NEW CHANNEL!

My new channel is here! here's the intro! Enjoy subscribe, like and yeah!

Videos!

Shot and uploading my first vid! Will post when its complete!

Twitter

Check out my new twitter update thing right over here!!! -------------------------->>>>>
Follow me for updates in the kitchen. I'll soon make another account just for this blog where i'll tweet updates and vegan cooking tips. look for that! actually, i'll do it today! so look for another post! :D

Sorry

sorry for the lull in posting. I am working on getting a weekend camping meal plan. :D

Date Muffins

This is a muffin recipe i made yesterday. :)

and they got all eaten before i could take an after picture.... 

So that is the cereal that I used... it's like Kellogg Raisin Bran but without the raisin..

So ... here's how you do it. :)

1 c. bran flake cereal

1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk

1 banana

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. applesauce

1 T. sugar

5 dates

3/4 c. blueberries

1/2 T baking powder

Mix the bran flake cereal and milk together so the cereal can soak up the milk. Mash the banana and add that. Add flour, applesauce, sugar, dates, blueberries and baking powder. Put in baking cups. Makes 4-5 medium muffins.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, but check at 20 takeout around 25 or 30. I always like to check it 10 minutes before the recipe says to take it out, just in case i need to take it out or something.

Healthy Onion Rings?

So i'm working on trying to make healthy onion rings and that was one of my things that was not really a disaster, but not like I wanted. this is what real onion rings look like, that have been dipped in an egg mixture, breaded and deepfried. I'm doing none of those, dipping them in a batter, and then baking them.

These onion rings are not what i can make. It's been a part sucess, making a batter with almond milk, oats and then seasonings, dipping them, then baking them. I'm going to try dipping them, baking them, and then dipping them, layering it up.... 

Wish me luck! I also have to wait for the onions to come in as the Walla Walla Sweets. They only have Texas Sweets at the moment. Not the same... definatly not the same.

Strawberry Jam

I got to make some strawberry jam the other day! It was a lot of  fun and wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. So to begin with, I suggest that you have one of those really big canning kettles. It needs to be able to hold your jars, plus water over the lids of them. And a basket so you don't scorch yourself when taking them out. 

 Start the water in the big kettle boiling, also a smaller pan with the lids in it (the flat pieces, not the rings).

So first you want to start by washing all your jars. You probably got them out of a box and so they won't be too clean. Wash them so no bacteria gets in them and makes your food go bad. also wash the rings and jars. Put the jars in the big pot so you can sterilize them more.

So measure out 4 cups of combined pineapple, dates and strawberries. I did about 4-6 dates, 1/2 c. pineapple and the rest was strawberries. Mash them down into the measuring device.

I used Pomona's Universal Pectin. It is the kind of pectin that you don't have to use that much sugar with, which was good because I wasn't using any of the traditional kind of sugar. It worked quite well the previous times. We haven't opened up this season's jam, but hopefully it worked. Mix the calcium water mix with some water as directed. Put the fruit in a sauce pan and mash. The larger the pot, the more surface area. Just saying. cooks faster. Mash it with a potato masher, so there are big and small chunks. You don't want it all same. It makes it more interesting and the way it's suppose to be made... haha.

Okay, so you bring the strawberry mix to a boil, and then add the pectin, stirring so it doesn't clump, because that would be nasty. Cook for 2 more minutes and take it off the heat. If you did it like I told you, the water should be boiling (depending on your altitude) and then you want to take the jars out of the water.

If you're wondering why we are washing the jars, then boiling and all that fun stuff, just go google "Botulism". Fill the jars to the fill marker on the side. Place one of the lids on it and then put the lid on. Put it back in the boiling pot for 10 more minutes. Take out and let sit. Do not touch the jars. I like to leave them overnight. Moving or disturbing them can undo or not make the jar seal, which can be bad if you googled about botulism.

I hope that you try canning this summer! It's a lot of fun and you can have great stuff to eat in the winter. I'm going to try and make some blueberry jam this summer because we pick a lot of blueberries at an orchard that isn't too far away. I'll have to take pictures when we do. It's usually around July 4.
Have a great "canning" experience!

hey! So i figured out a way to make some vegan recipes and am doing some cupcakes. keep your eyes open for those!! 

