Vegan MoFo ~ Cheesy Corn Grits Broccoli

Sometimes when I stock my pantry I grab items that are on sale and then not really know what to do with the product.  I have to admit corn grits isn't something I do a lot with but after I did this dish last night - I will be doing more in the future with this product.  The corn grits I bought were Bob's Red Mill's Brand and YELLOW Corn Grits.  Here's my recipe for this yummy comfort food.

1/2 C Yellow Corn Grits
2 Cups Water

1 C Broccoli (in Ninja/Food Processor)
2 T Nutritional Yeast
2 to 3 T Earth Balance

Optional Add Ins:
Sprinkle Wildtree California Garlic Pepper
Sprinkle (on top) Parma! Vegan Parmesan - Garlicky Green Flavor

Other Add In Ideas that I didn't Use in the Photo Above:
Spray (or two) Bragg's Liquid Aminos (if you want it a bit saltier)
GoL Perfect Food RAW - Green Super Food (if you want to get more 'greens' in there)

A few reasons I enjoy GoL's Green Super Food:

• One serving of Perfect Food Super Green Powder is equivalent to 140g of fresh grass juice.
• Excellent source of natural Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene and a good source of natural Vitamin C.
• Contains spirulina that supports healthy immune function.^†
• Contains algae and cereal grass juices that provide a natural source of alkalizing minerals.
• Select ingredients in Perfect Food Super Green Formula are produced through the Garden of Life proprietary Poten-Zyme^® fermentation process to make the nutrients more available to the body.
• Includes a Probiotic Blend to support digestive health.^†
• Supports healthy carbohydrate metabolism.^†
• Great for those on low carbohydrate diets or people who are unable to eat enough green foods.
• Perfect Food comes in two easy-to-use forms: Powder and Caplets.

Raw Food World Shipment Thoughts

Last week I received my last shipment from The Raw Food World and here are the highlights from that shipment.  In this first photo you will see I have 2 Parma! products.  I have never tried them because I don't have them in my region.  There was a 'problem' with the Garlicky Green one and they replaced it PRIORITY MAIL which was awesome!  It's been a while since I have looked into purchasing Kelp and when I saw this one shaker seasoning that had a Cayenne kick to it I knew I had to try it!  The Lemon Pecan Fig Bars were not necessary but more of a treat to myself.  I must say they are wonderful.  I shared with 2 of my co-workers and still have some of it left.  They are super rich and flavorful so a little nibble goes a long way.  I bought some more Freeze Dried Mangosteen for my mom.  You may remember reading previously how much she loved them so I wanted to make sure I bought some for her to support her new love.  I wanted to grab some Sun Dried Persimmons for a few reasons.  One because they are a product I can't get around here even on my best attempt and two because they were straight from Ojai, California.  And next to those you can see I scored some Adzuki Bean Spaghetti.  I have tried the Black Bean and enjoyed it and still have some.  Christine over at the Raw Project has been blogging about her attempts with this brand of pasta, too!  Right now over at The Raw Food World they have the Mung Bean, Black Bean, and Soy Bean Pastas for $4.99 - last month they were $3.49, I think.  RIGHT NOW you can get the Adzuki Bean Pasta over at The Raw Food World for $3.49!!!  Woot!  Take a look at my sidebar for the affiliate link if you want to check it out more!

Next up...I wanted to get some Apricots and Peaches for my Dad.  He tried them but they were 'too dried' for what he was looking for.  He's completely in to the Pineapple I blogged about before so now I will now to get him more of that when I place orders.  As for the HUGE batches of Peaches and Apricots I will most likely be using them in recipes and maybe snacking on them from time to time, too.   I have been sharing my shipments of Cashews with my sister so I had to get more.  AND it had been a while since I had Red Quinoa on hand so I included some of that in my last order, too.  That AND the Red Quinoa was one of their At-Cost Specials last month.  So now my pantry is all stocked up again!  YAY!

