Green Vegan Living

Life Update

2013-05-17T18:36:00.002-07:00

This is an exciting time for me, and I'll tell you why.

I just quit my job, my career, if you will, to pursue my bakery and become 100% self-employed.

This decision took some time. Some serious thought. Some tears. Some high blood pressure. Some reassuring hugs and words from D. In the end, though, I felt good and ready to do it. Last Sunday, the 12th (Mother's Day) was my last day of employment.

My fabulous coworkers (whom I will miss beyond words - they have all become wonderful friends) gave me a great farewell: they stood at the edge of each of the five floors the library has and wished me a fond goodbye, then clapped. Last week my closest friends from the library pitched in and gave me a cute apron and a lovely glass jar with the word "Cinnamon" (my bakery's name) engraved in it. It was full of cinnamon sticks.

To say I feel loved and supported in this terrifying endeavor is an understatement. I feel love from everywhere I look; this just might be one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life! With it comes fear, though, and lots of stress. My chest feels tight and my head is always talking to me. But eventually, I think some of that will calm down when other parts of my life calm down (namely: the decision to move after we had a bad experience with our current house). And then I'll feel what I did when I left the library last week: excitement, and, ultimately, the feeling that I was doing the right thing.

What big (or little!) thing have you done that's scared you?

Happy Earth Day!

2013-04-22T09:06:00.005-07:00

In honor of our earth, which gives us a home, food to eat and water to drink, I'm wishing you a very happy earth day!

Spring 2013 in Portland

2013-04-17T09:48:00.002-07:00

Every year I write a post about spring in Portland. This is because spring, to me, represents so much: the days get longer, the rain stops every once in a while and the sun actually gets to shine, and flowers begin to grow and bloom. Summer is my favorite season, but spring allows me to hope once again for summer; after the dreary months of winter, when everything is dark and cold, I can see the fresh beginnings of spring and be happy again.

Thank you so much for all your comments about my migraines in my last post. I stopped taking all synthetic medicines (including birth control) and am now only ingesting vitamin supplements. My headaches have lessened, although they are still there, and my blood pressure seems to have lowered itself (but I can no longer have ANY caffeine, or it goes right back up). I've started acupuncture, but my previous practitioner turned out to be a flake, so I have to go to a new one starting next week. D and I have started meditating regularly at home, in the evenings, which is a time I look forward to. My main concern now is for my health. I feel like I have lost so much of who I am in this whole situation that I'm not quite sure how to get that former self back. I am so fortunate to have loving friends and family by my side even when I am not well enough to be physically there with them. This seems to be a long journey, but I know I am not taking it alone.

It seems that, in the light of the Boston tragedy that just occurred, we can all use some pictures of sun and happy flowers. My thoughts are continuously with those in Boston who are suffering right now from a pain I can't even begin to fathom.

Living With Pain

2013-03-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

This post has been written in my head for quite a while, but has yet to make it from fingertip to keyboard to blog. For the past 8 months, I've been plagued with migraines. To say "plagued" sounds a bit dramatic, doesn't it? And yet, that's how it feels. Over half of the month, I wake up with a headache. This headache is not just any headache. It's one that has the power to make or literally break my day. If I decide to go ahead and take Excedrin, it may or may not help, and if it does help, my day turns out all right (albeit, a bit jittery). If I don't take anything (or sometimes, even if I do), my headache will most likely get worse and worse over the course of the day until it's unbearable to do anything but lay down and wish that I were not here.

I've been prescribed myriad high-strength migraine medicines, but they don't work, especially because you're supposed to take them at the onset of the headache, which is prior to when I wake up, so, thus, an impossible task. Ibuprofen doesn't even touch the headache, and often, the only relief I get is from sleeping. After talking with co-workers who also suffer from migraines, I started taking more supplements: Vitamin B2, Vitamin D, Magnesium, and Vitamin B12. These helped for about 2 1/2 months, and then it was like the migraines came back with double the power and a vengeance against me, to boot.

