Butterfly Buddies & Devil's Tower

Since I didn't blog all summer, I thought I'd travel back in time for this post, and share a fun August day spent at Devil's Tower with my friend Robyn and her husband Jesse (BW couldn't get the day off to come with us, poor kid!) The day was filled with things to be thankful for, like "freedom, sunshine, and a little flower". :-) Also beautiful scenery and the company of friends of the human, butterfly and prairie dog persuasions...

After our two-hour drive to get there, we enjoyed a yummy vegan picnic under the pine trees before setting off on our hike. We hiked the short trail first, which is asphalt and goes right around the base of the Tower. It was pretty crowded, as it typically is in summer. We got some good views of the crazy people who like to climb the sides of the Tower instead of contenting themselves with walking around it. ;-)

Then we hiked the long trail, which is my favorite. It's a dirt trail that winds through some interesting and varied countryside, providing perspectives of the Tower most people never see. And there's usually no one else on the trail. On past hikes, I've had the trail entirely to myself - even during the Sturgis Rally, when the short trail is packed. On this day, we passed one person in the first couple of minutes and that was all.

After our hike we paid a visit to the prairie dog town (always fun!) and listened in on several interesting prairie dog conversations. We also stopped by the adjacent "Circle of Sacred Smoke" sculpture, just unveiled last year.

We were finishing up our long trail hike and were nearing the parking lot when I saw these two butterfly buddies on this thistle. I had to take several photos to get this one, where they both have their wings completely open. Definitely worth the time and patience it took to capture...

"Just living isn't enough," said the butterfly,

"one must also have freedom, sunshine, and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Andersen

And it's also nice to have fun friends with whom to share pretty days, pretty hikes, and pretty thistle flowers. :-)

Here are a few more photos from our day at D.T....

Devil's Tower, or Mato Tipila (Bear's Tower) in Lakota,

America's first national monument (Sept 24, 1906).

Sacred to several Native American Plains tribes,

tempting to climbers, and familiar to "Close Encounters" fans.

Robyn & Jesse with Junkyu Muto's Circle of Sacred Smoke sculpture

Robyn & Jess on the long trail overlooking the Belle Fourche River

Another view on the long trail. (Hey, that soil looks like the Hungarian Paprika I just bought!) :-)

Prairie dog friend on sentry duty

This guy was really giving us a stern talking to! :-)

(To answer Robyn's question, he's saying,"Get off my lawn!")

Flummox the Flu with Elderberries!

Let me just begin this post by saying that I think flummox is one of those many words that is underappreciated and underused. So I'm giving it some props. :-)

I had a hard time adjusting to BW being back to work today, and still can't believe his vacation is over! The week went by fast, as vacation weeks always do, but I'm glad he got to have a week off before heading into the nightmare that is the holiday season at UPS (and, apparently, FedEx!)...

During this time of year especially, BW works very long hours, gets far too little rest, is in and out of cold, often nasty weather all day, and is exposed to countless germs. Given that he delivers to several schools, two hospitals, a nursing home and most of the doctors' offices, clinics and surgical centers, it's a wonder he doesn't come down with every variety of plague and pestilence and bring them home to me! We don't get flu shots, but in the 9+ years since we became vegan we haven't had colds or the flu. No doubt, our healthy, nutrient-dense food and regular exercise keep our immune systems in fine fettle (another fun word we see too little of, IMO). It also helps that I avoid town, and the sick people therein, as much as possible (and not just during flu season, lol). But BW doesn't have that luxury, so keeping "Typhoid Mary" germ-free is a bigger challenge. We're diligent about hand washing and he uses alcohol wipes and hand sanitizer* during the day when he can't get to soap and water, and we take two teaspoons of Sambucol syrup every day. We discovered Sambucol (made from elderberries) about three or four years ago and have been impressed.

