Just finished the Christmas Card

Snow Flurries Cocoa Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Weekly Menu

This coming week's menu (2 birthdays Carson's, my son and mine!)

Monday ~ Tacos w/ refriend beans (we are having leftovers Sunday and having chili Saturday instead from last week).

Tuesday ~ Carson's bday, so making homemade pizza and salad

Wednesday ~ Moroccan Chickpeas Couscous (my birthday unless hubby surprises me with something)

Thursday ~ Indian Spiced Lentil Ragu

Friday ~ Vegan Pot Pie

Saturday ~ Carson's bday party

Sunday ~ Tofu Tikka Masala

In the kitchen!

I was in the kitchen yesterday busily making vegetable broth and making pumpkin bread.

Making broth from scratch not only saves you money but is better for you.  I save vegetable trimmings (all but cabbage and lettuce type things) like onion peels, mushroom stems, and other vegetable peelings.  I also chop up celery (including leaves) and carrots.  Also I put herbs in such as basil, parsley and cilantro.
Next I fill up a large pot enough to cover everything up.  Cover, bring up to boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and keep covered for an hour.

After an hour, strain your broth.

I keep containers in the freezer on hand at all times. I make a lot of stew based things and use the broth for rice.

Also made pumpkin bread using whole wheat bread and all purpose flour.  Instead of using vegetable oil, I used coconut oil.  I don't use all the sugar called in the recipe either. And I used flax seed instead of eggs for this recipe, so it is vegan!
Before

and after

 I used this recipe: http://mybakingadventures.com/2009/10/18/healthy-pumpkin-bread/ with the mods indicted above.

Next blog post will be about making applesauce!  I have entire peck of apples and I love making homemade applesauce!

Looking for Holiday Cards, your search is over!

Shutterfly has one of the best holiday card selections to show off your family for the holidays.  Every year we send out holiday greetings that showcase pictures of our family.  This year Shutterfly has made the search easy!
My favorite holiday card is the Picture Joy.  You can't pick just one picture for your holiday card then this picture card card for you.  Click here to view it
  You can pick 3 -6 pictures for this card. This works out perfect for us since we have two children and 3 pets.  We have to have a furry ones on our holiday cards because they are part of the family, too.
  Also we could make a collage for the year to send family and friends, picking our favorite family photos throughout the year.  This way family that is lives far away can see the events or moments that they may have missed.
  There are so many different formats to choose from.  They have flat photo cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery , also photo cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards and even holiday party invitations: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations .
 Shuttefly is my holiday card solution this year and it should be yours as well!

Weekly Menu

This week's menu:

Monday ~ Vegetable soup with black bean burgers ~ all homemade and vegan

Tuesday ~ Chicken Patties (probably boca since it will be a busy day with election and hubby out of town) w/ sweet potato fries

Wed ~ Mexican rice & bean bake ~ vegan

Thursday ~ Veggie Vindaloo with Naan Bread

Friday ~ Stove Top Cheeze Mac ~ vegan

Saturday ~ Tacos with homemade refried beans

Sunday ~ Pantry Chili ~ vegan

Apple Harvest Time ~ Apple Salsa

I made this for a party and it was a hit!!  It is so fresh and different!

2 apples, cored and cubed
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted or not... I have done it both ways
2 tablespoons ginger or fresh grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine and eat! 

 

It tastes even better if you want a day, I serve with tortilla chips or pita chips. 

This Week's Menu!

Food, to me is very important.  We try and eat healthy.   We are vegetarian, even if you aren't you should try and have at least one meatless meal a week.  Maybe our menu for the week will help with ideas.  I will try and post recipes throughout the week.

This weeks we are having

Monday ~ Whole Wheat Gnocchi with homemade marinara sauce  w/ salad (vegan)

Tuesday ~ Black Bean Soup with Kale ~ in the slow cooker (vegan)

Wed ~ the hubby and I are having a date night at AIA awards.

Thurs ~ Stovetop Cheeze Mac (vegan)

Fri ~ Taco salad

Sat ~ homemade black bean burgers and with homemade vegetable soup (slow cooker) (vegan)

Sun ~ slow cooker chili with homemade cornbread (vegan)

Portobello Fajitas

Tonight's dinner is Portobello Fajitas.

olive oil enough to thinly coat a pan
3 Large Portobello Mushrooms
1 yellow onion
1 or 2 green or red pepper
garlic ~ minced
salt
pepper
cumin
red pepper flakes
chili pepper
balsamic vinegar
whole wheat tortillas
lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa or whatever else you like to top them with. (leave the dairy out for vegan version)

Turn on oven to 350, wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven to warm up while cooking.

