Homemaker Monday: A Raw Vegan Thanksgiving

Welcome to the 69th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Hannah over at Mulberry Spot! Hannah sewed the most adorable shopping bag and I thought this would be the perfect link for today's Homemaker Monday, as the biggest shopping season of the year is approaching. Behold the cuteness...



To find out where you can get the pattern and make one, too, click HERE. Thanks so much, Hannah, for linking up with us and we look forward to many more posts from you!

MINE: Today's "MINE" isn't actually mine, but rather a guest post from my daughter, AKA the 20-year-old girl. I mentioned her in THIS POST, about how to cut an onion with crying, and referred to the fact that she eats a predominantly raw vegan diet. This sparked many questions in the comments section and a few requests that perhaps we do a post on raw vegan living. So....here we are! "Why raw", you ask? Here's what the 20-year-old girl has to say...

"Cooking your food over 115 degrees F kills natural enzymes and roasts most of the nutritional benefits your food already has in it. When you kill these enzymes, you then have to draw from your body’s enzymes reserves. Digestion is easier, leaving more energy to spare to put towards doing what you love! Cooking your food also evaporates a lot of the water out of your food, meaning you have to drink more rather than getting it from your food. The bottom line really is: why do you need to alter your food, when you can eat it in its natural state, free from frying, sautéing, microwaves, grease, preservatives and chemical alterations?"

For thanksgiving (NOT turkey day!), the 20-year-old girl prepared an unsurpassed bounty of raw vegan cuisine. As I listened to her tell me about the recipes she used over the phone, I began to have an urge to take up this type of food preparation again, as I ate like this for a few months at the beginning of the year, but reverted back to my old eating habits during the most difficult part of my early pregnancy. I imagined how wonderful her and her guests must have felt after having eaten all of this raw plant food for thanksgiving instead of the greasy, buttered, fair we ate. While our traditional dinner was absolutely delicious, none of us felt too good after stuffing ourselves! So, here, let me show you what she made. We did not post all of the recipes, as most of them came from cookbooks, but if you'd like the recipe for a particular dish, please leave me a comment in the comment section with your email address (or email me at mom2my9 [at] gmail [dot] com) and we'll get it to you. However, the 20-year-old girl did find a delicious "eggless" nog recipe on the internet we can share with you at the end of this post. Enjoy!



(From left to right: Brussels Sprout, Eggless Nog, Marinated Portobella Mushrooms, Mashed Root Vegetables, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Pie)



(Marinated Portobella Mushrooms: Marinated for 10-15 minutes in marinade of onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, sea salt and pepper. Feel free to add king oyster mushrooms to act as “white meat”.)



(Brussels Sprouts: Marinated for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of olive oil, maple syrup, pistachio oil, sea salt, and pepper. May be dehydrated for up to 45 minutes for more tender sprouts.)



(Cranberry Sauce: Cutie oranges (including rind) processed with freshly frozen cranberries mixed with grated apple. Sugar added to taste.)



(Stuffing: Processed cauliflower florets, ground pecans, carrots, celery onion, truffle oil, and herbs.)



(Mashed Root Veggies: Celery root, jicama, parsnips, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, scallions, and truffle oil processed with a pine nut creamed with water.)



(Pumpkin Pie: Crust- Almond flour, maple syrup powder, date paste and coconut butter.
Filling- Cashews, coconut meat, coconut butter, carrot juice, and spices.
Candied Pumpkin Seeds: Pumpkin seeds soaked for 4 hours, then tossed with a maple syrup powder/ginger mixture, then dehydrated for 12-24 hours.)

"Eggless" Nog

Ingredients:

One cup raw, unsalted almonds
Three tablespoons of raw, organic agave nectar as your sweetener
Two 14 ounce cans of Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk
Two cups unsweetened rice milk or hemp milk
Three tablespoons of rum flavoring
Two tablespoons of vanilla flavoring
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, powdered
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, powdered
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, powdered
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, powdered

Directions:

Step 1: Soak the almonds in a covered jar of water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, drain the almonds in a strainer and put almonds in your blender to liquify. Add the coconut milk, agave nectar, and the soy milk on top of the almonds. Then add the rum and vanilla flavorings. Finally, add the spices--cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Optional, add 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom.

