Showing posts with label Vegan Baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegan Baking. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

16 Days of Activism Re-Cap, Zonta, Vegan Christmas Cookies, BOOCH, Office Plants, More!


Happy New Year!

I'm still trying to catch up on the last several months so I'm sticking with the clumps of 6 to catch up on some photo posts.  In this post, you will see a lot of Zonta related posts because most of them were taken/posted during the 16 Days of Activism!  You can see the first one in the middle of the top row.

You can also see 3 Vegan Finds - 2 on the top and one on the bottom.  The Miyoko's I found while out and about - I think Wegman's.  I think I also found the new Zesty Daiya Cheese Sauce there!  And I know I found the soup that was on sale...actually...it looks like they aren't going to carry it anymore...so it was super cheap!

A snapshot of Cricket's lil paw-foot while she was sleeping on my lap and under the blanket - just because!  The one on the end and on the bottom was from the Friday after Thanksgiving when our Zonta Club Members were selling raffle ticket.  The money raised goes towards our many service projects!  More on those down the road!


I've told you about our new, local Ollies!  I have had good luck with vegan finds there - including Larabar Bites!  YUM!  At our local Tops, I found Red Lentil Pasta.  I really liked it!

I also briefly mentioned how I have made a few 'forts' in my parents Living Room for Trinity.  Here is a snapshot of one of those!  If you click on the pics - they get bigger - and you can see her in the right-hand corner.


I did find some Vegan Mashed Potatoes on sale while in my travels, too, I have had them before but since they were on sale I knew I had to grab them!  

Total Evolution in Warren hired a Vegan Chef and he specializes in Buddha Bowls!  There is one of the pictured in the top center of this 6.  

I recently spoke at a networking function for our local Women's Care Center.  Our Zonta Pres and I talked about our ongoing collection of new and gently used bras for FTG (Free The Girls).  You can see another photo of that on the bottom center and a few posts on the 16 Days of Activism.


I did try another Garde'in Bowl.  The flavor was ok but I could do without the fake chicken in this one.

For the past year or two I have been getting THE BIRD OF THE WEEK in my inbox from The American Bird Conservatory.  I LOVE seeing the different birds and regions they come from.  This one is the rarest of the rare...the Blue-Eyed Ground Dove.  It's found in Brazil and Critically Endangered.  As of the last count, there were only 16 left.  So sad - but - SO IMPORTANT to share!

Our FTG Bra Collection/Drop-Off made our local media...both radio AND print!

Over at The Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie, I spotted some Cheddar-Style Dip from The Honest Stand.  Since I haven't tried it before I scooped it up while I could!  It was alright!

I'm glad that my father is making wine again!  Here you can see some of his latest batch.  I helped bottle!  He does make vegan and non-vegan wine so he always lets me know which ones contain what.  The one pictured is vegan!

Over at The Whole Foods Co-Op they now have Aqua ViTea Kombucha - from Vermont - on Tap!  Woot!  I sampled a few that day and ended up buying one of the Blood Oranges.  It was FAB!


I have been spotting more Well YES!  Soups in more places!  I'm happy to see the vegan options and I have tried the vegan ones I have found - they are ok - but I prefer to make my own soups at home.

I was super stoked to see a Sabres Game on Hulu Plus LIVE a while back but they have been few and far between.  We thought we would get more LIVE Hockey games that we wanted to see so we recently discontinued that add-on because we weren't getting the use out of it, really, and we were trimming unnecessary costs across the board...more on that in a few...

In the meantime...I'll tell you more about our outings and adventures!  Including our stop at Mad Mex in Erie.  I LOVE that place because there are SO MANY vegan options - but - I haven't been there as often as I would like.  I am thankful for the last two times we did go, tho...once with hubby...and the other time with my parents, sister, and niece.

I found a HUGE tub of Follow Your Heart Sour Cream somewhere, too, and it had been YEARS since I tried their Sour Cream.  I have to say it's better than I remember it.  I do like making my own at home but when it's on sale I usually grab what I can.

Many places have been getting more of the Green Giant Diced and Riced Cauliflower Steamables.  Of course, I always double check the ones I purchase are vegan...some are and some aren't...but I'm thrilled they are coming out with more options that ARE VEGAN!

I couldn't resist this Drew's Grains and Kale Salsa!  It was hardier than most salsa's and pretty terrific!


We did make another trip to Mustard Seed in Ohio before the snow started flying!  I was pumped to find their own VEGAN Pumpkin Bread!  It was great!

Another thing I saw but didn't buy (and now wish I had) was Buddha's Hand!  Have you ever bought and made anything with Buddha's Hand?

I mentioned earlier about one Kombucha now being on tap in Erie but GUESS WHAT...there is a place in Warren that has BOOCH on tap now, too, it's Total Evolution and the BOOCH they have is Earth Below that is regionally brewed in Emporium, PA.  So far I have enjoyed everything I have tried from them!

