Zesty Chickpea and Tuna Wrap

Today was a perfect South Carolina day. Warm, but not too hot. Breezy, but not too windy. And just sunny enough to be bright, but not blaring. It was the kind of day that makes you wish there was a pause button for the weather. The kind of day that calls for an easy, but delicious and healthy meal so you can get back out there and enjoy it. Also, mood music.

This little dish was super easy to put together and required no cooking because I roast chickpeas in batches to keep on hand whenever a nutritional, texture, or flavor boost is needed. Or even just a snack.  

Let's start with how to make the best roasted zesty chickpeas. The original recipe is from Steamy Kitchen.

You will need:

• chickpeas (garbanzo beans), canned or dried
• 1 olive oil
• creole seasoning like Tony Chachere's

If using dried beans, which are WAY cheaper in the long run, use about 2 cups of water for each 1/2 cup of chickpeas. Bring water and chickpeas to a raging boil for about 5-6 minutes. Then cover, remove from heat, and let soak for an hour.

Once they've soaked, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Canned beans should also be rinsed and dried before roasting. The original recipe says to remove the skins while drying but I haven't found that to be necessary.

Spread on a baking sheet and drizzle or spray chickpeas with a tiny bit of olive oil, rubbing over the beans with your hands to make sure the oil is evenly distributed. Sprinkle creole seasoning over chickpeas as desired, but a little goes a long way. 

Pop them in to the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. They should be slightly browned with a little crunch when ready. 

Now on to the wraps!

To make 2 wraps you will need

• handful of roasted zesty chickpeas (don't be jealous of that fancy "Tupperware")
• 1 can of tuna
• heaping handful of fresh spinach 
• 2 wraps of choice (Habanero and Lime added a serious kick)
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

Pile half of each ingredient in order of spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, tuna, then chickpeas slightly off to the side of one wrap. Roll it up tightly and enjoy your zesty and healthy wrap. It also keeps well for lunchs when wrapped in foil. 

And I bet it would be good with a light tzatziki sauce...

Hope your weather was as perfect as ours!

Sheila :)

Homemade Fruit Bouquet

It's time to get down to serious Mother's day business. This year my Mom actually made a request, which is unusual for her: a mixed CD and a scarf. Isn't it funny how something so simple can be so appreciated? I love making playlists for family members with songs connected to special memories or meaningful words. This has always been the song Mom and I share. How could one refuse this simple request? But also, how could one not add a little something extra? ;) 

I love giving things that are useful, and don't have to be stored long term. I also try to avoid loading people with sugar as a gift: Thanks for being awesome Mom. Please accept this gift of high blood pressure and an unhealthy dose of bad cholesterol. Love you! Yeah, not so much. But there is an alternative! A fruit bouquet is the perfect blend of all things healthy, useful, and beautiful. It can be expensive to buy one pre-made, but not expensive at all to make yourself. Plus, it's great semi-last minute idea. Not that anyone ever does that...

PS. I made a (questionable) photo back drop! ^^ Look at that effort.

The secret is:

A metal cookie cutter. This one was 99 cents at Joann's. 

Besides the fruit and the cookie cutter, you'll also need:

• bamboo skewers (I liked the natural look, but soak them in water with a little green food coloring if you want them to look more like stems)
• medium sized jar (A cleaned Starbucks frappuccino bottle worked perfectly) 
• a little ribbon or rafia (to make it fancy)
• melon baller (or small paring knife and mad sculpting skills)

The fresh fruit recommended for this simple arrangement:

• whole pineapple
• strawberries 
• green grapes
• cantaloupe

The first and hardest step is preparing the pineapple.



Cut off the top of your pineapple but don't throw it away just yet. Flip the rest of the pineapple upside-down on the flat, cut side. Carefully remove the rind in segments saving the bottom section to cut off last. You don't need to worry about removing the center. Slice your pineapple into sections anywhere from 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Use your secret weapon (cookie cutter) to push into the slices and create the flower shapes. Push a bamboo skewer through the tough center at a slight angle until it pokes through about 1/2".  You can add a little variety by cutting the skewers to different lengths and arranging the other fruit around them. Add the fruit to the jar as it's prepared so you can tell how much more you're going to need. Four pineapple flowers was perfect for a jar this size.

Next, put grapes and strawberries on skewers. Couldn't be easier. This jar held  4 grape skewers and 3 strawberry skewers.

Cut the cantaloupe using the larger side of a melon baller to create the center of the flowers. It works best if one side is flat. Use the tiny bit of skewer poking through the top center of the pineapple flowers to keep the cantaloupe in place.

Now it's time to get fancy.

Arrange your flowers how you like them. I'm not particularly good at this, so I'm sure your's will look a lot cuter. After you're satisfied with the arrangement, carefully pull out the longest leaves from the top of the pineapple. Slide one leaf at a time inside the jar, staying outside of the skewers until they are all the way around the inside, which took about 6 or 7 leaves. Add a ribbon or rafia bow and you're finished!

