Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Birthday Bash and Bunapolooza....

Saturday was the baby bunnies one month birthday. In celebration their human invited the new owners of two of the three to come take a peek. Whew. They will be a perfect fit. The family loves them and the bunnies snuggled in and bonded with the kids. In two or three weeks they'll be moving to their new home. 

We also discovered a bottomless and removable topped cage that may have been an old guinea pig cage back in the day that works as a baby playpen. The bunnies had their first grass grazing fest and Lizzie (Mama Bunny) got a much needed respite. There is a ramp that was loads of fun for all, too.

And, in a hilarious turn of events, a friend sent & a Craig's list link that someone was selling a terrific bunny cage for a great price. & emailed and said she was interested, then read the whole description which mentioned that the folks were moving and couldn't take the bunny along. So the cage came with a bunny. And that they were going to screen carefully for a good home. Oops. So she emailed and said she'd take the bunny, too. Cute lop ear, sure, why not? 

The people emailed that they'd found a taker, but would let her know if it fell through. & really wanted that cage. So she responded that would be great, and by the way, the bunny was really cute, and looked a lot like her male bunny that she'd just rescued. 

Oh, that got em. The rescued thing clinched it. They said they knew their bunny had a perfect home with her. A few more emails later, it turns out, that the perfect home got just the bunny. Not the cage. 

Ha. Ha. Now. We have another bunny, Charlotte. And there are plans to build another bunny cage.  Moral of that story. If you don't want free bunnies, be very careful what you say. They are apparently EVERYWHERE.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Let's Hear it For the Girls ~

On this upcoming Sunday night, July 22nd, & and I are going to have a little party.

KitchenAid is sponsoring a fundraising event for breast cancer called 1,000 Cooks for the Cure. From July 20th through the 29th they are hoping for 1,000 people to sponsor some sort of food related event. 

The guests can donate to finding a cure for breast cancer, the hosts provide whatever food they chose to provide, and if $50.00 of donations come in from that party, KitchenAid also plans to keep on giving. Each qualifying party host will receive a special plate. When that plate is loaded and passed on to someone else, who then goes online to register the plate, KitchenAid will donate another $5.00 each time the plate is passed. Cool idea.

We can designate the local chapter or nationwide breast cancer organizations with our donations as well.

If you live in my metro area Omaha (or will be out and about traveling through my neighborhood) come on over at 6:45. (You might want to email me for my address, unless, of course you already know it, or are a creeper, then I won't give it out. )

Did I mention all the treats will be Vegan? Oh, let me mention that. Why? Well, & and I think Vegan is a great way to lessen the chances of getting breast cancer. And these particular treats are darn tasty. Did you notice the works of culinary art in process pictured above?  The lemon bars. OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Just saying. And they need just a tweak or two more before utter perfection is achieved.

The cookies are in the final trial and one tweak away from utter mouth bliss. And the stuff in the jar, a crazy idea that came to me last night that is brilliantly easy and tasty. The chocolate/mint combo needs to be smoothed out, but the texture is amazing.

If you can't attend, well, feel free to donate. Our party is #13. Or feel free to sign up for a party of your own.

We plan to do a game or two, a craft should those in attendance care to make something to take home, eat, of course, and have some fun conversations. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Furry Fun-Fun...

This weekend contained plenty of wildlife and fur. 

We visited our friend who housed the raccoon babies in her bathroom.  (Note for anyone tempted to do such a thing... some raccoons consider shower curtains to be the equivalent to mammal rope swings.)

Now that they are no longer bottle fed, they've been released and are doing great. When she goes outside and hollers "Babies!" They come running. A fountain keeps them entertained and they love dog food and applesauce. Oh, and shiny objects. And biting. Fortunately, I wasn't in the nipping zone, but & got a few little chomps. Ha. Ha. No broken skin, and she's up-to-date on her rabies. :  )

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Some Bits From Our Trip...And

This doesn't need a caption, right?

pretty. that's all.

Uhhh. It was H O T.

cool rusty thing

 

cool rocks in a rock.

Enter the mosquitoes. 

the 4th on the lake.

Only firework photo that turned out due to the frantic mosquito flailing dances.

a leech. shudder.

So cute. Made out of silverware!

Nice fence.

Cool building remodel. I love it when people reclaim history and make it beautiful.

But it was nice to get back home....and to see these cuties.

Scraps and Snippets ~ "Creamed Mock Tuna" On Toast ...

Back in the day... a long time ago...one of our favorite comfort food meals was creamed tuna on toast. 

Now. I'll admit, on several different levels, that's just gross. 

