This crunchwrap will haunt you once you have had it. The tostada or air fried corn tortilla gives the crunch that spells texture with a capital T. This has the cheese, the spice, the meat and guess what they are all vegan!

No need to go to Taco Bell. You got it here. For your convenience I gave the recipes of the vegan cauliflower walnut meat and vegan cheese sauce from my past blogs.

The air fryer comes to the rescue to make this oil free. Crunchy Yum everyone.

Air Fryer Vegan CrunchWrap Supreme

Adapted from this site.

• 3 cups Cauliflower Walnut Meat  
• 1 1/2 cups Vegan Cheese
• 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups lettuce, shredded
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes or salsa
• 5 large flour tortillas
• 5 small corn tostada or air fried corn tortillas or corn tortilla chips 
• 5 small flour tortillas

Cauliflower Walnut Meat

Makes about 5 cups

From the website Pinch of Yum

cauliflower florets from 1 head of cauliflower

2 pieces chipotle from can

2 cups walnuts

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

  

Place all the ingredients in a large food processor. If you have a medium sized one, do it in two batches. Pulse till the ingredients are blended and the mixture is mealy in texture. Transfer the mixture into a sprayed pan and spread the mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes and stir half way.  

Cheese Sauce

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp onion flakes

1 tsp salt

1/2 of 12 oz jar roasted red pepper in water

 1-2 tsp garlic powder

1 -2 tbsp chopped jalapeno from a bottle

2 cups warm water

Using a blender, like VitaMix, with the ability to cook food, blend the ingredients for 5 minutes until the cheese sauce begins to get thick.  Once you feel the sides of the blender to get hot and the blender slows down, stop the blender and quickly transfer the sauce in a container that holds at least three cups. The sauce continues to thicken as it cools.

Note:  You can also mix the ingredients in a blender and then transfer it to a sauce pan.  Cook at medium to low heat with stirring until the sauce thickens.

To assemble the CrunchWrap:

To each of the large flour tortilla, distribute the cauliflower walnut meat, vegan cheese, and black beans if using,

Place the air fried corn tortillas on top of the mixture

Add the shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes on top of the corn tortilla.

Place a small flour tortilla on top of lettuce and tomatoes and fold over the edges of the large tortilla. To keep them in place you can pin down the folds with toothpicks as you make them and remove before you air fry.

Air fry the wrap seam down at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes then flip and bake for 2 minutes more.

An Invitation

 

Your soul will not rest

till it rests in Me.  Come, sit

pause. And be with Me.

Note: Photo taken at Palm Beach Shores, Florida.

Epitome of Endurance

 

Human spirit like

rocks hold stories from the past.

Still strong through it all.

Note; photo taken at Palm Beach, Florida. 

OMG

 

What more can I say?

Thank you O powerful, all 

Good God for this gift. 

Keeping the thirst

 

for Him to fill the

void. not too smug that ones saved.

be one with oppressed. 

Expectations

 

Lower, lower. Heart

gets gentler.  Illusions gone.

Perception changed. Peace.

Air Fryer Portobello Mushrooms

These Portobello mushrooms are so good I almost ate the whole thing before I could take a photo.  Again this is an easy dish that is oil free thanks to the magical air fryer.  The marinade made from just three ingredients gives the mushrooms their great umami flavor.  The longer one marinates them the better.  

This is steak without your jaw getting tired from chewing through gritty meat. So good. 

Air Fryer Portobello Mushrooms

• 4 tbsps soy sauce 
• 2 -4  tbsps brown sugar or to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3 Portobello mushrooms, gills and stems on (trim a bit the stem to level it with the cap)

Combine the first three ingredients.

Marinate mushrooms in the mixture for an hour or so. 

Place mushrooms stem down in the air fryer basket.

Air fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 16 min flipping halfway. 

Finding ones centre

 

When east meets west. To

see Him in the sun, flowers, 

Nature. First great book. 

Fly Away with KaJamer 65

We have had so far three monthly ZOOM meetings of my Class 65 high school classmates at St. James Academy.  As usual photographs from high school days as well as past reunions are shared. Up in the list that elicits much attention are class pictures. One in particular that drew comments during and even after the August meeting  was our Third Year high school class photo shown below.  This was shared by our classmate Malou and is actually an extremely clear good copy.  We had a lot of fun the whole meeting but this photo became the most hilarious part of it thanks to a member's sharp observation of a pattern.

