Sun-Dried Tomato Falafels

Falafel, Falafel

FA lafel 

faLA fel 

Falafel, FALAFEL

I really enjoy how this word feels in my mouth. 

Falafel. 

I also really enjoy how they taste in my mouth. Have you ever made them?

This was a virgin Falafeling for me. Both eating and making. 

They're really easy to make. If you've ever made hummus before, you can totally do this. 

Even if you haven't... I have faith in you.

I believe they will become a staple around my diggs. 

I like stuff that I can make ahead of time and throw in my freezer to pull out for a quick meal when I'm feeling ultra lazy. 

Do you love hummus as much as I do? Because if so, these little falafels are basically little hummus patties. 

It's a little hard to see what's going on in the picture above, what with the explosion of vegetables and everything. Please allow me to explain...

 If you can locate a pita pocket, within it see if you can spot an orangish little
circle-y thing. 

That's a falafel. 

Which we shoved inside a toasted pita with greens, tomatoes, onions, and a little Earth Balance dairy free mayo. We ate these little bad boys with some curry oven fries that you can find here, at the Post Punk Kitchen. 

You will need:

SUN-DRIED TOMATOES. CHICKPEAS. GARLIC. CURRY. CAYENNE. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR. ONION. CELERY. PARSLEY. 

~ Into your food processor, throw 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 2/3 C water, 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed), heaping T garlic, 3 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp curry, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp cayenne.  Process until combined. 

~ Empty into a bowl. Stir in 2/3 C flour, 1/4 C each of finely diced red onion, celery, and parsley.

~ Form your dough into hand sized patties. I made mine kind of flattish since I intended on pita pocketing them, but I think a traditional falafel is a little more egg shaped... I really don't actually know. We do what we want around here. Traditions be damned. 

~ I browned my falfels in a little bit of olive oil in a cast iron skillet, but next time I will probably bake them... I'm thinking 350 for 20 minutes?? I'll let you know how long they take next time I make them. If you should happen to make them before me and bake them, let me know what you did. That's be kick ass. 

What are you going to do with this beautiful spring day? I'm feeling the urge to do some cleaning, air out the house, and go for a nice long run. It's going to be in the 70's where I'm at! Man, I love Spring. 

Tweet

Hello March. Welcome Spring.

I've recently noticed little green blades of grass peeking through the brown mess on the ground. Hallelujah.  I am sooooooo ready for spring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disregarding the thankfulness I feel for the mild winter we've been experiencing, but I'm ready for some color! And warmth.

 Why do I always have to be so cold? 

Green grass, trees with LEAVES, flowers, sunshine, warm rain showers, strapless dresses and cute sandals, (or if you're Sweets... shorts and sweet sneakers) longer days, the smell of freshness (no, not your shoes Sweets) and renewal. 

I took this picture at the zoo last spring. Ahhh.... so pretty.

Yellow flowers on the bike trail.

Bike rides with Miss M. 

Pool time!! Okay... now i'm getting a little ahead of myself... It is only March. (Isn't Miss M adorable?) 

See! What's not to love? 

As you may know, Sweets, Miss M, and I embarked on a new food adventure 2 months ago. Damn that went fast.

We committed ourselves to a season of eating only foods that come from the earth. 

Sustainable, nourishing, fresh, kind, healthy foods. 

I can tell you after my experience thus far, I can feel in the very fiber of my being that I am becoming all these things (Sustainable, nourishing, fresh, kind, healthy)

I guess you really are what you eat.

(I will be excited to give you a report of our experiences next month.)

If you've been hanging out at The Earthfood Experiment you've seen that I've been doing a lot of cooking over the last 2 months. Anytime you change your lifestyle around, it takes a concerted effort to do things differently. I've spent a lot of time "veganizing" some old favorite recipes as well as put a lot of focus into coming up with warm, belly filling, comfort foods in the hopes that we wouldn't even miss the things that we've cut out of our diets. Besides, these are the kind of things we crave in the winter anyways, right?

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Guinness Chili

Grilled Roasted Veggie Sandwiches with HUmmus and Avocado 

The Mother of all Alfredos

Mango Sticky Rice

10 Minute Peanut Butter Noodles 

Seeing as how we're entering the warmer months, and we'll all be getting busier with the desire to spend less time in the kitchen and more time outdoors, this month I'm going to focus on foods with ease. I want delicious, healthy foods accessible to me through the spring and summer months that I don't have to slave away over in my kitchen.

There will be too many pools, bike trails, parks, and outdoor adventures calling to me for that. I live in the Midwest.... the warm months are a very precious commodity around here. Gotsta get out and enjoy it!

