make-ahead summer salad

This is almost so easy I shouldn't call it a recipe, but I'm always amazed that something so simple can taste sooooo good.

I'm calling this a make-ahead salad because I steam my broccoli and sautee the tofu at the start of the week, and then everything's ready to go in my fridge at any time.

Ingredients:
1-2 broccoli crowns, chopped and steamed
1 block of firm tofu, cubed and sauteed with spices (my go-to is Clubhouse's Thai seasoning mix. I eat this on nearly everything)
cherry tomatoes
2 avocados
2 lemons
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soya sauce, but if you've never tried Bragg's, I'd recommend checking it out!)

This makes 4 servings in total, which I eat 1 at a time by tossing 1/4 of the broccoli, 1/4 of the tofu, and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Chop and add a half an avocado, squeeze on the juice of half a lemon and a splash of Bragg's with each bowl.

YUM. Seriously.

new things: thrift store edition

Some finds from my thrifting adventures the other week. Levi's jeans that I've cut into shorts, an LL Bean chambray shirt, and a J. Crew blazer with neat detailing on the inside. All for $13. 

holga lens

I recently purchased a Holga lens for my DSLR. I haven't had a chance to fully test it out yet, but here is a photo of my favorite abandoned factory taken with the lens.

a few little things

Put an animal on something and I am almost guaranteed to like it. This little pillow caught my eye while window shopping (at Attica, on Barrington Street in Halifax, for those who may be in this neighbourhood). Below are some others that I also really love:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 

spray painted geometric flower pot d.i.y.

Supplies:

terracotta flower pot

masking tape

spray paint

Directions:

1. Tape off the flower pot with masking tape, make sure the tape is firmly placed on so paint does not bleed underneath the tape

2. Spray paint the flower pot, depending on how many colors you want, spray paint first layer, and then tape again to spray paint second layer

vegan cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup almond milk
2 "flax eggs" (2 tbsp of ground flax + 6 tbsp hot water)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.
3. Prepare the flax eggs (add hot water to ground flax seeds) and set aside4. Mix dry ingredients
5. Mix wet ingredients
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes

d.i.y.: painting furniture

Painting things is a great way to spruce things up. I recently found this table (for free -someone was throwing it away!) and I painted the top turquoise and sanded the legs for a distressed look. I've also painted some other things, which I will get around to sharing soon.

playlist: youth

Youth from l.doan on 8tracks Radio.

A playlist for drinking lemonade in the sun on a lazy summer afternoon. 

Tracks:

1. Arcade Fire - Wake Up

2. Youth Lagoon - Seventeen

3. Avi Buffalo - Truth Sets In

4. Tennis - Origins

5. Dead Man's Bones - Pa Pa Power

6. The Strokes - Someday

7. Sufjan Stevens - Chicago

8. Broken Social Scene - Stars And Sons

9. Feist - 1 2 3 4

10. Stars - Celebration Guns

11. Coconut Records - West Coast

d.i.y. potato stamp tote bag

vegan pumpkin pie

Pie Crust 
makes crust of a 9" pie dish (dough can be split in half depending on how much crust you like)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cane sugar
1/3 cup ice water

Directions:

1. Mix flour, oil, salt, and sugar until crumbly
2. Add water until dough holds
3. Shape into pan

Pie Filling

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree
1 cup cashews
3/4 cups cane sugar
2 tbsp tapioca starch
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

Directions:

1. Soak cashews in water for 3+ hours and drain (I soaked mine overnight the day before I planned on making the pie)
2. Add all ingredients into food processor and mix
3. Add filling to pie crust

beachy clothes

When I was a teenager, Roxy seemed to be just the coolest brand. I remember ages ago hearing that Quiksilver was launching a women's line separate from Roxy that was going to be a little more grown-up, but hadn't run into it in stores...until last weekend! Beach-inspired, casual, and...EVERYTHING on sale online, with free shipping to Canada and the U.S. right now. Tons of deals! These are my faves:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

...I have seen in person (ahem, purchased) 1, 2, and 3 (the bathing suit in the same pattern, but different style) and I'm in love with them.

mushroom fried brown rice

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice

1 vegetable boullion cube

1/2 onion

1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice with vegetable bouillon, let cool

2. Fry onions in olive oil until sauteed

3. Add mushrooms, rice, paprika to onions and fry