Scribbles and Scrambles ~ The Lingerings of the Ghosts of Christmases...Past, Present, Future

I learned a few things this Christmas, and relearned a few from previous Christmases Past.

Hopefully, they won't come back to haunt me.

1) Stressing details is ridiculous. The energy I put into cleaning spots that wouldn't be visited was wasted energy. The spots didn't get visited. Two kinds of soup crackers, three kinds of breads, multiple choices, matching tags and paper are details that no one is going to notice, and if they do, they can own that issue. I don't have to. Even though my freakishness makes sense to me at the time. It really doesn't make sense at all.

2) Quality vs quantity is a decent goal. I have this fear of people starving on my watch. If two soups is adequate, then three is better and four is what I need to do. And each soup needs to have it's own toppings. I'll need to provide lots of things to nibble in case people aren't rolling around, clutching their bellies and begging, "No MORE!" I'm guessing that the time together really is the important thing.

Decorating, too. I seriously put up two Christmas decorations this year. One was a gift, the second was a post-Christmas bargain that had gotten tucked away where I could put my hands on it. The stuff doesn't really add to Christmas. I have too much Christmas stuff. And if I paint a beautiful cozy looking nest, but am a stressed freak who snaps at her loved ones, that nest isn't exactly comfort and joy, merry or peace.

3) Kindness and patience make the whole Christmas season peaceful. From Black Friday to "Rush-to-return-em" 26th, patience will save some from stroking out while waiting in line, or flipping out on the Salvation Army bell-ringer. And if we'd all keep in mind that if we've got a wedge of stinky-crazy on our plate, others will have one, too. My stinky-crazy holiday need list really doesn't take priority because....it's not about me, or mine.

If I had gone ballistic on my husband, because I needed to use the stove on the 23rd, I wouldn't have the beautiful kitchen floor with the little island nest. That floor is a HUGE deal. And it's beautiful. And because I didn't flip out, he's patiently adding things daily. Yesterday I got a door on my pantry. (aka the Troll Cave)

4) If I start eating junk I will eat the junk til it's gone. My Vegan Thanksgiving was pure. Christmas started off that way. I had great intentions and was a good Vegan til about the 22nd. Then I began nibbling on treats that came to the office. Oh my, there were some treats. Boxes of candy, nuts, chips, popcorn, fruit baskets, baked goods. Though I pulled off vegetarian, I sucked in a lot of hidden dairy. The baked goods, the creamy ooey gooey treats, not like I poured milk or cheese directly upon them, but they all contained dairy. I succumbed big time. And paid for it. Am paying for it. I am lethargic and bloated and feeling a lot drawn to processed food.

Enough for now. There are probably eleven more points, now sure to be the ghosts of Christmases Future, but like I said, I've got a coating of dairy on the brain and I'm sluggish.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Pizza Soup

This is my husband's most requested soup. It was chock full of hamburger and pepperoni and covered with melty mozzarella cheese.

However, I think this version was sufficient to satisfy. (I did broil some real deal pepperoni for the omnivores in the house, and there was mozzarella cheese, too. I ate it plain and it tasted....like pizza in a bowl.)

Pizza Soup - Vegan Version

14 oz can/jar of tomato sauce

1 cup chopped peppers (green or mixed)

1 cup diced onions

1 cup mushrooms (you can do whatever veggies you like on your pizza)

1-2 TBSP Earth Balance

2 cans diced tomatoes with juice (14 oz)

1 jar (the standard size, 25 ozs whatever flavor, I used a chunky Vegan version)spaghetti sauce. You could make the equivalent amount of your favorite sauce.

1 and 1/2 cups vegan "hamburger"

1 and 1/2 spaghetti jars of water (or about 38 ounces or 4 and 1/2 cups more or less)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP dried Italian spice mix.

In a pan melt earth balance (or mix of EB and olive oil) saute the onions and peppers til tender, add the mushrooms.