I finally asked my general doctor for a referral to see a neurologist. I met with her on Wednesday the 13th, and she prescribed an extremely low dose anti-depressant that's supposed to replenish the serotonin levels thought to be depleted when one suffers from migraines. I took it for 3 days before suffering from the first side effects. Now, mind you, I'm a slight person: I weigh 115 pounds and am pretty dang fit, so things often affect me faster and more powerfully than your average person. That being said, I think everyone (especially me, even though I have a very long history of allergies to medicines) was surprised by just how fast these symptoms hit. Saturday morning I woke up with a tremor, and my heart seemed to be beating abnormally quickly and heavily. I gave myself a lovely panic attack and nearly fainted, all while D was feverishly looking up common side effects to this drug. They were all there, so we both thought it would be all right if I continued to take it.

The worst part about taking this drug is that my doctor had informed me it would take at least a month before I'd feel migraine relief. With these symptoms adding to my already-debilitating headaches, I didn't really know if I could last the whole month, but I soldiered on, thinking it would pay off in the end. Until Thursday.

I saw a new naturopath on Wednesday the 20th who was quite taken aback at my high blood pressure. I've never had such high blood pressure in my life, and now I was beginning to get quite concerned as well. I went home after getting blood taken for possible food sensitivities, and thought it was all just par for the course. Thursday, I woke up with even more pain, heart palpitations, and the scariest feelings in my chest I've ever had. I called the advice nurse to make sure I could stop taking the medicine without any adverse side effects (HA!), and then asked D to stay with me all day to make sure I wasn't going to die. By the end of the day, I felt okay, even though my energy level wasn't amazing, so I figured the drug was already working itself out.

Friday came, however, and by the evening, I literally thought I was having a heart attack. I've never been so scared in my life, so D rushed me to the nearby urgent care so I could get checked out. In the time before he got home, I started putting together a list in my head of folks I should quickly text to tell them I loved them before I died - that's how terrified I was. When I told the desk clerks that I had pain in my chest, I was immediately rushed back to get my blood pressure measured, and it was indeed very high - so high that I thought they would be getting together a will for me to sign. Thankfully, D was there with me every step of the way, so in my head, if I had to die, at least it was while I was with the love of my life.

Thankfully, when I got placed in a room (which happened rather quickly - it seems that the words "pain in chest" are magic when it comes to hospitals!), the nurse who was attending to me said that the numbers he was seeing on my charts were, although a little disconcerting, not nearly bad enough that I should think I was dying. In fact, he -- and later the doctor as well -- said that people live with those kinds of numbers for years. I can't tell you how much better this made me feel. Although it didn't take away the pain or lessen the pressure, it was as if a different, invisible layer of stress had been lifted. I wasn't going to die after all!!

Another technician came in and did an EKG, and finally the doctor came in and had a great talk with me. He listened to all my symptoms, concerns, and questions, and told me I truly didn't have anything to worry about. He told me to go to the MRI that I have scheduled this coming week, and to try to deal with my stress a little bit, as that can be a cause of migraines. He thought the migraines were probably the main cause of my high blood pressure, and that, if I was able to lessen their frequency, my blood pressure should probably resolve itself and go back to normal.

I can't even tell you what a relief that was. Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm free of the headaches, nor is my blood pressure even back down to what it should be yet, but today I woke up feeling like I wasn't going to die (a great improvement over the past week!), and very confident about the healing road ahead.

I realize this is an insanely long post, and there are probably only two of you who have actually read to the very end (thank you!), but I wanted to tell you all of this for two main reasons: the first one is that you might be wondering why my posting here has gotten a bit limited. The answer is that it's kind of hard to feel motivated to cook, write about the food and then publish it when your head is pounding and your vision is blurred. The other reason is because I feel like so few people actually talk about the pain they're in that I wanted to be sure and mention it here. I'm 29-years-old and very healthy, yet I have been stricken with this chronic pain that has seemingly appeared out of nowhere and doesn't seem to have a clear cure. It's terrifying being in this spot, and I know of very few other people who have spoken about chronic pain, though I know there must be thousands of them who suffer the same or even worse than I do. Let's try and be open with this pain, and share it with each other, in the hope that it may make it feel just a little bit better.

