Before I went vegan a couple of years ago, I had been vegetarian for over 16 years and had consumed more than my share of Morningstar Farms frozen meat substitutes. I don't really do that any more since I try to eat as few processed foods as possible and less soy, and most of the frozen veggie burgers, patties, and sausages aren't vegan anyway. I'm not really a fan of most of the ones that are vegan, so it works out.

I do get plenty of protein, thank you for wondering. 🙂 One of the ways I do that is through beans, so I was intrigued by this recipe for a burger made with white beans. It's from one of my cookbooks called The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen. It's a fabulous little cookbook that I've glanced through several times, but this is the first time I've made anything from it.

Celine calls this recipe White Bean Cutlets, and says you can use any white bean. In honor of Memorial Day, I made this with navy beans, and am proclaiming it the U.S. Navy Bean Burger!

This is my own little tribute to my nephew and niece-in-law who are serving in our Navy right now. At this minute, they are separated from each other and from their little baby boy, so a big thank you and God bless you goes out to them.

Now for the burgers…

U.S. Navy Bean Burgers (vegan, soy-free, corn-free)

1 15 oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 tblsp minced garlic
1 tblsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Beau Monde
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Oil for sauteeing

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, seasonings and olive oil. Mash all together with a fork until few whole beans are seen. Add in the panko and mix together well. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.

Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, and shape into burgers. Saute in a small amount of oil over medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes per side, until golden and crispy on the outside.

I loved these burgers! You can tell how quickly the recipe comes together. In literally 30 minutes (including sitting time) you can have dinner on the table. You've also spent maybe $2 on entrees for 4 people. You can't even do that at Taco Bell!

My cooking style is usually pretty spicy with big flavors, so this mild flavored burger was a departure for me, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The recipe lends itself to a wide variety of variations. I think you could add some cooked chopped mushrooms to the mixture, along with any spice combination you like. I followed Celine's recipe pretty closely this first time, just subbing Beau Monde for celery salt, and omitting 1/4 cup of water I didn't need.

So how do you serve these? I'm not big on bread these days (these already have bread crumbs in them too), so I'm into making collards wraps with anything I'd put in a sammie or on a bun. The bean burgers are delicate in flavor, almost like a fish would be, so I added some Veganaise tartar sauce to my wrap, along with avocado and tomato. With a sprinkle of salt and a dash of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, this is a delicious, quick, inexpensive, and healthy lunch for 4.

I'll be back tomorrow with another Memorial Day vegan burger that's the polar opposite of this one. Did I like it as much? Hmmm…we'll see!

~BigSis

Posted under Food, Holidays

It seems like my weekend shopping trips are lots more challenging these days since I can't just breeze through Target and mindlessly grab my usual products.  Making a commitment to purge animal-tested products from my life has been a real project, but I'm committed to it, as LilSis is also.

I've had a longtime love affair with my Swiffer WetJet since the day I laid eyes on it, but alas, Swiffer is a Procter & Gamble company.  Procter & Gamble does animal testing, so Swiffer is out of my house, which made me sad at first.  I envisioned returning to a drippy string mop or sponge mop with a big steaming sloshing bucket full of Pine Sol.  Gah!

Thankfully, there are other alternatives, and I found a nifty one. I bought a Rubbermaid Reveal Microfiber Spray Mop during my last trip to Target.  How much do I love it?  Let me count the ways:

• As far as I can see, Rubbermaid doesn't do any animal testing.  If I'm wrong, someone please correct me!

• There are no expensive disposable pads to buy.  The Reveal Mop comes with a microfiber pad that is washable!  Brilliant!  You can buy replacement pads if you ever need to.

• You can use any cleaning solution you wish!  Brilliant again!  Not only are you free of the pricey Swiffer solution, but you can use a completely environmentally-friendly, green solution!  Use plain water, or water with white vinegar, or buy a natural cleanser from Method, Mrs. Meyers, or Caldrea.  You choose.

