House on a budget

Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-10-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like this is the time of year when all things warm and cozy are in. Maybe it's just me, but a hot bowl of soup at every meal sounds so good! Today was no exception. Chicken noodle soup had to be on my menu for dinner! I already knew what kind of broth I wanted to make, but I needed some ideas for the noodles, seeing as I wanted them to be egg less. After doing a little research on egg noodles, I came up with my own egg less noodle recipe. This recipe is rather large, so be ready for leftovers!!

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of water

Mix all ingredients together, then kneed till dough is no longer sticky. Add more flour as needed. Then let your dough rest for 10 minutes.

While your dough rests, chop and saute 1 onion, 3-4 carrots, and 2 stocks of celery in your soup pot stirring often. When the onions are lightly browned pour in about 2 quarts of water. I like lots of broth so add more or less as you like. Add 2 tablespoons of McKay's "chicken" seasoning or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and salt to taste.

Now it's about time to roll out your dough. Spread a little flour on your surface and roll dough to about a 1/4 inch thick. Keep in mind that once the noodles are cooked they will puff up a bit more. I find it easiest to cut my dough into noodles with a pizza cutter, but a knife works too. Once your broth is boiling start dropping in the noodles. Let it cook until the noodles are no longer doughy and sticky. Enjoy!!

Box it up!

2012-03-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

I was browsing some of my favorite blogs the other day, and came across a tutorial for fabric covered boxes!

Do you know how expensive these boxes are in the store?! It's crazy!

So, I had a lonely box and some cute fabric! A perfect project for a rainy day! If you are interested in making these boxes, check out the tutorial HERE. I'll just show you a few pictures of what I did.

My box with just the bottom covered

Half way through I thought it was a pretty worthless idea! I had glue all over the place, including my fingers! Very much dislike the glue!! It did the trick though, and as far as I know, the fabric is still stuck to the box. My box was just not looking very cute to me.

The box with sides all done

Almost done and I was still thinking I had just waisted some cute fabric on a box!!

Box all done, but still needing something

Then I put in the grommets! Wow!! They really make this box come to life and give it that finishing touch.

Much better!

And with the ribbon threaded through for handles...suddenly a totally awesome fabric covered box!!

Much, much better!!

Adorable!

Here it is in use! Looks so much better than the ugly brown box that I had before.

I think this box needs a little prettying up now too!

I would suggest doing this project some place where you don't mind getting glue everywhere. Or just lay rags down to protect your surfaces.

Now, don't you want to make one? Who says storage has to be just an ugly old box! Give your Papers and things a pretty home to live in!

Repurposed skirt #2!

2012-03-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this cute skirt I found for a couple dollars at the thrift store! Cute, but not really my style. Don't you just love that fabric though?

I've been wanting to try sewing a dress for anastasia, but I had no idea where to start. Of course I could just go buy a pattern, but that's too easy. haahaa I found one of anastasia's dresses that looked pretty simple to make and traced it out on butcher paper.

At first I laid the dress out flat and traced around the whole dress. Then I realized it would be much better to fold it in half, making both sides of the dress even. Duh!! Remember, I'm learning so don't laugh. :) I did this with the front and back of the dress.

I cut the lining off the skirt then pinned the pattern to it, making sure to lay the folded edge of the pattern on the folded edge of the fabric. I also did this with the front and back of the patchwork. I then had 4 pieces of fabric, front and back of the lining, and front and back of the patchwork.

Back of the dress

Front of lining

Next I pinned and sewed the front and back lining together down the side. Then I did the same thing with the patchwork fabric.

Next I ironed the seams open on both the lining and the patchwork.

Then I pinned the right side of the top fabric to the right side of the lining.

I sewed about a 1/4 in. seam all around the arm holes and neck. Then turned it right side out.

I turned the hem of the lining and patchwork under by about 1/4 in. and then top stitched all around.

Almost done!!!

I then picked out buttons so I would know how big to make my button holes.

