30 days of lists

Weekend Dreaming

1. wear hoodie
2. go for a run
3. drink coffee
4. knit
5. laugh with a friend
6. take a nap
7. read a book
8. clean the kitchen
9. change the linens
10. make a meal
11. draw or color
12. watch a show or two
13. take another nap
14. eat popcorn
15. sip tea
16. bake something yummy (granola maybe...)

30 days of lists

Things that go well with coffee...

1. Pie

2. Books

3. Conversation

4. Knitting

5. Cupcakes

6. Bacon

7. Toast

8. Boots and winter jackets

9. Donuts

10. The soundtrack to "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

march goals

February was a successful month for choosing small, manageable goals. The goals were meant to keep my creative side active.

This month I am aiming a bit higher by setting similar goals that stretch me a bit more.

Finish Two books
I'm currently listening to Still Alice and finding it a nice book to listen to while baking, cleaning and creating. The character development drives the plot and these activities allow me enough uninterrupted time to really get into the story. I find that since I am rarely in my car for longer than 10 minutes or so, I have to make space in my schedule for podcasts and audio books that require longer stretches of time to fully enjoy the story.

On the other side, I'm ticking away at Delancey one chapter at a time. They are quick and short but deep and lyrical chapters. This means I can read one chapter before bed or one when I wake up and I don't need a long stretch of solitude to be able to enjoy the writing. I still have a number of books on my stack so perhaps I'll even get to dive into something new this month!

Sew Once a Week
I have many friends with babies on the way and a few quilts I mentioned in last week's fiber friday post. Now armed with a gift certificate to my local quilt shop, I've no excuse! I've decided to make time once a week to get back into fabric. I'm not going to box myself in with a particular project but will instead see where it is these stitch sessions take me. Look for update on fiber fridays!

Meal Plan
I was so into meal planning in the fall but fell off the wagon hard around December. It's time to officially get back into things and I'm hoping my new cookbook will be the main source of inspiration! I received "Make Ahead Paleo" for my birthday and have already made one recipe. Though we do not eat exclusively paleo, I do eat gluten- and dairy-free and all of the recipes meet this requirement. The big-batch style cooking has worked so well for us in the past that this should fit into our weekly routine well but liven up the type of foods we are eating. Thai Coconut Meatballs are on my list for this week!

Blog Three Times a Week
I was all set to do a fitness goal and then I realized that with leading FitClub at school twice a week and having two races this month, I think I have the motivation I need in that department. Instead, I want to continue to be here on the blog. I've been listening to some past episodes of a podcast where bloggers get together and chat about writing and inspiration. This has helped me see how many different approaches there are to writing and posting on a blog. I am working be OK with seasons where I write less but also realizing how much renewal I get from sitting down and planning out blog posts. The process itself helps me to make time for the crafts, hobbies, and activities I enjoy. It helps me tune out the work to-dos and the household chores that are calling my name and focus on how I will BEcreative and really, be myself. I hoping that an extra post a week doesn't because another thing on my to-do list, but something that inspires me to keep at the things that bring me joy.

homemade granola

I suppose this falls under the category of "you know you're a hippy when..." but it's more cost effective and (I would guess) a healthier version than store bought!

Dry ingredients all mixed up!

Here is my version of a recipe. It's hard to mess up :)

Preheat the oven to 350*

6 cup rolled oats
1 cup chopped raw cashews
1 cup sliced or slivered raw almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2-4 tablespoons sesame seeds

Combine dry ingredients, mixing well. At this point you can also sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon if you want. I skipped it this time around.

Now add the following:
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or agave
1/3 - 1/2 cup neutral oil

I used canola oil this time but am hoping to try coconut oil on the next batch. The liquid ingredients are adjustable depending on how sweet you want your granola and also whether you want it to bake in the oven or simply toast. I tend to use less to cut back on the sugar and I love the flavor.

