I’m pretty much a from scratch kind of girl, so breakfasts around here are almost always home made.  But when we got a puppy… well, I just don’t have much time anymore!  The morning routine that gave us some time to make pancakes or scones (at least on the weekend) has gone out the window and been replaced with one that shoves our meal to the side in favour of walks and kibble.  And that extra time for baking bread in the afternoon?  That’s disappeared too.  Thank goodness for granola!  One batch lasts us almost 2 weeks and it takes almost no time at all to make.  It would take even less time if my oven had more than one rack!

Feel free to play around with the ingredients, adding different nuts and seeds to suit your taste.  I love adding sesame seeds and pistachios, and hemp or flax are great, healthy additions.  And while this granola is great with milk, my favorite way to eat it is with yogurt and fresh berries.

Granola

8 cups rolled oats (not instant!)
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, either works)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a big bowl mix together the oats, nuts, seeds, and coconut.

In a small saucepan melt the butter with the honey.  Add the cinnamon and vanilla then pour over the oat mixture.  Mix well.  Spread out on 3 parchment lined baking sheets.

If you can fit them, put all of your sheets of granola in the oven at once.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate trays back to front and swap racks if you’re baking more than one sheet at a time.  Bake for another 8 minutes.  Check the granola.  It should be golden brown and smell amazing!  I don’t like to stir it while it’s baking so that I get nice big clumps.  If it needs more time let it bake longer, but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.  Mine is normally done in 2o minutes but I have a 60 year old oven with only one oven rack!  Baking with more than one sheet at a time might take a bit longer.

Chelsea Rogers has been cooking and crafting… and not cleaning up for as long as she can remember.  When she’s not making a mess, you can find her on Pretty Lulu and An Abundance of Apricots.

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Asparagus

Early spring can be a little depressing when you’re grocery shopping.  By March and early April I’ve had enough of potatoes, kale, and cabbage.  All the apples I stored in the fall have been eaten, and the ones at the green grocer’s are about as appealing as a trip to the dentist!  So the first day I spot asparagus, it’s like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween all rolled into one!  I cram my basket with more than I can eat, dreaming of grilled asparagus tossed with olive oil and balsamic, a flaky tart crust with asparagus and goat cheese, asparagus ice cream (ok, had that once.  Not so good).

One of my favourite dishes on a warm spring day is homemade sushi, and what better inside than asparagus!  Making it at home is surprisingly easy, and the results are so tasty!  And while white sushi rice is good, I prefer to use either all brown rice or a mixture of brown and white rice and quinoa.  The quinoa adds a dose of protein to what can be a low protein meal, and even my husband, a quinoa hater, never notices it!

Sushi rice

1 cup white sushi rice

½ cup quinoa

1 cup short grain brown rice

Water

The white and brown rice take different lengths of time to cook so you’ll need a rice cooker and a small pot or 2 pots for cooking your different batches of rice.

In one pot or rice cooker combine the brown rice and 2 cups of water.  If you’re using a rice cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on cooking the rice.  If you’re using a pot, bring the brown rice and water to a boil over high heat, keeping it covered.  Once it has come to a boil, keep the lid on the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes turn the heat off and let the rice rest, covered, for 5 minutes.

In another pot (or rice cooker) combine the white rice, quinoa, and 1 ½ cups of water.  If you’re using a rice cooker, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on cooking the rice.  If you’re using a pot, bring the rice, quinoa,  and water to a boil over high heat, keeping it covered.  Once it has come to a boil, keep the lid on the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes turn the heat off and let the rice rest, covered, for 5 minutes.

When the 2 types of rice and the quinoa have finished resting, mix them together in one pot, stirring gently so you don’t mush the rice. Stir in:

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Spread the rice out on a cookie tray, cover it with a tea towel and let it cool to room temperature.Your browser may not support display of this image.