Baked Tofu

Baked Tofu

1 block of tofu

Soy sauce

Balsamic vinegar

Sriracha or other hot sauce

Vegetarian hoisin sauce

Slice the tofu in half long ways. Slice up the tofu in the opposite direction. Stir together soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, sriracha, and vegetarian hoisin sauce, to make a marinating sauce that suits you.  Place the tofu in the mix. Let sit a few hours, flipping the pieces to make sure they have sauce on it. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, checking every 5 to 10 minutes. Take out and let cool before eating. I like to dice it up and put the marinated baked tofu in my lettuce wraps

Why...

Such random postings!! I need to have a day where i post atleast once a week... Then again, summer will be soon and i can have more time and maybe do a what did i eat post. I'm hoping to do videos. I know this is such a put of project of mine, but i feel like i need more followers and stuff. I know i could get some followers from posting videos, but on youtube, it can be really hard to find someone's video. I don't know if you guys understand, but if you would please, spread this blog around to people you would think would like it. Thanks!! :) 

Surf trip

So I went on a surf trip and posted pictures. And yes, i will post recipes soon. I just made a black sesame daifuku with a peanut butter filling. my family really likes it so it should be good. 

Back to the surf trip, we went down to Pacific City south of Tillamook. Like the cheese place! we didn't tour the cheese factory though. Sad :'( Just kidding, it's not like i could eat the samples any way (lactose intolerant). Anyway, the water was nice and cold! Haha. I rented a wetsuit and that really helped. I had the whole thing, the hood, booties, gloves and yeah. It was a bit uncomfortable putting it on (it was wet) but still, it really helped. I wouldn't want to go out without it. I caught a few, but the waves were 2 stars out of 4 the whole weekend. They didn't have that much power so when you got on it, it wouldn't push you all that far. My muscles were also cramping so that made it a bit hard to paddle. I had a really good weekend and glad that i went on the surf trip with the college kids. There was one other kid that was my age so we hung out a lot. He was pretty good at surfing too, but got cold easily. haha. we knew each other from school and sports. 

How was your memorial day weekend?

Surf trip pics!

Went to the oregon coast for my birthday to do some surfing. We stayed on Waelen island. Not sure if thats exactly how it's spelled, just a guess from me. 

This is the beach where we surfed. Its right near Pacific City and there is a rock that has a needle hole in it. It's called haystack rock. Pretty legit.  :) like finding a needle in a haystack??

My aunts cat.  He is a Maine coon cat. Very pretty, very big. Lol 

I bought a pair of Sanuks while i was there. They had 40% off $50, Which is really good for that shoe.

I found half a sand Dollar while walking along the beach. 

This is really big sand dune place and on the other side there is a place that has been washed away by the water and will shoot water up when the tide comes in hard. 

We went to Powells bookstore on the way back. 

Not really sure the hotel liked the luggage arrangements. 

Anyway, That was the trip guys!! 

Follow me on Instagram @ThaciaStirling

Twitter: @acrobaticgirl24

Lipbalms I love!

Here are just some lipbalms that I love that I thought I'd share with you! :D

Here is the latest one that I got. It's aNivea swirl. I was really impressed by the Nivea original blue lip balms so when they came out with this, i decided to get it. And it smells so good and is sooo good for your lips! The chlorine just dries my lips out so it really helps to add the moisture back into them.

Carmex has always been my favorite so i love this lime version! It is like lime soda and i love how it makes my lips kind of feel tingly! :p 

and here is an EOS! I got this around Christmas time. It's a great thing to have in your purse, moisturizes my lips beautifully  but the only problem is that if i don't have a back pack or bag with me it isn't very convenient since it doesn't fit in a pocket nicely.... but other than that, it's great. 

Here are some other lip balms i love that i just didn't get pictures of. 

Softlips - watermelon, mango peach, vanilla, Cherry, Coconut, and pearl
Chapstick - Raspberry Creme, Green apple
Aquafina - orange or citrus blend