Vegan Dog Treats Recipe

A great treat to help that doggy breath! 
Courtesy of Molly, @veganflower on Twitter.

Parsley Mint Muffins

2 cups flour
½ cup oats
½ cup wheat germ or additional flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. ground flax
1 Tbsp. hulled hemp seeds (optional)
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup dried parsley
½ cup fresh mint, chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses or agave nectar
1 ½ cups water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, flax, hemp seeds, baking soda, parsley and mint. Add molasses or agave nectar and water, mixing well. Scoop batter into the muffin pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool completely before serving. Store in the fridge.

Makes approximately two dozen mini muffins.

Variations

Biscuits- Reduce water by ½ cup and eliminate baking soda. Knead into a stiff dough, adding ¼ cup of flour at a time until it can be rolled out without sticking to the rolling pin (add a bit of water if it gets too dry). Roll out onto a floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters or knife and bake on a greased cookie sheet until crispy.

Cookies- Add ¼ cup of flour at a time until dough is firm enough to form into balls. Place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and press flat with your hand or a fork. Bake until crispy.

Bagels- Make the same as the cookies except do not press them flat. Dip your finger in water and poke a hole in the middle of the dough ball. Flatten slightly to form a bagel shape. Bake until crispy.

Good Eye, Spy!

My little friend Irelynn spent the day with me today and pointed to my garden saying "Why you got farkles in yo gawden, Den?" I looked under all the bushes in my garden and there was in fact a jar of 'sparkles' from when we did art outside one day. How very random that she spotted them and that 'Farkles' just happens to be my most favourite word she uses, ....next to 'Goggy' as in Dogs of course. I cannot get enough of this kid, she makes me laugh out loud.





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Tofu Scramble

Did I post this already?! Might have but too lazy to check. Re-enjoy if I did and if I didn't, give this one a try :) Put it in a wrap to make a breakfast burrito!!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. extra firm tofu
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic salt
Juice from half a lemon
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 each red, yellow & green peppers
1 handful of spinach easier & chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut the tofu into cubes and squeeze out the excess water.
2. Add the olive oil, soy sauce, crushed garlic, onion powder, thyme, turmeric, paprika, and garlic salt to a sauté pan. Stir and cook on low heat. Once the mixture begins to heat, spread evenly to coat the bottom of pan.
3. Crumble the tofu through your fingers into the pan and toss into the mixture, stirring often.
4. Once the scramble becomes firm to the touch and begins to brown (about 7 to 10 minutes), squeeze in the lemon juice and add in the nutritional yeast. Stir until coated. Allow to cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Sauté the veggies until tender crisp and toss together with the scrambled tofu mixture.

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Your Toddler Is 36 Months Old

Heinz, Gerber, Similac, Enfalac.... all of these baby food/formula companies obtain your name it seems almost immediately following conception. For all five of my pregnancies, my doctor provided me with armfuls of information on what to expect during the next nine months and this literature is all courtesy of these baby food makers. The amount of information is overwhelming, really.
This week I received yet another brochure in the mail from one of these companies with coupons attached for various other products they make. On it read "Your toddler is 36 months...."
Nope, no. My toddler is not 36 months because my baby didn't live long enough to become a toddler. I miscarried twelve weeks into that pregnancy; that fetus didn't even make it to full term. I froze as I read it standing in front of our neighbourhood mailbox. Those words literally took the breath out of me as I realized that next week sometime, around September 4th, I would have had a three year old, ....had that baby survived.
I've called these companies to ask them to stop mailing me free samples and coupons, I've blocked them all from my email and have done what I can to avoid exactly what just happened at my mailbox.... But the reality is, every once in awhile I need to think about him/her. I need to have those thoughts about those babies run through my head so I can feel them in my heart.  I've had a connection with each of my children from the moment I felt they were there and I do wonder about the three that never came to be. They are still and will always be a part of me.
I just really don't need Heinz to flag all the milestones I'm missing out on.