Then I measured and did my best on the button holes. I think I need more practice in that area! It bothers me that they aren't perfect!

Last of all, I sewed on the buttons on!!

But, wait! The dress needs to have a headband to go with it!

Headband tutorial...

This is pretty much from my own head, so I'm quite sure there are better ways to do it.

I cut the hem off the skirt since it was nicely folded already and was the perfect width. I cut it to 21 1/2 in. because I wanted the fabric to bunch up on the elastic a bit.

I pinned and then stitched a 1/4 in. seam. Then turned it right side out and ironed.

Next I cut the elastic 16 in. long and then attached a safety pin to one end to help feed it through the tube.

Once through the tube, I stitched the elastic and fabric together to hold it in place.

Then I stitched together the elastic from the left side to the one on the right making a circle.

I pulled the extra fabric over the elastic to cover it up, and sewed it in place. Cute headband! But, I wanted a bow on it!

Again, I had no idea how to make a bow, so I played around a bit! I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but this is what I did.

I first cut out 2 square pieces of fabric and pinned right sides together.

Then I sewed all around it, leaving a small little opening to turn it right side out. Be sure to snip the extra fabric in the corners.

Then I top stitched all around it. I had an extra little piece of tubing I had sewed for something else that didn't really work out. I slipped the square into it and it made a cute little bow!!

Then I secured it to the band. And it's done!!

Do you want to see it all together?!!

Yeah I'm pretty proud of it!! I still can't believe I just made this!! It was so much easier than I thought it would be!

Tote Bag #2

2012-03-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Another bag? Really? I know, I know, enough with the bags already! But, I had to make this one!

I was at the thrift store, again, and found a nice big piece of fabric; almost 3 yards of it! I am a sucker for fabric! It's pathetic really. I can't help it!

So, the fabric sat around for a few days while I contemplated what to do with it. Then I decided Anastasia needed a tote just like the one I made for Marcus last week.

Here it is!

The flower on the top is a little pin handmade (not by me) from vintage zippers. I thought it looked adorable, though maybe a bit small for such a large bag.

Now, we need to take a trip so the kids can use their new tote bags!

For directions on making these bags, and many more, check out the book in my side bar "The perfect handmade Bag".

Happy sewing

Nursery makeover

2012-03-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

I've known for a while that Anastasia's room needed some help. She's now getting into and climbing on top of everything, so almost nothing is safe. Yesterday I walked into her room and saw this!

Something had to change! Here is where her changing area used to be.

sorry for the poor quality picture

For starters, I never bought a changing table. I just put her changing pad on the window seat. It's a little low, but it worked great and saved me money. However, now that she can get on top of the window seat, it's no longer a safe place for things like wipes. It's just way to much fun to pull those wipes out one by one.

In her room is this great built in desk/dresser. Unfortunately the desk is just a bit to small to put the changing pad on. I had several options:

#1 spend a few dollars to make a new changing pad,
#2 make the one I already had work for my space.

I liked option #2 since it was the cheapest and I wouldn't have to spend all the time to figure out how to make a new one. Ok, so maybe I was being a bit lazy. haahaa I got out my handy little seam ripper and ripped out the seam then cut down the padding by 3 inches. I tucked it back in and voila! New changing pad!

The diapers and wipes are now safe on top of the dresser next to the diaper dumper, which has also been a fun place for her to dispose of, so magically, her little toys! Insert toy, push the handle down, and it's gone! Yes, hours of fun. Heaven help me when she figures out how to crawl up there!

I also had some organizational issues. Her ever increasing amount of toys I put under the desk.

As you can see, they over flow out of that little basket and are so easily dumped all over the floor. Besides the fact that the toy area would now be in my way when I change her diaper. Her room has these great drawers under the window seat where the changing area used to be.

I had a few things in them, but nothing that couldn't be moved to a better place. I moved all her toys in one drawer and all her stuffed animals in the other and a few other toys in the last one.

