Give Away!

I thought a give away was in order to celebrate my new blogging spot!
A Huge Thanks to everyone who moved over from my previous blog to this one.

I'll be giving away 2 body butters to 2 subscribers. Winners will be chosen randomly on Oct 1st!

You can enter 2 ways
#1-Subscribe here at Crafty Earth Mama.
#2-If you've already subscribed or want a second entry, leave a comment here and let me know how you like the new blog.

Fall is here and it's getting a bit chilly. Keep your skin and hair moisturized and smelling good naturally with Head to Toe White Chocolate Body Butter! It's 100% Organic with no parabens or phthalates.

Let the entries begin!

Simple Salsa

Pin It

5 Roma tomatoes
1 green onion
2tbs cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1tsp Mexican oregano
1/2tsp chili powder
1tsp better than bouillon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

I toss all of this in a manual food processor and mix it up. You can also use a regular food processor, but pulse it, so you can stop when you reach your desired texture. I leave mine slightly chunky.

Enjoy!

Avocado Chutney

Pin It

This recipe came about when a friend mentioned her mother's avo chutney. It sounded super delish and I wanted to try it out asap. She asked and of course, like most Mamas, there was no actual recipe :)
The great cooking Mamas I know, usually just have a catalog of ingredients in their head and throw things together with a little taste testing for yummy dishes. So, she gave me the jist of things and I ran with it. Here's what I came up with.

4 avocados
2tbs chopped cilantro
4oz can green chilis
2 clove garlic
1/4tsp onion powder
1/4tsp cardamom
1/4tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cumin
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Rough chop avocados and mix them up with other ingredients.
Serve with pita bread/chips, tortilla chips, as a sandwich spread or as a condiment for many dishes.
Enjoy!

Roasted Corn Salad

Pin It

16oz roasted corn(I use the frozen trader joe's in a pinch)
2tbs sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil(chop or julienne)
10 kalamata olives chopped (I've used black before as well)
2 roma tomatoes diced
1 avocado diced
2tbs chopped cilantro
juice of 2 small lemons or 1 large
1tsp apple cider vinegar or olive juice
1tsp smoked paprika
2tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
12oz mixed greens or salad mix

Defrost corn if using the frozen variety.
Mix everything together and then add the salad greens.
Enjoy!
Pin It

Chick Pea Salad "Mock Tuna Salad"

Pin It
This salad is wonderful as a sandwich filling, on a bed of mixed greens or with crackers or chips. I make it a lot for get togethers and people always comment on how filling it is with a wonderful texture.

2-15oz cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans)
2 green onions diced
1 stalk celery diced
1/4tsp celery seeds
1/4tsp garlic powder
1/8tsp onion powder
1/4tsp salt or more to taste
1/4tsp lemon pepper or more to taste
1tsp yellow mustard
5tbs veganaise
2tbs chopped pickles or pickle relish
1tsp honey

Drain peas and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork until all beans are broken up, but not mush. Leave some texture to it.
Add all other ingredients and mix well.
Let sit for a deeper flavor or enjoy right away!
I served it along side Shredded BBQ Jack Fruit "Mock Pulled Pork" with mini burger buns, ciabatta rolls, veganaise and mustard.

Pin It

Shredded BBQ Jack Fruit "Mock Pulled Pork"

Pin It

I kept hearing about jackfruit being used in savory dishes and was really interested in trying it out for myself. I decided to use it as a sandwich filling for an upcoming party.
Jackfruit is sweet when ripe, but the kind canned in brine is not sweet at all. It doesn't have much of a flavor, but acts as a sponge to soak up whatever flavor you give it. The texture reminds me of a mushroom. I love the way the BBQ turned out and I'm excited to try some different flavors with this wonderful fruit!

Here's what I used:
2 cans jackfruit in brine
2 cloves garlic
1tsp minced fresh ginger
2tsp smoked paprika
1/2tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
2tbs oil
4oz Korean BBQ sauce

Here's what I did:
Rinse and drain jackfruit. Squeeze as much water out of the jackfruit that you can.
Saute garlic and ginger in oil just until golden. Add in the jackfruit and coat with the oil mixture.
Season with paprika, onion powder and s and p.
Add in 1/2c water and BBQ sauce. Turn down temp and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Take from heat and let cool. I refrigerate it overnight to really let the flavor develop.
Shred jackfruit with your hands and lay on an oiled baking sheet. Broil on high until caramelized. About 10 minutes. If you don't broil the jackfruit, it will taste fine, but the texture will be a bit mushy.
Serve on rolls, buns, a salad or as a side dish.





For the party, I served it along side chick pea salad with mini burger buns, ciabatta rolls, veganaise and mustard.

Pin It

Enjoy!

Bruise and Burn Salve

Pin It

Keep these ingredients on hand to quickly prepare a salve when needed or make the salve and have at the ready.
*This is for minor burns. Please see your health care provider for serious burns and bruises.*

1oz Safflower oil- makes a wonderful odorless carrier oil.
1oz Wheat Germ oil- anti-inflammatory that contains vit e, a and d as well squalene. Squalene promotes cell growth.
1oz Calendula infused oil- very gentle and soothing on skin. wonderful anti-inflammatory that's great for a variety of skin conditions.
1/2oz Rosehip seed oil- contains vit e, vit a and fatty acids that assist in skin rejuvination.
2tbs Candilila wax- a great alternative to bees wax.

Heat all together until wax is melted.
Pour into an airtight container and cool until solid.
Store in a cool, dark place or in the fridge.
Use as needed for burns and bruises.


