Pecan Pie Mini Pies

These little guys are incredibly delicious and hard to distinguish from the non-vegan version

Easy Pie Crust

1 cup flour

1/2 cup vegetable shortening or Earth Balance spread

1/4 cup water

Mix the shortening or butter into the flour with a fork and start adding water until  dough sticks together and isn't crumbly. You may not have to use all the water. If you accidentally add too much water, you can always put a little more flour in the mix.

Form dough into muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes before filling.

Pie Filling

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T flour

1 T corn starch

4 T milk

2 T ground flax seeds mixed with 6 T hot water (let it sit at least 10 minutes)

8 T Earth Balance

1 t vanilla extract

1 cup pecans- crushed or whole, your choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Melt butter in microwave and add sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. 

Mix all other ingredients, except pecans, in with butter/sugar combo

Pour into pre-baked pie shell

Bake for 20 minutes

Reduce heat to 275 degrees

Add pecans to top of mini pies and bake another 20-30 minutes.

They should look set up at this point. If not, give them a little more time but check them frequently.

DIY Cleaning & Laundry Supplies

fabric softener, window cleaner, laundry soap

These are so easy and work great! I can't believe I haven't made my own cleaning supplies before now. I had most of the ingredients already, so I only had to buy a few things. All the ingredients are cheap and come in large containers.

DIY Laundry Soap

Blend until you get 2 cups of bar soap (such as Kirk's castile) in your food processor. Add to it 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax (both available at larger grocery stores). Shake well. If you like, add about 10 drops essential oil. I used lavender. Stir well. Cheap and simple!

Add 2 T to each load of laundry. 

DIY Fabric Softener

Get a bottle with a pop off top like the one shown to the left. Put 2 cups white vinegar and 2 cups baking soda into the bottle. Then , add 4 cups water. It will fizz a lot so don't be alarmed. Swish to get ingredients evenly mixed. You can also add essential oil to your liking. 

You will have to shake this vigorously before each use! Either add 1/4 cup to your washer during the rinse cycle or keep and old rag in the laundry room and put about a teaspoon worth of it on the rag and toss into the dryer with wet clothes (my preferred method).

DIY Window cleaner

Get a spray bottle. Put the following in it:

2 C water,  1 C white vinegar, 1 C alcohol, 1 T lemon juice, 2 T dish soap

Use just like you would commercial window cleaner.

All Purpose Citrus Cleaner

This is still in the process of being made so I'll update when finished. To make this all purpose cleaner, you put orange peels into a jar filled with white vinegar and let it sit at least 10 days. Strain and put into a spray bottle.

Basil Preservation Update

Though preserving basil this way was a messy process (see previous post), the cubes did turn out nicely. I think it's worth the trouble. I'm hoping to winter over my basil, but if that doesn't work, I'll be glad I took time to do this.

Crock Pot Sweet Carrots & Herbed Potatoes Recipe & Sophie's Kitchen Breaded Vegan Fish Fillets Reviewed

Picked up Sophie's Breaded Fish Fillets a few months ago and just got the nerve to make them tonight. I never really liked fish aside from the greasy fish pieces from Long John Silver's. I think I liked those mostly for the breading. To be honest, the thought of eating anything fishy kinda grosses me out! They are made from tvp, textured vegetable protein, which I normally avoid but the box specifically said no GMO's so I made an exception. 

what they look like uncooked

Early in the day I put carrots in one crock pot and potatoes in another as side dishes (recipes to follow). I started looking online for a tartar sauce recipe to dip the fish fillets in. Another thing I've never liked is tartar sauce, but since this one would be vegan I might not hate it. I decided on a creole remoulade sauce and boy is it tasty! I can see using this with other recipes.

Creole Remoulade Sauce

1 C nayonaisse (vegan mayo)

1/2 an onion, diced

2 green onions, diced

1 t dried parsley

1/8 C capers

1/8 C sweet pickle relish

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 t salt

1/2 t hot sauce

1 t dijon mustard

Mix all in food processor. Refrigerate at least 3 hours so flavors can come together.

Sweet Carrots

4-5 diced organic carrots

3 T brown sugar

3 T Earth Balance Margarine  

Put all ingredients into crock pot, stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours. You can drizzle them with agave right before serving. Either way, they'll taste like candy! 

Crock Pot Herbed Potatoes

6 medium organic potatoes, peeled and quartered

fresh basil and fresh rosemary, to taste (I like a lot!) cut up into small pieces

1/8 cup nutritional yeast

veggie parmesan (for sprinkling, optional)

1/4 C water

1 t each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, parsley

1/2 t each dried dill and season salt

3 garlic cloves (minced)

4 T Earth Balance Margarine

Place all ingredients into crock pot (except parmesan if using) and cook on low for  6-8 hours until tender. Sprinkle with parmesan before serving.