Step 2: Liquify all ingredients in a blender. You have the choice of serving the nogg with the tiny ground almond pieces in the liquid or straining out any almond pieces or skins. Either way is fine. It's a similar to a choice between serving juice with or without the pulp.

Step 3: If you want to remove the almond pieces not liquified, then when everything is liquified, strain the contents of your blender through a cheesecloth so that the almond skin and itchy to swallow pieces of almond skins are strained out and the liquid and spices runs through the cheesecloth into a bowl, container, or jar.

Step 4: Chill in the refrigerator and serve with a small amount of cinnamon on top. If you want a thicker eggless nog, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of grapefruit or apple pectin powder which will turn the nog into a gelatin-like consistency. Or keep the nog thin the way it is. Serve cold with your holiday dinner or desserts. If desired, top the nog when served in small glasses, with grated coconut or chopped nuts. If you want a sweeter nog, add a teaspoon more of agave nectar until you reach the sweetness level to your preferred taste.

Does all this cuisine not look absolutely amazing? 20-year-old girl, I want to thank you very much for helping me with this post and for the the wonderful example you set of healthy living. Love you!

And now, because it is almost December, I would like to share with you one of my favorite Christmas musical arrangements ever. The video isn't the most spectacular thing, but I could listen to this music over and over again, and have. I even ordered the piano sheet music and it is every bit as beautiful. And just for your enjoyment, I will attach a musical Christmas Youtube video with every post I do until the end of December. Yes, that's how excited I am about Christmas, and how much I care about you.



OURS: Okay, now it's your turn! Do you have anything Christmas-y to help us get ready for the holiday season? Feel free to link anything homemaking, even if you have to dig through your archives. We all love learning from fellow homemakers! I hope you all have a wonderful Homemaker Monday!

An American Mom in Mexico Makes Japanese Sushi

I was introduced to sushi by my sisters many years ago, and since then it has become my all-time favorite food on the planet. Many people squirm at the thought of eating sushi, because they think raw, slimy fish. But did you know what? Sushi doesn't mean raw fish. Sashimi is raw fish. Sushi it just rice prepared in the sushi style usually wrapped with seaweed and stuffed with filling.

Today, we will learn how to make a vegetarian California roll (no raw fish!). My littlest sister not only introduced me to sushi-eating, but to sushi-making as well. She learned her skills while working in a sushi bar from 2 Mexican 20-year-old twins. You must understand that my littlest sister is a buxom, freckled, farm-girl type beauty and these twins took a liking to her. One of the first things they said to her, in a thick Mexican accent, was, "Congratulations! You are BEAUTIFUL!" And thus, her tutelage began, which she graciously passed on to me.

First of all, there are a few tools and ingredients you'll need to have on hand. They are...

-A bamboo sushi roller (can be purchased at any Asian grocery store)
-Wasabi (a hot horse-radish style Japanese mustard...I've purchased this at Wal-mart)
-Pickled ginger (can be purchased at any Asian grocery store)
-Roasted seaweed (I've also purchased this at Wal-mart)
-Roasted sesame seeds (can be purchased at Wal-mart or Sam's)

Okay, now that we've got all of our paraphernalia, let's begin.

Vegetarian California Sushi Rolls

Ingredients:

4 cups rice
8 cups water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cucumber
1 package cream cheese
1 avocado
Roasted sesame seeds
Soy sauce
Wasabi
Pickled Ginger

Directions:

Step 1: Make the rice. You can use special Japanese rice, but I just use plain rice from my food storage. I always use a rice cooker, because I could never get my rice just right in a pot. If you only have a pot, just follow the instructions on your rice package.

Step 2: After the rice is cooked, add the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, stirring carefully so as not to smash the rice...



Step 3: Let the rice cool. Because I was in a hurry, I spread my rice out on a cookie sheet and it cooled very quickly this way...



Step 4: While you're waiting for the rice to cool, cut up the cucumber (omitting the seeds), the cream cheese and the avocado...




