Mmmmmmmmm :)

The best cookies ever... I was just scrolling through my blog to see my previous posts because I sometimes am about to blog about something I've already blogged about - and here it is: the peanut butter and chocolate cookie from Dreena Burton

But anyways, I will post one more photo of this delicious cookie which gets made regularly at this house - and a new way to enjoy it as well :P yummy.

In V-con - they suggest making Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches. So I've done that with the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookie - and I've sandwiched them together with the Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe found on page 262 of V-con. The only vegan ice cream recipe I've enjoyed from V-con. All the berry ones were too sweet but not creamy like ice cream should be. But the Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe here reminds me a bit of Sonic's Peanut Butter Shake - which I see is no longer on the menu - too bad because it's one of the best.

Cookie Monster

Kailea turned 3 this year and I made her a cookie monster birthday cake - after getting some ideas here. Then I also made an Oscar the Grouch pinata for the kids to smash and get all their candy out of. It was a really fun birthday party. All of her favorite friends were there and the cake was yummy - and it impressed everyone especially because most Dutch people just buy a cake or pie for birthdays - so I impressed everyone - even myself :)

Blogging Again - Food Blogging :)

It's been a few months since my last post. I haven't really been that busy - it's just we've moved and my main computer sat at an empty house until we actually had a place to put it in the lived in house... and then about a month ago we got it all set up and it's taken me until today to organize my photos - and to decide to do the food blog again - for my one faithful follower - and just for me, myself and I - so i can easily reference the stuff I did and did not like... not that this is entirely just a food blog - but come on now - that's what i'm mainly doing these days - cooking... and loving my babies :)

so, one of the things I finally got to make was Seitan - or gluten. I did make it one day with regular bleached flour - and it was okay. But then my Mom came to visit me from the states and she brought with her some of that Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour which makes making Seitan a cinch. And according to the label on the bag - it also helps baked breads have more volume - I may try it for that next time I make cinnamon rolls or something.

So, the recipes I tried were from V-Con and VWAV. Chickpea Cutlets found on page 133 of V-Con - and it's funny because in the description for this recipe - they claim that this one will take over food blogs worldwide - but - I did not like it at all. I wrote in the cookbook - "yuck" and crossed it out. I will never make that one again. So, the recipe from VWAV I tried was Jerk Seitan - well first I made the regular Seitan recipe found on page 157, then I made the Jerk Seitan page 159. It turned out pretty tasty - a lot of different flavors here. I made it for my Mom and her husband. He was big about not trying any tofu while he came to visit. I made sure not to push my vegetarianism on him too much - but he did like the Seitan - enough that he would probably consider eating vegetarian once a week - although he's mostly a fish eater anyways - not too much with the red meats. The other thing I did with the leftover Seitan was just to cut it in cubes - then fry it with a bit of Teriyaki sauce and that was really really yummy. I found that the more simple the recipe the better it was. I liked the Jerk Seitan - it's just that there were so many spices - and sometimes it's just nicer to make a simple meal.

I also made Sweet Potato Fries that night - (VWAV page 114) And those were really yummy.

Update: 2009 resolutions/goals.

One of my goals - to finish the Fall conference edition of the Ensign. Just signing in to say I'm done! And I enjoyed it so much I think I might read it again... maybe.

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We are moving to our "new" house next weekend and I'm so excited about it. We also will not have internet for the first two weeks so I think I will have time for activities like reading... but I may be very busy organizing the new place. Hoera!

Scrambled Tofu: A recipe review

From: Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, p 12

This is the first recipe in the book. And when I first saw it I scoffed at it. I mean, I can see not using eggs in recipes like Spanokopita and muffins and cupcakes - but to totally use tofu in place of a 100% egg recipe - that's just ridiculous... or is it?

So, I was talking to my sister about it and we laughed it off. Then as time went on and one day when I was enjoying some spiced up store-bought tofu reepjes - I was thinking - this does kind of have an egg-like texture to it and it tastes so good. So it got me thinking about this recipe.

So, I tried it!

