January 21, 2013
“You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were.”
-Cormac McCarthy, The Road
~BigSisSix Years Without Daddy
~BigSis
Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip
January 10, 2013
Every year between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day our family consumes a ginormous amount of black-eyed peas; but, I may have finally gone a little bit overboard. This year my black-eyed pea eating marathon started around noon on New Year’s Eve when I started cooking them and ended late on New Year’s evening when I polished off what was left.
We’ve always said that you can never eat too many peas on New Year’s since they’re supposed to bring you good luck, but I’m sure that I probably consumed several hundred of those little black eyes. Is that overkill?
Don’t know yet. I guess time will tell.
Our Southern family tradition has always been to serve ham, black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread at midnight on New Year’s Eve. We’ve done it for as long as I can remember and I continue to do it every year whether it’s for a large group of friends or just our family. This was last year’s dinner plate.
This year we were invited to a neighbor’s house for New Year’s Eve so I decided at the last minute to make this Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip to share with our friends for some added good luck!
Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip
(adapted from Recipe Girl)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
16 ounces Mexican-style or regular Velveeta
3 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed & drained
1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribs removed & diced
1 can stewed tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until golden brown. Turn heat to low, add the cheese and stir until melted. Add peas, peppers, chilies, tomatoes, and garlic salt. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into a crock pot or and serve hot with chips.
Note: I couldn’t find the Mexican Velveeta at my store so I used the regular instead and just added some chopped stewed tomatoes, an extra can of green chilies and an extra can of peas to make it a little chunkier. I also eliminated the green onions from the original recipe because I just don’t like them.
This dip is very similar to another family favorite and one of the guys’ most requested football watching snacks; the infamous Rotel Dip. The main difference between the two dips is that this one uses the black-eyed peas instead of ground beef, which makes it perfect for vegetarians.
And, something tells me that BigSis knows exactly how to turn this recipe into a yummy vegan dip. 
BigSis’ Vegan Twist: You got that right, LilSis. No one loves a dip more than mwah, and I’ve probably eaten my weight in that Rotel dip over the pre-vegan years!
This is actually a pretty easy recipe to veganize. Just nix the Velveeta and substitute a vegan queso. You can find several brands on the shelves of Whole Foods and other grocers who carry natural foods. I prefer to make my own with just a few ingredients like flour, nooch, tomatoes with chiles, and a bunch of spices. It sounds weird/gross, but I even feed it to non-vegetarians and they eat it up.
I started with a bunch of sauteed garlic, jalapeno and onion then built my usual queso and tossed in the peas.
My version of the black-eyed pea dip is thicker than the Velveeta version, and not that photogenic really, but I’m fine with that. It’s darn tasty, and now it’s gone. Happy new year, everyone!
~LilSisIn-Sync Exotics Bake Sale 2012 Wrap-Up
December 30, 2012
Could I get a drumroll please? The total for 2012′s charity bake sale benefiting In-Sync Exotics is…
$15,192!
You read that right. After all the contributions were counted and our sponsor matched them dollar for dollar, the grand total was $15,192. Unbelievable!
We, first of all, thank God for blessing this event! We experienced a lot of challenges and spiritual warfare during the planning and execution of this year’s sale. When that happens, it’s always a sign to me that we’re on the right track to something awesome if the Enemy is interfering to that extent. He was and we were!
Second of all, thank you to our sponsors. Paper Mart provided us with a generous discount on all of our packaging, which helped us enormously. Since all of our ingredients, packaging, printing and every other expense comes out of our personal pockets, we really appreciated Paper Mart’s help. Thank you, Paper Mart!
City Vet was back as a third-time sponsor, and we are so grateful for everything they’ve done for our event. They help promote it via social media, and have donated gift cards and a wide variety of fun things for us to sell and give away. They’ve also shopped with us, so we’re doubly blessed by them and their friendship. Thank you, City Vet!
We, of course, are extremely thankful for the 100% matching gift provided for the second year by our employer. We hope these checks will continue to grow each year as they have been so far! 2011′s match was $4,175 and 2012′s was $7,596.
