Kombucha Journey, New-To-Me Vegan Amy's Kitchen Products, & Ms. Trinity

YIKES!  Yet again...time has gotten away from me!  I have way too many photos to post and things to blab about so I'll have to work towards checking those items off my list and not overload everyone in one post.  Altho...I have a feeling this post will surely be long enough on its own!  First up...an update on my Kombucha Journey!    This was the 2nd batch I did and we did do a 2nd ferment with it!  My parents found a few of these cute bottles at TJ Maxx for cheap!

In the first photo, you will see our first flavor.  It was straight-up Kiwi!  In the 2nd photo, that is pure blueberry!  Both were fizzy and both were tasty!

And finally, this one is orange and kiwi!  We have started our 3rd batch and it should be ready to fruit and 2nd ferment in about a week.  It's been FUN!  We already have quite the SCOBY Hotel going, too!  I think we might have to start doing more than one batch at a time!

A few weeks ago I went to the Erie Target and found a few new-to-me Amy's Kitchen Vegan Labeled Products including this Ravioli!  It was SUPER tasty!  The sauce really MADE it!  The only problem with these Amy's meals is when I find one I really like I could eat like 4 more in one sitting!

Then there were these Asian Dumplings.  At first bite...I thought it was 'ok' but as I continued eating it I found myself really enjoying it!  After it was all gone, I found myself wanting more!  

Paella!  Another winner!  I really didn't have much of an opinion of this going in only because I'm not a Paella Guru by any means.  I think I only had Paella maybe twice before and I made it both times and I made it myself so who knows if it was close to a traditional Paella.  Regardless, I did find this one quite tasty and I would certainly buy it again!

And to finish out this post I thought I would post a pic of my wonderful niece with my parents dog.  I have a series of these photos on IG in case you want to see more.  Ms Trinity calls me Aunt Ja Ja.  She's a gem!  I love her dearly!  

Daiya's Pumpkin Cheesecake, Around The World, & Letter Writing

I was FINALLY able to go grocery shopping this weekend!  YAY!  I was oh-so-happy to be able to shop at Wegman's and I can't wait to share my findings with you!  I'll start with this Limited Seasonal Daiya Pumpkin Spice Cheezecake!  

Yup!  I found it!  It was a delightful surprise to see it!  I know some of my buddies in larger cities and area might think I'm crazy but when I find things in my small(er) area I get excited!

I do, however, have a confession to make.  I ate half of this for dinner last night! Oops!  So...YEAH...I'm a fan!  It had 'just enough' pumpkin flavor and spice flavor, too!  It still tasted like a cheesecake but as you might know, it's VEGAN!  I would recommend this for those who enjoy pumpkin!

Another thing I would like to mention today is towards the bottom of my sidebar you will see I added a World Visitors graphic.  I have been searching for one of these for a while.  The others I didn't really care for but I'm totally digging this one so far.  I've always LOVED learning about different countries and cultures.  I think I mentioned it before, but when I was a teenager I used to have over 120 penpals from over 30 countries!  Which brings me to my next topic...

World Foods!  It's been a while since I have attempted to feature World Food Recipes that are vegan and I want to jump into that again!  I think these additions will inspire me to try new recipes and blog about them again.

And when it comes to letter writing, a while back Opal and I started writing to each other and I'm going to jump back into that again soon.  I have also been thinking about writing weekly letters to my niece Trinity, too!  I know she's only 5 months old but MAYBE my sister will read them to her and keep them for her.  I want her to know I think about her daily and show her how much I LOVE her.  I have been thinking of things that she and I can do when she gets old enough to understand.  I have a lot of ideas and I will surely share them with you once we are able to do them.

Husk Tomatoes, Decorated Rocks, Niece Update, Local Vegan Soups

A friend/co-worker of mine brought in some Husk Tomatoes not too long ago and shared them with us.  They were pretty yummy!  Her father grew some of them this year!  Here's a stock photo of them.  They were almost like a berry (some people say they are like a Gooseberry) but they also had a hint of cantaloupe/cucumber likeness to them, too, on top of the sweet tomato, that is.

