Total Hotdog Failure but Saved by Hummus

Well, tonight I went to the grocery store and spent about $25 on spices I didn't already have (mace, coriander, ground cumin, and cardamon) and supplies to make the homemade veggie hot dogs at this link: http://thriftyliving.net/?p=107

Unfortunately, I hated them! Maybe I did something wrong, but the texture just didn't do it for me at all. I normally like stuff made with tofu too, so I really thought these would turn out good.   :(  It's so disappointing when you buy a bunch of stuff, work hard on a recipe and it isn't even edible. These are going in the garbage I'm afraid.

Luckily, I also picked up ingredients for Olive Hummus and some pita pockets. The hummus turned out super! So I made myself a sandwich and whipped up a batch of fudge, which also came out nice. The night turned out not to be a total waste of food after all!

Times are tough, eat salad for free!

Hungry tonight, craving a salad and I have no lettuce! I really need a salad! It's mid March in Ohio so I can't go outside and get a fresh salad from the garden, but lucky for me I have a yard with edible greens.

I gathered chickweed, chives, and salad burnet. Cleaned it up, tossed in some vinaigrette and it's done!


Next, it's leftover vegan beef stroganoff and mashed potatoes from last night.

Nettles & Chickweed Oh My!

Last year we created a little garden to sit this red buddha statue in that Danny has had for years. Beside it we planted a Contorted Filbert (very cool plant!). Other than those things and a couple thyme plants I really had no plans for this garden. I was so surprised and happy when I went out today and saw the huge patches of dead nettle and chickweed! I know these are weeds and can be hard to control, but I appreciate each of them for their medicinal and edible properties.

I pulled a few of them up to use and there were so many worms underneath. Worms are a gardener's friend!

The soil in this bed now looks rich and dark, much better than any other area in the yard. I wish the veggie garden soil looked so good! But right now, it is a mess. There is lots to do before we can plant and I'm not too sure winter is finished with us yet :(

Chickweed is pretty easy to identify by its tiny white flowers and growth habit. It grows in thick clumps or mats. The leaves are oval in shape. Though there are different kinds of chickweed, they look very similar to one another. Nutrient rich chickweed can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soup. Just make sure you are 100% positive of its identification before eating any wild plant!

The type of nettle I found today is purple dead nettle. 

Nettles are huge garden helpers:

1) Add fresh nettle to your compost pile- nettle makes an excellent activator because of its readily available nitrogen content

2) Make Nettle Manure Tea to fertilize your plants by packing about 2 pounds of fresh nettle, gathered in the spring, to a bucket and adding a gallon of water. Leave this for 2 to 3 weeks. Be sure to stir it occasionally. After letting it sit 2-3 weeks, strain the liquid from the nettles. Put the used nettles in your compost pile.  Before using your manure tea, dilute it to the strength of 1 cup of fertilizer to 10 cups water.

A really fun thing to have in your garden is hens and chicks, the plant. Hens and chicks plants are mat-forming succulents that produce clusters of rosettes. The parent rosettes are the "hens," and the smaller rosettes that spring from them are the "chicks" or "chickens."  These are must haves for tiny pots, shoes and other small garden containers. They will multiply continuously and you can share them with friends and family. I keep mine on the porch during the winter and they do just fine here in Ohio. When there isn't a danger of frost or freezing I sit them out in the sun. As far as I know they have no medicinal or edible properties but they sure are cute!

Signs of Spring

I was very happy to go out this week and find my first garden flower of the year- an English Daisy. I started these from seed last year and got no blooms, they were a bit of a disappointment but I have high hopes for them this year.

Also found some little flowers popping up in the yard. Chickweed should be along soon so I can start making fresh infusions again!

We had a couple 70 degree days so the cats are enjoying some outdoor time. This is Domino, our heavy weight.

Tonight for dinner we had vegan beef stroganoff and mashed potatoes, yummy!

Vegan Mashed Potatoes are super easy to make. Bring water to a boil, scrub and quarter about 5 potatoes and boil for 25 minutes. Drain and immediately blend with a hand mixer adding vegan sour cream, almond milk, Earth Balance margarine, minced garlic, chopped onions and salt and pepper to taste.

For gravy I used this gravy mix

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.