My family was part of U.S. history today

Friday December 2nd I was working in my office when my good friend, Megan, popped her head in the door. She was dropping some papers off at my school and wanted to say "hi". As good girlfriends do, we started chatting about the latest "news". I said, "Did you see on facebook that people are saying President Obama is coming to Osawatomie?". Her response was, "I don't know, Callie, something is going on I have a friend in town that works for the white house" I am a huge fan and supporter of President Obama, so the thought of him coming to my tiny, mid-west hometown was dreamy. I went to instant high energy mode trying to figure out if he was coming, why was he coming, and how was I going to be a part of it.

Emily was suppose to be swimming all weekend in Lawrence, KS and the little girls did not want to attend the meet. We met my in-laws for dinner at the local airport restaurant, We-B-Smokin' to drop the girls with them for the night. I had shared with the girls that I had heard rumors that the president was coming to town. I told them even if it was just a false story, how awesome to think of the president coming to town. Our waitress and good friend Shannon, asked me if I had talked to her sister in law about being at the airport when the helicopters landed there. My jaw dropped! So it is true the president of the free world is coming to Osawatomie! After dinner I quickly called my friend, April (Shannon's sister in law) and asked what I had to do to be in the airport when Mr. Obama comes to town. She told me that she would put my families name on the list and explained the procedure we would have to follow to get in the gates. We would have to park outside the fence and walk around. We had to be there 2 hours before the helicopters landed and could not leave until the president had left town. She said they could not say if he would come into the airport restaurant or not, but they were hoping he would. I was beyond excited. I explained to the girls that they would be missing school for this life-changing day, but that they should try and keep it under wraps because not everyone could attend.

That evening I called on all my Miami County democratic friends to share the exciting news of the Presidents visit. My friend, Amy Atwood told me that the school district had held a staff meeting to let the staff know the plan for tickets to the speech. The plan was set for the tickets to be open to the public starting at noon on Sunday, December 4th. I thought this process over for hours trying to come up with a plan to ensure I would be in the gym when history was made. I received a phone call late Friday evening telling me that I would be receiving one VIP ticket to sit on the floor during the speech. I cannot explain my feelings after that call because they were so unclear. I was thrilled to have a guaranteed pass in, but I was feeling guilty that others would not and sad that my family may not get to join me. I stewed over this all day Saturday with my sister, Beth, at Emily's swim meet. She said, "I wish Grandma Mary could go." So I decided I would wait in line the next morning to try and get two more passes so my parents and my grandma could go. I was unsure if they were granting passes to children under 18, so I wanted to be sure that the people who have supported my political views and efforts would be part of the speech. When I shared the plan with my parents, my plan changed again. They told me they want to see the motorcade come through town and by their home more and they believed children could go. New plan: Justin, Rudy, Clare and I would wait in line for tickets and Emily would use the pass I was issued. We tucked Rudy and Clare into bed that night and said, "whoever wakes up first wake up the others" (Emily stayed in Lawerence with my my sister, Beth, so she could swim)

4:30am Sunday Rudy runs in our room and says, "Let's go get tickets to Obama!" I said, "Let's snuggle and little longer". By 5:45am we were up bundled and out the door to wait in line for tickets. We arrived at Osawatomie High School just after 6am. It was 30 degrees outside, but we were prepared. My mom brought in her comfort and support several times through out the morning. By 9:30am I believe the rumor that children would not be allowed to attend the speech and sent Rudy and Clare with my parents to pick up my cousin at the airport. We waited in line until 12 noon with our dear friends Scott and Chrisy Dreiling. Having good company made the morning pass by quickly. At 11:30am, Janet McRhea, the economic developer for Miami County walked through the line with announcements. One of her announces was, "Children will be granted tickets!" Before this announcement I was number 73 in line. After the announcement I was number 127! I was sad and disappointed my children were no longer in line, but that was my fault and they would still be able to be a part of the day in some way. We also were informed that the tickets would not be transferable. I had no idea what my plan was going to be! We walked away from the high school and received a phone call that my grandma had got in line and received a ticket. I shortly received another phone call that I would be granted another VIP pass. So to do the math for you, I had four tickets and five people in my family. I checked with my parents again to be sure they did not want to attend. My dad said he was unsure if he was attending as he may be using my grandma's pass due to her health and my mom said she would be helping the nursing residents see the motorcade. I made a phone call and explained that I was one pass short of my family being able to attend together and was granted one more VIP pass. It was happening! My entire family would be part of US history.

