Friday, November 16, 2007

v-con and ED&BV LOVE! and a very personal sidenote!

I first want to start w/ my very best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! no matter how you choose to celebrate! Over the last couple of weeks here is what I have been cooking from my new cookbooks.....

V-Con leek and bean cassolet w/ biscuits..
Love these biscuits!.. This totally smelled good in the oven!!!



V-con...Chickpea cutlets.. OHH baby.. too bad I made mine a bit too thin then baked the heck out of them.. they ended up being more like crackers... Total operator error.. I will be trying these again!! Sweet potato mash and a garden salad on the side.

The ever so crumbly ED & BV chickpea sensation patties w/ popcorn fries. Ohhhh everyone LOVED those fries!! man o man! I had some better photos but, thought this one was cute w/ the book there and all.ohhh MYYY again... The chickpea sensation patties made a mighty fine leftover lunch! especially w/ homemade bread
I made some beefy seitan then added some left over bbq sauce and on the side....ED&BV Lemon garlic pasta... The funny thing about these noodles is little Ms. Emma really didn't care for them.. She begs me to buy lemons so she can suck on them or make "lemon water" regularly.. but, to hers I ended up adding a splash of Old Bay seasoning and then she ate them.. Would I make them again? oh heck yea w/ some Old Bay seasoning and soy creamer (life is always better w/ soy creamer, is it not?)
ON a very serious note....
Last year my Mom was diagnosed w/ breast cancer the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. .. I will never forget that call. I had that night's dinner going... and Thanksgiving dinner going too. I had started the tofu pumpkin pie, I had my wild rice cooking on the stove.. It was about 3:00 pm.. when Mom called. She really couldn't say anything but, it was confirmed it was breast cancer. She hung up and all of the sudden I was completely and utterly paralyzed. I remember calling my hubby.. telling him the news, sobbing.. telling him I had a plan for the night, that I had started prepping this and that...but, I could not seem to remember a bit of it. Stuff was cooking and I could not seem to remember where I was, or what I was doing. Honey came right home to help/ comfort me and reassure me everything was going to be okay. The absolute hardest part was I was 900+ miles away.. That I could not be with her. That was torture! I wanted so desperately for her not to be alone that night (her honey was out of town). I called her BFF and she assured me that she was on her way to stay the night w/ my Mom (YEA! MARYELLEN!). The next day I had my first parent teacher conference w/ my son Eli's then kindergarten teacher. My oldest was in town for the holidays and stayed home w/ the little ones. I only remember braking down in the car on the way .. crying... yelling screaming all the way there.. Once there, I couldn't tell you one thing that the dear teacher said. Later that night my mom arrived for Thanksgiving.. Logically I knew she would be fine, emotionally I couldn't stand the thought of her suffering emotionally.. Why would I tell ya all about this?


-One, my Mom almost skipped her yearly mammogram last year. It was inconvenient, It was time consuming, and she thought like every year they wouldn't find anything anyway. Moral of the story girls - they did find something! SOOO girls go get your mammograms! Please don't put it off...They truly does saves lives!


-Two it leads me to this..
(I hear your collective ahhhhh... isn't it cute?)In honor of my Mom's one year anniversary.... My new tattoo. It is on my wrist, if ya can't tell from the photo. It is kind of hard to see but that is supposed to be a breast cancer pink ribbon behind my MOM tat... I had gone up to Anchorage to celebrate my daughter's 18th birthday. Her idea was to go get tattoos. It became a family affair as my two oldest kids, my bff Kari and I all got tattoos.



-Three, while I was there I got to meet Ms. Dabbleswithapples!( yea me! I have been some what jealous of ya all being able to meet up! in my neck of the woods it just seem to be impossible!), Ms. Monica is just as charismatic as she is so flipping cute! Me, I'm a bit shy and reserved, and meeting new people has never been one of my strong points.. I kinda felt like a nerdy Jr. high boy w/ braces and glasses and a bad hair cut .. at his first dance. I was thrilled to meet her none the less! She is a veggie superstar!

Happy Thanksgiving again.. I look forward to reading all of ya'alls post! I have had quite a time making my vegan thanksgiving thus far! stay tuned .. it should be fabulous!

18 Comments:

At 2:53 AM, Blogger Tracy said...

Hey Julie! I like your tatoo! So, how is your Mom doing now? Wonderful and healthy I hope. What a hard thing for a family to go through, especially when the miles separate you.

 
At 10:03 AM, Blogger MeloMeals said...

Thanks for sharing that about your mom. Love your tattoo.

 
At 2:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is your mom doing ok now? I can imagine how difficult that must have been for you - being so far away. I'm 2000 miles from my family and sometimes I feel very sad about it.

