Starry Night Bento

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Sandwich Bento

A tofurkey sandwich with cauliflower, violet rive and mango.

Breakfast Bento

Not all bentos have to take time to make. Today I went for something simple. The left side has spinach topped with tofu scramble and two mushrooms, and the right side has hash browns. 

Elephant Bento

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Enchilada Bento

This bento has a spinach enchilada on the left, and brown rice heart surrounded by refried beans on the left. It looked a little boring so I added carrots, sunflower sprouts and garbanzo beans to add a little bit of color. 

Three Panda Bento

It has been a while, but I am getting back into making bentos for lunch. The top tier is steamed broccoli decorated with carrots, 2 cucumber stars, and a mushroom accented with nori and sunflower seeds. The bottom tier has peas, celery, and brown rice and nori panda bears.

43nd Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race

The Humboldt Kinetic Grand Championship is a 3 day race from Arcata to Ferndale.

Each Kinetic sculpture is human powered and designed to survive being pedaled on paved roads, the beach, and in the Humboldt Bay.

I remember seeing my first race in 3rd grade. This is a really fun local event, and I am so glad I got to see it one last time before moving to the Philippines.

I got to ride in the picnic basket at Burning Man. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the people powering these huge creations for 3 days in a row.

Official Website:

http://kineticgrandchampionship.com/

2nd Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off

Today I won the category of most unusual chili at this years Humboldt Vegetarian Society's Vegan Chili Cook-Off, with my Guinness, white truffle, black bean chili.

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Growing Oyster Mushrooms

Last month at the Humboldt mushroom fair I bought a box of ready to grow oyster mushrooms.

Mushrooms are super weird. They grew way faster then I ever expected. I think they doubled in size every day. All I had to do was spray them with water a couple of times a day. It was really fun!

Honestly, I had more fun growing them than eating them :p

Homemade Gingerbread House

Merry Christmas! To celebrate Christmas this year I made a vegan gingerbread house from scratch, well except for the candy. There was extra dough left so I made a family of bears to live in the house, a Hansel and Grethel meets the three bears sort of thing. The house was way studier than making one from a kit, and it was fun designing the shape and picking out candy accessories.

Gingerbread Recipe:

http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/recipes/vegan-gingerbread-cookies.aspx

Kentucky Derby Truffles & Rocky Road Bark

For Christmas I made Kentucky Derby Truffles and Rocky Road Bark gift bags.

Kentucky Derby Truffles were made of pecans, bourbon filling dipped in dark chocolate.
Rocky Road Bark was made of peanuts, Dandies vegan marshmallows, and dark chocolate.

NSQ Fundraising Cold Call

As a last effort to raise money for camp, I visited local businesses with North Star Quest pamphlets and homemade magnets. Only time will tell if my promotional gimmick worked.

You can donate to NSQ online at:

http://www.jessicurl.com/Donate-to-NorthStar-Quest-Camp-pr-680.html

Blue Fairy Gifts

North Star Quest Camp is almost here, and there is a lot of work to be done. Each night of camp the girls find a present on their pillow, that has been mysteriously delivered by the "Blue Fairy". This is a sneak peak of just one of the gifts the Blue Fairy will have up her sleeve.

To make these adorable keepsakes: I painted the wood stars, glued bar pins on the back, painted NSQ and the year, and sealed them with a layer of sparkle Mod Podge. It took 2 afternoons, but I finally have 90 pins completed to give out to campers and counselors at camp.

Puppet Makeover

My family reunion is coming up and my grandmother came up with the idea of having a sock-puppet making workshop. I have a mini suitcase that is begging for a make over. So I though of covering it with a puppet collage, turning it in to a puppet making storage kit. I'm still in the process of collecting photos for it.

Purple Cabbage Bento

The top tier has a purple cabbage, carrot, and olive salad. The bottom tier has edamame, veggie chicken nuggets, and larrupin sauce. The lid has dried cranberries and peanuts.

Homemade Chili Bento

The top tier has bean sprout and cucumber salad on the left, and pineapple, strawberry, and blueberries on the right. The bottom has edamame, peas, and homemade adzuki bean chili. The lid has peanuts.

Veggie Rib Bento

The top tier has edamame, a sliced olive, mashed potatoes, and carrot sticks. The bottom tier has a morning star riblet, and the lid as an Odwalla bar.

Sushi Bento

This bento has sushi on top and quinoa and veggies in the bottom tier.

Stir fry Bento

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Bagel Dog Bento

Homemade veggie bagel dog cut into four pieces with mustard and ketchup on top, and carrots with peanut-butter celery on the bottom.