Vegan Thyme

05/14/2013 04:41 PM

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Little Rustic Strawberry Tarts (Container Growing Strawberry Know-How)

I have three pints of strawberries in the fridge. I had five! It became necessary to um, get baking. During strawberry season, there is no such thing as too many strawberries around here. Every morning on my oatmeal plus I nibble on them throughout the day (well, when I don't feel the need for chocolate). I am convinced they hold some secret cure. Of what, I am not sure. This recipe involves

Vegan Thyme

05/11/2013 07:32 PM

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Beautiful Lives of Silent Sleepers (. . . And Reading Maya Angelou's, "Mom & Me & Mom")

This happens every Mother's Day weekend. I count. Sixteen years. I will always count. For some reason this year feels as if it were just yesterday. I don't know why. It could have something to do with the fact that I am this much closer to her age when she left. During my spring cleaning, I came across an old video camera we'd used when we recorded our wedding. Mom was there. She was seven mo

Vegan Thyme

04/23/2013 07:09 PM

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Vegan Brownies (My Best Yet . . . Chocolate Craving Prayers Answered)

I have been reduced to tears by trying to make the perfect vegan brownie. Recently there was one day where not one, not two, but three batches were mixed and baked all in one afternoon. None edible. I thought I might be having a nervous breakdown. (And this would not have surprised me one bit given the state I've been in.) Comfort foods have been on the menu. A lot. Foods we can eat with our hands

Vegan Thyme

04/14/2013 03:14 PM

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The "Things in Threes" Rule (Going Back: Sweet Home Chicago)

Things are better now. I went "away". It was necessary. I called my sister and within three days, I was standing in her apartment. A sense of calm creeping back in. There were three things. Just like there always is: a family cancer scare, an intervention and right before I was to leave town, the sudden death of my best friend's mother. (A woman who's known me since I was fifteen). All in a m

Vegan Thyme

03/25/2013 11:27 AM

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Vegan Apple Hand Pies with Brown Butter (The Best Snowiest Sunday Ever and Granny Square Hat-Makin')

Being snow bound is the best. Baking when you're snow bound is even better. Not to be trite, but here's the skinny on the day's events: cozy warm fireplace, the dogs, me crocheting a granny square hat, husband reading, a pot of veggie soup on the stove simmering all day, a fresh-baked loaf of ciabatta bread to accompany said soup: yesterday had to be one of the bestest Sundays ever. Then I whipped

Vegan Thyme

03/20/2013 01:38 PM

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Vegan Blueberry Jam Surprise Breakfast Muffins: The Chia Seed Experiment (And. . . Seeing Stripes, Finishing Stripes)

Sometimes when I bake muffins for breakfast, I actually want to have them for dessert . . . and then for breakfast, too. This muffin in particular taunted me. I've had a love affair with blueberries for as long as I can remember. I make blueberry jam whenever they're in season. I smother my pancakes with blueberries, put blueberries in smoothies, use frozen blueberries on my oatmeal in the morning

Vegan Thyme

03/09/2013 01:22 PM

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Vegan Carrot Zucchini Lime Bars (Chive Talking, Perennial Dividing and . . . The Scrappy Gremlin Quilt)

If a cake has vegetables in it, does that make it less of a cake and more of a food group? My guess is no. I've probably made over two dozen carrot cake recipes in my lifetime, they always begin the same way: shredding carrots. "Shredding" is labor intensive--more mess to clean up. So I'll make excuses to not attempt carrot cake baking and instead switch to an easy chocolate pan cake or

Vegan Thyme

03/02/2013 01:32 PM

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Vegan Buffalo Chicken "Potato" Pizza (Winter Food for Snowy Days, Blog Changes and. . . Veggie Seeds Now Sprouting!)

When my hot sauce cravings call, I try to answer. I found myself facing a dinner crisis yesterday afternoon. I'd been fiddling around with my blog all morning. Here it was now three in the afternoon already: what's for dinner?! Husband's favorite pizza is Jim Lahey's Pizza Patate. Anytime I ask, what kind of pizza he'd like? Pizza Patate! is nearly always the answer. I admit my admiration for

Vegan Thyme

02/20/2013 12:29 PM

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Apple Tart Cherry Crostata (The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. . . And Showing Off the Mitts!)

