What a movie!!!!

If you have the opportunity this weekend, you should seriously consider seeing Inglorious Basterds!!!!! I highly recommend this movie, if you do not like Quentin Tarantino flicks, don't bother. However, if you're a huge Tarantino fan, such as I myself, run as fast as you can to see this movie. It has it all!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!!

I have been so excited all week because I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite authors!!!!!! Sherrilyn Kenyon was at the Barnes &Noble in Collierville last Saturday. Joey was kind enough to take off from work the evening before to ensure that we arrived early enough to get our tickets when the store opened. There were so many people outside waiting, and we managed to be number two and three in line. Meeting her has brought me more enjoyment from her books than before. I was almost frightened to meet her, thinking that maybe appearances were deceiving. I was never so happy to be wrong in my life!!!!!!!

She is so down to earth, kind, and incredibly passionate about her books. She actually answered a question of mine, and then while autographing the books I had brought my camera died, and she was sweet enough to take a picture with me with her camera and post it on her myspace

Now, I despise romance books with a passion, however I have found myself delving deeper and deeper into the "Paranormal" romance section for a while now. Sherrilyn Kenyon is by far one of the best authors I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her characters are so compelling, that you find yourself drawn into every book. And ready to begin another book as soon as you finish one.

This is so funny!!!

I completely forgot about this picture until I was cleaning house and found it the other day, I really shouldn't be sharing this because it is embarrassing.......LOL

True, I was only 8 or 9, and I had no clue I would become a vegetarian...

WOW

It has been a chaotic couple of months, and I have found myself either not in the mood to write due to strange circumstances or running around like a crazy person. We had a death in the family(one of Joey's uncles.RIP), a sick dog, and all sorts of other drama which I will not go into. Be looking for new posts soon!!

Will it ever stop raining?

It feels as if it has been raining forever!!! I am going to go insane if it doesn't let up soon. So the strawberry pie did not work out at all. In fact all of the cornstarch that was used to thicken the mixture settled to the bottom of the Graham cracker pie crust. UGH!! I will definitely be tinkering with that recipe.

So last Tuesday in the midst of a slight reprieve from the rain, joey and I went to the zoo. He had free passes and we thought what the hell??? Now I know as a vegetarian I should be opposed to animals in captivity. But I do love going to the Memphis zoo. Compared to how bad the living conditions used to be-they have come a long way. When I was a child all of the animals lived surrounded by concrete walls and looked absolutely miserable. And some of them still do not have the best living arrangements, but they are slowly redoing the entire place. And I have to confess that I find something so calming in watching the Polar bears since they have updated their living conditions. Something about being able to stand so close as they swim by is very soothing to the soul. They are so beautiful. However I would recommend that you don't go on Tennessee day, where all Tennessee residents get in for free after one in the afternoon. The place was packed!!

I have pictures, but left my camera at my mother in laws w when I was showing her the pictures of the grandogs(lol). I hope all of the mothers out there had a great day today

With a sigh of relief.......

Hopefully things can slowly start to return to normal, oh, wait! I'm not normal, so how can things ever be normal? Anyhow. She returned home late Thursday afternoon, amidst much drama and small panic attack(she does suffer from those rather frequently these days.)

I have several pictures to post later this week, having been unable to get in the kitchen for several days I was going crazy! So when the opportunity arose I kinda went crazy playing around with some recipes.

I have had a lifelong affinity for muffaletta sandwiches mainly due to the olive salad. And have been trying to find a good recipe to make my own with Portobello mushrooms rather than the meat that normally graces these delectable delicatessen delights. I found a recipe that I like, but it's a little too soupy for my taste. Once I get to a good texture I will share pictures and the recipe.

I'm also working on a strawberry pie recipe that closely resembles Shoney's strawberry pie but without the gelatin. Several recipes have called for seven-up, so I might try that. I also have to substitute something for the red food coloring. I am thinking maybe a couple of drops of beet juice might do the trick. And, I have a cookie recipe that were supposed to be key lime cookies, but I changed mine to lemon, and they will be so easy to veganize! ! The only non-vegan ingredient is butter, if I had had some earth balance in the refrigerator I would've made it completely vegan.

