Hi my dear Bloggies, how are you on this fine Sunday (or Saturday night for the night owls still on their ‘puters)? For me, I try to use Sunday as a day to chill out and center yourself for the upcoming week, which will be here before you know it, so I hope you’re making the most of The Day of Rest. I’m a mom so I don’t really get a Day of Rest, but I grab what I can. In between cooking & groovin’ in the kitch of course.
Saturday was not a day of rest. We did make it to that neighborhood Block Party I had mentioned, and before that, I “relaxed” with a 4 mile run with Skylar (Scott didn’t make it), an hour of yoga, I cleaned my house from top to bottom, whipped up some treats for the block party, drank an extra cup of coffee like I mentioned at the end of my last post that I enjoy doing, ya know, a real chill kinda Saturday. Kidding. They never are.
Thanks for the comments yesterday about the Vegan PB Banana Bread Cake
And I enjoyed reading about the way your treat yourself on the weekends, too. I love your comments, ramblings, rant-n-raves, so keep ’em coming my bloggie loves!
In the spirit of what I started a few weekends back, I decided that either Saturday or Sunday’s post would be a highlight reel of what I made the previous week so everyone can catch up in case you missed anything. If you wanna see last week’s highlight reel, go enjoy this!
Highlights of the Week
On Sunday I posted the Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Gluten/Soy-Free)
Can we say Hug-A-Carb, anyone? Sweet Katie will be so proud I’m hugging my bread over here!
Monday there was Homemade Hummus in the House
Tuesday I posted the Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Snow Balls
Wednesday I adorned your screen with Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse
And also made sure you saw the Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownies
Thursday I hollered at you with Vegan Banana Nut Muffins
Friday I made the Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Bread Cake (Gluten & Soy Free)
And today I’ve also got more Raw Vegan Kale Chips. Yes, I made another batch and this time I used 1 large bunch of kale plus half of another bunch so I bumped up my coating recipe ingredients. If you missed that last time I made kale chips, here’s the Recipe for 1 Bunch of Kale.
So here’s my recipe for the Mother Kale Chip Load…
Raw Vegan Kale Chips Recipe for 1.5 to 2 Bunches of Kale
1.5 c cashews (soaked for a few hours)
1 Large Red Pepper
Juice of half a lemon (2 Tbsp)
5 Tbsp Nooch (Nutritional Yeast found at HFS’s or WF)
1 Tsp Salt (or to taste)
Optional 1/2 Tsp Agave
Blend everything together
Apply coating to the washed & mostly destemmed kale leaves
Put on Magic Box Screens (or the oven but watch it very closely because burnt kale is a very naassssty smell. If you’re doing the oven method, 300F for 20 minutes is a good starting point). This recipe made 3 very full tray’s worth for me.
Dehydrate (or bake) til Crispy-n-Crunchy
Look at the cheezy, noochey, cashew-ey goodness just stuck on the kale leaf like price stickers stuck to the bottom of your new dishes.
They’re like little trees. Trees of Noochy Cheez that is.
Containerize (if you can make it to this stage and not eat the whole batch in a sitting!). And I apologize for the Kale Overkill Photo Load here but if you were smelling these tasty morsels wafting through the house for 8 hours dehydrating, you’d be pretty damn photo-posting happy, too.
VeganMofo in the house today.
Yoga Today is Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (One-Legged Upward Facing Bow or Wheel Pose)
Eka=One, Pada=Foot, Urdhva=Upward, Dhanur=Bow or Wheel, Asana=Pose.
There’s your Sanskit translation of the day.
As a sidebar, I know enough Spanish to get around Central America and Mexico, or California or Arizona for that matter. And I know enough Sanskrit to translate basic yoga poses, but it’s an ancient and largely ceremonial language, akin to Latin. No one speaks Latin these days, but it’s always nice for me to have a little Latin up my sleeve, too. Knowing some Latin Root words improves my English. I know there are people from all over the world reading this, but for all you native English speakers, do you ever wish you were more fluent in other languages? Which ones?
Tip of the Day: Holly’s been blogging for 6 months and she’s got a Give Away going on!
And Heather’s rocking out with free loot, too!
What’s your approach with entering Give Aways? Do you, don’t you, sometimes, never, always? I do because I like to show support for other bloggers and their efforts, plus sometimes there is really cool stuff up for grabs that I really sincerely want….like I won glass straws in Sheri’s give away recently and Naomi hooked me up, too. And if that’s not enough, for all you Food Bloggers, check out the Foodie Blogroll. I won an apron from this contest which is now closed but my motto is that it pays to enter because you just might win!!! What do you do with contests and Give Aways?
