versatilevegan

A day of rest…finally!

Posted on May 19, 2013 by versatilevegan

I’m a Seventh Day Adventist.

I don’t think I’ve talked much about faith on this blog, and it’s not because I’m avoiding it, it just doesn’t seem to naturally flow with vegan cookies and my attempts at getting my kids to eat kale…

I worship/go to church on Saturday. It’s my day of “rest”.

Why the quotation marks? In all reality, I work a six day week, Saturday being a work day.

Between church obligations and school obligations, Saturday is anything but a day of rest. I’m changing jobs soon and that will hopefully help this problem, but in the meantime, yesterday was no exception to the rule. Last night, after a full day of church/school stuff, I was beat.

And then, Sunday morning, my day of rest began. With the kids both waking up at 6:00 am. J Man sobbing because he was out of water in his water bottle. Miss Rae sobbing because it’s her 3rd favorite thing to do after dancing and eating.

I knew that if I didn’t immediately turn the day around, there would be a meltdown. From me.

Pancakes: because it’s the only logical way to start a Sunday. And our waffle iron is packed…

Coffee: because it’s the only logical way to keep headaches at bay. Sleeping children also aid in headache relief, but alas, it was not to be.

Hillsdale Farmers Market: because farmers markets are my 3rd favorite thing, after dancing and eating…

Carrots: because as soon as I got home and looked in the fridge I found 2 large unopened bags of carrots and certainly we need more. Wait! I’ll juice them! If only our juicer wasn’t packed…

Playgrounds: because it’s the only logical way to guarantee your children will do this…

Naptime: I love that he still sucks his thumb when he sleeps…:)

Bagel/smoothie lunches: because it’s the only logical way to avoid doing the dishes…

French fry/ice cream cone dinners: see above x2.

It was the day of rest that I needed!

If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy…

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“Zen” Crepes

Posted on May 17, 2013 by versatilevegan

Sometimes I think I was meant to be someone’s envelope-licking, paper-filing, coffee-pouring assistant.

I like my job. I really do. Sometimes, though, it causes me to think too hard. Sometimes, I feel like I’m in waaaay over my head. Sometimes I worry that they’ll find out that I’m an imposter. I’m not as organized, or experienced, or wise as I’ve tried to convince everyone I am.

Sometimes I just want to stick stamps on envelopes.

Awhile ago we were doing a big mailing for some marketing purposes. I had a bathousand letters to fold, stuff and stamp. I have many people (staff and volunteers) who would be happy to help with something like that. All I had to do was ask.

I folded, stuffed and stamped on my own. It was totally therapeutic. There was no brain power involved. No angry parents. No naughty children. No finance reports to interpret. No schmoozing or strategic planning or visioning for the future.

There was mindless folding, stuffing and stamping.

It put me in a totally zen state of mind.

That’s what these crepes are: zen.

The batter is a cinch. Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Done.

Then you go into your “zen” state. A small frying pan is heated to medium high. Scant 1/4 cup of batter. Swirl to coat the pan.

Bubbles. Flip.

Golden brown on both sides. Do it again.

And again.

You get the picture. A beverage, hot or cold, could be enjoyed. Maybe a little jazz or classical in the background (not Elmo’s Potty Songs). Soft lighting is best. Children in bed is optimal.

And you’re pouring and swirling and flipping again and again.

Note: the first one you make seasons the pan. It’s a “throwaway”. Plan on that now. Also, the pictures in this post are trash. I was way too relaxed to be bothered with capturing this meditative moment on camera.

Let’s be real. If given the option of a massage or some crepe flipping, I’m always going for the shiatsu.

But in the middle of a chaotic week, a little crepe flipping was almost as good. Besides, massages don’t usually involve spiced cherry sauce- at least, no massage I’ve ever been to…

Vegan “Zen” Crepes

Ingredients

Makes 25 crepes

1 cup soy milk
2 cups water
1/2 cup earth balance, melted
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar

Instructions

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Over medium high heat, coat a small frying pan with scant 1/4 cup of batter. Cook until bubbles appear, then flip. Repeat.

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Posted in food, recipes and tagged healthy vegan Fridays, vegan breakfast, vegan brunch, vegan crepes. Bookmark the permalink.

Thursday Thoughts, part III

Posted on May 16, 2013 by versatilevegan

Have I mentioned that I adore lists?

1. I’m in all-out-100%-craving summer mode.

This has been our weather.

