makin' bacon

Life without bacon is...

just wrong.

Save the nasty pigs-being-

sent-to-slaughter documentaries...

sure I will be grossed-out

and vow

never to eat meat again...

(if I don't know it's name...

how it was

fed...how it spent its days gloriously

roaming the farm)

but

that can't possibly include

bacon...

right?!

Books are dedicated to bacon...

comedy routines are exclusively bacon...

everything...even chocolate is 

better with

bacon.

You may be asking yourself,

How does a vegan (even a 90/10 vegan)

come to terms with that?

I am fortunate enough to have stumbled on

an episode of Vegan Mash-Up

which featured

Making Bacon.

Tofu bacon.

Now before you turn up your nose

let me add

that my boys were stealing pieces from my plate

because it's that

damn good.

AND sooo easy you won't believe it.

Slice extra firm tofu (drained) very thin.

Have the skillet getting hot with

2 Tablespoons Canola

so that when you put it in the pan

you hear the sizzle.

Flip at 10 minutes when it has browned

and "fry" for another 4 minutes.

Sprinkle with 2 T Nutritional Yeast

2 T Tamari or soy sauce

1 T Liquid smoke.

Give it a stir.

Transfer to plate or serve immediately.

You're not eating Wilbur

and your taste buds

won't know the difference.

Amazing.

Really.

Crispy on the outside

a bit chewy on the in...

Give it a try.

You won't be disappointed.

That's Vegan Mash-Up.

Find it on your local listings.

It's a good thing.

BTW...

Did you happen to notice those delectable 

onion rings?

Head on over to PPK

Post Punk Kitchen

for the recipe.

BLT's and Onion Rings.

I was being worshiped by the 

men in my house.

:)

"make do" tuesday

Inspiration hit on

laundry day.

After folding a fresh

clean load of

kitchen towels.

After pricing milk bags

at 

Whole Foods...$16.

Ouch!

I get so discouraged with myself

when I want to try

new things

like making my own soap...

making candles...

or on this day making almond milk,

and I get hung-up on 

needing all the right equipment

before I get started.

Well...I am here to say

You don't need all that stuff!

I have enough stuff
(more than enough!)

can't I make it with what I already

have?

Yes.

And so can you.

I don't have a Vitamix blender

(the Rolls Royce of blenders)

but I do have a Ninja.

And all the ingredients:

Soaked Almonds

Filtered Water

Dates (for sweetness)

Sea Salt.

No milk bag?

No problem.

Check this contraption out.

Lined with a just from the washer

bleached
super-clean

kitchen towel.

After blending for about 3 minutes

I poured the

almost almond milk 

into the center and let gravity

do its thing

while I washed and tidied my work space.

Gathered what was left in the towel

to squeeze out the 

goodness.

Milking the Towel  :)

Poured through one final 

stage 

(to check for pieces)

Really not necessary...

I was just curious as to how my

method was working.

Splendidly!

I didn't "catch" any 

little pieces.

Smooth.

Creamy.

Like milk.

One last test.

Delicious.

I won't lie to you

soy milk is my preferance

but like anything

moderation is key

and variety is the spice of life.

I like using plain almond milk in 

many recipes that call

for milk...

because it blends so well with other

ingredients

and doesn't alter the flavor

like soy can.

Now I have a fresh stash in the frig

and a nice batch of

almond meal...

all that almondy stuff left in the towel

which can be used

in many recipes.

No waste!

I am seeing almond meal cookies

in my very near future.

The best part.

Trusting my ingenuity

to guide me.

Knowing that everything

I need

is already there.

Making do with what I have

instead of buying into 

the thought that
the next best thing

will make it even better.

Wrong.

It doesn't get any better than this!

simple food

I ask you...

Can breakfast get any simpler?

Well...yes.

Of course it can.

Fiber One dumped in a bowl

with some almond or soy milk

poured on top.

Oatmeal zapped for a minute

and topped with walnuts

and dates...

a touch of brown sugar.

Okay smar-T-pants...

But would those pictures be as pretty?

I seriously doubt it!

Go ahead and try...

I double dog dare you!

Here's my recipe for 
Grapefruit Nirvana.

Preheat oven to 350.

While waiting

cut your grapefruit in half

(I know I have a real grapefruit knife

somewhere...but where?)

With a paring knife...ahem...cut around and

 divide each section.

Drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Go ahead...
right before serving
drizzle a bit more

and eat warm.

In less than five minutes
I was looking at this.

Scraped clean and tipping the bowl

for the juicy remains.

Don't fret.

This story has a 

Part II.

You could share it.

Or not.

Best to decide that after part one

rather than 

before.

Trust me.

Oh, be nice!

Bake in batches because

this is a dish that

can be served

cold.

:)

Happy Monday!

(Enjoyed my morning grapefruit with memories of Dad

who would eat his cold with sugar...

I bet he's enjoying them served warm with maple syrup in heaven :)

bad haircuts

What do you get
when you put

a shih tzu,

snowy wet days
and

a new owner
all together?

Matted fur.

Shame on me!

Oh,
and I felt it when I went to

pick her up at the groomers

and received a lengthy lecture

on how to care for 

Dee-Oh-Gee.

Apparently
feeding and loving her
are not enough.

When I picked her up

expecting to see a "teddy bear cut"

I got this instead,
and a handful of her matted fur

as proof that I'm a
shih tzu idiot.

I laughed out loud at the unveiling.

I couldn't help myself.

James was with me and he was

appalled by her
"ugliness"
saying mean fourteen-year-old
things like...
this is what you'd look like
if you got your hair cut any shorter!

Boys!

I didn't want to give her a puppy inferiority

complex so I've started

calling her

"sassy."

Come on...

who hasn't had a bad haircut?

They have a way of chipping at your

self-esteem

your self-confidence.

After a few days
 it's kinda growing
on us.

It's like punk rock meets classic bob.

She may look sad in the picture

but believe me
she's running around like a 

woman who is freed

from her

straggly locks...

and I think we have inadvertently

stumbled upon

"her look"

Gone are the long hours

in front of the mirror

primping,

the tedious brushing

out of snarls,

the gels and the sprays,

the flat irons

the curling irons...

I...ahem...she

is

free!

~this moment~

An ordinary moment 

on my sister's

busy

end table.

Happy Friday!

fluffing the nest

With all the meals I have been 

experimenting with...

 new recipes

new ingredients

new techniques

it only made sense that presentation

was soon to follow.

Food presentation usually

involves arrangement

on the plate...

but what about the table?

Maybe it is a Spring thing

but I want
I crave
 pretty.

Nothing says "pretty" like pastel.

So when I saw this cute set-up 

at Pier 1

I started pricing.

I stopped with the first

place mat...

in the $5.50 range.

Now that's not horrible

but if I'm going to splurge with my

budget

it is going to be in the form of 

organic foods and supplies

which can get rather pricey.

While on a recent
visit to TJ Maxx where I was

looking for pillows for an anniversary gift

for Rudy...

and, well...me too

:)

I just happened upon these.

Look familiar?

Not exact

but darn close.

Here's the rundown:

Rectangular mat: $1.99

Circular Mat Pack of Four: $6.99.

After looking at the above pictures

I realized I forgot one item

The napkin from my

hutch to pull it

all together.

How's that for presentation?

Fluffing my nest

on the cheap!

awake

(The following post comes from a conversation I had with my sister, Sue. She was retelling

a story she had heard of a woman who began challenging herself to try

new things and how she found joy in the process. We developed our own

challenge from there.)

She stood at the precipice

looking at the cool depths

below.

Her heart was beating quickly

and she found she

had to actually focus on her

breathing

to quiet the rumblings

inside.

Was it fear she was staring down?

Excitement of the unknown?

As if in answer

her eyes were drawn to her toenails

and a month-old painting

that had been hiding behind

woolen socks.

A chuckle escaped from her

and with it a release...

she knew

it was

 time.

Time to take the plunge.

Swimming in her youth felt like

freedom.

Moments of complete abandon

that somehow

had been misplaced as the years

piled on.

The last time she stood in this spot

anticipating a good lap swim

had been years.

The once three-times-a-week routine had been nudged aside

to make room for...

something else.

An old activity that now

brought with it a bit of

stress

and

anxiety

in its newness.

Good stress.

Good anxiety.

The kind that reminded her

that she was

alive.

She had successfully
arrived to
that
point of no return.

The next morning

her body ached from a long forgotten

coma

and she felt

truly

awake.

Tag...you're it!

 (Yeah Sue, I mean you!)

and anyone else who knows what the heck I'm talking about!