Big Bowl of YUM!

Yesterday I was thumbing thru Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen Cookbook and came across her recipe for Chickpea Spinach Stew with Lentils and Quinoa.  This YUM Dish - as I like to call it - is inspired by that recipe - yet still pretty altered so I think it's okay if I share with you what I did for my version.  This is packed with LOTS of stuff and has more ingredients than I usually use in one recipe but I think it turned out wonderful and I can't want to make another version VERY SOON!  This is a complete meal in itself that is for sure.  I made a HUGE batch and have gotten 3 meals out of it and even tried some of it in tacos - just for the heck of it - and am LOVING it!

1 t Coconut Oil
1 t Garam Masala

1/4 t each of Cinnamon, Cumin, Smoked Paprika

Knob of Ginger

2 t Minced Garlic

1 t Onion Powder

2 Large Tomatoes
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes in Green Chilies 

1 Package Frozen Spinach (Roughly a Pound)

2 t Apple Cider Vinegar
2 C Water
1 t Black Sea Salt (or to taste)
1 T Raw Cane Sugar
1 T Maple Syrup
2 T Lemon Juice

1/4 C Almond Milk
1 Handful Cashews

1 Can Chickpeas

1/3 C Red Lentils
1/3 C Couscous

1/3 C Super Grains*

The Super Grains I used were equal parts White Quinoa, Red Quinoa, Millet, and Buckwheat.

In other news...I spent all day at home today.  The weather is still crappy.  It's still snowing.  It's still very cold.  The roads are ICY.  While at home all day I spent much of it cleaning.  Years ago I totally re-did a room in our house and converted into a craft room.  Long story short but I got out of crafting because of a few nasty people ruining my love for it online.  It's become a CATCH ALL type of room and it was beyond BAD.  Today I finally started hoeing it out.  It's still going to take a while to complete.  My goal is to still have it as a Craft Room and I hope to get back into crafting BUT different kind of crafts.  I would also like it to double as a Yoga Room.  

As for what I can see myself doing in terms of crafting is VISION BOARDS and for yoga I want to work on YOGA for PAIN.  More on the progress of these two mini goals down the road.

Paper Crafting As Of Late & A Thowback Scrapbooking Page

First off thanks so much for the notes that my Best Bloggin' Buddies left me last week!  It's so wonder knowing I have people who care and check up on me!  It means the WORLD to me!  Thank you! 

So...this week...I'm back bloggin'.  I have lots to share but I have to say between everything that has been going on and the horribly EXTRA cold winter we are having I really haven't wanted to do much!  Gabby - one of our cats has always been small - and has been losing weight lately so I have been trying to up her food intake and give her private food time away from Charlie - our other cat.  I think it might be working.  Fingers Crossed.


I was thinking about making this one big long post but I figured I would space it out.  I'm sure I will have more than one post for today but I will be schedule posting a few others as well.  I have been averaging about a card a week and have enjoyed it.  I'm baby stepping my way back to paper crafting.  I used this card for the February Challenge over at Chalk N Stock if you want to hop on over and check it out and maybe even participate during this month's challenge!  I've been getting into pattered papers more as well as papers that kind of 'clash' with each other.  I'm not really sure why I'm currently into this look but I am.

Here's another card I did a couple of weeks ago.  I really liked the red against the black and cream colors.  The center checkered part is actually a ribbon not paper.  But as you can see I used the opposites or 'clashing' look - or mismatched - even - in this card, too!

Since I have been working on re-organizing my craft room I have found all sorts of things I am now using again that haven't paid much attention to the last year or so.  It's been FUN.

I hope to post at least one project a week on my blog from now on!

Here's another card I made - it was actually the first of the 3 I am posting here.  I'm trying to use my scraps more than I did before - I have TONS.

In this card I use the same red paper as in the card above.  I used some paper scraps for the black and cream strips and the flower you see is a hand crocheted flower one of my crafting buddies sent me a few years ago.  They are lovely!  In the center of the flower is a decorative brad I've had laying around for a while as well.

Overall...I'm fairly pleased with these cards!  They are a bit of a departure from what I was doing with cards prior to my crafting hiatus.  I'm looking forward to other projects as well!  I still MUST start in with those tins I was telling you about a while back, too!

