Kale Chips with doTERRA Essential Oils

I make mine mostly like this recipe, but I cook them in the dehydrator.  I love that there is no salt, and the kids eat them all up!

The recipe is from the Summer issue of doTERRA Living Magazine

Mushroom Jerky (or Bacon?)

I have been having a love affair with my dehydrator lately.  For those who are totally superficial and want to know about its labels (or for those looking to buy one), I have a Nesco with temperature selections.  I used to have a Nesco without temp selects, and that one was in the $40 range, so I think it's probably about the same for this one, but I got my current one through barter... so I'm not sure.  That's right, I bartered for a dehydatrator.  I think I just got another hole punch in my "You are a total Hippie" card.  *Note to self, must make some kind of punchcard or bingo card to indicate crunchy mama status.  Would be delightful hilarious fun for all.*

Anyway, I usually have a batch of kale chips in the dehydrator these days as my two little munchkins eat an entire bunch of kale (which, incidentally, is exactly enough to fill my dehydrator to capacity) in about a half hour.  Some days we go through two bunches of kale.  I also help them because kale chips are universally amazing.  Here's one of my favorite recipes.

Well, we got one of those packs of portabello mushrooms the other day (the four pack- note that only 3 fit in my dehydrator) and I thought that I could make some yummy jerky-type snack.  I wanted it to be a bit chewy, teriyaki flavored, and super delicious.  It worked.

For the marinade:
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 inch of ginger knob, minced
2 Tbsp vegan worchestershire (whichever brand you like, I have tried several and like them all)
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or Braggs Liquid Aminos)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
*optional 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke (you can also used smoked paprika for a smokey flavor and not as many weird chemicals

Mix this up and taste it.  Do you think it needs something?  Add it.  This will be REALLY strong.  One thing about mushrooms is that they will absorb this flavor really well.  One thing about dehydrating is that it INTENSIFIES flavors, so it's easy for something to be too salty/sweet/spicy if you don't dilute your marinade.

So at this point, I added at least 1/4 cup water.  You want it to be a watery version of the flavor you want.  Then slice your mushrooms into thin strips and toss them in it.  I used a gallon ziplock bag and shook it up.  The mushrooms are really the great at soaking stuff up, so I didn't have to let it marinate overnight or anything.  More like as long as it took to shake up- done.

I layered them on my dehydrator sheet and set it at the highest heat and let it go for about 4-5 hours (I may have sampled at 2, 3, and 4 hours, but best results were after 5+  They get a bit crispy, but still have a good chew to them, and then bits of ginger and garlic get crispy- what a treat!


I haven't tried making a "bacon" version of this, but to do so I would make my marinade with soy sauce or liquid aminos, liquid smoke or paprika, a touch of maple syrup, and black pepper.  I bet it would be good... I wish I wasn't out of mushrooms...  If you try it, tell me how you did it and how you made it your own.

Gratitude for all of August

I've selected what I've been told will be the hottest month of the year, in my new super hot home in Texas, to practice a month of gratitude.  I'm tempted to double post it all here, because this is my more popular blog, but I'm really wanting to get my business blog up and running, so I will be tracking my progress primarily on my Mindful Wellness blog, which is my business page.

By the way, I started a business page.  Also by the way, I am only 7 two hour classes from completing my diploma of Hypnotherapy.  Can I get a "whoop whoop?"  I am assuming you are all fist pumping Arsinio Hall style- NOT like on the Jersey Shore, and essentially barking at your computers.

So excited to be completing this schooling, which has been so enriching and rewarding, but also very time consuming.  Sometimes I think I should have just done one of those 5 day programs or a few weekends, but then I realize that I have learned SO much and had over 300 hours of instruction, and I know this was the right program for me.

I also made jerky from mushrooms yesterday, so I'll be posting that as soon as I can pry my phone from the kung fu grip of my daughter who has figured out how to use my Netflix app (the world will never be the same). 

