I drank a green smoothie for breakfast

but I didn't take a photo.

I did get the new drive socket for the Vita-mix . I put it on (all by myself, thank you) and the machine works again, success!

Smoothie was 2 big collard leaves, 2 banana, a scoop of raw cranberry sauce (I will post that recipe later) 2 tbs flaxseed and 2 tbs Renewme! blended with water.

I split it with the man. He gets the small half :)

Garden Photos and Some News

First the news. We are moving. The house owner's wife is very ill and they want to move back into this house. So, like it or not we have to move from this lovely dwelling. In 27 days.

We have found a place we want so send me good wishes and hopefully we will get it. (hopehopehope)


Garden Photos!

Not much good zukes. (thanks, cocoabean. I will take your advice next year and maybe we will get some :)















I sure got a lot of pretty blossoms.
































It wasn't a bumper crop but I got a few good looking tomatoes















The lettuce bolted.



















The peppers are turning color. Hurry up, peppers!















Wee eggplants. There are three of them.















There are a few cukes but this is the best looking one.















Pretty tomatoes.
















Ok, I hope you enjoyed the photos and please send some good vibes my way. We will be packing, cleaning, searching for a new home (hopehopehope we get the house we need) remaining calm and loving at all times (yeah, right) ok, most times.

Saturday and Watermelon Smoothie Recipe!

We went to the county fair Saturday.












That's me on the YoYo


Watermelon Smoothie

Half a watermelon blended until smooth!

Young Thai Coconut

We went to SF to pick up the boy from his month long stay at his mother's.














I love Golden Gate Park. Hippie Hill Rocks.



Shopping in San Francisco is so much better. We stayed at the boy's mom's apartment in the Tenderloin. Half a block from her place is a Viet Namese market that I used to frequent when I lived in that neighborhood years ago. I don't miss the sirens at 2am or the steaming puddles of human excreta, but I do miss the produce and spice markets. You just can't get this stuff in Kfalls.

Among other things, we got a flat of 9 young Thai coconuts for about $12
















We got a bunch of lychee fruit, about a dollar a pound

















Sesame oil which is for drizzling, not for frying. Vegetarian shrimp which are made from yam flour and are surprisingly shrimp-like. Preserved orange peel which is salty AND sour. Seaweed strips which can be snacked out of the bag, soaked and used like noodles or cut up in stir-fry. These were between 50c and $1.79 each.
















Coconut and banana raw picnic at a rest stop in California.




That's MIL, the boy and the man.








The man is an expert coconut opener.


Vegetarian shrimp, carrots, onion, garlic, sea vegetables (dulse and nori) and rice
















Carrots, seaweed, dandelion leaves, potatoes and rice.














Both of the above "stir-fried" dishes were prepared with vegetable broth in place of the oil.

It's good to be home. I wish I could go once a month to SF for shopping.

I hope you all had a nice holiday

We went to San Francisco.







Haight St.






The boy is spending the summer with his mother.








More Haight






We will see him again in August. Its going to be very quiet here, I think.

August 2nd we will go down to pick him up and to see a free show at Excelsior park on Jerry Day.

We had a great time. We went camping in Oroville.


This is where we rough it.






























Bagel and seitan grilled over mesquite fire.



















Once we got to San Francisco and got everyone together, we had a barbecue in the park





Sweet potato, onions, small sweet peppers and portobello mushrooms



















In a lettuce leaf.


Here is avocado with tortilla chips. Tortilla chips were my downfall.






I ate pretty high raw while I was there. Next month I will keep track exactly what I eat and of how much I spend on food.




















It was a long drive. I'm glad I wore flip flops.








The man didn't smoke in the car for the whole trip so we stopped at a lot of rest areas. It was a nice trip. No ashes in my eyes. Thank you, Baby.







Shasta with a cloud cap. Sunday afternoon on the way home.
















We drove through a wild fire just outside of Klamath Falls


















And now I am sitting having a smoothie and I'm so happy to be home with my kitty. He's pawing at me so I guess I should go see what he wants.











Smoothie is frozen banana
a plum
4 leaves of rainbow chard
1 granny smith apple
maca
hemp
e3live
chia seeds
flax seeds
If there was anything else in there I don't remember. It was very good.

Tuesday Morning Smoothie and Wild Edibles Discovery in the Back Yard

1 handful of red leaf lettuce woot!
1 leaf curly kale
1 RIPE banana
1 RIPE kiwi
5 RIPE strawberries
2 tbs gr flax
1 tbs each e3live, RenewMe!
20 oz water
blend







Did I tell you the dryer got fixed? I think I will use the lines anyway. Use the dryer for some stuff and put most of it on the line

That screened porch we have is the best thing ever. There are tons of bugs here because we are literally right on the lake. That little 10x14 screened in box off the side of the house is AWESOME! We can leave the door open to get breezes and to let the cat in and out without a swarm of various flying insects coming in. The cat can sit out there and watch the birds right close up and they are both safe. It's a great place to hang laundry and to a fabulous area to grow plants! No deer is gonna eat my 'maters, no how! I love my little garden room.

