Vegan Entrees We Enjoy

I am slowly typing up some of my go-to favorite recipes, I thought I would compile them on my blog as to be able to share them easily. I am putting them in alphabetical order but may later organize them by main ingredient. Let me know your thoughts if you have nay questions about these, just shoot me a note. Enjoy!

A.

Vegan Alfredo

gifted to us by Leaf the best vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Boulder CO.

Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant Vegan Alfredo

2 cups raw cashews (soaked in hot water overnight and strained)

1/2 yellow onion (diced small)

1/2 Tbs raw garlic

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

1/3 cup evoo

2 cups water

S & P to taste

Saute onions and garlic until clear - blend all ingredients together to desired texture. Nut pieces should be basically liquid, should not be chunky.

I used a food processor to make this, not a blender, chopped the onion and garlic first in the processor then sautéed them, then returned them to the processor to blend, came out very smooth.... heated very slowly on the oven for a few mins. Served over fetuccini one night with broccoli then had left overs a couple night later with whole wheat penne and edamame.

( Roman enjoyed this sauce )

B.

Black Bean Burgers

Adapted from Good Housekeeping recipe Aug, 2011

Tex-Mex Bean Burgers

1. c. quick cooking brown rice ( I use

1 can low sodium pinto beans ( I used black beans)

1c fresh corn kernels ( I used a cup of canned corn, drained)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed with a press

1.2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder

( I had neither one of the above spices so I used 3/4 tsp of Savory blend fajita seasoning )

salt and pepper

Spray veggie or olive oil

Burger Buns, favorite burger fixings, lettuce, avocado, tomato, red onions, cilantro, jalapeno,

Cook rice as label directs; let cool.

In food processor, pulse rice, beans, corn, garlic, seasonings, little dash of salt and pepper. Combine but still chunky. ( This can be refrigerated, covered, up to 4 hours) I did this and I think it made the patties easier to form.

Shape mixture into 4 ( 1-inch tick ) patties. Spray a 12-in nonstick skillet, and heat on medium for 1 min. Cook burgers 8-10 minutes or until browned on both sides.

I had the oven going for sweet potato fries so I placed the burgers on a baking dish and put them in the oven while I prepped the fixings, check the temperature with an to make sure they are nice and warm throughout.

I opted out of using a bun and just placed 2 burger patties along side giant salad and topped the burgers with avocado and salsa

C.

Rich nut & Chickpea Chili

6oz ( 1 cup ) raw cashews

4 tsps chili powder

2 tsps unsweeetened cocoa powder

4 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

4 cups small broccoli florets ( 9 oz)

2 1/4 cups water or low sodium veggie broth

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

12 oz soy or veggie protein crumbles ( about 2 cups)

Garnish ideas

1 cup plain soy or coconut yogurt

grated lemon zest

coarsely ground black pepper

chopped fresh tomatoes

lemon juice

minced cilantro

Whole wheat tortillas warmed on a pan or tortilla chips

In a food processor combine the cashew, chili powder and cocoa. Pulse the mix until it's the texture of coarse meal. Be careful not to turn into a paste.

In a big pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring, until onions are softened and begin to turn gold, 5-7 mins.

Add broccoli and 1/4 cup of water or broth. Cover and cook for 2 mins.Stir in cashew mixture, remaining 2 cups of water or broth and crushed tomatoes.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 mins. Stir in chickpeas and soy crumbles and simmer uncovered and stirring occasionally for 10 mins. Add more chili powder and salt as needed.

Add all or as many garnishes as you like. I refer lemon, fresh tomatoes and fresh cilantro.

It's a wrap, 2011 in review

I'm thinking about changing my blog title to "Family on the Go" What do you think?


This is us on Thanksgiving for the Wake Forest Gobblers Run 5k . I have done a lot of solo 5k & 10k races in the past, but this was the first one we all did together. I don't think I'll ever do another one without my family!Roman and Aaron ran together and I pushed Ryan in the stroller; Ryan got out of the stroller a few times to run and received cheers and applause from other runners, we were all grinning ear to ear. Roman especially loved bellying up tot the post race snacks!

I thought I'd catch us up on some of our family highlights of 2011, before I embark on new entries for 2012... we have certainly been a FAMILY on the Move this year that's for sure.

It seems like it all started last spring when we decided to take a family vacation to Florida, where we experienced the magic chaos of Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, and the Nickelodeon resort. If that's not a lesson in endurance, crisis and money management I don't know what else is! But we did have fun.

In the late spring Aaron took a job promotion that would move him to a new facility in Clarksville, VA a small lake side town just north over the state of NC. After careful consideration of school districts, housing and commute time, we settled on establishing ourselves in sleepy Wake Forest, NC.

