CHIP 2011 Graduation

Fondant Carrots

Made these to decorate a vegan carrot cake.

Update

It's been a while since I have posted or even looked at my blog. Now that we have Facebook, I find myself doing that more. So, just in case anyone is wondering what I have been up to, well, I am really into vegan cooking. Have discovered a few delicious recipes, Burgers etc. Will post some pics next time I make some, oh, and the recipe. Just for those who are looking for a healthier lifestyle.
Spending my spare time crocheting. In the process of making a dress for my grand daughter. It is taking longer than I had anticipated but I am sure the final results will be to my satisfaction.
Hope all my friends are doing well. Will be checking back soon to see if anyone ever checks the blogs out anymore.

Tofu Pecan Meatballs

I put a few on perfect brown rice and added some country (cashew) gravy.
Tofu Pecan Meatballs
Combine in a bowl
1 one box of Mori-Nu firm tofu
2 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dried garlic
2 T dried onion
1 T dried parsley
1 T nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 t basil
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t sage
1/4 t Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup perfect brown rice.
Form into balls and cook in a non stick skillet. I added about 1 T olive oil. Makes about 22 good size meatballs. I put them in a warm oven, on a cookie sheet, while cooking the rest of our meal.
Note: Perfect brown rice is 1 cup brown rice browned in a skillet. Boil 2 1/2 cups water and pour over browned rice, cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. It really turns out nice a fluffy.
The meatballs were adapted from "Tasty Vegan Delights".

Happy Mother's Day To Me.

Much to my surprise, this morning, I received this delicious fresh fruit arrangement from Corey.
When the two men brought it in, all three of us, Nancy, Melissa and I were staring at it thinking they had the wrong address. We never get stuff like this here. Our office faces the parking lot so we can see when someone is getting flowers, food etc. It is never for us. So, when they came in, Melissa said, oh you must have the wrong place. One of the guys said, Catherine...I yelled ....hey, that's me. Oh, I was so excited. I couldn't figure out which one of my children would have sent this, knowing all four of them know I love to eat.

I just love how they arranged the different fruit. Now,I want to see if I can make one.

I think Martha ( Corey's girlfriend) had some influence with sending these, she has made me chocolate covered strawberries before, they were delicious, I ate most of them too. The box is full of chocolate covered bananas.

I'm pretty sure these are not going to last long.

Hard Days Work

Tom decided he wanted to run a water line into our back alley where we have a variety of fruit trees planted. He doesn't like taking the hose back there because he is always knocking over a plant in our garden as he stretches it across the area. So, I agreed to help, how hard could this be? I thought he said to dig a trench 2", so I did, he meant 2', big difference. Well, I hung in there and kept digging, with his help of course. We got it done.

After about 10 minutes of digging, I had to take a break. I sat for a few minutes, in an old motel chair, and couldn't help but appreciate the beauty in the variety of flowers and plants planted in a small area of our yard. I love this time of year.

Fresh Garden Veggies

Tom and I are very fortunate to be able to have our own garden. Because of his green thumb, we were able to pick some fresh beets and peas. Also, we picked some snow peas but will use those when I make my Hawaiian Stir-Fry.

The beets are such a deep red and the leaves, well I couldn't just throw them away.

Here is lunch. Fresh beets, cooked beet greans and Fetuccini Alfredo,

completely vegan.

Tom said, after eating lunch, we are going to be so healthy we will be doing back flips at age 80....well, he might but I am sure I won't.

The Lemonade Connection

Some of you will recognize Jennifer. She is a long time friend of our family, much loved and missed. She has started this web site after learning some tricks of the trade...coupons and savings. You can read her story by visiting her site.
Be sure to check it out and get started saving.

Thanks Jen....your the greatest!

Simply Yummmm

Not sure if it's age or what, but I seem to really enjoy little things in life, like the buds on this blueberry bush Tom just bought to go in our garden.
Raspberries are my favorite berry but Blueberries run a close 2nd.
We are going to have a great garden this summer, organic too.

I really enjoy the fresh lettuce, peas, cauliflower and snow peas we have been able to reap from Tom's gardening effort. Simply Yum!