I left out the mushrooms and added in yellow paprika. I didn't have any nooch (nutritional yeast) but used Parmasan in it's place and oh my! This even looks scrambled eggish - but the suprising thing is - it tastes so much better - it's better for you - and best of all - it was so filling. One serving of it on a large tortilla with a bit of ketchup - only 5.5 WW points.

So, it serves 4 and the first two days eating it for breakfast I couldn't even finish it. The next two times I ate it once for a lunch serving and next for a dinner. I like it best for breakfast though because I found that it really helped me through the rest of the day. I didn't seem to be reaching for snacks in the afternoon like I usually do. With meals like this - I have more confidence in myself - that I can obey my diet :)

Ella is Born!

Ella Antonetta Maria

I finally gave birth to my second child - January 6th she arrived. Phew - glad that's over... little did I know that my attempts to breast feed second time around would fool me - it started out so pleasant - but now I feel the pain - in the nipples. I hate it now. I'm thinking if I continue to give breast milk it will be via the bottle/breast pump... otherwise, I see no problem with switching to formula. I hate that everyone says "breast is best" or "borstvoeding... natuurlijk" - yeah, I agree - it is cheaper and natural - but who is to say it's better. I'm not sure the pros out weigh the cons of this practice. I can still bond with the bottle - I know just how much she is getting - Dad can help feed - no leaky breasts - and the pros go on and on! I mean the only pros for breast are cheap and natural - that's it? Come on - I don't buy the whole it's healthier and the baby doesn't get sick as much because I know plenty of people that did only breast and their kids got sick all the time and Kailea was hardly ever sick until she started pre-school and was around other kids... So that argument doesn't fly with me.



Anyway, Ella is so beautiful and such a pleasant baby - I really love her... I'm a proud Momma - I feel very happy and fulfilled with my new little girl... Kailea is a great sister to her - so far and everything is going fine... except the potty training with Kailea... that I could use some help with.

Late... but not too late for next year.

Well, I wanted to make a new stocking for Mark as well... and I finished after Christmas. So it's completed way early for next Christmas - his last stocking was a bit too small to fit much of anything in it - except for white chocolate (his favorite). I wanted this stocking to capture his personality. He is one of those guys that would rather be not working, and be some place warm, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and holding a camera... since photography has become his new passion... so that's why I made it the way I did.

Perhaps it could use some Christmas ornaments in the palm trees - to dress it up a bit... or maybe just some coconuts :)

Baked Potatoes & Chili

Something so simple that has become one of my favorite and easy to make dinner recipes is the bake potato with chili. You can serve this up for anyone, a Vegan, an Omnivore, and a vegetarian. I make my chili vegan style. Then I serve it with shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream. Those are both a must in my opinion. My husband eats his completely veganized. Now for some delightful food fotos:

With shredded Cheddar, sour cream, fried onions and steamed broccoli

No milk products, only fried onions, fried mushrooms and lots of steamed broccoli

The Juice Maker

Well, one thing I received for Christmas this year that I really like is a juice maker. It's not the best juice maker on the market - and because of that I cannot really make fancy juices with wheatgrass and stuff like that - but it was a gift and I cannot really complain because the whole idea of juicing stuff is still so new to me.

I remember back in September that I did a post on home made grape juice. That was the best juice I had ever made. So delicious.

So, getting a juice maker is lots of fun. For our first test - we just juiced two Elster apples. It was very sweet apple juice... a bit foamy, too. Apparently, the really good juice makers on the market collect that extra foam for you. We just sort of skimmed it off. For our second trial - we juiced a pineapple, apples and carrots. Wow, so yummy and the color so wild! For our third trial we juiced only carrots and then mixed it with orange juice from concentrate - added a tiny hint of honey, vanilla extract and cardamon (from a recipe). Delicious.