What a difference this had made! Yes, she still pulls her toys out, but it isn't as easy now. And even when she does pull them all out, they all fit back into the drawer so nicely, not just stuffed in the corner under the desk as before.

What do you think?

New diaper changing station!

With a little rearranging, and a small adjustment to the changing pad I have an all new room that is more functional and will be much easier to clean up after the little person has been running wild in it.

Happy weekend!

Tote bag

2012-03-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

Can I just say...I dislike working with stripes!! Maybe I'm missing some important step when it comes to stripes. I don't know, whatever it is I really must figure it out!

That being said, I'm loving the tote bag I just made for my son Marcus! He's been needing a bag for when we go on short weekend trips, so I thought this bag would be the perfect one for him.

And yes, I used striped material. I got a great deal on the fabric. A few weeks back I went antique shopping down town. Tucked back in the corner was this fabric. It's not antique fabric, but it was a great price and I couldn't pass it up. Any time I'm out shopping I keep my eyes open for remnants. You never know where you'll find them or when they might come in handy.

This bag was a fun project, minus the stripe trouble, and in the end turned out so cute! I love being able to sew things for 1/3 of what I'd buy it for in the stores. Besides the fact that it is so fun to get creative! The jean pocket I cut off of an old pair of Marcus' pants and used red stitching to pull in the red stitching on the bigger pocket.

And just in time for his birthday! 7 years have flown by way to fast!

I'm hitting the thrift store in a few days! Can't wait to see what deals I'll find. I also have a worn out corduroy jacket I'm dying to repurpose. So stay tuned for more exciting projects!

The repurposed skirt

2012-02-24T17:18:00.001-08:00

I recently bought a book called "the perfect handmade bag". The author encourages one to reuse fabric from old clothes to make purses and bags. What a great idea! especially considering how expensive fabric can be! If you're interested in checking out this book I've listed it in my side bar.
This last week I made a trip to the thrift store and found a skirt for $3!

I haven't price checked it yet, but I'm pretty sure I could not have gotten that fabric at the store for any cheaper, in fact, it probably would have cost considerably more!
I have to say, I LOVE this way of sewing! Going to the thrift store, or even just looking through my own clothes, and imagining how I can take something used up and make it cute again is sooo fun! You really must try it!
I had planned to use the lining of the skirt for the lining of the bag, but it ended up being really terrible to work with, as in puckering in all the wrong places and doing everything I didn't want it to do! I started to think I'd have to make a run to the fabric store for some lining, when my Mom reminded me that she had all my sisters old dress up clothes in storage. Wow! What a treasure trove of fabric! I see many new bags and purses coming up! I hope my sister doesn't mind, but seeing as she doesn't play dress up any more I think she'll be ok with it. In the pile was an old black taffeta gown. It was falling apart at the seems just begging to be repurposed. It worked so much better and was very easy to work with!
Here it is! I'm so happy with how it came out!

Something cool about this bag is that the handle is interchangeable! Pair it with a light weight, fluttery scarf that matches your outfit and away you go!
The book shows you how to add these cute little tags to personalize your bag a bit, which is such a fun idea.

Just a few months ago I would never have thought I could sew something like this! One step at a time!

Happy sewing!

Quick and easy placemats

2012-02-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know I said my next post would be about turning a skirt into a purse, but it's going to take a bit of time. Yes, I'm a busy mom that can only do so much! So while we wait I thought I'd share one of my Christmas projects that I've been wanting to show you. This time I'm adding a little tutorial so you can enjoy making them too! These placemats are so easy to make that I think they are a perfect project to learn to sew on. I present what I call quick and easy placemats!

First, choose some good sturdy fabric and thread to match. I chose a black and white gingham for one side and a solid black for the other. Oh, and don't forget your interfacing. Once your fabric is washed, dried, and ironed decide how big you want to make them; keeping in mind you will want to have about a 1/4 in. inseam. I cut my fabric to about 18in.X 13 1/2in. Cut the interfacing to the same size. The interfacing adds thickness to the placemats.