Easter Fun

Keiran hunting for some eggs and hotwheels. The plastic eggs were to small to put the hotwheels in so I hid the cars with the eggs. He didn't mind, I think he liked finding the hotwheels more than the eggs.

It started to get a little cold so we headed into the house to color some real eggs.
Alana gets the prize for the best colored egg.

What do you do with a bunch of empty plastic eggs? I can always entertain myself.

See, Mom's really do have an extra set of eyes.

Sean, Alana and Keiran having some fun.

Rice Krispy Treats

Staying vegan has been fun and tasty. I wanted to find some treats we could have, now and then, and decided to make my own vegan snack. I used about 1/2 cup of honey, not quite 1/2 cup maple syrup and some peanut butter, we blended ourselves at Winco, little shy of a full cup and a few tsp. of Vanilla. I cooked the honey, syrup and peanut butter til the PB was dissolved. Poured 4 cups of Rice Krispy's into the syrup and mixed. Let it cool a little before I poured the chocolate chips (Ghiradelli chips) into the mixture.
Sprayed the dish with a little olive oil spray and poured the mixture into the pan.

After tasting the treats, I wish I had added more peanut butter.
These will do the trick.

My New Herb Garden

Thought since we are eating a lot healthier and most of the recipes require herbs, I decided to grow my own.

I planted Sweet Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Sage and Thyme. Just need to find some Rosemary.

While looking at the different herbs, I found some Stevia. Thought I would try my luck and this, so I bought one and planted it in an old bucket. All I need to do is pick the stems, dry them a few days and crush the leaves. Should be nice and sweet.

Old But New.

We are down in Loma Linda helping Ryan and Shelly move into a different house. Rent is somewhat cheaper, since they are both in school, one more year for Ryan, two for Shelly, they need to save as much money as they can.
Shelly found this adorable two bedroom home for $350 less a month. They are on break, so Tom and I decided to drive down and lend a hand, plus I get to go to Disneyland too.
The house is cozy and has a lot of character.

Notice the lock above the knob. I remember, the house I grew up in, they all had doors just like this.

I think my favorite thing about the house are the doors. They all are original from when the house was built, my guess in the 1930 or 40's. I love the glass knobs.

Truly, if old houses could talk!

Cute As A Bug....Ladybug

Years ago I decorated Cakes, Wedding, Birthday, Graduation...all occasions. It's been at least 15 years or more since I attempted any cake. Well, a very special young lady, whom I've known since she was a little girl, has a daughter of her own now and she is turning 3. When she found out I decorated cakes she asked me if I would be willing to help, I said "sure" hoping I would remember how.
She had to have 3 layers since her daughter was turning 3 and she wanted a bug theme...she found a picture of a ladybug cake on the internet and showed me, I told her "if that's what you want we can do it."
We did make a few changes, thanks to her creativity, and changed the colors to match her plates etc.
So, after decorating for 4 hours, here is the finished project.
It is so cute.

When I got home I noticed my back was killing me, now I remember why I quit decorating cakes.

More Vegan Cooking

Tom and I are having so much fun with these new vegan recipes. He helps me in the kitchen with them. I am loving it cuz we both enjoy eating and I use to do all the cooking, now, it's team work.
Since I started the CHIP program, almost two weeks ago, neither one of us have had any sugar or sweets.
I have always been hesitant about the vegan diet because I really enjoy chocolate, not a fan of carob, and I thought I would have to give chocolate up. Thank God for my dear good friend Dore', she turned me on to vegan...yes vegan Ghiraelli chocolate chips..the ones in the gold package sold in most grocery stores.
I decided I was going to make us some kind of snack, so I made some yummy oatmeal cookies...they really are tasty. Just what the Dr. ordered..Dr. Murphy that is.

Cheese is another favorite food of mine. How could I give that up. Well, I was given this recipe at one of the CHIP meetings. Bought everything I needed, gave the recipe to my husband... (Tom is home during the day so he makes our dinners and has them ready to eat when I come home for lunch)and wholla...let me just say that the cheese sauce is even better on our fresh broccoli that is growing in our garden.
The more we learn from a medical scientific, with plenty of facts,approach, the more we are leaning to a vegan lifestyle.
In the 10 days I have been on this program, I feel a big difference with energy, clarity of mind and mobility.
This has to be a good thing!