So join me for a month of gratitude.  I'll be posting journal prompts, inspirations, etc to keep you motivated along the way.  When we stop and say thank you for what we have, the desire for more wanes, right?  Let's find out together.

Figs!

We got our first ripe fig off our tree today!

My great grandma loved figs.  When figs were in season, my mom and I would drive around looking for fig trees, and as the cute kid it was always my job to go knock on the person's door and ask if I could pick some figs for my grandma.

Finally, my mom and I got her a fig tree and planted it in the back yard, and were thrilled that it started producing the very first year.  Planting a tree in her yard when she was older and not in great health was an act of faith.  It was a promise of something great to live for.  My grandmother used to say that she just wanted to see me graduate high school, and after that we said to look forward to my college graduation, but that seemed to far off, so figs in the summer were quite possibly what gave my grandmother a few more years.

Sometimes it just takes one small, sweet, beautiful creation of nature to keep us rising each morning.  The thought of daffodils in Spring can always give me hope that things will change and get better.

Also exciting about these figs is that they are yellow calymara figs, which I have never had fresh- only dried.  I've eaten so many mission figs, but this is a whole delicious new ballgame!  

Next to ripen in the yard are my jujubees.  That's right, I have a fruit growing in my yard called a jujubee.

What Does Your Kid Eat?

People are always asking what my kids eat.  Each day is totally unique, so a typical day is hard to find. Some nights, the kids totally shun dinner, last night my son (he will be two in a few months) ate two avocados and a bowl of GF brown rice noodles with sauce and some quinoa and chickpea "nuggest" that I made.

Anyway, my daughter's food choices today cracked me up, so this is a good day to share.  She chose most of these foods on her own (the watermelon blended was something I was drinking and I gave her her own glass of it, and dinner was dinner for the family, so she didn't really get to select much there.)

This is what my 3 year old (almost 4) has eaten today:

• An apple
• A Carrot
• Several sheets of nori (seaweed in sheets like they wrap sushi in)
• A banana with worchestershire sauce (vegan), balsamic, and soy sauce (this was her own creation)...
• Watermelon, cucumber, and lemon juice that I blended up- she said it was so good and thanked me but only drank a little.  
• The steamed artichokes I made for dinner and she found... She loves artichokes
• Some plain canned garbanzo beans that I rinsed and put in a bowl for her
• A small handful of chocolate chips
• Several of these cookies, but I used maple and coconut sugars plus molasses in place of honey. 
• Dinner, which was porchini risotto with sauteed home grown oyster mushrooms on top, artichokes (I ended up making more) and kale chips.  She ate all her artichoke half plus some of her brother's, a few bites of risotto and a few mushrooms, and a few kale chips.
• More of those cookies

To drink, other than the watermelon blend, she drank water all day, which is typical for us.

So that's what she eats.  

Applesauce Egg Replacer

Vegan baking often calls for applesauce to replace eggs or oil. It adds moisture and helps bind the dough.

To make 1/4 applesauce, you can simply chop an apple and blend in your high speed blender until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Quick and easy and no boiling or peeling needed (so you get all the nutrients in the peel too).

*You can blend it all, including seeds, but I don't recommend it.

Collard Green Burritos and Black Bean stuffed Potatoes With a Vegan Queso Cheese

I posted a few pictures of my dinner on Facebook, because... well because my kids haven't done anything particularly cute today and that's what Facebook is for. The response was a resounding, "GIVE ME THAT."

 As one of the people who got to eat this tonight, I couldn't agree more.

 I kind of got myself into some trouble by saying to my husband as he was leaving for work this morning, "When you get home tonight, I will have a delicious dinner ready for you." This was unwise, A.) because we usually get take and bake pizza without cheese on Fridays and I get the night off cooking, and B.) because I set pretty high standards for myself on a regular dinner, and the added stress of saying it would be special was unbearable.

