Weekend Round-Up & Raw Vegan Giveaway!

This past weekend it was my intention to start my weekend giveaways here but something went wrong so I will start them today instead.

But before we get to the prize at stake I thought I would tell you a little bit about this past weekend!  First up...one of the smoothies I forgot to post last week!  It was delicious!  It had Blackberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Coconut Water, and Garden of Life Vanilla Organic Plant Protein.  I just LOVE the color of this...don't you?

No...this isn't a vegan ice cream...it's Balsamic Beet Hummus!  I made some over the weekend because I enjoyed the Beet Hummus I bought the weekend before from Trader Joe's!  In this there is...1 C Small Beets, 1 C Chickpeas, 1/3 T Tahini, 2 T Lemon Juice, 1 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil, 1 to 2 T Balsamic Vinegar.

Sunday I cleaned some of the kitchen and frig.  I concentrated on the stove and used one of the new products I got from Norwex and it worked really well.  I did 2 loads of dishes and dried some laundry.  I cleaned the dogs pens out and did some of their blankets.

I finally had time to roast some squash I had.  There were types the Kabocha Squash AND Spaghetti Squash.  I roasted them with Garlic Grapeseed Oil and 2 different kinds of pine nuts (standard and long).

I then took the Spaghetti Squash and used it in the base for the dish you will see in just a little bit and I cubed up the Kabocha Squash and used it as well.  I sampled a bit of each and they were tasty!  Below is the finished product.  It's a Thai Curry Squash with peas and pine nuts.

I ate a bowl as a soup and it was totally YUMMY.  Since I made a HUGE batch I decided to cook up some lentils and rice so I could pair it for meals this week.  For the base recipe I used...1 small spaghetti squash, 1 small kabocha squash, 1 T grapeseed oil and about 1/4 C Pine nuts - I roasted those ingredients at 380 degrees for about a half hour.  I then took 1 sweet onion and cooked it down then added half the pine nuts that were roasted and about 6 basil leaves that were dried and crumbled.  Added 1 can of coconut milk,  I added the spaghetti squash to it and simmered for a few then put in my blender to make a base.  I then added 4 T Wildtree Green Curry Paste/Sauce, the other half of the roasted pine nuts, 1 C Peas, and Black Sea Salt to taste.  It turned out great!

Saturday we sold our Wildtree products at a regional winery.  I'm thrilled because this winery doesn't use purifiers, clarifiers, or preservatives in their wine that tend to be fish or gelatin based!  Next to the door they had this crazy looking guy and they were all decked out for Halloween.  It made all sorts of weird noises and moved.  They had him on an operating table and it was fun to watch the people come in and freak out when the sensor went off!  It was a very windy day and driving home was a bit challenging at times because of the wicked wind!

Saturday night the dogs enjoyed snuggle time on the sofa.  Paco liked that I let him use my pillow, too.  He's doing well but his legs still have good days and bad days.  He's a trooper, tho, because he still trucks around the house in his own special way.  And of course he's still as cute as ever.  Sunday night the dogs seemed to enjoy family time, too!  We caught up on Grey's Anatomy and Reign which are two of the shows we enjoy during the week on Hulu.

Okay!  It's time!  It's time for the giveaway I intended for this past weekend!  All you have to do is be a US Resident and comment on this post with your email addy.  Garden of Life is letting me give away a TUB of their Chocolate Raw Meal!  It's vegan and RAW!  New packaging and everything!  Woot!  I will choose a winner sometime tomorrow and announce the winner on Wednesday!  Each weekend I will have a different giveaway, too, so stay tuned!

Manic Monday & Weekend Food

I'm optimistic this week will be better than last week.  That's all we can really, do, right?  Talk ourselves into a better week!?  Anyhow...I have LOTS to share with you today!  Lots of RANDOM Stuff but still - it's STUFF - at that!

I ended up LOVING the Peanut Butter Company's Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter and when I went to Tops on Saturday THEY had Mighty Maple so I got that one!  And BOY oh BOY is it GOOD!  I put it on toast yesterday for Breakfast and it was YUMMY!  I also did Vegan Cheesy Grits with Daiya Cheddar - those were pretty awesome, too!  I found Potato Cakes at Aldi's a while back and they didn't have any animal ingredients in them!  Woot!  I did two of those in a frying pan with some Earth Balance and that was my LARGE Sunday Breakfast.  I'm not usually a Breakfast person but I am REALLY trying to be because I know how important it is!  I made a Potato Cake for my husband and that is why I used Earth Balance instead of Grapeseed Oil.  I am out of my Nautral Flavor and I don't think he would have liked the Garlic or the Basil Pesto with this!  I also have a little bit of the Discontinued Chili left...I'll have to savor it!  I might have to try and make my own.  I know it won't be AS good but it will be an option to my flavored Grapeseed Oils.

Last Week I did a few Ethiopian Dishes and I enjoyed them both.  This week I am going to try a few things from Thailand.  I do like Thai Foods but haven't MADE very many...YET.

Friday Night I was waiting for my Husband's Dinner to be done (in the oven) and while I was waiting I decided to do some "Thai Curry Chickpeas".

They turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  I would 'chalk this one up' as one I would do over and over again!

Here is what I did for these Chickpeas!

