Month: June 2013

culinary: gluten free buckwheat + coconut flour soda bread

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Remember my summer goals to utilize more gluten free, dairy free ingredients in my baking? Well, this is my first attempt at gluten free bread: buckwheat + coconut flour soda bread. I found a recipe online, but its vague ingredient list left a lot of room for experimenting, which wasn’t quite how I wanted to try out my new [and slightly expensive] flours. But I went for it and you should try it too! My Version of the Basic Recipe:1.5 cups buckwheat flour0.5 cup of coconut flour1/2 tsp salt1.5 tbsp baking powder2 tbsp chia seeds (mixed first with 4 tbsp hot water) *you can omit this too*1 tsp vinegar3 tbsp olive oil1.5 cups vanilla almond milk0.5 cup of hazelnut milk2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all the dry ingredients together. Combine the wet ingredients and then add to the dry. Form a ball of dough. Place in a floured baking sheet and sprinkle the top with a bit of flour too. I also sprinkled some sesame seeds on top. Bake for …

100 Sales Surprise Giveaway!

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Surprise!! I have reached 100 sales on my little Caribbean Etsy shop! This shop was really just a way for me to sell a few of my handmade items, because I just love to work with my hands and create unique one-of-a-kind pieces for folks with a similar taste. I’m honored to have met some great customers along the way – people who have come back again and again! And even some awesome clients who have requested some pretty unique custom pieces too! I appreciate your support of my little shop and to show how grateful I am of all my fans, followers, customers, readers and friends — here is a little surprise giveaway just for you! Find out what and how: That’s right! I’m giving away a pair of custom handwrapped earbuds, my bestseller from the shop! Totally tailored to your style! Each set is completely unique and you choose the colors and accessories! The pair is normally $28 with an additional charge per accessory. For this giveaway, the winner will choose up to …

sustainable living: coconuts

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[Photo by me via VSCO] Did you know if you were ever lost or deserted on a tropical island, you could literally survive solely on coconuts? Although I don’t expect that to happen to any of us, I thought this post would be beneficial to those of you that fancy the flavor of this tropical treat! Did you know:  1 | Coconut water, like from the young green coconut pictured here, is a great source of dietary fiber, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and is also an isotonic electrolyte solution so its perfect as an after-workout drink. 2 | Coconut milk, which is different from the water and is extracted from the white fleshy meat of the coconut, is high in good fats and used in cooking. You can actually even separate the coconut cream from the milk by placing it in the fridge. 3 | Coconut oil is extracted from the meat as well and provides a better frying agent than vegetable oil or lard. In fact, I substitute coconut oil for any baking …

DIY: how to use Pinterest

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Okay, I know this might sound silly to give a DIY on how to use Pinterest, but I’ve discovered so many cool things with this site and I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. If you haven’t thought of some of these ideas, then you’ll definitely be bookmarking this for later!  Find a Recipe // Pinterest is full of beautiful photography, as we all know. So why not use that to your advantage when searching for a new dish to try? This is the first place I go when looking for a new dessert – because the chances are, once I’ve spotted a good-looking, mouth-watering, foodie delight that entices me to “pin it”, then I’m likely going to really enjoy baking it [and eating it]. Many chefs are picking up on this whole “food porno” thing and starting to take enticing photos of their creations so naturally you can find these on Pinterest! Find an Outfit // I go straight to Pinterest to search for styles that I like. For …

wildlife rescue: baby pitirre

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Hello Saturday!! Evan and I had an adventurous Thursday/Friday and I would love for you to read about it on my other blog! We rescued this baby Pitirre (Gray Kingbird) and are currently nursing him back to health. Read all about it and see more cute photos here. Have a great weekend!

culinary: dill butter

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This is such a versatile butter. Perfect on toast, salmon, muffins and so much more. Being a Southerner, I am a butter-hog (but not as much as my father!). If I had the choice to bake with butter or oil, I’ll choose butter hands down every time (unless it’s coconut oil…). Anyways, this particular dill butter reminds me of a delicious spread from my favorite restaurant in South Melbourne Beach, Florida (ahem.. Cafe Coconut Cove), which they served with warm dinner rolls. So, let me tell you how to make it:  Combine these ingredients together in a bowl (makes about 3/4 cup)1.5 tbsp fresh chopped dill1.5 tbsp fresh chopped shallot1.5 tbsp fresh chopped chive1/4 tsp of fine grain sea salt0.5 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature1/3 cup of semi soft cheese (feta, farmer’s or goat cheese) (shown with my first attempt at gluten free bread: buckwheat and coconut bread. Recipe to follow) Spread on your favorite toast or roll. Enjoy :)

travel destinations: Sri Lanka

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http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=64059860&force_embed=1&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=6f8255&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0Walking Sri Lanka from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo. I wanted to share a little destination – Sri Lanka – because I recently saw a job posting come through on a scientific list-serve for teachers for a marine education program in the Maldives (which are small islands off the coast of India, kind of like Sri Lanka). Evan and I were highly considering the idea of living on another island and experiencing another culture for a little bit, so we saved the posting for when we graduate a few years from now. Anyways, have you ever been to Sri Lanka, or know anyone who has? I’m sure they’ve noticed all the beautiful things portrayed in the videos above (by The Perennial Plate) and in Steve McCurry’s travel photos. Wanderlust much? Have a beautiful Thursday!

DIY + sustainable living: hazelnut milk

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Did you know you can make a non-dairy milk from almost any nut? And that it’s actually super simple? Well prepared to be shocked and awed! I recently received my issue of Chickpea magazine, which features a nice spread about all the different sorts of non-dairy milks that you can make easily from your own home and with some basic supplies (no fancy blenders here!). So I decided to try this out and test just how easy it all really is… I chose hazelnuts. Because I love the taste and my grocer actually still carries these out of season. I bought one bag of Diamond brand hazelnuts for $4, a box of all natural coconut water, rounded up my cheese cloth, and prepped my blender. That’s all the materials needed! Now here’s what to do:   First, you will likely need to de-shell your hazelnuts. I did this very quickly and easily by placing several nuts in between a soft kitchen towel. I then took a hammer and gently cracked each nut. Your first couple …

summer reading

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One goal this summer is to read all of the amazing books I’ve been collecting the past several months. These shown are only just a few. I know you’ll recognize Ann Voskamp’s books from last week’s post.  Do you have a particular taste in books? For instance, is there a certain genre that you could really care less about? Or maybe one that you love so much it seems that’s all you ever read? Ever since leaving high school, I pulled away from the fiction as much as possible to try to expand my horizons into true accounts, real stories of real people and their experiences, non-fiction at its best. To me, this includes self-help books too – like Ann’s “One Thousand Gifts”. But every now and then I can slip a good fiction novel into the mix….  Here’s my list, from the top: *Stories of the Sea , curated by Diana Secker Tesdell *One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp *One Thousand Gifts Devotional by Ann Voskamp *A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron *A …