World Vegan Day | November 1

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

“Every time we eat, we have the power to radically transform the world we live in.” Ed Winters

From the amazing and dedicated Earthling Ed:

“Happy #WorldVeganDay everyone. I hope that you can take five minutes today to tune into my new short film which will be live on my YouTube at 6pm (GMT).

It would mean the world to me if you watched the film and shared it with someone in your life who still consumes dairy products. World Vegan Day would be a wonderful day for them to make the change.

Thank you so much for your support as always, I’m so proud of this project and incredibly honoured to have worked with so many kind and talented people on it.”

Earthling Ed (Ed Winters) is a vegan educator, best-selling author, public speaker, and content creator, widely known for his viral debates, speeches, and video essays.

In 2018 Ed announced the opening of Unity Diner, a non-profit vegan restaurant in London where all of the profits go directly back into helping animals.

He was a guest lecturer at Harvard University in 2019 and 2020.

In 2020, Ed founded Surge Sanctuary, a forever home to abused and unwanted animals on an 18 acre site in England. The sanctuary is currently home to more than one hundred rescued animals.
Learn more about him and being vegan at https://earthlinged.org/

Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

This is the time when the veil is thin…

What is the Thinning Veil?

Between our world and the spirit world, there is something known as liminal space. The word liminal stems from the Latin “limen,” meaning “threshold.” Liminal space denotes a time and space between the physical world and the spirit world. This is what we call the Veil, and from the end of October through the beginning of November, the days surrounding Halloween and Samhain, (pronounced ‘sow-en’) that veil is at its thinnest, making it the most natural time to connect with Spirit.

Veils are also thinnest in places where ecosystems and elements (Earth, Water, Air, or Fire) meet. This includes sites like waterfalls (Earth and Water) and volcanoes (inner Fire and outer Earth). There are places in the world where the veil is perpetually thin, making it easier to connect with the spirit world year-round. Generally speaking, the larger the space, the thinner the veil can be, but not always. Larger areas where the veil is lifted or even non-existent are known as vortices. Some of these places may sound familiar – Sedona in Arizona, Ayers Rock in Australia, and Stonehenge in England – just to name a few. Also, where ley lines (a grid of the planet’s magnetic fields) cross, it seems to denote places on earth where the veil is thinnest, Stonehenge being one of them.

To the ancient Celts, Samhain signified the last harvest and the beginning of a New Year. It is the space in time between summer and winter, the time of the harvest. Although we celebrate both Halloween and Samhain in the days between October and November, you may start to feel the veil thinning as early as September. After all, September is Virgo season, the sign of the Harvest Maiden.

This is the optimal time to connect with spirit, to speak to our ancestors, and those that have crossed over.

There are not only places but spaces in time where your own personal veil is lifted, allowing you to connect with the spirit world: when alone or having a quiet moment, when you’re in your own element (near Fire, Water, etc.), and for some, while running, swimming, or even in the moments between awake and asleep or vice versa.

The time of day can also help you feel a lifted veil – dawn and/or dusk – the lineal space between night and day. At all of these moments, your intuition can be heightened, and your connections will come easier.

Have a happy #vegan Halloween and Samhain!

(Curated from California Psychics blog/photo credit to http://www.facebook.com/PermanentlyVegan/)

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Even if you’re not #vegan, don’t skip this recipe. I bet you’ll find it’s worth a try, especially if you love chocolate as much as I do.

It was so good, I’ve made it twice. The first time I used only five ingredients:

*Sweet potato, one cup cooked and mashed
*Nut butter (I used almond), 1/2 cup
*Maple syrup, 1/3 cup
*Vanilla, one teaspoon
*Cocoa, 1/3 cup

Blend all ingredients by hand or in a food processor. Spread in a pie plate or small square baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Let sit until completely cool. If you have the time, the flavors get even better if it’s refrigerated or even frozen. I cut them into bite-sized pieces ‘cos it’s really rich.