The identifying of who was who happened as when class photos are shown.  It has been more than fifty years ago after all when this photo was taken.  When asked where she was, Sylvia identified herself in the photo as the one with the fly away (or flip) hairdo, sixth from the left in the third row from the bottom.   As she carefully scanned the row she noted  that several others had the same hair style and cited in particular Nora who you can see ( third from left, third row from the bottom) had the most pronounced flips almost like hooks you could almost hang a coat to.  Eight of them actually have the fly way in the same row but none as obvious like Nora's. For some reason, the group went wild with laughter.  

This part of the meeting was shown in the unlisted not public YouTube recording  provided for the rest of the class to view. 

Our class happens to also have a so called Chat group in Messenger and one member who viewed the video had a lot to say and you can guess who it was.  Nora!  Here is her commentary that is both hilarious and highly informative in many ways.

"Mga bruha kyo! Mahirap pala pag d kasama sa zoom kc d lng nachichismis kundi nalalait din. Ha ha! For your information, yung lahat ng mga naka fly away, cla yung mga "in" kc nakasunod sa uso. Panahon yan ni Jacqueline Kennedy na naka fly away ang buhok. Ha ha!"

Loosely translated she said, " You are all witches or bi...is more what she meant.  I am beginning to realize it is hard to be absent in ZOOM meetings.  Not only are you gossiped about but also embarrassed.  Ha ha! For your information all of those with fly away are the ones who belong to the in crowd who follow the trends. Those are the days of Jackie Kennedy who had the fly away hairdo. Ha ha!"

Nora in her inimitable, witty way, in a nutshell, has elucidated on teenage behaviours and also showed the social landscape of an era in the sixties.

And then there is also a moral to this story, namely  do not miss meetings  But then again it was more fun viewing what you miss, right Nora? Ha ha! Thanks for being a sport.  

In a way, the fly away hairdo that night of the meeting became a sort of a get away from the pandemic doldrums.  It was an unplanned delightful surprise in the company of wonderful friends. Thank you all!

One of the most convenient uses of the Instant Pot is cooking risotto.  You just add the ingredients to the pot and let the pressure cooker do all the work.  No continuous adding of liquid and mixing.  Result is a velvety textured dish.  

Instant Pot Mushroom Spinach Risotto

• 1 cup alborio rice
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp dry toasted onion flakes
• 1/2 tbsp dry garlic flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• black pepper to taste
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves

Place all the ingredients in the Instant Pot except the spinach. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes.  Quick release then add the spinach and stir until spinach just barely wilts.

Talk listen.

 

Distance causes lack

of mercy, justice. Be with.

See Jesus in them.

Note: In a reflection from Richard Rohr, it said "the opposite of poverty is justice"',  Being with others deepen our compassion. Didn't Christ come down and be with us Himself?

The Wonderful Truth

 

"He made me and He

remade me". Second chances

He gives lovingly.

Note. Inspired by Fr. Joseph Mary's beautiful sermon during the EWTN Mass this past week. 

A Profile of Tenacity

When I think of the virtue of tenacity, a person that comes to mind is Baby as she was called in my brother Benjie's household.  She was their housekeeper, cook and one time nanny for their grandchild, Gelay, during the years she was with them.  

I met her for the first time in 2011 when I stayed at my brother's house while I attended a meeting in the Philippines.  She was then the nanny of Gelay, my brother and his late wife Pinky's grandchild.  In fact, my brother used to kiddingly say that Gelay was looking more like Baby since they were very close.

Baby did not stay at my brother's house all the time through the years.  Occasionally she would take off to be with her family in the southern part of the Philippines.  She would have had enough money to tide her over for that time.  She told me what she did when she went home and how she made her living while there.  

She described to me how she patiently would raise baby pigs till they mature and sold them for profit. I was very impressed since I have never met a person who actually made a living from hog raising.  She described how big they would get and I would listen with eyes wide open with my imagination painting how they would have looked. 

She also told me that she dreamed of building a house that could accommodate her three children.  She was a single mother with her husband leaving her when the kids were young.  Her family had a piece of land which she shared with her mother and siblings and where she could build her dream house. I listened to her and imagined what it would be like as she described her plan.  Her life was evidently simple and humble and I relished her telling about it.  I found it refreshing to hear.