Sorry

Sorry guys, I did not fall off of the earth. My mother in law has been in the hospital since last Thursday and I have not had the time to write at all. I should however have some new posts soon as it appears she will hopefully be released tomorrow hopefully.

Pics

Pictured above is the strawberry cake that I prepared, and yes I am quite aware that looks as if some of the icing swirls are sliding off, but I assure you that my icing was really thick, creamy, and damn tasty.

The other picture in the lemon ice box pie that I mentioned earlier in the week. To tell the truth I actually have another one of these sitting in my refrigerator right now, I wanted to tweak the

recipe and see if I couldn't make it a little tangier. It was just a little too sweet for my personal preference. You can find the original recipe at the following link http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Lemon-Pie/Detail.aspx

I highly recommend this recipe if you're looking for good lemon pie, and I do apologize for the horrible crumbling of the Graham cracker pie crust. L O L

Easter

So for this Easter holiday, I was in charge of cooking a meal for the family. I decided upon Turkey, dressing, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas, homemade yeast rolls, strawberry cake, and lemon ice box pie.

Ambitious, yes!!!! Doable, yes!! Successful, yes!!!! I know that this sounds more like a thanksgiving menu but due to dietary restrictions I had to switch things up. I am all about making everything from scratch until it comes to my mother-in-law, and with all the medications she is currently taking, I have to be extremely careful with what I fix.

Everything on my menu was completely homemade save for the strawberry cake. I really despised having to use a cake mix, however she was concerned that a homemade cake might upset her stomach due to the seeds from strawberries. If it was a cake mix, I was informed that the seeds would not affect her. So as much as I despised having red food coloring and bleached enriched flour in a box mix, I've made it as requested. I made the icing from scratch, a yummy butter cream.

I have to post the pictures and the recipe link for the lemon ice box pie. This was the best recipe I have ever used in my life. I followed the recipe without the meringue(I hate that stuff), and instead made a homemade whipped cream with the addition of lemon zest for that extra tang. I should have made more than one considering how quickly this went. I am looking forward to trying this recipe with a key lime juice instead of lemon.

I also found a really good yeast roll recipe that I will pass along later this week along with the photos.

Ughhhhhh.

Sorry for not having any of the Easter pics up yet. My camera is in the process of recharging and I cannot access my photos right now. Needless to say I worried over nothing in regards to my own cooking skills. Besides having to reheat everything it was a good meal. And my desserts kicked ass!!!

Now on to the ughhh! Having fan of special K cereals, I was searching everywhere for special K chocolaty delight. Boy, was I ever disappointed. The cereal itself is just special K cereal with nasty, waxy, gummy tasting chocolate. All of the chocolate sinks to the bottom of the bowl, and to be quite honest just tasted like shit. It was the type of chocolate I think. I do not recommend this at all.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!! While I do not buy in to the commercialism of baskets filled with goodies, I do remember and appreciate the true reason for Easter, and thank God daily for the gift of salvation.

I will be preparing the meal for the first time(why did I suddenly hear alarms in my head??) and will attempt to get some decent pics.

My Clock Must Be Broken

The biological one I mean. I have grown weary of people asking when I am going to have kids or even how old my kids are(I hate assumptions). Not everyone was put on this earth to procreate. Joey and I have never wanted kids, ever. I don't want to have to find a babysitter anytime I want to go out, I don't want to hear kids screaming, I want to eat where I want too, not where the kids do, and I know that I can't handle a kid due to my own physical limitations, so why should society pressure me to have a child? So I can be like everyone else? Not me!!!

In the old days, a woman's worth was seemingly measured by how good of a mother and wife she was. Fully devoting her life to her husband and children, keeping her desires to herself to instead fulfill what society told her she had to do. Women were raised to believe this was the only life she could lead. True, some women truly enjoyed their roles as wife and mother, but others didn't.

Thank God for Women's lib!! I would have gladly burned my bra! We have come so far in so many ways as women, achieving equality among a society that prior to the Women's lib movement was based solely upon men being the providers. Not saying that things are completely even now.

My point is that I understand that as women we have the right to bear children(and arms....lol), and more power to you if you are a mother and enjoy it. But must I be hassled about not wanting them for myself? If one more person tells me I don't understand because I don't have kids, I might scream!!! I don't want to hear about how bad your kid is, because honestly I don't care. And by the way, if you cannot control your kids in public, please leave them at home.