Dump the veggie mix and all the rest into a 4 quart (or bigger) crockpot. Stir well. Simmer for at least six hours (low) so all the flavors marry. If the soup is too thick add more water or another can of tomatoes. It will cook down and thicken. If you want to stay vegan and need cheese go for Daiya. Dipping garlic bread or bread sticks into it is delicious. Rob said this version is as good as the original.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Wild Rice Mushroom Chowder

Hope you all had a terrific Christmas. Christmas Eve is a soup feed at our house. I've always prepped at least three soups. Baked Potato, Chili, etc. Two of my favorites (and Rob's) are Pizza Soup and Wild Rice Soup. Rob asks for Pizza Soup every year.

The challenge this year was to veganize these recipes and make them taste as good as the dairy/animal product versions. Could I do it?

I did serve a chicken curry chili, too. But the omnivores in the bunch ate up the pizza and mushroom soup. There ended up being a bowl or two of each.

Wild Rice Mushroom Chowder (VEGAN)

4 celery stalks (finely diced)

4 medium sized carrots (finely diced)

1 medium sized onion small dice

6-8 ounces of mushrooms small dice

1 cup uncooked wild rice (rinsed thoroughly)

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

2 TBSP Earth Balance

2 TBSP flour (whatever kind you want to use)

6 cups vegetable broth

32 ounces unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened shelf stable soy)

In dutch oven, melt Earth Balance. Toss in onion and saute until onions become tender and caramelize. Turn heat down, and add carrots and celery and cook til they soften. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften. About three minutes. Add the flour until the veggies are coated. Add vegetable broth and simmer on low. Add brown rice and wild rice. Simmer at least two hours. If the mixture thickens too much you can add more vegetable broth. A half hour before serving add the milk and keep on low simmer until you serve.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Christmas Zingings and Flingings...Santa? Is that You?

I have 3/4 of a kitchen floor. By the time I get home from work...I'm hoping... it's going to be the whole shebang. Because if it's not, the finishing up of the soup detail duties I need for tomorrow afternoon's soups could be challenging. What's left to place is at the oven/stove/refrigerator and kitchen sink area.

I'm thinking holly jolly thoughts and refusing to look at my "WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF??????" mess of disorganized chaos. I now have two Christmas decorations hung because a friend gave me one yesterday. By hung, I mean laying on the makeshift counter/i.e. table. 

Oddly enough, I picked this morning (in case you don't know what time it is, 6:46 a.m. and I've been up since 5:15) to go over my lists and check them twice. There are a few names who don't quite have goodies yet.  And I think I need to go to the grocery store, too.

While chopping onions last night, my phone rang. I didn't get to it in time, which is good, because the voicemail picked up and I got to enjoy my message over and over. At first it felt a little like a call from kidnappers demanding a ransom. The caller knew who I was, where I lived and certain food items I like and catch phrases I use. The voice was pleasant but slightly mechanical. My detective instincts (from reading mysteries, of course) kicked in, as well as my flight or fight mechanism. But it turned out to be a friendly mechanical Santa (or one of his crazy fun-loving elves) warning me that he would be passing through and that I'd better leave him a Vegan cup cake or two. Ha. Ha. My crazy brother. The adrenaline rush did get me through a few more tasks on my list. Turns out anyone can send a friend a call from Santa. Here's the link should you be inclined. (Santa does respect the mere mortals need for sleep. So he won't call before 8:00 a.m or after 9:00 p.m. What a guy.) http://www.sendacallfromsanta.com/ 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Canteen Slim's Barrel of Laughs and the Circle of Grins ~ Reviewed

My friends, Nashville Kat and Canteen Slim are releasing books this month.

I featured Kat's Happy Husband Cookbook a few days ago. And today, I want to turn the spotlight to Canteen Slim's Barrel of Laughs and the Circle of Grins.

Here's what Kat has to say. "My husband's kids rhyme book is his creative outlet. He's an actor and singer/songwriter who loves to write and draw and paint. If you squeeze him, creativity just flows out. Plus he's really cute! His book is fun and silly plus it has important life lesson's in it. When I read his rhyme called 'Character Counts' to my cousin, she bought 10 copies - sight unseen. I know what he wrote was annointed and most just flowed off his pen."

And my thoughts.

