Cheap & Tasty!

TVP!

Soaked in hot broth of any type (mushroom, beef, vegetable, chicken, pork, or even lobster), it's less than 50 cents a pound reconstituted, takes flavor fabulously, and works great alone as a meat substitute, or in tandem with a meat to stretch the meat budget.

Cheap and tasty fun: Wonton wraps, cream cheese, a dab of olive oil, and lobster-broth soaked TVP. Makes for some seriously tasty crab rangoon wannabe for the side of that stir fry! *grin*

Cheap Wheat-Free Vegan Holiday Delights

Magic Reindeer Food

Oats
Honey
Water
Edible glitter flakes in white
Lustre dust in silver

Mix honey and water 1/2 & 1/2 in a small spray bottle, and spritz lightly onto oats while tossing oats gently. After oats are slightly moist, add in a little lustre dust and edible glitter and toss again until lightly coated in shimmer.


Snowtmeal

Oats
Water
Edible glitter in white
White sugar to taste
Whole cream/milk/non-dairy creamer
Powdered sugar for color

Make oatmeal as usual with cream/milk/non-dairy creamer and plain white sugar. Serve into bowls and sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar, then top with edible white glitter flakes.

Snowy Treat Balls

Marshmallows (get Vegan marshmallows here)
Honey
Puffed rice cereal
Uncooked oats
Lustre dust in silver, white, or pearl
Edible glitter flakes in white
Butter

Melt marshmallows and butter, then mix in honey, oats, and cereal slowly until all is well mixed. Butter hands and roll into balls. Set on a plate or other serving dish, and sprinkle lightly with lustre dust and top with edible glitter flakes.

Variation: For lighthearted adult parties where the adults share a wry or dark sense of humor, add in unsalted sunflower seeds and sprinkle some of the "snowballs" with yellow and gold edible glitter flakes.

Vegan Holiday Side: Curried Squash Soup

A lovely vegan soup for your holiday feast.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 2 tablespoon vegan margarine
* 2 stalks of celery
* 1 cup plain soy milk
* 1 clove garlic, mashed
* 2 cups any white or yellow squash, mashed
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon golden curry powder
* 1 teaspoon "Better Than Bullion" brand mushroom bullion
* 3 slices orange
* 1 pickled ginger curl

Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in margarine. Add broth, squash, and curry powder, then simmer 15 minutes. Cool, pour into blender with soy milk, and whip until smooth & creamy.

Can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in a covered container, then heated just before serving.

Takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish if made all at once.

Serve in a decorative dish and top soup with orange slices and a curled ginger in the center for visual impact.

Recipe serves 4, if you have a lot of guests at your feast, increase amount as needed.

Super-Healthy Waldorf Salad-Style recipe

Here is my family's super-healthy Waldorf salad recipe. Full of fresh goodness, it is the ideal light side for your Thanksgiving feast.

* 3 red delicious apples, cored and diced, unpeeled
* 3 granny smith apples, cored and diced, unpeeled
* 1 packet TrueOrange (or 1 tsp orange juice)
* 1 packet TrueLemon (or 1 tsp lemon juice)
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 cup thinly-sliced, then chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/4 cup raisins
* 1/2 cup dried cranberries
* 1/4 cup fresh seedless red/purple grapes, cut into halves
* 1/4 cup chopped macadamias
* 1/4 cup shredded carrots
* 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
* 3/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise with olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon red mineral salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 cup whipping cream

Combine apples and juice, or sprinkle apples with TrueLemon & TrueOrange packets. In separate bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, whipped topping, salt, & cinnamon stirring thoroughly with a whisk to incorporate more air into the blend. Mix in all other ingredients until well covered. Cover bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*Note: You can get a free sample of TrueLemon, TrueOrange, or TrueLime here, or buy a box of each at your local grocery. You'll be glad you did! *smile*

Fusion Sushi - Empty Cupboard Creativity

Fusion cooking has been around for thousands of years. When people travel far from their homelands, they crave the native flavors from their places of origin. Most times the spices, cooking methods, or ingredients are not available in their new homes, so cultural explorers must improvise with what is available in their new homes.

Using the familiar recipes and changing some, or even most of the ingredients and/or cooking methods, chefs of all stripes try to come up with a similar dish that will taste or look close to the original ethnic dish.

This is fusion cooking.

