No pattern, No problem! Part 1

February 21, 2011traditionalfoodadventure Everyday Life, Made by These Two Hands, Sewing Projects 1 Comment

Allow me to preface this post by saying that I am not a seamstress. I only remember ever successfully sewing one item of clothing in my life and that was a dress in my teens. A project closely aided by my Mom who happens to be an incredible seamstress. Sewing machines intimidate me and although the idea and creativity of sewing have always appealed to me the actual hair pulling frustrating logistics of it have made me keep it at arms length. Instead crocheting became my creative outlet of choice.

But I have this really cute three year old daughter. And there are sooo many wonderful ideas out there. Between cute patterns that can be made from scratch (personally rather intimidating to me, anything that requires a huge quadruple fold set of instructions with diagrams is enough to put me into a mild state of panic). The concept of recycling clothes into new clothes is a whole lot more appealing to me. It’s free styling. A lot of the seams and difficult structural aspects are already done. And, well, the whole frugal-responsible stewardship side of me really loves the idea of getting a second wear or two out of clothes that would otherwise be destined for the trash or Good-Will box.

Last night I had a huge rush of inspiration. I saw an old denim jumper hanging in my closet. I’ve had this jumper since I was in my teens. Not sure why I’ve held onto it. It is not likely to ever fit me again. Pulling it off the hanger I held it up…and visions of possibilities danced before my eyes. I did mention that I am not a seamstress before, right? Well, along with not being a seamstress I also do not really possess even the basic requirements needed to take on a Re-Purposing project like the one that floated through my head.

My available tools were as follows:

1 Pair very dull large scissors

1 Spool Each of White, Black, Tan and Pink thread

1 Package of multi sized Needles

1 Box of Pins

Measuring Tape

Iron and Ironing Board

I started the project off by measuring my wee subject. Good thing I did because when sewing clothes with no pattern you end up relying heavily on measurements. Note to self: Take more measurements next time.

Next the Denim Jumper was spread across the floor and measured to confirm that it was indeed within the realm of possibility to get 3 dresses out of it.

Denim Jumper

Feeling assured that as long as I did not mess something up really badly there should be enough denim convert into the desired 3 dresses.

That in mind I proceeded to make the first cuts with fear and trepidation.

Top Part of jumper cut from bottom

The bottom part left, destined to become two separate dresses. Note the two small slits

Since the bottom of the skirt had two small slits I figured I could re-purpose them into being individual slits on a sheath style toddler dresses and cut the bottom in half.

First Piece of Fabric ready for Conversion

I saw a clever idea on another re-purposing focused blog where she took an appropriate sized tupper-ware or Pyrex glass round lid and used it to cut arm holes. Since my live model had crashed out for the night already I decided to take a chance and picked out what looked to be an appropriate lid size and cut out two arm-holes.

Once that was done I started combing through my pile of fabric and found some left-over pieces from a new-dress project (cut out and waiting to be assembled when I get a chance to borrow a friends sewing machine) Inspired I made two bands that went across the top of the dress forming tie-able sleeves/straps. Hope you noticed that a sewing machine was *not* on my list of available tools at my disposal. So, Netflix Instant Play Streaming on my laptop and a hot cup of Orange Black Tea for reinforcement I whip stitched the dress/shoulders etc. together by hand. It literally took all night but the thought of my wee girlies face to see her “Special dress” when she woke up in the morning and my own personal curiosity to see if I had actually managed to pull off the transition of what was in my head into something wearable in reality drove me on.

Once I got the structure of the dress finished it seemed like it was missing something so instead of going to grab a couple of hours sleep I instead grabbed another piece of scrap fabric and my crochet hooks and remnant pieces of bamboo yarn from other projects to put the final touches on the project.

All in all I am pleased and more than a little amazed. The fit was more snug than I had hoped for (due to having to take it in an extra 1.5 unexpected inches) but it fits her well and the shoulder ties gave us some lee-way we wouldn’t have had with fitted sleeves or straps.

The Doodlebugs was thrilled with her “Special dress!” when she woke up and happily showed it off.

Doodles Modeling her new-old Dress

Another shot of dress

Details of Flowers and functional Pocket

Since the Doodles loves pockets I was really thrilled to be able to figure out a way to get her a pocket on the dress.

This has inspired me to tackle the next two dresses out of this same project. Hoping to use a friends sewing machine for the next one though and swap the hands on experience for a few hours shut-eye.

Anybody else re-purposed/recycled clothes? Had great ideas for re-purposing clothes? Tell me about it!

