Give Away!

I thought a give away was in order to celebrate my new blogging spot!

A Huge Thanks to everyone who moved over with me. I'm still bringing over older posts as I post new, so be sure you have subscribed at Crafty Earth Mama

I'll be giving away 2 body butters to 2 subscribers. Winners will be chosen randomly on Oct 1st!
You can enter 2 ways
#1-subscribe to Crafty Earth Mama.
#2-If you've already subscribed or want a second entry, leave a comment at this post on CEM and let me know how you like the new blog.

Fall is here and it's getting a bit chilly. Keep your skin and hair moisturized and smelling good naturally with Head to Toe White Chocolate Body Butter! It's 100% Organic with no parabens or phthalates.

Let the entries begin!

Invitation to my new spot!

Hi Everyone!
It's been awhile between posts. So much has been going on, including a big move into our new home. I have alot of new projects going on and alot of catching up to do, so look for many posts in the upcoming days!
Please join me at my new blogging home
Crafty Earth Mama
I'll be migrating my older posts from here as well as updating new in the next couple of days, so please bare with me!

Thank You!

Health Freedom Expo 2011

It's that time again. I'm really excited to see who will be exhibiting this year!

This expo is always filled with all kinds of wonderful organizations to get invloved with and new products to try.

http://www.healthfreedomexpo.com/site/

Countdown to My Daughters 1st Birthday

Has it really been almost a year? Yes it has.
It's been an amazing year and Mommy hood has been better than I could have ever imagined! Miakoda's birthday is March 17th and we will be spending the whole day together.
The following weekend, my husband and I are putting together a small dinner with close family and friends to celebrate. She will be one and although she's smart as a tack, themes, bounce houses and the like would be lost on her. We tend to gravitate to more natural celebrations anyways, so a small gathering it is. We will spend the time eating good food, having fun and most important, loving up on my sweet little one!
So on to the countdown.
Here is what I have done and what still needs to get done for the gathering.

Make Birthday dress and Party dress- Finished over the weekend, just need to hand wash and dry. http://andeverything-in-between.blogspot.com/2011/03/adventures-in-sewing.html
Make fabric Birthday Banner- collected fabric scraps, etc. will be done Wednesday
Make "Guess my Age" board- haven't started yet
Finish 20 questions game and make printouts- will finish tonight
Put together 2 prizes- keeping it simple, have a few ideas in mind
Finish 1 year video- currently working on
Finish 1 year scrapbook- not going to happen, i haven't even started it :)
Shop for menu items- got some will shop for the rest at Friday's farmers market
Make edible fruit display- will get fruit Friday and make Friday evening

Menu so far;
Grilled Vegetable sandwichs on whole wheat
Mock Tuna salad sandwiches on rolls
Kale salad
Quinoa salad
Edible fruit display
Variety of tortilla and pita chips with avocado chutney, hummus and salsa
Variety of Nori rolls http://andeverything-in-between.blogspot.com/2010/03/nori-rolls.html
Variety of cupcakes
Hibiscus tea with guava and a Floral mixed tea

Adventures in Sewing

I've always been kind of interested in sewing, but didn't really catch the bug until after my daughter was born. It was then that I really started to long to make her cloth diapers and clothing myself. My mother was a wonderful seamstress and made everything imaginable. I knew that if she was still with us, she would have made so many things for my daughter and taught me how to make those adorable diapers and covers she made for my nieces and nephews.

It took me awhile to gather up the time and supplies, but I was determined to sew my daughters 1st birthday dress. I bought some beautiful fabric back in December and was so excited to finally put it to use. I borrowed my sisters sewing machine and accessories, went through my mothers old patterns and bought some other things I would need for my projects. I wanted to make a simple dress for her actual birthday and then something slightly more fancy for her birthday party.

The most intense part for me was figuring out the patterns. I wound up getting 2 simpler patterns off Etsy for the dresses. I really wanted to use my mothers, but I just could not figure them out. I will use them in the future I'm sure.
I was quite amazed that I remembered how to load a bobbin and thread a machine. It all just came back to me. I used to spend hours at her feet while she sewed or playing around in her sewing room asking questions and "helping". I can't remember an exact lesson, but somehow all that my mother had taught me about sewing that was locked away in my brain somewhere came flowing out.
I did a couple of practice stitches on a scrap, but felt pretty comfortable quite quickly. My mother was guiding me for sure!

