Sunshine Award!

The Sunshine Award

I was recently received The Sunshine Award from Millie at Nuestra Cena-Vegan American & Latin Cuisine. She makes some amazing food and has become a great assent to my blog as well. She posts some great things like her Yautia Root and fried Plantains! Great stuff!

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world.

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Copy & paste these rules on your blog so your award winners could follow.
2. Put the logo flower on your blog or within your post.

3. Pass the award onto twelve bloggers of your choice.

4. Link the nominees within your post.

5. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting about it on their blog.

6. On your blog post share the love and blog link of the person from whom you received this award.

I wanted to take a second to give my Sunshine Award to some of the bloggers that I am an avid follower.


Two Vegan Boys! I love to hear the tales of Aurthur and Adam and their food adventures! Friday pizza day is the best!

The Snowy Vegan. She has been a busy gal recently but I really enjoy the photos of Alaska. We even had some pizza when she was in Atlanta!

The Vegan Mouse. Always great good! She is a dodgers fan, but it can be forgiven as long as she hates the Yankees. :P

JayLeeCreations. She never posts. Sadly. However, it is Jamie's Blog! I honestly do not think I would have started my own blog if she had not started hers.

Abracapocus. Laura is a great cook here is Atlanta and is even opening a deli! She and I met at some of the local vegan meet up group events and it is always nice to see what she is up too.

Cupcake Punk. Formerly Atlanta resident, always has food that makes me jealous! So tasty and always has helpful Atlanta advice for me with the house.

Another Cup of Coffee. Not a foodie, but a former English professor of mine. She encouraged me to write and even suggested that I start a blog. Thanks!

Bittersweet. This blog makes me drool. Hands down the best food pics I have never seen. I can never get enough of this blog.

Finny Knits. This gal has sass. I love her writing style. She cracks me up regularly. Not vegan but still has some inspiring food.

Raspberry Swirl. This is the blog of Leigh. She runs Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe and is a great person to converse with at the local vegan meet ups!

Allotment 2 Kitchen. I enjoy gardening blogs as much as foodie blog and this one is tops on both. Great food and innovative gardening ideas.

Brooklyn Brine. An old punk rock buddy of mine has started a company and this is their blog! Great stuff and I hope to see his new bands soon.

Myrna's Graduation

I worked 38 hours in 3 days. I finally have a day off but I am fairly beat and do not have much motivation. I had a few hours off during the day on Saturday and went to pay a visit to my good friend Myrna. She had her high school graduation on the 28th. Several years ago, Myrna was hired at my job. She worked her way up and at the age of 19 is one of the most responsible managers I have worked with. She is one of the sweetest people I know and I felt honored to be invited to such a big day. Now I just have to get her out to make some food!

Congratulations Myrna!

Mango Smoothie

Many people make their own smoothies and they are quite quick. This smoothie was exceptionally tasty and easy to make with basic ingredients. As I have mentioned before, there are many people who have begun following this blog that are not your typical foodies, so I thought I would share such a simple recipe. There is also some research to suggest that consistent intake of mango can relieve PMS cramps.


Mango Smoothie

1 mango
1 banana
2 cups of pineapple juice
1 tablespoon of vanilla powder

In a blender, puree the peeled and cored mango with the banana, pineapple juice and vanilla powder until smooth. This smoothie tends to be a little thick, if you want it thinner, simply add more pineapple juice.

Roasted Beets and Sweet Potato

I pay the price for my three days a week off. I just walked in the door after a 16.5 hour day. I do not get another day off until Sunday. It all works out in the end I guess, a little overtime never hurts either.

I wanted to give out a simple recipe for that Ashley and I had as part of dinner last night. Although it was more of a fall dish, sometime you just want to have your roasted veggies! This really hit the spot and was surprisingly light.


Roasted Beets and Sweet Potato

2 med sized beets (peeled & cubed)
1 large sweet potato (peeled & cubed)
2 cups of broccoli florets
2 tablespoons of oil
1/2 tablespoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon of sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 425. In a baking pan, pour the oil, salt, crushed pepper, hot sauce, paprika, sugar, and oregano and mix well. Add the cubed beets, and mix well. Let sit for about 5 minutes to allow the beets to bleed out a bit. Then add the cubed sweet potatoes and mix until all cubes are coated in the oil and spices. Allow to bake for 40 minutes stirring once. Then remove from the oven and add the broccoli florets and bake for another 18 minutes.



Did I mention that Ashley made me some great Chocolate Chip Cookies? Anyone who attended Jamie's Art Show may recall some outstanding cookies. Well, Ashley made them. She is like my little Keebler elf, she always brings me cookies!

Seitan Alfredo Pasta

Capping off two great days, was a great afternoon and evening with Ashley. I got up early and mowed the lawn, something I have really enjoyed. Then I found some old pictures in a box that were very nostalgic. Shortly after, Ashley came over. We went discussed what we were going to do with the afternoon, I suggested a seitan alfredo pasta dinner and it was off to the races.


