Just Another Meatless Monday #74 Dream Come True

Right now I'm living the old adage of making hay while the sun shines. "Hay" meaning working a couple paying jobs, on top of everything else in my life, when the opportunities arose. Who am I to turn down money in this day and age? I'm going to try and keep posting this week, but I have limited time and brain cells.

I don't have a vegetarian recipe lined up, well I do but it's a long story. I decided instead to tell you about my dream come true today. A lot of folks have a bucket list but I think I just have a wish list. I don't want think about kicking the bucket, but I can think about dreams coming true and not feel sad. And today a dream came true. I sat in the grass in Palmer, Alaska and watched Garrison Keillor perform live. Yes The Summer Of Love tour came to Alaska, and the Alaska State Fair, a mile from my house. How cool is that? I was at one point 20 feet away while he crooned an Elvis tune to a sleepy baby in the crowd. He wanders while he weaves his lovely stories, thrilling folks as he strolls by. The Guys All Star Shoe band were there, Rich Dworsky, Fred Newman too! Dream. Come. True.

Then I went back to the booth I'm working at the fair and worked until 10:00 tonight, wrote this and will be up to work in the school by 6:30. I'm tired, I'm down and what a great day. 

Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project

Well my last baby started kindergarten this week, I'm torn between heart soaring freedom and the sadness of the last lovely sweet baby leaving the nest. But truly he's going to the second best place besides home, a Waldorf Kindergarten. Every day starts with a nature walk through the woods, play time outside, circle time and then a hot grain snack with fresh chopped fruit on top. The kids all bring in vegetables for soup and bread day, they spend the morning diligently chopping vegetables for the soup. Pride and ownership make the soup a complete HIT with all the kids. If my kids have to go to school (and they do for my sanity) this is the place I want them to be. I'm so lucky, we're so lucky.

And on top of that I am a substitute teachers aide for the Kindergarten teacher until one is hired and I'm working weekends at the Alaska State Fair for the Red Beet and volunteering a few nights at the Alaska Farmland Trust booth too. Yep I'm pretty busy and I'm loving it, it really keeps me on my toes.

I picked up 50 pounds of local fresh tomatoes for making into canned crushed tomatoes. I'm doing something great with the peels too, I let you know how it turns out, if it turns out. Harvest is getting under way and I'll need to go pick turnips this week, I didn't grow any this year.

Serene, over at the Mom Food Project had some completely wonderful things to say about me. I'm honored to be featured on her blog for Follow Friday.

I've had no time to thrift shop, have you? The fair will be over in a week, I'll be back in the thrifting mode soon after that, I'm sure. Show me your goodies, I think I'm having thrifting withdrawals. Help a girl out.

Peace and Love--

Wanna Know Why I Cook? Vlog Post

And stutter? And stammer? And laugh at my friend while she talks? Well I can't explain why I do all those things but I do explain why I cook.

Ok maybe I can explain why I do everything else too, I'm a dork and I was flustered. And we had just had a HUGE tear inducing laugh in the booth before the video was filmed. No lies, BlogHer 11 was incredible and I'm still a dork, go figure.

Peace and Love--

Frozen Strawberry Ice Cream

without the cream. Remember the "all the rage super simple banana ice cream" a year or so ago? This is basically the same deal but made with frozen strawberries. Seriously the best and easiest homemade 'ice cream' made in the food processor with only whole strawberries and a drizzle of water to thin it down a bit. If you have frozen berries and you need a quick snack for your kids this will be a hit. I have made this with super sweet berries that didn't need additional sweetener and I have had not so sweet berries that needed a small sprinkle of sugar to bring them out. Either way it's mainly plain fruit whipped into a delicious late summer frozen treat.

Frozen Strawberry 'Ice Cream'
3 cups frozen berries-I get organic from Azure Standard
1/4-1/2 cup water
sprinkle of sugar**optional as needed

put the frozen berries in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade
pulse to chop the berries
then with the motor running drizzle in the water
it should start to come together and quit being chunky quickly
after half the water is in stop the motor and scrape down the sides
run the motor and add more water as needed to make it smooth but NOT runny
serve immediately to hungry children or pour into popsicle molds to eat later

These truly are easy and delicious and a GREAT way to use up frozen berries now or anytime you need a quick healthy snack for your kids. If you see a great deal on berries why not stock up on good fresh berries and freeze some for snacking all winter long.



