Spider Web Cupcakes

Being vegan doesn't always mean you're being more healthy.  It depends on your choices.  Therefore, I call all the PETA concerned vegans to embrace these cupcakes!  In regards to the "for health" vegans, well, you'll probably wanna pass on these.  Although, I will say there's nothing worse about these cupcakes than a traditional cupcake, and they taste like a million bucks....so don't be silly, and eat 'em!

Now, I'm not going to post the recipes for these since I don't think cookbook authors like it when you post their exact recipes, but I will tell you it's the chocolate cake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  It's ridiculously simple, and the best from-scratch chocolate cake recipe I've ever made, vegan or not.  And, I don't have an exact recipe for the frosting, but it's based on this basic vegan buttercream recipe.

The point, here, is really about the spider webs, which can be found here and placed atop ANY kind of cupcake you want to make.  For fully vegan cupcakes, use non-dairy white chocolate chips.  I used regular white chocolate as I didn't really care, nor wanted to buy a whole bag of vegan chocolate chips when that little spider web could just be taken off by the overly anal vegan.  I couldn't find my icing tips in the mix of random boxes from the move, so I had to do the cut the tip off a plastic bag trick, but having the proper tip would have been better.

Go get your Halloween on!

Awesome Vegan Ranch Dressing

This recipe is spot on!  And how sweet is this photo?!  Click on the photo for the recipe's link.  Love it, love cashews, love salad, love "yummmm"...

P.S.  I used all cashews as that's what I had on hand, but macadamias would be super awesome if you have some raw ones around.  They're more expensive, too.  Worked great with all cashews, though.  Enjoy, and a big thanks to the ladies over at "Green Shakes and Giggles!"

Holiday Season Has Come..."BOO!"

NOT "boo" as in thumbs down, but "BOO!" as in ghosts and goblins and pumpkins!  When money's tight you have to find creative ways to cut pricey corners.  It's especially hard to justify spending money on "wants", instead of "needs", which is the category holiday decor falls in.  So, I went to searching the web for self-made alternatives.  I found two different Halloween DIY wreaths I like..this ribbon one (CLICK HERE), and this tulle one (CLICK HERE).  I actually like the ribbon wreath better than the tulle one, but the toulle one was less expensive to make...so that was the winner.

Now, I'm not going to type all all the instructions when you can just click on the link above, but I will share a few of my observations while making this thing.

- First, she says to cut the tulle in 18 inch long strips. I felt that was a little too long, and after knotting a row at 18 inches, I started cutting my tulle in 16 inch strips. I liked the results much better.

- Don't use the glittered tulle unless you're some kind of masochistic crafter who likes to deal with that $h!t. The glitter tulle, which was only the orange tulle for me, was such a pain! Glitter every where, and it was also stiffer, which made it more difficult to work with. As you can see, I got so sick of working with that glitter tulle, I pretty much just stopped, hahaha. Lazy crafter!

- The ten yards of ribbon will be just enough to wrap around the straw wreath, so don't waste it by it over-lapping your layers too much.

-  I used corsage/floral pins to secure my ribbon after wrapping.

If I were to do this again, I would complete the wreath all the way around (which I could do now; I just needed a break..hehe) and probably only use one color. All in all, it was fun (except for the glitter), cheap, and you could adapt this idea to any holiday or event by simply changing out the tulle color.  Honestly, my favorite part was right after I wrapped the ribbon around the straw wreath before adding the tulle.  Think I might adapt that idea with some real pretty ribbons, and different size wreaths, as a cool wall decor idea.  Hmmmm.  Anyway, the snow ball affect in my brain has started....

Creamy Dill Potato Salad

Last night, we went over to our friend's house for a birthday gathering.  It was a bar-be-que, and my friend Grace made a great traditional mustard potato salad.  It really got me jonesin' for MORE potato salad, so I decided to veganize a creamy potato salad so Steven and I could have some to much on this week.  Now I would've attempted to vegan-up a mustard potato salad, but I didn't have all the ingredients I wanted, so I went for my other favorite potato salad...the new potato dill kind.


I can not stress enough how important the use of raw cashews are to making real yummy, creamy, gourmet vegan foods.  With raw cashews, you can recreate almost any of your favorite omnivore foods...except animal proteins, of course.  Anyway, my dill potato salad came out wonderful, and we can't stop eating it.  Give it a try!

