I haven’t done a vegan meatless Monday in a while, so I decided it’s time to get back to it.  I think the fact that Ben & Jerry’s now has 4 vegan ice creams INCLUDING CHUNKY MONKEY maybe got me motivated.  I am super excited to try those, but they aren’t yet in my area.  The guy at Whole Foods (I figured they were the best bet) said it could be about 2 months before it’s offered widespread and I may be able to find it.  Boo, but probably worth the wait!

Anyways, back to meatless Monday.  I couldn’t decide what to try and make today, but as it was 4:30 Sunday evening and I still had to figure it out and go grocery shopping, I voted for something quick and easy.  What’s quicker and easier than a casserole?  Decision made.

I thought squash sounded appropriate for January, and decided to add some beans to make it more of a main dish and less of a side dish. Being short on time I went with lentils as they don’t have to soak before cooking.  Plus, I really like lentils.

So lo and behold, spaghetti squash and lentil casserole was born.  And I have to say, is was pretty dang good and very comfort foody. Plus my two teenagers even liked it and you KNOW how teenagers are if you aren’t serving pizza.  My son even took a second helping and he’s one of those that would typically be going to try something, find out it’s vegan and change his mind.  My favorite thing to tell him is “You probably shouldn’t eat that apple (or whatever), it’s vegan”.

Here’s the ingredient list:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 cups thin sliced zucchini
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 2 cups water
• 1 diced white onion
• 1 diced bell pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I used the ones with basil, garlic and oregano)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (heaping, of course)
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 6 servings instant mashed potatoes (it’s what I had)

Start by cooking the lentils in the water.  Just bring them to a boil and then simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until they are tender.

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, seed it, and put it in a dish with about an inch of water. Microwave until tender, 10 to 15 minutes and them scrape the flesh out into a large bowl.  As each thing (besides the mashed potatoes) is finished just throw it all into this bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Pan fry the onions, peppers, garlic and zucchini.  I don’t use oil for this, the onions put off enough liquid to get the job done.  When the onions are translucent and the zucchini is a bit tender add this to the big bowl.

Cook the mashed potatoes according to the package directions.  I used Earth Balance butter(ish) and Rice Dream milk and they came out great.

Mix all ingredients except for the mashed potatoes in the bowl and then turn them out into a greased 3 quart casserole dish.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top, and rough them up a bit so that they will get nice brown spots on them.

No need to cover, just put the casserole dish I the oven for half an hour and you are done.

I have to admit, I used a lot of pans and it took a bit more time cooking from scratch and cutting all the veggies, but this was totally worth it and is going to be a part of our regular cold weather meals.

You already know by the mere fact that I live in Florida that I do not love the cold.  But I do find it fascinating how a place can look cold.  I don’t mean like covered in snow and sleet, a bit more subtle that that.  Take a look at this picture.

With the blue sky reflecting off the water and the green little palms in the foreground I don’t think it looks cold at all.  But look again.

This picture was taken from the same spot not even a minute later, I just took a couple of steps forward and turned slightly to the right.  To me, this picture looks like it was taken in a place that was very cold.  Which it was if you count Florida cold as cold (I do).

I don’t know why but I find it fascinating that just turning a slight bit can give you such a different perception of the world.  I can’t help but compare it to people’s mental perception.  Ever wonder why some people seem to be upset and offended by such tiny little things?  I know that I do.

I always try to chalk it up to the fact that everyone has a different view of the world which depends on their lives so far and I think a little on the attitude that they fall into the easiest.  The thing I try to remember is that both perceptions are real, both pictures reflect unaltered reality. It’s not even a matter of what people choose to see, because you don’t have any way of knowing what you would see if you chose to go a little to the left or a little more to the right.

I guess the moral of the story is there is always another way of looking at the same thing.  The next time you are talking to someone and the two of you just can’t see eye to eye, instead of trying to change the other person’s mind try seeing their point of view or at least a view a step or two to the side of your own.

Here in Florida it’s currently 50 degrees out. It’s windy and my heater is broken. So sad, I know. I’d feel a lot worst for myself (and the other Foridians) if when I am working I wasn’t so often talking to people in negative degree temperatures, ice storms, and weather bad enough that they had to close the office.

