Vegan Mofo Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Sugar

Last year my husband brought home a pretty fair sized canister of maple sugar.  Beyond shaking some into a batch of beer, it has remained untouched.  I forgot all about the maple sugar until yesterday while baking 3 types of squash, wondering what to do with the butternut.  Miraculously, the maple sugar presented itself to me on the spice shelf, yearning to be given a second chance.
Neither of the guys at my house are big squash eaters, but they gave this a thumbs up.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Sugar

serves 4-6
1 medium sized butternut squash
3 T maple sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 T margarine
olive oil or olive oil spray

Set your oven at 350 degrees.  I put the butternut squash in right away, no reason to pre-heat.  When your squash is just tender enough to slice (will take about 15-20 minutes), remove from oven.  Slice horizontally and place, fleshy side up, on olive oil sprayed cookie sheet.  Spray top of squash with olive oil.
Bake until soft and easily punctured with fork.  Cube squash, while leaving it attached to the skin.  Drizzle with soy sauce and slather with margarine.  Shake maple sugar onto squash and serve!  This would taste fabulous alongside pesto pizza or gnocchi.  

13 Days of Halloween Sale!

While watching the season 2 premiere of The Walking Dead I realized that Halloween is right around the corner!  To be precise, it is a mere 13 days away- exactly how long the sale lasts.  Let's celebrate the coming of one of the most awesome holidays with a little Etsy sale.  Right now until Halloween, everything tagged halloween in Blackbird and Peacock is 25% percent off:)

This is one of my newest creations that I made just in time for Halloween.  I recently purchased a wire binding machine, stack cutter, vintage hardcover books, and eco-friendly paper and am having a blast making earth friendly journals.  

upcycled journal Prominent American Ghosts

Another new item- made for Halloween and Zombie lovin' fools.  

Zombie Love cards set of 4

Vegan Mofo recipe: Mellow Yellow Dal w/ mustard and cumin seeds

Dal has to be one of the world's most versatile and foolproof foods.  Cook lentils in water, add spices, chopped veggies, salt, stock or bouillon, and there you go- dal.  This dal is lovely to serve this time of year, because it's color reflects the yellowing leaves outside and it warms the throat and belly.  I added a little hot sauce to the top of mine to go with the chips.  When I eat this alongside Indian food, I prefer it with naan and keep the hot sauce out.  

Mellow Yellow Dal w/ mustard seeds

serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups split yellow mung beans (moong dal)

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

5 cups water

2 tsp. better than bouillon, vegetable flavor 

1/2 tsp sea salt, or more to taste

3 diced carrots

1 minced onion

1 minced celery stalk

5 tbs olive or canola oil

1 T cumin seeds

1 T mustard seeds

2 T chopped fresh ginger

1 jalapeno, deseeded and finely chopped

1 T lemon juice

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. smoked paprika (optional)

Cook yellow split beans, celery and carrots with water and bouillon over med-high heat until boiling, then cook over low heat, partially covered, for an hour or until the yellow split beans are soft.  ++If you can't find a good quality vegetable bouillon use 5 1/4 cups water and 1 tsp. soy sauce instead.++ If you prefer a soupier dal, add a 1/2 cup more water.  Remove from heat and beat the dal with a whisk or heavy spoon until the dal thickens (about 2 minutes).  

In a small cast iron skillet (or small frying pan) heat olive oil over medium-high heat until hot.  Immediately add mustard and cumin seeds and cook for 15 seconds, then add minced onion.  Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are soft and gently browned.  Stir in ginger and chilies and cook for 1 or 2 minutes before removing from heat.  

While dal is still hot, add spice onion mixture and stir in lemon juice and smoked paprika (optional).  Garnish with fresh cilantro.  This reheats and freezes well and also tastes good at room temperature.  

Vegan Mofo recipe: Too Easy Apple Pie

2011 has been a spectacular year for apples in NY state.  It is ridiculous how many apples I've been given this year- thanks to my sweet neighbor:)  So, what's a girl to do with 8 bags of apples?  Make apple pie, of course.  

