Gratitude and Thankfulness- Day Twenty

Happy Monday to You!!

Hello friends.  It's Monday!  A new week.  Love it. 

Current times are turbulent and I'm eternally grateful and sing a song of thanks that I have extra money in my pocket.  It was a weekend of shenanigans and I was able to fund them.  Sure, I get sucked into that nasty game of "oh I wish I had .....blah blah blah" but NOT ONCE in my life have I EVER wanted for anything.  I have dear friends who tell me stories of having to go to food banks at different times in their lives or having to live on only $23 in their bank account without the knowledge of where that next paycheck was going to come from.  We know a lot of folks that have immigrated to the US who are working hard to not only support their family here but they are also sending money back home.  By the American standards their current living conditions are very low but compared to what they came from they are living like royalty. I've mentioned before the woman from Pakistan who visited our home and when asked about how her visit went the first thing she commented on was how full our fridge was.  That is a humbling. 

So lots to report on from this weekend.  Saturday was a day full of earthy and hippy shenanigans.  Once in a while I just can't help myself and my hippy urges takeover.  Maybe it was the Beaver Moon.  Have you seen the movie "In & Out"?  There is a hilarious scene in which Kevin Kline is in training to be a 'man' and trying to resist the urge to dance without much success.  (Sit down with your cup of coffee for a good giggle friends and watch it here.  Awesome-sauce). 
That's me. The urge hits and it's game over. 

So without further ado:

1)  White Bean & Pumpkin Puree Vegan Lasagna in the slow cooker.  I followed a recipe from my new favorite book The Vegan Slow Cooker.  Out of 5 stars I would give this a 3.5.  It was a fun adventure but to better suit my tastes it will need a S&S makeover.  Also, this was a little labor intensive which defeats the purpose of owning a Red Maiden but I really wanted to try everything from scratch.  You can save time and money by purchasing your ingredients (specifically marinara, beans and pumpkin puree) at the store. 

Roasting pumpkins is a dream in the slow cooker because you can truly do it over night and you have puree for the morning.  1 1/2 Cups of is the equivalent of a 12 oz can (the amount usually called for in recipes) and my little pumpkin made about 2 Cups.  If you are looking to stock pile puree for the freezer and have a big pumpkin you will need to use the oven.  But, if you have some little squashes or pumpkins this is super easy.  Just wash, pierce a few times with a fork, drop it in and let the Red Maiden work her magic. 

The marinara sauce was tasty but a big pain.  If you have a huge batch of tomatoes fresh from the harvest then yes, make your sauce.  But truthfully, it would've been MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper to just buy a jar of marinara.  Plus, by the time you flash cook the tomatoes to remove the skins they are already slightly mushy and you are just cooking them down in the slow cooker to sweeten and thicken the sauce.  It was messy. 

Lasagna in and of itself cooks up like a dream and it makes a TON.  Perfect for a crowd or the freezer.  Tip-spray or grease the entire crock for easier cleanup and use regular lasagna noodles and not the quick bake noodles.  Go crazy and start layering.  I went sauce, noodle, filling, sauce, noodle etc.  I cooked it on high for 3 hours and presto. 

For this recipe specifically it called for a layer of white beans alternating with a layer of pumpkin 'ricotta' which was a combination of tofu, pumpkin puree, spices and sun dried tomatoes.  I added some spinach for extra vitamins and for a splash of color.  Like I mentioned before this needs an S&S makeover.  The positive is that this is a protein packed dish and if you are someone who requires extra protein but want to not eat something without fur, feathers or fins this fits the fill.  I'm not a huge fan of tofu and that was all I could taste.  I think part of this was my fault in that I should've made the puree the night before and let it sit for 12 hours.  I would've added some chili peppers and more sun dried tomatoes too.  I like my food to have a kick much like the Rockettes and unfortunately this didn't even make it to the high kick line.  Also, it needs veggies and a bigger variety of texture.  Be on the lookout for the S&S version! 

2)  The fermenting crock arrived.  Amazing.  It has this cool trough around the opening where you put water that ends up sealing the lid to keep bacteria out but lets gas escape.  Seriously!?  Who comes up with these designs?  It must've been the housewives who survived the toxic beans.  If you decide to order your own Gairtopf Crock (only two left on amazon) just know that it only comes with only a tiny brochure with two weird recipes and the instructions were obviously translated from German.  This isn't rocket science and you can search the internets for all the information you need.  I'm very anxious to ferment something this week and will keep you posted.  One website calls for the massaging of shredded cabbage with salt.  Giggle giggle. 

3)  Henna!  I died my hair with Caca Marron from LUSH.  (....she said caca).  I have short hair so I only needed half a bar for fabbity fab red locks.  I mixed it up, slapped it on, tied a bag on my had (deepens red tones) and waited for 90 minutes.  I would not recommend doing this yourself if you have long hair because it's really hard to work though.  Also, this is super messy so prepare your workspace accordingly and get out the the old clothes.  You will want to use a salve of some sort around the hair line because Henna will stain your skin and the salve make it so much easier to clean off.  Also, your shower will look like a hippy crime scene when you rinse out your hair.  But, it is chemical free and the block has added cocoa butter to enhance shine.

4)  The final Harry Potter movie is out on DVD and I bought it.  I'm not spoiling anything for you dear readers but can I just say the scene with Snape near the end when Harry is reading his thoughts.......tears, tears, tears.  Snape, you are my favorite and I love you.  True story. 

Whew!  I hope you had a lovely weekend and have extra change in your pocket?  Give it an extra jingle and say a prayer of thanks.

Cheers!

Hooray!  PS-This photo was taken in my office at church.  See the flat of canning jars at the top of the photo?  Ha!