Refritos

For years now I've been making some very tasty recipes out of my "Mooswood Cookbook" by Molly Katzen. This book contains a huge variety of vegetarian and vegan recipes. When a recipe is not vegan, I can easily make a few adjustments to make my dish vegan.
Since I love wraps and many other delicious Mexican foods, I wanted to share this vegan re fried bean recipe I always make. This recipe also came from the "Mooswood Cookbook". My family loves it and this particular recipe is high in fiber and low in saturated fat.
Ingredients;
2 cups dry pinto beans, cooked
2 to 3 tbs olive oil
2 cups minced onions
5 to 6 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 salt
black pepper

1) Cook the presoaked beans in plenty of boiling water until very soft

2) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, and salt. Saute over medium heat about 10 minutes, of until the onions are soft. Add remaining garlic; season with black pepper.

3) Turn heat to low, add beans, and mix well. Mash with a fork or a potato masher, and cook for just a few more minutes more. Serve right away, or store in the refrigerator until you want to reheat it.

For Tessa

For my cat Tessa

April 13, 1993 - January 1, 2009

Fly, fly little wing

Fly beyond imagining

The softest cloud the whitest dove

Upon the wind of Heaven's love

Past the planets and the stars

Leave this lonely world of ours

Escape the sorrow and the pain

And fly again

Fly, fly precious one

Your endless journey has begun

Take your gentle happiness

Far too beautiful for this

Cross over to the other shore

There is peace forevermore

But hold this mem'ry bittersweet

Until we meet

Fly, fly do not fear

Don't waist a breath don't shed a tear

Your heart is pure, your soul is free

Be on your way don't wait for me

Above the universe you'll climb

On beyond the hands of time

The moon will rise the sun will set

But I won't forget

Fly, fly little wing

Fly where only angels sing

Fly away, the time is right

Go now and find the light

By Jean-Jaques

from the book

"All God's Creatures Go To Heaven"

by A.A. Nolfo

FINALLY!!!!!!!! This afternoon I decided to once and for all finish this oil painting I started back in the 90's. This is an abstract. I intend to use this picture for the butterfly knowledge cards I'd like to create sometime in the future.

When leading, be generous with the community, honorable in action, sincere in your words. As for the rest, do not be concerned.

The Color Blue

For the past month me and my hubby have been painting the whole interior of our home. When we first moved here back in 2002, We chose very sunny and warm colors for our walls such as, butternut squash for our bedroom, two toned walls in the great room of a warm, deep, golden, orange color and an off white color, with a warm buttery hue to it. The main color of our rooms were off white with that buttery hue. For a while I loved it, but I feel it's time for a change, so we decided to go with hues of blue through out our whole house.

Blue is a very calming color. This is one of the reasons why I've chosen to use blue on the walls. Blue is the color of communication, representing clarity and the ability to express yourself no matter what the situation. When dreaming of the color blue, this is a message that one needs to express our emotions. Blue also promotes a peaceful and Serene environment.

In the photo above, Hera is lounging on my oriental rug in the dining room. Below, I'm in the dining room writing my lip balm blog post. I did the walls in this room two toned, because of the chair railing running across the middle. The lower is a deeper blue (behind Hera ) and the upper wall (behind me) is an off white with a very light blue hue to it

Honey Kiss Lip Balm

Last week when I received my "Spa" magazine in the mail (which I absolutely enjoy reading), I read one of their articles with information on how to keep our lips moist during the winter. There was also a homemade lip balm recipe to go along with this article, which I couldn't wait to try.
I must have about 5 lip treatments laying around in my car, my house and in my purse. I make sure that where ever I am there's always lip moisturizer around for easy access.
This morning I made the lip treatment. It's not only easy to make, it also works great.
For those of you who want to try and make your own winter lip treatment, just follow the recipe below and have fun making it.
Ingredients
2 tsp almond oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp beeswax pellets
1 vitamin E capsule
Combine almond oil, honey, beeswax, and fluid from the E capsule in a small pan. Stir over medium heat until beeswax melts. Pour into small containers and let cool completely.
This would also make a great little surprise gift for someone.

Lentil Soup To Nurture Your Soul & Your Body

During the colder months lentil soup can be so filling and soothing for both the body and soul. It's also loaded with protein and very low in fat.

Here's a great lentil soup recipe that my mom use to make all the time. This is one recipe I make often in the winter. Many times I serve it as a main meal mixed with brown rice, or with a side of toasted whole grain bread.

Ingredients;

4 tbs olive oil

1 chopped yellow onion

2 carrots, chopped

2 sticks chopped celery

4 large cloves of garlic, chopped

2 medium peeled and chopped potatoes

5 cups of water

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbs basil

1 tbs parsley

2 medium bay leaves

2 medium chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 cups of dry lentils

2 cups of chopped kale (optional)

In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil. Add onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic and potatoes. Saute over medium high heat for ten minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the kale to the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add kale during the last 15 minutes of cooking time if using.

Once done pour the soup over brown rice, or serve with a side of toasted whole grain bread.

This is sure to warm your bones on these frigid days.

A Winter Morning Near My House

As I was driving my son to preschool this morning, I couldn't help but notice how pretty the bay looked all snow covered with the sunshine gleaming down on it. The bay look as if it had a million little diamond chips glistening all over the top of it.
After returning home I hurriedly grabbed my camera before the sun could go behind the clouds, drove up to the marina almost across the street from my house, so I could snap this photo above. Even though I hate the winter and cold weather, I can't help but notice the beauty of the landscape when the sun is shining down on the freshly fallen snow.

Geometrical Abstract

Here's another painting I did in watercolor back in 1997. This is one of the paintings I dug out of my basement last week.

Winter Bird Feeder

It's been a few years since I've hung a feeder out for the birds. What a pleasant treat seed is for them during these frigid days.
It's so nice to see cardinals, doves and other species of birds visiting the feeder daily. Viewing the birds out my kitchen window makes winter a bit more enjoyable.

Today's Butterfly Sanctuary Photos

After dropping my daughter off at her friend's birthday party this morning, I took my son to the children's museum, which also has a great butterfly sanctuary.
Below are some of the photos I took while checking out the butterflies. My favorite was the Atlas moth in the photo above. It was so pretty and it must have been bigger than my hand.

Pomegranate and Spinach Salad

Pomegranate season starts in October and goes right through January. This exotic fruit is not only loaded with vitamins, it's also delicious and pretty when mixed in salads.
A few weeks ago I came across this pomegranate and spinach salad recipe in my December "Body and Soul" magazine. It's definitely worth a try, because it was absolutely out of this world. Here's the recipe.
Ingredients;
1 pomegranate
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt and ground pepper
2 bunches flat leaf spinach, stems trimmed, washed and drained
2 tbs roasted sunflower seeds
1 Hass avocado
Halve pomegranate lengthwise and seed. Use your hands to separate seeds from the membrane. Discard membrane and reserve the seeds for the salad.
In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tbs lemon juice, mustard, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss spinach, sunflower seeds, and pomegranate seeds together with dressing in bowl. Transfer to a serving platter.
Halve avocado and remove pit. Scoop out flesh and thinly slice lengthwise; drizzle remains of lemon juice over the top and serve immediately.

Sunflower Fields

Yesterday I was in the basement rummaging through things that have been stored. I came across a few paintings I did in the late 90's.
The painting above is done in watercolors and it's called "Sunflower Fields." I've decided to clean up the frame and Hang it in my son's room.
Hopefully, I can start more compositions the year.