Scraps and Snippets ~ Pinch Those Buns...

See yesterday's post if you're curious about the bun background story. Do you buy buns? Uhhh, they are stinking expensive. But if you make your own with organic ingredients and good grains, they aren't expensive at all. I will now be making all my buns. These are really easy and tasty. I'll tell you a little secret...& experimented with some delicious desserty type spread and we tried it out on these. Uh. I'll share that with you soon. Think Texas Roadhouse rolls. Not kidding.

But back to the buns. Buns.

Yep.

Buntastic!

6 Good sized, 8 medium and 10 or so slider buns.

3 teaspoons yeast

1 cup warm water (110-115 f)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 TBSP olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour + additional to knead into dough as needed. (I used mix of unbleached white and whole wheat pastry flour)

Sesame seeds or spices.

Put yeast in bowl and cover with 1/4 of the cup of water. Stir and add sugar. Let sit for several minutes til it foams. Add oil, salt, remaining water, flour. Stir until mixed well. It will form a soft ball. Add another 1/4 cup of flour or so, knead that in (in the bowl works just fine). Repeat that step two or three more times until the dough doesn't stick to you and it forms a nice ball. Knead it a minute or so. Let sit in a warm spot for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes, it will double in size. Preheat oven to 425. When ready form the dough into 6, 8 or 10 similar sized balls. Flatten each ball slightly and place on a greased cookie pan or stone. If you want to sprinkle spices or sesame seeds, damped top of bun with water then sprinkle, press down slightly with your finger...mine didn't all stay on and I didn't sprinkle or press. Let sit another 10 minutes or so. Place in the oven and bake 22 minutes for the 6 larger buns, 18-19 minutes for 8 normal sized buns and 15 minutes for 10 slider buns. When cool, slice in half and serve with favorite sandwich fillings.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 15

Oh Snap!



These are tasty!

Found them at Whole Foods, thought we'd give them a try.

Yum. If I don't find the perfect "burger" in my pantry, and in my quest to make the perfect one, I can find something totally satisfying in my freezer.

Cooked them on our cast iron stove top griddle, popped them on buns with avocado slices, alfalfa sprouts and spinach.

Not just any buns. Rudis. Also at Whole Foods (T.J.'s has one or two of their products). These are tasty buns. (We ate the dinner roll version, cut the eggplant burger into smaller portions and had mini-"burgers". I haven't tried the actual full-size buns or bread yet, but we will since the dinner rolls are so tasty. They've got the texture and feel whole grain, but not cardboardy or sawdusty. If you click on the picture you go to their website where there is a $1 off coupon.

Nice that we are finding products that are something we can keep on hand for those nights where we just couldn't find the creativity to think ahead. And when the alternative is oatmeal for dinner, or a smoothie. Or when the thoughts of Applebees dance through our heads.

Cooking and creating is fun. Lots of fun. But finding something in the freezer that we feel good about eating is terrific, too.

Serials and Scenario ~ Product Review...Lightlife Smart Dogs...

Sometimes "junk" just calls your name and you have to answer right? One of the only meat products I actually liked back in the day when I was a meat eater was a beef hot dog. I could pretend that a beef hot dog was purer and somehow nobler. Because we all know and refuse to think about what's really in a $.99 package of hot dogs. 

I didn't really crave them very often. But if there was a picnic or a BBQ I'd hope someone went the classy route and supplied beef hot dogs for the gourmets in the bunch. 

A few weeks ago while wandering through Natural Grocers I discovered they had a markdown section. What the Wha?  Bargains on vegan foods or organic veggies/fruit? Oh yeah. So now I hit the spots every time and nosh on $2.00 bags of organic peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and 1/2 price non-dairy items that are at the end of shelf life. Happy. Makes me very happy. 

So I found a package of vegan hot dogs. I wouldn't have purchased because sometimes faux meat is just kind of a cruel sleight of hand. But back two years ago when & and I went to Portland for VegFest we were given a sample of a chunk of hot dog in a bun and were able to put toppings on it and scarf it down. The dang thing was great. But was this sale package the same brand? At 1/2 price I was willing to risk it. I brought the little hummers home and popped them in the freezer for the right occasion. 