And that blob in the middle on the bottom - NACHOS - with the sour cream and salsa I mentioned above. 



Eat Pastery VEGAN Cookie Dough is BACK at my local Wegman's!  I also grabbed one of the Wegman's brand BOOCHES while I was at it!

The Baba Ghannouj and Garde'in Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers were from Mustard Seed.  The Baba Ghannouj was ok...I like the one I have made better but haven't made it in ages...and when I see a vegan new-to-me-baba I have to try it!  And I had not seen the Chipotle Lime ones anywhere locally so I thought I would grab a package while at Mustard Seed.  I figured I wouldn't be back until spring.


A few people on IG have encouraged me to post more PLAYLIST and MUSIC stuff so that is what you see in the first photo above.  Then another furkids pic.  Then more Vegan Finds! 

The one is a Cashew Queso.  I found that at Mustard Seed, too, it was alright.  Because it was on sale I grabbed some old school Mac & Chreese.  The last time I saw the Hummus Pods I only bought one package.  I LOVED them so this time I tried two other flavors and they didn't disappoint!  LOVED THEM AGAIN!  I also found another Pupusas that was vegan and finally had those the other night for dinner and enjoy them quite a bit!


Our Zonta Club does 'gifts for mothers' thru our local Salvation Army and I donated a gift bag with goodies in there.  Most of which were vegan...including this Salt Scrub!

In the next several photos you can see some office plant progress.  I have re-potted a few since these were taken.  I have lost a few plants in the last couple of weeks, too, which is disappointing.

I have been drinking tea - as usual - and slowly but surely - submitting more reviews over at Sororitea Sisters.

I did find more VioLife cheeses!  YAY!  And Smoked Gouda from Daiya while in Ohio!  Along with Field Roast and LightLife sandwich slices.


More office plants!  The top 3 are currently doing well.  The one on the bottom right I have since lost.  For some reason, I don't have luck with Begonias.  I have NOT been successful with 4 different varieties of Begonias.

You can also see one of my quick lunches from a while back.  I think it was a Vegan Burger from ALDI and Couscous with Tomato Sauce.  I remember eating this over at my parent's house the one day and I shared some Couscous with Trinity and she LOVED it!

And another bottled BOOCH from Earth Below - available at Total Evolution!  I think that one was either the Honeycrisp Cinnamon or the Grapefruit Rosemary.


While at the Zonta Christmas Party - one of the other members made Vegan Coconut Lemon Balls!  They were AMAZING!

Oh Yeah!  And...Morning Star's Buffalo Wings are now VEGAN or at least have a Vegan Option and labeled differently!  They were on sale at Tops for 3 for $9 so I stocked up!  They are pretty good!  I haven't had many Morningstar products the last several years but glad they are coming out with more Vegan Options!

Since I have been pretty bored with TV lately I have been re-watching The Golden Girls.  Classic!

And more plants!  I was REALLY loving the one on the left...until it fell off the shelf and I lost quite a bit of it.  The African Mask plant on the right I LOVE, too!


This past Christmas I TRIED to do some vegan baking again...with supervision...that is!  I say that while laughing because I am an awful baker!  My mom and I tried a few recipes and everything tasted great!  The picture of the Lemon-Glazed Shortbread in the upper left took a while and was pretty hard the next day.  We found that if you put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds they softened well, tho.

I also have some pictures from the Zonta Christmas Party, too!  It was FUN!  You can see a few of us with the 'Gifts For Mothers' for the Salvation Army that I mentioned earlier, too!


And here are a few other vegan cookies I tried making this year!  The one in the upper left is actually a no-bake with only 3 ingredients we just needed to put them on something while they set.  Peanut Butter, Maple Syrup, and Oats.

My parent's cats and my mom and I making fun of CVS's receipts - my mom only bought 3 things and her receipt was 4 and a half feet long!  CRAZY!  Such a waste!

Hubby and I judge Christmas Trees at a local factory.  I posted on IG a few of the trees!  This year we agreed the Paws Along The River Humane Society DONATION TREE was the winner!  Everything was being donated to the shelter!

And more cookies!  The Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies were a hit everywhere I took them!  I just made them a little bit smaller than I should have!  Then I did Vegan Snickerdoodles!  With some help smushing them half way thru baking them they turned out good!  Funny thing...I don't think I got too many of those...but someone must have liked them!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

This Non-Baker Baked Cookies For MWM (MidWeek Munchies)



I know I always say that I am NOT a baker and I totally stand by that! But I have to at least TRY and remind myself why I don't bake often! All jokes and silliness aside here is a pic of the cookies I made over the weekend. 

