Christmas Carnage

Happy Birthday Mom!



Christmas on Haven Drive



I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas celebrations yesterday.  We had a quiet, rainy holiday here in Savannah.  And I guess it was gearing up to be a little too quiet, because we must have decided it was necessary to create our own excitement for the day, but I will get to that in a little bit.

We attempted to stay up on Christmas Eve to attend midnight mass at St. John's, but neither one of us is a night owl.  Generally speaking, by 9 o'clock we're dead to the world.  For us to be out downtown past 11 is an accomplishment in and of itself.  (And yes, I do realize we are already turning into that "little old married couple.")  But when we drove by the cathedral at 11:15 and saw the crowds elbowing to make room past the front doors we realized our already dragging bodies were going to be no match for those families in matching crushed velvet suits.  

After burning the midnight oil, we naturally slept in Christmas morning.  It still feels blasphemous to do so.  I miss sneaking down the stairs at 4am to tip-toe around the kitchen to "surprise" everyone with breakfast...just like I "surprised" them the year before...and the year before that.  Maybe if I spend enough Christmases apart from my family they might actually be surprised again one of these years. 

Breakfast is still my favorite meal on Christmas day.  I made gluten-free vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls this year.  I am in love with King Arthur gluten-free flour!  My dad was the one to turn me on to this product, and it is phenomenal!  It actually rises and gets fluffy like regular gluten-filled flours.  But it is a rare treat (for occasions such as Christmas morning only) because of its cost.  But it's definitely worth it.  Does flour ever go on sale?? 

And for the non-vegan in the family, I made a gingerbread omelet.  There's no gingerbread in it, but if you have some imagination you can make out the house shape with the door and windows.  :) I would say it looked better in person, but no...it really didn't.  

Can you see the house??

So everything was hunky-dory until it came time to open the presents...and that's when the excitement pursued.  (I know my mom has been waiting for this moment in the post...and I have a sneaky suspicion she has already scrolled down to the bottom to see the carnage ;)).  Just like kids, the dogs are always the first to receive their gifts.  If nothing else it serves as a distraction so we can get some space while we have our own celebration.  So each of the dogs received a "peppermint" pork skin bone as their holiday treat.  But you see, our dogs never really learned to share.  And Reilly is the worst.  She doesn't care what she has if she knows you have something that she can steal.  So as soon as Vegas had his bone she was in his face trying to take it.  Teeth-bared, snarling and going at each other it was a puppy free-for-all.  We separated them, but in my attempt to apologize for Reilly by giving Vegas some loving, he mistook my rump scratching as an attempt to steal his bone.  ...I won't do that again...   

Christmas memories...maybe for many years to come...

 Kinda gangsta, though, no?  ;) 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! 

A Winter Solstice Surprise...

O:)



I said yes...



Jingle Bells and Welding Rods

We may not be winning any prizes in the neighborhood spirit competition, but our humble light display is just enough to make the house look warm and inviting and to provide the power company with a few extra dollars for their holiday bonus.  Besides, I've always appreciated the understated.  It's amazing what you can do with just a couple strands of holiday lights.  Instant Christmas cheer!  The photos don't do it justice, but I'm including their blurry awesomeness anyway.   



31 Haven Drive at Christmas

Inside the house, the simplicity continues.  A few ribbons here and some gold pine cones there and voila!  It's a subtle winter wonderland.  We haven't ruled out the idea of getting a tree just yet, but have you seen the price tags on some of those parking lot evergreens!?  That tree cost could easily translate into several bottles of a different sort of holiday cheer. 

Speaking of holiday cheer...we joined the Savannah Striders Thursday night for a "jingle jog" through the streets of downtown.  We were a group of 30 plus runners decked out in jingle bells and elf costumes participating in a spontaneous night jog.  The run was great, but the true fun was observing the reactions from the unsuspecting crowds.  Are noisy "flash" run stirred lots of smiles and "merry Christmas"s and even more "what the f#@k!"s. " We ended the run with dinner at the Crystal Beer Parlour and a round of Christmas spirits!