Creamy Dill Potato Salad

Ingredients:

-  About 18 small red skinned potatoes, give or take

-  Red onion thinly sliced (optional)

(Sauce ingredients)

-  1/2 cup raw cashews

-  1/2 cup water

-  2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

-  1 tsp. dijon mustard

-  1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

-  2 tsp. kosher salt*

-  1/2 tsp. onion powder

-  1.5 tsp. dried dill

-  !/2 tsp. dried parsley

*This is quite a bit of salt, but if you use this amount, you will not need to add any salt after mixing the sauce and potatoes together.  Also remember, when you taste the sauce before you add it to the potatoes, it will taste too salty, but the sauce is responsible for salting and seasoning a whole bunch of bland potatoes, so it needs to be intense.  If you're nervous about it being too salty, back it off to 1.5 tsp kosher salt...I'm a salt fiend, so it was perfect for me, but may be too salty for others.

Directions:

Quarter the new potatoes, and boil them in a pot of water until thoroughly cooked, but still firm and hold together. Do not over cook your potatoes!  Drain, and leave to cool in a colander, etc.  Set aside.

In a blender, add the cashews and water.  Blend on high until until a creamy homogenous texture is achieved.  Next, add the balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and onion powder.  Blend until thoroughly combined.  Finally, add the dried parsley and dill to the creamy mixture, and only pulse to combine and distribute spices throughout mixture.  Finished sauce should be thick in consistency.  Remove from blender carafe and into a small tubberware container with a lid.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

Add the cooked new potatoes to a large bowl.  If you wish, thinly slice some red onion and toss to combine with the potatoes.  At this time, add the sauce to the potatoes and onions in hefty portions.  I say to do this because everyone's different on their preference of how wet or dry they want their potato salad.  Use your judgement; I used all the sauce.  If you don't use all the sauce, or wish to make a smaller amount of potato salad by cooking less potatoes, you can always use the excess sauce as a salad dressing on your leafy greens, or as an awesome veggie dip.  Whatev's.  Be creative.

And, that's it!  It's best to let this sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving so it can marinate the potatoes.

Sooooo tasty,

CC

Yin and Yang

Random Peep:  "So, you're vegan, right?"

Me:  "Well, I mean, not wholly, I guess...but sorta'ish?"

RP:  "You either 'are' or you're 'not.'  What do you mean 'sorta?'  So, you're a cheeeeeaaaater.  What's the point, then?"

I can't tell you how much this all-too-often conversation comes up and annoys the hell out of me.  Society is so obsessed with extremes!  Here's the deal, folks...let me break down my thoughts on my fascination with Veganism thus far:

1.  Ultimately, if done right, I think it's the most healthy thing we can do to our bodies, as well as raw juicing and exercising.  I truly believe in the benefits of this food lifestyle, especially Vegan Rawism...but that doesn't mean I am a 100% vegan all the time.  It's just like knowing Triathlons are probably really good for our health...but we're not all Triathletes.  

2.  Vegan baking is easier, and a lot of times, better tasting than non-vegan baked goods.  I can not stress this enough!  I almost always bake vegan now.  Plus, I don't keep any eggs, and dairy milk was only introduced to the fridge once Steven and I started living together, although he's not opposed to drinking non-dairy milk.

3.  Knowing vegan substitutes is awesome when you're in an ingredient bind!  Honestly, one of the coolest thing about veganism is the much longer shelf life of the ingredients.  No more spoiled eggs and milk!  You know how awesome it is when I want to add cream to a soup, risotto, or sauce and don't have any cream on hand....BUT I do have a butt-load of cashews in the freezer/fridge?!  SCORE!  Or, when I want to make a batch of muffins spur of the moment and know I don't have to worry about not having any of the essential ingredients because they've gone bad?!

4.  Vegan foods are good, and fun to make!  I love, love, love learning new trades!


5.  I truly believe in the cancer/illness theories stemming from the pH balance of our bodies, and a high plant-based diet and raw juicing  help bring about a more alkaline body pH.  


6.  In my opinion, there is not, nor never will be, a vegan substitute for any red meat product, bacon, or gourmet cheese.  The one and only true-blue undeniable craving I get is for red meat.  To hell with chicken, and all that other stuff; that's easy for me to leave out if I want.  And honestly, the craving really only pertains to a bleeding ribeye steak or old school pot roast dinner...not for ground meat dishes, necessarily.  So yes, I avoid eating these foods on a normal day-to-day basis, but when I NEED a steak like a pregnant woman needs a pickle, I'll eat one and not feel bad about it.  I've probably had about four steaks in the last year (which were prepared for me), and as the daughter of Jim "T-Rex" Cunningham, that's saying a LOT!