For the sushi:

Your rice/quinoa mixture

Nori sheets (seaweed sushi wrappers)

Assorted cooked or raw vegetables (my favourites are steamed asparagus, roasted red peppers, very finely julienned (or grated) carrots, daikon, and jicama, steamed sweet potato, cucumber, avocado, radish sprouts, arugula, and sliced mango)

Assorted protein bits (thinly sliced sushi grade raw fish if you eat it, tofu, inari wrappers, scrambled egg,)

Sesame seeds

Place a nori sheet on your sushi matt or a clean tea towel.  Wet your hands with a little water so the rice doesn’t stick to them.  Add an even, thin layer of rice over almost all of the nori, leaving a strip about 1” wide along one side with no rice.  Add your filling ingredients in the middle of the rice strip, making sure they’re evenly distributed across the width of the rice.  Don’t use too much or you’ll never be able to roll up your sushi!  Wet the part of the nori that didn’t get any rice lightly with a little cool water (this will make it stick when you roll), then roll up your nori towards the part with no rice.  Wrap the roll in you matt or tea towel, then roll it back and forth a few times to make sure the seam holds and that you have a nice, cylindrical roll.  Set the roll aside for a couple of minutes, or until all your rolls are finished, then cut, using a sharp knife, into 8 pieces.

sushi

Your browser may not support display of this image.

For dinner I normally plan on 2 to 3 rolls per person. This should give you enough for dinner and lunch the next day for 2 people (or dinner for 4).

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hi everyone! please welcome guest poster, belinda from the happy home! i hope you enjoy this diy project, how fun and adorable!

Paper leaves

Your toolkit
1. Coloured and patterned paper. I used some scrapbooking sheets from my stash.
2. Twigs – from the garden or those long willowy brushes you see in the $2 store and wonder what on earth you’d do with.
3. Gee, what could these be? A glue stick and scissors.

Step-by-step
1. Fold the paper in half so when you cut out your shape, the two pieces you’ll be sticking together are exactly the same.
2. Open the two pieces like a book, glue the wrong sides, lay the end of a twig in the centre and stick the pieces back together.
3. Press the pieces together firmly, particularly along the stick to hold it in place.
4. Repeat as often as you like with different sizes, colours and patterns. Cut the ends to slightly different lengths and arrange in a vase.

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when we moved to our new house, we really looked for ways to improve the place without spending tons of money.  since we were working on a tight budget, we decided to keep the existing cabinets, and do what we could do spruce ‘em up.  replacing cabinet knobs is an easy way to do this, but even knobs can cost a pretty penny, so we decided to make our own!

wooden knobs cost a fraction of the price of designer knobs and with a little know-how can easily be transformed into something unique.

what you’ll need:

- plain wooden knobs (mine are natural woodcraft knobs)

- a small paint sample of the color you would like the knobs to be (lowe’s offers any paint color in 8oz samples)

- white spray paint (available at your local hardware store)

- 3m all purpose sanding sponge

the how to:

spray paint your knobs all white.  it’s helpful to go ahead and start the screw on the back of the knob so you have something to hold on to.   it’s also helpful to have something to stick the screw into to allow the knob to dry (i used a block of foam).

*once dry, paint the top coat color on with a brush, i used color #A64-2 called ‘sweet pea’ by valspar.

*once both layers are fully dry (usually after sitting over night) take the sand sponge and rough up the edges and center.  all of them will be a little different- which creates a cohesive yet eclectic vintage look.

easy breezy, right? :)

well i’m signing off for the day, it’s raining so i’m going stay in and start planning my garden for this summer, yay!  i also wanted to remind you that this weekend is the last chance you’ll have to take the roost survey and enter the giveaway!  i’ll be collecting all the data this weekend and will announce the winner on monday, good luck!

last chance to:

(don’t forget! make sure to leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway!)

what are you doing this weekend?  love! bonnie

wrap up: {craft} {diy} {home} {knobs} {materials} {paint} {survey}

alas, we meet another friday!  i’ve had a good week here chatting with all of you, haven’t you? i’m sharing with you today my latest web-window browsing obsession, cox & cox!