Peace and Love--

Just Another Meatless Monday #73 Vegan Pesto

I've got basil, I've been using it up while it lasts. I grow it inside during the summer because it's a temperamental beast and will pout and die it if it gets wet or unhappy. I love to whip up batches of pesto, freeze them in dollops on a cookie sheet, then wrap them individually and keep frozen for a blast of summer flavor whenever I need it. Almost anything can and will benefit from pesto.

Vegan pesto is basically made without a dash of Parmigiano-Reggiano, I added extra nuts to make up the bulk of the cheese. In this recipe I used almond meal that I toasted instead of toasted pine nuts or walnuts like I usually use. The almond meal made for a very mellow pesto that I used in a variety of ways; I made pesto rolls and I topped bowls of quinoa with a spoonful for lunch today.

You will need a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

Vegan Pesto
1/3 cup of almond meal
2 cloves of garlic peeled
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
olive oil

in a dry frying pan over medium heat toast the almond meal until toasty brown, it will go from toasty to burnt to death in a minute so keep an eye on it and stir it often
cool the almond meal
grind and crush the garlic with the salt or whirl in the food processor
add the basil leaves and grind until well mixed in
drizzle in the oil and stir well to incorporate
serve right away, store in a jar with a bit of oil to cover it in the fridge or dollop on a cookie sheet and freeze to enjoy later on

pesto rolls

quinoa topped with basil

Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project--Successful Reselling Tips

I never hit a thrift store this week, I'm on a stuff diet. I have too much and I need to regroup, organize and get ready for a good reselling season. I plan on taking my storage closet down to the bare bones, sort it out, move things around and restock my mailing supplies too. I've been shoveling things in all summer and the neglect is desperately showing. I can't even get the door shut, that's embarrassing. So I thought I'd share my best tips for successful reselling on eBay.

1. sell what you know--I started by selling a Baby Bjorn front pack, I was thrilled when it topped 40 dollars and completely addicted to reselling after it closed--I had to sell more things, so I did, I sold baby things we no longer needed, my maternity clothing and when I ran out of things I had to sell I bought them and sold them, I was competent in the language of baby clothes, toys and maternity wear therefore I KNEW what people wanted, or thought I did anyway
2. BUT be willing to step outside your comfort zone if you can afford it, I once bought a bag of Harry Potter figures for a dollar, I didn't know what they were but I figured they might sell and if they didn't I was only out a dollar--they sold for over 45 dollars! I figured if they didn't sell I would donate them back to the thrift store of gift them to someone--this is a fine line to walk because you have to be willing to take a chance,  just make sure you can afford it and that you get rid of things that don't sell
3. do your research, follow thrifting blogs, connect with fellow thrifters, ask on twitter, research completed listings, follow eBay auctions on similar listings to see how they close
4. your feedback rating is your golden ticket, it's what you're worth in the selling world on eBay-SO describe accurately, don't be afraid to list imperfections the buyer should always know what they are getting, ship quickly, pack well and leave good feedback for others
5. THIS IS THE BEST TIP I HAVE use the automated printing labels via ebay, you can weigh your package, pay via paypal, print the label, tape it on and skip standing in line at the Post Office, you get free delivery confirmation, a small discount on shipping and no lines to stand in!!
6. if all else fails remember labels sell, if it's clean, in good shape from a good label chances are someone somewhere is looking for one of those
7. I keep a small notebook of odd names that sell well, I'm not old, but some funky obscure very collectible names escape me and I don't want to miss out, I read a lot of thrifting blogs whenever anyone mentions a name that sells well I jot it down and keep an eye out,

Those are my best tips for getting started and staying successful in the reselling arena. Remember too eBay isn't the only place to sell, Etsy has a wonderful vintage community, Craigslist is a great place to buy and sell. On facebook I created a group for buying and selling called the online yardsale group, we have 233 members from our town and the surrounding communities. I started with a few friends and had them spread the word so we could keep a loose group of people who know each other and feel comfortable meeting up. I feel like the group is great success and I'm really pleased with how well it's working.

I have a new blog for giveaways and reviews called Hey Who's a Winner Mom? Go check it out and enter to win a 25 dollar gift card. Don't worry I'll still be doing giveaways here but I have to do some of them over there according to the BlogHer rules. I'm OK with that and I hope you are too.

Peace and Love--

BlogHer 11 parties and fun

Dove Ice Cream Bars. Yacht. San Diego. Party. Would you go?