7.  For me, Veganism is MUCH more about health than it is about animal rights.  Yes, I'm all for animal rights and humane treatment, but I don't have anything against un-fenced hunting, and the slaughtering of TRUE free-range, humanely treated stock animals.  I, personally, do not feel comfortable shooting a cow, deer, or pulling the head off a chicken, but I don't think there's anything ethically wrong with that if done properly.
  
8.  I will NEVER deny the gracious food cooked for me by someone else, vegan or not.  It's rude, period.  Nor would I ever feel comfortable making a scene at a restaurant about their limited choice of vegan options, or make a group of friends change their dining place due to my restricted food lifestyle.  THIS, alone, is the main reason I could never be 100% vegan.


9.  As a culinary enthusiast, and not a nutritionist, I will always indulge in the best tasting, most creatively prepared foods when those moments present themselves.  My love for culinary art will always ride side by side with my fascination with food science and theory.  Neither fully trumps the other.  It's like the dichotomy of one's head versus their heart ;-)

                   

So, I wish I had ten reasons, but whatever.  If I had to sum up my life philosophy in one sentence, it would be: No matter the field of interest, always approach it with a healthy balance of your heart and your head.  Be a "flexitarian!"

Blurbs of a self-proclaimed hermit, both by choice and force.

Denton.  "Den-Ton" as our favorite Ukranian realtor says.  For the rest us, we'll continue on with "Dent'n."  I can't believe it; Steven and I have been here for over six weeks!  Well, not much has change since I last graced my blog's presence, but Steven is as busy as ever with football.  So, that leaves me...here...weird...and somewhat lonely...but not entirely.  Those who know me, and I mean REALLY know me, know "loneliness" really doesn't bother me in the slightest.  I'm a self-proclaimed, and proud-to-be, hermit...but, you see, it's also a curse.  My toes start to become roots, and I become all too comfortable in this hole I've created.  I literally have to force myself to leave the house.  I break up outings into town into small intervals so I can space them out evenly over the week.  I have to stay in the habit of entering the outside world at least every other day, or I'll never leave and will start creating the OCD world I worked so hard to destroy years ago.

There's also a difference between being a hermit because you can be one, and being a hermit because you're forced to be one.  A sense of pride comes with the self-proclaimed hermit; you know, the "I deserve this" mentality.  A feeling of shame comes with the latter.  I'm having a hard time finding a job.  I've applied to at least 30 various openings, both part-time and full-time, ranging on the scale from grocery and retail stores to salaried/benefits careers.  I'm calling this the "Tweener" career phase theory.

My degree's in English Lit/Comp, and right after graduation I worked as an all around assistant/office manager/bookkeeper for a one-man show.  I loved my job, and my boss.  Hell, my job entitled being skilled at a little bit of everything!  Unfortunately, I don't think it comes across like that on a resume.  PLUS, I'm in a major college town, so the competition is fierce in a little pee-didly career field like mine.  I've also realized the importance of networking.  If I were out of work in New Braunfels, I don't think it would be but a couple days before word got around and I'd have opportunities presented to me.  Here in Denton, I don't know anybody; I don't have a work networking history here, or a social history, for that matter.  There's nothing that makes me stand out from the tons of other applicants.

To add to it, I'm in the "Tweener" phase!  As I mentioned previously, I have been contemplating furthering my education towards a more specific route.  Through much research, soul searching, and blind jumping, I narrowed my options down to nursing/med. therapy or teaching.  I've toyed with both ideas for years, but to make a long story short, getting my teaching certificate came in first place primarily due to less debt, less time, ability to start certification process instantly, and wanting to be in the same world as Steven.  Passion for education?  Check!  Can work with middle and high schoolers????  Not so sure.  Oh well, we'll see.  Even if I just teach for one year and hate it, I will have easily made back the debt it took for me to get certified.  No brainer, here.  I've always seen myself in an educator/impact type role, but more on the college field instead of the middle/high school fields.

