Whirlwind Week Recap & Banana Muffin YumYums!

Hello all! It seems like my posts are few and far between. This one is no different. I am so happy, though, that I can take a few moments each day to keep up to date on the fabulous blogs I follow. You all truly inspire me in the kitchen, for sure. I've been trying out lots of new recipes lately (all coming from some wonderful blogs out there). I will post pics and recipes and where I got them soon.

Life here has been super busy!!! It's pretty much been a whirl wind of a week, but a wonderful one at that. This is one of my favorite times of year. This week was obviously 4th of July for us Americans and then...on the 6th, Rocky and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. Since we both had work to do that day on various projects we celebrated it in passing, but will officially celebrate it together on a night without the young sprouts soon.

And...on the 7th our youngest sprout turned 3! Yep, she was born on 7/7/07 and she was three days early. The years have flown by all too quickly. Where's that pause button when you need it,right? Lol.  We will have a small get together with family on the 11th to celebrate!! On the morning of her birthday, I made yummy vegan banana muffins which turned out soooo lovely! Our tastebuds danced!

THREE CANDLE BLOW-OUT

Next time I won't add as much sugar, as the bananas are a great sweetener. Maybe drop the sugar by half next time is what I will do. Here's the recipe: The Best Banana Muffins Ever


FROM VEGWEB.COM
Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    2 tablespoons unsalted vegan soy butter
    2 heaping tablespoons sugar
    1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
    2 very large ripe bananas
    1/2 cup all purpose flour
    1/2 cup dry oats
    1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    pinch of salt
    walnuts or carob chips, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a pan on a low heat to melt, then remove and set aside for a few minutes.

Mash the bananas and, in another bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Don't over mix: just stir a couple of times; you will have a not terribly attractive lumpy sludge, but don't worry about it.

Fill the muffin trays about two-thirds full of mixture. Put in the oven and cook about 25 minutes. Leave in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack for another 5-10 minutes or until cool.

Enjoy the recipe!! It is really great!!

Serves: 24 mini size or 10 full size

Preparation time: 15 minutes


When these were done in the oven I sprinkled them with chia seeds, as I am chia-seed obsessed. They added a great crunch to the finished goodness! 


Later that evening we headed to Chester Frost Park. This is a very nice place with a nice little beach...the water was so nice and warm.

SAND CASTLE TIME

Rocky tried my raw pasta for the first time...first time I made it so, obviously...first time he tried it. ;-) And YAY...he liked it!! Hmm...the recipe?? It was super easy. I do not currently own a spirlizer YET so I used a carrot peeler and shredded a zucchini squash..topped that with marinara sauce (will soon be homemade sauce once my tomatoes in my garden start coming in and can't wait for that!!). That's it. I will get fancier with it, but I'm was happy as so were the kids and the hubby! 

ABOUT TO EAT

HELLO, RAW PASTA!

Sorry the picture doesn't really show the goodness of the pasta...it was pack and go and no time for a food photo shoot. ;-)

Have you ever made raw pasta? What's your favorite recipe? I'd love to learn new recipes! Please tell Kell..

Sushi, New Additions, Hitchhikers, and Little Feet

Hi! Wow, this post is a bit late..life has been so very busy lately! Must take a breather..

So let's see...well, you might have noticed I changed the name of my blog again. I am a silly girl and naming things can get so fun for me that I just can't stop. It's a gift and a curse? Okay, it's pretty much just silly I know. Maybe I'm done??

We have been really working hard on getting Rocky new clients for his civil engineering business. Check out Rocky's website if you haven't already. Honestly, it is fun working with Rocky on this project. I'm enjoying it! He really is a creative person that is super talented at whatever he chooses to do. His career choice was no exception.

So, needless to say that blogging has taken the back burner for a bit. I will post when I can. I really shouldn't be posting as I have a long list of things I need to be doing RIGHT NOW, but you are worth it. And for my sanity, I must.