I'm not trying to come off as a bitch, and kudos to all of you wonderful women who have kids and love them!! But if I don't harass you about having children, must you harass me about not having any?


And to be honest, I would be scared shitless of having a child in today's society. Everyday on the news it's another child missing, and it breaks my heart to think of the pain that these families are suffering. I couldn't endure that. So I think I will stick with my adorable fur babies and enjoy the fact that they actually listen when I say sit down and be quiet.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

What To Do?

I have an extreme case of Arachnophobia, stemming from a frightening overnight trip to the ER at the tender young age of sixteen. I awoke around two AM with a horrible stomach ache, decided to take a bath and blacked out. Thankfully the noise had awoken my mother, who pulled me up out of the tub and brought me too.

To make a long story short, I had to have a shot of epinephrine, because I couldn't breathe and was just ill and out of it. We tried to figure out what had caused the episode, until later that week I discovered a large spot on my leg. Turned out to be a brown recluse bite that had caused all of the drama. Ever since then I see a spider and freak out.

The weather was really warm this weekend and then dropped a good fifteen degrees. Which of course made the spiders want to fuck with me!! No kidding, I was cleaning the bathroom to look up and see a good sized brown spider right in front of my face, I run to wake Joey up to come save me, he came in, took care of it and returned to bed. I go about cleaning again, and screamed so loud my neighbors banged on the wall!! It was back!! The dogs are barking, i'm screaming, and the neighbors are knocking on the wall, and Joey sleeps right through this! I rouse him again to finish the job. Then............

I move on to the kitchen to find another one on my ceiling! I left this one alone till it was actually time for Joey to get up. Now, I know not all spiders are bad, and I know that they do a lot of good. And being a vegetarian I really feel bad killing bugs, but I just cannot see a spider without freaking out! Any suggestions?

Thanks for the suggestions and understanding!! I don't think I have the balls for the catch and release method, but I am going to try to not scream anymore!! And hope for no more spiders!

I must say that due to all of my MIL's health conditions, that it is nice how far medical technology has come. Back when she was a young woman, wife and mother they were not aware of how dangerous some of their daily habits were for their health. I feel so bad that she has to suffer the way she is, but she is one tough lady.


Back in the day people smoked on a daily basis going through God knows how many packs of cigarettes a week(or day in some cases), vitamin supplements were heard of but not recommended, the food was cooked with real lard and real butter, and nobody knew about the damage that your kidney can receive due to excessive drinking. It is quite frightening to think about everything that we know now that they didn't.


I mean, after having five kids with no calcium her bones are completely decalcified, she has suffered numerous fractures and breaks, survived skin cancer and numerous heart attacks. I feel saddened that her generation didn't know what we do now.

It begs the question of what will they know by the time our generation is in our seventies that they don't know yet?

Do You Ever Stop and Think?

About how much has changed in technological advances since you were a child? was a kid I remember having a Commodore 64(No, I am not that old, it was mid to late 80's) and I just remember playing some video game that was addictive. Cell phones were the size of footballs and were for the extremely well to do. You had your choice of either cassettes or cd's to listen to, and vcr's were "the thing to have". There was a short craze of laser disc's, which I know hardly anything about. And cameras, oh my God were they huge, I doubt that few people under the young age of 2o even know how to load film.

We actually had to entertain ourselves rather than technology entertaining us. I was and still am a huge reader, looking forward to weekly trips to the library. I was also in the kitchen alot. I should have known that I would always enjoy cooking and baking. I was ambitious enough to be making cream puffs and fried apple pies by 11 or 12 years of age. (Hey I had a thing for sweets!) And I never left home without my portable cd player.

Hell, eleven years ago when I was first married, we had to go to my brother in law's to use the computer, I didn't have an e-mail account, and blogs where unheard of!

Now however I would lose my mind without my MP3 player, internet access and digital camera. Cell phonee, I don't live for, in fact mine is only for emergencies. DVD's are so much better than video tapes.