   The holiday runs aren't over just yet! Today we ran the 2nd annual Reindeer Run on Hutchinson Island (that's the island that you see across the river on River Street).   I didn't have any luck finding a Mrs. Claus outfit to put over my running clothes, but I did find some fun sparkly black tights, so at least it looked like I tried.  And the couple of jingle bells I tied to my shoe nearly drove me insane by the end of the 5 miles.  The bells are really cute when you're in a group whose sound mimics Santa's sleigh, but that single jingle on every other foot fall was enough to send even the most focused elf to the edge of the North Pole and over. 

So in lieu of a holiday baking entry (though have no fear I'm cooking something up right now for the next post!) I figured I would indulge in some show and tell from work.  I know my job still remains a bit of a mystery to some of you (and why shouldn't it?...I'm still trying to figure out what it is exactly that I do).  So maybe a picture or two in this blog will help bring some clarity...to you and me both.  

I've been welding up some wheel wells for our gantry crane (the big iron crane we use to move the massive headstones we can't pick up ourselves).  It's not the prettiest work you've ever seen, but I'm kind of proud of the small improvements I've made.  I wish I had a photo of the first fences I welded up...NOT so pretty.  You'll just have to picture spattering of melted steel and compare it with the relatively straight line you'll see below.  It's like night and day!  I don't know if anyone will appreciate the photo below, but Mom, if you're reading this, call Dad in to see my picture.  O:) 

I'm on my way out the door!  It's time to make a run to the grocery store for baking supplies!

It's Cookie Time!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

I made my first few batches of Christmas cookies this past weekend.  Melissa and I are hosting a cookie exchange this Saturday, so I had to get a jump start on my recipes to make sure they're omnivore friendly.  I'll be the first to admit that vegan baking can often be lacking, especially in the dessert category.  The results are either too soft (as in eat your cookie with a spoon) or too crumbly (more like the topping on a fruit crisp).  And the biggest drawback is the curb appeal.  Vegan baking is rarely pretty.  Have you googled "vegan Chrismtas cookies" lately?  Even the "models" aren't that attractive.  I can't take ugly cookies to a cookie exchange!  I guess I'll just have to make up for it with some pretty packaging or a shiny bow to distract the eye.

I tried three different recipes.  The first is a traditional chunky monkey style cookie.  I didn't have brown sugar, so I substituted molasses and white sugar which resulted in a dark dough that looked more burnt than beautiful.  The problem with these cookies is that they just weren't anything special.  They looked like a cookie...like one of those circles with the black dots that a kindergartener would draw.  And the taste wasn't particularly unique.  It was a basic flour, sugar, flaw-seed "egg" recipe.  This cookie has been denied!  It will not be making a debut at the cookie exchange. 

The second recipe I attempted was a little more fun.  They're called pina colada cookies, taking their name from the coconut and pineapple ingredients.  I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but these have a sweet, sticky goodness that is not like the typical bird's nest cookie.  Again, they're not particularly attractive, but they at least look somewhat out of the ordinary.  They will definitely stand out on a plate with chocolate chip cookies.  Next time, though, I'll add a marschino cherry to each for a punch of color. 

Pina colada oatmeal cookies



The third recipe looked very pretty online...but mine were not as successful.  They're supposed to turn out to be little sugar-coated balls of lime green...mine are more of a flat, pancake-looking section of sod.  I plan to frost them to disguise their fugliness.  The green comes from spinach.  I thought that was a pretty cool idea, but they taste too healthy.  You can't taste the spinach, there's just not enough sweetness.  It's almost a spinach bread.  Again, I think the frosting will help with that. 



Mine look nothing like this...



I also made banana bread on Sunday while I was doing all of this baking.  Our refridgerator is on the fritz...ie.  it doesn't work.  So I felt it was essential, my domestic duty, to bake up everything in there.  Did you know soy eggnog turns into a gelatinous yogurty substance when not kept cold?  I wonder if I should just eat it with a spoon...

I think all the baking was also a result of the previous day's race festivities.  There's something about the day after a race that makes me want to eat everything in sight.  It was a great event, though.  Jason and I ran over the Talmadge Bridge (that big one between Georgia and South Carolina) not once, not twice but three times at this year's Bridge Run.  We were joined by almost 6000 people, including Santa, a flamingo, a whole team of Forrest Gumps and a number of other people competing for the $400 costume prize.  This is Savannah's most popular run (at least it was pre-marathon days).  And as a city with no hills, it is also the toughest run of the year and arguably the coldest of the year, hence the mittens.  We ran both the 5 and 10k this year just to get an extra dose of the bridge while it was runner friendly. 