(To easily de-seed an avocado, just press a sharp knife into the seed and twist to remove...)



(To easily slice an avocado, trying cutting it while still in it's peel, like so...



...then scoop the slices out with a spoon...)



Step 5: Lay out your bamboo sushi roller on a hard surface...



Step 6: Place the seaweed on the roller with the shiny side down.

(Shiny side...)



(Not shiny side...)




Step 7: Spread the cooled rice onto the seaweed, leaving about an inch of empty space at the top...



Step 8: On top of the rice, place cucumber slices, avocados, cream cheese slices and sprinkle on roasted sesame seeds.



Step 9: Dip your fingers into a bowl of water...



...then wet the top of the seaweed, like so...



(This will help seal the roll.)

Step 10: Starting at the bottom of the roll, roll the sushi over the ingredients, then press the seaweed under, like so...




Keep rolling until you have formed a tight cylinder, then squeeze it to seal the moistened seaweed edge...



Step 11: Your roll is finished!



Step 12: Now, with a very sharp knife (you can use a special sushi knife...



...making sure it is really, really sharp...)



...cut your roll into one half inch pieces, making sure the seaweed seam is down...



In my case, the ends usually don't turn out very pretty, so I put them on a separate place and eat them myself later.

Step 13: To create your dipping sauce, mix a small amount of wasabi in soy sauce, to taste. If you are not accustomed to wasabi, I would recommend you not use too much, as it can really clear the sinuses. If you do end up getting too much, just make sure you don't breathe through your nose, only your mouth. Trust me!

Step 14: It's really fun to set a Japanese place setting on which to place your beautiful sushi. I used a rectangular blue and white plate, matching soy sauce dish, wooden chopsticks and a chopstick holder my littlest sister gave me for Christmas one year...



(And just to show you how unprofessional this tutorial is, I have not placed the pickled ginger on the plate, which is used as a palate cleanser, because I didn't have any. At least I neatly formed the wasabi to mix with the soy sauce in the upper right corner.)

I really hope you enjoy this and I would love to hear your experience once you try it! Thanks for listening!

Tomato Garlic Salad with Basil Vinegarette

If you garden, chances are that you are wondering what to do with your surplus of tomatoes. I came up with this recipe because I had to bring a dish to a corn fry pot luck and I needed to use up my tomatoes before they became squishy. Everyone LOVED it. One woman came up to me and said, "Did you make the tomato stuff?" I answered that I did, and how did she know? She said, "Because it's really good." That answer didn't make sense to me then, nor does it make sense now, but it did sound like a compliment. Here's how I did it...

Tomato Garlic Salad With Basil Vinegarette

-Tomatoes, as many as you want (I used roma, about 20 of them.)
-Fresh garlic (I used 6 cloves)
-Fresh basil (I used maybe a handful)
-Balsamic vinegar (to taste, but I think I used about 1/3 cup)
-Virgin Olive Oil (to taste also, but I probably used about 1/3 cup of this, too.)
-Salt (to taste, I used about 1 1/2 teaspoon)
-Pepper (again, to taste, but I probably used about 1/2 teaspoon)

Step 1: Slice the tomatoes into slices about 1/4 inch thick.

Step 2: Finely chop up fresh garlic and fresh basil.


Step 3: Mix garlic, basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl, then add balsamic vinegar and olive oil.



Step 4: Let this marinate for about 30 minutes, if you have time.

Step 5: Pour marinade over tomatoes and stir carefully, keeping the tomato slices intact. In order to create a more appealing photo for this post, I garnished the salad with edible nasturtium flowers. Is it not attractive? The kids asked why there were flowers in the salad, and, instead of lovingly teaching them that some flowers are edible, such as the nasturtiums in our garden, which taste like pepper, I said during my rush to get dinner done, "Because there just are". I'll do better next time.


Enjoy!

I am pleased to list this post @...

-Kelly's "Real Food Wednesday",
-Tip Junkie's "Talk to me Tuesday",
-5 Minutes for Mom's "Tackle It Tuesday",
-Tammy's Recipe's "Kitchen Tip Tuesday",
-Blessed With Grace's "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday",
-Mary's "Tightwad Tuesday",
-Jen's "Tasty Tuesday",
Gollum's...


