Boring You With The Details...

Before I start rambling about random crap that has been happening the last couple months I thought I would share with you something that I FINALLY found LOCALLY!  YAY!  I have tried a few of the other flavors but this is a first for me with THIS Sparkling Live Drinking Vinegars.  THIS flavor I am speaking/writing of is the TART CHERRY Apple Cider Vinegar with Coconut Vinegar.  I had a thought that I would enjoy it but I have to say I really LOVE it (way more than even I thought I would). 

It had to be a treat because it was still priced at a bit over $3 for the ONE bottle.  I figure some people throw money at cigarettes and other awful things so what if I splurge on this little gem, eh!?

Anyhow...on to a few other things.  I have mentioned (but haven't expanded on) how the last several months I have had a LOT going on.  And even now...I don't know where to begin.  I don't want to lay out all my dirty laundry or anything but I figured I would list a few things that have been on my mind as of late.

My MIL was diagnosed with cancer almost a year ago.  She went thru the treatments wonderfully and is now cancer-free but she's been having other issues since about June that no one can fully explain.  As you can imagine this is something that we worry about day-in and day-out.  It's on-going. 

Several months ago the company I work for was supposed to be sold.  We were looking forward to several changes.  In the final moments of the sale, it fell thru which was a bummer.  It's been doubly difficult because my MIL has worked at the same place for over 40 years and because of the health-related concerns she has retired and we haven't hired anyone new.

Of course, I am giving you the shortened versions of these stories but I have had some people ask me about different things and wanted to update my buddies without sharing TOO MUCH information - if you know what I mean.

DH is on the fair board and exec board of our county fair and that has come in to play more this year than in past years.  I have gotten more involved as well.  In addition, I have been very involved with our League of Women Voters and other community events and committees. 

The beginning of December will be our last time selling for Wildtree.  We've been reps for 9 years and LOVED it but several things have told us it's time to move on.

One of those things is the birth of my niece Trinity.  With everything else going on I want to make sure I spend as much time with her as possible.  My sister lives about 45 minutes from where I do and with both of us working full time it's already hard enough to see her each week (or two or three) even if it's only for a few moments.  This will be her first Christmas and I'm already trying to figure out what we are going to do for her.  I want to start traditions with her...that only her and I will have.  One of the things is UNICORNS.  As many of you know I have collected unicorns my whole life and someday Trinity will be getting all of them whether her mother likes it or not!  hahaha!  I was thinking about giving her a Unicorn from my collection each year but even if I did that for all of her first 18 years that would only be 18 unicorns and I have over 700!  So I don't know if I will give her one this year, 2 next year, 3 the following year, and so on or what but she will start getting them THIS CHRISTMAS!

I'm really trying to get back into cooking more and blogging about it more but I have had some pretty frumpy attempts as of late.  I hope to turn that around soon.

My parents seemed to be excited about their new camper.  We hope to transport it back sometimes this week so it's closer to them for when spring comes around.  I feel bad that they will have to wait months before using it.  But it's something to look forward to and possibly something we can think about for holiday gift giving, too!

This winter I really have to work on many areas of our house.  I just have no idea where to start.  It's quite overwhelming. 

Speaking of overwhelming, these last 6 to 8 months have been just that.  With all of the stuff I mentioned in this post - among other things - not to mention the ongoing vet issues with all 4 furkids - it's been rough to say the least.

Thank you for those who sent me messages and thoughts/prayers.  I let the stress get to me more than a few times but I'm hoping on moving forward and improving the ways I deal with stress from here on out.  It's an ongoing journey so any and all encouragement is appreciated.

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Drink & YouTuber of the Moment

My first attempt at Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Drink - Apple Cinnamon Flavor:

16 Ounces Water

4 T Apple Cider Vinegar

8 Ounces Apple Juice

3 tea Agave

2 tea Lemon Juice

1/2 tea Cinnamon

I feel this was a success!  And the timing was PERFECT because I just ran out of a 32 Ounce Guava and Black Tea Juice I bought from Trader Joe's!

Last night I discovered the YouTube Channel of No Egg Craig!  Apparently I'm a little bit behind with my discovery but I thought it was still worth a mention!  As I binged watched several videos I noticed something his family and I had in common (other than eating vegan, that is) it was the Buffalo to Syracuse Accent!  I had a hunch he was closer to the Syracuse area and sure enough I was right!  Come to find out he's not too far from The Vegan Zombie guys!  Gotta LOVE those 'Hard A's" in the Syracuse and Buffalo Accent!  I still can't shake it myself!

I'm totally LOVING this channel because he does a lot of shopping at Aldi and Budget Friendly Videos!  After watching a few of his quick meals I realized I'm not the only one who does creative quick meals that non-vegans may find a little CRAZY.  One of them I haven't tried and MUST is the Pumpkin Oats he does often and is featured in this video!