Sooooooo,  that makes it even more difficult for me to get a job!  As of result of needing to place attention on my teaching cert. program and the eventual student teaching I'll be doing, I'm just looking for a little part-time and somewhat temporary job, but apparently I'm "over-qualified" for all those jobs.  What the hell?!  I'm over qualified for the jobs my under-qualified experience is forcing me to look into!  Brother!  So, it looks like substitute teaching may be my only option, even though both Steven and I do not want me to do it because he fears it will give me the wrong impression of teaching due to how little control you have over someone else's classroom full of the most wild students because their "real" teacher's gone for the day.

What's a girl to do?!?!?....besides paint her whole house...which I already did.

Man, sorry for this whole disorganized rant, but I'm just feeing so low on self-esteem right now, and anxious with all the classic worries that come with being unemployed.  More uplifting stuff to come in the next post.

Peace out,
Claire

Vegan Summer Squash Cake

Summer Squash Sweet Cake

We all have gardening friends, right?  Right.  And what do they bombard us with ever summer?  Squash, zucchini, and tomatoes!  Frankly, I don't have any problem devouring all the tomatoes, but the squashes...well, I can admit I get tired of them pretty quick.  Steven's folks, as well as various friends, bring us squash every time we see them.  God bless them for the free food, but damn, I've got squash coming out my ears!  I feel bad just throwing it away, so I got to thinking there just had to be a summer squash sweet bread recipe out there just like there are zucchini and pumpkin bread recipes.  Low and behold, I found one and then veganized it.  

This is a very sweet bread, hence why I called it a cake, so just be prepared.  I omit the spices because I have to be in the mood for cinnamony things, but if you're looking for something more like a traditional zuchini bread then add the spices.  Otherwise, you'll have just a simple buttery, vanilla, slightly coconuty cake.  I'm pleased to introduce Steven's new favorite baked good.  He loves it!

 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs flax seed meal + 9 Tbs.  hot  tap water*
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract
• 1 cup canola oil or coconut oil (if you have it, use coconut oil)
• 2 cups grated yellow squash
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• Optional: 2 tsps each cinnamon and nutmeg

*Grind whole flax seeds in electric coffee grinder to make meal.  Mix water with flax meal, and wisk to combine.  Mixture will become thick and gelatinous, just like raw eggs.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Prepare flax meal/water mixture.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder (and spices, if using).  Set aside.

In a large bowl, add flax/water mixture, sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Beat until thoroughly combined with either hand mixture, or Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Add flour mixture to wet mixture in three parts, or so, being careful to not over mix.  Add grated squash, and combine (I usually do parts like this by hand).

Grease either a bundt pan, or loaf pan, and pour mixture evenly to distribute.  Bake for about 55 minutes, or so, until slightly golden brown at top and toothpick test comes out pretty clean.  Let sit for about 5-10 minutes, and then release cake onto cooling rack, or cake stand, to thoroughly cool.

Claire's notes:  I've made this twice and did not have a totally clean release from the bundt pan either time.  You might want to grease and flour your pan to be extra careful.

Sorry it's been so long...but WE MOVED!

Hey guys!  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven't posted in forever, but seriously, since my last post life has been a little nuts!  First it was the changing of my job life in New Braunfels, to the contemplation of going back to school, then to the possibility of Steven and I moving, to....actually MOVING!

About two months ago, Steven and I were about to head up to North Texas to visit his family, and he turned to me and said, "You know, I got called for an interview with Little Elm High School..."  He told me it was scheduled for the day we would be traveling to Muenster, but he thought he would cancel it because he was pretty happy with his current teaching/coaching job in New Braunfels, and it would be a pain to try to make the interview in the midst of our traveling.  Finally after thoroughly contemplating the situation, we decided since Little Elm was on the way to his folks', it would be silly to not take the interview.  Long story short, we pulled in to a Walmart in Little Elm, he dressed into "interview attire" in the parking lot, I dropped him off at the high school, and I went to a Starbucks to kill some time...for almost two hours!

Needless to say, the interview went very well.  Steven was basically offered the job on the spot, and we went from thinking, "no, we're happy where we are" to "ok, this would be a major step in your career you need to take, so let's do it!"  Now, don't get me wrong, in between those two decisive moments there was plenty of stress and crying (well, on my part), but Steven said he wouldn't go without me, and I couldn't be selfish enough to say no, especially since my work life had become pretty insignificant the past few months.  So, the next weekend we traveled back up to N. Texas for Steven to go house hunting.  He was set on buying, so in that same weekend he put a bid in on a house, and had a contract on it by Wednesday.