The other day, I had a homeschool event to go to, and everyone was bringing a snack.
It was near the end of the food budget and we're running low on food in the pantry, so I had few options for anything for my family to present.

I had a package of nori, some Greek caviar spread my family didn't really like (too bland), rice, and various odds and ends like cans of vegetables we don't like and so forth.

A friend who was going to be at the event had just been diagnosed with celiac disease, and couldn't have gluten, and is also allergic to milk. I had promised to make something for an event sometime, as it is rare for anyone to bring something that is both gluten and milk free. I really hadn't expected to keep my promise so soon after making it though, especially without any research or special shopping! *chuckle*

So, armed with little to make a "normal" snack with, and some of the supplies for the perfect gluten and milk free snack, I hunted my kitchen and discovered a frozen container of smoked salmon we'd purchased a while back and not had a chance to use, and a package of rice ball seasoning with fish roe that I had honestly, been a bit apprehensive about trying (it's really tasty).

The stage was set, and it was time to begin.

To make a potentially really long story short, after a bit of meddling and measured experimentation, I had created a deliciously thick and robust tangy-sweet sauce for dipping, and some delightfully airy and mild fish sushi.




Fusion Salmon Sushi

1 cup uncooked American white rice
3 cups water
1 packet roasted nori (seaweed) sheets
1 small container moist smoked salmon (6-12 ounces)
3 teaspoons dried parsley

Put 1 cup regular rice in 3 cups water and bring to a rapid boil. Top with lid and remove from heat. Skillet toast salmon on low heat, in a covered skillet for 5 minutes. Prepare sauce (recipe below), then lay out a single nori sheet. If rice has absorbed all water by this time, set pot next to nori sheet on an oven mitt.

Carefully spoon sticky rice into one edge of the nori sheet in teaspoons until entire length is covered in lumps, then place thin strips of salmon on rice, end to end. Roll nori, tucking to make a firm roll, and roll up completely to use up the rest of the nori. Place on a plate. Roll subsequent sushi until salmon is gone, and place on the plate, not touching the other rolls.

After all sushi is rolled and the salmon is used up, place rolls in refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm.

If you wish, you may stir 2 cups rice into the fish juice in the skillet until lightly covered and make more sushi with this rice until the nori sheets are used up. It will taste the same, but have a slightly different color and texture.

For a non-squished appearance, cut sushi rolls with a straight (not serrated) knife by stabbing through the center half-way and cutting downwards, being sure to slice through the bottom completely. To finish, turn the roll on it's side and finish cutting.

For the final touch, set the slices prettiest side up and sprinkle lightly with dried parsley.


Fusion Sushi Dipping Sauce

1/2 jar Krinos brand Taramosalata greek-style caviar spread
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspooon honey
1/2 teaspoon sorgum molasses
2 packets omusubiyama yaki-tarako roe seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
3 sprays Braggs liquid aminoes (or 1 teaspoon soy sauce)

Simmer 10 minutes, constantly stirring and smushing lumps.

To serve, arrange artfully on a plate. May be garnished with leftover fish rice over sauce, a sculpted cone of wasabi, or three pickled ginger slices, or serve sauce in a cup on the side.


Prettiest served on a plate drizzled with the dipping sauce, and with both wasabi and pickled ginger on the side.

For an even healthier version, use whole grain brown rice instead of white in the sushi, and in the dipping sauce, substitute one raw egg, 2 tablespoons plain sushi (rinsed twice), and 1 tablespoon olive oil, well blended, in place of the 1/2 jar Greek spread before simmering.

Enjoy!

Makes about 48 pieces sushi and 1 cup dipping sauce. Time: about 1 hour.

Freezes well, thaw naturally in refrigerator in covered container.

* Most ingredients can be purchased at either your local grocery store or eastern food market. The Greek caviar spread can be found at a European specialty market if you want your sauce to be a bit oily when it is done, otherwise, just save time and buy the healthier, substituted ingredients for the sauce.

Snow "Ice Cream"

Remember how I said the other day that it had snowed and we had saved some in the freezer to make snow "ice cream" with later?

Yep, today was the day. With everyone feeling almost all better, we dragged the snow out of the freezer and had a go of it.

My usual variety of this is plain olde vanilla, created with some granulated sugar, a little milk, snow, and a dash of cheap vanilla extract, just like my mother used to make. It's grainy, liquidy, and not really all that great, except as a fun little novelty in the winter.

