some freebie tips for the day.

27 April 2009

things are tight for everyone these days. every little bit helps and i love a useful freebie, so here are a few i recently signed up for...

sign up for bath and body works email list and get a coupon for a free travel sized item. they also send some good coupons for freebies on the mailing list, so it's worth getting. just this past weekend, i got a free $8 lemon pomegranate lip conditioner (which i love) when i spent $1.50 on a lovely scented hand sanitizer.


sephora sends you a free birthday item if you are on their email list. i'm not sure exactly what, but might be worth signing up.


free reusable totebag when you make a pledge to sustain yourself.


bzzagent is this fun thing my friend krissy shared with me. you basically sign up and they will occasionally send you some free items and ask you to review them and pass out coupons if you are interested in them. it is an interesting site that works on the basis of word of mouth marketing.

also, if you shop at safeway, i really think this site is neat because it lets you add coupons directly to your club card rather than printing them and having to keep track of a million little slips of paper. i really want to be better at coupons, but i am just don't often have the energy to do it and i find it makes me by a lot of things i don't need.

vegan peach cupcakes with mango frosting

24 April 2009

i purposefully used an almost identical recipe for the mango cupcakes for simplicity sake. you can easily whip up a double batch of unflavored batter and then seperate add the diffrent purees into the mix. i loved that these came out with a really strong, not too sweet mango taste.

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vegan peach cupcakes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (don't worry about the smell, it bakes off)
1 cup of soymilk (flavored if you want...i used vanilla)
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup peach nectar
1/2 cup peach puree (i just used canned because it is not peach season)

preheat the oven to 350ºF.
put the cider vinegar into a small bowl and add the soymilk. whisk well. the mixture will start to thicken up or curdle (i know that sounds weird and gross and i was nervous, but trust me, this will work!)
stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder & soda and salt.
mix the oil, peach nectar, and vanilla extract into the bowl containing the soymilk and vinegar and then slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend.
add peach puree and continue to blend.
scoop into cupcake wrappers. these will puff up a lot...more than most of the non-vegan cupcakes i make do. past vegan recipes i've made have ended up pretty flat, so as a caution i filled the wrappers almost to the top and got a really puffy dome top...so depending on what you are going for about 3/4 full is great.
bake for 20 - 25 minutes until starting to brown.


vegan mango frosting

1 cup (2 stick) vegan butter - room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar
puree of two fresh ripe mangos

bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature and beat together until creamy. add the mango puree.
add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired sweetness and texture.
again, the puree will effect your ability to get a really stiff frosting, but i really think that nice strong mango flavor that came from using two mangos was worth a kind of goopey frosting.

my coworkers seemed to really love these as well as the strawberry ones. i think the key to this was using fresh mango, ripe in the frosting. you could try it with canned or frozen, but i cannot promise the same effect and delicious-ness.

vegan strawberry cupcakes and strawberry buttercream frosting

23 April 2009

i really just wanted to go for the whole orange and pink work color scheme for the cupcakes i was making, so the logical choice to me for pink was strawberry since i have been dying to try my hand at strawberry buttercream. two of my coworkers are vegan. i am not a very good vegan baker, but i am working on it. it's important to me that if i am going to make something for work, hopefully it is something everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy. so, this is more adventures in vegan baking...

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the first step before you do anything else is to cop up a pint of strawberries (about 8oz) and add about 3/4 cup of sugar to them. let them sit in the fridge mixed into the sugar for at least 20 minutes (overnight is good too) so then can absorb the sugars and make a strawberry simple syrup. then mash them by hand or throw them into a blender. you will then use this puree for both the cake and the frosting.

vegan strawberry cupcakes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (don't worry about the smell, it bakes off)
1 cup of soymilk (flavored if you want...i used vanilla)
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry nectar
1/2 cup mashed strawberries

preheat the oven to 350ºF.
put the cider vinegar into a small bowl and add the soymilk. whisk well. the mixture will start to thicken up or curdle (i know that sounds weird and gross and i was nervous, but trust me, this will work!)
stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder & soda and salt.
mix the oil, strawberry nectar, and vanilla extract into the bowl containing the soymilk and vinegar and then slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend.
add strawberry puree and continue to blend.
scoop into cupcake wrappers. these will puff up a lot...more than most of the non-vegan cupcakes i make do. past vegan recipes i've made have ended up pretty flat, so as a caution i filled the wrappers almost to the top and got a really puffy dome top...so depending on what you are going for about 3/4 full is great.
bake for 20 - 25 minutes until starting to brown.


