A few days ago, I made curried lentil burgers (vegan.) I’d been craving a good veggie burger for a while and finally got around to making my own. I don’t purchase frozen veggie burgers. Personally, I don’t think they taste that great. Besides, I can make a much better veggie burger.
After I gathered all the ingredients needed, I mixed everything together.
I formed the ingredients into burger sized patties. Then, I put the patties on a tray and stuck them in the oven.
When making veggie burgers, I tend to bake them into the oven instead of cooking them in the skillet. I’ve found the end results is a much firmer “veggy burger.”
Firm veggie burgers. I mainly bake veggie burgers in the oven. They don’t fall apart.
At the halfway mark I flipped the burgers.
Curried lentil burger (vegan)
My curried lentil burgers were an overwhelming success! I didn’t make more ranch fries to accompany this meal. In hindsight, perhaps I should have made pakoras (Indian spiced vegetable fritters.) Instead of frying them, I would have made a baked version.
But back to the curried lentil burgers. They were moist, high on flavor and low on calories. Which is how it should be. I must say, that these burgers were even popular with those who weren’t vegetarian/vegan; the burgers didn’t last long.
Although I could have made shoestring fries, we both wanted something a bit thicker and with wedges… and so I made ranch fries.
Ready to shake our ranch fries
Five potatoes were cut and tossed into a ziplock bag. Olive oil was added along with other spices/seasonings. After that, I closed the bag and shook everything.
Ranch fries ready to be slid into the oven
Once the ranch fries were seasoned to my preference, I laid them on a tray and slid them into the oven.
Crispy baked vegan ranch fries
Before long we had some crispy golden ranch fries. Much better than the frozen kind you purchase at the grocery store and my daughter thought they tasted better than the fries we occasionally get at restaurants. Eating at restaurants is a “once in a blue moon” occasion since I much prefer making our meals.
Exploring a new room can wear you out, time to stretch out for a bit…
Just look at Freya! She fits right into our family. I snapped the above photo about ten minutes ago. I love when bunnies flop down on the floor putting their legs behind them.
What can I explore next?
We blocked off one room so she could explore. Freya, eagerly obliged hopping about sniffing and touching everything, including us!
I know I’m cute!
Mr. Bentley and Angel will have limited contact with her until she arrives from her Health & Wellness checkup, which is next Saturday, July 13. I must say that Freya was very curious about Angel. She seemed particularly fascinated with Angels ears.
After her Health & Wellness checkup I’ll be sure to take photos of our entire furbaby family.
Sweet bunny Chum – this is the picture taken from the HSHC’s website.
But it was Sparkes (a wee Netherland dwarf bunny) that pulled at our heartstrings. I saw her the moment I walked into the building and it was love at first sight.
Update #1: Checking online, I’m willing to bet that Sparkes color pattern would be described as Broken Black Otter.
The lady tending to those furbabies (in that building) said that Sparkes wasn’t handled a lot and was a bit jumpy. She mentioned that Chum was very friendly, which is why we played with him first, but as much as I loved Chum’s personality something kept pulling me back to Sparkes.
So despite the fact that Sparkes might be skittish, after a bit more playtime with Chum, I put him back in his cage and went over to Sparkes. I reached into her cage, talking softly to her the entire time, and she let me pick her up without fighting. Perhaps she knew she was going to her forever home and wanted to be on her best behavior? We told Sparkes, “We’ll see you soon! We said good bye to Chum. He’s a sweet bunny so I’m hoping he finds a forever home soon.
Processing the adoption
There was a lot of paperwork to complete for our brand-new dwarf bunny. One thing you must promise is to take your new pet in for a health/wellness exam seven days after introducing them into your home. Since next week is busy, I won’t be able to do that until Saturday, 13th.
Additionally, the Humane Society of Harford County requires that you make a deposit of $50, that is refunded back to you once you have your pet neutered or spayed. You have six months to complete this. I’ll be setting up our fuzzbutts appointment during her health/wellness exam.
Pictures of Sparkes; coming soon
I’ll be sure to post a picture of “Sparkes” (we’re changing her name to something else) sometime later today. Her photo on the adoption page was removed since she was adopted today. The Humane Society also has a “recently adopted” page, but she hasn’t been added there (yet.)
My daughter was thrilled and kept asking me, “Do we get to take her home and keep her for as long as she lives?” Yes, princess, she’s really coming home with us.
