Simply Rurban

4th of July – Make A Bandana Flag

Posted on June 19, 2012 by simply0637

With the 4th of July around the corner and our door looking barren – it was time again to make something to hang on it. Figured why not a flag. This flag is super easy to make and if you have them uses bandanas – I did not have enough, but you can buy them at Michaels for under $2 each.

4th of July Bandana Flag

Items Needed

2 red bandanas
1 blue bandana
20″ x 26″ piece of white fabric
Sewing machine
Neutral thread
Quilt backing
Twine and twig (optional)

1. From the white fabric cut: 15 1/2″ x 20″ backing piece, 3 (1 5/8″ x 19″) strips and 3 (1 5/8″ x 11 1/8″) strips.

2. From the red bandana – cut the following from the borders of the bandanas, 3 (1 5/8″ x 19″) strips and 4 (1 5/8″ x 11 1/8″) strips.

3. Cut a 8 3/8″ square from the center of the blue bandana.

4. Cut a 15 1/2″ x 20″ piece of batting.

5. Sew the long strips together, with red as the first strip and white as the last – alternating colors. Press seams and set aside.

6. Sew the short strips together, starting with a red and ending with a red, alternating colors. Press seams.

7. Sew the blue square to the short strip square. You want the blue square to be on the left. Press seams.

8. Sew the long strip piece to the blue square piece. Press seams.

9. Stack the batting, then the white backing (right side up) and the the flag (right side down. Pin together and sew around edges, leaving an opening for turning.

10. Clip corners and trim seams – turn right side out.

11. Slip stitch the opening closed.

12. I decided to quilt the flag – I sewed a star on the blue square and then sew each edge of the white strips.

13. I place velcro on the back of the flag and hung on the door, but you could sew twine along the side of the flag and attach to a twig or branch and “fly” your flag.

Posted in Crafts, Sewing | Tagged 4th of july, crafts, flag, sewing | 6 Comments

The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge

Posted on June 18, 2012 by simply0637

Going through my tweets a couple of weeks ago I came across a tweet that mentioned a school lunch contest that First Lady, Michelle Obama was doing. This piqued my interest and when I read it to Stella she was all for it.

We read the directions and guidelines and put our thinking caps on. One challenge was following the guidelines set forth in the Choose My Plate program. As we were putting together different menus – I kept going back to the food guidelines. I really think they need to have a kids one and adult one, but I will not get into that now.

To explain the contest – this contest is the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. With all the news, discussions, disgust, etc regarding school lunches this really is a great challenge. I was very surprised that I did not hear about it more – but I do not watch TV news, but even people I mentioned this too had not heard about it. The challenge is sponsored by First Lady, Michelle Obama, US Department of Education and Epicurean. There will be one winner from each state and the winners will be invited to the White House for a State Dinner, where the menu will be based on some of the winning recipes. It was open to kids ages 8 – 12 and their parents/guardians. The recipes have to follow the Choose My Plate guidelines, need to be original recipes, affordable and delicious.

The deadline for entry was June 17 and we made it! We submitted our entry and now will wait patiently until July 16 – that is when the winners will be notified.

So what was our entry?

Dish Cakes filled with fruit – the strawberries and cherries were picked at a local farm, 1 serving of raw milk cheese and a salad with greens (local), 1/2 an avocado, lentils and lentils sprouts (we sprouted) with a drizzle of olive oil. This met the Choose My Plate Guidelines – which is mostly fruit and vegetables, smaller portion of protein and grains and an even smaller portion of dairy.

We are keeping our fingers crossed! How cool would it be to go to the White House and to get there with a healthy and nutritious school lunch? Way Cool!!!

Posted in Life, Lunch, Recipes | Tagged contest, lunch, school | 6 Comments

The First Kids Can Cook Class

Posted on June 15, 2012 by simply0637

It has taken several months to get this put together, but last night we had our first Kids Can Cook class. Four students showed up, which worked out well for the first class and getting our feet wet. The class was 2 hours long and we made pizza from scratch – that included the crust and sauce. We used the pizza recipe I have shared before on the blog and then a simple, fast sauce recipe. Not knowing the experience of the participants, I wanted the sauce to be simple and need nothing diced, chopped or cut up. Each student made a pizza a little bigger than a personal size and then were able to bring the rest of their dough home and show their family what they can make!