Another now for a Throwback Scrapbooking Page.  I did this YEARS ago.  The reason I am posting it now is as a remembrance.  You see...the girl in the lower right hand corner photo was a good friend of mine (Actually one of two of my BEST Friends) from college who afterwards was a teacher at a charter school.  In 2008 her finance shot her and then himself.  It was a complete shock - of course.  It happened Super Bowl Sunday...I'll never forget that.  Everyone was notified and the word started spreading that following Monday.  I haven't looked at Super Bowl Sunday the same way since.  I probably never will.  Yesterday I spent a lot of time thinking about her.  I think of her often but yesterday I went thru photos and videos and had a few moments of silence.  Also pictured in this photo is my other friend Sarah and I in the other pictures.  The photos were taken in 1998 when we were in college and at an IVCF Retreat in Angola, NY.  The 3 of us were VERY active in IVCF during college and shortly after, even.

A Lovely Bunch Of Randomness

There has been a lot going on.  Some of which I am not quite ready to talk about but I will fill you in soon, really!

Sorry I have been away for more than a week and a half...it's been a very weird couple of weeks - but, again, more on that in the future.

Today I have a bunch of random updates for you!  Including this photo of me wearing one of my favorite hats of the season!  Some of you know my LOVE of hats!  This came in handy this winter with the bitter cold temperatures...it's probably the warmest hat I have right now! 

I have been working on my Craft Room again but still have a long way to go!  Here's a nook in the one corner that I took so you can see some of my supplies as well as some of the stuff I am working on organizing! 

In the white canvas compartments I have smaller paper, some scraps, random photos, and other odd-ball things I didn't know what to do with yet.  In between the two larger shelves/racks you can see a smaller structure that I have put my ink pads in.  At first I was going to pitch or repurpose that but I decided to keep it just the way it was.  It works just fine for what it's for and sometimes I need to tell myself to 'leave well enough alone'.

This structure is NEW, however!  A couple of weekends ago my husband did this for me...he's been getting into his tools again.  I thought it was great since he hasn't really been into the tools for years...unless he needed to...so I have been encouraging him!  I think it's GREAT! Plus...he's been making some really great stuff for around the house including my craft room!  For this space I really needed something that I could put a BUNCH of stuff ON so I could have it in front of me...I'm a very visual person - that needs to see everything in order to use it!  We also weren't able to hang anything from the walls since our house is over 114 years old and the room I use for my craft room has wall of a Spackle or something close to it anyway and it's very "weak and crumbly" so I don't want to many any more holes in the walls than are already there, ya know!?  So with this massive shelving unit it was able to sit on the table top up against the wall - we did try and adhere it to the wall a but just for a little extra sturdiness.  It's working GREAT so far and it is as long as the table...so...6 feet or so.

The other night I noticed West Side Story from 1961 on Netflix and it's been a few years since I have seen it so I decided to sit down with the furkids and watch it.  I think it's the first time I have watched it since they remastered it in 2011 and I thought the quality was wonderful!  I've always LOVED West Side Story!  Of course, I have been a fan of musicals most of my life.  I'd like to get back into them more this year!

Last weekend my mom, sister, dad, and I were over at our local mall for an Outdoor Show with our Wildtree Products.  This is the 2nd year we have done this show and it's a fantastic one sales-wise!

We stocked up as much as we could on product and it was good that we did.  We ended up taking some orders and got a few more orders after the event was over (throughout the week!)  We even got a few leads for parties and a possible rep!  YAY!


As for food - I have been plugging along with some home made stuff, of course, as well as some stuff from my stash from my trip to Trader Joe's a few weeks ago.  I do need to go shopping to replenish my frozen and fresh foods very soon!  I have been going thru a lot! 

I have been doing a few Bento's the last couple of weeks and need to get back into DAILY Bentos!  This was one of my bigger meals which included a nice salad with a little bit of Daiya Shreds and Nutritional Yeast.  I did a smoothie for breakfast that day.  I used some leftovers of Garlic and Pine Nut Couscous topped with peas and Hemp Seeds.  In the snack sections I packed cashews that I had seasoned at home and they were great - along with a bit of Coconut Chips.  The dark liquid is just red wine vinegar for my salad.  I didn't have any home made salad dressings left at that time.  It worked out well for a Vegan Bento Box, tho!

Eventho I don't have a complete recipe for you with this photo here, I will tell you what's in it!

The photo doesn't do it justice...it looks a little "iffy" but I assure you the flavor was YUMMY!

It has the following in it...Avocado, Corn, Lime Juice, Coconut Sugar, Hot Sauce, Cumin, and a very little bit of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Crystals.