Last night was that occasion. 

I pulled them out because we had white processed non-food buns. (Why does uber processed sometimes just taste so good?) And I had a hankering. And I also had to rearrange some stuff in the freezer because things had gotten out of control. I won't tell you the details...but let's just say I need to check my freezer before going to Trader Joe's. There are apparently items there that convince me that they NEED to go home with me on EVERY trip.  But I digress....

My cast iron griddle has a smooth side and a grill side (is that proper? Would it be corrugated? Because that's what it feels like it should be...whatever, we will call it grill -- it leaves little bumpy sear marks on whatever you cook on it.) So I grilled them up. And slapped them on the buns and squirted mine with mustard and spooned on dill relish (organic, of course, ha ha). This is my perfect hot dog scenario. 

And. It was stinking delicious! Seriously. Rob looked at the little flesh colored, striped tubes on the griddle and raised an eyebrow. "Vegan hot dogs." I said. He picked one up and gingerly took a bite. (without any frills and toppers) He chewed. And put them on his plate. And ate them. 

Can I recommend these? Seriously, yes. You have an itch to scratch and only a hot dog will do? ... I don't think you'll be disappointed. On a side note, I took a picture of the back of the package. They aren't as trashy as one would think. Non-GMO soy, 13 grams of protein and 100 calories.  

Thanks Lightlife. Me likey Smart Dogs

Scraps and Snippets ~ Okay, Not Pretty, But EASY and Pretty Tasty ~ Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

This is one of those almost embarrassing recipes. You know, open a bag, toss in a canned item, apply heat, Bammo!

Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

1 Package LightLife Smart Dogs (Or other of choice) (8 dogs)

1 16 ounce can of chili spiced beans (I used chili sauced pinto beans)

Approx 1/2 Cup shredded Vegan cheese (I used Daiya's Pepperjack) 

Hot dog buns

Toppings: 

Ketchup

Mustard

chopped onions

dill or sweet pickle relish

Preheat oven to 350. Semi-slice the hot dogs longwise down the middle. Slice only half way through the dog. Open the dog and lay sliced side down and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. I'd line the pan with parchment paper or grease the pan, as my hot dogs stuck a bit. 

This will heat the hot dog through a bit and give a nice warm surface for the beans and cheese. 

Flip the hot dogs over and spoon beans over the dogs. Sprinkle cheese over them. With vegan cheese, in my opinion, less is better. 

Place the pan back in the oven for 14 minutes. If desired, turn oven to broil until cheese is fully melted. 

Open hot dog buns, slide a chili dog onto each bun and top as desired.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Gardein Beefless Slider Review

 I went on and on about how excited I was that Target carried Gardein products a couple weeks ago. Last night was a night that I needed to toss together a quick meal and I had purchased Gardein's Beefless Sliders for just one of those nights. 

I panfried all four sliders in a splash of avocado oil and heated the buns. 

I then topped mine with mustard and organic lettuce. I served these with a side of steamed organic broccoli sprinkled with nutritional yeast and sea salt. Yum. 

Four hours later, after eating two sliders and the broccoli I was still feeling full and satisfied. Definitely a stick to your ribs meal. The serving size is one little burger but that one packs 9 grams of protein and 150 calories. So with two, I had a 400 calorie meal that left me completely satisfied. I don't know that the burgers would "fool" a meaty hamburger fan. However, I was impressed with the texture (that's a biggie for me, I hate a patty that mushes when you bite into it) and Rob liked them as well and said I should definitely buy them again. He goes flexitarian when he chooses so can order whatever he feels like at restaurants....so that's some high praise since they satisfied his meat cravings. Besides the great texture (more like a flatter pre made style patty than a thick burger) a nice charcoaly flavor makes the burgers taste like the real deal to my palate. 

Bottom line? When you need a quick meal that hits the spot and stays with you, this is a great option. I love that the products are GMO free. And even though they are processed most of the ingredients are recognizable and explained. Two thumbs up. And at under $5.00 a box providing two to four meals, it's bargain fast food. 

Scribbles and Scrambles - Babies Are Agile

My family may be really odd, but…. Oh, wait. We ARE really odd.