Though we've not suffered from the flu in years, if we get really worn down (like BW can during UPS "peak"), and start to get that yuk feeling in the head and/or throat that's usually a sign you're coming down with something, we've taken the appropriate dose of Sambucol and wham... the germs are flummoxed and surrender within a day or two. It's amazing. So we've been keeping this stuff on hand during every flu season. This is the first year we've been taking the preventative dose, though, so we're going through it faster and the stuff ain't cheap (still a bargain compared to getting the flu, though!) So I was delighted to get my latest newsletter from Mountain Rose Herbs, sharing this video for making your own elderberry syrup!

Since we don't use honey, I'll be making mine with delicious, honey-like agave nectar. The reason I haven't made any yet is because I need to procure dried elderberries! Tomorrow my friend Robyn and I are planning a shopping trip to Billings (MT), home to a couple of great health food stores/food co-ops, so before ordering some from Mountain Rose herbs, I'll see if I can get some up there.

The homemade syrup isn't exactly the Sambucol formula so the required maintenance dose is a bit higher, but even so - making it yourself is a lot less expensive.

(*You can also make your own hand sanitizer by mixing 1 tsp of vegetable glycerin and 1 cup isopropyl alcohol. Not as thick as the store-bought kind, but just as effective).

I just can't think of elderberries without the French knight's taunt from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" popping into my head! "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" Oh yeah? Well, hamsters are cute and at least dad probably never got the flu! ;-) (Apparently being told you smell of elderberries is an insult because, according to Botanical.com's A Modern Herbal, fresh elderberry flowers "have an odour scarcely pleasant.")

So here's to a healthy flu season with no delivery vehicle crashes, unpleasant odours, or taunting French "kniggits." :-)

Wednesday Update: Robyn and I had a fun and productive day with her sister Rhonda up in Billings. I had a wonderful quinoa dish for lunch at the Good Earth Food Co-Op that I must try to replicate, got a few great deals and brought home a LOT of foodstuffs (including some of the prettiest organic kale I've ever seen!), and am feeling a wonderful sense of abundance with my well-stocked pantry. But alas... there was nary an elderberry to be found in all of Billings! So I'll be ordering some from Mountain Rose as soon as they get in a couple of out-of-stock teas I want. Meanwhile, I bought three things I've never tried before: Hungarian Paprika, Lemon Curry, and Chia Seeds. Oh, and I took a good, deep whiff from the bin of elderberry flowers so I could report just how nasty they actually smell (honestly, the things I do for my blog!), but I didn't think they smelled unpleasant at all! I certainly had a lot of fun entertaining myself in the bulk foods section! :-)

How the Sun Rose

One of the themes I plan to blog about from time to time this month is "what makes me grateful." I've also been wanting to share some favorite photos (mostly mine) along with some favorite quotes (definitely mostly other people's!) ;-)

I'm grateful for our vast, ever-changing, often colorful, usually beautiful, always awesome skies out here, so I thought I'd start with this, my blog profile photo, which I took from our deck on the early morning of Jan 2, 2008, and an accompanying quote by one of my favorite poets...

"I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time."

~Emily Dickinson

A Favorite Meal

BW's week of vacation is winding down (wwaaaah!), so my blogging should start gearing up again. It's been a nice week, both productive and relaxing, and it's been so nice to get to spend time together that I haven't felt like spending it on the computer!

One thing we've been doing quite a bit of, of course, is cooking, though not as much as we'd planned to since we ended up with lovely weather most of the week and preferred spending it outside and not in the kitchen. So the meals we have made have been pretty simple, and last night's was no exception. If we had to choose one absolutely #1 favorite meal, this would probably be it. It's simple and quick and delicious and healthy and filling. If there's a downside, it's that we never have any leftovers! :-)

BW, for some silly reason, likes to call this meal, "Weenies and Gravy." I find this name inaccurate and unappetizing, yet vaguely amusing, so I humor him. :-) The "weenies" refers to the Tofurky Italian Sausage with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil. It's the only processed meat analog we still buy, since it's minimally processed. We like that Tofurky is still a small, family-owned company and that they use organic tofu. We use just one sausage, sliced and browned in a non-stick skillet, and divided between our pasta bowls of Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice spaghetti.