Thank you so much for reading, and please feel free to leave any comments you may have below.

Freshly-Squeezed Orange Juice Cocktail

2013-02-22T13:23:00.001-08:00

Today, I'm going to talk about drinks. D and I are not party animals, and while I'm suffering from a migraine (which I seem to be having more and more often these days), alcohol is nowhere near my palate. However, on a more "normal" day, when both of us are feeling well and we want something extra with our meal, an adult beverage is often what we pick for a treat.

We have discovered the joy of freshly-squeezed juice as part of our mixed drinks. Orange juice is my favorite, although I'm sure I could be convinced by just about any fresh ingredient that you brought to my attention. The drink that you see above is freshened with freshly-squeezed heirloom (!!!) oranges we picked up at our local market, and boy, does that make for a tasty libation. Garnished with a cut orange, and I'd swear we were out for a fancy night on the town instead of at home in our slippers.

Freshly-Squeezed Orange Juice Cocktail
Vegan, gluten-free, soy-free
Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 iced cubes

1 shot vodka
1 shot papaya nectar
1/2 shot pomegranate/cranberry juice
2 2/3 shots Hansens tonic water (which has actual sugar instead of corn syrup)
1/4 squeezed orange
orange slices for garnish

Method:
Place iced cubes into a rocks glass. Cover with rest of ingredients. Swirl once or twice, then enjoy.

Recovering From Disappointment

2013-02-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I received not one, but two disappointing reviews of my products. Two different local organizations that are both humongous in their own right around the Pacific Northwest said my products were not good enough for them. My heart was broken, and tears and anger kept coming in continual waves. During this time of grief, I discovered just how many wonderful people are really on my side: D was there the entire time, offering hugs, back rubs, and spontaneous trips outside Portland to make me feel better. My friend S was there, offering sweet texts and Jolly Rancher-flavored vodka, as well as emails that contained pictures of sunshine. Coworkers listened to me if I wanted to talk, or came up with distracting stories if I didn't. I am getting over this grief (although, truth be told, the very recent news that my aunt is dying is probably the underlying reason why this bad news hit me so hard this weekend) with the help and love of these great people.

An awesome thing happened after the weekend was over: on Monday, I got home from work and came across a package from a recent vegan Valentine's Day-themed food swap that I participated in. My swapper gave me delicious goodies from where she lives in Colorado, which made for a very excited me.

Even though I'm very disappointed in the results of these two organizations' judgings, I have been able to learn from the situation about how my business needs to be run. This rejection is probably the largest I've received so far, but, as D pointed out, the best part is that my status quo is still fairly positive: I sell products to four (and soon to be five) local companies, and I still have a regular job that pays me regularly and gives me health insurance, which are two blessings I am extremely fortunate to have.

This situation has taught me to take a step back and enjoy life a little more in the meantime. I want to devote more hours to just me- or D-and-I-time, instead of Cinnamon-Cinnamon-Cinnamon time. I want to start getting back into my hobbies, start running again, and start seeing my fantastic friends on a more regular basis again.

How do you recover from rejection or disappointment?

Scenes of January

2013-01-25T12:44:00.001-08:00

This month is crazy-busy for me. Who knew January would end up being worse than December? Not only am I rushing around town, spending hours at the kitchen, and spreading my samples around the world, I'm doing it in the cold, dark landscape. The Pacific Northwest has pretty ugly winters, and this January has been one of the ugliest. Add that to the fact that it's only light outside from 7:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m., and really, you've got the recipe for a very sad Geanna.

However, just because I'm sad doesn't mean I don't have moments of happiness. Seasonal-affective-disorder may be causing me to want to sleep more, taking away all my energy, and making it difficult to be self-motivated, but that doesn't mean I don't find joy in little things here and there. So today, instead of a nice recipe, or some well-thought out review of a local restaurant, I'm sharing with you some pictures of my life right now, in this moment.

I received this fantastic and thoughtful bag of gifts from my sister in Japan, complete with tea and lovely earrings.