For just a split-second, I forgot we capitalize the fun in dysFUNction.

One of our favorite family things would be inside jokes.

I knew my daughter-in-law would fit right in the day she doubled over in laughter while standing in front of our refrigerator.

This is a little twisted -- but bear with me. Our son. The eldest offspring carrying the banner of odd, found magnets amusing. Oh, not the poetry magnets…those would’ve gotten buried on our fridge.

Our community believes in information fairs that provide a plethora of pertinent magnets. Somehow, somewhere I picked up a magnet from a shaken baby syndrome task force. The white magnet read “Babies are Fragile.” Nice sentiment, all too true, wonderful public service.

But one day my son asked. “Mom, what does it mean that babies are agile?” (I won’t tell you how old he was.) Annoyed, (which I often was when my very intelligent, old-teen kid asked me nutty questions) I glanced at the magnet.

Someone had used White-Out on the fr. Mr. Comedian laughed it up, I shook my head, but smiled inside. Every once in awhile, his sister or father would clean off the White-Out, bringing it back to fragile.

Then the fr would disappear again.

So, the girl who loves my son, asked about the magnet. I told her the story. She laughed. They got married. And we talk about agile babies every once in awhile.

Words that bring a flood of memories and a laugh or two include:

Coco-nutty Day
Sea biscuits
Chee chago
Coinkydink
Sticky Buns
Johnny Cat

The list goes on and on.

Now that I think about it. My brothers and I still laugh about “You’re bending my glasses.”

Did I mention we were odd?

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Late to the FOURTH

Monday was Star Wars day. May the Fourth be with you. Monday, May 4th. Ha ha. 

I didn't know till too late in the day to really celebrate it right. 

But I have a little something for Star Wars fans. Or not. See, I have a little ewok type character who can do a mean impersonation of ... wait for it....

Princess Leia. 

On Instagram it was noted that this had to be a love child between the princess and an ewok. I think maybe some other alien life form might be in the mix as well. She does have the perfect ear buns though. Almost as intricate as Leia's. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Ramblin, Ramblin, Ramblin that Eventually Gets to a Point...

What to post? What to post? I think I understand the creative focuses bloggers adopt. It helps categorize thoughts into smaller sub-themes. You know, the Linkys and the the Theme of the day...like the underwear that's cutesy and different for every day of the week. Today is rambling panty day in my house. I'm not sure what to post so I'll write until something jumps out at me.


I have literally, (shout out to Parks and Rec's very own Chris) ten Vegan cookbooks I could review. Could, but not quite... I like to try a few recipes before giving a review, ya know? 

& and I did some cooking yesterday. Happy Healthy Life's Sweet potato burgers, my "hamburger" crumbles, my buns, Katie's graham crackers. We ate up the doctored Pinterest Salsa  (the changes we made...two cans of tomatoes and one can of diced chilis vs one can of tomatoes, one can of Rotels and the jalapeno called for, easier, as tasty and a little cheaper) that has taken over the web. And finally,  almost killed off my Orange You Glad We're Together Bars.


I swished salt water. Glad the tooth is gone. It was really bugging me. Interesting how that happens. You just get used to life and deal and bear up under it. And one morning you wake up and face a change and realize that you now have a different perspective. This, of course, can be a negative change like a diagnosis or shock or loss. Or, a realization that the hard work you've put into something is paying off, or that you are a better person than you were a year ago.


You might, one day be single, the next a couple. Or a couple and then shockingly a single. Healthy you think until those words rock your world, or hearing that the discipline in exercising or eating has changed a dire fact into a different reality. Or maybe you use Jesus as a curse word on Tuesday and on Thursday you meet Him and change your mind. A relative is hospitalized and seems to have nine lives where a neighbor might take one last trip to the grocery store and never return home thanks to a texting driver. 


A toothache could maybe even trigger a deep vein of thought on a blog that has it's share of the ridiculous. 