So far I've made two different types of apple pie in the last week.  The traditional pie with two crusts and a crustless graham cracker crust pie.  This pie crust was on sale and I have too many apples to contemplate making crust, so I went for pre-made this time.  As you can tell, I did feel a twinge guilty about not creating my own crust from scratch.  It is vegan, however:)

Too Easy Apple Pie

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

9 inch pie dish (not deep)

About 10-15 peeled apples

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vanilla soymilk

3 T Earth Balance margarine, chopped in large pieces

olive oil spray

1 tsp. cinnamon

dash nutmeg

1 tsp. lemon juice (or lime)

Core and slice (1/3 inch slices) enough apples to make a heaping mound of apples in pie dish.  Stir together apples, brown sugar, soymilk, 2 T margarine, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice in large bowl.  Spray pie dish with olive oil and then deposit pie crust, making sure to cover dish and sides with graham cracker crumble.  Add apple mixture and place rest of margarine in little bits on top of apples.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  After 20 minutes remove cover, gently stir apple mixture without disturbing crust and bake until apples appear well cooked.  Let sit at least 10 minutes before serving.  

Fall Finds

It's that time of year when my tank tops, shorts and summer skirts are removed from the closet and replaced by sweaters, thick socks, and cords that have been resting all summer in our seasonal clothing bin.  As the cool nights become more frequent, I also start scouring consignment shops and Etsy to re-stock all the clothes I've donated over the last year.

Here are some great Fall finds I stumbled upon on Etsy that I fell in love with!

1950's Cocktail dress by Fabgabs

  

Long skirt by Shovava

Shredded Tee by Exaltation

Hot Air Balloon Awesomeness

On Saturday afternoon, and then later in the evening, several hot air balloons drifted through our small city.  As we drove home from the grocery store one floated above the car.  Several hours later we were astonished to see one hovering over the tree in our backyard.  As its destination was our neighbor's yard, it nearly touched our house before landing.
Of course my husband's camera was out and he took a lot of stellar photos.  I've never been so close to a hot air balloon- it was a real treat.

Back to School Sale!

After a grand & glorious summer of visiting family and friends, cooking at a local yoga retreat, attending weddings and lotsa hanging out w/ my husband and son, I'm ready to get back to work at Blackbird and Peacock.  My little shop has been sorely neglected, but my husband and I have been creating new designs for cards and journals.  I also just bought a stack cutter and wire binding machine, which we set up this weekend.  So...new inventory will be popping up in the shop soon.  Here's a preview:

In the meanwhile, I have decided to kick off the school season with a much overdue Back to School Sale.  Purchase something from Blackbird and Peacock and receive 20% off the price of your order (this excludes shipping).  Simply type in the coupon code "Back2School" (without the quotation marks) during checkout when purchasing something from  www.blackbirdandpeacock.com   

Here's the link if you are unsure of how this works:)  http://www.etsy.com/help/article/350

This coupon will be good throughout the month of September.  Happy Back to School!

Blog Giveaway Winner & New Stamps

The blog giveaway winner has been chosen!  Ironically, the random number generator picked "7".  I'm looking forward to sending out a heart journal & newly created postcard to Heather.
Not only was a winner chosen today, but the new stamps came in.  Boombox, stag, cityscape, headphones, and retro camera are mostly new designs, but Joe created the headphones quite a few years ago- one of my faves.  So excited to get some new designs to work with!
I was feeling a little creatively stifled by the lack of our current variety and Joe must have been too, because as soon as Soren went to bed we started busting out some new journals.  I'll try to post some pics by Friday.  Looking forward to listing them too- I think everyone will love them.

Blackbird & Peacock's first blog giveaway!

Holy cow, we did it!  Last week Blackbird and Peacock reached 111 sales on Etsy.  Since opening the shop in September, growth was at first slow but steadily grew and the response has been so positive.
To celebrate, we are throwing our very first blog giveaway.

What we are giving away: 1 hand-stamped moleskine journal & 1 postcard.  Both from Blackbird & Peacock's shop.


www.blackbirdandpeacock.com

The rules are simple.  You have up to 4 choices to win.
1. Leave a comment about what item in our store you like best.
2. RT this contest on twitter & comment about it below.
3. Post a link to this giveaway on your FB page & comment about it below.
4. Follow our blog & comment about it below.
+++Don't forget to leave an email address w/ your comment so we can easily contact the winner+++

www.blackbirdandpeacock.com


Each comment (only up to 4) counts as one entry.  We'll use a random number generator to choose the winner.  The giveaway begins now and ends @ 11:11pm on March 8th.  Winner will be announced on March 9th.  Good luck!!!