Now pin all 3 together with the right sides facing each other.

For the inseam I just used the preser foot as my guide. Line up the presser foot with the edge of the fabric.

Be sure to back stitch to secure the stitches. I also like to start sewing in the middle of a straight edge, not a corner. It's easier to hand stitch a straight edge than a corner. Sew all the way around, but leave a little opening, about 1 in. unstitched to pull the fabric through.

For those of you who haven't done much sewing, when you get to the corner, leave the needle in the fabric lift the presser foot and turn the fabric. It's like book marking your fabric so your needle knows where the next stitch should be.

Now clip the corners of the placemat, not to close to the stitching, but close enough so you don't have a bunch of fabric in your corner once you turn it right side out.

Now it's time to turn the fabric right side out! So pull it through that little opening you left in the side. Once it's all through, pop out the corners. Do this gently as it can tear if poked to hard. (I speak from experience!) ;)

Now iron the placemat and then hand stitch the opening closed.

You're almost done! Now top stitch around your placemat. If your machine has fancy stitches, this is the time to use them if you like. I just did a simple stitch, but there are many things you can do to get more creative. In the picture below you can see that I stitched about 1/2 in. from the edge.

What do you think? Cute, right?!! And sooo easy! I also added napkins to match. Basically do the same thing just make them a bit smaller. I love that these placemats and napkins are reversable!

Or you can go fancy

Now go sew yourself something cool! If I can do it, so can you!!

Bags, bags, and more bags

2012-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

I love sewing! It's actually a new thing for me. This last christmas we didn't have a lot of money to go out and buy gifts for everyone in the family, so I started sewing. It was the best christmas! Giving gifts to my loved ones that I had put thought and time into meant so much more to me, and the recipient. Now I get to see them using those gifts, and it makes me happy to know they are enjoying what I made! I've gotten so into sewing since then that I can't stop! Before I even finish a project I'm already thinking about what I'll sew next. In my last blog I mentioned that I was going to sew bags for my daughter Anastasia and her cousin Adriana. I just completed Adriana's bag yesterday. Here it is.

Coming up next will be a tutorial on bag making. This one I'm especially excited about since I'm going to be repurposing a skirt I found at the thrift store. Happy sewing!

Bags!

2012-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh fabric! My new favorite best friend. And don't get me started on the fabric store! The thought almost makes me giddy. Last Friday, my dear husband watched the kids while I ran to Jo-Ann fabrics. Seeing all those stacks of fabric made my mind spin with possibilities! Oh and to top it all off I had a gift card from my awesome sister to use! I bought up the store! What fun! And NO kids! I felt so bad for all the other mothers in there with screaming kids in tow. So I found two adorable fabrics to make tote bags for Anastasia and her cousin Adriana. Can't wait to show you the finished product.

For now you'll have to settle with the tote bag I made for Marcus last week. My aunt sent me some fabric she found at the thrift shop. It looked like it had been a curtain once upon a time, but the fabric is still in like new condition! I'm sooo in love with the finished product! I didn't use a pattern so I had a lot more leeway for my own creativity to come out. With a bit of leftover fabric I even made him a little coin purse to go with it.

The bag

The button and clasp on the top of the bag

coin purse

Since making the bag for Marcus out of used curtain fabric, this idea of recycling fabric has been swimming around in my head. So while I was at the fabric store on Friday I found a book on just that idea! All about reusing anything and everything to make cool bags! (And don't get me started on the discount I got on it! Haahaa) So with this in mind, I've been looking at everything in a new light! The shirt that has a stain on the front, but the fabric is still good, or those pair of jeans that lost the button, besides they don't fit well any more. I work for my dad as a dental assistant. I was sitting there assisting with an orthodontic procedure when I noticed that the girl in the chair had a cute shirt on! Suddenly it hit me that her shirt would make a cute purse! Don't worry, I didn't ask her for it, I figured that would just be to unprofessional. So, needless to say, I'll be hitting up the thrift store as soon as I get an extra minute or two!

