Something to chew on

I'm watching Sunday night football right now, while reading 'The Food Revolution' and came upon this passage that really struck me:

"If I have learned anything about our true power, it is this: It does not come from our opinions. Our true power comes from responding to and nurturing life.

 Our beauty does not come from dominating and conquering and winning. It comes from blessing and appreciating and loving. Our glory does not come from being right or being in charge. Our glory comes from being who we really are.

This life we lead may be hard, may be downright agonizing at times, but it's not about finding fault. It's about finding a way of life that honors your living spirit. It's not about blame. It's about coming to a deeper understanding of who you are, and of the love and power that lie within you. It's not about pointing fingers. It's about pointing the way, whenever possible, to a thriving, healthy, and compassionate life."

Brussel Spouts!

Today wasn't the hottest day. I had many, many frustrations throughout and was very happy to be OUT of the office, but the funk I felt still persisted. So, against better judgement, I skipped they gym and headed to the grocery store, picked up some essentials to cook up a feast. (And... on the way home a nice big bottle of Cab!) I had lots of veggies in my fridge that was about to go bad so, it was time to cook it up.

The Menu:
Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Sauteed Collard Greens

Okay, so I know you're thinking, 'brussel sprouts?! EWE!'. NO, these were fabulously delicious. It was the first time I'd ever had brussel sprouts and they were oh so yummy. All it took was some olive oil, salt and papper, maple syrup and 45 mins of baking... too good to be true. Mark, Cate, and Katie: I'll make them for you and you'll be completely suprised. I promise. You will thank me! Well, maybe not, but you'll be surprised for sure. :)

I forgot my camera at the office, but here is what the receipes looked like... minus the staging ;) All very healthy, very vegan! -pictures and recipies taken and cooked from http://www.chefchloe.com/

On a side, but very important note. Please join us in prayer for Mary B. to get better very soon. Katie and Mark: I'm sending you my love and prayers from Memphis.

Flatbread with Roasted Apple, Butternut Squash, and Caramelized Onion

So, I was Ms. Betty Crocker last night, but a little (a lot) less successful. I set out to make a Flatbread with Roasted Apple, Butternut Squash, and Caramelized Onion per a receipie I found on Chef Chloe's Blog. Making a flat bread from scratch shouldn't be too hard right?! WRONG! Two attempts and an hour later, my flat bread still didn't rise. :( So, I decided I would try to roll it out anyway (last ditch effort)... and NO.. it split in TWO. Crap.

So, off to Kroger, mid recipie, to give in and buy a pre-made pizza dough. No big deal, I'll just be 'Semi-homemade w/ Sandra Lee'. She's cool too!

Next came the food processor and this awesome white bean spread that was just TOO good! I ended up munching on it with celery sticks while I was waiting for my crap bread to rise. Then came the piling on: white bean spread first, then sliced apples, then caramelized onions and the finishing touch: butternut squash from Becnel's produce stand! Into the oven it went:

25 mins later.. and VOILA! My very own vegan homemade.. okay... SEMI-homemade pizza! Who would miss cheese when you can have all of that good stuff piled on? I certainly didn't! Let me tell you, the combination of white bean sauce, baked apple and caramelized onions was a dream to taste. Everyone will like this pizza, I assure you of that! :)

The finished product! :)

Anyone have suggestions on how to make a flatbread from scratch? I need help on this one!

Vegan... let's do this

December 1st made 1 solid month of being a vegetarian! WHOO. The more I read (and I've been reading a lot), the more I am confident that a plant-based diet is essential for premium health as well for the overall health or our environment. I've become a Greenie! ;) (Though still don't believe in global warming... don't get me started on that one.) So, its a win-win situation. Best for me AND best for the environment.

With all this reading, it has become blazingly clear that in order for me to take full advantage of the plant-based diet I must also cut out ALL animal products, including dairy and eggs. Now, this one has been harder for me to stomach and implement into my life. I started consciously eliminating dairy (milk, cheese, etc) on Sunday, so I'm almost at a full week. It takes a great deal of adaptation as there are so many recipes that have cheese in it. It's in EVERYTHING. I especially had a hard time while eating out.

