Tofu Tacos, Around The Community, Wegman's Vegan Finds, Nepal Tea

While I am still catching up on blogging and posting pics from my everyday life - here are some other things that have been sitting in my TO BE POSTED File.  First up, is my meal from Mad Mex in Erie.  They have some really wonderful vegan options.  This time around I decided to try something I haven't tried yet which was this plate of Tofu Tacos!  As you can see they were soft tacos with lots of sprouts, vegan sour cream, guac, rice, black beans and it was all sorts of YUM!  That was for my Birthday Dinner back in the middle of March.

March was also Women's History Month and our local library has a very creative and involved staff.  They had a nice display of Women's books and Authors.  They even did little bookmarks and such!  Really nice!

Another thing taking place at our local library last month was the Youth Art display in their gallery!  Here is just one of the pics I took of the walls.

Oddly, March was a REALLY BUSY month!  Yet another thing I participated in was an evening at the Library where we could speak with 3 electronic voting machine vendors to see which ones our county wants to go with moving forward.  It was open house style and you could come and go.  Some people stayed for a few minutes or up to an hour - but I found myself returning to each vendor with more and more questions and I think I was there nearly the whole time (2 or 3 hours).  I was there on behalf of our local League of Women Voters.

In this photo, you will see a really old staircase and wallpapered ceilings.  This was part of a tour I took in our community.  It's a historic home that was purchased by a non-profit that houses women who were just released from prison.  It helps them get back on their feet, find work, find housing, and rehabilitate.  A few of us are trying for some grant money for a Day of Hope we would like to do.

Another community event I attended last month, was our historical society's annual meeting.  It took place in our county courthouse.  This is a photo of the main courtroom.  What's significant about this courtroom is that it's the first (and maybe the only) courtroom where a sitting judge was shot and killed.  That took place in 1954.  The wood is still present and you can see where one of the bullets grazed it and I believe the other bullet might still be in the wood to the right (not shown).  But during this specific community event and annual meeting a speaker talked about a local home that he purchased.  Because it was the recipient of a Pennsylvania Historical Marker he told us what he could and could not do with the property and showed LOTS of photos of the house and land.  I found it very interesting because it's not even a mile from my parents house.  

Here is a tea sampler set I recently received from Nepal Tea and I will be writing reviews over at Sororitea Sisters in the coming months!

A while back I grabbed some Vegan Tofu Ravioli at Wegman's.  It seems like it's been forever since I have tried anything from Soy Boy which is a company in Syracuse, NY.

Another item I found that day was these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Cybele's.  I have to say I had not seen them anywhere up until this point.  They were darn tasty!

And...behold...I finally got my hands on the JUST Cookie Dough.  OMG!  I'm eating it right out of the container.  Forget MAKING cookies!  

Volunteering, Unboxing, Booch Making, Plant Saving, Vegan Eats!

Well, I had to break down and purchase a few groceries earlier than I wanted to but the plus side is that I bought all of this for $23 and I had a $25 gift card so at least I didn't have to touch my bank account.  I still have a lot of what you see here including the celery, hummus, rice, spaghetti sauce, and apple sauce.  I will be using those items as the week progresses.  

At the end of last week, I had some cubed butternut squash topped with a sweet brown mustard sauce my parents found at Walmart that just happened to be vegan.

Before I get into more of the foodie type photos I thought I would tell you about a few things that happened Friday and on to the weekend.  Most of you here in the states are aware of the government shutdown.  In our county we have approx. 100 federal employees AND their families that were being affected by it.  Friday I jumped in last minute and helped at a local church that was having a dinner for Furloughed Families.  There were about 150-200 people or-so that attended.  

When I saw on the church website they were saying there would be a tea/coffee bar - I knew I could help donate TEA from my boxes and boxes of tea leftover from The Sororitea Sisters.  I brought 3 boxes and gave away a lot of it and served a lot, too!