Never in my life have I craved a pie as much as this. And being alone in this world of pie, I was left to my own devices as I went about my merry crostata-baking way. (Because it would have been too much bother to lift dough into a pie plate, pinch the border, bake the shell, fill the shell, bake again. You get my point.)The husband craved cake. I craved pie. In between cake and pie, we

Vegan Thyme

02/07/2013 01:19 PM

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Natural "Chunky" Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (And. . . Me paint pretty one day. Hopefully.)

In most peanut butter cookies recipes, you're told to NOT use the "natural" peanut butter. I find statements like these to be an open invitation to doing exactly the opposite. I've been playing around with my peanut butter cookie recipes for as long as I can remember. I never bake the same one twice. I have mentioned my love of peanut butter goes way back. There's a picture my mother took of

Vegan Thyme

02/02/2013 05:34 PM

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The Best Meatball Pizza Ever (Or. . . how my search for a lesson on "short row knitting" lead to Peter Reinhart's lesson on "pizza". It was a Good day.)

I'm not new to the homemade pizza making world. It's our second favorite food group next to chocolate. And while I try not to make pizza night an every night affair (I easily could), when I do throw down for some pizza crafting time, I am always amazed at how different the crusts seem. It's one of my favorite searches--like for the next best chocolate chip cookie--I've made over a dozen of each (p

Vegan Thyme

01/20/2013 09:46 PM

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Oatmeal Buttered Popcorn Cookies (My Smitten Kitchen Post-Sleep, Post-Four-Mile-Run Aha Moment)

Last night I had a hankering for something sweet, but on the healthy-ish spectrum. And after having had some decent sleep for once!--oatmeal cookies kept speaking to me. So. . . long story short, I will first admit to not having the original idea for these cookies. The credit goes instead to Deb Perelman and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. A newly acquired cookbook purchase, I literally flipped the

Vegan Thyme

01/20/2013 01:07 PM

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Vegan Buffalo Chicken Melts (I've put my hormones on "notice". . . and pass me more hot sauce, please!)

If anyone ever tells you menopause is "easy", turn around and smack them. I am on the door step of fifty. The. Door. Step. I am not ever going to state exactly when this milestone hits. That little blog section of mine entitled Almost Fifty will quietly be switched to something like On Death's Door. It will be quiet and uneventful. You might notice it one day and be shocked to see such a dramatic

Vegan Thyme

01/10/2013 12:33 PM

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Almond White Chocolate Chip Biscotti with Whole Grain Flour (Downton Abbey: TV for the Knitting Kind)

My afternoon tea routine is a sacred time. It's reset button time. I am a creature of habit and find that a break in the mid-afternoon is critical to my own sanity. And for reasons unknown to me, I find anything crunchy to be the most satisfying to have with my tea. That's why I made these biscotti. A twice baked delicacy--they seem to have gotten better with age. The almond essence expands, getti

Vegan Thyme

01/04/2013 12:35 PM

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Coffee Crumb Cake Muffins with Chocolate Swirl (Notes on A Crazy Year with A "New" Kind of Crazy on Tap)

Well. It's here. Thirteen. I needed a few days to find my center of gravity. New years always bring in a bit of dread. The numeric implications of 2013 is not lost on me one bit. I am very superstitious. I held a ritual burning of last year's calendar and sage incense burning was included. I completed a sort of "work on these things" list in my journal. I don't live and die by

Vegan Thyme

12/20/2012 04:38 PM

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Vegan Panforte (Mix One Part Italian Chocoholic with Two Parts Knitting Obsessed)

It's finally snowing. Eleven days remain of this year. I have spent some part of every single day this past week baking. Making this panforte was nearly an all day affair. A perfect way to distract my mind. And frankly after having tasted the result, I can honestly tell you--worth every single minute. It has won the heart of both DH and me. I have sworn to myself to keep a ready supply of thi

Vegan Thyme

12/10/2012 05:27 PM

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Vegan Red Velvet Cookies (My Best Friend: Thirty-Five Years And Counting And Why I'll Drop Everything To Be There)

The story of this cookie began last week when I received a phone call from my best friend. Sometimes you think life couldn't possibly hand you one more thing. And then it does. The time of the call (early) told me all I needed to know. Something terrible had happened. I'd barely said 'hello', was going down the list: Are the kids okay? Are you okay? Is your mom okay? Dad? Do you have the "C" word.

