Stresemann's Bristlefront & Lazy Vegan Meals!

For the new year I am going to include more animals on my blog.  More specifically ones that need attention.  Whether that be educating myself and others about an Endangered Species or posting about another animal in need.  I thought I would start this off by sharing info about a bird that goes by Stresemann's Bristlefront.  I have been reading on this bird because of the information I received in my inbox from The American Bird Conservatory.

It's a unique bird that nests in underground tunnels.  They went unrecorded for over 50 years.  Back in 1995, there were about 15 birds that were located.  As of today, there is only 1 individual female bird of its kind that has been accounted for.  Professionals are saying that it's due to logging and other issues as to why the Stresemann's Bristlefront Bird could be the world's rarest bird.  It was recently found in Northern Brazil.

The group is trying to raise money to locate and start bringing the species back from the brink.  You can learn more about that HERE and even hear what she sounds like. 

I've been in RESEARCH MODE over the last several months.  Whether it's for the Votes For Women National Trail to celebrate 100 years of Women's Right To Vote and how I can submit historical places in my area to show up on the national trail map - or if it's Geography based to learn more about different countries and cultures.

While researching different countries and islands and such I have been keeping an eye on my Flag Counter.  It's the widget on my sidebar if you scroll to the bottom.  Yesterday I had people from 40 different countries visit my blog!  Overall, I've had 223 countries visit.  As of today, I'm only missing 20 country flags!  I will be researching these 20 countries and see how I can not only learn more about their culture but their foods and see if I can veganize them!

Speaking of food, I'll move on to my LAZY MEALS as of late!  The photo you see above is a little diddy I threw together.  It's made of frozen, riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato.  I added Tofu that I pan fried and added garlic while pan frying.  I added a little brown sugar and dijon mustard and mixed well.  I know it sounds like a strange flavor combo but I'm kind of hooked on it now.

This past Sunday we went to a potluck and my mom and I made a HUGE tossed/veggie salad and some Vegan Macaroni Salad.  Here is a photo of the Mac.  We made the elbow mac like we usually do and then I added Just Mayo, Frozen Peas, Relish, Garlic Pepper, and Old Bay Seasoning!  We brought back an empty container.  I know most people didn't know it was vegan!

Another lazy meal I made not too long ago was this dish.  I made it in the microwave.  It has Rice, Black Beans, Sweet Corn, and Tomato Sauce.  It only cost about $2 to make and I had enough for 2 to 3 meals!

Buffalo Wings & Sloppy Joe's...VEGAN, of Course!

Happy Monday Folks!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Today I have just a quick post of 2 food items I did this past weekend.  It was my brother in law's birthday yesterday and they were having Sloppy Joe's so I did my own version of them which I will get to in a moment. 

First up are these Vegan Buffalo Wings - also known as - Buffalo Cauliflower Wings!  I did another version of these a while back and you can see that recipe HERE.  I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I made these wonderful munchies!  I do LOVE them but they do take a while to bake!  The recipe I used for this past weekend differs from the one I linked to and here's how...

2 not-so-large heads of Cauliflower

1 C Flour

1 C Water

1 t Wildtree Garlic Galore (or Garlic Powder)

1/2 t Smoked Paprika

1 C Frank's Hot Sauce

Sea Salt to taste

I also did a Vegan Onion Ranch Dip and that consisted of:

1 C Just Mayo (+ 2 T)

1/4 to 1/2 C Almond Milk

1 t Lemon Juice

1 t Apple Cider Vinegar

1 t Wildtree Garlic Galore (or Garlic Powder)

1 t Wildtree Dip Dip Blend (or dill)

1 T Wildtree Absolutely Onion (*see note)

1 t Coconut Aminos (or Bragg's)

Wildtree Lemon Pepper - to taste

* (make sure the Absolutely Onion has the Organic Label because it is now Vegan!!!  The non-Organic had dairy in it)

Now...as for the Sloppy Joe's - I have used TVP in the past but didn't have any on hand so I decided to try a version with Chickpeas and Lentils instead.  Here's that recipe...

1/2 Dry Split Red Lentils (then cooked)

1 Can of Organic Chickpeas

1 T Grapeseed Oil

1 T (or more) of Wildtree Garlic Galore (or 2 T Minced Garlic)

1 C Tomato Sauce

2 T Ketchup

2 T Maple Syrup

1 t Coconut Aminos (or Bragg's)

1 to 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

1 t Smoked Paprika

1 t Yellow Mustard

1 t Mexican Chili Powder

Wildtree Lemon Pepper - to taste

I very much enjoyed both dishes!  But the BEST part was EVERYONE enjoyed the Vegan Buffalo Wings!  My MIL is still talking about them today!  And my BIL actually used my Vegan Onion Ranch instead of regular ranch!

Vegan MoFo ~ Share Something Vegan with a Non-Vegan

I might be taking the easy way out with today's prompt for Vegan MoFo but trust me when I say I NEEDED to share this post.  The very important person I'm featuring in today's post is my sister Megan.  

My sister is NOT vegan or even vegetarian but has always supported my choices throughout the years and is the best sister ever!  I know many of us could say that about out siblings but I've always been close with my sister...growing up we never fought like other teens tend to.