So while I am enjoying some of the advances, doesn't it seem as if due to some of them we have opened ourselves to a whole new set of problems? With sexting(hate that term), and obssesive texting, okay so maybe it's just cell phones I have a problem with. There is nothing quite like having the guy standing next to you telling whomever he's on the phone with that he just came from the doctor's office with a bad case of strep throat, or the lady bitching at her husband for being drunk so early in the afternoon, or the people who are not paying attention while driving and cause numerous wrecks.

I wouldn't trade the good just to be rid of the bad, just ask for peoplee to be more responsible for their own actions, instead of living in a society that passes the blame to anyone but themselves.

Anything anyone else remembers that have changed drastically?

Foods I used to Hate!!!

I was pondering the other day foods I refused to eat before becoming a vegetarian, and was surprised at how much my tastes have changed.

1.Black Beans: Hated the smell, taste and texture! Though some of that hatred could stem from having dumped a whole cambro upon myself when I was serving at Chili's. You think? Now however I adore them and eat them frequently.

2. Hummus: I just thought it looked and smelled funny, till I tasted it and then it was another story.

3. Bell Peppers:This I cannot fathom!! I still don't know where I began that hatred. Now I have them on hand at all times.

4.Soy Milk: Let me explain that when I was a child, my mother had us using soy milk and I hated it. Then again this was during the late 80's early 90's before soy milk had been nearly perfected.

Now I have realized the error of my ways and enjoy all of the above foods on a regular basis. And continue too experiment. I think becoming vegetarian expands your mind and taste buds as well. Anyone else have foods they hated and now love?

B+++

That would be my score for the scones. While being tasty, I know I could do a better job from scratch. Not very much kick at all. I wanted more of the spices to shine through the pumpkin taste. Great on texture though.

Scrumptious Scones

I had finally began to quit the left-over from the cold coughing, while the weather was nice and warm, just to be surrounded by a thick blanket of snow. Though I am not complaining, it is so beautiful! And something we don't see so deep that often.

I had purchased a bag of pumpkin scone mix at an extremely great price at World Market, during their going out of business sale. (Sniff-sniff, I LOVE that place)And thought that hot coffee and a scone sounded really good to awaken to tomorrow. I prefer everything from scratch, but still recovering, I didn't mind a mix so much.



I absolutely adore crystallized ginger and add it to almost anything dessert wise, or those in which ginger is a great complement. And yes I confess, I hate to just make a dull mix. I always have to add my own touches. So I diced up about 3 TBS. and threw it in along with some fresh nutmeg.

Though it's not the neatest looking picture, below is the dough pre-cutting.

Post-cutting and pre-baking.

Finished product, on the upper portion, you can actually see the chunks of the diced ginger. I just sprinkled a little confectioners sugar for tonight, and had to sample one just to make sure it didn't taste shit. And it didn't. I might glaze them later, but have not decided yet. I like the texture and I love the kick to the taste buds from the ginger, but I will know if I like them if it blends well with the coffee. =)

I'm Still Here

I have been suffering from the cold that never ends! Every time I thought I was over it, I would wake up sicker. I guess that's what happens when the weather goes from really cold to really warm overnight!

Nice Surprise

Since Joey and I eloped so close to Valentine's day, we don't generally buy in to all of the hype. I mean, do people actually know the real story behind the holiday? It has basically become a commercial extravaganza. I mean depending on which history story you rest your opinions upon, it's not all romantic. I am of the opinion that it is rather lame if you need one day of the year to show people how much you care for them.

Since we have been married for eleven years now, I figured I would surprise Joey with a nice Valentine's dinner to change things up. He asked me to wait, because he wanted to cook for me. I was a little put off, since I had picked up the ingredients already, but agreed so as not to be rude.

Boy, did he ever surprise me!! He sleeps during the day since he has an overnight shift. I woke up, fixed some coffee and looked up to find a box of candy and a card. I may be a nonconformist, but I am a sucker for cards!!! I pick the card up to discover a jewelry box hidden beneath the card.

Now he knows that I dislike typical jewelry and pendants, so he got me a black diamond heart pendant!! I have never been a big gem person, but black diamonds are gorgeous. And then he prepared me some great grilled portabellas and a baked potato. I'm cooking his valentine's dinner later this week, and not complaining about not preparing it on Valentine's day!!

All Dressed Up

I actually meant to post this last month, but didn't have the chance to upload the photo until now.