Comic Art

A couple of years ago a friend of mine, a comedian, invited me out to one of his shows and it opened up my eyes to a whole new art form. I watch stand up on TV and have been to other people's shows so the idea of someone telling jokes on stage wasn't new. It's the behind the scenes, heart and soul that goes into making it all that happen that I'd never really considered before being privy to the inside that I find to be so interesting. I became a 'groupie' although in the world of comedy I'm just called a 'regular' lol and I watch a lot of the same comics do the same routine week after week ....but never see the same show twice. It's really cool to see them rhyme off their jokes but then add a twist to it, give it alternative punch line or change it up just a little and get a whole different reaction from the crowd. That's talent. These guys and girls deserve a lot more praise and recognition than I can give them here on this blog post I'm quickly spewing off. There are far too many comic geniuses in my local area to list here and now but they are definitely worth checking out and if you follow me on Twitter I retweet show info when they post it. A few of the boys such as Javier Enrique, Anthony Mlekuz, along with fellow comedian friends/guests Manolis Zontanos, Patrick Coppolino and Clifford Myers do a Sunday late night Radio Show on Indi 101 called "Funny And Friends". They spend an hour give or take talking about the stories of how they came up with certain material, they share advice they have been given by other comics to improve making their sets as successful as they are and disclose things they've lived and learned on their comic journey. Usually there is a theme but whether or not they stay on topic all depends on the week. One thing is for sure though, they make me laugh as they they merge their 'totally on' comedian selves with their everyday realistic selves. They also spend a whole lot of time bantering and ranting about ....nothing. But it's funny nothingness so have a listen! And/or check out their web pages for show info and cool venues ....then go absorb some of that artsy energy these fine comedians will fill your soul with.

Vegan On A Budget NYC Weekend

Whale Saving!

My sister sent me this link and it brought tears to my eyes.... it's amazing, watch and see!

Those Were The Smurfin' Days

It just wasn't right watching 'The Smurfs' movie without my sister. That cartoon was a Saturday morning childhood ritual for us. She would come into my room, pull up my eyelids and say in her small Lindsay voice "Jenn, Smurfies are on!" My six year old self remembers every time she did that thinking 'I hate that she wakes me by pulling my eyes but I'm so happy to be up for this!' It all balanced out.

We would make our way downstairs quietly so we didn't wake anyone else up, first stopping at the living room where it was guaranteed there would be left over snacks sitting out. My parents would often entertain on weekends but wouldn't tidy up until the next morning, so Lindsay and I had a pre-breakfast smorgasbord feast of stale Chips, Bits & Bites, Crackers and whatever else was left out. It was glorious. The glasses would have dribbles left in them, mostly of melted ice cubes and backwash and I remember drinking them; taste buds shocked every time that it was booze....duh. We'd take our stash of snacks down to the basement always in time to hear the theme song play "La La La La La La, La La La La La" and happiness surrounded us for the half hour following. We'd have our miniature Smurf figurines lined up on the table next to us so they could watch themselves on TV. That was our time. Our magical time where we were absorbed into a world of little blue creatures who lived in mushroom houses and spent their lives avoiding and escaping the cruel hands of the evil sorcerer Gargamel. There was excitement, there was cheering and there was love. When it was over, my mom would call us up for a 'real' breakfast to start the 'real' day.

It was a short period of time in our week but we both looked forward to it . We knew when Dallas was on Friday night, that the next day was Saturday and we had to be up in time for The Smurfs. There are many things in my life that connect back to my childhood but The Smurfs relate back entirely to a world that only my sister and I lived in. Although I knew it then, I realize it more now that I Smurfin' treasured those mornings and am fortunate to have those memories that evoke the emotions they do when I Smurf back.

Our lives begin to end....

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" ~Rev Martin Luther King Jr

Killer Coke Stories

What I learned today from an email from watercheck.biz about The Coca Cola Company is sickening and sad. Read a copy of the email here for yourself. I could blog about my opinion on it all but instead I'll list the links and let you read the information written by those involved first hand:


Start with Killer Coke and you'll get the picture.


What was written on The Council Of Canadians astounds me. Damaged water supplies and more. 

The documentary The Coca Cola Case tells a man's story of losing his brother  in Columbia because he was a Union Negotiator.

The website http://films.nfb.ca/the-coca-cola-case/ has a quick video on what the story is about.


There is definitely more out there to be read, so check it out.