RECIPE METHOD: Shredded Seitan

Seitan (pronounced SAY-tan) is one of those "weird vegan foods" that I swore I'd never cook. I had absolutely no clue what it was until I attempted to make it for the first time. I learned that making seitan is more of an ART than anything else--getting the texture and the taste right is a lot more difficult than I thought.

First, if you don't know what seitan is, I'll explain in a very tiny nutshell: Seitan is a vegan meat alternative that is made out of vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten is what is left when you remove *everything* but the gluten from wheat flour. Gluten holds things like dough together and makes things stretchy (think pizza dough). This is what vital wheat gluten looks like:

It looks like flour, basically, but it's "springy"--which sounds odd until you see it for yourself. Anyway...

All seitan has one common ingredient: vital wheat gluten. But there are a million recipes out there for different flavors and textures of seitan. You can make it taste like pretty much whatever you'd like, based on what seasonings you use. Depending on what you add to it, you can get all sorts of different textures. Usually, the recipes involve adding some sort of protein (like tofu or beans), lots of seasonings, and vital wheat gluten. The only other thing you need is a blender or food processor.

I tried what felt like ten billion recipes for seitan and something was always off. Each time, though, I learned something else I might be able to tweak for next time. When I mentioned this several weeks ago on my blog, someone asked for the recipe--and naturally, I forgot to share! However, I made some seitan today, so I took pictures for the post.

This recipe for seitan is meant to replace shredded chicken. I tried so hard with other recipes to get the shredded texture and it just wasn't happening. This recipe is where it finally came together for me. Then I tweaked it to my preferences in taste and method. This recipe isn't from one source, although the basis of it comes from this video on YouTube by Green Beets Kitchen. That is how I made it before I started tweaking things.

Below is the recipe as I make it... including my changes. This is how Jerry and I like it best!

(Here is a PDF copy if you'd like to print it!)

First, the ingredients:

480 mL water

2 Tbsp. miso paste

1 tsp. salt (or ¾ tsp. salt + ¼ tsp. msg)

2 servings vegan “chicken” bouillon powder (2 cubes, 2 tsp. paste, etc. I use 2 Tbsp. of this homemade vegan powder)

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

½ tsp. white pepper

20 g. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. neutral flavored oil

70 g. pea protein isolate powder

230 g. vital wheat gluten

Notes about ingredients:

Since seitan can be finicky, the difficult-to measure-ingredients are listed by weight--which makes it much more consistent. (I love when recipes list ingredients by weight!)

About the msg (monosodium glutamate)... I know it's a super "frowned upon" ingredient, so it's definitely not necessary here. However, after reading quite a bit about it a while ago, I decided to give it a try in this recipe. The point is, though, it's optional.

The vegan "chicken" bouillon... this can be vegan bouillon cubes or paste or powder. For this recipe, you just want two servings of it. I use 2 Tbsp. of this homemade bouillon powder by Plant Power Couple. (I use that powder for everything, by the way! I don't put the turmeric in it, though, just because of the color--it makes the seitan very yellow, which is off-putting.)

Pea protein isolate is literally just pea protein powder--I bought a big bag of it on Amazon and it was pretty cheap (especially considering we make this seitan all the time). The same with the vital wheat gluten--I buy big bags on Amazon (I use Anthony's brand for both of them, as well as nutritional yeast and several other products).

A note about appliances:

Most recipes call for use of a food processor to make seitan. I got rid of my food processor when I got the Ninja "all-in-one"-type system. I use the Ninja--I use the metal blade for the first part of the recipe and then the dough blade to finish it.

However, you can use whatever you have, as long as the motor is strong enough to hold up to the dough. I even used my KitchenAid stand mixer to knead the dough before! (It takes much longer, but I'll write about that later.) For this post, I'll refer to the appliance as a blender, since that's what I'm using.

Okay, on to the method of how I make the "perfect" shredded seitan...

First, just add all of the ingredients *except for* the pea protein and the wheat gluten to the blender:

1) Before blending; 2) after 30 seconds I scraped down the sides; 3) after another 30 seconds.

Then, you add the pea protein (don't add the gluten yet). This is what it will look like after blending with the pea protein:

Finally, add the vital wheat gluten to the blender:

(I switched out to the dough blade at this point. If you want to use a heavy duty stand mixer, you'll want to put it all in there now. If you're using a food processor, just make sure you don't overheat your machine. That goes for all appliances, really.)

