Veggie Podcasts #3

One more Vegan & Vegetarian Podcast reviews

Vegan- Vegetarian solutions for a sustainable environment- This podcast is very informative on how the meat industry is ruining our environment and how being vegan helps. It is a slow moving podcast. I listen for the history of not only the vegan lifestyle but to see what has happened in the meat industry in the past and present. The casts are pretty short most under 20 minutes. They are kind of like taking a class. Tons of info if your interested in environmentalism. And even if your not it might give you a new answer to some weird question a "meat" eater throws your way. Or just a new topic in general to become aware of. So Check this one out.... Give it a chance.. I know it is slow moving... :)

Stay tuned for more podcast reviews

1st Grade Christmas Party

The party went pretty well. I wish I would have started it earlier so we could have done more games. But the kids had a good time.

Food (Not Vegan :( )
Kabobs
Cookies
Cupcakes
PB&J Sammies & role ups
Chips
Cheese
Apples
Teddy Ghrams

Games:
Made ornaments
Grinch masks
Decorated ginger bread cookies- PPK recipe... I use this recipe every year
Present wrap relay
Read Merry Christmas Gus
and then ran out of time.



I did have other games planned that we didn't get to.

Here is a list:
The Unwrap relay .. Each kid runs up and unwraps a box. The box contains a letter. After every kid opens a box they bring their letters together to spell out a word. The first team done wins.
Ornament bounce or ping pong gift relay: I had a cheap 1 dollar pack of 12 plastic ornaments. 3 teams of kids. The game was a relay again. Each kid would have 4 chances to get 3 ornaments through a wreath but the ornament would have to bounce first. First team done wins.
Snow man toss: we had candy that looks like cool. A snow many cut out. Then the kids had to pick a button hole and try to throw the candy through. If they did they would get candy.
Steal can toss
Present stack relay
and I could go on...... But I hope this helps any one looking for ideas...

Remember when making food to make it colorful and interesting but at the same time something kids will eat.

~All Veggie" Meats" are not created equally~

Becoming a vegan is opening my eyes to more and more food Items that are not vegan. Even the Veggie "meats" that are suitable for vegetarians are not always so for vegans. I am sure this is no surprise for most and really wasn't a surprise for me. But I thought I would make this post and others in the future so that people who are new to the Vegan lifestyle and who still like to eat the Veggie "meats" would have a reference to which are vegan and which are not. <~~~~ Can you say run on sentence??? lol, any ways... I am going to put up the wel known brands first and then work my way down through the brands I know. This will not include Trader Joes, Whole foods, and other grocery store brands.... So Here goes NV= Not Vegan V= Vegan All information came from ingredients lists online on the specific Brands websites. Boca- www.Bocaburger.com
(Processed in a facility that uses milk & eggs)
Ground Crumbles Burger- V
Ground Crumbles all Natural- V
Original Vegan - V
Boca Original- V
Vegan w/ Organic soy- V
Chili- V
Chik'n Patties original- V
Chik'n Nuggets original- contains egg
Spicy Chik'n Patties- V

Flame Grilled- NV- Contains Milk & Egg
Grilled Vegetable- Contains- NV-Milk
Cheese Burger- NV-Milk
All American- NV- Contains Milk & Egg
Organic Garden Vegetable- NV-Contains Egg
Roasted Garlic- NV- Contains Egg
Roasted Onion- NV- Contains Egg
Bruschetta- NV- Contains Milk
Savory Mushroom Mozzarella- NV-Milk
Italian Sausage - NV- Contains Egg
Italian Sausage all natural- NV- Contains egg
Bratwurst- NV-Contains Egg
Bratwurst all natural- NV- Contains Egg
Sausage Links- NV- Contains Milk
Sausage Patties- NV- Contains Milk
Sausage Links organic- NV- Contains Egg
Sausage Patties organic- NV- Contains Egg
Boca in a bun- Chik'n & Swis- NV- Contains Milk
lasagna- NV- Contains Milk & Egg
Chik'n Patties original all natural- NV- Contains Egg
Chik'n Nuggets original all natural- NV- Contains Egg
Chik'n Patties Spicy all natural- NV- Contains Egg


Morningstar (Processed in a facility that uses milk & eggs)
Grillers Vegan- V
Meal Starters Chik'n Strips- V
Meal Starters Crumbles- V
Meal Starters Sausage- V
Meal Starters Veggie Steak Strips- V
Meal Starters Chik'n strips Natural- V
Meal Starters Steak Strips Natural- V

Asian veggie patties-NV- Contains egg & milk
Garden Veggie- NV- Contains egg & milk
Griller's Original- NV- Contains egg & milk
Griller's Prime- NV-Contains egg & milk
Mushroom Lovers- NV- Contains egg & milk
Spicy black bean veggie- NV-Contains egg & milk
Tomato & Pizza- NV- Contains egg & milk
Buffalo wings- NV- Contains Milk & Eggs
Chik'n Nuggets- NV- Contains egg & milk
Chik'n Patties Original- NV- Contains milk & egg
Italian herb chik'n patties- NV- Contains milk & egg
Original Chik'n Tenders- NV- Contains milk & egg
Roasted herb chik'n organic- NV- Contains milk & egg
Veggie Dogs- NV- Contains milk & egg
Mini Corn Dogs- NV- Contains milk & egg
Corn Dogs- NV- Contains milk & egg
Veggie Bites Broccoli & Cheddar-NV- Contains milk & egg
Veggie Bites Mushroom mozzarella -NV-Contains milk & egg
Veggie Bites Spanish artichoke-NV- Contains milk & egg
Ginger Teriyaki veggie cakes- NV- Contains milk & egg
South western style veggie cakes- NV- Contains milk & egg