I love the silliness of children's books. My favorites include those that contain creative writing, rhymes, fun tongue-in-cheek playful word play, quirky drawings/art, or absurdities. Barrel of Laughs and the Circle of Grins contains all of the above. A little bit of gross humor, a few creatively worded lessons, common sense delivered in a whimsical manner, and just plain fun. This little collection is just pretty darn enchanting.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Christmas Musings...

Christmas is just days away. 

Lentils are steaming on my stovetop. The piles of receipts, utility bills and statements for the year 2011 have been sorted and put in their proper place. My huge piles of books have been re-sorted and placed in more appropriate piles/areas. My clothes are hung in my closet rather than draped upon the HUGE Mount Clothing that tends to accumulate. Actually, Mount Clothing is a triple peak behemoth. One truly dirty sheer-face, one gently worn mount, and one even more gently worn hill. Hey, It's a system. It works. It's not pretty like the Rockies, but I don't know anyone who'd take Christmas card pictures in anyone's closet, no matter how nice it is. So, there it is. 

My friend suggested taking in a little play tomorrow night. My answer was this. " If I didn’t have a houseful of people coming on Saturday and DID have dust bunnies corralled and Christmas decorations up, and food further along in the process than vain imaginings….I’d be oh, so tempted. Oh, so. If I experience a Christmas miracle tonight wherein dust bunnies are slain, decorations throw themselves on trees, in windows, on doors, and somehow three bubbly delicious soups merge ingredients in preparation for Friday night Crockpot saunas, I’ll let you know tomorrow. Somehow, I think this is just a sugar-plum-bashing-repeatedly-into-my-skull-kind of dream. But, hey! I’m an optimist."

So. Right now. At 7:18 p.m. I have yet to see a fairy with a wand, or any elves. (My Mom is going to feel guilty when she reads this. She keeps offering to help, sweet, sweet woman that she is. I considered it. But. As I pondered which insane, Martha cartoonish moment I might thrust her into, I came to my senses and I just thanked her for the offer to bring tomato soup and a few other goodies on Christmas Eve. I think she's paid her dues. There was the Christmas Eve that Toad-Boy tried to chop the tip of his finger off while making Christmas gifts after all.) Thanks, Mom. 

My life is crazy, but it's a familiar crazy. And. Good news. My closet is clean, and my paper is organized. And darn it. I've got lentils done, at least five other things partially done, a dozen more just a few steps away from done. And I do hear a kitchen floor elf sawing and pounding as I type this. I won't be hitting the play, but I'm pretty darn sure there's some fairy dust somewhere in one of the corners I haven't started decorating. 

If I don't get back to the blog before Christmas. Here's wishing you a Merry, Merry, Merry and stress free Christmas.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ The Happy Husband Cookbook

The Happy Husband Cookbook

Nashville Kat

A note from Kat about her book, The Happy Husband Cookbook.

"My cookbook has 204 tried and true recipes, the things we eat at our home daily. It is filled with black and white drawings my husband did. I decided to start a cookbook when I got married a little over 4 years ago. The book came from this. My husband did the art work on the front. The picture hangs on our kitchen wall and one day while having lunch together I looked at it and said, 'there's my cover.' I had the title for the book first then it all came together at lunch that day."

And a note from me.

Kat introduced me to a whole lot of food adventures while she worked on The Happy Husband cookbook. I had the opportunity to join delicious parties where she'd assign recipes and a dozen cooks would get together to eat, rate and suggest.

Kat was the first truly diverse foodie I had the opportunity to cook and eat with. And I had never heard of Miso or considered raw food until she shared some of her experiences with those items and those she gained enjoying food from all over the United States as well as an European adventure. She collects recipes and techniques like others might collect shot glasses or refrigerator magnets from all the special places and moments in life. 

Though this cookbook is not Vegan, and my regular readers all know that's my current recipe book collection bent, it's a keeper. Her recipes, though occasionally heavy on ingredients, are ALL heavy on love of food and folks and chock full of taste. Many of her recipes have stories and helpful hints. Kat loves taste and mouth feel and will work until it's just right, while her husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Her experiences and skills as a foodie all come together to make for some great recipes. Her midwest roots and country bent also guarantee that many of these recipes are comfort foods that will become some of your favorites. Her husband's art work adds the cherry-on-the-top charm.