I hope your day is rich with blessings and hope and promise.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Harvest Chicken Salad

Harvest Chicken Salad

3/4 Cup diced chicken replacement (I used Beyond Meat)

1/2 finely chopped medium onion

2 stalks finely chopped celery

1/2 chopped med to large apple (I used a Gala)

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

2 1/2 TBSP vegan cream cheese 

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 1/2 TBSP tahini (or almond butter) 

salt to taste

Mix together and serve on toast, bread, buns, crackers, stuff in peppers or tomatoes or your mouth. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 29

I think I did it. The ULTIMATE Non-Meat Burger (according to our taste buds). Satisfying, full of flavor and texture. I think these are a winner. I looked at more than 20 recipes and then pulled out the formula of what I thought would work. And it did.

I ended up adding a wee bit more texture to this recipe than what I tried in the actual burger making trial run. The minor addition of 1/4 cup mushrooms and a TBSP more of Textured Vegetable Protein (sold in health food section of grocery store - I used Bob's) should give the exact density that a good "burger" needs.

Vegan Adventure Ultimate Burger

1/3 Cup T.V.P. (Textured Vegetable Protein)
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 TBSP ground flax seed
1/2 Cup of Salsa (or Spaghetti Sauce - for Italian version, or Vegetable Broth for Middle Eastern flavor)
3 TBSP water

Put together in a bowl. Set aside.

In 2 TBSP of Earth Balance or fat of choice saute the following until tender then remove from heat.

1 Small dice small zucchini (or 2 grated carrots)
1 Small dice onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
3/4 cup small dice mushrooms (or diced cooked potatoes)

Then toss in one can of beans (with the bean juice) (or two cups of home cooked beans) - pinto or black (Mexican) or kidney (Italian) will give you more color, garbanzo if you want a more Middle Eastern flavor.
Semi-mash as you stir it all together.

Add the following spices to the veggie mixture.

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin (Mexican, Middle Eastern (and if you want to add a teaspoon or two of sesame seeds or tahini to a Middle Eastern burger, go for it.)
1 teaspoon cilantro (or curry if going for Middle Eastern and 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasonings if going for an Italian flavor and omit the cumin).
Add 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup cooked brown rice

Add the flax/TVP mixture and stir together.

Refrigerate for 1/2 an hour or so.

Form into patties. Makes a dozen or more thinner ones, and go for thinner to get a more burger texture.

Fry patties in a little bit of oil (coconut, or Earth Balance or your choice) a couple of minutes on each side. They will crisp nicely and have a decent texture.
(I made them all up and froze a half dozen of them for another meal - I'll toss them frozen into an oven at 350 for 15 min or reheat them on the stove top.)

I toasted the buns (with a little garlic spread) and added avocado slices and tomatoes, lettuce, etc. The usual hamburger stuff.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Easy Vegan Breakfast Rolls

These little buggars got eaten up real quick, so this is the only picture. Sad. 

So Easy and so Delish, though. Happy. 

 I made two batches. One a cranberry orange walnut, the other chocolate. You could combine the two for an extra treat. 

I was lucky to get a chocolate one. Seriously, there was only half of one when I got to the plate.  

You need (for 8) 1 package of crescent rolls. (right now Trader Joe's are vegan). 

An oven set at 350.  A cookie sheet.

Roll the triangles out and flatten them into the triangle shape if yours are mangled. 

Then for the chocolate filling. Place 8 to 12 dark (vegan) chocolate chips at the wide base of the roll but not all the way to the outside, leave a little breading. Then roll up starting at the wide end, ending with the tip. Pinch and curl the long ends in so the chocolate stays as contained as possible. 

If you want cranberry orange nut or a chocolate cranberry orange do the following. About a 1/4 cup of orange marmalade and a tablespoon or two of dried cranberries, a tablespoon of finely chopped nuts (and/or chocolate chips or white chocolate chips) This mix is tart. If you want to add a bit of sweetener you could, however with the glaze it was a great sweet/tart treat. Mix together and do the same as you did for the chocolate, dab a long blob at the lower wider end of the roll and roll em up. 

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. They'll golden up nicely. 

While baking I made a frosting/glaze. 

1 TBSP vegan cream cheese

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

Splash of milk. Mix the cream cheese and sugar together, add milk in tiny increments until you get the consistency you want. 