Worthington & Loma Linda www.kelloggs.com
(Processed in a facility that uses milk & eggs)
Chik-ketts-V
Canned Chili- V
Canned Choplets- V
Canned Big Franks-V
Canned Dinner Cut-V
Canned Linketts-V
Canned little links-V
Canned low fat meatless soy franks- V
Canned Ready Burgers-V
Canned tender bits- V
Canned vege burger patties-V
Canned low fat vegetable steaks- V
Canned multi-grain cutlets-V
Canned vegetable scallops- V
Canned Vegetable crumbles-V

Dinner roast- NV- Contains milk & egg
Fripats- NV- Contains milk& egg
Leanies-NV- Contains milk & egg
Fried Chik'n-NV- Contains milk & egg
Swiss steak with gravy- NV- Contains milk & egg
Chik'n style role-NV-Contains milk & egg
Chik'n Slices- NV- Contains milk & eggs
Smoked turkey role-NV- Contains milk & egg
Prosage links- NV- Contains milk & egg
Stakelets- NV- Contains milk & egg
Stripples- NV- Contains Milk & egg
Canned Diced Chik- NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned Frichik- NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned Tender Rounds- NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned Veja Links- NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned prime steaks-NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned saucettes-NV-Contains milk & egg
Canned super links- NV- Contains milk & egg
Canned Veja links- NV- Contains milk & egg

YVES www.yvesveggie.com
(All vegan items are made in a facility that uses eggs. Thats noted on labels)

Hearts desire meatless beef- V
Hearts desire meatless Chicken-V
Hot dogs- V
Good Dogs- V
Tofu dogs- V
Jumbo Hot dogs-V
Veggie Brat Classics-V
Veggie Brats zesty Italian- V
Deli style slices "Bologna" - V
Deli style slices "Ham"- V
Deli style slices "Turkey"-V
Deli style slices "Salami"- V
Deli style slices "Peperoni"-V
Deli style slices " Roast w/o the beef- V
Deli style slices Smoked " Chicken"- V
"Chicken" Burgers- V
"Beef" Burgers-V
"Canadian Bacon" - V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Breakfast Patties- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Meatless Chili- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Veggie lasagna- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Veggie Penne- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Santa Fe "Beef"- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Thai lemon grass "Chicken"- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Meatless Ground- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Taco Stuffers- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Ground "Turkey"- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)
Asian ground round lettuce wrappers- V (Manufactured in a facility that uses egg & milk)

Mac N soy cheese- NV- Contains Casein
BBQ Rice and bean burgers- NV- Contains egg (Manufactured in a facility which uses milk)
Lentil & Veggie Burger- NV- Contains egg (Manufactured in a facility which uses milk)
Barbecue "beef" skewers- NV- Contains egg
Lemon herb "chicken" skewers- NV- Contains egg

LightLife www.lightlife.com
Smart Dogs veggie protein links-V
Smart Dogs Jumbo- V
Tofu pups-V
Smart Deli pepperoni style- V- My Favorite!
Smart Deli Turkey style- V
Smart Deli Ham style- V
Smart Deli Bologna Style-V
All Tempeh styles are- V
Gimme lean sausage style- V
Gimme lean beef style-V
Smart Ground original- V
Smart ground taco/ burrito- V
Smart Strips chik'n style- V
Smart Strips Steak style strips- V
Light burgers- V
Smart BBQ- V
Smart Tex Mex- V
Smart Chili- V
Smart menu orange sesame chick'n - V
Smart menu garlic teriyaki chick'n-V
Smart m'tballs- V
Smart links breakfast- V
Smart Bacon- V
Smart tortilla wrap Ranchero- V


Smart tortilla wrap Mexican beef style- NV- Contains Milk
Smart tortilla wrap Breakfast- NV- Contains Milk & egg
Smart Breakfast patties- NV- Contains egg
Smart Nuggets- NV- Contains egg
Smart menu veggie bolognese- NV- Contains Egg
Veggie Burgers- NV- Contain Egg
Mushroom Burgers- NV- Contain egg
Smart Patties burger style -NV-Contain egg
Smart Cutlets Chik'n fillets- NV- Contains egg
Veggie Wheat organic dogs- NV- Contains Egg
Smart pretzel dog- NV- Contains Egg
Smart Tenders savory Chick'n- NV- Contains Egg
Smart Tender Lemon pepper- NV- Contains Egg
Smart Sausages Italian style- NV- Contains Egg
Smart Sausages Chorizo style- NV- Contains Egg
Smart Stuffers Turk't w/ cranberry- NV- Contains Egg & milk
Smart Stuffers Chik'n Cordon melt- NV- Contains Egg & milk
Smart Stuffers Chik'n broccoli melt - NV- Contains Egg & milk
Smart patties Chik'n Style- NV- Contains egg
Smart Patties mushroom Burgers- NV- Contains egg

Quorn - No vegan items as far as I know

Naked Chik'n cutlets- NV- Contains milk & egg
Chik'n tenders- NV- Contains egg
South western chik'n wings- Contains egg & milk
Cranberry and goat cheese cutlets- NV- Contains milk & egg
Chik'n patties-NV- Contains egg & milk
Gruyere Chik'n cutlets- NV- Contains egg & milk
Garlic & Herb Chik'n- NV- Contains egg & milk
Turk'y roast- NV- Contains egg & milk
Meatless meatballs-NV Contains egg & milk
Meatless ground round- NV- Contains egg & milk

I will leave more later in another post. But hopefully this helps anyone who has questions.

