Hey! It's Monday's lunch.

fruit salad 

raisins 

date roll

fig newman 

dessert hummus + plantain chips

THERESA'S FRUIT SALAD

cantaloupe

grapes

strawberries

peaches 

cucumber

fresh basil

raisins

I'm not sure if it's a thing or not but putting cucumbers in a fruit salad as well as the basil

tastes great! TRUST ME. 

Vegetable Geeks: a short-lived incarnation.

My first attempt at blogging came when I was invited to contribute to the Little Village website under the moniker, Vegetable Geeks. I wrote a couple of decent posts and then let it drop to the wayside like so many other projects. Click the links if you're interested in reading what I had to say back in 2010.

1.

Featured on the front page. :)
Broccoli Casserole Recipe: http://littlevillagemag.com/vegetable-geeks-my-comfort-food/

Dearly departed, Yoyo. 

2.

Woodland booty. 

Chicken of the Woods Noodle Soup.

http://littlevillagemag.com/vegetable-geeks-chicken-of-the-woods-noodle-soup/

3.

Baklava
http://littlevillagemag.com/baklava-for-the-sweet-tooth/

The Bent & Dent in Kalona, IA

My sister-friends, Sandy and Lisa.

I went on a glorious grocery shopping spree in Kalona, IA. The place is called Central Discount and it's such a fun place to hunt for awesome deals. It's mainly meant for the Amish community but people from all walks of life are drawn to this place for it's low, low prices. That's where the nickname the Bent & Dent comes in. Everything in the store is either damaged in some way or past its 'sell by' date.

There was a wide assortment of products and brands. I ended up finding many organic brands and food stuffs I see at the Co-op which I snatched right up. I personally avoid canned goods but found many other items of interest, mainly beverages and snacks. It's going to be so much easier packing my lunches for work now!

Central Discount is ran by Amish people and therefore only accept cash or check. The store is open three days a week Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. Get there right at 10 a.m. to try and beat the rush.

Other noteworthy stops in Kalona, IA: Stringtown Grocery and SISTERS GARDEN! 

My $37 haul:

Glug glug glug.
Look for oddities like this bottle of cashew fruit nectar.

.25¢ - $1.25

Haven't seen these since Puerto Rico.
YUM!
.50¢ 

Nice package.
.75¢ 

Sprouts: A How-To Guide.

Lentils: First Stage. 

So far, I have sprouted mung beans and lentils but there are various other beans and seeds that can be sprouted. My next sprouting adventure will be broccoli seeds from the New Pioneer Food Co-op. 

Even if you don't have much of a green thumb, sprouting beans is pretty much foolproof. What I love most about sprouting is the easiness and the quick yield. It's especially great having fresh food stuffs in the winter time.

Mung Beans

What you will need:

cheesecloth 

rubberband

mason jar / large jar 

1/4 C lentils or mung

1. Rinse your beans and soak them overnight or for at least 4 hours. Fill jar so that the water covers all of the beans. 

2. Drain the beans through the cheesecloth and fill the jar again. Shake and drain the water.

3. Repeat the rinsing every morning and every night for about 5 days or until desired length of 

sprouts.  

4. Remove cheesecloth. Store in fridge in an airtight container, preferably glass.

5. Cook sprouts in stir fry, throw them on salads, sandwiches, etc. 

Mung Beans: Day 2

Mung Beans: Day 3

I switched to a bigger jar!

Mung Sprouts! Day 5 

mini- adventure time!

Dragonflies, seaweed, kayaks, OH MY!

Are you looking for an adventure? Look no farther than Terry Trueblood Recreation Area which is just 2 miles south of Iowa City! 

Fin & Feather H2O opened it's concession and boat rental stand up one year ago (June of 2013). The land was originally bought in 2006 and according to the icgov.org page, the area was once a sand and gravel quarry. Its most recent improvements have been F&F H2O and a lodge that can be rented for special events.

The lodge is destined to become the next hot wedding venue. Seriously check it out.