I'm no pro and I know with time my stitching and technique will get better, but I truly enjoyed making these dresses and can't wait to have my own sewing room! I'll continue to post my progress. Perhaps one day my daughter will be playing at my feet and "helping" while I'm sewing things for her.

(back of party dress)


(birthday dress)

(p.s, apologies for the horrid pics. Better ones to come)

Animal Acres

Yippee! I finally got to visit Animal Acres. I have been a supporter of theirs for years, but have never gotten the chance to visit. Lorri Houston has created such a beautiful sanctuary for rescued farm animals. At Animal Acres, they are nursed back to health and can live out the rest of their lives in a peaceful environment.
My family and I walked away with such a sense of love and compassion.
As my husband said, visiting Animal Acres is good for your soul.

Go for a visit, volunteer at the sanctuary or donate!
http://animalacres.org/

Holiday Cocktail, Venetian Sunset

One of my favorite things is a delicious cocktail.

I recently received a gift of the ingredients for a Venetian Sunset.

Other than being pretty and festive looking, the drink itself was yummy!

I know what I'll be sipping on this New Years ;)

Venetian Sunset

3 ounces Martini and Rossi Asti

3 ounces pineapple juice

1/2 ounce grenadine

Pour over ice and enjoy!

Repeat as often as necessary ;)

Holiday Candy Gift Tins

These were a big hit with my family this holiday season.

I made a variety of candies and gave them away in decorative tins and takeout boxes.

It's nice to make extra and have some on hand for visitors and special people in your life during this time. You could collect the tins all year or find inexpensive ones at a used goods stores or catch a sale, like I did.

Cardamom Granola Squares

4c rolled oats

1c dried cranberries

1c coconut flakes

1/4c dried ginger

1/2c flax seeds

1/2c sunflower seeds

3tsp ground cardamom

1tsp sea salt

1/2c brown sugar

5tbs honey or maple syrup

6tbs natural balance

4tbs coconut oil

1tsp vanilla extract

Line 9x13 inch baking pan with foil and lightly oil and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1st 8 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat next 4 ingredients on the stove until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into greased pan and press down firmly. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

The smell of the granola as it's baking is heavenly!

Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into squares.

Lavender Truffles

1/4 dry lavender flowers
2/3 cup coconut milk

10 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Cocoa coating

2tbs cocoa powder

1tbs lacuma powder

1tsp mesquite powder

Heat the coconut milk and lavender together until the milk is warm.

Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add chocolate to milk and melt and stir until well combined.

Refrigerate until chocolate is set and you can easily roll into balls.

Roll into tsp sized balls and roll into cocoa mixture.

Store in fridge.

Cookies and Cream Truffles

I used this recipe here and veganized it by using vegan cream cheese.

Beleive it or not, oreos are vegan. Not at all healthy, but vegan nonetheless :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-OREO-Truffles/Detail.aspx

*notes- I used a food processor instead of crushing in a bag.

- I added 1tbs canola oil to dipping chocolate for shine and texture.

- I froze the truffles before dipping them in chocolate.

- I sprinkled with dehydrated coconut.

Chubby Hubby Cups

Years ago, I loved chubby hubby icecream...and it showed :)

Anyhoo- I was just going to make a standard peanut butter cup, when the chubby hubby sweet and salty combo popped into my head. Here's what I came up with.

8oz dark chocolate chips

8oz milk chocolate

1c plus 2tbs chunky peanut butter

about 2 cups of salted pretzels ( I use small braided ones. If you use bigger, you may have to break them up.)

about 1/2c caramel sauce

muffin liner papers

Melt chocolate chips along with 2tbs peanut butter. Do this in the microwave or a double broiler.

Pour 1/2 of your chocolate in the bottom of muffin liners. Roll chocolate around liners until choclate comes half way up liners. Put some pretzels at bottom of each(I use 2 small). Put them in the freezer until set.

Add one tsp pb into middle of cups. Pour 1tsp caramel over each. Pour remaining 1/2 of chocolate over cups, being surre to cover filling thoroughly.

Put them back into freezer until set. Store in the fridge and enjoy!

Great with a cold glass of almond milk :)

Thanksgiving Recap

Hello Everyone!
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving Day or Harvest Season, I hope that you had/have a blessed day, month and year!
I truly love being in the kitchen and I especially love preparing a healthy and delicious Holiday meal. Here's a recap of what I prepared for my family.