Finished Dinner (Serves 2)

Fish Fillets with Creole Remoulade Sauce, Sweet Carrots, Herbed Potatoes and Banana/Zucchini Bread. I really enjoyed the fish fillets. From what I can remember, they don't taste like fish. So, if you are expecting fish, you'll be disappointed. They remind me more of a chicken fillet. The box said to cook 8-10 minutes in a 400 degree oven, mine needed 15 to get done in the center. The texture was nice, the breading was crispy and the sauce I made really set them off. I would definitely buy these again.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust with Herbs

I'm always on the hunt for a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I'm pretty satisfied with this one. I doubled the recipe and made (2) 16 inch thin crust pizzas

You will need:

2 C white whole wheat flour (see note)

1 package active dry yeast or instant yeast

3/4 t salt

1 C hot water

1 T vegetable oil

1 T agave or sugar

1 t each dried bail, rosemary and oregano

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix whole wheat flour, yeast and salt together with spoon. Now add in water, oil and agave or sugar. Stir briefly then put your hands in the dough and get it all mixed up. You aren't really kneading just incorporating all ingredients. Add in your dried herbs.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in sized. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Grease your pan and stretch out your dough to desired size. 

Once you have dressed your pizza, bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are done. 

NOTE: white whole wheat flour is milled from hard spring wheat rather than traditional red wheat. It is white without having to be bleached. The bag I have says it has 4.5 times the fiber of all purpose flour. 

I topped this pizza with tomatoes, oilves, fresh basil and Daiya Mozzarella. It was delicious. Enjoy!

The Woods Kitty & Freezing Basil

Yesterday I noticed the dogs barking and caught a glimpse of a cat up on the hill. I thought it might have a home so I let it be. But, last night while I was trying to sleep I kept thinking about it and decided if it was still there today I needed to do something. This afternoon I saw it again, followed it for a bit and realized it's much more kitten than full grown cat. Way too small to make it with the wild dogs, coyotes and predatory birds on our hill. 

A big part of my day was spent trying to trap this wild little kitty who wasn't in love with me at first sight. I set up my live animal trap with some stinky cat food and watched for hours while the cat moved all around but never went into the opening. She was curious about me, but when I would try to get close she would head further into the woods. So I waited and waited. At one point I sat and collected acorns.  When she thought I looked busy she got curious and would get very close.

  

 A few days of this and she would have probably ended up on my lap keeping me from my task like any cat would do. As much as I would have loved to amuse her daily, it was starting to get late. I could hear the hawks and see them circling above and the woods were making unexplained noises. I could not stand the thought of that little girl spending one more night out there. She was in no rush and got quite relaxed. I think she was enjoying the company but had no intentions of letting me pet her. She pressed her face against and rubbed her cheeks on all the twigs around me as if she had been starved for affection.

 I wanted to pet her, but we weren't at that level of trust just yet. I decided I needed a better strategy, so I went and got more canned food and made a trail into the trap. And I sat down prepared to wait. Luckily, this did the trick. I watched eagerly as she started into the trap and when the door slammed shut I felt victorious!! Tonight she will be safe, though not extremely happy. Aside from being very skinny she appears healthy. I will work with her and try to find her a home. 

---

Summer is coming to a close here. It's getting cooler so I decided it might be time to cut back the basil and do something with it. I saw the idea on Pinterest to put it in a food processor with just enough olive oil to cover it, blend and put into ice cube trays. I did it and it was messy. As of a few minutes ago, they don't want to come out of the tray :-/ Hopefully by morning they will so I can store them in freezer bags to use this winter for cooking. The idea is to pop one into soup or use it for pesto. 

You can imagine the oily mess this made in my food processor and all over the counter. I wasn't thrilled about that! Doesn't look too appealing at this stage. I'll post an update on this basil freezing method. If things go well with the greenhouse, I'm hoping to keep basil most of the year. Just in case that doesn't work, I'll have a little bit of my summer basil to hold me over. 

Daiya Mac-n-Cheese Cups and Crock Pot Apple Sauce

Applesauce (kinda tastes like apple butter)

Start your applesauce early in the day because it takes 6 hours to cook the apples in the crock pot. Be sure you have some homemade bread ready to spread this on with some Earth Balance.

