canvas shopping bags

hey team!

so, i'm finally getting around to some christmas present tutorials. i didn't want to give away any surprises before christmas, but now that everyone has gotten their gifts, i can reveal all my secrets. 

as i mentioned before, i made everything by hand this year. i also resolved not to just make things for the sake of making them, but to actually consider what people would use, and try to give gifts that would contribute positively to people's lives. 

as well, none of these gifts were really christmas-specific. they could be for a birthday, anniversary, etc - even just for your lovely self!

i think in the end i made about 15 of these bags, so in all it was a fairly time-consuming process, but totally worth it, and also something that people will use! 

not only are these bags great for encouraging people to go reusable, but i also used them instead of wrapping paper! matt and i flew home for a christmas visit this year, and i just put every person (or couple)'s presents in their bag instead of wrapping them. we saved on paper, weight on the airplane and gave everyone beautiful, reusable bags!

decorating them will be a follow-up post!

spicy tofu burritos

i've gotta say, mexican food is by far one of my favourites. it's so vegan/vegetarian friendly - beans, rice, corn, avocados and rich spices... it's all so tasty and filling and healthy and i could just go on and on!!

these burritos are interesting, i'm sure the idea was inspired by a recipe that i found online many years ago, but i have been unable to locate it. i have changed the recipe a bit over the years, too. this has been a favourite of matt and i's for a long time now. it's got lots of veggies and tofu, yet it still feels like you're eating junk food. it doesn't get much better than that!

this recipe makes about 4 burritos. you could also eat it with a fork instead of in wraps. heck, it's so good i've eaten it with my hands before. 

i used vegan daiya pepperjack cheese, but you could use real cheese, or the cheese substitute of your choice. it's also good without cheese, although the cheese does help to hold everything together. 

new vegan loaf

remember how a while back i posted about this amazing vegan dinner loaf generator?

honestly i think it's one of my favourite things ever. next time, i'm going to make them in a muffin tin so that it's like wee little vegan loaf cupcakes. sooo exciting. maybe i'll make them higher on the edges so that they hold a pool of gravy. my mouth is watering just thinking about this. 

aaaaanyway, i used this fabulous loaf generator again recently, and i think i like this loaf even better than the black bean version. 

here's what i used (of course i didn't follow the recipe exactly!!), but check out the generator for instructions. 

maple pecan pumpkin tarts

you guys know i'm not much of a dessert person, but you also know how i feel about pecans and pumpkin. you may recall i often have pumpkin pie instead of cake on my birthday...

so a while back when i got a mad craving for desserts, this is what i came up with. i don't know if i've ever actually had pecan pie before, but it seems like it would be amazing, if rich. i was thinking about making something entirely pecan-based, but i honestly think this is even better. i feel like it's a bit more balanced of a dessert (there i go, making everything healthy.. sorry!)

i made the recipe for 4 tarts, because... well... sweets. you know. but i have included in parentheses the measurements for a dozen.

cornbread

we are right in the middle of prime soup season. this is the time of year when your slow-cooker should be getting a workout! time for hot cups of soup to warm your icy fingers. i love to come in from a brisk walk at the dog park to a house that smells of simmering soup - it's one of the few redeeming things about winter, in my mind. 

but, is soup a meal? 

this is a subject of much debate in my house - i say yes, matt says NONONO! perhaps it's just because he's so much bigger than me, it takes a lot of soup to fill a man's belly... but i am perfectly happy with a large bowl of brothy soup for dinner. 

one of the ways i've managed to get away with soup for dinner is cornbread. matt will go in for freshly baked bread any day, but there's something about a big slab of cornbread alongside a bowl of chili that just makes the meal feel complete. add to that the fact that cornbread is not yeast bread, meaning it's much quicker and easier to throw together on short notice. 

this recipe makes one medium sized loaf. it's vegan, but i did use ener-g egg replacer. you could sub in a tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 2 tablespoons of hot water, 1/4 c of silken tofu, or even a real egg. 

lentil vegetable pot pie

so the other day, i made my fabulous tofu and vegetable pot pie with lentils instead of tofu! it was so good! 

it's funny, it seems like there are people who are just completely opposed to tofu, as if as soon as they eat it they will sprout giant dreadlocks and start talking about how great crystals are. this would be a great option for those tofu-adverse in our lives. as well, lentils are cheap and easy and quick to cook. 

i used canned lentils because i had them around, but you could also use 1 c dry green lentils to replace the can, just boil them in broth until they are soft (20-30 minutes) before adding to the other ingredients. 

whereas when i use tofu in this recipe i add it with the veggies to fry it up a bit, i just added the canned lentils right before the gravy mixture. 

it was awesome, i highly recommend you try it! (by the way, i made it in a lovely batch of vegan pastry!)

  

christmas presents

 

i started making christmas presents in august this year. 

i know, that sounds crazy...

but, matt and i went back to ontario to visit the week before christmas, and it was the first time we'd been "home" for christmas in about 7 or 8 years. so, we saw lots of friends and family, and i just really felt like i wanted to make it as special as possible. 

matt and i are both the youngest in our families, and as such everyone is pretty settled. that makes it really hard to find presents for people... what do you get people who can just buy what they need? who have everything they really need? 

so these thoughts and realities led me to a decision: i was going to make everything by hand, and i was going to make things that were useful. 

hence, i started in august. 

oat and agave bread

yes, another bread recipe!! it's funny, we really don't eat all that much bread, but i would still put it up there with my favourite foods... especially freshly-baked. 

i made this recipe up off the top of my head. it was inspired by the tasty, wintery idea of a hearty honey-oat bread. but, honey isn't vegan (and i'm leaning more and more that way every day), and it's also not something i had in the house. agave syrup is really fabulous stuff. it's very sweet (sweeter than honey), but also low on the glycemic index. it's also what i use to sweeten matt's iced tea!

this bread is crisp  and brown on the outside, and moist and chewy on the inside. it's not overly sweet, but you can certainly taste the agave. i wouldn't use it to make garlic bread or anything savoury, but it's great for breakfasts (with eggs, peanut butter, jam, etc) or to go along side a nice winter soup.

this recipe makes two smallish loaves. 

vegan banana coconut layer cheesecake

i know right? it sounds too good to be true!

well, ever since i first discovered that vegan cheesecake is attainable (with a fabulous dark chocolate cheesecake), i've been hooked. i also created this wonderful pumpkin spice cheesecake a while back.

well, ever since i made this amazing discovery, i've had this little idea growing in the back of my mind... remember how i ranted about dessert silken tofu back in the fall? well i've found a way to bring dessert tofu and vegan cheesecake together. at last.

this dessert tofu comes in lots of different flavours (i think next i'll try custard/maple caramel layers), so the options are endless!

how can you go wrong??

**as i made it, this recipe is not gluten free. i tagged it as such because it would be super easy to adapt, i have included substitutions**

new indexes on the blog

hey friends!

i just wanted to share something i've been working on with you - i have made a series of indexes which can be found on the right hand side of my blog. i have created an index for all recipes, crafts and body care. i will be updating them periodically with new content, but i thought that it was kind of nice to be able to see a list of posts, as opposed to having to scroll through everything. 

you can still use the links lower on the right to take you to posts with specific tags, but i thought it would be handy to have this option as well. 

feedback is welcome!