Sunday was a blur! We attended the last part of Emily's swim meet and had dinner with our extended family in Lawrence. We had a great evening visiting with my cousin, Britten, and chatting about our local excitement. It was a great evening but as I looked around the table, I wished they could all be there with me. I could give great argument to why they all "deserved" to be there.

Monday was a blur of excitement and clothing prep for myself and my girls. We all agreed that we needed to look our best to meet the President! Justin, carried on his busy work schedule late into the evening to prepare to have the day off.

Tuesday we woke up as though we were getting ready for school. Justin ran to the store to grab a few snacks for us to pack on our person to have while waiting. At the store he saw his Assistant Fire Chief and they shared their excitement about the day. Justin's fellow fire fighters would be stationed at the Miami County Airport to welcome the president's helicopters in. I was so relieved that it was finally Tuesday, I had not slept well since I learned of the president's plans to visit Osawatomie. I was too excited and nervous. We planned to meet at my parent's house at 9am to carpool closer to the high school. We all gathered inside the warm house and slowly decided we were ready to take on the bitter cold day and wait in line to get inside. The three VIP passes would have allowed Justin, Emily and myself to go into the warm building, but we decided to wait together. The line was long and the cold was painful. We took breaks going inside the school to warm our toes. We searched for patches of sunshine in hoped the wait would feel short because of our excitement. The line to go in started moving promptly at 10:45am. We split into two lines for general seating and VIP seating. Rudy cried out of nervousness that she wanted to stay with me, but she was quickly comforted by Gramps and Christy. We approached the entrance at 12:30pm. As I looked at Emily her face had winced up in pain and she was a shade of green. When I asked her if she was ok she replied, "I think so, but stomach hurts, its feels like I have rocks in it and my back is wet".

I was scared, what were we to do now. We were moments away from walking into a presidential speech and my fear was that Emily was not going to make it with out getting sick. We decided to try and comfort her by holding her until she got through security and then we would take her to the bathroom. The staff were saying to hurry and find our seats and to not visit with anyone, but we decided to take her to the bathroom and hope she would be better. She was still green and not feeling good as we were directed to our seats. Justin took her shoes and socks off and held her feet in his hands for a couple minutes. As soon as she got her body temperature up she was excited again and gained her color back.

I was so relieved that she was going to be ok. She slid her shoes and socks on and the presidential march began to play.

Tears rolled down my face as President Barack Obama took the stage at Osawatomie High School! This is the same gym I played basketball in, and when I looked into the crowd I saw my coaches. The news cameras were set up where I use to direct the pep band as the high school drum major. Kathleen Sebelius was sitting in the area where I use to sit the bench during basketball season. It was an unbelievable feeling to be in my high school gym listening to the president. The President of the United States of America stood where my school superintendent stood on my high school graduation.

I am fan of of Obama and the work he has done for our country. I believe that we cannot overcome our economic troubles without protection of human welfare. I do believe that all should receive a fair chance at success and that all should play by the same rules. "We still have a stake in each other’s success", President Obama. I refuse to give up on Americans. I am out in the community doing the foot work to encourage young families that they can provide the dream they want for their children and themselves. "Our success has never just been about survival of the fittest. It’s about building a nation where we’re all better off.", President Obama. We must work together as a nation to help one another and stop looking out for ourselves. A full write up of his speech in Osawatomie can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/06/remarks-president-economy-osawatomie-kansas

Several times through out the speech I beamed with happiness and hope that the nation would begin to understand that we must work together to get back to being the greatest nation. The fundamental rule of our national life,” he said, “the rule which underlies all others -- is that, on the whole, and in the long run, we shall go up or down together.” And I believe America is on the way up.

As he left the stage, he approach the small area I was seated in. I told Emily to try and wiggle her way up to shake his hand. Her face was filled with joy and pride as she turned back to us after shaking his hand. I was following behind her and the crowd shifted and placed me right in front of the President. I reached my hand out to his and said, "Nice to meet you Mr. President" he replied, "You too". He met my eyes and wrapped his large hand completely around mine and then continued to greet the crowd. I met the President of the United States of America today.