In an unbelievable turn of events we sold our home in CO after one week on the market! We spent almost a month or more apart as Aaron started his job in VA and I closed up the house, managed the movers, finalized the sale of the home and attended several tear jerking "farewell " parties for us and the boys.

We moved into a rather dumpy short term rental where there were troublesome bugs, even more troubling neighbors and an inoperable stove.... but after 3 months we closed on the sale of a "new to us" dreamy home. Hurricane Irene helped us move in a most expeditious manor.The neighborhood we moved into is very welcoming. I have been invited into the neighborhood book club and Aaron has been invited to play touch football on Sundays. People knocked on our door to introduce themselves and brought us treats. Roman is in heaven... surrounded by other boys his age, they rule the cul-da-sac with their bikes, scooters, Nerf swords, football and hockey games. We feel really lucky, a tad bit relieved and generally really happy with our decision to move.

But the bugs in NC are freaking big!

Roman has lost 3 teeth, said goodbye to old friends and made tons of new ones, he is continuing with karate and will be awarded with Orange belt this weekend. He rides the bus to school and has recently been entered in the Accelerated Reader program in his first grade class.


Ryan continues to bring smiles to everyone he meets, and he has made some new friends in the neighborhood too. He goes to music class with me, and will likely start preschool soon. He turns 3 this month and wants a Batman cake.

Below is a picture of Ryan at his Aunt Rebecca's wedding in Golden, CO.

We finished out the calender year by celebrating Christmas with Grandma and Papa Ades, & visited extended Wilmington. We played and boated near Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach.

So what does the new year hold for us? More ( yes still ) unpacking, furnishing and organizing, more swimming, more fun in the sun, lemonade stands, backyard parties, biking, rollerblading and running.

As for little whole me, I will continue to volunteer my time as Romans room parent, spending time in the classroom and assisting the PTO with various school events like teacher appreciation, fundraising events and such. I also hope to blog more, do more yoga, perfect a few more vegan entrees and take piano lessons.

Here's to hoping the world doesn't end this year so I can keep you posted on our happenings!

Many blessings for a wonderful 2012

Mama on the Go and Family

Out with the Old, In with the New

Irene's Dining Room


Ades' Dining Room

Hurricane Irene made a big splash on the news, and along the NC coast as well but not so much here inland Wake Forest. However the threat was large enough that we picked up the pace of moving into our new home and fit about 2 days worth of what was suppose to be mellow loading and unloading into 8 hours. We worked to the point of hysterics, and by hysterics I mean a bit of stress, and alot of mostly laughter, at one point we were trying to navigate our queen sized mattress up the stairs and it became a scene out of Friends: "PIVOT!" where we had concluded the bed was clearly defective and would need to be dismantled and replaced. That was about when we had to call it quitting time.


Enter bird bath margaritas, and some very tired bodies.




By the the eve of the Irene's landfall we were moved into the new house well enough to sleep and eat, basic provisions were stocked and we stayed abreast of town happenings online. We spent the next day unpacking, and living the simple life till the rest of our stuff would be brought over by the professional movers.

Aaron had the week following the final migration off from work and we unpacked, and ruthlessly purged our books, kitchen gadgetry and kids toys ( yard sale potentially next week if anyone wants to make the trip to peruse!)

We also took plenty of ridiculous bubble baths in the jetted tub:




We actually rounded out our first week in our new house -out of the house quite a bit. The neighborhood pool held a labor day boat "regatta" party where kids and adults can race a hand made boat across the pool crafted only out of cardboard and duct tape.Roman entered the race with the help of his dad (and mom) hello-2 trips to Walmart for camouflage duct tape!!!

Sizing up competition:

Our boat was named:" Your mama wears combat boots"

Poolside spectacle.I mean spectator.

We did not win the regatta but had a blast trying, it was a great diversion from unpacking as well as a fun time spent with neighbors.

As the days pass into Fall, temperatures are dropping and the oven like southern heat wave is becoming somewhat of a distant memory. We are getting more and more settled... if you can call sitting on camping chairs in the tv room settled. We are slowly bringing order back from a chaotic and stressful past few months.We are enjoying cooking in our new kitchen- we went over a month without a working oven in our lovely rental home!

We love love love our new neighborhood,and neighbors I can't wait to share more!

Birthdays, Moving Days, oh Happy Day!

It's Monday morning of the week we will close on the sale of our new home. It's also my Dad's 69th birthday , yay! I'll raise a big ol' mug of strong coffee to you!

Speaking of birthdays, Roman was invited to his first North Carolina friend birthday party, he has made a buddy in class that also goes to the neighborhood pool a lot and they have seemed to click. They get a long very well, and the boys parents are nice and it's melts my heart to see him playing and smiling and being a silly boy, I think he grows tired of playing with baby brother and the parents!