As the rolls cool, drizzle or spread frosting/glaze over the buns. If you want to take it up a notch you could dust them with dried orange peel, finely chopped nuts, toasted coconut after applying the frosting. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Review of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook and a Silly Story...

Since I've got a stack of cookbooks to review and I announced it yesterday (gotta love the accountability). And, well, I found two more books at the library. I had to return the Happy Herbivore and, well, they enticed me.

But. For dinner last night, and for kicks, and next day lunches, and just because I made the following recipes from The Happy Herbivore.

Oatmeal Cookies

Fruity Oatmeal Bars

Chicken Style Seitan -- (which required these as well No-Chicken Broth Powder Poultry Seasoning Mix)

My assessment of the book.

Lindsay Nixon's Happy Herbivore cookbook opens with an explanation of why and what Vegan looks like, what to have on hand to prepare Vegan meals and tips and hints. Had I been just starting out as a Vegan I would have very much devoured this section, and the very end of the book that is simply two pages that give details on what and how to make substitutions in standard recipes. After almost a year of the Vegan learning curve, this is less important to me.

As for the recipes. The Fruity Oatmeal bars are exactly as she said they'd be. Cereal bar taste and texture just like a Nutri-Grain type bar. Very tasty. I'll definitely make these again. There was no added fat as promised in the secondary title of the book either. Same scenario on the Oatmeal Cookies. Good texture, a soft cookie that is chewy and flavorful. Again, no added fat. One step in the directions caused me pause and I did not follow it. She suggested placing part of the batter/dough on parchment paper and laying it carefully upside down over the jam layer. I chose the lazy way out and allowed a few holes for the jam to peek through after plopping and spreading.

I love the No-Chicken Broth Powder. It makes quite a bit, a cup and a half or so. It will work in other recipes and will be a nice staple for my kitchen. The poultry seasoning was a mix of several spices, and again, will be an addition to my pantry. The Chicken-Style Seitan was chicken-like. Nice flavor, and decent texture. It's still Seitan and has that texture so it won't fool omnivores. It was a little time consuming so I'd make a double batch next time and try freezing it for the future or keep it on it's extra liquid/gravy in the fridge for a few days. The making was easy, but it required almost an hour to simmer and half hour to bake. Most homemade Seitan is involved, though, so this was not unexpected. There is a recipe on the web that I like slightly better that will be my go to "chicken" sub recipe but I believe I'll add the No-Chicken Broth Powder to it.

The other recipes I'd like to try are:

Blue Corn Chickpea Tacos

Mushroom Burgers

Torkey (Tofu Turkey)

Spicy Sausage

Frittata

Baked Shells and Cheese (which requires the Cheddar Cheesy Sauce)

Veggie, Bean, &Quinoa Croquettes

Baked Beans

Baked Onion Rings

Chili-Lime Corn Chips

Ranch Dip

Vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Mayo

Sour Cream

Nacho Cheese Sauce

Brown Rice Milk

Gravy (three different ones)

Cinnamon Buns

Maple Cornbread Biscuits

Gingerbread Mini-Loaves

Scones

Pumpkin Cheesecake

All of these recipes are not unique to The Happy Herbivore Cookbook. Many are on blogs. However, I'm at the point where I'm looking for the perfect go-to recipes to replace family favorites and/or for holiday baking and entertaining.

Depending on what you are looking for this could be THE cookbook for you. The recipes are basic and a chef's hat is not a required tool to use it in your kitchen. An experienced Vegan who has been playing around with recipes for a long time may not find as many keepers as a new Vegan would.

And after #3 tried to start the newest wave to change the world wide web with the antidote to planking...boxing...she got a wild hair to do some more Vegan baking. I believe she's catching the bug. Well, not really, she keeps begging for meat and whining for cheese. But she's catching the whole baking bug.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Lemon Garlic Avocado Tempeh Sandwiches

1 Package Tempeh sliced into strips
1 TBSP garlic infused olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon garlic pepper blend
1 avocado sliced
Thinly sliced onion
Bread/bun of choice

Mix the oil, seasoning and lemon juice together and place the sliced tempeh in it and turn to coat both sides. Place onions on the bread, buns and broil until bread is toasted and onions begin to caramel use. Remove. Brown tempeh. Place tempeh over onions and top with avocado slices.  Serve.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Review of Gardein

I was totally under the effects of a head cold Friday. Rob was feeling punk, too. Saturday was better and unfortunately required a trip to a store. So I ventured out and went to Target. I wasn't planning on cooking. However, I thought I'd check to see if they had a Vegan pizza hanging around in their freezer case. As I browsed around after grabbing soy milk and toilet paper, I discovered a case full of Gardein. 

