October Vegan Cuts Beauty Box

Check out my latest YouTube video over at PVTV! Fun stuff, and a cool witch hat. Happy Halloween!!!

Break Time

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know I'll be taking a break from the blog. I have some big projects going that require my full attention. Rather than stress myself out trying to do too many things, I'm putting the blog on hold for a bit. I hope to be back soon with new recipes, new videos, and maybe even a book and some silly vegetable songs with my new ukulele!

If you miss me, please feel free to drop me a note. I'd love to hear from you!

Carry on, and...

Eat Your Greens!
xoxo Kim

Simple Gluten Free Vegan Bread. Really.

I've been making (and eating) bread for days, perfecting the vegan, gluten free recipe I posted back in March. It was good, but not good enough. It was also much too complicated and had too many different types of flour in it for me to bother with very often. So I've been tinkering with it, and followed a tip from a reader who suggested using an electric mixer. It worked! And it keeps working. I'm really quite pleased because I'm not a baker really, but I can finally make great bread! Keep in mind that your oven, elevation (I'm at 7,000 ft here), and even the weather can play big roles in your baking success. You might need to make adjustments.

This super-wonderful, easy recipe calls for only 3 kinds of flour (rather than 7!), along with a few other basic bread ingredients. Click the PayPal button below to get it now for just $1.99! I give away a lot here, and every now and then I need to get paid if we all want to keep this going. I know you understand, and I appreciate your support!


Get the Gluten Free Vegan Bread Recipe for just $1.99!
Click the PayPal button to the right or find it at the bottom of the Recipe Box page!


The recipe is also available in the Recipe Box, which can be yours for as little as $4.99! That's about the cost of one loaf of not-so-good store bought gluten free bread! The Recipe Box contains over 100 of my best recipes, along with darling printable recipe cards for each. With a simple binder and plastic page protectors you can create your own cookbook with all your favorite recipes in one place. Or just pull them up online as you need them. It's up to you! Pay whatever price you like, from $4.99 to $19.99. You decide what it's worth to you.

TIP! A good bread knife is worth it's weight in vegan butter. Hacking through a soft bread with a regular knife will only mash it in the center. I've just bought this nice, inexpensive knife from Amazon and I love it. I can't believe it took me so long to get the right tool for the job!

Victorinox Cutlery 8-Inch Wavy Edge Bread Knife, Black Fibrox Handle

This is what happens when you use the wrong knife. The inside gets crumbled and mushed.
It still tastes heavenly, but it's not as pretty as it could be, and it can even appear to be under-baked.

What's for dinner? Look in the Recipe Box! Yours forever from just $4.99!

Or Get the Gluten Free Vegan Bread Recipe for just $1.99! Click the PayPal button to the right, or find it at the bottom of the Recipe Box page!

Cilantro-Lime Salad Dressing

Always looking for ways to use less fat and add more nutrient value to our food, I decided to try using beans instead of cashews in this salad dressing. The result is creamy and delicious, and packed with protein and fiber. It's not just dressing, it's food!

Cilantro-Lime Salad Dressing
makes about 2 cups

1 can chickpeas or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 lime, zest and juice
1/2 - 1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.

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What's that amazing smell coming from the oven? 
The best (and easiest) Gluten Free Vegan Bread ever! 
It's in the Recipe Box today!!!

Vegan Cuts September Beauty Box

I'm a little late with this review because I wanted to have time to try all the products in the box. After closer inspection, there are at least a couple of items I will probably pass on to friends because sometimes the (always fabulous) Vegan Cuts Beauty Box is geared for a slightly younger crowd than I qualify for anymore. It's OK! I love the chance to sample unfamiliar products each month, and also to let you know what's out there that you might not have discovered for yourself yet. So here we go with the September Vegan Cuts Beauty Box!

Beauty Without Cruelty Rosemary-Mint-TeaTree Shampoo - So far I love all BWC products, and this shampoo is no exception. To be honest, because I have curly hair, I generally wash it with conditioner, and use shampoo only rarely. It tried this though, and it smelled wonderful, cleaned away the conditioner buildup, and left my hair nice and soft. Good stuff.

Manic Panic Creature of the Night Eye Shadow and Liner in Raven - From the wildly colored hair dye people, this full-sized set, complete with mirror, is super hip and glam, and certainly suited for other-than-Halloween wear. I tried it, I like it, and I'm passing it on because I already have something similar that I use all the time.

Weleda Lotion Samples - I adore lotion. The dry New Mexico climate I live in really takes a toll on my skin, so I go through buckets of lotion on a regular basis. These are vegan and cruelty free, although some Weleda products contain lanolin, so be sure to read labels when you shop. Of the samples I got, the Sea Buckthorn is my favorite, the Wild Rose my least fave because it's too sweet and strong for me, and the Citrus and Pomegranite are almost as nice smelling as the Sea Buckthorn. There's also a little packet of Citrus Refreshing Body Oil, which I keep forgetting to use, but imagine it will be lovely.

