Mary Sews

More Sewing Progress

2012-01-08T18:45:00.003-05:00

No matter how small the accomplishment, sewing progress IS sewing progress.

I have been working on New Look 6343, ever so slowly. I am using the lines of the black and white view for both the front and the back:

I recently cut out all the pieces. Today I pinned the lower skirt pieces, and they are now ready to be sewn:

I will post my progress.

Tuna Salad

2012-01-08T18:33:00.000-05:00

Hubby made tuna salad for lunch:

Here's what's in it:

large can of tuna
chopped tomatoes
chopped green onions
cilantro
lemon grass paste

Yummm-Meee!

Green Eggs and Ham

2012-01-08T17:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I had green eggs and ham for breakfast:

Here's what's in it:

two boiled eggs, chopped
one piece of bacon, cut into pieces
one small packet of guacamole

It was good because I like boiled eggs with guacamole.

A Little Sewing Progress Today

2012-01-03T20:43:00.000-05:00

I finally finished cutting out the current project. It is the New Look 6343 skirt pattern. I made it before (click here) in a jersey fabric called Jet from Joann's. It is a really cheap-o, thin knit, but I was able to make it without hemming it.

I am now making this skirt in a Navy ponte de roma knit, which has more body and is altogether a classier fabric. I have lengthened the skirt by five inches, and I also plan to hem it. I have taken pictures of the current project in progress. You can see the pictures and my comments by clicking on the picture below.

Enjoy!

nl 6343

Happy New Year! -- and Early Version of a Free Tutorial

2012-01-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to publish all my picture tutorials on my blog. I will start with the Updated Classic Pillow Case. It is currently in one of my Picasa web albums.

The picture is the link to that album. I would appreciate any input you have.

classic pc updated

Thank you for looking!

Raw Cranberry Relish - Final Version

2011-12-21T20:44:00.000-05:00

After the original recipe (click here, has more pictures), I have finally perfected a chop-and-dump version of raw cranberry relish. I have been making this quite often, and the natives get restless when I take it all to work, as I did today. Who knew vitamins A and C (and Calcium and Potassium) would be in such demand?

Into a large bowl, dump 1/4 Cup brown sugar and three or four dashes of sea salt.

Rinse and drain one bag of cranberries, dump into a large food processor, and chop them until they are as fine as you want. Dump the chopped cranberries into the large bowl.

Wash and rinse three oranges, then remove most of the outer skin with a potato peeler. Cut off the ends of each orange and discard. Cut the oranges in half. Discard any seeds and place oranges in the food processor. Chop until the oranges become liquefied, turning the processor off and on a couple times. Dump the orange slurry into the big bowl.

Stir the contents of the big bowl until mixed thoroughly. Place relish in sealable containers and store in the refrigerator. I put most of it in a large yogurt container, and the rest in a smaller container.

Here is what it looks like when done:

Avocado Green Smoothie

2011-12-13T19:34:00.000-05:00

I made a new green smoothie today. This was my first successful attempt at a non-sweet green smoothie. My usual green smoothie tastes like apple pie with apples, spinach, coconut milk, ginger, and cinnamon.

No traditional fruits were used to sweeten today's green smoothie. The ingredients are:

1 haas avocado
three-inch piece of cucumber, peeled
handful of spinach
3/4 can of coconut milk
five dashes of salt
one dash of lime juice

The taste is not exciting, but simply tastes like the list of ingredients. The coconut milk and avocado make it very creamy. I like it because sometimes un-exciting is good!

This batch filled a salsa jar and refrigerated so I can eat it tomorrow. I put the rest in a coffee cup for my evening snack:

How Slow (-ly) can I Sew?

2011-12-11T19:54:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I showed you this:

... and in a whole week, all I've done is this:

I am going to lengthen this, the top section, by five inches. The waistline, shown at the left, is more than five inches from the end of the fabric, which is off the picture to the left. The bottom edge of the top piece is where I cut the pattern, but I also cut towards the edges of the fabric so that I can angle the side seams correctly. I hope to take a picture when I do that so you can see what I mean.

Getting a Round Tuit

2011-12-03T21:31:00.002-05:00

I'm getting a Round Tuit, and will share it with you.

First, I will show you the current sewing project which has been waiting for me to get that Round Tuit for about a week now.

I have decided to recreate an old skirt in a better fabric. See the discussion here.

Shown on the cutting table is the New Look 6343 skirt pattern, pressed with a dry iron and ready to go. Behind it on the right is the folded ponte roma knit in navy which I will use for this pattern.

And now for that Round Tuit I promised you:

More Cranberry Relish!

2011-12-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

After making raw cranberry-orange relish (click here to see) for Thanksgiving dinner, and again over the weekend, I had to have more. I found the last bag of frozen cranberries in the freezer, and I thawed them. Then I made a variation of the relish.

This time I used one bag of cranberries, one orange, one cored apple, and a generous spoonful of whipped honey. Here's is a close-up picture, and how well one batch fits into my favorite yogurt container.

Picadillo - Again!

2011-11-27T17:19:00.001-05:00

Picadillo is a latin variation on hash or chili. Click here for the wiki explanation. I have written about Picadillo before (click here), but I was a vegetarian at the time (now I "try" to eat paleo). Here is my most recent version of Picadillo, almost as easy as a dump cake.

Start with half a coffee cup of raisins, covered with booze or warm water. If you're in a big hurry, cook in microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Set this aside.

Chop a small onion, place in large skillet with one pound ground beef, and sautee until meat is almost cooked and onions are clear. Drain off extra fat, then place this mixture in a large sauce pot.

Cut a large tomato (or equivalent) into cubes, then add to sauce pot.

Open one can each of diced tomatoes and tomato paste, and add to sauce pot.

Add one small can of black olives, one cup of pitted green olives (sliced or chopped), and one can of black beans (rinsed).

Not shown is the mess of spices added at this time. Lots of cinnamon and some allspice, clove, garlic, nutmeg, cumin, and oregano, or whatever you have. Also add the raisins and their "special juice."

Heat through and simmer on low heat for about an hour. We serve it with a dollop of sour cream on top (although I like to stir it in) and a piece of buttered, sprouted grain bread on the side.

Enjoy!

Awesome Raw Cranberry Relish!

2011-11-25T16:11:00.001-05:00

DH made a cranberry relish for Thanksgiving dinner with friends based on this recipe. Instead of using two entire oranges, he used one entire orange plus the fresh-pressed juice of one orange. It was quite a hit at the dinner. We left some there, but we had another stash of it at home. That was gone by lunch time today, so I made another batch and took pictures along the way.

I used a 12-oz bag of cranberries, 1/3 C of sugar (because that's all we had), and a 70 ml coffee scoop for the optional booze (cheap brandy). The basic idea is to chop the cranberries and oranges separately. Enjoy!