clockwise :: oak boot rack, beehouse, citronella candles, seedling paper pot press

clockwise :: towel ladder, three hyacinth bulb vases, herb scissors, herb and flower dryer

clockwise :: travel gift tags, number cookie cutters, little button jar, alphabet stamps

clockwise :: heads and tails, world map wallpaper, sparkling mike, mr. p tape dispenser

they have a little something for everyone, don’t they?  with a simplistic approach to design and function, it seems i could find stuff to spruce up my tiny homestead all day!  enjoy browsing the many pages of cox & cox, they will surely get you in the mood for spring!

xoxo!

wrap up: {catalog} {children} {cox & cox} {craft} {garden} {home} {spring}

hi dear ones!  well, it seems that the hubba has passed his cold on to me. :(  i’m at home today with a scratchy throat and dizzy head, so i’m going to take the rest of the day off to relax.  i did however, want to thank you for all of your sweet comments lately, they are so special to me!

if you want to see more of our house and the small things that really make it feel like home, i’ve added a few new flickr albums that you can browse.

for lovely things :: home details

for more rooms shots :: our home

i’ll be back tomorrow with some handmade goodness and a little something else i’ve been working on. :) i hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo, bonnie

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happy monday!  how was your weekend?  ours was wonderful but quite rainy.  we enjoyed good company at a birthday part on saturday and yesterday ended up being very productive as well.  after church, david and i had a comical day filled of honey-do’s.  i was busy sewing on a new batch of aprons (viewable later today!) and watching hgtv while the mister installed deadbolts on the doors while listening to the decemberists.  with the hammering, music, sewing machine and tv on (and the occasional frustrated yell from the hub- who knew it would take 4 hours to add a lock to the door?) it was quite noisy around here!  we had fun having a totally stereotypical married couple day.

i’m excited to introduce a new shop to you today! my friend eva halkias has been working hard to open a brand new online shop where you can purchase with peace of mind.  green rainbow is stocked full of beautiful eco-friendly, recycled, homemade & vintage products.  she just opened last week so i though we could all spread the love by sharing her incredible shop with the people we know.  in addition to the products, she also features a section for eco tips and links so shopping there becomes a learning experience as well! you’ll even be able to see my pillows there soon!  by shopping green we’ll all be able to keep seeing the beautiful colors of the rainbow- so go check it out and spread the word!

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i found these eco chic ideas over at wholeliving- not only are they all eco friendly (find all 25 here) but some of them are really cute and totally diy!

i love this mixed glass centerpiece.  seems like i’m always falling in love with vintage glassware, but can never figure out what to do with them! this is also an easy breezy way of showing off your greens- bringing little bits of your garden inside!

i’ve  been re-covering a few chairs lately, and i love the idea of using an old sweater to do so! in fact, i just found one that our dear doggie chewed a whole in.  thanks, toaster, for making me materials for this project!

i’m sure you’ve heard about the dangers plastics can lead to.  if you heat food up in plastic containers, put hot food in them for storage, or drink from plastic water bottles that have gotten hot in your car- they can leach toxic carcinogenic chemicals into your system.  so, i switched to all glass containers a while back.  ikea offers affordable storage containers, and i often thrift for glass finds.  an easy and quite affordable way to cut your exposure to toxins!

this totally diy cork trivet is so cute, isn’t it?  what a great way to put those corks to use..

a scarf quilt- i love this idea! don’t you have some old scarves or maybe one from your aunt you wouldn’t be caught dead in? combining them in this quick quilt makes for a cozy, scrappy kind of look.

combining the wax from you’re almost burnt out candles can give them a little extra life.  as long as the candles aren’t in anything metal, you can just pop them in your microwave, melt the was, remove the old wick, and pour into a new container.  you can find brand new wicks at your local craft store and it’s simple to hot glue one into the bottom of a container.  this way, you won’t have to throw away all those almost-empty candles!

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