Now comes the monotonous part. Blend on high with the gluten for 60 seconds. It will look like this:

60 seconds of blend time.

Let it rest for 5-10 minutes; this gives your motor a chance to calm down and it gives the gluten some time to activate (and become "stretchy"). After the rest, blend again--for 45 seconds. It will look like this:

1:45 minutes of blend time.

Rest the dough again, 5-10 minutes. Then blend on high again for 45 seconds. It should look similar to this:

See on the bottom right, how it's starting to look stretchy? 2:30 minutes of blend time.

Keep repeating this process--45 seconds on high, 5-10 minutes rest...

3:15 minutes of blend time

4:00 minutes of blend time

4:45 minutes of blend time

That last picture, the one that was 4:45 minutes of blend time, is what the texture should look like when it's ready to move to the next step. It will be very sticky and stringy. It'll feel like soft taffy, and you'll see individual striations/fibers when you stretch it.

(Note: Be careful not to let the blender get too hot--it will start to steam the seitan, and you don't want that! Just be patient and let it rest as often as needed.)

In this picture, you can see the comparison between just 45 seconds of blend time. If you stop too early, and it doesn't look like the ball on the left, then the texture won't be shreddable. You want it to look like the ball on the left:

Once the dough is ready, divide it into two portions:

Working with just one ball at a time, form it into a long rope (the longer the better; don't let it break, though!).

Once you have a long rope, grab a small bowl and add some water to it. Using your fingers, just barely glaze the rope with water to make it slippery (don't douse it with water, but you don't want it to be sticky for this next part).

Next, starting in the middle of the rope, tie a knot (the same kind of knot you would use to tie your shoe--very simple):

After that, tie another knot, directly on top of it, as close as possible:

Continue tying knots, dipping your fingers in the water as needed, until you reach the ends. Tuck the ends into a crease. You'll have a very odd-shaped ball:

Give it a gentle press together on all sides. Then lay it on a piece of parchment paper:

Tightly roll the ball in the parchment paper, then roll up the ends to seal:

Once it's wrapped in parchment, set it on a long piece of aluminum foil. Beginning at one end, roll it up just like you did with the parchment paper. Wrap as tightly as you can, but be very careful not to let the foil rip on the folds of the parchment:

Once you wrap both loaves, place them in a steamer basket. Cover and steam gently (a very gentle simmer) for one hour and forty five minutes. 

Carefully remove them from the steamer basket using tongs and place them on the counter to cool:

Allow them to cool at least one hour. Open while still warm for an easier time shredding (or you could place them in the fridge overnight before opening). This is what it will look like when you open it:

Kind of like a loaf of deli meat. To shred it is kind of fun! Just hold each end and twist in opposite directions. The loaf will start to pull apart at the "seams" (where the knots met):

As you "unfold" the rope, you can pull off the skin. (It tastes fine in my opinion, but it's not as shreddable.)

Once you have the skin removed, you can pull the seitan apart into smaller shreds:

Isn't it crazy how much it looks like meat?! And it was made from flour, basically.

What do you do with it? You can use it anywhere that you would normally use shredded chicken or pork. My family really likes it with barbecue sauce for a super fast meal (when we have the seitan already shredded in the fridge). It reminds me of pulled chicken (but I don't get grossed out, wondering what I might bite into, hahaha).

Anyway, THAT is how Jerry and I really like our seitan. We continue to try new recipes, but this one is our go-to. The biggest key to remember is: The texture MUST look like shiny, stringy taffy before dividing into ropes in order to get the shreddable texture.

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Friday Night Photo #120

I have gotten up so late the past couple of days that it feels sickening to me--I feel like my entire day is almost gone by the time I get up! The only thing I can really contribute that to is taking the iron supplements. They have helped me SO much in several ways, including sleep. But I really don't like sleeping until late morning--time to start using the alarm clock again. Haha! (I could probably do with going to bed earlier, too.) I am so used to getting up on my own super early that I haven't used an alarm clock in forever.

Anyway, this day feels like it's going by ridiculously fast and I have quite a bit to get done. So, I'm going to get on with it. Friday night photos...

First, and I thought this was super cute, I found "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." by Judy Blume at Goodwill. When I opened it up, I saw a note that a girl must have written for her friend. So sweet! The  was a hardcover, but the dust jacket was missing. Still, I wanted to buy it to give away or something, since I love it so much. (I never did get to go see the movie! I had planned to go with my mom for Mother's Day, but we had something big come up. Maybe we'll be able to watch it when it's available to stream.