Well...for Father's day (yes, this is a bit late) I made Rocky sushi for the first time. He had been asking me for while to make it and I never had. I just so happened to stumble across an awesome recipe for it at The Neverhomemaker blog.  It turned out great, based on my husband's reactions. Yay! I don't think I could ever be a good foodie as I forgot to take a picture of the finished product (shame shame, I know). But, go grab the recipe at the Neverhomemaker site and see pictures of it, too. It was yummy!

Some of the yummy ingredients

                                                              

Mama=Superhero

We have been having a problem with Indian moths lately, and they have been trying to get into all of my grains. They are driving me crazy. They have managed to destroy some rice and dried beans. I wasn't a happy camper. They WILL not mess with my 12 lbs of chia seeds and my lovely oats (which I use so often for VOO and savoury oats)...mason jars to the rescue! Since I can't refrigerate or freeze the chia seeds I am taking extra precautions. So, not only am I putting the chia seeds in the mason jars, but then I am placing them in a plastic bin..paranoid much??? 

I am also being a superhero for my precious maca powder!!

I believe I have the problem under control (that's what you get when you eat naturally, I'm afraid). I discovered that they (indian moths) can hitchhike home with you from the grocery store. So uncool! Always be sure to check your packages of grains and such before leaving the store. Look for little holes as that is a big clue.

Moving on...I LOVE Chaco sandals! Wearing these are kind of like slipping your feet into a cloud...wonderfully confortable! I have high arches and these suit me perfectly! I'd wear them for every occasion if I could. People that know me would agree. So, here in this picture Miss Sunshine is trying on my beloved shoes and I just had to snap a picture..yes, they have been busy working out in the garden with the kids and I, and well...could use a good cleaning.

Look at those precious little piggies!! 

Other news on the homefront....

We have a couple new additions...Little Man saved up enough moolah and bought himself a couple goldfish. He named them Rockstar and Rocket. Seriously. 

Little Man is very thrilled to finally have his fish, though you really can't tell by looking at his face in this shot. 

Little Miss Sunshine looking at Rocket and him...well, looking at her. Kind of looks like it doesn't it?

Any of you ever have a problem with Indian Moths? How did you deal? 

Anyone wear/have worn Chaco sandals? Love them? Hate them?

TELL KELL

Special Delivery: Dark Chocolates and Chia Seeds..Oh Yeah!

Okay, so let's say I purchase an item online and it arrives in the mail..yep I get all giddy and honestly it feels as if it is my birthday or something. Well, this past week I received two items in the mail. One package contained some delicious dark chocolate from XOCAI (www.thechocolateanswer.com).
I came across Rick, an independent distributor for this company on another site (for the life of me I can't recall the name of the site) discussing the benefits of eating dark chocolate. I was delighted that he offered to send me a sampling of the chocolate goodness. I was impressed and I highly recommend this chocolate. Needless to say this sampling did not stick around for long.
I've got my eyes on other brands of dark chocolate (looking for the most affordable and best tasting, yet without losing any important nutrition this special treat could deliver. I am not opposed to enjoying a small square of dark chocolate daily. It makes me happy. ;-)  I'm sure I will post my thoughts on those other brands when my taste buds take a spin on those...

Here are some links with info on some of the benefits of eating dark chocolate in moderation.

http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/5-10-19DarkChocolateBenefits.htm

Yum!

The next package contained 12 lbs of chia seeds from www.chiaseedsdirect.com. I was quite impressed with their prompt shipping and get this...free shipping! I can easily live with free shipping, especially since I love ordering online whenever possible. Being a mother to two kids under the age of five this is so wonderful! The chia seeds are also so fresh! I was pleased that not only would I be getting free shipping, but they were on sale..oh yeah, score! I will definitely be ordering from them again, but my guess is it won't be for awhile because we did just order 12 lbs..but, since I use them so often they will probably go quickly!

So, in case you aren't aware of all the health benefits of those chi chi chi chia seeds...well, here are a few links to feast your eyes upon:

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html

http://healthmad.com/nutrition/the-health-benefits-of-the-chia-seed/

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA365093/Chia-for-Health.html

So do you all get excited when you get special packages in the mail? What are your favorite things to get? Also, do you like dark chocolate? If so, what is your favorite brand? I'm open to suggestions!