Saturday 30 March 2013

Have a Happy Easter!:)

Commission bespoke Funky Homo sapiens 100% Vegan hound collar, 
and a matching pair of stud earrings for the hound owner, yum!:)

Have a beautiful Easter! 

Please note that the Funky Homo sapiens 10th anniversary 
celebration -30% sale on all accessories ends Sunday 
31st of March 2013!  All newbies included- Our gift to you!:) 
x x x

Friday 22 March 2013

Quinoa Week pt. 2

Part two of my Quinoa week;
 I wasn't too excited to even blog about these following two as they look so bland, and for the first time pretty much ever (in my adult life), I didn't enjoy what I had created (from a recipe)

This "Sunshine Carrot - Tofu Scramble"- breakfast wasn't to my liking (Big Vegan p.69), it was ok-ish, but for something that eats quite expensive raw materials like tofu and spinach (in Fnland at least), it was bland and tasteless even after I tried to save it afterwards by adding some spices, and raw tofu (and spicing it) being a familiar material to me.

Please mind my huge salad on the left- which I'm addicted to. Most people usually have their salads on/or as a side dish, but I like the combination of "cold" and fresh next to something warm. With main course, I enjoy it just raw and green, nothing added, but I do love proper salads with various add-ons too:)

Anyhows, the scramble included grated carrots, firm tofu, yellow 
bell pepper, quinoa, spinach and spices. 
Asparagus- Quinoa Risotto:
I don't even recall the last time I've had such colourless looking food, heh! One thing that bothered me about this "Big Vegan"- book was its utter lack of visual pleasure. The book advertises 350 recipes; it is thick as a brick, but within those 544 pages there's roughly estimated 10+ picture pages. BUT, ha, now after having tried some of the recipes I understand why, heh:) There's nothing to show! If these two meals were photographed I quite probably wouldn't have tried them out:) -Fair enough!:)

BUT even having had my rant, this risotto was actually really good:) .. although I did alter the recipe a little, but only on the risotto- part by following the instructions on my risotto- box, and having the quinoa already made (read sprouted) rather than cooking them simultaneously with the risotto rice.

I've actually never made risotto before, strange. We had it at school quite often, and it wasn't bad, but it's just never occurred to me to make some. And sadly my asparagus came from a jar (tut tut!), 'cause all the fresh ones were sold out:( But I'm rather exited about this risotto now and will defo be making more, with added COLOUR!;)

The Risotto above ate risotto rise (no shit Sherlock!), asparagus, quinoa, onion, white wine and spices. I don't drink alcohol, I just simply don't enjoy it... yet another BUT, I was offered to have some of the "leftover" with the dinner, and this Sauvignon Blanc was really good! I was in total awe. If I ought to choose a wine I'd choose red no matter what food it would traditionally be associated with - much to my surprise, this stuff below still brings a happy smile to my face when I think about its taste:) I don't know if this Sauvignon Blanc would be regarded as rubbish by those more intellectual wine loving individuals, but I liked it! YUM, if that's a word one could use about a  wine:) Light, fresh, cheery and apple'y:) + fairtrade is a bonus:)
Having complained about the lack of visuals on the Big Vegan- book, other minuses for such a heavy book are the paper covers. It's silly, but I really hate it when books get greases to the spine, ugh! This book is after all been designed for continuous use, I can't even imagine what it will look like after couple of months.

On the recipes as such I can't yet comment, but even with those instant "negatives", the book is slowly growing on me. I think it's probably more enjoyed by the beginner vegetarians and vegans:) But I'm slightly worried with (i.e. the two samples above), that the book gives a wrong example of veggie food; nothing kills enthusiasm as fast as food being bland and colourless, and veggie food already having the status of mushy "rabbit food" amongst some carnivores. But having said this, I've literally only tested such a few recipes AND the book has 5 stars on Amazon.co.uk so I do maintain my great expectations!:)

One other good thing for us Europeans, the book being American, is that next to those strange, heh, cup and oz- measurements, there's ml's, so it makes making and baking so much easier!:)
Have a wonderful and joyeux weekend!
x x x 

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Quinoa Week

I'm celebrating a "Quinoa Week":) 
I decided to test as many recipes I would be able to find from my cookbooks, or online. As it makes sense to make a slightly larger batch at once, I have plenty to work on:)

We're also celebrating our 14th anniversary today, March 19th, so I prepared a good breakfast, as we rarely have a chance to sit down properly as a family (in the mornings), and neither of us hardly ever have time to stop for breakfast.

Rye bread with avocado, pea sprouts, spring onion and Romaine lettuce, yum!
Freshly juiced oranges, lush!
This isn't necessary part of the breakfast setting, but I made it ready for lunch or dinner as I thought it might taste the best when cooled down a bit. This is "Mineralized Protein Rich Quinoa Salad" from an e-book I ordered from Spirulina Junkie. The recipe is originally from Chef Franky G / Frank Giglio (www.frankgiglio.com)

The salad contains Sprouted Quinoa, pea sprouts, Dulce seaweed,  Spirulina, Hemp seeds, a carrot, onion, garlic and spices.  
How to sprout Quinoa (Kvinoa tai Quinoa in Finnish) ?
It is said when sprouting Quinoa, one helps to break down the physic acid, which allows for better absorption of nutrients and mineral.
- Soak your desired amount of seeds (i.e 2dl) in water for 2hours
- Strain, rinse and spread evenly on a plate.  Leave in room temperature for 12-24 hours (mine took 12hours) until they've grown a little tail:) 
- Rinse again, and bring to boil a little until tender
- Let them cool down, use immediately and/or store the rest in refrigerator
Quinoa cookies! From -"Big Vegan"- book, or officially "Almond Butter- Quinoa cookies, with Apricot", ha:) Page 471. These are so delicious and heavy, in a good way, fresh, airy, but heavy enough for not being able to stuff ones face with the whole batch at one sit. Instead; one cookie will take you far and will keep ones tummy satisfied for hours (in my opinion, ha!:))

They eat almond butter, agave syrup, canola oil (American English for rapeseed oil), little bit of flour (of your choice), chickpea flour, quinoa flakes ( I used quinoa flour), coarsely chopped almonds, dried apricots and spices. Everything I used was pure and organic:) And only thing I left out was an almond extract, as I didn't have any, but I don't think I missed out on flavour anyway:)

Dogs (and cats!) have been mad for everything quinoa!
That's Halla, the Afghan Hound, on mummy's cookie platter, tut tut!
14 years and many more!
Have a beautiful and sunny Tuesday!
x x x 

Wednesday 6 March 2013

March Madness

Funky Homo sapiens 10- years! Everything must go!
All Funky Homo sapiens accessories -30% at the 
web boutique, and the following retailers:


Happy Shopping!:)
x x x

Friday 1 March 2013

Ooo, Bambi sightings!

Eight (1st march 2013) rarely available OOAK Funky Homo sapiens
Funky Bambies have been listed to the web Boutique HERE

x x x
Varpu in quality control duty, meow! 
x x x
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