Speaking of Goodwill, I bought several items for an experiment I'm going to try (probably next week). It's well known that I *never* wear dresses. Perhaps once every 2-3 years? I always feel good about myself when I do, though--dress, hair, make-up--and I really should do it more often.

And since I do things in extreme (are you *shocked*? hahaha) I'm going to try wearing a sundress every single day for a week (I have 11 total, so maybe I'll even aim to wear all of them). Why do I have so many when I don't wear them? Well, I only had a few before I went to Goodwill. And I got them cheap. I want to see if it makes me feel good about myself, or if I get bored with it, or if it feels like it makes no difference whatsoever. I'm just curious!

Since thrift stores are NEVER short on dresses, I flipped through the racks until I found several that I liked. I despise my upper arms, and have no plans to have surgery to remove the excess skin, so I avoid anything that shows my arms. However, sundresses are pretty much meant to show your arms! 

I'm hoping that by doing this, I'll get less self-conscious. It's kind of like exposure therapy, in a way, like my psychiatrist was talking about--doing things that cause high anxiety and the anxiety will eventually come down (it can only get so high until you spontaneously combust). (I lied about the combustion, but seriously... anxiety has a cap.)

I won't show a picture of me wearing all the dresses on this post, but yesterday I tried them on for Jerry (I had no idea until yesterday, but he has a "thing" for sundresses--why did I never know this?!). He (on his own, I did not suggest this) laid them on the bed in order of favorite to least favorite as I tried them on, hahaha.

A lot of them are sleeveless/spaghetti strap or halter top, so they show my arms big time. I'm nervous and it's super tempting to wear a shrug or jacket over them, but if the weather is warm enough, I want to try to wear them as-is. (I have a permanent farmer's tan from when I was running all the time, so that's not exactly attractive, either.)

One of the dresses--which I realized isn't pictured above, probably because I set it aside--I bought more as a "project" dress. I hated the wooden beads at the neckline, so I figured I could remove them and turn it into spaghetti straps. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!

I had to include the black buttons along the neckline because of the tiny holes in the fabric from where the wooden beads were. It wasn't super noticeable, but I thought the black buttons looked cute there.

I'm going to alter two more parts to the dress (which is why I'm only showing the neckline now). I hope it turns out! I'll show pictures once I'm done.

Anyway, a couple of other thrift store finds:

These jeans, I did not buy--but I thought they were so cool with the fleece sewn in! If I was still having problems with being cold 100% of the time, I totally would have bought these. The entire inside, including the legs, had this fleece lining. 

I thought this dress was very ugly and wasn't considering buying it, but it made me think of this dress trend that I wish I'd been able to do because it looks so cute on other people! I'm talking about the side cutout from dresses so that it leaves the side of your waist bare. It looks so flattering and adorable on people with the right body for it, but for me--it's just a window revealing stretch marks and love handles, haha.

This is Duck's favorite time of year because he gets to watch the birds. Anyone who owns cats is probably familiar with the chirping noise cats make when they see prey. Duck will spend hours entertained by the birds outside.

Sorry for the gross picture, but Jerry had to have staples in his head from an accident at work! He hit his head pretty hard on some duct work. Of all the things to get injured by...

This is how Duck was lying on my lap. Isn't it so sweet?!

I've had this gray zip-up hoodie for a while but I didn't like the design on back (it was a picture of grapes and had some sort of saying on it--I should have taken a picture before I started this). I was going to get rid of it, along with a very large Michigan t-shirt. Then I wondered if I could cover the hoodie design with the t-shirt design. So, I used embroidery thread to sew it (in a big circle) on the back. I also replaced the wrist and waist bands of the hoodie, which I thought looked too tight for the shirt. I want to do one more thing to it (there is a design on the actual hood as well that I want to cover up) so I'll post pictures when it's done. So far, though, I really like the back! I may do something to the letters and Michigan shape on the back, too. 

This was the disaster that was my bed several days ago when I decided to organize my sewing stuff. I managed to condense it down somewhat and organize it a little better. But the only way I'll ever have everything organized and readily usable (like my sewing machine and serger, ironing board, cutting mat) is if I have my own craft room. And that will likely never happen ;)

I posted this picture a few days ago with the whole story, but I was very close to being attacked by the dog in the center here. It was kind of a crazy story. You can find it here.