Egg Trick Bagel & Tater Tot Casserole

Yesterday I was able to take a little time in the kitchen with food prep and such.  I've done Strong Hearts Cafe & The Vegan Zombie's Egg Trick Muffin before and have done my own variations.  This time around I used a bagel flat (basically a flat bagel round) instead of an English Muffin.  You may remember that I LOVE using a few tablespoons of salsa on my Egg Trick Muffins so I did that here as you can see it oozing out of the bagel hole.  Inside I just did the seasoned tofu round patty and Daiya Cheese.  It was tasty!  I have 2 more disks of tofu ready to go in my freezer so I'm sure I will be doing this again soon!  I will most likely be doing a side of Tofu Scramble with the edges of the tofu I didn't use.

For a closer look at the tofu egg part - I thought I would take another snap.  Since hubby has been really suffering with his ongoing sinus infections and pneumonia yesterday we had a quiet day at home.  We were able to watch Fantastic Beasts.  It was good!  On Saturday there was a vendor show at our local YMCA.  It ended up being a pretty good turn out.  We were there with our Wildtree stuff!

Now...on to my newest attempt a Tater Tot Casserole!  I told you I was going to do it!!!  And here is what I did!  This first photo is the casserole BEFORE it went into the oven!  Recipe...

Bottom Layer:
Chopped Broccoli & Cauliflower
Chickpeas
In the Middle:
Then I poured 1/2 box of Cashew Ginger Soup over it
Then I added a layer of Daiya Cheese
Top Layer:
Tater Tots - touching - edge to edge
Then the rest of the Cashew Ginger Soup
Then more Daiya Cheese

Sprinkled on top:
Hemp Seeds, Dried Onion, Fresh Minced Garlic, Turmeric, Smoked Paprika, Nutmeg

This next photo is the first piece I took out after baking it at about 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.  I think it turned out great!  As you can see the top vegan cheese layer didn't melt well and I'm sure it was because there wasn't any liquid on top to assist with the melting.

In this photo you can see that the middle layer vegan cheese melted nicely.  I think next time I will put more of the cheese in the middle and less on top OR make a vegan cheese sauce for the top instead of using the shreds and sprinkling them.  I have to say I was pretty tickled with myself on this one.  The only creamy vegan soup I could find at Tops yesterday was the Cashew Ginger one.  It worked pretty well.  I'm sure with a different creamy vegan soup it would change up the overall flavor and I'm looking forward to getting creative with it.  I know I will be able to get multiple meals out of this!  I'm considering making at least one sandwich out of it, too!  I will keep you posted on that if I attempt it!

Tater Tot Casseroles are so versatile and the possibilities are endless!  If I had more time to bake 1 each week I'm sure I could come up with many more ingredient and flavor combinations!

As for the rest of my weekend I had a bit of a hard time with my aches and pains - especially after standing for 7 hours at the vendor show.  My Sciatica kicked in - or what I was thinking was my Sciatica - now I'm wondering if it was Fibromyalgia all along.  Perhaps it's both!  Heck, I don't know!  But another thing I did find out in my research was Apple Cider Vinegar for the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia.  I'm pasting that info below.  It's pretty interesting stuff!  Makes a lot of sense, too!  One of my mini goals for the first part of this week is to create some of those ACV Drinks at home.  Not only will DH drink them - so will I!

While apple cider vinegar does not treat fibromyalgia per se, it has been reported to alleviate many of the symptoms experienced by those living with fibromyalgia.
These include:

Fatigue – Stress (both emotional and physical) causes lactic acid to build up in the body resulting in fatigue. The potassium in apple cider vinegar combats this.

Joint Pain and Headache – Apple cider vinegar keeps the body’s pH level slightly alkaline which helps eliminate joint pain as well as headaches.

Swelling and Inflammation – Apple cider vinegar may be rubbed onto visibly swollen areas. Consuming apple cider vinegar helps relieve inflammation in the body.

Gastrointestinal Issues – Apple cider vinegar contains pectin which helps sooth the colon lining. It assists with loose bowels by forming more “bulk” in the G.I. tract.

While rigorous scientific research cannot support any claims that apple cider vinegar fights or cures fibromyalgia, many anecdotal reports suggest relief and reduction from debilitating fibromyalgia symptoms. Source: https://www.wholesomeone.com/news-articles/apple-cider-vinegar-fibromyalgia

RAW WEEK - Tuesday!

Hello Lovelies!

