Soup, Salad, & Bread

This 'Banana Carob Almond Coconut Loaf' from ExtraVeganZa (pg. 125) was delicious! I used equal amounts of whole wheat pasty flour and spelt flour, and the recipe is actually for muffins, but I decided to just dump the mix in a loaf pan and it baked through nicely. The recipe also calls for chopped almonds inside the batter, but I knew the girls wouldn't go for it that way, so I put sliced almonds on top, which is easy to remove. Art and I ate several slices, and this is a yummy recipe with several flavors that compliment each other perfectly.


Here is a bread bowl of 'Potato-Asparagus Soup' from Vegan with a Vengeance (p. 99) I had an abundance of potatoes and asparagus to use up, and like magic, I found this recipe. Isa admits to not spicing up this recipe much because asparagus is her favorite vegetable and she wanted its flavor to shine through. It shined a little too much for us, and we added several shakes of chili powder and sea salt, which kicked it up a notch. I'm a huge fan of this cookbook, but this recipe turned out just OK. Look at the fresh lacy dill from my herb barrel!

For Memorial Day we went to a barbecue at Fred & Wendy's house. She asked me to bring a salad, and my standby is 'Quinoa Spring Salad' from Vive le Vegan! (pg. 71) Art took this photo right before leaving, and the wind blew off, and took away the fresh cilantro garnish! I LOVE this salad, and this is a double recipe. Fred thoughtfully grilled some portobello mushrooms for us on the grill knowing we are veggie. Thanks for a fun party!



There was left-over salad from the party, so Art and I ate cups of salad the next day. Nasturtiums are growing like weeds in my herb barrel, so I dressed them up Hawaiian style!









More cups of salad! This time, I made a 'Simple Slaw' which had shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onion. It's tossed with Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette, which is a light dressing. I also added some sunflower seeds to mine after the photo - I like crunchy food!

Stay cool this summer! Looks like another hot one - we are already breaking records here in Idaho (yesterday was 20 degrees higher than the record!), and our power bill went up 20% because of the lack of moisture over the winter. Is it 2008 yet?

Carob Banana Brownies

Today I went on a recipe hunt calling for bananas because we had several beyond the peel & eat stage. I came up with 'Chocolate Banana Walnut Brownies' from ExtraVeganZa because it calls for 3 bananas. I followed the recipe, except for a few minor modifications: I used carob powder instead of cocoa, used chocolate Silk instead of vanilla, and omitted the walnuts. I also just tossed the carob chips in the mix without melting them, which worked out fine. We topped the brownies with a cookie scoop of Soy Dream. What a delicious way to utilize old bananas!

Soup & News of the Homefront

'Curried Split Pea Soup' from VwaV. This soup was easy and quick to make because you don't have to soak dried split peas. It took a little over an hour to get it to the bowl, and it was served with 'Easy Biscuits' from ExtraVeganZa, which was another quick and easy recipe.

My daughter's shark party was a success. The kids jumped in the bouncy house, played pin-the-fin on the shark, ate with shark chopsticks, and made shark puppets. I didn't take any photos on my digital so the poster under the split pea soup is my only evidence.

We took a nature hike last weekend. Art took a shovel and trash bag to collect dog poop and litter left behind. Sadly, the bag was almost too heavy to carry toward the end of the walk. It pisses me off that people squander nature.

Did I mention that we joined the YMCA? The girls have been taking swim lessons, and I've been doing yoga. It feels so good to be working out again regularly -- connecting body & mind.



and, I've been reading during every spare moment from "Healthy at 100" -- I really like John Robbins' style and wisdom.

Something to file under "major bummer" is that my newspaper has dropped the cartoon Bizarro. So I'm calling and writing letters to the editor. Wish me (and some others) luck on bringing it back. I really miss Dan's satirical wit. Idaho is the same color as my counter tops. *hangs head low*

As you can see, I have serious competition on computer time. Olivia's favorite sites are: Peep and the Big Wide World, and Sesame Street. She has mastered the mouse and all the games on each site.

Coconut, Celeraic, & Cookbook

These are 'Banana-Coconut Muffins' from VegCooking (recipe here). These muffins are fabulous! Art, Abigail, and I gobbled them all up as soon as they cooled. The banana makes them super-moist and I put some tin foil on top towards the end so the coconut wouldn't toast beyond my liking. Art put Earth Balance on his, while Abi and I ate ours plain. Liv refused to try them even though they looked suspiciously like cupcakes --- specifically VwaV's 'Coconut Heaven Cupcakes' (pg. 227). If you're a coconut lover like myself, you gotta try these recipes.

'Vicki's Celeraic Lentil Soup'
1 Celery Root, peeled & cubed
5 Carrots, cleaned & sliced
5 Serrano Peppers, minced
7 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Bunch Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 lb. Green Lentils, washed & I found a rock!
2 tsp. Curry Powder
2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/4 tsp. Cardamom
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
8 C. H2O

In a stockpot, saute the garlic and Serrano in olive oil over medium heat. Add the celeraic, carrots, & spices and saute a bit longer. Add the water, lentil, & parsley and put the lid on. Bring to an almost boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour or more. Garnish with some fresh parsley.

Yeaah, the library emailed me saying that 'Healthy At 100' was returned and waiting for me. Since reading the John Robbins interview by Joseph Connelly in VegNews (52), I've been wanting to read this book. Other than the dishes, this is my agenda tonight. Here's the Contents:
1. The World's Healthiest and Longest Lived Peoples
2. Our Food, Our Lives
3. The Body-Mind Connection
4. Why Your Love Matters
5. The Human Spirit

And, look at my new & pretty cookbook! In (yet another article) inside VegNews (51), they review the author's organic farm bed & breakfast near Victoria B.C. In the article, Matthias gives her recipe for 'Sweet Pepper Coconut Corn Chowder' which I tried, and it was so scrumptious that I had to get the cookbook. There are several recipes I'm looking forward to. Has anybody stayed at the Phoenix Organic Farm? I've always wanted to see the Butchart Gardens, which I guess is 10 minutes away.