Jerry got to start playing softball again! This is HUGE news for him. He absolutely loves softball and his employer used to sponsor a team. They quit doing that several years ago, but this year, they were finally able to do it again. So, he'll be playing double headers on Monday nights. I really like his work friends, and I'm excited to go watch him play. Seeing him play on Monday was so much fun--I haven't seen him so happy in a while! And it was cool to watch him interact with his friends.

Jerry's coworkers kept calling Noah "little Jerry" (Noah's on the far right). I don't think they look alike! Eli definitely looks like my family. Regardless, I have three great-looking guys, don't I? ;)

Eli, Jerry, and Noah

Jerry and I don't have a headboard on our bed (super annoying!) so we have this large wedge pillow that goes between the wall and the bed. Estelle has claimed that as her favorite place to sleep, now. Unfortunately, she purrs SO loudly, but it's sweet that she likes to sleep by my head.

A little while later, Duck decided to come lie on my lap as well. And Joey was up on the bed. Phoebe was actually behind Duck, but you can't see her in the pic. 

And there we have it! No big plans this weekend; Jerry is off, but the weather looks iffy, so I don't know what we plan to do. Have a great weekend! xo

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Three Things Thursday: Timeless

When I was tying my shoes yesterday, I thought about how long I've had that particular pair. I was wearing a pair of gray Converse Chuck's and tried to imagine how many miles were on them. A LOT. Then I realized that Chuck's are never really "in" or "out" of fashion--they've been around here and there all through the decades. They're timeless. I think they'll be around forever.

It made me start thinking about other timeless things, so I decided to write three things that are timeless for Three Things Thursday: 

1. Chuck Taylor's (a.k.a. Converse sneakers)

It's no secret that I love my Chucks! It's also no secret that I'm not a fashionable person, hahaha. I am never up-to-date about what the currents trends are and what's "hot or not". Growing up so overweight, I didn't have many clothing choices and I resigned myself to being about as far as you can get from trendy. 

I've worn pretty much the same look for as long as I can remember (aside from a few short time periods where I have no idea what got into me). My ideal "look" is: blue jeans with a well-fitting hoodie, cushiony socks with Chucks, and a messy bun.

I think Chuck's are a shoe that is recognized pretty much everywhere. And when thinking of or drawing a shoe, the Chucks are pretty much the prototype that I imagine people think of. They go with all sorts of different outfits--I even bought some for Noah to wear to homecoming several years ago.

I have several pairs of Chucks--lots of different colors--and they are always a favorite.

2. Pizza

I debated whether to include this, because it's SO BROAD (when it really doesn't need to be). I think most people probably imagine a round pizza pie with hand-tossed crossed crust, topped with a tomato sauce and cheese. Plus toppings--meat, veggies, and pretty much anything imaginable has been a topping for a pizza.

Pizza is one of those foods that will be around FOREVER--it's almost as versatile as a potato! Through the years, people have tried to improve upon pizza, making thousands of crazy variations--and rather than ruin pizza altogether, it just makes it more of a staple. There is a version of pizza for everybody out there.

Pizza can be a hot midnight snack, a cold breakfast, fancy appetizer bites, easy party food, made to consider any dietary restrictions, fancy dinner food, or for eating in front of the tv on Friday night. There really isn't a "wrong" time to eat pizza ;)

This was the last non-vegan food that I ate--reuben pizza. (I eat vegan pizza all the time, though!)

3. Deck of Cards

Yes, I'm talking about a regular old 52-card (or 54 with jokers) deck of cards: diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades, black and red, ace through king.

I love playing board games, and card games are some of my favorites. Cards have been around for God-knows-how-long and the deck has stayed the same. I was curious about why there are 52 cards, and I learned a very cool fact today:

There are 52 cards to represent 52 weeks in a year. The four suits represent the four seasons (summer, winter, spring, fall) and the 13 cards in each suit represent the 13 weeks in each season.

Isn't that interesting?! Anyway, in my opinion, there is NOTHING that will ever take the place of a deck of cards. I've played my share of virtual card games, but they aren't the same as actually holding a deck of cards, shuffling it, feeling the texture and the weight of the cards as you deal them out... it can't be replaced.

And, of course, the company... unless you're playing solitaire, playing cards is such a great way to spend time with people! Whether it's Go Fish on family game night, or blackjack at the casino, or a street magician telling you to pick a card... cards are everywhere and I think they are going to stick around for a while.

And there we go... three things that I think are timeless. 

