This is my 8th blog post of 2018. Last year I blogged 127 times, that makes 10.58 blog posts per month, almost 2 blog posts per week. HEY THAT’S NOT BAD. Considering that it is a luxury to actually have time to sleep. 

I even made the effort to update the look of the website and added video headers, plus some new pages. I have also opted to add a few affiliate links. I’m actually not sure if I want to continue them, we shall see.  I also tried to refrain from bitching about work and being constantly exhausted all the time.

My 2018 new year resolution is blog at least 3 posts per week. I have never really cared if anybody reads this silly little blog, it has been more about documenting some of the places I’ve been and the insights I’ve had. So I am always surprised that people do follow. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU!  🙂 for your continued support.

Okay back to reviewing 2017...

More Vegan Food
I have posted more and more vegan recipes and cooking stuff in general this past year. Mostly because I have been home more and have the ability to cook more. I still want to remind you I am NOT a food blogger. ​ 

2017 hair
I think I have taken more selfies in 2017 than all the past years combined. Remember when you wondered what I looked like? Yeah, those days are long gone.

But back to my hair, it is still blonde - And yes, I’m bored with it. I considered cutting it off this year, but I think I will wait another year. It grows pretty fast though and if I do not flat iron it you 
can see it is really thick. Using the flat iron may make the style look better - but I hate how thin and flat it looks.  :(

​

Travel in 2017
Travel this past year was sparse. Well, compared to other years when I'm running back and forth to NOLA, Florida  or France. But I did mange a few adventures...

 Janurary here in central New Mexico  started out snowing... 
​I  am still impressed with snow.
​It was fun for a few days and then it was over. #Goodtimes

Jan - left the odd snow storm and headed to New York City. It was dark, cold and snowing there too. But New York is always amazing no matter what the weather is like.
​This trip was part busines/part fun.

And totally not what I expected. It did snow while we were there, but we still managed a night trip to see the Northern Lights. We stayed 7 days and it was not long enough. I'm sure we will return soon.

March was a short Vegas get away and April was me at home planting a garden and experimenting in the kitchen. 

May  I had company and showed them around the area here. You can read about it here. I also started a mini food diary to share what I eat (people still ask) and what I typically purchase at the market. 

August I began "What Are You Reading?" A quick review of my recent reads and such. Work was still very busy, but I made my mind up I was going to make time to read and relax more. 

September another review and of course the hurricane hitting my home in Texas. I actually didn't talk much about it.  Maybe this year I will be able to share more, it's just completely overwhelming. STILL.

October was Halloween and I was supposed to go to NOLA for a right old party, but I came down with a bug and spent it in bed. #FML (But look out this year!) 

November I blogged about American Myths and more book reviews. We debated on going somewhere exotic for Christmas, but decided against it.  After spending the holidays in Europe and other amazing places it was nice to just stay in and chill for a change. We did explore around the area, here some. Check out this short video if you want to see an ancient Native American site we hiked.

I also posted more about my not so secret love of flowers and house plants this past year.

So all in all it was a great year. We didn't travel as much as usual, but that's okay too. I'm so thankful we are able to live in a nice place, with lots of natural beauty and good people. 

I'm also thankful for you, taking the time to read my silly little blog. I appreciate it and the encouraging emails I get from ya'll. Thank you for your friendship and support! 

Do you have big plans for this year? I can't wait to see what adventures 2018 will bring!

See you at the airport-

So it's Saturday night and I was minding my own business...
Yes, it's gonna be that kinda story.
I have spent my day off whipping up vegan treats and catching up with friends via social media.  #BestDayEver!
One of the treats I made was a lovely bunch of Vegan Raw Fudge.  Recipe was so simple and quick that I should make weekly. But then I would be eating fudge weekly and well...maybe not a good idea either.

If you follow me on SC you saw my heavenly creation among my daily random snaps. 

Now I do make other things, they just don't look as pretty as the dessert, so I rarely post them. But tonight as I was cooking, and I was also talking to one of friends, he was teasing me about the fudge and we were private snapping back and forth....So I sent him this video of what I was cooking at the moment.  Please note dear reader, this was a private video but I was not naked, not everything that happens on SC is porn related.  BUT,  It did get me in serious trouble! 

I was cooking, and not paying attention to WTF I was doing and sent not to him, but to my stream... and the fall out was almost immediate! 
​
"WTF! Is that Chicken?!"
"IS THAT CHICKEN?!"
"How can you cook chicken!"
"That's gross chicken!" 
"I thought you were a vegan!" 

And more of that....

Okay in my mind that's clearly not chicken. 
Isn't this chicken????