vegan strawberry frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter - room temperature
6 oz softened vegan cream cheese
2-3 cups powdered sugar

bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature and beat together until creamy. add 1/2 cup strawberry puree.
add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired sweetness and texture.
you may want to add more puree to get a stronger flavor. i ended up using at least a cup i think, but it made for less firm frosting, so if you are concerned with having the frosting be able to be piped on, you may want to go easy on the puree. if you want to thin things out, just use some of the strawberry nectar. if you do not care to make this vegan, just use real butter and cream cheese...the effect is the same.


i was really happy with the results! i am not going to tell you that i think my vegan cupcakes are 100% as good as my cupcakes with egg and all the things i am used to using...there is definitely a different texture involved, but i think these were pretty darn good. i will absolutely make some version of the strawberry cupcake again in the next few months once it is officially strawberry season!

secretary's day!

so, i work for a really great company. we are a virtual receptionist company with about 35 women and one man. it's not a flashy job and at times it can drive me insane and wears me out, but they do their best to try to make the best of it and make it different than a call center and make i a really positive place to work which is really wonderful. i love my coworkers wholeheartedly and it's good to work in a place that i feel some love when i walk into it.

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yesterday, april 22nd was secretary's day and since we work in an office full of secretaries, i helped organized a cute retro tea party potluck at work. it was completely adorable and eveyone in the office was sort of glowing with delight today. we asked people to dress up like old fashioned secrataries, rented a cute silver tea service, and decorated the conference room. i made this little banner and spent tuesday night baking cupcakes for hours and hours.


our work colors are orange and pink, so i made vegan mango cupcakes and vegan strawberry cupcakes. recipes coming next.

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tooth pain and a lovely weekend.

21 April 2009

i'm sorry i haven't updated this in awhile. it's not that i've forgotten about you. it's just that i got my wisdom teeth pulled about a week and a half ago and it turned into a nightmare of epic proportions. dry socket is one of the most painful things i've ever experienced and i don't wish it on anyone. i haven't really been eating and i spend a solid week completely doped up on pain killers watching a crazy about of tv and not being productive at all. i'm starting to feel better finally and starting to reclaim my life. it's spring and i am ready to be outside and enjoy the sun.

this past weekend was the first time i had been out in quite awhile and i was still not 100%, but it was really good to get out and see friends.

katy, jay, and i went to "oregon's largest garage sale" at the expo center on saturday which was essentially one big flea market of my dreams. the one thing about portland that i do not love is that there are no flea markets. i miss the east coast flea market mornings of walking up early with my mom and walking around for hours finding new and old treasures among miles of overflowing tables. this was kind of a throw back to that and it was really amazing. i came home with some amazing things.

kitchen
vintage kitchenware is really a soft spot for me and i have been on the hunt for a few pieces for serving. i managed to get this lovely russian serving bowl for $2, a set of two pyrex mixing bowls for $1.50, a pink spouted thermos for $2, a silver 2 tier serving tray for 50 cents, and two adorable vintage aprons for 50cents each. smitten kitchen.

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i also have been getting more into jewelry as of late. i bought two gold necklaces. one is a big albatross (or maybe a seagull?) and it's a little out of control, but i like it for $3. the other was just a simple red & black geometric design that i think will be lovely with some of my favorite dresses ($1). my absolute favorite jewelry find of the day though was this darling pink umbrella necklace...
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it was probably meant for a baby, but when you live in a city known for the rain, the icon of an umbrella takes a new meaning close to your heart. and it's pink. i am in love, excellent use of $4 and i can't wait for wear it out.

i also got some other little trinkets and gifts for friends while i was there, but the long and short of it is that whoever put this event together is wonderful and deserves my thank yous and i cannot wait for it to happen again. i didn't get to spend as much time as i might have dreamed there because i was sick, but it was still great. ANNNND! there was a pet expo there the same day in a different building so it was wonderful to be able to bring ellie and let her socialize with other dogs. i picked up some great little treats and toys for her. she even got a couple of new little shirts this weekend...more on that soon.

i am so glad it is garage sale season again.

sunday brunch

06 April 2009

i had a few of my favorite people over for a sunday brunch. breakfast food is some of my favorite foods to make because they are so simple, but i don't often have time to cook any real breakfast during the week (i live on frozen waffles and veggie sausage at work).

here is what i made:

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apple cinnamon waffles

start by dicing up 3 apples (i like ambrosia, honey crisp, or gala...but any variety you like is fine!) and adding them to a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon or so of cinnamon. cook on medium for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. set aside.

make the waffle batter:
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of your apple mixture

heat waffle iron. combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices. set aside. combine milk, egg, butter, apple and vanilla. add dry ingredients. stir until well moistened, but still lumpy. pour about 1/2 cup onto greased, hot waffle iron. bake until brown and crisp. serve with syrup and apple mixture as topping.