Other than attending the birthday party we spent the majority of the weekend packing up and organizing for the move. The boys liked unpacking the boxes, so I quickly learned to go ahead and seal the boxes up as soon as it was stuffed. We have a simple, yet, labor intensive plan to load - unload a 17' Uhaul on Saturday with as much stuff as we can, leaving behind heavy cumbersome and otherwise 2- strong man items such as the washer/ dryer, the freezer, beds, tables, outdoor stuff etc. A local moving company will show up next Monday and finish up for us for an arm and a leg = hourly rate.

We just started the first "track out" from school, a 3 week break from the year round schedule. At first, as the break was looming I was dreading it, I though oh my gosh we just started now I have to keep him busy again??? But as the track out was looming, so was was his exhaustion, the rigors of 1st grade, plus the heat and early start time to catch the bus, I think really caught up with him, he was starving when he walked in the door and one day he even fell asleep at 4:00 on the loveseat! So now, I am grateful for the break for Roman, but I am also equally grateful for the prolific track out camp selection in Wake Forest. Today Roman is going to take a Tennis / Swim camp offered in our neighborhood and he will be kept company with another buddy from his class.

After I drop Roman off to camp I get to meet our angel of an agent at the new house for a final walk thru, I can't wait!!

Life's Right for the Ades at Wrightsville Beach, NC

With our 8 year wedding anniversary as an excuse to "getaway" we got our land locked tails over to the coast last weekend- it's was astonishing!

We left early afternoon on Friday and made it to the bustling town of Wilmington, and the surf lovers mecca of Wrightsville Beach. After checking into our hotel we quickly made our way to a seafood resaurant on the marina, I indulged in a long over due summer mojito, and we watched boats come in and out. Aaron spied his dream yacht, we ventured to guess it was about $600k - ouch!

After dinner we drove straightaway to the shore, and the boys ( all three of them) could hardly contain their excitement and had to dive right in street clothes and all.




The warm watered waves knocked Roman around much to his absolute delight, and he begged us to bury him in the sand, Aaron happily obliged.

Saturday was all about fun in the sun, sand and surf. We played and swam till we ran out of provisions and energy. We took refuge from mid afternoon heat in our hotel room.



Saturday evening we walked along Cape Fear River and spied the Battleship US North Carolina from across river where planned to visit the next day.



Sunday we took a water taxi over to the Battleship.The boys hung in there pretty well, yet rising temps + humidity, + non air condiioned ships quarters made for a sweltering battleship visit. The ship is enormous and we probably only really took in about a third of it.
I found it very fascinating and wouldn't mind going back some time, Ryan might need another looksee when he gets a bit older too, he found it a lot to take in for a little guy.

We hope to get back out to the coast again this month while Roman takes his first "track out" school break. We have a growing list of places to visit along the shore, I'd say the beach made a lasting impression on the boys.

Fur Sales and Family Time

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

What a weekend for the Ades famaily here in the new homeland of Wake Forest, NC

Here's the recap, with lots of pictures to prove it :

Friday night set the tone with a "Dive in Movie" hosted at our neighborhood pool, at sunset they showed Gnomeo & Juliet, the kids floated:


while parents unwinded poolside with beverages of choice.



Saturday was suppose to be our "up and at-em day", we had plans to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie and to go to the State Farmers Market held in Raleigh. But long naps, car issues and big projects "got in the way", or did they?

While Ryan took one of his epic naps, (no doubt to get caught up on the sleep he missed staying up late at the pool) Roman and Aaron decided to fashion themselves a lemonade stand out of the left over moving boxes we had laying around. I was given a list and headed to the grocery store:

I came home with the following:




With receipt in hand we discussed such lofty terms as initial investment, capital expenses and angel investors. We rounded up to $10 in initial expenses and had him calculate how many cups of .50c lemonade he'd have to sell to make that back. We also gave him a locking cash box and made sure he had plenty of coinage to make change. The left brain and right brain were engaged to the max.

Roman sketched out design ideas:


He originally envisioned a Rocket Lemonade Stand, but once they got looking at the shape of the boxes, a castle emerged.

Then the real engineering began:




We finally called it a day and treated ourselves to a dinner out at a local restaurant, Shuckers, super family friendly experience, live music on the patio and a nearby Italian Ice place for refreshing dessert rounded out the day perfectly.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was back to business:

They tested out and perfected the lemonade recipe, a job not taken lightly let me tell you, we debated sweetness over tartness for a good half hour. They mixed the country time mix, with fresh squeezed lemons, sugar and water till the right mix was decided upon. Watching Ryan suck a lemon never gets old, wish I had a picture of his face.




