Tribe

Transcending the Tribe...something new to contemplate.....

Simple Truths video......Friends: the family we choose for ourselves......


"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake." - Henry David Thoreau

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding 

(Vegan.com)

6 cups 1″ cubed stale bread (about 1 lb)

1 cup chocolate chips

3 ripe bananas, sliced ½” thick

2-2¼ cups rice milk, almond milk or soy

3 tablespoons arrowroot powder or tapioca flour

½ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan with softened margarine. Place cubed bread in a large bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together ½ cup soy milk and the arrowroot powder till no lumps remain. Add 1½ cups soy milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk to combine. Pour over cubed bread and stir to coat every piece. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes for liquid to soak into bread. Depending on what kind of bread you use and how stale it is, add more soy milk (¼ cup at a time) and allow more soaking time till every piece of bread is saturated and there’s a little bit of extra liquid. Mixture should look mushy and wet. Fold in chocolate chips and bananas (using hands is the easiest for this), mashing up a little bit of the bananas. Pour mixture into loaf pan, patting down to make an even top.

Bake 28-35 minutes till top is puffed, slightly browned and feels firm. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving. Also pudding can be scooped with an ice cream scoop when slightly cooled.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Seeing Clearly

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.....

...it's going to be a bright...bright...sunshiny 2013!!....

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning. -- C. S. Lewis 

The hour is now........A Hopi Elder's Talk

Peruvian Quinoa Salad (McDougall Newsletter)

2 cups uncooked quinoa (or 4 cups any leftover grain)

3 cups water

8 dried apricots, finely diced

¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 ears of corn, cooked & cut off cob or 2 cups frozen corn

6 small green onions, sliced in rounds

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, diced

½ cup finely diced colored bell peppers

1 can artichoke hearts or bottoms, drained and chopped (reserve 2 bottoms for the dressing recipe below)

¼ cup toasted slivered almonds

2 avocados, chopped

Toast the quinoa in a dry skillet for a few minutes.  Add boiling water, apricots and sun-dried tomatoes.  Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.  Add the corn kernels and let rest for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a fine mesh strainer and allow to rest for another 10 minutes so it is well drained.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Dressing:

2 artichoke hearts or bottoms, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed well, stems removed

4 stems basil, rinsed, stems removed (optional)

1 tablespoon honey or Agave nectar

½ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup red wine vinegar

juice of 3-4 limes

Place all dressing ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until well mixed.  Taste and adjust seasonings as desired, adding salt to taste (optional).  Toss with the quinoa mixture and serve.  The grains will absorb some of the tartness of the dressing, and it will seem milder when served with the grains.

Serves 8

Love is all around

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes...love is all around me...(The Troggs)

...for HG...What are you doing New Year's Eve.....

Love this TED talk.....on "breaking the taboos of interfaith dialogue"....

Les Misérables--Finale
...Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken:To love another person is to see the face of god....

..wishing you all a healthy New Year with your loved ones.........

McDougall's Sunbeam Tapioca Fruit Salad 

¾ c instant tapioca

1-1  qt 14 oz can pineapple juice

2       cans mandarin oranges, drained and juice retained

1-20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained and juice retained

3       T lemon juice

1 bag frozen cherries

Add tapioca, pineapple juice, retained juice from oranges and crushed pineapple into a large saucepan.

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until comes to a boil and starts to thicken.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Pour into large bowl.

Stir in oranges and crushed pineapple.

Let cool.

Stir in frozen cherries, cover and refrigerate.

Serves 8

Joyeux Noël

Simple Blessings of Christmas and Giggle with the Goats

Wishing you a safe, happy and restful holiday season...with MUCH music in your life..Merry Christmas my darlings.....

...Hard Candy Christmas...My Holiday...

Caramel Corn...not vegan...not a healthy choice!! :-(

7 quarts plain popped popcorn

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup margarine

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans.  You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans.  Add the peanuts to the popped corn.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.  Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend.  Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 mins while stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.  The mixture will be light and foamy.  Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat.  Don’t worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.

Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 mins.  Line the counter top with waxed paper.  Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces.  Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

Makes 28 servings.

Time

Vincent says…nobody has enough time for everything s/he wants to do; each of us has to prioritize and do what s/he wants most…that “pearl” falls right in line with the “simple truths” words of wisdom on “time.”

From Simple Truths ...

"If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400—with no balance carried from day to day—what would you do? Well, you do have such a bank...time.

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as "lost" whatever you have failed to use toward good purposes. It carries over no balances and allows no overdrafts. You can't hoard it, save it, store it, loan it or invest it. You can only use it—time.

Here are six terrific truths about time:

First: Nobody can manage time. But you can manage those things that take up your time.

Second: Time is expensive. As a matter of fact, 80 percent of our day is spent on those things or those people that only bring us two percent of our results.

Third: Time is perishable. It cannot be saved for later use.

Fourth: Time is measurable. Everybody has the same amount of time...pauper or king. It is not how much time you have; it is how much you use.

Fifth: Time is irreplaceable. We never make back time once it is gone.

Sixth: Time is a priority. You have enough time for anything in the world, so long as it ranks high enough among your priorities."

...counting my blessings.....sing it Bing!!

Donovan's Reef...a MUST see holiday favorite.....

McDougall's White Bean Salad

2-15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1-15 oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

½ c green olives, sliced

1 c roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

½ English cucumber, diced

6 plum tomatoes – cored, seeded and diced

2 celery ribs, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced

⅓ c sherry vinegar

1 t Dijon mustard

¼ c finely chopped fresh parsley

1 T fresh thyme

2 t finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 t garlic powder

1 t paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Stir together the beans, artichokes, olives, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, celery and green onions in a large bowl; set aside.

Whisk together the vinegar, Dijon mustard, parsley, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad, and stir until all ingredients are coated. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight before serving.  Serves 8

Good to be back home

...good to be back home with family for the holidays.....missing you my girl and her love...speedy recovery.....and sending you visions of joyously, bright dream colors....Angel of Dreams....

Morning

Spending an hour each morning communing with nature…connecting…embracing a groundedness to begin a new day with an open heart filled with divine love... essential for peace and harmony.

This Story of the Day was timely…as usual. 

A morning vision in the divine secret garden, lounging in a white Adirondack chair…covered with a “memory throw”…drinking morning tea with sweet angels…breathing deep the sweetness of the magnolia and mimosa blossoms…smiling, hearing the children’s giggles as they climb the trees…hearing the good morning chirps of the Mr. and Mrs…feeling the cool breeze...HG kisses on a wrist…and ALL is right with the world!!

...Have you ever seen the rain.......sing it LOUD....

Bonjour...& happy birthday ma grande!!

Chili Sin Carne

Serves 8

2 cups dried beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained (we like to use a mixture or similar sized beans like kidney, black and pinto)

3/4 cups Textured Vegetable Protein, reconstituted in 1 cup boiling water…or if you can’t find that, add some frozen Burger Crumbles-veggie at the end)

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 T each chili powder and ancho chili powder

½ t dried oregano

½ T cumin

½ T unsweetened cocoa

1 bay leaf

¼ c soy sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

3 cups water

½ crushed dried chili pepper

1 t salt

Pepper

1-6 oz can tomato paste

10 pkg frozen corn

1 can crushed pineapple w/ juice

1-2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

Cook in crock pot on low for 4 hours OR pressure cook 15 lbs for 20-25 minutes (un-soaked beans)