Vegan Dip

I have to say I am NOT a huge fan of vegan food. I know people who will swear up and down about the health benefits, the wonderful flavors etc etc, but I just can't live without a good steak, cooked medium rare with a roasted red pepper sauce. Maybe its genetic, maybe I'm more of a caveman/woman, I don't know. I do know that when I eat too many carbs I get fat and can't lose weight no matter how much I count calories or cut fat, so I'll stick to my low carb lifestyle. Plus my husband doesn't consider a meal a meal unless it has some kind of meat involved. Switching to a virtually no-carb diet has made us lose weight and his cholesterol has dropped considerably, so I think we're on the right track. I am open minded and will try vegan foods whenever I hear about something good. Like today on  the Rachal Ray show I saw her make a tasty veggie dip with tofu cream cheese that sounded really tasty and though she mentioned she had it on a bagel (omg the calories and carbs in one of those) she served it up with zucchini strips, red peppers and carrots. The recipe did not have any salt or pepper in it so I added some, it really needs some spice, I also added  squish of lemon juice.
Yum!
Serve cold with veggie strips.

Rachal Ray's Vegan Dip

Ingredients

    1 box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry
    1 tofu cream cheese
    2 cloves garlic, grated
    1/4 cup onion, grated
    1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
    4 scallions, whites and greens, chopped
    1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
    1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
   
    I added:
    salt and pepper to taste
    splash of fresh lemon juice
    dash of crushed red pepper flakes


blend in food processor until smooth.

Coffee Musings

I'm sitting and enjoying a great cup of coffee while I work today.
My favorite coffee is Community coffee. This particular steamy cup is their coffee with chicory, a nice smooth blend. Ever since we tried this at Harry Bisset's in Athens (my fav restaurant) we've been using this at home. Its really tasty out of a french press or even from a traditional coffee maker. Harry Bisset's is now closed, but at least I got their recipe for sauteed asparagus and found out what kind of coffee they made. I still miss them...:(

get a $3 off coupon for Community coffee if you like them on Facebook.
Community Coffee Coupons

Sauteed Asparagus

Fresh Asparagus
garlic cloves minced or garlic powder
olive oil
butter

Rinse fresh asparagus and trim white off of stalk ends.
Add olive oil and butter and minced garlic to a hot skillet. Saute until butter melts and add asparagus. Saute until aparagus turns bright green and gets slightly tender. Cover and take off of heat. Set aside for 5 minutes, Asparagus will continue to steam and cook. Should be soft but firm. Salt and pepper to taste.

To Groupon or not to Groupon

I know some people simply HATE Groupons, Dealmobs or any of those online deal places, but I am a huge fan and have saved BIG bucks using these things. I get daily emails from Dealmobs, Groupon and Online Athens Daily Deals and I buy 3 or 4 a month. I just LOVE saving money--who doesn't??
We have gotten deals on just about everything from furniture, food, pet vaccinations and handyman services at deeply discounted rates. One or more of them will usually have a restaurant coupon once a week. If its somewhere new we are interested in or somewhere we usually eat I may buy one or two vouchers. There's this nice little place that serves tapas in town and I have used these deal coupons there several times. This week was a good week for me and my coupons. I got $200 worth of handyman services for $96 and a trip to the vet including heart worm test, exam, parvo/distemper and 3 year rabies for $59. Both have fairly long expiration dates, so sometime this summer my porch will get repainted and my dog will get her shots. I have heard from friends that they don't like them because they forget to use them or felt ripped off because of something in the fine print. I hear ya! I know our first coupon for a restaurant had some odd inclusion in it about when you could eat, so now we read the fine print on every deal very carefully before we buy. I also keep a running tab of what deals we have bought on a folder on both our phones and desktop. This way I know whats expiring and what we have available for the week. I also print out the vouchers for dining and keep them in the car in case we are out shopping and get peckish. Also, having these coupon vouchers for dinner makes it easier to decide where to go to eat if we can't agree on a restaurant. Sometimes I just can't make up my mind and hubby will get anxious if we've spent the afternoon shopping and I start waffling about where I want to go to eat. We let the coupon decide.
The thing to remember though is to read the fine print! Most of them are pretty straight forward, but if you aren't sure about something, they list the business name and address on the deal page, so call and ask. Also, keep track of expiration dates and keep them somewhere where you remember to use them! Though a few of these sites will refund what you've paid if you don't use them before they expire, not all of them do, so its best to read their terms of service. So when I put my feet up on our leather storage ottoman or the mahogany end table we got new for $25 a piece I smile and remember to check my email for new coupons.