Peel, core and dice 8 medium sized apples (preferably organic) and put them into crock pot.
Now add:
1 t lemon juice
juice of one orange
2 inch cinnamon stick
5 t light brown sugar
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves

Cook on low for 6 hours. Discard cinnamon stick and transfer apples and juice to your food processor and process until smooth.

This only makes about a cup of apple sauce, so if you want more double or triple the recipe.
Store in fridge up to 3 weeks
Can or freeze for longer storage

Update: I had to come back and add to the post that this only made 1 cup of applesauce. Lots of work for that, so next time I will use more apples and triple or quadruple the recipe so I'll have some leftover to freeze. If you want it less apple buttery and more apple saucey, omit the nutmeg, cloves and orange juice. I made these changes because I wanted to spice it up.

---

Daiya Mac-N-Cheese Cups

3 cups unsweetened milk of choice- I used oat
2 1/2 T cornstarch
8 oz (1 bag) Daiya Cheddar
3 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni or shells
1/8 cup nutritional yeast 
1 t salt
pepper as desired
1/4 t celery salt
12-18 muffin liners and muffin pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook pasta according to package directions
In a medium saucepan, heat 2 cups of the milk over medium.
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup milk and 2 1/2 T cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
Add the milk with the cornstarch to the milk on the stove and whisk. Continue to cook over medium.
Add salt, celery salt, pepper and nutritional yeast.
Now add the Daiya and stir. Allow Daiya to melt and cook another 5 minuted to thicken.
Add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce. Mix well and spoon into lined muffin pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Leftovers: you can freeze these in freezer bags and pull a couple out as you need them.

Whole Wheat Angel Hair with Gardein Chick'n and Tomatoes

Love this dish when I need something quick, easy and delicious!

Serves 1-2

You will need:

2 Gardein Chick-n Filets (there are 4 in each package)

whole wheat angel hair pasta

olive oil

1 T McCormick' Grill Mates Chicken or Montreal steak seasoning. I like either in this.

season salt and pepper to taste

1 T nutritional yeast 

2-4 ripe tomatoes (diced)

Pan fry filets and tomatoes in olive oil with seasoning of choice over medium while you make pasta. Cube the filets as they cook. Prepare angel hair according to package directions. When pasta is done, drain and toss to coat generously with olive oil. Now, add your tomatoes and filets and toss until combined. Add season salt and pepper to taste.

Breakfast Sandwich with Daiya Havarti and Green Tomato Salsa

Breakfast Sandwich

Came up with this yummy breakfast sandwich after I lucked into to some Daiya Garlic and Jalapeno Havarti at my local Kroger the other day. Here's hoping they keep stocking it.

You will need:

SoyBoy Smoked Tofu (I have to drive 2 hours to get this stuff)

Daiya Havarti

whole wheat english muffins

tomatoes

garlic powder to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1) Toast your english muffin in the toaster first. But, don't get it too brown.

2) Now, slice your SoyBoy tofu block in half or thirds depending on how big you want your piece. The package comes with 4 individual blocks. 

3) Put tofu on one side of you english muffin and layer some cheese on top

4) Put sliced tomatoes on other half and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Now cover with a layer of sliced cheese.

5) Broil in toaster oven or regular oven until cheese is melty

6) Assemble and eat!

Green Tomato Salsa

I wanted to make fresh raw green tomato salsa but most of the recipes I found online said to cook the tomatoes, so I made this one up. It turned out great.

4-6 green tomatoes (diced small)

1 large green pepper (diced very small)

1 T sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

1 T lime juice

1 T lemon Juice

a couple sprigs fresh purple basil cut up (you can use green but I like the pop of color the purple gives)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all and let sit for several hours or overnight so flavors can come together for a unique, delicious salsa!

Cornerstone Deli- Columbus, OH

I visited Columbus, Ohio yesterday. It's about a 2 hour drive for me from down here in Southern Ohio. I absolutely love going there, though it feels like I can never accomplish all I want to get done in one day. When I go, I almost always stop at Cornerstone Deli for lunch. My favorite thing to get is the Herbivore Wrap, which is spicy tofu mixed with greens, carrots, banana peppers, sunflower seeds and almonds. I crave it so bad sometimes that I make excuses to drive up there for the day :-) The employees are friendly and food comes out fast. Cornerstore Deli, which is located right on High Street where parking can be difficult, has a parking lot. Huge bonus in my book! And nestled right in the middle of the busy city, is an adorable garden where they grow tomatoes and flowers.

 

If spicy tofu isn't your thing and you want to keep it vegetarian/vegan, they have a big salad bar where you can choose your toppings and a few other sandwiches and wraps that will work. 