Tofurkey with Asparagus and Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf

Oven Baked Sweet Potatoes

Cranberry Grape Relish

Pumpkin Streusel Pie

Tofurkey Experiments

Sounds like something macabre, but it's just me trying out different tofu turkey recipes. :)

I have tried and really enjoyed the store bought tofurkey made by Turtle Islands foods.
http://www.tofurky.com/
I generally don't see a need for a turkey stand in at our Holiday meals, but one year my husband and I decided it was time to give the tofurkey a go. We have always enjoyed the deli slices and the tofurkey was just as good. I added a few things to the gravy it comes with and basted it with a marinade before roasting in the oven with asparagus. Delicious indeed.

This year, I decided to try one of the tofu turkey recipes I had been hearing about.
I tried this one http://video.about.com/vegetarian/How-to-Make-Tofu-Turkey.htm

The only changes I made was to use a pinot noir that I had on hand and yellow mustard instead of dijon. The marinade in itself is quite good. I will use this for many other things in the future.

Before baking, I stuffed the tofu loaf with a brown and wild rice pilaf. I added toasted almonds, fresh sage, fresh rosemary and chopped dried apricots to the pilaf. Yum!

When it was almost time to take the loaf out, I added my asparagus brushed with some of the marinade. Another yum!

The tofurkey turned out very flavorful, but I'm not sure that I absolutely love the texture. That may have been my fault of not draining the tofu properly or it just may be the texture you get when you blend the tofu and then press it.

I will try this recipe again. Next time I will use a Asian inspired marinade and also I won't blend the tofu before draining. I think I will just break it apart and then press it. I'll let you know how it goes!

Pumpkin Streusel Pie

This pumpkin pie is more of a pumpkin custard than pie.
The filling is very smooth like a pudding. It's lightly sweetened, but full of flavor.
I could eat the sreusel topping all by itself, but I try to control myself!

2c oven roasted pumpkin
1c coconut milk
1/4c cornstarch
1 1/2tsp pumpkin pie spice
1tsp vanilla extract
your favorite pie crust (I used a vegan shortbread crust and prebaked it)

Mix all ingredients in a blender and set aside.

Topping
1/2c sucanat sugar
3/4c oats
1/4c flour
2tbs natural balance
1tsp vanilla extract

Put all topping ingredients into a bowl and mix with a fork until combined.
Mixture should be slightly moist, but crumbly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour filling into prebaked pie crust.
Add topping and bake 45 minutes or until top is brown and filling is set.
Enjoy!

Oven Baked Sweet Potatoes

I am not a fan of recipes that add a ton of sugar to the already decadent sweet potato. I can't bring myself to messing up one of natures wonderful creations by putting candy on top of them and cooking them to death.

These lightly baked potatoes are allowed to really shine by just adding a touch of seasoning. The olive oil gives a wonderful mouth feel and the smokey paprika marries well with the rich sweetness of the potato.

sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped uniformly
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Put potatoes on top of foil and drizzle with olive oil.
Add seasonings and toss well.
Tent potatoes by pulling foil up over top and folding.

Bake until fork tender. About 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Cranberry and Grape Relish

I usually make this, but using oranges. However, my oranges were not very sweet and I don't like adding processed sugar to my berries. I searched the fridge for something else to use and decided on some nicely sweet globe grapes. I figured the color and taste would go well with the cranberries. I use grapes a lot as a sweetener for smoothies and juices, because they mix with other flavors well and they can be quite sweet on their own.
I loved this combo so much that I'm going to make it this way from now on! It was so refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to the other parts of our meal. I wound up eating the rest straight from the bowl for breakfast the next morning!

1c fresh cranberries
1 1/2c grapes
the zest of 1 small orange

Pulse in the food processor until your mix is in small chunks You may find you want to add more grapes, but this ratio was perfect for me.

Veggie Pride Parade Fundraiser at the Veggie Grill

Go grab some vegan eats at the Veggie Grill to help Animal Acres fund their annual Veggie Pride Parade. Yummy food and a great cause!
This event is Thursday, Oct 21st at the Veggie Grill, located at 8000 W Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood. Go between 5pm and 11pm and tell the cashier that Animal Acres sent you.
50% of total purchase will be donated.

http://www.veggiegrill.com/
http://www.animalacres.org/

Make Me Something Chocolatey

I hear this about once every other week from my dear husband. Usually, it's on the later side of the night. Typically, I go scouring the cabinets to see what's available to make something that's chocolatey, not terribly unhealthy and won't take too long. I like to keep baking staples around, but Count Chocula raids my supplies on the regular, so these late night baking sessions sometimes yield some interesting results.
Last night, this is what I came up with.

