Scraps and Snippets ~ Mixed Ethnicity for Dinner? Why Not?

So. We needed dinner. What to do? 

Armed with this recipe (which is two thumbs up with nary a substitution) and a bag of broccoli slaw, we began creating. 

Broccoli Slaw

1 bag broccoli slaw

1 T rice vinegar

1 T sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 T sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon sweetener of choice (I used agave)

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

3 T raisins

3 T sunflower seeds

Mix and chill. 

I love the homey touch in the picture, the pen and the back of the bank receipt that I scribbled measurements on. Ha. Ha.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Adventure ~ Hold Please

So I wanted to give you a recipe or two.

But in order to do that I have to decipher my chicken scratches and type it out. And I have been remiss. The muffins are really tasty. And. I tentatively promise to post that one tomorrow.

Let's just say that you are on hold, temporarily, and you are going to enjoy entertainment while on hold. Not of the musical variety. But of the visual.

Photographic highlights of the camping trip.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Growing Pains

Hail storms are very efficient. Not only can they decimate produce that is just a few hours from being perfect, the damage done stretches beyond days into weeks. 

Though it's been almost three weeks since the softball, baseball and golf ball sized hail pummeled the organic farm, there is still clean up going on. The dead and dying invite insects and encroach on the healthy fruit. The tomato harvest is one-fifth of what was promised by the blossoms and sets.

The corn harvest ground to a halt. Hail pelted the ears leaving cracks for insects and bruised kernels. Leaves were stripped off, and tassels were broken. The tassel pollinates the corn. Triple whammy. 

But. Once again I am reminded that life does go on. There will be more next year and beyond. This was not a vineyard torn up by the roots. Or a grove of pecan trees broken off at ground level. Even now the farmers are harvesting seeds for next year. The asparagus grows strong, oblivious to the fate of the corn and tomatoes. A few squash plants have reappeared after being swept into another section in the garden. And the basil shows no evidence of trauma. Baby lettuce embraces the sun and begins to peek out at the big world around it.  Life does indeed go on.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Adventure ~ Camping Trip

 We did a wee bit of camping this holiday weekend. Lots of fun Vegan food, including Veg French toast w/ almond butter, maple syrup and banana slices. Yum. Veg Sloppy Joes, Veg Philly Sandwiches and Veg S'Mores. 

Veg S'Mores may have been the most popular. And they were very tasty (and easy once we found the Veg marshmallows). I'll post recipes soonish. A few are keepers for sure, a few need a tweak or two. And a couple are tweaked to near perfection after they were tried during the Montana trip.

  We didn't go too far from home. Just a few hours down the road. We camped near a very small town. The most exciting part of the three block long downtown were the cool murals on the side of buildings, and the razor wire on top of a very tall fence. Inside the very tall fence was a basketball hoop and outside were law enforcement vehicles. Methinks we spied the town jail.

 Oh, we had rain. Rain and bugs. However, the rain fell when we were sightseeing, shopping and while we ate. Rob had cracked out a covering over the table before it began raining so we stayed nice and dry. A wind came after the rain and dried the tent to perfection and kept bugs away during the evening. Nice.

Highlights of the trip ended up being firsts for the canine girls and 24. We hit a pocket of Amish country. We visited a furniture shop with BEAUTIFUL furniture and a country store that carried bulk items, some organic ones. Both were lit only by skylight and windows. The furniture store boasted a fruit and veggie stand out front of it so we grabbed some goodies. We scored carob chips, organic raisins, sesame seeds and homemade jams for really decent prices, too. Nice serendipity. 

Plus. 24 was able to see her first close-up Amish children. Three little kids stared out the window at her as she checked on the dogs. (Uhhh, so it was a little odd, but it worked. The dogs were in the pickup bed while we drove around (safely secured, FYI). And when it started to rain Rob rolled the cover over them. So when we got to the country store we opened the tailgate. The Amish furniture builder called the dogs "Pampered" and the little kids probably thought that we were pretty crazy, too. Ha. Ha. )

The pampered pooches were on their best behavior all weekend. Didn't bark at people or chase wildlife. And they had their first real taste of a lake. Lily is a very accomplished swimmer after a rough start. Lola. Well, she prefers some terra firma under her feet, even if it might be a bit soggy. However, if her sister will swim out and get the frisbee or stick, she'll gladly help out. 