Vegan & Veg Podcast reviews #2

I said I would leave some more reviews so heres a couple more. I went to Morgantown shopping today and listened to podcasts the hour trip there and back plus the whole time I was shopping. So shopping and podcasts.. and I stopped at a book store... So many guilty pleasures built into one day..lol


Raw Vegan Radio with Steve Prussacke- I have listened to a few episodes of this show now. It is full of information. Take the time to listen and take some notes... You will definitely want notes. I am going to listen to the episodes again so I can take notes. Steve does a lot of interviews with authors, founders, traditionalists, nutritionalists .... His shows run about an hour long, I think. But in that hour there is a ton of info, seriously. If you are interested in raw food or your Vegan or Veg or even if your not check out this show to learn more on nutrition and how you get all the nutrients you need. And all the different ways you can get these nutrients. They go over everything. What gluten does to the body. What vitamins work for you and which one works against you. Salt, what is table salt compared to seas salt. Why they are pretty much the same thing. And since they are both not good for you what you should use in its place to get the sodium your body needs. Weird cravings and why you get them... what you could be missing that you would never guess. I could go on and on... Like I said check this podcast out!!! Awesome podcast! Rawveganradio.com

The Animal Farm Radio Show- This is not a veg podcast. I don't know why it came up under my search as one. Maybe because of the name. It is a current events news show that runs about one and a half hours long. It runs on F.U. Radio. It is a very politically "independent" show. With a lot of information about current political issues as well as some other news issues from around the world. A lot of good stuff. Sometimes they are a little "rude" or um..... I don't know. But check out this show. Its worth a listen. It might turn you on to a new perspective. Who knows...? :) Animalfarmshow.com


Still to come.

The Vegan Radio
The V Word with Meat free Media
Go Vegan Radio with Bob Linden - Goveganradio.com
Vegan- Vegetarian solutions for a sustainable environment
Alternative Vegan- dsarma
PETAs Podcast
The Vegan cooking school
Conscious animal radio
Vegtalk



Does any of you watch The Drs. in the morning. Well I do. Did you know that the more diverse your genes are from your mates the more attracted you should be to them and the more compatible. Because the more diverse the genes the healthier your kids will be. Your child will be protected against many more illnesses.....

Loss of A Family Member

Today we lost another member of our family. Mickie, one of my parents dogs which we have had for around 10 years. She was 12 or 13 years old. She was a cute little Chihuahua- pug mix and she was full of life. She was always bouncy and happy to see you. She had a little yip for a bark but she thought she was the biggest dog around. Mickie would throw her little bit of weight around at any one who stepped up to the gate and even decided to nip me a couple of times. She put up with my dog Chloe but my 45 pd dog Sophie she chased around the yard and would nip at her chin. Even though she only weighted 12lbs, if that. But she was a sweet heart and she will be truly missed. We love you Mick!!!!!

I will load a picture a little later

Pod Cast- Compassionate Cooks

I was recently listening to an issue of Compassionate cooks podcast and Colleen read a Story by Shad Clark called "Little Boy Pig". It is a very interesting short story. I thought I would write and ask people to listen to it or read it. It is about A genetically altered pig who was born in a lab for human organ transplants. But the story takes a dramatic turn when there is something just a little different about this baby pig. Shad Clark's stories are well written & very descriptive. Please check out his website out at ShadClark.com and if you are looking for this story click on the pig picture then on the pigs snot. If you would like to listen to it go to compassionatecooks.com and download colleens podcast called "Little Boy pig: a genetically modified Tale".

Yeast Biscuits recipe

I thought I would drop by and leave a "Yeast Biscuits" recipe. I had never tried them till today. They don't taste like regular biscuits or like roles. But they don't taste like yeast. I guess kind of a role/ Biscuit mix...

• 1 package yeast
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup veg shortening (Try to find non hydroginized)
  
• 2 cups soy milk
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
  

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Place yeast and sugar into the warm water. This lets the yeast proof so you know it will work. Let it foam up. In a seperate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Cat in shortening with fork or fingers. I like to use my fingers so I can blend it till its like wet sand. Then add you wet ingredients. Combine till dough starts to form. Dump into floured surface. knead a little. Do not over knead or they will be tuff. Role out as thick as you would like. Remember these will rise a little in the oven. This recipe make quite a few. It depends how thick you role it. Some where between 12 and 24. Then enjoy.

I had these rolled out pretty thin. Thats why they are kinds thin looking and not thick & fluffy. My little sister was helping...

Vegan Essentials Order

A few days ago I sent my order in. I was so excited because I can't get any of this stuff around here. I spent $92.o9 and that was with a 10% off coupon from Compassionate cooks podcast.

So I purchased:
Teese Cheddar
Teese Mozzarella
3 Chreese Packets Ched, Mon, Alfrado
Eco-Planet Crackers
2 Rice marshmallow Treats- I thought it was a 5 pack box! But no!
Vegan Gummies
2 Butler soy curls
Field Roast
2 Vegetarian Chili seasoning
Sweet & Sara Marshmellows
Creamy Dill Dip Packet
Eat like you give a damn t-shirt
meat free zone sign
Keep it organic button
No tails were docked magnet
Life tree Soap
Vegetarians save lives button
Vegan unflavored Jel

It wasn't really that much stuff for the price and I was kinda let down when I opened it. I am excited to try the teese though! So I will leave a review later on all the stuff. Here a couple reviews...

The meat free zone sign: It is printed on a card stock type paper. I thought it would be a thicker plastic. Like signs are normally made of. The ink was messed up and it was bent into. I called and they said they would show me another one.

No tails were docked Magnet: I do like this. It is made pretty good. I put it on my fridge as soon and I got it! John likes it too.

The 2 bottons: are cute. they are buttons what more can I say.

Sweet & Sarah marshmallows: I was kinda let down by these. I am sure I will grow to love them. But I think they have a after taste. John liked them though. I will give them a couple more tries.

