June Focus: Food (Round 2)

In May I took on the challenge of learning about FOOD. It turned out to be so much info that I extended it to June. Here is what I read/watched this month:

Read: Make the Bread, Buy the Butter
Watched: Fork Over Knives
Read: Fork Over Knives Cookbook
Read: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Read: Food Rules
Reading: Cooked 


There is still so much to learn about food, but I think it is time for me to move on to my next theme. For July I am going to be focusing on memoirs. Let me know if you have any good memoirs to recommend!

Adorable Vegetable Finger Puppets

Since I don't get to see my niece and nephews very often, I like to bring them something handmade when I do. This past trip home, I made a set of finger puppets to give them. My nephew always says that he wants to be a farmer when he grows up so I made a set of vegetables and also a set of farm animals (I'll post about them later).

When I saw this, I just couldn't resist making my own because they are just so cute! I'm pretty sure my nephew didn't quite know what all of these veggies were but what better way to learn about them, right?!

No Sew DIY Shirt Revamp

I've had this shirt for quite some time. It is hard to see in the picture, but the neck has kind of a twisted edge to it that sometimes gets too twisted. I was going to toss it out but I got an idea that I could maybe flip it upside down and use the bottom elastic as the top for a strapless tank. So I cut from armpit to armpit and flipped it upside down. And there we go!

Easy Zucchini and Cauliflower Curry Recipe

My husband whipped this recipe up one night and I loved it. Curry is one of my favorite flavors both to smell and to eat--so it is extra wonderful anticipating this recipe while it cooks and then also getting to eat it. This recipe came from Telltale Farm.

You will need:

1 ½ tablespoons Olive Oil
½ teaspoon Cumin
½ large red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
One 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 zucchinis
1 heaping cup cauliflower florets
1 carrot
¼ cup coconut milk
Chopped parsley for garnish 

Here is what you need to do:

1. Heat oil in large sauté pan. Add cumin. Immediately add chopped onions. Cook on medium heat till the onions are lightly browned.
2. While the onions are cooking, puree the tomatoes. Place the canned tomatoes in a blender. Fill the empty tomato can with water, pour this into the blender as well. Puree well. You should have about 30 oz of puree now. Set aside.
3. When the onions are browned, add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add curry powder and stir another 10 seconds. Then pour in pureed tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly, partially cover the pan with a lid and let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes or till the sauce thickens a little.
4. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Cut the zucchini into 3/4th inch rounds. Peel and cut the carrot into ½ inch pieces. Break up the cauliflower into florets. Toss the vegetables in the curry sauce, cover and cook till the zucchini is soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the coconut milk. For an extra creamy curry, add 1/2 cup coconut milk instead of the 1/4 stated in this recipe. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve hot with rice or pita bread.

DIY Men's Shirt to Tank Revamp

 

I saw this tutorial over here and decided to give it a try on another one of the shirts I nabbed from my husband's discard pile a few weeks back. The tutorial is really helpful and easy to follow along with.  And now I have a new tank top to wear!

Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

Check out this gorgeous salad!

 Surprisingly, I have never made my own salad dressing before. I say surprisingly because...it is so easy that I have no idea why I never made any. It feels great actually knowing what I'm putting on my salad instead of just dousing it with dressing that has a gazillion preservatives in it and who knows what else.

 This recipe comes once again from the Telltale Farms newsletter that coincides with our CSA box. The picture above utilizes the lettuce, strawberries, garlic, and thyme that we received in our box.

You will need:

3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Lemon zest from half a lemon

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

3 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons rice or balsamic vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Here is what you do:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. While you are whisking, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Continue whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Correct the seasonings (you might want to add more vinegar or honey) and add salt and pepper to taste.

No Sew DIY Dress Revamp

I swear this is the easiest revamp I've ever done.

I've had this dress for a long time and I never really liked how it looked on me.  It always felt like the bottom weighed down the top making it hang funny. So I decided to just chop that bottom part off. And voilà! I now have a tank top that can breath easy without that heavy bottom frill!

A Kayak Adventure

Greens Croquettes

This was another recipe that came with our CSA box from Telltale Farm. We made something vaguely similar to this a while back with broccoli so I was eager to try these. Overall, I don't think they are very attractive but they are delicious!

You will need:

2 bunches leaves of mixed greens (we used collards and kale!)

2-3 garlic gloves, finely chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup cheese, grated

2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs, plus extra

Salt and Pepper

Oil

What you do:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and then add the greens in order of coarseness. Cook until just wilted, no more than a minute or ninety seconds. Drain thoroughly. Allow the greens to cool, and then roughly chop.

In a mixing bowl, combine the greens, garlic, eggs, cheese, pepper, and approximately half of the breadcrumbs. If the mixture is too wet to form cakes, gradually add more bread crumbs until it is possible to mold the mixture. Form small patties, roughly the size of a small hamburger, and set aside.

Over medium heat, cover the bottom of a cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan with oil. Add a few of the cakes to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd it. Cook for approximately five minutes, or until browned, flip the cakes and cook an additional five minutes to brown the other side. Repeat until cakes are cooked.

Easy DIY T-Shirt Revamp

I bought this shirt several years ago because it is has that perfect t-shirt feel to it. The problem was...I never liked how it fit. The neck was just too tight and the sleeves were too long. So what did I do? I cut the neck wider and cut the sleeves shorter. It is amazing what three chops can do to a t-shirt. It is now one of my favorite tees in my closet!

