How to Help Flood Victims in My Community: Arnold, Missouri (Red Cross of Greater St. Louis, Missouri)

For nearly all of my life, I've lived along great bodies of water: Lake Michigan as a child, the rest of my adult life along the Great Mississippi River and its tributaries. We have logged hundreds of miles both walking and (me) running along the trails of the Meramec River. It is by far one of the most beautiful rivers in Missouri and home to many parks I hold dear, visiting one nearly every weekend with our dogs in tow. 

The many parks and trails surrounding the river are a testament to its glory.  

However right now, there is not a trail in sight. And there won't be for months to come.

The Meramec River is causing historical flooding in my community. 

Rivers are a way of life for us in the Midwest--they are both beautiful and devastating all in one. The Meramec River feeds directly into the Mississippi River. With the latest rounds of rain (nearly twelve inches in three days) the Mississippi is no longer able to do her part to help carry the Meramec's excess away. As a result hundreds of families are being displaced by this unprecedented storm's fallout. It is beyond comprehension. 

On the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning is a heartbreaking yet telling photo of two women carrying belongings from their home as the water behind them covers the street. It broke my heart. I feel helpless and searched frantically this morning for ways to offer assistance in this emergency so that a donation would go to my community and directly support the effort to help the displaced families in our neighborhood. 

Here are ways you can help:

The Red Cross of Greater St. Louis is on site offering support, food and shelter assistance. 

The Humane Society of Missouri is offering shelter for animals for owners unable to take their pets with them.  

We watched the evening news all night in disbelief as our community was swallowed by the quickly rising waters. 

The encroaching water is only the first part of the disaster, the second part of the disaster will occur after the water recedes and people's lives are forever changed--some not having a home to return to, only left with the belongings they could carry with them in the short window they had to evacuate. 

Vegan Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Rosemary Pecan Cookies (September flew by. . .Milestones and Knitting Markers)

I bake a batch of these rosemary cookies at least once a month--when I remember to trim my rosemary. The cookies are delicious, aromatic and, of course, filled with chocolate. Lately it's been all I can do to keep up with my garden. The late summer heat wreaked havoc on everything from the tomatoes, to the lawn to even the oregano--which tolerates everything. While I was doing some container plant housekeeping I discovered hidden underneath some erstwhile yellow pear tomato plants a little bush of rosemary I had tucked into a container as companion plant with thyme and lemon balm. After trimming back the vines, here was this gorgeous, full rosemary plant flourishing. I pinched off a stem and inhaled the piney aroma. I had to bake something with this now. 

Spinach Artichoke Rigatoni: No Cheese, No Problem (And. . . More Fall Hikes)

We've been having a swell time playing catch up with our outdoor activities. (And I've been playing catch up with blogging--as evidenced by my "oopsie" in somehow hitting the "publish" button prior to adding my verbiage to this post! Hey, it's Monday. . . I'm almost fifty, etc.)

 So we spent the better part of the weekend "outside". It was gorgeous here. When we got home yesterday afternoon, I wanted a really homey, yummy pasta dish. Lucky for me, the Pioneer Woman posted her lovely spinach artichoke pasta dish--complete with gobs of cheese and real milk. It looked divine and I HAD to have some. NOW. 

Crispy Jalapeno Rice Balls Over Spicy Three-Bean Chili (Sew. Bake. Dr. Who. Hike. Repeat.)

These little jewels made our little bowl of chili a great big winner in our hearts. I had very little in the reserve tank for cooking earlier last week. Just recently getting my strength back. (Even canceled guitar again as I did not want to risk exposing myself to "little people germs" just yet--and there are a lot of little people traipsing in and out of my lesson place, trust me). When the inclination for food finally found me--I headed right back in the kitchen (starving) and did what most normal recovering women might do: reach for the frying pan. This chili wasn't going down with the traditional food stuff (corn bread). I was thinking really spicy, crunchy. I had picked a boat load of jalapeno peppers that morning in the garden. (Still picking them. The only tried and true, drought-resistant veggie apparently.) Quite honestly these rice balls demand another meal pairing. They were that good. And simple. I'll forgo the usual recipe at the bottom of the post here and jump to the way these came about. Oh, and for chili--just use your favorite recipe. It matters not, just know that the crunch factor combined with a little bit of heat and the yummy must-have guacamole and viola. Dinner.

Vegan Chocolate Loaf Cake (Zoo Year's Eve)

This was the last thing we ate in 2011. I couldn't have been happier.

Hubby and I spent the last day of the year at the zoo. When we got home, we were ravenous, so he put together his man-chili (mostly beans and NO tomatoes) and I sat around thumbing through all my cookbooks looking for just the perfect food for ending this horrendous year. Uh. Chocolate was mandatory. I went all baking-bonkers and spent the next four hours in the kitchen creating a chocolate New Year's Eve for us to enjoy. This chocolate loaf cake exceeded all of my chocolate-loving expectations. I found it in my search in Nigella Lawson's cookbook, Feast: Food to Celebrate Life. A cookbook I've had on my shelf now for the past few years. That's why it's good to collect cookbooks. You just never know where your next inspiration will come from.  

