Quickie Virtual Vegan Potluck update: I’ve added Emmy Cooks to the line-up. Sorry for the shifting around, but I know she will share something wonderful with us, so – welcome, Emmy! Please check your URLs. And remember to take one final check of the list before publishing your post on May 12.
And…I’m a little behind on some thank yous for various awards (Versatile, Leibster, Sunshine, Kreativ). It’s been quite a couple of weeks for receiving blogging awards and I’m so touched and thrilled to be on ANYone’s radar. Big hugs and heartfelt thank yous to: Dudette, Here!, In Fine Balance, Keepin’ It Kind, My Sister’s Pantry, Veggie What Now, Terra, Not Terror, Cauldrons and Cupcakes and After Taste. Wow.
Other People’s Food
Speaking of Keepin’ It Kind: Kristy, sweet Kristy – please stop torturing me with one delicious, creative recipe after another! I won’t ever be able to get out of the kitchen!
Never mind! Ignore me. Keep them coming. I mean, look at those waffles up there! Those are Roasted Grapefruit Waffles and they are spectacular. I’ve got a pile of Kristy’s recipes in my kitchen just waiting to be made…
Chocolate Chia Pudding
Not long after I acquired my first ever bag of chia seeds, I went in search of chia pudding. The simple recipe that I used came from Food Doodles’ take on Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding and it’s really satisfying, easy and so chocolatey. But since I can’t help myself when it comes to recipe tinkering, I made a second batch with some modifications. It’s a little extra work, but the flavor is a bit richer than the original version. The recipe is below.
Mocha Chia Pudding
Mocha Chia Pudding
Serves 2
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/4 cup soy or almond milk
1/4 freshly brewed coffee
1 packet crystallized stevia (or your favorite sweetener, to taste)
1 oz. good semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 tsp. vanilla
cacao nibs
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or if you have a better attention span than I do, melt it in the microwave). Gently heat the nut milk and coffee and whisk into the melted chocolate. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract and let cool for a few minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds and stevia. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Leave the mixture out or store in the refrigerator until thickened. Add more nut milk if necessary. Top with cacao nibs.
Other People’s Stuff
Apparently this has been buzzing around the Internet for years, but like Rip Van Winkle, I just kinda woke up to the whole phenom – thanks to a post at Terra, Not Terror. I was immediately intrigued by this idea, mainly because it sounds so freaking wacky, but also because I haven’t been satisfied with my face-washing routine in years. I was a Kiehl’s devotee for a long time, then kind of bounced around among various products, all of which made my face feel dry and tight. I’d slather on copious amounts of moisturizer to counteract.
As soon as I read the post, I bopped off into the Internet to read more. I got detailed info at The Oil Cleansing Method and set about making my own concoction. I had to mess with the ratio a little to get it right. I’m using a combination of caster oil (cheap!) and sunflower oil (leftover since I no longer cook with it). I’ve been doing this routine now for a couple of weeks. And I’m a convert. I actually look forward to washing my face. It really is like a mini self-facial. My skin feels great, I’ve cut out the moisturizer (still use a daily SPF) and I think I’m seeing improvement in the texture and brightness of my skin. Weird, wild stuff!
And then over at Air Eater there was a post about not washing one’s hair. I know, right? Lidia describes her new routine in detail and once again, I hit the Internet to find out more. There is a TON of info out there and yes, it’s old, old news. What has shampoo done for me lately except dry out my scalp?? I actually went cold turkey and am just rinsing my hair with plain old water. No one has yet turned away in utter disgust. The notion of letting my skin and hair – my own body – manage itself is truly appealing.
I’m eternally grateful to Luminous Vegans for this post, which introduced me to the miracle that is Soapwalla Deodorant Cream. I read, I bought. It’s completely natural and contains no aluminum. It’s creamy, smells delicious (lavender, peppermint, tea tree oil) and is easy to apply.
That’s all well and good, but it also needed to work. Without going into the ugly details, I put deodorant through its paces and this product came through with sweet-smelling colors. Run, don’t walk to your computer (oh, wait, you’re at your computer) and order up some of this stuff at Soapwalla or here. Visit the Soapwalla Kitchen blog here. Get some for your wife/husband/friend/siblings. Get them off of the aluminum scary-stuff and onto this totally natural, effective cream.
As you can see, my fellow bloggers inspire me each and every day. No telling what one is going to stumble upon when tooling around the virtual world! Until the next “Other People’s” post…
So I’m back in the (sweltering hot) sticks – at least for a little while. I’m on Ike Duty for a few days and our first order of business was a trip to Whole Foods in Oklahoma City. We were there, panting in front of the big, shiny windows when they opened the doors at 8 am, a long list and politically-correct shopping bags in hand. We picked up, among other wonderful items, some extra virgin coconut oil and a bunch of essential oils so that I could whip up a batch of Somer’s Patented Pit Paste (I added the Patented, just cuz it sounds all snazzy with the extra p-word thrown in) as I’d forgotten to pack my beloved Soapwalla deodorant cream. It took me all of about 5 minutes to make a small jar of the stuff. Smells great and looks like something I’d smother in chocolate sauce and eat with a spoon.
Also waiting for me was my prize from AstigVegan for bidding on the VSPCA (via Richa at Hobby and More) online auction a few months back. The ladies at AstigVegan generously donated a gift set and I was determined to snag their neat package of goodies: pili nut cheese (sadly all gone by the time I got home) a canvas bag and a fantastic “cookbooklet” with the top recipes from RG and TJ’s creative site. They did a great job of putting this ‘let together and I’m thrilled to have it. I am looking forward to diving into their unusual (at least for this Heinz 57 Variety American) and delicious-sounding Filipino recipes.