So, let's think crockpot foods, salads, picnic fare, one-pot-dishes, and 10-15 minute meals. We'll call them 13 minute meals. It's my lucky number.  Hell yeah.

Speaking of outdoor activities, Sweets and I are going on a 6 mile trail run through Wilderness Park here in Lincoln in 2 weeks, and then in June will be participating in the Warrior Dash, which is approximately a 3.5 mile run with obstacles and mud and stuff. Sweet.

What sort of outdoor activities do you have planned for your Spring and Summer?

Please feel free to give me a holler if there's something specifically that you'd like me to experiment with, or if you have any good ideas for recipes for Spring/Summer foods. I'd love to share you and your ideas with The Earthfood Community. Email me at earthfoodexperiment@hotmail.com.

Lastly, it is important to me that you know EVERYONE is welcome here. 

Just because I'm sharing only vegan recipes doesn't mean that you have to be a vegan to hang.

I created the Earthfood Experiment so that we could play around with foods we know deep down in our souls are good for us. How you choose to apply to your life the knowledge we gain here, is entirely up to you. Health and lifestyle is a deeply personal and individual thing for each of us. 

This is a space in which you can expect to be accepted and loved no matter what that looks like for you.

 I'm so glad you're here. 

Go here to learn more about what this Earthfood Experiment thingy is all about.

If you'd like to know some random facts about Moi... check this out.

If you haven't already, be sure to sign up for Earthfood Updates via email, over on your right.

Additionally, you should totally come hang with me in Twitter-land and on Facebook. That's where all my 'Quote Whoring' occurs. (see random facts about Moi)

 i KNOW you don't want to miss that. 

PS Be sure not to miss the last 2 segments of our series '6 Ways to Love Your Body'. This was a project from February, but I ran out of time!! They will be coming soon. Promise. If you are just now arriving to this Earthfood party, you can see what I'm talking bout here. 

Tweet

Crockpot Black Bean Soup with Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cakes

I made the most incredible and easy curry the other night that I can't wait to share with you. I realize this has nothing to do with black bean soup, but I just HAD to tell you about it.

Unfortunately, the picture I took was somewhat horrific. I really need to work on improving my photography skills. At any rate, it's going to have to wait. I'm making another batch today just to have on hand... so it won't be long before I get the opportunity to share.

In the meantime, here is a basic but delicious black bean soup that I made this weekend for Miss M and I's date night, which we spent watching many episodes of the Cake Boss and stuffing our faces with Mango Sticky rice (it seems we can't get enough of this stuff.)

We ate our black bean soup with sun-dried tomato polenta cakes. If you've never had polenta, you're in for a treat (although Sweets might disagree, I love it) . It's so filling and satisfying, and goes exceptionally well with this soup if you ask me.

We have some rainy-chilly-ness going on where I live today. Perfect weather for a warm-you-up-dish like this.

For those of you polenta newbies, let me explain what goes down with cooking it:
Right after making polenta, it is a creamy consistency (which I find to be delicious for a savory breakfast), but after refrigerated becomes firm. I made polenta for breakfast while getting my soup crockpot ready from this recipe I found at Cadry's kitchen, then refrigerated the leftovers, sliced, and fried to serve with dinner that night.

Here's what you'll need for your polenta:

STONE GROUND POLENTA. VEGGIE BROTH. NON-DAIRY MILK. NUTRITIONAL YEAST. SUN-DRIED TOMATOES. GREEN ONION. 

~ Bring 2 Cups Veggie broth to boil. Add in 1/2 Cup Polenta. Bring to boil and whisk for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

~ When all the liquid is absorbed, stir in 1 T Nutritional Yeast Flakes, 1/4 C non-Dairy milk, 2 T Chopped sun-dried tomatoes, one chopped green onion, and salt and pepper to taste.

~ Eat some for breakfast if you like. Yum. Then spread the remaining (don't eat it all!) in a squarish dish (for easy slicing later) and refrigerate.

On to the soup.

You will need:

BLACK BEANS. ONION. BELL PEPPER. CELERY. GARLIC. JALAPENO. CARROTS. PARSLEY. OREGANO. CUMIN. CORIANDER. THYME. FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES. CRUSHED TOMATOES. CILANTRO. 

~ I used dried beans for this because they're super cheap, and I think they have a better bite to them. However, this takes a little advanced prep time. Dried beans need to be soaked over night, or if you fail to plan ahead like i do, you can quick soak which will go like this:

Put 1 1/2 Cups dried black beans into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 1 hour.

~ Drain your soaked beans, return to pot and add 6 cups fresh water. Boil for one hour.