Now that we are older there are certain things we do to keep communicating.  One being that we are Wildtree Reps.  My mother was the first one of the family to become a rep - then I did - then my sister - and finally my father.  It's a family thing but for different reasons.  Of course one of the main reasons for me personally is because of all the vegetarian and vegan options they offer.  Not all of their products are veg but LOTS of them are...most of them are, actually.  Anyways...my sister was always the creative one in the kitchen.  I wasn't.  I would take the easy way out when it came to food but since dropping dairy (after being lacto/lacto-ovo veg for 18 years) I started making the majority of my own food as you can now see on my blog.  My sister and I have made it a tradition to attend the WNY VegFest for the last two years.  It's been a lot of fun!  We've been able to meet up with some great people including the Vegan Zombie Crew (both years) and other YouTubers, Bloggers, Authors, Speakers, etc!

YEARS ago I attempted to coordinate a Vegetarian Potluck on a monthly basis and no matter which month or how many people (or lack there of sometimes) that showed up my sister always would!  Of course my mom and dad can be thrown into that conversation, too, I have been very lucky and blessed!

Another thing that we are able to do as Wildtree Reps is to go to a number of community events and festivals and I love walking around with my sister and checking out the other vendors.  We usually come across various animals that attend, too!  Here she is pictured with a random dog we came across years ago.  Funny thing is 2 Autumns ago both my sister and her husband as well as my parents were at one of these events and saw dogs from a regional shelter and ended up adopting them!  

Here is a photo of Megan with Atlas and my father with Lexi!  They are both much bigger now but you get the idea.

As you can see from the other photos I have posted my sister also has helped me with some of the things I do for work and volunteering, too!  We've also attended various concerts together, as well!  Like I said my sister isn't veg - she doesn't eat a lot of meat and does TRY the foods I make and has even made many vegan dishes herself.  She usually goes out of her way to make me something special during parties, too!  She recently made this jam made from Blueberries, Agave, Lemon Juice, and Chia Seeds just for fun!

Almost every holiday she at least TRIES the foods that I make and bring!  This one I did YEARS ago and it's a Maple Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole.  I even impressed myself with this one!

Megan's into a lot of alternative foods and that is what makes it FUN.  These last two photos are from the last couple of years during Thanksgiving.  They are photos of my plate to prove that I never go hungry (haha!)  I thought I would hop over and pull from my archives and share with any new visitors.  For more posts on my sister you could always type in the word "sister" into my sidebar search window, too!

I know this post was a little bit of a blabber fest but when my sister and I get together that is what often happens.  I love my sister Megan dearly and always will.

CocoMint Ice Cream (Nut Based)

I took a stab at making Vegan Ice Cream last night and it turned out great!  I will say it's treat that you shouldn't over eat as it's nut based and very rich, creamy, and fulfilling. Here's the recipe I came up with...

1.5 C Raw Cashews

1 C (or more) Almond Milk
3 T Coconut Oil
1/4 C Maple Syrup
3/4 tea NuNaturals Cocoa Mint Syrup
1/2 Scoop Garden of Life Chocolate Cacao Raw Protein

Prior to freezing this - yet after blending everything in my Vitamix - I added some Coco Mint Swirls with more of the NuNaturals Syrup.  It was wonderful.  It was butty - like a Cashew Butter flavor because of the Cashews and Almond Milk Combo for the base but it was a nice Chocolate and Mint flavor thanks to the GoL and NuNatural's combo!  I will definitely be making this again and with more flavor combos, too!  YUM!

Participating Post...

Virtual Vegan Potluck

Happy, Healthy, Green, & Natural

Real Food Wednesdays

My Sister (Nearly) Veganized Her Party...

Yesterday my sister had a Norwex Party at her house.  She sent me a text message earlier last week that she was going to make a vegan taco dip and asked me a few questions because she was going to use our Wildtree Taco Blend for it.  My sister isn't vegetarian let alone vegan but she enjoys trying the foods - and if you are a reader of my blog for a while - you may remember she and I went to the WNY VegFest in August and had a BLAST!  Anyway...when I got to her house yesterday - before the party - not only did she make the taco dip vegan - she made this cold bean salad and it was awesome!  With this she used Frozen Corn, Canned Black Beans, 2 Avocados, 1 Tomato, Onion, and some Wildtree Garlic Galore.

Here's what the Vegan Taco Dip looked like!  And here's what she used for this recipe...both of these dishes made HUGE batches...enough for a Vegan Potluck!

1/2 container of Vegan Sour Cream
1 container of Vegan Cream Cheese
10-ounces Salsa
3 T Wildtree Taco Blend
(these ingredients mixed well)
Next layer...
Shredded Lettuce to cover
Tomato
Sliced Olives to cover
Daiya Cheese - Sprinkled on top

My sister really did spoil me yesterday!  I had a fun time!  The best part...she didn't tell anyone the dips were vegan...and no one asked!  Everyone loved them!  The only thing that wasn't vegan was she made the Wildtree Onion Dip with real Sour Cream (it also has dairy in the dry product) I just didn't eat that one item but the rest I did!  She had a large raw veggie tray, too!