Precious Sister Time (This Is Us Making Up for Lost Time And Visiting Our Mother's Ghost)

I could have titled this post, "What I did on my summer vacation". Because really, the best moments of the summer were squeezed together in the shrinking daylight hours of this past week with my sister. That old adage time flies when you're having fun--it certainly does. Trust me. Before we knew it, I was taking her to the airport for her flight home. We have so much lost time to make up--every moment we have together is truly precious. We call it: Making new memories. We have years lost. Dr. Thyme is patient and kind while she is here. Giving us the "girl space" we need. Also, jumping in to be Photo Studio Man (because he really does take some of the best pictures we have in our collection--especially now that his eyes are fixed).

Vegan Almond Cake with Real Raspberry Buttercream Frosting (When A Hike in The Woods Turns Into: No Sleep for You!)

I woke up this morning to loud thunder, bright flashes of lightening, and lots of rain (that and a couple of dogs having their usual 'panting-drooling-storm-anxiety' moments). These weather changes in August can only mean one thing: September is just around the corner. And I'm more than ready for cool, crisp mornings that require a pink terry robe and fuzzy slippers to retrieve the paper. Alas, we are still seeing daytime temps in the nineties. Blech. Our electric bill from July arrived yesterday, too. To say I nearly fainted from both the heat of the day AND our bill would be an understatement. You'd think there'd be a dispensation for record summer heat the likes of which have not been felt in fifty years. You'd think.

Vegan Butter Bean, Roasted Red Pepper And Basil Soup (Charlie Brown's Hike)

This soup could also be called: Everything At The Farmer's Market Soup or In Kelly's Back Yard Soup. But that would be doing the soup an injustice because the real hero in this dish are the butter beans, aka "lima" beans. Which, by all accounts was a risky soup for me to serve given the "ew" from Dr. Thyme regarding the lovely lima. I've tried to sneak this bean in dishes before. "Are those lima beans. . . you aren't putting those in there, are you?!" Gawdforbid! My response is close to what my mother used to say (but never quite exactly because I'd need to have a cigarette hanging out of my mouth for that)--I simply say: Well, this is what the cook wanted!

A Master Gardener (ME!) Visits Snowy Missouri Botanical Garden And Falls in Love with Winter. . . Again

I'll admit it: I love snow. I begin praying for snow about mid-October. I think I got my wish this winter, and then some. Forecasters in the area say this is our ninth snowiest winter on record. This girl is loving it! Five more inches predicted for today. Growing up on Lake Michigan has, I'm sure, endeared me to snow-covered landscapes. I love getting my camera out and just taking photos of anything covered in the white stuff.

My Beekeeping Life And Hiking Amongst the Elk to Cure Depression

After an emotionally draining weekend, Dr. Thyme and I decided a hike was in order. I say it was a "draining" weekend because I had a sort of "break" in my emotional side--not uncommon for me as I may have indirectly said, I suffer from the old depression monster or as my clinical help calls it, some sort of mood disorder. I feel it's time to come clean with it on my blog. This way, as I come in and out of here on my blogging--long absences usually tend to be a point at which I am coming to terms with "picking myself up by my bootstraps and moving on"--I can be a little more up front on the matter. I wasn't intending for my blog to be so confessional in its design--I really do want to keep the vegan food stuff part of my main focus. I have journaled in the traditional manner of notebook and pen in the past. I still keep my pens and notebooks handy. But so much of my writing takes place through my blog now (and it takes a pretty big chunk of time to blog--more than I thought it would), I feel it's time to immerse my whole self here and hopefully at the same time, be able to maybe help someone else as I move along in life. You can skip reading this part if you so desire. As I've stated before, this blog is my life, my food, and things I love (or have trouble loving).

Hiking the Tallest Mountain in Missouri: Tom Sauk Mountain (Fear of Heights. . . Now?! At Almost Fifty?!)

We could not have asked for a better weekend here in St. Louis. We are all just delirious with joy. We finally cought a break. Temps this weekend were in the seventies and then low eighties. I don't think a photo can really capture what it was like. But I'll try. Here's the happy hikers. Mr. Thyme and I decided to head out and enjoy the almost-too-good-to-be-true seventy degree holiday weekend weather. Well, let me be honest, "I" begged: Please, please can we go for a hike? I had the backpacks, fanny packs and all reserved food stores made and ready to go--how could he deny me my day? As any loving husband would, he promptly helped load the car and we were headed out.

I ordered this wonderful little hiking companion book: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles--the St. Louis edition. Hard to believe the middle of the country could provide such an array of hiking options. I am constantly amazed by the topography of our state. Amazed even more when I find myself exploring some of it first hand.