I love juicing carrots because the carrots give you this vibrant orange color. What I'd like to do next is find a nice recipe to use up the leftover carrot. I could try it with carrot cake or carrot muffins. It will be exciting to try lots of new recipes over the next year. I'm way excited about it :)

The Black and White Cookie

"If people would only look to the cookie, all our problems would be solved" -Seinfeld

I love this cookie. I remember eating them regularly at The Daily Grind -cafe/coffee shop in Baltimore. So yummy. So, I came across a recipe for them on vegweb.com. I've made it twice now and I gotta say both times I've been disappointed with it. So, I've set out to find other recipes for this delightful cookie. I've found one from Allrecipes.com and one from Epicurious.com. I will try them both and report back. Despite my not really liking the vegweb recipe - I still took photos - and we still managed to eat them all... they are just not as delicious as the orginal ones you get in a NY deli or coffee shop.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

Last year's and this year's resolutions. I bet there are a lot of bloggers writing their goals in today... it's a good day to do it - there really is nothing else to do on January 1st - besides eating, watching movies - and in our case - we've been building a fort out of blankets and pillows in the front living room. I just hope Kailea can focus on Shrek and leave the blogging to me :)

So taking a look at last year's goals - i had many! I had goals in every part of my life: spiritual, temporal, weight loss - with conditions, artistic, etc. Some goals will definitely carry over into 2009.

(1) 2008 goal: give up refined white sugar.... I did. Well, I don't buy it anymore or bake with it... it's definitely still in store bought or out-to-eat treats - but we don't buy it ourselves and we don't bake with it. I've been buying rietsuiker - aka raw sugar. It's brown. At the beginning of my pregnancy the smell of it really grossed me out... I've used Stevia as well - but not as much. Stevia is expensive - so I stick to regular raw sugar. I had planned on only eating sweets once a month... but we all know that's impossible. After I bought Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World... my goal to limit sweets really went in a downward spiral...

2009 goal regarding weightloss: try and keep up with the kids, take them to the park, play - have fun... and if this doesn't work - sign up for WeightWatchers online... but I'd like to just try and be more active and still enjoy my goodies... I may end up going with WW - it has worked for me in the past.

(2) 2008 goal: Have a baby! Result - got pregnant - but she will arrive in 2009 - that's cool.

2009 goal: try and get pregnant in the later part of 2009 or early 2010... but this could change i realize as I don't have two kids yet... and I'm told that once you do... it changes everything.

(3) 2008 goal: Sew my own clothes. Result - this I did attempt with one pair of jeans. I tried to reuse/recyle the jeans into a skirt. The result was pretty disasterous. I suck at it. The reason for the goal in '08 was to save money - because I figured I'd lose so much weight that I would need lots of new clothes. Ha ha. Anyways...

2009 goal: crochet my first winter sweater using pattern from Lionbrand.com. After that, I will consider buying some cute stuff from etsy stores - b/c I like handmade stuff... but I did get a gift card for C&A - and I will try and be easy on the pocketbook when it comes to clothes... will be difficult to do since I haven't bought anything in a long time since being pregnant. I do need certain things like white t-shirts -- all my white t-shirts are either sitting with holes and have been turned into rags - or they just shrunk or something... this might be in my head since i'm so fat and pregnant at the moment... maybe those white shirts still fit in a couple weeks again.

(4) 2008 goal: Organize my craft supplies and get rid of clutter. Result... um, this will definitely carry over into 2009.

2009 goal: I 've been wanting to organize everything anew. Most everything sits in paper-cardboard boxes and I want everything in plastic bins. Not just my craft supplies, but baby clothes, Christmas decorations, and everything else. And stuff we haven't been using will get donated. We are moving into a new place this year and that's the perfect opportunity to organize this stuff.

(5) 2008 goal: Paintings. Finish King Benjamin's Address. Work on other paintings, paint something cute and whimsical. Result: I did finish King Benjamin's Address - which I have titled: And They Pitched Their Tents Round About. I also started and finished a "faith painting" from Alma 32 - the seed parable. It consists of one large painting in the middle and several painting frame it. It still sits in pieces and will need to be put together and framed. We will hang it in the new house.

2009 goal: "paint" with fabric. I want to work on some felt - textile art this year. One of my goals is to do a Joseph Smith's First Vision with felt. And I want to do other stuff with felt. I really like working with felt fabric. It's fun. I like to use embroidery thread and buttons and fabric paint as well with the felt creations. That's what I want to focus on this year.