Huge appreciation also goes to the In-Sync Exotics volunteer who donated $2,500 to the bake sale total. You, kind lady, are responsible for $5,000 of the $15,192 that went to In-Sync this year. We don’t even know what to say about that, except that your generosity is an enormous blessing to the big cats and everyone who cares for them. Thank you!
Last – but absolutely not least – I want to thank all of the bakers! My co-workers Kristen and Lauren were back with all their goodies, and also recruited Erica and Susan for cookie duty. My SisMama baked 105 pound cakes (!), and Cyndi brought a wealth of brownies in all flavors. Thanks for doing this with me, girls! We make a good team!
Because we were so darn busy (good problem) during this year’s sale, my photography was a little rushed and skimpy. Following are the photos I did manage to snap before the goodies were snapped up by lots of hungry people with Christmas shopping lists and cash in their hands. Thank you to everyone who made this happen for the wild ones at In-Sync Exotics. We are beyond grateful!
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- All that was left!
~BigSis2012 In-Sync Exotics Bake Sale…Now!
December 16, 2012
Gideon the baby bobcat is our poster child for this year’s bake sale!
After much planning, shopping, fretting, stressing, and finally baking, wrapping and packaging…the 2012 Bake Sale benefiting In-Sync Exotics is here! The only things left to do now are to sell like crazy, and pray, pray, pray!
I promised to talk about this year’s goodies, but apparently I got too immersed in actually working on the goodies to get that done! I will absolutely put together a post-sale follow-up with a bunch of photos and results from the day.
Before I get back to sale preparations, I have to say again that we just can’t thank our sponsors enough for their support. We are very, very grateful to City Vet, Paper Mart and Venable Royalty. This event would definitely not be as successful without everything they do for us, so thank you!
Wish us luck. For the wild ones!!
~BigSisIn-Sync Exotics Bake Sale 2012!
December 6, 2012
Gideon: our 2012 Bake Sale Poster Boy! Is there a cuter baby bobcat?
Our 2012 charity bake sale for In-Sync Exotics is right around the corner on Monday, December 17th, and we are full of gratitude and excitement about it! It’s the season to be thankful, so let me count the reasons!
- We have a brand new sponsor joining with us in support of this wonderful charity. Paper Mart – our favorite packaging source for years – has provided us with a generous discount on the incredible items we use to make our goodies look super cute. We know that cuteness helps things sell, right? And moving our goodies out the door is the name of the game at bake sale time. We could probably feed our cookies to the lions and tigers, but we’d much rather sell them to peeps and use the money to buy what the big kitties prefer to eat (and that’s not biscotti). If you’d like to see some of our favorite Paper Mart products, check out my Pinterest Bake Sale Board. Thank you, Paper Mart!
- We are so happy to welcome back City Vet as a returning sponsor for the third year! City Vet provides us with tons of things to sell and awesome giveaway items. This year they’ve even donated a gracious plenty of the reusable shopping bags that we all love. These will be a big help, and a nice bonus for our shoppers who buy a bunch of goodies. We also have some gift certificates for exams and baths to sell; things that all of us animal lovers need! Thank you, City Vet!
- Last but not least, we are beyond thrilled that our employer is matching our sales, dollar for dollar, for the second year in a row. That means that we can totally leverage what we’re doing. If we sell $4000 in goodies again, that magically turns into $8000 instantly! Thank you, our boss!
I have lots of baking to do, and ribbon to cut, and tags to make, and tweets and pins and instagram photos and facebook statuses to post, so I’m out for now. I’ll report back this weekend with our list of goodies to entice you.
For now, thanks, thanks, and more thanks to our supporters! If the wild kitties at In-Sync Exotics could thank you, they would, so I’ll speak on their behalf. Oodles of thanks, chuffs and purrs to you all!
~BigSisGraham Cracker Pralines (Accidentally Vegan)
November 25, 2012
It’s bake sale time, which means recipe testing time, and that means this update will be short and sweet! I’m up to my eyeballs in recipes, treat bags, press releases, and save the date postcards!