Stay Tuned For Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Possibly one of the best and easiest desserts I have ever made…
I've had an acorn and butternut squash sitting on my counter top since..well…since before the holidays (I wince as I write that). They appear fine from the outside, but I have no idea what the insides look like! I wasn't sure what to do with the acorn squash, but if it's still ok then I will follow your recipe!! I LOVE the idea of cutting it up AFTER it's cooked! It seems a lot easier. :)
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?
How did I miss this post? Hmm.
I love love love roasted pumpkin seeds- I think b/c it reminds me of when I was a kid & Mom would roast them when we carved the pumpkin. So delish.
Poor little Skylar falling (and Scott!!)
Orbit is my gum o' choice.. the mint mojito one is amazing and makes me feel so classy while chewing like a horse.
Oh skylar, can I kidnap her? kidding..
..kind of.
*awkward silence*
now the true question is, what are YOU gonna be this halloween, pie! do you dress up with your little angel?! I vote you dress as buddha, just 'cause :)
pumpkin seeds, puppy chow and pumpkin spice donut holes!? so now you're purposely TRYING to get me to move in with you?
ok, fine. food for babysitting? your little chica is precious!
I think I am going to make that vegan chexmix and hand it out for the holidays! :)
Good afternoon! Looks like your day full of surprises. Glad you posted it sometimes you start to wonder if your the only one with crazy days. We also just let Blaine have a good 'ol time with the candy. Like you said its just a day and we talk about how candy isn't that good for but if ya go a little crazy here and there it want hurt you. He still just doesn't want to believe me when I say that candies not good. And I have to agree how can something so bad taste so yummy…? Can't wait to see some pics tomorrow!
PS I started following you on twitter this week just remember I was suppose to let you know for my chance with the bars of yumminess! I think I should win them because I am running a 1/2 marathon sunday! Yikes! Have a great day! Rach
Glad the Trunk-or-treating went well and poor fairy princess bumping her head! Glad she and dad are okay.
Still need to make your raw chocolate chippers…I have so many things on the list.
I roast the pumpkin seeds every year after hacking into those suckers and cutting up some faces. Just with some olive oil and sea salt. But I would much rather just eat pepitas but I am certainly not taking the the kernals out myself.
Those donut holes look delicious! I'm bookmarking those right nowwww. And all of those Halloween pictures make me so happy :) Pumpkin seeds are just the best!
Great Post Averie! It kept me smiling the whole way through. that little one is very cute!
I was thinking the other day when I was cleaning out my squashies if I should roast the seeds! I love roasted pumpkin seeds, do they taste the same??
Enjoy your day!
Okay, before I forget, my favorite snack mix is Trader Joe's Sweet & Salty Trek Mix. Mind you I don't eat it anymore but I do long for it often : )
Where do you find the time to make all of these yummy treats? Ah, who am I kidding? We're stay-at-home moms, we love to cook, we find the time : )
Everything looks fab as always!
I hope your daughter is back to 100% this morning! Nothing like a little trunk-or-treat to heal a bumped head : )
Skylar is the cutest fairy princess! You both look so happy, as usual. I love it.
Fresh (organic, when financially possible) raspberries are the best. I'm afraid our berry season has drawn to a close :-(
LOVE those pumpkin spice donuts! I'm seriously thinking about inviting myself to your home to eat all of your treats.
I am never gonna get to do the "fairy princess" bit…THANKS FOR SHARING.
VADER has learned how to use his light saber to whack the lights on and off….nice lil jedi!
hope Skylar is doing okay…I did notice her goose egg! don't you hate those moments!
bleh
and I LOVE squash seeds. about 2 years ago..when baking yet another acorn squash and I was cleaning it I wondered why "roasted"pumkin seeds were just for Halloween. So I baked them up and now EVERY time I make any squash…acorn, kabocha..you name it…I rinse off, EVOO and S/P my seeds and pop em in the oven for a bit. they make the perfect snack while dinner finishes and every one loves them!
if you bake them well.they are not so chewey!
we are carving our pumkins Saturday am! Can't wait! Seeds are a roasting!
xo
I love my blender ball bottle! Cute lil daughter ya have there!
Enjoy!
You have fresh raspberries. That means you're ready to make today's cupcake. Yum!
Love the princess costume. I won't be posting my little princess and prince's costumes until the big day. They are going to be a flower and a jedi.