Countdown to Christmas

2011-11-30T20:16:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year! Can you feel it? Christmas is in the air. Are you ready?

This year I've been searching for just the right Christmas countdown. I wanted something that would help us make memories and that would make this time of year special. I was on pinterest AGAIN and found an adorable countdown here heartland paper. It looked so easy to make I decided to give it a try. Here's my finished product:

Just 25 matchboxes, brown paper, scrapbook paper, stickers, magnets, a cookie sheet and your done! Well, it's a bit more time consuming then it sounds, but oh so fun! I think the used cookie sheet adds to the cuteness of this countdown, plus it was free! ;)

Then I wrote little projects or family activities to do on a bit of scrapbook paper and put one in each little box.

A few of the fun things included are:

Walk Christmas tree lane

Drink hot cocoa and read Christmas stories

Make gifts for friends

Make christmas cookies

Marcus can't wait to open the first box in the morning! December is going to be full of fun!

Happy Fruit

2011-11-18T20:44:00.001-08:00

I was browsing pinterest, as I often do(I love pinterest!), and came across a great way to store as well as display fruit! I just had to post my own creation. I usually store my fruit in a pretty bowl on the counter, but then the fruit ends up getting bruised especially if I'm storing a soft fruit with a firm one. It's such a bother! Not any more! I've repurposed this three tiered desert display into my fruit display. Did I already say I love pinterest?

Eggplant and Summer Vegetable Gratin

2011-08-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

So this year our garden has been a rip roaring susses! One of the things we have been enjoying from our garden is eggplant. My dad turned up his nose at me when he found out I was planting it, and even more so when he found out we had 6 plants. With all this eggplant I've had to find new recipes to use them in. Some have been amazing, some not so much. Here is one I think you will love!

2 to 2 1/2 pounds globe eggplant,
Olive oil
Salt and freshly milled pepper
2 large onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
10 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 425F. Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick-if it's in season, there's no need to salt them. Brush both sides of each piece with oil and bake on a sheet pan until browned and tender on both sides, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Reduce the heat to 325F.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet, add the onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat until limp, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat a little, add the pepper and tomatoes, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and thickened to a jam, about 20 minutes. Raise the temperature at the end to reduce the juices. Add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a 21/2-quart gratin dish. Make a layer of eggplant in the bottom and spread a third of the tomato-onion mixture over it, followed by another layer of eggplant. End with the remaining sauce on top. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes. Toss the bread crumbs with olive oil to moisten. Remove the cover, add the bread crumbs, raise the oven temperature to 375F, and bake until the crumbs are nicely browned and crisp on top, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!

This recipe came from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cook book. I've made it vegan by omitting the Parmesan cheese mixed into the bread crumbs. It still tastes AMAZING!

Life cycle of a cucumber

2011-05-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

In our family, one of the few things we can't live without are pickles. When we discovered this recipe in Thailand, we had been pickle starved for nearly 2 years. Thai people do not care for the taste of salty dill pickles. However, the markets were full of fresh dill, garlic, and little cucumbers year round. Once I learned to make these, our fridge was almost always stocked with jars of pickles. I had forgotten how wonderful these pickles were until just this last week. We have a flourishing garden this year with pickling cucumbers coming out our ears! What to do with them all?! Pickles of course! So here is the recipe. I think you will enjoy them too!

Refrigerator Pickles

Whole or sliced cucumbers

Bunch of fresh dill

8 Cloves garlic, quartered

Brine

3/4 cup lemon

3-4 tbsp. Pickling salt

4 cups water

Start by boiling 4 cups of water. While you wait for water to boil, pack your jars. Wash dill and put 3 to 4 stocks in the bottom of the jar along with 4 garlics quartered. Next stuff your jars with cucumbers (slice, halve, quarter, or leave them whole it's up to you) pack in as many cucumbers as you can. Then put the rest of your quartered garlic and another 3 or 4 stocks of dill on top. Sprinkle in white or black peppercorns if you like.