It was time for the yearly vet visit, which of course fell on the day when it was thirty-two degrees outside. So I had to bundle her up. They were laughing so much at how cute she looked in this outfit that it took us forever to get through the paperwork. I didn't mind, at least she stayed warm!!

Notable Changes

I am sorry to suddenly change my format, it is just that I find myself enjoying blogging extremely, just not always about food. I find myself interested in so many other topics that I have such strong opinions on, that I no longer wanted to limit myself to just blogging about food.

I enjoy recipes and cooking, but I also love dogs, books, music, exercise, movies, etc. So stop by, you never know what you might find!!

Why Is It So Difficult?

To order vegan/vegetarian food out? My mother-in-law came through her surgery(Thank God.), and is recovering at home. I honestly wish I could say she is in good spirits, but she isn't. Way, way, way too much drama. So much in fact, it would make a five or six hundred page novel =)

Needless to say, cafeteria food and lots of Subway veggie sandwiches have filled my life the past week or so. This is what I cannot figure out, when kids order special menu items it's brushed off. When omni's order meals and make special requests(no butter, no salt, etc.) it's not a big deal, but when you are a vegan/vegetarian, it's like you just stepped out of a UFO. I cannot count how many times someone has had to ask a manager, "what comes on a veggie?" and my favorite, "We don't have a veggie sub." To which I politely point to the menu board above their heads. Nine out of ten times I get "the" look.

I did find one extremely nice cafeteria worker, who was kind enough to call her superiors to find out which veggies were cooked with meat as flavorings. Which, of course, were all but the squash and tomatoes and mac & cheese.

Is it really so hard to wash the knife that's been cutting lunch meat(UGH) all day off for a veggie lover?

Would Not Have Believed If.....

I would not have believed this had I not heard this for myself. I was in a used book store browsing when this young girl, probably about 9 or 10 years old, passed by me carrying a large load of books. Now I should explain that this bookstore is about half the size of a Starbucks, so you can hear any conversation going on. Her mother and older brother were in the store as well, her mother browsing the romance section and her brother playing a video game rather than looking through the books. Which is fine with me, to each their own.

The girl went up to her mother and started talking about a medical encyclopedia she had found and really wanted. The mother worried that she would not be able to read the book, to which the child disagreed and said if nothing else she would look at the pictures. I was standing there thinking how smart this child was, being so young and having such an eagerness to learn about the medical field.

Her mother finally agreed, then told this child that "I better not catch you reading all the time." Joey had to come and pick my jaw up off of the floor. And she was serious!!! To this day I hope I misheard something in this sad conversation. I am not usually an eavesdropper, but this blew me away. How sad is it when a parent doesn't even encourage a child to read?

Portabella Burgers(Heavenly)

There are no words in any language to describe how incredible this meal was!!!!! Joey was wanting to experiment with portabellas more often, and this was his first attempt. If this is the beginning, I can't wait to see what follows. He grilled them with salt and pepper, put some feta cheese and onions on top(I forgot to tell him to stuff the bottom, not the top) and put it all on a bun. I made some potato salad the night before to eat with this delightful delicacy. The portabellas grilled tasted so...........I can't think of the right word!!! Anyway, this was a great meal that I would highly recommend.

On a side note, I may not be posting much this week. My Mother-in-law somehow broke her back from one side of her pelvis to the other(OUCH) and is having a three hour long surgery Tuesday.

Portabella Fajitas

Sometimes I crave something hot and spicy, (like me!!!!) and these portabella fajitas did the trick. I chopped up lots of bell peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms(I like mixing different types.) and some tomato, added some Mexican seasoning in a big skillet and let them saute while I prepared the portabellas. I drizzled olive oil and some taco seasoning on both sides and broiled them for a few minutes on each side. I spiced up a can of a vegetarian refried beans to eat on the side. Slathered some sour cream on flour tortillas, added some shredded cheese and chowed down. I am going to have to make these more often!

"N" Dumplings

Down here in the South, one of our winter staples is Chicken "N" Dumplings. I always say "and" over "n", but thought "N" would appear more humorous in writing. Now my omni husband prefers his with chicken, so I generally fix him a can(UGH) to go with, fixed up to fit my dumpling flavors. I love the "Not-Chick'n" bouillon cubes by Edward & Sons that you can purchase at Whole Foods. It's the closest I have found to the real thing.

