~ My Website ~

Saturday, September 3, 2011

A Delicious Labor Day Recipe

As the summer comes to an close here in Florida (we do have a little bit of a temperature change thank goodness) Mango season is also coming to an end. Locally, we drive about 10 minutes to a local mango farm in Merritt Island, FL which happens to be one of the most ideal places to grow mangoes, and they are delicious. When we first started going to this farm, we had so many mangoes that I had to come up with lots of recipes so we could use them up. You can only have so many mango smoothies!
So, I came up with this farm fresh dish that I make just about once a week at least. Here's the recipe:

Mango Farm Salad
1 Mango (peeled and sliced)
1 Avocado (pitted and sliced)
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1 Large Tomato, chopped
1 Cup Frozen Corn (dethawed in warm water for 5 minutes)
1 Cup Pecans
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup or Agave
2 Tablespoons Tamari
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
Pinch of Salt to taste


Directions:
Throw all ingredients into a large bowl and toss. If you have too much liquid you can strain it out. Serve immediately.

Yesterday I didn't have corn when I made this - and I usually made it with corn. But it's just as good without.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day and lots of relaxation time with friends and family!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Sewing Facial Pad Tutorial

Yahoo for a new shipment in of Bamboo Fleece and Hemp fabrics! The Bamboo is on the top and the Hemp on the bottom. You can see the Bamboo is a little thicker and the hemp looks just like a washcloth material. I just love creating with these two baby-soft fabrics, so it was time to make a fresh batch of Facial Pads. You don't find quality fabrics like this in stores these days, so it's so fun to have the opportunity to create something from scratch with a high quality fabric such as these.

To make the facial pads, I trace the circle shapes on the fabrics with an erasable marker, circling around just a basic lid. I pin the fabrics together and then cut them all out with a rotary cutter. 
Lots of circles!
Once all the circles are cut out, I pin all the layers together. Then I sew each one by hand, on my handy-dandy sewing machine. After they are sewn, I make tiny snips around the circles and wash them in my handmade soap. Then they fray nicely around the edges.
Ta da! Luxurious facial pads all ready to go! Perfect for a softening facial wash, eye makeup remover, or even deoderant applicator. These fabrics are so strong, that they wash up beautifully for many uses.
Now, if I can just decide on what else to use this fabric for, maybe a soothing aromatherapy neck wrap, or some eye pads? Hmmmm the possibilities are endless! Any suggestions?