So...yeah...now I'm a little addicted to buying more Raw Food Books.  These are my latest additions to my collection.  The Philip McCluskey ones are a little thinner but I have been thumbing thru them quite a bit and have tweaked a few Salad Dressing ideas that he has in them and they are great.  I can see myself using them often.  I'm not really into desserts since going dairy-free but I figured I would TRY a few and that book in the center really looked interesting.  Then...I have been overly into Matthew Kinney's books and wanted to get two more...his flavor combos and photos are amazing!

Mason Jar Make Over - Part 2 - a Look at My Pantry!

Last year (or more) I posted a lengthy post about me totally re-doing my cabinets and cupboards with 90% Mason Jars...well...it's still that way but even more so.  So much so that I think I finally need to get some more Mason Jars!  This past weekend I took quite a bit of time to reorganize them and make them more tidy.  I'm not the most organized person BUT I have TRIED my best when it comes to my Pantry this past year.  This first photo is taking a look at my Spice Cupboard.  It goes about 4 to 5 rows deep and takes up a whole side.  I have a small spice spinner underneath this cupboard as well.  I usually buy in bulk and reuse old containers.  So when you see some of those old McCormick containers and off-brands most likely I have reused those time and time again.  Some of the clear glass containers that you see (with Cumin in it and Ginger Powder, for example) are from the same place I get my bulk spices from.  The local store I buy bulk from gets most of their items from Frontier Co-Op.

Here's another cupboard that I worked on over the weekend.  On the top row you can see some Spaghetti O looking dry pasta noodles, next is my vegan bread crumbs, Barley, then some Farro, and some Quinoa, and then Black Bean Noodles.  On the middle shelf are a lot of my sprouting seeds.  On the bottom one you can see most of my Wildtree Collection, some more sprouting items, some dry soup mixes, and Potato Flakes.

As you can see most everything is in Mason Jars.  When I was getting low I ended up using some old hard plastic ones I had not used in a while like when you see the one marked Quinoa, for example.

Here is a look at the section I have for some of my alternative flours and sweeteners.  These go about 3 deep so you can't really see everything but when you are standing in front of it it's easy to look at everything there.  What you can see on the top row is Bob's Red Mill's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Garden of Life Flax Seed with Fruit & Anti-Oxidants, more Flax Seeds, Arrowroot, a Granola from Bob's Red Mills, and what you can't see in the back are various alternative flours such as Soy, Garbanzo Bean, Spelt, etc.  On the bottom row you can see some of my alternative sweeteners - mostly from Wholesome Sweeteners.  Coconut Palm Sugar, Raw Cane Sugar, Sucanat, etc.  Behind that I have others such as Coconut Crystals from Coconut Secret and a few other things.

For this self you will see some of my husband's items that are not vegetarian/vegan but most of it is.  On the top row he has his sugar - regular/standard sugar, there are some raw honey's, Liquid Smoke, Steel Cut Oats, and overstock of flours.  On the middle row you can see Coconut Flour, my NuNaturals Stevia Collection, Bragg's including Nutritional Yeast and Liquid Aminos, followed by Chia Seeds, and Wholesome Sweeteners ZERO.  On the bottom shelf you can see our canned goods.  Most of which are from Aldi.  Yes...you can eye some Tuna which is NOT mine (I don't eat it) that's my husband's!  There are some canned beans and veggies but recently I found some fruit toppings and fillers from a discount store that happen to be vegan so I bought them and might play with those soon!

And FINALLY...the last section...mostly on the top shelf you can see our Coffee and Tea Cups along with some pills for hubby and the pets.  But...underneath that you will see some Pink Sea Salt which will last me a LIFE TIME as I hardly ever use salt but it was on sale a long time again and I bought it.  Next and in the back are various rices...standard, white rice, brown rice, long rice, multi-grain, black rice, purple rice, forbidden rice, Jasmine Rice...you name it!  You may even spot some Millet, Couscous, Polenta, Red lentils, Amaranth, grits, etc.

So that's a look at my updated pantry, cupboards, and cabinets!  I was going to include my Bento Box for today along with a recipe or two but I will put that in a separate post!  Questions of the Day...what do you see that are your favorites?  What haven't you tried!?  I'd love to hear!

Mini Cleaning & Reorganizing (of the Kitchen)

Just thought I would share a mini cleaning project over the long weekend...