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 107

Every week, I have nothing but the best intentions for the upcoming week in regards to diet and exercise. Sometimes I meet or even exceed my expectations; many times, though, I don't even come close.

This week, I actually did really well with the exercise. I ran three times! I started doing Jeff Galloway's run/walking method; I can't say that I really love it so far. It's hard to get lost in my thoughts (or in a podcast) when I get an alert every time I switch from running to walking and vice versa. Also, the 30 second walk breaks seem SO short!

As of right now, I've been doing 30-minute runs--that means 15 repeats of the 90-30 run-walk intervals. When I think of it that way, 15 repeats makes the run sound so much longer than it is. When I am running, I can't get it out of my head how many repeats I have left. I can't imagine what it will be like doing a longer run (six-ish miles)--that's a LOT of repeats.

I'm going to continue with the method, though, because I do like the novelty of trying something new and it is definitely less intimidating than running without having walk breaks to look forward to.

For my eating habits this week, well, I'll get to that in a minute. First, the scale. Last week, I was at 142.2. Today?

I was at 143.4. Honestly, though, I did better this week than I did the previous. I have been eating great all day long, but then for some stupid reason, I eat a big scoop of peanut butter before bed. It's not out of hunger. It's like I'm self-sabotaging for no reason at all. I know that all I need to do is just go to bed before it gets to that point, so I'm going to try that.

There were a couple of nights this week where I sat on my bed and organized a bunch of crafting stuff, and the last thing on my mind was a snack (I love to organize and I hate to leave things unfinished, so I was very focused on finishing before bed).

When I organize things like my closet, I take everything out and dump it on my bed--that way I have to put it all back in order to go to bed that night! ;)  Maybe this week I'll pick some things to organize before bed, when I typically want to snack.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the week went. Even though the scale was up, my eating habits improved over the week before AND I ran three times during the week. So it was definitely an improvement! I just wish the scale would show it. (Maybe it will if I just stop with the peanut butter, haha.)

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Deep Thoughts With Jerry #18: Father's Day

Jerry asked me what he should write about today for his "deep thoughts" post, and I suggested that since Father's Day is coming up, he could write three things that he loves about being a dad. So here is Jerry...

Three things I love about being a dad:

1: Hanging out like a kid

When Katie used to be our family globetrotter, I would take the time off work to hang out with the kids. She would be gone for a weekend or even just a day or two once or maybe twice a year.

When the kids were really young we could make forts or a giant bed in the living room and watch movies and snack at night. During the day we would go play putt-putt golf, do the batting cages, and ride the go-carts. When it was time for bed they would fall asleep on my bed.

I have very fond memories of doing all these things, and it didn't seem like much at the time but it meant the world to me. Through the years, this has transformed into more individual things like fishing with Eli and disc golfing with Noah. When a new Star Wars or Marvel movie comes out we go to the theater opening weekend and watch it together. It's really become our thing. 

2: Giving advice, being supportive, helping them grow

I love sharing my life experiences with the kids. I almost feel like Jim's dad from 'American Pie'. I share everything with them that could help them in the future. It could be anything from relationship advice to what the workplace is really like, owning a home, to how to properly load a dishwasher. I like showing them things.

When they were little it was all about teaching them little things like chewing your food and how to catch and throw a baseball. Every little thing I did was teaching them something; they mimicked my every move.

Now that they've grown it's become less fun to show them things because it's none of the "fun" stuff. It's about being an adult. About paying taxes and getting real jobs and how to take care of a car and how to save money. However, it doesn't matter how old they are; I will always have something to show them, advice to give. I'm always here. 

3: Seeing them grow

My boys are the best. However, I always question if I should've done things differently with them. Always. They're at the point now where I just have to let them make their own decisions and hope that I did okay. From the time they were born I was in awe of watching them do the little things. And, it was amazing to see how their little personalities developed as they grew. 

NOAH: Noah had the squeakiest little voice and this laugh that reminded me of 'Bambi'. He was always so proud of his little achievements. As he got older he just seemed to take life in stride, he made things look easy and always seemed like he knows what he wants. He's thorough and tries to make informed decisions. He's truly a great kid. 

ELI: Eli has always been an individual. He had this super raspy voice when he was younger and this belly laugh that, still to this day, is incredibly infectious. He has always marched to the beat of his own drum and can be content to just be by himself with a fishing pole in the water. He has compassion and a heart of gold. 

Overall, I am so lucky to be their father. I've tried my best, maybe stumbled along the way. They are amazing young men. I couldn't be prouder of them and I'm excited to see what the future has in store for them.

