Macrame...oh how you frustrate me

I am pretty sure why there was so much freakin macrame done in the 60's and 70's....cause everyone was EFFING HIGH....yeah that's right....cause there is no way one can do that shit and not be super laid back or high....seriously...this shit is making me crazy.....oh sure...I watch the you tube tutorials on how to do it....I mean...all I am trying to macrame is one lousy small owl thingy...but no...I can't even do that....I sit there on the computer doing "repeat, repeat repeat" on the you tube thingy and I still can't get it...like how hard can making a freakin knot be for crying out loud!!!!!
Well...apparently really damn hard....so not sure if I just need to go buy a joint off of someone somewhere, smoke it and chill out and THEN maybe I will get it....cause the current situation of frustration is clearly not working lol

Oh sure...you think it looks easy peasy....sit next to me and watch me try this and you tell me how easy you think it is lol....currently a half ass owl sits next to me...staring at me....taunting me....to finish it...but I can't....because half of it is all wrong knotted and messed up...and it's IMPOSSIBLE to know how far to unknot it too....grrrrrrrr...yeah....clearly they had it right back in the 60's....self medication was the way to go for this type of thing LOL.

Yep, I'm going there...again.

So it's going on a think like three years that I became a vegetarian...I'm not even sure..I have lost track of keeping count...what's the point..I just am one and that's that.
I tried a couple years back just after becoming a vegetarian to go vegan....and at the time I lived in a very small town in the middle of nowhere..so my choices were quite limited and the social support was ZILCH.
So, it's a new year...and being a few years into the whole no meat thing and already dropping the whole milk thing anyways...I figured it was time to go full vegan.
What will this mean for me. No more eggs or cheese...which is the only thing I had left to discard...and they don't do me any good or have any advantage other then fast and convenient...just like McDonalds used to be....and I don't go there anymore either...so really...it's just a matter of figuring out what I can eat if I go out to eat and what do I cook with when it calls for eggs...and in today's world there is SOOOOOO much info that really, if someone says they cannot cook vegan....they are just simply lazy.
When I have told a few relatives....hubster included that I was trying veganism again...I was met with total disapproval. Yup....thanks everyone for the support!!! I got nothing  but eye rolling and complaining that MY lifestyle decision was gonna ruin THEIR life LOL.....WTF! Ummmmmm how does what I eat have to do with you is what I feel like saying...but the answers of explanation I got...one being from my own Mother...here is what she had to say:
"Well if you go vegan, you're on your own, I can cook vegetarian but vegan is going to far...you gonna need to get way more vitamins and nutrients and eat a lot more nuts now." (cause apparently cheese and eggs gave me all I needed nutritionally lol)( also....I'm 43 and do not live at home, and she lives in another province lol)
So my Dad...he's vegetarian, has been for like 20 yrs and so here is what my Mom had to say about that.
"I can cook vegetarian for you Dad, but if he ever went vegan, he would have to fend for himself, I just can't go there, it's just too much."
Which my Mother will never have to worry about cause basically the type of vegetarian my Dad is, is a white bread, butter and eggs and cheese kinda guy....and a lot of beans lol.
His own doctor years back told him he is the fasted vegetarian he has ever met LMAO.
My own hubster thinks what I am doing is ridiculous...he complained that we will never be able to eat out again together....which I find funny, cause even as a vegetarian now.....eating out isn't really all that fun....I mean....oooohhhh goody...I can have pasta...AGAIN...ohhhhh goody....I can have a salad again....or, ooohhhh goody..ANOTHER good ol frozen veggie burger pattie AGAIN.
Yeah...my new lifestyle change sure is a fun one....NOT....however.....does it really matter what anyone else thinks? NOPE....seems that my whole life has been this way anyways..."oh that Robyn, she just beats to her own drum"...and I say...YUP...SURE DO!
Last night I tired a new vegan recipe....and OMG..it turned out soooooo great....even the hubster LIKED it....HOLY SHIT...is all I can say....the hubster admitted he would totally eat it as a meal and be happy....I am pretty  much sure I died right there.
Here is what I made:
( it was soooo good and turned out just perfect, I also served some brussel sprouts and next time might do a side potato dish too, if I were having company over er something)
( http://www.marystestkitchen.com/vegan-thanksgiving-stuff-seitan-roast-with-mushroom-gravy/) this is the link so you can watch the video tutorial of how it's done and for all the other bits of the recipe not all displayed here

