Haha! Look closely in the middle for the bald nose, he was always underneath everyone in the hammock.
The last couple days, Splinter wouldn't leave my side. He slept in my bed with me all day and night and I'm super grateful for the quality time we got to spend together before he left. He not only slept with me but when I was crying, he would reach out to me and grab my face or put his nose on mine to show me that it was okay and reassure me that I gave him a good life. I'll never forget this little baby face, I miss you terribly, but am glad you are not suffering anymore. <33
Best little 3 year old ever. Splinter (aka Wilbur) lived a long and healthy life, I couldn't miss him more. He is loved greatly by me, my sister, Olivia, his son, Kramer and his adopted son, Peter Pan. Seriously the best dad and friend you could ask for...wouldn't even hurt a fly. Our little family is heartbroken that we wont get to see you in your barnyard window anymore. I'll never forget your bald nose and your gentle spirit. Thank you for always taking care of me <333 Say hi to Kai for us xoxoxo
Don't think I'll ever get over my love of sugar. I'm at the store every couple days buying cookies, usually Uncle Eddie's peanut butter and chocolate chip!! (You don't understand how good these are!!) But I love to switch it up and try something new. These cinnamon rolls by Zen Bakery are definitely on the top of my list. With 9 simple ingredients and no sugar, I could eat these all day long! St. Amours Daniel's vegan chocolate chip cookies (*extra chocolate chips!) and Susan's sugar free oats and peanut butter cookies were good also. You can get the cookies at Whole Foods, not the cinnamon rolls, but if you have a Mother's Market by you, you will be in vegan heaven<33 Everything you can imagine, they have a vegan version for it and it's amazing!
Got a cute, tiny butternut squash from the farmers market to try because I never had one before and I'm in love. This one was about 6 or 7 inches long. I'm not sure how the huge, supermarket butternut squashes compare but when I split mine open all I could think of was Halloween! Arguably the best smell ever is a fresh cut squash/pumpkin.
Wasn't sure what to do with it so I peeled the skin off and cut into chunks, drizzled a little coconut oil and baked it in the oven on about 375 degrees for 20 minutes or so until done. It was really amazing actually. I don't think I would buy one of the huge ones in the supermarket, I'll stick to tiny farmers market squash. Everything is better when it's tiny. When veggies are allowed to grow so big (so they can make more $$$) they tend to be dry and flavorless.
I fried some baby broccoli and threw in some tomatoes for a minute and served it over some brown rice.
Basic tofu scramble. I ate mine over some quinoa but it's good on it's own or in a wrap. Pretty easy to make. Just fry some tofu (squeeze the water out first) until it starts to brown, add chopped garlic, onion, potatoes, broccoli...whatever veggies you have on hand. Season with lots of turmeric, salt and pepper and cook until everything is done. Add the tomatoes and parsley last and just heat through. I actually didn't even use oil, I just added a bit of water if needed and everything cooked fine. I like it better with a little coconut oil but it's good to know if you're ever in a pinch that you really don't need oil to fry.
Super easy and a recipe really isn't needed. The tofu came out so good, I cut it thin and I think that's what did the trick. Barely fried baby broccoli is absolutely amazing. Got it fresh from the farmers market and threw this together.
For the quinoa; Rinse and drain one cup of quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Put it in a sauce pan with two cups water. Bring to a boil for 3-5 minutes and turn down to low heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes or so until quinoa is clear in the middle and the water is absorbed. Stir in 1 tsp sea salt.
For the tofu; I think tofu is the best if it's been frozen for at least 1 day and thawed out in the fridge for a couple days before cooking. Squeeze the water out of the tofu carefully, try not to break it. Slice the tofu into 6 even rows. Halve each row widthwise. Cut into bite size pieces (I did three pieces per row). In a large frying pan, heat 1 tsp coconut oil over low heat until melted. Place the tofu in a single layer in the pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Let it cook until the bottom is golden brown.
Baby broccoli, onions, garlic; Slice 1/4 of an onion and mince 3 garlic cloves. Grab a handful baby broccoli and throw it all in the pan. (Only cut the baby broccoli if the pieces are really big or if you are using a regular head of broccoli.) If you want to season with salt and pepper, do it now and let it cook 2 minutes more. Cook until onions are tender and serve over the quinoa.
I could eat this every morning and be totally satisfied. The veggies are straight from the farmers market. For some reason, farmers market produce taste 100x better than the grocery stores (even natural grocers). Maybe it's the organic, non-GMO, fresh, local produce, or the sense of community you get walking around looking at all the exotic, in season fruits and veggies you don't normally see at the supermarket. Like purple kale and baby beef steak tomatoes. I'm starting to develop an obsession with kale.. There are so many different kinds and I want to try them all! So easy to cook, just pop it in the steamer or throw some in a soup. And don't forget about kale chips! Rip in pieces, rub with oil and sprinkle salt. Place in the oven until crispy. The baby tomatoes were just as good. They are almost entirely flesh, no seeds and juices, so you're getting a lot more tomato for your buck.
I was pretty surprised to actually see some bugs on my veggies too! It reminded me of being little and having a backyard garden. Or even when you had to soak and wash grocery store produce back in the day. Today you don't worry about that when you shop at the supermarket--everything's GMO and sprayed with pesticides.. they've even gone so far with sweet corn that it produces a poison to kill harmful insects, even the very beautiful monarch butterfly. Check this out;
Question: How are monarch butterflies associated with corn fields?
Answer: Plants in the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) are the only food source of monarch butterfly larvae. Common milkweed, A. syriaca, occurs throughout the U.S. Corn Belt, particularly in disturbed habitats like fields and roadsides, and usually is considered a noxious weed by growers. During corn pollen shed, which generally occurs 7–10 days in July, corn pollen can fall on the leaves of milkweed plants when they occur in or near cornfields. Any monarch larvae that feed on these plants are potentially exposed to corn pollen.
It's not just sweet corn, basically everything has been altered in one way or another. Some are altered so much that the plants DNA is nothing at all like it was when before it was altered. Suppressing the substance in tomatoes that causes it to rot so tomatoes will stay "ripe" longer, but I'm wondering.. is it really ripe anymore? Nature has a proven system and I don't think we should be messing with it. There is a reason tomatoes don't last forever and we should respect this.
The USDA, Monsanto and AstraZeneca, have contrived a way to make money on two fronts: First they make money on gene modification. Second, they make money because farmers have to pay them annually to continue to grow crops. It's apparently dollars and cents all the way, no sense of human protection involved. The USDA is actually in business with Monsanto in owning some of the genetic engineering technology patents.
"give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees.."
How cute is Joni? So naturally beautiful.
This was my first time trying quinoa, and it's better than I expected. I love trying new grains and having a variety in the house. Cookings not boring anymore!
Rinse 1 cup quinoa in some cheese cloth or a small strainer. Place in a pot with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and let boil 10 minutes. Bring heat down and let the quinoa simmer for about 30-45 minutes until done (turns clear and poofs up, a lot like tapioca.) Stir in 1/2 tsp salt and add a splash more water if it's dry.
For the kale; place in a steamer 10 minutes until tender. If you bought organic, soak in water and rinse well to get the little buggys off.
For the tomatoes; preheat the oven to broil. Half some tomatoes and place on a baking sheet. Cut up a little onion and garlic and place on top and around tomatoes. Put under the broiler for 20 minutes or so until tender and starting to char (see top picture). Watch carefully so you don't burn it. Sprinkle salt if you like.
Great for gloomy mornings! We ate this for breakfast on one of the scarce rainy days here in LA. Make some rice pudding for something sweet afterwards!