I've agreed to dress up for the Reindeer Run on the 17th...so I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.  Any suggestions?  It has to be holiday themed.  I'm leaning towards Mrs. Claus...

Sorry about the lack of photos...I thought I brought my camera cord with me today, but I guess I didn't...

Happy Thanksgiving (weekend)!

As usual, sorry for the delay!  I got caught up in vacation mode this past week.  I'm sad to see my lazy Turkey days come to an end, but it does means we are that much closer to Christmas!  And now that Thanksgiving has passed, it is time to switch into Santa mode.  But first a few words about our vegan Thanksgiving.

The day started off on the cooler side.  We joined the crowds at Daffin Park to run the 3rd annual United Way Turkey Trot (I'm proud to say I have made it thus far to all three!).  This was the first race of the season that I've run in a sweatshirt, and I didn't regret it for one minute.  I never did warm up, but I guess the benefit is that I didn't break a sweat either.  You can see a photo of me with Jo Hannah, my running partner (who has been MIA this year since she left me to attend college in North Georgia) on the Savannahnow website. 

Then the rest of the day we spent cooking and cutting up at home.  It was everything you could want in a Thanksgiving celebration....70+ degree weather, sunshine, an open fire in the backyard, plenty of wine in the house and lots of friendly neighbors and close friends to keep you occupied.  Oh, and NO TOFURKEY!  That stuff really is awful if you've never tried it.  In fact, we didn't even have a turkey at all, faux or otherwise.  Jason grilled instead a duck...and some sausage, and I think maybe even some chicken.  Whatever it all was, there is still a ton of it in the refrigerator. 

He also grilled a couple pounds of potatoes (sweet and russet) and some glazed carrots and onions.  Inside the house, I made up a vegan version of the traditional green bean casserole.  It resembled the recipe you see on the back of the Green Giant cans of green beans, but the similarities end there.  I didn't even use canned green beans.  But I did find some gluten-free, vegan fried onion pieces and some "creamy" squash soup when I was in Atlanta last weekend visiting Kaitlyn.  I love Trader Joe's, by the way. It doesn't hold a candle to Wegmans, but it is my favorite specialty grocery store.



Thanksgiving Feast! 



Experimenting with the Self-timer..

And now it's time for the holidays!!  I did not attempt to get close to the Black Friday shoppers.  I made one quick stop at JoAnn's Fabrics around noon, making sure it was well past the time for those 3am shoppers to have collapsed.  Even still, there were too many people for my liking.  I don't know how people do it.  I would rather pay the extra money just to avoid all that chaos...and pepper spray.  Did you see where 20 people were injured by a woman using pepper spray to get a heads up on all the other early risers?  And at a Walmart, no less...this woman was serious about her purchase of cheap crap.  Yikes! 

I spent all day wrapping gifts today.  I'm almost done with all of my mailers.  It looks like I will miss yet another Christmas in New York, so everything will have to be sent through the mail... again.  You should see my craft room, though.  It looks like Santa's workshop!  And while I may not be able to spend the holidays with my family, I've got my own family here in Savannah to take care of...which is why I spent a good hour today making stockings for the dogs (don't judge! :p).

It looks like it's going to be a busy season and this week is going to kick everything off.  Savannah's most popular race, the Bridge Run is this Saturday morning, and the Reindeer Run is the 18th.  I'm taking a break from running the weekend in between to attend a cooking class downtown.  I'm going to learn to make pork tenderloin and homemade Twinkies...what?  You didn't expect to find a vegan cooking class in the South, did you??  I'm looking forward to it regardless. 

Happy Holiday Kick-Off Everyone!!!

Post-marathon Euphoria

I have heard it said many times before, but it wasn't until I crossed that finish line myself that I could truly appreciate that I-can-do-anything feeling.  It was incredible!  Honestly, it was like nothing I have ever felt before.  It was an honest-to-goodness euphoric feeling.  And despite the fact that we had to limp the 20 yards to the gear check buses, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, I still felt as if the world was my oyster.  And I would do it again...not right away, mind you.  But I have a very good feeling that this was not our last marathon.  This is just the beginning folks...a monster has been created!