~ Pour beans and their liquid into crockpot along with 1 diced onion, 1 diced red bell pepper, 1 stalk diced celery, 1 diced jalapeno, 2 diced carrots, 2 T dried parsley, 2 T oregan, heaping T of cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 c veggie broth, and 1 cup fire roasted tomatoes.

~ Cook on low for 6 hours. If you like your soup kind of creamy, you can use an immersion blender to blend up some of the beans at this point.

~ Before serving, stir into crockpot 3/4 Cup crushed tomatoes and a couple Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro. This will give the soup a loverly fresh flavor. Then salt to taste.  Turn up to high while preparing your polenta cakes.

~ Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron skillet and add sliced cold polenta. Fry until golden brown and heated through. Now you got yourself some polenta cakes!

Enjoy! 

I think I'm going to use my soup leftovers to make black bean nachos... 

Tweet

February - The month of L♥♥♥ VE

You are here, and I think that kicks ass. 

If you're new to The Earthfood Experiment, this is what's happening...

We cook and eat foods from the earth, we laugh, we dream, we inspire each other, 

and occasionally we cuss.

Life's too short to be so damn serious.

What could be better than that? 

Nothing, I submit.

Since this month is Febuary, the month of LOOOOVE I figured we'd spend the entire month talking about all things having to do with Love. 

Picture Source

Here's what's goin' down:

♥ Experimenting with all things creamy, Earthfood Style.  Think Alfredo Sauce, Creamy Soup, Ice Cream, Mac & Cheese, Risotto. Seriously, who doesn't love that? If you don't, you crazy. Is it possible? We'll find out.

♥ Week long series on 'How to Love Green Stuff & Our Bodies'. Because green stuff is good for our bodies, right? (This series is mainly for me, but hopefully it'll help you too)

♥ The entire week of V-day will be dedicated to healthified sweets, mainly of the chocolate persuasion. Can I get an witness? 

♥  Since, V-day is typically spent showering affection on those we adore, we're gonna go a different direction. Because we don't like to be typical, and affection should be given to those we love on a daily basis anyways... why do we need a holiday for that? 

So, instead we'll spend the week thinking about what we can do to shower the world outside of our homes with love.  

If any of you are doing this already, whether it be through charity work, an organization you started, or simply through your day to day actions, and would like to share with us, please email me at earthfoodexperiment@hotmail.com.... That would probably make my heart float right out of my chest. 

♥ Last, but most certainly not least, we will be loving what we love. That's right. We will spend the entire last week of February talking about what makes us passionate and the importance of giving those things space in our lives. I believe with all of my heart that those things that light us up and inspire us are the divinity within us and our contributions to the world. 

If you know what this is for you and would like to inspire us with your story we would love that as well! Email me!

HOLY CRAP. That's a lot to fit into one short month.

♥ Don't forget to leave your email address over on the right. I wouldn't want you to miss any of the good stuff! 

Additionally, you can find The Earthfood Experiment on Facebook (woot!) and Twitter (double woot!)

If you'd like to know some random facts about Moi... go here.

See ya around! 

Tweet

Beauty in All Things

Don't you love how every once in awhile, out of the seeming blue, you are gifted with a person that makes your world a whole lot brighter?


This is the case with the lady below. We met kinda through Sweets via Twitter, but a friendship blossomed mostly out of our common interests in blogging, veggie eating, and the love of following dreams.  


It brings me great joy to share with you today, my friend Lindsay. She is beautiful inside and out. 

hello earthfood experiment readers!  my name is lindsay and i come from a little corner of the blogging world i call scenic glory.  what originally was intended to be used as an online portfolio of window display creations and graphic design projects, quickly turned in to something so much more than i could have ever imagined.

every day i am inspired by the people of the blogging community...i have never been more motivated to dream big and live life to the fullest.  i see and appreciate day to day happenings without question and find happiness in even the smallest of things...like the color red, small buttons, wooden hangers, old postage stamps, etc.

i am the kind of girl who see's the beauty in all things...believe me i have the pictures to prove it.  when i'm feeling a little down i find my favorite dress in my closet, pop on some red lipstick and remind myself that life is too short to stop living - every day should be a fun day (hence the dress and lipstick!!)



i hope one day you find the time to step into my world for a minute or two...i would love to see your corner as well.  let's inspire, create, and live with each other!  xo, lindsay

Tweet

How to make Broth from Trash

It seems like these days I cook everything with vegetable broth. 

I like vegetable broth. Love it in fact. 

Paying for it.... not so much love there.

Seriously, have you ever bought the stuff? It costs around $3.50 for 32 oz... more for organic.  I probably use around 64 ounces a week. I'm all about flavor. If I'm going to exist solely on foods from the Earth, they better taste friggin' incredible. 