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veggie & gouda mini quiches

you can make these with or without a crust. i used a bit of homemade pie crust that i froze after mini pie making, but you can also use frozen store bought crust. i rolled the crust to about 1/4" and laid into greased muffin tins. i pre-baked the crusts for about 10 minutes @ 400 degrees. then, follow the instructions below...

4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
vegetables! you can really use anything you have on hand (i used 3 stalks of asparagus, 2 mushrooms, a bit of chopped spinach, broccoli, and some diced onion)
1 clove pressed or chopped garlic
large handful of grated cheese (i used smoked gouda, but you can use just about any cheese)
about a tablespoon of flour
salt & pepper
preheat oven to 350ºf. saute your veggies together just a bit until they soften, then set aside. in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, grated cheddar, and flour. grease a muffin tin with butter...like really, grease it really well or they will be a mess to get out. add a small layer of sauteed vegetables to the bottom of each cup and then drizzle egg mixture over each muffin cup, fill almost to the edge. bake for about 20-30 minutes. this will make about 5-6 mini quiche.


simple biscuits with vegan mushroom gravy

basic biscuits
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup milk
mix dry ingredients. put oil in measuring cup and add milk. do not stir. add to dry ingredients.mix lightly to moisten ingredients and knead one or two times to form ball. roll out to about 1/2" thick. cut into 2" biscuits. bake on an ungreased pan at 475F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. note: these were pretty dry, i wouldn't make this for a stand alone biscuit, but they were just fine as an quick and easy mate to gravy!
& top with...

vegan mushroom gravy
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (any kind of mushroom will do)
1/4 C sliced onions
1-1/2 tablespoons oil
1/2 C white flour
2 tablespoons oil
4 cups stock or soy milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
lightly sauté the sliced mushrooms and onions in the 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. in another pan, combine and bubble the flour and 2 tablespoons oil over low heat for one minute. whisk in the stock or soy milk, along with the soy sauce and black pepper. cook until thickened, whisk out any lumps. stir in the mushrooms and onions. you can serve it up just like that, but i like to get the emulsion blender out and blend the mushrooms down a bit for a better flavor and consistency.

spring.

05 April 2009

spring is peeking it's head into my life just a little. things around town are starting to bloom just a bit and i am getting excited for the way this city comes alive in the spring as if out of a rainy winter hibernation. spring is just taking it's time and playing the game it always does with alternating between beautiful sunshine to rainy miserable every few hours. i like to think that if portland weather was my boyfriend, we would probably have to break up because of it's instability. but still, i love the city i live in and a love the sunny days we've been having these past few weekends. it makes me hopeful and excited.

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we went to the hoyt arboretum last weekend just to escape the city for just a little while and it was really lovely. in almost 6 years living in portland, i cannot belive i had never been there. it's a beautiful place to spend a day and it's totally free and easy to get to on the max.

spring is bringing new excitement. i'm looking forward to day trips to the coast, garage sale weekends, picnics in the park, farmers markets, fresh flowers, sunshine, and all those little sweet things i have been missing.

also, this week, i picked up "cooking outside the box: easy, seasonal, organic"
by keith abel
on clearance rack at barnes and noble this past week and i have to say that i am kind of enchanted. i've been looking for a good seasonal cookbook and i am smitten with the recipes and whimsy photography. i can't wait to try some things out. and yes, i did just nerd out over a cookbook.

fun with felt!

03 April 2009

felt is one of my favorite materials to play with. it doesn't fray, it's super cheap, readily accessible and it is thick and a little stiff so it is easy to cut into shapes and hold it's own. one of my nerd-tastic friends was having a birthday, so i wanted to give her something handmade and accommodating to my very small budget. this is what i came up with...

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i added a sew on pinback so it can be displayed anywhere. it's just a little cut out with a little hand sewing and it costs just a few cents to make, but i think it turned out adorable and it was super personal for my computer nerd, dorky glasses loving friend. she loved it.
 
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