Tart Mini-Brownies

2011-11-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

How else can I say "less sweet?" I made the raw brownies again (see previous post here) and wrote down the ingredients. They are less sweet than previously, but still very good.

Stir these dry ingredients together in a very large bowl:
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
2 packets stevia
2 cups pecan dust

Mix these wet ingredients together in a high-speed blender:
1/2 cup pitted dates
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a hand mixer. Pat the mixture into a 9" x 9" baking pan and place in the freezer. Leave it in the freezer until it hardens.

Remove from freezer and cut into small squares. Place brownies in containers and return to freezer. We used containers from Talenti brand gelato that we had bought at Publix.

Eat them cold. There is no picture of the latest batch because, well, we ate them all!

Blog Visibility

2011-11-16T17:59:00.002-05:00

Think of this as a test post.
JREMN2RSGC9S

Blog Visibility

2011-11-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

Think of this as a test post.
JREMN2RSGC9S

Monday's Supper

2011-11-15T20:24:00.001-05:00

DH cooked a chicken and asked me to make the side dishes. I started the rice in the small rice cooker, and selected one zucchini and one yellow squash. The rest is here for you in pictures (the first picture includes coconut oil, butter, and cut scallions).

What I Wore Today

2011-11-09T19:46:00.002-05:00

Remember the skirt I altered? (click here to see) I wore it to work today with a thrifted slinky tank top and a thrifted cotton shirt, and here it is:

Inspiration

2011-11-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

I don't go shopping for clothes very often. I don't get catalogs in the mail. The only magazines we currently get in the mail are Reader's Digest, Time, and Sew News. I do visit my favorite sewing sites on the Internet often - Delphi's Friendly Sewing, Pattern Review, and many sewing blogs. I just don't feel like I'm getting much fashion information. On the other hand, at this age, I really don't care what other people are wearing - beyond fit - because I like to do my own thing.

I want to share one of my most recent inspirations. I saw this picture in a coworker's Coldwater Creek catalog. I think I can sew a reasonable copy of it with knit fabrics and a T-shirt pattern. Once you see this picture, you can view other (mostly) inspiration pictures in my Styles album:

From Styles

Sewing, One Day at a Time, and a Question

2011-11-06T16:50:00.000-05:00

I finished that skirt. Of course, it could not have been as easy as I thought. I stitched on an elastic casing made of purchased bias tape - with the ends folded under - and inserted the elastic. When I tried it on, I decided that I needed to narrow the skirt a bit.

After figuring out how much I needed to cut off, I laid the skirt out on the cutting table and just hacked it off. I ripped out the casing's lower edge of stitching for about three inches to each side of the cut. I opened up the casing, pinned the cut edges right sides together, and stitched the seam. I followed this by zigzagging over the cut edges. I turned down the casing and stitched it down along the lower edge.

Have you ever had to undo the work you've done on a project?

Sewing Mojo Problems

2011-11-03T21:11:00.002-04:00

My sewing mojo has been inconsistent lately.

I started to alter a RTW skirt that was too long. I cut off the waistline casing with elastic and drawstring, then serged the cut edge. I left that on the cutting table for a long time.

I traced and cut out stretch woven, above-the-knee shorts, but left that project on the cutting table for a few weeks, too.

I traced a pattern to make my DH some knit pajama shorts, then cut it out in a light-weight woven fabric. I know that a test garment should have similar properties of the final product. What Was I Thinking?!? That sat there for a couple weeks, on top of the cutting table, in the mess of tsunami-like piles of stuff. You know - flat-surface syndrome.

Realizing that files of stuff were not helping my attitude towards sewing, I decided to do something that I Really Wanted To Do. Read that as: Make Something for MySelf. Easy stuff first.

Using the "one step at a time" method combined with the "one day at a time" method, I managed to iron open packaged wide double-fold bias tape, pin it to the top of the skirt, and press the bias tape to the inside of the skirt, which took at least three days.

One day last week, I was wearing a particular skirt that is just simply getting old. It's made of cheap navy jet knit and I'm not enjoying it as much as I used to. I decided to replace it. I bought some navy ponte roma knit, which I really like. I will probably use the same pattern as the skirt it's to replace, but add some length to it - about three or four inches. Here's the original skirt:

nl 6343

Sunday Morning Breakfast

2011-10-23T08:57:00.000-04:00

Hubby made a huge omelet, and shared some with me. It had chopped tomatoes inside, and we put sour cream, avocado chunks, and salsa on top. Here is my less-than-half:

Good Food, Bad Food

2011-10-19T21:57:00.001-04:00

Warning: crappy cell phone pictures ahead.

Good Food: Mix two eggs with sea salt and a small amount of water, put some coconut oil in the small skillet, scramble the eggs in the skillet, spread out on a small plate to cool. Place in small container and take it to work. Cut a Haas avocado (the small kind), scoop out the avocado into a salad bowl, stir in the eggs, and enjoy!

Bad Food: Be the designated driver for a trip to the local Ale House with DD, DH, and cousin. Watch them drink beer. Order a simple hot fudge brownie sundae. Watch them help you eat the too-sweet dessert that's too darn big:

It's That Time of Year Again!

2011-10-10T21:03:00.000-04:00

Ah, yes, the time when people bring trailers full of motorcycles that still have gas in the tank from their last visit to Daytona Beach. Whether it was last month or last year is another story.

But anyway, here's the Big Clue. You will have to look past my van and past my yard full of yellow rain (aka, Fallen trash from golden rain tree):

Nice Thank-You Note

2011-10-09T20:16:00.000-04:00

Sheila won these soaps in a drawing I held this past Summer. She sent me this nice thank-you card which I believe she made herself:

Thank you, Sheila!

Hubby wants to know how to operate this thing ...

2011-10-01T21:41:00.002-04:00

Autumn-Flowering Tree and New Blog View

2011-10-01T16:43:00.001-04:00

What is this stuff on my van?

... and on the driveway?

Oh, look up! It's a golden rain tree!

I love bamboo! when I saw this new background, I took it right away. It reminds me of the bamboo forest at Harry P Leu Gardens in Orlando.

How Slow Can I Sew ... ?

2011-09-08T20:55:00.002-04:00

I often start a project and lose my sewing mojo mid-project. A current example is the mid-length shorts project in progress.

Last weekend (OK, so it Was a Long Weekend) I started work on a new pair of shorts using Kwik Sew 2806. I have used this pattern before for short-shorts and long pants. I traced the pattern pieces sometime last weekend, then set them aside - of course!

Anyway, all I got done by Monday night was the cutting-out of the front pieces. The back pieces have not yet been cut. Here are pictures to show what I have done so far:

Do you like my pattern weights?