We gathered our things and met the rest of our group (Dad, Rudy, Clare, Dylan & Christy) outside. We quickly walked back to our cars in hopes of catching the motorcade go by my parent's house. We walked around the front of the house to main street and the sidewalks were lined with people waiting. I decided to cross the street in hopes of getting a picture of the motorcade in with my parent's house in the background.

After I long, exciting day we were all hungry and tired and Grandma and Britten were excited to hear our stories. We decided to go grab a meal in Paola. We did not think we would be able to travel Old KC Road but decided to try just in case we could see something. We pulled up in front of the airport as the President was leaving our local restaurant (where he ordered ribs to go) to get on the helicopter and leave.

As I write this blog to remember the day I was part of U.S. history I am already fearing that I have missed part of the story. I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity and that I was able to share it with my family. I will be posting my daughters reflections on the day soon.

More Kombucha Please!

I love sharing kombucha with my friends, but even more I love showing them how to brew their own kombucha. Everyone has their own taste preferences, so brewing your own is not only the most cost savvy idea, but is also ideal to get your favorite taste.

Here’s my step-by-step guide to brewing your own kombucha.

1. Get your gear. Acquire a two-gallon glass jar (available at stores such as Target or Amazon) as well as a healthy SCOBY (try Craigslist and community bulletin boards, or online vendors such as Get Kombucha). Your SCOBY should come in a bath of starter (i.e., already fermented) tea. (if you are local ask me)

2. Make your tea. 13 cups water, 1 cup sugar, 8 tea bags---no flavors!)

4. Add the cooled tea to the scoby and the starter. Sometimes the scoby mother sinks, and sometimes it floats; either is OK.

5. Ferment your brew. Cover the jar with a cloth napkin and rubber band to hold it in place. Set the jar in a location with good air flow and medium light. (Direct sunlight can damage the tea, and closets won’t allow the tea enough air.) Wait 5-7 days.

The tea’s fermentation rate depends on the ambient temperature in your home. Buy some short-range pH strips to test the pH level in your brew; most people like their tea between 2.8 and 3. You can also just scoop out some tea with a clean cup and taste it. If you want your kombucha more acidic, let it sit longer. (As time goes by, the pH of the kombucha will fall, making the brew more acidic and less sweet.) If you prefer it on the sweeter side, you’ll need to bottle your next batch at an earlier point in the process. 

6  Flavor----I use organic fruits and fruit juices add to brewed kombucha seal jar and let set for 2-3 days

7. Serve your drink. Kombucha is delicious simply poured over ice, but you can also mix it with wine for an interesting take on sangria.

8. Salvage a batch gone vinegary. If you end up with a batch that’s too acidic to drink, dilute it with water and repurpose it as a mild all-purpose cleaning product. You can also use it in the shower for extra-shiny hair.

9. Start over. If your first batch went just fine and you want to do it again, simply repeat the process, saving some fermented tea from each batch to use as a starter in the next batch.

10. Share the wealth. Each new batch will grow a “baby” SCOBY on top. Pass it along to a friend, and spread the kombucha love.

Name Your Link

11 year old wisdom

Imagine entering a room and someone saying "I'm leaving ------ I don't like you!" 


Imagine waking up in the morning and reading a text message that says "Sometimes you are such a b**ch"

This has been Emily's week!  Yep, my 11 year old is having to figure out how to deal with these horrible words.  

Big deal right? What else does she have to do?  She has to read the pledge of allegiance and morning announcements, complete her school work quickly and correctly so she can leave school early, swim in a competitive swim meet against high school age swimmers.  And she must do it all with ease and be an example to others.  She was chosen to speak this morning for Veterans day because she is a great public speaker.  She is asked in the classroom to assist other students with understanding because she is a great teacher.  She is swimming the 500m race tonight to win a bet to challenge a high school mentor of her to push her self to run her first 5K.  She has the weight of so many on her shoulders.