Echo Crackers "Cheese" Flavored: These are good. They taste like the ones your used to when you eat real cheese. Pretty Good!

T-Shirt- Seems to be made out of good quilty material. I will let you know how it stands up to washing.

Vegan & Vegetarian Podcasts

I have become a big fan of the Veg Podcasts. I haven't gone to far out of the veg realm. So I really don't know any out side that. But I do love listening to The Veg Podcasts !! I am addicted.. John likes them too. I listen to them and then the ones I think are good I save for him. Its cool that a lot of these people are authors them selves as well. If you have read my blog in the past you know I am a huge book fan. So being able to hear the authors and not just read their books is another step up! Plus sometimes its good to know that there are other people in this world with the same views you have. And not just a few.... There are tons and with outreach the vegetarian & vegan lifestyle is growing. So here are some of my favorite.


1. Vegan Freak Radio - I have been listening to this podcast the longest. For probably over a year now. Bob and Jenna Torres are informative, funny, real on facts & they deal with a lot of public questions from not only the US but from around the world. They also give you a chance to air your annoyances and rant a little about everyday life. Which is good for everyone. I can never wait for there next podcast. I find myself frequently checking their website for new casts. Although now I have itunes so hopefully it will tell me when there is another. They are not fans of vegetarianism and strive for a total vegan diet. And I definitely can appreciate that. But if your a vegetarian don't let this put you off. It is a really great show. I am just now going vegan after years of being a vegetarian. And although they are a kinda "in your face" show it is definitely entertaining and answers a lot of questions. As well as letting you know about new topics and just whats going on around the world. O yeah. They also do interviews with other authors and other Animal rights people. I love those shows... I am a huge book fan. And don;t forget to check out their books "Vegan Freak" & Making a Killing. The new version of the book "Vegan Freak" will be out in February 2009. You can listen to like 20 back episodes on their website and on itunes. I wish I could find all of them. But I have yet to come across them. Awesome Podcast!!!!! www.veganfreakradio.com

2. Vegetarian Food for thought or Compassionate Cooks- Colleen Patrick Goudreau from compassionate kitchen. Yes the author of the cookbook "The Joy of Vegan Baking" has a podcast. I love her book !! and her podcast is great too. I list both names because some shows come up under one on my mp3 player and some show up on the other. So. This show is also very informative. But a little more conservative. Not like in a political stand point just not so in your face. She does a lot of topics and stories. She also has guest speakers ever so often. She is very sweet and well spoken. But at the same time gets her point across. She answers a lot of viewers questions and even if you don't ask her your question, I am sure she has hit on it, or will hit on it in the future. She has discussed almost every topic in the animal for food industry and has even spoke a little on other Animal industries like animal testing. She tells animal stories and speaks about places like Farm Sanctuary which she visits quite often. She also gives out coupon codes quite often to some of my favorite Vegan stores and to stores I haven't heard of but are also vegan and are pretty cool. She does a lot of product reviews and reviews on websites. And she is always sure to let us know when she come across a great shopping or informative website. She also runs Compassionate Cooks. You can find more information and her pod cast at www.compassionatecooks.com. Definitely an Awesome Podcast!!!

3. The Angry Hippie- This isn't really an all vegan podcast. Although he is vegan and does do vegan issues. He does all kinds of stuff. Feminism, Racism, politics, holidays, war, global warming, organic foods, oil, immigration, drugs, religion, current events, sexism..... I could go on and on. His show is about everything. He does an awesome job and my husband and I love listening to him. But you will definitely love his show. There is something there for everyone! another Awesome Podcast !!! Angryhippie.info


More reviews to come in the future. I would like to listen through some more of them before I do my review. So Stay Posted for the list of Podcast reviews Below. As well as more.

Raw Vegan Radio with Steve Prussacke
The Vegan Radio
The V Word with Meat free Media
Go Vegan Radio with Bob Linden - Goveganradio.com
Vegan- Vegetarian solutions for a sustainable environment
The Animal Farm Radio Show
Alternative Vegan
PETAs Podcast

Tempeh Veggie Pot Pies

Well today I decided it had been to long since I had made veggie pot pies. So I cracked down and finally made 6 small pot pies. They turned out GREAT! and were also very very simple to make!
I just used the stuff I had laying around. Although I do love grocery shopping so I keep a fully stocked pantry most of the time. So If you don't have some of these ingredients don't worry about it. Add what you want and /or have. This is just a basic one. You could make one with like black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. That would be awesome too.

Ingredents- I used
4 Organic carrots- chopped
1 or 2 cups Frozen organic green beans
Bag Frozen Mixed veggies (corn, carrots, green beans) Because I could not find a bag of corn in my freezer.
1- 12oz can chick peas
1- 12oz can of peas
4 med potatoes
Flex Tempeh- any kind will do ( I use this to add protein and add another texture) chopped into small pieces
6 cups or a little more of No-chick broth or Veggie broth
oil flour

Make a nice simple Vegan pie crust like from Sarah Kramers book The garden of vegan.

Ok so simple....

Put a couple tablespoons of oil in your big pot. Throw in carrots to caramelize a little and soften. Thrown in all the veggies except the potatoes. Pour the no chick broth in. About 6 cups. more if you want more broth. Throw in the potatoes & tempeh about 15 minutes before your ready to put the mixture into the pie. The tempah will take on the flavor of the no chick broth. If you have some kind of vegan "chick" powder of bullion cubes use a couple of those if you want a little more flavor. Don't forget salt and pepper to taste. Don't worry about the time when your making this I won't hurt anything. Just make sure the potatoes get done but not overly so. To make the broth thick right before you get ready to place into pie crust mix 4 or 5 table spoons oil oil to 4 to 5 tablespoons flour. Make sure there are no clumps! This is your rue... Take your spoon and drizzle a couple table spoons into your pot and then stir add some more if needed till the broth thickens to the consistency you want. Make sure its not like water still though. It takes about 20 25 minutes for the small pies. Your just cooking the crust. The veggies are already fully cooked. See simple... I know I could have wrote it in a more simple way sorry....