12 to 14 ounces of Chickpeas

1/2 C of Cilantro or Coriander (I used Cilantro)

1/4 C Lemon Juice

1/4 C of Onion & Chive Blend (Wildtree)

1 T Garlic Galore (Wildtree)

1/2 t Cayenne

1/2 t Cumin

1/2 t Ground Coriander

2 T Braggs Liquid Aminos

2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil

4 T Coconut Milk

Dog Break!  Yes!  I have more food in this post but I have to add some pics from the furkids this weekend, too!  Eventho it was SUNNY it was COLD and WET and all-around questionable weather!  At least we didn't get the FEET of snow they were calling for!  

Here is Riley and Suzie.  If you zoom in you might see that Riley was sticking his tongue out.  Suzie was barking at my husband.  He likes to mess with them sometimes.  He'll talk and she'll bark and half howl back.

I ended up finding some Tofurky items at Tops, too!  I will post more about those on Midweek Munchies.  But I did jump right in with a dish last night for dinner.  It was a Saute of Sorts.  

2 Carrots

2 Celery Stalks

A Random Amount of Green Beans

1/4 - 1/3 C Onion & Chive Blend (Wildtree)

1 Tofurky Italian Sausages (the ones with Sun-Dried Tomatoes) 

2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil

This is what it ended up looking like when it was done!  I decided to do some Brown Rice to put underneath.  This is WAY different than most of the foods I have been making flavor-wise.  I think next time I would add Potatoes and FOR SURE Some Balsamic.  It's pretty good the way it is here but I liked it even more when I tossed and mixed everything together!  I also added some Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top, too!

I stepped outside my comfort zone on this one and it was a pretty good attempt!

Another Furkids break!  This Furkids Break is being brought to you in part by...PACO!

This was a rare capture!  I just happened to have my iPhone on me and him on my lap FACING me and somewhat vegging-out for the afternoon on Saturday!

I'm so excited I got this pic of him.  He looks so serious...it makes me laugh!  Of course shortly after this photo he was back up and running around!

I warned you I had a lot to post today!  Here is ANOTHER thing I did Last Night!

It's a Mediterranean Walnut Sauce!  Again, VERY different from anything I have ever tried doing before but I was very excited about it!

I used one of my Ninja Blenders for this and it worked awesomely!

For this sauce I used...

1/2 C Walnuts
1 C Parsley
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil
1 T Tomato Paste
3 Cloves Garlic
1/4-1/2 C Water to thin

I used half of this sauce to top Bowtie Pasta which you see here and I am going to use the other half to top Veggies, I think.  So...I think that is about it for now but I hope to do my Meal Planning later today and need to do another dish for tomorrow...so stay tuned for additional posts!

This is a participating post in the following:

• Blue Mondays
• Just Another Meatless Monday
• Macro Monday
• Made By You Monday
• Make The Scene Monday
• Mandarin Monday
• Meal Plan Monday
• Meatless Mondays From A - Z
• Menu Time Mondays
• Mix It Up Mondays
• Monday Mellow Yellows
• My Meatless Mondays
• Postcards From Paradise
• Project 52
• Simple As That
• Veggie Mama's Meatless Monday
• Marvelous In My Monday 
• Camera Critters
• Shadow Shot Sunday
• Clever Clicks 
• Getting To Know You Weekend
•  
•  

Pizza, Chi, and Me

 Another wicked crazy week is coming to a close.  It's been another Doo-Zee but I have been enjoying trying new things in the kitchen with foods!  I will be continuing Vegan Foods From Around The World Next Week, too!  A friend of mine suggested Thailand for my next Country.  Perhaps I will accept that challenge.  I do enjoy Thai Food when I have been able to have it. 

Here I am sporting one of my many hats.  I LOVE hats!  This one was made by a local artisan.  I bought it from her well over a year now.  I love the purple color.

 The little Chi Man has been a little terror lately.  I think it's his way of staying warmer, tho.  That - and - he LOVES to play!  Last night I snapped a photo of him FINALLY laying down...on a blanket on top of my legs while watching a few episodes of The Office on Netflix.  There are certain shows he LOVES.  Apparently The Office is one of them.  He does have sweaters but I usually only put them on while we go to visit someone or go outside.  He doesn't really like going outside much - so it's usually out to go and right back in.

As far a food is concerned from last night...I was LAZY and did a Vegan Pizza.  I used Daiya Cheese that I had open and HAD to use and sprinkled a few Wildtree Spices on top.  I used the Hot Chili Pepper and Garlic Blend as well as the Spaghetti Blend...and maybe even a little Onion and Chive.  Inbetween the "cheese" and the "dough" I brushed Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oil on it.  I did brush Agave Nectar on the crust, too.  I found this single serving 'dough' in BigLots and for the life of me I can't remember the brand but it did NOT have dairy/eggs in it.  It certainly did the trick for dinner last night tho.

Just a recap for this week's food for Healthy Vegan Fridays!

Ethiopian Peppers & Portabellas 

Ethopian Peppers & Bella on top of Couscous

Granola Mix
Radish Sprouts

Ethiopian Potato Salad

Spicy Avocado Mash & Radish Sprouts on a Bagel

Snack & Sprouts

And that sums up my food for this week so far!

Participating Post in:

• Aloha Friday
• Find + Follow Friday
• Foodie Friday
• Foodtastic Fridays
• Freakin' Friday
• Freaky Friday Follow
• Freedom Fridays
• Friday Chaos
• Friday Flash Blog
• Friday Food Fight
• Friendship Fridays
• Healthy Vegan Fridays
• Hop Along Friday
• Orange You Glad It's Friday
• Strange But Good
• Color Connection