Fudgey Chocolate Cake with Almond Butter Glaze
1 1/2c whole wheat flour
1/3c cocoa powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1/2tsp cinnamon

1/2c coconut milk
1/2c water
1/3c canola oil
1/2c sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix first 5 ingredients together until well combined. I pass the cocoa, baking soda and salt through a sieve to be sure all the lumps are gone. Set aside.
Mix next 6 ingredients together and pour into first mixture. Mix until just combined.
Pour into oiled 9inch cake pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Do not over bake. This cake is fudgey, so it will still be slightly soft when it's done.

Almond Butter Glaze
1tbs almond butter
1c powdered sugar
2tbs coconut milk
1/2tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients until lumps dissolve.
If it's too thick, add a little water.
When cake is done, poke holes in it all over using a toothpick.
Pour glaze over the top while cake is still hot and let sit until cool...if you can ;)

Slice it up and enjoy...perhaps with some cashew ice cream. http://andeverything-in-between.blogspot.com/2010/10/raw-cashew-and-chai-spice-ice-cream.html

Walk For Hope 2010

"The Walk for Hope is a reminder of the things that matter most in life. The purpose of the entire event is to spread more love in the world. The entire 3.5 kilometer route (2.2 miles) is decorated with inspiring quotes, all of them hand-made. You can also expect to find activity stations along the walk route.

The Walk for Hope is free, there is no registration fee. The entire Walk for Hope is our gift to the community."
http://www.bethecause.org/event.php?event_id=624

Raw Cashew and Chai Spice Ice Cream with Pineapples

Say that fast twice :)
This is by far one of the most decadent and healthiest frozen treats I have made. It is amazingly creamy and so full of flavor. The pineapples really give it something extra and takes the yumminess over the edge!
Just a small serving goes a long way.

Cashew and Chai Spice Ice Cream
3c raw soaked and drained cashews
1 1/2c milk (rice, almond, cashew, etc)
1/3c maple syrup
1tsp chai spice
1tbs maple syrup
1c frozen pineapple pieces

Blend first 5 ingredients and freeze in cubes.
Put frozen cubes, extra syrup and pineapple into high speed blender and mix until just creamy.
Enjoy straight from blender or freeze and enjoy later!

Non Dairy Frozen Yogurt

I like my frozen yogurt yogurty...if you know what I mean.
I prefer the tang as opposed to the more ice cream like fro yos.
I came up with this non dairy version and it's a keeper!
It's creamy, tart and delicious.
It was especially wonderful topped with strawberries and granola!

Non Dairy Frozen Yogurt
3c coconut milk yogurt
1/2c sugar ( Use your preference. I used a vegan white sugar)
Juice of 1 lemon

Mix everything up and freeze in cubes. Toss in a high speed blender and enjoy!
Or toss in your ice cream maker and enjoy!

Watermelon and Lime Sorbet

Whew! It has been a blazing past few days here in Cali. I found a great way to cool us all down was to mix up some icy treats.
This one can be enjoyed by the whole family. My husband, 6 month old and 2 yorkies all cooled down with this one!

Watermelon and Lime Sorbet
4c chunks of frozen watermelon
1c frozen rice milk cubes
*If using an ice cream maker, you don't have to pre freeze, just follow manufacturers instructions*
juice of 1 large lime or 2 small limes
2/3c syrup(agave, maple, brown rice, etc)

I used maple because it's what I had on hand. I would have preferred agave, because of the light flavor. Toss everything in a high speed blender(health master, vita-mix) and mix until just blended.
Enjoy straight from the blender or put in popsicle molds and enjoy later!

Dear Jujube

Dear Jujube,
I have been waiting a year for you to return and now that you have, I am enjoying you immensely!

One of my favorite famers market vendors started harvesting their jujubes and I've been having my fill of them. Jujubes are also known as chinese or red dates. They range from cherry to plum size and can be eaten at various stages in development. I enjoy them most when they're brown to sienna colored and the skin is still crisp. At this stage, they're reminiscent of a light and airy apple, but truly have their own unique flavor and texture. As the jujube matures, the skin becomes wrinkly and the flavor becomes more date like.

The wonderful thing about growing jujubes is they don't ripen all at once, so you can pick and enjoy throughout the season, instead of harvesting all at the same time.

Jujubes are high in vitamin c, potassium, minerals and antioxidants. They have been used medicinally for many years and are often made into tea to sooth sore throats. Indulging in jujubes this time of year can boost your bodies immune system and help you avoid getting sick. Jujubes are one of natures most perfect foods!