July 4, 2012

From BigSis and LilSis, we wish everyone a very 

 safe and Happy 4th of July!

~LilSis

June 23, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, while BigSis and I had our one afternoon at the beach, I finally had a few minutes to flip through my June issue of Sunset magazine. In it, I came across an article titled Wow ‘Em Cocktails that got me thinking it was time to come up with a new Summertime cocktail.

(I was going to do a Raspberry Fizz until I realized at the last minute that someone, not sure who yet, had polished off my Chambord and didn't tell me.  So, I'll be posting that recipe a little later after I get the chance to pick up more Chambord.)

Since we just celebrated the first day of Summer this week, I was trying to think of something that goes hand in hand with Summer. And since I have a huge bowl of fresh-picked lemons that a friend gave me, staring me right in the face, it hit me!

Lemonade.

And no; not just Plain Jane lemonade.

Let's kick it up a notch and make some Vodka Lemonade! Sound yummy?

It. Was.

Summertime Vodka Lemonade Fizz

4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 shot vodka
1/2 t. sugar
1 or 2 ounces of club soda
lemon and strawberry slices

This is super simple. Just squeeze the lemons and stir in the sugar until it's dissolved. Add the vodka. Put some lemon and strawberry slices in with the ice and pour the lemonade over the ice. Top with club soda and garnish with lemon.

Since I'm serving this poolside, I've used a cute plastic wine glass for my lemonade.

Note: This is pretty tart. Since I don't really care for sugary sweet cocktails, I put very little sugar in my concoction, but you could easily add more sugar to suit your own little taste buds.

Enjoy! 🙂

~LilSis

June 17, 2012

I couldn't stand it. The first Trader Joe's store in the entire big state of Texas opened a full 48 hours ago, and I hadn't been yet. Regardless of the parking chaos and the packed aisles, I had to go. Happy day, oh happy, happy day!

The new store is in Fort Worth, with the next location in Plano opening September 7th, and two Dallas stores scheduled for 2013 and 2014. The Fort Worth store is about an hour away for me, so 3 hours and $124 later, here is a sampling of what came home with me.

 

All 3 of these sound incredible. The bird's nests are kale, carrot and onion.

 

Lots of lunches and snacks here...

 

I couldn't leave without TJ's chocolate chips (vegan but not kosher now).

 

The olive hummus is unbelievable!

 

Can you believe $3.99 olive oil and $1.99 pepper?

 

These heirloom tomatoes were only $2.99 and shiitakes just $2.79.

 

The almond butter with flax is toasty scrumptious, and just $4.99 for 16 oz.

 

The best grain blends ever. My favorite is the Brown Rice Medley, LilSis' is the Harvest Grains.

 

 

TJ's, you're talking my lunch love language.

 

As delicious as they sound, even to a non-sweet eater. And they're vegan!

 

I can't believe I found this again, and it's not even Christmas!

 

Chai $3.49 + Almond milk $1.69 = LOTS cheaper than Starbucks!

 

My favorite almonds ever!

 

$1.99 vegan hand cream that's awesome!

 

Buy these!

 

So that's a quick look at my first trip to the first Trader Joe's in Texas. It's been a LONG time coming, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area is buzzing like you can't believe. Welcome to Texas, Trader Joe's! We promise that you'll be happy that you came!

~BigSis

June 12, 2012

Got Shoes?

For those of you who are avid walkers or runners, I'm sure you go through your shoes quickly, like I do. The salesperson at my local running store says that I should get around 300-500 miles a pair, depending on several different factors. I'm usually on asphalt and going up and down hills, so if I average around 80 miles a month, I usually need a new pair in about six months.

I keep my old shoes for gardening or walking on the beach but I noticed recently that I have a few too many pair just hanging out in the garage that could probably be put to better use. I'd been trying to figure out the best place to donate all these old shoes when I ran across the Nike ReUSE-A-Shoe Program. Over 25,249,000 pairs of shoes have been collected globally through this program since 1990.

Here's the scoop; straight from the Nike ReUse-A-Shoe website on how they put three high-quality Nike Grind materials to good use.