When I went home in 2018 she told me she gave up raising pigs for a living since feeding them was getting to be expensive that she could not get a good profit.  Instead she had a carinderia or small eatery in front of her house where she served food using recipes she learned from Benjie's wife, the late excellent cook Pinky.  She proudly told me that people relished her food.  I was not surprised since I have loved the dishes Pinky taught her to prepare when I was there in the Philippines.  She also told me that she had finally built her dream house and one more news that she was proud of.  Her daughter had found a job working for a company in their province which my brother also worked for in Manila, Through her hard work and savings, she was able to put through her children to finish college degrees and now with one successfully using it.

In the past two years, Baby was home most of the time.  About two weeks ago, my brother relayed the news that Baby passed away in her sleep.  Baby's daughter think it must be from fatigue since Baby was taking care of her ailing mother.  Baby, according to her daughter, hardly had any energy the few days prior of her death.

It is ironic that she died a month or so after the person she has served in various functions, my late sister in law Pinky.  I wrote my brother that Baby was now with Pinky and how they were both giving persons.

I had always wanted to write about Baby years ago especially after her story about raising pigs for a living fascinated me but also because I was impressed by her tenacity to fulfill her many dreams including building a house and raising her kids into successful citizens.  After hearing her caring for her mother till the end of her life, I am honored to also include also in my writing about her how lucky I am to have known a person who was also unselfish as she was.    

Have a great time up there Baby with Pinky.  God must be delighted with both of you.

Pray then shut up

 

He speaks in whispers.

The answer will unfold.  His

time not yours. Wait. Trust.

Instant Pot Thai Tilapia Loins or Fillets

I really like the convenience of cooking using the Instant Pot since it does not entail you watching over as the dish cooks.  The question is can you cook fish in it without being overcooked.  The answer is yes I am happy to say.  I even added some vegetables on top that more or less have similar cooking time or the ones that are bearable to eat a bit mushy like red pepper and onions.  I cooked the green beans in the microwave since I prefer them with more body.

For the sauce, I used a mixture of fish sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar which the Thais love to utilize in their cooking.  You can add Thai basil or plain basil if you like or if the members of your household do not mind.  My husband does.

I used tilapia loins from Aldi Grocery Store that were individually wrapped in a 14 oz bag.They have better even shape than the fillets but you can use either type.  

You can double the ingredients of the sauce if you like.  They are pretty delicious over rice.  

Instant Pot Thai Tilapia Loins or Fillets

• 4 tilapia loins or fillets (from 14 oz packet)
• Flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder for dredging fish
• 1 red pepper, sliced 
• 1 onion, sliced 
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp chopped Thai basil or any type of basil (optional)
• green beans, microwaved

In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar till sugar  dissolves.  You can add the Thai basil if using. Set aside.

Dredge the tilapia fillets or loins in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Place the fish in a dish that can fit the Instant Pot bowl.  Place the red pepper and onion slices on top of the fish.

Add one cup water at bottom of pot and place the trivet on top. Place the dish with tilapia and vegetables on top. Then pour over the sauce over the fish and vegetable mixture.

Cook at high pressure for four minutes. Then quick release. 

Serve with green beans microwaved or steamed. 

When tears fall

Triumph, defeat, joy,

sorrow.  Earth meets heaven.  Our 

hearts feel the moment. 

Hole in the Soul

 

Filled with bad stuff that

didn't work. Rescued by "God bolt".

With help of Twelve Steps.

Note: Inspired by the amazing powerful testimony of Stephen Hilton, better half of comedian, Laura Clery, about his road to sobriety from addiction with the help of the Twelve Steps.

Radish Greens Pesto Mozzarella Toast

 

Do not throw away your radish or carrot tops. Their hardy textures are ideal for making delicious pestos. I previously posted the use of carrot tops in this blog here.  This time I concocted another delicious pesto using radish tops with the help of nuts, garlic and lemon juice to impart amazing appetizing flavors.

I used the pesto on top of toasted bread that had been spread with vegan mozzarella and the pairing was incredibly satisfying.  

Radish Greens Pesto Mozzarella Toast

Radish Greens Pesto (recipe below)

Vegan Mozzarella (recipe here)

Bread

Toast the bread.  Spread the mozzarella on the toast.  Then place the pesto on top.

Radish Greens Pesto

2 cups radish tops, washed amd dried 

1 clove garlic

Juice of half lemon

1/4 cup macadamia nuts 

1 tbsp nutritional yeast 

Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients in a small blender. Mix to the consistency you like.

Life is Holy

 

Our life is a gift.

We live not by choice but by

grace.  We're blessed. Live. Love.

Note: Painting by my friend Kathy Stromple. The haiku has been inspired by today's entry in Richard Rohr's Reflections.

Easy Spinach Pie

When I go to the Farmers Market in Monroeville, PA,  I look forward to buying the spinach pie preferably without the feta cheese. This past weekend I was not lucky and I had to settle with the spinach with feta pie.  I decided to try to learn to make my own plain spinach pie.  

According to the taste of the pie,  lemon juice is one of the ingredients.  I did not want to be bothered into wrapping it in a pastry but I have to have something to hold the spinach,  I remember making spanakopadilla before which is a cross between spanakopita and quesadilla.  In that hybrid recipe tortillas were used.  I could have followed that recipe but it was not vegan using egg and cheese.  My favorite spinach pie does not have any cheese and that is what I wanted to make.  

Since I was not in the mood to cut and chop, I used dry spices from my pantry but you can use fresh ones.  Frozen spinach is very convenient to use since you really get a lot per volume and when thawed the water just seeps out that you just drain.  No sqieezing needed.

 

I decided to air fry the pie but it can be baked and pan fried too.  The result is very close to the spinach pie I love at the Farmers Market. Fresh lemon juice is the key as I had guessed.

Easy Spinach Pie

• 1 10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 tsps dry onion flakes
• 2 tsps dry garlic flakes
• 1/2 tsp dry dill lemon seasoning
• 1 tsp dry parsley
• juice of half lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped (optional)
• 2 medium flour tortillas

Place all the ingredients except the tortillas in a medium-sized skillet.  Heat at medium heat till the spinach is mixed with the other ingredients and all its liquid has evaporated.

Place part of the mixture into half of a tortilla and fold over the other half. Spray both sides with cooking spray and place in the air fryer basket.

Air fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes.  Flip half through.

Deconstructed Sushi Bowl with Spicy Mayonnaise

If you are longing for sushi but are not motivated to do the rolling involved then prepare this deconstructed sushi bowl complete with the traditional seaweed sheet.  I purchased the sheet from Aldi.  I used spicy mayonnaise for the dressing.  I posted a recipe for vegan mayonnaise in this blog you can use.  You just add sriracha to make it spicy. You have free rein as to what vegetables you want to use.  The sushi rice can be prepared by adding vinegar to any cooked rice you have.  

Deconstructed Sushi Bowl with Spicy Mayonnaise

• 1 cup cooked rice of choice mixed with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup chopped napa cabbage
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
• 2 radishes, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 seaweed sheet, torn
• 2 tbsp spicy mayonnaise (2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise added with drops of sriracha sauce according to taste)

Arrange the rice, vegetables and torn seaweed sheet in a bowl.  Serve with spicy mayonnaise.

✕

Air Fried Baby Eggplant

 

I fell in love with these baby eggplants yesterday when I was at the Farmers Market at Monroeville, PA.  They were so cute.  I googled what to do with them and settled for a grilled recipe. I decided to grill them in my air fryer.  I tweaked the recipe by adding garlic powder and using half the amount of dry pepper flakes but you can opt for the larger amount listed below.  

I did it in two batches and ate the whole first batch of six eggplants.  I was shocked to see the main plate empty so I prepared a second batch.  The inside is soft and the outside skin was crisp.  The cilantro, salt and the squeeze of lemon you add to the air fried eggplant make this side dish or appetizer even more addictive.

Air Fried Baby Eggplant

6-8 baby eggplants

1/4 to 1/2 tsp dry chili flakes

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garlic powder

salt

bunch of cilantro, chopped

1/2 lemon

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 minutes setting.

Mix the chili flakes, cumin , coriander and garlic powder on a cutting board and spread out the mixture.

Cut the eggplants in half.  Spray them with cooking spray.

Place the eggplant cut side down on the spice mixture spread out in the cutting board and push them so the spice mixture sticks on their surface.

Air fry them cut side up in the preheated air fryer for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle salt on the cut side of the air fried eggplant.  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon  and sprinkle chopped cilantro on top.  