There is something so comforting about a hot bowl of dumplings in extremely cold weather. Here's my recipe:

Broth:
7 cups cold water
3 1/2 Not-Chick'n boulloion cubes
1 1/2 Tbs. of dried parsley
1 Tbs. Garlic powder
1 Tbs. Onion Powder
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste(I use a lot)
3 Tbs. flour mixed with half a cup of water(to thicken broth)



I use a basic biscuit dough for the dumplings, you can use your own recipe or even canned biscuits cut in fours. For the broth, just boil the water, add the seasonings and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Bring to a boil then add the flour/water mixture and allow to thicken. Continue with the rolling boil and drop biscuits into broth, once all your biscuit dough is added, lower heat, cover and cook about ten minutes to ensure dough is cooked thoroughly. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Pita Pizza Craving Satisfied

Thanks to a recent posting over at Vegan Crunk I had to have a pita pizza!! I loaded the whole wheat pita up with a little marinara sauce I had on hand. Loads of fresh mushrooms and onions, then finished it off with Italian cheese mix. Then a made a small salad to go with the pizza and enjoyed every single bite.

I plan on having some new recipes and pics posted this week. It's been chaotic around here!

No Buns

On me yes, in the house, no!!! LOL I had some veggie dogs that I really, really wanted, but no hot dog buns in the house. So, I just made hot dogwiches. Subbing out hamburger buns and cutting the veggie dogs in half. Then I loaded them up with onions and hot dog relish and chowed down. So quick and tasty. And reminiscent of childhood!

Completely Off Subject.

If I was a parent of a child, not adorable furry kids, I would not know whether to laugh or be offended. Seeing as how I am the parent of adorable furry kids, I took no offense and laughed my ass off to find this in a Christmas treat pack. I know what it was supposed to be, but I think they missed something. =)


P.S. I neglected to mention that this was supposed to be a candle in a mixed dog treat bag, someone had some fun.

Not Impressed

Okay, so when we had a cold snap this weekend, I decided it was time for some hot soup. I found a recipe in a magazine from 2006 called:Curried Tomato & White Bean soup. Being in an adventurous mood, I tried it out. It sounded quick and easy and yummy. Boy was I mislead!!! The recipe goes as follows:

1 cup of diced onion

1 Tbs. of vegetable oil

1 Tbs. of curry powder

3/4 tsp. of ginger

2 cans of white beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can undrained diced tomatoes

Croutons for garnish

I followed the recipe of sauteing the onions in the oil(though I used olive rather than veggie) for five minutes, than you add the seasonings, cook for a minute more, than the veggies and let it simmer for fifteen minutes. This soup was AWFUL. Way too much ginger, and very dull. I tried to save it with some salt, garlic and pepper. But could not make it past one bowl. It will be a long time before I even attempt this one(if ever) again.

P.S. Does anyone else have this recipe? My copy has been chewed on and I wanted to know if anyone else knows anything I missed?

Why???

Within the past week, I have watched several TV chefs cook fish for vegetarians. Since when is fish on the vegetarian menu? One chef added fish sauce to a dipping sauce for vegetarian spring rolls!!!! What's going on? This is driving me crazy. I love to watch cooking shows, generally recording them and fast forwarding through the "gross" parts. But I may soon have to take a break if they continue with this.

What Are Your Favorite?

What did you add to your kitchen supplies last year, and what were the favorites?

Over the past year I added: Ove Glove, Pastry Cutter(the fork method grew old), Microplane Grater, Silicone Bake Ware, Dutch Oven, Food Processor, Rice Cooker and a Wok.

My top four are:

1. Ove' Glove:This great item actually lived up to it's reputation. Because of my tremors this is now an invaluable tool. I have less burn marks marring my hands now. Yay!!

2. Microplane Grater: Fresh nutmeg is the shit!! Not to mention the ease of zesting and the flavor of fresh Parmesan.

3. Dutch Oven: I love the ease of stove top to oven, and I have only had it a week.

4. Silicone Bake Ware:I am not sure how they will endure the test of time, but these make baking so much easier and cleaner. Popping right out, baking evenly and easier storage are just a few reasons of why these are so marvelous.

So what are yours?