My Favorite Vegan Snacks

I like to snack. Everyday I have "tea time" around 5 o'clock and have coffee and a snack. I gives me a little energy to finish work and to hold me off until dinner time which is usually late for me. After about 3 weeks of being Vegan I have found it really easy to find very healthy things to snack on besides the obvious fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Some are surprisingly good and addictive...

My favorite are Probars. They have a wide variety of bars to choose from, are great tasting, and very fulfilling. They also all come in really attractive packaging which caused me to try them in the first place. Probars make a good meal replacement and are perfect when traveling through areas that might not have anything healthy and good to eat. ProBar - website to see all of their wonderful products.

...another wonderful product I found during my last visit to Whole Foods Market are these wonderful Vegan and Organic - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups by Justin's. They are amazing!!! The best peanut butter cup I have ever tasted. They are much more flavorful and not overpoweringly sweet like some other more famous brand. Justin's makes a variety of nut butter - that I can't wait to try. Visit there website: Justin's to see there products and learn more. Plus if you Like them on Facebook you can get a coupon!

...and speaking of chocolate. A lot of chocolate has milk in it... hence "milk chocolate" but there are vegan chocolates! The Endangered Species Chocolate brand has quite a few different varieties of vegan chocolates to choose from. Last night I tried the Dark Chocolate with Mint and it is very good. If you visit there website: Endangered Species Chocolate and search Vegan in there search bar you can see the vegan gift basket below and the different varieties of vegan chocolate flavors they sell.

Other yummy sweet snacks I found are in the Whole Foods Market bakery. They have a few vegan baked goods such as the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie, which taste just like a regular yummy chocolate chip cookie, maybe better.

There are so many many good foods to discover. I think the search and discovery has been a surprisingly unexpected enjoyable thing about becoming vegan. It has forced me to try new restaurants, look for new foods at the grocery store, and expand my knowledge of food in general. I feel I knew about everything there was to know about American food and this change has opened the door to a new world that was waiting to be explored.

Mother of Pearl Caviar Spoons

Last Christmas I received a gift card to Sur La Table from my two good friends Darryl and Gee. And now 9 months later I finally used it on something that I have been wanting for a while!

Mother of Pearl Caviar Spoons

Mother of Pearl is also known as Nacre. It is made by various species of Mollusk as the smooth inside of their shells.

Mother of Pearl spoons are the traditional utensil for eating caviar. This is due to the fact that using metal can change the taste of the caviar and impart unwanted flavor.

These spoons measure 5 inches long and are very unique. They all glow and shimmer brightly in the light.

I feel lucky to have found them. They look like something that could be displayed in a museum as part of a precious stone collection or artifacts from a past civilization.

Houston Hummingbird Season

September is the month where the most hummingbirds are seen in Houston, TX. After raising their chicks during the summer many start migrating back to their wintering grounds in Central Americal and southern Florida. Most of the hummingbirds that are seen here during this time of year are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds - Archilochus colubris.

Right now my feeders have a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that visit on a daily basis. One male is acting aggressive and territorial and chases the others away.

Here he is, showing off his bright ruby throat. He visits the feeder every ten minutes or so and then stays around the yard (usually sitting in the crepe myrtle tree close by) and chases away any other hummingbirds that get near the feeders.

To learn more about the Ruby-throated Hummingbird you can visit this link: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds ...you can see range maps, hear sounds, and read all about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and similar species. Last winter I had a Rufous and Black-chinned Hummingbird at my feeders all winter long.

If you'd like to attract hummingbirds to your yard you can buy a hummingbird feeder from most garden centers and online. The one I have is called the Hummzinger by Aspects and I bought mine from the Wild Birds Unlimited store but it is also on Amazon.com.

Hummingbird Food Recipe:

Use 4 parts water to 1 part regular table sugar. Boil sugar water until sugar is dissolved and then let cool completely before filling your feeder.

*Do not use any red food coloring, prepackaged hummingbird food, or any other sweetener to feed hummingbirds.

