Masoor Seddho (Red Lentil Soup), Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup, Navratan Korma Inspired Soup, Crafts, Stress Relief, and Life Updates

It's been another roller coaster of a few weeks and that is my reason for not posting.  I really had hoped to post some more interesting and uplifting news but things didn't work out like I had hoped.  I need to be better at letting go and moving on, I suppose.

I guess now is as good as time as any to share with you some of the things I have been eating and creating.

As you can see in the first photo I recently gnawed on some Avocado and Tomato Toast.  It's topped with a Maple Mustard.  I also grabbed this smoothie you see in the 2nd photo which is Mango Squash & Veggies.  It was very tasty.  I got it from Total Evolution.  Maybe this week I will check out one of their soups or finally get their Oatmeal Bar.

I've been busy with work, League of Women Voters, and County Fair stuff.  I've also been a busybody at home.  Plus, I have been enjoying my new found joy of coin collecting more and more.  I have slowly gotten back into paper crafting which you will see more of in this post.  I'm really trying to stay busy so I don't start over-analyzing myself or move into a deeper depression. 

I'm still trying to get back into Yoga again but just when I think I will I have been battling with pain more.  Just when I think I have kicked my pain in a couple of days it comes back.

I've been tinkering with Mandalas again and it's been a nice short form of meditation of sorts.  As you can tell I'm not done with this.  Sometimes I do a bit at a time and will come back to it days later and add more.  DH and I just re-watched all of the Harry Potters which was a nice way to relax, too.  And of course there is my ongoing love of tea but I'm trying to adjust my intake on the highly caffeinated ones due to the aches and pains I have been struggling with.

I was averaging a card a day for a while there.  The cards I do only take a few minutes so it's a nice brain break.  It's a shame I let a group of people ruin my love of paper crafting for as long as I did.  I'm really trying to get back into it again.  So far - so good - in small increments.

I haven't bought any new supplies.  Everything I have been using to make the cards have been from scraps.  I intend to continue with this method.  I want to see how long I can go using old stashes and supplies.

Last weekend we gathered at a friends house for an annual party-after-new-years.  I usually bring baked beans but this time I thought I would bring something different.  DH suggested Buffalo Cauliflower Wings so I did just that.  I have two photos to share with you here.  I know I have posted my own recipe before but this time around I stuck pretty close to Jason Wrobel's recipe that he had in his Eaternity book I bought MONTHS ago!

They went pretty well.  I did 2 versions.  One was quite spicy and the other was not-so-spicy.

I ended up bringing Rootie's Blue Cheese for DH (for those of you who don't know he's not veg) and for who ever else wanted it.  I brought Daiya's Blue Cheese for me and who ever else wanted it.  It was funny but when we were cleaning up the dairy version of the blue cheese was barely touched and my vegan blue cheese bottle was nearly gone.

I'm not complaining at all - that is what it was there for - but I'm thinking that no one really looked at the bottles and just ate it regardless.  I find this interesting and am pretty thrilled!

It's been nasty weather-wise still.  This morning it was -7 degrees at 9am.  Friday Night we got a few inches of ice and then about a foot or more of snow.

So as you can imagine I have been eating a LOT of soups!  About a week ago I made a Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup.  Ingredients include...

1 C Cashews
1 Small Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Knob Ginger
6 Carrots
Water & Sea Salt as needed
Garnish: Nutmeg, Smoked Paprika, Parsley

For lunch today I had this amazing Red Lentil Soup!

It's my new favorite!  I would have made more right away but I only had enough Red Lentils for 1 batch!

It was inspired by Vegan Richa's Begali Red Lentil Soup (Masoor Seddho) but instead of the Tomato I used Tomato Sauce.  It was all I had on hand.  I also used Earth Balance instead of the Mustard Oil.

This was WONDERFUL and I will be making it again as soon as I get more red lentils!  YUM!  I'm not going to lie - I ended up garnishing it with more Earth Balance!  It was so savory!