At the moment I cannot find the recipe I jotted down for these but they have very few ingredients and what I can tell you is they are mostly made of crunchy peanut butter and maple syrup. 

They were a little flat but they were pretty tasty! I'm not upset with this attempt but there is certainly room for improvement!

I'm posting this for MWM. I haven't really grocery shopped much lately but I do have one other post I will be posting - one lonely item I did pick up this past week but wanted to do a separate post for that so I will be doing at least 2 or 3 posts today because I have another subject I want to post about as well! 

As you know - Today is Wednesday - and that means it's time for MidWeek Munchies! I hope you will participate! If you have anything VEGAN you would like to share and link up with we welcome you and your posts! It can be a grocery store haul, garden or farmers market trip, online purchase, or anything you made and munched on that happens to be vegan!




Thursday, January 2, 2014

Lengthy Post ~ Eventful 2014 Start!

LONG Post Alert! 

Happy 2014!  I've been VERY busy!  In this post you will see a BUNCH of things that I have been working on!  Starting with this Quinoa Dish from a few days ago!  Unfortunately, I have misplaced the recipe!  DRAT!  But it does have various Spices, Quinoa, and Diced Tomatoes in it!  I hope to post the recipe as soon as I locate it tho!  Sorry about that! 

Eeeeek!

Another Mini Project that I have been working on is this Mixed Media Artsy-Crafty Piece.  I have but using various mediums and doing many layers over time.  It's so thick right now it's much like a canvas texture-wise!  I'm happy with the colors and texture and weight of it.  I will be revisiting this again soon, I'm not sure if I will use it in Art Journaling or Wall Art - perhaps do a collage over top or maybe just add a phrase and Frame.  I will keep you posted, tho!

As some of you know...I'm soooooo NOT a baker!  But I'm TRYING to at least TRY!  This was my FIRST attempt at Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies. 

Yes...they are a little flat...but they tasted YUMMY and kept well.

Recipe:

1 1/2 C Bob's Red Mills Flour
1 tea Baking Soda
1 tea Soaked Chia Seeds
1 tea Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Earth Balance
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C Chocolate Peanut Butter
1/4 C Applesauce
1/2 C Brown Palm Sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners)

My Craft Room is a MESS!

And...I mean...a MESS!  Beyond a MESS, actually!  One of my many MINI Goals is to fix that.  I start in on this a little bit yesterday!

You certainly can't tell from this photo!

What I will show you is HOW I started in on this MESS...

 I started in with the PENS - Markers, Pencils, Water Colors, etc...

You name the utensil...it's HERE...

I like the way it turned out!  I thought I would share it with you here...step by step!

There are 24 compartments - empty - for now...

We made these out of 10 feet of PVC Pipe.

We cut them into 5 inch "rings" for lack of better word, I suppose!

I really wanted a BACK on each one so it would STOP the items I put in there...and they wouldn't fall thru or fall out the back.

Decorative Duck Tape worked nicely.  We covered about 75 to 80 percent of the back because I knew we wouldn't fill them with pens all the way to the top!  I had two colors/patterns of Tye-Dye so I thought it would be cool to use 'em.  It worked pretty well!

We had 4 compartments left over.  As you can see here we could fit 5 across on each shelf for a total of 20 compartments.  With the 4 left over ones we covered completely with the Tye-Dye Duck Tape and set them right-side-up on the top shelf for 4 more containers.

Yes...I already filled all 24 of them.

I love the way it turned out tho...but...I do have a LONG way to go on this Craft Room OVER HAUL.


Here's a closer look at this project.

I have more photos, too, but I think you get the picture!

I also love that this was reusing something and multipurposing.

Cost-Wise it made me smile, too!  We figured it cost roughly 80 cents per compartment by doing it this way!  YAY!

One of the main reasons my Craft Room is TRASHED is because I am a Pack Rat and have too much stuff! LOL

One of the items...

I've been saving and have been given LOTS of tins!  This is just a small amount of the overall picture and problem.  I want to make a mini goal to do a few a week...I will keep you posted on that.

Another item is this...

Yes...those are empty Plastic Soda/Pop Bottles.

I have in the past and I want to get back into working with them again.

I make Plastic Beads out of them...stay tuned for that in the near future, too!  I posted about it a while back on my old Crafting Blog, too!

This is a photo of my 2 cats on New Years Eve.

Gabby on the left and Charlie on the right.

They stayed this close for about a half hour or so.

While I drank my smoothie that I posted about the other night!

And...finally...

Vegan Garlic Ranch Dressing!  Woot!

2 Small Zukes
1/3 C Soaked Cashews
4 Small Dates
4 T Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Shallot
1 T Parsley
Sprinkle to Taste Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
1/2 C Almond Milk (or to texture/consistency)
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast

This is WONDERFUL!  I'm so happy with this flavor!  What have you been working on in 2014 so far!?