 
At 9:32 PM, Blogger madeinalaska said...

oh ya, my mom is now survivor! she was one of the lucky ones! (W/ early detection!!!) she had a lumpectomy and then radiation and all is well!
GOD BLESS her! she did it! I could not be prouder of her. She is a goddess!!

 
At 4:57 AM, Blogger Rural Vegan said...

The food is beautiful, but the tattoo is even better. How sweet to honor your mom like that.

 
At 7:02 PM, Blogger Carrie™ said...

Juleeeeeee!! Food looks great! I don't have V-Con yet, so I've put it on my Christmas list. I do have ED&BV and have only made sweet stuff so far.
I can relate to your mom story. My mom is a 6 year cancer survivor, but I remember getting the phone call. Terrifying! And my mom is also far away - approx. 1500 miles. Luckily, my aunt was close. (Yea Aunt Nancy!)
You sent a very timely message as well, because I've had my card to book a mammogram appt. for probably a year now. I know that sounds awful and the main reason I haven't gone isn't because I'm afraid they'll find something....I'm afraid it's going to hurt. How childish and ridiculous is that? I was actually thinking about calling today to book my appt. It will probably turn out to be not a big deal at all. Worrying about what might be is just silly. Yep. Your message has come through loud and clear. I'll call Monday to make the appt. I'll let you know that I've done it. Once the appt. is made, I'll go. Thanks Julee. Happy Thanksgiving.

 
At 8:50 PM, Blogger lao80 said...

I'm so happy you posted on my blog, your blog is my new favorite blog. I think your kids might be slightly less picky then mine, but not by much from the looks of it. There are so many recipes that I want to try now that I've heard a review and seen a picture. Thanks!

 
At 10:26 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The debate continues re: the pros and cons of mammograms. Im glad your mom is ok though, that's whats important.

The Pink Ribbon campaign, don't get me started...there's a lot more to this than just 'searching for a cure'.

Food for thought, especially for vegans and vegetarians.

 
At 10:37 PM, Blogger dreamy said...

That was very sweet of you to tattoo that :) The chickpeas patties look great! :d

 
At 3:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing the food and your personal story. im so happy that your mom is well now!

 
At 4:03 PM, Blogger Catherine Weber said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Julee! Can't wait to see what you cooked up. Also, glad to hear your mom is doing so well!

Needing help from the bloggers -- come to my blog and cast your vote in the great Christmas Cookie Conundrum of 2007!

 
At 9:58 AM, Blogger Vegan_Noodle said...

Your tattoo is such a wonderful tributes to your mom's battle with cancer.
All the cooking from v-con and ed&bv looks spectacular! I need to try those biscuits!!

 
At 9:58 PM, Blogger bazu said...

Julie! Happy belated Thanksgiving, and I'm thankful that you and your mom got the best gift of all- restored health. Phew! I was getting a lump in my throat reading your post, so I'm very happy for the happy ending!
That tattoo is awesome- I'm a firm believer in tattoos that have such deep meaning- no better reason to get one!
Oh, and aren't blogger meet-ups fun? Don't worry, I always feel like a big ol' nerd when I meet someone new, too.
xo

 
At 7:04 AM, Blogger Keely said...

Hi Raw Diva Julee!!!

Love the tat!

A bunch of us are getting (and giving) the gift of health this year by taking The Green Smoothie Queen 3-Day Challenge!!! Will you be joining us? The more the merrier!!! [grin]

http://www.therawdivas.com/greensmoothiequeen

 
At 8:32 AM, Blogger Crystal said...

What a cool and meaningful tattoo! Good for you.

I'm asking for the Vegonomican (sp?) for Christmas, so I have to just look at your yummy pictures until then.

-Crystal

 
At 8:00 AM, Blogger LizNoVeggieGirl said...

ahh, how fun!! I too have been cooking/baking with Veganomicon and ED&BV like crazy!! :0D

What a compelling story - I'm so relieved that your mother is a survivor, and that you've been able to get through that tough year. Here's to many more years!! :0)

Your tattoo is a lovely commemoration as well.

 
At 5:42 PM, Blogger Pink Theory said...

thanks for sharing that story and I'm glad to hear it has a happy ending for you and your mom. love the tattoo!

 
At 7:14 PM, Blogger Dori said...

Happy Thanksgiving a little late to you to. I am sorry to hear about your mom's breast cancer. I 'm glad to read she is doing better now! Love the tatoo also. I've never tattoed before, but I have given a small one very serious consideration before.

Youe meals look awesome. I have Dreena's new cookbook, but perhaps I'll have to ask for v-con soon.

 

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