Saturday Morning I stopped over at a place here in town that does Community Breakfasts and volunteered there, too.  I wasn't sure if they would see an influx of people because of the Furloughed Families or not but I knew I had the time and wanted to help.  When I got there I learned that our local Special Olympics Athletes were going to be volunteering as well.  

It was a nice morning and those who volunteered with The Special Olympics did GREAT!  Over 20 years ago I volunteered with the Special Olympics for about 2 or 3 years and LOVED it!  I helped with Basketball, Track, Softball, and attended a few Swimming and Bowling tournaments.  I really enjoyed my time with the Athletes.  And I enjoyed Saturday morning with some of them serving breakfast, too!

I just received another goodie box from Thayers!  WooHoo!  I'm totally LOVING their products and have so much more to share with you but that will be for another day and another post!

Check this out!  BOOCH!  It's official!  My father and I started brewing!  I figured that my parents' house is the best place to try it!  He already has all of his winemaking stuff set up!  Special thanks to a family friend who gave us 2 SCOBY's to get us started!  YAY!  This was the 'granddaddy' of the booch we are brewing.  We had 2 smaller ones we are trying, too.  And with a creative way to cover them, too!  Up top...that's a sterile mouth mask that my dad had and it fit nicely.  We used a bunji cord on this one, too, just in case!

I do have more foodie pics...I swear...but first...my poor plant!  I'm told this is a Dumb Cane Plant.  I've had it for 5 years and over the last 2 or 3 months it's been wilting away to nothing.  I've been trying to save it any way I can.

But after months of this happening to 90 percent of the leaves I knew I didn't have any other choice but to hack it.  It pained me to do it but I had to!

It even had new growth on the top.  So, I took the better-looking tops off and I'm trying to propagate a few of them.  So far they aren't rooting so I'm not sure if they are going to work or not.

There was also new shoots on the bottom...as you can see here...after I hacked nearly everything off.

Here's another look at what I had to do to try and save what I could of this plant.  I'm not sure if it's going to work but time will tell and I will surely report back!

So...on to the FOOD!  First up...Potato Celery Soup!  Saturday I went over to my parents' house and my mom and I cooked for several hours and actually did some meal planning (which I am horrible at).

This soup contains the following:

1 T Earth Balance (Vegan Margarine)
1 T Coconut Buttery Flavored Oil (Vegan, of course)

1/2 Onion

3/4 Bunch of Celery (I used leaves)

2 Small Potatoes

2 Carrots
About 2 and 1/2 C Water
1/2 C Almond Milk
1/2 C FRESH Parsely
Pinch Onion Sea Salt
Pinch Black Pepper

After cooking everything in a pot until soft I took about 75 percent of the mixture and pulsed in a blender and then added the rest of the mixture in for a heartier soup.  It was YUMMY!  I think we also added just a little bit of Bragg's Liquid Aminos and Old Bay Seasoning to it - to taste.

Next up...we made a HUGE batch of Lentil Veggie Stew.  This is the veggie part!  I could have totally eaten it just like this!  It was tasty!  We then added the Lentils and cooked down and it looked a little like this...

Here's what this recipe contained:

1 and a 1/2 C Green/Brown Lentils
Coconut Oil - Vegan Butter Flavored as needed
1 Sweet Onion
1 Carrot
2 Celery Stalks
1 Potato
4 Cloves Garlic
1 Small Zucchini

1 tea Ground Coriander
1 tea Ground Cumin
1 tea Turmeric
1/2 tea Cinnamon

2 and a 1/2 C Water
3 C Canned, Diced Tomatoes with Juice
1 C FRESH Parsely
2 T Lemon Juice
1/2 tea Old Bay Seasoning
Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Braggs Liquid Aminos, Agave Nectar - to taste

This was pretty wonderful and we divvied it up into many meals for my parents and myself for the week.