Vegan Thyme

12/05/2012 11:05 AM

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O Vegan Christmas Cookies, O Crocheted Christmas Ornaments!

My cookie jar(s) are full right now. So the eating of said cookies must occur before more baking is to take place. I think the only thing that gets me through December is the food group "sugar", yarn, yarn and more yarn and the fact that Idol returns in January. I am serious. And this heatwave we are having is nice. But snow. Please. From left to right pictured above: Speculoos, Nigella Lawso

Vegan Thyme

11/29/2012 11:24 AM

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Vegan Giant Ginger Molasses Cookies (And The Not-So-Secret Christmas Knitting)

If you are going to start baking cookies for Christmas, begin with this one. You will thank me. I begin thinking about my holiday cookies in mid-October. That's when I go a little hog wild and pretend the world will end and that I must own every cookie baking book on the planet to stave off the perils of living in chaos without proper sustenance. I don't know about you, but we could live off ginge

Vegan Thyme

11/19/2012 06:34 PM

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Apple, Cranberry, Pear and Fig Pie with Crunchy Almond Topping (And Some Instant Gratification Knitting)

I know there's been this whole "fruit-for-dessert" thing here for several posts (mixed in with real life drama). I really don't have any explanation for this fruit obsession other than to say, it's what I've wanted. The Husband mentioned that it might be nice to throw in a chocolate dessert--then added, You'll have an apple pie for Thanksgiving. . . you always do. And just who does he imagine will

Vegan Thyme

11/01/2012 12:07 PM

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One Week Later (Moving On . . . Counting Blessings)

A week ago yesterday was the accident. We are slowly moving on. I am desperate for my concentration to return. For normalcy. But that may take awhile. Last night was the first full night of sleep I'd had in a week. Not only am I grateful to have my husband alive, I am grateful for the kindness of all who left notes and hugs. I may not have responded to each one, but please know, I read all co

Vegan Thyme

10/28/2012 11:38 AM

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The Phone Call. The Hospital. The Accident.

"I'm okay." Those were the first words I heard. But even before I heard my husband's voice, I heard semi-trucks and cars passing by in the background, I heard wind. I heard the voice of a man I knew to be my husband but who I also knew was quite the opposite of okay. I said I'd meet him at the hospital. I said I loved him. I said all of the things a wife says to her husband when they've been

Vegan Thyme

10/24/2012 04:27 PM

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Vegan Apple Pandowdy (The Vintage Un-Pie)

I had little time, lots of apples (still) and a craving for something in pastry crust. Isn't this how most amazing desserts happen? Couple things struck me about the name "pandowdy" when I first stumbled across it. First thing was where in the heck did this name come from? Well actually I didn't spend much time thinking about this--I craved dessert, not a dissertation. But in the off chance you're

Vegan Thyme

10/19/2012 01:05 PM

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Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (My Favorite New Running App . . .which means more cookies for me!)

I wouldn't recommend anyone try baking these cookies while watching a presidential debate. Things got a little crazy--I had two trays of these going at once, setting the oven timer to remind me to switch the cookies sheets front-to-back, bottom-to-top--all while making dinner to boot. It was sheer madness in my kitchen. (Interspersed with bouts of screaming at the television.) However, these cooki

Vegan Thyme

10/17/2012 12:14 PM

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"So For My Next Act, I'll Limit Women's Rights"

Really? So went the general direction of the narrative from one side during last night's debate. So much so, I lost sleep over it. Did I just step off of 2012 and step into the 1950s? Pre Roe v. Wade days were dark for women. Very dark. I remember the first "talk" I had with my mother on the subject of my responsibilities and rights as a woman. And it went something like this: Be careful. Be vigil

Vegan Thyme

10/09/2012 11:31 AM

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Spinach Artichoke Rigatoni: No Cheese, No Problem (And. . . More Fall Hikes)