The next month was pretty hectic, as you can imagine.  Me packing up my house, Steven packing his, all while trying to buy a house, start a new job, and traveling to and from Denton about 5 times in a month.  Finally, though, we made the move July 26th.

*Side Note*  Denton is about 13 miles from Little Elm


In the first day of residing in our new home, we managed to go through appliance hell.  Our hot water heater broke (and all the pains that go with no hot water), one of our toilets wouldn't flush via using the handle, no internet/cable for over a week, and the new refrigerator we bought never started working.  Fortunately, one thing that did continue to work like a charm was our A/C...THANK GOD!  As you can imagine, we became fat, stinky and stupid due to eating out, not showering for days, and being out of touch from the world; but in true Steven Reiter style, we did manage to always have two coolers filled with beer.

Finally, life is starting to get into routine again.  Steven started football two-a-days today, and I've been busy painting this whole damn house and waiting on service men.  I don't have a job, yet, and I recently found out my financial Aid for school won't be fully available until the spring '11 semester, so my world is a little flipped upside-down right now.  I'm trying to go with the flow and have a good attitude about all the new changes in my life, and so far I'm doing fairly well adjusting.  North Texas is no hill country haven, but I fully believe it's the relationships you make in life that determine one's happiness.

I'll have some "Before and After" pics to post of the house soon; it's like a whole different house from when we moved in!  Also, please make note of our new mailing address.  Both of our phone numbers are the same, but we still love some good ol' fashioned snail mail...especially birthday cards for my big 27th TOMORROW!  Our new address is:

4517 Fox Sedge Ln.

Denton, TX 76208

Love you all, and come and see us!

Claire & Steven

DIY Compost Bin...I'm hoping.

I've been wanting a compost bin real bad for a while now, but I just couldn't sacrifice the $200 they seemed to be running.  Fed up, I went to the web for a solution.  I knew I didn't want to make a compost "pile" in my backyard for a couple reasons.  First, I rent my home and don't want to put a lot of effort into anything that isn't "mine", and also, I feel like those "piles" aren't as efficient in turning over the compost as a bin is.  While surfing the net, I came across a lot of trash can DIY compost bin projects, this one in particular.  Hell, I could do that!  And so I did....

Ingredients:
-  1 outdoor strength plastic trash can w/lid
-  Drill
-  2 bungee chords

Directions:
Go to your local home improvement store, and scope out their trash can selection.  I bought an "indoor" strength trash can by mistake, and in hindsight, I would have definitely bought an outdoor strength trash can instead....so do that.  Basically, the indoor purpose trash can's plastic isn't as heavy duty...and you need heavy duty.  You'll also need a couple bungee chords if you buy a trash can without a locking lid.

You'll also need a drill, and a super cute helper, like Fred, here.  Don't ask me how big the bit was, or any of that jazz.  I just went over to my folks' house, stole my dad's drill, and he wasn't there to advise me so I just grabbed whatever I found.

"Mom, I don't know about this...."

Basically, all you do is drill a bunch of holes into your trash can for ventilation purposes.  Make sure to drill some in the bottom, too, for drainage.  I drilled holes vertically up the side panels.  If you don't have a locking lid, like me, this is where the bungee cords come into play.  Simply drill a hole at the top near the lid large enough for the bungee cord hook to go in.  Then, when you place the lid on your trash can, you can secure it with the bungee cords.  It's pretty self explanatory.  And really, the reason for locking your lid is in case you want to roll your trash can on its side so to mix the composting material.  Otherwise, you can always use a shovel, or pitchfork, to mix upright.

Alright!  Holes drilled!  I saved my juicing scraps from earlier, coffee grounds, and learned you could use fireplace ash, too.  So, here's my pot of organic goodies I'm going to add to my compost.  When starting your compost, you need to put some potting soil, maybe some dried leaves, shredded newspaper, and fertilizer in there with your organic "trash" materials.  The fertilizer helps jump start the process.  Mix it all together, and water the mixture just enough to make it  moist.  Don't place your bin in direct all day sun.  It's probably best to put it somewhere where it might get morning sun, and shade the rest.

Here's a good website listing all the material you can compost.

Well, we'll see how this project goes.  Fred's real happy about composting.  He just knows there's all kinds of trash and edibles in there hiding!!!

Updates 5.1.2010

Hello world!  It's been awhile.  'Member me?  Well, lots has been going on since I last blogged.  Hell, I can't even remember where I left off?!