Does Your Sewing Machine have a Free-Arm Function?

2011-09-03T18:30:00.001-04:00

Mine does!

I got the idea for this post from Gwen's blog After the dress...

I have a Viking 500 from about the mid-'90s, and it has a free-arm function. It also has a bed extension which I usually leave on. Here's what the machine looks like with the bed extension attached:

Here's what the machine looks like with the bed extension removed:

Here's what the machine looks like with the back of the machine bed removed to reveal the free arm:

Does Your Sewing Machine have Speed Control?

2011-08-27T22:07:00.000-04:00

Mine does!

I got the idea for this post from Gwen's blog After the dress...

I have a Viking 500 from about the mid-'90s, and it has speed control. It appears as a stack of lines just to the right of the word SPEED on the left side of the screen.

Set at 2/3 height, this limits my maximum sewing speed to a medium speed. Set at 1/3 height, it limits my maximum sewing to a slow speed. Set at full height, it allows me to go as fast as the machine's maximum speed, whatever that is. At any speed setting, I can still control the speed with the foot pedal, but cannot go any faster than the maximum speed setting.

Working on the Sewing Room

2011-08-23T20:32:00.000-04:00

I have done no sewing for several weeks now.

We have lots of pictures - family and other types - which sat for many months on the floor, leaning against a book case and an armoire. We recently hung most of them on walls throughout the house. That task alone almost instantly made this house feel much more like a home.

I also had help hanging my sewing rulers over the cutting table. Click on the picture to see three photos of the wall in my sewing room:

Sewing Room 2010

Catching up to my Shadow -or- what we did to the garden

2011-08-07T18:49:00.002-04:00

I was such a blogging slacker the first part of this year, and it seems that I have much catching up to do.

In the middle of July, we added top soil and cow manure to the garden. We also added diatomacious earth (DE), and hydrated lime, but it didn't seem to help much.

By the end of July, it got so hot out that the garden seemed to be dying off. We decided to give it a rest, so we tore out the tomato plants and anything else that was failing in the heat. Really, why not just give it a rest for a while?

We are hoping that the sun will "cook" the garden so we can start fresh in September. Also, we put together a tumbling compost bin, and have been adding to it almost every day.

Click on the picture below to enter the garden picture album at mid-July, and proceed to the following pictures to get a chronological view.

Serious Slacker Sews Again!

2011-08-07T18:36:00.000-04:00

I have not been doing much sewing this summer, but I did manage to have my own sew-a-thon. I took a day off work to make two dresses to wear at my parents' 60th wedding anniversary in July. Each picture below will take you to a picasa photo album. The matching pictures in my review column (to the right, scroll down) will take you the the reviews for these dresses.

Enjoy!

M 5893

nl 6980

A New Twist on an Old Basic Food

2011-08-07T16:14:00.001-04:00

Hubby made an interesting lunch today. He made toasted cheese sandwiches, but there were a few additions to the basic toasted cheese sandwich, giving it an interesting twist.

He toasted the sprouted grains bread slices in the toaster, then he buttered the slices. Meanwhile, he sliced a large tomato and picked some fresh basil leaves from our herb garden.

He layered the above ingredients with cheese slices, sprinkled them with an Italian herb mix, and heated them in the skillet.

The next time we have these, I hope he uses two slices of provolone cheese in each sandwich. The sandwiches were served with fruit salad, which he did not make. Click on this picture for a drool-worthy view:

Variation on Special Salad

2011-08-06T18:25:00.001-04:00

Once again, I had to have a salad made with avocado. The first time we made an avocado salad, it contained cucumbers. Since my husband does not like cucumbers and he does like peaches, I poked around the internet to find a salad recipe that includes both avocados and peaches. My recipe is loosely based on what I found.

one diced Florida avocado, a large, bright green avocado with a seed that rattles around inside when it's ready to eat
one diced peach
one diced orange
three sprigs of cilantro, chopped fine
three dashes of sea salt

The ingredients were mixed in a large bowl and chilled in the fridge. The taste is very mild and slightly sweet, a good contrast to the mashed sweet potatoes and garlicky, grilled beef on my plate. Click on the picture for a close-up drool, er, view:

Baked chicken, rice, and special salad

2011-07-31T19:57:00.001-04:00

Oh, my! Tonight's supper was especially good! I will share some of the details with you.

We baked a whole five-pound chicken in the NuWave oven, which only took less than an hour. Of course, it had to be emptied of the liver, etc., rinsed off, and patted dry. Then the wings were tied together and the legs were tied together with upholstery thread because we can never seem to locate any one of at least three packets of kitchen twine. The chicken was then coated with olive oil and sprinkled generously with poultry seasoning and trocomare (a sea salt and herb mixture). It was baked for 20 minutes upside down, turned over, and baked another 15 minutes.

Brown rice was prepared in the small rice cooker.

The best part - I think - was the salad. One large avocado, one tomato, one peeled cucumber, and three spring onions were chopped for a salad. A small amount of once-fresh cilantro from the freezer was chopped and added to the mix, as was about two ounces of Italian salad dressing. This was stirred and chilled before it was eaten.

Click on the picture to drool this meal:

One item not pictured is the dessert we made. Two bananas, one cup of fresh blueberries, half a can of coconut milk, and several slices of fresh ginger were blended at high speed in our VitaMix. This was poured into three dessert bowls and placed in the freezer. When we removed the bowls from the freezer, the mixture was not frozen, but it was almost the consistency of a pudding or custard. I could really taste the ginger, but DH only tasted the bananas. Neither of us could taste what the other could taste the most. That surprised me.

A Little Crafting

2011-07-18T21:33:00.001-04:00

We did a little crafting today. Items used for this project included a canvas stretcher frame, spray paint (the frame has actually been painted for several weeks), chicken wire, tin snips or wire cutters, pliers, staple gun, nails, and a hammer. No instructions, just pictures of the results:

Busy in the Garden

2011-07-18T21:13:00.005-04:00

We got a good start to pulling dead leaves from the tomato plants, and we pulled out the old lettuce, radish, and onion plants. Then we filled in the garden with four bags of new dirt and layered in a bag of cow manure and some hydrated lime. As you can see, the back yard needs to be mowed - again! - because it's actually been raining here almost every day:

Under the shade canopy, you can see that three pepper plants and a stevia plant survived the clean-up:

Here are two sweet potato vines that we transplanted from water cups over the kitchen sink:

We have cooked sweet potato leaves in a stir-fry, and they get gummy like okra, although they are supposed to be very nutritious. I suppose we will have to try that again if these vines grow well in our garden.

I have a friend who has started some seeds from a loquat tree. Once we figure out where to put one in our yard, we will adopt one of her plants. I prefer to grow plants that can be eaten. I'm all for Free Food!