The "gravy" refers, of course, to the tomato sauce. I make a much more involved marinara sauce when time permits, but for this quick dinner I combine half a small can of organic tomato paste with a can of organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and add organic dried sweet basil, thyme leaves, marjoram leaves, oregano, garlic powder and a couple of bay leaves. I don't measure any of it. (My Irish grandmother used to get so frustrated when her new Italian mother-in-law, who spoke virtually no English, was teaching her to cook my grandfather's favorite meals, because Nonna NEVER measured anything. She'd throw some herb or other in the pot and my grandmother would ask her what measurement to use, and Nonna would reply with increasing agitation and volume, "A peencha! A PEENCHA!" Apparently this technique made it into my DNA, because when it comes to my Italian herbs, I rarely measure. I do, however, use more than "a peencha!" of everything.)

We cook the pasta (using the energy saving method of boiling for two minutes and then just letting it sit, covered, for 20 more), heat the "gravy" in the microwave, brown the sausage, toss a salad, slice the bread (see below) and pour the wine... and we have our favorite meal.

We also like to add a few black olives, and I like my pasta sprinkled with some garlic salt and nooch (nutritional yeast flakes).

Of course "weenies and gravy" just cries out for homemade bread! Usually for this meal BW makes focaccia, but yesterday he made oatmeal bread in the bread machine. I'm not going to bother typing up the recipe since BW has created several variations of it, all refined over the years to work at our 5,500' elevation, but it's a treat. Has thick-cut oats and whole wheat flour, applesauce and agave nectar along with bread flour and other usual bread ingredients.

No Frankenloaf, this!

Just because I haven't blogged this week doesn't mean I haven't been taking photos and thinking up stuff to blog about! I have a few posts in the hopper for the month of November (which, as it happens, is World Vegan Month!) But since BW is upstairs making Chunky Apple Oatmeal Pancakes right this red-hot minute, I must scamper! :-)

The Wild Halloween Rumpus!

Willow and Tess, excited as children can be on Halloween, burst into a spontaneous wild rumpus this afternoon. Poor "Foxy Loxy" took a lot of drool-intensive pummeling!

Willow's just showing off. She thinks making Foxy squeak while upside down gets her extra style points.

Willow bares her fearsome fangs at Tessa (don't be fooled, those fangs are about as dangerous as the plastic glow-in-the-dark ones! But it looks impressive!)

Despite Willow's fearsome fangs tactic, Tess ended up with Foxy in the end (haha... literally, as you can see one of Foxy's legs sticking out from under Tessa's butt!) But then she suspended play to pose prettily for this picture so you could admire her festive Halloween finery. :-)

Josie is in the final two weeks of her recovery from heartworms (a subject for a future post) and couldn't partake in the rumpus. So she was a bit pouty and didn't want to wear her own Halloween bandana or pose for pictures. I had pneumonia during the Halloween I was six and couldn't go trick-or-treating or even hand out candy at the door, so I can empathize with poor Josie! But just so she isn't entirely left out, here's a recent photo of her. Her fur is kind of Halloween-colored, so that's festive enough!

We are all

And a very safe and

Frankenbread!

With all my experimenting in the mmmwwwahahaha... laBORatory (uh, kitchen) lately, it was bound to happen sooner or later. But what better time than Halloween week to have a kitchen disaster that resulted in a monsterous bread loaf?

Gads, is that ugly, or what?! Reminds me of something from the movie Alien!

Actually, I wasn't even experimenting. I followed the recipe in our bread machine booklet to the letter. But for some supernatural reason (anti-carb creatures? Angry gluten-free ghosts?), the bread machine was unable to knead the dough, despite my additions of water and repeated poking at it with a spatula! When the first rise cycle began, I still had a mess of floury dough lumps in the bottom of the pan. So I took it out and kneaded it manually till it had the right consistency, and put it back in the bread machine. After the second knead cycle, there was a respectably round ball of dough in the bottom of the pan, so I thought the danger had passed. But when the timer went off and I lifted the lid...