I did. I'm so glad I did too. It was a great party, very mellow and low pressure. Sometimes the private parties at BlogHer can get a bit overwhelming with all the sponsors making sure you see their product. The Dove Yacht was the exact opposite, there was food, drinks, 39 other women and the Dove PR team. There was no pressure, no eat our ice cream(dang! actually there was ice cream but no pressure to. eat. the ice. cream.), no review our product(double dang!! I'm AVAILABLE!!) It was just a party with friends on a boat with two hunky man/boys to do our bidding. When it got chilly the two hunky man/boys brought each of us a pashmina to wear, in rich chocolaty brown and brought us ice cream bars to nibble on. Then we sailed for an hour, went (I swear!) right under the bow of an aircraft carrier, tooled around and then stopped to watch a massive fireworks display. Huzzah. Best. PR. Party Ever.

I went to several other low key non pushy parties too, in fact I seemed to specialize in them this year. I love that. So I hit the super quiet, uber mellow Stonyfield party in their hotel room to snack on some delish, new to the market, treats. So nice to just slip in, say hi, enjoy the view and meet the wonderful folks of Stonyfield yogurt. They even said I smelled great, probably my deodorant working over time to mask my fear of strangers, my shyness and the fear of going some place alone.

I also went to an AMAZING rooftop party for Softcup, it's a ladies product you use instead of tampons or pads. The party was awesome, quiet rooftop, nice music, luscious drinks, sun blazing into sunset mode. I'm now a Softcup girl and I'll never go back, funny thing is I never even KNEW about the product before BlogHer 11 and now I'm totally a new woman over here. Seriously if you ever get tired of leaks, worrying and everything else give Softcups a shot. You will not regret it.

and of course sparkle spider was in attendance at all 3 parties

Rock on Sparkle Spider, rock on.

Peace and Love--

Spicy Pepper Jam

I cooked up a lovely combination of homegrown sweet peppers and hot peppers today. They made a fantastic little batch of jam that we can dip into this winter to savor our pepper crop. I love to take things we would otherwise eat in a day or two and make something we can enjoy again and again. I think mini corn muffins for Thanksgiving would be great with a dollop of this jam, especially if we get some corn we can use this year. Or maybe cornmeal shortbread? Ohh polenta and pepper jam! Ok I need to make a few more batches, obviously I have plenty of ways I can use a dash of spicy peppers.

early summer picture of sweet peppers

This recipe uses Pomona Pectin, if you want to use commercial pectin use 1 package of powdered pectin instead of calcium water and pectin, and replace the honey with sugar.

Spicy Pepper Jam

2 clean, sterilized 1/2 pint jars, rings, with new lids
2-4 sweet peppers, enough to make 1 cup minced mild peppers-I used a combination of banana peppers and green peppers
2 jalapeños-more if you like it hot
3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon calcium water
1/2 cup water
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Pomona Pectin

fill the canning jars with boiling water and set aside
cover lids and rings with boiling water and set aside also
start a big dutch oven full of water for your boiling water bath
wash and seed the green peppers, remove and discard the stems, then whirl in a food processor until minced
repeat with the jalapeños being careful NOT to get the juice in your eyes or anywhere else you like to keep pain free
put all the peppers in about a 2 quart pot
add the vinegar, calcium water, water and lemon juice to the peppers and bring to a boil
meanwhile mix the sugar with the pectin
when the peppers are boiling add the honey and sugar/pectin mixture stirring to ensure all the pectin dissolves
bring back to boil and cook about 30 seconds
empty the jars of their water and pour in the hot jam
wipe the rims add a lid and a ring
place in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes
remove to a towel to cool
when cool check for sealed lids, any unsealed jars should be stored in the fridge and used within 2 weeks

And I'm STILL without an SD card and card reader for my camera, I need to replace that ASAP hunh?

Check out the Kroger gift card giveaway on my new review/giveaway blog Hey Who's a Winner Mom?

Peace and Love--

BlogHer 11, yes more fun!

I wish it were two weeks ago and I was just now leaving for BlogHer 11, yeah well that's not gonna happen so I guess I'll just dream about all the fun I had and share.