It's day 2 of my RAW WEEK!  After posting yesterday I went home and made this CRAZY HUGE Salad!  But not before a mini outing!  I had to swing by and drop off a cat carrier that I borrowed from my parents neighbor and then I went to Aldi's.  Early yesterday morning when I went to a nearby Grocery Store most of their daily produce was WAY TOO Expensive.  Average Every Day NON-Organic Cauliflower was $3.99 a head, their tomatoes were $3.49 per pound and most of them HUGE so I bet they were well over a pound a piece, even their grapefruit was $1.29 each...their avocados were over $2 each, etc.  So I really wanted to stock up and got a bunch of stuff at Aldi's and only spent $22.  I wish I would have taken a photo of my haul before putting everything in their places in my kitchen/frig/pantry.

While at Aldi's I found a super huge awesome hard plastic bowl for $4 - I went home, washed it, and threw this salad in it!

This Salad Contains the following...Romaine Hearts, Cherry Tomatoes, Mini Cucumbers, Orange Sweet Bell Peppers, and Hemp Seeds.  I think it worked out to be between 4 and 6 cups of greens.  I made a dressing last night as you can see in this 2nd photo but silly me I forgot to jot down everything in it...so...here's a guess...I know there was at least 1 C of Mango along with about 2 T Tahini.  I think I added some Lemon Juice and Garlic Sea Salt.

This 3rd photo is a pic of the Salad Dressing I made prior to pouring on the salad.  OH!  Yes...I think I also put about 2 T Dijon in there, too!

I really enjoyed this dressing but think next time I would use less Mango and more Dijon for the extra ZING!

Later in the evening - last night - I had the munchies.  I decided to cut up 2 more Mini Cucumbers and treat them like Raw "Chips".  I made a Raw Vegan Cheese Dip to go along with it. 

In this Raw Vegan Cheese Dip and/or sauce here is what I used...

1 C Pine Nuts
1 C Cashews
3 Cloves Garlic
2 Mini Sweet Red Bell Peppers
2 T Lemon Juice
1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 C Nutritional Yeast

I get Raw Cashews and Pine Nuts at my local herb store in bulk.  Mostly when I buy in bulk the prices are better.  When it comes to nuts - especially raw nuts - that isn't usually the case. 

I realize Nutritional Yeast isn't necessarily raw but I do know a lot of Raw Foodists that consume it.

Next up...I made some Raw Vegan Chia Crackers or Chips last night.  They kind of remind me of Blue Corn Chips/Tortillas.

For the crackers/chips I did about 1 C of Chia into 2 C Water for about an hour.  I stirred in about 1 T Garlic Powder - maybe a little less - for the whole batch - and then spread it out on a Dehydrator Sheet and flipped every 2 hours or so until crisp.

I was pretty impressed with myself, actually.  I ended up doing quite a bit last night around the house as well as food prep.

Now...I only had one of these this morning as a Taste Test and I really liked them.  I'm probably going to have them with dinner or as a snack tonight.  And LOOK - I used that Raw Vegan Cheese as a dip since there was SO MUCH in the batch that I made.  I also noticed it thickened up pretty nice over night in the frig.

This will last me a few days.

I felt like I literally ate all day long yesterday.  But I think I did a good job of getting a variety of foods. 

As for today...I started my day with another smoothie which you can see in the following photos. 

For this smoothie I used 2 C Strawberries, 4 Handfuls of Spinach, 2 inch chunk of frozen banana. 

It's not the most beautiful color but it tasted good!

I've been putting my Vitamix to the test as well as my Excalibur!  This REALLY excites me!

Yesterday I was up from about 4am until about 11-ish last night. 

Not Bad. 

Best part?  No afternoon energy crash! 

I, did, however, sleep in longer this morning - but - not as long as I usually do - so that's good!

I've also been able to use more of my cute Mason Jar Glasses with the handles and more consistently.

So far - TODAY - I had the smoothie listed above along with 3 Apples and 1 Nectarine.

For Lunch I had some GREENS from the Container Garden...a mix of both the Sweet AND the Spicy Mesclun Mixes...so up to 8 different lettuces altho I think there is only about 5 in what I picked today.  On top of the Greens I threw in about a tablespoon or two of Hemp Seeds and about 1 C of Grapefruit.  For the "dressing" I just used Apple Cider Vinegar to taste.  I also had about 1/4 of a Watermelon on the side.  I'm looking forward to Dinner tonight!

Basil Pesto Spinach Snacks

MONTHS ago when I was researching all sort of Kale Chips from different companies and different kind of dehydrated chips and all sorts of different flavors of these said "chips" I came across Seaweed Chips with a Cashew Cheese on top - both dried - both raw.  They were very tasty.  Over the weekend I wanted to come up with some of my own and do them in my new Dehydrator...that is how this idea was born.  Instead of Seaweed or Kale I used Frozen Spinach that I thawed and got as much of the liquid out as possible.  It worked out to be about 2 Cups of Spinach.

