Laos Style (Cheater) Pumpkin Coconut Soup, Veggie Based Vegan Cheese Sauce, Cashew Sun Dried Tomato Topped Veggie Ravioli, & Tribute to Buffalo Broadcasting Legend!

It was 3 below zero when I left the house this morning on my last 'day off' of the year.  It's beyond cold - it's damn frigid!   I've said it before and I will say it again and again - I hate winter!  The only thing it's good for is SOUP!

This was inspired by Vegan Street Food by Jackie Kearney that I obtained a while back.  It's loosely based on her Laos-Style Roasted Pumpkin, Coconut, and Chili Soup.  But I changed it so much that I thought it would be ok to share my recipe and take on it with you!  I have 2 photos here - one in a bowl and one in a mug!  The one you see here has an added nutmeg sprinkle on top!

My take on the ingredients:

1 Can Pumpkin Puree
1 Can Lite Coconut Milk
1 T Vegan Broth/Powder
1/2 t Minced Garlic
1/2 t Minced Onion
1 T Grapeseed Oil
Sea Salt to taste*
Pinch Cayenne

As many of you know I don't add much sea salt to my foods and when I do it's not even a pinch.  But here I used about 1/2 t or so and it was tasty!

Yet another Vegan Cheese Sauce on this spiral!  Here's what I threw in my blender for this...
2 C Potatoes
1/2 C Water
1/4 C Grapeseed Oil
1 T Lemon Juice
2 Carrots
1 C Corn
1/4 C Nutritional Yeast
Handful of Cashews
1/4 t each of: Onion, Garlic, Turmeric, Paprika, Vegan Stock/Powder, Yellow Mustard, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt (or to taste)

Check out this super creamy Cashew & Sun Dried Tomato Sauce I made to top the Engine 2 Diet Roasted Veggie Ravioli I found at the Buffalo Whole Foods the last time I went!  I did a basic Cashew Sauce with Cashews, Water, and Lemon Juice.  I added in about 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes and blended.  On top of that you will see that I sprinkled Smoked Paprika and Parsley on it, too!  YUM!  A closer look - see below!

I know I'm jamming a lot in to one post here but I have a lot of catching up to do!  Sorry about that!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Engine 2's Roasted Veggie Ravioli.  There was a slight kick to the veggie mixture inside the Rav's which was neat!  This creamy, smoky, tangy sauce accompanied it well, too!

I wasn't able to find a good pic of the packaging but here's a visual for you...

This is the first product I have been able to find other than a package of the wraps which I wasn't thrilled with.  This Roasted Vegetable Whole Wheat Ravioli - on the other hand - was pretty tasty!  Yes...it did have the stereotypical whole wheat ravioli pasta texture but the veggie mixture inside greatly made up for it.  And the sauce was a nice finishing touch - if I do say so myself!

Before I end this post I wanted to insert a video from the other day.  It's about 9 minutes but worth it especially if you are in radio, TV, or from the Buffalo area.  It's a tribute to Irv Weinstein - a Buffalo Broadcasting LEGEND would passed away the day after Christmas from complications of ALS (AKA Lou Gehrig's Disease).  I grew up with this guy!  He was a staple in the Western New York Community and a life-long radio and TV guy!  He had a heart of gold and touched the lives of many.  When he retired back in '98 he was hardly able to make it thru his final broadcast before retiring.  Have 9 minutes?  I would love you to check it out!

Thai Tom Yum, Snowstorms, & Veganize It!

I had to order this Thai Tom Yum online because I haven't been able to find it in ANY of the stores I have been thru the last several months.  It's a vegan version of Thai Tom Yum and the brand is Dr. McDougall's.  I have to say - I am a fan!

It sure helped with the extreme cold we have experienced the last couple of days.  We had a back-to-back snow storm hit us with COLD temps.  Yesterday I don't think it passed the 15-degree mark.  When I was driving home it was 12.  Over the last 2 days, we have had between a foot and a foot and a half of snow so far.  Eventho I live in the snow belt I still don't like it. 