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Like Nothing I'd Ever Seen

I (like usual) was procrastinating my run today. When I was in bed, I told myself that I was going to get right out of bed and into my running clothes. And then Jerry told me that he'd made coffee for me, so I decided to do the Wordle and Duolingo while drinking my coffee, then I'd head out.

I still had coffee left after Wordle and Duolingo, so I decided to look at my craft board on Pinterest and see if there was something that I'd want to work on this week. I had so much inspiration--but not the right fabrics/clothes. So, continuing my procrastination I decided to head to Goodwill and see if I could find any good deals for project clothes.

I didn't end up getting what I needed for the project I had in mind, but I think I really need to make a list--it was hard to remember things when I was there. I did come up with a cool idea to do as an experiment, and I was planning to write about that today. But then.

Then.

Once I got home and talked myself into running, I had quite the eventful run that I thought was worth writing about. First, remember when I said IT ALL COUNTS, no matter whether you stop and chat with a neighbor or tie your shoe, or get, say, mauled by dogs.

I was running--or walking--I'm doing run/walk (90 seconds running, 30 seconds walking), so I'm not sure. Anyway, I heard a noise behind me (I wear ear buds, but I have them on an "aware" setting, so I can still hear everything around me). I turned to look and couldn't believe just how close a dog was to me--a VERY aggressive dog. (I'm not sure what kind of dog it was--maybe a boxer or boxer mix? I don't know dog breeds very well. There is a picture later in the post.)

I've seen umpteen dogs since I started running 13 years ago. I know the body language of friendly, scared, playful, protective, warnings to stay away, and--aggression. If you've ever been confronted by an aggressive dog, it's scary as shit! When we first got Joey and I brought him for a temperament test at a doggy daycare, he failed immediately because the hair on his back stood up and he bared his teeth. (Later, the owner called and asked if he'd like to come back to try again--she had a good feeling about him--and he passed.) Whenever Joey is confronted by a bunch of dogs, that's how he reacts. He's not being mean or aggressive, however--it's just his way of introducing himself to the pack. He's cool after 30 seconds or so.

The owner of the doggy daycare had explained to me the major signs of aggression, and one of them is baring teeth on both sides of the mouth. I've only ever seen a dog do it a few times, usually right before biting.

Anyway, I was running, heard a noise, and then stopped in my tracks and turned to face a very aggressive dog. I started firmly and loudly telling it to go home. (Usually, that works like a charm for unleashed dogs; they aren't aggressive, however.) I was starting to panic, though, because this dog kept coming closer as I was slowly backing up. My voice got louder until I was yelling at the top of my lungs, "GO HOME!"

Then, out of nowhere, I see two more dogs--they are running full speed toward us. They were about the same size--one of them looked like the aggressive one, and the other looked like an Australian shepherd(?). I had basically resolved that I was going to be mauled, and I was desperately trying to think of a way out.

Suddenly, something happened that I'd never seen before. It was amazing and SO cool to see and I wish I had it on video.

The two dogs coming up behind the aggressive one (all three coming toward me now), simultaneously flanked the aggressive dog. The other boxer (I'm going to say boxer, even if I'm wrong, just for clarity) rammed into the side of the aggressive dog while the Aussie bit the neck of the aggressive dog and PINNED HIM TO THE GROUND. The other boxer grabbed the other side and they held him there for a moment. I took the opportunity to get away (backwards, because I was afraid to turn my back).

On my left, I could see an elderly couple come out of their house. The man yelled something to the woman and then he started walking toward the street. All three dogs noticed and got up. (I was far enough away that I stopped and took a couple of pictures because I wanted to call animal control when I got home.) Right as I was taking the pictures, the dogs noticed me again and the aggressive one started coming toward me. The Aussie and other boxer sort of forced the aggressive dog back (the other boxer actually jumped onto his back). 

This picture is right after the aggressive dog noticed me for the second time, and the other two stopped him from going farther. The aggressive dog (the center one in the photo) looks SO innocent here, I know--but I can't even describe how terrifying it was when it was just six feet or so away, hair on end, teeth bared, deeply growling, barking, and looking like it was about to lunge at me and tear my face off.

The man yelled to the woman as the aggressive dog started running toward their driveway. Once they were back in the house, the aggressive dog ran right up to the door (so I assumed that's where he lived). The other boxer and the Aussie crossed the street to another house.