Incredible Indulgence

February 16, 2011traditionalfoodadventure Food Food and more Food, Foods, Secrets and Confessions 2 Comments

It came to me in a dream. No, seriously, it did! The Doodlebug was having a few too many meltdowns and I recognized the signs. The anti-nap child must nap today or she would drive us all insane. She hasn’t taken daily naps (minus road trips in car-seat naps) in months. She’s currently in a “I’m a baby!” stage and is determined to do all things baby-like. Primarily whine which holds true to to how she spent most of her time when she was an actual baby. I plunked her down in our bed and informed her that if she was a baby then she must take a nap. Now trapped into conceding to a nap in order to stay true to her baby persona she laid down somewhat willingly while clutching my hand. Deciding to cuddle with her until she dozed off and then go back to being the responsible adult I pretend to be most days I snuggled up next to her. The next thing I knew we both opened our eyes and I was met with a beautiful toddler grin and the announcement “I baby Mom!” Naptime didn’t change much in her world but mine was rocked by a dream of brownies.

Not just any brownies mind you. Gluten free, chocolate, fudgelike brownies but with a special twist. Cappuchino-Chocolate Brownies. Could it be done I wondered? A quick google search informed me that indeed, it could be done. Not wanting to taint my dream inspired version of this delight with other peoples versions I refrained from skimming others recipes. Instead I conned-I er, coaxed my fellow kitchen conspirator Liz to help me come up with a recipe.

Coffee-Toffee Nut Brownies

1 stick salted butter

3 Tablespoons Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
6 ounces bittersweet Chocolate pieces
1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 Cup Heavenly Sugar
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon GF Flour Mixture
½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum

1/2 Cup Cappuccino Mix (We used French Vanilla and White Chocolate)

1/4 Cup veryVERYvery strong (bordering on Espresso strength) Coffee

½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon unsweetened raw cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon real Vanilla (I used my homemade Bourbon Vanilla)
Couple of Squares of Chocolate Covered Toffee. We used Pistachio Dark Chocolate covered Toffee from Trader Joe’s

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line edges of pan with foil. (I went ahead and lined the whole thing with foil in anticipation of these being very prone to sticking) Spray with Olive Oil.

Sprayed, Foil lined glass pan

2. Combine butter, coconut oil and chocolate in a thick bottomed pot or well seasoned cast iron pan. On low stir until melted and thoroughly mixed in. Let stand and then stir until smooth. Add sugar and stir. Set aside to cool slightly.

Melting butter, coconut oil and chocolate

Melted Butter/Coconut oil/Chocolate

Heavenly brand herbal processed raw sugar

3. In a small bowl, whisk together GF Flour Mixture, xanthan gum, salt, and cocoa powder and cappuccino mix. Set aside.

Gluten Free Flour mix from Austin TX

Cappucchino Powder

4. Whisk eggs one at a time into chocolate mixture; then stir in Vanilla and Coffee. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into pan. Pound Toffee into chunks and sprinkle across top of brownies.

Brownie batter, high glossy sheen with a thick/smooth texture

Toffee Topped Brownie Batter

5. Bake 35-40 minutes, turning halfway through. A toothpick inserted in center will come out with a few moist crumbs (or clean). Let cool completely. Brownie will be extremely moist (it becomes more fudgy as it cools). The Toffee will melt into the batter as it bakes resulting in even more deliciousness and adds a hint of crunch when it cools. The texture of this amazing brownie is more like cheesecake than brownie. It melts into your mouth with velvety smoothness while delivering the complexity of deep chocolate flavor with the nutty undertones of coffee and a creamy hint of cappucchino. And did I mention moist? It almost went without saying that these are beyond moist. Not dense, not overly fluffy…just right.

There just are no words for how incredibly delectable these are.

Brownies cooling fresh out of oven

Detail of Brownie showing the edge where Toffee melted into the brownie

More Brownie texture detail

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk or a cup of hot tea. If you make it tell me how it turns out for you!

It was WARM!

February 15, 2011traditionalfoodadventure Everyday Life, Garden, Veggies 1 Comment

For just a single day. But boy were we glad for it! Although it is only February and it’s likely we’ll experience a few more frosts between now and the official advent of Spring the arrival of our Heirloom seed packets + the first warm day in quite some time was just exciting enough to get us out in the garden doing some prep work.

Sample Seedling Packets

The Garden plans around our house this year are truly the result of a community effort. My friend Liz helped map out every garden area in the yard and together we designed a tomato growing structure that we hope will double as a Winter Greenhouse of sorts.

The start of our Tomatoe Project +Greenhouse

My brother tweaked and massaged the ancient tiller into growling through the soil twice now. So incredibly satisfying to see the change in soil color since we first moved here! Used to be an anemic, malnourished gray clay and now actually has sections where rich blackness are showing through. The soil was so poor before it was rare to find an earth-worm and now it seems that the Veggie garden area is an earth-worm Kingdom!

Garden Soil Feb. 2011

The Doodlebug was thrilled to be out gardening and is proving to be a big help already. The one thing our main garden area produces better than earthworms is rocks. So Doodles primary job was to run back and forth picking up rocks. She also helped to form a bit of a row or two with her child sized shovel. Her favorite time though was the seed planting!