Broth is an added layer of yum in anything you might otherwise use just water. I use it to boost flavor in polenta, rice, quinoa, soups, and stews. I use it for wilting greens in and it's great for sauteing when you don't want to use quite so much oil, which I'm not concerned with. I love oil. 

Being the mathematical genius that I am, I did some extremely involved computations and discovered that I'm spending about 28 bucks a month for salty vegetable flavored water. 

Here's what I COULD buy with my $28 instead:

• Two complete outfits from my favorite thrift shop. 
• Four bottles of wine. Yes, I like cheap wine... although I can't bring myself to drink the 2 buck Chuck from TJ's
• One kick ass date night meal for 2 at Pepe's, my new favorite vegetarian Mexican place 

(Are you beginning to get a feel for my priorities?)

A couple months ago, Miss M and I got a hankering to make our own vegetable broth.

<---- That's her chopping veggies, bless her little heart.

We went to the grocery store and bought carrots, celery, fennel, onion, and some fresh herbs.

This plan was super grand in theory.

We cut all them lil' veggers up and boiled away. What we were left with was not a whole lot of broth and a bunch of soggy veggies.  I didn't add it up, but the ticket price on this project was much greater than just buying the damn broth.

Well poop.

I did end up pureeing the soggy veggies, freezing the goo in ice cube trays and using them as a stock base, but it still was not as cost efficient or simple as I was hoping for. I resorted back to boxed broth....

Until, last week when I had veggie revelation. 

Make Broth from Trash! 

I'm a genius. 

Every time I cook I end up with a pile of ends, ribs, seeds, and peels which promptly land in the trash can. Although not particularly edible because of texture issues and what-not, these veggie bits are loaded with flavor. So I started a random vegetable-bit bag in the freezer to collect all of the inedible goodness in. It took me about a week to fill.

This morning was the moment of truth... 

will trash make good broth?

Holy Moses does it! 

Let's play find the frozen vegetable: Ucky dark green leek, ginger bark, onion end, jalapeno rib, tomato core, mushroom stem, cauliflower leaves and core, zucchini-squash-eggplant ends, bell pepper stem... 

Simple. Tasty. Cheap. 

This might just be my new food motto. 

Along with my new life motto:

Truth, Love, and Crunchiness. 

 I'm easily distracted. 

So, I threw all the veggies in a pot. Didn't even bother to defrost. Covered with water, threw in a couple bay leaves, brought to a boil, then reduced heat, covered and simmered for an hour. 

I then scooped out all the chunks and strained into a pitcher which will work brilliantly for easy pouring. 

Isn't it lovely? --------> 

This here pitcher of broth is pretty dark in color because I added a half a cup of Tamari (aged soy sauce) You could just as easily use sea salt . 

It's also pretty spicy from the jalapeno ribs. Great for me because I'm a spice whore. If you should happen to be less promiscuous with the hotness, I would suggest leaving them out. 

So, there ya have it... 

How to make broth from trash. 

Tweet

The Art of Being Malleable & a Recipe for Cashew Kale Smoothies

How lucky am I to find so many wickedly inspiring chickies to share their kick ass perspectives this week?

Pretty damn lucky. 

I love, love, LOVE this lady. Her name is Cadry and she's a fellow Midwesterner like myself. Doesn't she have the best name?

Recently in my web meanderings I fell upon her blog, Cadry's Kitchen. I immediately admired her engaging style of writing, and also her and her hubby's unique and creative use of video.

Hope your'e as moved by her words and as entertained by her film as much as I.

Experiencing life fully and following creative whims and passions... 

this is what life's all about friends. 

There are times in a person’s life when transformation is natural.  We’re heading off to college, we’re embarking on a new job, we’re moving to a new city, we’re getting married or having babies…  At these points, it feels appropriate to reassess and redefine, both as a matter of practicalities and as a matter of hitting a new life phase and readjusting to what comes next.

But there’s no reason that we have to pack up boxes and bags and fill up the tank with gas to make a change.  After all, we’re constantly evolving or we’re stagnant.  That’s why one of the things I’m most passionate about is trying something new.  It can be as simple as picking up a fruit at the grocery store that I’ve never tried before or as big as checking off an item on the bucket list.  The years pass by in a flash, and if we never tend to those far-off goals it’s easy for the pile of “could have beens” to grow ever higher. 