I've been doing a lot of thumbing thru my new vegan cookbooks as well as a lot of online research of recipes from different countries that I can try and veganize.  ANd speaking of Veganizing...look at my other new book!!  It has some really great ideas in there but there is a large fake meat chunk I will probably never do anything with.  I've also been able to collect a lot more flags on my flag counter which is really exciting!  HELLO to my newest visitors from the countries of Georgia, Albania, Cambodia, Armenia, Costa Rica, Libya, Mali, and United Arab Emirates.  I smiled when I saw newbies from Columbia, Djibouti, Timor-Leste, Serbia, Burundi, Greenland, Somalia, Algeria, Seychelles, and Palestinian Territory.  Plus my new friends from Malawi, Botswana, Ethiopia, and various islands including Pitcairn Islands, Virgin Islands, and Christmas Island.

Vegan Street Food & Popcorn

I've had a rough day.  I needed a brain break.  Just a few moments to travel far, far away somewhere...if only in my mind.

It made me think of one of the books on my bookshelf...Vegan Street Food from Jackie Kearney.  In this book, she takes you on a culinary journey from the Himalayas to the South China Sea.  There are recipes for vegan street food from India to Indonesia.

As much as I would like to ACTUALLY travel - I know it's not possible.  So I need to use the resources I do have to daydream to far away places.  Between that and world food dishes - they somehow make me feel a bit better.

I did find a lot of the recipes complicated or the ingredients hard to find for someone who isn't near a large city with access to a lot of world food spices and ingredients.  But I still adore this book for other reasons.  The stories, photos, maps, and escape of it all.

Another thing I have gnawing on lately is Lesser Evil's Buddha Bowl Avocado-Licious Organic Popcorn.  It's made with Avocado Oil.  It's vegan and gluten-free - among other things.

Brain Break Complete...for now.

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?

Virtual Vegan Bookshelf & Shout Outs!

Just a mini post of sorts at the moment.  I might post another one later in the day, too!  Here is another book that has been on my wishlist for a long time.  The Vegan Stoner Cookbook.  No...I'm not a stoner.  But, I do find this book funny, cute, and interesting on several levels!  There are some real thrown-together dishes in this book and they are really speaking to me since I tend to throw oddball dishes together when I don't know what to make or really try and Eat From The Pantry!

I've been pondering another tab up top to create a Virtual Vegan Bookshelf.  I'm still trying to think how to tackle this project.  I would like to archive the books I have and display them here on the site, too!  I'm a visual person so I want to have photos of the book covers which is easy enough but with the books I want to include (all of the ones I have on my actual bookshelf at home), it will be a lengthy page for sure.

Another thing I will be posting about soon is FotoJet.  I have been playing around with the site and really LOVE some of the graphics I have been able to create while using the site.

Finally, I'm totally addicted to my new(er) Flag Counter and checking in often to see which new flags I am virtually collecting.  Over the last 2 or 3 days, I have had new visitors from Belize, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Svalbard, Portugal, Poland, South Korea, Ukraine, Eritrea, and Brunei.  Thanks so much for visiting!  I have been looking into World Foods from those areas and would like to do veganized versions soon!  If you have any suggestions please let me know!

Sweet & Spicy Korean Lentils

Last night I had my first try when it came to spicing Korean Lentils.  I used green lentils in this which seems to take me forever to cook down.  I prefer red lentils - just for the record.  These were ok for a first attempt but I will be tweaking them.  The flavoring ended up being pretty tasty and it seemed to marinate them but I would like a little bit more standing sauce for these.  I can see them working in a Korean equivalent of a Sloppy Joe that way.

Ingredients to combine & cook down:
1 C Lentils
2 1/2 C Water
1/4 C Bragg's Aminos
2 T Minced Garlic
2 T Minced Onion
1 T Minced Ginger
1 t Sesame Oil
1 T White Sesame Seeds
3 T Brown Sugar
Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

The default seems to be to throw a bit of them on top of the rice like I did in the first 2 photos.  In the last one, I couldn't help but stir the flavorful lentils in with the rice.

Again, I would also like to try them on a bun for a twist on a Sloppy Joe but I really think it needs a thick sauce.  Like a Korean BBQ Sauce or something.

Don't know unless you try, right?  What do you thinking of my Vegan Korean Lentils?

