i got a serger last year.
i can't even begin to express how much this has changed my life for the better. it's allowed me to do sooo many cool things that would have been either impossible or crazily time-consuming previously - see patch hoodies from christmas, for example.
it also allows me to do really cool details like on the dress above.
it used to take me at least a couple of hours to make a standard hoodie, now, it takes about 30-45 minutes!!
that is to say, i've been sewing up a storm. no tutorials here, just a bunch of pictures of the things i have made - and if there are things you'd like to see tutorials on in the future, let me know!
aren't these cool!?!?
i swear i saw this idea on pinterest a long time ago, but i have looked more recently and was unable to find it... so i apologize if i'm totally stealing someone's thunder here... but these were super easy to do, and i totally love them and want to share!
these look so cool in my yard, and i can just think of so many things you could do with them - red and green for christmas, bowling balls for snowmen, line your walkway with a bit of multi-coloured magic, or just pile them up and watch your dogs be totally freaked out!
the best thing about them is that they are environmentally safe and friendly, and a super easy project you could do with kids.
also, if you look closely, they are totally beautiful!
this is seriously one of the easiest, most amazing recipes you will ever make. you can literally make it with one ingredient, or you can add to it and make it as fancy as you like!
it's vegan! it's gluten free! it's tasty and healthy, but still a dessert. it's pretty much perfect. it would even make a really great summer breakfast.
you DO need a food processor for this, i don't think a blender would work. but, if you don't already have a food processor, you should get one. they are good for so many things!
when i was seeing my naturopath regularly, one of the things she told me was that i wasn't absorbing much from carbohydrates, and as such i should eat them sparingly. i do enjoy carbs (freshly baked bread, anyone??), but i'm not nuts for them. i found that the hardest part was dishes like curry and stir-fry that i would traditionally serve with rice or bread.
whether you're watching your carb intake, trying to cut back on calories, or simply looking for a new way to sneak vegetables to a picky eater, i'd highly recommend cauliflower rice. i've been feeding it to matt for months now, and he's never given any indication that he's aware it's not rice. muhahaha.
i tend to add a little something extra to dishes that i cook with cauliflower rice - in this example, i added about 1/3 c peanut butter to our stir fry, to up the calories, and to add more FAT (which my naturopath says i should eat lots of).
keep in mind that while cauliflower rice is great for many things (curries, stir-fry, under chicken, with herbs, etc), it doesn't absorb water in the same way that real rice does, so look at it as a cooked rice substitute.
also, fyi, the stir fry in the pictures was about 5c of veggies (onion, carrot, broccoli, red pepper) and 1 package of deep-fried tofu puffs cooked in coconut oil, then sauced with 1 1/2 c veggie broth, 1 T garlic, 1 t sambal olek, 1/4 c soy sauce, 1/3 c peanut butter and 1 T potato starch.
wee chocolate cupcakes!
these tasty vegan treats would make an awesome valentines day treat to bring to work, or give to your special someone instead of a box of chocolates!
they go really well with my peanut butter icing!
for a gluten free version, click here!
so, i know i've been posting about this thing a lot, but i did warn you when i first found this fabulous vegan loaf generator that it was going to change my life!! i was not exaggerating.
i've been making recipes with it so often at this point that i have stopped even consulting the generator, which (in my world) is awesome. i feel like i am truly loving something when i get to the point that i just throw things in a bowl and a beautiful recipe comes out, and that's what i'm doing these days with this recipe.
this time i made burgers, and a few little falafel-style balls for a wrap. i used measurements on the smaller end of the scale (small can of beans, etc) and it was a perfect dinner for today-lunch for tomorrow amount for matt and i.
i have also been using this recipe to make "meat" balls (roll into balls, bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, turning half way through, serve on spaghetti with your favourite sauce), and at christmas i made mini-loaves in a muffin tin (the standard recipe made 12) for a potluck style dinner. the possibilities really are endless!
i did a post a few days ago about how i made these canvas reusable shopping bags.
once they were finished, i decorated them! honestly i thought this process would be a lot more difficult than it was. it was a bit time-consuming (mostly cutting out the stencils), but totally worth it.
i have to say, fabric paint has come a long way from the glittery plasticy crap i remember from my childhood. if i had any skill as an actual painter, it would have been really fun to paint masterpieces on each bag, but alas, i do not posses painting skills in the least. sewing seems to be more where my talent lies.
regardless of my complete lack of paint-related skills, these turned out really well.
i encourage you to start with shapes that are basic. the most intricate ones i did were the owls, and although they did turn out nicely, they were a lot of work, and i painted myself as much as the fabric. even the birds and elephants were a lot more complicated than i thought they would be.
that being said, with some time and patience, i think anyone can do these. you may want to practice on an old t-shirt or a scrap of fabric first, to get the hang of it.
when i'm not having a smoothie for breakfast, i love me some granola. i have posted another granola recipe previously, but this one is quite different. it's very simple, but crazily tasty. with a hint of mapley sweetness, and the burst of flavour of roasted pecans.
i love to eat a breakfast that's a huge bowl of fruit with 1/2 c or so of granola sprinkled on top. it's enough to give my breakfast a hearty feel without making me feel stuffed. this granola is perfect for that.
heck, it's perfect for everything.
i made big jars of this for people for christmas presents. it can be made gluten free, as long as you use gluten free oats and rice crisp cereal, both of which are readily available around these parts.
this recipe makes about 6 c of tasty, tasty granola.
