Scribbles and Scrambles _ A Few Scenes from Portland

We've enjoyed Portland and are headed back to Seattle for the final leg of our trip. i'll share highlights once we hit Iowa soil. Until then here are these random shots.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Day tripping in Seattle

Beautiful weather in Seattle yesterday. The morning was overcast with fog, so much so, that the legs of the Space Needle were hidden.

We faced a few traffic issues. We are not in Iowa anymore that's for sure. And I phones are wonderful inventions. We also went on a little stroll and got lost on foot. Did I mention how nice smart phones are?

I fell flat on my face by the Space Needle. Join me in saying awkward!

We've had two of the best cups of coffee ever! Today we will see some ocean and hopefully remain upright when walking.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Good Morning from Seattle

Hit Seattle about 1:00 am their time. That's 3 on our clock. Had a 3 hour layover in Vegas. The lights as we left were amazing. Had to pose by a slot machine and tell my folks that & and I were gambling our generous birthday gift away. Haha.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

Vegan Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce


1/2 Cup non-dairy milk (I used Organic Vanilla Soy)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup peanut butter
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup crushed peanuts (I used salted, no skins)

Combine the milk, sugar, peanut butter and salt in a medium sauce pan. Heat and stir constantly until mixture begins to boil. Boil for one minute. The texture will change and become caramelly as you stir. Add peanuts. 

Serve over ice cream, brownies, on a spoon. Refrigerate leftovers if there are any.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Leavin on a Jet Plane, but Never Fear, You're Coming Along...

I haven't mentioned my upcoming travel plans on the blog yet. So consider this an announcement. My daughter (also known as &) and I have a trip planned. Started out a road trip and has morphed into a super sweet deal on plane tickets and stays at two different Air BnB's. 

Where are we going? Seattle and Portland. Why? Well, one of us had a crazy idea that we should honor some significant birthdays. One of us is currently twenty-five and one of us is ahem...forty-nine. We will be celebrating the flipping of the mileage counter past and upcoming. 

Why did we pick Portland/Seattle? Veg Fest. We are flying to Seattle, hanging out and being tourists, going on a coffee crawl, seeing the sights, shopping, walking then heading to Portland for two days of Vegan seminars and booths, and Multnomah Falls, and places that have been blogged about by other Portland fans. 

To prepare, we've been researching and watching episodes of Portlandia. Ha. Ha. Should be a very crazy fun trip. 

I'll be I-phone blogging travel updates so you can come along for the fun. Who knows what will appear here. 

But before I head out on a jet plane I'm going to post a recipe for peanut butter caramel. 

Tomorrow. 

Here's a teaser. This caramel sauce tops one of the desserts that I've been experimenting with for Vegan MOFO. The whole recipe will be appearing here in October. And you are going to want the whole recipe. But, tomorrow, you can come back for a sliver of the delicious concoction -- something delicious to dribble over ice cream or eat by spoonfuls.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Roasted Tomato Bean Soup

After seeing a few recipes for Roasted Tomato Soup and trying one prior that was okay but not quite there, I played around and came up with this concoction. I love soup, but vegetable soup is not always filling enough to make it a full meal.

Rob says it's the best soup ever. That's high praise.

10-12 medium (organic/heirloom) tomatoes cut into wedges
1 can (or 1 2/3 cups cooked) white beans
1/2 cup or so of diced eggplant
4-5 mushrooms (regular sized)
6-8 Kalamata olives
1 sliced onion
6 cloves garlic sliced
5 cups vegetable broth
fresh basil (6-7 leaves chiffonade)
fresh thyme (the leaves from 3 sprigs)
Sea Salt


Heat oven to 425. Chop and dice eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms. Lay out on two greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. 

Roast for 20-25 minutes. When they are close (check at 18-19 minutes place the basil on the cookie sheet) Veggies should be tender, beginning to caramelize and are darkening. Place the slightly cooled veggies in a food processor with the beans, olives, thyme and another few shakes of salt. Puree all. 

Dump into a crockpot or large saucepan. Add the vegetable broth and heat through or simmer on low.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Your Mom Called...

So. I found out something somewhat hilarious yesterday. 

But first, a little background. My dad is pretty techie. He's had a computer for a long time and does all sorts of things with it. His VCR clock. Ha. Ha. No one uses VCRs anymore...his DVD player doesn't blink 12:00 endlessly either. He's had a Blackberry for years. 

My mom, though no slouch with the computer (unless she gets frustrated with either IT or it, as in the computer....just sayin I've seen her threaten to throw either/or out the window) is a little more tech-wary.  She's become pretty computer savvy out of necessity, but.....  

The latest piece of technology that she is refusing to embrace is a cell phone. Yes. My mom has a cell phone and she could even text. Note, I say COULD. However, mastering of the DOING is going to require quite a bit of flinging phones toward glass or at least threats. For now the phone just takes up precious space in her purse. I love that my dad put in all the ICE contacts for her. And she says that if she enunciates and yells "Call ___________(fill in the blank!)" It will usually offer to call someone else. One step at a time, Mom. Ha. Ha.

But the craziest part of this whole thing is that my 94-year-old grandma now has a cell phone. 

Yes. It's true. She hates paying the rising cost of a landline just for the privilege of receiving pesky telemarketer sales calls. My dad is working on making a cell phone easy-peasy and into something workable for her. 

His work is cut out for him. I might mention that seeing and hearing are not her strengths. However, she excels at saving money and at being determined. I'm hoping this works out. I'm thinking it's pretty sweet to have a hip 94-year-old grandma packing a cellphone. I think I need to bedazzle her a sweet cell phone case.