Veganized World Food Inspiration From Poland, Vietnam, and Pakistan!

I thought I would use this Friday Post to take a look back at some of the World Food posts I  have done that ended up being some of my favorite attempts at veganized versions of worldly favorites.  First up is Polish Creamed Mushrooms over Fettuccine.  You can use this as a pasta topping like I did here and/or you can use it like a soup or side.  I'm betting it would be lovely over mashed potatoes, too!  Are you from Poland?  Are you vegan?  If so let me know of some of your veganized favorites!  I would LOVE to try them!



Here is what I used for the Polish Creamed Mushrooms...

1/4 C Earth Balance
2 Cloves Garlic
10-ounces Mushrooms
1 C Soy Milk
1/4 C Tofutti Sour Cream
1 T Soy Flour (Bob's Red Mills)

This was reminiscent of what I remember Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup being but BETTER.

This was another blast from the past in term of a sauce I really enjoyed and being able to take a nice photo!  I'm currently in the process of re-working a photo space at my house.  I hope to have something like this back up and going soon.  The inspiration for this sauce came from Vietnam.  If you are from Vietnam and know of any vegan or easily veganized dishes I should look into please let me know!  I would love to try them!

The ingredients all went into a blender and it was super easy to make - as are most - if not all of the sauces I attempt here.  I remember this being a little thin the first time I tried it so I would suggest with less liquid when first starting to blend and then add more if you need it.

1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4-1/2 C Water
2 T Bragg's Liquid Amino's
1 T Frank's Hot Sauce
1 T Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Brown Sugar
1 tea Minced Garlic

I remember a couple of years ago when I wanted to try a simple Pakistani dish and came up with this take on Aaloo Bhaji.  After I posted it a few people told me there are other countries that have their own version of this, too.  Such as Aloo Bhaji from India.  I'm interested in either.  So if you reside in a country that has this dish please let me know what it contains and which country you are from.  

I'm also looking for more dishes from Pakistan to that are naturally vegan or easily veganized.  So if you can help me out with ideas in comments I would greatly appreciate it.

As I have said a few times in the last week or two I want to branch out and attempt more world foods again.  I figured this time of year was a great time to do that.

Here is what I used in this attempt of Aaloo Bhaji.

2 C Potatoes - cooked
Small Handful of Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend (or you could use 2 small onions
1 t Black Mustard Seeds
1 t Red Chili Powder (and/or Cayenne)
1 T Earth Balance (I also used a splash of Garlic Grapeseed Oil)
1 t (or less) of Turmeric

All on the stove top until desired texture and darkness is reached. 

While I am writing up a post about world foods I would love to give a few shout outs to some visitors that stopped by the last couple of days!  Hello visitors from Czechia, Israel, and Finland - as well as those from Singapore, Turkey, and Lesotho.  Again if you are from any of these countries and are vegan I would LOVE to hear some of your favorite dishes!  And if you are from another country please feel free to let me know in comments, too!  The more the merrier!  I hope to do more shout outs and food inspiration posts like this in the near future!  

Daiya's Pumpkin Cheesecake, Around The World, & Letter Writing

I was FINALLY able to go grocery shopping this weekend!  YAY!  I was oh-so-happy to be able to shop at Wegman's and I can't wait to share my findings with you!  I'll start with this Limited Seasonal Daiya Pumpkin Spice Cheezecake!  

Yup!  I found it!  It was a delightful surprise to see it!  I know some of my buddies in larger cities and area might think I'm crazy but when I find things in my small(er) area I get excited!

I do, however, have a confession to make.  I ate half of this for dinner last night! Oops!  So...YEAH...I'm a fan!  It had 'just enough' pumpkin flavor and spice flavor, too!  It still tasted like a cheesecake but as you might know, it's VEGAN!  I would recommend this for those who enjoy pumpkin!

Another thing I would like to mention today is towards the bottom of my sidebar you will see I added a World Visitors graphic.  I have been searching for one of these for a while.  The others I didn't really care for but I'm totally digging this one so far.  I've always LOVED learning about different countries and cultures.  I think I mentioned it before, but when I was a teenager I used to have over 120 penpals from over 30 countries!  Which brings me to my next topic...