A different challenge in making your own fruit arrangement verses buying it is wrapping it up. If possible, just put it in the fridge how it is to keep until you present it. If you need to cover it up for any reason, it's easy enough to use a plastic grocery bag carefully tied around the top and remove it before gifting. Or go all out and get a cellophane bag with some extra rafia.

Do you have a special song with your Mom? What other fruit would you want to incorporate? I'd love to know.

Sheila :)

How to Make an Embroidered Painting

Today is my friend Margaret's Birthday! She's been one of my few good friends since I arrived in Columbia so I wanted to be sure to make it extra special. One of my favorite presents to make is an embroidered painting. 

I don't know if there is a real name for this: I've not seen the exact same thing before. But it's relatively easy to do and very personalized. It could be adapted into a sweet Mother's Day gift as well (I'll post more on my actual Mother's Day plans later). It might look complicated, but it's totally doable in one evening and worth the slightly extra effort.

You will need:

1. Acrylic paints in colors of your choice. These are the Joann Fabrics store brand (Essentials) in basic black and white, "Baby Blue," and "Carribean Coast," Scribbles fabric paint (aka puffy paint) in "Glittering Ruby", a wide flat brush, a skinny flat brush,  a detail brush, pencil/pen, and an awesome eraser.*
*this might be optional for you. But not me.

2. A blank white canvas on a wooden frame. Fun fact: These are usually about $3 a piece at Big Lots.

3. Embroidery floss, a needle, and a push pin.

Now let's get started!

Use a picture of an outline map as a guide to copy on your canvas. Mess it up. Erase it all. Start over. You could also trace an outline if you have a map cutout you like.When you're happy with it, pencil in your quote and location hearts. It's not going to be perfect and that's part of what makes it special.  Marge's family is from Florida, she lived in Philly, and now we're in SC.

The "...Whithersoever thou goest." is from the King James version of Joshua 1:9,
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Paint your background. The plan originally was to mix a very light gray for the outside, and a slightly darker gray for the land so the words and hearts would pop. It didn't look as gross as this picture would suggest, but I ended up covering the light gray with baby blue anyway. It was much harder to see the pencil then anticipated so it was a good thing I covered the final lines in a fine Sharpie first. That detail will be entirely dependent on the paint you use. Each layer should dry in about 10-15 minutes. 

Prep to start embroidering. Use a push pin to pre-poke holes in the canvas along your pencil outline, keeping the holes between 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch apart. Don't skip this step: it will make the embroidering to come SO much easier. If you've worked with embroidery floss before, you know it's pretty thick to use the whole chuck at one. Unravel about 2 feet at a time and split the 6 strands so you have 2 long pieces of 3 strands each. Thread it on to your needle by pulling the length of the floss halfway through (you're now working with a piece that's about a foot long since it's folded in half through the needle). Tie a knot at the very end. You'll end up doing this step multiple times depending on the length of your quote. 

Now it's time to embroider your quote. I learned to embroider from my Grandmother when I was 10. My skills have not improved any since, but I like to pretend. To embroider, (1 and 2) you will bring your needle up through the next hole, (3) pull all floss through, (4) and stitch over the space you skipped. Those are terrible instructions. But these at Sublime Stitching are great, promise.

Once you've finished embroidering, the hard part is over! Now it's just time to add some fun details. The glitter puffy paint was a perfect touch for the location hearts. Then add some waves (Carribean Blue) and mountain ranges (1 more drop of black paint to the leftover dark gray mix). The color used for the waves just happened to matched the embroidery floss so it made the perfect color to finish the edges.

Let it dry over night, mostly for the puffy paint, and then it's ready to be gifted or displayed! The gray comes out looking like many different colors throughout this tutorial since it was dark outside while this was being made, but it actually looks pretty cute in real life and I would still recommend using it. I even grew to appreciate the light gray layered under the baby blue  All together, this took about 3 hours, not counting final drying time.

I can't wait to give it to Marge tonight! Who would you make something like this for? And where would your hearts be? I'd love to know.

Sheila :) 

Confessions of a Recycling Hoarder

Like many crafty people, it's sometimes a challenge to let go of things that others would consider trash. As least most people. It's not an emotional challenge, so much as a crafting separation anxiety: What if I need those toilet paper rolls or wine bottles or plastic containers-- all of it. Inspiration may strike! I'm confessing to the internet world in the hopes other recycling hoarders (sometimes called crafters) may be able to sympathize.

1. The amount of  recyclable goods in the apartment has to reach an obscene level before it will be addressed. A tiny bit out of laziness, a lotta bit because they MIGHT be useful soon.

2. I am strongly opposed to the purchase of wrapping paper and will save things specifically for the use of wrapping gifts: newspaper, magazine pages, brown paper grocery bags...