EEEEEEEEK! It's ALIVE!!!

And it's not just ugly, it's incredibly dense... there isn't one single air pocket anywhere in this loaf. If you bonked someone on the head with this bread, you'd fracture their skull! But because I hate to waste ingredients, and it tastes good despite the serious texture problem, we've been gamely eating it with the wonderful split pea soup I also made yesterday. But I have a feeling the deer and birds will be having their turn at this thing before the day's out, unless anyone has any other ideas!

And speaking of Frankenfood, I urge everyone to sign this Food Democracy Now petition...

Stop Big Ag in the White House - say no to Monsanto - Crop Life

In happier news, BW got an unscheduled day off today! The big blizzard in CO and UT meant no UPS trailers from Denver or Salt Lake City today, so they had to cut several routes and BW's was one of them! Yay! (Plus he's on vacation next week!) It's a gloomy, rainy, cold day and we just got two Netflix movies yesterday (Nightmare Before Christmas and The Bad Seed), so I think we'll just relax and watch scary flicks and drink Teeccino and gnaw on our Frankenbread!

Boo!

I admit, Samhain/Halloween is my favorite holiday. Probably because since childhood I've loved cemeteries and ghost stories and costumes and Autumn, and prowling around in the dark, begging for loot. :-)

And in more recent years, I've prowled the internet, looking for fun Halloween sites. Here are a few favorites I've gathered, because goose bumps and creepy-crawlies are best when shared! Click the images to visit the sites...

Halloween Hangman

Countess Blood's Halloween Horror

(Our dog Willow is featured on this web site... see if you can spot her!)

Halloween Ghost Stories

Carve Your Pumpkin Online

Caverns of Blood Halloween & Horror Games

Have fun!

Smoky-Freaky Mac-n-Cheesy!

Okay, I know my title for this recipe doesn't exactly rhyme, but smoky and freaky and cheesy all belong in the name for this awesome vegan mac-n-cheese!

I found the original recipe years ago at Vegan Freak, and I'd link to it now but can no longer find it there, despite multiple searches all over their web site. Maybe it was on a forum thread that's since been closed, dunno; it's just been too long. But to someone at Vegan Freak goes all the glory for this dish, to which I've made a few changes. Here is my version...

Smoky-Freaky Mac-n-Cheesy

1 1/2 pounds organic macaroni or shell pasta (preferably whole grain)

1 1/2 cups organic unsweetened soy milk

1 cup water

1/4 - 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce

1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast

3 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp (or more, to taste) smoked paprika

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 block firm (not silken) tofu

1 cup vegan organic creamy butternut squash soup OR 1 cup puréed butternut squash

Dried breadcrumbs for topping (optional)

Additional paprika for topping (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF

Cook the pasta.

Put the remaining ingredients into a 7 or 8-cup capacity food processor and blend until smooth.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and put in a 3-qt (2.8 liter) baking dish. Pour the "cheese" sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with additional paprika and cover with dried bread crumbs, if desired.

Bake uncovered until the top looks slightly browned and crispy, about 15 minutes.

The original recipe called for a cup of oil (eeeek!), so I've always substituted it with either Pacific or Imagine brand organic Creamy Butternut Squash soup. You can also use 1 cup pureéd butternut squash. Both work great and impart a nice cheddary color (along with all those good nutrients!)

The original recipe also called for a tablespoon of salt. You'll have to play with the tamari and salt amounts to suit your taste, but use caution as it can easily get too salty. I find the tamari imparts an important flavor (gives it a tangy, extra-sharp cheddar taste), so I use more of it (closer to 1/3 cup) and cut back on the salt (to 1 tsp). You can always salt your portion after it's cooked and adjust the salt next time you make it. (If you use low-sodium tamari, that may affect the amount of salt you will want to add as well).

