Recipe of the Week – Vegan "Stroganoff" January 31, 2010

I have been craving something creamy. My favorite soup/broth brand is on sale at Wegman’s, so I bought some Creamy Mushroom Soup this week. I created a sauce with it:

Ingredients:
-whole wheat Rigatoni, enough for 3 servings
-1/2 onion, diced
-7 brown mushrooms, diced
-1/2 bag Boca crumbles
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1-2 cups mushroom soup
-1/2 cup soy milk (approx)
-2 Tbsp w/w flour
-2 Tbsp vegan cream cheese
-EVOO
**Pans needed: 2 pots (1 for pasta, 1 for soup) and saute pan

Start by sauteing onion in olive oil. When starting to brown, add mushrooms. Cook through and add garlic at the end for a couple minutes. Salt to taste. Empty into a bowl. Replenish oil and saute Boca crumbles until browned. Add to mushroom/onion mixture.

Meanwhile, bowl water for the pasta and cook according to time directions.

In small pot, boil the Mushroom soup. Whisk in cream cheese until dissolved. Whisk in whole wheat flour until absorbed. It should start to thicken. Add the soy milk and continue to boil and whisk almost constantly until it reaches the desired thickness. This is your cream sauce.

When everything’s finished, combine and salt to taste.

This came out absolutely perfect and I would definitely make it again. It is fairly simple, but you will be at the stove the entire time, about 40 minutes for me.

Sunrise: 7:29am
Sunset: 5:20pm

January 30, 2010

Sunrise: 7:30am
Sunset: 5:19pm

Rita Springer January 29, 2010

I absolutely love that woman. She is part of our women’s event at church, leading worship tonight and speaking tomorrow and what a blessing to have her here! 🙂

Sunrise: 7:31am
Sunset: 5:18pm

Animal Torture in the News January 27, 2010

I watch most news by podcast, a day after it’s aired and I was so…happy?…to see that the evils of the dairy industry were being shown on World News on Tuesday. This unfortunately leads the general public to continue purchasing milk, though getting it from a different “humane” source (which I won’t get into since my thoughts are already documented to the right in my vegan series). But, maybe some hearts will be turned in vegan favor. Who knows?

Sunrise: 7:32am
Sunset: 5:16pm

One Thing

January is a month of prayer and fasting at our church. We complete the month with a week of worship, two hours each night, and call it One Thing. This year, they split the week in half: Men – Sun, Mon, Tues; Women – Wed, Thurs, Fri. We’ll be combined Saturday night and Sunday morning.

I’m part of the choir, so I’m there every night regardless, and what a blessing it has been! I’d estimate about 500 guys have shown up each night and it is so encouraging to see such a group of men passionate about God, worshiping with all they’ve got – grown men jumping up and down and spinning to the music. The sweetness in the room tonight was incredible and I know a new group of leaders walked out of that room when it was over.

Guys, above all pursue Jesus. He will make you bold, strong leaders; real men. It’s not just the women who need your humble passion, but the entire world. We will follow you!

Sunrise: 7:33am
Sunset: 5:15pm

sweet find January 26, 2010

We have been getting out of work early most days lately and today was no exception. So I went to our local Salvation Army. I’ve been reading some refashioning blogs and getting super inspired, and thought I’d try to find some items worth saving. I didn’t end up finding any clothing, but the trip was very successful. I found a gorgeous sage green full size sheet (which I will use for fabric) for $4, a couple other great deals, and the grand prize: this batting, about 6 feet X 8 feet, for $4! It’s perfect for a quilt I’ll be making over the next few months and I’m so excited to use it. I love the stuff, but have only bought it once before because it’s so expensive.

Sunrise: 7:33am
Sunset: 5:14pm

January 25, 2010

Sunrise: 7:34am
Sunset: 5:12pm

Recipe of the Week – Lentils & Chard January 24, 2010

I got this recipe from the Compassionate Cooks podcast “Veg Food for Thought.” She didn’t actually give exact measurements, so this is my interpretation. Play around with it.

1 cup lentils
2 1/2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 T dried thyme
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of green chard, washed and cut into chunks or 1-inch strips
1/2 can crushed tomatoes, optional (someone told me these were a good addition. i haven’t tried it)
1 or 2 T tamari
olive oil for sauteing

-Boil water in pot, add lentilsd, thyme, tamari and bay, cover and stir occasionally. Approx. 45 mins to cook; should be al dente, not mushy, when done.
-In another pot, saute onion and carrots in olive oil to your liking. Add 1/2 of the garlic for the last 2 minutes of cooking time. (If using tomatoes, add now and simmer till all flavors are blended.) Empty contents into a bowl.
-Saute remaining garlic in olive oil a couple minutes, then add chard, stir and cover. It should take about 8 mins to cook. Stir occasionally and add salt if needed.
-When lentils are done, add the sauteed onion mixture to it. Serve over chard.

This is surprisingly good. The chard doesn’t really taste like a green veggie and the texture pairs nicely with the lentils. Quick and cheap at roughly (by my estimate) $1.50/serving. Makes about 4.

Sunrise: 7:35am
Sunset: 5:11pm

CNN January 23, 2010

I’ve decided I love the people at CNN. In the last week and a half, I have seen every news network cover Haiti. The main anchors were there the first few days, then replaced by the secondary anchors for a few days, and now the third string is doing the dirty work. But not Anderson Cooper. Not Sanjay Gupta. Not the CNN team. They’re STILL in Haiti, 11 days later, reporting and saving lives. And while Haiti is just a footnote on other news stations, it’s the main story on CNN. I honestly couldn’t care less about who won in Massachusetts or if the healthcare bill will pass or where Tiger Woods is spending his time these days or even that Jay Leno is taking back The Tonight Show. Nothing is more important than Haitian lives, and though I don’t know much about him at all, Anderson Cooper’s actions and coverage this past week has given him hero status in my mind. Thanks, Anderson, we need more journalists like you.

I’ve also been thinking about how it’d be helpful to really get a lay of the land in Haiti…see where everything is in relation to everything else. Well, CNN has given us something that comes close, and I’ll take it.

Sunrise: 7:36am
Sunset: 5:09pm

Happy Birthday Dad! January 22, 2010

Diana’s wedding, Nov 2009

Sunrise: 7:37am
Sunset: 5:08pm