Sins of the fork.

In a move that I'm sure will deeply bewilder my family, I recently emerged from 21 days of self-imposed dietary restrictions. After an especially gluttonous holiday, (who am I kidding, it was 3 months of food-related transgressions) I was in need of some hardcore detox. Pants were snug, energy levels were low, and my face seemed... poofy. So for about 3 weeks, I slowly took away food groups that were living like renegades at the bottom of my very naughty food pyramid. Week One saw the omission of meat and caffeine. Week Two I took away dairy and sugar. (Gasp!) And week three saw a half-assed attempt at eliminating gluten. I lasted about 36 hours.

It's true, for about two weeks I was a sort-of-vegan, and then some. I put rice milk on gluten-free cereal. I ate a shitload of spinach. I said no to donuts, avoided tacos and passed on my beloved Stumptown brew, opting for tea, instead. Tea that tastes like grass. That means it's healthy. (Dear God, it better be healthy.)

Eating in this way takes some careful planning (and a lot of self-loathing) and at the start there were about three food items in my house that fit the criteria of my new plan. I blew the dust off my Moosewood cookbook, and planned myself some veggie-heavy, meat-free, nondairy meals. And surprisingly, they didn't taste like... veggie-heavy, meat-free, nondairy meals.

Of them, the tastiest surprise was this Cajun Skillet Beans recipe. I was so impressed, it's earned a spot in my regular roster. (Recipe below.)

I ended my little food experiment this week, and even though I don't harbor plans to become a full-time vegan, I'm far more conscientious about what it is that I'm shoving into my face. It was a much needed reboot, that provided some valuable perspective. I'm happy to report that my average scone-per-day quota has fallen dramatically, and I think twice about eating a block of aged Gouda for dinner. I think I might be turning into... a grown up. One who's out to show her metabolism who's boss.

Cajun Skillet Beans (adapted from the previously mentioned Moosewood cookbook.)

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T olive oil
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t dried basil
1/2 t dried oregono
1/4 t ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
pinch of salt
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 T honey
1 T Dijon mustard
4 cups black-eyed peas (two 16-oz cans)
chopped green onions

In your biggest skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat. Chop the celery and bell peppers, add them to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, cayenne and salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are golden. Add the tomatoes, honey, and mustard, and simmer 5 more minutes. Add the beans, cover, and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes. Top with the green onions. I served it over rice, but honestly, it's just as good without it.

It's official. I'm a seamstress!

I have a tendency to enthusiastically decide to learn a new skill, become obsessed with the new skill, then fail to fully cultivate said skill. Take for instance the web design course I took this fall. Here we are, six months later, and I have yet to build and relocate this blog to the Wordpress site of my dreams. And my college minor in German. Oh, and that grant writing class. I've written tons of grants. That's a lie.

But this instance, I've outsmarted my own tendencies, and followed through. After months of messing around with aprons, and totes and curtain hems, I hereby proclaim that I have graduated from Sewing 101, and have achieved intermediate status. Behold, the purse:

This masterpiece combined a variety of elements that I'd never encountered: like fusible interfacing. You should have seen the look I got at the snooty fabric shop when I asked about it. Well, snooty fabric ladies, look at my adorable fricking purse. That's what I thought. I also inserted my first magnetic closure, my first non-ghetto liner, some pleats, and performed some crazy inside-out flipping action. I found the pattern in a new book called One Yard Wonders that I'm looking forward to exploring further.









So what's next? I've got a wallet in the works, and I can't wait to dive into this one. Advanced intermediate level, here I come.

Thanks, Etsy elves, for making me look like a genius.

I had grandiose plans to create something handmade for all my loved ones this year, but since I didn’t start in March, like I should have if I was being at all realistic, I only pulled off a 20% success rate. (But what I did make, gets gold stars. Stay tuned for show and tell.) Here are some things I found on Etsy this year that made me look like the Sean Connery of gift giving. (Yeah – I'm not sure either, just roll with it.)


I can’t say enough good things about wildcloudberry, the seller who made this lovely scarflette for my bosom buddy Selma. I perused the shop, and loved the garments, but didn’t see one that was 100% Selma-esque. So I inquired, and not only did the woman knit a custom cowl from the shade of yarn and variety of button I requested, she did it in record time. It arrived just a couple days later, wrapped up all darling in a manner that you know you’ll never be able to replicate if you open to take a peek. Which I proved true. Anyway, I loved the scarflette, as did Selma.


What do you get a man so obsessed with BBQ that he watches Pit Master marathons and already has an iron brander that spells out his name? A fancy rub sampler, that’s what. The set from purposedesign includes eight different hand-blended rubs in small reusable tins. Chimichurri Rub, I’ve got my eye on you.

What do you get a man so obsessed with his iPhone that he recently broke his Word Warp high score while in the bathtub? (BBQ guy and iPhone guy are one in the same, by the way. And sorry, Beardy, for outing your weird man-bath time.) Anyway, you get him this iPhone/iPod dock by Woodtec. I thought about getting all metaphorical about the marriage of technology and the outdoors, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s a log, that charges your iPhone. That alone is reason enough. Plus it brings me one step closer to molding Beard into the lumberjack of my dreams. A tech-saavy Paul Bunyan. The metamorphosis will be complete as soon as I figure out a reason to keep an ax in the house. Or… not. I’ll make a pros and cons list.

Happy New Year, everyone! It's going to be good. I can feel it.