This next one might not look like much but it was pretty tasty, too!  It was inspired by Vegan Richa's Navratan Korma Recipe but I turned it into a blended soup instead.  It called for 5 cups of veggies I used a bunch of stuff that was hanging out in my freezer and frig to use it up.  Many veggies like Eggplant, Sweet Peppers, Green Beans, Carrots, Water Chestnuts, Potatoes, Peas, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cauliflower, etc.  Instead of the 4 tomatoes it called for I used some leftover Spaghetti Sauce.  There are various spices along with Cashews and Pistachios, too!

Big Bowl of YUM!

Yesterday I was thumbing thru Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen Cookbook and came across her recipe for Chickpea Spinach Stew with Lentils and Quinoa.  This YUM Dish - as I like to call it - is inspired by that recipe - yet still pretty altered so I think it's okay if I share with you what I did for my version.  This is packed with LOTS of stuff and has more ingredients than I usually use in one recipe but I think it turned out wonderful and I can't want to make another version VERY SOON!  This is a complete meal in itself that is for sure.  I made a HUGE batch and have gotten 3 meals out of it and even tried some of it in tacos - just for the heck of it - and am LOVING it!

1 t Coconut Oil
1 t Garam Masala

1/4 t each of Cinnamon, Cumin, Smoked Paprika

Knob of Ginger

2 t Minced Garlic

1 t Onion Powder

2 Large Tomatoes
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes in Green Chilies 

1 Package Frozen Spinach (Roughly a Pound)

2 t Apple Cider Vinegar
2 C Water
1 t Black Sea Salt (or to taste)
1 T Raw Cane Sugar
1 T Maple Syrup
2 T Lemon Juice

1/4 C Almond Milk
1 Handful Cashews

1 Can Chickpeas

1/3 C Red Lentils
1/3 C Couscous

1/3 C Super Grains*

The Super Grains I used were equal parts White Quinoa, Red Quinoa, Millet, and Buckwheat.

In other news...I spent all day at home today.  The weather is still crappy.  It's still snowing.  It's still very cold.  The roads are ICY.  While at home all day I spent much of it cleaning.  Years ago I totally re-did a room in our house and converted into a craft room.  Long story short but I got out of crafting because of a few nasty people ruining my love for it online.  It's become a CATCH ALL type of room and it was beyond BAD.  Today I finally started hoeing it out.  It's still going to take a while to complete.  My goal is to still have it as a Craft Room and I hope to get back into crafting BUT different kind of crafts.  I would also like it to double as a Yoga Room.  

As for what I can see myself doing in terms of crafting is VISION BOARDS and for yoga I want to work on YOGA for PAIN.  More on the progress of these two mini goals down the road.

Dal Bukhara, Old School Merry-Go-Rounds, & Deliciously Ella Everyday!

Yesterday I told you that I made 2 Vegan Richa Recipes from her Indian Kitchen Cookbook.  This was the other one I made.  It was the Dal Bukhara which is Black Gram Lentils in Tomato Sauce.  I opted for 2 things in this recipe.  The optional liquid smoke and the vegan cream (I used vegan sour cream).  This made a HUGE batch!  Enough for 2 dinners last night as sides and a giant stand alone meal for myself tonight.  I LOVED both the Rajma and the Dal Bukhara from Vegan Richa!

Here's a closer look at the dish!  YUM!  Of course this was taken before I added the vegan sour cream!  One other thing I should note is that I used about a cup less water than the recipe suggested because I wanted a thicker, creamier texture.  I was pleased with my choices!  Have you tried this recipe yet?  Which recipes are your favorite if you do have the book?  Mine was a little bit more orange in color because I used orange tomatoes instead of standard red ones.

And speaking of Christmas Gifts and Vegan Cookbooks here is another one that I was lucky enough to add to my collection...Deliciously ELLA Every Day!