The area also sports a playground and several new shelters that are positioned at different points of the lake. The Iowa River Corridor Trail will lead bicyclists to Terry Trueblood (the name is so fun to say) which loops around the lake or it's a quick drive outside of city limits.

Usually I ride my bicycle or in-line skate around the lake but this week, I have gone both kayaking and paddle boarding. (I just can't get enough!) They also offer canoe and paddle boat rentals. 

Make sure you have your receipt sent to an email, this is how you start a digital punch card. The 10th punch offers a discount on your next rental! 

For more information about the rentals: 
https://www.facebook.com/FinFeatherH2o

"Weeds" in my garden.

Wood Sorrel (Buttercups) and Lambs Quarters

Wild edibles is a more accurate name for these weeds I found in my garden. I don't pull them up! I eat them in my salads. 

I grew up eating buttercups (wood sorrel) all summer long. I would eat the flowers, the heart shaped leaves and the seedpods that we dubbed pickles. They are wonderfully sour. Only eat a small amount at a time due to oxalic acid. 

Lambs Quarters are a wild mineral-dense treat I learned about as an adult. It can be eaten raw but not too much because it contains oxalic acid. Cooking the greens removes the acid and thus makes it safe to eat large quantities. The flavor is comparable to spinach and kale and can be used interchangeably.  If you like those greens, you'll like lambs quarters. This plant was introduced to the U.S. by British settlers and was once highly regarded as food for humans and livestock.

Source: http://www.mofga.org/Publications/MaineOrganicFarmerGardener/Summer2011/Lambsquarters/tabid/1929/Default.aspx

Iowa Native Plant Society

The Iowa Native Plant Society (INPS) teamed up with Brenda Nations (Iowa City Sustainability Coordinator) and UI Biology Emeritus Professor Diana Horton on a spring wildflower and plant identification walk at Ryerson's Woods. The park is just south of Iowa City and is the most untouched land in Johnson County. It was a healthy turn out of over 75 people. We were split into 5 groups and my friend, Gloria and I went to a beginner group with Linda Scarth. She is the President of INPS and is also a distinguished nature photographer. Here is her website: http://www.scarthphoto.com/

Center: President of INPS, Linda Scarth, a notable nature photographer.

I learned how to identify many spring flowers and the importance of protecting the native plants from human predation which is their biggest threat.

Bloodroot is the earliest spring flower which later turns into an interesting lily pad shaped leaf. I bought this flower at the Project Green Plant Sale a few years ago and just love it! The flower is pictured below next to a mayapple. I learned that mayapples must have two leaves to be able to produce a flower.

Bloodroot and Mayapple.

Wild Geranium

Trout lily.
Named for the spotting on its leaves.

Dutchman's Britches. Photo taken at Lake MacBride.
Close relative to Bleeding Hearts. 

The INPS (website) is a forum for plant enthusiasts, schedules field trips and plant sales, and promotes education. Students can join the Society for just $5 a year.

I can't wait to go on another field trip with this group!

The tour was a delight! 

My favorite Linda quote: eenie, meenie, middley, might, what shall I go? left or right? 

Product Review: Daiya Cheddar Cheese: The best vegan cheese on the market to date!

Taken from product website.

I have spent many years without cheese. It's fine, you get used to it! I have dabbled with cashew cheese recipes which have fared well except when it comes to meltability. My friend had an Irish themed dinner and served vegan shepherd's pie and soda bread plus other options. She turned me onto daiya cheese. It's not something I crave or need very often but it sure makes the pie shine! It probably constitutes as vegan junk food but a little bit every blue moon is fine, in my book! 

Explore other great daiya products at: daiya website

Here is the link to the shepherd's pie: Click for Recipe

College

This semester, I'm in a class called Child Health, Safety and Nutrition. I'm lucky to have a teacher who is also on a plant-based, non-dairy, whole foods diet. After being diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, she decided to radically change her diet! It's been four years now and she says that she would never go back to the diet she once had. She was careful not to say that she was vegan in class even saying as much.  I don't understand the distinction, the way she defines her diet is veganism. Oh well, some people are scared of scaring people. Vegans are super scary, dontcha know?  B O O !