Less Blogging this Week

2011-06-26T22:18:00.001-04:00

I am very busy getting ready for a special weekend, and that includes sewing. I will post my progress next week.

I hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

We Have a Winner!

2011-06-19T21:14:00.000-04:00

I used a human random number generator to determine the winner of the prize package. I asked someone in my house to pick a number from one to seven, and the number five was selected.

I have emailed Sheila to get her mailing address, and my email message has not bounced yet. You can see that I follow her blog, and I always like to see what she's sewn!

I hope you all had a great weekend and did something nice for your dads.

About 15 hours to enter the drawing!

2011-06-18T20:51:00.002-04:00

Around Noon on Sunday, June 19, 2011, US east coast time, I will do the drawing for these awesome handcrafted soaps:

Find the instructions to enter the drawing here.

Drawing Extended for Awesome Soap!

2011-06-11T11:46:00.000-04:00

I am extending the drawing for the awesome soap until next weekend. Go to this message and click the comment link so you can comment to enter the drawing.

All entries received by Saturday, June 18, will be entered into the drawing on Sunday, June 19.

Please share this link with your friends.

I think the winner will be very pleased upon receiving the prize package. These are very clean soaps (no pun intended), with natural ingredients, handcrafted in Florida by this local shop.

Blogger Returns with Drawing for a Prize!

2011-06-03T19:08:00.004-04:00

I am sorry I haven't posted lately. We sold a house, bought a house, and moved in September and October last year. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! Meanwhile, my sewing mojo ran away in the Winter and came back in the Spring.

Eating healthy food is always a priority with us, and we started a garden in the Spring. Making smoothies and fruit slushes has been an on-again-off-again thing, and we recently got back to making green smoothies.

I promise to post more often on my blog. I also plan to post some sewing tutorials occasionally.

I want to celebrate my 100th blog post by giving away some awesome soap that we buy locally. Here's a link to the creator of these lovely soaps. Here is a picture of the prize soap collection, which I selected just for my readers:

Here's how to enter in the drawing for these awesome soaps:

Tell me in a comment on my blog that you want to enter in the drawing (only USA destinations please).
Include your email address in your comment, and please write it the way you say it. Use the words "at" and "dot" instead of the symbols if you want your entry to be included in the drawing.
One entry per email address with the following exception:
Answer these questions to get one additional entry per email address:

Have you ever used a sewing machine?
What was the last thing you sewed or mended using a sewing machine?
What is your current sewing skill level?

The drawing will be done by random number generator at Noon on Sunday, June 19, 2011 (East coast of USA), so enter by Saturday, June 18.

Good luck!

Post 99

2011-03-23T22:22:00.001-04:00

I have not posted in a while because of moving and other stuff. I plan to post more in the near future.

The most recent news is that we have a garden, and I hope to tell you more about it soon:

Garden

My next blog post will be my one-hundredth blog post, and I will be drawing names to give away a prize related to natural health. Come back soon to find out what it will be!

Our Secret Weapon; Contest Input Wanted

2010-11-10T20:33:00.003-05:00

We use coconut oil for everything -- at least you would think so if you see how we use it. We buy a huge jar of it, which we keep in the pantry. Sometimes I refer to it as the "mother" jar.

We keep some in a small salsa jar in the bathroom. We use this coconut oil on our skin and in our hair. It softens the skin and helps to clear up blemishes. It helps to keep athlete's foot condition at bay.

We keep more in another small salsa jar near the stove. It's the only oil we use for cooking, as it has a high smoke temperature and does not spoil. It's one of our secret weapons for healthy eating.

We use a high quality coconut oil that really smells good! Here's the link ... and here's the code to give you $5.00 (USD) off your first order at iherb: WIL394

I'm coming close to post number 100, and that calls for a Contest! Please help me with ideas for my contest by posting a comment to my blog.

Packing to Move

2010-10-09T18:59:00.002-04:00

Yes, we sold our mobile home and will be moving to a solid block house "up the hill." Most people don't know that there is any kind of elevation in coastal Florida! Oh, and we are moving approximately 3/4 mile, and doing it ourselves.

I haven't been posting much, but that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!

Well, I'd better go now. I've got lots more packing to do, and we are moving in a week.

Yummy Lemon Chicken

2010-09-19T09:06:00.005-04:00

I wondered what would be for supper last night. I looked in the refrigerator and saw two thawed chicken breasts, and off to the side, a can of chick peas. I went to food.com, which used to be recipezaar, and entered these two ingredients in the search box. I looked at some of the recipes to get some inspiration.

I tried the special search methods at food.com, but they are not half as good as they search methods that were on recipezaar. But, I have digressed.

DH suggested slicing the chicken a certain way, and I wasn't sure what he meant until he did it. He cut them lengthwise so that there were now four pieces, each about half as thick as the original pieces. I placed them in a large skillet with some olive oil, pushed the pieces around to spread the oil, and proceeded to cook them very slowly. I got the bag of cilantro from the freezer and put some in with the chicken. I added the pulpy juice of two lemons, plus a couple dashes each of turmeric, cumin, and sea salt, and put a lid on it.

About this time, DH made up a rice blend and started it off in the rice cooker. It tastes good with any kind of rice - plain or a rice blend.

The chickpea can was half full, and I rinsed and drained them several times. I also poured about 3 ounces of pimento stuffed olives into a small colander, and rinsed them a few times. These I added to the skillet and covered it to simmer a while, turning the chicken pieces over occasionally.

The house smelled so good!

Here's the finished meal:

Just a heads-up: The juice of two lemons doesn't sound like much, but the lemon flavor is very strong and tart. I like bold flavors, and DH likes spicy flavors. A little diversity in the kitchen is good!

Evidence of Activity in the Sewing Room

2010-09-18T16:59:00.003-04:00

From s 9958

That's all I can say for my sewing mojo right now -- that there is evidence of activity in the sewing room ...

I came in just in time!

2010-09-12T14:25:00.002-04:00

I got my ration of sunlight yesterday and today. Not five minutes after coming back in today, it started to rain. That's a good thing, since it was over 90 degrees (F) outside, so maybe it will cool down a little bit.

I very rarely use sunscreen, but please do not worry that I might get a sunburn. I have built up my resistance to the sun by getting my tan slowly. I'm not very dark at all, but my skin shows great contrast to a white wall, for example. I like to get my share of vitamin D while preparing my skin for kayak outings (which we haven't done for a couple months due to the extreme heat).

I start each year as the cool weather turns to warm (OK, this IS Florida, so I must really mean Hot). As weather permits, I lay out in the back yard on Saturdays and Sundays in the middle of the day. At first, I limit my time to five minutes on my front and five minutes on my back. I work up to 20 minutes each. I use a small kitchen timer for the five-minute increments, or a cell phone's timer function for the 10-minute increments.