Check out our photos!  The race photographers were mostly at the start and finish line, so you're missing a lot of those great pain shots at miles 18 through 24, but I'm sure you can imagine some of the faces we were making.  The race was going really well until we began to fall apart around mile 18.  We were keeping a great pace, faster than any long run we've ever completed before, but that relentless ITB started acting up just before we hit our own neighborhood and I thought for a few minutes my race was over.  But I was not about to let a little pain (ok, not even a great deal of pain) stop me from finishing this race for which we trained 20 weeks.  And I knew I had coworkers working the water station at mile 19.5, which was motivation enough to pick it back up.  I was not about to look weak in front of them...not after all the smart-ass, "betcha-you-can't-finish" comments I've been putting up with all summer.  Flying past them was just one of the highlights of the race.   

But now it's time to get back into "real world" mode.  Sigh.  It was so nice using that "I'll do it after the marathon" excuse for everything I didn't think I had time for (or didn't want to do).  I guess it's back to reality yet again...

So now to get back to those Halloween photos that I promised...even though it is now closer to Thanksgiving.  We haven't been cooking as much these days.  Or I should say, we haven't been cooking anything that is photo-worthy.  And when we do cook, it isn't around long enough to take a photo.  We have been eating like there is no tomorrow.  And pretty soon we're not going to be able to use the training excuse any more.  I'll be better tomorrow... ;) ...just as soon as we finish the pizza that is currently in the oven. 

Our big Halloween festivities were hosted by the two gentlemen in the photo below.  As you can see by the photos, they took the holiday a lot more seriously than we did.  I have to commend their efforts.  Their apartment looked fabulous and they definitely won in the costume contest.  In case you're wondering, Thing 1 did have an accompanying Thing 2...and she made both of their outfits.  Did you know you could buy adult-size footie pajamas with honest-to-goodness butt flaps?? 

I was a black widow, but you can't really see the rubber spiders glued to my hair piece in the photo.  I guess that makes Jason my millionaire prey, but I think he was going for grumpy old man...or he was just not trying at all.  (Regardless, I think he looks cute in his old man sweater!). 

I made a graveyard cake for the party.  It was supposed to be a full graveyard, but the dog (and not my dog I might add) found the tombstones on the counter top while we were out that morning.  So I had to ad lib with some green sprinkles instead of the crumbly mud and only three dead people. 

Did you know Duncan Hines cake mixes (most of them anyway) are vegan?  You just have to substitute something for the eggs.  I used pumpkin puree for this cake.  I used the spice cake mix and added a can of pumpkin puree and voila!  Instant graveyard! 

And, just in case you are feeling deprived of pizza (and because it has taken me that long to finish this blog), here's a photo of the dinner I am about to consume.  We've been using Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza dough mix.  It's really pretty good, and a heck of a lot easier than making the 4-flour combination that's required by most of the gluten free recipes.  This one comes in a bag, with the yeast included!   I prefer it when the dough is rolled out really thin, otherwise it stays kind of sticky and doughy even after the top begins to burn. 

Do you like the vegan/non-vegan divide in the center?  :) 

Time to eat!

Trick-or-Trot

Sorry for the lapse in entries.  We are in the final days leading up to the marathon and everything seems to be happening in hyperdrive.  Twenty weeks ago all of this seemed kind of unreal and so safely in the distant future.  Well, that future is NOW and all of this training is about to become very real this Saturday!!  The Rock-n-Roll trucks and buses have already crowded into the downtown area, and local businesses are putting out their "closed on November 5th" signs.  This race is literally taking over the city!  How exciting to be a part of history in the making! 

This past weekend we signed up for a practice race before the Big Day just to whet the appetite a little.  The Trick-or-Trot 10k on Wilmington was being advertised as a "great warm up for the marathon!" But it was anything but warm that morning! We woke up to 40 degrees and rain, but I guess it's best to be prepared for anything on race day and it turns out we could not have asked for better running conditions.  The wait at the start line was a little rough, and it felt like we were back in the cold north while standing around at the end in drenched running clothes, but that cooler overcast weather turned out to be exactly what we needed for a strong finish.  Both Jason and I finished with medals.  That's the first time I've ever placed at an event!  I took the gold for the women's 10k in my age group.  Check out my awesome Halloween-themed medal!

