Saturday, May 30, 2009

Lima beans & Corn, Sweet Potato Pasta, Oven Zucchini, and Grilling out


Lima bean & Corn - Makes 5 cups

I had these at the dinner after my Grandfather's funeral. They were really good. Although I am really hoping they did not have chicken broth in them...! I am really kinda wondering now if they did. I had never had lima beans before and this has quickly become a go to side dish me me. Or if I am home alone I boil up some beans add some frozen corn and eat it as a meal... I like to boil the limas in advance and freeze them. that way it doesn't take an hour and a half to cook them first or a $2 can of beans.

3 cups g Cooked Lima beans
2 cups g Frozen corn
Enough Veg broth to cover all the beans and corn
1 tbsp Vegan Butter of choice
1 tbsp Flour
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Bring veg Lima beans, Corn , Veg broth, & Pepper to a boil. Melt Better add the flour to it and add to boiling pot. Make sure not to let it clump. When it thickens which should be fast it its done. Maybe about 10minutes all together if the beans where cooked in advance.


Sweet Potato Pasta

This was an accidental find. I was going to have some buttered noodle and beans for diner but accidentally opened the wrong can. But I love it. I really like to have it as a side to the Morningstar Farms vegan BBQ riblets. Or I just like it plain. It is a nice replacement for Mac & Cheese. I don't really like the nutritional yeast mac & cheese. But this turns out creamy and yummy... and sweet... :)


Box of whole wheat Pasta
1/2 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1/4cup soy milk
2 tbsp Smart Balance light
Salt to taste

Cook pasta as normal. Put the sweet potato puree in a pot with the soy milk and smart balance light. Let come together. Stir a little. Then add it to your pasta. If you don't want to make it on the stove top you don't have to. Just put it in a boil and stir together. If you put it in the microwave make sure you don't spoil the soy milk.


Oven Baked Zucchini

I love oven baked zucchini and though it is probably easy for everyone but me... I still make it. I have a horrible track record. I seem to either always forget about it and it turns into burnt zucchini chips or I get impatient and take it off early and eat it...

Zucchini - 1 whole for each person
Onion
olive Oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice onion and chunck up zucchini into bite sized pieces, or slices. Or you could just leave them cut long ways in to two or four pieces. the bigger the pieces the longer they take to cook. Put a little oil on the veggies and mix. lay on baking pan add salt. Then bake for 30 minutes or till desired doneness.


Tofu Nuggets- Pictured above with Zucchini

This recipe has been converted from the Deceptivley Delicious Cook Book.

1 Cup Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 tbsp Vegan Parm like galaxy- optional- or try nutritional yeast
A pureed veggie of your choice. Dependeing on what you make it with.
1 tsp paprika
Egg replacer mixed with water- enough for all tofu
1 Pack extra firm tofu- this may work with tempeh
1/2 salt
oil

Mix all dry ingredents. Mix egg replacer with veggie puree in another bowl.
Slic tofu into bight sized chucks. Heat the oil. I like using unthawed tofu. But tofu that had been frozen to give it more texture. Then dip into bread crumbs. Then put in pan with just a Tablespoon of oil. Do not use to much oil. They will fall apart or just be totally soked with oil. Then enjoy with your fave dip.

Grilling Out....
This is the first time we have cooked on our charcoal grill in 4 years... Because it just takes they thing to long to get hot.. Then I can't seem to keep it hot. Maybe I need Charcoal Grills for dummies or something. Maybe next year I will just invest in a gas grill. Although propane tanks are a little scary. lol... I use my parents and they turn it on and off for me.. Anyways I decided while we were out working onthe coop we might as well cook out. Chey was all excited. And I quess in all honesty John and I were a little bit too... since it had been so long... Well everything started out bad... We didn't have any fluid so John decides to put a ton of zipo lighter fluid on it. He won't listen to me of course. I went to go up town to buy some actually grill starter and when I come back all I can small is zipo fluid.... after I told him to stop... I mean come on.... So we had a big blow up about that. Like I want to eat zipo fluid!!! .. So then I decided I didn't even want to grill out and I went in the house. But later I cooled off and then decided to cook out. He had started the grill with the starter fluid ater I had went in the house and it had a ton of time.. like an hour to get hot so... We made corn, veggie hot dogs, zucchini, asparagus, potatoes, and Helens Tofu steaks... didn't like the asparagus or the helens tofu steaks... But loved the zucchini, hot dogs, & potatos.. on the other hand smoky corn was ok too. But I also managed to catch the corn on fire..lol... yes corn is flammable.. or atleast their husks are. I was planning on taking a pretty picture of the corn with grill marks and the husks pulled back but instead they went up in flames and I freaked out. john came over and saved me back slamming the lid closed.... Maybe its not such a good idea for me to use a charcoal grill....

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

CHICKENS!!!! & Moejo

Well there is alot still going on around here. My Grandfather passing has taken a toll on our family. Everyone is still trying to learn how to mourn the loss. But some people are slowly getting better day by day. I on the other hand have been having nightmares for the last week or two. Brute passing was another unexpected happening. He had Cushing disease , Heart & liver problems associated with the Cushings. But I still did not think he would pass so soon. We have had a lot of lose this year and I am hoping life will start to make a smooth transition at least for a while.

Moejo, The kitty we adopted a month ago has had some medical problems. A few days after we brought him home I noticed some blood in his bowel movement. So I took him to the vet thinking it was probably Garadia since he came from a shelter. He tested negative and the vet now thinks he has Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome. Which would be my second guess as well. He has been put on antibiotics, prednosone, and special food called I/D... which I would prefer to change... Its a Sills Science Diet Prescription food. But I really don't like there foods... Vets are paid to carry there foods and to push them. And Don't get me wrong I love the vet we go to but ... Hills science diet not so much... Some things have gotten better. No More blood.. But he is still having some problems. Next he will have to be checked for cancer if these pills do not work. But he is playing again. While the blood was in his stool he would not play at all.. but now he is coming back around and his his playful kitten said once again.