What a great idea with the trick or treating! That definitely sounds like a safe, fun way to enjoy Halloween for the kids AND parents.
I'm so glad the squash turned out well and Skylar was a fan! What a cutie!
xxoo
Heather
omg skylar is so amazingly adorable and beautiful!! haha thats funny when you walked away for just a half hour her room became shambles, I think I always used to do that with my mom too!! kids just love to make a mess!
I made your vegan donut holes yesterday! this was my first go at it and they were soo good!! I think I need a little tweaking with the flavors and would love to get some cocoa to make the cocoa ones, but they were really good! thanks for the recipe, Averie!!!
love love butternut squash! my mom made some homemade butternut soup on sunday and it is unbelievvvvable!!!! I cant believe how versitile it is!
xoxoxox
Your daughter is adorable! I think I was a princess every year until I was 8! :)
Great eats! I am loving squash! Never made squash seeds, but pumpkin seeds…mmmmmmmm!
Gosh your little princess is adorable! Although I know you must have to force that smile once and a while when your house is in disarray ;-)
thanks for all the fabulous recipes!!!
I am not a huge seed person either, but i have roasted pumpkin seeds before. They are good when hot, right out of the oven! good thing your scott loves 'em!
AWWW your little one is so precious!! I'm so sorry about her fall!! She is one cute fairty princess though!! Totally the costume I would have had too!
I really want to get a vitamix. Or, maybe I just need to move out. My blender is loud, and thus I hardly ever get to use it.
Acorn squash is sooo nummy!! I actally love eating the skin too! :)
Happy Thursday, Mama!!! :)
K Skylar looks so freaking cute. There is nothing better than a little one at that age all dressed up. I was always a pink princess of some sort, as well! lol. Our neighborhood also does a Trunk or Treat.. it was last night. Since I dont have kids I obv didnt join in BUT I was walking past and it looked cute…So glad she had fun!
Your squash looks fabulous. It looks like a flower btw. Mine are never that pretty!
Enjoy your Thursday!!!!
I just bought an acorn squash this morning to try some of the yummy things I've been seeing. I've never tried to roast seeds before, but I may give it a go this time.
good call on letting the candy go for a night so she can have all that crazy fun
haha!! My house looks like that constantly. I should take a picture of Kyras room and post it. It has gotten so bad that my hubs and I have to take a day to clean it together and then after it is clean I forbid her from stepping in the room for like a week. OK not really but I wish I could keep her out of there after it is clean. Same goes for the whole house. My daughter and husband, neither have a clean bone in there whole body. Its almost pointless to clean. haha
I remember the parking lot trick or treating when we were there. We didn't do it though. She looks adorable!!
~Justine
I am in love with Squash lately! Yum. Just tried a Sweet Potato Squash and posted it on my blog!
Do you do Yoga regularly? I just started a Yoga Teacher Training and am overwhelmed – I'm verrry new to Yoga – but I love…but well I suck :) Love your feedback if you want to check out my site – add me to your Roll!!
We re carving our pumpkins tomorrow night, and I can't wait to get my hands on those seeds!!
Trunk or Treat? What an idea! Will you still TorT on Saturday?
Love those surprises, except for the last one that involved a big egg on her head. :( Mommy's a vegan and doesn't do eggs!
I've got an acorn squash on my counter just begging to be roasted, thanks for the reminder!
I've seen those blender bottles on blogs but never really knew how they worked or that there was a little whisk ball in there! I like it!
Maxine is going to be a princess too! This is definitely a fun age. :)
Oh gosh is she ever cute! Mine are all too old for ToT anymore and it's kind of sad.
It is definitely hard some days to remain gentle and calm. Totally worth it, but definitely challenging.
I roasted butternut sqash two nights ago for dinner and everyone loved it. I need to get some acorn to roast too. I love squash.
I chew Extra bubblegum. For some reason, chewing gum helps me focus.
Skylar is such a doll :)
I ADORE roasted squash and pumpkin seeds!
I love the theme of this post :P
Roasted squash is delish. And so simple!
I hope I'm as cool a mom as you are when I have a kid. I'm gonna have to work on the balance between laid-back and stressed out.
Love Orbit. Sweet Mint is my favorite flavor I think.
Gosh Skylar is so so adorable!
I loved barbies and princesses when i was that young! And making messes! :D
that squash looks awesome! I will need to try making roasting mine that way!
I had to make the Trick or Treat Candy decision too. I figure it's only one day out of 365 and Snuffy gets lots of healthy eats 364 days of the year. So, let them eat cake!! …errr Candy!