Brine-I believe this makes enough for 2 32 oz mason jars.

Once the water has boiled remove from heat and add the salt and stir to dissolve. Then add lemon juice to water and salt and pour in jars. Put on lids and leave on the counter top for a couple hours (I've left mine out for the whole day) then place in refrigerator. They should be ready to eat in 2 days! ENJOY! :)

Leave a comment if you have any questions.

Spring in California!

2011-03-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

I can feel it! I can hear it! I can smell it! Spring is in the air. I just want to be outdoors, but I can't seem to find the time to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. So this afternoon I just took the time. Here are a few shots of spring in California.

Here's a picture of our garden plot. I want to be out there planning our garden! Why do I always seem to get stuck inside?

It's citrus season here in Cali! These are the best tangerines EVER!!

I couldn't resist snapping this picture of the new grass.

Ok! Tomorrow, I'm totally out there!!

Menu Experiment

2011-03-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

So for over 2 weeks now I've kind of been going off of a menu plan. How has it gone?

I liked having a menu to go off of. It really helped me to just look at the menu, pick something off of it, know how much time I would need to make lunch, and have the food on the table by lunch time (2 o'clock). However, I think I'm to spontaneous. I didn't like being stuck to a list. But, I think I did figure a few things out that will help me in my meal preps.

First off, it always helps to have food on hand to cook with!! I know that sounds like a no brainer, but it's funny how we can have our pantry packed full of stuff, but nothing that can make a meal! When I made my shopping list up for the menu, most of the needed things were veggies. Those pretty much have to be purchased on a weekly basis as they go bad the fastest. Also on the list was tofu, that's a must have in our house. I found that as long as I had these items, I had the rest of the stuff in my pantry to make something healthy and good.

The second biggest thing that helped me in meal planning was figuring out early in the day what lunch would be. In fact, right after breakfast was the best time. If I looked over my options, then I could figure out what I wanted to make and come up with a time for when lunch prep needed to start. That way I could have lunch on the table by 2.

Breakfasts are a bit easier for me. If I don't have enough time to make a big breakfast of waffles, then I can just do the old standby, hot cereal. I'm doing my best to cut out cold cereals from our menu. They are expensive and most of them are so processed they are hardly worth being called a food!

So over all I'm pretty happy with how my menu experiment went. I liked having a menu, but I don't think I'll be sticking to one strictly. Happy cooking!!

The China Study

2011-02-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

So by now you know I'm into health, right? I grew up eating vegan. It's been drummed into me ever since I can remember. I've pretty much stuck with healthy eating, but not really staying committed to it %100 since I've moved out on my own.

Just yesterday I picked up a book called "The China Study". Wow! It is a MUST read!! For really the first time in my life I'm seeing that how I've been raised is the best, not just because my Mom said so, but because it has been proven scientifically. This book does not beat you over the head, it just lays out the facts based on real studies done over 35 years. So many health nuts just spew undocumented junk. If I can't trust that what they tell me is the truth, why would I apply their theories to my diet? Dr. Campbells book is very well written and interesting. If you're looking to get a better understanding on health, and figure out what you believe, READ THIS BOOK!

Basagna

2011-02-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! The house sure smelled good yesterday! My mom baked bread while I cooked lunch. Lasagna was on the menu. Marcus insists that it sounds better if we call it basagna. LOL I got Marcus in the kitchen mashing the tofu and cutting the zucchini. I'm realizing that he needs to help me more with the cooking. He really enjoys it and it keeps him busy. He helped me assemble the "basagna".