We've been having a swell time playing catch up with our outdoor activities. (And I've been playing catch up with blogging--as evidenced by my "oopsie" in somehow hitting the "publish" button prior to adding my verbiage to this post! Hey, it's Monday. . . I'm almost fifty, etc.) So we spent the better part of the weekend "outside". It was gorgeous here. When we got home yesterday afternoon, I

Vegan Thyme

09/26/2012 01:59 PM

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Apple Butter in The Slow Cooker (And Cowboy Boots on My Feet)

Out of our element and/or out of our minds, we managed to somehow drive nearly an hour away for apples on Sunday. This was not a planned trip. What started out as a plea to DH to accompany me to the "country store" for deer corn and a salt lick (if you have to ask, you probably don't need to know), ended up as a diversion of the crazy kind. *I can't lift the salt lick--it weighs like fifty po

Vegan Thyme

09/18/2012 01:05 PM

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Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies (The Yellow Wallpaper and My DIY Madwoman in the Attic Moment)

I try to never drag dear husband along to the grocery store. There are several reasons for this. First and foremost would be the "impulse issues" we both have when it comes to things like chocolate glazed donuts (in the bag!) and "instant breakfast food stuff". Sunday found us both at the store to pick up a few necessities. (After our walk/hike.) Not even two aisles into the place and he stops col

Vegan Thyme

09/09/2012 04:56 PM

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Crispy Jalapeno Rice Balls Over Spicy Three-Bean Chili (Sew. Bake. Dr. Who. Hike. Repeat.)

These little jewels made our little bowl of chili a great big winner in our hearts. I had very little in the reserve tank for cooking earlier last week. Just recently getting my strength back. (Even canceled guitar again as I did not want to risk exposing myself to "little people germs" just yet--and there are a lot of little people traipsing in and out of my lesson place, trust me). When the

Vegan Thyme

09/01/2012 12:15 PM

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Vegan Lemon Cornmeal Pound Cake (This is How 102 Feels, Almost Fifty and . . . On Going Gray)

Well, I suppose I should start with this lovely cake. This insufferable summer has caused my cake cravings to be put on hold. (Of course now we are in the middle of Hurricane Isaac weather--so far I've personally measured a rainfall amount of an inch and a half. Much needed rain.) I was worried about my sweet tooth issue. Nights would pass and not a single crumb of dessert could be found. I jumped

Vegan Thyme

08/21/2012 02:35 PM

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I'm a woman, I live in Missouri and I vote. . . Akin

I've let two days pass. Thank god I live in a country where freedom of speech is granted, but never to be taken for granted.I was appalled to open the paper and read yesterday's headline in the Post-Dispatch regarding the "legitimate rape" comment. No, let me restate that, I was trembling mad. I re-read the piece twice just to be sure I hadn't missed any detail. What I cannot come to grips wi

Vegan Thyme

08/13/2012 01:04 PM

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Sourdough: The Unveiling of My Daniel Leader Whole Wheat Sourdough Miche Inspired by Pain Poilane (Plus: "Dog Patch" Moments)

Looking back, this whole sourdough making experience was a lot easier than I had anticipated. Most of the work took place with me having to do nothing. Well, there were observations as there are with all experiments. But aside from that, it's a fairly hands-off sort of deal. However. The week it took to get my formula right had its moments. I have a little "reading" problem, as in, my eyes sk

Vegan Thyme

08/07/2012 03:07 PM

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Vegan Coconut Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookie Or Beige Food Stuff from My Kitchen (Caution: sourdough starting AND crochet wrapping included!)

I've been in a rut lately. This is our third batch of these coconut shortbread cookies. I'm finding it difficult to "move on". They're the perfect beige food. (I have this overly obsessive nature--thus the "three batches" thing.) It all started with a cookie craving. I had to have a cookie with a long shelf life, and one that would step in as a late night dessert. These cookies aren't fussy. They

Vegan Thyme

07/29/2012 01:59 PM

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Indian Spiced Quinoa Patties with Farmer's Market Corn Medley (OMG: It's Raining!)

I wanted to write about these quinoa patties we'd had for over a week now. But the heat had stifled my writerly self to the point of such despair that I'd contemplated shunning "The Blog" for the remainder of the season until my heart and mind could once again muster the strength to put into words food stuff and my ramblings. Then I had that chocolate moment last week and that sort of broke the sp

Vegan Thyme

07/25/2012 06:03 PM

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Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins (Garden Dispatch: 110 Degrees)

Yes. I baked. Out of necessity. Out of the need for comfort, for kitchen time, for sanity . . . for chocolate. It was not a difficult decision for me. This baking moment. I wanted to bake to heal. What's wonderful about being a cookbook lover is that in the midst of all that is awful in the world right now, I need only enter the small space that is my kitchen, place a hand on the spine of a b

Vegan Thyme

07/16/2012 01:04 PM

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Heirloom Tomato Pot Pie with Biscuity-Thick Crust

I hadn't turned my oven or stove on in over a week. I felt like a ghost in my kitchen. My dear oven sat unused. My stove beckoned. My heart craved pastry. I had twelve pounds of tomatoes taking up some valuable kitchen real estate. No complaints. I'm just saying. Actually, I'm tickled to death over my abundant tomato harvest this year. I'd even go so far as to say "giddy". The rest of my yard

Vegan Thyme

07/11/2012 06:24 PM

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Jam Sessions ("A Little Nina Simone Would Do You Good" And My Summer Drought Harvest)

When I heard the temps would be in the "dangerous/triple digits" range for an undetermined period of time, I made a mad dash to the store for provisions: canning jars, Bing cherries, Rainier cherries, plums, blueberries (two pounds each), sugar, lemons and chocolate. If things were going to get bad, really bad, I wanted: bread, homemade cherry plum jam, Pandora (my Nina Simone station!), chocolate

Vegan Thyme

06/28/2012 06:18 PM

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My Scorched Garden

If I were to come across this photo, I'd guess it a late-September mid-October shot. Never would I imagine it late June. Never. My beautiful white-flowering hydrangea--just now beginning its bloom. It will suffer through and bloom as much as it can, then begin to slowly die back as if it were October and a chill were on its way. The strain of the heat prompting it to bloom early. That's what plant

Vegan Thyme

06/21/2012 01:32 PM

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Diversions And Delusions (There Be Wool: Knitters Unite . . . And Colbert's Feet to Benefit)

It's officially summer. I'm officially ready for winter. So much so that I've begun my "winter knitting"--starting first with a beautiful cowl (the Honey cowl) in Kelly Green--for obvious reasons this color speaks to me. I love, love, love knitting this cowl. The textured pattern is both squishy and fluid--better yet--I can practically manage working it with my eyes closed. It's a simple and brill

Vegan Thyme

06/12/2012 02:28 PM

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Olive Oil Teff Banana Bread (Superstition: A Bird in The House)

This morning a bird flew into the house, landed on my slipper and left. Nothing good can come of this. I'd JUST started my day--it was the crack of dawn for crying out loud. And yet. This bird. There was a loud screeching and what seemed to be a little ruckus going on between this irate cardinal and two smaller sparrows (were they? I have no idea). Since February--this cardinal has found sev

Vegan Thyme

06/02/2012 12:59 PM

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Rustic Peach Apple Galette (Roll It. Pile It. Fold It. Bake It.)

The hands-on time for this dessert is under fifteen minutes. The result is unabashedly sublime. To gild the lily, a scoop of vanilla bean coconut ice cream served in a bowl with a slab of the galette, and all will be right with the world. I've noticed the supermarket slowly receiving "not-quite-seasonal-for-Missouri" produce. Last week there were the bing cherries and Georgia peaches. The cherries

Vegan Thyme

05/25/2012 10:43 PM

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Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Syrup Glaze (Rediscovering Rod Stewart)

I don't know how it happened, but suddenly I was standing at the checkout counter at the store with six lemons. I always have lemons in the fridge-had at least four or five in the "crisper" already. Something as simple as lemons can take over my mind in a nanosecond. Maybe it's the heat. Nineties already, and it's not even June. So, when I got home, I thought it might be fun to crank up the oven i