My research paper is covering vegan diets and while I was researching the subject, I discovered that a poet I admire was pretty much the first vegan celebrity! Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Love's Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river   
And the rivers with the ocean,   
The winds of heaven mix for ever   
With a sweet emotion;   
Nothing in the world is single, 
All things by a law divine   
In one another's being mingle—   
Why not I with thine?   
   
See the mountains kiss high heaven,   
And the waves clasp one another; 
No sister-flower would be forgiven   
If it disdain'd its brother;   
And the sunlight clasps the earth,   
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—   
What is all this sweet work worth 
If thou kiss not me? 

Read more poems here.

In the vein of 'Love Week,' here is a decidedly morbid tale. Mr. Shelley drowned before the age of thirty while sailing home from Livorno, Italy. His vessel, dubbed Don Juan, was caught in a storm and he did not survive. His body was identified by the book, Lamia by Keats, which he always kept in his pocket. When Mr. Shelley's body was cremated, his heart did not burn due to a condition that caused his heart to calcify. The heart was instead given to his wife, Mary Shelley who legend has it, kept the heart in her desk drawer. The heart was later buried with their son.  Source.

Vegan Shepherds Pie

What can I say? This is a hearty meal for the continuing (but not forever!) wintertime.
It may seem complicated but it is totally worth the effort.

Filling

3 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1" pieces, set the tops aside!
3 carrots, cubed
3 celery, large dice
1/2 package Daiya cheddar style cheese
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, diced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbs flour
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced

Potato topping 

5 medium Russet potatoes
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs margarine or coconut oil
1/2 cup almond milk
pinch of salt

Crust  (optional)

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup olive oil  (works best if chilled in freezer  for 1 hour)
3 Tbs cold water
2 sheets of wax paper
a rolling pin

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

FILLING: Coat the bottom of your large stock pot with oil. When the oil is heated up, add onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 min. or until onion is translucent. Add carrots, asparagus, and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes or more. Add the water and the flour and stir until the flour dissolve. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until the veggies are al dente. Periodically stir the pot. Add the mushrooms and peas and continue to let it simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the mushrooms are done. Stir in the Daiya cheese and leave on at a very low temp. 

For the TOPPING: make mashed potatoes, basically.  Cover cubed potatoes with water and let boil for 15 minutes. Drain the water and add the garlic, margarine, almond milk and salt and about a 1/4th of what is left of the Daiya cheese. Mash together.  

CRUST: While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the crust. Use a medium sized bowl and mix both flours and the salt. Then add the chilled olive oil. Roughly fork the mixture and do not over work it if you want a flaky crust! Add a tablespoon of the cold water at a time and mix it with a fork. Roll the dough into a ball, if it doesn't stick together then add more water. Lay the ball of dough on the waxed paper and knead it a couple of times.  Place the other sheet of waxed paper on top and roll the dough into a very thin crust. Make it large enough to cover the bottom and sides of your baking dish. I used a round Pyrex casserole dish. Remove the top piece of waxed paper and turn your bowl upside down and lift up the waxed paper and carefully guide the dough into the bowl. 

Once the crust is in place, fill it with the veggies. Not all of the filling will fit and so I ended up using another smaller casserole dish and poured the remainder into it sans crust. Spoon up some potatoes and flatten them between your palms. Carefully lay the potato topping onto both of the shepherds pies. Decorate the top with the asparagus heads. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Servings: 6-8 (depending on how generous the portions are!)

This recipe was adapted from: http://thekindlife.com/blog/2013/03/vegan-shepard-pie/

A good soak.

Do you own a bathtub? I haven't had a bathtub in almost a decade which is a CRYING SHAME! Every time I go on vacation, our lodging must supply a bathtub. Now that I know how to make my own bath salts, I crave a bathtub even more! Bath salts are also great for dry skin.  Pour about a tablespoon into your hand and add a little water to form a paste, then massage into areas of dry skin. Rinse.