This year, we decided to try something different.

Radically different.

I added some dye-free, all natural, no-sugar-added blueberry syrup to the snow and mashed & fluffed it together until it was all about the same color. Not quite ice cream and more like a snow cone, this was by far, the best snow-based concoction I've yet to come up with.

Easy and tasty, just how we like it.

Technorati Tags: snow, ice cream, snow candy, candy, treat, snow ice cream, winter treat, winter, ice, shaved ice, recipe Del.icio.us Tags: snow, ice cream, snow candy, candy, treat, snow ice cream, winter treat, winter, ice, shaved ice, recipe

Flamingo, Firebird, Phoenix: A Blended Origin

"Flamingo" measures about 8x10" and was created with Paint Shop Pro 6

and a small optical mouse. This piece took about 20 minutes to complete.

This past week's Illustration Friday really had me thinking, and I asked myself "How many folks out there know about the link between the fabled firebird and the majestic, but still quite mundane flamingo?". Then, during my Internet search for the story I heard on a nature show on flamingos many years ago, I discovered all sorts of interesting new tidbits to share. Thus, here we are again for another installment of "Random trivia with FrizZ". *chuckle* Enjoy!

Common to tropical or subtropical areas, the flamingo can be found in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia, and is said by some to have been the origin of the phoenix myth.

Early tribal peoples watched the life cycle of the flamingo and interpreted it as best they could. The eggs laid on giant mounds of mud hatched to young birds who, several months after fledging, flew off to graze in alkaline lakes and sulfur springs closer to the source (hotter, higher mineral salts content), gaining vital nutrients for the completion of their growth. They would return to the main flock later, fully grown and brightly colored from their rich diet of shrimp and other small plant and animal life.

At heights of up to five feet, with bright red, pink, and black plumage, a wingspan of between 55 to 65 inches in some species, and a lifespan reaching upwards of 50 years, this was truly an awesome creature to behold and was likely considered near "immortal" in the eyes of early human-kind.

Looking at this from a primitive mindset, it is easy to see how a young bird going into the forbidden land of burning death and being seen again only when it has "risen' from the ashes", stronger than before could create the fantastic tale of the firebird.

Even the wisest of ancient cultures held this bird in high regard, as the word flamingo comes from the Latin word for flame, and the Egyptians revered the flamingo as the living embodiment of the sun god Ra. Romans considered flamingo tongue to be a delicacy to be served by the richest to their most important guests at special feasts.

On a more humorous note, Allen Weiss writes in Cabinet Magazine:Ingestion / How to Cook a Phoenix , which of course inspired me to research Roman recipes to create a dish as may have been served at such a dinner.


Baked Phoenix Tongues with Peacock Brain Sauce (Mock)
2 cups whole pine nuts
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup ground walnuts
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 teaspoons whole multicolored peppercorns
2lbs boneless skinless chicken breast,
4 eggs, beaten
2x2" piece of ginger, crushed
1 small, diced onion
1/4 cup chopped dried dates
1 tbsp chopped dried dates
1 2oz can flat fillets of anchovies in olive oil and salt
1 tsp black chestnut tea
750ml (0ne bottle) Merlot (spicy red wine)
3 tbsp white flour

Cut chicken breast into fine, thin slivers (tongues) and marinate in Merlot (reserve 1/2 cup for sauce) for 1 hour covered at room temperature. Combine nuts, 1/4 cup dates, white pepper, and eggs into a paste and spread onto the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish.

Strain oil off of anchovies and mash with a fork until they reach a paste-like consistency. Mix 4 teaspoons of the anchovy paste, onion, tea, 1 tbsp dates, and ginger in a small sauce pan with 1/2 cup Merlot (stolen from marinade), 1 cup water, and bring to a slow boil. When onions are translucent, add in flour and whisk continually until the sauce returns to a boil, then remove from heat to thicken, stirring occasionally. (sauce will be thick, and a grayish color, resembling brains)

Layer chicken breast slivers onto nut mixture and cover with sauce, and top with a sprinkling of whole peppercorns.

Bake uncovered at 350f for 55 minutes, remove from heat and let set 10 minutes to cool.