No matter. We had BBQ/picnic dinner tonight. Yes, I cut the corn off the cob. I hate corn in my teeth.

2. I got to go on a field trip with my boy. We saw the play “Frog and Toad”. He loved it. Although, at the end, he said, “when do we play?” ummmm….

3. This morning I was pretty grumpy with Matty B. I was certain that he had taken my reusable Starbucks tumbler that I use for my smoothies. Why he would take it, I don’t know, but I was convinced. I made my smoothie, but took it in a regular glass and I was irritated.

Note the cherry smoothie and the white pants? Disaster waiting to happen. Well, I got to school and was greeted with my Starbucks tumbler on my desk, right where I left it. Oops. Crow was eaten. Sorry, Matty B…

4. Matty B draws a very good Elmo with sidewalk chalk.

Even the girl is impressed.

5. We did haircuts tonight.

Even though lollipops and The Very Hungry Caterpillar DVD were involved, this was not a good experience for anyone involved.

I shudder to think about our first trip to the dentist…

6. We went to Oxbow Park a few weekends ago.

That was then: September of 2012

This is now…

Oh, my little munchkins. Too bad your hair is unevenly cut because of the fits you threw….

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Lemon Hollandaise and slugs

Posted on May 15, 2013 by versatilevegan

We aren’t afraid of slugs in this house.

Maybe I should rephrase: J Man, Miss Rae and Matty B aren’t afraid of slugs. And to be accurate, I’m not afraid of slugs, I just don’t want to touch them.

And if I had my way, my little princess wouldn’t want to touch them either…

Regardless, Matty B has raised our kids to touch, poke, and pick up ants, worms, slugs, and even snakes.

The other day I got home from work and was bombarded with excited children telling me about the snake that daddy had found, caught, and then let the kids pet. Certainly this story was exaggerated. Maybe even a figment of their imaginations?

Oh no. 100% true.

Apparently, we aren’t afraid of snakes in this house.

Additionally, we aren’t afraid of hollandaise sauce- at least, we aren’t now.

My opinion of hollandaise has been sketchy, at best. As a vegan, hollandaise sounded too eggy. Actually, as a vegetarian, hollandaise still sounds too eggy!

So I mentioned that it’s Teacher Appreciation Week at my school. To show my appreciation to the teachers, I made them breakfast.

Fruit is always a winner. For the main dish, I made vegan crepes. The sweet toppings were easy: a hazelnut sauce and some spiced cherries. Yum!

However, I wanted a savory option. Asparagus is in season, so that was an obvious choice. The other obvious choice to complement the asparagus was hollandaise.

But I don’t like hollandaise. And I’ve never made it before. And how in the world do you veganize an egg based sauce? A flax egg? I don’t think so.

I browsed epicurious and food network and decided to go with something tofu based.

It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty delicious!

Wrapped up with some grilled asparagus, it was really delicious. The zing of lemon is pretty prevalent, so if you’re not a lemon fan, back off on the amount of juice.

This recipe turned me from a hollandaise hater into a hollandaise lover! If only this recipe could change my thoughts on slugs…

Lemon Hollandaise

Ingredients

1 package silken tofu
3 TBS nutritional yeast
4 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 TBS olive oil

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.

That’s it. Really.

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Posted in food, recipes and tagged asparagus, teacher appreciation, vegan breakfast, vegan crepes, vegan hollandaise. Bookmark the permalink.

Reset button

Posted on May 14, 2013 by versatilevegan

I ate trash today.

Okay, it wasn’t trash, but there was a disturbing lack of green.

I blame a few things:

1. No exercise
2. Really yummy food
3. I’m out of practice. Coming off of a great weekend full of delicious treats (ice cream pie, waffles, more edamame hummus than I care to disclose), I’ve maybe forgotten how to eat vegetables?

Six days a week, first thing in the morning, (5:30ish) I spend 30-45 minutes working up a sweat. It sets the tone for my day. Today I skipped. I was making breakfast for my staff and just didn’t have time.

I also didn’t have time to take a picture until breakfast was gone, apparently. Vegan crepes with spiced cherries and hazelnut sauce. So good. It was basically dessert for breakfast.

And then at 11, I needed a cookie. Yes, needed. And coffee. Needed x2…

I put the rest of this batch out on the staff room table. 45 minutes and they were gone!

Lunch wasn’t too bad, but thank goodness for my cucumbers. They were the only green I ate all day!