• Nike Grind Rubber, made from the shoe's outsole, is used in track surfaces, interlocking gym flooring tiles, playground surfacing and even new Nike products, such as the outsoles of the Nike Pegasus or the Jordan XX3. It’s also used in trim items like buttons and zipper pulls.
• Nike Grind Foam, made from the shoe's midsole, is used as a cushion for outdoor basketball and tennis courts, as well as futsal fields.
• Nike Grind Fiber, made from the shoe's fabric upper, is used in the creation of cushioning pads for facilities like indoor synthetic courts and wood courts.

And there's no need to worry about shipping cost; Nike has made this super easy! You can drop off up to ten pairs of used athletic shoes at your local Nike ReUSE a Shoe drop off  location. This recycling program is only for used athletic shoes; they don't accept sandals, flip-flops, boots, dress shoes, or any shoes with metal cleats or spikes.

I put in my zip code and found out that I have a drop off location just 8 miles from my house. Now that I'm ready to say goodbye to some favorites that I've hung on to for long enough, I'm super happy to know that they will be put to good use. 🙂

~LilSis

June 5, 2012

Want to know how to make a grown woman scream with excitement like a little kid on Christmas morning?

If so, I'll let you in on a little secret.  If you know someone that loves trying new products and loves surprises, you'll be her new BFF when you surprise her with one of these New Beauty Test Tubes from QVC! 🙂

I was thrilled when I received my Spring 2012 Test Tube from BigSis.

Even after several wonderful presents and a surprise visit for my birthday, BigSis sent me one of these just weeks after my “big” birthday. I've been on a bit of a “beauty product budget” lately so it was extra special receiving this Test Tube!

If you want to make sure to get one of these quarterly Test Tubes, you need to order it as soon as you see it advertised on QVC because they only have a limited quantity. Here are all eight of the products that were included in the Spring 2012 Test Tube.

First of all, I was really surprised to see the generous size of some of these products. There are usually 8 different items in each $29.95 kit, plus a New Beauty Magazine which would set you back $10 if you bought it alone. Many items are full-size, like eye liner, mascara, eye shadow and lip gloss.

Out of the 8 products in this test tube, I've tried five of them and these three are my favorites.

Peter Thomas Roth Laser-Free Regenerator (1 oz size retails for $68)

I fell in love with this product from the very first time I used it! It claims to regenerate, moisturize, firm and calm the appearance of dull, damaged and overexposed skin. It's also supposed to help diminish fine lines and wrinkles and give a more even skin tone and texture.

Because of it's unique pink gel-cream formula, just a little of this product goes a long way. It glides on so smoothly and makes your skin feel super-moisturized and hydrated. Here's a little description from Peter Thomas Roth about the ingredients:

Helps diminish the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles leaving skin radiant and younger looking. Advanced formula is infused with Dragon’s Blood (a red resin drawn from the Amazon’s Croton Lechleri tree, a centuries old native secret), Niacinamide PC (multi-functional antiaging ingredient), Hexapeptide (helps regenerate collagen & elastin) & a perfectly balanced cocktail of intense skin protectors & moisturizers including exotic extracts of Dragon Fruit, Red Poppy, Fire Tulip, Japanese Cherry & Purple Orchid (to help the appearance of a more even skin tone, a smoother looking texture & increased radiance).

I just used this product at night instead of twice a day and the 0.5 oz sample size lasted me about a month. I really did notice a difference in the overall texture of my skin and some of the very fine lines were diminished after just a month.

It's a little bit of a splurge at $68, but as soon as I've got some shiny gold coins in my beauty budget, this will be my first treat to myself.

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash (6.6 oz. retails for $24)

This is another product that I loved the first time I used it. It's got a fresh, fruity scent and foams up just right with a very small amount of product. The little tiny exfoliator beads feel so good on your skin yet are much more gentle than most exfoliating products.

Here's a short description from Bliss:

A two-in-one oil-free exfoliating wash for all skin types, this fresh, fruity cleanser contains rose hip extract, milk thistle, passion flower and chamomile in a non-stripping formula that rebalances even the most schizophrenic of skins.