Culinary.  Food, ahhh, my favorite subject.  Although you guys have been missing food here on my blog, I have NOT been missing it in real life!  I have eaten well the past couple months.  As for baking, my most favorite goodie as of lately has been those damn awesome chocolate chips cookies!  We eat the hell out of 'em, and my waist line can speak for that!  Hands down, this is the best cookie recipe, vegan or not, on the planet.  They rock.

I also made some vegan chocolate cupcakes with vegan buttercream frosting.  Holy cow...AWESOME!  Now, I'll be the first to admit there are two things that almost always come better out of a box than by hand...brownies and cake (just the cake; not the frosting).  Seriously, it's real hard to F-up a box cake, and they always turn out moist and tender.  But, I have found the best ever chocolate cake recipe ever, and it just so happens to be vegan AND the easiest damn cake recipe I've ever made.  It's ridiculous.  Non-vegan Mom approved, and everything.  I'll post the recipe for that soon.

As for the rest of my culinary concerned life, I still remain almost all vegan at my house, and eat meat when it has been prepared for me at someone's house.  Honestly, still don't miss the meat terribly.  Don't get me wrong, it is good, but the cravings are nearly as strong as they are for...DAIRY!  Yes, dairy.  Not so much on milk, but cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and ice cream...yes, please!!!  I've been keeping some cheeses at the house, and my main "cheater food" is pizza, so I am guilty of eating on some cheese.  I'm sorry, but I just love chevre, and brie, and  manchengo, and cream cheese, and the list goes on.  Sorry vegans, there's just no substitute for that stuff.  I did, however, find some unpasteurized raw chevre style goat cheese at the Farm to Market the other day, and I was so jazzed about finding it!  I've been waiting to try some raw dairy forever, but you really have to have a relationship with a local dairy to have access to it.  It was awesome.  Sorry guys, I just can't give up my red wine and cheese.

I'm still juicing daily, and I don't forsee that habit leaving my lifestyle anytime soon.  I love juicing.  No matter what your food lifestyle is, everyone should juice.  I'm obsessed with juicing.  It's the best thing you can do for your body daily...as well as exercise.

Running.  Yep, still running.  I can't believe it's almost been a year since my first attempts at running.  Granted, I'm not in aa good of running shape as I was back in October, but I still run about 3-4 times a week.  A group of us are running the "Beach to Bay" relay marathon here in a couple weeks, and I'm very excited about it.  Each runner's leg is a little over 4 miles, so I'm not worried about meeting that goal.

In regards to running and food, I am consciously consuming more protein as I have noticed a definite correlation before the two.  When my diet was primarily raw for a while, my running did not suffer majorly from the lack of protein, but when I started moving over to a primarily cooked vegan diet, I did notice I was becoming very weak.  So, I order some raw vegan sprouted rice protein powder, and that has been working out fine.  I shake some up with some water and almond milk after a run, and all is good.  It's some really high-quality stuff, and is an easy protein on our digestive systems.  You can read more about it here.  FYI, I recommend buying the "natural" flavor version, as the other two contain stevia, which can be an od flavor.  Also, if you go with a neutral flavor, you can make it any flavor you want depending on what you mix with it.

Love:  Steven and I have been dating a year!  Can you believe it?!  Cinco de Mayo marks our one year anniversary...how goofy is that?!  On the fifth of each month, we try to make a date night and go treat ourselves to a nice meal.  We call these days our "Cincos," and this one coming up marks our 12th!  It does not seems like a year.  I love you, Steve-o!

Garden:  My container garden is rocking!  I have spinach, romaine, parsley, and tomatoes going right now, and I am proud to say everything is looking great....except for the spinach.  The spinach is just not "flourishing," ya know.  First, caterpillars attacked it, and now that the caterpillars have ceased it's like it just don't want to grow anymore.  Not cool.  So far, I've been all organic on my veggie garden, and hope to stay that way.   I'm wanting to start composting, but I really want to buy one of those compost bins that rotates, and whatnot.  Lord knows with all the juice I drink I have a ton of great compost material, and I know my veggies would like some of that goodness, as well!  I swear, I go out there and visit my veggies morning, noon, and night like they're going to run off, or something!  Ha!  I love watching them grow :-)

Well, I'll leave with that, for now.  I've also had some little trips I've been on, and my work has taken a big spin, but I'd have to write a novel to fit all that in...and who really cares about work, right?! 'Till next time....  -CC Bloom