Steamed Roman Asparagus & Artichoke Hearts
2 Roma tomatoes
2 bunches fresh asparagus spears
1 16oz jar artichoke hearts
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp powdered milk
1/3 cup water
1 tsp corn starch

Steam asparagus spears until tender. Chop artichoke hearts finely, and dice tomatoes.

Combine olive oil and feta cheese in a small sauce pan and heat to medium, stirring constantly until blended. Add powdered milk, water, and corn starch and whisk constantly until boiling. Remove from heat, add artichoke and tomato, stir to cover, and spoon over asparagus spears.

Both dishes serve 9; the preferred number of attendees for a roman feast, in honor of the 9 muses.

Steamed Roman Asparagus & Artichoke Hearts, Baked Phoenix Tongues with Peacock Brain Sauce, grilled fococcia(sp?), and grape juice or sweet red grape wine combine to make truly exquisite Romanesque culinary experience.

Then again, if you rename the asparagus dish to something like steamed pixie spears & newt hearts with Puffapod petals and roman cheese, it could be rather Potteresque as well. *wink*

Tags: fawkes Harry Potter phoenix flamingo fables fable tale story rowlings recipe flamingo tongue recipe roman recipe greek recipe ancient man puffapod potteresque potter recipe harry potter recipe egyptian ancient cultures egypt rome greece firebird fire bird tropical bird digital art photography food art fine dining rowling pine nuts red wine Merlot chicken peacock brain recipe peacock recipe peacock brain recipe asparagus artichoke peppercorn ginger feta chese olive oil date dates onion anchovies anchovy chestnut tea teachef tea chef white pepper almond walnut eggs egg

Old Tyme Crockpot Recipe, Foraging

I had the drive to go food hunting today, which means that I am feeling much better than I was, but still not quite up to par, or else I would have been somewhat content being a lazy bum. (I seem to be more active and productive when I'm not feeling too good as some sort of nose-snubbing at whatever has got me feeling low, I'm not sure why) *chuckle* But anyway, we walked once around the block picking up walnuts as we went. We got a LOT of walnuts, and the trees aren't finished dropping them. *grin* Keebler and I formatted the HD on his computer, added some goodies to the computer IA bought from Dliwehtfollac through us, installed win2kpro on Keeb's machine, and found a website that does that handy little technoratti tag thingie.

My mother came over unanounced and spend 30 minutes whispering to Ladybug right behind my back (so as not to disturb me while I was working, see *rolls eyes*) in order to tell me something I had no interest in, and then, as soon as she got home, she called me, ripping me uncerimoniously from my important task again, so that she could share some more silliness that she deemed important for another 45 minutes.

I cooked a really healthy chunky tomato and vegetable soup, and Keeb made smoked cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. It was an amazing combination and they complimented eachother quite well.
Super-Easy Chunky Tomato & Vegetable Soup Recipe
1 box Campbells Selects tomato and roasted red pepper soup
16oz bag peeled baby carrots, halved widthwise
2 garden fresh bell peppers
1/2 yellow onion
1 cup water
1 cup chopped fresh zuchini
10 garden fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 teaspoon chopped roasted garlic
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1/8 cup dried chives

Dump everything into pot (or crockpot) and stir. Cover and cook at medium or low until carrots are tender but not mushy (can cut with stirring spoon). This will take a few hours depending on temperature (medium 2 hrs) (low 4hrs) so it can be left alone while you nap or take a walk. If you prefer mushy veggies (like those found in canned foods), it can be prepared in the morning, left on all day, and be ready to serve by dinnertime. I call this method olde tyme crockpot, as it does not require any special appliances to make.

Technoratti Keywords: recipe foraging wild foods vegetarian

Pseudo Cordon Bleu

Keebler went to look for a job, and actually applied at fast food resturants! Hey, it's money, right? The more we make, the faster we can save, and the closer we are to our dreams. *grin*

On another list I'm on, they are discussing the ramifications of being a citizen of any country. Being a citizen implies ownership and responsibility for the actions of the government, therefore there is no "they" there is only "we" and "we" are doing nothing to change what "they" are doing to give us a bad name.

There was also the statement that only 1% of a population, being active and fighting back can and regularly does effectively topple governments or force massive change in other countries. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts about that.

Saw one of the baby ratties using the rat-safe "hamster" wheel today. Too cute!!