• Another cool thing?  You can buy extra refillable spray bottles so you can switch out your solutions for different surfaces: tile, wood, vinyl, or laminate.

• No batteries required!

Even though I imagined the worst (stringy ol' yarn mop), what I ended up with is better in many ways than my old Swiffer!

Before you even think about mopping though, you need freshly-swept floors right?  This is the perfect time to introduce you to my new electric broom; the Electrolux ErgoRapido Bagless Cordless Handheld/Stick Vacuum Cleaner.

My last electric broom lasted for probably 10 years, but it finally got weary of sucking up all that cat litter and hair, and it just passed away.  After a ton of research, I decided on the ErgoRapido and I'm so thrilled with it:

• It works well and has good suction.  It will occasionally take two passes to pick up some of the fine bits of clumping cat litter, but I think that material is a real challenge for any sweeper.

• It's lightweight, cordless and rechargeable.

• There are no bags, and the canister is easy to empty.

• It's a stick vacuum cleaner AND a handheld vacuum all in one.

• It looks really cool!

So with both of these tools in my cleaning closet, there's no excuse for a dirty floor, right?  Now, all I have to do is teach my furkids to sweep and mop while I'm at work, and we're all set!

~BigSis

Posted under Home

I found this recipe for the Flu-Fighter Cookies in the October issue of Food Network Magazine and I tore it out right away because chances are that I'll never get back to that issue again. That's part of my new plan to get caught up on my magazine reading.

Instead of marking the pages of recipes I want to try, I'm just tearing them out and putting them in a folder. I now have a folder for recipes, one for ideas, and one for inspiration. I've also got a binder with sheet protectors in it for all the ‘at home yoga routines' that I tear out of Yoga Journal.

The main reason that I wanted to try these cookies is because they sounded like they were pretty healthy. Food Network calls this an immunity-boosting cookie because of these five powerful ingredients.

• Ginger has some antiviral compounds and its antihistamine properties help combat congestion.

• Cranberries provide antioxidants which help your body fight off cell-damaging molecules.

• Oats are rich in selenium, a nutrient that helps your body fend off harmful free radicals.

• Yogurt helps balance the bacteria in your digestive tract boosting your ability to absorb healthful vitamins and minerals.

• Walnuts (in original recipe) contain zinc that helps keep viruses from reproducing in your body. (Since my son doesn't like walnuts, I substituted sunflower seeds.)

• Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of Vitamin E which has significant anti-inflammatory effects.

I also made a few other changes. The original recipe called for regular flour but I used wheat flour instead. I used honey instead of molasses and I reduced the quantities of each fruit by 1/4 of a cup.

The guys said that they liked the cookies but I'm still not convinced that they weren't just saying that so they didn't hurt my feelings. My cookies did not look like the photo in the magazine AT ALL! Theirs looked pretty thin and somewhat chewy. Mine puffed up and were really thick and cakey. And, I made sure that I ended up with the same quantity of cookies. The recipe said that it made 30 cookies, which is exactly how many I made.

Look at how thick they are!

They were still good and I really liked the fruit and the sunflower seeds on top, but the texture was more like a muffin than a soft, chewy cookie. I heated one up in the microwave for just a few seconds this morning and it was yummy, so I'm going to freeze half of them and just take out one at at time for a quick breakfast.

Flu-Fighter Cookies

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground nutmeg)
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. low-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 T. freshly grated ginger
1 t. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 c. golden raisins
3/4 c. cranberries
1 c. sunflower seeds

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Add the honey, yogurt, ginger and lemon zest and beat until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture to make a sticky batter (do not overmix). Fold in the oats and half of the raisins, cranberries, and sunflower seeds. Mix the remaining dried fruit and nuts in a small bowl and set aside.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Top each with some of the reserved dried fruit and nut mixture and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake the cookies until dark golden but still soft, 10 – 12 minutes; cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

~LilSis

Posted under Food

I still can't believe that November is over halfway gone. It doesn't even feel like Winter here in California because it's still relatively warm during the day, but the air is really dry right now. Luckily, we don't have to run our heater very often because that just seems to make the air even more dry.