The Three Girls Working on Seedlings

Doodlebug made her own label for *her* Seeds. Yes, that is an N for her first name!It looks like a Z but it’s really an N held sideways.

Doodlebugs N for her Seedlings

Liz came up with the brilliant idea of adding probiotics to our seedlings soil. We used Ultimate Defense because it has good soiled based organisms in it. Although we are using organic dirt to start our seedlings in we thought it would be a good idea to give it an extra boost of the “good” stuff.

Ultimate Defense

Doodles Sprinkling Ultimate Defense on Seedling Soil

The Sweet Peas are Planted and are officially the first veggies to go in the ground for this season. The first round of Seedlings are started and “the watch” to see which ones pop their little green heads through first has begun.

A highlight of our past week was visiting with dear friends of ours. I had the honor and privilege of being her Doula at the birth of her 4th child, a baby girl born the day after Christmas! This weekend we got to see them for the first time since she was born. All I can say is that she was blessed with a little Angel Baby both in looks and temperment! I’m not entirely sure she knows how to fuss in a proper way and I found it almost comical when she “tried” to fuss.

LotteBeth attempting to fuss

We all held and cuddled and held and cuddled her some more. It was baby-heaven!

Liz holding LotteBeth

She also has the most beautiful Gray eyes I’ve ever seen on a baby.

LotteBeths Beautiful Eyes

Now that we’ve all had our baby-fix for the day I’ll say good-bye. A busy day beckons and I’ve been ignoring it long enough. Anybody else started any garden things yet?

Acne Q&A

February 2, 2011traditionalfoodadventure Everyday Life, Healthy Living and Life 2 Comments

Acne

I received an e-mail today from a customer on behalf of her 16 year old daughter. I know many out there are struggling with acne and the frustration of trying one guaranteed thing after another only to have it not work. Thought my response might help somewhat in understanding the complex problem that Acne can be.

Hello,
I do have a question about dealing with acne. My 16 year old daughter battles severe acne. We have tried so many things and yet it continues. It is all over her face, her neck, her chest, and back. We have tried over the counter treatments; we have tried natural products from the health food store; we have even tried a medical program set up by her pediatrician. Always it gets better at first, and then comes back just as bad or worse. The doctor kept prescribing more and more antibiotics to the point that she started breaking out in “ringworms”. We were not comfortable with his program, and he was never pleased with the results, so we pulled her off of everything. She is my best eater and consumes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, and drinks lots of water and herbal teas. I am at my wit’s end! Can you recommend a course of treatment that we could follow either using your products or other resources or a combination.

—Concerned Mama (Name changed to protect identity of Customer)

Hello,

So sorry to hear about the struggle your daughter is having with acne. It can be difficult to address because like several chronic on-going things it can have multiple underlying causes and or triggers.

1) Hormones: can seriously affect skin. Typically if it is hormonally related it shows up around the time menses begins in girls or puberty sets in with boys. Some have theorized that the flood of hormones going through their bodies is more than their livers can keep up with and some have noticed with this type of Acne that doing extra Liver support and detox can be very helpful.

2) External Triggers: Some people manifest sensitivities to all sorts of things in acne and severe skin out-breaks. This could be sensitivity to detergents and or SLS found in commercial laundry soaps or chemicals in cleaning products or even things in her shampoos or body soaps.

3) Internal Triggers: It could be sensitivities to certain foods. It is important to realize that the skin is the bodies primary means of detoxing. For many people they discover that either when they remove a known toxin from their environment or cut a food that the body percieves as a toxin due to a pre-existing sensitivity to it. A lot of peoples bodies perceive High Fructose Corn Syrup and MSG as toxins. There are other common food preservatives that the body can perceive as a toxin and try to use every means at it’s disposal to “dump” and get rid of it which means pushing it out through the pores of the skin causing out-breaks, knots and infections under the skin. For some people Chocolate and Coffee are common “out-break” triggers or cause extra inflammation to out-breaks that are already there. Artificial sweeteners of all types are also common “toxin” out-break offenders. There are also a handful of people who have very specific food allergy/skin connection issues.

4) Chronic underlying Bacterial Infection or Virus: For some individuals they have found that the cause of their skin problems is some sort of underlying virus or bacterial infection. Something that is systemic and the body ends up waging the obvious and noticeable war with it on the surface of the skin causing the skin to look something like a war-zone. These individuals have found that taking anti-viral immune boosting supplements (and the same goes for anti-bacterial infection supplements, some of these supplements do both things at once) makes a HUGE difference in their skin problems.

A friend recently came up with a really amazing and effective “drawing” and healing protocol for her skin. She wrote up this AMAZING healing mask she invented and described why she thinks it has helped her skin so much. If you have problem skin please take the time to read about it and give it a try!

An Adventure in Traditional Foods

A dash of Chaos with a side of Tradition

Monthly Archives: February 2011

No pattern, No problem! Part 1

Incredible Indulgence

It was WARM!

Acne Q&A

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