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?

Vegan MoFo ~ Favorite Cuisine

What do you mean by that?

Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "What is your favorite cuisine?"  Or "Share your favorite cuisine".  Well, what do you mean by that!?

I guess I could say I enjoy just about ANYTHING vegan because I am grateful for the options and opportunities of those foods.

Or I could say that my faves are Vegan Italian, Vegan Mexican, or Vegan Indian because I could pretty much LIVE on those 3 types of world foods as long as they are vegan.

OR...are you talking about a meal?  A dish?  If that is case...let me tell you what I have in mind.

Dreena Burton's Quinoa Hummus Casserole HAS to be near the very top of this list!  I've said this before and I will say it again I LOVE THIS MEAL!  This is one of the few cookbook recipes I have done time and time again and it seems I do it different each time I prepare it.

Whether I swap out the veggies on top, switch it up with a different flavor hummus for the middle layer, or try do a different color Quinoa on the bottom.  Sometimes I even use a different grain in place of Quinoa, too, like various rices!

This reminds me that I need to make this casserole again and SOON these are old photos and now I'm craving it!  The leftovers are even better than right-out-of-the-oven!

Quinoa Hummus Casserole Topped With Mirepoix and Sauce

It all started with this sauce.  I made it in my Vitamix.  It's a very powerful sauce so I was thinking about what I could use it on.  I will say that the batch was HUGE and I will be using it for much more than you will be seeing here.  For the recipe of this sauce...this is what I did...
4 Large Tomatoes
2 T Grapeseed Oil
1/2 C Almond Milk
1 Small Onion
4 Cloves Garlic 

Sounds easy enough, right?  Well, it pretty much was!  But...it DOES pack a powerful punch!  If you like garlic you will like this.  Lucky for me - I LOVE Garlic!

Here's a photo of the finished product.  It's a layered Casserole.  One of my favorite recipes of all time is Dreena Burton's Hummus Quinoa Casserole and I decided to take that idea and run with it.  I did red Quinoa on the bottom layer - then a hefty layer of Garlic Hummus on the next layer and then a layer of Carrots, Onions, and Celery.  I topped it with the sauce above.  As well as a bit of Basil.  It turned out wonderful!

Here's another look at it.  A single serving if you will.  Great for the main dish or a side dish.  Works great for lunches or dinner!

And below that photo another...you can see the Quinoa and Hummus better in that one.

And below that one I mixed it all together for my lunch today!  A different was of presenting it and eating it, I guess.  Kind of reminds me of mashed potatoes.  Which I might actually try and Smashed Potato Dish using Quinoa after seeing this!  It's not the prettiest mashed dish but it sure was tasty!

I wanted to blog a bit more about our plans for the Rooftop Garden today but ran out of time so I will save it for later this week!  I hope you all have a wonderful day!  Thanks for taking the time to visit!  Question of the Day: What is your favorite Mashed Dish or ingredients TO mash!?

Blissful Journey - Fun, Family, Food

I have been mentioning some of the differences I have noticed since dropping dairy from my diet.  The main reason I decided to FINALLY make the switch for good was for my digestive health.  I know 'we all know what's good for us' but most people really need that 'last straw' or that 'wake up call' to really do anything about it.  Last year was mine.  I went my whole life KNOWING I was unable to properly digest dairy.  I just 'dealt with it' until I couldn't 'deal with it anymore'.  NOW...there is NO looking back!  I NEVER want to feel that way again...so...I won't!  But, like, I said, I have noticed LOTS of things since going vegan  including the BLUENESS of my eyes!  I've always had blue eyes but I think the hue or shade and/or depth of the blue has changed quite a bit.  I know I am not the only one to see this difference.  Even more drastically I have heard of Raw Foodists eyes changing from brown to blue in some cases!  I find this AMAZING!

Another photo I didn't post last week is this one of  Paco and Suzie who have been 'buddying up' more lately.  It kind of cracked me up that Suzie was sitting this way for like 2 hours while we watched a movie in the evening!  Paco decided to join her but on the sofa seat itself! 

The last several days I have been feeling pretty good and I think I am going to start some gentle yoga once again.  I have been wanting to do this for MONTHS but have refrained until I got to the root of the problem with my arches and sciatica.  I think I have learned some tips and tricks along the way and I am hoping I'm almost finished with my Chiropractic Adventures!

In other news I came across this photo on Instagram and REALLY WANT this mug now!  Many of you know I am a HUGE Tea Fan!  So much so that I am one of the co-founders of Sororitea Sisters.  Check it out if you have time!  I'm also a fan of Lionel Ritchie!  So this works well!

Not only that I enjoy 'play on words' and 'dry humor'.  I think that is also why I enjoy Jason Mraz and his music...the 'play on words', I mean.

Things are turning around at work lately and I am starting to get excited about it again.  It's still going to be HELLA busy but in a good way!

 And finally...here's a little food tidbit I would like to share with you!  I've posted about Dreena Burton's Hummus Quinoa Casserole before but I did it a bit different this time around.  It's one of my all time favorite dishes and it's so versatile!

Since it's Dreena's recipe from one of her cookbooks I won't post it here but I will tell you this time around I decided to make Black Bean Sweet Potato Hummus for the middle layer.  I just used 1 Sweet Potato, 1 C of Black Beans, Juice of 1 Lime, 2 heaping teaspoons of Tahini, 1 Clove of Garlic.  The bottom layer is cooked Quinoa - then the hummus for the middle layer - on top I did various veggies including Onion, Zukes, Colorful Sweet Peppers, and then I sprinkled mixed dried herbs and Fennel Seeds on top...as well as Balsamic.  I'll tell you...this hummus...is AWESOME!