And what goes along with dry air and winter weather? For a lot of people, dry skin can be a real problem in the winter. It definitely can be for me if I don't do everything I can to prevent it. I slather myself every morning right out of the shower with a variety of lotions, potions, and creams, in an effort to avoid the dry, itching, pasty looking skin. We've talked about our favorite eye creams, more than once, moisturizers, more than once, and hand creams, but I don't think we've ever talked about foot creams, so here goes.

I have to admit, I love a good foot cream! My absolute all time favorite EVER is L'Occitane's Shea Butter Foot Cream. I recently ran out and haven't yet ordered a replacement.

This amazing foot cream contains lavender essential oil and in my opinion, there is nothing better than the heavenly smell of lavender. That's one reason I love putting this foot cream on at night. The scent of lavender is so soothing. It also contains anti-inflammatory arnica extract to reduce redness and irritation and mint to cool the feet.

With that being said, this 5.2 oz tube of foot cream sells for $26.00. I definitely think it's worth the money during the best of times, but when we are all trying to scale back on unnecessary expenses, I need to try to find a cream that is a little more reasonably priced.

The other night, I was finally able to stop, sit down, and take off my shoes around 8:00, just in time for Dancing with the Stars. When I took off my shoes, I noticed that just in the past couple of days, my heels had become so dry that they were almost starting to crack. (Sorry if that's TMI.)  So, I grabbed the nearest tube of cream from my cabinet in the kitchen to put on my feet. What I ended up using was Eucerin Calming Creme. I keep a larger tube of this in my nightstand for my hands but I just happened to find a sample size that SirHoney's dermatologist gave to him. I had never used this on my feet before but it worked great!

After rubbing this into my feet that night and keeping my footies on til I went to bed, I woke up the next morning to almost normal heels. This creme is pretty darn impressive and costs less than $7.50 for a 8 0z tube. This creme contains oatmeal and glycerin to help with itching caused from dryness. This creme is so rich yet not greasy at all. I was surprised at how quickly it soaked into my skin. It also happens to be fragrance-free and non-comedogenic.

And, in the winter, when necessary, I use Eucerin's Dry Skin Therapy Original Creme. I use this on my hands and on my face, only on the dry spots. My sister-in-law is the one that told me about the Original Creme when I asked her once how she kept her face so young and soft looking; and she was over 55 at the time! I bought a 2 oz tube of this for less than $4.00 and it has lasted for months and months.  This is a very rich and thick creme so it's probably not meant to go on everyone's face, unless you have really dry skin like me, but it's perfect for dry hands.

I know BigSis is a HUGE fan of Eucerin's Aquaphor products and my husband's dermatologist also recommended some of those for him. I've used the Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment and I love it. It's great for hands, feet, or lips!

So, if you've got any secrets for beating dry skin this winter, please let us know! I bet BigSis has a few new favorites that she hasn't yet shared with us! 🙂

~LilSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Before we move on to another topic, we'll leave you with one more post on eyes.  If you could find effective treatment products for puffiness, dark circles and crows feet, what would be the next step?  I would say it's finding the right makeup application method and colors for your eyes, your face and your style.  It can be tricky, and can take some trial and error.  If you're in doubt and need another opinion, take advantage of the expertise of makeup artists at your favorite makeup counter.  You know by now that LilSis and I head for the MAC counter, where they have some fabulous MUAs who can help you.  You can even get a free makeup application from the MAC gurus if you make an appointment ahead of time.  I've been at the counter on a Saturday afternoon when a bride has come in – complete with veil and fancy updo – for her wedding MU application.