I made some damn fine refined-sugar-free (just stevia!) AND grain-free AND allergen-free (no nuts!) brownies that not only tasted good but looked awesome, as well. They made me very happy.

My bakery got UPC codes!! That means I can go anywhere now! Watch out, world.

D bought Betsy this great heated pad (it's actually meant for outdoor cats, but works great right by the drafty front door) that she loves to sit on. This way, she can delegate tasks to all the squirrels outside without getting chilly paws.

Vegg: The Compassionate Egg, a Review

2013-01-14T09:34:00.001-08:00

I received a sample of The Vegg about a month and a half ago, and I'm ashamed to admit that the envelope sat on my counter for that long, waiting patiently for me to open it. I finally did open it for breakfast yesterday, and I'm so glad I did!

D was skeptical; he wasn't sure he wanted to have French toast that was made with a powder, and I wasn't sure that the bread would taste like anything other than nooch (the ingredients list starts off with nutritional yeast and doesn't include much else), but I decided it was time to face both our fears and experiment! I used the recipe for French toast that's found on the package. If you can't see it well in the picture below, it's very simple:

Blend 4 teaspoons Vegg powder with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/12 cup soymilk (I used my trusty hazelnut milk instead) for 15 seconds. Pour into large flat bowl. Sprinkle ground cinnamon on the liquid mixture and whisk for 10 seconds. Cut bread into 1" slices. Dip slice in mixture (both sides) for 10 seconds each side. Fry in vegan margarine (I used olive oil). Don't flip until crispy golden brown on bottom. Brown other side. Plate and serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit.

The mixture came out looking like this:

But, after I placed the bread in the mixture and cooked it in a pan, it came out looking like this (forgive the falling-apart bread; apparently gluten-free bread doesn't hold up well for French toast!):

D was delighted by the results, and I had to actually fight to get my fair share of the meal! This is a really great product, and I truly can't wait to made even more dishes with it. I can only imagine its many awesome uses. I especially love that 10% of every sale goes to Compassion Over Killing, which is an animal advocacy group working to end all animal abuse.

Have you tried The Vegg? If so, what did you think?

**Disclaimer: I received a free sample of The Vegg from the company that produces it; however, all the opinions expressed here are my own.**

Happy 2013!

2013-01-07T09:33:00.002-08:00

My anniversary with D is January 1st, which is awesome because we always get the day off, and we can usually use a break after the holiday hubbub. This year we spent our anniversary at Mt. Hood, the closest mountain to Portland (unless you count the mountain that's located within the city limits - Mt. Tabor - which I don't). It was D's suggestion that we find a cabin where we could ski or snowshoe in, and we found this wonderful cabin near Trillium Lake.

If it looks a little too large for just two people, it was - the smaller one we originally requested was taken, so we received this gigantic house (that sleeps 20 people!) instead. It was pretty fun (if a bit impractical) to have so much room.

The mountain was GORGEOUS. The snow was perfect - soft, but packed; the weather was amazing - sunny and clear; and we really had a fabulous time. It was my first time cross-country skiing (or doing any kind of skiing, for that matter), and I was concerned about my lack of knowledge putting a damper on the outing, but it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and it turned out to be a lot more fun getting around on skis than I had imagined.

There was no wifi or television in the chalet, and we were limited to only the supplies and food we brought with us, so we subsisted by playing board games (I am the reigning champion at Cribbage!) and building a pillow and blanket fort in the living room (we called it Ft. Cozy Buns). We rested a lot, skied a lot, and enjoyed our time away from "real life" a lot. I can't wait to do it again.

Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

2012-12-26T11:44:00.001-08:00

Whew! Christmas is over, there is a week until New Year's, and, well, life is back to "normal" for at least a day or two. Of course, that means you probably have torn wrapping paper and ribbons strewn all over the house, somanyleftovers in the kitchen, and presents stacked up, ready to be used and loved, but who doesn't love a little bit of mess now and then?