   

BATH SALTS

3 cups Epsom salt

1 cup Sea salt

10-20 drops of essential oil 

2 Tbs. jojoba oil

2 bowls 

waxed paper

cookie sheet

glass jars

Alternative additions:

1/2 cup baking soda 

dried herbs

Combine the salts in a metal bowl.

Mix in the jojoba oil and then if you want to do two types of scents,

separate the salts into two bowls and add your essential oils to each one.  

Slowly mix the ingredients together making sure to break up the clumps.  

Spread the salts out onto a cookie sheet that's covered with waxed paper

and let dry for 24 hours before bottling.  

...that's all there is to it! 

Sweet bark without a bite.

I've been making nut clusters this winter but this week, I decided to just pour all of the chocolate directly onto the nuts and then break them apart, like when you make brittle. The clusters looked prettier but the bark has more nuts! I used the Enjoy Life chocolate chips which I melted down with my macgyvered double boiler. I used a pyrex, oven safe bowl and a glass pot that I filled with about an inch or two of water.

Nuts aren't cheap so this time around, I bought the student trail mix from the bulk section at our local health food store (New Pioneer Co-op).It has peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, cashews and almonds in it.

My rigged up double boiler in action. 

Stirring helps the chocolate melt faster!

        Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper and spread nuts over top.

             

       

     Spreading the chocolate wasn't as easy as I was hoping for.

         

      Break the bark apart after the chocolate hardens.

Nutty Chocolate Bark

Ingredients

3-4 cups Trail Mix (or any kind of nuts that you desire)

1 bag Enjoy LIfe chocolate chips 

small cookie sheet 

Waxed paper

Directions

Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper. Spread trail mix evenly across the cookie sheet. Set your double boiler up. I make my double boiler out of a small glass pot and a medium sized pyrex oven-safe bowl. First, fill the pot with about 2 inches of water then place the bowl on top of it. The bowl does not need to be submerged into the water. Bring water to a bowl and stir the chocolate occasionally. When the chocolate is completely melted, remove it from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Spread chocolate over the nuts using a spoon to guide it. Place the pan in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens. Lastly, break the bark apart into as many pieces as you see fit. As always, ENJOY! 

P.S.

Nut clusters are prettier!

Melt the chocolate as stated above.  

Spoon it onto the waxed paper and 

add the nuts and dried fruit any 

which way. 

Rest in Peace, Jim D.

Photo by Laura Smith

Jim, you were such a creative force. Your freaky horror folk has always stirred me. Now you are gone and I will never get to see your elfish face again. Remember our days at Virginia's discussing lucid dreaming and how that was where you wrote your music? Then there was the time you prepared escargot for us and you didn't give me grief for being a vegan. I felt like I was eating friends but I'm glad for that snail experience. I'm sorry I didn't call you more.
I'm sorry that you're gone. 

Twelve Canons will always be one of my favorite bands. 

Thank you for the hauntingly beautiful music you have left us. 

Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/thetwelvecanons

Twelve Canon's last album is now available for free:

https://thetwelvecanons.bandcamp.com/album/volume-four-sacrifice

%$^# it's cold.

It's almost February. Does that mean winter is almost over? I sure hope so. Even though my travel plans have been cancelled and it's been insanely cold, I've still managed to make the most of it. Comical attempts at cross country skiing counts, right? Ice skating on a lake is most definitely a highlight. The buzzword lately has been 'hygge' have you heard of it? NPR turned me on to it. Hygge (pronounced hYOOguh) is a Danish word which basically means cozy. It definitely is about making the small things count and to live in the moment. Winter doldrums are no fun but if you light a fire and have good conversation then even the coldest nights can be wonderful.  Of course, for me that means that if we bust out the games then a delightful time can certainly be had! 

How about some hot chocolate and board games (may I suggest Othello for two or The Great Dalmuti for five or more?) to make it through yet another cold winter's night.

Crack open my cooking rag and you shall find: