where did july come from?! out of nowhere, if you ask me.
my appetite has still been somewhat mia today still. where’d it go?! some of you mentioned that you hoped i wasn’t getting sick. i don’t think so – i think it’s just the ebb and flow! happens to us all every so often. i’m rolling with it but still want to make sure i’m meeting all my nutritional requirements, so i still had night time snacks even though i wasn’t necessarily hungry.
luckily, though, i’m pretty much always ready for breakfast, my favorite meal of the day – and these may very well take the waffle of the week award. i think month is more accurate, but that doesn’t have quite the same ring. and the aroma! oh, for some reason, they smelled far superior to any i’d made yet.
what made them so out of the ordinary? well, nothing, really. i’m pretty sure i’ve done a similar combo before. maybe it’s just the fact that it’s been so long since i’ve done the fig and melted ‘nanner combo? oh, and cinnamon. and strawberries in the waffle. and a drizzle of honey. and some pecans. and teddie.
i thoroughly enjoyed 50% of this breakfast.
the other 50%, i sort of muddled through, knowing it was delicious, but at that halfway point i read something that just made my stomach churn.
i’ll explain. just note that you may not want to read, in which case you can continue on to the next photo. don’t say i didn’t warn you. it involves horse abuse.
i have this ritual on thursday mornings. remember how i mentioned teddie came from a feedlot? well, it’s an auction. they happen every where. but this particular one, the horses that get bought for feedlot have a second chance. a rescue goes in, takes pictures, some general info, and posts it online. people from all over see them, pull them, and give them better lives. sure, some run through quite rugged, and obviously should have been humanely euthanized rather than just sent to be inhumanly slaughtered. in these cases, rescues typically pull and make the decision whether the horse can be made comfortable, or is better off passing on.
anyways. wednesday night is this particular auction, and so the list is put up late that night. every thursday, my mom and i like to see what’s there. we agree it’s too much of a risk to adopt ourselves – there’s not much information to go along with these horses, even though some really nice ones find themselves sitting in that lot (like teddie!) but, it’s still fun to look.
this morning, there was news of a horse who was sent to this auction with a hole in its’ skull that was stuffed with a sock. a hanes sock. this has been making disturbed all day, and there was a video i just watched that the rescue posted, of the vet cleaning the wound. it shows how deep it really was, down to the sinus cavity. are you freaking kidding me? for the love of pete, who in the right minds decides to stuff a freaking sock in their horse’s head wound? and additionally, how the hay did your horse get a hole that big in their skull in the first place? was it intentional?
ugh. i’m still skeeved, but now that i got that out there, i’ll try to be upbeat for the rest of this.
i didn’t actual eat pasta sauce moments after breakfast, but here’s everyones cue that it’s safe to read again 
my mom had asked me if i wanted to do some grocery shopping for her today if she gave me her card. why yes, i would love to, mother dearest. sauce was on the list, so in the cart goes some 2/$5 ragu! i couldn’t resist this flavor, and with my new pasta sauce obsession, i won’t lie. i’m kind of excited to have a salad with this. one might be turned off by having a jar of shelf-stable pasta sauce with mozzarella that is “margherita flavor,” but once again, the ingredients are all real things. hm.
and a little treat for myself, of course! i had a coupon for this brand, which bought this baby to $0.69. yes, i am that good. i like it better than teddie – it’s got the crunch factor, but a bit sweet, too! teddie is becoming a little too salty for me…(i’m starting to regret spelling my pony’s name as teddie, because now i feel like i’m calling him too salty. are you confused yet?)
i behaved: i was waffling between this and the cashew butter, but since it was my mom’s money i was spending and not mine, i went the cheaper route. i am dying to try cashew butter, but am afraid since i dislike raw almond butter but love almonds, it won’t be as good as i hope it to be. anyone wanna weigh in?
sneaky peek
after i got home, i had quinoa granola bars and the bsi on the brain. the quinoa bars are a w.i.p.
but not bad for completely winging it! luckily, i wrote down what i did and know what i need to change. namely, i didn’t need any of the water i added to thin out the dates!
aaaand a little bit more honey and nuts would have been quite delectable.
and then the bsi. sarena, i’m so glad you picked raspberries. i didn’t realize how good they are until i bought some today. i thought i was of the belief that i could take them or leave them.
uh, i’ll take them. i was torn between making a raspberry sauce or my quinoa-bulgur muffins but with raspberries, so for now i just made a raspberry sauce. i still think that those muffins would be killer with raspberries, so i might do that. i am almost out of muffins, the way i’ve been going at them, you know.
Balsamic-Raspberry Fig Sauce
inspired by a million different recipes (mainly the Veganomicon maple fig dressing) and my mom’s mentioning of “sweet potatoes with raspberry sauce.”
- 1/4 c. raspberries (uhh…well, you’ll see how i measured them. probably more like a scant 1/2 c.)
- 1/2 c. water, separated
- 1 T. xagave
- 2 medium basil leaves
- 1 Turkish fig
- pinch of cinnamon
- 2 T. balsamic vinegar
this is my "1/4 c." of raspberries. take that for what it's worth.
begin by simmering 1/4 c. water, xagave, raspberries, and the chopped fig until mixture starts to thicken, mushing the raspberries up a bit with a wooden spoon. add in the torn basil and the pinch of cinnamon, and then the balsamic. continue to simmer, covered, until pretty thick but not so it’s evaporated.
once it’s cooled a bit, pour the mixture into a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.
i then chose to strain it because my processor is only okay, and i dislike too many raspberry seeds. some fall through the strainer, but i dealt. it caught the majority, but luckily the yummy fig seeds could still pass through! pour 1/4 c. water through the strainer to make sure you get the last bit clinging there. this also helps to thin it and mellow the vinegar.
voila! this would be great as a dressing or dip, though my intentions were for sweet potato fries, as you’ll soon see. other ideas would be for a chickpea cutlet or chicken, and i bet it’s be a real winner on salmon.
i did a little bit of yoga sculpt and eventually got ready to leave for the barn.
i wasn’t much hungry, but knew i needed to eat lunch, so grabbed a simple pb and j.
nothing in my sea of jams already opened tickled my fancy, so i saw that as an excuse to finally open this farmer’s market find. obviously, they didn’t realize they should put almonds on the ingredients list, but it was delicious. sort of random for a pb&j, looking back at it, but i have no regrets.
especially because i pried open my new crunchy pb for it and it was love at first bite. i took it to go, and lesson of the day: never think you’re safe to eat a pb&j while waiting in line to get gas.
huh?
so there i am, innocently waiting my turn for a pump, behind another person waiting. one would think it’s the perfect time to savor a sandwich, but no. i’m still mostly paying attention, but gaze down lovingly momentarily, thinking to myself “why don’t i just live off of pb&j? this is so delicious. i should have pb&j more often.” and the revert my gaze forward, when all of a sudden realize i am about to be backed into. he’s going so fast i can’t even drop my sandwich fast enough to throw myself in reverse, and i am rocked by a bozo.
luckily, my jeep has a plastic bumper and both parties escaped unharmed except for a little crack that is no big deal.
after this incident, i realized i’m probably the best person to accidentally back into. i got out and before i even see if gertrude is harmed in any way, shape or form, i’m telling him “oh, it’s okay!” bahah.
luckily, the rest of the driving and barn excursion went off without a hitch, and upon arrival home i started making dinner and had a little snack, though i was still shocked i wasn’t hungry. this is getting old already. being at the barn usually makes my appetite surge…and yet i only wanted an iced coffee and some apricots. jiggy enjoyed one of them, however. he also enjoyed the sweet potato extras and banana peels.
of course, just because i say i started making dinner doesn’t mean it was time for dinner. no, no, that wasn’t for another two hours. i just like making it while i have nothing to do, so then when it’s dinner time i can just eat whenever. otherwise, i’m one of those “oh, time for dinner now.” and realize i have to wait 30+ minutes before what i want is ready.
oh yeah, that and around here we’re early birds.
on the menu tonight? raspberry-fig glazed sweet ‘tater fries and cheater baked beans. i found the recipe in veganomicon, and with a little googling found the recipe posted here , for all of you who don’t (but should) have the book. i pretty much just halved it and used black beans instead of white, maple dijon mustard instead of mustard powder, no bay leaf, and cinnamon & nutmeg instead of allspice. oh, and full-flavored molasses, which i don’t think is light molasses?
they were lovely. even if they’re “cheater,” they were far lofflier than the bush’s vegetarian baked beans that i tried a while back and reported disliking. i figured it was just a recipe dislike, and not an actual baked beans dislike.
and the fries were great, too! i just tossed a whole sweet potato cut into fries with about 3/4s of the sauce, some salt, and pepper. the extra was used for dippage. yumliscious! the rest will certainly be enjoyed at some point tomorrow. or tonight. we’ll see when i finally get hungry again, i guess.
of course, that being said – i still couldn’t let go of dessert. pb branana muffin, coconut gelato, raspberries, granola, and xagave. deerishious and sort of nutritious
___________________________
the teddie chronicles
i’ve been slacking on the chronicles lately – sheesh! pony was stellar today, though. i think it was the first time i rode him w-t and did everything alone. well, another girl was there, who i actually just met the other day. she is a sweetheart, and we were pretty much gabbing the whole time. i think it helped me calm my nerves for doing everything alone, too! sometimes i can be a nervous rider, for no real reason. just talking made me just think it was the “same ol’ same ol’.” it probably helps that she just keeps oogling over teddie
anyways – i lunged him for about 10 minutes before tacking him up and riding for maybe 10-15. so nothing too strenuous, but he was well behaved and at this point in time, i think it’s plenty, anyways. we did lots of figures to keep his mind working, and had nice trots, too. he’s getting much better about forward, which is one of the most important things for a young horse (well, that and whoa, which is his favorite word). first couple rides he would sort of just stop randomly, but he hasn’t done that at all the past couple rides, and if he does he’ll walk/trot again almost as soon as he’s asked to.
we (girl i’ll call K) and i grazed him out front a bit for being a good boy, too. i’ve stopped feeding him treats since he’s so nudgy – so his “reward” is some nice mouthfuls of clover
where did july come from?! out of nowhere, if you ask me.
the other 50%, i sort of muddled through, knowing it was delicious, but at that halfway point i read something that just made my stomach churn.
i’ll explain. just note that you may not want to read, in which case you can continue on to the next photo. don’t say i didn’t warn you. it involves horse abuse.
i have this ritual on thursday mornings. remember how i mentioned teddie came from a feedlot? well, it’s an auction. they happen every where. but this particular one, the horses that get bought for feedlot have a second chance. a rescue goes in, takes pictures, some general info, and posts it online. people from all over see them, pull them, and give them better lives. sure, some run through quite rugged, and obviously should have been humanely euthanized rather than just sent to be inhumanly slaughtered. in these cases, rescues typically pull and make the decision whether the horse can be made comfortable, or is better off passing on.
anyways. wednesday night is this particular auction, and so the list is put up late that night. every thursday, my mom and i like to see what’s there. we agree it’s too much of a risk to adopt ourselves – there’s not much information to go along with these horses, even though some really nice ones find themselves sitting in that lot (like teddie!) but, it’s still fun to look.
this morning, there was news of a horse who was sent to this auction with a hole in its’ skull that was stuffed with a sock. a hanes sock. this has been making disturbed all day, and there was a video i just watched that the rescue posted, of the vet cleaning the wound. it shows how deep it really was, down to the sinus cavity. are you freaking kidding me? for the love of pete, who in the right minds decides to stuff a freaking sock in their horse’s head wound? and additionally, how the hay did your horse get a hole that big in their skull in the first place? was it intentional?
ugh. i’m still skeeved, but now that i got that out there, i’ll try to be upbeat for the rest of this.
my mom had asked me if i wanted to do some grocery shopping for her today if she gave me her card. why yes, i would love to, mother dearest. sauce was on the list, so in the cart goes some 2/$5 ragu! i couldn’t resist this flavor, and with my new pasta sauce obsession, i won’t lie. i’m kind of excited to have a salad with this. one might be turned off by having a jar of shelf-stable pasta sauce with mozzarella that is “margherita flavor,” but once again, the ingredients are all real things. hm.