Good Clean Love Almost Naked Personal Lubricant... It's vegan, cruelty free, contains no parabens or petrochemicals, and it's latex-safe. You're on your own with this one.

Gladrags Washable Panty Liner... As a woman "of a certain age," I'll just say that this is something I, uh, no longer have a use for... But what a great idea, huh? One more thing we can keep out of the landfill. I'm all for it! My only thought for using this cute little soft flannel pad for myself was to snap it onto my seatbelt to keep my neck from chafing... yeah OK, probably not... I'll pass it on to someone younger for sure.

And in the box but not on the list is a little bar of soap from Fanciful Fox. The "California Dreamin'" scent is just that - dreamy. I love washing my face with it.

And there you have it. Purchase all the products reviewed here today at a nice little discount in the Vegan Cuts online Shop. And get your own monthly Beauty Box by clicking the banner below. It's always fun!



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What's for dinner? Look in the Recipe Box! 
Available as low as $4.99!

Using What's There - Lentil Soup

Do you ever stand in your kitchen and say, There's nothing to eat...? I know I do. But if I take a look through the fridge and cabinets, there's always a lot of food there. Not to sound like parents at the dinner table, but there are people all over the world, in this country even, who would love the kind of "nothing" to eat that most of us have. I've started a little challenge with myself, to use what I already have, get creative, and rather than going to the store for more, see what I can come up with on those "nothing to eat" days.

First stop, Lentil Soup. I didn't have everything I might normally have used, but I made it anyway. This is not a real recipe, and it goes back to my favorite way to cook, which I learned from my mom, and from one of my all time favorite cooking books, Tassajara Cooking. I have the most fun when I just take what's there, throw it in a pot, and start stirring, sniffing, tasting, and adding things as I go. So here's how I made lentil soup out of nothing...

I had a few red lentils, and a few French lentils, so I combined them and soaked them in the morning, until I was ready to cook them later in the day. Although lentils don't really need to be soaked, I usually do it anyway, to clean them really well, and to speed up the cooking process a little bit.

When I soak lentils or beans, I place them in the large pot I'll be cooking them in later, cover them with a lot of water, bring them to a boil, and let them bubble for about 5 minutes. Then I drain off that water and repeat the process, leaving them to soak in the second pot of water for an hour or more, up to overnight. This helps them cook faster, and also takes the "gas" out of them. When it's time to make the soup, I drain off the soak water, and set the lentils aside in the strainer for a few minutes.

While the lentils waited patiently, I chopped up and onion and some garlic, and also some carrots and potatoes. I first sautéed the onions, garlic, and carrots in a little water, then poured in a box of veggie broth, a can of lite coconut milk, and tossed in the lentils. Bringing the pot to a boil, I reduced the heat to medium and let the lentils cook for a while. When they were about 15 minutes to done (by my guess) I added the potatoes and let it all cook together until everything was tender. At the very last I stirred in a jar of green curry paste, and seasoned the soup with tamari. 

It was fast and simple and forgiving. And out of nowhere, we suddenly had 3 nights worth of dinners. Try this in your own way next time you think the cupboard is bare. I bet there's more there than you think there is.

What's for dinner? Look in the Recipe Box!

Spanakopita on PVTV

I just posted a fun 4 minute video over at PVTV, showing you how to make my darling little Spanakopita Triangles. Check it out! And while you're there, please take a moment to subscribe to the channel, click Like, and leave a comment. It all helps, and I love you for it! xoxoxo

For the complete written recipe, visit the recent blog post, Spanakopita Triangles. You'll also find it in the Recipe Box (which I've printed out for myself as a book!), now available on a sliding scale! Pick your own price and get cooking!

Top 50!

Did you notice my new badge? I made the Top 50 Vegan Blogs list on BerryRipe.com! I'm so excited and encouraged and re-inspired to keep this baby blog going and keep making it better and better. I do it because I love it, but I have to admit it's nice to get noticed. Thank you BerryRipe, for picking me!

To celebrate, I finally finished making Recipe Cards for the Recipe Box. WooHoo! I like how I can either bring up a favorite recipe online (yes, I do need to read my own recipes), or flip through my binder full of the printed cards, which I did as full pages, and tucked them into protective sleeves. Sometime I like to be "un-plugged" when I cook.

If you don't have your very own Recipe Box yet, now is a great time to get it. I've just added the option of sliding scale pricing, so you can choose your own price, from $4.99 to $19.99, depending on what you can afford, and what the Recipe Box is worth to you. This is an experiment, and I might keep it going indefinitely if it works well, or not if it doesn't. It's up to you! And remember, this is how I get paid, and how I'm able to keep the blog going. Go check it out. I think you'll like it!

Cup and Bowl Giveaway!

I would love to host giveaways, and maybe I will someday, but the one I'm talking about today is over at Luminous Vegans, where you can win this darling Jeanette Zeis cup and bowl set. I intend to win them, actually, but I thought it would be nice to give you the chance too. Let me know if you do!