A Skirt-the final chapter

It has been several weeks since my last post; I apologize for my long absence! Life has become too busy to post on a regular basis. But, being busy is good. It means I'm not spending hours sitting, staring off into space and twiddling my thumbs.

After many weeks (I can't remember the exact number) of procrastinating and then working, I have finally finished my skirt! It didn't turn out exactly how I thought it would, but it's certainly better than the last skirt I made (about 10 years ago).

It amazed me how long it took to complete each step. After I got over my fear of ruining it, I began to spend many hours pinning, cutting, ironing, basting, and sewing. Both my mom and sister have been working on their own sewing projects, so every Sunday afternoon/evening, and the occasional weeknight, saw us plugging away at our respective pieces. Most of the time we had a movie going to keep us entertained. Yes, I can watch a movie and sew at the same time.

Finally, it is completed! And just in time for Easter Sunday. Now, to find a shirt to go with it...

The finished project; what do you think?

Black Bean Brownies

Here is another dessert that sounds odd, but actually works! I'll admit I prefer the texture of regular brownies (not quite so dense). But these were very chocolatey and good. Plus, they're full of fiber and low on fat! No eggs or oil are added. Alas, I forgot to take a photo before they were all eaten. You can view a photo and the original recipe here.

Black Bean Brownies

15 oz can black beans
19.5 oz box chocolate brownie mix

Open can of beans, drain and rinse well. Put beans back in the can and fill can with water. Put beans and water in blender until smooth. Mix pureed beans with brownie package mix. DO NOT add eggs or oil. Spray baking dish with Pam. Cook brownies according to package directions. Cool and serve.

Diet Soda Cake

I know, it sounds strange, right? During one of my many online recipe perusing sessions last night (as I try to plan the menu for my sister's upcoming bridal shower), I came across a site called Skinnytaste, full of Weight Watcher's recipes. I don't belong to WW, but I find some of their recipes helpful when I'm trying to be careful of what I eat; a healthy alternative that doesn't compromise flavor, taste, texture, etc., is good enough for me!

The original recipe is found here, while below is what I used to make my own version.




Diet Soda Red Velvet Cake

1 box dry cake mix, Red Velvet flavored
1 can diet Pepsi
2 egg whites

Preheat oven according to directions. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray; dust lightly with flour.

Mix all the ingredients together in an electric mixer. Pour into pan.

Bake as directed. Let cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese frosting:

1 8oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar (I found it was a little too sweet for my taste, so you may want to reduce this to 2/3 cup or even 1/2 cup instead)
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all three ingredients together in an electric mixer until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cooled cake.

Makes about 12 servings.

The frosting is so sweet, you'll only need a small slice. On Skinnytaste I read a variety of other combinations of cake mixes and diet sodas. I also saw an idea to use a spice cake mix and canned pumpkin in place of the diet soda, plus a little cinnamon and nutmeg for added flavor. Since I love pumpkin, I plan to give that a try as well!

The best part was when my little brothers ate it and said, "yum!" Yes! Success!

First of Spring

Spring is in the air! Although the earth stays dreary shades of brown, the air has warmed up and smells of a fresh spring rainfall (which should be coming tomorrow).

But what is spring without color? Finally, we are getting to see some where I live! A long stone wall lines my driveway, and at the base of that wall we've planted flowers. Right now, the daffodils are grown up (next will be the irises). Yesterday, I noticed a few of them had buds. Today, some of them have even bloomed. So, in celebration of a lovely day and the beginning of spring, I want to share a photo of the first flowers of spring!


(Click on the photo to see a larger image of it.)

Beaded earrings

I am addicted to beading. Really; it's amazing! If you haven't tried it, hop over to Hobby Lobby and (after spending hours gazing at all the glorious types of beads) buy some to try out yourself.

I met my friend again Saturday afternoon to finish my necklace and to work on more little things. This time, I learned to make earrings. If I had known how easy it was, I would have started doing this long ago! I love simple, little dangle earrings that you can wear with most any outfit, casual or otherwise. I now have 5 new pairs to work with! Yes!

Below is a photo showing my simple designs.

If you click on the picture, you can see them more clearly.

A HUGE thank you to my sweet friend who gave me all these beads and earring parts, etc., to make this stuff! Next time, I'll share with you!

Beading: first attempt

I apologize (to those few kind enough to bother reading my blog; thank you!) for my absence the past few days. Life has been a crazy, sticky mess. But hopefully the sunshine outside my window is hinting at more bright and cheerful days to come. I can only pray that God will ever be my Rock, through the storms and through the sunny days.

The other day I met a friend of mine to do some beading. I hadn't tried beading since early high school, so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. Little did I know how quickly I would become addicted! Below are photos of the necklace I made, the one I'm working on, and the earrings she gave me. She is such a sweet, dear friend! Not only did we have an awesome and encouraging conversation, but she gave me everything I used! What a dear!


My very first attempt: wish I had a better close up of that middle bead! Amazing!



As soon as I saw this purple one, I fell in love. It was my friend's idea to do beads all the way up. I wasn't sure at first, but now that I've started it I love it. Just have to finish adding some beads and have her teach me how to put the clasps on this kind of string!


The earrings she gave me. Pretty, yes? I love the little blue flower in the middle.

The best part of this jewelry is the simplicity. You can make almost anything, and you can always change it! Love it! Yes, I am getting addicted.

Hello, Mardi Gras!

Today, obviously, is Mardi Gras (or, Fat Tuesday). My family has never celebrated Mardi Gras or Lent (starting tomorrow on Ash Wednesday). But this year we decided to have a little fun with food. For tonight's menu, my mom plans to make gumbo and Mardi Gras cupcakes. That, my friends, is as crazy as my family will get.
I can't eat gumbo (spices and sausage: two BIG no-no's!) or cupcakes (ah, sugar...). So I decided to make up for it this morning by making (and just tasting, but no real eating) beignets this morning for breakfast. It's a good thing I make a single batch! Those donut-like treats were more fat and sugar than anything remotely healthy. Plus, the recipe I used called for them to be fried (yes, fried, the good old southern way) by dropping the dough a teaspoon at a time.
I tasted two little ones and decided I wasn't a big fan (but then, I never was one much for southern cooking). But my brothers loved them and begged me to make them, and sopapillas (a similar, and in my opinion much tastier south American breakfast treat) again.

Brunch Beignets

Ingredients:
-2 eggs, separated
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 tsp. baking powder
-1/8 tsp. salt
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/4 cup water
-1 tbs. butter, melted
-2 tsp. grated lemon peel
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-Oil for deep-fat frying
-Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, water, butter, lemon peel, and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients until just combined. Beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form; fold into batter.
In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1/2 -1 minute on each side. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm. Yield: about 2 dozen.

To get the original recipe (which I only changed by omitting the brandy), go here. The photo above was also from that site. Mine were eaten before I could snap a photo. They also didn't look as pretty as the ones above.

I had never beat egg whites before (gasp! I know, I know), so that was a little nerve-wrecking. I had no idea if I beat them enough or not, but the beignets seemed to come out okay. Now that I've done it once, I feel I can try meringues.

I don't practice Lent, but I figure it would be a good excuse to help me give up sugar, chocolate, caffeine, and all that other stuff that makes me sick. So, instead of having to go into the long explanation of my health history and problems, I can just say, "I gave them up for Lent." You know what that means? Healthier recipes from now on! Don't worry: healthier in my book means extra delicious! Can I say mango smoothies? Oh, yeah!