Vegan Wonton Soup (try)

So, I tried a new recipe today .... well it started yesterday. I wanted to make a vegan wonton soup so I searched the internet but everything I found had tofu in the wonton but I wanted it to be just veggies. So, onward! Got a bag of cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, garlic and wonton wrappers. I didn't know that the wonton wrappers may not be vegan so I didn't look to make sure on the ingredients. Guess I should next time huh? Well here it is ...(Please excuse my bad photography!)

I sauteed the cabbage, mushrooms, ginger and garlic then used water to wet the edges, added the veggies, folded corner to corner, pressed the sides together and voila!
I then poured two boxes of veg stock into a pot, added half a leek, ginger, soy sauce, and mushrooms. I let it boil lightly for about 30 minutes then added the wontons.

sauteed veggies and wrappers ready to be wrapped!

Wonton soup ... MMMM (the wontons are hiding!)

It turned out way yummy! I did remove some of the leeks and veggies ... My kids would have freaked! I liked it though. My carnivorous husband liked it too. Oh, I added some tofu at the end thinking Hubby would need some protein but he only had a few bites. He went straight to the freezer and got a Morning Star Black Bean Burger .... Oh well. I'm not giving up! 

I have to find something out there that the whole family will like. I have to!

Going Vegan

What an amazing life. I've had 30+ (well maybe a little high on the +) years of eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I am officially a fast food junkie. Now, not so much. My husband was diagnosed with needing a quadruple bypass about a month ago. Our whole lives have changed. I am trying a new vegan recipe as often as I can and will share them as I come across one that is sufficient. So far .... Not so good. Only spaghetti has made it through. I've made ... hmmm let's see .... veggie burgers, tofu sushi, barley soup with soy creamer, seitan (but I totally messed that one up) ...
Today, I made butternut squash Mac and Cheese. Yummy! I didn't have the kids running, spitting it out in the garbage or saying "oh mommy can we just make a pb & j?

Here it is ... Thank you so much manifestvegan.com!!

Smokey Butternut Mac and Cheese

• 16 ounces brown rice pasta, macaroni, penne, fusili, shells all work well
• 2 cups cashews, soaked in water at least 3 hours and drained
• 1  1/2 to 2 cups almond milk, to thin
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 cups cooked butternut squash
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups chopped (and de-stemmed) kale - I used one bag of spinach instead
• 1/2 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Cook the pasta according to package directions, undercooking just slightly by a minute or so. Drain well and rinse completely with cold water to remove any starch.
Transfer the pasta back to the pot and set aside. I like to stir in a drizzle of olive oil at this point to keep the pasta slick, but it’s not necessary.
Place the soaked and drained cashews, 1 cup almond milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, cooked butternut squash, nutritional yeast, garlic, and 1  1/4 teaspoons salt into a food processor. Blend very well, at least 7 minutes, until completely smooth and silky, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add about 1/2 cup more almond milk until thinned, pulsing between each addition. Add the sauce to the pasta in the pot, and then stir in the remaining almond milk to thin. Warm up gently over medium-low heat, stirring often until desired temperature is reached. Sprinkle on the smoked paprika and fold just to combine.

Really???

Failure is such a bummer! It's hard not to beat yourself up when you don't do what you know you are supposed to do! I know "if at first you don't succeed, try try again" but for me it should read "if at first you don't succeed, try try try try try try try try....." I have a hard time trying again after so many failures but God is good and my faith is in Him! I will try again with Him by my side....tomorrow! LOL See what I mean?! This is crazy!

Prayer Starter: God, I know that life won't always go the way I want it to, but I trust in You. By faith, I receive Your grace, the power You have freely given to help me walk through any situation I face today.

Try again??

Here we go again. . . so far so bad! I know we are all human but I wish sometimes I weren't so much. I am finding that I have Add but not so much in the way that would be "good" and organized, more in the procrastinating, can't finish anything because of disappointment and distraction. I know . . I feel like I am using it as a crutch or excuse which goes back to the "failure" idea that seems to go with Add. I just really need to focus on my walk with God. Focus! .... wait that seems to be the problem.  --- praying for patience, focus and closeness with God. 

WOW

I have to share ... so, I've been getting all these little, well not little .. big, notes from God and this one takes the cake! I started a bible lesson (biblestudylessons.com) and it says to have a bible handy to refer and read. I've been searching for my bible for a while and found my bible cover but not my bible. So, I pleaded to God to help me find my bible. I turned the corner to my craft room which is so cluttered and incredibly messy to the point you can't even walk into the room without stepping on a box or book or tote, and immediately looked at my bible, on the floor behind a tote and books. Below some papers there was a corner of my bible standing out like a flashlight. I couldn't believe it. I actually said out loud "is that my bible? No way?!" I stepped on anything and everything without a care in the world to reach that bible and ... it was. I almost fell to the floor. My knees were weak and the tears started to flow. I prayed thanking God in a way I have never done before. I am so overwhelmed with the love of God that I feel like I am going to explode! I want to please Him like never before. I am overflowing with a sense of love that I've never felt. I am so ready for life and all that it brings! All things are possible but only with Jesus Christ our Lord!

Purpose

So, here we are . . . now what? That is what I am struggling with today, well every day! I think we all need to know that we are here for a purpose. I need to know that someone is feeling that I am purposeful. My life until now has been wondering about without smell, taste and feeling. I can see the flowers but can't smell them. I can touch the petals but can't enjoy the smooth surface. The chocolate next to the flowers looks good. I know it is supposed to be good but there is no flavor. I can't even feel the texture as it melts in my mouth. That's it! I'm done! I want to smell the flowers!!!!

So, here starts my new day. I was listening to a podcast from my favorite pastor Marty Martin on northstarpc.cc on the way to South Carolina. I had been so down and feeling like I was wondering about with no purpose. I hadn't listened to a podcast from him in a while so I took advantage of the time in the car and put them on. The first one was "what it takes to really change" .... Really??? I have never felt that God was talking directly to me. I have had people tell me "I knew what to do because God told me" or "God was pushing me to do this or that", but never have I felt that way. . . until now!!! Omg-sh Omg-sh Could it really have been that loud? I have prayed and prayed to be spoken to like other people but after hearing the message, I know why I haven't heard Him. Duh! Marty said "how can you know your purpose if you are not connected with God on a daily basis? If you are not connected, you won't recognize his voice when he is speaking to you". I thought, wow maybe he has been speaking to me all the time but I haven't heard him.

So, if you listen on Marty talks about spending time with God every morning before everyone gets up ... Oh No! I am the worst morning person ever! No really! I said "Really God? Do I have to???" and I heard in my heart almost as plain as a voice ... Really! Noooo! I can't do that!! Then after listening to three or four podcasts, I realize I can't do it without God. Which brings me back to the getting up earlier than the worm. So, I'm praying for God to lift me out of bed at 5:30 am or smack me or ice cold water. I am knowing that with God all things are possible . . . I can do it! tomorrow. . . Okay, so it didn't work this morning or last but it will work tomorrow!! I know it will! I am so ready for change! I Can do this! (with God, not by myself )