As for this Dressing...I must say I LOVE it!  Here's what I used for this and it make quite a bit!

1 C Water
1 Large Orange Bell Pepper
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
1/4 C Tahini
2 T Lemon Juice
1/2 C Cashews
2 Sundried Tomatoes
1/2 C Nutritional Yeast
1 T Hot Sauce

And FINALLY - my lunch for today...Mustard Brussell Sprouts and Corn:

1/2 Small Onion
Garlic Powder to taste
Onion Powder to taste
1 T Lemon Juice
1 C Frozen Corn
1/2 pound Brussell Sprouts
1 T Coconut Oil
1 to 2 T Yellow Mustard

What have you been up to!?

Lengthy Post ~ Eventful 2014 Start!

LONG Post Alert! 

Happy 2014!  I've been VERY busy!  In this post you will see a BUNCH of things that I have been working on!  Starting with this Quinoa Dish from a few days ago!  Unfortunately, I have misplaced the recipe!  DRAT!  But it does have various Spices, Quinoa, and Diced Tomatoes in it!  I hope to post the recipe as soon as I locate it tho!  Sorry about that! 

Eeeeek!

Another Mini Project that I have been working on is this Mixed Media Artsy-Crafty Piece.  I have but using various mediums and doing many layers over time.  It's so thick right now it's much like a canvas texture-wise!  I'm happy with the colors and texture and weight of it.  I will be revisiting this again soon, I'm not sure if I will use it in Art Journaling or Wall Art - perhaps do a collage over top or maybe just add a phrase and Frame.  I will keep you posted, tho!

As some of you know...I'm soooooo NOT a baker!  But I'm TRYING to at least TRY!  This was my FIRST attempt at Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies. 

Yes...they are a little flat...but they tasted YUMMY and kept well.

Recipe:

1 1/2 C Bob's Red Mills Flour
1 tea Baking Soda
1 tea Soaked Chia Seeds
1 tea Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Earth Balance
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C Chocolate Peanut Butter
1/4 C Applesauce
1/2 C Brown Palm Sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners)

My Craft Room is a MESS!

And...I mean...a MESS!  Beyond a MESS, actually!  One of my many MINI Goals is to fix that.  I start in on this a little bit yesterday!

You certainly can't tell from this photo!

What I will show you is HOW I started in on this MESS...

 I started in with the PENS - Markers, Pencils, Water Colors, etc...

You name the utensil...it's HERE...

I like the way it turned out!  I thought I would share it with you here...step by step!

There are 24 compartments - empty - for now...

We made these out of 10 feet of PVC Pipe.

We cut them into 5 inch "rings" for lack of better word, I suppose!

I really wanted a BACK on each one so it would STOP the items I put in there...and they wouldn't fall thru or fall out the back.

Decorative Duck Tape worked nicely.  We covered about 75 to 80 percent of the back because I knew we wouldn't fill them with pens all the way to the top!  I had two colors/patterns of Tye-Dye so I thought it would be cool to use 'em.  It worked pretty well!

We had 4 compartments left over.  As you can see here we could fit 5 across on each shelf for a total of 20 compartments.  With the 4 left over ones we covered completely with the Tye-Dye Duck Tape and set them right-side-up on the top shelf for 4 more containers.

Yes...I already filled all 24 of them.

I love the way it turned out tho...but...I do have a LONG way to go on this Craft Room OVER HAUL.

Here's a closer look at this project.

I have more photos, too, but I think you get the picture!

I also love that this was reusing something and multipurposing.

Cost-Wise it made me smile, too!  We figured it cost roughly 80 cents per compartment by doing it this way!  YAY!

One of the main reasons my Craft Room is TRASHED is because I am a Pack Rat and have too much stuff! LOL

One of the items...

I've been saving and have been given LOTS of tins!  This is just a small amount of the overall picture and problem.  I want to make a mini goal to do a few a week...I will keep you posted on that.

Another item is this...

Yes...those are empty Plastic Soda/Pop Bottles.

I have in the past and I want to get back into working with them again.

I make Plastic Beads out of them...stay tuned for that in the near future, too!  I posted about it a while back on my old Crafting Blog, too!

This is a photo of my 2 cats on New Years Eve.

Gabby on the left and Charlie on the right.

They stayed this close for about a half hour or so.

While I drank my smoothie that I posted about the other night!

And...finally...

Vegan Garlic Ranch Dressing!  Woot!