It was my birthday week this week so, I've done a lot of celebrating and thus a lot of eating out. Let me tell you: restaurants LOVE cheese. It's in almost every dish. 1st restaurant: I ordered guac instead of queso (easy trade) and a taco salad, no cheese, no sour cream w/ beans on top. Great choice, not so hard. 2nd restaurant: Veggie fajitas, no cheese, no sour cream. These veggie fajitas were YUMMY! Along with my 3 skinny margaritas and great company. I love my birthday. 3rd restaurant was lunch with my co-workers. There were few options without cheese, like maybe two and none were enticing. So finally I decided on a portabella sandwich. :) About half a sandwich in... I realize that I'm oozing mozzarella. CRAP. So, I fumbled. Then 4th restaurant, dinner that night at the FedEx Forum watching the Grizzlies, there were literally NO options for vegetarians and literally all dishes had cheese. So, I caved and had the spinach and artichoke dip for an appetizer and asparagus and greens beans for dinner. Personal foul. ;) Overall though, this week I only had one day of slip ups and one was purely accidental. Not so bad of a start.

My goal this week is to start cooking new things from a couple of cookbooks I snagged at the library. Wish me luck! :)

Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving!

I love being able to take a special pause from  our 'go, go, go' lifestyle to think and reflect on how truly blessed we are and then express it to our loved ones through extra hugs, appreciative words, and FOOD!

This morning I woke to the smell of bay leaves and spices simmering on the stove. As the rule goes, if your in the kitchen- be ready to be put to work. This was no different even after only 4 hours of sleep. Immediately, I was given my list of meals to make: mashed potatoes and a peacan pie. Still in a little bit (okay a lot of bit) of a fog, I was peeling potatoes before 8am.

After peeling, cutting, and cooking, I enlisted Dad to mash the potatoes. I figure if he's the only reason we're making 5 lbs of potatoes then he can help too. :)  As I'm searching in every cabinet for the automatic blender, he's pulling out the hand-masher and mashing. Um. Okay. How about give me a couple of minutes and let the machine do it.. but no, he sat there and mashed away, by hand no less. I believe the comment was, "What you don't think I've ever done this by hand?" I guess he was feeling old Kentuck calling his name. After all, that's how they did it on the farm...  I suppose the days where he would gripe if there was a bump in the potatoes are gone.


The Peacan Pie I made! :)


So, this will be my first Thanksgiving as a Vegetarian. I can tell you as I woke up to the smell of turkey, I thought "hmm... that smells good". Driving here, there was no question that it would be a meat free dinner, which it still will be, but I can tell you.... the turkey smells good. It will be a lot of casseroles and side dishes for me, but it will be the company that will make this Thanksgiving, not food.

I am so thankful to be a part of my wonderful family. I was blessed to be raised in a family full of unconditional love. That unconditional love, the ability to make my own mistakes, little and big, learn from them and know that in the end know that my family would be on the other side helping me through, has made me... ME! I can not express into words how thankful I am for my family.

My cup runeth over.

So this Thanksgiving I will be thanking the Lord for getting me here, to this point in my life, happy, healthy and full of lots of smiles and love to give.


Mom's Beautiful Table



Blessed

I went to bed last night feeling completely blessed. I was overwhelmed by this great feeling of contentment. I really do live a blessed life full of great family, true friends and many daily blessings all around. It was a wonderful feeling and great way to end the day.

--

I've made a pact not to turn the TV on unless its to watch football. So far its been two weeks I believe. Instead I will cook with the radio on (you might catch a little jig or two in between.. and I don't mean jigger), then either sew in my sewing room or read until its time for bed. I think NOT having the TV on has allowed me to think a little more and definitely be more active in my own life. I've found great love in reading both fiction novels and my 'Green' books. I have to say a good book is much more entertaining than the reality junk on tv...

On another note, I made what I think is my favorite smoothie so far. Here's the recipie:

2 cups of spinach (packed)
1 cup of fresh pineapple
1 cup of mango
1 banana
1 cup of water

The mango really came through and the best part was that it was GREEN with a nice smoothy, creamy texture. Super yummy!

Oh good news too! Michelle's been making smoothies this past week! I brought over my blender this Saturday while in town and made some smoothies for her and Cate (I would've made some for Mark but he gave me the 'Kaya crinkle of the nose'--> so none for him!). She's been experimenting and having fun with it. So, Kate passed them on to me, I've passed them on to Michelle, not it's Michelle's turn to pay it forward! :) 

Last final note of the blog for today: Today makes my 2 year anniversary as a Business Analyst for the Target Account. This frees me up for a lot of new things! :)

Half Marathon

It's official! I'll be running the Mardi Gras Half Marathon again, but this time running the WHOLE way! I'm already up to a doable 5 mile run so now its all about slowly increasing my stamina. I have 13 weeks to do it and I can't wait.

I'd love to have everyone come cheer me on that day! Its on February 13th in the morning. There will be a free outdoor concert after to celebrate. Last year I believe Cowboy Mouth played along with other great bands.

Wish me luck! :)

Oh and if anyone else is up to the challenge its not too late!