What that medal does not convey is that I spent most of the race trying to catch up with an octogenarian pacing away in front of me.  It was an odd start.   This was not a chipped race, so when the gun was fired, the clock started and it didn't matter how far behind the start line you were.  Your time began the minute that shot rang out.  I'm not saying that old man would not have been in the lead had we all started on the same line, but I was sure not going to let him beat me to the finish, head start or not.  And to his credit, I didn't catch up to him until mile 4 when he stopped at a water station to rest.  (Jason, by the way, was no where to be seen until he came back to get me after his own finish.  I remember when he used to patiently slow his pace considerably to cross the finish line with me...does that mean the romance is gone??  :-P)  

If you're interested in seeing some more of the not-so-complimentary action shots, we are photos #71, 207 and 240 on the website for John Carrington Photography. 

I wanted to add some more photos from our Halloween festivities later that day, but I've delayed posting long enough.  I'll try and remember to add an addendum later...maybe after all the craziness from this weekend settles down a bit.  I have some photos of the vegan graveyard cake I made.  That was pretty much the extent of my Halloween creativity this year, but I do have to prove I got into the spirit (and not just the spirits!) this year.  

One of my favorite annual events in Savannah occurred last week.  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Mansion on Forsyth hosts a Little Pink Dress party during their monthly "Martinis at the Mansion" event.  They feature the ta-ta-tini and always bring in a vocal artist of some merit.  Andy Grammer came this year.  I know I've heard his music before ("Keep Your Head Up"..or something like that, maybe you've heard it?), but I was not nearly as excited as the group of screaming teenagers who sat at his feet most of the evening.  Still, it's a great excuse to dress up and the one time of year I get to pull out my frilly pink dress from the closet.  We were "spotted" this year by our local newspaper.  You can follow this link to see our photo.

Fabulous Fall

It is definitely fall here in Savannah....and it sucks!  Did I mention I don't like the cold?  I'm sure you're all sick of my complaining by now, but no one ever seems to appreciate just how much it hurts!  That 40 degrees feels like the inside of a butcher's freezer and every time the thermometer drops below that comfortable 80 degree line I wonder where I can move that would fulfill my need for constant sunshine and flip-flop weather.  I never thought I would be a "Southerner," but now I'm beginning to wonder how anyone can live up there in the cold North.  You people are crazy! (And you know who you are!). 

But complaining aside, the fall is my favorite season and has so many wonderful things to offer.  The South just doesn't cut it when it comes to leaf color and apple varieties.  But we are doing our best to make the most of the cooler weather down here, which means faster runs and lots of baking. 

One of our more recent meals was courtesy of my co-worker's garden and Jason's master culinary skills.  He has been learning the art of vegan cooking, and I'm pretty sure has already surpassed me tenfold.  Check out these stuffed peppers he came up with the other night.  

His original plan was to make black bean burgers to put on the grill, but with my refusal to eat hamburger buns, he decided he might as well just stuff the burger mix in a pepper.  Ingenious!  They were fantastic!  I can't take credit for this recipe.  It was all his idea.  But I do know the foundation of the mix was a combination of black beans, tofu and rice.  And there was definitely some garlic in there...but the rest would all be speculation.  Whatever they were, they were good! 

So while he's toiling away in the kitchen, I've been trying to exercise my creativity in the craft arena.  Have you ever seen a Sweet Gum Tree?  I don't remember ever seeing them up North, which is why I have this apparently unnatural obsession with the star-like balls that they produce and drop all over the ground.  I think they're fabulous, but most people around here think they are Satan's droppings.  I will admit, I am not a huge fan when I step on the spiky devils with barefeet, but they are just so pretty.  I've been trying to figure out someway to use them that would highlight they're unique natural beauty, and finally it hit me!....a wreathe!

It was a little rough on the fingers, but the end result was pleasing.  I'm debating whether or not to coat it with a light layer of frosty white paint.  Any thoughts? 