I've been having fun with the decorated rocks I have been telling you about lately.  I have been finding a lot of them as well as making some of my own.  Here are 5 that I decorated last week.  I've had some luck with Sharpies.  I took a few of them to a State Park over the weekend.  I forgot to take photos but will be blogging about it at some point.  It was a very nice fall weekend at a historic place that is for sure.  My parents and I took our Wildtree stuff and sold quiet a bit of it.  We were supposed to do the Busti Apple Festival this Sunday but I'm not sure if we have enough stock.  At the end of this year we will be ending our Wildtree run.  It's been a great 9 years but the company is making a lot of changes that aren't really what our area focuses on, unfortunately.

About a month ago my niece had her Christening.  My sisters' husband/family is Catholic.  My sister and I were raised in a Pentecostal Church (altho my parents were not Pentecostal - but that's a story for another day).  After we moved to PA my sister stopped going to church.  I continued and was even in IVCF while in college.  IV or IVCF is Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship.  It was open to everyone.

These days - I know what I believe and have strong beliefs but do not attend church regularly.  I will attend different churches for different reasons such as volunteering or to see a speaker or attend a celebration, occasion, etc.  I respect all other religions and feel my personal beliefs don't really match to any said place of worship.  I also think that it's a very personal choice - and eventho I appreciate hearing what other people believe - I don't want someone telling me what TO believe or telling me what I believe is wrong.


Plus with the way politics have been the last several years that has been a real tough one for me too.  It seems politics have entered the church and many churches are more political than about the fellowship and togetherness and equality.  I rather hang on to the values I grew up on in the church that I remember and take them on my journey from here on out.  To treat everyone equal, to be compassionate, help others when I can, and try and make the world a better place.

I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm against church - that couldn't be further from the truth - it's some of the people that confuse me - not the ideas and beliefs.  My thoughts and feelings on the subject are very complex and many don't understand them but I'm ok with that.  I feel it's what's on the INSIDE that counts.  My purpose is not to judge people - nor is it anyone's job to judge people - and I think that many have forgotten or disregarded that simple way of thinking.

Sorry for the rant here - my real purpose - was to post a photo of my sweet niece - but wanted to explain why she was in a dress 6 times the size of her.  Regardless - she is adorable and wonderful!

A while back I was telling you about a new place in town that was VERY vegan friendly.  It's called Total Evolution.  This week they started featuring soups.  3 of them - that they made themselves.  2 are vegan and the other one is meat and dairy free but contains honey.

I enjoyed both of them.  This first one is Butternut Squash and Rice and the other one below is Purple Potato and Leek.

This morning I had one of their Wild Cherry Cranberry Smoothies.  It was lovely.

They have a new and seasonal smoothie for the Halloween Season called the Frankie that I am going to have to try before too long.

I really need to get to a few local produce stands before the winter gets here.  I dread the winter months not only because of the snow and cold but because the produce is narrowed down to store bought which is usually drab and dreary.

And speaking of weather - I hope everyone is ok with all of the hurricanes and earthquakes that have been striking!  YIKES!  Please let me know in comments!  I want to hear from you!

I already have one more post on deck - hopefully I will be posting it tomorrow - it's something new-to-me that I have been eating that I am totally addicted to now.

I also have a few other grocery store finds I need to share with you so stay tuned!

What Does THAT Have To Do With The Price Of Rice?

One of the things I say fairly often is "What does THAT have to do with the price of rice".  Lately I seemed to be taking that pretty literal as I am trying to figure out some more Budget Friendly Vegan Solutions for Meal Time.  I've done many of these mini blog posts throughout the years and I have seen a lot of veggie buddies doing VLOGS about $30 or $25 a week on a Budget when it comes to food shopping.  I would like to do more of that ASAP!

