copolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Trisocetyl Citrate, Aloe Barbadensis (Leaf Juice), Tocopheryl Acetate, Alumina, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Polyethylene Teraphthalate, Polymethylmethacrylate, Chamomile Flower Extract (Matricaria Chamomilla), May Contain (+/-): Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 73360 (Red 30), CI 15850 (Red 7), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide)


Covergirl Trublends Mineral Makeup:
Mica, Talc, Methylmethacrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Methicone, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Sodium Dehydroacetate, May Contain (+/-): Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide


There are safe mineral makeups out there:

Herbs of Grace Mineral Foundation (suitable for vegans):
Color Foundation Ingredients: titanium dioxide, iron oxides and mica powder
Translucent Ingredients: serecite

Pure Mineral Color Makeup by Herbs of Grace

Pure Mineral Blush Colors by Herbs of Grace

Lip Luminosity by Herbs of Grace


Again, please do some research before buying cosmetics, for your health :)

Easy Vegan Stuffed Peppers
This is so super easy! You will need 4-6 green peppers, a box of Fantastic Taco Filling Mix, a can of spanish rice (available at most grocery stores), a packet of Roads End Chreese, fresh cilantro, and fresh onions or green onions

PREP:
1) Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Prepare an oven safe baking dish with just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish.

2) Preheat oven to 325 degrees

3) Prepare taco filling and chreese according to package directions

4) Heat spanish rice to warm

5) Cut up cilantro and onions and add them to the rice

6) Once the taco filling is done add it to the rice mixture

7) Now, fill each green pepper with the rice mixture and top with the chreese sauce. Put the peppers in the oven safe dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the peppers become soft.

Pure, Natural Deodorant that Really Works!
Just finished the video presentation for the 100% natural deodorant by Florere. I absolutely love this product and it has ended my search for the perfect all natural, vegan deodorant that actually works!





For All Skin Types

• Vegan patent pending formula
• Free from aluminum chlorohydrate, propylene glycol and harsh chemicals
• Subtle, natural scent - won't interfere with perfume or cologne
• Long lasting, effective protection
• Goes on clear
• Gentle to delicate skin and environment
• CCIC-Certified (no animal testing)

Florere's natural deodorant stick with essential extracts of organic lavender and clary sage is a unique and gentle formula, yet highly effective and long lasting. It helps keep underarms fresh without aluminum chlorohydrate, parabens, petroleum by-products, or harsh chemicals. The bacterial inhibiting properties of pure essential extracts suspended in our creamy stick base helps reduce odor and perspiration. One stick should last 3 - 4 months with daily use.

Simply pure ingredients: Hydrating and protective cocoa (theobrama cacao) butter. Soothing unrefined Shea (Butyrospermum parkii) butter - Naturally occurring earth mineral deodorizer - sodium bicarbonate. Derived from dried corn kernels - cornstarch - soothes and freshens. Palm tree (copernica cerifera) wax - hand milled and naturally processed. Coconut (cocos nucifera) oil - moisturizing and restorative. Essential oils of lavender (lavandula augustifolia), (salvia sclarea) clary sage. Tincture of lemon balm, lavender flowers and ecologically wildharvested benzoin (healing, antioxidant, and preservative.); and nothing else.




Purchase product here:
VeganGoods.com

What's Blooming in My Garden?
Took pictures of some of the plants that are blooming yesterday.

Red Velvet Yarrow:



Pink Primrose



Crocosmia Lucifer



Red Bee Balm



White Bee Balm


Black Eyed Susans (a variety that doesn't have black centers)


Borage



Calendula


White Butterfly Bush with Hummingbird Bug


Lavender Hyssop



One great thing about our house is that the previous owners put bird houses everywhere, which saved me some time and money.

Orange Trumpet Vine Growing up an Old Tree


Skunk Rangling & the 4th of July



When you live in the country you never know what kind of wildlife you may encounter on a daily basis. On this particular day, it was a hungry skunk that had roamed into my parents garage trying to eat dog food. I pulled in their driveway and could smell it before even getting out of the car- whew! Well, their black lab Bingo was relentlessly chasing the skunk in the garage. So, I go in for the removal. The best idea I could come up with was to scoop him up on the snow shovel using a broom. It worked and luckily we made it out without me getting skunked!



