Tuesday, January 31, 2017

...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES À LA CRÈME [Brussels Sprouts chopped and simmered in cream]...and it was a yummy side dish...
...and used up a bag of rather large Brussels Sprouts...
...the Man of course complained that this dish stunk up the house...(you know...as cabbage-y things are likely to do)...

...regardless...it was still a creamy and tasty dish...if not a very pretty one...

...all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, January 30, 2017

...Ski Beech...

Hi Everyone,

...so sorry I fell off the internet for a couple of days...I had the best of intentions though...I thought that I'd post from our cabin in the North Carolina Highland woods...but apparently the internet does not reach there...at least not with any wireless connection that I could grasp...

...and then at the lodge where there (probably...I didn't actually check) was wireless...I didn't blog...because...well...skiing...

...so...what would have been 3 posts...is now only going to be one long one...
...we got checked into our cabin...which was nice and warm...as the wind was howling...and that reminded me of falling asleep to the sound of the wind in North Dakota...very pleasant memories...
...saw the slopes for the first time...we came around yet another mountain bend and...with that same sense of excitement and wonder with which we approached the ocean as children on a family vacation...when you can smell the salt air for miles and then all of the sudden you can see the ocean...
...and then climbed the mountain and entered the resort...
...and stepped out onto snow...I'm loving my vegan boots...so cozy and warm...I searched the blog for them...I got them for Christmas a couple of years ago...but apparently they didn't make it into a photo then...
...Scout gets his gear...remember he snowboards...
...the crowded lodge...
...some pretty snow covered trees...
...our first glimpse of the crowded slopes...we've had two solid weeks of 60-ish degree weather...so the resorts have been unable to make any snow...and then this weekend the temperatures aren't going to get out of the 20's all weekend and natural snow is in the forecast too...so they're taking full advantage of the colder weather...and the skiers have turned out in full force as well...
...the fine mist from the snow making machines coats everything with...well a fine mist...and in the below freezing temps it freezes on everything...sweaters...skis and poles all have a coating of frozen mist...
...so we got in the rather long queue for the lifts...in reality though we only waited for this short one for about 15 minutes...Scout said he waited an hour for the one to the top...
...I just love riding the lifts...it's one of my favorite things about skiing...this is the view forward...
...down...
...and back down the mountain...
...the misting snow making machines were set up all along the trails...and man...are they ever loud...
...down we go...
...snow making also makes for some pretty poor visibility...
...our passes were good until 10 PM...
...so Scout decided to take a break from boarding and go tubing...
...he said it was a lot of fun...the ride down was really fast...and the ride back up was really slow...and cold...
...they kept this fire going in the center of the lodge/shop area...nice for warming hands...
...time for some night skiing...visibility was even worse at night...
...and someone snapped this photo of me...I always find candid photos of myself funny...and here I've just come down the mountain...and I'm looking at something else with a sort of bewildered look...it's dark...but I've still got my goggles strapped to my helmet from the afternoon...see what I mean...funny...

...what do you think of candid photos that you find yourself in?

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

Thursday, January 26, 2017

...Two Ingredient Vegan Probiotic Yogurt...

...the last time I was visiting Mom...we went to the SDA store (we usually do)...and I wanted to get some vegan probiotic capsules for making cashew cream cheese...and we finally found these...
...and I do use them to make Cashew Cream Cheese...and it's very yummy...

...but...did you also know that you can just break one open in a container of warm soymilk (mine is homemade...and I just did a quick blog search...and realized that I've never really shown how I do that either...so that will be a future post )...and leave it to culture on the counter for 24 hours or so...and you'll have the most perfect creamy vegan yogurt...it's amazing...
...I just poured the 'whey' off the top into a bowl...and I'll save that and use it for my two ingredient biscuits...or vegan cornbread...or just add it to a smoothie...but it definitely won't go to waste...
...then I poured the yogurt into a sieve lined with a jelly cloth...placed over a bowl...
...look how perfect and creamy that is...
...then I portioned half cups of it into little half pint jars...
...ground up some golden flax seeds and got out my sweet MIL's strawberry jam...
...added a couple of spoonfuls of jam on top...
...and a good sprinkling of flax seed...
...and a few pecans...
...because...everything's better with pecans...
...it looks like a parfait...
...and it is parfait (perfect)...so I dug in...
...and ate it all up...so...so good!

...have you ever made yogurt?

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

...Two Ingredient Vegan Biscuits...and the vegan browning secret...

...one of my sweet vegan readers asked me how I get the tops of my baked goods such a lovely golden brown...

...well...it's really not a secret at all...

...after I put the biscuits into the oven...I let them bake long enough to form a bit of a crust...and then...I just brush the tops with a little bit of Earth Balance in this case...but my vegan cornbread...it gets a light brushing of corn oil...
...and so that's the secret...just a little bit of oil does the trick...
...Two Ingredient Biscuit Recipe link...

...I made a big batch in my cast iron biscuit pan...we all had one for dinner...and then I froze the rest...because they're pretty awesome toasted for breakfast...with some Bee Free Honee...

...what's your favorite vegan baking secret?...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, January 23, 2017

...Vegan Amish Crinkle Cookies...

...OK...we definitely have a new FAVORITE cookie recipe...

...you won't believe how delicious these are...
...and really, really simple...just a few simple ingredients...and a few simple steps...
...just mix everything together...
...the dough will be pretty stiff...
...chill it for a bit...
...then start making little balls of dough...and just dropping them into the powdered sugar...
...roll them around a bit...and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet...
...smash the tops...gently...
...ready for the oven...
...just out of the oven...
..we're all wondering why we never made these before...
...really...really...seriously...delicious...a sweet and crispy outside...and a chewy brownie-like middle...

...and they look simply gorgeous...

...I hope you try them...and come back and let me know if you have a new favorite cookie as well...

~Have a lovely day!