The Chickens are doing great. They have grown so much. I can't believe how big they have gotten in just 5 weeks. Tomorrow they will be 5 weeks old. That is so crazy and you know what else is crazy...? I have over a thousand pictures of them... and I'm not joking or over estimating.... I'm serious... and I have not taken pictures for the last 4 or 5 days. But I will take pics tomorrow..They are starting to figure out the who eating produce thing. Thir beaks are getting sharper and making it easier to tare apart. They loves dandelions! But I will tell you a little about my chicks . The pictures are of Day 1 when we brought them home and at week 4...

Isis- She is supposed to be a pullet. But he growing comb has got me wondering if she is really a cockerel. Her comb however is still white. She feathered very quickly and to me the feathers look round on her saddle. So.. I am leaving her name as Isis for now. She is still our best flier. She loves to sit on use and even lands on our heads from time to time. But she has also taken to trying to rip my freckles and tattoo off. Which is kinda pain full.... You know how it looks when a bird id trying to rip a worm of of the ground.... thats what has happened to my arm a couple of times. I think she is still top of her peaking order right now.. I know they probably don't have one yet but she is still top Chick...She is a sweetie and just loves to be around us. I am still trying to figure out what type of chicken she is....

Gaia- is definitely a Buff Orpington. She is feathering nicely and is learning to fly alot better now. Although she is still at the trial and error stage like alot of the babes... The feathers on her back are standing up funny as they are coming in for some reason. Not quite sure why. I was wondering if it had something to do with the size she will be when fulling grown but when I look at other Orpingtons their feathers don't do that. She has also been fighting for Isis queen status... She will Jump up on Isis and some of the other chicks and knock them of the perches. We are pretty sure she is a pullet.

Amera- We have given him think nick name till we find out if he is a cockerel. Right now I am pretty sure he is. He has been slow to feather. He has a rose or strawberry comb and is the only chick we have with one. But I think it seems to be growing bigger then what I think a females would be at this age. He voice has also changed a little. He doesn't have the peep peep sound anymore its a little louder and more grainy now.He is been our slowest to feather though. I was starting to wonder if he was going to get all his feathers. Most of the other chicks are fully feathers excpet for parts of their bellies and he is still working on getting his saddles feathers. But in the last week his feathers on his saddle have finally started coming in. He is not a good flier. He is pretty heavy compared to the rest of the chicks and just kinda runs, jumps, flaps a little, and then plops back down. Then he walks around the edges of the brooder making all kinds of noise and getting frustrated. When he was a week or two old before he started getting big he would get to the top of the brooder ad porch on his own. He also used to like us to help him every so often but he really doesn't get up on our hands that much any more.

Big Red- We have given our Road Island Red this nick name till we name her. We are pretty sure she is a pullet. Her comb is still small... But her saddle feathers are a little different looking from the other girls. She really does not like to be handled. She is just in the last week learning how to jump and perch on the top of the brooder pretty good. But like Gaia is attacks to try to knock the others off but normally just ends up falling back into the brooder her self. She pays the most attention to use. Always turning her head sideways to look up at use. Then she will just sit there like that and watch. She has really been working on the jumping and flying thing though.

Black & White- She is an Australorp. She has almost lost all of her white. I was originally told she was a Dominique. Thats ok though. The green sheen is coming out in her feathers and she is going to be gorgeous. We are pretty sure that she is a pullet. Her comb is small and white. Her feathers have come in quickly and they are pretty rounded on her saddle. She is flying & jumping well. And she likes to sit on the top of the brooder now as well. She also tries to knock everyone off the top of the brooder but normally falls back in herself. Although she has taken little brown banti of a time or two.

Mabon- The Black chick.. Which we were oignally called Cynder but it just didn't seem to fit her. So we have since changed her name to Mabon. She is a Black Sex link Barrod RIR mix. She is a pullet. You can tell by her coloring. But her comb is also small and white and her saddle feathers are round. She also jumps up to the top of the brooder and sits. And as with alot of the others she trys to take out some of the other perchers. But she has a better rate of success. Her feathers are very pretty.

Little Brown Banti- Nick names Lil Banti... We are pretty sure she is a pullet. Her comb is small and white. She has the most beautiful feathering. She is a Cochin Bantam. and She is really lovely. She loves to perch. Next to Isis she is the one who is best at it. She is really light weight and stands up to the bigger chicks pushing her around when she is perching. But she still gets knocked off the brooder from time to time. This Chick is Cheys Fave. She loves to hold her and pet her. She is doing really well with handling. Her saddle feathers are round and she has a ton of feathering on her legs and feet. She is just gorgeous. O yeah and curious... She got her head stuck in the 1" wired outdoor enclosure the other day trying to get a little snail. Lucky we were working on the coop when it happened.

Black Banti- Is definitely a cockerel. His comb started turning red right before week 4. And now it is a bright red and is growing really fast. He has also been slow to feather and like Amera he is just now starting to get his saddle feathers. Alot of his saddle is still fluff. He is also alot heavier then lil Banti. He is not good at flying and is still trying to figure out how all the other chicks make it to the top of the brooder when he can't. He has always cuddled with the rest of the chicks and when we would count the chicks most of the time we would come up with 7 becuase they would all be standing and he would be under them laying. He is also the first to be getting his little red waddles under his chin. He also does not like to be handled. Notice he would not stand still for the pick so John had to hold him like that.