World Foods!  It's been a while since I have attempted to feature World Food Recipes that are vegan and I want to jump into that again!  I think these additions will inspire me to try new recipes and blog about them again.

And when it comes to letter writing, a while back Opal and I started writing to each other and I'm going to jump back into that again soon.  I have also been thinking about writing weekly letters to my niece Trinity, too!  I know she's only 5 months old but MAYBE my sister will read them to her and keep them for her.  I want her to know I think about her daily and show her how much I LOVE her.  I have been thinking of things that she and I can do when she gets old enough to understand.  I have a lot of ideas and I will surely share them with you once we are able to do them.

Alkaline Vegan Foods?

Last weekend I mentioned that I was researching Alkaline Vegan Foods!

Here are the 8 MOST Alkaline Foods...and guess what...THEY ARE VEGAN!

I then HOPPED OVER to One Green Planet and found some really awesome vegan foods and recipes that I will have try soon!  Some of them were: 

Za’Atar Grilled Eggplant Salad

Green Pea and Avocado Spread

Onion and Bell Pepper Masala

Cauliflower Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Spiced Coconut Dal

Shakshuka

Summer Zoodle Glow Bowl With Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce

Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Red Onions

They seem fairly simple to attempt for the most part.  I have been thinking lately I am over thinking some of the foods I have been looking into eating!    I can't wait to jump into a few of these recipes and soon!  I'm sure I will put my own twist on them and shy or stray from their recipe(s) but it's a great place to start, right?

Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip (Sikil Pa'k)

Here's a variation of a Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip I recently made.  It's also called Silik Pak or Silik Pa'k or even Yucatan Pumpkin Seed Dip...

1 C Raw Pumpkin Seeds

2 T Pumpkin Oil

2 T Wildtree Absolutely Onion 

1/4 C Parsley 

1/4 C Cilantro (or Basil)

2 T Lemon Juice (or Lime)

Jalapeno Pepper Optional

Black Sea Salt to Taste

Water as Needed

All in a high speed blender.  Traditionally speaking this is a drier, chunkier dip but you could thin it out with more liquid if you wish!

MidWeek Munchies Wegman's Mini-Haul

It's been another rough week but I'm choosing not to focus on that.  What I have been pretty excited about and thankful for are some of the FINDS I located at Wegman's over the weekend.

This post is part of a weekly link-up called MidWeek Munchies!  As long as it's vegan and it's a munchie of some sort it belongs on our link-up!  Won't you join us?  If it's a munchie you made or products you located let us know about them!  Link-up below!

Here's what I grabbed so far this week!  Mini Gnocchi, Tostones - which are frozen mashed plantains you can bake or fry, some Ghost Pepper based Salsa I grabbed for a co-worker's hubby, Seaweed snacks, Daiya Moz Shreds, Daiya Cheddar - block in new packaging, 4 small Tomatillos, 6 Large Red Bell Peppers, and Marmite - which I didn't even know I could get in the US.  I've heard from a few UK Friends about Marmite and Vegemite...so that's pretty cool that I was able to find some here.  I found this and a few of these other items in the International Foods row - including these Plantain Chips that you see here.  It's funny...I'm NOT a fan of bananas but plantains are A O K especially if they are dried with a bit of garlic and sea salt.  YUM!  I'm looking forward to trying the Tostones and I'm looking into some vegan sauces to create for the mini gnocchi.

It's YOUR turn!  Tell us about your MWM - MidWeek Munchies!  Link-up Below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Last Day of Vegan MoFo '15 ~ Fusion & More

Today is the last day of the 2015 Vegan MoFo.

I'm sad it's ending.  This has been my favorite year YET!  I want us all to keep in touch year-round!  I've been thinking about this for half of the month!  And I hope you will join me!  I will be making a personal blog roll of those of us who would like to A) Keep in touch year-round B) Visit and comment on each others posts on a regular or semi-regular basis.  Those are the only two things to consider prior to signing up for this blog roll!

Let me know in comments if you are interested and I will try and maintain this on going list and blog roll.  Feel free to tell others about this and grab these little graphics to post on your blog and link back to this post.  After today I will have the list at least started.  Feel free to copy and post that list if you wish! (Building and maintaining Blog Roll at the end of this post or see side bar.)  I had some thoughts of doing once a month blog hops with this list, too, but could use some help with it as I do have some time constraints.  Let me know if you would like to help.