But rest assured, I still feel bad for me. I haven’t been paddleboarding in weeks, and as windy as it is that’s not going to happen for a while even with a wet suit. So I decided to live vicariously through other’s Instagram pictures and share a couple of my favorite pictures I came across today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA4ayv7IiWP/

I lived in Arizona for the vast majority of my life, but never saw the Grand Canyon or anything quite like this. It looks pretty amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA4i3kvIiXN/

I finally went and saw the new Star Wars movie last weekend! But no words necessary for this pic. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA4Jo3EjHBW/

How terrifying and awesome would this be? I would LOVE to have been there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA4isYVs7ju/

This one I love because it is just everyday paddleboarding – it could have been taking here or anywhere on the water. Kind of magical, don’t you think?

So like 4 months ago I wrote a couple of posts about The 5K Zombie Run and out The 5K Color Blast.  They were both scheduled to happen November 14th at Lake Park. And then this:

A sinkhole opened right near the entrance and the races (along with other events I don’t actually care about but other people do) had to be postponed until an evaluation could be done.  Said evaluation made it clear that the park had to be closed, indefinitely.  Hopefully they will be able to get the sinkhole fixed and re-open the park again soon.

But now, good news!  Both The 5K Zombie Run and The 5KColor Blast have been relocated and rescheduled for March 19th at Northwest Equestrian Park.  It’s just north of Citrus Park Mall, putting it very near where I work but I’ve never heard of it before.  I love finding new places!

Anyways, the timing is perfect for me.  I haven’t run consistently since the Spartan Race which was all the way back LAST February.  Sad, I know. Too many excuses to list, so I won’t.  But I am now over a string of random illnesses including a stupid stomach flu thing I think I am just over as of today, and positively jonesing to go for a run. Weird, I know.  The point is it’s been so long since I’ve done anything remotely like a workout that I decided to start all over with the Couch 2 5K plan again. I’m hoping to be able to skip ahead in it a bit. But seriously, I did a pretty mellow yoga routine the other day and stopped before it was done because I was tired.

But now, I have a goal!  I have zombies to avoid and colors to run through.  So March is perfect.

It seems they still have tickets available for the run, and not only for the Tampa run, both runs are also going to be held in Largo on February 27th!  Check out the races web sites for all of the details as far as times, registering, and bling.

The 5K Zombie Run Tampa

The 5K Color Blast Tampa

The 5K Zombie Run St/ Pete/Clearwater (Largo)

The 5K Color Blast St/ Pete/Clearwater (Largo)

If you didn’t sign up before, you should totally sign up now.  These runs are fun, casual, and fun. Plus it’s always cool to support locals.  You don’t have to be able to run a 5K to run one of these, you just need to run when you see zombies. Especially if you see them in The 5K Color Blast.  Just saying.  You never know.

You should also follow them on Facebook, because not only can you get up to date info on all of their runs, they post funny stuff when they aren’t sad about sink holes and maybe wondering why they don’t live in California.  (Because every other natural disaster). Here’s the link to The 5K Color Blast’s Facebook and The 5K Zombie Run’s Facebook.

Welcome.

Hello world!  It’s me again.

I’ve been totally off line for a long while due to a series of unfortunate events.  My computer broke about 2 months ago and I don’t have the funds to get a new one.  My colitis came back, I got bronchitis, I coughed so much I pulled a muscle all the way around my right side so it hurt to breathe, and I’ve been working enough hours to fill in all the time I haven’t been sleeping. Well, trying to sleep.

But all my ills are working themselves out and I finally broke down and decided to write on my work computer.  Ya, probably bad karma but maybe I paid it in advance? Let’s hope so.

Oh, then my eldest shot my air conditioner with a dart the other day (letting out ALL of the freon, look up how much THAT shit costs) so now that winter has finally hit Florida I can’t run the heater. Did I mention I’m a huge cold wimp? Hopefully I get it fixed before it gets hot again, at least in the cold you can pile on clothes and blankets.