There was a moment, a brief moment, I found her curled in her chair this morning looking at the text message.............crushed.  She was pale and silent, but with tears in her eyes.  When she saw me, she shifted, she said, "Its no big deal................this girl is just mean".  As I sat with her I was full of mother's anger and my protective instinct kicked in.  I wanted to call the mother of this young girl and call her out for allowing her daughter to be so horrible.  I wanted to follow Emily into school, meet her for lunch, let her stay home, anything to keep her from experiencing this again.  I wanted her to be free of any stress she was feeling with her daily tasks.  This is where we started, I started talking about what she was setting out to do today.  As she talked, I noticed the quote on her wall............"Be the change you want to see in the world" ~ Gandhi 

That is where Emily set her goal for the day.  She explained that she knew she had made some mistakes with this girl by being angry with her.  Her goal for today was to be the positive example this girl needs.  She explained that she was not going to seek her out, but that she believes if she positive enough and caring enough the girl will follow her example.  So yes, this write up is completely and totally about bragging on my 11 year old daughter.  She is wise beyond her years. She in her 11 year old language shared with me the wisdom of Marianne Williamson," And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same"  

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

And because she is 11 and real she has another goal today......................"Rock the blocks at my swim meet so her high school mentor has to run a 5K with me!"

Her Last Halloween?

This past weekend our family hosted eight sixth grade girls for a fall themed slumber party. For you veteran parents, you may see the opening statement here doesn't jive. I shopped and planned with much excitement for fall treats and fall crafts to share with our guests. All the girls had a great time, but none of them wanted to do my crafts. They entertained one another with storytelling, dancing and singing. (I was impressed that is wasn't texting, emailing and facebooking)
Last night we joined some friends on our downtown square to participate in the community Halloween activities. Rudy and Clare were full of excitement and anticipation with every event. Emily kept her head low and arms crossed for most of the evening. She was surrounded with other kids her age in costumes and bags of candy, but she avoided conversation and repeatedly asked when we would be done. She was dressed in a princess costume. She looked very beautiful and grown up. As we walked the streets to trick or treat she stood with the grown-ups and only went to the doors if her sisters asked her to go with them. She turned in her candy to me with no hesitation with the statement of "I won't eat all this junk". (We have an agreement in our house where you can turn in your sugary treats for toys or books) We ate dinner at a local restaurant where Emily went to the bathroom and changed into regular clothes. I was unaware that she had packed an extra change of clothes!
As I told her good night and tucked her in to bed last night she said, "I think this was my last Halloween." I'm sure she noticed the tear roll down my cheek as I answered, "I know, I'm going to miss that".
While I am sad that my little girl is growing up I have taken comfort in some advice I recently read in the book Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys.
Whenever we are failing or perceived as a failure in one area, we are most likely succeeding in another. For everything Emily is not, it leaves room for her to be something else. So while it is hard for me to let go of her childhood traditions, I know that we are making room for new and exciting things. As much as I have tried to hold onto all of her childhood, I cannot. But with this idea I can look ahead at how I can succeed with her tween years.

Forks Over Knives

We watched "Forks Over Knives" as a family last night. I asked the gals to write me a reflection on the film. For the most part my gals have been pretty understanding of my vegan lifestyle, but I have never declared them to be vegans. In this post I will share with you their reflections on the film. I want to give my mothering disclaimer; I will not be requiring my gals to be vegans. I want them to feel comfortable and educated to make their own choices. My kitchen is vegan, but their friends may not be accommodating. I will support them in sending vegan dishes with them if they so choose, but I want them to enjoy being kids. I will type their words out so you can read them.



Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Clare Benton age 8
I thought is was very inspiring. About how the lady lost her diabetes. The part that is most breathe taking to me is that 90% of the average Americans eat fried food and fake food. Not only does it make you lose energy it may make you sick or make you be in risk of heart attack or death. A vegan lifestyle is for someone like us. Did you know you might love veggies and you maybe very skinny but your kids can get fat and it might happen so quick you might think they are a balloon? You notice on this documentary you do not see skinny people eating cakes, cookies, or a happy meal it is the fat people eating crud like that. You all who read this will love this reflection. I believe if you set your mind to it you can do it. Lay off your drugs. You can die from drugs your doctor prescribes everyday. I hope you enjoy this, then you should watch the movie.

Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Rudy Benton age 8
I thought is was INSPIRING! It made me think about being a vegan, something else that inspired me to be a vegan is Christy Dryling (sp). One thing people do when they put fast food in their body is killing themselves. I have decided to be a vegan, you may decide to also be a vegan after I tell you most people with diabetes get it from this eating too much diary and animal products. Have you decided yet? It was cool how many scientist are on this case. I like the part when the athlete becomes a vegan. I thought what a great achievement in life. People have life changing experiences.

