Organic Granny

Here you have what our family has come to call the BEST Hummus. Why? Because to our tastebuds, it is just simply the best tasting hummus!   Where the recipe calls for 4+ Garlic cloves?  We really amp that up-- I think I used 7 today. There is no olive oil or other oils-- just the tahini-- to carry to oily mouth feel.  Please feel free to add a little olive oil if you desire. We enjoy the smoky taste of tahini, but if it tastes a little "off" to you, go ahead and use peanut butter or some other nut or seed butter (hemp seed would be tasty). We likely use about a 1/2 - a full teaspoon of sea salt, but really not much is required if you trust the garlic and tahini to carry the flavour. I also buy dry garbanzos and cook them up in my Instant Pot (electronic pressure cooker) until they are soft (today's batch of beans were kind of old and I had to cook them for a record-breaking 40 minutes on the bean/chili setting, but normally 20 minutes in the pressure coo

ck Salads are not usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Christmas dinner, unless you are doing a Christmas potluck and someone assigned you a big green salad to offset all the richer fare.&nbsp Think about it.  Festive salads are generally the fresh piece to offset all the cooked and baked and sugar'd up stuff that even dedicated and disciplined vegans "allow" themselves during the time of feasting.  A fresh salad is often all it takes to quell an over-eating of something a little richer than what you are used to. The following salads are either new and different, or vegan take-offs on traditional salads.  I hope you find one that you want to try! 1. CANTALOUPE, RED ONION AND WALNUT SALAD Find this delicious sunny brunch salad @ Giadsy.com This great-looking canteloupe, red onion and walnut salad is a true Mediterranean delight-- from the island of Sardenia where people lead very long and healthy lives.  Besides the can

When I was a young married woman, eons ago, the making of the Christmas cake (or "fruit cake," the recipes also interchangeable with "wedding cake") was still a big tradition in many families. The recipe ingredients included a lot of dried fruits-- some that looked and tasted not anything like the original fresh fruits-- and the usual feasting culprits: sugar, dairy, eggs and alcohol.  The preparation that went into the cakes generally involved a lot of soaking (in alcohol) that could extend to many days.  With all the ingredients in, your typical fruit cake was dense and heavy enough to be used as a door-stop, if need be. There were "light" and "dark" fruit cakes in my family.  The light cakes probably used less soaked fruits and were baked for a shorter period of time?  The dark cakes had a slightly bitter, burnt taste.  I preferred the light cakes that my Auntie Geneva baked every year and sent out.  They were sweeter and tended to h

courtesy of Pixabay Yes, I too love the traditional Christmas tree-- the fragrant pine or the standard luxurious artificial tree with the built in LED lights that never need to be strung or removed.  But this year I thought it would be fun to have something in one of the corners of a room that was NOT a traditional tree as defined above.   The best place I find for ideas is on Pinterest 1. LET'S START SMALL..... Mittens with Greens Pretty easy representation of a small tree.  More like a wreath.  But shaped like a tree, so it passes.  Get a pair of knit mittens and stuff them with greens-- fake here, but you could use fresh cedar, etc. 2. The Gentle Woodlands Tree Hanging .. Image Sourced from OHbaby This is a simple and sweet stylized Christmas tree that would look good on any wall.  Drill some holes in some sticks of lessening lengths, put string through to take on the triangle tree shape, and hang (or perch) your choice of whimsical decorations on the s