I make small pot pies for my husbands lunch but you can make this a big one to. It makes alot!

You could also use biscuits instead of crust. I make extra biscuits to because I never make enough crust. Or even make drop biscuits put your filling in a big pan for the oven add the biscuits to the top and let them bake in the oven. I use the biscuit recipe from Sarah Kramers Book as well. Or even make dumplings in the same pot or make in a separate pot so they don't over cook and then add them. That would be great too.

A Dumpling is basically a biscuit boiled.. They are really good
Here is a recipe for Vegan "Buttermilk" Dumplings

No-chick broth or Veg broth- to boil them in

2 Cups flour
2/3 cup soy milk w/ 1 tsp vinagar (mix sepearly so that it can "spoil" the soy milk)
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp baking powder add parsley for color - optional

Put the broth in a pot and bring to a boil.
Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Just like when making biscuits. No not knead. just fold together. Role out and use a small cookie cutter to cut out small dumplings. Throw in boiling water. and a few minutes later take out. The should be like cooked bread in the center. Soft and plump. Not doughy or puck like. If they are doughy throw back in. If they are like a puck then they are over cooked. I still eat them when I over cook them. I don't care. Thats all....

Snow ! & icy roads!

O the weather outside is frightful... But the fire is so delightful.... But as long as you love me so.. let it snow let it snow let it snow.... well maybe a little snow.. not to much...lol

Well it has snowed here a good bit already this year. The last few winters have been pretty good not getting much snow and frigid temps till January.. But a little just to let you know its winter. This year it has already snowed multiple times and has been so so cold..!!! Last night we received a few inches of snow. But our roads were not treated at all. They were awful . Plus it snowed a little more this morning. So John called off from work. Which he never does! Around noon today there was one clear spot on the road in front of our house. Just where the sun was beating down on it. But a car lost control and flipped!!!! I called 911... and the guy was not seriously injured luckily. About 20 feet behind this car the road was still covered with snow and ice. O yeah..It took them forever to find a tow truck driver to come out because of the road conditions. Alot of them just said the road were to bad for them to bring out there flat beds... I mean.. So that car laid in the road for over an hour. Then it took almost a half hour for them to flip the car and get it situated. They did at least cause less damage flipping his car over then they did ours when John flipped it.

There was also another wreck this morning up above our house right out of town. Another Subaru rolled over the hill about the time John was wanting to leave this morning to go to work. I heard the fire whistle and then asked him to stay home till the roads cleared. The lady they pulled out of that car as far as I know is ok. The car went over the hill so far they had to put ladders down the hill to pull her up to the road where the ambulance was waiting. The same cop and fire crew was at that accident.

But here is a couple pictures. I also have video of the car being flipped back over and loaded up. If I can figure out how to up load it.lol...
Anyways. The snow was gorgeous laying out there this morning. I wish I would have gotten some shots of that. But I was to lazy to. I don't like the winter over all. Cold & Wet... yuck!!! And John works Sunday thru Wednesday and when school is canceled or it is the week end. The state road does not treat the roads early in the morning. So John drives to work pretty often on ice covered roads. Which really scares me. He normally leaves early early.. so.. Anyways... I like this time of year. Just not the weather. I guess its not the same without it though. Just wish the roads would stay clear.

Black Friday- pictures to post later

Black Friday here in Morgantown went over without a hitch. I actually had a pretty good day. But I was very upset to find out that there was a Walmart employee killed in New York by a crowd of people. How bad do you want sales? Bad enough to trample someone to death. That is disgusting and I think all the people who was part of that should have charges put against them. I give my prayers & sympathy to his family and friends.

As I was aying. Black Friday here was worse then normally. Most of the Walmart employees were in a bad mood. I showed up there at 3:30am. Yes I know.. CRAZY right? lol. I stood in line for over and hour for one particular item and I was 3rd in line. When Walmart cut the plastic off it was a mess. People were mad because others were skipping line and everything turned into a huge mess. I did get most of the stuff I was looking for a Walmart though. I went to Target next and and waited outside in the cold for 45min till 6am. For a stupid Black & decker rechargeable broom which doesn't work good anyways and I am taking it back. People again skipped line out side and they had an employee outside trying to make piece. There was people yelling and screaming at each other. But when the doors opened it was a riot. It was awful. I am surprised no one there was hurt. Then I drove clear to Clarksburg. To go a Joann Fabrics for there clay, quilting, pattern, and material sale. I was there forever. The mall had a sea of cars. It was crazy. I waited in line to have material cut for around a half hour then another 30 to 40 minutes to check out. Plus I had been walking around for an hour or so. So it was around 9am when we finally left. Then I went to Circuit city which I had pre-orded online for pick up.. I loved that. Although we did walk around for a while to see what was left and ended up with some extra movies. It was around 11 am when we left there. we stopped by the walmart in Fairmont to pick up a couple grocery's (lettuce, tomatoes, & croutons). So we made it home around 12:30pm. And I crashed because I had not slept the night before. So here is my running list of the day:

Walmart
Movie- The Omen 2 pack- My pick $2.00
Movie- Borat w/ t- shirt - Johns pick... $2.00
Movie- Robots w/ soundtrack- $2.00
V Rocker game seat- John- $30.00
Some electronics stuff which I can't list because of Christmas.