We rolled into town too late to hit any of my early evening parties, I was road weary friends, we all were. in case you don't know the ALL include my sparkle spider sister Valerie, Heather the etiquette queen and the glittery shining Luna, all good friends, now more dear than ever. We were wiped out. I passed on a few parties, freshened up and grabbed my conference pass and hit the expo floor. Whoa. So much to see, like the Pine-Sol woman, Kudos men in Hard Hats and Dove Ice Cream bars (HELLO!!) in a freezer to eat whenever. No I actually managed to AVOID the Dove bars because I knew the next night I was sailing off on the Dove yacht so I let the other 3,600 women mob them. What a BLAST the Expo floor was, so much to do and try and see. I had to leave just to process it all.

We headed to the People's Party so Valerie could NOT go fan girl on the Bloggess, but first we stopped at the bar and grabbed an IPA because it was international IPA day, you MUST follow the rules, right? Sufficiently propped up on a beer we headed off the find this Bloggess and the parties. We found food before the Bloggess and realized we hadn't eaten in HOURS so we noshed and drank and got comfy at the party. The food was decent, not perfect, not bad though. We finally headed off to meet the Bloggess in her custom made bathroom, don't ask, she suffers from social anxiety. Picture secured, no fan girl needed, we discovered the bathroom was a great place to hang out, so we did.

We hit the Queer-o-sphere party next, for a drag show that never showed up, or else we left too early. We did meet the totally cool Barb of Tecca and they had dim sum, so all was not lost.

Friday everyone I came with headed to Hash House a Go-Go for breakfast, I had a lunch with Toca Boca to attend so I hung back and hit the expo floor for a bit and tried to assimilate what I was seeing into some sort real world context. Lunch was fun. I met the hilarious Laura of Semper Fi Mama, who upon hearing my name got excited and as she says "yeah we're dorks like that". Loved her, loved the toys for iPad that they make and the lunch was pretty dang great too. I had to get ready to speak so I went to freshen up.

The hour and 15 minutes spent talking food with Mrs. Q, Diana and Elaine went by so fast! I only HOPE I made some sort of sense, I have trouble finishing sentences and I'm terribly shy. I remember advising folks who felt like they didn't have enough time to change anything in their world to "kill there TV" to make time. When asked how I got my kids to eat veggies I said "I gave my kids knives" Then it was over. I heard so many great people stand up and speak, I'll have to go find transcripts to remember them all.

After that I had a great fitting at the Lee Jeans booth in the Expo Hall, the Curvy Fashionista said my behind looked good in the jeans I was trying on. WOOT! Actually all the Lee Jeans I tried on fit amazingly well and looked great, I couldn't choose the best pair so I left that up to the ladies working the booth.

And then I headed over to the Yankee Candle booth for a tour of their new scents. Oh Holy Yum I love candles, shhhh that's my little secret. I LOVE THEM. Oops it's out now. They have Pumpkin Buttercream which I want to eat with a spoon. they also have a great gift collection of votive candles which I would love to get or give, it's called a Few of My Favorite Things. Every single candle smells divine, I want one now. I love to give these kinds of gifts too because the recipient doesn't have to dust it for years, it gets used up and then it's gone. Perfect!

I'm going to end now because dang I'm tired, school just started and I need sleep. I PROMISE the Dove yacht is coming next, The Stonyfield party, The SoftCup party and the TextEd Class with Jane Lynch are all coming up SOON. And you'll see sparkle spider living it up in the sun.

Peace and Love--

Win free groceries!

Ohh so you want to win free groceries from me? Head on over to my NEW giveaway blog, Hey Who's a Winner Mom? and check out the Kroger Gift Card giveaway.
Peace and Love--

Just Another Meatless Monday #72 Roasted Veggies with Nutritional Yeast

Have you ever tried nutritional yeast? Ohh you should, it adds a kick of Vitamin B6, it's a complete protein and it tastes great. Umami, the 5th taste, at it's best. Some people even think it tastes like cheese and use it as a cheese supplement. We use it a lot on popcorn as a topping, my kids love it that way, so do I. I decided today to play with it a bit and branch out from popcorn, daring, I know. So I roasted some veggies on a dreary rainy Sunday, chopped them up and tossed them with nutritional yeast and served them over polenta. Delicious and healthy and not too spendy, TRIFECTA.

