Summer Spinach and Asparagus Soup June 26, 2009

I’ve been eating a lot of soup lately, which seems strange because of the sweltering heatwave that’s been hitting the midwest lately. I’m craving the stuff none the less.  Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, and it’s the season to be getting the good stuff. This was a super simple and really tasty way of getting my share of different veggies, and making a meal of it to last a couple days.

Ingredients:

1 chopped medium onion, 2 tbs Olive oil, 1 lb of Asparagus (fresh or frozen), 1 lb frozen chopped spinach, 4 cups of Vegetable Broth, 1 tsp of Italian herb dried mix, Juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 tsp garlic powder, Salt and Pepper to taste.

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat and add onions – saute 5-7 mins until soft.  Remove the onioin from the heat, and put into a blender or food processor.  Add the thawed asparagus and spinach and puree until mostly smooth.

Add the puree to the pot where the onions were cooked, and add the veggie broth – stir and heat to a boil. Add Lemon juice, zest, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and Italian herbs – stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 mins, stirring occasionally.  Let rest for 5-10 mins before serving.

Serve with Herb Croutons on top, and a dollop of non-dairy sour cream (optional) – soup is best warm or at room temperature.

prettied up and ready to be eaten

Shrinky Dinks – with style June 11, 2009

Feeling a lack of creativity, and need something fast and simple to jump start your go go juice?  This is my quick fix to getting back into the swing of things. SHRINKY DINKS!!!! (remember those?!)

Shrinky Dinks were very popular when I was a kid back in the 1980′s.  They were sheets of plastic with designs (Care Bears, My Little Pony, etc.) printed on them. You were supposed to color them in, cut them out, and then have your parent put them in the oven for the designated time (while you watched with wonder and amazement as these plastic color book like cheractors transformed into small, hard, plastic figures!).  I admit, I never got over staring at my shrinky dink while it shrinks down in the oven, and get just as much pleasure from it now as I did then.  That’s part of what makes this craft so fun.

Now a days, you can buy this “shrinkable plastic” in sheets at some craft stores or online, and you make your OWN designs, cut, color, bake, and VIOLA!  You’ve just made a pendant, charm, dog tag, broach, ring, earings, or whatever else you can think to do with them!

The first step is your design – make sure it is not something too cluttered or complicated or detailed – a lot of those details get lost in the shrinkage if they’re too close together or small.  Be careful not to draw something too big. Good rule of thumb is to not make your design bigger than the palm of your hand – otherwise you’ll be dealing with some uneven shrinkage, and your design may become distorted in the oven.

Once you figure out what you’re design is going to be, draw it on the ROUGH side of the plastic sheet. Color it in however you see fit (I find Sharpee’s and good quality colored pencils work best, but I’ve also used acrylic paints to make some really pretty ones). Be careful not to color it in too dark, or it will get darker as it shrinks, and you may find you’ve lost some of details in the process.

cut and colored

Once you’ve done that, cut out your design in the desired shape, and try to leave a millimeter diameter around your design (more is ok, too).  Now it’s time to BAKE!! This is a very critical step with lots of important hints you need to know…

1) Always follow the directions for whatever kind of shrink material you’re buying – they will tell you what to set your oven to, and how long it should take for it to shrink.   2) DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM YOUR OVEN!!! Shrinks tend to shrink in a matter of 20-40 seconds, and you don’t want your beautiful design to burn! 3) Don’t freak out when your shrink curls up – it’s supposed to do that. It will flatten it’s self back out, and that’s when you know it’s done!

Shrinking and curling - it's natural

When the shrink has flattened itself out, count to 20, and remove it from the oven.  Let it sit to cool for about 30 secs to a min before you touch it – you don’t want to burn your finger off or distort your design (the plastic may bend if still too hot).

Once it’s shrunk, and you can touch it – get some sealer for the back of the design – this will ensure that your design won’t rub off under normal wearing conditions, in water, or smear. I use Modge Podge because it makes a nice coating and dries clear. You may want to paint the back side of your piece before this step if you’d like a background color.  Once it’s dry, use it however you’d like~  Attach a magnet and smack in to your fridge, or hot glue a pin on it, and wear it with pride (chin up and chest out!!!).