2 Small Zukes
1/3 C Soaked Cashews
4 Small Dates
4 T Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Shallot
1 T Parsley
Sprinkle to Taste Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
1/2 C Almond Milk (or to texture/consistency)
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast

This is WONDERFUL!  I'm so happy with this flavor!  What have you been working on in 2014 so far!?

Blissful Journey ~ Personal Wellness & Enrichment & iTunes Tuesday!

I was a little lazy last night with the food situation as I still have to get to the stores and produce stands this week (I hope to do that tonight, actually!)  I had a Veggie Sub from a local 'mom and pop shop' that usually has awesome subs - but last night - I thought it was just 'ok'.  So no real foodie type post today but there are a few other things I would like to touch on including some Mini-Goals, Health/Wellness Updates, Personal Enrichment, and iTunes/PodCasts I have been 'into' lately.

 

First up...a wellness update...if you will!  I have been doing VERY well with my Sciatica and visits to my Chiropractor.  So much so that I think I might have to only go every OTHER month (or quarter) to maintain everything as a precaution.  Now...I don't mind going.  I remember being SUPER Nervous about it at first, tho!  Speaking of being nervous...I still have one more dentist appointment but it's not for another few weeks and I'm NOT looking forward to that either.  Grrr!  But I am really trying NOT to worry about that until I HAVE to - like the day of the appointment!  My digestion is still doing REALLY well and I have no plans on turning back to those old habits (ie the dairy habit!  Blah!)  This past month I was 'off' on my 'monthly' but think I am back on track and totally FINE, now!  I think it was between stress at work, still losing some weight, next to no-sleep for about a week and a half, and schedule changes that messed me up.  Once 'everything was back on track' I rejoiced and was very thankful for everything! 

 

To continue with these positive feelings I want to get back on track with my exercises - most specifically - my Yoga.  I have been using Hulu+ as well as iTunes Pod Casts lately for that.  In my queue is Yogamazing with Chaz Rough.  I really like his laid-back delivery and encouragement without it making you feel like it's a competition or that you won't be able to 'get' a stretch or pose.  He's wonderful at telling you 'go as far as you can go' and 'do what you can do'.  I access my Hulu+, Netflix, iTunes, and PodCasts thru our Apple TV which I might do a more lengthier review on down the road.  I really like AppleTV and you may have read about one of my previous mentions about it.  Another Yoga Program I follow on there is the one that Yoga Journal puts out.  I also subscribe to their magazine.  I'm pretty fond of Tara Stiles, as well as others, as far as the Pod Casts go!

I'm REALLY happy to be back writing FULL TIME over at Sororitea Sisters.  For those of you who don't know it's a Tea Review Site that Anne and I co-founded a few years ago.  Anne has been a wonderful Sororitea Sister and friend by letting me catch-up on several things and issues time and time again.  If you are a Fan of TEA please swing by!  We have nearly 3,000 reviews on that site with TONS more on tap!  We update EVERY DAY at least once!

My mind is going a 'mile a minute' because there are so many things I would like to get started on but know there are other things that need attention, too!  Last night I worked on Paco's Pen and Play Area a bit and tonight I am going to work on the Cat Rooms.  Even tho they have the run of the house most of the time they have their 'areas' they feel more comfortable in time and time again.  

I have been crafting in spurts again - mostly Mixed Media and Art Journaling.  I hope to post more projects soon!  I have been thinking about re-doing my craft room.  First I was thinking of making a pantry.  But I am thinking about tweaking it to keep my Crafting Room THAT and pair it with a small space for Yoga.  I have so many art and crafting supplies it's really hard to do much else with that room.

I guess this was more of an UPDATE Post and a venting/blabbing post.  BUT...venting in a GOOD way!  I'm just feeling so thankful things are looking up and I'm feeling better thru and thru!  I don't want it to end, ya know!?  More tomorrow, friends!

Craft Room Signs

 Signs!  Signs!  Everywhere are Signs!  Even in my HOUSE!  This Office Sign was on one of the doors even before I moved in.  We used to use that room as our office/den but that has morphed and moved and now the old Office is My Craft Room!

 I found this sign a month or two ago at Walmart and HAD to buy it!  It's in my Craft Room for sure!  Some of you may have seen my last blog post on My Blissful Crafting Place Blog.

And what Hippie Crafting Room wouldn't be complete without one of these babies?

Participating Post In:
Signs, Signs
Share Your Cup