Vegan Thyme

05/18/2012 12:48 PM

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Vegan Velvety Chocolate Mousse (I Craved, I Conquered And . . . Morning in The Garden)

Recent events in my life lead to this dessert. Mainly stress. Chocolate is my salve. At my whit's end, the chocolate gods were smiling down at me. I feel quite accomplished after this mousse. Proud, giddy. Secure in knowing that this once most-craved dessert item can now go back into our rotation. Grant it, I had to really get creative. There is NO tofu in this. (You all know h

Vegan Thyme

05/08/2012 11:57 AM

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Blackberry Lavender Double-Crust Pie (Moon Gardening)

I spent the weekend eating pie. It was a good weekend. In between my pie lust, I planted all of my "above ground" vegetables. That's a moon-planting rule of thumb: plant above ground crops when the moon is waxing, that is--during the phase of the New Moon up to the Full Moon. (Insert song here: Fifth Dimension, Age of Acquarius.)It's been a busy past two weeks. What with m

Vegan Thyme

04/25/2012 10:14 AM

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Vegan Shortbread Cookie (Whole Wheat, Crunchy, Dunkable Midnight Snack!)

Sometimes I just want a plain cookie. No chips. No lemon. And, believe it or not, no chocolate. Growing up, we had a ready supply of "pecan sandies" on top of our fridge (along with the "Count Chocula" and "Lucky Charms"). In our house, the shortbread cookie was a staple. Like cigarettes and eye brow pencils. Maybe not in that order. I don't ever recall our mother whipping up a batch of shortbread

Vegan Thyme

04/20/2012 02:17 PM

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Roasted Strawberry Frosting on Chocolate Cake (My Sugar Dilemma and. . . Rainy Day Garden)

Here was a cake that came about for no other reason than to do "something" with all the strawberries I had on hand. I am the person the grocery store has in mind when the display of this fruit is so large and in-your-face you practically have to high-hurdle jump over them to not notice. And before you can reach the bananas you "originally" came in for, there they are again, in a second display are

Vegan Thyme

04/11/2012 04:52 PM

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Of Bread, Books and Song (Dutch Crunch Bread)

I've been in the kitchen playing with dough again. I had two amazingly delicious baking events take place in one week. I'll tell you about one of them in a moment. But first: I somehow hurt myself last week while playing "farmer girl" in the yard. I tend toward being overly zealous when it comes to keeping things "tidy" around here. I now have tennis elbow something fierce. (My own diagn

Vegan Thyme

03/29/2012 06:10 PM

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Vegan Soft and Chewy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (Amiga Cardigan: Finished!)

We needed a Thin Mint break. We were on our third box for crying out loud. I never thought I'd see the day, but I am sort of Girl Scout Cookie-d out. I know: blasphemy. It was time for the standard to return. I knew I had a recipe "somewhere" for soft and chewy chocolate chippers. Somewhere became an afternoon of paging through the Big Books of cut-out recipes. I am a visual person, so in my mind,

Vegan Thyme

03/18/2012 11:55 AM

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Jim Lahey's Irish Brown Bread (The "Green Acre" Grows and Blossoms. . . in Winter!)

Yesterday morning was gorgeous. Hubby and I set out for a hike first thing. (By eleven--that's what "first thing" means on the weekend.) We had no sooner returned from our St. Paddy's Day outing and were sitting down to have lunch when the sky turned really darkish, thunder sounded in the distance, and it began raining. Buckets. Then mother nature threw in some hail for good measure

Vegan Thyme

03/06/2012 10:31 AM

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Vegan Bran Muffins with Coconut, Banana, Raisins And. . . The Kitchen Sink

How many bran muffin recipes does one woman need? I say you can never have "too" many. I bet there are at least fifty in my collection. When Sunday afternoon rolls around (usually too soon)--I begin thinking about the upcoming week's provision needs. I don't like to begin Monday without something special to look forward to. It's the little things in life--like knowing there are ONLY fifty-two Mond

	Vegan Thyme
	I am a lover of all things chocolate. Live with several rescued dogs and my husband in a lovely 70 year old home with a bit of land on the side. The world is full of great food, the best of which I find is usually on a plate in my own kitchen.

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