But, there is always a bright side.  I went to the humane society 2 weekends ago and got 2 bunnies.  Ya, I know, priorities. Don’t judge, they were a gift.  Charlie (the white one) and Corona hate each other with a passion, this bonding thing is turning out to be a wee bit more complicated that expected.  But I went in tonight and low and behold:

Maybe, just maybe they won’t try to kill each other next time I let them meet without bars between them.  Or maybe they’re tricking me so they can get into round 2.  How would I know? At least they both get along with the cats and dogs.

So I’ve decided it’s time to stop moping about and time to get back to paddleboarding (if my wetsuit still fits), running and writing.  Plus I got a bicycle for Christmas and it’s about time I start using it!

So, here we go again….

🙂

The Bourbon & Brew Grand Tasting was a REALLY good time. Just starting with that.
First and foremost – there WAS Brown Jug Bourbon Cream floats. And they were every bit as amazing as anticipated. They also had it mixed with coffee, which I could also live on. I actually went hunting at all of the open liquor stores near me trying to find a bottle to bring to Thanksgiving for floats, but I kind of live in the middle of nowhere, so no luck. But I’ll keep looking!  🙂

The other winner of the night? Jim Beam Honey. It’s good enough to sip but also great in a hot toddy or mixed with lemonade. Yes, I did find out about those two after buying a bottle after the tasting. I have found a new go-to drink.

https://www.instagram.com/p/-XQuvOLWrf/?taken-by=kindazennish

I cannot claim to be a country girl or to be a big listener of country music, but the bands were great and the music set the perfect vibe.  I even bought and wore a cowboy hat, special for the occasion. Now I am busy looking for more excuses to wear it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/-XNZfTLWlt/?taken-by=kindazennish

I ran into my niece and her other half there, which made everything that much more fun.  The fact that we were at Armature Works on Tampa’s Riverwalk didn’t hurt either, we were able to grab a drink and sit beside the stage while looking out at the lights reflecting on the water.  You really can’t beat it.

I have to say, changing things up by making this a ‘tasting’ instead of a festival was a great idea.  It was fun to be able to try so many different bourbons and moonshines and really cool that I was able to find a couple of new favorites.

I was just looking back, and it seems I have not been to a Bourbon & Brew Fest.  Highly strange, I love all of Big City Event’s festivals, but it seems this one always came up after I had committed to something else.  Not this year!

This year instead of the traditional festival they are having a bourbon tasting. There will be over 40 kinds of bourbons to try and it’s all in Tampa this Saturday from 5pm – 10pm.

Now I gotta admit I love a really good bourbon over ice, but also flavors amuse me greatly. There will be Jim Beam Maple Whiskey (hell ya!) and this:

Now, I doubt they will have bourbon cream floats at the tasting, but I will be trying the Brown Jug Bourbon Cream no matter what they mix it with. Or don’t mix it with. Enough said.

Besides the opportunity to taste all kinds of bourbon there will, of course, be some brews AND moonshine.

Oh, and don’t forget the music. All country all the time.

So, to be honest I’m not exactly a good ole country girl. Or anything other kind of country. But I love pretty much all live music, and who doesn’t love this?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWDxh8NBOo] I am so going to buy a cowboy hat before Saturday!

Go here for all the important info including prices, what you can and can’t bring and such. The Grand Tasting is at Armature Works on Tampa’s Riverwalk. Have I said enough times yet how much I love Riverwalk?  Probably not.

After you do that, how about a chance to win a pair of General Admission tickets?  Just let me know if you are a year round country fan or a fan of convenience (like me) and if you’ve listened to any of the bands that will be at the tasting!  Also, use the Rafflecopter link so I know who you are:
Enter HERE!!!

I received two VIP tickets to The Bourbon & Brew Grand Tasting 2015 in exchange for writing a review and a giveaway. As always, my opinions are all mine.

So, two things.

First of all, I joined NaBLoPoMo this month which is a challenge to post every day in November.  I already took last weekend off, so there’s that.  But I’ve still already got further than any challenge thing I joined before. So I feel obliged to post something. Sorry.

Second of all, after going to the Tampa Bay Veg Fest last weekend I got motivated to try the 30 day vegan challenge.  It sounds so easy since I’ve been a vegetarian since forever, but not so much. I’m actually going to write a separate post about that. See, once I start writing I tend to just keep going and going and going….  Again, sorry.

