Feast of Tabernacles 2016

Howdy, friends! I was going to post some pictures from Sukkot, but we have over 200 photos and over 20 videos (which I still need to upload), so it'll be easier to just share the >>>link to the album<<<. Enjoy!

Here are a few of my favorites though.....

 Jacob made it to the center, a.k.a. "King", in 9 Square!

 We had to put the rain fly / tophat on....quite amusing.

 Joe broke his arm just 3 days before we left, so we got the cast during camp.

 The girls rode around on this golf cart a lot with their friends.

Alex was amazingly patient when teaching chess to some of the children and teens!

 It's nice to only have a few dishes to wash!

 My chocolate cake mix turned into brownies (on purpose, lol) turned out great!

 It was hard to get them all together at once, but this was some of our neighbors. Awesome people! We're going to visit their congregation soon in Tulsa!

 Some other awesome people we met! This is Joey and Krys and their beautiful children.

From the sunglasses on head, left to right.....Annie, Jason, Mark and Reanee. Fun and loving people!

 Jessica is getting so big! She looks 12 here! Okay, maybe not *that* old.

 Jacob turns 12 in 3 more days, and he is now taller than his 14yo sister! He's trying to hide from the camera here.

 

 Jack's favorite color is yellow. :)

 Jonathan actually joined in a dance! 

 And posed for a picture! 

We didn't get many pictures of Jayla because we didn't see her much, so this one and the golf cart are about the only ones. Here she is playing a Minute to Win It type game. lol

I just wanted to post another pic of Joe. This one was actually before camp, right after he broke his arm but before he got his orange cast on. I love his smile! He doesn't look like he's in pain at all, does he? lol

That's all for pictures, but please click on the link above and take a look at all of them! I'll write more about Sukkot later and share the videos. It was a very blessed time.

Gluten-free, grain-free cheese sticks!

I made up this recipe and may tweak it some more, but I love it so far. These were really, really yummy!

Warning if you follow this recipe......I don't always measure things exactly, so this is just close to what I did. Make any adjustments you feel necessary. And note, if you use too much Parmesan cheese it will be too salty!

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup flaxseed meal/flour

2 tsp (or less) Parmesan cheese

1 tsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp salt

Be sure to freeze your cheese sticks at least several hours in advance. We used cheddar cheese, but I'm sure mozzarella would be great too.

Mix all of these ingredients together in one dish and put some scrambled eggs in another dish. Dip the cheese sticks in eggs, then flour mixture, then eggs a second time, then flour mixture a second time. Fry in oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) for about 5 minutes or so. Let cool and enjoy! YUM!

These would be so great with marinara sauce, but I haven't found a recipe I like yet. If you have a good one, please put it in the comments!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Adapted from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup milk (we used rice milk)
1 1/2 egg (we used 1/4 cup soy yogurt)
3 tablespoons margarine
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer. Select "sweet bread" setting.

We made basically the same recipe but multiplied it by 1.5 and changed the first two ingredients to make it vegan. It came out great! This is a very good bread machine recipe with excellent taste and texture! It was a little sweet but not too sweet, dense enough to spread butter and jelly on but not too dense or course. The outside crust was a little too crunchy, but i want to experiment to see if maybe we can change that any. It still tasted great though! Jonathan made this, so he was proud that his first loaf of bread turned out so good. :)

Raw birthday cake and ice cream!

This is so good! I have made this several times now, mostly for birthdays, but I also made it once for a raw potluck. I had several people who I had never met before hunt me down and ask me for the recipe. non-vegs like this too, though they do mostly seem to prefer a "regular" cake (mostly judging by my hubby). Everyone so far has liked it though!

Un-Chocolate Cake (adapted from Eating Without Heating by Boutenko)

5 C. ground walnuts
3 C. raisins
4 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

Blend in processor well. Press into bottom of dish.

Frosting:

1 C. raw tahini
4 T. honey
3 T. raw carob powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Water to thin

Mix in processor and spread over cake. Refrigerate. Eat when you are ready for it!

I made this with raw cocoa last time because I didn't have any raw carob, but I have to say, I really prefer the carob! Normally I would prefer chocolate/cocoa, but not in this recipe. It is so good exactly like it is.