So let’s get to it. One of my co-workers brought these Graham Cracker Pralines to the office, and I thought they were super delicious. Nabisco Original Graham Crackers are accidentally vegan, so I only had to swap an Earth Balance stick for the butter to veganize this simple little recipe.
There are lots of recipes for this treat online; I started with Betty Crocker’s Quick Praline Bars recipe. Basically, you lay graham crackers out on a cookie sheet (I lined it with non-stick foil). You combine brown sugar with the Earth Balance, and let it boil for one minute. Then add vanilla, pour the mixture over the crackers, sprinkle pecans over it all, and bake it for 8 to 10 minutes til bubbly. Pretty easy, right?
Some of the reviewers online had various problems with this recipe, but I had none of them. Whew! They firmed up nicely, they didn’t stick, they didn’t fall apart, and they taste pretty darn good!
I think these are going to make the cut for this year’s bake sale, which is scheduled for Monday, December 17th and benefits In-Sync Exotics. BTW, we’re looking for individuals and companies to match what we raise, so let us know if you can help with that endeavor!
I’m off to try a new Almond Biscotti. I’ll let you know if it gets to come to the party or not!
Note added later: Nope, the Almond Biscotti has to sit out this party. That’s ok though, we have plenty of winners to bring!
~BigSisLife According to Ashy Poo
November 18, 2012
Ashy Poo in 2009
If you had come to my door sometime in the last twelve years, my official welcoming committee – consisting of one rescued FlamePoint Siamese lover boy – would have greeted you with something like this:
“My name’s Ashy Poo, what’s your name? Do you have any cheese in that bag? Do you think I’m pretty? Do you have any dogs? Are you going to sit down so I can sit by you? What’s that smell on your shoes? Do you want to pet me? Do you have any chips? Isn’t my blonde hair stunning? Can you get me some treats? Can I play with your shoelaces? Did you know I used to live on the street? Have you ever seen a tail as long as mine? Don’t you think my mom is nice? Do you want to brush me?” And on and on. Rapid fire, without a breath. Ashy Poo never met a stranger, and loved everyone.
Ashy showing off his blue mani
Ashy dealt with a LOT of challenges in his life, and I wonder what our attitude would be if we faced all of this in one twelve-year period:
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Bartonella
- Chronic gum disease which left you with three teeth
- Heart disease
- Out of control hyperthyroidism
- One blind eye from a cataract
- One displaced kneecap
- Early signs of kidney disease
- Anemia
- IBS
- Car sickness every road trip (involving both ends!)
- Multiple gunshot wounds from a childhood attack, which left a pellet in your hip and probably caused the cataract and knee problem too
Beautiful freckle-faced one
Just imagine how many doctor visits and how many medications were involved in all that! I can tell you my state of mind would probably be “poor, poor me” if that was my life, but Ashy Poo didn’t feel that way at all.
God’s handiwork
Life – according to Ashy Poo – is beautiful.
Ashy with Warren Bitey and Gaby in 2004
Ashy Poo had a pretty simple list of life principles, and no one lived them out like he did:
- Never stop purring, no matter what. No. Matter. What.
- No one is a stranger and everyone is your friend. Why wouldn’t they be your newest fan? You’re awesome!
- Trust everyone, even if people have proven to be untrustworthy. Even if you get hurt, keep trusting.
- Never let anyone see that you don’t feel well. It only upsets your family if they think you’re puny. Just hide under the bed for a little while and sleep til you can act well again.
- If you have to wear a silly hat from time to time, so be it. It’s a small price to pay to make people smile. Besides, you look so darn CUTE in hats! Draw the line at wearing a sweater though.
- There’s nothing to be afraid of! Not vacuum cleaners, not hair dryers, not car rides, not strangers, not even death. Just live and don’t be skerd! Fear is a waste of energy and emotion.
- Don’t give up. Fight through whatever comes your way…starvation, homelessness, illness, gunshots. Whatever. Just push through it and don’t give up.
- Bounce back and be a trooper! When everyone gives up on you, you bounce back like the Energizer Bunny and keep on ticking. Prove the doubters wrong.