i behaved: i was waffling between this and the cashew butter, but since it was my mom’s money i was spending and not mine, i went the cheaper route. i am dying to try cashew butter, but am afraid since i dislike raw almond butter but love almonds, it won’t be as good as i hope it to be. anyone wanna weigh in?
sneaky peek
after i got home, i had quinoa granola bars and the bsi on the brain. the quinoa bars are a w.i.p.
and then the bsi. sarena, i’m so glad you picked raspberries. i didn’t realize how good they are until i bought some today. i thought i was of the belief that i could take them or leave them.
uh, i’ll take them. i was torn between making a raspberry sauce or my quinoa-bulgur muffins but with raspberries, so for now i just made a raspberry sauce. i still think that those muffins would be killer with raspberries, so i might do that. i am almost out of muffins, the way i’ve been going at them, you know.
Balsamic-Raspberry Fig Sauce
inspired by a million different recipes (mainly the Veganomicon maple fig dressing) and my mom’s mentioning of “sweet potatoes with raspberry sauce.”
this is my "1/4 c." of raspberries. take that for what it's worth.
begin by simmering 1/4 c. water, xagave, raspberries, and the chopped fig until mixture starts to thicken, mushing the raspberries up a bit with a wooden spoon. add in the torn basil and the pinch of cinnamon, and then the balsamic. continue to simmer, covered, until pretty thick but not so it’s evaporated.
i then chose to strain it because my processor is only okay, and i dislike too many raspberry seeds. some fall through the strainer, but i dealt. it caught the majority, but luckily the yummy fig seeds could still pass through! pour 1/4 c. water through the strainer to make sure you get the last bit clinging there. this also helps to thin it and mellow the vinegar.
i did a little bit of yoga sculpt and eventually got ready to leave for the barn.
i wasn’t much hungry, but knew i needed to eat lunch, so grabbed a simple pb and j.
huh?
so there i am, innocently waiting my turn for a pump, behind another person waiting. one would think it’s the perfect time to savor a sandwich, but no. i’m still mostly paying attention, but gaze down lovingly momentarily, thinking to myself “why don’t i just live off of pb&j? this is so delicious. i should have pb&j more often.” and the revert my gaze forward, when all of a sudden realize i am about to be backed into. he’s going so fast i can’t even drop my sandwich fast enough to throw myself in reverse, and i am rocked by a bozo.
luckily, my jeep has a plastic bumper and both parties escaped unharmed except for a little crack that is no big deal.
after this incident, i realized i’m probably the best person to accidentally back into. i got out and before i even see if gertrude is harmed in any way, shape or form, i’m telling him “oh, it’s okay!” bahah.
of course, just because i say i started making dinner doesn’t mean it was time for dinner. no, no, that wasn’t for another two hours. i just like making it while i have nothing to do, so then when it’s dinner time i can just eat whenever. otherwise, i’m one of those “oh, time for dinner now.” and realize i have to wait 30+ minutes before what i want is ready.
oh yeah, that and around here we’re early birds.
___________________________
the teddie chronicles
i’ve been slacking on the chronicles lately – sheesh! pony was stellar today, though. i think it was the first time i rode him w-t and did everything alone. well, another girl was there, who i actually just met the other day. she is a sweetheart, and we were pretty much gabbing the whole time. i think it helped me calm my nerves for doing everything alone, too! sometimes i can be a nervous rider, for no real reason. just talking made me just think it was the “same ol’ same ol’.” it probably helps that she just keeps oogling over teddie
anyways – i lunged him for about 10 minutes before tacking him up and riding for maybe 10-15. so nothing too strenuous, but he was well behaved and at this point in time, i think it’s plenty, anyways. we did lots of figures to keep his mind working, and had nice trots, too. he’s getting much better about forward, which is one of the most important things for a young horse (well, that and whoa, which is his favorite word). first couple rides he would sort of just stop randomly, but he hasn’t done that at all the past couple rides, and if he does he’ll walk/trot again almost as soon as he’s asked to.
we (girl i’ll call K) and i grazed him out front a bit for being a good boy, too. i’ve stopped feeding him treats since he’s so nudgy – so his “reward” is some nice mouthfuls of clover