Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Pie Experiment....

*EDIT* THE LINK FOR THE PIE AND FOR THE CRUST FOR THOSE THAT ASKED. DOUBLE THE CRUST RECIPE FOR TOP AND BOTTOM CRUST.

So I've never been much of a baker...well let me take that back I've never really had the desire to try my hand at baking with the exception of pre-made cookies and boxed cakes. I've made cookies from scratch and have become quite good at that but that's been the extent of my baking skills.

On our journey as we've begun to change our diet and our eating habits I think what I've missed most are desserts; My evil nemesis if you will and my downfall when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight...that and pasta and bread...Ok well food period, but that's another story. Smile!!!! I'm exaggerating a tad bit, but you all get my point right? I LOVE, ADORE, and have quite the love affair with food, desserts especially

So being almost Vegan (we still eat fish) it's been difficult..no down right impossible to find desserts without animal products in them. We had some pears in the kitchen that no one seemed to be eating and I thought to myself 'Hmmm....what kind of sweet treat can I make with these?' After searching sites online I came across a recipe for a pear pie. I decided I would try my hand at it and was So very surprised at the results. It was SO very good. I made the crust from scratch also and substituted the ingredients in the recipe. Instead of all purpose flour I used Spelt Flour, Earth Balance butter, and Agave honey to replace the sugar. I was a little disappointed because I didn't make quite enough crust for the top and bottom layers so I had to make due as best I could. I'm not really a crust person anyway. I added a little honey and cinnamon to the crust as well and the family loved it. I didn't get a picture of the finished product but I did get a picture of part of the process:



Then after the success with that pie I decided I'd try apple...and OH MY GOODNESS!!!! That one was just as good so now I'm thinking I'm a baking mad woman. Lol

The crust was brushed with a honey and butter mixture. I learned in this process that you shouldn't brush the crust until the baking has almost finished because the crust got a little darker than I would have liked. But hey that's just aesthetics because AGAIN let me remind you I'm not really a crust person...I like the soft crust underneath but that's about it.






The Apple pie was like heaven with this ice cream...YUM

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The hair again....

Hello People!!!



So I decided that I am going to do locs. The downside is since I'm in Colorado there isn't really a wide selection of Nubian hair salons, not to mention ones that I feel comfortable to entrust with my hair. Yes, I know I'm picky but when you've had someone take care of your hair for yearsand they do an amazing job every single time you tend to get a little spoiled. When Lisa (my old stylist) retired she did my hair in her home for awhile but then eventually she gave that up. I did have an alternate,Clover,that worked out of the same salon who also always did a great job. Shortly after the move from MN happened and it was next to impossible for me to find someone that was able to do my hair even half as good as either of them.

I had a few experiences that made me decide I'd stop being lazy and do it myself. What I'd often end up doing is perming my hair because it's SO difficult for me to get it straight myself since my hair is so curly. Perming it made it a lot easier to straighten, more manageable and gave it a more finished look but my hair is SO much healthier without it. So this past summer you all know I chose to cut it all of and go natural. As we became more conscious about what we put IN our bodies we also became more conscious of the the products we use on our body and in our hair.

After I cut my hair I decided I was going to grow dreads. I don't know why I was under the impression that you HAD to start with short hair. Silly me...guess I should have done the research. Anyway, long story short...I found a loctician here 5 minutes from my house and last week I started the process to dread my hair. I'm not real fond of how they look while they're short, but I know the look I'm aiming toward so I'm excited. I'm hoping I can make it through the icky in between stages and not give up. Wish me luck everyone.



This is how I've been wearing my hair as of late since I'm not really feeling the length right now... I know I know...That's what I get for cutting it before really thinking through my plan..yeah yeah!!

Edit: Couldn't really get a good angle, but this is what they look like so far....