For an extra vitamin D punch, I slather my body with pure coconut oil, either before or after my "tanning" session. I also take vitamin D pills year-round.

I'm glad the weather is starting to cool off. We are looking forward to more kayaking. With my built-in sunscreen (aka, tan), I come back from kayaking with no burn. Yes, I also wear a big-brimmed hat to cut down glare!

Road Trip

2010-09-05T20:33:00.002-04:00

We went on a road trip today. It wasn't just any road trip -- it was a trip to visit our daughter. It was also a motorcycle ride on our new bike. It's a Yamaha 1700 Roadstar Silverado, which has an engine more than twice the size of the old bike. The main thing about it is that it actually likes to go fast on the highway. The old bike preferred to go slow (think 15 mph through the mobile home park - THAT kind of slow - argh).

We left Daytona at 6:25 and arrived in Tampa at 9:25, after a breakfast stop and a gas stop. We went to our daughter's apartment, then she drove us to Wat Tampa, which is a Buddhist temple. Specifically, we went for the "Sunday Market" which happens every week, and consists of temple members selling food to raise funds for the temple. The link to tell about is it here.

We had green curry chicken and chicken salad, which were both spicy, and we also had pumpkin curry and fried rice, which were not spicy. Our beverages were bottled water, Thai iced tea, and mountain dew (for DD). For dessert we got egg custard with pumpkin pieces in it and fried bananas which were coated with a sesame-seed enhanced dough. Everything was really yummy.

We went back to our daughter's apartment and visited for a short while, then we rode the bike to Clearwater to visit with some old friends (take That for a double meaning!). After visiting with them for a while, we headed on back home.

We went through some light rain a couple times, and stopped at Little Saigon in Orlando for supper. We also got some "good rice" at the oriental market next door. These are the two "must stop" locations for us in Orlando.

We got back home just before 7 pm, and our dog Marco was really ready for his supper and evening walk. After a long day, I'm surprised that neither DH nor I have "crashed" yet.

What Happened to my Iced Tea?

2010-08-31T20:14:00.003-04:00

Here is a bottle of iced green tea with stevia:

From Food

One morning I thought it would be helpful to add ionic silver to my regimen. I added some ionic silver to my tea and took it to work with me. Imagine my surprise when I looked up on my desk a couple hours later to this:

From Food

I tried one sip, and it was awful, so I took it home and took a picture of it.

If anyone knows why it turned color, please let me know.

Sayings for Sale

2010-08-26T21:49:00.002-04:00

I have decided to open a Zazzle store so I can share my sayings with others. My first product is here.

Will post more, or less, depending ...

2010-08-15T18:15:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we found a house, wrote a contract to sell this house, wrote a contract to buy that house, then got to work on this house. Small repairs were made on a daily basis, the outside painting we started last year finally got finished (by someone else), and the carpets were cleaned. It feels like we cleaned all weekend, yet we were done by 9:30 this morning. The only setback is that the realtor who is selling this house has a sick husband, and she was unable to bring any prospective buyers today. We have an "open house" sign which we are to place in the front yard whenever we are home. I hope this house sells really soon!

When are gray patches good?

2010-08-08T10:55:00.002-04:00

When they are on the road, it's 95 degrees out, and you drive through them -- that's when!

From Bike Trips

I was bad ...

2010-06-26T10:16:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while I see a fabric that I Must Have. When I saw my daughter in this dress, I knew I had to find the fabric:

From Family

I eventually found the fabric on ebay, and let it go. I recently found it again, and it has more reds than browns. Here's that fabric and another piece I got (click on the picture to see more):

From Sewing Fabric

I will probably make it into a long dress, but it won't have spaghetti straps like hers.

Back Up Your Blog

2010-06-09T18:33:00.001-04:00

I subscribe to a blog full of helpful web site hints. Today's hint is to Back Up Your Blog. Check it out - it's really easy! Click Here.

Mango in a Stir-Fry

2010-06-05T20:00:00.003-04:00

Recently, I came home to this. It's Mango, onion, and bell peppers stir-fried with some kielbasa. It was yummy! Click on the picture to see it better:

TNT Pattern

2010-05-28T18:43:00.002-04:00

Gwen posted about her TNT (that's Tried and True) pattern which is really a pattern for her husband.

I have the same situation. My TNT is not for myself, but for my DH. I have made KwikSew 2417 many times as undies for him. Click on the picture to see the album:

ks 2417

More Thrift Store Finds

2010-04-11T20:56:00.004-04:00

Here's a favorite slinky knit dress in black with tiny pink dots all over. I like to wear it with a white top and my pink crocs. I got the dress and top at thrift stores, and paid a good price for the crocs on ebay. Click on the pictures for more details:

Here's another inexpensive outfit. The slinky tank top and the rayon print blouse are from thrift stores, while the skirt is from WalMart:

You get to live ...

2010-04-04T20:48:00.001-04:00

I wrote on DH's facebook wall: You get to live.

It means the taxes are done.

Sheesh! What did you think it meant?!?!

Slow Sewing Mojo

2010-03-28T18:44:00.002-04:00

My sewing mojo has been very low lately. I finally figured out what was holding me back.

I have a UFO (unfinished object) which has been taking up space for several months. It's KwikSew 2675, which is a pull-over, U-neck, darted, short-sleeved top. I cut it out in 2007, and finally started to assemble it at the beginning of February. What was holding me back was the sense that it was not going to fit me.

Today I stitched the shoulder seams, attached the sleeves, and sewed the side seams. When I put it on, I knew that my intuition was correct. The shoulders are too wide and the bust darts are too high.

I went to my sewing room to find what size I had traced and cut. To my surprise, I had cut the shoulders in the smallest size (for KwikSew, that's Extra-Small), and pivoted out for the chest and hips. Furthermore, the pattern calls for 1/4" seams, and I stitched it with 5/8" seams. That tells me that most KwikSew patterns will not fit my small shoulders.

Then I remembered that 2000 I had made a jacket with KwikSew 2089, and it fits me fine. I also traced and cut that pattern starting with size XS through the neck and shoulders.

Since this current project doesn't fit, I am so "over it" and will donate it to a local thrift store. I have another project cut out that I expect to fit. More news on that later.

How to make a yummy fruit smoothie

2010-03-18T20:04:00.004-04:00

We have a VitaMix blender. We did lots of research and found a good price. This blender makes it very easy to make a fruit smoothie. Here's what we put in it:

A banana, blueberries, two apples, some raspberries, about an inch of ginger, and at least one cup of green tea.

Here are the pictures:

Awesome meal!

