Pictures, Recipes and Smiles :-)

Our first crocus of the spring!

I first want everyone to know that I am writing this listening to A-Ha's "Take on me."  Which happen's to be my new favorite Pandora Radio station-  Although Vanilla Ice radio is fantastic as well :-) Moving on.... Here are some photo's from the Birthday week... Enjoy :-)

The second arrangement made for Sierra's Designs! It will be prettier when the Lilies open up :-)

Tempeh "Chicken" Salad

1 Package of Tempeh- cubed and steamed

1 small onion- diced

2 ribs of celery- chopped

2 Tbs Veganaise

1 Tbs Parsley or Tarragon - minced

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp soy sauce

1 dash garlic powder

Steam Tempeh, let cool- Then combine with the other ingredients. Chill and Serve on Rye crackers with mixed greens and tomatoes.

Flowers I made for the Wine tasting party- Hydrangea, Spray roses & Kale

The Wine Tasting set up. The party was a great success :-) Delicious wine, and great people- what more could a birthday girl want :-)

Some of the many veggies made into a delicious curry by Mr. Spitz

More veggies! yum :-)

A new addition to our salt water tank. A delightfully Urchin who has a tendency to pick up coral on his back!

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Balsalmic Glaze

Clean Cauliflower, and cut 3-4 "steaks" by slicing couliflower down the center (head to stem) don't worry if some califlowers don't stay in the "steak" they will be grilled and put in the cauliflower salad :-)

coat with grape seed oil and season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Grill on high heat for 15-20 minutes- turning a couple of times. drizzle Balsalmic Vinegar glaze on top.

Cauliflower Salad

1 head of cauliflower - florets grilled
1 medium onion sliced - grilled
3 cloves of garlic - grilled
1 medium tomato - seeded & diced
1 can garbonzo beans- drained and rinsed
1 can black eyed peas- drained and rinsed
Italian seasoning
Lemon pepper & salt
Cilantro - chopped

Grill cauliflower, onion & garlic over high heat for 15- 20 minutes , stirring often (make sure garlic is roasted, not burned :-) chop grilled items together, leaving cauliflower larger. add other ingredients to bowl - toss with vinagrette


Vinagrette:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup grape seed oil
Salt & pepper
Italian seasoning
1 Tbs agave nectar
1 tbs dijon mustard
Mix & pour over salad - adjust seasonings to your liking.
 
*Serve salad atop cauliflower "steaks" and mixed greens.
 

Cucumber Amuse Bouche with Almond Pesto

Cucumber Sliced 1/2" thick
Dot of agave nectar
Cilantro leaf
Jalapeno thinly sliced and seeded
 
Basil almond pesto: (i'm pretty sure these are the correct ingredients, our roomate Barrie made this :-)
    large handful of basil
    roasted and salted almonds
    1 clove of garlic
    olive oil
    salt
 
*pulse almonds, add basil and remaining ingredients- adjusting seasoning to your liking
 
- we also had an amazing amuse bouse with "mr. krispers" rice crackers and a serano pepper in place of the jalapeno- truly amazing little bite.
 
 
Well that's all for now, Thanks for reading my humble little blog :-) have a wonderful week, and if I do manage to write in the next few weeks, it will be from the little island of Kauai :-) Aloha everyone!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter Everyone! Hope your sunday was sunny and lovely! This just happened to be my first day off in weeks, so I spent my day tackling laundry and cleaning the house :-) which I must say is very rewarding. But I do have some new recipes for you, and of course a few photos..... So here we go. (oh p.s the photo above is the first shipments of flowers I recieved since starting Sierra's Designs :-)

And here is the first arrangement I sent out.

Gladiola's and Curly Willow tips. Simple but Stately :-)

Quinoa Salad With Kale

1 Cup red quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 tsp vegetable bouillon
1 medium onion sliced
4 stalks of kale, stems removed
2 medium carrots diced
3 stalks of celery diced
2 cloved garlic, minced
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
lemon pepper & salt
1 tsp ground coarse mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Cook quinoa according to directions, adding the vegi bouillon to the water. Saute the onion, carrots, garlic and celery until softened. add the kale and cook until kale becomed wilted and softened. In a seperate bowl, mix the lemon juice, spices, mustard, vinagar and soy sauce. When quinoa is cooked, mix with the sauted veggie and pour the dressing over. let cool- great served warm or cold.