A few days ago, I’d told Suituapui’s that I had a few surprises for my daughter and this was one of them. She’s loves animals and does a great job with Mr. Bentley (Shih Tzu) and Angel (guinea pig.) I don’t have to worry how she’ll act around our new companion. I bet Suituapui’s daughter, Melissa, would love our brand-new addition too. I know fellow animal lover, Jennifer, would love our bunny too. How her cats and dogs would react to the bunny, would be quite interesting.
Think before you decide to acquire a pet
Pet’s should not be an impulse decision. Unfortunately, there are too many people that don’t think these decisions though which is why we see so many pets spilling over in animal shelters.
I’ve been thinking about getting a rabbit for well over a year. I’ve had them before and all of mine have been wonderful cuddle bunnies. Stroking super soft bunny fur has always been a relaxing experience for myself. For the past Eighteen years, all the pets that have been introduced into our home were pets that no one wanted.
Currently, Sparkes, is sitting near me wiggling her nose seemingly content. I think she’s happy to be in her forever home. 😉
Update #2: “Sparkes” name has been changed to “Freya”.
It’s been a lazy July fourth. My parents are away in South Carolina attending a family reunion and while we usually accompany them to South Carolina for the annual family gathering, this time we decided to stay home. And were enjoying our time immensely!
I had planned on doing some grilling today, but it was much too hot for that! Perhaps this weekend, I’ll toss something on the grill. I’ll make sure I get an early start to beat the heat. I did make some veggie steak, chicken steak, homemade ranch fries, and to accompany the simple meal I had fresh vegetables that came from the garden. Simple, delicious, nutritious and so satisfying. What more could a person want?
I do have a few special things planned for my daughter. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to reveal some of the surprises within the next few days.
Wishing those, within the USA, a wonderful Independence Day!
It seemed like this took forever to complete, but that’s because I was only able to work on it a few minutes now and again. So of course the time completing this project seemed to take forever.
This is one of the “playing with stitches” projects that I was knitting. I didn’t use a pattern I came up with my own. I decided to use my favorite stitches (stockinette and seed stitch) and alternate them throughout the entire project. I must say I’m pleased with the results. Eventually, I’ll make a matching hat and gloves to complete the ensemble. 😉 And who knows, I might even add a matching scarf, for the days for when wearing a cowl is not enough. No, this cowl isn’t for me. My hands love to stay busy, so I make things and set them aside to be given to someone at a later time.
The majority of the items I make are hats. I’m currently knitting and setting aside hats to be given to a local hospital this fall. I make hats for NICU and cancer patients.
Now that this project is finished, I’m itching to work on something else however I don’t know what I want to make. Part of me wants to knit an amigurumi… but what? This past May, I knitted an amigurumi voodoo doll for my daughter’s birthday. She loves that knitted toy. Then there’s another part of me that wants to work on a simple sweater for me. Perhaps it’s time that I start knitting the Sylvi cardigan. I adore knitting cable stitch.
If you were to make a surprise visit to our home (on a evening or weekend) you’d find our home buzzing with creative activities.
This is my computerized Brother PC 420. You don’t have to use the foot peddle with this machine, you just press a button and the machine will sew for you, but my daughter loves the foot peddle!
Naturally, I’m one proud mamma! She handled my Brother PC-420 like a pro.
The most recent project my daughter completed was a case for her Wacom Splash tablet. You can see her sewing the fabric (the wrong sides are showing) in the above photos.
She’s been thrilled with how quickly she’s advanced with her sewing. I told her that her first “big project” could be leggings. She wears those a lot.
Guess who?Sewing project: My daughter is proud of her pillow case!
Before sewing the tablet cover, she completed the above pillow case. Notice a theme? My daughter loves pink.
My daughter didn’t use a pattern for her two sewing projects. I had her measure the pillow and tablet, write the measurements on paper and then I helped her draft a pattern from that. She was thrilled with how simple it was to complete. I did tell her that pattern drafting can get complicated, but once you’re comfortable with doing them, it’s no big deal. It just takes practice and it’s important to not rush… take your time!
Knitting: Knitting the final rows of my checkered cowl.
If I work on it today, I should be finished since I only have about six rows to knit.
Whomever is the recipient will have a nice cowl. I used my size 4 Hiya Hiya knitting needles with worsted wool. Because of the small needles used, it’s made the fabric dense. Which will be perfect for keeping out the cold.