Should you find yourself in Columbus, make sure you take in at least one meal at Cornerstone Deli. 

Enchilada Stuffed Portabellas

These delicious, creamy stuffed shrooms are very filling on their own. Serve with macaroni and "cheese" and if you're a real rebel, mix your enchilada sauce into the macaroni... yum! 

You will need:

1 6 pack of baby portabella stuffer mushrooms

6 oz room temp tofutti cream cheese

1/8-1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese

1-2 teaspoons taco seasoning

1 or 2 chopped green onions

1 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

1 cup enchilada sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Remove stems from shrooms (discard or use for something else) and clean off any dirt with a damp paper towel

In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese, parmesan cheese, taco seasoning, green onion, 3/4 cup of the Daiya cheese, salt and pepper. You can make this about an hour early and let it sit so the flavors will come together if you have time.

Now, stuff your shrooms with the cream cheese mixture. place them into a small baking dish and pour enchilada sauce on top. Now, put the remaining 1/4 cup Daiya cheese on top.

Bake 20-30 minutes until brown and bubbly.  Before serving, pour some of the enchilada sauce from the baking dish on top of them. Enjoy!

Chickpea Tacos

This would be a great recipe for families trying out Meatless Monday. It's fast, healthy and based on something most people already love.

You will need:

taco shells

package of taco seasoning

2 cans chickpeas

lettuce, tomato, onion

cheese (I used Daiya vegan cheese)

1) Drain one can of chickpeas and discard the liquid. Take the other can and put the liquid from it into a medium saucepan. Now, take the chickpeas from both cans and add them to your food processor along with an onion and a package of taco seasoning. Blend until it's crumbly and resembles the texture of taco meat. Don't overblend!

2) Now, add this mixture to your saucepan with the liquid from the 1 can of chickpeas. Cook over medium for about 10-15 minutes. Watch it and stir often so it doesn't burn. Add pepper and salt to taste.

3) Preheat your oven and heat your taco shells. In the meantime cut up you lettuce and tomato.

4) Once your chickpea "meat" is thoroughly warm and your shells are done, prepare you tacos. Serve with some Mexican rice or chips and salsa.

MYO Snack Bars

These are so delicious. Kids that like nut butter will love these too!

Ingredients:

1/2 c peanut or other nut butter

1/3 cup liquid sweetener: agave, maple syrup, etc....

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cup old fashion oats

2 T wheat germ

1/2 cup nuts or 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I prefer chocolate chips)

1) Over low heat in a medium saucepan, melt the first 3 ingredients, stirring often.

2) Mix in your oats and wheat germ and peanuts (if using) stir. 

3) Remove from heat and add chocolate chips if using. They may melt a little but that's okay.

4) Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment or foil and press mixture into it. Cover pan with plastic wrap. 

5) Put into freezer overnight. Take out, let it soften a bit and cut into squares.

6) You may want to wrap them individually and freeze, but they probably won't last long enough!

Nutrient Rich Pasta Salad & Regrowing Green Onions

Regrow Green Onions

I saw online somewhere that you can regrow store bought green onions. Seemed like a fun thing to try. After I used my last batch of green onions I put the white parts, which only had a tiny bit of green left on them, down into a measuring cup with about an inch of water. I changed the water daily and waited. Within a couple days they were growing back. Apparently, you can keep doing this over and over. I've gotten so much use out of this one batch, just cutting off what I need as I need it. If you love green onions, you really have to do this!

Nutrient Rich Pasta Salad

I've always made pasta salad a certain way but at a family gathering recently my mom brought some that had beans and canned mushrooms in it and I have to say I loved it. 

box of whole wheat pasta

packet of Italian dressing mix

bottle of Italian salad dressing

black olives

tomatoes

green onions

chives

can of mushrooms

can of beans (I used cannelini beans)

+ whatever else you like

to season: nutritional yeast, paprika, season salt, salt and pepper

Make pasta according to package directions and rinse with cold water when it's done. While it's getting ready. Toss about a half a bottle of Italian dressing in a big bowl with a packet of Italian dressing seasoning mix and put all your veggies and bean in. Mix well. After the pasta is done, add it to the bowl and mix. Season to taste. Enjoy!

Cleaning House & Thrifting

CLEANING HOUSE

My grandfather passed away last month at the age of 90. My grandmother passed in 2004. We started cleaning out their house recently. It's sad and there are many memories. We have to sort through what we want and what we plan to donate. On a positive note, the attic is full of great vintage stuff. I found matching rooster wall plaques and a decorative tray that matches my kitchen perfectly, strands of bells that I played with when I was little..... 