The cutest moment may have been when Lily lost the stick that was tossed and went to a half submerged tree and broke off her own stick to bring to her mom.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Lentils? What to do? Tapenade Alfredo

Tapenade Alfredo

1/4 small onion

3 Large green olives (mine were stuffed with a garlic clove)

3 Large Kalamata olives

2 Garlic cloves

1 TBSP sun-dried tomatoes (with the oil)

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 Cup soaked and drained cashews (I soaked them for an hour)

1 Cup of cooked lentils

1 Cup Veggie Broth

Put everything except the broth and lentils in the food processor and let it rip. Blend it up but good. Add lentils and broth and whirl again.

Ladle over cooked pasta of your choice. And add raw, roasted or sauteed veggies of choice (we added raw heirloom tomatoes and sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Leftover Lentil Dilemma... Falafel Burgers

I had some lentils left over. Quite a few. And some brown rice. And no plans for din-din, and a few hungry mouths to feed, including mine.

So I threw a whole lot of stuff together and ended up with something I'm going to call a tasty Falafal Burger experiment. They aren't as pretty as they were tasty. My batch was nicely spiced and very falafaly in texture and taste. But it could've used a touch more flavor since I used a lot of bland ingredients. 

1 Cup cooked lentils (I used green, red might be prettier).

2 Cloves of garlic

1/2 onion (I didn't use this in my batch, but I needed a wee bit more flavor, this should do it.)

1/4 Cup garbanzo bean flour (or oatmeal would work, I'm thinking)

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 tsp cumin

3/4 to 1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 Cup sliced baby bella mushrooms

1/2 Cup walnuts

1 Cup cooked brown rice

1/2 Cup bread crumbs

1/2 Cup fresh washed spinach

2 TBSP sesame seeds

Okay. Putting the bad boys together. First SAVE the walnuts, mushrooms, rice, spinach, sesame seeds and bread crumbs. You will pulse them in later, but not mushify them because they will give extra texture.

Everything else, mushify in food processor until combined. Then add the walnuts, rice, spinach, sesame seeds and bread crumbs, and pulse just till everything is pulled into the mixture.

Form into patties. I got seven medium sized ones, chill for a half hour of so. Then cook on sprayed skillet, flip burgers til both sides are crusty/brownish, and burger is heated sufficiently. Three or four minutes total was about what I did.

We ate them with our Super Genius Tortillas, spicy mustard, romaine lettuce, onion slices and fresh heirloom tomato slices.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Life Continues Just Add Sun, Water and Love

It's been almost two weeks since the really, really hailish hail storm.

The farm took a hit. Big time.

The CSA will limp on.

Maybe the boxes won't be so densely packed with food from here on out, but the food we get will feed us, body and soul.

The bread and butter of the farm was wiped out in twenty minutes of rain and hail.

However, I've visited a few times the past week. And each time I see the farm there is clear evidence that life goes on. From the asparagus that survived softball hailstones and needed to have a little TLC weeding done, to the gems (sweet potatoes) hidden safely in their underground nest, these little veggies are hanging in there.

Pat, my pop drives the Super Weapon. (Weapon to weeds, only, unless I'm driving it which was not allowed.)

And the hand in the plastic glove?

It is the only view 24 allowed me to post, stating that the others were horrific and would make people hurl their breakfast. Fine.

There was an injury at the farm today. There could've been more. It rained all morning and the word MUCK is an understatement. 24 and I hightailed it to pick tomatoes in the garden behind the high tunnel. We slip-slid our way up and down the mud road, laughing our fool heads off. Neither of us fell which was a miracle.

But while digging for onions, I pulled a weed. It was a weed that did not want to leave the ground. It bit back, slicing my ring finger joint wide open.

Yes. I left some serious organic material on the farm. And I one-handedly took some impressive pictures. But, again, I was FORBIDDEN to post those. : (. You can thank 24 later.

Quick post-farm dinner deliciousness.

Garlic Pomodoro

5 good-sized heirloom tomatoes, diced.
5 cloves of freshly-grown-from-your-local-organic-grower garlic. minced.
Splash of Olive Oil (1 tsp or so)
6-8 fresh organic basil leaves (roll leaves into tubes and slice for the cool strip look)
Pasta of choice. Cooked.


Toss olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook a minute or so, toss in basil strips and tomatoes. Cook just til it is warmed through. Ladle over pasta. Scarf it down and forget to take a picture.