Everything in the garden has fruit!!! Well, not really everything, but about 5 plants have fruit now (we've decided against seed saving for the most part until we get onto our own land. There's not really much reason to do other than buy a few plants each spring from our friends since we're growing so few plants each year.
Add that to the fact that we don't have nearly to space to keep anything seperate enough to avoid cross-polination, and it all works out to us not doing much in the way of saving seeds. Everything as it can be done, I say. *smile* In related news, there ARE about 5 plants that we CAN save the seeds from because they were the first to begin flowering and are different species of plants. We've marked the fruits with a sharpie just so we don't get confused.

We have fruiting: watermelon, spaghetti squash, yellow straightneck squash, a tomato, and a winter squash (that looks a bit droopy in the humidity)

Keebler wanted chicken cordon bleu tonight for dinner, but I am SO not spending $2.50 for two measly little unfilling chunks of meat that we'll end up impatiently tossing into the microwave and eating to tide us over while we make real food. *laugh* So we did about 30 minutes of preperation and he made a trip to the store for bread crumbs while I planted some cactus seeds, fall weather plants, and some ginger root. Here it is, gourmet with a budget, the dump cook way, and not nearly so much time spent:

Pseudo Chicken Cordon Bleu
(entire recipe is done in equivalents. As long as the chicken has no bones & no skin, there is some form of ham-tasting substance, there are breadcrumbs involved, and the cheeses are melted over it all, that's really all that matters.)

2 handfulls shredded swiss (or about a 2" pile of slices) (about 1.5 cups)
2 handfulls shredded provolone (or about a 2" pile of slices) (about 1.5 cups)
1 handfull shredded mozarella (or about a 1" pile of slices) (about 3/4 cup)
4 cups cubed turkey ham (or real ham)
6 cups cubed raw boneless skinkess chicken
3/4 cup fine italian seasoned bread crumbs

Put ham in bottom of 9x13 cake pan (or equivalent cooking dish), sprinkle 1/2 bread crumbs, top with chicken and rest of bread crumbs, then cheeses, spread evenly over entirety of meal.

Top cooking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in oven at 350, untill it smells really good. Check chicken for doneness. If chicken is not done, leave in oven for another 10-15 minutes. Don't worry about preheating, it's not needed and just wastes energy in this recipe. *smile*

Tastes almost exactly like the real thing!

Onion Peas, Yard Squirrel, Seed Exchange, Freecycle(tm)

Yard Squirrel -->

Met with a new friend, gave away more plantlings, and did an in-person seed exchange. I have a ton of new exotic seeds and goodies now. (like Dragon's Blood Tree!) *grin*

The girls went off with Dliwehtfollac to the water park for a few hours. Ladybug's birthday party is coming up (planning it for the water park this saturday (RUSH!). Time flies so fast...

We made the greenhouse stand upright again using "ancient tent-erecting secrets" (peg & rope), and will likely be measuring & applying the plastic for it tomorrow if we can find the time.

Picked up another Freecycle(tm) It was a bunch of plant boxes, several plant stands, some bird feeders, and an automotive rooftop carrier (that we plan on turning into a covered bike trailer that converts into two bike trailers in nice weather.)

Saw this adorable sign on the way to pick up our new goodies. This is the most innovative and effective way that I have ever seen to keep curb crawlers off of your yard. The property owners looked at me strangely as I took the picture, but were laughing when I told them that their sign was "too cute" *chuckle*

Repotted another tomato plant, and created a great new recipe for peas. We didn't REALLY do very much today but I'm totally worn out. The outlook for tomorrow isn't too good either. *chuckle* At least we'll have fun running ourselves to death! *cackle*

Onion Peas
1 can peas, undrained
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash salt

Dump everything including pea juice but not peas, into a small pot and slowly bring to a boil. simmer 3 minutes, then add peas. return to boil and let simmer for one more minute, then serve.