By the time dinner hit, I still had zero desire for vegetables.

Trader Joe’s samosas, naan and baba ganoush. The kids and Matty B also had peas. Why would I break my veggie boycott for peas?

I’m a little ashamed and beyond the mental aspect of this, I really feel sluggish. Whether it was the lack of exercise or the lack of fresh produce, I don’t feel great physically.

Moral of the story? Back to the routine tomorrow. I already have plans for a good 3 miles on the treadmill and a green smoothie. I need a reset button.

Do I have a problem when I can honestly say I’m excited about running and kale?:)

How do you “reset”?

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Nutty Maple Oat Cookies

Posted on May 13, 2013 by versatilevegan

This week, at my school, we’re celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week.

J Man has three teachers, and we bought each one a fun Starbucks mug that we filled with caramel macchiato. If he isn’t already, J Man will definitely be the teacher’s pet.

The cards, however, were a bit of a problem. I put that child in front of a large thank you card display and instructed him to choose any three cards he wanted.

This is what I got:

1 happy birthday card with a monkey in the front, 1 happy birthday card with a chicken in the front, and this…

I bought the cards he picked out.

Certainly, his teachers are going to look at these cards and say, “What a cop-out! She couldn’t even spring for a thank you card? She gave us some old generic cards she had in a drawer?”

No no! We put in the thought! We put in the effort! This was not a cop-out!

Neither are these cookies.

I was super excited when I saw the featured ingredient for Meatless Monday A-Z: dark chocolate!

And you’re looking at this recipe and thinking, “big deal. She drizzled dark chocolate on something- what a cop-out!”

Here’s the rest of the story. I’ve been dreaming of a nutty, oaty, mapley, chocolatey cookie, and this seemed like the perfect excuse to experiment.

The two best nuts ever (yes, ever) are made into meal.

And then I’m on a roll. Oats are ground into flour, maple syrup and olive oil get married. I’m excited for 25 seconds, thinking that my cookies are gluten free, until I remember the scoop of WW pastry flour that joined the party.

And I forgot the dark chocolate. I’m making cookies, created to feature dark chocolate and I leave it out.

I quickly whisked up some melted dark chocolate and coconut oil. I filled and drizzled. I even dipped.

There was a little bit of unbaked dough left and I added the forgotten chocolate chips.

The big winner? The dippers. Something about the crunch of biting through the set chocolate is so satisfying. The cookies are hearty and mapley and so good.

So, this is not a cop-out recipe. If you think differently, I do offer my deepest condolences. I could even send you a sympathy card if you want. I know a kid who’s great at picking out cards…

Nutty Maple Oat Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup pecans
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup WW pastry flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

Pulse nuts in food processor until sandy in texture. Set aside. Pulse oats until fine in texture. Combine all ingredients except for chocolate chips and coconut oil.

Roll dough into balls. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. While baking, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil until smooth. Once cookies are cool, dip in chocolate them refrigerate to harden.
Submitted to Meatless Mondays A-Z

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Posted in food, recipes and tagged Dark chocolate, MMAZ, vegan baking, vegan cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Mothers Day Perfection

Posted on May 12, 2013 by versatilevegan

It was pretty close to being a perfect day.

Well, let’s put that statement in perspective.

A perfect day might involve winning the lottery, vacationing in Dubai, and drinking large amounts of this, without gaining a pound.

But this was a perfect realistic day.

Sleeping in. Yes, for me, 7:49 is sleeping in. Also, what’s Cupertino?

A run in the sunshine. These are my shoes. I spared you a photo of the hot mess called my face. No one wants to see that.

Mother’s Day Breakfast + Dutch Bros. pictured above. I’m so predictable with the bananas and PB.

Playtime with cousins. Miss Rae isn’t completely naked, although she would be if we let her.

Nap time. The pacifier goes in and all of a sudden my “big girl” turns into a baby again. Yes, please.

Snacktime. I’ve got to try a remake on these. They’re so expensive and I think I could come up with something comparable.

Happy time:) Matty B think his sunglasses are crooked in this picture. You didn’t know until I said something, right? And now that’s all you’ll ever see.

Perfect end to a perfect day?

Happy Mother’s Day!

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versatilevegan

A day of rest…finally!

“Zen” Crepes

Thursday Thoughts, part III

Lemon Hollandaise and slugs

Reset button

Nutty Maple Oat Cookies

Mothers Day Perfection

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