I don't have a tight relationship with Gardein. I had never actually even tasted it until I was almost a year into Veganism. What I have tried has been pretty yummy so when I saw that freezer case with a bunch of choices I knew what I was buying for dinner. Everything was pretty reasonable, too. A main course that feeds two (or more) under 5 bucks? Okay. 

My review of Chicken Sliders.

These are tasty. I was so hungry by the time I got home I just followed the stove top method and fixed up the package (4 patties and buns which worked out to 2 a piece). Cheaper than fast food. Better than fast food. Vegan. And non-GMO. With fresh toppings, these can have unlimited tastiness. And I think the texture and taste wouldn't clue any omnivore into the fact that these aren't just a cute little chicken sandwich. I'm thinking vegan ranch dressing with tempeh, eggplant or coconut "bacon".  spaghetti sauce with Daiya mozzarella melted on top. Buffalo sauce. Tapenade. Oh, the possibilities. I give these a double thumbs up and will buy them again. 

My review of Szechuan Beefless Strips


I mentioned I shopped while hungry. So I bought a few Gardein products. I thought the Sizzling Szechuan would be a quick idea for after church. 

I had some leftover pepper and onion strips. Also some cauliflower and mushrooms to use up. So I added some garlic infused grape seed oil to a pan, chopped the veggies and dumped half the package of the Szechuan Beefless into the pan. After browning everything I added half the sauce packet. Yum. The sauce is a little sweeter than I like, but I did add more soy sauce which fixed that for me. Since I used only half the package and almost always have veggies that need to be tossed into a stir fry or medley there is another meal waiting. A very good deal, 4 meals for under $5.00 and just the time it takes to chop veggies and cook em up. Another double thumbs up. 

These items were just the tip of the Gardein iceberg at Target. Thanks, Target. You've always been one of my favorite stores but this is vegan icing on the cake. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Classic Burger Sloppy Joes

Classic Burger Sloppy Joes (Serves 8 ish)

2 Cups hamburger replacement (Gardein or Beyond Meat or homemade)

⅓ Cup ketchup

3 TBSP yellow mustard

2-3 TBSP dill pickle relish (or a mix of dill and sweet, or if you like your sloppies sweeter, go with all sweet) (I used 3 TBSP but I love pickles so use your taste buds as a guide.)

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1-2 TBSP finely diced onion (again, to taste)

Mix all the ingredients together and heat until warmed through. Or put it in a crock pot on low for 2-3 hours. Serve with buns. Add vegan bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, onion or vegan cheese slices, pickles and ketchup and mustard.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Twisted Formation - Aunt Har Har Comes to Visit

* some names not mentioned to protect the innocent.

My aunt is only ten years older than me. So when she came to babysit my younger brothers, I got to be her sidekick. As I aged, she babysat only on evenings my parents would be out late. One of her last visits rolled around. I was eleven and almost ready to take over all of the brother wrangling.

Earlier that afternoon my baby brother toddled around the house in the disposable diapers of the seventies. Disposable was the big sell at that point, they didn’t have elastic around the leg holes or cartoon characters emblazoned on them, they were just pretty much disposable, which, if you’ve ever used cloth diapers, you would probably agree made them a very good thing. A friend of mine, Kim, was over hanging out, which is what we used to call playing. She and I went into the living room as bottle clenching toddler buns disappeared into the kitchen. Dad jogged down the stairs intent on some errand, and the three of us met up in the hallway. Kim’s eyes darted to the corner, and mine followed. A small dark olive green object sat at the edge of the entrance to the kitchen. As if magnetized, she leaned closer, and then her body followed her eyes. Dad now had noticed and we watched her bend over and scoop the object up.