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Homemaker Monday: A Super-Cool Way to Make Letters With Photos of Architecture!

Welcome to the 52nd weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes, again, to Homemaker Barbi for her post on Game Night Snacks! As you know, I usually don't choose non-vegan post for the "YOURS" feature, but as I'm not feeling all too vegan right now, due to my wildly raging early-pregnancy hormones, I thought I'd link up to Homemaker Barbi because she took such pretty pictures of her food and my mouth actually started watering as I lay my eyes on them. Here's one...


She says it was cheap, easy and her guests raved! What could be better? For her other snack plates and recipes, click HERE. Thank you, again, Homemaker Barbi, for being such a faithful Homemaker Monday participant! I appreciate you so much and I hope you have a great day!

MINE: As mentioned in previous posts, such as HERE and HERE, my trip to Utah was not my most favorite trip ever. However, while there, my mother and I came across an idea that I think is going to change my life. Well, just briefly, for short periods of time. While shopping in a Mormon book store called Deseret Book, my mother encountered a gorgeous wall plaque. It spelled out the word "FAMILY" with cropped photographs of sepia-toned architecture, photographed at various Mormon temples.

We marveled at the beauty of it, she purchased it and took it to FedEx to have it mailed home to her, paying $11 for just the box it was packaged in, not including the other packing material and the cost of shipping, but it was all worth it. (On a side note, she now refuses to throw away the box it was packaged in, because she had had to pay $11 for it. I wonder how long it will sit in her kitchen.)

As we pondered various deep thoughts during the 13 hours with the twins on our way home, I came up with an idea. "Mom," I said, "Why couldn't we take pictures of structures and come up with our own alphabet and make similar wall hangings?"

"That is a GREAT idea!" she exclaimed.

We then thought of all the places we could go to take photographs of architecture and how fun it would be, as long as we left the twins as home of course, and how we would begin planning our outings as soon as we arrived home.

When we did arrive home, my mind was alert and astute, and I began finding letters everywhere I turned. My mother's backyard happened to be a plethora of alphabet fodder and we began taking pictures. Here are four original, unedited and uncropped photos we took that day....





A few days later, when I was back home in Mexico, and we didn't have power, probably because some drunk fellow had run into a light post, thus leaving us without internet, I thought I would spend some insomniac time going through the photos. I cropped some of them and changed their attributes to all equal the same height, and here is the first word I came up with, and, I think, probably the most important word there is in the universe...


Now, I want you to know that I did not print out my photos, cut them neatly out of printer paper, then tack them, with matching blue tacks, to a perfectly rustified wall. I uploaded them to a website called ScrapBlog.com and used virtual walls and tacks. This is the website where I go to make all the buttons you see on my blog, including my header picture. It's too fun!

That being said, if you had time to do this in real life, which I don't, you would actually have to print the photos out and have them matted and framed. There are a number of ways you could do that.

First, you could line the photos up with no space between them and have one large mat made around them, like so...


...or second, you could have each photo matted individually, like this...


There are also different looks you could give your photos. In the following example I again went to ScrapBlog.com and used their photo editing tools to give my pictures a sepia tone. I really loved how this one turned out...


You could also print your photos out on iron-on transfer paper, then iron them on to linen or muslin, something with an obvious weave, as per THESE instructions.

Or you could steer away from architecture and get your alphabet from photos of nature or kitchen paraphenalia or food!

I'm am so full of amazing ideas, it is just unbelievable! Oh, and by the way, in case it didn't register what my word said, it was "LOVE". The 13-year-old boy saw it immediately, so if you didn't, well...then....I guess there's something wrong with you you don't think like a 13-year-old boy.

So let me know if you actually do one of these in real life. I would really like to see how it turns out! Have a great day!

OURS: Okay, I'm so excited to see what all of you awesome homemakers have for us today! Feel free to search through your archives for any tips, recipes or how-tos, especially if you'd like to join in for the first time. Thanks so much for joining us today and have a great Homemaker Monday!

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