Vegan Cheeseball/Spread

I make this every year around the holidays and every time I make it I wonder why I don't make it year-round. You will need:

2 tubs Tofutti Cream Cheese

Green Onions

Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Nutritional Yeast Powder

Bac'Uns Baconless Bits

Garlic Salt

Onion Powder

Chop your green onions up really fine. I use almost all of one bunch. Put your cream cheese out into a large bowl and let it get a little soft, then stir in at least a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and mix. I basically just do all these ingredients to taste so there are no definate amounts. Add more nutritional yeast if if needs to be cheesier. Add garlic salt and onion powder to taste. Then, add worcestershire, you want it to flavor the cream cheese but NOT be runny, so add it slowly. Stir really well, then add fake bacon bits.

Depending on whether you want a spread or a cheeseball:

For a spread just put into a bowl and let sit overnight.

For a cheeseball, put in the fridge for about an hour, then take out and form a ball. You can roll it in nuts if you want, but I prefer it without. Then put cheeseball in fridge overnight so the flavor will set up.

Serve the next day with crackers. Delicious!

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Chocolate Banana Smoothie

If you haven't tried the Sweetened Mimic Cream in a smoothie yet, you need to try it! This product makes smoothies so creamy they taste like thick milkshakes.

I made this one by dropping a cut up banana in my smoothie maker (blender will work just fine). Then, I added a little Organic Oat or Almond Milk and blended for a minute or so. Next, I added a scoop of Chocolate Peaceful Planet Energy Shake Mix and 2 T Ahlaska Hot Cocoa Mix and blended. Okay, now you just add Sweetened Mimic Cream and more Organic Oat Milk to your liking, blend and enjoy!

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Foraging for Breakfast

I took this picture back in July and just got around to writing the entry. There's nothing quite as satisfying as knowing you can go out in your backyard or nearby woods and get enough food to keep you going. On this particular moring I gathered berries, purslane and cherry tomatoes.

If you aren't familiar with Purslane, it's a common weed here in Ohio and in most other parts of the country as well. You can find it in gardens, sidewalk cracks and yards. Purslane is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Purslane has more beta-carotene than spinach, and contains high levels of magnesium and potassium. Historically it has been used as a remedy for arthritis and inflammation and for respiratory and circulatory function. Recently, it's been found that purslane has lots of alpha linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. The substances in purslane may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as make the blood less likely to form clots. Purslane has only 15 calories per 100 gram portion.

EXERCISE CAUTION: Never eat wild plants unless you are sure of what they are. Take them to an experienced forager or botanist for identification. Some plants can make you very sick or kill you!

Aerogarden Update Photo 09/07/2008

Still no cilantro. I think we got some bad seed.

Caterpillar photo I took Sunday:

Do you see the bug in the picture below? It's on the white flowers below those pods. We call this a hummingbird bug here. Many people have never heard of them. They're very fast and shaped like a hummingbird but they also look like a bee. If you've never seen one they're fun to watch. They love my white butterfly bush!

See it there in the upper corner of this picture?

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Photos & Aerogarden Update

Well, the aerogarden is still performing well. Chives have popped up:

As I wrote before the control panel notifies you when it's time to add nutrients or water. As of now I haven't had to do either.

I'm loving this Aerogarden so much, I'm thinking of buying another one. They make a set up now where you can use it to grown any seeds you want. I think it will be great for spring seed starting!

Aerogarden and Supplies

A few favorite wildflowers

I have always loved wildflowers but I became interested in identifying and collecting them when I took a spring wildflowers class in college. I enjoyed it so much I took the fall flowers class as well. Hey, it went toward my science minor and it was very enjoyable.

New York Ironweed Vernonia noveboracensis -

Each small floret contains sweet nectar, which makes it a favorite for swallowtail butterflies and other insects. Native Americans may have used the Ironweed root to relieve pain after childbirth. Some species of Ironweed have been used to treat stomach problems.

Goldenrod- Laboratory studies have found that active compounds in goldenrod help reduce inflammation. It was used historically for wound healing. Can be used to make a natural yellow dye.

Orange/Red Trumpetvine (Trumpet Creeper)- This is a beauty! The fresh leaves can be irritating to some people, so it is mostly used dried. Dried plant parts have been used to treat fungus, yeast and tinea infections. If you would want to collect this plant, it is best to wear gloves.

Favorite Garden Flower

This is the Passionflower, my all-time favorite garden perennial. It can be invasive if you don't keep up with it because it spreads underground and also from seeds. This is a climber that can turn any arbor, fence or trellis into what looks like a tropical getaway. It is hardy here in Ohio, zone 6. It dies back in the winter but returns in spring. By mid-summer the plant can grow very tall. The bright green foliage is covered with gorgeous, scented purple and white flowers that bees just love. After the flower dies, a very interesting seed pod starts to form. I'll try to get a picture of a pod to show here soon.

Sunflowers- I love all kinds of sunflowers! They're just so pretty and useful. After the flower dies and the seeds start to form, they make great food for the birds or for people. I like to collect a few seeds for use the following year and leave the rest for my feathered friends. As you can see in the photo above, bees also love sunflowers and I love bees in my garden. Bees make a garden healthy and happy!

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Got the Aerogarden!

I've wanted one of these for a very long time and I found one for $70 at a local store. It came with the herb kit. I really want the Aerogarden for growing salads in the winter but I won't pass on some fresh herbs! I started it up, very easy set up by the way, and within 4 days I already have sprouts, both the basils

Once sprouts come up, you take off the humidity domes so they don't get too hot.

This is the Italian Basil which is supposed to sprout in 3-7 days and sure enough it did. I'm so excited about my Aerogarden!

I took off one of the labels so you could get a better look at the sprout

The Aerogarden notifies you when it's time to add nutrients or water.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of my herbs

Aerogarden and Supplies

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Got a Greenhouse!

I really wanted a greenhouse but I didn't want to invest a ton of money. So, I went to Ebay and found this great Portable Greenhouse for under $160 (including shipping).

I was very pleased with the quality for the price. It holds lots of plants. I'm a bit concerned about how it will hold up here with our winter storms, but I'm gonna worry about that a little later. That's Danny, my boyfriend and gardening helper.

I saw this Zebra Swallowtail on our butterfly bush the other day. Haven't seen one of those in years, they are so beautiful! As you can see, this one is missing part of its tail? area.

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Garden Update- July

The garden is looking great! All our hard work paid off. This picture was taken July 21st:

The heirloom Brandywine tomatoes I got are doing very well (super tall!) though they don't have many tomatoes yet. I plan on collecting and storing seeds for planting next year from these heirloom tomatoes. This will be my first attempt at seed collecting/storing/planting so we'll see how it goes.

I picked these tomato plants up locally and they already have so many green tomatoes for frying:

My indoor tomatoes, which are hanging in the arbor right now are starting to ripen:

I hope they do this well inside this winter.

We have 1 broccoli plant and 1 cabbage plant that I picked up locally jsut to see how they'd do. We also have some onions, carrots and a few pepper plants.

I think I may have the tallest oregano ever! I'm not sure if this picture does it justice or not. The sad thing is that I never even use oregano! So, send me your recipes using oregano. Those with tomatoes and oregano would be even better. christi@differentdaisy.com

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