I do love Falafel!

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:00:59 +0000

I saw a recipe for Sunflower Seed Falafel here by Hannah Kaminsky of Bitter Sweet Blog and I had to try it. Her post was about breaking the rules and trying a raw falafel which is not really a true “falafel”. If I can eat vegan “ice cream” and vegan “cheese” then I should be able to eat raw falafel.

Yummy, tasty falafel.

Her recipe is for sunflower seed falalfel. You have to soak the sunflower seeds overnight. The best part is you place the seeds, seasonings like garlic scallions and cumin in a food processor and process until you have a crunchy peanut butter consistency. Then I used a small cookie scoop and placed the tasty balls on a teflex sheet, sprinkled with paprika and dehydrated for about 8 hours. The falafel balls are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. So you can eat them as balls, mash them down and place in a wrap or skip the formalities and eat straight off the sheet. I should mention her recipe can be cooked in an oven or dehydrated, so you don’t need a dehydrator to enjoy these tasty morsels! Thanks Hannah. I took mine for lunch at work on a bed of greens and veggies drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. A great way to start the week! Soooo Gooood!

A close up!

I would also like to mention that Hannah is also the author of this wonderful cookbook My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert A wonderful book full of recipes for desserts that will dazzle your taste buds and sweet tooth! All your friends and family vegan or not, will love anything you make from this book!

And now for something completely different!

Maggie lounging Rosie just hanging out Betty watching me play with my food.

Enjoy the journey and the food you create!

Have fun with your animal friends!

Happy 101 Blog Award!

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:29:28 +0000

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Joanna for nominating me for this award. It was such a wonderful surprise to receive this! Joanna has an amazing blog called, “Promoting the Raw Food Diet, While Debunking the Myths.” She is just finishing her 7 day raw challenge. I am participating in this challenge. She has provided all the recipes, the tips on what to do and when, plus a shopping list. I really encourage you to check it out and try it. One week, it’s only 7 days and the food is amazing. You will not starve or go with out. She has a wide range of dishes from patés to noodles with sauce, soups and salads. There are desserts like chocolate mousse and chocolate too. Try some raw dishes and have some fun!

Now, here are the award rules, copied and pasted from Joanna’s blog:

First: Copy the award image in your post.

Then, list 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you must link back to my blog!….the last part..only if you want too!

Where to start?!!!

10 things that make me happy:

1) Running with my dogs always makes me happy. I like to run with my canine pals early in the morning, when most people are still asleep or awake but not out-and-about. All I can hear are birds in the spring and summer or like right now there is no sound except the crunching of the snow from my shoes and the patting noise of my dogs paws. It is so tranquil and calming. This is my time to just be.

2) Playing with my horse. I love playing with my horse. If you want to learn anything about yourself, spend an hour with a horse. Just the smell of him, the softness of his hair and the kindness in his eye make all my troubles melt away. My horse is a left brain extrovert, which in natural horseman speak means he loves to play and gets bored easily. So I have to use my brain and think of fun games to play. I just can’t be a direct line predator which is what humans are. I have learned to think like a prey animal and to me that is a great thing!

3) Spending time with my husband. Even though we have been married almost 22 years, we still love spending time together. It needn’t be special time we set aside, it is simple pleasures like sitting at the table discussing current events or discussing weird topics, watching a movie together on the couch or taking time out and having coffee or lunch together.

4) Spending some quality time with my TDs. They are growing up so fast. I like to spend special time with them. Going skating, walking the dogs, hanging out and learning new card games or playing board games. It’s all fun and gives us time to talk.

5) I enjoy making others happy. If that means making a cake (I know what a sacrifice), cleaning a stall, walking a dog, helping others out when they need a helping hand (animal and human)- it’s all worth it!

6) As weird as this sounds, I enjoy challenge. I love learning new things, mentally and physically. We can get stuck in a rut and it is always good to shake it up every so often.

7) I enjoy being owner and co-founder of Sirova which provides quality, organic, raw food for your life! Working with Joanna and Matthew has been very exciting and stimulating.

Feeling connected to the earth – grounded makes me happy. Having calmness and feeling centered. I think that’s why I enjoy running, playing with my horse and physical exertion.

9) I enjoy a clean house. On the weekend we all chip in and clean the house. We divvy up the chores and I love when we’re all done and the house is neat and tidy for a moment or two. I have 3 dogs, 3 cats and 2 guinea pigs, plus 2 TDs and the TG. The house doesn’t stay pristine for long!

10) Books. I love to read books. Cookbooks, raw food books, books about food, mystery books, novels, fiction, non-fiction it’s all good. There is always something I can learn from a book.

So, this is a short list of what makes me happy. If asked in a year or two, I imagine this would still hold true.