Bliss even states that guys have been known to sneak some as a shaving cream stand-in.  That's so funny to me because this is the first cleanser, in over 20 years of trying, that I've been able to get my husband to use in the shower instead of his Irish Spring bar soap. 🙂

Wen Cleansing Conditioner – This conditioner comes in several different scents; in my test tube, I received the Pomegranate, BigSis received the Cucumber Aloe, while others received the Lavender. It also comes in Fig and Sweet Almond Mint.

A few months ago I received a special offer on a four product Wen kit for $9.99 so I jumped on it! The products that I received were in the Sweet Almond Mint scent and I've been using the cleanser regularly for awhile. I like the results from the Pomegranate cleansing conditioner just as well but I like the Sweet Almond Mint scent better. This cleanser makes my hair super soft and shiny, but it does take getting used to because it doesn't lather up like other shampoos and you may not feel like your hair is getting clean enough.

The Wen by Chaz Dean products are not cheap when you pay full price for the individual products so if you're interested in trying them, check his website for the 30 day supply kits. The 30 day supply for $29.95 is still a good price considering that you get four products. I love all of them: the styling cream, the intensive hair treatment and the texture balm and I'm still using the ones that I received months ago.

BigSis has received several Test Tubes so far, and loves them so she's on auto-delivery to get the new Test Tube once a quarter. Her favorite products have been Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint, a full-size Mally Voluminous Mascara (retail value of $20 for one, or $28 for two), and most of all, a .5 oz bottle of Kate Somerville's incredible Exfolikate (2 oz goes for $85 on QVC).

She also says the only downside is that lately a few products have been repeated. The last Test Tube included another Wen Conditioner, but this time in the less desirable (in her opinion) Cucumber Aloe. Philosophy Shower Gel has also been repeated, in different scents.

If I've peaked your interest in the Test Tube, the next time it becomes available on QVC, I'll give a “shout out” on our BigSisLilSis Facebook page. So, if you don't already like us on Facebook, now is the perfect time to do so! 🙂

~LilSis

June 3, 2012

I know pumpkin is more of a fall flavor, but after I made Memorial Day's U.S. Navy Bean Burgers based on Celine Steen's White Bean Cutlets, I wandered through her cookbook (The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions) some more and found her Pumpkin Bisque.

It sounded so simple to put together and I had almost all of the ingredients, so away I went. You literally combine the ingredients in a pot, bring them to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Done.

The base for the soup is a can of pumpkin puree with some non-dairy milk (I use almond milk) and vegetable broth. Then you add flavors that are anything but wimpy: peanut butter, onion, garlic, garam masala, cayenne and vegan worcestershire sauce.

I followed the recipe exactly except for omitting the marmite (who has that on-hand in the U.S.?) and the maple syrup since the bisque was already plenty sweet for me.

I love how quick and inexpensive this soup was, but the flavor profile is a bit out of my comfort zone. I measured the spices precisely, but this soup was HOT! That's coming from a spicy Texas girl who isn't afraid of heat. Maybe my Penzeys Garam Masala was dramatically more powerful than most?

Besides the heat, which I cooled with a dollop of Sunflower Seed Sour Cream, it was a little weird to me that the soup was also pretty sweet. I can appreciate the balance of flavors, but I don't think it's really my thing.

But, you never know what you like until you try it, and it's always a good thing to branch out of the ordinary a little bit!

~BigSis

June 1, 2012

Scary, huh? What in the world is going on here?

Remember when I told you about the Indian Bridal Mask a couple of weeks ago? I had seen it on Doctor Oz, and whipped up a batch from turmeric, chickpea flour and almond oil.

Well, I mentioned that I might take photos on my next use of the mask, and LilSis pretty much dared me to show the dirty reality of this process.

So, without further ado – and certainly without any pride or ego – here are the photos I promised/threatened to share!

When I said it was messy, I wasn't kidding and I wasn't exaggerating. You schmear it all over your face and pretty soon it looks like your neon mustard color skin is melting off your bones…

Be sure to avoid your eye area with the mask.