I'm entering an art contest (not with the wreathe!).  I just finished a puppy portrait of Reilly out of fabric.  I don't have any photos of the finished project, and it's currently hanging in my shop at the cemetery.  I did, however, take one last Sunday morning when Reilly decided to try and help...ok, so she was really just serving to keep me warm, but that was a HUGE help!  And anyway, this contest is for employees of the City only, so how many artists can there really be among the throng of landscapers, sanitary workers and grave crews??

So while the temperatures drop outside, at least I have some ways to be productive indoors.  Now if only I could find a nice comfortable desk job that would allow me to enjoy my coffee in the warmth of a computer glow and not hovering next to the 80 year old furnace in my glorified outdoor garage. 

One last thing...check out the squash! 

I might not have been blessed with a green thumb, but that doesn't mean I can't benefit from the talents of others.  And we might actually get some sizeable fall vegetables from this patch...if only Reilly would stop picking them prematurely.  I'm not sure why she does it (and no decibel of yelling is going to stop her from doing it either), but she has decided these little round gourds make a great chew toy.  I guess what they say is true, negative or not, this dog is an attention seeker. 

 

Pizza!

Where do the hours go on Saturday!?  I swear there just aren't enough hours in the day.  This is the first time I've sat down all day, and yet I have barely scratched the surface of my to do list.  However, I promised a post on pizza and I fully intend on crossing that one off the list before I lose steam today.

I have never disliked any of our results in this pizza dough experiment.  That does come with a bit of a disclaimer, though.  With all the trouble I have deciding what to eat and my challenges at the grocery store, I will eat almost anything if it fits the vegan bill and doesn't stink.  So you have to take my taste opinions with a grain of salt, because I would gladly eat a piece of cardboard smothered in tomato sauce and probably be quite content.  That having been said, this last recipe was not bad.  I wouldn't say it was our best, and it is certainly not perfect yet (but then where would the fun be if we already struck gold!?).

Our biggest challenge seems to be in the yeast department.  Our doughs never rise and tend to be really dense.  A lot of that stems from the gluten free flours we're using, or it could be the brewer's yeast we're attempting to use for baking...It brings a whole new meaning to "beer bread."  Nevertheless, the flavor was really good, and the texture was the only thing holding it back. 

The toppings, though, were phenomenal!  Our best ever!  Artichoke hearts, shittake mushrooms, zucchini and soy mozzarella; all items we just happened to have laying around. 

If you'd care to try it yourself, here you go:
combine and let sit:
1 1/2 cup wine/yeast mixture (date wine)
3 Tbs brown sugar
Mix together:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthum gum
1 1/2 cup millet flour
1 1/2 cup soy flour
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs rosemary
1 diced jalapeno
(can you tell we were just trying to use up the flour we had in the pantry?)
Knead everything together, spread out on a pizza stone and cook at 400 degrees until the crust browns. 

And while we ate...the dogs slept.  I don't blame them.  It was after 9:00pm by the time the pizza came out of the oven.  These experiments take longer than you might think.

Ok, back to that to do list, and Saturday night!

Boss's Day

If you haven't noticed it already, scroll to the top of the page and check out my awesome papillion logo.  The image was created especially for this blog by the wonderful and talented Kirstin Johnson who responded to my request minutes after I sent it.  Within a single evening of back and forth texting she came up with this design and it was sitting in my inbox before I had even finished my first post.  Talk about customer service!  I guess it helps to have years of history with the artist.  If you are ever in need of graphic design help, she comes highly recommended.  See for yourself! kirstinjohnson.weebly.com/resume.html

Sunday is National Boss's Day, which is very unfortunate if you work a typical Monday through Friday job.  But I'll make sure my supervisors are appropriately recognized, because if nothing else, it gives me a great excuse to play in the kitchen.  I decided to make these "Little bosses" sugar cookies (no, they're not vegan).  I have been craving candy corn all day, so I came up with the idea simply to give me an excuse to purchase the sugary devils.  Sadly (believe me, very, VERY sadly) the only brand I could find contained egg whites, so my craving goes unquenched, but I the bow ties turned out pretty cute.     

Sorry for the short post, but the pizza just came out of the oven and that smell is driving me crazy!  You know what that means...first pizza entry tomorrow! 

