Beginning to look a lot like…

the Holidays (to not be religiously-biased) 

…even though the high will be 80 degrees on Christmas morning…

So, for my homemade gifts, I’ve decided against giving out the “Almond Joy” granola because I tasted it and it tasted… burnt. No one wants that, no matter how bad they were this year!!! I woke up yesterday morning on a mission: better granola, & something else homemade. What, may you ask? How very trendy of me to make biscotti!!! I looked up some recipes from V’con and other cookbooks and sort of varied it to my liking. I came out with my own, OrangePop variation! It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself! Healthy + Vegan + Delicious = a winning combination! 

For my 1st trick, I present…. GRANOLA:

^ this was the best, yet! I added nuts and dried fruit but I added the sliced almonds during the last 5 or so minutes because that’s where I got, um, *burned* last batch! Good move, me!

I packaged them like this, afterall:

 with a little tag with the ingredients, added later. I used mostly organic ingredients from my health-food store (aka work) so people will know they’re adding wholesome goodness to their innards! 

I also made a ginger-sunflower seed version that was great, too!!!

I shall post these recipes, okay?!

For my next trick, I reveal… BISCOTTI:

and I packaged them all differently, like this:

 I gave one to my uncle and he didn’t want to choose one because he didn’t want me to waste the “gourmet wrap job” on lil’-ol’-him! HA, it’s wax paper… and ribbon…

* I will post the recipe, because it was original when it was finished, and not exactly from any book or recipe I looked up! *

Anywho, amongst all the baking and the house smelling ab-so-lutely divine, I also baked up a cake because my grandparents came over for dinner to see the house all decorated purrty for the holidays. It was a suuuper-easy recipe my mom had, so I whipped it up real quick. It was a lemon bundt cake with a cinnamon-sugar swirl. Here’s it in the making:

…and the final product:

^ Do you see what I see? A lil’ bit of me, OP looming in the background?!

mmMmmMmm… orange soda…

One of these days I’m going to post a photo of the BEST part of our Christmas decorations. I’ll reveal that later. But now, here was our dining atmosphere last night:

HAPPY & HEALTHY HOLIDAYS 😀

Tree-huggin’ Christmas gift

Last night, I went home to find a package from my friend Bama filled with goodies like Clif and Kashi bars, Sport beans, a funny Christmas card and Chris Carmichael’s book Food for Fitness to “Eat Right to Train Right” because I’d love to run more and even compete again, but want to make sure I have my bases covered, as far as good sport nutrition! THANKS BAMA- you’re GRRRR-REAT!

Last night I felt like baking. With all these awesome bloggers making cookies and other yummy treats this time of year, even though I’m getting sweets, I still want to contribute. i thought about something original. Then, I thought something homemade and totally OrangePop-ish would be the best! Soooo, I came out with 2 varieties of…

GRANOLA!

While The Santa Claus was on TV, I just sort of looked up recipes, and then played around and made my own anyway. My 1st attempt I tried a variation of “Almond Joy” except later I realized I should have added cocoa powder for the chocolate part…oh, well!

The 2nd one, I added more dried fruit and nuts and… wow, even more of a winner!

I put them in  tubs.

I know there’s a niftier idea than plastic baggies to give them in (I still want to make more varieties, but I was getting sleepy!) **Any suggestions??** They’re very much welcomed!

Would you believe that they contain no oil? It’s true. I may post the recipe I used, if they’re hits, or if I get an influx of requests.

…until then, THERE’S ONLY A FEW MORE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT ‘TIL CHRISTMAS! EVERYONE BE HAPPY AND LOVING 😀 and especially, show it if you feel it!

…waiting…

STILL, for my Veganomicon cookbook! My other one came in just over a week, and it’s nearing 2 and a half, and I’m worried about it! I ordered it via Amazon.comand still have the virtual reciept, so I feel like I have a back-up if it doesn’t work out, but I’m keeping my hopes up about it! I haven’t tried any recipes from VwaV but I’ve looked through and I think I’ve made a mental note about a few… #1 is the curried tempeh & mango salad sammiches! I love tempeh, and a good sammich… and mango, so this sounds right up my ally! Whenever I buy dried fruit, I go for the dried mango strips (not really the pieces, though), but I have branched out lately with apricots and dates. Apricots are becoming a ravin-fave too! Also, I’ve never made scones, or had them for that matter, so maybe their hazelnut scones are worth trying?

The other night I made dinner for my family. I love doing this, and I just had an itch to do it because I felt like I wouldn’t have a nice, home-cooked mealfor a few days, or really until maybe Friday because I’m working a lot of nights this week, sooo I busted out my recipes and my sister helped me decide on Spicy Peanut Stew from Vegetarian Times. I served it over wheat berries, which I love, and you must try, if you haven’t. They are kind of circular and look a bit like barley, but darker (reddish?), and when you eat them, it seems like you can pop them in your mouth! Great! No picture, sorry dolls! There’s a picture on Veg. Times, and it actually came out pretty well (and very spicy!). It would be even better, with those veggies, in the fall.

In reading posts about optimism from my beautiful fellow bloggers (i.e. Jenna & Emma), I was actually thinking of life and how lucky I am yesterday. The sun was shining, after being hidden for maybe 5 days in a row, and I was out for a little fresh air stroll, when I walked passed a girl’s house, who would have been my age, had it not been for a horsing-around-car-accident that took her life. I walked passed, thinking of how she was not alive and how lucky I was to be alive and that I should actually live everyday of my life! Not merely exist. Live for me, and live for all those who have unfortunately lost their lives. I have been close to that, too, so I am so very appreciative of all I have. And I’m learning to celebrate who I am and am becoming! I’m the youngest of three girls, so sometimes growing up it seemed like I got the “leftovers”- in clothes and hand-me-downs, as well as energy, care, and emotion. Not really. I’ve been very fortunate in all the love that has been shown to me! Not just from family, but feeling it from everyone that’s known me. Wow. Not everyone is like this. At work, I hear people complaining about wanting time off, being bored, blah-blah-blah… I’ve been out of work for maybe 7 months and have since learned to appreciate and handle “down-time” and “me-time” and when I’m with someone to be with them in mind and body. People respect that when you’re with them, whether they realize it or not! To treat others as they really are important and matter, and to interact with them in order to gain something from them in life (whether material, internal, emotional, etc.) is wonderful! So, respect each other and love one another. Nothing in life is ever accomplished by loafing around, or complaining. We are dealt things in life because we must learn from them, and because we can handle them! Smile! Laugh! Care! Appreciate! Love! Always work on yourself, because that’s the best kind of work that can be done, and it’s ever-lasting! Not only is happiness contagious, but it’s excellent for your health!

Have a great week, and I mean this in my heart 🙂

P.S. Happy 24th Birthday to my oldest sister! I have to work tonight, so while the rest of the family goes out to dinner at a Bar-B-Que place (*phew* too bad for me, missing all that meatiness), I’m taking her out to get Mexican for lunch… her favorite, although I’m glad for it, too 🙂