Headed out to watch fireworks last night. I was able to capture a few good pictures with my phone. Feels like summer is moving so fast and I have many things I still want to do before it ends. Going out to look for chickweed today.

Salad Spinner: Must have for your greens



This is the salad spinner and a best friend to the veggie gardener! I never really understand what it was good for until this year. We are growing lettuce and all kinds of mixed greens in the garden. Right now, I can go out and pick enough to make myself a huge salad everyday and it's heaven! The only problem is the greens can get really gritty and dirty, I mean really gritty.


I take the little basket part out to the garden and gather what I want to eat. I give them a quick rinse with the faucet attachment. Then I put the basket inside the salad spinner, put the lid on and start cleaning the greens. In the picture at the top, you'll see a hole where running water from the faucet goes. Then you use the little crank to spin the basket around. All the greens go out to the sides to get washed and the spinning motion dries them off when you're done washing. Super invention!

I put my chives, greens, salad burnet, basils, cilantro and purslane together. It makes a wonderful salad and I grew it all myself so I know it's pesticide free!









Calendula Infusion


Calendula a.k.a. pot marigold
Internal Uses: Petals & leaves can be used in a tea to induce sweating, promote menstruation, increase urination, relieve stomach cramps, indigestion and stomachaches, and for relief from flu and fevers.
External Uses: Flowers & leaves can be made into a salve or ground into a powder to be used for various common skin ailments: cuts, scrapes, abrasions, scald burns, blisters,acne, rashes (including diaper rash), chicken pox, and athlete's foot. The fresh calendula flowers can be rubbed directly on a bee sting to relieve the pain. Calendula has also been used to lighten hair.


The Making of an infusion which will become a salve

For years I've wanted to make my own herbal infusions but lack of space and time have kept me from doing it until now. I finally have plenty of room for my herbs and flowers and I'm finally making the time.

This is my first batch of calendula infused olive oil. The process is easy. Take a mason jar and add calendula flowers, cover the flowers with olive oil, put cheesecloth and a rubber band on the top of the jar. Sit it in a sunny window and rotate daily. Let this steep for about a month. Once it's done I will be making my own vegan calendula salve. Can't wait!

As you can see I don't have a lot of flowers in there, because I don't have a bunch of flowers to pick but as I get more I will add them in along with more olive oil. Only one calendula plant came up from the seeds I planted but it's producing a decent numbers of flowers. I may try planting some more seeds this weekend and hope for better germination.

I encourage anyone who can to experiment with herbs and edible plants. It makes me feel good to know I can make some of my own medicines and grow my own food. I feel less dependent on this busy, chaotic world we live in.

Pesto Pea Salad



We whipped this up last week inspired by something at our local Kroger deli.
Here's what you need:

Box of Bowtie pasta
Mayo Substitute
Bunch of Green Onions
Package Frozen Peas
Small bag of Pinenuts
2 packages of Pesto Mix

Cook bowtie pasta according to package directions and rinse with cold water. Also, cook pesto mixes according to package directions. In the meantime, cut up your green onions and slightly cook your peas to thaw them (or you can thaw them out ahead of time). Once pasta and pesto mixes are done, add the pesto to that pasta and mix well.
Toss in your green onions and peas. Now, slowly mix in some mayo substitute. This will vary depending on how creamy you like it. Next, mix in some pine nuts. You can add some garlic salt, salt and pepper if you want. Let sit overnight for best flavor.

This makes a great potluck or picnic recipe. It's pretty likely you'll be the only one who shows up with it.

Fried Morel Mushrooms




Here in Ohio, these mushrooms are hard-to-find but so good to eat. I went out three times this year and didn't find any, but luckily someone found over 400 and was willing to share.


You can prepare these by soaking and then rolling them in a flour and corn meal mixture (with garlic salt of course) but this year I bought a beer batter mix and they turned out really, really good. All I did was add beer to the mix, roll them in it and fry. Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper.


You'll never eat better mushrooms than these, I promise!