Church Heiku

You've all been to the South at some point, right? I know most of you have come to visit me at least once since I moved down to Savannah.  So, I have to assume you are all familiar with the church sign boards; those grammatically erroneous attempts to encourage members and lure in people off the street with enticing messages of hope and sometimes the unabashed fear of God.  "Church heiku" is how my father refers to them.  I passed this one during our long run this past Saturday, "Friends are God's apology for relatives."  Actually, it was spelled "relativies," because these signs just aren't complete unless they fail the English language at least once.  The message seemed a little inappropriate for a church to announce, especially because they're supposed to be supporting the church "family,"...or maybe those are the "relativies" to which they are referring.  It certainly doesn't want to make me attend.  But that's all that I am going to say on that issue in case any of my "relativies" are actually reading this blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts, though.

I guess I should probably live up to the title of this blog and actually feature something vegan.  I don't have much time to play in the kitchen during the week, but I did make these no-bake energy balls last night.  Not a very appetizing name, I should probably come up with something more mouth-watering...how do Sweet Power Bites sound?  I didn't really measure, so the following recipe is rough at best.  My food processor is one of those tiny apartment-size models so I just packed it with ingredients and called it good.

So load your processor with approximately:

1/2 cup rolled oats
5 - 6 dates
1/4 cup chickpeas
1 Tbs agave nectar
1 Tbs peanut butter
4 tsp vanilla

Pulse until all the ingredients are combined and voila!  You're done!  Spoon out little balls and they're ready to eat.  I put mine in the freezer to make them easier to handle, but the mixture was surprisingly not sticky.  I made mine quarter size for a bite-size energy boost, but you could probably make them larger for more of a protein bar effect. 

One more thing and I promise I will sign off for the day...

We have puppies in the cemetery!  A stray has made her nest in the hollow of one of the old trees marked for removal.  She's hidden her litter of 8 inside the stump.  It's actually quite roomy in there!  (I crawled in to play with the pups while she was out scavaging for food this morning).  They're so cute and a lot chubbier than I would have expected from a stary family.  Georgia mutts for sure, but they look like they are some sort of a retriever, chow, rottweiler mix. 

Better Late Than Never

I realize it has taken me far too long to accept the 21st century, but I figure better late than never, right?  I don't know what hit me, but all of a sudden I was overtaken by an urge to join the vast blogging community.  Literally, it became an obsession almost overnight.  One day we're installing wireless and the next it's taking over my life.  The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was check my email.  All day long at work I stressed over blog names and internet searches to perform when I returned home.  (Most of you reading this were probably involved in the process and my incessant texts requesting name assistance).  I am making up for almost two years without internet access outside of the coffee shops, I'm sure I'll get over it soon...maybe. 

I'm not sure I'll be very good at this blogging stuff and honestly I don't expect too many people to even read this, but I am excited about the challenge.  More than anything, I'm hoping this will be a good way to keep up with my friends (Ladies...you know who you are)!  You all know I'm much more likely to write than pick up a phone, so I am hopeful this will give you better insight into my day-to-day life.  And I would love for this to turn into a sort of forum to stay connected...so please, please, PLEASE comment and let's get some verbal sparring in where possible.   

And if you're curious about the name...several suggestions were thrown around and votes were cast, but Vegan Papillion won by a landslide.  I added the your because I want all of you to know I really am writing this for your benefit and hope you will take some possession of this blog as well.  The vegan part was important to me because I do intend to use this blog to experiment with some recipes and keep tabs on some of my quests.  Recently, we've been on a mission to find the perfect gluten-free vegan pizza dough.  We've had some successful, and some not to so successful, results.  And based on the endless links to various off-the-cuff pizza recipes, I know we are not the only ones devoting hundreds of weekend hours in the kitchen to this mission.  So you definitely can expect some accounts of funky cooking experiments and some not-so-artistically photographed results.  Lastly, the papillion signifies my social dreams for this page (get it? social butterfly?) and the word itself has special meaning to me. 

So there you have it...for now.  I don't want to be too wordy in my first post (I'd hate to lose you already!).   If you have any suggestions or comments, the floor is yours!  I will post some photos soon and [hopefully] figure out how to make this thing more attractive. 

Can't wait to get connected!