Sunday Night Cooking

My husband and I have decided, though I have come up with the idea, that we cook on Sunday evenings together. I have a hard time making dinner during the week, due to various factors. So I figured in order for him to be happy with what is on the table, we should do it together. It gives us quality time together on the day of rest - I have more to say about that, but that it'll come in a different post!

So here is a picture of what we made last night. It's stuffed papers. The recipe comes from my parents. They have made it multiple times for my husband and he has liked it alot, so he wanted to try it himself. Of course, it did not come out perfect, but it was somewhat edible.



He had ground meat in his, and the last one in the corner was mine, stuffed with rice and soy ground 'meat'. Coqui only ate the meat balls that was made out of the leftover ground meat. And Peanut really enjoyed the rice that was added to the sauce.

This is good news

A friend of mine is pregnant. I know there are many people pregnant out there, so why is this so special?

Well, if you have read any of my previous posts, you will find out that I had lots of problems with fertility. Due to those problems, I used to be very angry and frustrated, sometimes depressed and definitely desperate at times. Every time I learned that someone in my circle of family and friends got pregnant, I started to feel that anger rise inside myself. Questions of why that one and this one, by accident (!), got pregnant. Hurt and pain every time! I questioned God alot on those as well. My faith had just started to build, after being raised as an atheist!!! So it was so fragile anyway. It was not fun times. At all.

Now, as of today, and yesterday, I am done questioning and thanking God for EVERYTHING He has done in my life. It's like a puzzle and the pieces have come together! It feels like God gave me the inside view on [arts of my life: I had to have two miscarriages in order to really appreciate my first born. And I had to have cancer in order to get a gift truly from God! Our Blessing, our second child that we were longing for for such a long time. It all fits together! I am happy.
Any additional child is bonus - even though as of right now, I think I might be done anyway. That, of course, might change within the next half year or year when Peanut gets bigger and less dependent. Also it IS a question of budgeting, not of wanting children anyway...

So why am I so excited about this pregnancy? Well, for the first time in a long time there is no jealousy. I am totally, completely happy for her! I am excited and want to participate, help her out, and maybe plan a baby shower for her.... I declare that I will enjoy her pregnancy! And I am thankful for that. God is good.

My new hobby

of course: it's blogging.
I started this blog over a year ago. Being very reserved on the fact that if I make my blog available to the whole internet world... I am not so sure about that. So I blogged occasionally. But I certainly read some other blogs. I started out with my friend's blog: . She is way ahead of me writing her blog for a long time. I still haven't read every single post. Then I started branching out or googling some. I found bad ones and I found real good ones. The real good ones got me hooked.... and now I started to blog more myself. I guess I just had to find what I want to write about. Now I have like 6 more articles waiting to be posted in the next few days, because I can't stop thinking about it....

I am totally hooked!

Now I just have to open up more and invite more readers. It just makes me feel so vulnerable... I don't know.... does anybody feel the same way?

How and why I became a Free-gan

Well, I am sure, first of all you might wonder what a free-gan is. I heard the term a while ago and it is really what I am, rather than the Vegan that I called myself. I goggled the word and found quite alot of definitions AND they have nothing to do with what I heard and would think I AM ABOUT..... The word's meaning comes simply from being a Vegan with a more free attitude to the food that I consume. Which is mostly from the Vegan diet, but occasionally I am 'cheating' - but I don't like the bad taste of the word cheating. I chose to become Vegan exclusively for my own health, not for animals rights or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't like animals to suffer and the thoughts of animals being used for testing kind of irritates me, but I am not saying they are not suppose to be killed for consumption. I do believe that God gave us the animals for that reason.

So what am I saying after all this? I am a Vegan that eats mostly Vegan food. But after trying to follow it strictly, I decided that I want to add some stuff that I enjoy. For instance, I am eating fish. I started loving fish when I became a vegetarian. The reason for that was simply health reasons (after the cancer) and my taste. I just don't like meats. So I was a pesci-vegetarian.

The definition for Veganism (also known as strict vegetarianism or pure vegetarianism), as defined by the Vegan Society, is "a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose." So for those possible and practical reasons, I reintroduced some foods that I find beneficial for my health. Including fish. The fat is so healthy and it makes me feel good when I eat it. SO I figured why not? It was my personal choice in the first place, so I am free to chose what I do with it on the long-run.
Then there are those times when I crave something, like from my childhood, and why should I not satisfy my hunger for it? I try to limit it as much as possible. But life is supposed to be enjoyed, also with food.

Finally a Vegan cake recipe that I like

... and it's so easy! Where has it been so long?
I've tried a number of cookie recipe but they all came out flat and way too crisp. So I had given up on baking for a little while. But because we had to celebrate so many half-birthdays this month, I had to bake. Usually I make a box cake - because Coqui can help me. You know, just add the water, the oil and the eggs and mix....

Well, so I asked my neighbor, who is Vegan, if she had some easy recipes. And there is a story to it too. She just told me that the original recipe was called 'goofy cake' and comes from the depression times when things like milk and eggs where expensive. So they had to improvise with things that were available to them at the time. As so happens, all those things are Vegan....

Here is the recipe:

(bake for 350*F for 30-35 min.)

1 1/2 cup flour (1 cup white + 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1 cup dehydrated sugar cane juice AKA sugar (preferably the healthiest you have)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

combine separately, then add to above mixture:
1 cup warm water
5 tablespoon oil (subbing with apple sauce!!! - but makes it rubbery)
so the best: 2 T oil + 3 T apple sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (but any vinegar works)
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

pour batter into an 8x8 glass baking dish
bake for 30-35 min. (check if toothpick pulls clean)

You can add anything you want! Really. I tried nuts, fruits, apples, even raisins or whatever you like....