And...finally...Quinoa Black Bean Spinach Stuffed Peppers!  These had the following in them:

About 3 C Cooked Quinoa
3 C Spinach (cooked down)
1 C Black Beans
Oil as needed
1 Small Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
2 tea Cumin
2 tea Smoked Paprika

1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Juice
1/4 C FRESH Cilantro
Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Lemon Juice, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, Chili Powder - to taste

We put the mixture into 4 Bell Peppers that we cut lengthwise.  They looked a little dry and we all like sauce so we poured some sweet spaghetti sauce over top of them.

It worked really well!  And we are still eating leftovers!  My mom has been doing a lot of cooking for the two of them since my father has been out of the hospital and watching his food intake more.  He's been doing really well.  They aren't vegan or even vegetarian but they are eating more plant-based foods than before.  My father has lost about 15 pounds already.  And has enjoyed nearly everything we have been fixing!  PLUS...it's great because I can grab some leftovers! 

Weekend Hibernation

This past weekend was CRAZY!  I never left the house.  We received about 2 feet of snow and this morning it was -2 degrees.  My BIL in Erie got about 3 feet of snow and my sister in Bemus Point got about 3 feet as well.

So...I hunkered down...and hibernated, basically.

I made a LARGE vat of soup as you can see above.  I like to call it Creamy Lentil.

1 C Lentils

2 Carrots
4 C Water

Spices: Onion Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder,  Cumin, Parsley, Black Sea Salt...all to taste
2 T Earth Balance Vegan Margarine 

Once all cooked in a large pot I put everything in a high-speed blender.  I added a handful of cashews and more water until I reached the desired consistency.

I've had 3 meals from it so far and the 3rd time I had a bowl I added from Daiya American Cheese and it made a nice Vegan Cheese Soup.  Tonight I might add some veggies and finish it off.

Cricket was less than impressed with the cold.  She will not go outside and she's been doing everything in her power to stick to me like glue and get under the blanket.  This from someone who doesn't usually like burrowing in blankets.  

Check these 'bad boys' out!  I made Tofu Bites!  I basically coated them in All Purposed Flour, Garlic, Smoked Paprika, Onion Powder, Black Sea Salt and Grapeseed Oil.  I baked them at 375 for about 30 or more minutes until somewhat chewy.

But what really MADE these Tofu Bites was the sauce I made for them!  I was overjoyed with the flavor of this sauce and will be making this OFTEN!

1/3 - 1/2 C Just Mayo
3 T Yellow Mustard
3 T Maple Syrup
3 T Sweet BBQ Sauce (I chose one from Wegman's that was clearly marked VEGAN)
1 T Lemon flavored Balsamic (or you can use 1/2 T Lemon Juice & 1/2 T Balsamic)

So needless to say, I was drinking HOT TEA all weekend long and catching up on LOTS of Tea Reviews over at Sororitea Sisters...when it came to my attention that I totally forgot to mention it was Betty White's 97th Birthday last week!  "Rose" from the Golden Girls was the first Funko Pop I bought and I knew I had to post something on IG.  So for those of you who aren't on IG...here is the pic I posted.

I also ALMOST forgot that I still had some Vegan Cookie Batter from EatPastry in my frig so I busted that open and made some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Hurry Up & Use It!

Last week was CRAZY!  Sorry for the lack of posting!  But I did take some photos and I thought I would do a bit of a backlog today!  And maybe tomorrow, too!  Starting off with a VERY EASY Smoothie I made!  Cantaloupe & Raspberries!  That's IT!!!  The only two ingredients!  It was because of a "Hurry up and USE IT" scenario but I really wanted to point out what kind of cantaloupe I used because it was a first for me!  It was a Juan Canary Melon.

It was a cross between a Honeydew and and Cantaloupe but was extremely juicy and even a bit more tangy, too!  It was tasty!  It was AWESOME for smoothies, too!  It was OVERLY RIPE so I had to use it and FAST.  I used almost the whole thing minus a few pieces I ate while cutting it and a few handfuls of raspberries!  It was delightful!

