DIY - Paper Organizer

Have you ever wondered if a cereal box is the same size as a standard piece of paper? No? Well, if you ever intend to take the time to cut one up, paper mâché it for reinforcement and use it to hold your filing- you should probably double check first. Wait - I'll save you the trouble: it will not work.

I saw this idea in a DIY book my girlfriend got from the library. Although nowhere did it say to paper mâché- this was just a strange impulse I had- it did say to use a giant laundry soap box. Which should have been my first clue.

Instead of searching for smaller things I'd like to put into a box, I just cut off the front bit, turned it sideways and made it a little longer. Then, I used up an entire roll of hockey tape to put it all together, and went over the edges so it looked less patched up. Came out almost sharper than the first time around.

I won't do a step-by-step here - there were a few too many modifications with the front area- but basically you would just cut out the shape above, and remove the shortest open side. Mix some white flour with water in a bowl until you get a liquid consistency, dip strips of paper and start sticking them on, inside and out (hopefully your head and heart fill with some childhood nostalgia here). Use hockey tape to go over the edges and fill the gap underneath where you will have a space (I just put a piece underneath and then overtop so there was no adhesive left exposed).

Sounds... easy, right? Kind of? Anyway, looks good. Spent ... nothing on it. Especially since it was my boyfriend's cereal, hockey tape and flour. Suck it, Ikea.

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins

Without a doubt these are the best muffins I've ever made. I took some advice from an old neighbour in Nova Scotia, and used the skeleton of her recipe for banana nut muffins to make this one. Unlike a few recipes I've tried in the past, these were perfectly moist - at least for the 3 days they lasted in my kitchen. I think the addition of apple sauce, presence of zucchini and elimination of vegan milk helped immensely here. 

One thing I did notice was that this recipe has a fairly small yield- I ended up with 7 small-medium sized muffins. I would recommend doubling it, especially if you prefer larger ones or are baking for more than one or two people. 

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Jalapeño Poppers

I once worked with an ex-military South-African man named Phillip on an organic farm in Greece. He had his own sort of wisdom. He never killed mosquitos, for example, because he couldn't make one out of sea water and air and therefore did not feel it was his right to do so.

I became quite sick over there. It was at a time when I couldn't choose what I ate, and had a disastrous immune system. Phillip took to calling me Sinusitis. He told me for a remedy, I had to peel an entire onion and eat a handful of chillies from this plant outside:

And did I? Of course not. But he checked in the next day. 

Was I feeling better? No. Did I do what he told me to? No. To my dismay, he went outside and to get the chillies. He came back in and took out an onion. He was going to do it with me- for moral support and the sake of camaraderie. We peeled the onion. We crushed the chillies. Before I could really grasp what was happening, he was holding my head down into a handful of peelings, passionately instructing me to take long deep breaths. When I couldn't take it anymore and came up for air, he threw the crushed chillies into my mouth. It was one of the most uncomfortable combination of sensations ever to have reached my nose, throat, eyes and mouth. When I finally managed to stop coughing and ask how he came to know this method of healing, he confessed that he didn't: he had thought about it once in a kitchen and wanted to see if it would work. He left me then, to go, scare the stray cats out of begging for food and turn them back into being, "the ultimate predators that they are." I realized he was drunk. And I was still sick. 

I used to think chillies were too overpowering. That day in Greece was the first and last time I've ever bit into a raw one. Despite my aggressive introduction, I've since appreciated their presence in culinary arts. This next recipe is the first time I've used them whole, and although it widened the void in my heart where delicious things like real cheese and real sour cream used to be, I'll definitely be making them again.

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Jalapeño Poppers   

Ingredients:   

8 whole jalapeño peppers

1/2 cup cooked sweet potato, skin removed

1 shallot, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp chili powder 

1/2 -1 cup coconut milk, or other vegan milk 

1/4 cup GF bread crumbs

1/4 cup oat flour, or other GF flour 

Lime wedges 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mash together the sweet potato, shallot, garlic, nutritional yeast, lime juice and 1 tsp of chilli powder. Set aside. 