I pretty much did my own thing. I used a recipe as a guideline, but added my own twists to it. We are trying our best to eat more whole wheat things and take out the refined pastas, white flour, white rice and such. So our lasagna was made with whole wheat noodles. They were actually quite good! I find I can go longer periods of time between meals if I eat whole grain foods. I found I didn't really even need a 3rd meal in the evening, so I just had a salad for supper.

These are my layers, mashed seasoned tofu, sautéed onions with zucchini and veggie burger crumbles, and then the home made tomato sauce. This is the sauce I make for pasta, or pizza. It is sooo good!

Marcus helped me layer it

It was quite easy. It still needs some work though. Since I don't use dairy, I have to work a bit harder to make the flavor just right. It's coming along though!

Again, since I'm going off of a weekly menu I was able to have everything I need for this recipe and start working on it early in my morning so I could have it done by lunch.

Oh, almost forgot about these yummy zucchinis! Just sautéed them with garlic and onion powder, and dried basil and oregano.
Here's the finished product. A very yummy nutritious lunch. And we get it again for lunch today since we have so much left over. Hurray for leftovers!!

But this is what really made the house smell good...My mom's bread! It's the best ever!! It's the softest, tastiest home made bread I think I've ever had.

Getting away

2011-02-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful and relaxing weekend we have had. My dad rented a house in Cambria for a long weekend with the family. Sadly the house is not on the beach, but we are walking distance from the ocean. The house is quite nice! 3 bedrooms, full kitchen, living room, dinning room, 2.5 bathrooms all for a very reasonable price. And the view is beautiful! Not of the ocean unfortunately, but of the mountains.

Today we went to the beach. It's still a bit chilly here on the coast, though I hear just last week it was in the 70's! It still felt so good to sit in the sun and watch the waves crash on the beach. Large rocks sticking up out of the water held all kinds of fun things; crabs of all sizes, sea anemones, barnacles, and other shells. On the beach lay what at first appeared to be large hoses, but turned out to be huge seaweed stalks. They had been washed up onto the shore and lay stinking in the sun. Far out in the ocean we could see the seals riding the waves. I love the ocean! I think I need to live closer to it, or at least visit it more often.

My sister Merry and brother in-law Sam are here with us as well. Merry is now almost to her third trimester! She's experiencing funny cravings. The rocks, sand, and dirt were making her mouth water. LOL I snapped this picture of her (without her knowing it) pounding a rock into dust so she could eat the rock powder!

Only those of us that have experienced this strange craving will understand.

Next, we took a drive to a sea side town 20 minutes away from Cambria. We looked in a few antique shops, a few of us walked out to the pier. Then our hungry stomachs brought us back to Cambria where we had lunch at a very cute little place in down town. The town was very quaint; little shops, old buildings. I wish I had gotten pictures of it. Next time...

Now the day is over. It's almost 1 am! I'm sitting by the fire enjoying it's warmth wishing I could stay here forever. I really should be in bed, I must stop resisting the inevitable; the end to our beautiful stay in Cambria.

Pizza

2011-02-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day going off my weekly menu. I have to say it worked GREAT! I was able to plan in advance to make pizza. Giving myself the 2 hours it takes to let the dough rise and bake the pizzas. Part of Marcus' lesson was helping me mix the pizza dough. We had lots of fun! Here's the recipe along with pictures I took of each stage.

4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbl. Water
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry active yeast (this amount needs some tweaking, I think next time I'll try 1 tsp.)

Mix the dough in a stand mixer, by hand or in a bread machine. If you are using a stand mixer, mix it slowly for two minutes, faster for 5 minutes, and slow again for 2 minutes. (Not sure what that does, but I'm sure there is a good reason.)

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 1/2 -2 hours or until double.