White Beans with Greens

This recipe comes from the newsletter of Telltale Farm--as do the vegetables that we used in the recipe! This mixture is so tasty. I had it for dinner and for lunch the next day and wished we had more of it again for dinner that night!



You will need: 

2 (12 oz) cans white beans, drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch kale, cut into wide ribbons
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Grated Parmesan for topping

Follow these steps:

Heat the oil over med-high heat in the widest skillet available. Add the beans to the hot pan and stir to coat the beans with the oil. Let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the greens and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove from the heat and season to taste with a generous dose of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Enjoy!

Beautiful CSA Box!

Look at all this tasty produce that we've gotten so far from our CSA box! Since this is our first time participating in the CSA program and weren't sure if we could keep up with it--we opted to get the box for only one person. And it has really turned out to be a great size for us. We are able to try tons of new vegetables that we wouldn't typically try (like different greens, herbs, and root vegetables) but are still able to eat most of it by the time the next box arrives.

Our farm, Telltale Farm, also sends us a newsletter that tells us about what is going on at the farm and also has a bunch of recipes that correspond with the produce that we got that week.

It is such a cool program and I don't know why we waited so long to participate!

May Focus: Food (Round 1)

My hubby and I decided to get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box this year from a local farm. We got our first one earlier in May so I thought that a month of food related materials would be a good idea.

I had been wanting to do this for a while now but I've found I have the habit of steering clear from material that I think could possibly induce a life change. And food is one of those topics. It is much easier to not put the time and energy into eating well. Once you learn something, it is difficult to unlearn.

That being said, I am very glad that I decided to focus on this for May. I only read/watched four things but I am astounded at all the new information I learned. Before this month, I would have said that I know a fair amount about the food industry and healthy eating. But all month long I just kept learning so much more. It is surprising how complicated eating has gotten.

Pairing this topic with receiving our CSA box has been awesome.  Receiving a box of produce from a local farm made it feel like I wasn't reading and watching these materials to inspire change in my life but rather that I was already changing and this material was there to support me. It removed the guilt that is often associated with some of these books.

Here is the run down of what I read and watched:

Read: The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter
Watched: Food, Inc
Watched: Pressure Cooker
Read: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

I didn't read nearly as much as I wanted to. I've read six other nonfood related books this month (library due dates can be so pushy) so I haven't been able to read/watch as many food related materials as I've wanted to. Plus it takes me a while to process some of these heavier materials.

All that to say...I'm extending my food related month into June, too.

Easy T-Shirt Quilt

Since I've taken over so many of my husband's clothes recently, I decided it was time to do something with all of my old t-shirts that I can't quite part with. I've been reading outside in a nearby park a lot recently and have been really wanting a good blanket to take with me--so I figured this was a perfect opportunity!
 
I whipped this up one Sunday morning and am happy with how it turned out even though it isn't quite perfect. T-shirt material is a tricky fabric to cut perfectly so some of my squares got smaller than I wanted them to and some ended up a bit bigger. I had an old sheet that I didn't use anymore so I sewed that to the back of my t-shirt quilt. I then used the yarn tie technique to finish it off.

Overall, I think it will be the perfect blanket to take with me to the park!

DIY Men's T-Shirt to Tank Revamp

This shirt has just the perfect softness. When my husband put it in his donate pile, I snatched it up and made it into a tank. I tried a new technique on the bottom and am happy with how it turned out. I rolled it up a couple inches and sewed around it to give it a thick hemmed look. I also hemmed the new neckline and the sleeves. I love how it turned out--and am happy that I now have a soft and comfy tank in my closet.

Stumbled Upon Favorites

Love this video. A good reminder.

I recently watched Searching for Sugar Man and loved it!

This video is hilarious.  Poor guy!

The luckiest unlucky man...wow.

I've been keeping my eye out for a new duvet and really like this, this, and this.
Or maybe I'll make my own...

Sheep surfing. Adorable.

The music really makes this video quite hilarious.

Easy Men's T-Shirt Revamp

This is one of my favorite t-shirt revamps that I've done. Maybe it's because it involves a t-shirt with rockets and planets on it--or maybe it's because I like the finished product so much! I didn't actually take this one in at all on the sides but I did make the neck wider and hemmed it. I also cut the sleeves and made the bottom be rounded. Here are a few other pictures that show some of the details a bit better.

Brown Sugar Cookies

I've been using this site that lists recipes based off of the ingredients you have in your fridge/cupboards. So today when I got the itch to make some cookies, I went on there and found that I had all of the ingredients for these cookies.


You will need:

1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1 cup and 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract


Here is what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and the white sugar. Set aside.
3. In a microwavable bowl, melt the butter completely. When the butter has slightly cooled, mix in 3/4 cups brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder. Stir flour mixture to the butter mixture until combined thoroughly. Form dough into balls and drop into the sugar mixture until coated. Place onto two parchment lined baking sheets.
5. Bake about 12 minutes, let cool, and transfer to wire rack to cool.

5.

DIY Men's Shirt to Tank Revamp

Lucky for me, my husband decided to clean our his closet which means more clothes for me to revamp and add to my closet! I've always loved this shirt of his so I was extra happy to nab it for my own.

For this simple revamp, I cut along the sides until it was the shape that I wanted. I also gave it a rounded edge on the bottom. Once I was happy with the shape, I flipped it inside out and sewed along the edges.

I'm so happy to have this new sleeveless tank to add to my summer wardrobe!

A Forest Road in the Oregon Coast Range