This isn't going to be an overly exciting blog post, today, but I still thought I would share a few things!  I have been drinking more teas and tisanes and you can follow the tea adventures over at Sororitea Sisters where we have at least 4 posts everyday!  We have added a few new guest sisters, too!  If you are interested in reviewing teas and tisanes on the Sororitea Sisters site please let me know in comments!

This was one of the chunkier teas I had been sipping on - I think it was from David's Tea and was one of their Nutty Teas!  As you can see I used my Grosche Infuser which I LOVE!

I had more than a few simple salads last week.  I threw what ever I could find in a bowl and made my own dressings out of Just Mayo, Ketchup, and a splash of Sriracha.  It's my own version of Russian Dressing.  If you add pickle it could pass for a Creamy Thousand Island Dressing!

I also found a Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup that Heinz had out and I have to say I'm in LOVE with it!  Of course I'm a HUGE fan of Balsamic anyway!

Keeping Busy

I haven't had a whole lot of exciting foods lately.  I haven't really even had any impressive grocery store hauls as of late either.  So in the way of food it's been pretty boring.  That is part of the reason I haven't posted much.  Another reason is that I am keeping busy.  Normally I would post about what has been keeping me busy but I decided long ago that I would try to keep My Blissful Journey free of politics.  Having said that...I will explain...

About a year ago I started asking questions and attending events that our local League of Women Voters put on.  The more I participated in things the more I wanted to be a part of just about everything they did.  A few months in...I decided to officially join.  I absolutely LOVE it!  It's probably one of the BEST choices I have ever made.  I have become VERY active and I just know that 2017 will continue to be just as interesting to me.

I'm going to continue to try and NOT make THIS blog about that but a while back a few of us started a private blog and I'm thinking about blogging about some stuff there - in a SAFE place.  I know a few friends have had issues with online bullying and political bullying and I don't want to open anyone up to that.  My Blissful Journey is a positive space.  And with the old private blog where I feel like I can open up about that more - it's just that - PRIVATE - and a bully free zone.  All like minds welcome, tho!  If you are interested let me know!

A few other things that have been keeping me busy is work, Sororitea Sisters, submitting recipes to Global Love Project, my involvement with a local Impacting Poverty Group, and County Fair stuff, PLUS, family stuff!  My sister is doing well and about half way thru her 9 months!  It looks like she will be having a girl!

I like keeping busy.  It actually makes me feel better.  That goes back to my high school days, too!  The more involved I was the better my grades were.  Now that I'm in my upper 30s - the busier I am the more focused I feel.

I'm Back!!! Thanks To Vegan MoFo!

I know it's been an AWFUL LONG TIME since my last post and I have LOTS and LOTS of catching up to do which I will certainly be trying to do VERY SOON!

I have to THANK Vegan MoFo for the swift kick in the butt I needed to get back into posting here at My Blissful Journey.  I have participated in Vegan MoFo for YEARS and was very exciting it was returning once again.

Today's prompt is Favorite Food which is pretty impossible for MOST of us to do, I think, because we usually get so excited about foods that are vegan in general!  BUT...having said that...I will attempt to post about one of my favorite foods...CHICK PEAS.

It's funny I remembering not really loving Chickpeas when I was small.  I think it was because of the texture.  Fast forward several years and BAM!  I LOVE THEM!  I love that more and more as the days go by, actually.  So for today's post I will be feature a few of my favorite dishes that contain chickpeas.

First up...Kale, Chickpeas, Onion, Garlic, Red Bell Peppers, Hemp Seeds, Turmeric, Spices, Vegan Sour Cream, Sriracha! There may or may not be carrots in there, too! I can't remember. This was the first one I did of many when I first picked up a HUGE bag of chopped Kale.

If you mix the Sour Cream and Sriracha into everything else it made a nice sauce, too!

On top of this heaping pile of nachos I made a sunflower seed based sour cream. I also used chickpeas, avocado, corn chips, taco sauce, nutritional yeast, and tomatoes. With the chickpeas I put them on stove top first with paprika, onion, cumin, and garlic and chili sea salt. 