I like the idea of decorating it with fruit! That would be pretty and add even more flavor.

For the ice cream to go with it, I do one of two things. I either do the simplest ice cream recipe of just frozen bananas processed through the Champion juicer using the blank, and then we sometimes will add other fruit and/or toppings. Simple. I've heard you can also make this in a food processor, but I've never tried it myself since we have the Champion.

Another option is one of the recipes from the recipe book called Vice Cream. (I got mine on Amazon.) I've made two different ones so far, and they are really good, but most of them are made up primarily of cashews. I tend to only use this if I am wanting a specific flavor. The last one I made was mint carob chip. It wasn't green (YEA!), but it tasted very similar to the traditional SAD dairy mint chocolate chip! I was impressed!

Usually when I make this there are leftovers because it is so filling, so I have let the kids eat it for breakfast the next day. It is so yummy and healthy, so I don't have to worry about them being hungry, whining or getting something that is highly processed with little nutrition. It works for everyone! :)

I haven't made this in a while, and now my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Raw recipes we like

I haven't made these in a while, but my kids loved these when I made them regularly. I had to search for the black tar recipe and couldn't remember the name of it at first, so I wanted to get them on here for future reference. Both of these are by Juliano, but the nutmilk recipe is pretty generic and common.

Black Tar
(Tastes just like chocolate syrup except it’s way better!)
In a blender place:
3 cups maple syrup
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. Vanilla Extract (optional)
1 cup raw carob powder
Blend well and enjoy!

Nut Milk
1 cup favorite soaked nuts (almond, walnut, cashew, Brazil nut, macadamia, pine nut, etc.)
3 cups water
A few drops of almond or vanilla extract (optional-to taste)
Approx. 1 tsp. of maple syrup (optional-to taste)
Blend 2 minutes or until creamy. Chill well. Stain if perfect smoothness is desired.

Oatmeal

We have oatmeal for breakfast a lot because it is cheap and healthy. I just made oatmeal in the crock pot! It was very yummy and so easy! I will definitely be making this often. It also stretches farther than cooking it in the microwave or on the stove.

I just used Old Fashioned Oats, since that is what I had on hand. The directions on the carton say to use 2 parts water to one part oats, but for the crock pot I used 3 parts water. So I used 2 cups of oats and 6 cups of water. Then I threw in some maple syrup and brown sugar (I know, real healthy, right?) and turned it on low for about 6 hours (I was up late). It is perfect!

Jacob woke up and gave me his usual "Mommy, I'm hungry!", and I was able to just go in and scoop him out some. He had breakfast within a minute of telling me he's hungry!

And the verdict: everyone loves it!

Grilled Avocado Sandwich

Another recipe from vegweb.com

Grilled Avocado Sandwich

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 large, ripe avocado, preferably Hass or another "fatty" one
4 slices of sandwich bread (whatever kind you like)
vegan "buttery" spread
optional: whole grain mustard, vegan mayo

Directions:

Cut avocado in half and remove pit. Slice into thin wedges. Set aside.

Spread the buttery spread on one side of all the bread slices. Place one slice, buttery side down, in a preheated frying pan over medium-low heat. If you want to add vegan mayo, mustard, or other "dressings" now is the time! Otherwise, lay the avocado slices from one half of the avocado on the bread, covering well. Place another slice of bread, buttered side up, on top. Let cook 3-5 minutes, or until the bottom is golden to your liking. Carefully flip the sandwich over and grill the other side 3-5 minutes. Repeat the above to make the second sandwich.

This is best when you have a really fatty, good avocado (like Hass). If you use a Florida or other "low fat" or "wet" avocado the flavor is still there but it isn't as good in my opinion. This goes well with soup.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes

***

Oh, wow! This is awesome! Now, Myles doesn't like avocadoes, so since it was easy to make him a regular grilled cheese, I just did that for him. Everyone else though had one of these, and they were a big hit! I even put sauteed onions on mine. It was so good! It was perfect with the split pea soup too!

For the purpose of texture, I mashed up the avos and spread it on the bread.

Jacob actually wouldn't touch it, but I think he would like it if he would try it. The other two asked for more, so we'll definitely be making this again soon! I forgot to put mayo on any of them, but it was so good without. If I can remember next time though, I think mayo would be really great with it!

