Uncategorized – Page 4 – Celebrate Life!

Vacation: The countdown continues

June 20, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria 2 Comments

Fireworks-show.06.20.10.jpg Would you believe my daughter has started counting down the days until the Fourth of July?

This has been going on for a few weeks now. Several times daily she tells me how many days are left before we go away on vacation.

Fourth of July and Thanksgiving are two holidays she looks forward too even more than the others. The reason is simple; we’re around a lot of family. A very large family… My mother has 16 brothers and sisters, and most of them pack up and make the trek to South Carolina.

Why South Carolina? Well that’s where they were raised, with the exception of one, all the children (all right so they aren’t children anymore) have moved to other states. It’s still a familiar spot, time to gather around the now small house and talk about old times, catch up with one another, speculate and at times debate current events, and chat about future endeavors too.

I really enjoy chatting with many of the family members. I only get to see twice yearly, sure we catchup with each other via phone and email but, it’s not the same, yah know? Hanging out in South Carolina is a welcome change and for me it’s a time for me to relax a bit.

Things move slowly in that part of South Carolina, real slow… It’s a time to soak up the good ole sun-baked lazy days of summer vibrations. With a touch of crazy tossed in — come on now we all have at least one crazy family member, right? Even with the token crazy, I still enjoy the family bonding and good natured ribbing too. It’s also a great time to remember how fortunate I am and to celebrate life.

For my daughter it’s a time to hang out with a lot of cousins, dare one another to do off the wall things before the grown folks catch on (yeah nice try kids, that never works) and basically play games, be silly, and just be a kid.

Who can forget the fireworks? Our family is really into that; Big fireworks, little fireworks, sparkly things, rockets, you name it we’ve got it. We set of tons of our own fireworks yearly. Who needs to go see a show, when we provide our own?

I guess I can tolerate the daily countdown. I have to admit it’s hard not getting caught up in the whirlwind of excitement my daughter is generating. We have 11 days to go, let the countdown continue…

Europe: The Final Countdown

Lyrics: The Final Countdown
Songwriters: Tempest, Joey

We’re leaving together
But still it’s farewell
And maybe we’ll come back
To earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame
We’re leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?

It’s the final countdown
The final countdown

Ohh
We’re heading for Venus and still we stand tall
‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us and welcome us all, yea
With so many light years to go and things to be found
(To be found)
I’m sure that we’ll all miss her so

It’s the final countdown
The final countdown
The final countdown
(The final countdown)
Ohh ho ohh

The final countdown, oh ho
It’s the final countdown
The final countdown
The final countdown
(The final countdown)

Ohh
It’s the final countdown
We’re leaving together
The final countdown
We’ll all miss her so
It’s the final countdown
(The final countdown)
Ohh, it’s the final countdown
Yea

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Family, Independence Day, Fourth of July

Vegan Cuisine: Spicy Black Beans & collard greens

June 9, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria 3 Comments

Spicy Black Beans & Collard Greens

When I think about the foods that I enjoy eating, I would have to put black beans and any type of leafy green high on that list. I really enjoy eating my dark greens. It wasn’t always that way.

Years ago I would eat dark greens because I knew they were healthy. However, if I were to be perfectly honest, I didn’t enjoy eating them. Which is why I tended to ‘cook them to death’ so I wouldn’t have to taste them, crazy I know… 🙂 I favored the lighter greens, which weren’t as healthy. Over time, my taste buds changed. That tends to happen the ‘cleaner’ and healthier you eat, and I began to crave dark leafy greens and now they’re part of my daily eating habits. Beans and greens can be made in numerous tasty dishes. They’re loaded with vitamins and nutrients, and if prepared correctly they are delicious.

Yesterday morning, I went out into the garden and picked a few leaves of collards. I decided I would prepare a simple breakfast of black beans and collards. Since our collards are huge, I only needed 4 leaves.

Calcium, vitamin A, B6, and vitamin E are a few of the nutrients you’ll find in Collard greens. Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamins and minerals and should be included in your daily eating routine.

After picking the collard greens I decided I would add black beans to the meal too. I’ve included the recipe I made below.

