Happy Mothers' Day to all you moms out there! Today, Husband had to work so I'm home with Kids. I got some lovely flowers, cute cards, and a potted tomato plant. I'd mentioned to Husband how I'd like to try my hand at growing tomatoes this year. (I have a black thumb when it comes to gardening and normally just rely on everyone else's overabundant harvest for my fresh tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini. Especially my dad - he grows the BEST tomatoes and potatoes!) But I'm a lazy gardener - which might explain my lack of success. I don't really trust our soil for growing anything but dandelions, so I wanted to put some potting soil in a container on the back deck. But I hadn't gotten around to buying any tomato plants, or a container, or the potting soil, or the cage that you need over the plant. Sigh...too much work for me!
Husband found a pre-potted tomato plant with the cage built onto the pot. How perfect! And even more perfect, because last night we had frost (yikes!) and we were easily able to bring in the tomato for the night.
Later today, I need to call my grandmothers and wish them a happy Mothers' Day. I'm very fortunate that they are around - two beautiful women in their mid-80s, still living alone in their homes and doing quite well, thank you. (Both of my grandfathers died before I was born, so I was unable to get to know them at all.)
My own mother passed away in December 2006 from brain cancer. I miss her more than I can say. She was only 54 years old. I feel her absence the most when I think about how little time Son had with her, and how Daughter didn't really get to know her at all (Daughter was almost a year old when Mom died). Mothers' Day is rather bittersweet for me, but I try to focus on what a great job my mom did in raising Brother and me, and I try to do as good a job with Kids. If I'm half the mother that she was, I'll be a-okay.
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
A Disaster of a Dish
The first time I try a new recipe, I try to follow it as closely as written as possible. Then, if successful, I like to play with the recipe a bit and see if I can create something new and fabulous...Last night was NOT one of those nights...
I'd read quite some time ago on Vegan Dad's blog how he goes about creating his own "meats," and he noted how it was really all about the spices. Well, I love MorningStar sausage crumbles, so I thought maybe I'd try my hand at creating something with the same flavors, but without the sodium. I found a sausage seasonings recipe online, mixed up the spices in my mini-chopper along with some olive oil, marinated cubed tofu in it, then stirred it all up with cooked brown rice. It was truly delicious!
Last night, I thought I'd try to jazz up some quick-cooking barley with the same spice and olive oil mixture. I threw all the spices into my mini-chopper (along with some red pepper flake, which I didn't have on hand for my first stab at the recipe). Then, I thought about adding something sweet to the mix. Brown sugar? No. Maple syrup? Nah. Molasses!! Yeah, that'll add some good flavor, right? Um...wrong.
First, the mixture had the color and consistency of used motor oil. I stirred it into my hot barley and hoped for the best. It didn't look or smell any more appetizing. Then, I took a bite...Hmmm...interesting. I could definitely taste the fennel seed, and it was nice and spicy from the red pepper flake...but YUCK! I tried a few more bites, but just couldn't finish it. And I threw away the rest of the barley because I knew it wouldn't get better with age.
What a waste...all that food in the trash. Next time, I'll stick with the recipe and maybe add a drizzle of maple syrup onto an individual serving to see if it's any good.
(BTW - Despite my kitchen disaster, it was a nice Valentine's Day. Cute cards from Kids and Husband, and Husband bought a Whitman's sampler of chocolates like he does for me every year. Not vegan, of course, but I ate quite a bit of it, nonetheless - and he was super sweet to get it for me. Of course, then the floodgates were opened and I had a little more chocolate later in the day, some string cheese, and cheese popcorn. I did more than fall off the vegan wagon - I threw myself under the bus!! Oh, well. I've been pretty good for the last 1 1/2 months, so I was probably due for a binge...)
I'd read quite some time ago on Vegan Dad's blog how he goes about creating his own "meats," and he noted how it was really all about the spices. Well, I love MorningStar sausage crumbles, so I thought maybe I'd try my hand at creating something with the same flavors, but without the sodium. I found a sausage seasonings recipe online, mixed up the spices in my mini-chopper along with some olive oil, marinated cubed tofu in it, then stirred it all up with cooked brown rice. It was truly delicious!
Last night, I thought I'd try to jazz up some quick-cooking barley with the same spice and olive oil mixture. I threw all the spices into my mini-chopper (along with some red pepper flake, which I didn't have on hand for my first stab at the recipe). Then, I thought about adding something sweet to the mix. Brown sugar? No. Maple syrup? Nah. Molasses!! Yeah, that'll add some good flavor, right? Um...wrong.
First, the mixture had the color and consistency of used motor oil. I stirred it into my hot barley and hoped for the best. It didn't look or smell any more appetizing. Then, I took a bite...Hmmm...interesting. I could definitely taste the fennel seed, and it was nice and spicy from the red pepper flake...but YUCK! I tried a few more bites, but just couldn't finish it. And I threw away the rest of the barley because I knew it wouldn't get better with age.
What a waste...all that food in the trash. Next time, I'll stick with the recipe and maybe add a drizzle of maple syrup onto an individual serving to see if it's any good.
(BTW - Despite my kitchen disaster, it was a nice Valentine's Day. Cute cards from Kids and Husband, and Husband bought a Whitman's sampler of chocolates like he does for me every year. Not vegan, of course, but I ate quite a bit of it, nonetheless - and he was super sweet to get it for me. Of course, then the floodgates were opened and I had a little more chocolate later in the day, some string cheese, and cheese popcorn. I did more than fall off the vegan wagon - I threw myself under the bus!! Oh, well. I've been pretty good for the last 1 1/2 months, so I was probably due for a binge...)
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