I was reading several articles about food prices lately.  The most recent was an article from May 2017 that said 2 person adult house hold with no kids spends anywhere between $400-$800 each month on food/groceries.  In a similar article on debt solutions it said to take the $400-$800 figure and try and only spend $125 on food each month per person.  So that's $250.  Which is only $150 less that the low end of each of those articles.  However, if you are able to save $150 per month right there that money could be used for something else, I suppose.  I guess it's the little steps, eh?

At this point in my post I should confess and say this entire post will just be one big BLAB.  I would like to see if I can challenge myself to do that but I'm horrible at planning because of everything else going on.  I think I will start with the weekly challenge. This blog will be a nice way to keep me accountable.  

Since it's already TUESDAY and our weekends are impossible to plan I can tell you that I already spent $7.50 on a HUGE salad yesterday.  That leaves me with $17.50.  Time will tell if I am able to start this week or next.  But I guess the first step is the thought - yeah - it's the thought that counts - right?  (insert frustrated laugh here)

(clears throat...nice segue, eh!?) I have been easily frustrated lately.  I need to jump back into meditation again.  Today I did some thinking - does that count?

Long story short - be on the lookout for more 'off the wall' vegan foods while eating on a budget and eating from your pantry.  I'll leave you with a photo of my darling niece TRINITY...

Introducing My Niece...TRINITY...

I know I have been MISSING for a few weeks but that is with good reason!  I'm officially an AUNT!

I will have more photos but this was one of the first ones!  Here is Trinity with my sister Megan!  It was a scary day but long story short all is well now!

The last several months have been OVERLY trying and various things have been messing with my emotions.  When Trinity was born and well - I was OVERJOYED!  I'm so happy for my sister!  I know she will be a great MOM!  As for myself I will continuously work to be the BEST Aunt I can be!

One Step Closer To Being An Aunt!

Saturday was the BIG DAY!  It was my sisters baby shower!  We had it at the local Hampton and the space was lovely!  I have to admit that I hate the color pink but the set-up was nice!  She opted for pink and grey!  Chevron, even!

Here is a photo of the party prior to the start time!  We decorated the night before and a few hours prior we brought everything in, too!

I bought and brought a 5 pound bowl of marinated veggies from a semi-local store and catering place!  It was WAY CHEAPER to do it this way than to buy everything individually and marinate it myself!  It was an Italian Dressing type marinade of sorts.  No dairy!  The veggies were all raw and included cauliflower, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, green peppers, etc.  It seemed to be a hit because it was the first thing we ran out of on the food table!  And to think - I thought 5 pounds would be too much!  There were about 50 to 55 people there.  The turn out was much better than I thought it would be - however - I didn't know a lot of people there.  My sisters MIL's friends made up the majority.  I was happy that my Aunt Kathy (my Dad's sister) and my cousin Ricky's wife Michelle drove over 3 hours to attend.  My Aunt Carol (my mom's sister in law) also drove about 2 hours, too!

For MONTHS my sister requested I make a Hummus Quinoa Casserole.  Of course I wanted to fulfill that request.  I ended up making 2 of them as you can see in these photos!  Since it's a recipe found in Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan Cookbook I won't post it here but I will tell you a few variations.

This one I used Tri-Colored Quinoa for the base.  I used Yam Hummus for the middle layer.  And for the roasted veggies I used Zucchini, Summer Squash, Eggplant, Red Bell Peppers, Brussels Sprouts, and Yellow Bell Peppers.

I have to say this is the first time I attempted to make Yam Hummus and it turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself!  I will certainly have to do it again!

For this one I did Red Quinoa on the bottom.  For the middle I used Plain Hummus but there wasn't quite enough and there was too much of the yam hummus so I combined the two hummus' here for this one.  For the roasted veggies on top of this one I used Sweet Onion, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Red, Orange, and Yellow Bell Peppers, and just a few leftover Brussels Sprouts from the other one.