Seitan Alfredo Pasta

the alfredo sauce

1 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 cup of soy milk
3/4 cup of raw cashews (soaked overnight)
2 tablespoons of vegan sour cream
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
1 teaspoon of yellow mustard

In a blender, combine the cashews, soy milk, nutritional yeast, and crushed red pepper and puree for about 4-5 minutes until all cashew pieces are liquefied. Once the cashews are smooth, add the remaining ingredients and puree again. The sauce should be a dark yellow color.


the seitan

10 oz of seitan (chopped)
2 tablespoons of vegan margarine
2 tablespoons of green peas
2 tablespoons of chic peas
1 tablespoon of onion (chopped)

In a saute pan, heat the margarine on low heat. Once the margarine has melted, add the seitan and let fry for 10 minutes flipping occasionally. This will allow the sides to brown a bit. Once the seitan has begun to brown, add the chic peas and onions and allow to fry until the onions are translucent. Then add the green peas and the alfredo sauce and turn heat on low and let heat for 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken. Pour it over the fretichini and serve hot.


We also made some amazing roasted veggies and a nice smoothie. I will post the recipes for those soon.

I still have a vacation coming up in a few weeks and nothing to do. Any suggestions?

The beauty has been tainted

Sweetwater Creek has been a hot spot in my life recently. My new found hiking friend Rebecca and I have been there numerous times in the last month. It is a park that I have really enjoyed for a long time. In fact, it was the first hike I had taken in Georgia.

Despite the beauty of this park there exists a long ugly history/herstory that taints this place. It is not the typical escape that a hike might bring. The travesties that occurred there are difficult to ignore.

In the early 1800's this area was occupied by the Cherokee Indians. After legal feuds with the Georgia and United States Government the land was slowly taken away from the indigenous peoples. In 1838, the year that the federal government began to force the Cherokee's out, began the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is one of the most horrific acts in American history/herstory and it has solid roots here, in this park.

Years later, during the early 1860's the Confederate soldiers used a mill that had been constructed as a prison for slaves. As the Northerners marched into Georgia, they split into two factions. They surrounded the mill, still filled with slaves and a few Confederate soldiers, and set the building aflame. The structure still stands and the memories of true American history/herstory is left along the river bank.

As a Northerner, I grew up with a specific idea about the civil war. Our history/herstory books teach that the Northerners simply were opposed to slavery and thus, the civil war was waged. By middle school I recognized that this was untrue but many of my class-mates were still caught in the myth. It is places like these that display the true stories of the American way of life. The beauty has been tainted.

I promise, more food soon.

The anticipation...

Starting right now, I have the next two days off. My plans have been a revolving door as things get organized, moved and then reworked. To my surprise, I have stayed flexable and it looks like I will get a hike in on Tuesday and a nice dinner (and maybe some cookies) on Wednesday. I will also try to squeeze in mowing the lawn.

Good news, I think I have a great prospect for another house buyer! I am very excited to get back to showing houses. The idea that I might be able to work for myself is extremely appealing.

I am hoping for a great two days off, before what is shaping up to be a busy weekend at the jobby job.

My lunch today was a burrito, nothing special but I thought I would share. I was actually looking forward to it until I split my avocado open to find it rotten. Disappointment. Instead I went with some black beans, TVP, orange peppers, garlic, onions, vegan sour cream and a touch of bar b que sauce. It hit the spot as a pre-work 1-player food but was not nearly as enjoyable without the guacamole. I do really like the plate though!

Not much to report

Not much to report. I got up and drove to work in the dark today. It was so early. Sadly I worked right through the vegan potluck. I have been tired all afternoon. I made a great blueberry, banana, and vanilla smoothie to accompany my dinner of veggie burgers and rosemary fries. Nothing special.

Yesterday, I had some left over strawberry smoothie and used my awesome pop maker that Jamie got me to turn them into strawberry pops! They were pretty yummy and I really have fun with my pop maker. I just need to remember to take and share my pop pictures.

Go Los Suns

Smoothie and stir fry

Another Saturday off resulted in a relaxing day. It was a day of resting and recuperating from two long work days and in preparation for another two. Ashley and I went for a ride before she had to go to work. We stopped at an estate sale and I grabbed up a pair of cool salt and pepper shakers.

For dinner I made some stir-fry. I also made a little smoothie to go with the big game tonight, check out my new glass!

A few more pictures

Apparently, I neglected to post a few pictures from the Tuesday night dinner party. I whipped up some cashew cream with fiddleheads early in the day and kind of forgot that I had it. It meant that we just used it to dip some raw carrots in, which was fine but far less dramatic then I had originally imagined. Jamie was slightly afraid of the fiddleheads.


I have struggled with pies for a long time. In fact, I struggle as baker regularly. Recently, at Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe, Laura of Abracapocus fame, and I conversed about my inability to follow directions and its connection to baking. In an attempt to think outside of the box, I made a deconstructed strawberry rhubarb pie. I used my nana 's pie recipe to make a flat crust. Then I made a thick "jam" with the strawberries and rhubarb and spooned it out over the top. It came out really well and I was happy with it. Not quite as good as an actual pie but sometimes you have to know your limits.