Target
Black & Decker Rechargeable Broom- $30.00(has now been returned to the store. It sucked...well it really didn't... it really didn't have enough suction at all)

Joann Fabrics
Polymer clay 2oz packs- $.99 each was over $2 each
4 sewing patterns- $.99 each normally over $15 each
3 yards of natural cotton quilt lining for $5.50 yard normally $10 something.
5 yards of fabric at $1.50 yard normally $4.99 and $5.99 a yard
A quilters square for $7.49 which was half off.

Circuit city
2 Sony 4 GB MP3 players w/ a card for 20 songs each from emusic downloads- $50 each- normally around $130 plus the music. - I love this MP3 player. It is very easy to use! Sounds great. But only comes with 3.5 GB free when you get it. Plus it will not let you delete this music and movie trailer it includes. But it works great and is very user friendly. I have like 60 podcasts on it right now and still have about 1.2 Gb left. But I keep cycling out podcasts too. I use it primarily for podcasts.
Wii dance mat- $12.99 normally $20
100 DVD/R- $10.00 normally $50
100 CD/R- $10.00 normally $25
2- 4MB SD memory cards- $10.00 each- work great. Holds about 1800 pictures with a 7 mp camera.
Wii Game party- $10.00 normally $20- its an ok game. I am glad it was only 10 dollars though. I wouldn't want to spend anymore than that on it.
and we purchased a couple movies as well.

So 2 years in a row yes we have found really great deals. But overspent terribly. Next year lets say debt diet...! :)

A Vegan Organic Thanksgiving Dinner

This year I made an all organic vegan Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out really good and it was easy. First course was Sweet potato soup, 2nd was tofurkey, roasted veggies ( carrots, fingerling potatoes, green beans) tofurkey gravy, mashed potatoes, wheat roles, and baked apples for dessert. I made the vegan pumpkin pie from Sinfully Vegan but I didn't like it. So it went straight into the garbage. And yes I had let it sit all night in the fridge. J & I had dinner the day before Thanksgiving. I surprised him that night when he came home from work. I normally don't fix a whole dinner. But I really liked doing it for us. It was awesome. We had a nice family evening just the 2 of us.

Roasted Veggies

I used:
Green Beans
Carrots
Lil Tomatoes
Fingerling Potatoes

But you can use almost anything you want.

Try to cut the carrots to match the size of the green beans so they cook evenly. Cut the fingerling potatoes in to. Put a little oil and salt on the veggies. Enough to coat them all. Bake for 10 minutes take out and turn them. Put back in for another 10 minutes.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup- I have never had this kind of soup so I hope this taste ok. J liked it. I ate a little maybe it will grow on me. I would like regular beg soup more although I like creamy soups. This recipe was converted from a recipe at www.elise.com.

2 T- Veg Butter or Oil
1 Cup chopped onion
2 small celery stalks- I added more then this and there was a strong celery flavor.. oops
1 Medium leek (white and light green part)
1 1/2 pds sweet potatoes, cut up
4 cups- No chick broth or other veg broth
1 large clove of garlic
1 cinnamon stick or 2tsp
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cup soy milk
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Melt Butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add Veggies which should be be chopped. Saute about 10 minutes. Do not burn. Add garlic saute 2 min.

Add sweet potatoes, veg stock, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to boil. Boil uncovered for about 20 minutes.

Take batches and put into food processor. Puree then put back into pot. Add soy milk & maple syrup. Warm to a good eating temp and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chey's 7th B-day

"C"s B-day party went very well this year. She had 3 friends & some family over. The kids spent the day running through the house like the cats do when I am trying to sleep. All the time screaming and laughing. So she had a very good day. I did make a vegan birthday cake but I didn't have enough powder sugar to make icing. So I had to ruin it with store bought icing.... oops. Then I melted down some chocolate and spelled out everything with it. Not one of my favorite cakes... But thats ok. The kids liked to pick off the chocolate and eat it. We also had pizza for dinner. No not vegan sadly. I did use the pizza crust recipe from Vegan with a vengeance though. It always turns out really good. But here are some pictures.

1st Grade Halloween Party

A Few days ago we had my little sisters 1st grade Halloween party. It was fun. I had put together some cool games for the kids that went over really well. So I thought I would post them.

First they ate. Cupcakes (which I made pictured to your left, which came from "Vegan cupcakes take over the world"), Peanut butter bone cut out sammies, cookies, veggies, some animal products, ect. ( I didn't schedule this part of the day)

2nd we had an ewwy... gewwy... witches cauldron relay

In this game I had 4 icky bowls for the teams of kids to collect stuff from different areas around the yard. I gave them each a "recipe" card with 3 pictures. They would go collect 1 item at a time and put into the cauldron. Then run out and collect the 2nd then the 3rd. Then the next team member would go. After all the team had gone they had to run over and pick up a role of Toilet paper and wrap one kid up like a mummy. The first team done would win.

Spider webs- sticky spaghetti
Brains- a brain made out of instant oatmeal & water
Pumpkin insides
monsters drool- Corn starch with water dyed blue. I don't know what I did with the picture to it.( if you have never mixed it together it is really need. It feels hard to the touch and stays solid for a couple seconds after you pick it up. Then it turns to liquid..)

The kids loved this game. They let out tons of energy and really had a blast. I took cheap gloves so that the kids who didn't want messy could use them. I was surprised to find that most of the girls didn't want them and most of the boys did..hahaha so cute... But they did have trouble with the toilet paper. It kept breaking apart. So maybe the toilet paper is a better idea for an older group. Even the parents had fun watching them though. It was cool.

Next game we played was the Cluck Cluck Hunt Game.