 Soda Bread Scones (wheat free)

1/2 cup each: Brown Rice flour, Rye flour, Tapioca flour, Soy flour, Millet flour
1 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs mapple syrup
1/2 cup golden raisens
1/2 cup chopped pecans
8tsp sugar ( for topping)

450* oven for 20 minutes

Mix all dry ingredients- Mix all wet - combine until soft dough forms. Form 8" circle, cut into 8 slices and sprinkle with sugar. Delicious served with jam!
 
 
 
Ok, now for the story of the day....  What Animal Might leave these tracks?
 

hmmm. any guesses?..... it's a Bear!

yes, a Bear-

Discovered by Jim this afternoon after seeing his bin of bird seed on the hill in our back yard.

The bear had taken the Heavy bin, and dragged it up past our house and up our backyard, so he could munch in private under our bird feeder.

Sadly I don't have a picture of the infamous bear, just the tracks he left.

The path he took up our back yard.

Well I leave you with another great gem we discovered this past week-

One of the best homebrews we have ever made!- We managed to find one last bottle of the magic brew- and we quickly drank and slowly savored it's deliciousness.

Have a wonderful week everyone- and I might as well let you in on a secret this week....

 it's someone's Birthday on wednesday :-) ....

and I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

Recipes and Reef Tanks

Scrimpy! The Peppermint Shrimp!

The newest addition to the Anderson Household :-) He and his other shrimp friend Scrimpers are loving their new home.....

Which is this!

a beautiful new salt water tank- Thanks to our roomate Barrie- 

with his plentiful reef tank knowledge, he has started to create this beautiful underwater world!

Scrimpy and Scrimpers.

Some New Mushrooms for the tank- that will soon spread and grow!

I will keep you updated on our Underwater Garden!

But for now, let's get some recipes....

Rasberry Muffins - Wheat Free

1 cup Rye flour

1/4 cup Soy flour

1/4 cup Brown Rice flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthum gum

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup of sugar

1 12 0z. package of raspberries

1 tsp egg replacer

1 tsp ground flax seed

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup applesauce

2 Tbs or more of almond milk

1/2 cup pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Mix the egg replacer, flax and water together and set aside.

2. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients, and add the raspberries and "egg" mixture. Add the oil, applesauce and almond milk. Stir until just until moistened, adding more almond milk if the mixture is too dry. Fold in Pecans

3. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing.

Delicious Gluten free German Chocolate Brownies

Brownies: 

1 package Pamela's Products Brownie Mix

1/4 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup water

2 tsp ground coffee

1/2 tsp ground flax seed

1/2 tsp egg replacer

4 Tbs Warm water

German Chocolate Topping:

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup pecans

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs Smart Balance, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Brownies: mix together and pour into a lightly greased 8 by 8 pan.

Topping: in a seperate bowl, combine ingredients and crumble over brownies. Lightly press down. Bake brownies on the middle rack for about 25 minutes. let cool on wire rack then cut into squares

Marinated Grilled Vegetables... mmm.

Marinade:

3 Tbs Grapeseed oil

2 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp Spicy Italian Seasoning

 Banana Chocloate Nut Muffins

1/2 cup Smart Balance, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp egg replacer

1 tsp ground flax seed

4 Tbs warm water

1/2 cup soy flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 cup rye flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 ripe bananas mashed

3/4 cups walnuts

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream Smart balance and sugar. Add "eggs" and bananas.

2. In a seperate bowl mix dry ingredients together. Fold into wet ingredients until just moistened.

3. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Bake for 35 min, or until golden brown. let cool in pan for 5 minutes before serving.

Tamale Pies with Spicy Enchilada Sauce

This recipe was a bit time consuming, but definitely worth it!

(This is our roommate Andy's plate with the meat tamale, and cheese- just wanted to confirm that it wasn't the Vegan plate :-) * The Vegan plate was much tastier! Ha! had to say that :-)

Enchilada Sauce:

1 can of Chipotle peppers in Adobe Sauce

2 cans chopped tomatoes with juices

3 inch piece of soy chorizo

1 Tbs sugar

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic chopped

2 Tbs grapeseed oil

Salt and Fresh pepper

handful of fresh cilantro chopped

fresh squeezed lime juice

Saute onion and garlic in grapeseed oil until softened. Add soy chorizo and saute five min more. Add pepper, sugar, salt, pepper and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered until thickened approx. 20 min.  Adjust seasoning as desired add cilantro and lime juice- puree and serve.

Vegan Filling:

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 can black beans drained

salt & pepper

1 Tsp dried basil

1tsp paprika

Saute all ingredients.