- Show gratitude for your family and your home. Not everyone is blessed with a safe home with a warm bed, yummy food and people who love you. Always be thankful and remember where you came from.
- Choose a mom with a couple of credit cards with high limits if you can. You never know what the future holds.
- Never get hissy or huffy with your mom. If she says eat, you eat til you’re full. If she says go to the doctor, you go to the doctor and make new friends. If she says take medicine, you take medicine cheerfully and spit it out when she isn’t looking. If she calls you, you come running. She might want to kiss you.
- Always remember that you’re special. There’s no one else like you. God made you unique and the world needs you to be you.
- Never lose your dignity. Dignity isn’t dependent on your situation, it’s dependent on your attitude.
- Rule your house with a soft voice and a velvet paw. Keep your brothers in line. Someone has to be the boss!
- Leave your mark on this world so no one can forget the difference you made. Leave blonde hair everywhere too.
- Love everyone. That’s all.
Ashy with HayHay the day we brought him home from the Siamese Rescue in December 2000.
That’s the walk that Ashy Poo walked for the twelve years he spent with us. His long list of challenges finally got to be too much for his fragile body, and we suddenly lost him last Monday.
We miss this boy like crazy. We invested so much hope, emotion, time and love into this precious soul, and we fought his challenges together for a long time. It’s weird that all that is just gone now, and our lives feel off balance in every way.
I’m very thankful that he knew how much we were all madly in love with him, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He knew he was cherished, and as he was taking his last breaths I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to tell him that again and again.
Ashy leaves behind his lonely furry brother Gaby, and a huge extended family of hoomans who loved him and won’t forget his sweet spirit and the lessons he taught us. We’ll do our best to follow his example, and even thought we’re beyond sad, we’re going to purr again.
That’s what Ashy Poo would want us to do. Keep on purring. Because life according to Ashy Poo is beautiful, and the life he’s living right now is more beautiful than any of us can imagine. We’ll see you again, Ashy Poo. We love you and we miss you, sweet baby. Forgive us if we can’t find our purr just yet.
~BigSisHappy Veteran’s Day
November 12, 2012
“Freedom is never free.” -Author Unknown
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” -Elmer Davis
~LilSisAlterna Perfect Blowout Cream
November 4, 2012
I may have just found a blowout product that’s near perfect. Alterna Perfect Blowout Cream has lots of things going for it that my hair absolutely loves:
- Fighting humidity.
- Creating lots of shine. Lots.
- Protecting the hair from heat damage.
- Enhancing smoothness, softness, and straightness.
- Reducing frizz.
- Never getting crunchy, stiff, sticky or goopy.
That’s a lot to love! There’s just one thing that keeps Alterna Perfect Blowout Cream from being completely perfect. Alterna says their products are not animal tested, and I’ve seen comments online from people who have emailed Alterna for confirmation, and have gotten it. I thought Alterna’s products were not animal-tested, and that’s why I’ve been comfortable buying them.
However, PETA’s Caring Consumer web site doesn’t list Alterna on the “does test” list or on the “does not test” list. That means they’re one of the many companies in-between. Maybe they don’t test and they haven’t documented it yet for PETA. Or maybe they outsource their testing so their hands don’t get dirty. At this point, I don’t know why they’re in limbo land.
I haven’t contacted Alterna directly myself yet, so I don’t have any first-hand information. I’ll report back with anything I find to give us a comfort zone with Alterna products.
If indeed Alterna does NOT animal test, then yes, this blowout cream would literally be perfect. Utterly, astoundingly, stunningly perfect. It’s that good. I really hope I can keep using it.
~BigSisHappy Halloween
October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween from BigSis, LilSis and our Firkids!
(Not just Cats in Hats anymore since The Donald joined our family.)
New kid on the block, “The Donald” diggin’ Tom’s witch hat!
No one can rock Tom’s favorite witch hat like he does!
Sweet Ashy Poo Poo looking handsome in his Cowboy gear.
Gaby makes a perfect pirate in this ensemble.
Have a safe and Happy Halloween!
~LilSis