Quick Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

1 28oz. can diced, organic tomatoes
5 – 7 cloves of garlic
1 Tbl coconut oil
Tomato paste
Fresh basil
Herbs & Spices (we used thyme, oregano and an herb mix)

1. Peel the garlic cloves.

2. In a large sauce pan, heat the coconut oil.

3. Add the garlic and saute. Instead of chopping the garlic I placed it in a garlic press – the kids liked this.

4. Saute the garlic, but do not let it brown.

5. Add the diced tomatoes, stirring to mix with the garlic and heat up.

6. Once heated add the basil, tear it up a little. Let the sauce simmer for about 5 – 10 minutes.

7. Add the spices and herbs.

8. If you want it thicker add some tomato paste. (Don’t want to waste what is left of the tomato paste? Spoon it out by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen place in a freezer bag – take out what you need later on – no waste!) Stir.

8. Turn the heat off and allow to cool slightly. Using am immersion blender, puree the sauce to the consistency of your liking. I prefer mine to have very little chunks.

This recipe made almost a quart of sauce. Store any leftover in a mason jar in the fridge.

The kids really enjoyed themselves and were asking when the next class would be and what were we going to cook. As we waited for our dough to rise – it was off to the kitchen to clean up our mess. After the sighs of “do we have too”, they set up an assembly line and when I said it was time to go back to pizza making they wanted to finish the dishes first!

We video taped the class and I spent a good amount of time editing all the footage together. I got it down to about 10 minutes – so remember this is a novice editor, but enjoy our fun!

Thank you to everyone that helped put this together: The Village of Sleepy Hollow, Jetta and Gail!

Posted in Kids Cooking, Recipes | Tagged cooking, kids, pizza | 3 Comments

Artist Canvas Placemats

Posted on June 14, 2012 by simply0637

When we go to New Orleans we use the coolest place mats. My friend Lorrie made then awhile back, several sets, and this time I asked her how she did it. Well she went on to tell me, you have to get artist canvas, then you paint the base coat, usually 2 coats, then you paint designs, use stencils, write quotes, sew the edges and finally seal with with water based acrylic. OK – it did not sound too hard – I was going to give it a go.

First I needed to get the artist canvas, one call made to Lorrie. Then I had to get the water based acrylic, another call to Lorrie. The artist canvas arrived – I cut my piece, but what side do I paint on, another call to Lorrie. Meanwhile I am following her blog post on it. Do a paint wash on the back? – yes another call to Lorrie. Then I was almost done – but do I sew the sides first or do the acrylic? you guessed it – another call. I think I may have used up my quota of calls for the year on just this one project!

And then there was the rain, and more rain and even more rain. Being able to get outside to paint and allow to try was not easy. The day I did the paint wash on the back – the weather report said no rain during the day, developing in the late evening. So I got up, set everything up painted the back and went back in the house. I was in the kitchen and is that rain I hear? I stepped outside and it was a light drizzle. I got the canvas and hung over the shower rod – but because it was so humid and moist – it did stop raining and the sun came out – it took almost all day to dry!

Artist Canvas Placemats

Items Needed

Artist canvas (can buy the roll on Amazon)
Paint (I get the small sample paints at Home Depot)
Stencils, sponges, etc.
Paint brushes
Water based poly-acrylic
Sewing machine
Matching thread

1. Cut a strip of canvas 72″ x 20″ – I did this by measuring one end to the other, but when I was cutting the individual placemats realized I probably should have drawn the line by measuring from the edge of the canvas – they were a little uneven.

2. Decide what color you want your base to be and paint at least 2 coats – allowing plenty of time to dry in between coats. You can paint on either side and make that your top, but the “real” top is the whiter side.

3. Now use your imagination and go for it – design away!!

Painting with a fork

Stenciling

Added stars

Using a sponge

4. Place some of the base paint in a cup, add water and paint the back of the canvas.

5. Cut your 4 place mats, they should measure approximately 19″ x 15″. Turn over each edge about 1/2″ and sew on the sewing machine. Not all of my turned edges were the same width, but they were close.