3. Magazines are saved rarely for content, regularly for the variety of pictures and colors.

4. Wine is purchased less for taste, more for the bottle. There are documented episodes of standing in the store too long trying to remember, "Do I have this one yet?"

5. Plastic grocery bags have a home of their own in the closet. I prefer reusable clothe bags for groceries but occasionally will get plastic just to renew the stash. If we don't use them around the apartment, eventually they'll be turned turn into plarn. Or baskets. Or a painting drop clothe.

6. Corks and Bottle caps. They're just pretty.

7. Empty plastic yogurt containers are reused and referred to as "Tupperware." 'Cause that's classier.

8. Tiny containers are worth their weight in gold. NO baby food jar, spice shaker, or medicine bottle shall die in vain on my watch!



9. Cardboard has magical transformational properties and should be saved at all costs. Especially the good stuff. You know what I mean.

10. Friends have been known to save glass jars as gifts. They are prized and displayed.

Basically, it's a good thing I've moved across the country a few times and had to purge or this could become obscene. But it's free and eco-friendly! 

What is your favorite recyclable to hold on to? Do you have any go-to crafts using things from around the house? I'd love to hear your ideas :)

Sheila

Newlywed Date Jar Gift

This past weekend, I roadtripped up 11 hours to New Jersey for the wedding of one of my closest friends. I had never seen this part of the country before so it was quite the experience. New cities and old friends, I can think of few better combinations!

Have you been to a campground wedding? It was so much more affordable to stay at then a hotel and stinkin' adorable. I mean, just look at this:

I can't even handle it. So of course a pair of lovebirds this unique and wonderful deserved much better than a mundane wedding gift like a blender. Or whatever people buy as normal wedding gifts these days.

Behold: The Newlywed Date Jar!

I had so much fun making this that I could barely wait to share it. But I had to. Or the surprise would have been ruined. Will power was involved. The most time consuming part of making this gift is coming up with date ideas you think the couple would enjoy. I'll give you a few different websites that I used for inspiration later on. (Stevie or Scott, if you're reading this, it took a million years, cost a bajillion dollars, and every single date was crafted from my own brain...)

Step 1: Make a mess of a work space before you even accomplish anything. Preferably somewhere on the floor. If you're lazy and prefer not to get up multiple times, gather 3 different pieces of coordinating  but different scrapbook paper, scissors or a paper cutter, a pen, and a source of creative date inspiration (computer). 

Step 2: Eat pickles. A whole jar of them. Or find another jar that's already empty. I happened to like pickles and this jar so it was a win-win. Also wash the jar, well. I washed this one multiple times and even soaked it but the pickle smell still lingered a bit.

Step 3: Cut your scrapbook paper into even size strips. It was easiest to cut a 12" x 12" sheet in half, and then cut down in 2" strips. It should give you 12 strips measuring 6" x 2" from each sheet. The three different papers separate different types of dates. In this example, the grass paper was free dates, the water paper was impromptu dates (like a regular Friday or Saturday night), and the map paper was dates that take more planning and effort. Check the back of the paper and set aside any strips that have a scanner code or any other printing you may not want to include.

Step 4: Once you have all your paper cut, it's time to look for date ideas! If you are fancy enough to have a printer, you might have wanted to do this step first and print them out on the scrapbook paper before cutting. But I'm partial to the charm and personality that handwriting brings. It was fun to give each date a title and then explain it a bit. I hope you have as much fun thinking of personalized things as I did. This post, Date Night Jar, from Life in the Green House was a part of the initial inspiration for this idea (Thank you, thank you!), especially the idea of categorizing date types.
These sites were also super helpful in coming up with date plans: 

- 8 Cute DIY Date Ideas

- 40 Free Date Ideas You'll Both Love

Step 5: Once you finish writing out your ideas, roll the strips up tightly like a scroll. Originally, each one was going to have a piece of cord around it but they stayed so well on their own, I left it off. Pile them randomly into the jar.

Step 6: Decorate your jar! This paper was already busy and bright, so it looked best paired with a simple rafia bow. The tag is actually the inside of a cereal box cut to shape. Waste not, want not. I used small of the scrapbook paper with the scanner bar on the other side to create a key, labeling appropriately as Free, Impromptu, and Planning. Also, I added a note to the back of the tag after these pictures were taken that said "PS. Sorry I smell like pickles." 'Cause it really does. 

Any unused papers might be a nice touch to include so they can contribute their own ideas. Most importantly, give your support and remind your friends that you can't wait to help them along in their next chapter of life.

I wanted to do something extra special for such a dear friend so I also gave them a partially completed wedding scrapbook with the welcome and invitation pages finished and a note saying "The rest hasn't happened yet." It's back in SC now and will be tackled once the professional pictures are all available.  Maybe I'll update on that later on...

If you make one of these jars, I'd love to see how you make it your own!

Sheila :)

PS. Haven't settled on an instructional style as you can probably tell. Any suggestions on this are also appreciated.