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New Journals & 111 Sales!

Blackbird and Peacock has grown quite a bit since Joe and I listed our first items on Etsy in September.  In January and February, we focused our efforts on journals to offer different sizes, colors, and patterns.  Since then, our journal selection has grown and we still offer cards and postcards.

XL Blue Cassette Tape moleskine by Blackbird and Peacock










In March, we'll be busy creating postcards (it's been a while) and turn more of Joe's designs into stamps.  The progression is slow & steady, as we juggle other jobs, two pets, a teenager & new house, but the response has been positive.  Yesterday Blackbird and Peacock reached 111 sales in its' Etsy shop!  We've been waiting for that grand number to celebrate and Hope is currently dreaming up some sort of giveaway to mark the event.
Thanks to everyone for your support & love!

Winter Kale Salad

I made this the other day & loved it!  Perfect for winter, because few veggies are involved and kale & carrots are easy to come by in the winter.  The almond butter dressing is warming, as well.

salad
1/2 lb. firm tofu
small-med sized bunch of kale, chopped in thin ribbons
2 large carrots, grated
olive oil

almond butter dressing
3 T almond butter (I used raw)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
water, as needed
1 T honey
1 T grated ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic, or more to taste
few drops sesame oil, optional

Drain tofu and wrap in dishtowel for 5 minutes to absorb some of the water.  Cut into small 1/2" cubes.  Add 1 tsp. olive oil to frying pan (I use cast iron) set on med-high heat and stir fry for 5-10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from heat.
Mix together all of the ingredients for almond butter dressing.  Add more soy sauce if desiring a saltier dressing.  Add enough water so that the dressing is a little thinner than ranch dressing and stir well.
In a large bowl, mix together dressing, carrots and kale, and tofu.  If mixture is lacking flavor, add a little bit more almond butter and rice vinegar.  Considering how large your bunch of kale is (or isn't), it's better to play with it a bit.  Let sit for 2 hours and enjoy.  Keeps well in refrigerator for several days.







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Winner of Veganville's awesome contest!

Last night I found out that I was the winner of Veganville's super fun 'I got into my account' blog contest:)

Which is really very cool, because my dad bought me a recipe book a few years ago that these awesome recipe cards would fit nicely in.

Veganville makes delicious yummy baked goods on Etsy that have garnered lots of positive feedback.  Her whoopie pies and cupcakes look amazing! To visit Veganville's shop click here 

Many thanks to Gigi from Veganville for throwing this contest!

The Ice Storm

Some pics I took while walking over to my friend's studio on Wednesday.  Two more months of this winter wonderland!








The first two pictures were taken of a bush in my front yard.  The rest were taken outside of the studio.

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Retro Audio Koolness

Musically, 2010 was all about the 70's for me.  I re-discovered how awesome the B-52's first album was and Television, Blondie, the Ramones, T-Rex, and Joy Division went along with me on walks, in the car and at work.
Blue Cassette Tape journal

Along with the retro tunes, my husband and I splurged on a record player.  This Christmas a very merry vinyl one.

Red & Purple Retro Keyboard journal

Inspired, my husband created some rad audio centric retro designs.  Cassette tapes, 80's keyboards, record players and such that he designed were made into stamps so I could create really cool retro journals.  Next, I'm thinking about transferring these awesome designs onto clothing.

Play That Funky Music mini journal









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Super Moist Vegan Banana Bread w/ Coconut Flour

Being fairly new to vegan baking, I was surprised when this banana bread ended up tasting absolutely fabulous. This bread is soooo moist! The coconut flour adds fiber and a slightly sweeter flavor. My son loved it and we didn't miss the eggs or butter at all.

3 1/2 cup white flour (unbleached)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
7 mashed ripe bananas
3/4 vanilla soymilk (can sub any other milk)
1 cup canola oil (I only had 1/2 cup, so I used 1/2 olive oil)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease 2 bread pans (or 1 large & two small).  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix wet ingredients in large bowl and dry ingredients into medium sized bowl.  Slowly fold dry ingredients into wet.  Do not overstir.  Pour into well greased bread pans.  My oven temp swings high and low, so your baking time might differ from mine.  I baked the small loaves for about 30 minutes and the large about 50 minutes.