Vegan Stuffed Seitan Roast with Mushroom Gravy

 

For the Dough

1. 1 cup hot water
2. 2 cloves garlic, minced
3. 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
4. 1 cube/teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder (or use double strength vegetable broth instead of the water)
5. 2 tablespoons miso paste (preferably low-sodium, organic)
6. 2 teaspoons onion powder
7. 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (herb mix containing sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, nutmeg and black pepper)
8. 1 tablespoon vinegar (white, apple cider, rice, etc)
9. 1 tablespoon sugar (or sweetener of choice)
10. 1 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (gluten flour)
11. 1/4 cup chickpea flour (may substitute soy or other bean flour)

Glaze for basting

1. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
2. 1 tablespoon oil or melted vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
3. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
4. 1 clove garlic, minced
5. 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stuffing

1. 1 cup worth of Classic Vegan Bread Stuffing ( the recipe for this is in the link I posted up above)

Instructions

1. Combine the water, garlic, ginger, bouillon powder, miso paste, onion powder, poultry herb seasoning, vinegar, and sugar. Whisk together or use a blender to get the job done fast.
2. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the vital wheat gluten and chickpea flour. Stir together until a dough forms.
3. Knead the dough for one minute. Do not over-knead, otherwise the seitan may come out rubbery.
4. Allow the dough to sit. This allows the gluten strands to relax.
5. Meanwhile, you may prepare your stuffing if you haven't already.
6. On a clean surface, roll out the seitan dough. Press it flat with your hands, first, then gently roll the dough out to about one foot in length. The dough will be about a half inch thick. Don't worry if there are some holes or tears. Just pinch them together.
7. Now you can either choose the STEAM & BAKE method or the BAKE ONLY method.

STEAM AND BAKE METHOD

1. Wrap the seitan dough tightly in a piece of clean, damp cheesecloth.
2. Steam on high heat for one hour. Make sure to check the water level of your steamer every so often to ensure it doesn't dry out.
3. Preheat your oven to 375F or 190C.
4. Carefully remove the seitan from the steamer and unwrap. If the cloth sticks to the seitan, wet it from the outside and it should release.
5. Mix the glaze ingredients together. Brush the glaze on to the steamed seitan loaf on all sides. Reserve the remaining glaze.
6. Bake on a baking pan lined with parchment paper in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, remove the seitan loaf, flip it upside down and brush on the remaining glaze. Place back in the oven to continue baking.
7. Remove the seitan from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving with mushroom gravy. (the recipe for this is also in the link above I posted for you)

BAKE ONLY METHOD

1. Oil the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil.
2. Place the seitan log at one end and roll it up, twisting the ends to seal like a crady wrapper.
3. Bake in a oven preheated to 375F or 190C for 1 hour and 15 minutes. During the baking time, give the loaf a one-quarter turn every 15 minutes to ensure that the loaf cooks evenly and does not burn.
4. Remove from the oven carefully and remove the foil carefully. There may be steam; do not burn yourself!
5. Let the seitan cool slightly before slicing and serving with the gravy.  

Well then.....

