Vegan Cauliflower Steak

I decided to cook a meal instead of making avocado with tomato or peanut butter and jelly toast or throwing together yet another sandwich. I should tell you that I hate to cook, so that makes being Vegan slightly more difficult for me.  Most of the organic ingredients were on hand to make Cauliflower Steak so I thought I would give it a try.  Here is the result:

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Yes, I do realize that the crust on the steak looks a tad funny. That is because I accidentally poured the coconut milk into the bread crumbs by accident and then tried to just run with it. That did not work well, so I had to start over and actually dip the cauliflower into the milk and then into the crumb mixture and of course I forgot to use new crumbs and ended up with a paste. No problem, I mashed it all onto the cauliflower  cooked it and the sweet potatoes in some olive oil and it turned out  great! The tomato and cucumber are a nod to my Southern roots. We had those at almost every meal. This is something I will definitely cook again!

Ingredients:

One large slice of cauliflower

Bread crumbs

A shake of cumin

A shake of curry

A shake of salt and pepper

A shake of garlic

Olive oil

 

 

Summer Flowers

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Wood, Luna and Lavender

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Waterfowl Rescue

If you live in the Charlotte, NC  area of the United States and want to help rescued birds, and other assorted animals please take the time to look at their website. Carolina Waterfowl Rescue.

http://carolinawaterfowlrescue.com/

They always need volunteers and donations. Volunteers do have to be at least 18 years old.

You can follow them on Instagram at waterfowlrescue.

Their services  help a lot of sick, injured and abandoned animals who are truly in need. It takes a lot of run this kind of non-profit organization so please consider a donation! Even a little can help a lot!

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Buster says

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Cups and Saucers!

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As I was browsing through the tableware at Goodwill  I almost screamed with delight when I saw this tableware. It is the same as my grandmother’s tableware! I love it. The minute that I laid eyes on it I felt as if I were back in her kitchen.

Her small, pink kitchen with the light grayish/green table and green chairs very similar to the one below. I loved it but I didn’t get it when she passed away.

Photo from Kitchenchairs on Bogspot.com

I can almost taste the hot chocolate she made for me in those cups. She made it with milk that she warmed on the stove top. My grandmother never had Nestle Quick; she used unsweetened Hershey Baking Powder and added sugar. This unusual and different mixture was soft and silky, warm and filling.

It filled me with more than warmth and nourishment. It filled me with memories. Memories of a grandmother who loved me and loved to cook. To her, cooking was a way to show love. She made everything from scratch because she was brought up on a farm. When my grandmother was older and my grandfather had passed away, my mom would often drive the hour to her house to stay with her for a few days as needed. My mom took a microwave and left it at my grandmother’s house but she never used it. She continued to use her  beloved stove, pots and pans to cook with. My grandmother was born in 1914 and passed away when she was ninety-two. I will cherish these cups and saucers and pass them along to my daughter.

Bug Skeleton

I have been working on learning how to create photo backgrounds with bokeh and blur. As I was looking through photos for one to use I came across this one that I had taken and managed to capture both effects with the camera! I think these little guys are so interesting.

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To Regret or Not? That is the Question.

Last week I blew up and walked out on a decent job. Not the best job ever but it was doable even though it aggravated many aspects of my Fibromyalgia everyday. The hours were ok for me and it wasn’t too far from home although the pay was low. It was the most boring job ever but sometimes almost Zen in an odd sort of way.

There was nepotism involved. Almost every one who worked there had worked either together or in the industry for over twenty years except me. So there was also a slight bit of me being an outsider involved. There was a little bit of bullying also from another worker who I only saw for a few hours every night.

So when someone stole some items from me and the supervisor saw and did nothing because of nepotism that lit the fuse. Then when I made the same mistake as the plant manager and the morning supervisor and got the not so royal treatment we shall say and they didn’t well the fuse burned a lot hotter. I still let some things slide. Then all hell broke loose and nepotism reared it’s ugly head like a giant roaring two headed dragon.

The fuse reached the target and blew like the biggest volcano ever seen! I told the supervisor in no uncertain terms at the top of my lungs where everyone could hear (just like she had scolded me) that she was the worst supervisor I had ever had and stormed out.

There are others who feel exactly as I did and would love to do the same but don’t feel they have the option that I did. Some just bulldoze their way around all day making everyone share their frustration and others just internalize it and keep quiet just doing their job.

So exactly how much should one ignore at work? How long should one be the bigger person? I have moments where I regret doing what I did. Mainly because I hate change. I know I can find another job maybe even one that will be much better but I have to deal with the change. I realize that it would be no big deal to some people but to me it is. A little bit anyway. My daughter is strong. I told her I was going to wait until my back felt better because I really threw it out a couple of weeks ago and have been in pain since then. Her response was, “No you aren’t, you’re going to get right back out there and find another job!” She doesn’t want me to stay one the ground but to get back on the horse. She knows me all too well. I do have a few projects that I am going to finish before I go looking though.

I have wondered if my feelings were also somewhat fueled by the fact that it was 9/15 and I had stewed on the stolen things for days. Days after watching the 9/11 stories on T.V. all day and night. And 9/11 a few years ago is when my mom passed.

So what are your thoughts? Supposedly I have about 190 something followers on this blog so I would like to hear from you all about similar experiences at work. What jobs have you left? What was it that pushed you into action? What was the straw that broke that camel’s back? Did you regret standing up for yourself and leaving in a storm of words that can never be taken back?

 

We Went To See The Horses

My grandson and I went to see the horses that live about a mile down the road from me.  He had a new phone and I thought it would be a great chance for him to take some pics with it. He did a great job but I don’t have any of his photos.

These first two horses are always so gentle and sweet. They have been together for quite some time. I think they might be used for special needs children to ride on.

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This little fellow was so cute and tiny! But he was quite the spitfire.

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My pics are not so great this time but oh well, better luck next time.

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I tried to do a free lens photo but didn’t manage, but I still kind of like the pic.

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Horses move fast!

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This little bull is very gentle and love to be petted. And that is where I stepped in fire ants! Time to go home.

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This cute little thing is the security cat. He followed us the entire time.

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We had a great time hanging out and talking about our photos and the animals.

 

A Great Magazine and More Photos

I mentioned Artful Blogging Magazine in my last post but I failed to tell you which issue I had gained my free lens information from. It is the Aug/Sep/Oct 2016 issue which will be on display until 10/31/16. The full title is Artful Blogging Visually Inspiring Online Journals. I love this magazine! It is packed with inspiring photos and great articles. I don’t have a subscription but I am thinking about getting one. I find the price to be a little steep at $59.99 for four issues a year. I guess it’s just the lump sum that is hard to swallow but I just realized I have paid that much all together for various magazines in the last two months! I am a magazineaholic.

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So I went back and re-read the article that Sarah Rhodes had written on her blog, A Beautiful Mess trying to see if I missed something or not as I am finding it very difficult as did Erin Hensley from the article in Artful Blogging. Erin finally mastered it very well may I say! Below are more of my free lens photos as well as one reverse lens and some attached lens photos.

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I hope you enjoyed these and will give it a try.