In the spirit of trying something new, this year I decided to do something I’d dreamed of doing for a long time and take a pottery class.  I’ve admired the work of ceramic artists for years.  My favorite thing about ceramics is how tactile the experience is for both the artist and the admirer.  Unlike sculptures or paintings, which we’re supposed to view from a distance, when we use a cup or a bowl we hold them in our hands and press them to our lips.  We can feel where the artist smoothed the clay or pressed on a handle.  In seeing the small imperfections, we’re reminded that it was made by a human not a machine, and we can imagine them sitting in their studio, listening to music, and creating an object of beauty that we get to enjoy with our afternoon tea. 

It’s easy to look at ceramic pieces by other artists and enjoy the little imperfections.  After all, that’s what makes a piece unique.  That’s what gives it personality.  When we think about it, the things we love about anything aren’t the things that make it perfect.  We love our friends for the way they snort when they laugh, or that they tell that one joke again and again.  We love their faces, not because they are perfect, but because those are the faces that give us strength when times are hard. We love their smiles, not because of excellent orthodontic work, but because they laugh with us over old stories.  We love their bodies, not because of 6-pack abs or chiseled muscles, but because they are the ones that meet us at the airport gate and hug us when we return from a trip.  So even though it can be easy to love the imperfections of others, we aren’t always so generous with ourselves.  Trying out on a new art medium is a chance to work that muscle and to find beauty in imperfection and in our own growth spurt.

When I go to the studio, I bring in Adele as my muse, and I pound the clay against a table to trap out any air bubbles.  I flatten the clay and run it through a slab roller.  The process is reminiscent of those imprinting penny presses at touristy shops.  Instead of a picture of Mickey Mouse or Six Flags on my clay, I have a flattened piece that can become a salad bowl, napkin rings, or a vase.  With the aid of a few tools, a cup of water and slick clay, I bind together pieces as if I were a carpenter.  I let the clay tell me where it wants to go. 

As I give the clay definition and form, I am reminded that I am malleable too.  With every person that we meet and every action that we take, in some small way we are changed.  When we learn something new, we discover something about ourselves.  As children, we’re not afraid to try something out – a class or a sport or an art.  There’s no reason that new experiences should stop at a certain age.  We just have to open ourselves to inspiration and show up.    

A big thank you to Chandra Nicole for asking me to write a guest post for her delightful blog!  For other clay-related activities, check out my video on how to make a Cashew Kale Smoothie with my clay dinosaur buddy, Gulp.

Thank YOU so much for your words, Cadry. I adore you even more now.


Hang with this lovely lady at Cadry's Kitchen, Facebook, and Twitter ... I'm gonna go make a smoothie for breakfast now. Yum. Thanks Love!! 

Tweet

Never. Give. Up.

If you haven't noticed, the web is a giant, vast, and sometimes inundating place...

 but every once in awhile you run across someone or something that just sticks with ya. 

I stumbled across Victoria one day in my web wanderings, and man is she sticky. 

You can't help but fall wildly in love with her zest for life and willingness to run down, seize and embrace her bliss. 

I just adore this girl and thought she'd be a perfect addition to our 'Loving what you Love' series. 

Proceed at your own risk. 

Victoria's perspective might just blow your mind hole.

Possible side effects may include, but are not limited to:

 Joy, Inspiration, Reevaluation, Heart Floating, and Creativity. 

hello there loves. you can call me victoria. i am a coffee addict, animal lover, and inspiration junkie. i spend my days daydreaming and creating numerous projects for myself... and i must admit, it is getting hard to trick time into giving me enough minutes in my day to complete all my projects.

by day i am a visual sales associate for anthropologie, but by night i sew, paint, and design for my very own venture, PISTOL daisie and Painted Blooms. i can not remember a time when i wasn't doing something artsy or dreaming of eventually doing something i felt extremely passionate about.



to me, life is a blank canvas and we choose what will fill it with... and when my painting is complete, i can guarantee that it will be completely filled with every color under the sun. my canvas will be composed of every texture, hard and soft, rough and smooth, ugly and pretty... because my friends, that is a life worth living in my mind. a life of experimenting with different hobbies or hair colors. a life of trying new foods and going to watch rock bands that you later realize you really can't stand... but the point being, you tried it.



creating new challenges for myself is something that inspires me the most. yes i am inspired by my surroundings and people i come across online and offline, but there is something so pure about finding something you want to try and doing it... epic failure or not... you did it.

the point of my "meaning of life" rant above is that i try not to let myself give up no matter how many times i fail or how many times i change my mind. yes, right now i run two small of business of my own, but there is a strong chance that could change in years to come... i do it now because it something i love.

as a person you are always changing and learning. so it necessary to allow your loves to change with you. if you don't feel passionate about what you are doing, try to discover what you are passionate about. take a drawing class. go take photos. hell, join a fantasy baseball team if you're in to that sort of thing, but don't ever give up on discovering something new that can thrill you. don't give up on finding something you truly love with your whole self.

just remember to...

xo, pistol daisie (victoria)

For more inspiration you can find Victoria at Pistol Daisie

Tweet

Dust and Wanderlust & a Recipe for Johnny Cakes

The month of love continues with one of my very favorite things to talk about.... what lights people up and gets them excited. I also refer to this as your bliss. Or, loving what you love. 