Yes...this is going to be a very long post for several reasons.  One because of my little 'pity party' over MoFo ending and how I will 'miss everyone' and because I'm following suit with my fickleness and couldn't post just one thing based on today's prompt which was "Fusion".  I goofed earlier in the month when these were swapped out for seasonal foods but I figured I would post a little bit more of potential fusion dishes today from my archives or more specifically WORLD FOODS that I have done in the past and want to try and do again in the very near future!

First up...

Foods from Vietnam!  THIS POST featured the photo you see here which was Vegan Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce next to Vegan Store Bought Spring Rolls.  Oddly the original post was from the 2013 MoFo.

In that same post you will see my attempt at West African Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque, too!

Next up was my first attempt at Panelle and you can check that original post out HERE.

This Vegan Panelle was inspired by and LOOSELY based on a Sicilian recipe I saw years ago!

I have to say that the Garlic Dijon Aoili really completed this!

Another country I featured was Turkey with this Turkish Red Lentil Soup.

From Denmark I tried to veganize a Parsley Sauce HERE.

Check out this Casablanca Cous Cous I did a while back, too!  I will have to do another Cous Cous very soon!  I've been HUNGRY for it - that's for sure!  And it's SO versatile!

During this years Vegan MoFo I blogged about some of the Irish Foods and Norwegian Foods I have tried to veganize and I want to do more of that in the near future, too!  If you have ideas of dishes and/or countries you want me to try let me know!

Another 'first attempt' I was pretty tickled with was the first time I tried to make Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes!

Check that out HERE.

I didn't have a lot of Fried Green Tomatoes growing up because I was very much a 'Yankee'.  My husband, on the other hand spent a few years of his childhood in the south and often tells me about the foods from that region.

Friend Green Tomatoes being one of them.

Black Eyed Peas being another.  But I will get to that in a moment.

Also in the Friend Green Tomato Post you will find this next photo for Veggie Fried Rice!

This turned out YUMMY and it was when I was using the VEGG product that was sent over to me.  That is a neat product if you can find it!

I really LOVE all of the color in this dish!

I have to give a special 'shout out' to the one and only time I made a recipe from Moldova, too!  It was a soup!

Check that out HERE.

Now...back to the Black Eyed Peas...

I rarely ate them when I was young.  Again - because I was from the north and my family wasn't really 'into' them.  I have since tried incorporating them into some recipes and foods I have eaten.  They aren't my favorite bean.  But I'm ok with them either way...just not one I would reach for first if you know what I mean.

But this dish could just be the FUSION recipe this post needs?  It's a Boston Black Eyed Peas Variation I did a while back.  It's something from the New England States.  North AND South...FUSION.  What do you think?  A stretch?

Vegan MoFo 2015 "Off Season" Community Blog Roll

Jennifer @ MyBlissfulJourney

Vegan Power/Vegan Peace @ My Cat Loves Daiya

Tea and Sympatico @ Tea and Sympatico
Emma @ Walks, Talks and Eats

Add Your OWN:

An InLinkz Link-up

Vegan MoFo ~ Veganize A Family Recipe

Growing up there were not many recipes that I had that I veganized but here is one of them and it's VERY simple with the added twist of Hemp Seeds!

Marinated Cucumbers & Tomatoes

1 Tomato, Diced
1 Cucumber, Diced
3 T Balsamic Vinegar
(or Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar)
2 T Vegan/Organic Sugar
2 T Hemp Seeds

Since I have a lot of Norwegian in my family tree I did some research a while back and tried to veganize some Norwegian Inspired Foods!

Pictured here is a side dish I did a while back which is called Grønn ertestuing or "Creamed Peas".  That recipe is found HERE.

I also have done a Norwegian Potato Salad which is pictured below and originally posted HERE.

I'm also part Irish...and you check out my Vegan Irish Stew HERE.  Or my Irish Tomatoes HERE.