Grandparents, Errands With Friends, restaurant, Crab Rangoon Recipe, Deity in Food, Spamblogger

Very late last night my grandfather was rushed to the hospital and placed in the ICU. He was delirious and didn't know what day it was. Seems the DR. Had put him on a new med and he'd had a bad reaction. He also had a bladder infection so bad that the infection had leached into his bloodstream, and was dehydrated. The hospital called my grandmother and asked for his living will. I spent the whole day alternating between worrying, being a total bitch, and crying uncontrollably. I really have to get with him and videotape him telling some of his stories... *sigh* After we got home for the day, I called my mom and my grandmother to find out that he is feeling much better, the hospital has him on IV fluids and antibiotics, he ate breakfast and lunch, and is now coherent. He's really gotta stop scaring us like that. I ordered my grandmother to make sure that he gets his cranberry extract pills every day from now on no matter how much he claims he doesn't need them anymore because he doesn't have bladder infections anymore. *sigh* I don't order my grandparents at all, ever, but this was serious!

As for the rest of the day, we picked up B and drove him to pick up his check at walmart (his bank is there), trade in a board game at Metagames, and run a couple of errands. Shopping at walmart drives me crazy because of all of the sheeple alternatively pushing to get through or walking at such a slow pace that I can't believe they are still breathing! Gods I hate that place, but my bank's there too...

We couldn't find an acceptable implement of yard destruction at walmart so we went to home depot and found some really neat looking goodies, which Keebler and B spent about 15 minutes swinging around like they were weaponry (double duty tools rock!) I ended up buying Keebler a couple of combination garden claw / hoes for hand tilling the garden because it'll cost about $90 to rent the kind of tiller we need for just 2 hours, or $600 to buy one outright. I really don't have that kind of cash, so we're doing it by hand. It may be rootbound and nearly as hard as creosote to dig in, but at least it's a relatively small patch of ground. There's a running joke now about how I bought Keeb a couple of hoes, and how Ladybug got to use them before he did. *laugh* We can be so dirty. *snicker*

After stopping in at Metagames where B insisted upon buying us some new PS238 and Nodwick comics, we decided to go out for Chinese food. We chose Jade East as our destination as we could count on them to have good food and decent service. Or so we thought. We went in to prepay for our food (looks like the gas crunch is hitting more than the local gas stations with "run offs"). I thought it was a strange note to see on the door, but whatever works, right? So we're trying to pay for our meal while the waitress is asking us what we want to drink. Very distracting. We all order tea. After we pay and sign the payment receipt, she tells us that she doesn't have "enough tea". I don't know why she was being snarky with us, but I was NOT in the mood. It's her flaming job to keep the tea caraffe full, but somehow, she has managed to run out. So Keeb asks her to substitute the girls' teas for a lemon-lime soda in an effort to get me a tea, as I want either tea or water. (Remember, I have paid for 4 sodas/teas.) She assumes that he wants her to give me lemon lime soda as well and brings three sodas (one with no ice, at least she got that part right) to the table and one iced tea for Keebler. (B had ordered separately.) So now she's not only not paying attention to her job, but she's also not listening to the customer. I ask her what the seemingly bubbling water is in front of me and she tells me (snarkily) it is soda. I was not hungry anyway, and I definitely don't deserve this sort of treatment, I don't care how her day has been, so I tell my family that we are going to get our money back and not eat. We can sit & chat while B eats his meal, but this female doesn't deserve my money, nor does a place that employs attitudes like hers. We go up to ask for our money back (we have touched no food or drink from the place) and she comes up and starts yapping about how she did nothing wrong and she did what she was told, and nobody should be blaming her, and so forth ad nauseum. I tried to calm her, telling her that nobody was accusing her of anything and that she should just relax, but maybe I sounded a bit harsh or something? (remember the bad mood?) because she just kept on yelling at me. I turned my back on her and said to the cashier that the service people don't seem very friendly and I would prefer to dine elsewhere. She kept yelling even after that, but the cashier put his hand up at her like "enough" and she shut up quick. I kept my back turned the whole time my refund was processed and did not look at her again at all for the rest of the time we were inside the restaurant. Even that ended up not being for long, as B decided that he didn't want to eat there if we weren't going to be eating. He had already filled a plate with food by the time I had my refund and he knew what was happening, so he let them keep his money. I think he is too mind sometimes, as I NEVER pay for that which I do not receive, but I guess that's just the way he is, and looking back upon it, I can see a bit of the logic behind it, as there was soda dispensed and food taken off of the buffet and the business shouldn't reasonably have to suffer because of one bitchy employee... But I have no doubt in my mind that she will be getting fired or severely reprimanded very shortly. I'm surprised with the scene she was throwing that more customers didn't just get up and leave with us. *smirk* Jade East used to be one of our favorite restaurants, but now it'll be a VERY long time before we return there, if ever we do so at all.