I strained my shoulder taking out my aggressions gardening. Maybe we should get a heavy bag... I found some kind of grape.































I cut the apple tree branches away from it so it can get more water and sunlight.














I see little tiny green grapes growing on it so I am very hopeful. This summer we should be having apples, cherries, plums, walnuts and now grapes growing wild in the yard. Oh, and nettles. I think our grocery bill should go down which is good, right?

Ok, I am gonna go rest my neck in bed for a while. It feels better than it did yesterday but not 100%. I hope to get some mat time in this evening if I'm feeling better. boo

My New Dryer and More Egg Free Challenge!

Energy saving, green, good for the environment vegan and freegan
















It's solar powered and really quiet. It dries 4 loads in about 3 hours on a sunny day so it saves time. It's a space saver, that's for sure, what with being outside and all. Downside? It's not gonna work in the rain.


This is the heavy duty area where I dry over sized stuff like rugs













Hey, as long as I don't have to WASH them by hand, I don't care, are you with me?

When is that belt coming? I don't know.

I got the free package of Teese that I "won" by sending a recipe to Compassion over Killing.
Um, what's the word? I don't like it very much. It tastes like plastic and doesn't melt at all. I put it under the broiler, no melt. But, it was free and I don't want to complain, so Thanks, Noelle, you are awesome! I hope you like the egg free breakfast recipe! The rest of you click and go, commit to 30 days of egg free! You can save the lives of chickens and reduce your cholesterol, too!

Rain, Rain, Rain!

Yesterday we went to Redding for a Karate tournament. The boy won TWO 1st place trophies! :D YAY!!







In forms and sparring. He's getting good at his level and is almost ready to go up one. Tests are today and photo shoot with all the trophies that he and his, er dojo mates? fellow fighters? The other kids from his karate school? Yeah, them. They all got first place trophies! Lots of them. It was a great day all around.


I went out and dug around in the yard today. It wasn't pouring but it was damp. I just got rid of some weeds around Minnie's grave and piled some more rocks and I figured out where I want the compost pile, I put some big rocks around and put the first bucket of kitchen scraps and some of the weeds I dug up. I am hoping it will inspire the man to build me a frame. It's off our property in the vacant lot next door, close to the hiway and sort of behind a tree, out of sight.
:) secret compost. I has it. It was fun, I got all muddy and had to hose myself off in the yard. I'm glad I got those rain boots, cuz i wasn't afraid to walk through it all and I got a lot of those burr bushes dug out and turned over the soil. I'd like to get more flowers to plant out there, maybe split up some of the ones that are over grown in the bed on the east side of the house.

I have started to collect up some recipes and put them in a cohesive type of order. I want to publish an e-book. I think that might be a good goal for me. No preachy, preachy or nutritional garbage, just easy, filling, vegan and raw recipes to help people transition to a vegan diet.



My back is in a knot from the long drive yesterday, I'm going to go stretch out on the mat for a while.

Later I will tell you all about the smoothie I made this morning. Isn't that exciting? Go have a smoothie. You will thank yourself.

Here is a photo of a kiwi I cut open the other day.




Vegan = Love!

Remembering Linda by Abstaining from Eggs for 30 Days

"The egg industry's busiest time of year is the Easter season. After the holiday passes, "sales go down, but the hens keep on laying eggs," says the American Egg Board. In an effort to boost post-holiday sales, egg producers across the country celebrate May as "National Egg Month." Compassion Over Killing is asking you to put an animal-friendly spin on this month-long industry-declared holiday by pledging to Crack the Cruelty and choose egg-free foods for at least 30 days!"

I was raised on a chicken farm and I know that chickens don't like being confined. That they like to be petted. That they will fall asleep in your arms if you hold them.

My first pet was a chicken and I was forced to eat her. No lie.
Please help me to remember "Linda" my pet chicken, by not eating eggs for this month.

It's a small sacrifice for you, but a matter of life or death for the animals.

Vegan Eggplant Noodle Casserole

Yet again, I have made dinner.