Perhaps you also have some leftover candy canes laying around? Or maybe they are slowly cracking and crumbling in the bottom of your stocking? Even if I can't help you with your cleaning chores, I CAN help you with your candy canes! In fact, I have the perfect solution to your problems!

Ohhhh, yeah...chocolate peppermint donuts with crunchy candy cane topping. With these babies lying around, you definitely won't have to worry about leftovers any longer!

I took my favorite chocolate donut recipe (from Babycakes, who now has an App for your iPad that is a lot cheaper than their cookbook!), added some peppermint extract, threw on some smashed candy canes, and called it a day. D can't stop raving about these, and although he was actually skeptical at first, just one bite made him a believer, and he hasn't stopped requesting them ever since.

Chocolate Peppermint Donuts (vegan, gluten-free, nut-free)
Makes ~one dozen donuts (depending on your donut recipe yield)

Ingredients:
1 recipe for baked chocolate donuts
at least 5 candy canes
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (I like to use Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
1 T. melted coconut oil
1/2 t. peppermint extract

Method:

Bake the donuts. While they are cooling (this can be expedited by placing them in the fridge while you prepare the toppings), smash your candy canes: put them in a plastic, ziplock bag, cover them with a towel, and forcefully bring down a heavy bowl or shatter-proof jar on top of them until they are the size you desire. Set them aside in a bowl.
In a stovetop pan on low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil and peppermint extract until smooth, stirring frequently. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on the chocolate so that it doesn't boil. Remove from heat when it is completely smooth. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
When the donuts are cool to the touch, dip them into the chocolate sauce, then place them onto a plate. When the plate is full, sprinkle the smashed candy canes over the donuts so they are all equally covered. Place the plate in the fridge for about an hour to let the glaze set, then remove and serve at room temperature.

I've shared these on the very last Wellness Weekend of 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-22T18:06:00.001-08:00

I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!

Love, Geanna :)

Chocolate Pomegranate Truffles

2012-12-17T08:26:00.002-08:00

These are delicious, and actually the culmination of several days' work. I made one thing, thought - this is good but not quite good enough - let it sit for a day while I thought about it, then had an ah-ha! moment that produced this awesome result.

These are perfect to bring to a party or a last-minute work event. I took these to work and they went so quickly I thought everyone must be suffering from a chocolate shortage. I made these for a birthday party and no one could talk for a few minutes while they were stuffing their mouths. You are sure to be a hit when you bring these to the table. Guaranteed.

Chocolate Pomegranate Truffles
Makes about 22 truffles

Ingredients:
Truffles:
1/3 c. coconut oil
3/4 c. coconut cream (from the top of a chilled can of coconut milk)
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. mint chocolate coconut milk (I used So Delicious)
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice
pomegranate seeds from one pomegranate

Ganache:
1 1/2 c. vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)
1/2 c. + 2 T. coconut oil

Method:

In a stovetop pan set to low heat, mix together all the truffle ingredients (EXCEPT pomegranate seeds) until they are smooth. Bring the liquid to just boiling, then remove from heat. Pour into a heat-safe container and put into the fridge for 2-3 hours, until very solid.
When the time has passed, remove the plate from the fridge. Using a scoop (or a spoon), scoop out tablespoon-sized amounts of the filling and roll into balls. Place a toothpick inside each one and place onto a freezer-safe plate. Place the plate in the freezer for about an hour.
When about an hour has gone by, start making the ganache: in a stovetop pan on medium heat, melt together the chocolate chips and coconut oil, stirring often, until the mixture is very smooth. Remove from heat and let cool just a little.
Remove plate from freezer and slowly dip the truffles into the ganache. Place them back onto the plate and remove the toothpick. Put a pomegranate seed where the hole for the toothpick is. Place plate back into the freezer to store up to one day.
Before serving, place plate in the fridge for an hour to defrost. Serve slightly cold.

I have listed this on Wellness Weekends.