Now that I've been through this process twice, here are my Top 10 Indian Bridal Mask Tips:

1. Keep the concoction away from your eyes.
2. Even though the mixture smells kind of interesting, don't eat it!
3. Mix the ingredients up in a plastic or paper bowl, and use a plastic spoon so you can toss it all in the trash when you're done.
4. Half or quarter the recipe if you don't want to have a lot of leftovers hanging around. Store any leftover mask in the fridge in a glass container.
5. Wear gloves when you apply the mask and when you remove it.
6. Wear old clothes when you do this treatment, just in case! Any miniscule drip or crumb of this mask will cause a HUGE yellow stain.
7. Protect your sink and application area with paper towels.
8. Remove the excess product with damp paper towels before you rinse. Don't use a washcloth until all traces of yellow are gone from your face.
9. When you think your face is clean, rinse it even more. Pay special attention to your eyebrows, hairline, neck and nostrils.
10. Gather up all of your trash items, and check your bathroom carefully for any stray mask bits before you leave. Examine the bottom of your feet or shoes to make sure you don't track yellow all over your house.

If you follow these tips, your chances of a yellow disaster should be lessened. You'll have nice, smooth, silky skin to enjoy and that makes us girls very, very happy. All of the care that you took with this process will be completely worth it!

Happy face…anticipating the silky smooth skin!

PS: I was clearly overdue for botox (7 months) in these photos, and I'm smiling even more now that I just took care of that little issue!

~BigSis

May 28, 2012

Yesterday's burger – the U.S. Navy Bean Burger – got two thumbs up! Next on the menu…Vegan Ranch Burgers.

LilSis' Spinach Turkey Burgers looked really tasty to me, and I thought they'd be pretty easy to veganize. I found this recipe for Vegan Ranch Burgers on VegNews and thought it would be the perfect place to start.

The base for the burgers is TVP (textured vegetable protein) and wheat gluten with a little panko. Flavors come from onion, mushrooms, garlic, dill, chipotle, parsley, nutritional yeast, tomato sauce and tamari.

I followed the recipe pretty exactly except for reducing the tamari by 75%, and adding a couple of big handfuls of fresh spinach. Sounds good, right?

Somehow I managed to mess this up. 🙁  Badly.

I started out ok. I got my mise en place done and started the mushrooms, garlic and onion sauteing. The TVP was nuked in veggie broth for a few minutes, and was standing by. Then everything went into the blender to whiz around. Sweet, this was going well! I'm kind of proud at how efficiently I'm cooking. Maybe I should do a cooking video?

Why isn't this working? Maybe I need a little water; I did leave out 3 tablespoons of the tamari since it makes my eyes uber puffy. I add a couple tablespoons of water, and then a couple more, and a couple more, but the blender still won't budge. Crap! What's wrong?

Oh, oops. The directions say to use a food processor. Not a blender.

I dump everything into the food processor, and put the blender in the sink to soak. Now the concoction seems too wet. Maybe I added too much water? 🙁

Did I also process too long? The mix seems really really gluten-ish. Not in a good way.

I scrape everything out of the food processor, and put the processor in the sink to soak. Maybe the mix will come together if I just chill it for a while. That's the ticket. I'm sure that'll work. It works for cookie dough!

Half an hour later, I take the burger stuff out of the fridge and portion into 6 patties. I'm still hopeful that this is going to turn out well. I'm so confident that I even pull out my scale and weigh the burger balls so they're all equal in size (5.25 ounces, if you care).

I don't have a grill pan, so I oil up a couple of Green Pans, and plop the perfectly-shaped and evenly-weighed patties in. I set the timer for 10 minutes per side, as per the recipe.

So now the patties are sticking? I guess I needed more oil. I used my Green Pans though. For cryin out loud, stuff ain't supposed to stick in a Green Pan!

I add a bit more oil and try to swish it under the sticking patties. The timer goes off so I flip the patties over, and set it for another 10 minutes on side #2.

