RAW WEEK - Wednesday!

Check this bad boy salad out from yesterday!

This Salad was a bit of a Mish Mash of things and it turned out pretty tasty!

The Lettuce you see here is Petite Oak.  I used a whole head of it for this LARGE Salad.  I read up on this lettuce and noticed that it averages over a gram of protein per serving.

I also added 2 good sized carrots, 1/4 of a pickle, and about 10 raw Almonds.  This was my Dinner in addition to leftover Chia Seed Crackers and Raw Vegan Cheese Dip.

I made another dressing last night for this LARGE Salad.  I think I will call it Tomato Tahini but it's much more than that.  Here's what's in this Raw Vegan Salad Dressing...

4 Roma Tomatoes
1/3 C Tahini
2 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 Lemon Juice
2 Mini Sweet Red Bell Peppers
Cayenne to taste

And once I mixed in the Salad Dressing this is what it looked like!

It was YUMMY!  I'm looking forward to a different Salad and Salad Dressing tonight, too!

This morning I didn't make a Green Smoothie and I must say I missed it!

Last night I didn't get enough sleep due to major Thunderstorms in our area.  The thunder was cracking from 12:30am to after 9am.  I probably only got about a half hour of sleep.  Considering that - I'm actually not feeling too bad today!

Today I have consumed 4 Mandarin Oranges, 1 Pink Alice Apple, and over a cup of small kale leaves from our container garden.  I massaged the Kale Leaves in (fresh squeezed) Tomato Juice and Spices.  It was just what I was hungry for!

I found a Pink Alice Apple at one of my local stores the other day and tried it today for the first!  I must say I am a fan!  It sort of smells like WINE when you first cut it...very pleasant.  Here's a little bit more info about this kind of apple!

• Description: This new and distinct apple variety possesses several unique and desirable characteristics such as having a distinct pink stripe over a creamy-yellow background, which distinguishes it from other known varieties. The background color deepens to an orange-yellow after harvest. Lady Alice possesses a distinctive taste and its dense flesh is sweet with a hint of tartness. The shape of the Lady Alice is round and somewhat broad with a shallow, slightly open calyx.
• Parentage: The Lady Alice apple was discovered as a chance seedling in Washington State and is therefore a *Washington Original*.
• Availability: Available February through May or while supplies last.
• Usage: It is slow to brown after cutting which makes it excellent for eating fresh, cutting into salads or served on fruit trays. Additionally, the dense flesh holds its texture when baking. Lady Alice is an excellent all-purpose apple.

What I Ate Wednesday Participant

Mesclun "Spicy Mix" Salad (From Our Garden) with Salsa!

It's EASY being GREEN!  Check it out!  The very first edible from our Container Garden - soon to be - our Rooftop Garden!  This is my lunch today!

Spicy Greens Salad with Salsa!

Isn't it gorgeous!  And there's MORE where that came from!  Yup!  Our lettuces are doing well so far! 

This is a Mesclun Spicy Mix of Greens/Lettuces and are of the loose lettuce varieties!  Which varieties?  Well, let me tell  you!  It's a mix of different Arugula, Endive, Mustard, Mizuna, and Tatsoi.  I think there was supposed to be some Red Loose Leaf in there, too, but I didn't see any!

I have been eating a LOT of salads lately - even more than I usually do.  But this is the first one that we grew ourselves at work!  I hope to do another one tomorrow, but it will be the Sweet Mix of the Mesclun growth from our containers.

We hope to start hardening off some of our items after this week because it is going to get cooler again.  I can't WAIT until we have them outside full-time!  YAY!

Boston Thoughts/Prayers, LOTS of Food/Recipes, Furkids, Updates, More

First and Foremost my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston and the families, athletes, communities, and countries that were affected by the bombings. 

Since my full-time job is media-related I have been seeing and hearing a lot of info about what happened and is happening and continues to unfold.  My continued thoughts and prayers are with everyone during this time.

My blog has been quiet the last few days not only as a tribute (moment of silence) but because I have been following the stories surrounding this tragedy.

There has been a LOT going on and as a heads-up this will be a VERY long post, today!  A few days ago I did a Warm Chickpea and Spinach Salad in Tahini Sauce.  I used 2 Cups of Chickpeas, Tahini, Water, Lemon Juice, and Wildtree Savory Spinach.  It was pretty tasty!  I would certainly have this again! 

Another food my husband and I have been eating quite a bit lately is Bruschetta.  Since cutting out store-bought Garlic Bread since going near Vegan I have either done my own Garlic Bread OR, more recently, done my own Bruschetta.  Dale really likes this!  I'm VERY happy about that because it's easy to make and it's vegan!  For this I chopped up Tomato, Onion, added in some Basil, Wildtree Italian Seasoning, Garlic, and Balsamic Dipping/Oil.

One of the side dishes I have been tinkering with lately is Sweet Corn marinated in Coconut Amino's!  That's all this is!  Corn and Coconut Amino's!  Since I have been using Coconut's Secret Coconut Amino's I have found that I really like the flavor because it's more gentle and less salty than Bragg's Liquid Amino's and other Tamari and Soy Sauces out there!  Don't get me wrong - I like them all - just for different reasons!  But I have to say I am really LOVING the gentle flavor of this product!  It's really marvelous! 

Here's another product I have been very excited about lately!  It's the Heritage Blend from Nature's Healthy Choice!  As you can see this blend has two types of Quinoa, Rice, Amaranth, and is Gluten Free. 

What I did here is - I added some Black Beans, Corn, Diced Tomatoes, and Wildtree Chipotle Lime Rub.  It was VERY tasty!  This is a very versatile product and I'm eager to try more dishes with it SOON!

I really LOVE the nutrition of this product but also the texture and the chewiness it provides!

Last night I had this idea to do a Sweet Curry Sauce.  It turned out pretty good but the Vegan Ravioli I HOPED to put it on didn't turn out real well so I'm saving it for tonight!

For this sauce I used: 1 and a half C Almond Milk, 2 teaspoons of light Miso, 2 teaspoons of raw organic honey, 2 T Chives, 1/2 teaspoons of Curry Powder, and about 4 T of Potato Flakes (as a thickener).

Today for lunch - since I wasn't happy with my Ravioli attempt from last night - I bought my lunch.  I had a LARGE Leafy Greens Salad from a local cafe.  It also included Pecans, Cranberries, and Balsamic.  It was just want I was hungry for! 

I had a nice walk today, too!  The weather has been much more FAIR lately and I had to go to the court house which is several blocks away from where I work.

Last night I vacuumed and the 'kids' stuck to each other like glue!  They weren't scared but they weren't thrilled that I interrupted their evening, either.

Suzie (lower right corner) is USUALLY the one who likes to jump up on the back of things like chairs and sofas.  I don't overly worry about her doing this because she has a proven track record of balance and accuracy.  However, last night, Paco decided he was going to jump up on the back of the chair and I was surprised as well as nervous!  Ever since he's been diagnosed with 'sloppy knees' we've been watching his jumping and climbing on things!  He usually DOESN'T go up on the back of things - at least we try and make it so he doesn't.  As I look at this photo, now, it does make me giggle, tho, their facial expressions, and such. 

I think I will stop here for today - but I do have LOTS of other things to share!  More new-to-me products, health updates, and more!  How are you doing - by the way!?