One person who has definitely found a look that suits her and looks gorgeous is Gala Darling of Icing fame.  I'm not sure that I could get away with aqua eyeliner (definitely not during the workday), but Gala not only makes it work but makes it her unique beautiful style.

Photo by Gala

Isn't this a stunning photo?  Even if these colors aren't your thing, take a lesson from Gala and just try something new.  It's really easy to get in a rut with your daily face, and you never know if something else works til you try it!

BTW, LilSis, your spies were right.  I'm absolutely preparing a “Hairball Show and Tell”.  I do have my reasons, so stay tuned!

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

It's official, we've chosen our charity for this year's Bake Sale. Drumroll please…it's In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, Texas!

In-Sync Exotics may be new to many folks.  It was to me and my fellow bakers until a year or so ago.  In-Sync is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the rescue of unwanted, neglected and abused felines.

And by “felines” we aren't talking about little housecats. We mean BIG cats; much much bigger than my 16 pound Gaby whom LilSis calls the fat cat with the little head.

In-Sync was founded in 2000 and is currently home to 59 tigers, lions, leopards, bobcats, cougars, cheetahs, lynx, servals and one honorary cat named Nugget who is a Coatimundi.

This is the fifth year for our Charity Bake Sale, which has been held to benefit the SPCA of Texas for the last three years.  We decided to select a smaller charity this year – a bit below the radar – who might benefit from our little fundraiser and the attention it could bring to a group in need.  We still support the SPCA of Texas personally, and continue to appreciate the crucial work they do every day in North Texas.

Back to In-Sync now.  I had the chance to visit their big kitties last weekend, along with a couple of my fellow bakers.  We spent a few hours enjoying the annual Pumpkin Bash, where the cats all get a pumpkin to play with/eat/destroy/ignore.  We absolutely fell in love with the cats and the place, and the work that's being done here.

In a perfect world, these cats would be running free in their native habitat but this world isn't perfect.  Not even close.  These guys have suffered at the hands of humans, and needed a safe place to recover from the physical and emotional damage inflicted on them.

In-Sync is that safe place.  Big wild cats can't be placed in furever homes like cats and dogs can, and they can't be released into the wild.  Big cats need a place to live out the rest of their days, where they can receive medical care, a clean environment, nourishing food, enriching playtime, and love.

Since these cats will stay at In-Sync forever, and more cats continue to unfortunately come in, In-Sync's need for funding will only grow as time goes on.  They are currently trying to raise $30,000 to build a home for the two cheetahs who recently joined them.

The four of us girls are going to bake our little hearts out to try to help in our small way.  Stay tuned for more details as we approach this year's Bake Sale on December 12th.  Meanwhile enjoy a few photos of Jett the spotted leopard enjoying the Pumpkin Bash!

For the record, the final score was Jett 1, Pumpkin 0.  ^..^

Note: All photos were taken by BigSis and published with the permission of In-Sync Exotics.

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

MAC Hello Kitty is here! Meow!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty!  This MAC collection has been talked about, whispered about, blogged about, and meowed about more than any other MAC collection in recent memory.  Talk about anticipation!  Will MAC's Hello Kitty collection live up to all the hype though?

The collection features Hello Kitty Mild and Hello Kitty Wild products, including two shadow quads, glitter eyeliner (I accidentally typed litter eyeliner…I guess litterbox wouldn't be an appealing color.  Ha!), mascara, powder blush, beauty powder, eyelashes, lipstick, lipglass, tinted lip conditioner, pigment, glitter, and nail lacquer.  There is also a line of Hello Kitty accessories like a brush set, bracelet, purse mirror, makeup bags, tote bag, and a stuffed Kitty.

I got an email from MAC on Saturday with a free shipping offer on a $60 purchase, so I skipped over to the site to see what kinds of Hello Kitty goodies I might be tempted by.  Well, guess what?  Bunches of items in this collections are already sold out, and I don't know if they'll be restocked or not since the Live Chat feature on the MAC site isn't available on weekends so I couldn't ask.  I'm afraid this is a case of once it's gone, it's gone. My advice would be to grab what you want in this collection without delay, either through the web site or a retail store if you're fortunate enough to live near one as I do.

