Olivia Eileen

Our sweet sugar bean was my Valentine last year as hubby was on a plane headed far away, for a long time... *sniff* BUT, this year, we are all together, so I baked cookies to celebrate ;) However, I read a poem the other night out of William J. Bennett's, The Book of Virtues, and it reminded me of our bittersweet Valentine's day last year.  So, this is for our sweet sugar bean :: who always brings a ray of sunshine and a huge smile...   The Lovable Child by Emilie Poulsson Frisky as a lambkin, Busy as a bee- That's the kind of little girl People like to see. Modest as a violet, As a rosebud sweet- That's the kind of little girl People like to see. Bright as a diamond, Pure as any pearl- Everyone rejoices in Such a little girl. Happy as a robin, Gentle as a dove- That's the kind of little girl Everyone will love. Fly away and seek her, Little song of mine, For I choose that very girl As my Valentine.

With my recent veggie centered dinner successes in the kitchen I am seriously thinking I've should've always been a vegetarian...and a vegan, but only sometimes ;) can't live without my CHEESE or HONEY !!! I mean, tell me this doesn't look delicious?!!!?? No meat. No gluten. BUT packed full of yummy nutrients :) And you can try it out for yourself... Ingredients ::  2 packages of tempeh (fermented soybeans), cut into 1/2" pieces 2-4 tablespoons sesame seed oil 1/4 cup soy sauce (we use gluten free) 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 3 garlic cloves, minced (you can cheat with 3 spoonfuls of the pre-minced garlic:)) 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup water 1/2 green pepper, diced 1 red pepper, diced 3 green onions, diced 1 cup of jullianed carrots (cheat with the packaged kind;)) 1 crown of broccoli, diced 1-2 large handfuls of greens (eg spinach, kale, mixed spring greens) 2 tablespoons water 2 tablesppons maple syrup (o...

I know, I know, for any true Irishman or woman a MEATLESS shepherd's pie is practically blasphemous...but my tummy of late cannot tolerate meat! [I could probably blame that on the food documentaries I've been watching;)] So, I've taken to being quite creative in the kitchen with some of my favorite dishes. To say the least, my creative and meatless rendition of Shepherd's Pie turned out quite successful, even the second time around! If you need something meatless or different, but also comforting, this is your ticket ;) Ingredients :: veggies, broth, and "meat" (veggies) 1-3 tablespoons olive oil 1-3 tablespoons minced garlic 2 medium carrots, diced 1/2 large yellow bell pepper, diced 1 large celery stalk 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained (broth) 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce (we use vegan) 2 tablespoons soy sauce (we use gluten free) 1 cup vegetable broth ("meat") 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and patted dry 3 tablespoons raw walnuts...

The next time our little one gets sick I'm running, no sprinting , to the store for a slew of new movies, tissues, tea, vitamin C, and extra cough drops ...because a repeat of communal sickness has finally taught me that once one of us gets sick we are ALL probably going to be sick!  It's been a long four weeks of battling shared sicknesses in our house, but we are finally on the mend... While my husband was sick last week, he confided in me that he originally thought I was crazy when I gave him herbal teas, garlic capsules, ricola cough drops, and a bunch of other vitamins the first time he was sick under my watch...until he got better after following my instructions ;) Now he trusts me so much with the natural remedies I research [for non-life-threatening common colds], that when I come home from the health food store and say, "here take this" he doesn't even ask me what I am giving him ;) I grew up with my mom referencing the Prescription for Nutritional Heali...