Bliss:

Perfect happiness. Great joy. 

Synonyms: pleasure, delight, ecstasy, elation, rapture, euphoria.

I truly, truly, TRULY believe that this is what life's all about. We were given these loves for a reason. There is no one else on the face of the planet that has the exact same combination of skills, talents, and interests as you do. 


What this means, is that when we take the time to recognize and find space for our bliss, several things happen: 


#1 We become insanely happy. What makes you happier than doing the things you love to do? 
#2 We become peace... even if only for that moment. Peace is addictive, and contagious... and intriguing. 
#3 We inspire others to do what they love to do. (See #1) 


So, get to it. Dig up and uncover your bliss, then submerge yourself in it fully. It's one of the most loving and healing things you could possibly do for the world.

And here's a little secret... by doing this, you fill a void on this planet that only you (with your unique skill set) have the capabilities of filling. Now you're helping the world doubly.  Holla! 


Coming up in the near future, I will be sharing with you some people who are fully submersed into loving what they love. 


Starting today with my girlfriend Michelle and her great love of travel.... a passion that we both share. I could listen to her tell stories of her travels and life experiences all day long. (Did I mention she's an incredible story teller as well?) 



Get ready to be inspired, and get out your shovel. You've got some digging to do. 

The Lovely Michelle

As kids, my family drove all over exploring and learning. When I think about how I grew up, it’s no wonder now that my greatest joy in life revolves around travelling. We’ve shared a ton of memories and laughs that nothing could replace or compare to. And now I love taking my kids to see new places and uncover the secrets and unique traits that those destinations hold.  Together, the kids and I have seen 21 states and I’ve been to 33. And we will eventually see them all and experience all of the one of a kind moments they have to show us.

I have a deep love for my Country and all of the magical places that it is home to. I’ve been brought to tears by snow capped mountains, especially the first time I saw them in Washington. And since then, I’ve visited the Tetons and camped in the Rockies. My stomach flips each time I cross over the Mississippi heading West.

Michelle with her kiddos at The Rockies

 I have stopped the car hundreds of times to capture a stunning sunset or a vast, wide open space.  It never quite captures the beauty, but it serves as a bookmark in my memory of stunning moments in my life.  These pictures serve as ongoing reminders of how blessed I am, and reminders that I’ve made the right choice by following my bliss. 

Nebraska Sunset 

I like to think that the greatest form of love that I can show to my children is to pass along traits that have served me well in my life. I show them unconditional love and support, of course. All of the typical parental “duties”. But I have also given them two gifts, two traits of mine that have gotten me through highs and lows, thick and thin: My wonderment and my wanderlust. 

Wonderment is defined as “to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel”.   Wanderlust means “a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.”  Both words are woven into the fabric that makes me who I am and they are parts that I could never function without. They feed my soul every day.  

My travels have reinvented me, redirected me when I needed it most, and reminded me time and time again to come back to what is simple and true.  I came across the quote by Tolkien that said “Not all who wander are lost”. I don’t know if I’ve heard truer words.  In fact, those who travel have been found. Our passion for life has directed us to where we need to be, on the dusty back roads and Americas highways. Through mountain ranges and along ocean drives. We have road dust in our blood, after all.

Be sure to stop by Dust & Wanderlust... Michelle's little corner of cyber-land.

Because I spend weeks of my year in a travel trailer, Im constantly looking for simple yet diverse recipes that are easy to make in a skillet over a fire or on the camper stove (or home for that matter). Johnny cakes go way back. There was a rumor that they started in Rhode Island, but it’s also a very old Native American recipe. They’re simple, easy to prepare and can be topped with anything from butter to syrup to fruit preserves. Not matter where they originated they’ve been part of American home food for a long time. Hopefully, you’ll make them a part of yours.  

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

• 1 cup stone ground cornmeal (white or yellow)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• milk
• butter (or bacon drippings or oil or fat)

Directions:

~ Whisk together cornmeal, salt and sugar (if used).  

~ Bring water to a boil and pour over the meal mixture, whisking to prevent lumps. 

~ Let the batter rest 10 minutes.