2010-03-17T21:18:00.005-04:00

Tuesday, after I visited the dentist for a cleaning, I arrived home to an awesome meal. Take a look:

Sewing Without A Clue

2010-03-14T18:18:00.003-04:00

I had a grandiose project planned a few years ago. I was going to to a SWAP, which can be a big deal to those who sew. Click HERE for an explanation of SWAP, which means Sewing With A Plan.

Let's just say I'm not done ...

Here are pictures of my SWAP:

Sewing With A Plan

Messy Room as Inspiration

2010-03-13T19:01:00.004-05:00

My sewing room is so messy that when I saw BeanGirl's so-called messy room, I knew I could do better without even trying. As it turns out, my sewing room is so messy, that it can only get better. What better inspiration than to show how messy it is now, and show it cleaned up later.

Click on the picture to see the photo album:

Sewing Room 2010

About Sweeteners

2010-03-03T17:44:00.004-05:00

One company is changing the name of its sweetener. I guess they think we're stupid ... ? Click HERE to read about it.

One major aspect of our "Real Food" diet is avoidance of chemicals and man-made ingredients. We do not use "food" containing ingredients with chemical roots, and that includes sweeteners.

Instead of sweeteners, we use dates and other fruits, and stevia. We use stevia leaves when we make our tea. We have a stevia plant growing in our front garden, but one plant is not enough for us. We buy dried stevia leaves by the pound (to supplement our meager supply) from San Francisco Herb Co. at a reasonable price.

We also order packets of stevia extract from iherb. Each packet, which is the size of other sweetener packets, is up to four servings of sweetness. It's not a sweetener, though - it's just an herb that happens to be sweet.

When you order from iherb, save $5.00 on your first order with this discount code: WIL394

From Misc

We Stopped Drinking Carbonated Beverages because ...

2010-02-28T11:17:00.002-05:00

There is a great reason to stop drinking carbonated beverages. Click HERE.

What Food is This?

2010-02-28T10:31:00.003-05:00

I had no idea that so many people eat so much junk food. I subscribe to a blog called "We Like It Raw" - meaning food, of course! A recent post there shared a story about Jamie Oliver, who is a famous chef, and how he's trying to help people to become more healthy.

The point that struck me the most in the links about Jamie Oliver is that many (or most) children today cannot identify basic foods such as tomatoes and potatoes. I grew up knowing how to prepare basic real food. Our children were taught salad-making and other cooking skills. I guess I did not realize how fortunate we are to know how to do these things.

Click Here for the story.

Gazpacho

2010-02-28T10:27:00.004-05:00

I made fresh gazpacho last night. It's a cold tomato soup with cucumbers.

I only made a little bit because my husband does not like cucumbers. When he tasted it, he declared it good enough to feed someone who does not like cucumbers. It's a yummy, healthy food!

When you click on the picture, you will find the instructions:

From Food We Made

If You Can't Have Fun ...

2010-02-26T20:51:00.002-05:00

... then what!?

Rhetorical question, of course, but you must allow fun into your life.

That's something I took a long time to learn.

Now I'm sharing it with you.

Take a break occasionally. Laugh a lot.

I digress here: Want what you have, not have what you want.

Anyway, have fun, even if you have to take the time to do it!

If You Can't take One Day at a Time, then what?

2010-02-25T19:51:00.004-05:00

You know that saying, "Just take it one day at a time." Some people are so busy or stressed that taking things one day at a time is like looking at a mole hill and seeing an entire mountain. You know that "other" saying, "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill." I digress.

There is another saying that a mountain is conquered but one step at a time. So, if you can't take one day at a time, try one minute at a time. A few months ago I told that to someone who was having a bad time in her life. I have repeated it since. I even found that I can use it to my advantage.

Take a simple trip to the health food store to buy raw nuts. On the way is a certain mini-mart where a delicious iced coffee is available. An acceptable substitute is a bottle of starbucks mocha frappucino. But on my way to the health food store this week, I reminded myself that if I just drive PAST the mini-mart, I might be OK.

I was. OK. I mean that I drove right past that mini-mart and any other vendors of iced coffee.

By taking life one minute at a time, I was able to improve my eating for one minute, one day, and - well, you get the picture.

Iced coffee is one of my weaknesses. By taking one minute to skip that "Bad Food" - and I do mean that in all its implications - I empowered myself by one more minute, one more day, and - well you get the picture.

But you're not going to get a picture of iced coffee ...

Sesame Treats

2010-02-14T15:58:00.004-05:00

Now that we eat real food, this is as close as we get to making cookies. There is no sugar, yet these healthy, non allergenic cookies disappear quickly. Here's what we do:

Put a dozen dates in a high-speed blender. Blond raisins or other dried fruits can be added for variety, but the dates are all that's really needed for sweetness. Add a little water and run at high speed until you have a sludgy drizzly mess.

Pour mess into a bowl.

Add about a cup of sesame seeds, 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, and a tablespoon or so of virgin coconut oil. Mix this up with a big spoon.

We have corelle plates and coat them with a little oil, which makes spreading out the goo easier. Any oven-safe flat thing will work such as glass plates or a cookie sheet.

Use the spoon to kind of slush it all around on the plates and spread it out evenly.

We put this in our NuWave convection oven at setting 2 for an hour. You could probably put in a conventional oven at 150 degrees, but we're not sure what the length of time would be.

After an hour we pull them out and use a pizza cutter to cut one huge piece into many bite size pieces. Then the pieces are turned over and they are put back in again for another hour. If it's very thick, they might have to be cooked some more.

Tom Kha Soup

2010-01-30T19:43:00.003-05:00

Miss Celie shared her soup creation today, and I remembered that we had made a similar soup not too long ago. I looked in my pictures and found two dated December 26, 2009.

We combined several recipes from recipezaar to create our own soup. We used regular Thai brand coconut milk (we use a lot and tend to buy three cans at a time). Instead of lemon grass stalks, we used ground lemon grass. We used Thai brand red curry paste and fish sauce, plus some fresh grated ginger instead of hunting the elusive galangal (a variety of ginger). We added bean sprouts and cilantro when it was almost done. We did not use any sugar.

Here's what the soup looked like about half-way through:

Here's what the soup looked like when ready to eat:

Mini Brownies

2010-01-27T21:13:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe for mini brownies, then we made them our way. We did not soak the almonds and we did not top them with little berries. We did put everything into the VitaMix, so the nuts were ground as fine as powder:

What Blogoversary?!

2010-01-10T15:32:00.002-05:00

As of December 18, 2009, I had been writing this blog for one year. Time flies so quickly that I hadn't even noticed! I guess I will have to put it on my calendar to remind me next time.

