Millet "Fried Rice"

I had some leftover millet on hand so decided to try making some asian "fried rice" out of it. It would also work with other grains or veggies that you are looking to use up. Yummy and healthy!

Ingredients:

2-3 cup Millet

2 Carrots, chopped

Half onion, chopped

Handful of mushrooms, chopped

1 cup peas

3-4 Green Onions, chopped

1-2 tbsp. Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

Miren Wine

Sesame Seeds

Saute carrots, onion, and mushrooms in oil until soft. Add green onions, peas, and millet, sauteing for a minute to get a bit crispy. Add dashes of soy sauce and miren to taste. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Butterscotch Brownies

There are days that I feel like a super-wife. I've got dinner on the table for Peyton when he gets home, a clean not-so-dirty kitchen, an apron protecting my splendid clothing, and music wafting its harmoniuos tunes throughout the house. I conveniently forget the fact that I'm actually in running shoes with an old t-shirt and odd tennis skirt, that the house hasn't been vacuumed for far too long, and that the dogs haven't been fed. Or maybe I'm simply asserting my women's studies side and quietly fighting the wifely image shoved on us. Whatever it is, today I am super-wife. And here is why...

I made butterscotch brownies.

Heavenly, gooey, vegan brownies with just the right balance between sweet and salty. And they will win his heart all over again. Plus hide the fact that I've completely monopolized the bathroom counter with hair products that I rarely use, clothes that are mostly clean, three pairs of tweezers, two contact cases, and a pair of scissors. (Let me lovingly point out that if Peyton has noticed this takeover, he has been completely mum on the subject.)

But I digress.

These babies are good stuff. I can attest to this firsthand (the cook naturally gets to try things first.) I found them the other day on Your Vegan Mom and knew I had to give them a whirl. Her description is great, as is her recipe, and I have to say the pecans are my favorite part. Do not leave them out! I also added a few chocolate chips. Delicious, but not as jam-packed with flavor goodness as the pecans. Her recipe can be found here, and while there check out some of those other yummy-looking meals! This is the first I've tried, but I'm sure there will be many more. And maybe, if I'm lucky, next time I'll be sporting an apron with this bad boy:

Enjoy!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Why We Joined the Blogging World

Now that we have our first post under our belt, it's high time to get down to the meat (or tofu...?) of the matter:

Why we started this lovely blog.

1. To share our home and lives with our loved ones up yonder. 

That's right; Austin may be home to welcoming Texans and warm weather, but it doesn't have those truly near and dear to our hearts. This is the perfect way to share our home with those who aren't here!

2. To post copious amounts of photos, videos and stories of little Declan.
Looking over our posts, this is what the main purpose has become. We love having the entries to look back on and see how he has developed, and all those north of us love to see how his little mug changes each week. It's a win-win, unless you don't like babies. Then our site probably isn't your cup of tea. But this ties back to our number one from the beginning. He is number one in our lives right now, so it's only right that we focus on that.

3. To plant seeds of veganism onto tastebuds. (Don't run!! Not as scary as it sounds...Promise.)

As vegans, we have become semi preachers. Not the annoying guys that approach you in the street and aggressively tell you that you don't love Jesus because you are chewing gum type. More the elegant ambassador to the lifestyle ones that live a glorious life of ease with delicious food that makes you want to question just how they do it. They then of course are more than happy to answer and show you the light. That is, of course, exactly what we are. None is in our heads. None. Anyhoo, we do believe in veganism and would love to share any simple insights to help anyone move in the "animals as friends only" direction. Blogging is a great avenue to share recipes and vegan living ideas as they come to us.

4. To bring out our "learning as we go" house development skills.

We are on a budget. A pretty tight budget which consists of paying bills, buying good groceries for great meals, and feeding the 160 pounds of dog we have in this house. It doesn't leave much room for an eat-out and party lifestyle, which in turn does leave lots of free time in our humble abode. It also plain old makes sense (cents?) to spend the majority of your time in the place that the vast majority of your cashola goes. So we'll make our house our home and haven. The house is a good shell and a great start, but it has a long way to go. On our budget, we've decided to invest in the Casa de Murray beyond the mortgage by fixing up the house. With little bits of money, there is only so far we can go. But we plan to have fun and be thrifty, and this blog will help us watch our own progress. By documenting our work, we are hoping to going to feel more motivated to do these projects! (If you tell yourself enough it makes it real, right?)

5. To share whatever other topics cross our mind.

Okay, okay. We confess. There are times that our posts will not pertain directly to the aforementioned reasons. But ya know, that's because sometimes life includes unexpected things that are too great to miss. When these jewels come around, or even any minor happiness inducing moment, we might pull the plug and share. And that's okay! Because learning about Clementine the puppy or all about foosball tournaments might just make you smile like it did us. And then our job is done. We are simply hoping that you will take something from what we live and learn, and in turn we truly hope to get some ideas back. We would love your comments and thoughts on our house and projects, as well as any recipes you've enjoyed, things you've done, blogs that have helped you, etc. Remember, sharing is caring! (Now Christina has been known to overshare a bit, but that's why Peyton will be here to help monitor.)

So with all this potentially fascinating (!!) subject matter, we are openly admitting that our blog seems very unfocused. But it's name is apropos to it's subject: put simply, life. Life mainly in a house, but sometimes out and about in Austin wanting to share the beauty. A life filled with different passions and ideas and a wife with a somewhat hyper, impatient mind, a mind that focuses on one thing vigorously for a while until its chasing after the next pretty project that passes by. It's a life of love, happiness, and color. One full of two dogs, one cat, one couple, and one baby who all enjoy being home together and establishing their family. It's a tender, learning, newlywed life which, like in its home improvement ventures, is learning its way. It will have some stumbles, but we are certain it will come out victorious. And that is why we want to share this Murrayed Life with you.

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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