I had thrown out some old candy corn into the grass before the kids had come outside. I gave 1 kid in each team a paper cup. That kid was the rooster. When I said go all the other players would run to a piece of corn and cluck like a chicken..till the rooster came to get the corn. The first cup to be filled won. This game although cute and fun. The kids didn't play to well. All the kids were picking up the candy corn and everything turned into a mess. But they still had fun.

4th game was a Skeletal hunt. I bought cheap plastic skeletons in 3 collors at the dollar store. I had John pop them apart and then we throw all of the pieces out in the yard. The kids had to collect 10 pieces of the right colored skeleton. Then put it together. The kids had fun and did a great job with this game. And really did put the skeletons together pretty quickly.

Because there was also a costume parade that day that was all the games we played. But it was a really good day. They also got huge gift bags.

Art or Animal Abuse- Guillermo Habacuc Vargas

The vulgarity of this situation is over whelming. This will never be art! I consider myself an artist and I am disgusted to see this "person" be considered as an artist and be put in the winners circle for doing no work at all. A being was MADE to give up its life for this. But for what? His article stated he was doing it for the dogs that were starving and that the dog would have died anyways. But yet he could not find a solution through compassion he caused more suffering. Ask yourself, Do we really want an "artist" causing more suffering in this world? Because we already have more than enough suffering to go around.

" It is a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong. Something the best people have always done" Harriet Beecher Stowe.

So choose to take the side of the weak. Choose to stand up and help those less fortunate beings. Be it human or animal. We all breath, we all feel, an we all can suffer. Do not help create suffering. Help abolish suffering. Even if it takes one being at a time. Do what you can!


This "man" and I use the term lightly. Wants to do this again.
Please Sign this petition to help. Click the link or here is the URL: petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition.com

Just a quicky

You know blogging really helps when you are forgetful. I forget all the time where my favorite recipes come from. And then all I have to do is look over my old blog entries and they are all there. Recipes or where I found them. Along with the yummy pictures to rush me into cooking it.

White bean chili & Oatmeal Cookies

A few days ago I found a new wed Site Called Sparkpeople.com. It is a "dieting" website that does a lot of cool stuff. You can track your calories and activities. You can read tons of informational articles and do tons of more stuff. Anyways. I have been tracking my calories, fat, protein, & carbs on there web site. And working with some of there meal plans. But since you can enter in your own food options I kinds stray but stay in my calorie realm. The other day I made there White bean chili recipe which turned out to be really good. But its not chili to me. It has some spices like chili but its just more like a white bean soup. Very easy and good.

Other recipes. The only other thing I am going to post a picture of are no bake cookies. They are easy and quick. Everyone knows what the are. Lots of fat, high in calories & carbs, but has a good amount of protein.

1/4 Cup cocoa
1/2 Cup soy milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegan Marg ( I use smart balance light)
1/2 Cup Peanut butter ( You can use 1 whole cup though I like them better w/ a whole cup)
3 cups oats.

Put everything except oats and peanut butter in pan. Bring to boil. Let boil for 5 minutes. Take off heat add peanut butter mix well. Add oats and then put on cookie sheet to harden enough to pick up. Enjoy.

I also have a corn flake no bake cookie recipe that I will post one day. They are really good too.

I finally received my new juicer in the mail. But I have not taken it out of the box to use it yet. I can't wait but my kitchen is a disaster. Breville Ikon Juicer here I come. Very soon. I will post a review and recipes soon. I hope.

Next on my list. I have mentioned that I have an addiction to books in the past but now its to buying them off ebay, half.com, and amazons used section. I have purchased 9 or 10 in the last 2 week. Its crazy.....
My garden is dieing. the summer is coming to a close. Which I really don't mind at all. But my garden is being attacked by zucchini bugs. And bugs just freak me out. Yuck. So I am very sad to say although I am still getting tomatoes everything else has pretty much died. But its kinda our faults. It hasn't rained and I have yet to get J to help me carry out counters of water.
I know this is every where today. Sorry. Maybe it will be better next time.

My 23rd B-day

(Can you say recipe overload? lol)

My 23rd Birthday was really nice. J and I went out and ate and did some shopping. I came back that night to my parents and J having a little b-day celebration for me. My mom had fixed my Grandma F's Black Berry Cobbler. (That was my cake request for the year. :) ) And of course presents.... ! lol. J & My parents ordered me the Breville Ikon 900 watt Juicer I had been wanting. So it is supposed to be delivered Wed. I can't wait! They also got my a bunch of books, horror flicks ( I like getting the originals from like the 1980s.), and a HEATH LEDGER movie, some moppines, purse, & shoes... I had a really nice B-day.

A Quicky- Produce Bags

I am sure all of you, as I was tired of using those stupid plastic produce bags. And if you don't shop at whole foods people just are not as nice to you bringing up apples to role all over the counter. I know there are many options including making your own. But I have found these knifty little bags. I never really thought about using them for produce when I ran into them in the car section at Walmart. But the other day I was at a dollar store and found them for 1 dollar. So I opened them and they were nice and light so not to add to the cost of produce. So I bought 3 sets to use as produce bags.

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

I am feeling a little better. My fever has finally disappeared. But my stomach is very sick and the Erythema Nodosum is still here. But I know it will be gone soon. I am on some medication right now. MethylPREDNISolone (its a steroid which helps the EN go away) and Azithromycin Tablets which is an antibiotic to help get rid of whatever infection was giving me the fever. I have had the steroid before but the anti-biotic I have never had and I think that is what is making my belly so sick. Anyways. Today I decided I was tired of not eating so I had a Boca burger for breakfast and a pineapple Orange smoothie for lunch. I am not sure what is going to be fore dinner but I have to eat every time I take a pill and I have a lot of pills throughout the day to take now. So not eating for a week and then I have to eat like every 2 or 3 hours now.. Maybe thats whats making me sick. Who knows. Have I ever mentioned I hate! really HATE!! taking medication and putting all that stuff in my system.... Yuck.. Any ways Here is the recipe for the Pineapple Orange smoothie.