~ Butter a large skillet or griddle and bring it to about 375 degrees, just to a sizzle (don’t burn the butter). ~ Add enough milk (1/2 to a cup) to the batter to make it the consistency of mashed potatoes, and drop by spoonfuls to make cakes about 2 or 3 inches wide and several inches apart (they will spread).  Let the cakes gently sizzle on the grill for about 6 minutes or as long as 11 minutes until you bring them to a deep golden brown on the bottom and slightly firm on the top, before turning them over.
~ Add some more butter to the griddle, and/or place a thin pat of butter on each cake, before turning them over and cooking for another 6 minutes (or longer) until they are a deep golden brown color.  

~Serve with butter and honey, or maple syrup.

Oh My Word! I need these in my belly... and I can totally veganize them! ;).... Thanks Michelle!

Besides her blog, Dust & Wanderlust, you can also find Michelle on:

Pinterest (I want to live in her pin boards... she has incredible pictures)

Facebook & Twitter 

PS Michelle has a really cool perspective and a unique legacy. To read more about her take on life and learn how her great grandmom had a movie made about her, go here. 

Tweet

Grilled Roasted Veggie Sandwiches with Hummus & Avocado

I would have to say that really, the only slightly difficult thing about switching to an entirely Earthfood based lifestyle, is probably giving up the restaurant comfort foods that I have always turned to. That being said, in the 7 weeks since I started this Season of Vegan thing, I've found many replacements that are suitable, if not better than my original loves.

This lil' sammy qualifies for submission to the

 'even-better-than-the-original'

 category. 

We have this little sandwich shop here in town called Bison Witches and I have always loved the veggie sandwich I got there. It was warm and melty and gooey, loaded with fresh vegetables and cream cheese and provolone.

Seeing as how I'm not eating dairy anymore, I was wondering if it would be possible to get the same great flavors of this sandwich I love so much without the cheese. I decided that adding a zippy, lemony, garlic hummus to this sandwich, then grilling (ya know, grilled cheese style) would give it that creamy buttery taste I was looking for. It did. And Holy Crap was it good.

Here's what I put in this here lil' Samich:

Slice, drizzle with olive oil, S&P and roast at 350 for 30 minutes:
Portobella Mushroom 
Zucchini
Yellow Squash 
Red Pepper 

For Hummus whirl around in food processor: 
1 can chickpeas 
2 T Tahini 
3 T Lemon Juice 
4 cloves minced garlic 
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste) 
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
drizzle of olive oil 

~~ Add more lemon juice and/or olive oil until desired consistency

Build yo' Samich:
On a piece of Rye Bread layer up your hummus and roasted veggies, along with some freshly sliced onions, tomato, and avocado. Top with more rye bread (duh). Your sandwich should be HUGE.

Butter both sides generously with Earth Balance Butter and grill until golden brown, smooshing down with a spatula while grilling.

 You could use a Panini grill too, if you had one. I'm old school and not that fancy... however, if someone would like to buy my a panini grill I certainly wouldn't protest. I'll take a VitaMix too, while you're at it.

My blogger friend Cadry got a VitaMix for Valentine's Day. I'm super jealous ;)

What kind of kitchen gadgets do you wish you had?

Tweet

Homemade Chocolate Protein Bars

We like protein bars around my place because they're easy, quick, 

& portable nutrition. 

However, I don't like the sticker price... nor do I like the oftentimes included 'mystery ingredients' 

Here's a super simple, much cheaper way to make them yourself.

P.S. They taste good too. 

You will need:

DATES. PROTEIN POWDER. COCOA POWDER. NUTS. 

WATER (you have that right?)

~ Into your food processor goes... 10 oz pitted dates, 1/2 C. vanilla protein powder (we use dairy free), 1/4 C. plus 1/8 C. cocoa powder, and 3 T. water. Whirl until mixed. 

Super Nummy Chocolatey Protein Bars.

~ Add 1 & 1/2 Cups nuts/seeds of choice. I used 1 C. cashews and 1/2 C. sunflower seeds. Whirl until incorporated. 

~ You can then smash this down evenly into a square baking pan, then cut into 8 bars... 

or if you're me, dump it on the counter and form it into a somewhat even squarish shape and then cut. I wrap them individually in foil and store in the fridge.

These are a killer cure for a chocolate craving. Just sayin.

Tweet

Mango Sticky Rice. Our Newest Love.

Sticky, coconuty, warm and melt in your mouthy, mildly sweet, a little sour...

Mango Sticky Rice.

This is quickly becoming an obsession in my home. 

I'm not eating leftovers right this very moment for breakfast. I swear.

We made this last night to go with our Valentine's Day Veggie Sushi. 

I realize Sushi is Japanese and Mango Sticky Rice is largely a traditional Thai dessert, but there are no rules in my house. 