Spicy Black Beans & sauteed collard greens

2 cups collard greens; rinsed and chopped or shredded
2 cups of black beans rinsed and drained
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly chopped ginger root
2 bay leaves
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/2 cup of water

Direction

In a deep frying pan or large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onions, sautee until clear.
Add garlic, pepper, and all other spices except for the sea salt
Stirring frequently, cook the spices for a several minutes
Add the collard greens, making sure to coat the greens with the spices and oil
Sautee for about two minutes
Add the remaining ingredients
Turn heat to medium low
Stir frequently, so the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Serve and enjoy!

If you like you can add the greens right before your serve the dish. In doing so, they are only lightly cooked. This is how I normally make any dish with greens. I enjoy the raw taste of greens. However, I did something differently and actually cooked the greens for a few moments. Since I drink them daily you know a green smoothie accompanied the meal.

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Recipes, Smoothies, vegetarian, whole food

Mulberry Smoothie; Healthy and Delicious

June 1, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria 2 Comments

mulberry.05.31.10.jpg The invasion of mulberries (in our back yard) is a definite sign that Summer is in full swing.

Mulberry harvesting is one of my most enjoyable gardening past times. The mulberries are thick. If you look down you won’t find a green grassy carpet instead you’ll find mulberries covering every inch of ground. You’ll also find them in the Mulberry trees too.

What makes mulberry picking even more enjoyable, is the variety of birds that pay us a visit during this time. They all converge to feast on those mulberries. There is such an overabundance of mulberries that you really don’t miss the ones that they eat. Mulberries are great in raw ice creams, mulberry jams, tossed into fresh and raw salads, sauces… they’re also delicious in smoothies too.

Yesterday, after arriving home from our carnival adventure, I decided to take some of the mulberries I had picked that morning and make a pitcher of Mulberry smoothie. Although this isn’t a green smoothie recipe the Mulberry smoothie is simple to make, and extremely delicious. I like the tangy (slightly bitter taste) of our mulberries so I normally don’t add anything besides a liquid (this time I used unsweetened apple juice) to sweeten it. However, you can choose another liquid or sweeten with a natural sweetener like honey or stevia.

Mulberry: Health Benefits
Mulberries are delicious, and they have the added bonus of being good for you too.

Mulberries are loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Mulberries contain; fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carbohydrates, iron and proteins which are great for ones health.

Mulberries have an antioxidant action.

Mulberries contain anthocyanins (pigments in the fruit) which also has an antioxidant action. Scientist has studied mulberries as a means to fight cancer and diabetes too.

Promotes health liver and kidneys
Helps eliminate constipation

I’ve used mulberries many times when I’ve had bouts of constipation and it has helped eliminate this condition.

Used to treat anemia.

Mulberries are high in iron, so is natural way to treat anemia naturally.

Mulberry Smoothie: Healthy and Delicious

4 cups of Mulberries

fresh is best but if you are unable to get those, get frozen mulberries

3 cups of apple juice

You can also try pineapple juice, or one of the natural sweeteners I mentioned above.

2 bananas peeled and sliced

Directions

Slice the bananas and place into a sealable container; freeze until hard.
In an electric blender, combine the Mulberries, bananas, and bananas; process till smooth.

This smoothie is slightly thick, if you prefer a thinner smoothie add more liquid.

Instead of reaching for a sugary drink devoid of health benefits, why not choose a smoothie that’s not only taste delicious but is loaded with nutrients too? Enjoy!

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Recipe, Recipes, vegetarian, whole food, Smoothies

Memorial day; Local carnival and the rocket ship of terror

June 1, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria 2 Comments

carnival.06.01.10.jpg For those living in the USA, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. My daughter and I attended a few Memorial Day events. No BBQ’s here, we kept it simple.

Since there’s a carnival in town I decided to take check it out with my daughter. I really had no choice, she’s been talking about it for days. Ever since seeing it as we went to school and church so yesterday was the perfect day to check it out.

Originally I thought the carnival would be packed, but being that it was early. It wasn’t. I imagine people were still out attending various events and most likely would be stopping by the local carnival when it got lively (evening-time.)

I paid the $20 per person for unlimited rides. Yeah kind of pricey, especially since the carnival was small but I had gone purchasing the tickets route I would have spent a lot more money. Having the bracelets wrapped around our wrists my daughter, and I could get on unlimited rides, and our carnival adventure began.

