Scenic Shots, Community Fun, Chihuahua Butts, Cardboard Characters, and Funky Vegan Food

It's been another BUSY week and it's just going to get busier and busier!  Earlier in the week I told you about going out to eat last Friday at a local Golf Course/Restaurant.  Here are some photos from the overlook.  I took these from our table!  I LOVE all that GREEN!  Funnies part...I can't GOLF to save my life but I LOVE looking at the scenic views of the different courses.  I think we are going to go back again tonight. 

The name of the Golf Course is Jackson Valley Country Club.  They have re-done the restaurant and bar area and I was pleasantly surprised that they had a nice little salad bar last week!  I think I am going to smuggle in some of my own "Earth Balance" and "Organic Brown Sugar" from Wholesome Sweeteners for my Baked Sweet Potato.

I also mentioned earlier this week about the Community Event that we attended this past weekend.  I was so bummed I forgot to take some photos of our area but a friend of ours took this one and I just noticed it on Facebook today!  He did the tye-dye shirts for us!  My sister didn't come this past weekend but my mom and dad are pictured here with me.  For this weekend we will be at Nobel Winery in Westfield, NY.  We also plan to spend some time at camp but the weather is supposed to be really cold this weekend!  I can't believe it was 93 earlier this week and there were reports of SNOW this morning about 10 minutes from my house!  My husband's family has a little over 100 acres in the woods nearby so I hope Sunday to take some photos of that!

This week at work has been NUTS once again!  We had another remote today - Part 2 - at the local car dealership.  It was fun!  LOTS of interviews with the staff and it went really smooth!  I found this cute lil guy in the corner and HAD to take a snap of it.  I took this with Opal's Daughter in mind!  I think she'll find it cute - Happy Belated Birthday by the way!

I had another online shopping experience this week over at VitaCost and I will blog about that next week!  I didn't get that much, really, but some neat Sprouting options and a few things I was totally out of like Tahini, Nutritional Yeast, and I finally decided to get some Coconut Oil/Butter.

I've been very busy around the house this week in the evenings!  I have been cleaning like a crazy person!  The 'furkids' don't really like that I am not there to snuggle up with in the evenings but there is work to be done! 

FINALLY after a few hours of running around the house the other night I laid down and watched an episode of NASHVILLE on Hulu Plus.  We don't have Cable/Satellite but we do have Netflix and Hulu Plus.  It saves a LOT of money!  Anyhow...as you can see here Paco appreciated the fact I decided to 'call it quits for the evening'.  It was just too funny NOT to take a photo of his lil Chihuhua Behind!

Now on to the FOOD for this past week, eh!?  One night I decided to just pile my plate high of various things I had on stash!  It's hard to tell by looking at it but here is what this large dinner plate included the one evening...Green Beans, Baby Red Potatoes - Pan Fried with Grapeseed Oil and Savory Spinach from Wildtree (also used a little California Blend), and I did some Maple Tempeh over Baby Spinach with a Lemon Garlic Marinade/Salad Dressing I got from Wegman's a while back that was clearly marked VEGAN.  It is darned-tasty for a store-bought dressing!  With the Tempeh leftovers I ended up doing a large salad with greens - mostly Spinach, Yellow Heirloom Tomatoes, the dressing mentioned above, and carrots.

I have been eye-balling this Wildtree Asian Skillet Meal for a while now and I finally decided to do something with it the other night.  I had some Rice Noodles that I cooked up and added the Asian Skillet Meal from Wildtree to it along with some Water, Veggie Bouillon, Green Beans, and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  It was just the right kind of spicy.  It worked out really well and made a nice large batch so I had leftovers for lunches.  I was so excited that this was another vegan Wildtree option!

Last night I had the munchies and wanted to work off some of the things I had on hand I wanted to finish-up or get rid of.  I found some Artichokes and roasted them up and made this Vegan Dip for them.  The dip has the following in it:
4 T Vegan Mayo
1 tea Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tea Wildtree Lemon Pepper
1 T Minced Garlic

And since I usually have dips around my house I made this one last night, too, to have on hand for a quick snack.  It's a Zesty Lemon Lima Bean Dip and I got the idea in a back issue of Vegetarian Times.  Of course I put my own little twist on it.  It has 1 C Lima Beans, A Splash of Jalapeno Grapeseed Oil, 1 T or more of Minced Garlic, 1 tea Red Pepper Flakes, 1 or 2 T Lemon Juice, and a little bit of water.  It was pretty good!  I hope to make more dips with a Lima Bean base soon!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Vegan Dips, Vegan Buffalo Chickpeas, & Vegan Ice Cream Cake

Last weekend I wanted to use the sweet potato I had bought a few days before.  I also wanted a dip - I make lots of dips in my house! 

I took the medium-sized sweet potato and cooked it.  I then took about 1 to 1 and a half cups of Black Beans and put both ingredients into my Ninja.  I made it smooth and added a little bit of Wildtree's Garlic Galore.  It was AMAZING!  LOVE LOVE LOVE this!  Will for sure be making this again!  I also tried a bit with a little Daiya Shreds in there and warmed to melt.  Both ways were totally YUMMY!

I've posted about my "Guacamole Attempts" before and I ended up making some last weekend as well!  I didn't really make it any special way - just used two Avocados with Wildtree's Guacamole Seasoning.  Just thought I would share another photo, really!

Another thing I made this past week was Buffalo Chickpeas.  Everyone once and a while I miss the "Buffalo" Spices in things and have been tinkering with some ways to use the kicky flavor in veganized dishes.  Since I can't get enough Chickpeas I decided to try the two together.  I took about 1/4 C of Veganese, 3 or 4 T of the now discontinued Wildtree Chipotle Hot Sauce, a few pinches of Celery Salt, and 1/2 tea of Wildtree Dill Dip Blend and mixed well.  This is even better the 2nd day as left overs!

I'm REALLY trying to eat bananas!  As many of you know - it's the ONLY fruit I don't like!  Seriously!  I hate the smell!  I don't like the taste or texture...they just freak me out!  But I know they are wonderful offerings of the Earth and I wish I did like them!  So I decided to try and do a Vegan Ice Cream Cake.  For this bottom layer I took 2 C of Cashews, 1 Banana, 1 C of Dates, 1/2 tea Vanilla Extract, and Almond Milk into my Ninja until smooth.  For the top layer I used 1 C of mixed blueberries and blackberries, about a handful of strawberries, 1 C of Almond Milk, 1 C of Dates, into my Ninja until Smooth.  I poured both layers in a large glass bowl and froze it overnight.  The next day I tried it and it does have potential but it also still tasted very banana-E to me.  You could put more fruit on top or Vegan Chocolate Syrup which I might try next time.  I am happy with my first attempt at this and VERY pleased that I forced myself to eat something with bananas in it!

    

Chickpea Salad Sandwich Filling

I apologize for the quality of this photo.  It was taken with my iPhone under Florescent lighting.  I brought this for lunch today.  I made it last night.  It's a filling for a Chickpea Salad Sandwich.  A vegan alternative to Egg Salad.

What went into this dish?

1 can of Chickpeas

1/3 C of Veganese (Mayo Alternative)

2 tea Yellow Mustard

2 T Chopped Relish/Pickles

1 Rib of Celery, Chopped

1 tea Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend

 

I'm really wanting to eat this now but am trying to wait a little closer to lunch!