(6) 2008 goal: Read Book of Mormon and pre-read all Joseph Smith lessons prior to the Relief Society lessons given. Result: I read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. It was awesome. Everything - as far as the story - makes so much more sense when you read it quickly. I really loved reading it every day. I had time in the beginning of '08 because Kailea still took naps every day. She no longer naps. I only read the Book of Mormon once this year - I'm still back in Alma and will continue to read it. Will I finish it again in 2009? probably. As far as the Joseph Smith book - I did not pre-read any of the lessons... I was lucky, however, to attend the Heerlen ward several times this year and got to sit in on those lessons. I loved that.

2009 goal: Finish the Book of Mormon, then start over again. I'm going to be realistic, I probably will not pre-read any lessons this year - unless I'm asked to teach. I do enjoy the Ensign and I finish that within a few days. I'm still trying to finish reading all of the last conference issue. If I finish that before the next conference I will be very happy with myself.

(7) 2008 goal: Do 100% visiting teaching. Result: ha ha ha. Did not do.

2009 goal: Do 50% visiting teaching - and I think that's a really hard goal at that... hopefully, after we move - I will be assigned people that I live closer too - actually, everyone that I'm assigned to at this point - I will be living closer to once we move. That will be a big help. But lets be realistic, with 2 kids in tow - 50% is a pretty hefty goal already :)

(8) 2008 goal: Church callings. Activities committee - go to all Ward Temple trips. YW calling - attend as many Tuesday night activities as possbile. Results: I did not attend the temple as often as I would have liked. We did in the beginning of the year, but once we bought the house, we spent most of our time - weekends, etc at the house - fixing it up... With regards to YW, I did attend almost every Tuesday night activity. Luckily in the summer we held no activities and I could take a break. I think the other activities we planned for the ward - had great participation this year.

2009 goal: We will definitely do the Halloween party in '09 and of course, our annual Ward Christmas Dinner - that was fun. I'm released from my YW calling. I'm happy about that. I was pleasant to serve in the YW - but my focus will be on Kailea and Ella this year. Those are my Young Women to raise up to the Lord :)

(9) 2008 goal: Missionary experiences - I had high hopes - and unrealistic ones - looking back. I wanted to give out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon. I know I gave out 3 or 4 copies. But for this year...

2009 goal: Focus on the spirit. Live close to the gospel and when I feel the promptings of the spirit, share my testimony or something... but don't just give out literature to give it out... do so when feeling prompted to do so. It will be more meaningful this way. And pray for opportunities :)

(10) 2008 goal: Dutch - pass exam. Result: I did pass my portfolio exam. That was one of the more difficult parts. It's done. I passed!

2009 goal: I suppose I should retake the toetsgespreek test - it's not very high on my priority list - I need to pass it within 4 years... I should try it again this year... maybe in the summer or just before summer.

(11) 2008 goal: Write TJ twice a month. Result: Good - Great! Actually since he has access to LDS missionary email I've written him almost every week... with the exception of a few weeks here and there - every week I've emailed him. I enjoy reading his experience every week as well.

2009 goal: just keep writing him whenever and as much as possible.

(12) 2008 goal: Write Nathan every week while he is in Irak. Result: this I remember I did not do. I tried it for a few weeks but then I'd forget and get busy with other stuff. Luckily, Nathan is back from Irak and doing well.

2009 goal: Keep in touch with the family via myfamily.com and facebook.com and phone calls and email :) -- and let them know about my blog so they can see all the good food and crafts, etc.

So, in a nutshell, my goals for 2009:
1. Read the Book of Mormon
2. Work on my felty-crafts
3. Raise the kids well!
4. Get organized
5. Lose weight... by keeping up with the kids... and if that doesn't work - then WW online.

Rush of Fools
WONDER OF THE WORLD

I've been enjoying the debut album for quite some time now. And now, just now I finally downloaded the second album from iTunes. I don't know why I waited so long... I guess I wanted to make it a birthday present for myself... and now that it's finally my birthday... well... in a few days... I bought it.