Not pretty. That's why it's a teeny picture.

But. Oddly, I had a hankering for something creamy and chunky over toast. 

Here's what I came up with. And though it's not "pretty" it tasted good. Especially if you like dill. 

Ditto that. Ha. Ha.

"Creamed Tuna " On Toast

2 TBSP Earth Balance 

3 TBSP Flour 

2 Cups Veggie Broth

1 Can Garbanzo Beans
2 TBSP Lemon Juice
3 TBSP  Nutritional Yeast
1 TBSP Mustard

1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Dried Dill
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 to 2 chopped Dill Pickles

Smash garbanzo beans in a bowl (chunky as you want them) add lemon juice mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, dill, garlic and chopped pickles (again chunky or small as you want).  Let sit and marinate while you make the white sauce. 

White Sauce.

Melt Earth Balance, add flour and make a paste. Add vegetable juice and simmer until it thickens. 

Add the garbanzo bean mix. Stir. 

Serve over toast. It's juicy. But it's supposed to be. The dill is a strong taste so if you want a bit less dilliness, either cut down on the pickles or the dried dill.  And if you aren't a mustard fan, you can cut back a bit there, too.

I think I'll tweak it and make tuna salad. Swap out the dill pickles for sweet, the white sauce for Vegan mayo or a thicker white sauce. Maybe add some crunchy onion bits. Could be the perfect spread. I'll be back with that if it tastes as good as I think it might.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Farm Days and Back From Vacay...

Last week was beastly hot. We didn't have the farm experience because we were headed up north for the fourth. And given the 100 temps that were reported to me, I'm not complaining about our choice. 

However, we did miss the produce. Rumor has it the first tomatoes were given to the CSA members. 

Yesterday, the temperature was perfect. Absolutely, perfect. A wee bit warm. But in July we gotta have some serious warm, otherwise it wouldn't even feel like summer, ya know.

The most interesting topic of conversation was bugs. Now, I'm sure most of you are very aware that GMO and pesticide laden produce are not the best items to consume. However, organic has a certain ick factor you just don't see a lot in a grocery store setting. We sat in the sun and partially shucked ears of corn, looking for some ick. And we found some. Corn Borers had visited every other ear. Most were at the top and a simple whack with a butcher knife took care of the problem. Others were buried deep. The farmer summed it up like this. "Let's consider that the occasional creature or evidence of them is like the canary in the mine. Absolute proof that all is well." Meaning that if you see a bug in your CSA box, proof positive that the produce has not been sprayed with poison. And, well, pick your poison. I choose the creepy crawlie poison. I can at least do a Mexican hat dance on them and chop of the evidence of their existence. Pesticides are doing damage within me that I can't see but may have to deal with the evidence of later. 
 

Our farm box contained:

Kohlrabi. (Delicious, snappy and almost the texture of raw potatoes or jicama.)  Sweet corn and TOMATOES. Dinner was pomodoro (tomatoes, garlic, basil) over pasta and with a glorious side of sweet corn. Yummo.

(and not so yummo, other organic product of the bug variety)

And the bunnies. Well. They are stinking cute. See. 

By the way. The stay at the cabin was heavenly. The lake breeze took the edge off the higher than normal temperatures. Other than the 4th of July fireworks mosquito attack, it was fabulous. In Minnesota, mosquitoes are wicked big, band together in swarms, relentless, and come out as the sun goes sets. Bodies pelted us as we tried to get a gander of the fireworks over the water. Note to self: Take a beekeeper suit or mosquito netting to the lake if I want to be out after dark.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Have a Good Day...

My brother and his friends (one of which is 2, and pretty stinking cute, but I digress) came over to have a bunny bonding session. 

Amazing how I've seen my friends and family so often of late. Note: If you are lonely, have a batch of bunnies, it's really a boost in the popularity department. 

But, I digress, again. One of the bunnies decided to take a little nap in my brother's hand. 

He tried nudging it out, he tried tipping his hand a bit. The bunny was not budging. So since we were kind of stuck, we began talking about it. 

We decided that there are far worse things to have happen than being held captive by a sleeping baby bunny. And, there are those folks who have worry stones or stress balls. Wouldn't a bunny in your hand be the ultimate stress reliever?

How could you have a bad day with a soft, warm, sleepy bunny in your hand?

bonus shot.  taken by the cute 2 year old. Ha. Ha.

My bro said, "Boss calls you into his office. He ends up firing you after chewing you out for something you didn't even do. But it's all good. Cuz you got a bunny in your hand."

Here's hoping that your day is so good it's like a bunny in each hand.