I get 3 portobellos, remove the stem, wipe them off with a damp cloth (I don't like rinsing under water as they soak up water.) and chop them length wise.
Chop onion length wise, large stripes and chop up the pepper same way.

Put some olive oil in a stainless steel pan over medium heat.
Add onions and peppers first, season with salt & pepper, let cook for a few minutes until slightly soft.  Next add mushrooms & garlic (2 cloves is fine) and the rest of the seasoning (tsp or so of each) and balsamic vinegar (just a couple squashes).  Cook until mushrooms are soft, but not mushy (doesn't take long watch carefully).
Wrap everything up in a tortilla and enjoy.
Delicious and healthy dinner!

Vegan Pot Pie

Yes, I haven't posted all summer.... eep!

I got this recipe from a friend.

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts, prepared ~ I made my own pie crusts using vegan margarine
1/3 cup vegan margarine ~ I used olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup vegetable broth
1/3 cup non dairy milk ~ I used almond milk
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed



Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place one pie crust into bottom of a 9 inch pie pan


In a medium saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender.

Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly and thickened. Add vegetables and heat through.

Spoon mixture over crust in pie pan. top with second crust and pinch the edges to seal. Cut some slits in the top crust to vent steam.


Back for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Fruits of my labor and oh my the heat!

It is so hot outside.  It is one of those days when you don't want to wear clothes (don't worry we are clothed, but we would be much happier naked ha!)  Today's high is 94 and it is currently 90 outside and no rain in the forecast.  I think we might be relaxing indoors and going out early in the morning and late in the evening to get our outside time in.  
We have to hit the pool here soon to beat the heat or I will set up the sprinkler.
One good thing about the no rain means I don't have to mow the lawn!  We don't waste our drinking water on watering our lawn.  I do have to water the garden, but we are growing food.  Hopefully my water bill doesn't go through the roof because of the lack of rain this week.

But good news we just picked our first zucchini out of our garden!




I think we are going to cook up tonight.

Well the cucumbers were getting out of hand.  I put these cages up that I had extra.





I don't have much room to put anything else up, so this will have to do.  I think I might have a million cucumbers and zucchini by the time this is all said and done.  I think I might make pickles with the cucumbers.

Here is my little gardener, Carson.


He likes helping me out and he wants to water the garden any chance he gets.  Now if only could get him to pull up weeds I think I would have it made in the shade.

And here is my little Boo.... she likes to stay in the shade and quite frankly I don't blame her.



Other than gardening, I have been busying knitting.  I am making this cute little sweater (work in progress) called Little Coffee Bean




It is for a special little guy. I am making it size 6 months so he has something to wear this fall/winter.
The colorway is called Dandelion Sky dyed by Blue Grass Baby

Stay cool everyone!

Sooo I like yarn ;)

I took the hobby of knitting when my daughter was in diapers to some day make longies for her.  If you are unfamiliar about longies, they are pants made of wool that work as a diaper cover for cloth diapers.  Here is a great resource about that: Benefits and Advantages of Wool Diapering Products
  I never got to make my own for her as I was still so new at knitting and quite frankly my knitting sucked.  There are many great WAHMs that knit longies for Boo.
  Anyway I have gotten much better at knitting so I have been knitting other things.  Sweaters, hats, scarves, cowls and whatever catches my fancy.
  Here is a project I just finished for a cowl swap.



If you are on Ravelry you can see my project and find the pattern here.

I also just acquired some yarn from Wildflower Whimsy in her Emperor colorway.

This I will hoard for awhile and possibly dye some matching black to go with it.  It has been a favorite colorway of mine and I finally have it.  It reminds me of Pittsburgh Penguins.

And this is going to become the Honey Cowl pattern

This is one of Selah's newest colorways, Breaking Free.  I love the colors in this colorway and I think it is perfect for the honey cowl.  I will be casting on today.