A lot of people recommend using gloves here - I never do and will always end up with some part of my eye or nose suffering as a consequence. Just be careful and remember your fingers are poisonous throughout this process. Slice the jalapeños length-wise, either all the way through or just to the stem. Remove the innards and seeds. Fill them with the sweet potato mixture. 

Mix the bread crumbs with the other tsp of chilli powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the flour onto a plate, and the bread crumb mixture onto another. 

Dip each one in milk, and roll them gently in the flour. Let them dry for a minute, then dip them again and roll them gently in the breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven on a lightly oiled pan or parchment paper for 30 - 40 minutes, until soft. 

I mixed it up, but this recipe makes 8-16 poppers, depending on how you end up slicing them. Serve with lime wedges and a neutralizing dip, like a sour-cream equivalent, and pair it with cold beer or cider.

DIY - Coconut Oil Citrus Sugar Scrub

I had a weekend of projects which I would describe as semi-failures. My raw wraps emerged from my dehydrator as delicate little wisps of crackers, and I mistakenly assumed that cereal boxes were the same size as your average piece of paper while crafting an organizer for my filing. In that moment, when I was ready for the final triumphant step of neatly placing the newly sorted paper trail of my life into its new home, I exhaled and instead decided to try something a with less room for error.

This next project may surprise people who have known me for many years. I have never been a girly-girl. But, since leaving university and stepping out from under the wings of my roommates, I have made many upgrades to my life. Boots and heels have replaced Crocs on weekends. No one has warned me that I wouldn't be allowed into their birthday party if I wore my Bob Marley sarong (I understand now that this is not the same as a strapless dress). I have purchased my very first hair straightener, had my very first manicure, and - for the first time in my life - I now own and understand the benefits of moisturizer and bath products.

The latter has gotten me excited about this next discovery. Firstly, because it's so simple. Secondly, because I like sugar, I like pretty smells, I like smooth skin and I like making my own things. My girlfriend is coming back from a week-long trek through the mountains of Nepal, so for her birthday, I thought I'd make her something that could involve a side of candles, warm water and feeling squeaky clean.

The basic rule with sugar scrubs is that your ratio of sugar to oil is 2-1. Other than that, it's a matter of adding the essential oil or spices of your choice. You can experiment with different variations, but here's what I ended up using:

1 cup coconut oil
2 cups fine white sugar
2 tbsp natural honey
15-20 drops orange or preferred essential oil (I really didn't shy here... just keep adding until it's strong enough for you)

Heat the coconut oil on the stove on low until it's liquid, and slowly stir it into a bowl with the sugar. Add all the other ingredients and mix together well. Put into a jar or dish to use in the shower, and voila! The coconut oil will solidify once it has returned to room temperature. Using a sugar scrub feels best if you have a little shower mitt to use, but you can also just use your hands. You should avoid using this on your face, and be very careful in the shower or tub since it can get pretty slippery. Yields just over one medium mason jar.

Stuffed Mushroom Pecan Loaf with Savoury Tofu and Vegan Gravy

In my opinion, cooking is one of the best things about a holiday. This year for Easter, we were far removed from family and recipe books at a remote cottage in the hills. With barbecued lamb on my boyfriend's dinner menu, the task fell upon me to create a vegan equivalent. Although there was room for quite a few things to go wrong, starting with the fact that I didn't have all the ingredients at my fingertips, I knew I had to try anyway. And, if it turned out to be a dry, crumbled pile of mushrooms and nuts- at least I would have something resembling gravy to put on top. And lots of wine to drink.

Despite not having any binding ingredients and very little flour, the shape and moisture from the tofu and mushrooms all held together for me. And with a distinct note of impatience in the air from my partner behind me when we were finally ready to eat and I took my camera out, I captured a little edible Easter miracle.