I went on my way, shaking horribly with adrenaline. I'd never stopped my Garmin, so my intervals were messed up. I ran during the walking by accident, walked during the running, etc, several times. The whole incident was on my mind and I wasn't worried about the run/walk intervals getting screwed up. I did 30 minutes or run/walking, so it counts! ;)

I circled the whole neighborhood (about a mile) and when I got back to the front, I saw a police car go by, heading the direction I'd been when the dogs came out (the far back of the neighborhood). I was very curious if he was there because of the dog incident, and I debated whether to run all the way down there. Since I'd been planning to call animal control anyway, I decided to go check it out.

As I was getting pretty close, I noticed the car was parked in the driveway of the elderly couple's house. I saw the car backing out and I ran faster to try to get there. But then I noticed the officer turn around and go to the house of the boxer and Aussie.

I caught up just as the officer was getting out of his car. I stopped (gasping for breath, haha) and asked if he happened to be there because of dogs, and he said yes. I explained to him what had happened to me and he said that the elderly couple had come out to try to help me when they heard me yelling, but when the aggressive dog started going toward them, they went back in the house to avoid getting attacked. They called the police for help. All three of the dogs actually lived in the house where the Aussie and other boxer went.

Anyway, the owner was outside and talked to the officer (who issued her a ticket). He gave me his business card and asked me to email him the picture I'd taken.

So, after a terrifying run, I'm glad (and lucky) that I didn't get bitten--and it was mind-blowing to watch as those dogs most likely saved me from being severely hurt. I truly had never seen anything like it.

Post-shower, I'm going to head over to the elderly couple's house to thank them for looking out for me--it was very nice of them. What a run!

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Friday Night Photos #119

Not a super eventful week, unfortunately. The biggest thing for me was that I started running again. Sure, it's only been two runs so far; but considering how difficult it's been for me to convince myself to run for the last couple of years, running twice in three days is pretty good!

We don't have any plans for the weekend, and I'm really looking forward to that. If the weather is nice, I really need to pull weeds and tighten loose screws on the deck.

Anyway, here are the photos I have in my camera roll this week...

Jerry took this picture a couple of minutes ago... I'm trying to write a blog post and Duck *always* senses when I'm working. Then he comes over and walks all over my lap, preventing me from doing anything. I just threw my head back, closed my eyes and sighed.

And speaking of Duck, he LOVES the backpack that Noah bought for the cats. He goes in there and just chills for a while.

I started the 2,000-piece puzzle I bought at a garage sale last weekend. I just took a few progression pictures of how *I* put together puzzles... (I love puzzles!)

First, I start sorting by obvious colors or patterns. If I come across an edge piece, I set that aside as well.

This puzzle has way too many pieces to sort them all at once, so I started to piece together chunks of similar colors and/or patterns.

This is how much I got done a couple of days ago

And this is how it looked yesterday. I haven't touched it today, though.

It feels so good to be able to do puzzles again (my chronic pain kept me from being able to do them for a few years). However, I noticed that the day after I started the puzzle, my calves were *killing* me. And I realized it was from standing on my toes while I worked on the puzzle!

Remember when I wrote about the pan that I completely ruined when I was making a tofu "ham" for Christmas? I was super bummed--it was a pan that I had since my wedding shower! It sat in the sink for about two weeks, and Jerry and I would give it a scrub every day to see if we could save it. And finally... we DID! We were able to use the pot again.

Well, the other day I was cooking soy curls in curry sauce and I completely forgot about it. The curry sauce completely evaporated away and was stuck to the whole bottom of the pan. Now, the pan is in the sink, hahaha. I don't think it's nearly as bad as last time, though.,

Jerry had to kill time in an area we never go to, and he went inside a grocery store. He found these vegan marshmallows--they are SO SO SO good!! These are part of the reason for my weight gain this week. 

This was my run on Wednesday. I started the Galloway run/walk method (with a 90 second run and 30 second walk split). I'm following my Base Building for Beginners plan to slowly build up mileage. (I actually finished the run at 30:00 minutes, but forgot to stop the watch.)

A few weeks ago, I had a bunch of peppers that were going to go bad if I didn't use them, so I sautéed them and added a bunch of homemade fajita seasoning mix. Then I rehydrated some soy curls in water with fajita seasoning mix and combined it all together. It was SO GOOD and Jerry and I were craving it again.