If you think about hot pink, lavender, silver and deep sea green, you'll have a picture of the colors in this collection.  They may not be for everyone, but that's the fun of MAC.  If you wait five minutes, something new will come along that you'll love.  Plus, who knows?  You may have never thought about a lavender lipstick, but when you try it, you find that it's perfect for you.  Some of these colors and products wouldn't be appropriate for my office life, but there are some standouts in the collection that I want.  You KNOW how I love pink, so this collection is right up my alley!

• Hello Kitty Lipglass in Nice Kitty (sheer neon pink with blue pearl) and Fast Friends (sheer bright intense purple with pearl).

Hello Kitty Lipglass

• Hello Kitty Lipstick in Strayin' (frosty mid-tone pink).

Hello Kitty Lipstick

• Hello Kitty Blush in Tippy (mid-tone blue pink).

Hello Kitty Blush

Are these the cutest containers you ever saw?  I'm hissed off that I waited too late to get the nail lacquer, the tote, the purse mirror and the lip conditioner!

It looks like MAC Hello Kitty is a hit!  Get your favorites before they're gone!  Even if you don't need anything, or you're watching your beauty product budget, at least go check out the collection video!  It's fun and mystical in kind of a MAC Alice in Wonderland way, but the sado-masochistic Chippendale's guys with the giant Hello Kitty heads scare me a little!  See what you think!

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Great collection of sandals, LilSis.  If I were just one shoe size smaller, I'd steal some of those from you!

Besides being shoe-lovers/fanatics, I know we have something else in common, and that is being just a *little* obsessive about how we organize our lives.  Being organized and having a system just makes my life run better, and I'm not ashamed!  Can we talk about our shared love for the P-Touch labeler, for example?  Schwing schwing schwing!  Don't get me started.  I'd label my cats if the labels would stick to their fur. ^..^

I digress.  I'm thinking today about how we all organize our shoes.  One method is the ubiquitous pile o' shoes on the closet floor.  One is the scrambled stash of shoes under the bed.  Another style of “organizing” is shoes all over the house…wherever you took them off when you last wore them is where they're currently filed, just waiting to be called into service again.

My preferred method – not that it's better than any of these styles – is neat stacks of Container Store shoe boxes and a couple of wooden IKEA shoe racks.  I have to have a color photo taped in the front of each translucent box so that I can see what's inside without opening it.  My nicer shoes get to cuddle dust-free inside the boxes, while the more casual shoes have to chill on the wood racks under my suits.  All the flip flops go into an IKEA hanging shoe sorter, and the tennis shoes are lined up like little (not that little) athletic soldiers.

If I'm not organized/sorted/filed, then my stress level goes up.  I can't work or play or be creative if I'm living or working in a mess.  So trust me that I'm not being holier-than-thou or self-righteous (which LilSis and I have both been called – you know who you are) when I show my organized shoe collection, I'm just preserving what little sanity I still call mine!  And I obviously need every bit of it!

7 new boxes need photos! ASAP!

Sometimes I wish I was more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of a girl, but I am who I am, and that's all what I am, to quote Popeye.  BTW, my pants are sorted by style and color in my closet, I have to confess.  I need help.

So, LilSis, share your shoe organization style.  I promise not to judge you, whether it's immaculate or a little random!  We all have to find the method that works best for us, given our personality, the space we have available to us, and the budget we're working under!  Show me your shoes!

~BigSis

Posted under Shopping

Not only is hummus not a ‘real meal' in this house, neither is soup! I had a new soup recipe planned for Sunday night and SirHoney snuck off to the store and bought three slabs of ribs so he and BigT could have a rib throw-down!  So, I ended up making the soup anyway and we had it as a first course before the ribs, broccoli, and mushrooms.