Masa:

3 cups Masa Hara

3 tsp Baking powder

large pinch of salt

3 cups veggie stock

3/4 cup frozen olive oil or grapeseed oil

Pulse masa hara in food processor, adding the vegetable broth 1/4 cup at a time until a thick paste forms. Add baking powder, salt and frozen oil to mixture and pulse to combine. Add more Vegetable stock until a creamy dough forms (you should still have to tap it of a spoon to get it off)

*note: this mixture is very thick! it may have to be done in three small batched rather than one large one*

Assembly:

spray 8 ramikins (we used four large and four small) lightly and place in roasting pans. Place 1/4 -1/2 cup of masa on ramekin bottom. Place filling in center of ramekin and top with 1/2 cup masa. Lightly cover each ramekin with foil and place in a 400 degree oven- Making sure to fill the roasting pans half way up with boiling water. Bake for 45- 50 minutes

Whew! that was a lot of typing! hope you all had a wonderful week, This is the last day off Jim and I will have until early April! enjoy the sun everyone :-)

It's Snowing!

Happy winter everyone!

Hope all is well with you and yours, and the snow hasn't gotten too much in your way :-) Except of course for my dad who has been unable to fly back into Aspen for two days! But I think today is his lucky day!

Well I've been sick with a head cold for the past few days- Which always seems to happen on your day off :-) So i've been running errands and cooking. One particular errand that had to get done, since it has snowed close to 16 inches in the past two days is...

Rescue our garden gnome Tor.

He's buried Alive!! Where is he??

So I put on all my snow gear and headed out for a rescue mission.

after much digging, I found him, and his little mushroom lantern.

It was a long and trecherous journey.... As you can plainly see.

 

Moving on.... I did manage to make something besides quick soup or rice this week, I actually made up a pretty delicious recipe if I may say so myself :-) here you go...

Tofu Scramble

1 medium onion,  thinly sliced

1 medium garlic clove,  minced

1 Tbs Grapeseed oil

1Tbs Smart balance

4 inch piece of soy chorizo

1 block of firm tofu, drained and crumbled

1 tsp tumeric

1tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 cup medium salsa

dash of hot sauce

chopped fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

1. Saute the onion in oil and smart balance on medium heat until softened, add garlic and saute a few minutes more, then add the soy chorizo.

2.Add the crumbled tofu to the pan and stir. Add all the spices. (this dish needs to be really well seasoned, so add more of any of the spices if you wish) 

3. Turn heat to med/low. Add the salsa and hot sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir and  let cook for a 5-10 minutes (the longer it all cooks together in the pan the better the flavors will be) add in the cilantro.

4. Serve on a corn tostada or a corn crisp like i have shown in the picture. Enjoy!

I also managed to finish some knitting this week- lots of baby booties for two important ladies who will be having little additions to their familes come April. I have pictures of them, but debating if I should keep them a surprise! Ah, I'll show them to you. The surprise is which ones they will get!

I think there was a smudge on my camera when I took this,

But it makes them seem like it's from an old catalog! Ha! 

 I assure you, they are much cutter in person.

Well i'm not sure if it is the Actifed talking or if i'm just really run down and tired from this cold, but I'm really happy it's snowing, (Though I wish my dad could fly in! stuck in LA for two days, UGH!) it makes you want to stay inside and get cozy. Or in my husbands case go out and get all the fresh powder!  Well I wish you all the best this week, stay warm and healthy and don't forget to laugh! I'm going to try and make a wheat free vegan muffin that might actually taste good... wish me luck!

New Recipes!

( I wish it looked like this outside :-) WE NEED SNOW! )

Hey all, I was just being so domestic today, and thought I would share with you what I've done so far :-) Just trying to fit it all in before we get lost watching the super bowl :-)

So here we go.........

First off is the lovely apron I made this morning, While watching Weekend at Bernies 2. A brilliant film of which I gave five stars to on Netflix.

Out of oil cloth and fabric- Perfect for gardening and flower arranging :-)

(Seeing as how I will be doing a lot more of that in the near future, thanks to starting my own flower business - Sierra's Designs :-)

The patterns is SUPER easy if anyone wants to give it a go!

Next On my list today was- Sorbet.... Well actually it was my roomate Barry's idea, but no matter, we all get to enjoy it! - I apologize in advance for the picture- not very interesting :-)

Mango Grapefruit and Ginger Sorbet

3 ripe Mango's peeled and diced

1/2 cup Simple Syrup (sugar and water heated and cooled)

Juice of one Grapefruit

1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Adjust ingredients to suit your taste buds :-) then pour into ice cream maker and let it do it's thing for about 15 min. Then transfer to freezer proof container to harder up a bit more- then DIG IN!