So first of all I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes that were bestowed upon me. It is always heart warming when friends leave messages or phone calls, lets one know...."hey, I thought of you today". I even got a message from a friend that I have not been in contact with years...just out of the blue, just a short sweet Happy Birthday message...short yet so powerful.
The next powerful moment I had yesterday....hence the title of this post "Well then....".....was at work...of course....where else would it be...lol.....seems I have a lot of them there.
So there is this man....elderly...I think 79...he is part owner of the company...and deaf as hell...so talking for any length of time or seconds can often be hard and hilarious, cause no matter what...anyone who is near by will hear your conversation.
So this man is religious....and you know me...I just gotta poke the bear of controversy all the time...and I have been poking this bear occasionally when ever I see him...often while I should be working so I get the evil glare from one of my other bosses ( I feel like I have many bosses there let me just state this fact first ) and for the most part, we stop and I go back to work....except yesterday....it was a slow day and I was leaving for home early...so I had a wee longer opportunity to chat (or should I say yell talk).
So yesterday's conversation was about "Who is the head of household?"....and it all started with him asking me why I picked my husband...and I said "because he was the first man in my life to stand up to me"...and he laughed and said "well I would have no problem with that, that's how it's supposed to be"....to which I had a giggle...but then "umm what do you mean?". He then proceeded to tell me that "well, then man is the head of the house, and as a man I make all the final decisions in our home...I take in to consideration her thoughts and ideas, but ultimately I make the final ones".
Well....if you know me, I am pretty sure you can visualize the facial feature that appeared on my face at this statement....which was quickly resumed with a smile...because then I began...began to spew words of female wisdom....to which he replied with "ah ha...feminism, you women coined that term and it's of the devils work".
So I replied with "so because I am a strong confident woman, who believes that my husband and I are equal partners and we make decisions together, I am of the devils work? I think you and I need to sit down and have coffee together, because I feel like I need to enlighten you and I think you mind is going to be blown with what I might say and tell you".
To which he responded with "As a man, it's my duty to INFORM you of how it should be...you don't need to tell me, I don't need to defend my beliefs, it's my duty to teach you so that you can see"
Well...I just could not stop laughing....so I gave him a hug and said loudly..."oh hunny, if you think you're gonna be the man that get's me to "put me in my place" and tell me that I should be deaf blind and mute in the corner of life...get in line with all the other men behind me that thought they might change me too...cause there is a parking lot of them...there is no way that your God made me to "shut up"...in fact, when my feet hit the floor in the morning, I'm pretty sure your God says "oooohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh, she's up....get the popcorn, the show's about the start".
I understand he grew up in an era where this was how it was, the man of the household, the woman at home with the children tending to the house...he lived that life...he told me he told his wife she could not work, she had enough to do at home lol....but we have evolved...and I am so thankful for that, cause I can't even imagine how my life would have been in any other era...I would have been burned at the stake I am sure...or put in a mental hospital or taken far far far out of town in hopes that I might not come back....but thankfully...I live in TODAY....with a husband who totally gets his wife and stands next to her proudly and is not shaken by my crazy, opinionated shenanigans.

Happy New Year

I'm not gonna lie....getting up this morning after a night of drinking with our 70 yr old neighbors and doing the first new year work out was a bit rough....thankfully I had already started this whole regime at the beginning of the week, so my body would not go into a full shock when I took it out of bed this morning. And thankfully the ab exercises are getting easier and easier with each day.
How long will I keep up with this whole working out shenanigans...WHAT THE HELL DO YOU CARE...it's my deal LOL...so lay off me okay when I perhaps sleep in a bit in stead of getting up at 4am...sheesh...hard asses lol.
I started at the beginning of the week juicing for my breakfasts too...I thought at first I was gonna die of starvation if I didn't get my regular toast and coffee routine...but as it turns out...I did not...and I actually feel a hell of a lot better for it....it's only awkward when I go to the bathroom and I think I'm dieing cause my poop is red cause I had juiced some beets in my morning juice, but other then that it's all good :-)
(awww, was that a bit of overshare? TO BAD)
So it feels good knowing that I already have my workout for the day done, I can kick back and be lazy now if I want to...except I can't, cause I have laundry to do, and house cleaning to get done, cause one of my kidlets is coming over tomorrow for some mommy birthday loves...soooooo excited.
So I bid you all a Happy New Year!

True joy

When I found this I had one of those "oh man, this is soooooooooooo true" moments, and I just felt I had to share.
I am not sure when I lost the "oh I man I can't wait for the weekend" or the "oh I can't wait for THAT party".....it just happened....just as my journey with being okay with myself. It was not just a huge BAM moment...it has slowly happened over time...not that I have not always been a happy go lucky type person to begin with...but lets be honest...we all have issues of some sort....and it's how we deal with them that makes our journey of life is so interesting.
I literally love everyday....even Monday's....I love that at any and every moment there could be a big moment...or that any moment I can MAKE that big moment....how awesome is that really....to be in charge of your life and to enjoy it all, even the bad shit....cause really, I get to decide how I am going to deal with it so it's all good, no one else does it for me!
So happy Sunday, my moments so far today have been pretty darn exceptional. Happy winter solstice too!

Giving feels so goooooooood!

So the hubster and I joined this years craze...which is a thing called Reddit...where you could sign up for an international or just in your own country secret santa gift exchange. The hubster opted for within Canada, and I opted for international. You could also choose to do just gift or do gift and card, each going to different places.
So today, hubster got his gift from somewhere within Canada, and my card exchange buddy (who was in California) got his card today.