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to share some Twitter tweets (not that there are any other kind) from some of my favorite tweeters.

The Gay Vegans don’t post a lot of recipes, but they do post a lot of things that make you think.  I like following them because in addition to blog posts they tweet a lot about whatever they happen to be doing so you get to virtually know them.  I think they’d be great people to get together over a drink and philosophize with.

The Gay Vegans: Vegans dating non-vegans? https://t.co/jvLhKAphvi #gay #vegan #dating #plantbased #plantstrong

— The Gay Vegans (@TheGayVegans) November 7, 2015

Broke Vegans, on the other hand, post a ton of recipes.  The vast majority of them look amazing and are not usually recipes that I see everywhere else.  For sure follow them for the food, vegan or not. This recipe is cool because it seems like the vast majority of vegan cheese recipes involve nuts, this one is based on garbanzo beans.

#vegan #glutenfree Tomato and Basil #cheese #recipe https://t.co/4ZM5416s8D pic.twitter.com/OHoLdTBbUf — 2brokevegans (@the2brokevegans) November 12, 2015

I have to admit, I haven’t actually looked at 50 pizza recipes, but since deciding to try vegan for a bit I have been pizza obsessed. OBSESSED.   That is not an exaggeration. Those stupid Totino’s 99 cent pizzas are tempting me. I know. So sad.

50 Scrumptiously Delicious Vegetarian Pizza Recipes https://t.co/P8N2jkVDxx

— Vegan Family Recipes (@veganfamrecipes) November 2, 2015

I love yoga, and can’t even imagine running without following it up with yoga.  I actually have been maybe getting back the running bug a bit after  many, many months of doing very little besides work. And paddleboarding, but that usually is reserved for weekends so doesn’t get  much of a chance to keep me in any kind of good shape, especially when all of the rest of my time was at the computer.

Sometimes I go through whatever yoga poses happen to seem right at the moment, but for the most part I prefer to put my mind on autopilot and follow along with a video. This is my favorite one at the moment:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOTGz-1vizY] Why is it my favorite? Easy. Because it’s close to 40 minutes long so every single time I start it I have no intention of finishing the video (it IS bedtime after all) but then it’s done and I am sooo relaxed.

It’s also a super easy one so whether you are into yoga or not, give it a try. By the end you will wonder how you ever survived without yoga in your life.

Do you have a favorite evening yoga practice? Share the link if it’s an on line video, I always love trying new practices and new people to follow for videos.

Have you ever gone somewhere that was so cool you knew you’d have to go back and then when you got home you realized that you didn’t know where you’d been? Well, me either. Much.  On my recent trip I stopped at the Great Smoky Mountains national Park. It was great, I totally plan on going back.  So I googled it just now and found out there’s like 5 of them and I have no idea which one I was at.

Lucky I got pictures.

So what happened was…

We couldn’t find a truck stop but we saw a place that had lots of cars and probably a restroom so we stopped. There were a bunch of people looking at some turkeys and I was tired of being in the car so we went and looked too.  There was a flock (herd?) of turkeys walking around eating whatever they eat off the ground.  We have some in my neighborhood, but these were cooler.  After all, they were surrounded by fall leaves. Then I looked up and a couple hundred feet away was a herd of elk.  There was a dirt road leading that way and some people over looking at them so we went to see.  One of the elk came within a few feet of a lady, and as happy as she was about it I deemed going around the other side of the fence to look a better idea.  There’s just something about a huge wild animal whose butt is as high as my head that does not scream I want to pet that to me.

And then, this.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cux_8236hE] You can bet I took that video through a fence and with a plan to jump up into the hayloft thing behind me if needed.  It seems I was the most paranoid person there.  After we started walking back a park ranger came by and started telling the elk (who mostly ignored him yelling and waving his arms at them) to get back away from the dumb humans.

It seems the elk were the males that had been chased across the river by the bigger, badder elk over there and they were all a wee bit frustrated and ready to fight. The ranger said they had been charging people and cars. AND CARS. Time to go!