You don’t actually NEED frosting, but who ever said no to more chocolate? Here’s my best baking hack for that…https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/09/17/best-baking-hack-ever/

The results were a bit dense, so the next time, I added 1/2 cup flour, and that made all the difference. I used regular white flour, but it would be so easy to blend some oats for oat flour, so that’s definitely an option.

YUM. Delicious AND healthy!

P.S. This recipe isn’t overly sweet, so if you want to add more maple syrup or even a LITTLE sugar, go ahead. I thought it was perfect without any additional sweetener, but I’m a choco-holic.

Veggie Tomato-y Tofu Soup #Vegan

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Perfect for this cooler autumn weather…

Last weekend was my monthly refrigerator cleaning project and I thought I’d toss everything I could into a pot and create some sort of soup.

The good news is I have a scrumptious pot of healthy soup to last a few days; the bad news is that now empty refrigerator and a need to hit the grocery store.

Here’s what I found to work with:
-Mushrooms
-Red Pepper
-Carrots
-Celery
-Onion
-Broccoli
-Fresh chard and garden herbs
-Tofu

I first cubed and marinated the tofu in a little olive oil and Italian herbs with spicy dried red peppers.

I didn’t have any Better Than Bouillon (vegan) which is too bad as it’s amazing, and I didn’t have homemade stock, so I pan roasted the veggies in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for a long time to develop fond on the bottom of the pan.

FYI: Fond are the brown particles found at the bottom of pans after browning vegetables. It adds flavor and moisture to a dish.

When I saw all those yummy little brown bits, I added a bit of water to make it easy to scrape up, then I added the marinated tofu, along with one large can of San Marzano tomatoes and one can of water.

FYI: I like to use the best Italian tomatoes because I think it really makes a flavor difference, especially when they’re the star of the show.

I added one scant teaspoon sugar and sea salt/pepper to taste along with these garden herbs:

Thyme, bay leaves, sage, oregano, and a lot of basil, saving some to sprinkle on just before serving.

Such vibrant colors! Simmered for about 45 minutes, pulled out the stems of the herbs as the leaves had fallen away as it cooked.

Before serving, I used my immersion blender to make the texture velvety and creamy.

YUM!

Options: Add cooked beans, lentils, pasta. croutons

Serve with fresh basil and vegan parmesan shreds.

Review: Vegan Jewish Deli

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

By coincidence only, not planned at all, my friend and I went out for lunch on Rosh Hashanah at a brand new deli called Ben & Esther’s.

Portland-based Ben & Esther’s vegan Jewish deli, bakery and bagel shop recently opened in Oceanside.

Named after founder Justin King’s grandparents, Ben & Esther’s is a New York City-style Jewish deli and bakery.

Although the concept initially sold animal products, it eventually transitioned to be completely vegetarian, then to 100% vegan.

The menu consists of New York style bagels with cream “cheese”, deli sandwiches, knishes, matzo ball soups, lox made from carrots, whitefish made from hearts of palm, and a variety of pastries & sweets.

I had the “lox” on a bagel with cream cheese and capers and it was REALLY good. You could hardly tell that you were eating carrots disguised as salmon.

My friend had the BLT on a pumpernickel/rye swirl bread and couldn’t believe how yummy it was and how “bacon-y” the vegan bacon tasted.

I had a taste of the “whitefish” and that will definitely be my choice the next time we eat there.

The bagels were deli-authentic, which proves once again that you don’t need any form of dead animal to create scrumptious food.

We got chocolate babka for dessert and that was the only disappointment because it didn’t taste NEARLY as good as my homemade version, even though it was filled with chocolate.

https://www.benandesthers.com/

EASY Three-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

The Angel Kids always request my homemade ice cream when they visit but that usually involves ingredients I personally don’t like to use or eat, although I do it for them.

Feeling sorry for the chunk of body part that was chopped off a couple days ago, I thought that a bowl of chocolate ice cream would make me feel much better.

I didn’t want to go to the store and buy vegan ice cream loaded with all kinds of chemicals and other ingredients that help it replicate dairy ice cream and I’m allergic to coconut which is the mainstay for most vegan ice cream, so I decided to make my own.