Her knit eyebrows screamed confusion, I think she almost scratched her head in bewilderment. “What is this?” She finally asked. By then she was just a foot away from us.

I screamed and Dad laughed one loud guffaw. “It’s a turd!” He chortled and gasped. “From the baby’s diaper!”

I will never forget the scene. Kim launched the disgusting little gem and fled from the room. Dad and I laughed so hard that neither of us wondered what happened to Kim. A flash of white got my attention. I wiped the water from my eyes and watched Kim bend over the offending object with a paper towel clutched in her fist. She scooped it up and raised it high over her head in victory.

Enter Aunt Har Har. The boys were scrubbed and drugged or whatever they did to get rowdy boys to sleep in the seventies. My bedtime neared. Aunt Har Har offered to tuck me in. I think she was just bored. But as we were chatting I remembered the excitement of the flying turd.

She sat on the edge of my bed and I told the story with great relish. She laughed, and then laughed harder. I should mention here that I had a bedside light, not on a table, but on the floor next to my canopy. As I described Kim’s realization and actions. Aunt Har Har bent over double and laughed, “har, har, har, har” into my lamp. And I laughed so hard I peed the bed.

Sigh.

Those were the days.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Lifer Flexitarian ~ Shopping List and Hints

Vegan/Flexitarian follow-up.

We've not veered from Vegan since last Sunday's first Flexitarian free for all. (the salmon and cheese sauce).

Interestingly, I find myself able to say no to things just because I know there is something else I could have and would rather have. Weird.

Since we talked about costs and wondered how much this adventure would cost I thought I'd share my findings and lists with you.

We averaged $100.00 a week for three adults. This was 90% organic and without pinching pennies. This was also all of the food we purchased. No restaurants etc. We all packed our lunches and/or ate at home.

I'll put a TJ (Trader Joes) or WF (Whole Foods) for items that are a better deal at one place or the other (some aren't available in both places.)

We did a big run every ten days or so, with an occasional jaunt for something we ran out of. I've made comments regarding how often I bought or what discovery I made about the items.

Non-Dairy:

Vanilla Almond Milk (TJ) (2 half gallons)
Coconut Milk (WF) (2 half gallons)

(I have just discovered that Swag Bucks has coupons for So Delicious coconut milk and Larabars. You join Swag Bucks, go to coupons, print them and get Swag points when they are redeemed. This is pretty sweet because the Swag points can be turned into merchandise or gift cards. Each coupon you redeem is worth 10 points and a $5.00 Amazon giftcard is 450 points. Not like I'll earn one every day, or even every week, but a buck here and there adds up. So if you don't swag and want to

ONCE A MONTH or so we also buy:

Earth Balance Non-Soy Spread in the tub (WF)
(I've heard the sticks don't do so well in baked goods so I haven't baked with them...the tub is easy enough)
Soy or Coconut Milk Yogurt (Soy especially plain soy for Naan Bread) (WF)


Fresh Vegetables: (The trick is to plan out what you will be having for the week or so. You don't want so much produce it goes bad, but not too little either. You can be creative with produce. Search for recipes that use the ingredient you have on hand. Throw together a lasagna either with noodles or with eggplant or zucchini as the noodles. Peppers can be chopped and frozen, so can onions. A soup, (even just a veggie broth from stuff that is going south too fast)...then freeze that. Lettuce is probably the hardest to be creative with. But there is always a good chopped salad or wraps.

Lettuces (not iceberg) (2 pkges) (TJ) (NOTE: Sam's and Costco have large bags/containers of organic spinach and lettuce that are great deals, but they are large.)
Mushrooms (1-2 pkges depending on menu) (TJ)
Zucchini or Spring Squash (1 to 2 depending on menu) (TJ)
Eggplant (TJ if they have it fresh, if not they have a frozen bag of zucc/eggplant slices)
Tomatoes (TJ)
Peppers (However, we usually buy the frozen chopped pepper medley at TJs)

ONCE A MONTH or for MENU choices we will also pick up:

Bag of Organic Garlic (TJ)
Bag of Organic Onions (TJ)
Fresh Basil (TJ)
Fresh Cilantro (TJ)
Bagged Organic Potatoes (TJ)
Tofu (TJ) (it's in the produce aisle)

Fresh Fruit:

Bananas (TJ)
apples (in the bags) (TJ)
Oranges ( bagged) (TJ)
Berries (TJ)
Other in season or appealing fruit (TJ) (I'm going to be honest. Whole Foods produce is a little bigger and maybe even prettier. But TJs prices are pretty amazing. I can get a 3 lb bag of organic apples for about $3.50 give or take. That's comparable to what I used to spend at my local grocery store for non-organic apples.)