 The only thing to do was really blow the roof off dinner.

The finished product (before becoming the finished product in our bellies)

I began thinking about this nacho-y cheese that I learned how to make at a fun cooking class at Radical Eats on Wednesday.  If you live in Houston and you want to learn to make yummy vegan food, I highly recommend these free classes held on the last Wednesday of each month.  You go and order dinner, get a free class, and samples of all the good food.  This week was all vegan cheeses and she did the great cashew and nutritional yeast blend that most vegans are familiar with, then she did an unbelievably simple one from Daiya cheese, Tofutti sour cream, and a little red bell pepper and salt and water to blend it.  I keep thinking about this cheese...  I considered nachos but since my husband loves pototoes I opted for roasted red potato halves topped with refried black beans and then the cheese sauce and green onions.  I also wanted a collard green wrapped burrito, mostly because I had a ripe mango that needed to be salsa.

I halved my red pototoes, sprayed them with spray coconut oil, and sprinkled with salt.  I put them in a 400 degree oven face down (flat side down) for about 20 minutes, then turned them over, added a bit more salt, and baked for probably 15 minutes more.  

While my potatoes were cooking, I got to work on the burritos.  I made my general "mom pilaf" in that I take whaever veggies desire to be cooked and mix them with a grain.  I had some beautiful rainbow quinoa that I love and knew would cook quickly, so I started by looking for what veggies I'd like with it.  I had the stems from a bunch of kale since I had a batch of kale chips in the dehydrator, and I grabbed a carrot and the end of a red onion that was sitting in the refrigerator as well.  I had some fresh salsa that needed to be used as well.  

I chopped my kale stems, carrot, and onion in small pieces and put in a pot with a little olive oil and sauteed briefly before adding the quinoa, water, and salsa.  I also added some garlic salt and "Organic No-Salt" from Costco which has a good blend of Mexican flavor.  I let that boil and then covered and turned off and ignored it while I trimmed off the stems of the collard greens and steamed them.  I let both these things cool off while I made mango salsa.

My mango salsa was just a mango, a lime, an avocado, a little red onion, a quarter of poblano pepper, and a handful of cilantro with a bit of salt.  I chopped up everything but the lime and tossed together.  

My daughter "helped" assemble in that she told me the order to put the two ingredients on and sampled all parts for quality control.  Everything was up to snuff.  

Once the burritos were done, I finally scooped about a Tbsp of black beans on each one, put them back in the oven, and turned it off.  The potatoes were crispy and I didn't want my beans to dry out, just warm through.  

I mixed up my cheese sauce while the beans were warming through, and basically followed the recipe except I added some salsa instead of water.  That was added at the end for garnish.

It worked!  My husband came home from work to an amazing meal, we had a nice dinner, went for a swim, and now he's attempting to put our son to bed while I mess about with my blog.  I can't imagine it going better.

Some tips:

*The mango salsa recipe can be blended smooth and it makes a wonderful sauce that is sweet, spicy, and tangy.  It's good on stuff, but you'll probably just want to drink it.  

*Steam your collards just until they are flexible and bright green.  You loose flavor and nutrients once they turn brownish.

*When I do rolls in collard greens, I always trim the stem off, and slice the vein down the center so that it's flush with the leaf.  I also make a point to roll the bottom in first, so the outside just has the nice thin tip of the leaf and it sits flat and stays rolled much easier.

*Always save stems and bits for pilaf.  It's a great way to use up the parts that aren't pretty.  Broccoli stems are another great addition to a pilaf like this.  You could also just as easily skip the sautee part and leave out the oil.

*If you don't have plans for dinner except that someone else was going to take care of it for you, maybe don't talk up a big meal.

This meal was gluten free and I wasn't even trying!  Gluten free vegan is not an impossible task, it's a fun challenge!  We aren't gluten free, but just making some fun substitutions like collard greens for tortillas is a way healthier option and you get the benefit of simply making something GF.