Shrunk, painted, and sealed

Be careful! These little things are a VERY addictive sort of craft to start. The instant gratification is SO worth it, though!

Happy Making!

~Jamie

http://CompassionateCrafts.Etsy.com

cut and colored

Shrinking and curling – it’s natural

Shrunk, painted, and sealed

An awesome place I found… June 5, 2009

So, I was meandering around the Downtown Naperville area during lunch hours with my beau, and we noticed a little shop that had just opened called “Savvy”.  We walked inside to check it all out, and everything they buy and sell is made from earth friendly and recycled materials!  It’s awesome they had everything from pencils made from recycled denim, paper, and plastics to bags made from recycled billboard advertisements!  It was very cool.  Some things in there were well known “earth friendly” brands such as Pangea bath and body care products, and some things were hand made – like the sea glass jewelry.  It’s worth your time to check them out and promote the happy new “Green” shop.  True to their nature of staying Green, they do not ship orders – to ship an order would require fuel costs to get it to you. This is one place you have to visit in person to buy.  It’s worth it just to meet the people who run it.  Check it out. I’ll provide the link.

http://savvygreenshop.com

Red Blissful Chic Mash – with BONUS chip dip!!!! June 1, 2009

I had about a half a Lb of leftover Red Bliss potatoes, and didn’t want them to go to waste.  Living in ‘Merca, mashed potatoes – or just potatoes – are a staple of the diet. This is a great and SUPER tasty way to incorporate them into your meals, AND it has a bit of an extra hidden nutritional kick.  Let me introduce you to the ever so versatile CHICKPEA!!! (the crowd goes wild with applause). Chickpeas are packed full of Protein, iron, and other goodies.

So, this was my first attempt at this recipe, and it was a great success! I’m notorious for over seasoning, but I was VERY careful this time around as to not overpower everything. I actually got 2 recipes out of this single kitchen adventure and I will share both with you! (who  doesn’t like a bonus like that?!  2 for 1?! Get outta here!!!)

What you need:

1 can of cooked Chickpeas (also called Garbanzo beans) – organic if you can – drained and rinsed.

3-4 TBSP Nutritional Yeast (optional)

1.5 lbs of Red Bliss Potatoes (mostly peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces)

1 – 1.5 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tsp dried Chives

2 TBSP Soy based Sour Cream

3 TBSP Soy Margarine

1/4 cup plain soy milk/Hemp milk/Rice milk (Unsweetened!!)

2 medium sized cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed)

1/4 of a medium-small onion (chopped)

1/2 – 1 TBSP Italian Spice Blend (to taste).

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

First, you gotta cook up those potatoes – that’s what’s going to take the longest.  In a large pot, BOIL water (salt added), and ADD the cut potatoes – BOIL for about 15 mins or until soft enough to fork them.

While the potatoes are on the stove, get out the ole FOOD PROCESSOR or BLENDER (though if using a blender you will probably have to do this in batches). ADD the Garbanzo Beans, Garlic, Onion, Chives, olive oil, pepper, and a dash of soy milk.  BLEND together until smoothish (some lumps or chunks are good).

Take about HALF of what you just blended together, and set it aside for pita or chip dip. 

Now, once the potatoes are cooked, DRAIN them and RINSE in cold water until just warm and not boiling hot (this is called SHOCKING – it basically stops the cooking process).  ADD the potatoes and the rest of your ingredients to the Food Processor, and BLEND IT UP!  ADD the salt (seasoned salt can also be used)  and pepper at the end – just to taste.

In the end, you should have a nice thick and creamy Mashed Potato dish!  Don’t forget to thank the Chickpeas! Mmmm.

This is great with anything you would normally serve Mashed potatoes with, so don’t be afeared to try it out on unsuspecting family members.  Nobody has to know it’s Vegan to begin with, but after you receive your first few compliments, it may help the cause to just slip that in there…. just saying.    Happy Eating!