And finally, the original called for 1 TBSP regular paprika. I reduced that by 1/2 tsp and made up the difference with smoked paprika for a smoky cheddar flavor. I thought it could use more smoked paprika, but BW, who LOVES smoked paprika, thought it was perfect as is. So, let your own tastes guide you!

I often sprinkle paprika over the top of the pasta before baking it. And I do add the dried bread crumbs.

The pasta I love for this is Bionaturae Organic Chiocciole (shell) Pasta. It's stone ground, whole durum wheat pasta with a great texture, just perfect for mac-n-cheese. I've also tried whole grain spelt elbow macaroni in this, but much prefer the Bionaturae shell pasta. I use an entire package for this recipe.

This is really good hot, but it's awesome cold! It makes a big batch, but it's great as a leftover.

I Am Not An Ingredient

I found this illustration on a blog two or three years ago and absolutely fell in love with it...

There was no attribution given, and I can't quite make out the artist's name (Hill? Hall?), and all my internet searches have thus far yielded nothing.

I've always thought it would be adorable on an apron, but had no more luck finding that than I did finding the artist's identity! Until this morning, when I happened (for no particular reason) to click on the PCRM's shop tab, and there, at the very bottom of the page, I struck gold!

(Click on the image to view and/or purchase)

Not only is this illustration on an apron, it's on a whole bunch of other stuff. And there are other cute goodies for sale, including merchandise with other illustrations by this same (still unidentified) artist. And 15%-30% of the sale proceeds go to PCRM and their work.

So half of my wish came true, I've found my wished-for apron! (I wear my beloved Compassionate Cooks apron every time I cook, and find it not only adorable and useful, but I swear it makes my cooking and baking more inspired. I feel like a chef!) :-)

(Chef Laloofah making McDougall McVeggie Burgers, Nov 2007)

But when it's in the laundry, I'm bereft. And splattered. :-) So, time for a backup!

Alas, the other half of my wish remains unfulfilled, as I'm still wanting to know who this wonderful artist is. I emailed PCRM this morning and asked them. I'll post the answer if/when they reply, as this talented person deserves credit!

Update: The artist's name is Doug Hall.

Bran Graham Thank You, Ma'am! Muffins

This recipe was inspired by the need to figure out what to do with some organic whole wheat graham flour I'd bought on a whim. BW came up with a basic recipe he called "Golden Graham Muffins." I went to make his recipe the other day, but having a tart apple I needed to use, blackstrap instead of light molasses, and no allspice on hand, I modified it accordingly. The muffins came out more flavorful and darker in color, so a name change was called for. They have bran, they have graham, and if you make them for someone they'll surely say, "Thank you, Ma'am!" Unless, of course, you're a guy, in which case feel free to change the name to "Graham Bran Thank You, Man! Muffins." ;-)

I recommend that all the ingredients ~ but particularly the apple products, soy milk, raisins, molasses, and flours ~ be organic.

Bran Graham Thank You, Ma'am! Muffins

(an original recipe by Laloofah & BW)

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat bran

1/2 cup whole wheat graham flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup sucanat (or rapadura or other brown sugar)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp cardamom

--------------

1 small tart baking apple (Granny Smith, McIntosh, etc), peeled and diced

1/4 cup raisins (golden or regular)

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2 very ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup vanilla soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1/3 cup unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice

3 TBSP blackstrap molasses

2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce

--------------

2 tsp (approx) demerara sugar

Instructions:

Thoroughly mix the dry ingredients (oat bran - cardamom). Stir in the diced apple and raisins.

In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the wet ingredients (bananas - applesauce).

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry, stirring till just mixed. Spoon into silicon muffin cups or a muffin tin lined with paper muffin cups.

Sprinkle tops with a little demerara sugar.

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes, or till toothpick comes out clean.

If using silicone muffin cups, allow to cool thoroughly before removing.

Store in air tight container.

Makes about 20 muffins. Freezes well!