An Urban Hippie Garden

Living in the city does not mean you can't have a garden even if you don't have a yard.  Getting pots and hanging baskets work well if you have a patio or a baloney.  Even those topsy turvies seem to work from just seeing them hanging off of people's porches.
We have decent sized yard for living in the city.  We have room for a small garden.
Here are a few pictures of what I have growing so far.
Pumpkins:





Beefsteak tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumbers and lettuce (which look to be over taken)

Zucchini

Watermelon seedlings

Cilantro


I have red and hot peppers, stavia, lavender, lemon thyme, borage, and strawberries, too.  Pepper plants are slowing getting bigger and well the strawberries are only junebearing and pretty much done now.  You can grow peppers, herbs and strawberries in pots and hanging baskets if you have limited space.

I am no expert on gardening.  This was my first year ever setting mine up.  There are few things I would definitely do different.  I think I will do raise beds next year as weeding is a pain in the ass.  Not plant as much zucchini and cucumbers because well they get HUGE.  Also I think I will get a little green house set up to start my seedlings inside. 
A few things I wouldn't change: use compost and lots of it.  Get premium organic soil.  Yes, I think it makes a difference and organic fertilizers.  Use biodegradable seedling trays so your plants don't go into shock when you transplant them into the garden.

There are some veggies I want to try once it is mid-summer.  You can start cold crops inside and transplant into the garden late summer with plenty of time before the first frost.   I am going to do lettuce again, spinach and cabbage.  

The only thing I have ate from my garden is strawberries so far.  They were sweet and delicious.  Not very big, but I am told that next year they will do even better.  So I hope that is true!  I really can't wait to pick my first veggie!  It will be such a sweet reward for all the hard work going into it.

New blog...yadda, yadda, yadda

yes yet another blog...this is more to write down my thoughts.
well I hope this turns out to be a little different and fun to read.

I consider myself an urban hippie. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, near fields, cows and barns. I moved to the city and married a city slicker. Through living in Pittsburgh for 7 years I have fell in love with city living. I don't think I could ever go back to living in rural area. Though I do love escaping to places that are quiet and out of the way.

I guess I should introduce myself, I am Teresa. I am married to an awesome guy, Chris and we have 2 full of energy, never not moving, playing and rough housing children. We have 1 cat, whom well as taken it upon herself to be bitchy to us, but yet crave our attention. And one lovable, sweet, laid back beagle named, Hippie. I couldn't help myself with that name.
Me, I'm a work at home mom.... I sell cloth advocacy shirts and other hippie awareness shirts. I knit....constantly. I hoard......yarn..... mainly wool...lovely soft organic wool. ;) Happy Sheep makes for a happy knitter. ;)

We went about having a family nontraditional in the sense of what people believe in normal. We had Carson first before getting married. But to be honest this is coming more common and less taboo. We are open about Carson knowing we weren't married when he was born. He sees pictures of him in the wedding when he was 6 months old. He is very spirited and marches to his own beat. He is lovable, but constantly pushing boundaries. Can I just say I cannot wait for kindergarten this fall. ;) He was our adorable little hippie child. He had long curly hair, but since decided he wanted shorter hair.
Then came along Miss Boo aka Isabelle. She is a fireball of energy and delight. Boo-Boo as she like to be called, is burst of energy and love. She is my snuggler, loves to hug and kiss. She has cute little mannerisms about her. She is also just beauitful. She has long, curly red hair and attracts attention anywhere she goes. I feel, my hubby and I are going to have our hands full with trying to keep admirers away as she grows up.
We lived in an apartment for several years until we able to afford our house! Can I just say that having a landlord just sucks majorly especially if yours happens to be an ass. We had a real "winner" before we moved out. I am so glad to put that behind us.
With this being our first full summer in our home we decided to plant a veggie garden. Can I just say how super duper excited I am to have a garden! I can raise my own organic veggies! We are growing zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, a few heads of lettuce, peppers (omg the amount of peppers we have lol), hot peppers, strawberries (but they are pretty much out of steam now), pumpkins, herbs and trying my best to get watermelon going.
With our house we have a big grape vine and a white walnut tree. So harvest time is quite literally going to rock!
We try and be sustainable as possible. We cloth diapered our children (both are out of diapers now) and buy very few disposable products. If we do they are always recycled or we are able to compost them. Yes we compost and recycle as much as we can. My husband started riding his bike to work as trying to use less gas in our car. We line dry clothes, use a push mower that requires only human power, and try and reuse as much as possible.
We eat mainly certified and non-certified foods. We buy local as much as possible and have our own grocery bags.

Well this was a mouthful for sure. Basically this is to just document life and how we strive to be more simple with our actions.