6. Using the poly-acrylic, paint 2 coats on the top and 1 on the back. These are especially great to use at the outside table. All you need to do is sponge them off and that’s that – no laundry and they last a long time!

Posted in Crafts, Dining Table | Tagged crafts, painting, placemats | 3 Comments

Kids Craft Corner – Father’s Day iPod Cover

Posted on June 13, 2012 by simply0637

We spent Sunday in between chores and soccer making an iPod case for Father’s Day. Our neighbor came over and he wanted to make all sorts of crafts. It was fun watching Stella show him how to make the book marks that we made last week. I searched and searched for a good Father’s Day craft idea for the kids to make and most of them were for younger kids. If I had been thinking about Father’s day I probably could have come up with a good craft, but I am not sure where the week went and my brain had no room for thinking in that capacity. I came across this pattern, printed it off and sat down to try and figure it out from the directions – not so easy. I then finally figured it out – I am a visual person and there was only one picture – and then made some changes.

Father’s Day iPod (MP3) Cover

Items Needed

Old pair of jeans
Scissors
Fabric glue
Stick on velcro
Decorations
A heavy book or 2
Cloth pins

1. Cut out the pocket from an old pair of jeans – you want the whole pocket – so cut around and leave the backing.

2. Trim around the outside seam of the pocket, making it look nice.

3. Cut a piece from the bottom of the leg, about 2 1/2″ wide and 4″ long. You want the bottom seam. This is going to be your flap.

4. Turning your pocket over measure it and mark a line for the half way mark. Our pocket were 5″ across so I drew a line at the 2 1/2″ mark so the kids had a marker for when they were folding.

5. Trim up your flap. You will want to center it on the back of the pocket, making sure you have enough for the flap. Using fabric glue the flap to the back of the pocket – making sure that the right side is facing up or at you.

6. Using fabric glue, place glue on the back of the pocket and then fold one side matching up with the center marker line, then do the same for the other side. You can either place under a book to hold down while drying or clamp with cloth pins.

7. Cut a small piece of the self stick velcro and place where you want the closure to be.

8.Once the glue is dry you can decorate. The kids decided to use some of the self stick gems and then using fabric glue glued on glass pieces.

Because the flap is not too snug over the top, there is room for the head phone wire. Happy Father’s day.

Posted in Kids Crafts | Tagged father's day present, iPod cover, kids craft | 3 Comments

What To Do With All Those Pistachio Shells

Posted on June 12, 2012 by simply0637

We usually always have a bowl of pistachio nuts on our coffee table. As we were eating them one evening and tossing the shells into another bowl – I started thinking there must be something I can do with these – so I started collecting them in a large zip lock bag. I did a search for What to do with pistachio shells and the list of items that came up surprised me. One was to ground the shells and make soap – that just looked like it would hurt – so passed on that one. I saw a cool picture of bowls made from the shells and I definitely wanted to make that. I figured my first try would probably be a learning experience and end up as decoration so I decided to paint the shells.

Pistachio Shell Bowl

Items Needed

Pistachio Shells (a couple hundred)
Spray paint (optional)
Newspaper
Plastic wrap
Bowl or mold
White glue

1. I did not do this step, but will probably do it next time – wash the shells and get the salt off. I did clean them of the nut skins.

2. Lay them out to dry if washing – or lay them out on newspaper (outside) and spray paint. This was a couple step process. DO NOT put a lot of pressure on the nozzle – the shells will fly when hit with the paint. I did both the inside and out side. Make sure that they are dry completely.

3. Pick a bowl as your mold – cover with plastic wrap. This makes cleaning the bowl easier, but it also helps in taking the pistachio shell bowl out.

4. In another bowl put a handful or two of shells and add about a tablespoon of glue. Mix with your hand – making sure all the shells are coated.

5. Take the gluey shells and press them into your bowl mold.

6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until all shells have been used.

7. Allow to dry overnight. In the morning lift the bowl out by the plastic wrap. Gently pull the plastic wrap off. The underside of the bowl may still be a little wet -turn the shell bowl over and place on the plastic wrap to allow the bottom to dry.