Italian Shells

If I had to pick just one dish as my all-time favorite, it would be this one! It has been a family favorite since it was introduced by an aunt around 20 years ago, and now it is my hubby's and kids' favorite!

From recipezaar.com (but mine is slightly different):

Ingredients
1 lb pasta shells, medium size
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces provolone cheese, shredded
1 lb ground beef
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions
1. Cook shells & drain. (while waiting, go on to next steps).
2. Brown ground beef & drain. Add salt, pepper, & marinara sauce. Simmer 20 minutes.
3. In deep pan, line bottom with 1/2 of the shells. Cover with half of the meat sauce. Spread half of the sour cream lightly over & then sprinkle with half of both the cheeses. Repeat.
4. Cover & bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
5. Uncover & bake 20 minutes more.

***

You can always add any onions, pepper, seasoning, etc. and it is very good and versatile! I almost always use 5 basic ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or Morning Star "crumbles" (meat imitation)
16 oz sour cream (twice than the original recipe because we love it!)
16 oz pasta shells
1 can/jar tomato sauce (spaghetti, pizza, marinara....it's all good!)
16 oz cheddar cheese or rice cheese (or 8 oz of two different kinds)

I usually mix the first 4 ingredients together instead of layering. It turns it pink (sauce + sour cream), but I just like the texture better. It doesn't dry out around the edges and bottom that way. Then I just put it in the oven around 350 for 20 minutes or so. Leftovers take longer to heat unless you use the microwave, and I actually think leftovers taste even better!

I made this again today to take to church, but I made it in the crock pot. I did not pre-cook the pasta and it turned out fine, but I think I will pre-cook it next time or maybe just add a little extra liquid. It was really good though! Nearly all of it was gone, even with the "fake meat"!

Oh, and on this link it says it serves 4-5 people, but holy cow! The 6 of us can easily make two meals out of it!

Potato Goulash

Original recipe from Vegweb.com

Potato Goulash

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

4 large baking potatoes (peeled and cubed ~1 cm or smaller)
1 medium white onion (chopped)
1 medium green pepper (chopped)
Spices to taste (Black pepper, Chili powder, Cayenne Pepper)
1 can (11 oz.) Golden sweet corn (preferably unsalted)
1 can (15 oz.) Joan of Arc Spicy Chili Beans
2 (heaping)tbsp Vegetable Shortening or equivalent oil

Directions:

1. Mix chopped potatoes, onion, and green pepper in a bowl and add the listed spices to taste (I like mine really spicy, so I'll leave the amounts up to you.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil or shortening (I have found that shortening allows the potatoes to get soft and not crispy) over medium heat in the largest skillet you have, preferably 10 inches in diameter.

3. Add veggies and cook until the potatoes starch (become soft).

4. Add corn (drained) and cook for about five minutes then add beans (not drained, they come in a spicy sauce).

5. Cook over medium heat about five minutes more, then serve.

6. This dish is really good with blue corn chips and some sliced fruit (nectarines) on the side.

Serves: 4 to 6.

Preparation time: One Hour.

***

Now for OUR version!

Tonight I just used regular canned beans because it is what I had on hand, but it is definitely better with chili beans! And the kids don't usually like spicy foods, but this isn't too spicy that they can't handle it. They like the taste enough to overlook the spiciness. :)

So normally I just fry up some potatoes, usually cut in small cubes or fry-cut. Then I add some other veggies that everyone likes. This tends to be one of those last-minute "What am I going to make for dinner?" recipes. Personally I LOVE the original recipe, but I'm the only one who does!

So tonight I opened some cans that I've had for a while and the finished dish was potatoes, beans, green beans and corn. I also added some garlic and chili powder. I admit I added too much garlic, but I liked it! Everyone else thought it was okay but would be better without so much garlic! LOL! Jack actually loved it!

I have made this several times now and it is slightly different each time, but most of the time everyone loves it. So it will continue to be a regular on our menu. Only I will try to plan ahead and not use all canned foods!

Oh, and I have made this with sweet potatoes before too! I really liked it, but the family had mixed feelings about it. I think they liked it but just prefered white potatoes. This is really good with rice or bread too!