Lots of pies

Apple Pie

The new kitchen is awesome and I am spending lots of time making all sorts of goodies. I love the dishwasher of course and the fact that I can clean up my mess is record time. I am pretty amazed that we lasted so long actually without a dishwasher. We really do cook a lot so it is definitely worth it for us and totally fine that we had to give up cabinet space. It is funny though because I think it is all about perspective since our new kitchen is pretty simple and still small. I guess I have been cooking in an old small kitchen for so long that pretty much anything is a huge improvement. Add on top of that a dishwasher and I am happy happy. Here are a few fruits of my labor in our new kitchen. I have been into pie mode lately and made a few yummy ones.

Apple pie - my own creation.

Turnip and carrot pot pie - my recipe again.

Broccoli quiche - from Vegan Brunch

Broccoli quiche - from Vegan Brunch

Pumpkin pie - recipe from Vegetarian Times

Monkey pants tutorial

I have made a lot of the monkey pants from the pattern I purchased from danslalune on etsy. I received an email from someone asking if I could do a tutorial on how I make the pants. The pattern is super cute, but putting it all together is a bit challenging at first. The main challenge is the gusset portion. I did change the pattern around a bit to accomodate non-stretch woven fabric and also sized it up to fit my 18 month old. However, the orginal pattern will work fine as long as you use stretch knits. Here is how I make the pants.

1. Cut out the pattern pieces. I am using recycled microfleece for these pants.


2. Open the pants back and lay flat. Line up the gusset piece with the larger curved portion facing upward as shown.

3. Pin the gusset into the back of the pants. I like to start at the ends and center. I then work my way around to fit in the gusset.

4. Sew in the back gusset. Pin the front and back together and sew.


5. Now you can sew the top casing and hem the pants as you would any other pants. Hope this helps!

Carob graham crackers

We finally remodeled the kitchen and now have a dishwasher. Yahooo!! I love the dishwasher. I also love that I can now open the drawers and not worry about all the saw dust going on the pots and pans below. Let's say our funky 1958 kitchen seriously needed some improving. You can judge yourself by the before and after pictures. I have been cooking and baking lots and lots of fun stuff in the new kitchen. A fun baked goodie that I made recently was carbo graham crackers. I got the recipe from Jennifer McCann and the Vegan Lunch Box. Great recipe and really easy to make. The crackers can be made with chocolate also, but I went with the carob. Jonas really likes them a lot. Yummy!