Working, working, working…why is computer work so time consuming? Blah…
I’m attempting to make this website prettier and easier to get around. New pages for all my jewelry and creations. New pages for my portfolio and all my cute clients. Updated event page so you know where to find me. Please take a tour around and see what you think.
More to come…
Life is short. Believe in fun.
I’ve been working behind the scenes to create new things and, thank goodness, Halloween is on the way! My favorite time to design scary stuff.
The picture above are some new pieces of Jack O’Lantern cherries…aren’t they fun! Lots of new things are being put together behind the scenes so stay tuned for a release date!
Always believe in fun!
Susan
So here we are about a year into this pandemic. There seems to be a glimmer of light towards the future but boy oh boy I am tired.
Rationally I know there’s a plan but I’m tired of staying home. Tired of wearing a mask…now recommended we wear two. Tired of not seeing friends. Tired of hearing about friends dying from the virus. Tired of hearing about the massive number of deaths around the country. Tired of plans made and not coming to fruition because of this damned virus. Tired of people not taking it seriously. Tired of health emergencies being treated as political (I won’t go there but you know what I mean). I could go on and on and on…
I’m sure you feel the same.
I feel like I’ve aged 10 years since this started. How about you? There isn’t enough retinol around to cure what the past 12 months has done to our faces.
I go from okay, happy productive one day to depressed, emotional, and paralyzed the next. WTH?
So what now? How do we go from all this chaos, change, emotional overload, pandemic…to continue into the future?
I wish I had an easy answer. I’m working on what that looks like for me. Staying creative has helped but it’s hard to keep creating when the world feels so heavy. But I keep trying. And I am thinking about circling back to the ideas and projects I was in the midst of last year at this time. Maybe plucking some creative gem from things that were lost to bring them forward. That might spark some joyful movement.
I feel a lot like the little viruses in the video above. Bumping into things, bouncing off, not really sticking to any one thing. But I need to find cohesion. Something to bind me to the future so I can stop wallowing in the past.
I will promise myself only to keep working and give myself some grace as the next few months unfold.
Stay tuned…
The vegan ranch dressing recipe here builds off my last post where we made mayonnaise. If time is of the essence or you just don’t want to make your own mayo substitute a store bought vegan brand of mayo.
Here we go!
Vegan Ranch Dressing or Dip
1 1/2 cups of mayo, hand made or use store bought vegan
3-6 tablespoons of unsweetened non-dairy milk. I prefer soy milk but others work too.
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Add all the ingredients together and stir well. Taste and adjust the flavors to your taste. It’s that easy!
A couple notes…you could make this with all fresh ingredients. In all honesty I haven’t tried it that way but I don’t see why it wouldn’t’ work. There might be some adjustments to make. As an example fresh garlic is a bit more pungent than dried also a tablespoon of dried parsley is quite a bit more than fresh so you’d want more. But give it a try…I bet it would be delicious!
Also I start with 2-3 tablespoons of the non-dairy milk and decide at the end how much more to add. If you leave it at that it makes a great dip consistency or is much more liquid for salad dressing if you add the full amount.
As I said in my mayo post this is not only super easy to make but also will save you some money. A bottle of vegan ranch dressing around here is about $5. Making my own mayo costs me around $3 then the herbs here really cost very little and I always know what’s in my food. Food for thought…:)
Place it in a covered container for the fridge and the next day it really sets the flavor and is better than the first day. This keeps at least a week…if it lasts.
This is one of our favorite recipes and it disappears in a very short time. We use it for salad, chip dip, dipping vegan chicken fingers or hot wings, carrot sticks, celery dip…etc. You can see why it doesn’t last long.
Enjoy!!
Until next time,
Susan
Vegan mayo?!! Have you ever tried this before? So, so, so easy…and you can substitute your favorite oil or dial up the flavors with garlic, pepper flakes, chipotle, or whatever strikes your flavor fancy!
Here’s my favorite version of hand made vegan mayo. This is inspired again by Fuss Free Vegan. And if you’ve read my other posts but still don’t own this book you need to go out and get it. Sam has some of the easiest and tastiest vegan recipes that will help you build a successful repertoire of go to meals and goodies.
Please note that there are two mayo making videos on my YouTube channel. I decided that even though my theme was 2 minute condiments this recipe is so easy to do that i needed to show you just how easy by running the video in real time. Simple makes like these condiments can really change up your cooking and also save you money. A commercial jar of mayonnaise retails around here for anywhere between $5 and $7 dependent on brand or size. This recipe might have cost me about $3.00-ish with the most expensive part being your choice of oil. Food for thought (literally).
Vegan Mayo my way 🙂
1 cup oil…I used no taste olive oil in the video but you can use your favorite. Virgin olive oil, sunflower, grapeseed…pick one that you like the flavor of.
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk. Again you could experiment with other milks, oat or almond, but my go to is soy milk. Just make sure whatever you try is unsweetened. Mayo with sugar is, well, just awful.
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice. I always use more but I like the tang lemons give to the mayo. Use your own judgement and taste buds.
salt and pepper to taste
Put the non-dairy milk, vinegar, and lemon juice into a high speed blender or, in the video, I used a stick blender and placed my ingredients into a tall container built for the tool. (the stick blender is easier to clean and works great) With the stick blender you will whiz up the mixture with your dominant hand and slowly pour the oil with the other. If using a regular style high speed blender you will run the blender while pouring the oil in slowly. Continue until all the oil has been poured in. Taste your creation and add salt, pepper, or in my case, extra lemon juice to whatever levels you like. I recommend starting with very small amounts and working up. Give it a last spin and you’re done!
At this point you can also add you other flavors…garlic, onion, dill, curry power, chipotle, a little mustard…whatever your favorites are.
Store your mayo in a closed container in the fridge for about a week. If it lasts that long. Use it with anything you would normally use regular mayo with. Sandwich spread, salad dressings, potato or pasta salad…what ever you like! This is a great alternative for anyone with an egg allergy.
Enjoy it and I hope you’ll let me know how you liked it.
Until next time,
Susan