Yup, I homemade a Christmas card for a grown ass man lol....but this is what he requested....a unique card, so that's what I was striving for. After all....it's not that often that a Canadian hand makes a Christmas card for some dude in California lol.
Hubster's gift came from Victoria....he got a beer stein, and remote control car thingy that he controls with his cell phone, and some chocolates. It was so cute and totally perfect for him.
I have yet to receive my card or gift as of yet....but I sit in anticipation of them. My gift that I sent out went allllllllll the way to Slovenia. I can hardly wait for that lady to open up her epic Canadian box!
We also sent out a pretty darn epic Germany box the other day too...I can hardly wait to hear about all the giggles and laughter when that special box gets opened by our loved one's over there.

I also handmade a bunch more cards and special treats for some random strangers I have never met or know but who attended the Shambala music festival....I had posted on their facebook page a note saying "hey, it's not too late...who wants to exchange homemade Christmas cards" and the response was awesome....so I crafted away this weekend and sent them out this week to strangers once again.....I just LOVE sending people stuff....cause really....who doesn't like getting stuff in the mail that makes them smile....I just wish people would do this ALL YEAR ROUND!!!

You tell me this NOW!

Let me start off by telling you about this amazing vegetarian restaurant in Calgary. It's called The Coup and it's completely dedicated to vegetarians and vegans...the other awesome thing is that my son's girlfriend works there! She too is a vegetarian, and so when we went to the city yesterday they took us there and it was FABULOUS. I have never been so excited to be in a place where I could eat EVERYTHING on the menu and the hubster and NOTHING to choose from cause there was no meat...but it was so great for him to experience the roll reversal and feel exactly like how feel ANYTIME we go out to eat...he's able to find something on the menu is 5 seconds and it takes me 5 minutes.

This place is my new favorite!

Three of my favorite humans ever!!!

the full monte

2 pieces of French toast stuffed with smoked tempeh, swiss & 3 year canadian reserve cheese, arugula & roasted pepper, served with a shot of seeded mustard maple syrup and organic hash

So once we got home from the city, I called my Mother back in BC to tell her about this great place and how it was catered to us vegetarians and how when they come out around Christmas we should go there so that Dad may have the same experience I did...cause he's a veg head too.
So out of the blue my Mother some how, for some reason....tells me some information that I have NEVER heard of before in my life.....she tells me that most of the people on her side of the family were VEGETARIAN......so after I picked myself up off the floor and could form words I began scolding my Mom lol.
I said...."did you not think to tell me this a long time ago....or least 2 years ago when I became a vegetarian?"....she just laughed. So her Mother, my Granny grew up in a Doukhobor heritage...now there were two kinds of Doukhobor's...the crazy kind and the normal kind lol....my Granny's were the normal kind...I'd go into further detail of the difference, but if you google search Doukhobor I'm sure you'll find some crazy shit...and that would be the other one's lol...not my relatives kind.
So in this heritage....for religious reasons....they did not eat meat of any kind...so I found it fascinating that all these relatives that I have history with, that I remember visiting as a child in Grand Forks B.C and in the Fraser Valley growing up...were all veg heads....WOW....this just seemed amazing to me for some reason....the the whole veg head reasoning has history...now there were some of those relatives on my Mothers side who "fell away from those beliefs" and chowed down on some good ol meat in their lives, but for the most part...they were fanatical about there belief in not eating animals for self pleasure....my Mom even told me that one of my great Uncles...Uncle Bill...wouldn't even eat at her house because she cooked meat there and he could not be sure if she would use lard or some other form of ingredient that has meat products in it...so only my great Aunty Polly would eat there!  Information like this I think I really should have been told about don't you think!!! So I called my sister immediately after this conversation to make sure I was not the only crazy one that did not know this....but she said she sorta remembered something about that in the history, but not to the extent that my Mother bestowed upon me in last nights conversation.
So...now I have discovered this new amazing history of my family...I have to begin the search of recipes that they had...that are probably all lost and buried some where to see what kind of vegetarian lifestyle they ate!
Feels good to know that there we others in my family before me that probably struggled a hell of a lot more then I ever will with not being able to eat out!!