First Skirt

So I have this black Old Navy skirt that I bought back after having Ellie (my 3 year old) and I love it. However, it has this goofy fold over waist band that creates bulk around my mid section. Since I don't really need any help looking fat, I thought I would make a pattern out of it and do my best to duplicate the black skirt.

I bought this fabric a while ago from the $1 a yard section at wally world with the intention of making a shirt out of it. But I needed something to make a skirt out of, so... here goes!

And yes, I sew with a baby attached to my hip. In case you were wondering. Aren't her legs cute?

Are you ready for this... vegan chocolate chip cookies!!!

I have been a chocolate chip cookie lover for a very very long time. Just ask my family! Growing up, my mom did a good job of making me watch (or help) in the kitchen. When she baked, it was much more hands on for me and I developed my love for baking in her kitchen. I think it was when Mom went through the fat-free stage that the baking torch was passed to me. I followed her recipes to the T and the results were always predictable, that's probably what I liked so much about it. The reliable predictability. In the recent years, I've done my fair share of reading about nutrition. I've read some fantastic books that have broadened my understanding of what food does to and in your body. And even though I know it's not really good for you/me/us, I still bake! I can't help it! Something about it makes me feel good.

One thing I have worked hard to incorporate are more vegan recipes into our cooking. Baking had started to be a major disappointment for me since dairy is one of the main ingredients in every baking recipe I had ever used. So. I had to do some major experimenting, and the results of most these experiments was.... gross. Just ask my husband :) But I prevailed and have now found a small handfull of excellent baking recipes that I'm proud to say are dairy free! One of my happiest discovery was that of the chocolate chip cookie. My favorite. I've listed the recipe below that I use, have fun trying it out! I make these often and no one every has a single clue that they are vegan. Oh yes, and my changes are in purple!

Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour (unbleached whole wheat)
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
cinnamon to taste 1t
vegan chocolate or carob chips - put in as many as you like (1 - 1.5 c is plenty)
1 cup raw sugar (turbinado #1, sucanat works too but sucks up a lot of the moisture) (1/2c white sugar + 1/2 c brown)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water (used 3/8c)
I've also added chopped nuts, just make sure the cookie dough part has enough dough to stick together.

Directions:

VERY IMPORTANT-make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. (I've actually thrown it together without being room temp with success) It will work if they're not at room temp but it works MUCH better if they are. Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon (if you choose). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium size bowl mix sugar and oil. Mix it well. Add the vanilla and then add the water. Mix it well. Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it. Add more chips if you need to. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Ok, these don't spread much, so make them in the shape you want to see as the end result) Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets.(top to bottom,and 180 degree rotation) Bake another 4 minutes and check them. (I didn't rotate these, seems like too much trouble and they still turned out great)

The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer then you want them to be (I probably cook them for 8 minutes total and they stay soft). They will harden up some as they cool. I usually go in two minute increments from here untill they get to where I like them.

Take them out when they are done and move them to wire cooling racks. If they split or come apart when you try to remove them let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to the racks.

These cookies have come a long way, lots of time and tasting spent on getting them to where they are now. Vegans and non vegans LOVE them. In the words of my 6 year old son-Mom, you're the greatest because you know how to make the best cookies. Enjoy and let me know if you have questions. Sweet travels.

Serves: almost two dozen

Preparation time: 15 mins?-10 to 12 cooking time

Be Nilla

I made homemade vanilla a while back and just now I was scrolling through my iphoto and saw the picture I took of it. For a moment the world paused as I gazed upon this image. Then I realized that I had to stop what I was doing and tell you about my vanilla. It is incredible. It's basically brandy and three vanilla beans. I let it soak for about 4 weeks before using it, and had to use the store-bought stuff as a stand in. Once I switched... man! There's a huge difference. My baked goods (and granola) now taste like I know what I'm doing. Yum yum!

Books I Want (to read or own)

About 2 years ago I read the book Serve God, Save the Planet and was motivated to make some big changes here in the Raz household. Matthew Sleeth was a successful doctor who gave up his career to save the planet. In the process, he and his family became Christians because he brought home a Gideon bible from work one day (after reading text from all major world religions, the Bible was the last thing they read). How about that? Well, the Sleeth family is at it again and this time Nancy has put out a practical book about exactly how their family went green and her book is pictured above: Go Green, Save Green.




Yes, I know. Some of you hate her, some of you love her, and quite possibly there are some people on the planet who have been hiding in a cave and don't know her name (yet). My husband was recently sent a subscription to Martha Stewart Living - insert laugh here. I'm guessing it has something to do with his profession or it was a crazy marketing scheme to send out free subscriptions in hope that they would be renewed. Well I have to admit that though I thought I cared nothing for this publication, it's actually pretty good. And 'ole Martha has done it again (or her staff, anyway) and produced this encyclopedia of sewing book that I am coveting at the moment. At some point, when my life slows down (will this ever happen...) I am going to get this book and read it!

Totally unrelated:
- Have any of you tried making a sesame crunch? Every health food store I've ever been in has a really expensive version of it and I was looking for a good recipe. I've googled it, but mostly got the candy/brittle recipe. I'm looking for something "healthier" but, you know, still sweet. Does it exist?
- I'm loving my Lands End Canvas shorts I got recently! Actually, I bought them and had to send them back for a smaller size. Fabulous! They stretch out as you wear them, but are ridiculously soft and quite comfortable. I love the length since I now have two kiddos and don't want to show off my panties when I bend over to get them off the swing. However, I did get some new panties at the Gap (on sale) a few months back that are quite pretty.

We interrupt the regular program...

I have been taking forever to get several things posted (Ellie's big 3rd birthday, for one) because of computer/technical issues. Apparently I have too many pictures on our laptop and have had to find the time to clean off the computer before I can put more stuff on it! Oh the woes of the technical era! I think I should write a poem about it, or maybe a sonnet. Or maybe not. Or maybe I should put a desktop on the list of things we need to buy. It'll have to be under a car seat, however, because we're about to have to move Julia into Ellie's and get Ellie a big one. Ah. Anyway, there will be more stuff soon!

Lemon Outfits

I've had this fabric for a while now with the intention of making my two girls and my niece some matching outfits. It took me a while, but I finally decided on what outfits to make and I put them together while visiting family a month ago. The patterns were all one's that I had used often and was very familiar with, but for whatever reason, I had serger issues and wanted to throw these puppies out the window several times. However, they turned out really cute!

Elephant Tops

I was going to make this top for Ellie for Valentine's Day, but since we were so busy getting things ready for ski trip (and I was making a backpack) I didn't get to it. Woopsie! Dan was on a 30 hour shift Saturday and I just sat down and finished these after putting my girls to bed. They turned out really cute... guess I'll just hang on to them until Easter.