NOTE: If you a smoothie person, note how much you will use in each smoothie and buy accordingly. 24 drinks breakfast smoothies, Rob and I usually don't. And for smoothies we usually buy TJ's frozen fruit chunks which are very reasonable. And then they are always there and the nutrition is not disappearing slowly every day it sits on the counter. We usually buy several bags (three or so per trip).

And since I'm at frozen, the following TJ's products are terrific and decently priced....frozen asparagus, artichokes and falafel, egg rolls (not pure vegan, have egg white on them) And the peppers. We buy these as needed based on the menu. Yes. I'll share menus next week. : )

Rob and I each take a PB or Almond Butter and Jelly sandwich to work. So we buy a jar of each at TJ's. WF is comparable on PB but not Almond Butter.
Two Loaves of multi-grain sandwich breads. (TJ) They have a great variety and we don't grab the same one each time. Organic and multi-grain are anywhere from 2.50 to 4.00 a loaf....
Also based on menu needs additional breads, rolls, buns, or wraps (TJs)

Dried fruits, juices and nuts are good deals at TJs. We grab what menu need says or what sounds good for nibbling.

TJ's also has tasty cookies, chips and the prices are reasonable. So keep that in mind if you want to plan splurges. The Jo-Jo cookies are Vegan and they are delicious. And their Veggie Straws are pretty tasty, too. Coffee at TJ's is great. I buy the fair trade organic beans and they run about 6.99-8.99 for 14oz. (This stuff is sparingly bought and if we splurge too much we tip over the budget and things will sit there and don't get used up sometimes, too.)

Sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, canned beans, some soups, artichokes in the jar...these are all good prices at TJ and we pick them up as recipes or convenience dictate. (the olives and sun-dried tomatoes are really good prices). TJ's also has good pasta sauces, dressings, marinades and condiments. As needed I buy a bag of brown rice there, too. (again, though these all keep, I don't go too crazy because we don't need to store it on our shelves just because we can).

Finally. We head down the road to Whole Foods. So far the only thing TJ's doesn't have/beat is the Earth Balance Soy Free spread, the coconut milk and the yogurt.

WF is where I get my:

Cane Sugar
Flour (Spelt - which I do buy online, too, Amazon actually) or King Arthur minimally processed.
TVP (Bob's)
Gluten (WF)
Oatmeal (Bulk Organic)
Nutritional Yeast (Bulk)
Ground Flaxseed (whichever is best deal)
Chocolate or carob chips (bulk)
Bagged beans (usually 365 brand is cheapest)
Bagged quinoa (usually 365 brand is cheapest)
Vegetable broth in carton (365 brand...1.00 cheaper than TJ's)
365 Brand frozen waffles (blueberry and flax flavors) ( a fav breakfast, theirs are Vegan, TJ's has some but they have eggs... A waffle, smeared with Almond butter and fresh fruit on top. Yum)

And the above are items we don't need every 10 days and purchase is based on what we plan to eat.

And thoughts. Since we went organic (mostly) a couple of years ago I was getting pretty used to spending high dollar amounts on dairy. Eggs runs $4.00 a dozen, milk $6.00 a gallon, fruits/veggies aiy yiiyii. And meat prices are up there with cheese and organic yogurt....this change is not a huge shock to us costwise. But. If you are shopping with coupons and buying processed food, and store brand, this food list and the cost may shock you. Super processed is cheaper, especially with coupons. But since price was a subject talked about early on, and because I was curious, I thought I'd share my findings with you, and where I found the best deals.

Next week I'll share our menu's for the month.