Review of Sewing in 2009

2009-12-31T23:42:00.003-05:00

2009 was not my most prolific sewing year, but here's what I made:

4 curtain panels for the living room
4 pillowcases
1 dog coat
1 pajama top (gift for my Dad)
1 pair shorts
4 skirts and 1 under-skirt
1 top
3 tote bags (2 were gifts for friends)
3 spa tabi (2 were gifts for a friend)

That's only 23 items sewn this year. I hope to make more next year.

Trying new foods, part 2

2009-12-08T19:30:00.003-05:00

I made sauteed kale the other day. I used the kitchen scissors to chop up a lot of kale, enough to fill the colander two times, and cooked it all in a big pot of salted water for about two minutes. Meanwhile, sauteed chopped onion and garlic in coconut oil in a big skillet. Drained the kale and added it to the skillet. Stirred in some salt, smoked paprika, and ground red pepper, and cooked for about two more minutes. It was very good. I based the method on recipes I found at recipezaar:

Trying new foods

2009-11-28T19:51:00.002-05:00

Ever since I found out that sweet potato leaves are edible, I've been wanting to try them. One of our neighbors has a bountiful crop of the leaves, growing up the front of the house! Finally, the other day I saw the people who live there and they told me I could take all I wanted. I took two long stems of leaves and one short stem. The short stem is in water in the kitchen window, so I hope it roots. The leaves of the long stems have been made into supper. I actually put them in a stew, and the leaves taste milder than spinach. I put the recipe with the picture:

Here's a link to the original recipe: http://www.theslowcook.com/2009/08/31/curried-okra-stew-with-sweet-potato-leaves-and-coconut-milk

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Turkey Day Food

2009-11-26T18:38:00.003-05:00

Our daughter came over for Turkey Day. Here's a picture album of the food:

T day 2009

Simple Fruit Smoothie with supper

2009-11-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

I peeled two oranges and blended them in the VitaMix with some frozen strawberries. Dee-licious! This went very well with supper, which was orange roughy sauteed in coconut oil and sangria, with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper. The side dish was boiled sweet potato slices, drained, with a little butter.

A Diet of Real Food

2009-11-11T21:06:00.002-05:00

I have wandered and returned to smoothies more times than I can count. I do know, though, that I lose weight when I take a smoothie to work and snack on it in the morning and afternoon instead of junk food. I lost 3 pounds this week, and that's a good thing.

Meanwhile, since DH is the cook at our house, my mere mention of reducing our intake of rice and pasta and bread brings a reaction that means he has closed his ears to me. Even quoting from books doesn't get me anywhere with him. My concern is for our inability to lose weight, much less keep it off - but especially him.

Imagine my surprise when a friend sent him an email with a link to this article and forwarded it to me. My "reply to all" said "I have a book called "Diet Wise" that Paul didn't want to hear what it said - which was pretty much what this article says - so I loaned it to a friend at work." DH told me, "Gee, thanks for embarrassing me in front of my friends!" My inability to tell a straight story with all the facts is what blocks his attention.

Since I had loaned that book to a friend, he asked me how was he supposed to know what it says. I told him to look up "allergy elimination diet," which he did, and he came up with this link and this link. I got the book back the next day because my friend was going to just go buy it at the book store, so he's had a chance to look at it.

The book "Diet Wise" basically says that no one particular diet is good for everybody - not the south beach diet, atkins diet, low-fat, low-carb, raw food, vegetarian, vegan, or even the grapefruit diet. The book says that you have to find out for yourself what foods are good for your own, unique body. Often food allergies or sensitivities block your body's natural health. By taking the most-common allergenic foods out of your system, you are giving your body enough time to really eliminate the effects of these foods. After that, you can start adding foods to your diet, one at a time. Reactions to re-introduced foods let you know what your food sensitivities are. Foods giving no reaction at re-introduction are safe to eat.

The bottom line is that after Thanksgiving we are going to ditch ALL grains, citrus, dairy, chicken, and processed "foods" for at least two weeks, maybe three. Then we will add certain foods back to our diet to see if we have any reaction. I hope we don't have the situation where he can eat a food that I can't, or vice versa. Meanwhile, such "clean" eating will probably become our new habit, especially if we do the intro for at least three weeks.

Sewing Progress and Lost WIPs

2009-10-24T10:58:00.005-04:00

Since finishing that paisley top (New Look 6828), I wore the top last week, and I wore the matching skirt this week. I will probably not wear them together in public because I look like a cone of paisley when I do.

I dug out a skirt I had started in early 1999 and finished it.

I was looking for a jacket I started at least four years ago. I had cut it out and bought a zipper for it. I must have put it away in a Really Good Place, because I can only find the remnant. Take a look:

New Look 6828 - Finished!

2009-10-12T22:57:00.003-04:00

Yes, it is finished. I hope to write more about it within the next few days. Here are a few pictures:

nl 6828

Sewing Progress!

2009-10-10T16:53:00.001-04:00

I actually finished the red paisley top which I started several months ago. It was my first project ever with a light-weight knit mesh, and it mocked me every time I saw it in its unfinished state. I will share pictures in a few days.

Raw Fruit Pudding

2009-09-19T19:11:00.004-04:00

I started my early morning errands with a cup of iced coffee from the gas station. It was a steal at $1.80, and oh, so yummy!

My hubby brought me a donut when he came back from a motorcycle ride this morning around 11:30. Since he had not had breakfast this morning, he also bought himself a sandwich at the donut shop. I figured that I might as well fix myself something for lunch.

Whether to atone for my sinful-eating ways or to balance out my so-called meal, I threw some fruit into the VitaMix. What I got was the texture and thickness of pudding, and it was really good. Here's what I put in it:

1 apple
1/2 banana
4 chunks frozen mango
1/2 Cup frozen blueberries
1/4 Cup iced tea (MY liquid of choice - there's a pitcher of it in the fridge at all times, sweetened with stevia)

Kayak tales

2009-08-28T22:17:00.003-04:00

Sometime after our "once-in-a-lifetime" experience, our double sit-upon kayak developed a crack and started to take on water. This was noticed three or four weeks ago at Tomoka State Park, when every breath either of us took would wiggle the boat. Yikes! Upon landing, the boat was too heavy for TWO MEN to lift! It had so much water in it that the hatch had to be opened and the boat turned over to let the water out.

A crack was found and Paul tried to repair it. Took the boat out again last weekend on the Silver River. After an hour we turned around because we were feeling a little instability in the boat. Besides, the patch fell off! Oh, and for once the weather-guessers were right: it started to rain at exactly 11 am, or should I say, about ten minutes before we reached the canal to Ray's Landing.

Since then, Paul found me a single sit-upon kayak (with built-in back rest) on Craigs List, which is reviewed as fast and easy. He also took our SUV kayak to the dealer, who repaired the crack with an Ugly patch. We will be taking it to Sanchez Park in Ormond Beach for a little test drive. We may take the new-to-us kayak out there Sunday morning.