In the corner of my kitchen is this little section here.  For YEARS I had it filled with stacked Veg*n Cookbooks!  I decided to move them into the Dining Room area - that we don't really use as a dining room per say but as a spot where we do our 'bills' and have the dog food Rubbermaid tub as well as Paco's Pen area, where we keep our Vacuum Cleaner and Steam Cleaners, and a few other things.  I more specifically moved them to the closet area where we have some shelves inside.
It was so nice to see a few shelves free of clutter for once!  I then lined up all of my Protein Powders and mixes as well as the nuts I have on the bottom shelf and then put my boxed items on the other shelf.  Some of my husband's stuff is on that shelf, too, including his popcorn.  Once I open the other Freekeh and Veggie Noodles I will store them in Mason Jars.  I haven't found a Mason Jar the correct size to store Rice Noodle yet.  As you can see I have quite the collection started of my Garden of Life Products.  I wanted to see all of them and have better access to them.  Before doing this I had them in a cupboard and wasn't thrilled with the set-up.  Now I am!  Another little fun thing this past weekend was this signing and dancing Chihuahua that my mother found for us.  It's too cute!

Mason Jars For Prevention and Storage Solutions

I'm certainly not an organized person...far from it actually but a few months ago I threw everything away in my cupboards and put all other items in Mason Jars.  I did this for several reasons.  The photo above was one I found on a DIY Site for Food Pantry Organizational Ideas.

The first reason I came to this Mason Jar idea was that we live in a very old house and twice a year I get unwanted guests in our kitchen that I want to evict but NOT kill.  I just can't bring myself to kill them - even if they find their way back.

Anyhow...I tried all the natural suggestions online.  Either they wouldn't work at all or they would work for a limited time and then I had to find another way to 'keep them out'.

Perhaps I went a little overboard...but...knock on wood, I haven't had a problem in MONTHS.

Here's what I did...

Like I said...I ditched MOST everything from my cupboards - which was a good thing because I found some really ancient packages shoved way in the back that I didn't know I had!  I placed the little I wanted to keep in Mason Jars.  I ended up buying 4 dozen pint size and 4 dozen quart sized jars.  I still have leftovers and unused jars which is PERFECT because now I can add to my pantry this way!

Another reason I LOVE this is because I am a very visual person.  I'm not organized but I have to SEE everything in front of me and can function better that way.  Not only that but all 'little critters' are NOT tempted by the aroma of cupboard contents this way...they are all tightly sealed in the jars!  This past Summer I heard of a lot of local people having moth and worm problems, too, especially in grains and flowers, etc...this way...is MUCH safer...and you can SEE it before opening it!

In addition to the Mason Jars - I did the following to eliminate and prevent future 'friends' from scoping-out-the-joint...

I wiped everything down with warm water and soap.  I then wiped it down with Tea Tree Oil AND Peppermint Oils.

I bought CHEAP Dryer Sheets and placed them on every shelf, in every cupboard, drawer, under the sink, etc.  Mice and other 'friends' do not like the aroma of Peppermint OR the Dryer Sheets so they tend to stay away from them.  Not only that - but for weeks afterwards - my house smelled awesomely fresh!  We have cats AND dogs and BOY was it a change!

I also put cotton balls soaked in Peppermint Oil on window sills, counter tops, and near kitchen utensils.  I covered them with Bean Sprout lids that I no longer use (I have since upgraded my Sprout Lids and use those for Sprouting instead!).

I used SOS Pads (Generic/CHEAP Alternative) to fill holes in between shelves, walls, pipes, etc.  I also used Aluminum Foil for super-tight spaces.

I use Melaleuca Cleaning Supplies as well.  I try to use their Disinfectant as often as possible on my stove, counter tops, and shelves.

And I still buy and use Humane Traps where I can catch and release them back in to Nature.

With all of these things - knock on wood - I haven't seen 'anyone' sneaking around my kitchen in MONTHS.  I figure they are sick and tired of striking out on a food source now and me throwing off their senses couldn't hurt the efforts either.

Just a few ideas if you have the same problems or if you are looking for a way to store items in your food pantry or cupboards!