Two songs that I really like - are the album title song: "Wonder Of The World" and "You Are Glory"

I wanted to sing along so I went looking for lyrics online - but seems this album is still too new... so I submitted them myself - and did the best I could... there is a part of You Are Glory that is a bit hard to understand - I think they are singing Deo Gloria... so that is how I submitted it to LyricsReg.com. They are submitted but still pending... so enjoy the lyrics below for now. To listen, go to Youtube.com and look for songs - it's that easy :)

Rush of Fools
Wonder of The World

Father,
How can it be that you are
Father to me?
Savior
How can it be that you are
Savior for me?

You're everything I need

Wonder of the world
You've been more wonderful to me
And as long as I can speak
I will say so, I'll say so
Wonder of the world
You're on display for all to see
And for all eternity
I will say so

Healer,
How can it be that you are
Healer in me?
Favor,
How can it be that you show
Favor on me?

And everything I need

Wonder of the world
You've been more wonderful to me
And as long as I can speak
I will say so, I'll say so
Wonder of the world
You're on display for all to see
And for all eternity
I will say so

Oh, I can't be silent
I can't be quiet
For what You've done
And oh, I couldn't fight it
I cannot hide it
For all You've done
For all You've done

Wonder of the world
You've been more wonderful to me
And for all eternity I will say so
Wonder of the World
You've been more wonderful to me
And as long as I can speak
I will say so, I'll say so
Wonder of the world
You're on display for all to see
And for all eternity
I will say so
Say so

Rush of Fools
You are Glory

You are the sunrise in the east
You are the ocean at our feet
You are the bright and shining star
You are the love that's in our hearts
And You are Glory
Glory

And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall, short of You
Our King
Our King, yeah yeah

You are the thunder in the sky
You are the shelter through the night
You are the wind that shakes the trees
You are the One that's shaking me
And You are Glory
Glory

And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
Our King

So Deo Gloria
Gloria
So Deo Gloria
Gloria

And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You
And all fall, all fall, all fall short of You

You are Glory
Glory

Best Ever Hot Cocoa Mix

Oh my! This is THE BEST. I was laying awake last night trying to decide what else I can give to my in-laws for Christmas... I know... it's only 2 days away... and I really wanted to come up with something that is like something I would give and that they would use. I realized I could give hot cocoa mix together with some hard candy dipped spoons - they could use this together instead of stirring those into coffee or tea.


So, I opened up my Make a Mix cookbook this morning and saw the Hot Cocoa Mix recipe there. I was thinking, I've tried this before and it wasn't that good. So I got online and went to recipezaar.com. I looked through almost all of the mix recipes they have listed there when I came across two that used white chocolate chips - and specifically said to use the mix with hot milk - not water. I thought on it for a while and went with this recipe - even though there were only 3 reviews - they were all good reviews.


Then after I was finished making the mix - I tried it myself. Oh my - oh my - it's delicious. I didn't even use 1/3 cup of mix - I used just a bit less - about 1/4 cup mix with about 1 cup of hot milk. It's so yummy. It tastes just like the warme chocomel from the Hema (here in the Netherlands). So far I think the Hema has the best hot chocolate... but now I don't have to go there to have a really good cup of Hot Cocoa - I can make my own with this mix. Also, we have used the store bought Chocomel full fat brand milk and heated that on the stove... and I promise you that this mix is WAY BETTER!


It's kind of funny to be so excited about hot cocoa - but I am. I'm going to make a batch for myself and my family to enjoy this winter.


So, to complete the gift, I used another recipe from Recipezaar.com - Hard Candy - to dip my little spoons in. I like Recipezaar because you can change the serving amount. I only made about 10 servings with of the hardy candy. Then just after I took it off the heat, I dipped the spoons in there and let them harden on wax paper. The leftover syrupy stuff I poured onto the greased cookie sheet and followed the recipe till completely cool. I used a little bit of cherry & cinnamon extract. Such a nice combination.


Then I just put the dipped spoons in a little espresso cup and put that together with the Hot Cocoa Mix - in a nice tin.


Home made gifts - especially food gifts - are the nicest to give... and receive :)