No, babygirl doesn't have a bruise or burn. She's just putting some on her imaginary owie :)
Pin It

Toddler Short Set

Pin It

I found this pretty tie dye material for 1.50 per yard at the local fabric barn. I couldn't wait to use it! I made a simple short set by using just the body portion of this pattern. I gathered the kneck area and closed with bias tape. Then, I added some straps.
The top worked out perfectly with this quick short pattern. Except, obviously I used my fabric and not a t-shirt. Cute idea for some old t-shirts in the future :)




Pin It

Vegan Coconut Lacuma Ice Cream

Pin It
Let me first start by saying, yum. This didn't make it out of the ice cream maker before babygirl and I tore into it. I used our basic coconut milk ice cream recipe and added amber agave and lacuma powder. Be sure not to substitute the dark for light agave in this recipe and use a good quality lacuma. Both of these together is what gives it a delicious caramel flavor! So good and better for you than conventional dairy caramel ice cream!

2c organic canned coconut milk
1c organic coconut milk beverage
2/3c organic amber agave
1tsp pure vanilla extract
2tbs lacuma powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients together separately and then follow your ice cream makers instructions. You can also freeze this in ice cubes and then blend in a high speed blender such as a vita mix.

So creamy and delicious!

Enjoy!
Pin It

Toddler Summer Dress

Pin It
9 days until Fall and here I am making Summer dresses. Hey, we live in Long Beach, she can still wear them for awhile! I'm a sewing novice and I like to keep my sewing simple, so I gave this pattern a try snappy-toddler-dress. It's a super cute pattern and a great starting point.
Here are my 1st sewing projects.

I love the end result, but I veered off the pattern. Both, because I could'nt figure parts of it out and then I just wanted to get it finished, so I made up my own instructions to part of it :) I used some fabric that I had left over from making her birthday banner back in March.
Here are the changes I made:
-I cut it bigger, so she could get a longer wear out of it.
-I cut trim for the arm holes and back, so that I could just use it to tie in the back instead of snaps or buttons.
-I hemmed the bottom without trim or bias tape.

The 2 back straps come up over the shoulders and through the button holes on the front yolk. Then I tie it across her back. I love the way this part turned out. Next time I will make the straps longer. It's a learning process :)

Pin It

Microwave Popcorn in a Paper Bag

Pin It
We usually make our popcorn on the stove, but every now and again we like the fast ease of using the microwave without the scary ingredients of most microwave popcorn sold in stores.
Simple, quick and yummy :)

1/4c organic popcorn kernels
oil of your choice
any seasonings you please

a few of our favorites
coconut oil, garlic powder and nutritional yeast
coconut oil, garlic powder and nutritional yeast, smoked paprika
coconut oil, cajun seasoning
olive oil, garlic powder, dried rosemary

add your kernels to your bag and fold the bag down until secure.
microwave on high until your popping kernels lessen to only a couple pops per second.



you can eat your fresh popcorn from the bag or pour into a bowl.
drizzle with oil and seasonings.
enjoy!
Pin It

Beginner Composting

Pin It
Yay, I'm composting!
Composting is one of the many things I've been wanting to do for quite sometime, but didn't have the room or means until recently. Living in a small condo in a complex setting made these types of things very difficult. Composting, gardening, hanging laundry to dry, wood working and larger sewing projects are a few of the things we dived right into after our move. With our new home has come a lot of opportunity for self sustainability and I'm so grateful for that!
I've been composting for about 2 months and so far, so good. It will still be a few months before we can use the compost, but it's coming along nicely.

There are a few ways to start composting. I looked into buying a rotating bin, building an enclosure in the yard, digging a trench, just piling it up in the yard and making a bin of my own. After researching it all, I chose to make my own from a trash can. This way I wouldn't spend much to get started, it would be contained to minimize pests and I could move it around freely.

I found the the most economical trash can I could that had a lid and wheels on it. Then, I drilled a few holes all over it for ventilation. Compost needs oxygen to break down all your compost matter into a nutrient rich fertilizer.
A good ratio to start out with is 1 part browns to 3 parts greens. Too many browns and your compost will break down really slow. Too many greens and you will have a smelly pile of goo. I've had both issues so far and corrected my ratio by adding more of one or the other.

Examples of browns:
paper
cardboard
mulch
leaves
Examples of greens:
vegetable and fruit waste
tea bags
coffee grounds
weeds and other yard waste
Things you don't want to compost:
oil or grease
animal flesh or bones
dairy products
food or items that will attract pests
anything with pestacides or chemicals on it

My helper and I started by tearing up some packing paper and newspaper from our recycle bin. You don't have to tear up your paper. It will break down with time on it's own, but I wanted to help it along and my helper and I had fun doing it :)


I started layering. Paper, dry and fresh yard clippings, kitchen scraps. My helper took a break while I did this part :)



Just a note. If you use weeds in your compost, be sure it's free of seeds and let it dry completely before adding to your bin. Unless you want to grow yourself some more weeds :)


I keep this bowl in my fridge for kitchen scraps. Once full, I add to my bin.
In this batch there were plums, tea bags, lemon rinds, avocado skins and a myriad of other produce waste. You can just toss all this in your bin, but again in my effort to aid the breakdown, I squish it, tear it and shred it all up before I add it in. This is also fun :)


I keep my bin in a sunny part of the yard and every few days, my helper and I roll the trash can around the yard, so it gets a good mixing. Whenever I add anything new to the pile, I'm sure to keep within ratio, so my compost and all it's microbes are happy.
If you have any composting tips for me, please feel free to post them!

Pin It