Also it is very important to clean your feeder every few days or sooner if the weather is warm. I use a plant/mineral based soap, warm water, and a toothbrush to clean the hummingbird feeders. Of course make sure all dirt and soap is rinsed completely from the feeder before filling with food.

Good luck attracting hummingbirds to your yard and check back soon for more hummingbird sightings!

Going Vegan

Going Vegan is something I have been really curious about doing.

I gave up eating meat, except for chicken and seafood, three and a half years ago. Now I am ready to take the next step; or perhaps a leap. I am ready to not eat meat, eggs, dairy, anymore! There are many many reasons that I am doing this. The three main reasons are: health, environment, and ethics.

I am not going to fill this blog post with all the countless benefits in each of those categories (there are many many online sources and books that you can read). I just wanted to share this change in my life. I think it will really change the way I feel and view the world around me in a positive way. Something about just the thought of starting this is exciting.

I hope to share good things about being vegan (food!!!) on this blog in the near future. ;)

Prairie Blazingstar

The first wildflower that I received after moving to Houston, TX was my Prairie Blazingstar - Liatris pycnostachya. I have had this plant since 2007 and even though I have dug it up every time I've moved and divide it at least every year it has grown very well. I originally just had one bulb but at the end of every year I can divide it into 3 plants. I have seen this wildflower growing in wet conditions in the wild but it is very drought tolerant and does very well in average garden conditions. If you live in its native range (central U.S. between the Rocky Mts and Appalachian Mts.) you should definitely have this wildflower in your garden.

The blooms of all Liatris species start opening at the top of the plant and move toward the bottom as it matures. Prairie Blazingstar blooms in late summer to fall and provides many insects nectar during this time including migrating Monarch Butterflies.

Prairie Blazingstar can reach up to 5 ft tall but mine usually get around 3 1/2 ft tall.

The Prairie Blazingstar has become one of my favorite wildflowers. Other Liatris species that can be found in Houston and the surrounding area are: L. elegans, L. bracteata, L. acidota, L.squarrosa, and L. aspera.

Lunch at House of Bowls

My favorite thing to eat for lunch is the T1 lunch special at House of Bowls in SW Houston Chinatown. It is Instant Noodle Chicken Steak with Scallion Sauce and a bowl of broth and a drink - I always get Hong Kong Style Cold Milk Tea. It is $5.95 before tax and it very fulfilling! The lunch special is everyday from 2:30pm-6pm and dine-in only.

Moss Acres Terrarium Kit

I have been collecting Faux Bois pottery for almost 3 years now and have a pretty good collection so far. Right now I have native shade plants of Texas growing in a few of them (hopefully all soon) and I wanted to complete the look and make them look more aged and natural by having moss grow in the pots as well. It is not very easy to find moss around Houston and I did not want to remove any of the little moss I could find from natural areas. After watching Martha and seeing the people from Moss Acres talk about moss I was very interesting in having my own.

Moss Acres sells different varieties and quantities of moss for various projects such as something small like a terrarium setup to an entire moss garden. They also sell a product called Moss Milkshake which comes in a milk jug and is used to grow new moss from the contents inside.

I decided to order the Terrarium kit which comes with three types of moss that are already alive and healthy.

Here is what I got in my package for the Terrarium Kit: 3 types of moss (Rock Cap, Sheet, and Cushion Moss), a brochure with lots of information about Moss Acres and moss, and then my invoice and more information on how to care for the moss.

After unpacking the moss I placed the dry moss in a galvanized tray with about a half inch of water so the moss could rehydrate. This is the picture of the moss right when i placed it in the tray with water.

And after about a half hour. The moss has absorbed the water and becomes much more green and lush.

Here is the Rock Cap moss - Dicranum, planted with my Southern Wood Fern - Dryopteris ludoviciana.

This is the Cushion Moss - Leucobryum, planted with a rhizome of a Sensitive Fern - Onoclea sensiblis.

And last but not least is the Sheet Moss - Hypnum. I have not planted this with anything yet but will definitely do so soon. It looks like a bunch of tiny ferns. I remember this moss from living in Virginia and it growing in many shady spots in the woods and gardens.