Punch it down and push out the air bubbles. Form the dough into a large ball then cut it into 4-5 equal pieces.
To make your pizza balls, shape each piece of dough into a ball. Gently roll your dough into a ball, then stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball until the outer layer wraps around the other side. Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer "skin." Set your ball seems-side down where it can rest. Dust your pizza balls with flour, and store them under a damp towel in a proofing tray or under a plastic wrap. This will prevent the outside of the ball from drying out and creating a crust and becoming difficult to work with. The top of the pizza ball should be soft and silky. Your pizza balls will need to rest for about an hour to become soft and elastic so that they can be easily stretched into a thin crust pizza. If you wont need your dough for more than an hour, refrigerate it until you are ready to start. If you don't have an hour to let your dough rest, you can cut back on this time. When I made made them I only let them rest for about 10 minutes and they were just fine. You can cut up your pizza toppings while it rests.

Next roll out your dough. You'll want to roll it quite thin.

Place the rolled out dough on a sprayed (I use pam) pizza pan. Poke the dough with a fork in several places to prevent bubbles. Then spread on your pizza sauce. This time I just used a store bought sauce, but I usually make my own, it's MUCH better! ;) Then layer on your toppings. These are the toppings I used. I must add that the Kalamata olive pizza was the bomb! Since we're vegan I didn't add any cheese. We found we didn't miss it at all! However I did sprinkle a little vegan Parmesan cheese over the top, but I'm not sure it really added that much to the flavor. These pizzas were amazing! I also drizzled extra virgin olive oil over it before baking it at 500 degrees for 7-10 minutes. Or until crust is slightly browned. Enjoy!

Heres the finished products!

Week at a glance menu

2011-02-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

I've picked out 7 meals for, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We'll see how it goes. I'm getting a late start on this since it's already Wednesday. I'll just pull whatever meals I don't make this week to next weeks menu.

Breakfast

Pancakes with peanut butter, fruit sauce, and fresh fruit
Scrambled Tofu, toast w/soy butter and fresh fruit
Multi-grain waffle,s applesauce, sliced grapefruits and oranges
Breakfast burritos-fried potatoes, scrambled tofu, salsa, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, avocado
Hot whole-grain cereal, tomatoes and avocado on toast, fruit
No egg French toast, Maple syrup and fruit topping
No egg fruit filled Crepes, soy yogurt, fresh fruit

Lunch

Pecan loaf, mashed potatoes, peas and salad
Vegan Quiche, steamed broccoli and Fresh Salad
Lentil soup brown rice Steamed cabbage, tomato cucumber salad
Tofu spinach lasagna, home made whole wheat french bread, salad
Veggie stir-fri w/Tofu, brown rice, peanut sauce, Edamame and Salad
Home made Veggie pizza, salad
Home made veggie burgers, home made bread-avocado, tomato, lettuce, pickles

Dinner

Zwieback, fresh fruit and soy yogurt
Popcorn and fruit
Garden Veggie wraps
Zwieback mashed avocado and fruit
Soup and bread
Fruit soy yogurt Parfait
"Cheddar" or herb "cheese" on zwieback
Apple sauce on toast, fruit

There is a main theme throughout, fresh salad and fruit. The trick will be to come up with different ways of serving them so we don't get tired of the same thing at every meal. I also want my breakfast and lunch meals to be quite large and then my dinner to be light. Studies show that eating a lighter meal in the evening is much healthier on your body.

Menu planning

2011-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

It's time to start menu planning! So often I get to breakfast and settle for the easiest thing-cold cereal. By the time lunch roles around I'm hungry and scrounging in my cupboards for the fastest meal available. Then I'll finally find something that seems doable, but then an ingredient will be missing! Then I'm back to square one again!

This week I've decided I've had enough of that! I'm getting organized! Menu planning will give me the chance to make the purchases I need for the week so I can have on hand the ingredients I need to make a healthy meal. It will also help to save money so I'm not just randomly buying things I don't really need. And knowing ahead of time what will be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, will help me give enough time for meal prep so I don't wait till the last minute. Trying to cook a decent meal in a hurry is no fun!

So here goes!!

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2010-12-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

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