Roasted Vegetables with Nutritional Yeast
oven 400˚
1 head of cabbage
1 pound brussels sprouts
2 TBSP oil
1 TBSP salt
dash of pepper
2 TBSP nutritional yeast

preheat the oven to 400˚
clean the cabbage and the brussels sprouts
cut the head of cabbage into 1/8s
put in a low rimmed baking dish
drizzle with oil
sprinkle with the salt and a dash of pepper
roast in a 400˚ oven for 45 minutes or so, don't let them burn but you do want them cooked through with a bits of brown on them
while the veggies are roasting make the polenta, recipe below
remove from the oven and coarsely chop with kitchen scissors into a salad bowl
sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and toss to coat
add more more salt if needed, it brings out the flavor of the nutritional yeast
serve over a healthy mound of polenta, recipe below



Polenta

4 cups water
1 1/2 cups of polenta/medium grain cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan bring water to a boil
reduce heat to medium/low and slowly whisk in the cornmeal
cook stirring occasionally over medium/low for 15-20 minutes adding water as need to maintain a creamy consistency
if you are in a hurry it will be ready to go after 10 minutes but it seems to taste better after a longer cook
you can also keep slowly adding water and cook it longer if you want
it is very flexible

Of course this is a basic polenta recipe, so if you want to use it for other dishes go ahead. I love to make this ahead and cool it in loaf pans for quick meals. Slice it, fry it and top it with a pasta sauce or fresh eggs or a braised greens, perfect for dinner in a hurry.

Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project

Back to posting The Penny Worthy Project, yes! I took a suitcase FULL of thrifted clothes on my trip, and for the most part I wore only thrifted clothes and clothes I already owned. I did purchase a new pair of jeans at Old Navy in San Francisco, it's THREE FLOORS and hard to resist, I swear it sucked me in. I should have resisted because I had a private fitting session with the Lee Jeans ladies at BlogHer and when I was done I got to take the best fitting pair, AWESOME.


I have only been thrifting once since getting home and didn't thrift AT ALL down there, unless you count staying in a Hostel in SF for two nights. I highly recommend Hostels as a way to travel and keep your wallet happy. The Downtown City Hostel had free wi-fi, lounges, a movie theater and free breakfast for folks staying there. And I felt safe, every person coming in the front door had to show ID to go upstairs. The room I had was big and looked out onto Franklin street, which forms part of Union Square only 1 block away.  The hostel is only that one block away from the Cable Car line, I rode that back from Fisherman's Wharf on my last night in the city, it was lovely.

If you go to San Francisco I would recommend buying an unlimited MUNI pass for your travel needs. It will get you on MUNI buses, the Cable Cars, The F Line (a fleet of vintage street cars) and the MUNI trains for one low price. A great deal for all kinds of fun ways to travel. BART is not included in the the MUNI pass so be aware of that.

I have my second post up live at The Mushroom Channel, go check it out! Yummy "Triple Mushroom Strata" is perfect for worry free mornings or even dinner in a hurry. Plus they had nice things to say about the panel I was on, Our food Future: Kids, Cooking and Health, yeah!

Obviously I need some thrifty living motivation, inspire me, remind me, move me, to get back into my thrifty living mode. The wonderful trip to BlogHer and the Road Trip of Happiness to get there were expensive. I need to resell my heart out, so I can build my paypal balance up to a nice fat number again.

BlogHer 11 Road Trip of Happiness

I flew out last week to meet up with some good friends and drive from San Jose to San Diego to attend BlogHer 11. We spent the night with Valerie and hit the road very early so we could get in early. The trip started with Willie Nelson singing "on the road again", and on we rolled.

Until we hit San Luis Obispo where we ht a jackalope and got a flat tire. OH! 2 miles from town and the bathroom. We piled the luggage on the side of the road and called AAA.

Luna and Valerie

Before we knew it we were headed off to breakfast in San Luis Obispo at the Open Sky Cafe, I had Posole.

 Beingets were consumed, but not by me, I don't like donuts.

Valerie and Heather

We rolled on and on until we hit Pea Soup Anderson's, the worlds LARGEST conglomeration of touristy stuff EVER.

Except Solvang, the Danish capital of America, right up the road. Whoa, I thought tourist stuff in Alaska was bad, um no.

The best thing to come out of these two toursit traps were...are you ready for this? SPARKLE SPIDERS!

On we rolled after lucking out finding abel skeivers, shoot me please, I mean darn!

Holy snarled traffic mess L.A. was horrible to get through and the congestion lasted all the way to San Diego. But oh San Diego was divine, our hotel was fantastic, the view amazing and the friends awesome.

Peace and Love--