I'll post more pics of other things later on. Lots of owls and 70's decor! My grandparents really had good taste :-)

The coolest thing I've found so far is a LOOK magazine from 1968 with some amazing Beatles pics

THRIFTING

Went to our local Goodwill this week (Portsmouth, OH). I usually don't have much luck there. It seems like they don't get much good stuff and they ask a lot for it. For instance, you'll see a bowl with a dollar store $1 price tag on the bottom and Goodwill will have it marked for $1.89. I mean, seriously?

Anyway, I decided to stop in just in case and picked up a couple cheap treasures. 

I got this Vino sign for 69 cents which will be so cute above my wine fridge 

Carved wood coaster 59 cents. Not sure why I bought this :-)

Danny has been wanting a magazine holder for months.
I got this one for $3.10. It needs some TLC but cheaper than a
new one.  Maybe I should paint it? Not sure about that yet.

BARGAIN SHOPPING

This salt and pepper shaker set is not a thrifting find. I got it at Kmart, but it is seriously so cute for $7.00!

Life is Short Sign, Eat Dessert First sign. A bargain at Hobby Lobby $9.00. Half price!

Until next time......

Cheesy Beer Soup with or without Macaroni

This is a combination of 3 recipes, 2 vegan and 1 non-vegan. Please read entire recipe through before starting :-) This soup is perfect for cold nights like tonight.

3 C vegetable broth (I use a combination of vegetable and 'no chicken' bouillon dissolved in water)
1 large russet potato (diced)

2 T Earth Balance margarine (or) 1 T olive oil
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 large onion diced
1/2 cup diced baby carrots
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloved garlic, minced

1/2 C all purpose flour
1 C almond milk (you may need more at the end)
2 1/2 C vegetable broth (I use a combination of veg and 'no chicken' bouillon dissolved in water)

12 oz. beer of your choice

1 C uncooked elbow macaroni (you can omit but I like it)

3/4 C nutritional yeast
1/2 package Daiya Vegan Cheddar Cheese or other brand
1 t mustard
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t turmeric
salt, pepper and season salt to taste

Bread- you will definitely want bread to dunk in this. I chose rye bread

1) Prepare your 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth if using bouillon. The brand I use calls for heating the water so the bouillon cubes will dissolve. Divide it as follows: one bowl with 3 cups and another bowl that has 2 1/2 cups broth

2) Simmer your diced potato in the 3 cups of broth you have prepared (save other 2 1/2 cups broth for later) for about 15 minutes until potato gets tender. Then, place potato and broth into a blender and puree until very smooth. Set aside. This little concoction will help thicken your soup.

3) While you are simmering the potatoes, start on your veggies. Place margarine or olive oil in soup pot over medium heat, add carrots and celery. Allow these to saute for a while until they start to get tender. I always have trouble getting my carrots tender enough for soup. Once these start to get tender add your onions and broccoli and give it another 5 minutes. Add garlic and heat another minute,. Watch constantly and turn down heat if needed. Stir often.

4) In a bowl, combine flour, remaining broth (2 1/2 cups), and the cup of almond milk and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Add this to soup pot that has the veggies in it. Bring to a boil and cook 1-3 minutes until it starts to thicken. Whisk constantly.

5) Add the potato/broth mixture into the soup pot along with your nutritional yeast, mustard, turmeric, and salt and pepper. Cook about a minute. Then add your beer, Daiya cheese, and macaroni (if using) and cook on medium, covered, for another 15 minutes.

6) At this point, your soup will get quite thick, almost a chowder consistency. I like mine a bit thinner so I add about a cup of almond milk to thin it out. At this point, I also add season salt to taste. I just love season salt!

Garnish with fresh pepper. Serve hot with bread or in a bread bowl. Makes enough for 4 or 5 people. If you have leftovers, you may need to add milk or broth when heating this up as it can get thick in the fridge.
Enjoy!

Banana Drops in the Vitamix

I finally got a Vitamix!!!


The first thing I made in the Vitamix was Banana Drops from the cookbook that came with it. Another type of high power blender would also work. These turned out really good, not too sweet though. Next time I may add dates for some extra sweetness and try substituting apple sauce for the oil and maybe add some nuts. 


Preheat oven to 350. Put 2 ripe bananas in your blender, with 1/4 cup oil, 1 t vanilla and a cup of rolled oats. Blend for about a minute. Put this into a bowl and add 1 more cup oats and a cup of raisins. Mix and put on cookie sheet, flatten with fork. Now bake for 20 minutes. Remove from baking sheet right away to keep them from drying out.


I did not get a picture of these. They didn't last long enough :-)