First and foremost I wanted to grab one of Ella's books because I didn't have any of hers in my collection yet.  Secondly, I comment on her blog and wanted a book to match.  And finally, anything that says Quick and Easy Recipes for Gluten-Free Snacks, Packed Lunches, and Simple Meals that are Plant-Based, Dairy-Free, and low-to-no-hassle I'm game!

There are a LOT of recipes in this book and the photography is beautiful!  I can't wait to jump in and see what I want to make first.  So far - I'm thinking the Pesto Lima Bean dish is calling me the most!

Another topic I have been teasing at the last couple of days is something neat I experienced on Friday Night.

A group of us went to a local restaurant/bar in a nearby small town that was celebrating their annual Christmas Walk.  Friends of ours lived within walking distance so we took a brisk speed walk back to their place but their parents lived just a few houses down and we've been hearing about this Old School Merry-Go-Round that they had and just HAD to see it!

It was inside a large garage with LOTS of other historical Merry-Go-Round items, old posters from county and state fairs, old pieces of art, dolls, wooden horses, historical items from Washington DC and other places, local and regional history, old video games, music memorabilia, cars, and much more!

It was pretty amazing to see all of this right in front of you and all at once.

His parents told us about how they started collecting everything, where they found the items, and how and who restored them.

Everything they had on display WORKED.  It was REALLY neat!

We even got to ride the one Merry-Go-Round.  This was the bigger of the two.  There was another - smaller one that was decorated with Christmas Tree Ornaments that were issued to members of the government throughout history in or around Washington, DC.

Once everything was turned on and running we had the original music playing on the Merry-Go-Round, too!

It's certainly not something you get to see or do everyday - that's for sure!

It was very Old Timey Carnival Complete with freshly popped corn from an old machine - to boot.  I didn't have any popcorn because I'm pretty sure there was butter on it but the whole atmosphere was something that really took you back in time!

Here is a picture of the smaller, older one and if you look real close to cover near the lights you can see the ornaments I described above.  There was lots of art work and promotional posters throughout the garage.  I'm sure I missed some things.  It was that HUGE and I often found myself standing back and pausing in awe.  Of course, as a vegetarian/vegan, I'm not a fan of circuses (because of the use/abuse of animals) but many of these Merry-Go-Rounds were from a time where we didn't understand things we do now.  Many of the old state parks were just that - parks - with the possibility of mechanical rides such as these old school Merry-Go-Rounds.  It was interesting to see history come alive.

And because I'm a HUGE fan of music of all types and the history behind them - I appreciated the historical value of their collection.  It was a bit too cold that night or we would have had the opportunity to see this musical machine in action, too!

I've seen episodes of American Pickers and/or Pawn Stars and those guys would have went NUTS for this stuff!

Funny thing is - not many people realize something like this exists - tucked away - in a garage in our area.  It's a hidden, historical gem.

Have you ever ridden on a Merry-Go-Round?  What are your memories of them?  I'd love to hear about it in comments! 

Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) & Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen

Today I spent most of the day running errands before the snow storm hit, cleaning, and cooking. 

As many of you know I have been trying to do more foods that are inspired from different parts of the world.  Today one of the dishes I made was Rajma which is a Kidney Bean Curry.

After doing a little research of the origins of Rajma I found that not only is it popular in South Asia, Northern India, but also, Nepal.

This photo doesn't do the dish much justice but I think it came out pretty tasty!  To my knowledge this is the first time I have tried this dish.  It was perfect timing, too, because I had some tomatoes I needed to hurry up and use.

The recipe I used was from Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen.  This is another new book to my collection.  it's been on my wishlist for a long time!  I'm so happy I finally have it in my hands!  I know I will be referring to this book a lot!

Not only did I make the Rajma Recipe in this book today - I also did the Dal Bukhara - which is a Black Gram Lentils in Tomato Sauce type dish.  I will share that one with you another day!

I also have to recap Friday's nights festivities so I will probably do that in tomorrow's post!

What did you do this weekend!?  Which of Richa's Recipes are your favorites?