Look at that big beautiful platter of sushi.  We ate every last bite... if you were wondering.

This was our first ever attempt at making sushi ourselves. Cucumber, avocado, and pickled radish. Topped with thinly sliced jalapenos and a hoisin & tamari sauce (not pictured. obviously.)  I'm in love.

Turns out Sweets is a master sushi roller. Who knew?!

I have a feeling there will be much sushi crafting occurring in my house from now on. Even Miss M loved it, and worked her chopsticks like a champ.

Okay, why was I writing this post again? Oh yeah, Sticky rice... 

Sweets and I discovered the joy of Mango Sticky Rice one night, several months ago, at our favorite Thai food place. We had eaten there a gajillion times, always always getting dessert. Because we love it. 

For some reason the sticky rice had never jumped out from the dessert tray to say, "Eat Me! Eat Me!" before that night. Maybe it was because of it's simplicity. The poor thing didn't really stand much of a chance up against chocolate lava cake with cappuccino ice cream, white chocolate strawberry shortcake, or green tea infused cheesecake. I'm pretty sure I could hear the other desserts chanting "we're better than you are, we're better than you are, people want to eat us, too bad for you-ou"

This one evening though, we must have felt bad for the amount of ridicule and mockery the poor little innocent Mango was being subjected to, because we ordered it. Although not without a back-up dessert... just in case it sucked. We've pretty much been madly in love with it ever since. 

Even more so since we've taken on this season of vegan thing. Eggless, dairyless restaurant desserts are pretty hard to come by, so this has definitely become a go-to for us. 

Anyhow, to make a short story long, which I've sufficiently done here, I boycotted my kitchen this last weekend (or maybe it boycotted me...) so we were out for dinner once again at our fave Thai place. Through the entire meal we harbored eager anticipation for our mango sticky rice. I even boxed up half of my entree to save room, just to find out the little pile of sticky goodness was not on the dessert tray that evening. *Gasp* It was a horrific tragedy. (We're very serious about dessert) 

It was at this moment in time, it occurred to us that the delicacy we were longing for was quite simply rice and fruit. How hard could that be to make? So, after a trip to the ghetto Oriental Market (which is now one of newest favorite places), and a small amount of kitchen time, I can confidently answer, "Not very."

Here's what you'll need: 

SWEET RICE. COCONUT MILK. BROWN SUGAR. MANGO. SALT.

This makes quite a bit. We like left overs. You know, for breakfast and stuff. 

You could cut this in half if you're not into sticky rice for breakfast you crazy person. 

~ In a large stock pot measure 2 Cups of rice and 2 Cups of water. Let sit for 30 minutes. 

~ Do not drain. Add to the pot, 1/2 Cup coconut milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 T. brown sugar, and another 1 1/2 Cups of water. 

~ Bring to boil, reduce heat covering partially. Simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stirring occasionally. This mixture will get VERY sticky. That's okay. You will want this to be custard like in the end. 

~ Turn off heat and cover securely. Let sit 5 - 10 minutes. 

~ Pour remainder of the can of coconut milk into a small sauce pan.  Sweeten with 3-5 T of brown sugar, depending on how sweet you like things. Remember this will taste less sweet once it's on the rice, since the rice is not very sweet at all. Warm through. Serve with a scoop of rice and sliced mango.

Be sure to let me know how you like it!

Tweet

Double Chocolate Coconut Oaties... My ♥ Day Gift for You

Here's a gift I really feel splenderifous about giving you.

It's made entirely of good stuff like oats and coconut and cocoa powder and love,
 sweetened with only a small amount of brown sugar.

 

 

This only makes 5 cookies which is a perfect sized V-day gift to yourself.  

  

Falling in love with yourself is the ultimate Valentine. Then you have infinite love to give to a partner. 

 ~ Alan Cohen

If you should happen to have other cookie loving Valentines this year 

(aside from yourself)

 you could easily double or triple this recipe.

~ Melt together 2 T Coconut spread and 3 T Brown Sugar. 

~ In separate bowl mix together 2 T Coconut Milk and 1 T Ground Flax Seed. Set aside. 

~ To the brown sugar mixture, add 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, and 1 heaping T. cocoa powder. 

~ Stir in coconut milk and flax seed mixture. 

~ In food processor or magic bullet, blend together 1/4 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 C oats. 

~ Add coconut/oat flour to wet ingredients along with 1/2 Cup whole rolled oats and 1/2 oz chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate. 

~ Form into 5 balls and place on baking sheet, flattening slightly. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt. Only more love.

~ Mother Theresa

What will you do today, to show the world around you the love that you're capable of?

Tweet