8. Some of my shells did not stick the way I wanted them to – so I just put a drop of glue on them and stuck them to the bowl.

Now you have a great bowl, made from something that most people throw away. This will be a conversation starter!

Posted in Crafts, Recycled, Repurposed | Tagged bowl, crafts, pistachio shells, repurpose | 2 Comments

Brownies – Raw Food Style!

Posted on June 11, 2012 by simply0637

When I am on the go all day long I like to keep an energy bar with me. Most of the bars I don’t really like or do I feel that they are very good for me. I have recently found a raw food bar that comes in several flavors and I really enjoy them. Reading the ingredients I figured I could give it a go and try making my own. I made my first batch this past weekend – LOVE THEM! I am already coming up with other recipes and cannot wait to try them. Both Stella and I tried them and thought they were excellent, but I really wanted to get another opinion. I took a few over to our neighbors and had them try them – they LOVED them and think I should find a way to sell them at the local coffee shop and just sell them in general.

I wanted to add some superfoods to the recipe and opted for cacao and spirulina. There is no medical or legal definition, but superfoods are considered nutrient powerhouses that pack large doses of antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. I have never done anything with spirulina before and it to tell the truth it intimidates me (not sure if that really conveys it, but all I can come up with).

Spirulina is jam packed with nutrients! It is a complete protein and rich in the following vitamins: beta carotene, B1, B2, B6, E and K. To find out more check out this site http://www.integral-health-guide.com/spirulina-powder/

Cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. In fact, it has up to four times the quantity of antioxidants found in green tea. To learn more http://www.howdoyoudostuff.com/Cacao_Powder_Health_Benefits.html

Raw Food Brownie

Ingredients

2 cups organic whole walnuts
1/8 – 1/4 tsp of sea salt (I used my favorite Portuguese sea salt)
1 cup organic raw cacao
2 – 2 1/2 cups organic Medjool dates, pitted
2 – 3 tsp spirulina
1 cup organic raw almonds, roughly cut

1. Pour the walnuts into a food processor and blend until the nuts are finely ground.

2. Add the salt and cacao powder, pulse to combine – you may have to scrape the sides and bottom.

3. Pit the dates, measure and add to the mixture, 1 at a time, until you have half left.

4. Add the spirulina.

5. Add the rest of the dates. The mixture will looks crumbly, which is fine – you just want to make sure that it will hold together. Take a small amount and make a ball in your hand – if it holds together, ready to go to the next step if not, add a couple more dates and try and again.

6. Measure 1 cup of almonds, then roughly cut them up. You decided how fine you want them.

7. Line a brownie pan (8×8 or 9×8 – depending on how thick you want them) with parchment paper.

8. In a glass bowl mix the chopped almonds and the date mixture. Pour into the pan and press firmly.

9. Cover and put in the freezer until you are ready to serve. I just cut a few at a time and then place the covered pan back in the freezer.

At the farmer’s market this weekend I bought some organic cashew butter sweetened with organic maple syrup – this is now on the list to try in the recipe next, along with apple, goji berries, dried blueberries and coconut!

Posted in Raw Food, Recipes | Tagged brownie recipe, cacao, raw food, spirulina | 1 Comment

Update – This and That & That and This

Posted on June 8, 2012 by simply0637

Over the many blogs so far there have been times when I have said I will let you know or I will update when it is done, etc – so I decided last night as I was pouring the vanilla extract that I made that I would do some updating to previous blogs.

Vanilla Extract

After 3 weeks the extract was done. It turned a beautiful vanilla bean brown and smells wonderful (wish I could put a smell button on here – I am sure that is coming…). I will be using it this weekend when I make our weekly batch of pancakes. I brought a bottle down to Will who owns the wine store I frequent – that is where I bought the organic vodka. Will is also going to try it out this weekend and maybe we will do some cross marketing – that would be fun. I purchased some brown bottles to store the vanilla extract in and also so I could give it away. I am also going to try and freeze a bottle and see how it goes – will update you on that in the future. This was so easy to make and so much more economical than buying it at the health food or traditional market.