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

1 Cup Pineapple
1/4 Cup frozen orange juice concentrate oor fresh orange
1/2 cup soy milk or soy yogurt
1/4 cup water
2 ice cubes

blend all. Makes 2 - 3/4 cup servings. Or 1- 1 1/2 cup serving. Very sweet and Yummy. Enjoy.

You know what????

This blows..... I'm still sick. My temp is still 102.6F. I feel offal. The Dr. took 2 chest X0rays today. I don't get the results till Monday. I'm never going to the Dr. on a Friday again. So now I get to worry all weekend about Pulmonary sarcoidosis..... I am scared to death. I don't know what to think. I just pray the x-rays come back good..

Update: I went to the Dr. (Monday Aug 18,08). To get my X-rays and to see what other experimenting they would like to do on me... i know not funny. My x-rays were normal. So that is good. But I had to have blood taken from my arm. I do not , slash that... I hate getting blood taken from a vein. It totally freaks me out. I have not had it done since I was probably 18 maybe younger. I always beg them to prick my finger. The other day it worked. But today I had no such luck. They stuck me and took a full tube. The nurse told me I could lay down if I thought I was going to pass out. I assured her I would not. And she stuck the needle in my arm. My arm went completely numb and I got really dizzy. I thought I was going to go down. But luckily I made it. Just by a a lil bit. It was really bad. I know I am almost 23 and I seriously have a 5 year olds issue. They should have AA meetings for this. lol

"Hello my name is Chasity B______ and I have Belonephobia (the fear of sharp object, especially needles) Well needles all the way here. Well kinda. I just don't like the blood/ medication kind.... Tattoos & pericings fine... I don't know.

But end of story for now. My appointment was at 1:30 today and I swear I can still feel the needle in my arm and it is 12:59am ! Blahhhhhhh.!!!!!!!! I just can't describe it..... More updates to come. O yeah the Dr. wants me to go to another specialist. But I have no insurance at all.... So although I wish I had the money to do it I really don't. But by the way the Bllood they took today was so they could check my thyroid ... who knows what next...

All in one

Well the last couple weeks it seems like a lot has been going on... but at the same time really not that much. I kinda look back and think well I have been busy... but with what.. So who knows. Anyways. Here is a little bit..

My Erythema Nodosum is back and worse then ever. Yesterday I was in so much pain all I did was lay on the sofa and cry. So it has been ruff. This set has been here for around 3 months. Not getting bad till about 5 days ago. So it was tolerable till I got about 15 new spots in one day and the next day I was just in total agony. These pictures do not show the really bad nodules. I have one right now that is the size of a 4"x4" and still growing. But I know you really can't see them that well from these pics. But moving on.

We have had a lot of rain this summer. And the garden is doing pretty good. I learn a lot of new stuff every year. This year I tried Square foot gardening. I took the measurement for spacing from another website I had ran into talking about square foot gardening. At first everything was good. But as the summer has gone on everything has out grown into each other and has made it very hard to get to everything and find the stuff that blends together. So this year although our tomatoes have done wonderful our squash mixtures has really only produced 4 or 5 zucchinis and 1 acorn squash. The cucumbers got crowded out be the tomatoes and squash and and I have only got a about 5 cucumbers although there are tons of baby cucs. The beans have done really good. We picked 2lbs a couple weeks ago and now they are ready again. Although now I have found out I can not pick beans I am allergic to the plant its self. Next year I think I will plant double or triple on the beans so I can have enough fopr summer plus for the winter. I planted a lot of lettuce and as always it does really good to the point of I can't eat it all and it gets tough. My carrots have produced allot of green but I have yet to see a carrot. And last but not least the what I believe are radishes have done good on the greens but I have not harvested them because I don't have a recipe yet. But all in all I have learned a lot, got some veggies and I think thats what it is all about when you are first starting out. I still have a ton to learn. And hopefully in the future I will have more space so I can plant all that I want.
I have not been cooking to much and when I do it is either the same old stuff and I forget to take a picture. The other night I did try something new and I remembered the camera. Not hard just a kinda through what you have together and you have dinner. So here it is...
Tempah ( Which I has never had before )
zucchini (from my garden)
yellow squash (Some guy sent home with a friend when he found out we were vegetarians, always great!)
Organic Carrots
Organic long grain brown rice
Trader Joes Soyaki

I put the tempah in the soyaki to soak a few minutes. I takes up alot of the soyaki and fast. Then I mixed a little soyaki in with the veggies. Put it all on Rice. Your done. I know should I have even taken the time to type that? lol.

I have also recently found a new used book sale location. It is less then 20 minutes away from me. So every Friday when it is open thats were I am. They have very low prices because all the books are donated or are old library books (It is located right beside the library). So they are all between 10-50 cents. So every week I spend around 6 dollars but last week I spent 9 dollars. But I came home with two boxes of books. J also got some cassette tapes & a movie which are all 50cents apiece. They have some really nice books to and some are brand new. So I guess what I am hinting at is if you have a local library that has an on going book sale check it out. You save money on books, there are no extra trees cut down because you are reusing them, and it helps the libraries. (The Other picture is of the old school that sits right beside the library. It is still in use but has never been remodeled. It was built around 1903.)

There has been more going on like we have been taking C and her friend out alot on the weekends. Bowling, to the movies, out to eat, & Shopping.



Yet another picture and recipe I forgot to post is the Thia Peanut Butter seseme noodles. So here is the picture. I don't know what happen to the recipe. I really liked them but J didn't. Ok all done for now. byebye