Vegan Food Swap

2012-12-14T16:18:00.002-08:00

My good internet friend (is that weird to say?) Meg from Snarky Chickpea and Vegan YA Nerds recently put together a vegan food swap. It was my first time participating in any sort of long-distance swap, and I had an absolute blast being a part of it. I got matched with Hillary, another internet friend of mine (ack, it does seem a little weird, I have to admit) from Twitter. I think Betsy the kitty enjoyed opening the package when it came, nearly as much as I did!

I sent Hillary seasonal items from my bakery and she sent me lovely items from her hometown of Chattanooga, TN. I've never been there, so it was fun to have a literal taste of the south arrive in a box. I received cute magnets, delicious apple butter, a spice mix, Christmas tea, sea salted chocolate (omg I love it so much!) and holiday cookie cutters. Another thanks goes to Hillary for somehow knowing me as well as she does to get me just the right items, and to Meg for generously hosting the swap.

I can't wait to do another vegan swap; this one was so much fun!

Simple Cranberry Sauce Appetizer

2012-12-10T10:23:00.002-08:00

I know, I know, it's past Thanksgiving, so you probably don't have any cranberry sauce left over. Or do you? We ended up hosting two events on Thanksgiving, and D made a delicious cranberry sauce (with this recipe, minus 1/2 cup of sugar), but even with the large group, I'm happy to say that there was some leftover sauce with my name on it. I loooove cranberry sauce. Something about the tartness, the berries, and the overall texture just makes me happy. After a while, though, I began thinking: is it really polite to be eating this with a spoon in front of D?

As an answer to myself, I came up with this extremely simple appetizer. Although our leftover sauce is now gone, you can bet your buttons I'm going to whip up (or ask D to whip up) another batch for Christmas so we can make this for our friends.

This is an extremely rich appetizer, especially with the vegan cream cheese on top. Another option (that is perfectly fine, too!) is to leave the cream cheese on the side for people to be able to add their own, or to omit the asparagus and keep the cream cheese. It's really up to you, but either way, your guests are sure to be pleased.

Simple Cranberry Sauce Appetizer (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Servings are up to you!

Ingredients:
asparagus spears, cut into thirds or fourths (each piece should be about an inch and a half long)
oil for pan
salt (optional)
gluten-free and vegan rice crackers
leftover (or new!) cranberry sauce, the kind with whole berries
vegan cream cheese, such as Tofutti or Follow Your Heart

Method:

In a stovetop pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add cut asparagus spears, and a dash of salt (optional).
While they are sauteing, place the rice crackers out on your serving platters. Add a spoonful of cranberry sauce to each one. Once the asparagus is done, place two cut spears on top of each rice cracker.
Complete the appetizer with a dollop of vegan cream cheese. It's nice to do this while the asparagus is still warm so that the cream cheese melts a bit into more of a sauce. These can be refrigerated up to one day.

I've shared this on Wellness Weekend.

Christmas Gift Ideas

2012-12-07T12:44:00.003-08:00

Have you entered my Cinnamon products giveaway? My gluten-free, vegan and allergen-free bakery is giving away a dozen donuts (6 cinnamon-sugar, 6 chocolate) to a lucky winner. The contest ends Friday at midnight. Good luck!

Christmas is a mere 18 days away. I'm just now starting to think about presents (I'm a huge procrastinator when it comes to gifts for myself, I'll admit it). I have compiled a short list of things I'm adding to my "want" list this holiday season...are any of these items on your list??

-a heart-shaped donut pan. I don't really need this, but boy do I want it. I wish I could show you a picture of the cute heart-shaped donuts featured on Amazon, but just click around on Google and you're sure to find some yourself.

-Vegan Food Gifts (by Joni Marie Newman). This book is gorgeous and filled to the brim with fantastic vegan gifts to give to ANYone on your list.

-anything and everything from Foxfire teas. Their Black Current is magic.
Alternately, I'll take anything and everything from Steven Smith tea, too. I really want to try their Silent Night seasonal tea.

-a globe. I looove globes. I officially <3 globes. And I recently learned that my brother received one for his birthday in October, and now I'm completely jealous of a globe! Thank goodness D wants one too. We've been salivating together over them online...

-a crafting book. I love to craft, and I love to take crafting classes, but I haven't had much time to do either recently. A book about crafting techniques, such as Craft, would be ideal and really helpful.