Add the wet ingredients then mix, mix, mix! Once it is incorporated, dump onto a large baking sheet and spread evenly. You will want to stir the mixture every 10-15 minutes to prevent it from getting too dark in any one place. I forgot to take a picture at this point so I will just have to warn you that the edges crisp up quickly!

Once the mixture is evenly golden brown and darkened, remove it from the oven and let it cool. I store mine in a tall glass canister with an airtight lid. I leave a 1/4C scoop right in there for easy serving in the morning.

It's delicious with almond or even yogurt.  So good and so refreshing when you add some berries or fruit to the top!

Happy crunching!

Slice of Life 2012 - 25

You know how they say, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?" I'm changing it to:

When life doubles the shortening, double the entire cookie recipe.

That's what happened yesterday and while this means that I'll be eating too many cookies for twice as long as usual, it is also inspiring me to stay positive. My slices have been sad and frustrated yesterday so today, I am claiming the last week of March and making it mine! And with each accident and unhappy surprise that comes my way, I will do my best to see it as an opportunity to spin things for the better.

I know this is the right thing to do and I know that my heart needs to make this choice. So I'll have a cup of lemonade with my extra batch of cookies and celebrate the finals days of March.

Slice of Life 2012 - 11

It's amazing how the state of the kitchen can influence my ability to relax. A pile of dishes or dirty pots can easily unravel a lovely day. So I scrub and wipe and sweep and mop and eventually I reach the finish line. And there is something about the shiny counters, clean dishes and fresh towels that melts my stress and whispers inspiration, quietly urging me to get baking.

Day of art!

Today I'm going to picture pages to

1. organize my paper
2. sort out my many projects that i've started and not finished
3. work on some projects

I was inspired last night by someone who always reminds me of my love of art so I'm going to go at it today! And i don't want to deprive you of art or cupcakes, so below is the recipe i used and here is something I made yesterday. Happy Friday! Hooray for Weekend!

Cupcakes

makes about 10-12

• 1 Cup milk substance
• 1/3 canola oil or melted margarine
• 1/4 sugar (I like to use brown sugar so they are dark and rich)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoon ground flax
• 1/3 cup corn flour (or almond flour)
• 1/2 Cup white rice flour
• 1/2 Cup quinoa flour or sorghum flour (I didn't have quinoa)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

(when I made these last time, I substituted some of the liquid with coffee and I added about 2 tsp of ginger power and some cinnamon and nutmeg. Also, the flax seed is a replacement for eggs because this is from a vegan/gluten free book so you could use as egg but you might have to cut back on the liquid)

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin tin (or use liners if you have them, but I greased and floured the tin the first time which made them look like mini cakes!)
• Combine milk, oil/butter, sugar and spices/extracts. Then add in the tapioca flour and flax seed/egg and mix this up for awhile because tapioca flour is very absorbant and you want it really mixed in.
• Then you can add the rest of the ingredients. The mix will not be thick which is alright. (This will make you cupcakes fluffy, so if you want them a little more dense you can add a little more white rice flour or sorghum flour.)
• Now you simply pour this into the muffin tins and cook for about 20 minutes or until they are gold brown. (Make sure to fill the cups almost all the way full because they only rise a little bit. This is why the number you end up with will vary, but i only left a 1/4 of an inch in most case.)

Frosting

I don't have a good recipe for this because I used another recipe which uses a scale and i just add a little of this and then a little of this... Basically is it margarine nice and creamy with powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and lost of ginger! This time i also added a little cardamom as well. I put the margarine in the food processor, whipped it up and then added a bunch of powdered sugar and pour a little milk in as it was blending until it was about the right consistency. Then I added the spiced and the vanilla extract and finished up blending. It will also depend on how much you like frosting. That's about my favorite part so I always make lots.

You can sprinkle with cinnamon or you could add different flavors to your frosting. Lemon extract, almond, cocoa powder, peanut butter instead of butter Or just make vanilla and add food coloring! I say experiment. Go team go!