I then added a little bit of Wildtree Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oil - only about a teaspoon or so PLUS about the same amount of Apple Cider Vinegar.  I sprinkled in a little bit of Garlic Sea Salt (but a very little bit since I'm not much of a salt person).  I also took a handful of Cashews and Grinded them in my Mini Coffee Grinder I use as a Spice Grinder...made that into a 'near' powder.  I was going for a Parmesan-like texture and taste to it.  I also added 1/2 of a teaspoon of GoL's Wheatgrass Perfect Food.  I mixed everything in to the damp spinach and took pinches of the mixed and put them on my dehydrator trays and dried them for about 12 hours or so.  They sure did have that Basil Pesto Flavor I was looking for!  I ate one of the dried munchies and started craving another shortly after.  I hope to do some more Kale Chip as well as Spinach Chips in the very near future, too!  Stay Tuned.

Participating Post: You're Gonna Love It Tuesdays, 

Blissful Learning ~ Apple Cider Vinegar, Potato Flakes, Rice Crumbs

 If you have visited my site before you probably have already noticed I use a LOT of Apple Cider Vinegar.  YES...I used it in many recipes and foods and dressings, etc...but I also use it as a cleaner for many different issues - among other things.  More recently - I have been using it in my kitchen to get 'rid of' gnats and fruit flies.  I really haven't had a problem with this until this year.  And it's NOT because of the produce in my house!  I think it's because of  the moisture near my kitchen sink!  Between the Apple Cider Vinegar AND boiling hot water 'treatments' I think it's really helping.  I've been talking to family, friends, and co-workers and they are having problems with them this year, too!  I use Bragg's Brand for Apple Cider Vinegar.

Another 'problem solver' I have been fond of lately is using Potato Flakes and/or Rice Crumbs as a thickener for soups, sauces, and dips.  Sometimes they might be a bit too thin for my liking and these two items seem to really help thicken it up without changing the flavor of the food I am making (too much if at all).  For Potato Flakes I have been using Bob's Red Mills in most cases.  For Rice Crumbs I really like the Orgran Brand and have blogged about them before.  I have also been known to use Edward & Sons Vegan Organic Bread Crumbs for Casseroles and such.  BUT...I have to admit...I'm currently out of my Rice Crumbs almost thru my stash of Potato Flakes!  I must really get to some shopping VERY soon!  But...I did want to blog a bit about these items today as they are VERY handy and with all of the at-home food prep I have been doing it's been fresh in my mind and I thought I would share my tips with you.

Norwegian Potato Salad & Creamed Peas (Grønn ertestuing)

 Just a short post today to share with you TWO Norwegian Side Dishes for Norwegian Vegan Foods Week here at My Blissful Journey!  This first one is Creamed Peas or Grønn ertestuing in Norwegian!  BUT...wait...it's not 'just peas'...it's true!  I added a little more for color and nutrition but the idea is the same!  There are Peas, Corn, Carrots, Green Beans, and Lima Beans in there!  I used an Organic Frozen Bag I got on sale a while back.  Here is how I made it CREAMED, tho...


2 C Mixed Veggies (or straight-up Peas)
2-3 C Water
3 T Earth Balance
3 T All-Purpose Flour (I used Gluten Free from Bob's Red Mills)
1 tea Coconut Crystals (you can also use Sugar of choice)
Salt, Pepper - to taste (I used Wildtree's California Blend)

This turned out pretty good.  Not one of my most favorite dishes or attempts but not too shabby.  I think it was more of a texture thing with me than anything.  I am glad I tried it tho and I did eat almost all of it!  I had a small dish as a snack - since it is fairly sweet - but I had two helpings with my last two Cabbage Rolls.  It worked out nicely!  I'm told TRADITIONALLY this pairs nicely with meatballs but if you were to do the veg*n equivalent - I would assume it would also go well with Veggie Meatballs or a Nutloaf, even!

Another side I did was  Norwegian Potato Salad as you can see a little bit of it in the blue glass dish, here.  I only did enough for one side to accompany my meal...but I will be doing this again and soon because I really enjoyed it!  Here's the quesi-recipe for this:

3 Potatoes
1/2 to 1 Onion
2 T Grapeseed Oil
1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T Coconut Crystals (or Sugar of Choice)
2 T Parsley

I'll be back tomorrow with more!  In the meantime...I would LOVE to read your comments!  Have a great day!

Marinated Chickpea Salad

The older I get the more I do with Chickpeas!  They are so versatile!

This past weekend (continue reading I blog more about this) I also made this Marinated Chickpea Salad!  It's a flavor combo I would have NEVER thought of myself - it started with a recipe on line and morphed from there!

Here's what I did...

1 Can of Chickpeas

1 Cup of Corn (I Used Frozen)

1/4 C Celery

1/4 teaspoon Paprika

2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

1 T White Vinegar

1 Clove Garlic

1 Squirt of Yellow Mustard

Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

Wildtree California Garlic Pepper to Taste

I would FOR SURE make this again!