Since it wasn’t crowded, my daughter and I were able to get on as many rides as she wanted without a line. Some of the operators were nice enough to let us stay on as long as we (she) wanted too. Many thanks to the nice operators out there, you really made my daughters day. We had so much fun hopping on the ferris wheel, bumper cars, big ol’ super slide. She enjoyed all the rides with the exception of one…

It’s rocket type ride. It was a lot like this one shown in the video, but ours was shaped like a rocket. Also, the rockets only carried two passengers and you are completely enclosed.

Daughter:Mommy, I want to get on that ride!

My seven year old daughter pointed at the rocket ship, impatiently yanking on my hand.

I look way up in the sky! I’ve been on this ride when I was younger and I know how it operates. I loved it but honestly didn’t think she would.

Me: (Glances at her, the rocket–looks doubtful) Are you sure?

Daughter: Yes mommy, come on! Come ON!!!

…and so we got on the ride. She was really excited until we got up to the highest peak and plummeted down to the ground.

Daughter: Mommy! (scared) I don’t like this ride! I want to get off! I want off! (screams)

Me: It’s ok, just hold on.

Lies! I knew it wasn’t ok, although she met the height, my daughter is slim (just like her mommy) some of those rides will toss you all over the place especially if you’re a string bean. The bar only goes down so far.

I grabbed onto her to so she knew I was there, hoping that would calm her down. Nope, not computing! My daughter is too scared and wants to get off NOW! The attentive operator heard her (seems he had his doubts too) screaming and me talking to her. (I had to talk loudly since she was screaming so much) and let us off the next time we coasted back to earth.

Daughter: Jumps over me and out of the ride.

Yeah that’s right she didn’t even wait for me to get out and help her out. The cab was very low to the ground though, but still…

Daughter: (chants and claps) I’m never getting on the ride again! I’m never getting on the ride again!

My daughter proceeds to hop around like an extremely hyper rabbit. She hopped around the ride, hops around me, the attendant. My daughter (still not satisfied) hops around some more. She burns off the nervous energy and is fine. The operator and I looked at her, we’re both relieved (and slightly amused too.)

Mommy Lesson Learned: If I have my doubts about a ride, you’re not getting on it.

After that incident, we got on several more rides. There were some we repeated many, many, many (did I say many) times because she really liked them. Since it was early, we were able to get on most of the rides without a line, hooray for her. Naturally, I won her a stuffed animal too. Hey, what’s the carnival without winning one of those ridiculously overpriced stuffed animals? Fortunately, I’ve always been good at those games, so I don’t spend a lot of money winning a big prize.

It was 92F (33.33C) yesterday. Yeah it was a hot (but enjoyable) day. Naturally, I came prepared. I was armed with a towel and water spray to keep my daughter cool.

Did we eat at the carnival? No, I was fully prepared to buy my daughter something if she wanted it. They actually did have some nice choices. Which was good! I wasn’t interested in anything for myself but she didn’t want to eat anything at the carnival. Regarding ‘junk food’ my feelings are similar to what Storm Talifero’s view on the subject.

I discovered The Garden Diet (website run by his wife and himself) a few years ago. I really appreciated the emphasis on eating whole foods. I don’t think you need to be a raw foodist, vegetarian, or vegan to be healthy but we do need to make healthy choices in regards to what we do put into our bodies.

Ok, back on topic…
Tired but extremely happy, we finally headed home. Of course, she told me numerous times she was never eVer eVEr eVER EVER getting on that rocket ship again!!!

I’m hoping everyone had a memorable Memorial day.

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Memorial Day, Carnival, Holiday

Gardening: The Benefits of Mulching

May 30, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria 4 Comments

Mulch.05.30.10.jpg Congratulations, you’re garden has finally been planted. Now you can sit back, relax, and wait for your crops to grow, right? Hey, not so fast! Another important part of the gardening process is mulching.

Of course, mulching will add an extra step to your gardening time, but the benefits make it worth it. When mulching I tend to use about three inches of mulch around my plants. I don’t put the mulch against the plant, I tend to mulch up to a few inches around the plants.

Mulching: Adding mulch to the flowers (I had no idea my daughter was taking my picture.)

As someone who’s gardened with and without I can definitely see the results of adding it to your gardening routine.

Gardening: Peach Blossoms

I’ve decided to include some of the benefits of mulching below.