Thrift Shopping

2009-08-20T21:14:00.001-04:00

I like to buy clothes at thrift stores. Here are some dresses and a skirt I've bought.

Thrifting

Sewing with "baby steps"

2009-08-09T16:43:00.005-04:00

When my friend came over on Tuesday to finish her tote bag, I pinned the straps to the yoke of the New Look 6828 top I'm working on. Yesterday I sewed that seam and removed the pins. Today I turned the yoke and basted the raw edges together. Sewing just a little bit at a time is what I meant by "baby steps."

DH is starting a web site business on the side, since his hours were cut back on his day job. He wants me to make him a little zippered tote bag so he can carry his business stuff around - camera, mini-notebook, pen, and receipt pad. Today I rough-sketched the pattern, and cut out the fabric for a mock-up.

Nuts to Smoothies!

2009-08-02T11:56:00.001-04:00

I just made a smoothie that I can declare a total success, but only when Success is defined by "DH couldn't taste the greens in the smoothie!"

Blend until creamy:

1 large handful raw walnuts
1/2 Cup iced chai tea, sweetened with stevia

Add and blend until smooth:

1/3 head leafy green lettuce, rinsed, vein removed
1 Cup blueberries
1 Cup raspberries
1 Cup strawberries
1 large banana

I think the nuts cancel the lettuce flavor. DH said that he can tell it's got fruit in it, but the rest is a tasty mystery.

I filled up a salsa jar for my lunch tomorrow, and there was enough left for us to each have a large tumbler of smoothie.

Blueberry Smoothie

2009-07-30T22:02:00.002-04:00

I just made tomorrow's lunch smoothie:

1/2 head romaine lettuce,
1 Cup blueberries
1 Apple
1/2 Cup iced tea

I often use iced tea instead of water.

Diabetes-friendly Smoothie

2009-07-28T20:50:00.003-04:00

I just made a smoothie for tomorrow's lunch, and I shared the extra with DH, who has diabetes II. Here's what's in it:

1 large apple
1/2 head romaine lettuce (shh, don't tell him)
8 frozen strawberries
lots of powdered cinnamon
a little bit of stevia powder

It's pretty good. I'm going to experiment more with herbs in my smoothies.

Green Kiwi Smoothie

2009-07-26T20:49:00.004-04:00

I made the kiwi smoothie for tomorrow's lunch. It has one banana, one kiwi, and half a bag of spinach.

While my kids were here, we ate out too much (but it was So Good!), and I gained some weight. I'm making myself keep up with making smoothies because I need to lose that weight for the wellness fair at work. If I lose one BMI point since last year OR if my BMI is below a certain number, I will not have to pay the insurance increase for this year. I think that's a pretty good incentive to get or keep in shape. I've also been trying to ride my Trikke every evening (unless it's raining).

Family Visit

2009-07-26T20:45:00.004-04:00

Both my kids (adults, really) came to visit last weekend and stayed a couple days. My son and I rode Trikkes around our neighborhood one day, and we went kayaking the other day. My daughter joined us after that for lunch and thrift shopping - my son was the only one of us who bought anything!

All in all, I was glad they could come to visit.

From Family

Sweet Smoothie

2009-07-18T21:29:00.004-04:00

Tonight I made a sweet smoothie that was just enough for two people:

1 banana
2 Cups frozen papaya chunks (from the freezer section at Winn-Dixie)
1/2 Cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon ground coriander

That gave us lots of fiber but it tasted suspiciously like dessert!

Spinach Bisque Soup

2009-07-16T07:25:00.003-04:00

Yay!! I found an interesting recipe at the Raw Epicurean site. I subscribe to their RSS feed via Google.

I made Spinach Bisque Soup last night, and the first taste test was yummy.

Sometimes I Misbehave

2009-07-15T22:29:00.004-04:00

Last Friday I was at my lowest weight this year. So far this week, I've been stuck at about two pounds above that. Aaargh!

I don't always eat green smoothies for lunch or drink only water or tea for my beverage. Yes, sometimes I misbehave when eating. It's usually on the weekends.

I think my greatest food problem is quantity. What is your greatest food problem?

Weight Loss

2009-07-08T22:04:00.002-04:00

By sneaking in veggies via green smoothies, I continue to lose weight slowly. Today found me at my lowest weight this year!

Just a "heads up," y'all!

Kiwi Smoothie

2009-07-08T21:39:00.002-04:00

The smoothie I ate today had one kiwi fruit, one banana, and about 1 cup (packed) of spinach.

I think that the spinach has the most nutrients of these ingredients. The predominant flavors are the banana and kiwi fruit. I could not taste the spinach in this smoothie, but it was Very Green!

Spinach in Smoothies

2009-07-07T21:30:00.002-04:00

My sewing pal mad-SewIKnit2 questions spinach in smoothies. Spinach has a much milder flavor than most greens. Give it a try!

We are expecting delivery of our VitaMix, which is a super-charged blender. That doesn't begin to describe it, but I will be sharing pictures of it in future days. Keep watching!

Easy Vegan Picadillo

2009-07-07T21:15:00.006-04:00

Picadillo is a cuban dish, usually made with ground or shredded beef. The texture is similar to chili, but the flavor is not. Here is my vegan version.

Easy Picadillo
A Cuban dish with the ease of a dump cake

Fill a coffee cup half-way with raisins, cover with rum (any booze), and let soak overnight. If you’re in a big hurry, nuke it for a minute or two, instead.

Dump a can of chopped (no salt added) tomatoes and a can of rinsed black beans into a medium-sized crock pot, and turn the heat up.

Chop and rinse half a small jar of green olives, and add to crock pot. Rinse a small can of sliced or chopped black olives, and add to crock pot.

Throw in ¼ to ½ Cup chopped onions (optional).

Throw lots of ground cinnamon into a coffee cup. Throw in some other spices, too, such as cumin, oregano, basil, garlic, and cilantro, then stir together and dump into the crock pot. Just don’t add salt because of the residual salt in the olives.

Dump the soaked raisins into the crock pot, stir, and turn the heat down.

After about an hour, stir in about a cup of frozen veggie crumbles, and turn the heat up. We use MorningStar Meal Starters – Grillers Recipe Crumbles (usually in the grocer’s freezer next to the frozen Indian food).

In about 30 minutes, turn the heat down, and spoon into bowls. Serve over rice (optional). We also top it with sour cream, which is not vegan.

Here is a picture of the type of veggie crumbles we use:

Almond Milk

2009-07-06T22:13:00.001-04:00

Coming soon ... I will tell how to make almond milk, and also how to make the strainer bags for nut milk.