When I'm making a tortilla soup or any kind of chicken noodle or vegetable, I always boil the chicken, but this time, I sauteed the chicken instead and I really like how it turned out.  This is my version of Chicken Enchilada Soup.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 T. Olive Oil
4 skinned, boned chicken breasts, cubed (not too small)
3 T. flour
1 c. low sodium tomato sauce
1/2 c. skim milk
1 32 oz. box organic free range chicken broth (it's lower in sodium)
1 t. fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 c. corn
1 small can chopped green chilies (optional)
1/2 c. – 1 c. grated cheese (I prefer to mix Monterrey jack and cheddar)
1 minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
4 – 6 flour or corn tortillas

Cut tortillas into very thin strips, place on baking sheet and sprinkle with a little chili powder. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until crisp, set aside.

Put olive oil in a good size sauce pan (I like to use a 6 quart). Place over medium high heat until hot. Season chicken with fresh ground pepper and add to hot pan.  Saute 5 minutes or so stirring until all chicken is lightly browned. Add flour, and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or two.  Gradually stir in tomato sauce, milk and chicken broth. Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. (You can adjust these seasonings to taste).

Add diced tomatoes, corn and green chilies. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve, ladle into bowls and top each serving with grated cheese, tortilla strips and, if desired, jalapeno pepper. I think  a spoonful of sour cream on top would be awesome on this soup!

I was going to eat this bowl so I left the cheese off. Sorry!

I know, chicken enchiladas don't have corn in them. I just like it in this soup. I'm also one that puts corn in my chili.

I have to say that this soup tastes better than it looks. I didn't have any green chilies on hand, so this soup didn't have chilies. I think the little bit of green color would have jazzed up the photo a bit.

The next day, I noticed that most of the chicken was gone, but that I had enough of the yummy broth and veggies leftover, so I heated that to a boil and added about a cup of large pasta shells. HayHay gobbled that down for his after school snack.

~LilSis

Posted under Food

I'm so mad at myself.  Livid and disgusted and sick, in fact.  Is there anything worse than being mad at yourself, for something you did or didn't do?  It's so much more satisfying to be mad at someone ELSE.  You can punish them and demand that they make things right.  Whatever those “things” are.

I can't be mad at anyone else this time.  I'm responsible.  I killed my plants.  All of them.  All.  Of.  Them.  Every last one.  The curly hoya and the regular hoya I've had for close to 25 years.  The ficus that LilSis gave me when she moved to California, along with the other plant she gave me that I never knew the name of.  The gorgeous new hoya hanging basket I found last year.  And the dracaena  from our dad's funeral.  They're all dead.  I put them in trash bags and hauled them to the dumpster.

How did this happen?  How did I keep these living things alive…some from my very first apartment, to the condo, and then to the dark apartment building, only to kill them all here?  Last December 15, on the day of the SPCA Bake Sale, we had the mother of all sleet storms here in Dallas.  I had been baking non-stop for 3 weeks, and was punchy from a 14-hour day of raising money for one of my favorite charities.  By the time I got home and unpacked things and cleaned up my kitchen and fed my furkids and myself, I must have fallen into a coma because I didn't give one thought to all of the literally freezing plants on my north-facing patio.

If I had even one working brain cell at that point, I would have just put a couple of sheets over the poor things to protect them from the sleet and temperatures in the teens.  But did I do that?  Nope.  And so they all died.  I've been watering and watering the little stumps, hoping to see one little green sprig, but none appeared.

I'm a little surprised at how upset I am that all of these living things are dead.  I've taken care of them, watered them, fertilized them, trimmed them, nursed them, moved them, enjoyed them and loved them for so many years.  And now I'm responsible for their deaths.  I know I can get new plants.  But they won't be MY plants.  They'll just be plants.

~BigSis

Posted under Home