I had an unopened container of almond milk from the kids’ recent visit and decided to do a little experimenting.

The result was SO satisfying. It actually tastes very similar to a fudgesicle and that’s not a bad thing.

It’s not super creamy but it’s very chocolate-y and yummy. Substituting one cup of full fat coconut milk for one cup of almond milk or a little corn syrup would provide a much smoother texture but all I really cared about was the chocolate. If I make it again, I will add a couple tablespoons of maple syrup, but this is a quick and easy recipe.

I think this is a great recipe to use for homemade popsicle molds. I didn’t, but you could add mini chocolate chips or berries and that would be yummy, too.

It’s fun to experiment and I’m never sorry if I fail because I’ll try something different next time, but this was a success.

PS If you’re counting, I don’t consider vanilla to be an ingredient!

Happy Valentine’s Day | For Chocolate Lovers | Vegan Lentil Brownies

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

View post on imgur.com

I’ve had a bit of success with Black Bean & Beet Brownies and Lentil Cookies but I’ve never tried simply Lentil Brownies, so I baked some this morning before it got too hot to have the oven on.

They look good, right? But the real question is how do they taste?

If you’ve ever had Black Bean Brownies, you might have detected a slightly weird beany texture, so I hoped this lentil version would eliminate that.

These brownies are TRULY surprisingly yummy! They’re very moist and chocolate-y. I can’t tell they contain lentils, which IS a wonderful source of protein, so this is also a healthy snack.

Tips:
1. Really cook the lentils until they’re mushy.
2. Refrigerate the pan for at least a couple hours after frosting before cutting and eating.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

View post on imgur.com

Healthy Super Bowl Recipe! Easy Veggie Burgers

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

These veggie burgers would be great for the Super Bowl along with guacamole and a gigantic pitcher of margaritas.

View post on imgur.com

Add vegan mayo and/or ketchup and it’s so delicious, trust me!

I continually experiment with different ingredients to try and provide as much nutrition as possible and still taste good.

This is a complete meal for lunch or dinner or even on the go and it’s super easy because this time I used canned beans. Of course, you can always start with dried beans, but I used what I had on hand.

View post on imgur.com

TIPS:
*Quantities can be adjusted for your specific needs; I like to make a lot so I can freeze some.
*They can be ovenbaked or in a pan on the stove.
*Use whatever veggies you like.
*I like to cook them until they’re crispy and crunchy on the outside for texture and because they hold together better, also because it makes them easier to pack and freeze.
*They’re delicious hot or cold; perfect for a hike or beach day.

Seriously Amazing Vegan Herb Crackers

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Since we’re in a seemingly neverending spiral of virus mutations, the unvaccinated, and overworked healthcare professionals, I’m still trying to limit my exposure to PEOPLE. Not that it’s too difficult for me as I’m solitary by nature, but it’s still kind of annoying.

I had done my Traders shopping and when I came home, I realized that I had totally forgotten to get the kind of crackers I love to accompany Miyoko’s vegan cream cheese. Read about my love for THAT here: https://enchantedseashells.com/2021/04/06/yum-miyokos-vegan-cream-cheese/

Instead of doing what was normal practice in the old days, I didn’t run out and make that one purchase. Resourceful me decided to bake my own crackers. I haven’t done that in years and it’s so easy, I wonder why it took me this long to remember that! An added plus is no wasted plastic or containers, so I’m helping the environment too…

Tips: I substituted 1/2 cup buckwheat flour for all purpose flour. Next time I won’t do that because buckwheat is such a strong flavor. While it’s lovely in pancakes and soba noodles, it’s a bit too much here.

On the other hand, I gotta say that the smell of the herbs in the oven was so fragrant! It perfumed the entire house. I used all the herbs I have in the garden, but you can add whatever you like, including poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds. **Roll extremely thin for crispiest crackers. I didn’t cut them in perfect shapes or use a pizza cutter because I was too lazy and wanted them done in a hurry, but I kind of like the rustic look.