For even more ideas, see these vegan blogs for great lists!

Blissful Chef: Tis the Season for Giving! Eco Friendly Gift Ideas
Herbivore PDX: Staff Picks
Oh She Glows: 2012 Holiday Gift Ideas

Pumpkin Spiced Chai

2012-12-05T07:55:00.001-08:00

Have you entered my Cinnamon products giveaway? Enter to win one dozen gluten-free, vegan and allergen-free donuts - YUM!! You have until Saturday to enter. Enter the contest here.

In the past year, I've removed coffee from my diet. This has been a mixed bag: I loooove the smell of coffee, and the feeling of holding a steaming cup in my hands, and pouring lots of hazelnut milk into the dark liquid and then drinking it. Ahhh...those things I definitely miss. What I don't miss, however, are the strange headaches I began getting on a regular basis. These felt like someone (or something?) was drilling a strange device into my head, but wouldn't stop when there was resistance. I also realized that I stopped eating during the days when I would drink up to two pots of coffee, leaving me completely wired but ravenous by nightful and absolutely unable to sleep. Obviously, these were problems I had to deal with, and getting rid of coffee has greatly reduced them. I still suffer from migraines periodically, unfortunately, but the strange drilling headaches are no more.

Enter: tea. The great and mighty tea leaf has become my best friend. D has also removed coffee from his drinking arsenal, so we have amassed quite a collection of fine teas from all over town. Not only do we call Portland a coffee-centric city, but the tea scene here is VERY prestigious. You know Stash and Tazo? Both started by the same guy, and both originated here in Portland. Steven Smith teas (as the founder's company is now called) aren't the only delicious ones in town, though, and D and I are quite happy to drink our way through all the lovely tea houses we can find.

Drinking tea on the run can be expensive, though, and although I won't find offending ingredients in simple loose leaf, ordering a chai or other mixed tea beverage can have varying results. That's why, in the best of times, I prefer to just make myself a humble mug of tea at home.

Pumpkin Spiced Chai Tea (Vegan, Gluten-free, Soy-free)
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 black chai tea bag
1/2 c. boiling water
1/2 c. coconut cream (taken from the top of a can of refrigerated full-fat coconut milk)
1/4 c. pumpkin puree
1 t. pumpkin pie spice (or more, to taste)
2 T. evaporated cane juice (or other sweetener, to taste)

Method:

Steep the tea bag in small bowl with boiling water. Set aside and make the other part of the recipe.
In a small stovetop pan, mix together the remaining ingredients. Heat at medium-low heat until just bubbling, mixing periodically.
When it is boiling, remove from heat, pour strongly-steeped tea into the coconut cream mixture and stir. Pour into a mug and enjoy!

I've shared this on Wellness Weekend.

Cinnamon Products Giveaway: CLOSED

2012-12-03T08:43:00.001-08:00

This giveaway is closed. Please check back for future giveaways from Cinnamon!

Hello! Let's get this holiday season started off right! Throughout December, I'll be hosting multiple giveaways for the small bakery I run out of Portland, Oregon. All of my items are completely gluten-free, vegan, and allergen-free. They are free of the top 8 allergens as well as corn.

This week's giveaway is for one dozen donuts - 6 cinnamon sugar and 6 chocolate-with-chocolate. These are two of my most popular items. These value at $24 normally, so you're getting quite a deal! These can be shipped to anyone, anywhere in the contiguous United States, so feel free to enter even if you don't live in Portland!

For more information about the bakery, please visit www.cinnamonpdx.com.

To enter the contest, see the form below! There are four different ways to win, so good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Holidays!

2012-11-28T12:01:00.002-08:00

I have many wonderful recipes and posts planned for the next month, but in the meantime, I must tell you the sad news: our oven has stopped being a reliable source of anything (sometimes even the burners on the stove don't work!), so we are waiting to get it fixed. Our food processor also bit the dust a few weeks ago, and that leaves us with some very fun meal times ahead!