Bathroom Mirror

Last fall as I was trying out different homemade cleaning solutions, I had come across in my research that if you rub a bathroom mirror with dish soap and then buff it it would not fog up for 2 weeks. I tried this and it did not work for me. Maybe I did not use enough soap, but I don’t think I will try again.

Coffee Dyed Yarn

Stella needed to bring in some brown yarn for a school art project – but I did not have any brown yarn in my leftovers bag. Instead of going out to buy some we used coffee to dye our own. The yarn was used for a mask she was making and it was sent home about a month ago. We will definitely be putting this in a shadow box and hanging on the wall. I just love it!

Enzyme Cleaner

It has been 2 months and I still have another month to go until I can use the solution. I feel lucky that it did not explode in the first couple of week, since I did not always remember to shake it and let the gas out. It does not smell at all. I shake every once in awhile and am now just counting down the last month until I can use it. Will update you again once I have tried it out!

Posted in Life | Tagged enzyme cleaner, vanilla extract | 1 Comment

Make Your Own Scented Dryer Sachets

Posted on June 7, 2012 by simply0637

As the rain continues to fall – I decided a good afternoon project would be to make my own dryer sachets. This is the time of year that I usually put my clothes line up, but haven’t done it yet. Each time that I go to do the laundry it has been raining. I have wanted to make some dryer sachets, especially since I have so much dried chamomile. I read somewhere that if you put in flax seeds that it would cut the static cling – so figured why not try it.

Scented Dryer Sachets

Items needed

Cotton fabric scraps, lone socks, old t-shirts
Dried lavender, chamomile, rose, geranium
Flax seeds
Sewing machine (optional)
Matching thread
Pinking sheers (optional)

1. Pull out scrap material and iron.

2. Cut (2) two 5″ x 5″ squares from each fabric.

3. Placing wrong sides together – sew around the edges, leaving an opening to put the dried flowers inside. If you are going to cut the fabric with pinking sheers leave enough fabric to do so. I chose to use the sewing machine.

4. If you want this would be the time to trim with pinking sheers.

5. Mix 3/4 cup of dried flowers with 1/4 flax seeds.

Flax Seeds

Dried Lavender from the garden

Chamomile, lavender and flax

6. Fill the bags and then sew up seam.

7. Depending on how often you do laundry and how full you filled them, each sachet should last 3 – 6 months. Squeeze several times before tossing into the dryer to release the fragrance.

Posted in Sewing | Tagged chamomile, dryer sachet, flax, lavender | 3 Comments

Kids Craft Corner – Paperclip Bookmark

Posted on June 6, 2012 by simply0637

Stella is an avid reader as am I and when I saw a picture of this somewhere on my internet travels – it made the craft “To Do” list. I thought it would be perfect for my cookbooks, since I am always tearing little pieces of paper to mark all the recipes I want to try. Stella loved doing this and cannot wait to make more, she could only make one since she had a lot of homework.

Paperclip Bookmark

Items needed

Large paperclip
Ribbon, yarn, string
Beads, bells

1. Get all your items out and decide on what you are going to use.

2. Cut your string or yarn or whatever you have chosen to use – we both cut 3 pieces. You will want them sort of long since they will be knotted and doubled over.

3. String them through the paperclip – the end that does not go on the paper first. Line up the ends and then tie a knot.

4. You can leave it as is or you can add some beads, knots, bells – you decided. Both Stella and I decided to use beads.

5. Place the paperclip on a page and now you have 6 page markers if you need them.

This is a really fast craft and simple. I am going to make several of these and place them in my most used cookbooks and craft books. Stella is going to try and bead the strings next time so that all you have is beads!

Posted in Kids Crafts | Tagged book mark, craft, kids crafts, paperclip | 1 Comment

4th of July – Make A Bandana Flag

The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge

The First Kids Can Cook Class

Artist Canvas Placemats

Kids Craft Corner – Father’s Day iPod Cover

What To Do With All Those Pistachio Shells

Brownies – Raw Food Style!

Update – This and That & That and This

Make Your Own Scented Dryer Sachets

Kids Craft Corner – Paperclip Bookmark

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