BOTH  of these casseroles were gone by the end of the day!  SO I guess they were a hit, too!  Funniest part is...I bet no one noticed they were eating vegan!

These are pretty intense to make - especially if you are making more than one at the same time!  You should have SEEN the kitchen OMG! lol!!!!

So on to more food but not all of it was vegan so I just skipped over that stuff for my own plate.  My mother made the BIGGEST Fruit Salad I have ever seen in my life!  The first batch sat in a large corn pot.  There were two other LARGE containers full of the fruit salad used as back-up, too!  WOWZA!

There were raw veggies and tomato and basil with Balsamic, too!  One without dairy and one with dairy.

To show you more of the festivities here is a shot of the food tables.  There are non-veg things mixed in but still there were a lot of things that I was able to eat which you will see in a bit.

It was rainy on Saturday so I'm glad we were inside.

It was a nice space for a shower, too!  My favorite part of this hotel is the lobby and I totally forgot to take a photo of it.  I'm pretty sure at some point I will be there again for a meeting or something so I will try and remember to take a pic then!

My mother also made like 3 HUGE batches of candies (not vegan) but a hit with the masses!  Of course she always over does it so I had to bring some in to work to get rid of it!

And of course NONE of this is vegan but I had to share it with you!  There is a regional pie maker that is adored here and a lady brought 7 of their pies!  My husband said they are the best pies he's ever had in his life and was upset when I didn't bring any home for him!

Then there was the cake!  YES!!!  My niece's name is going to be Trinity!  Not sure if you noticed that!

Once the room filled up it was a bit snug but still nice!  Here is everyone socializing!  My sister's sister-in-law brought her new mini-Polaroid camera and took all of the guests pics and put them in a book for them to write bits of MOM ADVICE for my sister.  Neat idea!  And pretty cool mini-camera to boot!

Here's a quick pic of my sister Megan.  It's hard to tell from this angle but she's definitely showing!  I took one from the side but she had a really funny expression on her face and I'm sure she would kill me if I posted it here! haha!

She has about 6 weeks to go!  Her due date is June 14th.  It's finally starting to feel real that I will soon be an aunt!  I will be known as the CRAZY AUNT and I'm totally ok with that!

I have so much more to post and blog about but I realize how photo heavy this post already is so I will only blog about the shower today and save the rest of the weekend happenings for tomorrow thru Friday!

Just a few more pics in the meantime for the shower...

Here is the beginning of the present pile!  I'm pretty sure it doubled in size shortly after I took this photo!

She got a bunch of cool stuff.  One thing I laughed about was the wipe warmer.  Yeah!  It's a warmer that WARMS...WIPES!  I am probably the only person on Earth that finds that funny!

And you see that Diaper Bear in the right hand corner?  I had to take a closer look...

I'm not really an "Awwwwww....CUTE...." person but if you don't get a kick out of this there may just be something wrong with you (juse kidding)!

I never thought I would be that person who would want to 'see if the baby was kicking' but I am.  Not that I would do that to anyone other than my sister but still!  I guess I am NOW that person!  I'm a bit obsessed with her stomach and Trinity flip-flopping around in there!

I can't wait to meet her!  I know my sister will be a great mom, too!

And Trinity will be SO Spoiled!  TOO Spoiled!  But too bad, so sad, right!?

Another thing that was clever was this gift!  It was a dozen eggs container but when you opened it - it was a dozen baby socks instead!  This is my mom holding it up!

Jody - who was a co-worker of my father's before he retired in October was the one behind the idea of this one!  Really nifty - if you ask me - but then again - you didn't ask me...I just told you!  (Like you had a choice, eh?)

And FINALLY...my personal plate of food at the shower!  I like to call this one...

What a Vegan Eats at a Baby Shower

And I think I will stop right there for now!  More tomorrow!

What did you spy with your lil eye that looked interesting at this party?