However, I will continue to offer plenty of holiday delights on these pages...they just might be a little, well, undercooked, shall we say??

To tide you over for the meantime, here are some delightful pictures of our very seasonal kitty.

Meal Planning in Pictures

2012-11-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

Remember when I said months ago that we've been trying to cut back? Well, it was a bit harder than I thought it would be to make every single meal we ate together a homemade one. In fact, we still average about two take-out dinners a week. However, nothing beats knowing exactly what has gone into my meal, and of course, the financial benefits are obviously a plus.

Here's a snapshot into some of the planned (and executed!) meals we've had recently:

simple stir fry with chickpeas and green beans

gluten-free spaghetti with marinara sauce (from a jar) and fresh veggies

dilapidated tofu burger, homemade fries, with veggie sides

cheater dinner: after a full day and night of baking, we decided to get some Thai to go: avocado curry with tempeh

Cinnamon's Winter Promotion

2012-11-23T19:14:00.004-08:00

Hello world! My [gluten-free/vegan/allergen-free] bakery is having a fantastic winter deal (it involves delicious treats like the ones you see in the picture below - yummm!).

Check it out here!

Don't forget - we ship to anywhere in the contiguous United States (wink, wink).

Food of Thanksgivings Past

2012-11-19T08:35:00.002-08:00

Last year I hosted Thanksgiving, and it was the first year I did so. I kept it completely vegetarian - no turkey in sight - and it turned out lovely. I won't get to host this year's feast, so I can't guarantee the menu, but I am bringing some treats along with me that will be deliciously vegan.

Here is a glimpse into what I've made for former Thanksgivings and November days...

Last year's Thanksgiving went swimmingly well.

The year before that, I had pumpkin pancakes for breakfast the day before Thanksgiving, which seemed pretty fitting.

Who can forget this awesome pumpkin fudge, featuring Dandies vegan marshmallows? I made it a few years back, and I really need to get in the kitchen to make some more soon.

And my favorite Thanksgiving/November/pumpkin recipe to date: this yummy "modern" pumpkin pie that I kind of just made on a whim one day. You can bet I'll be making this again soon.

What I'm Making for Thanksgiving

2012-11-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

This pumpkin pie from Oh She Glows.

This stuffing from Choosing Raw on Food52.

This homemade "canned" cranberry sauce.

These dairy-free mashed potatoes.

What are you making??

BlogHer Wants to Know...

2012-11-15T12:55:00.002-08:00

...how you view videos on blogs. Since BlogHer is one of my site's sponsors, I thought it would be prudent to share this survey with you. Please fill out BlogHer's survey (below) if you have time.

Would you please take a few minutes (no more than 5) to take our survey about watching video online? Your thoughts are so valuable to us and your opinions will help BlogHer.com make better decisions about video content on our site.

SURVEY HERE

Our Birthday Weekend in the Columbia Gorge

2012-11-07T08:02:00.001-08:00

D and I had a wonderful weekend away. It was restful, food-ful, and just plain lovely to get away. We weren't "allowed" to talk shop all weekend, meaning our conversations were sometimes deep and meaningful and sometimes revolved around Plants vs. Zombies strategy.

this game is EPIC on the iPad, which was D's gift to me

We enjoyed lots of fruit tasting, scenic driving, visiting libraries, and the slower-paced living that accompanies small towns.

humongous apple!

It was a great weekend away.

Happy Halloween!

2012-10-31T10:01:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's Halloween. I'm busy baking today for my company Cinnamon's November Treat of the Month Club delivery tomorrow, so I'll hardly have a chance to pay attention to costumes, candy, or jack-o-lanterns. It was awesome Mofo-ing this month, although to be honest, I'm thankful to say goodbye to another year, as I've suddenly discovered just how difficult it is to maintain two jobs, a house/kitty/boyfriend, AND the task of blogging every day for a month!

Without further ado, I wish you a happy Halloween and a happy November! I'm off until the 6th, so I'll see you again next month! I'll leave you with a picture of the delicious raw chocolates (one with raw cashews, one without) I made last night... yummm... :)