Last week, peppers were on sale and I wanted to make the fajita bowls again, so I bought five. A few days later, I noticed that the veggie drawer was super full--and discovered that Jerry had bought five peppers as well! So, I had to use up the peppers yesterday--I cut up all 10 peppers and a few onions. Then I sautéed it all until still a little crunchy, added the fajita seasoning mix and some water. Rehydrated the soy curls in hot water and fajita seasoning mix, then squeezed out the liquid and added them to the pan. I don't have a picture of the final product (naturally, I'd forget), but I thought all the peppers looked so pretty after I cut them up!

I would never normally take a photo of this, but I was in a humorous mood, so I figured, "Why not?"  I came across these wax strips that I've probably had for 10 years and I decided to wax my "mustache", hahaha. My roommate and I used to do it in college all the time and it was kind of nostalgic, actually.

And lastly, this is my run from yesterday. My pace was quite a bit faster (I ran farther in the same amount of time) but it may have something to do with the fact that I didn't bring Joey with me on my run yesterday. It's hard to pace myself when he's with me. I felt better (physically) during this run than I did the first, too. I hope I feel motivated going into tomorrow's!

And that's all I've got. Have a great weekend. xo

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Three Things Thursday: Bringing It Back

I've gotten more and more nostalgic as the years go on, and I hate that I've gotten "set in my ways"--just as I always swore I'd never do--but I'm trying to embrace things as they are now. However, these three things are things from the past that I wish I could bring back--I miss them!

Things I wish would be "a thing" again:

1) PB Max candy bar

I debated whether or not to include this because it's so insignificant (especially considering I'm vegan now) but when I think of things from the past that I wish would make an appearance again, I can't help but think of the PB Max candy bar!

It was only around for a short time--it was introduced in 1989 and discontinued in the very early 90's. You know why it was discontinued? The Mars family DID NOT LIKE PEANUT BUTTER.

As a fat kid, I'd tried all the candy bars. The Whatchamacallit and the Butterfinger were favorites, as well as the beloved Reese's Cups. When PB Max was introduced, I was in LUST. It was very thick with peanut butter (picture the texture of the peanut butter in a Girl Scout Tagalong cookie, but a much thicker layer), a crunchy layer on top (I think it was peanuts) and covered in milk chocolate. Yes, it sounds like several other candy bars out there, but it was different--the peanut butter layer in it was SO amazing.

I loved this candy bar so much that I actually brought one to a local ice cream shop and asked if they'd make me a flurry with it, haha. Yes, I was like eight years old.

2) Catalogues

Sadly, my kids will never experience what it's like to receive the Sears catalogue around Christmastime. I remember getting so excited to look though and circle all of the things I wanted for Christmas. Now, I kind of compare it to browsing on Amazon (adding to the wish list), except it's SO easy to buy things on Amazon. Back in the day, we had to order from the catalogue--writing down the item number and sending a check by mail, then waiting weeks for it to arrive.

Yes, it's far less convenient, but I really miss browsing through catalogues. I can't remember ever buying things from it, but I know my parents did. The best part was just the excitement of seeing new items and imagining owning them ;)

3) Family dinners

I'm not sure about this, but I have a feeling that family dinners are becoming a thing of the past for a lot of families. We used to sit down as a family at the table to eat dinner (I even remember the kids asking, "May I be excused?") but sometime around the time the kids started high school and/or after school activities (and getting driver's licenses) that we started eating either solo or in pairs. It's super rare to have a family dinner these days!

I have memories from growing up where my family (four kids and my parents) would all sit around the dinner table to eat. I don't remember a lot about it--just that we would do it and it was the only real time of day that I would see everyone, especially my older siblings. We did family dinners for a long time; even after my older siblings moved out, I can remember sitting down with my parents and Nathan to eat dinner.

I do have one very specific memory at the table, though, and it's kind of funny. My dad told us to bow our heads to pray. I had the habit of glancing around when everyone had their eyes closed. I noticed Brian had his eyes open, and he tattled, "Jeanie has her eyes open!" and before anyone could react, Jeanie said, "How would you know unless your eyes were open?!" (Of all the things to remember about family dinners, haha.)

This is a terrible picture to represent family dinner, but it's not surprising that I don't really have pictures of family dinner--because how often does one take pictures of that? But this was on Thanksgiving shortly after I broke my jaw and my jaws were wired shut. My mom made the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, while I had a pumpkin smoothie ;) (Not pictured are Jeanie, Shawn, and my mom)

This list could have been so much longer! I had about ten items and then I narrowed it down. What are some things that you wish would be a "thing" again?

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