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DIY Gifting: Part 4, Making Cards with Amy Hornburg Heilveil

I've been excited to see this blog thread continue over the last few months and so happy that Amy volunteered to participate.  Amy has mad skills when it comes to almost anything artsy/craftsy and is one of the few people who juggle more hobbies than I do, so I knew she would have loads of DIY gifting experience.  

As many folks feel so overwhelmed by the mass commercialism during the holiday season, making gifts gets us all out of the malls, so we can spend more time at home. The last couple of weeks I've been  baking like a madwoman.  While doing so, I'm helping my son study for science or talking to my mom on the phone.  My husband and son also look forward to partaking in my baking endeavors and their taste testing skills are most necessary to ensuring my cookies will be enjoyed:)  
Amy is a fabulous baker, but one thing I didn't know until recently is that she makes gorgeous handmade cards.  Here's Amy's DIY gifting idea #1 in her own words, which I might have to do for my grandma next year.   

"With all of the papers and stamps available today, it's simple to make cards to give to people, but how about making a package of cards to give to someone so that they can give the cards away?  Several members of my family express how much the enjoy getting cards from me for occasions because I make my own and they find them beautiful and unusual. 
This year I decided to make up several packages of cards to give as gifts.  Pictured are three of the 'assortments' that I've given as Channukah gifts, which went over wonderfully."









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Yogi Tea Inspirations

Part of my daily morning ritual is a mason jar filled cup of tea every morning.  The last few weeks I've been taking a break from caffeine (and thus, my fav, Green Chai) and have been trying different Yogi Tea brand teas, like Rooibos Sweet Peach & Aztec Sweet Chili.

I'm not sure why Yogi Tea, over any other brand, is a must in my jar every morning.  Is it their uniquely delicious blends, nostalgia for Eugene or the little inspirations they have stapled to their tea bags?  Probably all of the above.  It is their daily meditations, however, which corrects my vision every morning and helps me see reality more clearly.    

I Wanna Be a Superhero for Christmas

I'm pretty ambivalent about whether or not I want to be a superhero now, but when I was 5 years old I would have traded all of my Barbie Dolls in for an invisible lasso. Without any nudge from me, my son developed a fascination for superheroes and their powers early on.
My son is now a teenager and has become closet comic book geek. These days he only discusses D&D, superhero, and anime with myself and my husband, as many of his peers aren't openly interested. I'm sure that it's just a matter of time before he runs into one of them at the comic book store, however.

Anway, before I get off-topic, here are some rad gift ideas for superhero geeks.
This custom Batman lunch box is by Specially You
I love the old metal lunch boxes!

I don't really dress up much for Halloween- it's just too cold for me, but if I were still 10 years old and had the dough- this outfit would be mine!  No doubt I would spend hours gazing at myself in front of the mirror.

Wonder Woman costume with tiara, cuffs, and lasso by Three Muses Clothing

And if you were a 70's kid, I'm sure that you remember Underoos!  I had Wonder Woman and Spider Girl Underoos.  Can't believe I never snagged any for my kid when he was a little guy.  I did bid on some Yoda and Batman Underoos for him on Ebay but never won:(
These cool Shazam Underoos are from Mi Book Casa

Last Day of November

November is a big month.  The first stirrings of winter- light snow, bare trees, down coat, long nights.  Celebrating thanksgiving and togetherness with friends and family.
With the holiday season- Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas- right around the corner, I just wanted to take one last moment to bask in November.  Life passes by much too quickly and it's good to hold onto the moment before it is gone.
This poem by American poet Elizabeth Coatsworth captures November well:


November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.







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Free Holiday Shipping!!!

Yes, Thanksgiving is almost here and it is surprisingly warm in the Catskills today. Hard to believe it in this weather, but the time for holiday shopping has begun.
In honor of Black Friday & Cyber Monday, I'm offering free shipping within the US & discounted worldwide shipping on all journals, cards, and postcards in Blackbird & Peacock

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!















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