Forks Over Knives Reflection By: Emily Benton age 11
Forks over Knives has a feeling that even though those doctors could not talk back to you, they were trying to help you. They let you now that you may not be the only person who believes that you could die from diary and meat. Some people stop eating meat because they think it is wrong to eat an animal while others believe that eating meat your whole life could cause your blood stream to get clogged. Both of these are correct. Meats can cause your blood stream to stop flowing. You do not need meat, there are proteins in plants and grains. People say that you need milk for it's calcium, while the truth is it can cause your bones to weaken and even shrink. Most kids do not want their bones to weaken and shrink during a sport. People also believe they need caffeine to get through the day. While sugars and caffeine will cause you to get super hyper you will soon crash. Sometimes if you are unlucky you won't get hyper you will just crash. For more information on Forks Over Knives watch the movie or go to www.forksoverknives.com

From the mouths of my babes. I am very proud of their thoughtful reflections. We hope you all will take time to watch the film and consider cutting back on animal products.

My juice fast plan

With me there must be a plan and that plan MUST NOT be followed.............I always write a plan and then I always adjust it, but here is where I started anyway.

Meals for the rest of the family:

· Burritos

· Pad Thai

· Soup

· Beans & Rice

· Sandwich & Chips

· Alfredo Pasta

· Red Pasta

· Calzones

· Bean Burgers/Bratwursts

· Waffles

· Roast Beef

Gifts to myself for the Reboot

Saturday Fat Sick & Nearly Dead

Sunday Ear Candling Nap

Monday Hair Treatment

Tuesday Mud Mask 120g Multi -action French Red Clay face mask, Radiance Repair and re-texturiz...

Wednesday Forks Over Knives [Blu-ray] Thursday Mud Mask and Salt Bath

Friday Buy a new outfit

Juicing Plan

Saturday VEGETABLE SUPER JUICE Ingredients: 1 whole cucumber 4 sticks of celery 2-4 handfuls of spinach 8 lettuce leaves Optional boosters: parsley and fresh alfalfa sprouts Water HEALING JUICE Ingredients: 3-4 Carrots 125g Fresh Spinach Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley 2-3 Sticks of Celery Water Sunset Blend Juice 1 large Sweet Potato 1 medium Carrot 1 Red Bell Pepper 2 large Red Beets 2 Golden Delicious Apples 1 Orange, optional

Sunday SKIN CLEANSE Ingredients: 1 Cucumber with skin 1/2 bunch Fresh Parsley 1 4-oz. tub Alfalfa Sprouts 4 Sprigs Fresh Mint Water GARDEN OF EDEN Ingredients 6 carrots 2 kale leaves 2 brussel sprouts 1 apple

Monday IMMUNE BOOSTER Ingredients 2 tomatoes 1 handful of parsley 2 celery stalks 1/2 cucumber 1/8 onion The Skinny Apple Ingredients 1/2 honeydew melon 1 apple 1 lemon A handful of red grapes

Tuesday Alert Me Ingredients 200g/7oz raw beetroot or beets (use fresh beetroot only) 1 carrot 1 large orange 50g/2oz spinach Mean Green 1 Bulk of kale 4 Stalks of celery 1 Cucumber 2 granny smith apples ½ lemon Ginger root (thumb sized)

Wednesday All Green Use as much greens as needed Romaine Hearts Kale or Collards Spinach 2 Handfuls Parsley 2-3 Celery Stalks ½ Lemon 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized) Green Lemonade 1 Green Apple 3 Handfuls Spinach 6-8 Kale Leaves ½ Cucumber 4 Celery Stalks ½ Lemon

Thursday Carrot-Kale Combo 1 Green Apple 3 Handfuls spinach 6-8 Kale Leaves 4 Large Carrots 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized) Apple-Cantaloupe-Honeydew-Kale- Swiss Chard 2 Apples 1/2 Cantaloupe 1/2 Honeydew 6-8 leaves Kale 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

Friday Blackberry Kiwi 1/4 large Pineapple, core removed and roughly cubed 1 cup Blackberries 1 Kiwi Fruit 1/4 Comice Pear 1/4 cup Coconut Water 30 Mint leaves Gazpacho Juice 4 Plum Tomatoes 1 large Cucumber 2 stalks Celery 1 Red Bell Pepper 1/4 small Red Onion 2 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup 1 Lime

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I had my “last meal” this morning at 5am. (vegan pizza leftovers from Hillsdale Bank BBQ last night) This is my second day with no coffee and the headache is horrible. Really frustrating to me how much of an affect coffee has. I love it so, but becoming obvious that I need to let it go. I had a veggie juice of mostly spinach at noon and juiced another large one to have this evening.