I was clearly not cooking THAT!
What I was frying (How dare I right? But I was using orgainic Olive Oil, I actually linked it below the recipe for your insepction) was clearly NOT chicken, it was TOFU, you know, that thing every vegan is supposed to eat? I rarely eat it, but thought I wanted to try this receipe for a change of pace. #GoMe and didn't that work out well...

Here is the actual recipe for my Fried Tofu Nuggets:

Crispy Tofu Nuggets
Ingredients
    •    1 block extra-firm organic tofu (NOT CHICKEN)
    •    3 cloves garlic
    •    2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
    •    1 tablespoon dijon mustard
    •    1 tablespoon maple syrup
    •    2 tablespoon water
    •    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    •    3/4 cup of oat flour (I made my own from whole oats - aka oatmeal)
    •    4 tablespoons olive oil (or enough to fry the tofu)
    •    A dash of Himalayan salt 
    •    A side of your favorite sauce for dipping

Instructions
    1    Drain the tofu, and cut into nugget sized pieces. NOTE: DO NOT USE CHICKEN
    2    Once cut, lay the tofu pieces on a clean dishtowel, and then wrap them up in the towel. Put a cutting board on top, and balance something heavy, such as a few cans on top of that. This is how you press the tofu to help release excess water. Let the tofu press for 10 to 30 minutes, the longer you press it, the drier and more firm the it will be. Note: It will not turn into chicken.
    3    When you are ready to make your tofu, mince the garlic cloves and add them to a large flat bowl that is big enough to fit your nuggets.
    4    Add the remaining sauce ingredients to the garlic bowl: the tomato paste/ketchup, dijon mustard, maple syrup, water, and pepper,  whisk together.
    5    In a separate dish that is also big enough to fit the tofu, add the oat flour.
    6    Dip the tofu  in the tomato mixture, and use a spoon or fork to help spread a thick layer of the sauce on the tofu. Now dip the sauced tofu into the oat flour and use your hand to help pat the flour onto the tofu. Repeat with remaining tofu pieces. 
    7    Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, carefully fry the tofu pieces until they are golden brown on both sides, and heated through. About 3 to 6 minutes per side. The breading can be a little fragile and falls off easily, be gentle when handling the tofu. (Still not chicken)
    8    Serve with sticky rice and a side of your favorite dipping sauce.
Serves two - three people.
 It is actually very, very good! 
I found this basic recipe on line and added my own twists to it. But clearly NOT chicken.
Here are the oats I ground up in my food processor and the tofu I used...

Those are affiliate links, if you want to buy straight from them, I do get a few pennies from the sale. It does not affect your cost at all and helps to keep me in tofu and maple syrup. I'm hoping to save enough money to take Snap Chat lessons so that I never make this mistake again. 

Have a good weekend and can I call you for bail money if the Vegan cops don't believe me? We ate all the evidence.

​

It's hard to believe it's almost Christmas! 
I've got most of my shopping done and wrapped. (So I will not be tempted to give it away early, lol) and just need a few little things for stocking stuffers. My list isn't that long so it will be a breeze, fingers crossed.

I also spoke to my family in Texas today and told them I was not coming for the holidays.  So Monday I will start mailing gifts to them. ​ Well, I will mail some, Amazon will take care of the rest, thankfully.

My brother called to discuss Christmas and tell me about the freak snowstorm they had this week. It usually snows in south/central Texas once every 10-15 years and turns into ice, a big mess and lots of traffic accidents! And people freak out. (See the news story here) But, fortunately this time it was just pleasant snow for about 24 hours and then was warm again.  It does make it seem more like Christmas.

It has been snowing here in New Mexico off and on all around us. But mostly it has just been cold, but it is winter after all.  We have a short day trip to Santa Fe planed for next month, so we should have really nice snow pictures then! 

The bananas went into these vegan flourless cookies. I think I have finally found the holy grail of oatmeal cookies. These cookies were amazing! Let me bake one more batch and then I will post pictures and the full recipe. 

 I am glad to say I will not be having any guest or be running around the country like a crazy person this year. A staycation seemed like the thing to do originally because I had so much work to do, but I actually am caught up now, thanks to an amazing new admin and extra help! #WIN!

 So we could go to Texas..but the more I thought about it, the more I knew sticking with the original plan was the right thing to do. I'm so excited about taking time off from work and just staying home and not having any commitments.  It may sound lame, but after the busy ass year I've had it sounds like heaven to me. 

Okay, I'm off for my morning walk and then to work.

Hi,
How are You? It's been awhile since I reviewed a new product, so I was thinking, since I'm always hungry (true story) and always excited to try new things, I thought I should share my findings with you today. But first the Disclaimer - I'm not a food blogger. I'm a hungry vegan....