Enjoy.  

I finally made my first mainly black bean burgers which I  based on this recipe except I used the air fryer to prepare them.  The burger came out crisp on the outside and moist in the inside.  It has some kick to it but not unbearable.  Just right. The list of ingredients to make them is short and yet the taste and texture of these burgers are surprisingly satisfying.  

Easy peasy so you do not need to buy all sorts of plant based burgers from the grocery store that use all kind of ingredients and flavors. Just follow this and you are good to go.  

Air Fryer Black Bean Burger

Adapted from this recipe

• 1/2 onion, chopped 
• 1/2 cup cooked rice 
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs 
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 tsp. cumin 
• 1 Tbsp. ketchup 
• 4 hamburger buns 
• Tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, and vegan mayo (optional)

• In a food processor, pulse the onion, rice, breadcrumbs, black beans, chili powder, salt, cumin, and ketchup until well combined. 
• Form the mixture into 4 patties.
• Place the patties on the previously sprayed air fryer basket.
• Air fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 minutes flipping the patties halfway through.
• Serve on buns with toppings of your choice.

Inevitables

 

Joy, sorrow, life, death.

With their acceptance comes peace.

Cease the fear and live.

A Drop of Sunshine

Small kind act or words

in dark times are reminders

all's still good despite.

I have been dying to prepare an oil and dairy free mayonnaise that I will be happy with and I finally did it.  Here it is.  

Tofu Cashew Mayonnaise

12 oz soft silken tofu

1/2 cup cashews

2 tbsp lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp Dijon Mustard 

2 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp onion powder 

1 tsp lemon dill seasoning (optional)

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

black pepper to taste

Dash Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Put in blender and blend till smooth. Transfer to a glass container. 

Portable foods are essential to maintaining ones good eating approach as we are out and about or we will be tempted to gobbling fast food alternatives. Here is a recipe for oil free and dairy free turnovers that you can tuck in your handbag as you go about running your errands or into your backpack or cooler during your bike rides, picnics, long trips or whatever you dare to take..

I put together two oil free and dairy free recipes I liked from past blogposts to prepared this, from this blog and this blog, and I was happy with the result.  Here is how I did it. Enjoy!

Chickpea Turnovers

Filling:

From this past blog 

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, coarsely mashed in small blender

2-3 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced pickle
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Pastry dough and assembly:

From this past blog

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
4-5 tbsp. almond milk

Combine the almond flour, cornstarch, whole wheat flour and salt in a bowl.  Add half of the milk and mix.  Add the rest of the milk as needed.  Knead the mixture till it gets stretchy.

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a large circle.  Then using a round cookie cutter or a glass, cut into smaller round circles.

Add about a teaspoon  of the filling on half of each circle.  Then fold over the other half and close the edges by crimping them or just use a fork.  

Air fry the turnovers at 390 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.

Eye Candy No Calories

Surprise splendor of

color painted by nature.

Mesmerizing joy.

Maddie You Are Now Seven

Maddie you are now seven

Of course you can count to more than ten

Your handwriting no longer like a scratch

So beautiful and topnotch

You just don't dress up nice

You accesorize

Big Jojo bows and array of earrings

Outfits and shoes color matching

You still love to sing

This time like you are YouTubing 

Making cards you still like to do

Playing with your dolls. who pee and poop

Soft heart you have that cries for anybody

Who is hurting in real life or on TV

Playing with Luca you enjoy games galore

You guide and protect him like a mother

Friends you love to make and invite

To playdates is your delight

You just do not smile for photos

You have to have that social media pose

Yes you and the internet are close

Overnight with Lola you do not want to miss

Aunt B is there, shop at Five below, eat goodies with Netflix movies

You are looking more and more like your Mommy

Especially that intense chin. you're her mini me.

You love sweets like chocolate

Thank God also corn and tons of carrots

You love school

Homework you find cool

You love learning anything

To your little worn out Puppie you still cling

American dolls you are discovering

LOL doll packages you love unwrapping

Still you wake up everyday so eager 

To play, do swimming, gymnastics, cheerleading whatever

Stay lovable and loving

Continue learning

Jesus song and others keep singing

Be yourself

And always be eager Xmas time to find your elf.

Going To the Deep Place

To find true self, one

with God, others. Spurs justice

with heart not anger.