And the Last thing I am probably going to attempt today, I say probably because knowing me I will want to cook up something as soon as i'm done typing this, are these......

Chocolate Chip Squares

 (These are NOT wheat free, I couldn't stand not baking anything normal! I probably won't try them, i'll have Jim do that, I'm sure he won't mind :-)

Crust:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vegan margarine (I use smart balance sticks)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground flax seed

1 tsp EnerG egg replace

2 Tbs warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups ( 30 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

1/2 cup (3oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

2. In stand mixer, cream margarine and sugars, mix flax seed and egg replacer with water and add to creamed sugar. Add vanilla extract . Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

3. Spread dough evenly in a 13/ 9in pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

4. For the Topping, spread the chocolate chips over the hot cookies. Return to oven for two minutes, take out and spread the melted chocolate over the cookies with a spatula. Add chopped walnuts. Cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into small bars.

 So there you have it, my day so far. Hope your day is great too! Lots of love to you all :-) GO SAINTS!

No I haven't forgotten about you!

Ashcroft

Well, bet you thought  I forgot about you eh? well I haven't. I have just been incredibly busy since the last post, which I guess is a good thing :-) I also realized I was allergic to Wheat :-(  so needless to say my motivations to make muffins has dwindled! much to Jim's dissapointment :-) But i'm slowly getting back into it, just trying to adjust the flours so I don't end up with that gross grainy texture! In other news, it has been great having my family so close by ! it means that I can finally ski with them! and take beautiful hikes, like the one above, to the Pine Creek Cookhouse.  So without further ado, lets show some pictures! oh yeah, and I might have a recipe for you :-)

Starting the walk from Ashcroft

Aspen Trees

Ragnar and Christian :-)

Shepherd's Pie

Serves 5-8 (depending on your appetite! I put them in 5 individual ramekins)

Potato Topping:

 

3 1/2 lbs. baking potatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
2 Tbs. Smart Balance
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning (or any mixed seasoning you prefer)

Pie Filling:

1 Tbs. Grapeseed oil
1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), rehydrated in 2 cups Vegetable broth
3 Medium carrots diced
1 Medium onion, chopped
2 Large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked lentils
1/3 cup Vegetable broth
1 4.5 oz. can diced low sodium tomatoes, drained
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 can drained corn kernels (optional)

Directions:
1. Make potato topping: in large saucepan, combine potatoes with enough cold water to cover. bring to boil, and cook until tender, about 15 min (25-30 at high altitude). drain well.

2. In large bowl, mash potatoes with 1 cup broth, smart balance, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. (make sure the potaoes are very smooth if you want to pipe the potatoes on top of the pies!)

3. Preheat oven to 350. Bring small sauce pan of lightly salted water to a boil. add carrots and cook 2 minutes to blanch. drain and set aside (you can also steam them very quickly in the microwave)

4. Add Grapeseed oil to large skillet and set over medium heat. Add onion, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 15 seconds.

5. Stir in TVP, lentils, blanched carrots, vegetable broth, tomatoes, tomatoes paste, oregano, corn and worchestershire sauce . mix well. cook, stirring often, until flavors have blended- about 10 minutes season with fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.

6. Lightly coat the Ramekins with cookng spray. Divide filling between the dishes. Top with dallops of mashed potatoes (or pipe the potatoes on using a pastry bag and star tip)

7. Bake until heated through, 30 to 45 minutes. let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

*As with all my recipes, adjust them to your taste. Also, taste the filling often, just to make sure it has enough seasoning! Enjoy! it's was very very yummy :-) Jim even suggested that we make one day a week Shepherd's Pie night :-)

So there you go, my one recipe for now- I will add more as soon as I can (wasn't my New Years Resolution to update this blog more! ha, well i'm still working on that :-)

 I will leave you with some pictures of us Hiking the Highland's Bowl- which I believe was around -12 degrees when we did it :-)

The look from where you begin to hike :-)

We Took Steep and Deep, which is the run right down the middle of the bowl.

The Snowcat That drops you off !

The hike up the ridge of the bowl- Chilly!

The view from the top- Pyramid peak and Maroon Bells in the backround.

Dad gearing up for the Epic run down!

Looking back up at the first pitch of our run.

 Half way down the run.

 Looking back at the bowl- we took the run right down the center.

well that's it for now- glad I could at least show you something :-) have a wonderful week, and pray for more snow!