Vegan Mofo ~ Spinach & Chickpeas, Turkish Red Lentil Soup, A Word About Lavender, and Mostly Liquids Week

Happy Monday!  Positive thought to all of you for a wonderful week!  I will have at least 2 posts today! 

Saturday I spent a little time visiting the Farmers Market as well as some of the discount stores in the area and found some really neat things.  (Which I will be blogging about a bit later).  I also spent time cleaning...I did quite a few dishes as well as our floors which needed vacuuming and shampooing MAJORLY.  I also made this dish.  It's Spinach and Chickpeas.  Here's what's in this dish...



1 C Chickpeas
1 Pound Spinach (Frozen)
1 C Vegan Bread Crumbs
3 Cloves Garlic
8 Ounces Tomato Sauce
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tea Cumin
Splash of Balsamic
1/2 tea Paprika

It ended up being pretty good!  It was a nice comfort food, really.  I was craving chickpeas and spinach so this work well.  Paco has been pretty active lately and I caught him in a rare moment this past weekend.  He was pretty drowsy in this photo.  We were watching 'scary' movies.  For some reason the dogs have really been digging them lately.  Not sure why.  Anyhow...this week I will start a new attempt with Paco's eyes.  You may remember me not liking the stuff I am using now and after taking some of Opal's advise I was able to find bulk Lavender.  I haven't gotten my hands on the essential oil yet but I figured the flowers would be a gentle way to see how he did with Lavender...I will soak the flowers in some water and use it as a compress and gently wash the stains using a cloth, I think.

I mentioned last week I am going to challenge myself and try and do MOSTLY LIQUIDS this week!  This could be flavored waters, teas and tonics, Juices and Smoothies, Pureed Soups, and as a cheat I will still stick with the pureed theme and do dips that are pureed (like hummus's and bean dips, for example) but only use celery to dip...things like this for my MOSTLY Liquids Week.   This is my first one of the week my lunch for later today.  This is Turkish Red Lentil Soup.  I sampled a bit of it after making it over the weekend and it was super tasty!  Here's what it has in it...



3/4 C Cooked Lentils
1-2 C Water
1 Onion
1 Carrot
3 Cloves Garlic
2 T Tomato Paste

I'm excited to try new-to-me pureed vegan soups this week!  I will be using my various Ninja Blenders for the pureeing process, too!  More on that in my next post!  What interesting foods did you eat this weekend!?

Cheesy Tahini Sauce, Turkish Bean & Mushroom Stirfry, Berry Smoothie, and Hungry For A Change

It's been a rough week!  I feel the need for a get-away but can't see that happening for months at least!  But enough about that...this blog is for positives and a place to escape in the meantime without getting negative or frustrated!  I will concentrate on the things I CAN do and CHANGE and that starts with my efforts in the kitchen last evening!

I seriously cannot get enough Tahini lately.  I want to try different flavor combos and dressings and sauces any chance I can, lately!  Last night I whipped up a "Cheese-E Tahini Sauce" or even a "Sweet and Nutty" Sauce, even!  Here's what I did with this Sauce:

1/3 C Cashews
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
3 T Tamari
1 T (Heaping) Tahini
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil
1-2 T Lemon Juice
2 tea Grey Poupon Mustard
2-3 T Minced Garlic
Pinch of Each: Paprika, Nutmeg, Wildtree California Garlic Pepper Blend

All in my Ninja!

One thing I did with this sauce once it was finished was I used it on some Pasta!  But not just any pasta!  It was Vegan Rice & Corn Pasta from Orgran!  It was quite good!

I saved a little bit of this for a salad and/or veggie dipping tonight or tomorrow!

This week I am continuing on with my Foods From Around The World Theme after taking a short break last week.  I decided to try and do veg*n foods from Turkey this week.  For my first attempt I decided to do a version of a Turkish Bean & Mushroom Stirfry.  Here is what I put in this dish:

1/2 Pound of Green Beans (Frozen)
1 Sweet Yellow Onion
About 6 Button Mushrooms, Chopped
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil
1 T - or less - of Wildtree Dill Blend
Wildtree California Garlic Pepper to taste

I did this in one of my NEW Pots and Pans that I got from Big Lots!  I ended up having to return my Paula Deen Set after it got damaged after 1 use.  Big Lots was GREAT!  However, they didn't have another set to replace it with so I took what they had which was a Rachel Ray Set instead!  So far - so good on these!

This morning I started my day with a Fruit Berry Smoothie.  Here is what I put in it:

2 C of Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, Strawberry Frozen Mix
1/2 C of Frozen Blueberries
2 tea of Boku Superfood
1/2 C Almond Milk
1 C+ Water

It was tasty!  I might to it again tomorrow!  Tomorrow I will also tell you more about the Boku Superfood!

I was finally able to sit down last night and watch the rest of HUNGRY FOR A CHANGE.  Two of the people in this documentary were David "Avocado" Wolfe and Kris Carr.  There were many others involved in this one but I was able to capture a few iPhone Stills off my phone to post here, today!

I've watched some videos on David and subscribe to Kris's Newsletter.

They are both fascinating!

Have you seen this documentary yet?  If so - what did you think?
If you haven't - are you interested in seeing it?

Do you know about David Wolf and Kris Carr?  If so - what are your thoughts?