I'm noticing that these guys are getting pretty dark. Too dark. They're still way mushy though. I'm sure they aren't done. I keep cooking. And cooking. Now they're really getting dark. And they're still wiggly.

Now I give up. I put/slam a couple of patties on a paper plate and nuke the daylights outta them. You just try being mushy now, you stubborn veggie patty nemesis of mine!

Finally! The patties seem firm. Only problem is, now they look like beef. And feel like beef. And they look nothing like the pretty photo on VegNews.

I try to make the patties look pretty so you don't see my disaster…

…but all I've really done is cover up the patty with avocado and tomato. The ugly is still lurking there in-between the avocado and the collards.

The bright point is that the flavors were pretty good. It didn't taste “ranchy” to me, but it was tasty. Not hot and not too spicy; just a nice balance of flavors.

The main issue I had was the texture. First it was mushy, then it was too beefy. I know I took a bunch of wrong turns with this burger, so I can't fault the recipe (I love you, VegNews). I'm finding though that my taste tends away from beefy texture that is too realistically meat-like. I probably am better off with burgers that don't contain TVP or wheat gluten.

The other issue is that I dirtied up a ton of dishes, wasted some good ingredients, and took a big chunk of time out of my day that I could have spent on Pinterest! 🙂

And the worst part? It was all my bad. I'm sure this recipe works beautifully when the cook doesn't screw it up!

The bottom line? I'm not gonna lie…I'm a better baker and LilSis is a better cook! I bet she could take this recipe and throw these dudes on her magic grill and they'd be freakin awesome! I'm gonna go make brownies now…this mess was stressful.

~BigSis

May 27, 2012

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

May 25, 2012

It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that Memorial Day is just a couple of days away.  In celebration of  the upcoming holiday, this weekend will be filled with family get-togethers, cookouts, relaxing by the pool with friends, picnics, and trips to the lake or the beach.

Our weekend will also include lots of pre-Senior Prom picture taking. 🙂

No matter what you're doing this weekend, I'm sure there's some grillin' goin' on! What are you having? Brisket? Hot dogs? Burgers? A little bit of everything?  Instead of a traditional beef hamburger, how about trying a healthy Spinach Turkey Burger instead?

Before you poo-poo the idea as dry and boring (like most turkey burgers), hear me out!

I'm the first to admit that I love sinking my teeth into a fat, juicy, double bacon cheeseburger but, since I'm trying really hard to eat healthier, I've eliminated almost all beef. We may make a pot roast on a cold day or grill a nice tri-tip for a special occasion, but other than that, we aren't eating much beef. I'm substituting turkey for beef in almost all my recipes, including spaghetti sauce and chili.

The guys had their burgers on a bun but even if I wasn't watching my carbs, I'd still rather just eat mine on a plate with tomato and avocado on the top and on the side.

When shopping in Trader Joe's this week, I couldn't resist buying these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. I got 2 pounds of a nice variety for a great price and they were the perfect addition to my Spinach Turkey Burgers.

I've played around for a while with different variations of turkey burgers in an attempt to come up with a tasty and juicy burger. By combining the spinach and the mushrooms with the turkey breast, these burgers stay nice and moist.

Spinach Turkey Burgers

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey breast
8 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 oz chopped mushrooms (I used Crimini)
1 egg
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 shallot, grated
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Drizzle of olive oil
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Mix together in a large bowl the spinach, mushrooms, egg, bread crumbs, shallot, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce.  Add that mixture to the turkey breast and stir together with a fork just until combined.

Divide the mixture and form into patties. Before putting the patties on a plate, drizzle a little olive oil on the plate. This will keep the patties from sticking to the plate and the grill.

Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on size. Turn as soon as the burgers look white around the edges and release easily from the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes.

(Note: For 1 1/2 lbs of turkey breast, I made eight burgers, but you can make them smaller and they will cook even quicker. The most important part about grilling these is to not overcook them.)

Check back on Sunday for another healthy burger. Since this one is coming from BigSis, it'll be vegan, of course.

No matter where you are or what you're doing this weekend, be safe and have a Happy Memorial Day!

~LilSis