I juiced a bag of spinach, a bag of lettuce, 8 pieces of celery, 3 cucumbers and 5 radishes for my first day. I drank 70 ounces of water. Besides my headache I have no ill effects. I think the headache is keeping me from feeling hungry. The blessing of a headache!?!

I took a salt bath in the evening that helped with my headache. I was amazed at the amount of toxic waste already coming out of my skin. Coffee junkie on detox is bad news. J

Sunday, October 16, 2011

I slept over 10 hours last night! That was amazing. I even took a little nap in the evening time. I still have a slight headache today, but not as bad as yesterday. I have no hunger, which is weird because I am usually very hungry in the morning. Could it be that the micronutrients are filling me up? I am trying to keep busy, but my focus is a little off because of the headache. I taught Sunday School this morning and went to late church service. I find my mind wandering a little more today. I haven’t checked my weight yet because I don’t have a scale here at home. I usually weigh myself at work. I should probably go in tomorrow and weigh myself. One of my concerns is losing too much weight too quickly. I am at a “healthy” weight. I understand I may lose some weight, but I should monitor it. I am doing the juice fast to give my body a break from processing and to change some of my bad eating habits, not lose weight. I love coffee, wine and tortilla chips…………………..which I will have none of during this fast.

By around 2pm my energy shot up and I was feeling great! It was like a switch flipped and I was feeling normal, maybe even better than normal.

Tonight I took another salt bath, did a mud mask and ear candling. I have been drinking lots of water. I had a little bit of hunger this evening while my family was eating dinner. I am very thankful that Justin is taking on the kitchen and preparing food for him and the kids. It would be hard to cook and not eat. I was pretty tired after church today, but after a little rest I was feeling great. My headache was gone by noon. I must admit I was a little sad to have my headache leave as I believe it was controlling my hunger. But it also means I cannot say, “I have to drink coffee, this headache won’t go away!”

This fast is making me focus on myself. I absolutely can’t take a short cut for myself. I am juicing when I “need” to rather than when I want to. I am stopping to relax and rest when my body tells me. I am being selfish and while it feels weird, it is putting life into perspective for me.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Another great night of sleep, however, I did dream of food. It was weird rounds and rounds of non-vegan food. I wouldn’t eat that stuff if I wasn’t fasting. It gave me a giggle when I woke up. I still have no hunger. I woke up after 8am this morning and made 60 ounces of green juice. I drank 20 first thing in the morning and packed the rest for the day out with my gals. I did a 30 minute dvd workout video. I took the girls to the pumpkin patch today and we ran around the field, we had a great time. As I sat and watched them play in the field and on the hay bales enjoyed my last juice for my fast. The fast was shorter than I had originally planned but I lost a considerable amount of weight and I achieved my goals of resetting my diet and breaking some bad habits. I was amazed at how great I felt after not eating for 3 days. I enjoyed the fast and will definitely do another one in the future. It was a great experience and a great way to focus on myself. 3 days is a long time for me to focus on myself!

Vegan Pad Thai and Sushi Rolls

My gals love sushi, but only if they get to make it. I love it no matter what! I chop all the ingredients they may want inside their sushi rolls and they fill it up and roll it. They have so much fun making the rolls and eat so many veggies. Another favorite dish of mine is pad thai (vegan of course). Both of these recipes scared me at first, but after a couple you tube videos I feel like a pro!

Vegan Pad Thai

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Asian-style rice noodles
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp hot sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar (i used coconut sugar)
  
• 1 block tofu, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup chopped or crushed peanuts (optional)
• 4 green onions (scallions), sliced

Preparation:

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Whisk together the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, hot sauce and sugar.

In a large wok or skillet, sautee the tofu, onion and garlic in sesame oil for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Allow to cook for another minute or two.

Add the cooked noodles and the peanut butter and soy sauce mixture. Stir well, and allow sauce to thicken as it cooks for about 3 minutes. Top with peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions and serve hot.