If you are expecting glorious food pictures, decorated with flowers and tiny bits of glitter, move on..you won't be happy here. I'm just a girl who likes to travel and eat. I bought this item and decided to cook today. Perhaps my experience will be different from yours, perhaps not.

Okay, so who wants pancakes??

Here is what happened next:

They were a HUGE Hit. I served them with Organic Maple Syrup and wow.
Just wow! I can also report that I had no heavy or bloated feeling afterward. Everyone ate their fill and we still had a few left and when asked, all voted this to the "buy again" list. #score

Now remember, I didn't use eggs, I replaced them with the Neategg. I didn't use milk at all, it was replaced with water. The butter was replaced with olive oil and the pancakes were fried in coconut oil. So I barely followed the instructions at all, lol! 

Pros:
Flavor was good, the mix was easy and everyone liked them. 
I think these would be great for a day when I have company and they want a more "traditional" breakfast than Vegan Nice Cream, which is my personal "breakfast of choice". This, plus veggie sausage, fruit and fried tofu would make a huge, traditional breakfast that would please anyone.  I recommend this as a staple to keep on hand for guest or for when you want a breakfast change. 

Cons:
I would not eat them often, as I do not consider them particularly healthy. Also even if I could get two or three meals out of a box.....that's a lot of money for pancakes.

Have you tried them before? Or do you eat them regularly? I'd love to hear what you think.

I will buy another box and keep in pantry for guests or that odd breakfast. I'm gonna try some of the other products this company makes and will report back on them. 

Catch you later I still have pancakes to eat~

Hey!

Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

            16 oz cream cheese softened

            2 tablespoons mayonnaise

            4 oz can crushed pineapple with juice

            1 cup pecans chopped and toasted

            32 oz packages thinly sliced white sandwich bread (2 packages)

Preparation

.                 Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and pineapple. Stir well until thoroughly blended. Stir in pecans. Trim crusts from bread slices. Spread filling on 1 side of half of bread slices, top with remaining bread slices. cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Chill until ready to serve. For testing purposes only, we used Pepperidge Farm Very thin white sandwich bread. I think From Southern Living.


________

Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches                       

8 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and grated

            2/3 cup mayonnaise $

            1/2 cup finely diced celery

            1/4 cup finely chopped chives

            2 tablespoons minced red onion

            1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

            1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

            1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

Preparation

.                 Stir together grated eggs, mayonnaise, celery, chives, onion, tarragon, pepper, and seasoned salt.

Spread on: whole grain bread slices. Spread mayonnaise on an equal number of whole grain bread slices. Sandwich egg salad slices and mayonnaise slices with fresh watercress.


and

Olive Tea Sandwiches

1 (7.5-ounce) jar pimiento-stuffed olives, drained and chopped
1/2 small onion, diced 
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise 
36 thin white bread slices
Preparation
. Stir together first 5 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 hour.
. Spread olive mixture on one side of 18 bread slices; top with remaining bread slices. Trim crusts from sandwiches; cut each into triangles, or cut with decorative cookie cutters.
. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Pepperidge Farm Very Thin White Bread Slices. From: Southern Living
.

and
I picked this because there was a VERY healthy crop of tomatoes right now. But speaking of healthy,  we all know canned soup is high in sodium.

Tomato-Basil Bisque

Canned tomato soup gets a boost in this satisfying version, served warm or cold

Ingredients

             2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans tomato soup, undiluted 

            1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

            2 1/2 cups buttermilk

            2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

            1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

            Toppings: fresh basil leaves, freshly ground pepper, Parmesan cheese

Preparation

.                 Cook first 5 ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately with desired toppings. I think this was from Southern Living too.


(To go with the Tomato Bisque)


Neiman Marcus Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients

            2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

            1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

            1 teaspoon salt

            1 cup vegetable shortening

            1 cup (4 oz.) freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

            1 cup buttermilk

            Parchment paper

Preparation

.                 1. Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas and dough is crumbly; stir in cheese. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

.                 2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 to 4 times. Place dough in a bowl; cover and chill 1 hour.

.                 3. Preheat oven to 350°. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll dough to 1-inch thickness; cut with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter, and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

.                 4. Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Note:

Unbaked biscuits may be frozen up to 1 month. Bake frozen biscuits as directed for 26 to 28 minutes or until golden brown.

Kevin Garvin and John Harrisson, Neiman Marcus Cookbook, Southern Living 
MARCH 2012


I tried to pick up recipes that looked good, were easy to make and didn't require off the wall ingr which you would pay out-the-ass-for and use this once. (I personally HATE that.)


Ok, gotta run  - let me know if you make any of these or have better recipes for tea sandwiches. I'll let you know what the caterer does.
    
Catch you later
 :~)