On my Mom's mom's side I have a bit of German, too!  I almost forgot that I had posted about Sauerkraut Potatoes in the past.  Another German INFUSION type recipe I posted about a while ago was the Sauerkraut Stuffed Mushrooms.

I'm also part French and English.  Every few months I revisit the Genealogy Studies and Family Tree and try and find out more about my ancestors.  It's fun but also frustrating at times!  But WORTH it!

Cards, Wine Making, & Vegan Wildtree Recipes

Here's a card I created earlier this week.  It's a bit different from the others I have done because I folded each layer over top and on to the back...usually I use design the front of them.  I really like the way this turned out!  I also used some gems, an adhesive embellishment, die-cut with "Remember" on it as well as an acrylic stamp for the I YOU U part.  I think it's FINALLY feeling right...me getting back into my crafting!  YAY!

Speaking of hobbies...my Dad is getting into one recently...WINE MAKING!  I'm so proud of him!  My father is a great guy...fun and goofy, too!  His mother's family came over from Ireland.  So he's half Irish and darn proud to be!  He's tinkering with the name Leapin' Leprechaun Wine.  He's already bottled his first red wine.  I think he's going to enter it into a contest in April.  He has judged it in the past but if he enters his wine in the contest he can't be a judge (obviously).  But I think it would be great if he placed in some way!  I'm trying to help him with the wine names.  It's fun!  Next he's going to do a semi-sweet white, I think.  This is the first version on his label that a friend of his created.  They are already working on the 2nd revision, tho.  They are going to change the graphic a bit as well as the slogan.  That's my Dad's face in the Leprechaun!  He's so funny!

This week I made this Avocado Lime Dressing and it was fabulous. 

Here's what's in this Dressing...

1 Avocado
1/4-1/2 C Water
2-3 T Lime Juice
1 tea Wildtree Adobo Seasoning
2 tea Minced Garlic

Also earlier this week I made Chana Punjabi.  It turned out really tasty!
Here's what was in this dish!

2 C Chickpeas
1 Onion
2 Tomatoes
2 tea Minced Garlic
1/4 tea Turmeric
1/2 - 1 tea Wildtree's Garam Marsala Blend

What have you been up to this week!?

Vegan Foods From Spain ~ Arranque Roteño

Last night I spent some time in the kitchen with some produce I needed to use - including some small tomatoes and a sweet yellow bell pepper - and my Ninja!

I wanted to do a dip or spread but I also wanted to try something completely different and wanted to get back to the Veganized World Foods.  I cam across various recipes for Arranque Roteño which is a thick tomato dip from Spain.  It sparked my interest and I decided to move forward with it.
Here's what I used:

8 Small Tomatoes
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Large Yellow Pepper
1 C Vegan Bread Crumbs

The photo above was put thru my Ninja Blender with NO OIL or Water.  It was beyond thick and a bit salty from the bread crumbs.  So I decided to add a splash of Grapeseed Oil and about a half of a cup of water.  Here is what it looked like after doing so...

 
Another thing I did was add about a tablespoon of Garden of Life's Alkalizer & Detoxifier to it. 

The main reason I did this was because I have been experimenting with their products and thought that the lemon and parsley flavors might contribute to the overall flavor. 

I was right.  It did.  Also by adding the little bit of GoL, GSO, and Water it helped tone down the salt from the breadcrumbs. 

Another reason I wanted to try this was because I ordered a pizza from a local place last night and they usually do a good job for me with the dough, sauce, and toppings NOT having dairy in them.  I ask for no cheese and they don't disappoint.  Well, last night...they did a "pizza" with the dough and tomatoes on it...NO sauce, even.  It was rather ODD but I decided to make "lemonade" out of the "lemon" and try this thick Tomato Dip as a Dip for the "pizza" or should I call it dough with tomato?  Regardless - it helped the situation over all and it turned out rather tasty.  In the near future - I hope to do a Pesto using GoL Products.

Flax Oatmeal, Sugar & Spice Mix-In, Thai Inspired Pineapple & Sticky Rice, Paco's Sweater Adventures, & A Look Ahead

Hello My Pretties! :)  Hope you are having a FINE Day!  I have yet another Combo-Post for you all today!  Multipurpose!  I've been finding more and more Nature's Path Products available in my region and at a fair price!  This Flax Plus Oatmeal was one of the 4 flavors I recently found!  I'm learning to like Oatmeal again...mostly to up my nutritional values that they offer as well as force myself to eat breakfast more.