Later Roman Finalizes the signage:


Ryan offered as much help as a toddler in diapers could.



and finally... he is open for business right in the heat of the day no less!



2 customers in 2 hours prompted the need for signage at the entrance of the neighborhood and on the corner of our street.


The signs worked! He sold out pretty quickly, just in nick of time, for who should so brazenly roll in:




.....corporate competition capturing potential customers attention, if not also a hefty portion of Roman earnings, he bought an over priced lemon-lime slushy.


And no, we never pointed out his spelling errors, nor did we get to the movie theater or the farmers market, I'm not even sure we went further than a one mile radius from our home, but for this family on the go, we may have finally started to settle in, to life.

"Bye Bye, best bubby"

Roman's first day of first grade was on Monday - a momentous, celebratory and exciting event, no?

Well, yes and no. Somehow the day began and ended in tears. First mine, then his.

Leading me to wonder - why?
It's fairly easy to figure out a mamas tears on her kiddos first day of school, no matter the grade. Starting a new grade in school has "birthday" qualities, it represents new beginnings, milestones, new tasks to undertake, people to meet, there are fears, imagined or actual, memories of ones own first days. I told Roman how I met one of my best friends on the bus in first grade. I also remember getting separated from another friend in first grade class for what could have only have been described as excessive silliness.

After getting Roman to his new class with a hug and kiss from his baby brother, who left saying
" Bye Bye, best bubby"
Ryan and I slowly made our way down the very long hall with kids and parents rushing to and fro. I overhead a husband ask his wife "and how's mom doing" I knew the tone, he was making sure she wasn't going to spew snot and ears before the send off. Something Aaron would ask me had he been able to be there. Not just a few minutes later, as we were leaving the building I heard a mom tell her toddler, "well, it's just me and you now", something I would, and was actually about to say to Ryan.

That's about when I started to loose it, so I text Aaron, with a "call me" plea and just waited till I could talk to him. I longed for my old crew of mamas in CO to commiserate with......I imagine the first grade start day at Romans old school ....who was still home with a toddler, who was finally "free" ( as if), who had business plans and resumes in hand ready to get to it? Who just got some freaking FREE time to finally CLEAN the FREAKING out of the _________ OF THE __________?

But I don' t really have anyone here to commiserate with, and back in CO everyone is still on break anyways, so I text my uber busy husband at 8am and he talked me down from my under caffeinated ledge, and we talked about what we always talk about when it comes to Romans education, which is staying involved, keeping him engaged, and busy with extracurricular activity's which will ultimately help him to make new friends. I do plan to volunteer in class and join PTO activities as they sprout up. Bu it takes time, and I'm still new to the school too, it's not just Roman who is a NKOB!

After an uneventful day in Mama- Ryan land ;the gym, ( great kids play room for Ryan to play in while I exercise ) a visit to the grocery store, a long nap- for him, not me, ( I'm not a napper) I was anxious to find out about Romans day and we greeted him off the bus with otter pops and squeals of joy from Ryan.

Later we waited for Aaron to get home and Roman recounted his day, yes the teacher is nice, yes he liked it, yes , yes, yes. All good.

By bed time we were riding him to get in pajamas ( a usual battle) and when I checked in on him he was huddled in a corner crying. Crying hard, big tears and when I asked him what was wrong he said he was sad. "Just sad" he said. We pressed a bit and he started in on "I'm lonely" "I have no friends in class" "I miss my old friends and school".I lost it and had to go to another room- superdad had to take over, talk the kid down and get him to go to sleep.


I think the reality of the move finally set in for him.

Aaron and I discussed it and realized he is having feelings he has never had before, the types of feelings some kids don't have till way later in life, if at all, and we have to let him have those feelings in addition to helping him process them. We can only tell him " it takes time" or the fall back of, "don't worry". But my inside voice asks "how cognizant is a 6 year old of those statements"?

God only knows I feel lonely. I have no friends. I don't even have a favorite checker a the grocery store yet. I feel like we are somewhat of a holding pattern in a short term rental is not helping, but it does give us something to look forward to. And I will admit I have been a little hesitate to reach out around me and feel like an interloper of sorts, we moved into a house that, according to the neighbors has always been a rental and is on the brink of foreclosure / short sale. They surely see our garage filled to the max with boxes and know we are not here to stay. That and the fact that we are set back from the road, with an fairly awesome long driveway for the kids to play on, but is not great for neighborly banter.

But still feel so guilty, so bad for little guy, who instead of ultimately laying down in celebration of his first day is riddled with sadness. I want him to know I feel the same but want to feel different, that I know things will get easier.

Yes, It takes time and as my friend Deana pointed out in an encouraging e-mail "You'll find your niche. Better to find it in your own hood anyway".


It takes time. We don't worry.