The Sunflower Sour Cream had 3/4 C Sunflower Seeds, 3/4 C Water, 2 T Lemon Juice, 1 t Wildtree Garlic Galore, and 1/2 t Wildtree Absolutely Onion which is NOW Vegan AND Organic!

Here's a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad of sorts I have done in the past! Here's what's in it...

2 C Chickpeas

1 C diced tomatoes

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1/4 C Parsley

1/4 C Chives

1 T Oregano

3 T Balsamic

Sea Salt/Pepper to taste

Cauliflower Chickpea Casserole is something I need to revisit again soon!  I remember it being YUMMY!

2 C Chickpeas

1 Pound Frozen Cauliflower

5 Carrots

2 Handfuls of Chives

1 C Vegan Bread Crumbs

1 C Water

2+ T Grapeseed Oil

1 T Wildtree Garlic Galore

To Taste Wildtree California Garlic Pepper

I started with Spinach, Chickpeas, and Carrots. I made a mild cheesy sauce with Almond/Coconut Milk, Earth Balance, and left over Egg Trick Seasoning (the recipe for that is from The Vegan Zombie Cookbook). I then topped it with baked Tater Tots. Next step - I covered it in leftover vegan cheese sauce I made with a combo of almond milk, Daiya Cheese, and spices. Then I sprinkled Wildtree Taco Seasoning and Hemp Seeds over it! This was pretty amazing if I do say so myself!

Chickpea Vegan Egg Salad

2 C Chickpeas (sprouted, mashed/in Ninja)

1 T Tahini

2 T Vegan Mayo

2 T Dijon Mutard

3 T Onion "Greens" (Onion Sprouts/Shoots)

1 T Lemon Juice

1/2 tea Garlic Powder

1/2 tea Kala Namak (Sea Salt)

1/4 tea Turmeric

Vegan Irish Stew (with Chickpeas)

6 C Water

6 tea veggie bouillon (Wildtree)

1 pound of potatoes

3 carrots

1 stalk celery

1 onion

1 pound Chickpeas

4 tea Bragg's Liquid Amino's

1 tea California Garlic Pepper (Wildtree)

And of course...no vegan post talking about Chickpeas would be complete without some sort of Hummus, right?  And this is just your basic or base hummus!

2 cans of chickpeas

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

7-10 cloves of garlic or 2-3 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic

2 Tablespoons Tahini

garlic flavored oil (or olive or Grapeseed oil) to taste

spices of choice

OH!!!!!!  Also...NEW THIS YEAR!!!!

The Sororitea Sisters will be participating in Vegan MoFo!  Yup!  The Tea Review Blog that I co-founded is participating and contributing at least 1 vegan tea post each day during Vegan MoFo!  Be sure to check it out, link up, comment and let us know that Vegan MoFo sent ya!  

The Sororitea Sisters

Potent Extracts & Happy Mail from TeaBook!

So I've been getting into these Potent Extracts from Medicine Flowers that are available for purchase over at The Raw Food World.  So far I have the Dark Chocolate, Guava, and Caramel flavors.  I'm waiting on the Blueberry to arrive.  I will be placing an order for the Raspberry flavor this week.  There are soooo many flavors!  Last night I tried to make Raw Vegan Cheesecake Bites.  I haven't taken a photo YET because it didn't quite set before I fell asleep.  Hopefully tonight I will be taking some photos of the bites.  I used the Dark Chocolate flavor in the cheesecake base and make a strawberry swirl out of maple syrup and frozen strawberries for the top.

Another thing I would like to quickly share is some Happy Mail this week!  I received this from TeaBook.  It's a Tea Tumbler and a collection of teas.  I will be doing at least one review over at Sororitea Sisters on this Tumbler in the near future.  I might also do a few mini reviews on this site for it, too!  I'm loving the sleek look to the tumbler already!

Questions of the Day: What's the last bit of HAPPY MAIL you received?  What flavors do you think would make neat extracts?