This isn't as bland as I thought it would be so that is good.  There is a little bit of cane juice in there - among other things - but I did doctor it up a bit, too!

First...here's a look at what's IN this Oat Meal:
Organic rolled oats, organic evaporated cane juice, organic flax seeds, sea salt. 

Fairly simple.  I like that.  BECAUSE...then I can add THIS!  It's a new product from Wildtree!  Hearty Oatmeal Mix-In Sugar & Spice!  At first I was wondering what the heck I would use it for but it's DARN tasty!  I've used it a few times in Oatmeal and really enjoyed it but will be tinkering with it in other things in the near future, too!  As for the ingredients of this new product - there are only 4!  Check out the nutritional info HERE.

After checking out some other things Wildtree suggested to do with this product I was hooked!  Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Chickpeas - YES, PLEASE!  Cinnamon and Sugar Baked Doughnuts?  Perhaps!  I wonder if Chia Seeds in Water would work as an egg substitute?  Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas with Strawberry Salsa - Whaaaaat?  That's up my alley - for sure!  And Cinnamon Sugar Plantain Chips?  Those might be interesting, too!  WOWZA!  I'm stoked about this product now!

In other food news - I tried another Thai Inspired Food Last Night!  Grilled Pineapple with Sticky Rice!

I used the following for this dish...

1 C Basmati Rice - Cooked
Roughly 1 C Coconut Milk
1/2 t Ground Cardamom (or Coriander)
1 T Coconut Sugar/Granules (you could also use Brown Sugar)
1 C Pineapple - cubed

This was very sweet but also very tasty!  It was almost like I was eating dessert for dinner!  I would have this again!  I really enjoyed it!

I don't claim to be a good Food Pairings person and I am known for throwing together odd-ball foods on the same plate.  This is the perfect example of that.  I had a HUGE helping of that Grilled Pineapple with Sticky Rice last night and threw some Green Beans on there as well as a handful of Walnuts.  It was very filling!  It was yummy.  I was pleased with my dinner last night.

A few MISC items I'd like to share with you - I started sprouting Broccoli Sprouts and will let you know of the progress in the coming days!

After posting the review of Jokerz yesterday I received a very nice email from the Go Max Go Company thanking me for posting it on my blog.  They also mentioned it on their Facebook Page AND Twitter.  I was VERY excited about this!  Thanks guys!  I also found out that there are several online outlets I can purchase their products on so I hope to do that soon!

Another thing I mentioned yesterday is how Paco has been constantly on the move in the evenings.  So I decided to put his sweater on him and he almost immediately calmed down!  I didn't know if it was a coincidence or if it 'worked' so I put it to the test again last night!  Viola!  WINNER!!!!  It's working!  He must have just been cold!  He started acting all cuddly and a bit calmer and then started chillin' out!  YAY!

He sat on my chest - which he NEVER does.  He sat on DH's shoulder - and NEVER does that either!

A little later he went under the blanket and laid with me on the sofa!  Ahhhhhh!  Peace and Quiet!  Well, Paco!  You'll be wearing sweaters in the evening from now on 'lil dude'.

In crafting news I have been tossing around different ideas with Modge Podge and Glues and other "stickies" and "textures" while using chalks and stencils to create a velvety look.  I'm going to push myself to complete at least ONE Project in the next week.  A little Mini-Goal of mine, I guess.

Speaking of Mini-Goals...I accomplished Ethiopian Foods last week - a few Thai Foods this week (thanks for the suggestion Eddie) - and NEXT week LINDSAY suggested Pakistani Foods so I'm going to accept that challenge.  The following week I'm thinking Norwegian Foods...just a heads up!

Participating Post In:

• Fresh Foods Wednesday
• Show & Share
• Wednesday Extravaganza
• What I Ate Wednesday
• What I Love Wednesday
• What's Cookin' Wednesday
• Wholesome Food Wednesday
• Wicked Awesome Wednesday
• Wonderful Food Wednesday