The casserole is elbow macaroni, dried eggplant slices, a lovely tomato sauce I made, ground vegan seitan sausage and bread crumbs on top. Bake two hours at 350F, covered, take the lid off and let it brown up then serve immediately.
The salad is red lettuce and spinach with some sesame dressing I threw together. sesame, olive oil, water, ACV and oregano.
The things that look like Dolmas are actually collard leaves* I put about a tablespoon of seitan sausage in each one, rolled them up and baked with a table spoon of water in a small covered casserole at 350 for about half an hour. Very simple and very impressive, IMO. I would serve these at a party as an appetizer. I would. You can't prove that I wouldn't :)

I bought this book at Goodwill and have been brushing up my non-existent yoga skills.





























I had the boy take a photo but it came out blurry. That is the fish pose, Matsyasana.
From the book:

Benefits of Matsyasana: The fish stretches the spine and at the same time expands and opens the chest. It helps to regulate the four parathyroid glands in the neck. These endocrine glands control the levels of calcium in the blood. Calcium strengthens bones and teeth. It is also important for the contraction of muscles and the clotting of blood. Matsyasana corrects rounded shoulders, increases lung capacity and helps with breathing problems, relieves stress and regulates moods, increases prana** in the neck, shoulders, lungs stomach and spleen and energizes the parathyroid glands and tones the pituitary.


I find that yoga really does regulate my mood. Since I released all that weight, I have noticed that my periods affect me more than they used to. Or at least I notice it more. I gain 5 lbs every month for a week. WTF is that about. Anyway. If I am in a pissy mood, doing some poses can really change my attitude.

You might also notice I cleaned up my sidebar. I had some affiliate links but since they have been there I haven't made a dime so, bye bye useless clutter!



Footnotes:

* collard leaves are a FANTASTIC substitute for grape leaves. I got four rolls out of one large leaf. Go Collard Greens! Speaking of collard greens and greens in general. I was in line at the supermarket last Thursday, with my usual cart full of nothing but veges. The cashiers LOVE me! (not) I actually had one goth looking chick cashier say, "Oh, no! You again!" hehe. I still get a thrill out of striking dread and terror in the hearts of people. I don't think that will ever fade. Anyway there was a weird lady in front of me in line. She was buying washcloths and sweatpants and wearing very red lipstick and very blue eyeshadow. Sort of your teapot type, ya know, short and stout. She turned back to me and asked me something about some fast food restaurant in the area. I smiled and said that I hadn't the slightest idea about any fast food restaurants. I didn't go on after that, just "Sorry, I really don't know." She then started gazing into my cart. Pointing at the huge bundle of collard greens she said (wrinkle nose) "What is THAT?" Again, I smiled and said, "That is collard." She said "COLLARD? I never heard of THAT!" I said, smiling, of course, "Well, it's a leafy green. You can eat it in salad like lettuce or steam it and eat it like you would spinach." Then it was her turn at the reg and she didn't like the price on any of the stuff she chose so she left with nothing. Strange lady. Then the cashier. They dread me because nothing I buy has a barcode and they have to either know the code or look it up or CALL SOMEONE in the produce department. Fun. The young cashier was a tall blond, corn-fed type looking boy about 18 years old. He did not know what a daikon, a rutabaga, a parsnip or a turnip was. His explanation "My parents just don't buy these kinds of vegetables!" I smiled and didn't say anything to that. And this is the extent of my contact with people outside of my family here is Klamath Falls, Oregon. It ain't easy being green in Klamtucky, I tell you.

**Prana is a Sanskrit word literally meaning 'life-force' the invisible bio-energy or vital energy that keeps the body alive and maintains a state of good health. It's all about creating balance to open psychic awareness, and the nature of reality and one's place in it.

A visit from a Friend ::AND:: VEGAN Seitan Wellington :: Vegan Recipe

Art came and went. It was a nice visit. Quiet and uneventful. He's a great houseguest and welcome to curl up on my rug anytime!

Dinners were had.

The first night I made a Seitan Wellington that came out pretty good

I didn't have a recipe but I just made a half loaf of bread and a half seitan sausage. I used pureed tomato and garlic powder in the bread and pureed tomato and juicing pulp in the sausage.
I rolled out the dough and rolled up the raw sausage lump inside.















I was going to bake it in a loaf pan but then I thought, no it will rise too much not be sausage-y in the middle. So I wrapped up in foil, just like you would a regular sausage without bread around it














and baked the whole thing at
350F for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Giant Vegan Corn Dog...















I let it cool completely on the counter and then chilled it until dinner time. About half an hour before dinner, I sliced it into cutlets and warmed them in the oven.















I then served them.














Green salad with red lettuce, collard greens, bell pepper, daikon radish, sauerkraut and a carrot pickle* on the side. Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seitan Wellington with Seitan Sausage Gravy.


Footnotes:
* Carrot pickle recipe is coming soon. Cuz it's all about the condiments, baby.