Created homemade lo mein & real crab meat crab rangoon for dinner, as we all still wanted Chinese. The rangoon were amazing! B took some home to his roommate, and when we got back home, we gave the rest of the pot of lomein and the rangoon to the neighbors.

K's Amazing Crab Rangoon Recipe (makes 30)
8oz cream or neufatchel cheese
1/2 package wanton wraps (30)
meat from 4 crab legs
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch Greek seasoning
boiling oil
Stir with fork, mashing thoroughly, drop by the 1/2 teaspoon onto wanton wraps and pinch securely shut. Drop in boiling oil for about 3-5 minutes. Drain and serve.

For dessert we had "seedless" watermelon. It was delicious, and had the added bonus of having the image of the Horned One in the flesh of the melon. And I thought I would never see deity in my dinner! *laugh* First time for everything I suppose. *chuckle* See his little horned head, arms, & legs? I set the girls to digging up the yard while we cooked dinner, and when we went to take our friend home, and it was a pretty mangled yard I viewed. Looks like it'll be a relatively simple job to rip it all up over the next couple of days. I have a mild sunburn from driving around all day.

Blogger thinks I'm a spamblogger because I posted a bunch of links to references about a post I made a while ago. I have to enter in a random word every time I post, every time I edit a post, every time I save a draft, and sometimes when I try to add a photo to the post. It's a real pain in my rear, so I haven't been blogging as much as I usually would. It just makes everything more difficult. *sigh* Add the word verification for everything to the fact that their automated system ALSO takes me off of the "next blog" feature AND the "recently updated blogs" listing on the home page, and I'm missing a LOT of hits because of their automated system. Of course, as their help file said, programs are bound to make mistakes, but this has been going on for a while now (almost 2 weeks?), and I already requested to have my blog reviewed by a real human twice (once a week), but nothing has happened as of yet. I'm not saying bad junk about blogger. Forbid if I did that, they're the best free blogging site on the net (IMHO), and I know they are really busy folks, but still, those facts don't make this any less annoying. Maybe if I were a touch-typer or something, but I have to look at the screen, then keyboard for every single mangled letter in the letter jumble for the word verification. Sometimes I get it wrong too. It's just a real pain. Of course with my luck, today will be the day when someone finally looks at my blog themselves and they will see me griping about the problem and get mad at me... *sigh* I hope when they finally do take me off of spamblogger status that they make it so the spam watcher doesn't look at me anymore. I mean heck, I may have a desire at some point to post 10 links in a post again someday...

The evening ended up being decent, and even somewhat fun. I just wish the day preceding it hadn't been so darned hard. One of these days I'll get to bed before 3am too. *sigh*

Dailies & Mud Stew Recipe

Lost yet another fishy today. I'm thinking maybe they are getting over fed because of the bugs falling into their water, and us giving them fish food? No clue. Maybe I should have bought fish bred for pond living, but goldfish are pretty hardy fish and I thought they'd survive better than this, even for walmart fish. *ponder*

In other news, we had a decent storm in the afternoon, with a relatively small about of hail. The hail surprised us, but didn't really last for very long. I caught about 20 gallons of water in our bucket system. We REALLY need some storage barrels for all of this water. *chuckle*

Ladybug & Littlebit were supposed to go to the fountain to play today with Dliwehtfollac, but I think there was a misunderstanding because Littlebit ended up staying here all evening while ladybug took off and went to the fountain. I made it up to Littlebit by squirting her with the hose. *chuckle* At least she still had some good fun before the storms hit.

Introduced the ratty girls to the ratty boys, and the girls earned their names. There was a lot of sniffing, chasing, and claimbing around, as well as a few small dominance dances, as are to be expected. The fawn one is Walenda (as in "The Flying Walendas" circus troupe- she's an acrobat, even hangs upside down from the top of her cage for fun), the other one is Yodette (because she has some mad flying-around-the-cage-and-kicking-the-crud-out-of-other rats-at-high-speeds kung fu going on -like Yoda). Wow, we're lame. *laugh* We have housed the males in with the females in separate cages to allow for the first mating. We will keep them together for a full week to assure that a breeding has taken place, then switch them back to girls in one cage, and boys in another. It's time to buy some kitten food for the girls this next week, as they'll need the extra protein and nutrients to grow healthy babies.

