Goodie Bags for New Year's

I like to get these bags made to give to the special people in my life during the month of December. Yeah, that didn't happen this year. So I made "Happy New Year's" bags instead. I like to give them to people who take such good care of me throughout the year ~ my chiropractor, hairstylist, massage therapist, Pilates instructor; and a few special friends. 

I have a notebook where I collect ideas all year long and then choose new things to add to the bags each year. This year I made two soup mixes I found in Vegan Food Gifts. Love that book; so many great ideas! And she gives you a recipe to copy and cut out with each one.  

 Masala Soup Mix

red lentils, brown rice, split peas, quinoa, veg. broth powder and lots of spices ~ 

Garam Masala style! -chives, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, bay leaf

Cajun Red Beans & Rice

white rice, red beans, parsley, chives, salt, onion & garlic powder, smoked paprika, basil, black pepper, cayenne, oregano, thyme, and bay leaf

I also included a bag of my herb tea I make. 

I get the organic dried herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs. 

 Everyone always likes the aromatherapy spray I put in the bags. This year I used a recipe from Mountain Rose Herb's blog called "Winter Spice" with essential oils of cinnamon leaf, cedarwood, and clove. 

 I love making my own incense; it is quite labor-intensive though for so few cones. But it smells divine! It doesn't give me a headache like store-bought incense does. 

And for my cat-loving friends I included some catnip mice! I have heard good reports that the cats love them. Heehee! 

New Year's gift bags all ready to go.

Goodie Bags and Santa

I've been really busy in the kitchen; just not cooking food! Every year I like to make goodie bags for all of those people who take care of me and my dogs; my massage therapist, hair stylist, vet/groomer, etc. 

This morning I took my basset hound, JoJo, to have her "spa" day at the groomer's. She got to see Santa! The other three dogs are so jealous. Hehe! 

~ Spicy Salt-Free Seasoning ~

~ Italian Seasoning ~

~ Solstice Spice Incense ~

~ Healing Glow Mist ~

~ Friendship Tea ~

~ Winter's Night Bath Salts ~

~ Winter Healing Bath Salts ~

~ Happy Holidays! ~

Lemon~Lavender Tea

Tuesdays are my relaxing days so it just felt right to blend up some herbal tea. In summer I like to make up a big pitcher of hibiscus herb tea and keep it cold in the fridge. I found a new recipe to try in one of my favorite mystery series books. 

The main character is China Bayles and she owns an herb shop in Texas. She also solves murders along the way, of course! Each book has lots of recipes using herbs. I would love to have an herb shop; right now I have a whole closetful of herbs and oils under my stairs! 

Just a small glimpse into my herb closet.

This recipe uses equal parts lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemon balm, lavender and spearmint.

top-upper right clockwise: 

lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, spearmint, lavender

All ready for a nice cup of tea! I had to show my Vegan mug from Jeanette Zeis. I love her handmade pottery. Now it's time for a massage!

Green Chile Rice with Black Beans

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 

I made this quick and easy recipe the day before Thanksgiving. It has two of my favorite ingredients-cilantro and lime! I'm ashamed to admit that as a native Arizonan I have never used a fresh poblano pepper before. I was perusing all the peppers at the grocery store and found every conceivable pepper available except for a poblano. So I got on my droid and discovered that poblanos north of Mexico are usually called pasilla peppers. Wow! Learn something new every day. I should have taken a picture of it-hehe! The recipe called for a jalapeno pepper which I didn't add; I felt it was hot enough. As you can see I added Daiya cheddar shreds and then I garnished each serving with sliced green onions.  Love the fresh lime zest and the green onions added just that little extra to make this dish delicious. I've been eating the leftovers as a hearty, savory breakfast. This morning my husband even ate a big bowl of it for his breakfast!

 

 

I had to share a pic of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I'm responsible for cooking the tofurky for the herbivores and my mom cooks for the omnivores. I also made Florida Slaw from La Dolce Vegan and a gallon of Hibiscus High tea. Plenty of food for everyone!

Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

The weather is finally cooling down here though we'll still have a high of 82 degrees today. I'm sitting here in shorts and a tank top-lovely! It was so nice yesterday to open all the windows and putter around in the kitchen after I went for a bike ride. I had tapioca pudding cooking in the slow cooker (The Vegan Slow Cooker cookbook), cookies baking in the oven and Sassy Jasmine tea brewing. It smelled wonderful-ahhh.

 

 

These are yummy! If you don't like the taste of coffee these probably aren't for you. The 3 tablespoons of espresso powder really pack a punch. They tasted really good with a cup of my herb tea I had just brewed. I love mixing up all different kinds of teas; I'll drink them hot and cold!

 

 

 

 

 

Post-Op Week Two Boredom!

Went to my 2 week post-op yesterday for my back surgery. Everything's looking good-another four weeks of no driving, no swimming or baths (just showers), no lifting, etc. etc. Still can cook though! My mom drove me to my doctor's appointment and then we went to Sprouts. Whew, grocery shopping wore me out but now my pantry and fridge are well stocked again. Okay, here's how bored I am (and a little OCD); I took pictures of my pantry and fridge! I like everything all neat and organized and yes I alphabetize my small jars of herbs and spices-hee, hee. I didn't take a picture of my fridge in the garage where I store all of the miscellaneous flours, grains, vital wheat gluten, brans, etc., maybe next time. Ooh, I also took some pics of my herb teas I make along with bath salts, aromatherapy sprays and my herb closet. Have fun looking at the pics!