Benefits of Mulching

Consistent moisture for your plants.
I use about three inches of mulch around my plants, I’ve found that adding mulch reduces evaporation and retains moisture.
Weed reduction
Weeds can rob your plants of nutrients and water. Some weeds can take over a garden fairly quickly. Mulch can help smoother the weed seedlings before they have a chance to take control.
Mulch breaks down, over time they add nutrients to the soil.
Mulch keeps your soil from drying.
Have you ever seen a heavy downpour and watched the rain run off hard packed/baked soil? Definitely something you don’t want, when you are wanting your plants to grow! Mulch helps prevent this since the ground isn’t exposed to the elements. Adding mulch keeps the soil brittle, enabling water and air to reach it.
Mulching helps plants roots maintain an even temperature

Gardening: Vine loaded with grapes

You can have a great garden without mulching, I’ve definitely noticed an improvement when I started adding mulching to my gardening routine.

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gardening

Gardening: Table of Organic Produce

May 29, 2010June 24, 2014 Aynaria Leave a comment

Gardening: Organic produce fresh from the garden

As a child, my parents had a nice size garden. It was a little over one and a half acres. I’ll admit, assisting my parents in the garden wasn’t a job I enjoyed but I truly appreciate it now.

It’s amazing how much you can remember from childhood. I applied a lot of that knowledge into my gardening today. These days my garden isn’t quite that size. It’s a little over three quarters of an acre, but it still brings in a lot of produce.

When I worked out in the corporate world, a coworker brought me in his only zucchini plant. It was a pitiful looking thing. For some reason it wasn’t thriving in his tiny garden. He gave it to me since he knew I had a ‘green thumb.’ I took ‘Little zucchi’ (what I named his plant) home and planted it amongst my other zucchini plants. It flourished and when it was time it produced a lot of zucchini, I happily brought in the zucchini (along with tons of other vegetables) to my co-worker. It wasn’t something he was expecting, but he surely appreciated receiving the produce. I really enjoy sharing with others. It makes me feel great!

Gardening is my ‘me time’, yes at times it can be strenuous work but it’s an excellent workout. On the intense gardening days, I tend to skip my rigorous gym workouts. The initial phase require a lot of commitement; tilling, hoeing, weeding, sowing the seeds or putting out the plants, mulching, composting, etc., but seeing the fruits of our labor, makes it worth it. It also gives me a healthy respect for those where farming is their full-time job.

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whole food, garden

Vegan: Flavorful Veggie Sandwich

May 29, 2010January 13, 2015 Aynaria 6 Comments

veggie-sandwich-05-29-101111 — Veggie sandwich

I really love color, and enjoy seeing it displayed in the various cuisines I prepare. Naturally, I was extremely pleased with this colorful vegan sandwich. Although the cooked meals I prepare are usually ready within fifteen minutes there are times when I don’t feel like cooking. In those instances, I’ll choose something such as the veggie sandwich above.

My daughter and I can choose to eat a salad, or wrap the filling into a wrap. Today we decided to make sandwiches and so our wrap of choice was rye bread.

I’ve been vegetarian since 1992 (turned vegan a few years later.) You want to know something? I wasn’t always fond of salads. I chalk it up to the tasteless salads I encountered as a child. It was obvious that no thought was put into them. I was expected to eat them because they were a salad. You’re supposed to eat your veggies, right? Although I ate them, I didn’t enjoy the bland vegetables that were put out before me. Fast forward years later, and now I enjoy my salads and realized that they can be extremely flavorful, imagine that! 😉

What’s in this sandwich?

Grated carrots
Spinach
Romaine lettuce
Collard greens
Raw sunflower seeds
Yellow onion
Raisins
Black olives
homemade mayonnaise

Within the next few days, I’ll come back to this post and include the exact measurements used for creating this salad.

The beauty of salads is that you can make them as simple or complex as you want them to be. This ‘salad on bread’ was bursting with flavor. My daughter enjoyed eating it a lot. I tend to make large batches of these types of salads so we can snack on throughout the day. There are so many different options that can be done with this sandwich, at times I use collard or kale leaves to make this a 100% raw meal. Regardless of what path you choose, it’s still delicious.

I really enjoy the weekends. If the weather is nice, it gives me a chance to hang outside with my daughter for the majority of the day. The sky was overcast for a good portion of the morning, however, the clouds eventually, rolled away to reveal the glorious sun.

Earlier today, I started the grill and grilled some homemade bean burgers. Yes, their vegan and no they didn’t fall apart. I’ll be posting the recipe for those burgers and a few other dishes sometime next week.

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Recipe, Vegan, vegetarian, Vegetarian, whole food

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