Speaking of babies, The doe bunny is filling out nicely, and she looks like her pregnancy is moving along beautifully. She is much calmer since we put her in our (much quieter) bedroom. Rorschoreo, the buck (cross between Rorschach and Oreo) is having an absolute blast trying to rip his cage apart and tossing his food dish all over the place.

Checked on the Freecycle(tm) group before I left for The Radish and there were 22 messages in the pending messages area! *sigh* I was late before, but it took me a good 20 minutes to moderate all of the messages, so we ended up being nearly 2 hours late to the potluck.

This week's potluck was amazing though, even though we were so late. I made a new recipe "Mud Stew" and it was delicious! Even more delicious was when I spread the spinach dip on a piece of frybread and then spread the stew on it. WOW! There was a really good showing, and a good time was had by all, as usual. *smile* Discovered that the coffee makers are busted. Well, I'm thinking that we did indeed trade a vacuum cleaner we dumpster dove for the yard sale for a coffee maker... *evil grin* Looks like my trade went really well at just the right time. *smile* We took the dishes home to wash this time.

We watered the plants, and I let Keebler sleep in for most of the day because he has an exposed nerve in one of his teeth. I'll do nearly anything to keep him from having to suffer through that, including letting him sleep all day. Tomorrow we're going to be calling a few dentists so that he can get it fixed or pulled.

Recipe: Mud Stew
1 burdock plant with flowers (about 6-8 leaves)
1/2 bag frozen turnip greens
1 large dandelion root
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 heaping teaspoon vegetable "Better Than Bullion"
1/2 teaspoon mushroom "Better Than Bullion"
1 can slivered beets (undrained)
3 cups water
6oz baby portabella mushrooms
8 oz button mushrooms
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 green bunch onion
4 pearl onions
1/8 teaspoon creamy horseradish spread
2 level teaspoons mild curry seasoning
1 cup instant brown rice (optional)

Put water, bullions, peanut butter, beet juice from can, and curry powder into a medium pot and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Wash and chop everything green into 1" pieces. Wash dandelion root and chop finely. Wash mushrooms and chop into 1/2"-2" chunks. Quarter pearl onions and add everything to broth. Boil 30 minutes on medium.

(optional) For a thicker stew, dip, or an exotic side dish add rice. Leave on heat to simmer/slow boil for 5 more minutes, then remove from heat. Let sit 10 minutes to cool and enjoy!

(This recipe is very good for boosting the immune system as burdock, dandelion, garlic, onion, and tumeric are all beneficial to the immune system. It is named Mud Stew because it looks similar to the thick mud soups that kids make in the spring, complete with "leaf litter", "worms", and assorted bits of "what's ThAt?")

Dandelion Flower Cookies

I have been informed that it was cruel of me to talk about the cookies and not give the recipe. *wink* So here it is:

Simple Dandelion Flower Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable oil
4 cups honey
8 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups unbleached flour
4 cups dry oatmeal
2 cups dandelion flowers.

1) Preheat the oven to 375.
2) Mix the oil and honey and then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3) Remove the yellow flower parts from the green parts (compost the green parts).
4) Stir in the flour, oatmeal, and dandelion flowers.
5) Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto oiled cookie sheets.
6) Bake for 10-15 minutes.
7) Let cool

This recipe is easily modifiable to make more or less cookies (we cook in large batches), and to add different flavors. Add cinnamon for a dash of spice, a bit of ginger for a kick, or even a bit of citrus zest for a sunnier flavor.

When removing the yellow parts from the green, we put the yellows in a jar of water to prevent wilting while we get them all separated. This is a great job for the kids. When we strain & drain the yellow bits, we save the water for making tea to get the most possible benefit from the flowers.

We like to take these to potluck dinners in the spring, and really enjoy freezing the little delights and eating them as a special treat at Yule to celebrate the return of the sun.

It's not only fun to gather dandelion flowers and use them in your cooking, they also offer several health benefits. The blossoms are good for your heart, and full of vitamin C. When steeped as a tea, they have been recommended for headaches, menstrual cramps, backaches, stomach aches, and even depression!

There are a ton of recipes for dandelions wandering the internet. Everything from dandelion wine to fritters, pancakes, teas, salads, quiches, and more. All you have to do is run a search. *smile*

Much Love!