Thursday, July 31, 2008

Zucchini Bread

This time of year, when I have way more zucchini than I can deal with, one of the things I love to make is zucchini bread. If you've never had it, it's actually very good, and not zucchini-i at all. So I thought I'd share the recipe I use; I got it from my aunt, and I believe she got it from her Italian mother-in-law.

This makes 2 loaves, but I usually double it and give away some mini loaves.

-3 eggs
-1/2 cup oil (I do 1/4c. oil, 1/4c. apple sauce)
-1/4 cup pineapple juice

-1 tbsp. vanilla
-2 cups grated zucchini
-2 cups sugar
-3 cups flour (I do half whole wheat, half regular; it makes the bread a bit chewier, but I think it's still tasty)
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. baking powder
-1 tbsp. cinnamon
-1/2 cup walnuts or other nuts (I'm not a fan of nuts in bread, so I don't add them, but everyone else in my family likes them!)
-opt. 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup crushed canned pineapple (I don't add the raisins, but I do add the pineapple)

Beat eggs, oil, juice, and vanilla.
Add rest, mix well.
Pour into greased loaf pans.
Bake @ 350 F for about 1 hour.
I love to eat it warm with some butter, but it's great on it's own too!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Storage Ideas for sewing supplies

This may be strange, but I love containers. Especially old containers. Boxes, jars, baskets, bowls… oh they make me so happy. And for holding sewing or craft supplies, they look great while working well at the same time. Here are some photos from my craft room. An old 7Up crate holds some fabric. I found this in the garage, hosed it off, and filled it up.
A peanut butter Jar and a pickle jar hold buttons. And no, it’s not logical to organize buttons in rainbow order all in one jar. But I couldn’t help myself, and I'm the type of person that puts things in rainbow order. It may be a disease. I got them both at the flea market for about 50 cents each. More buttons, this time in sweet little jelly jars (also from the flea market). The flowers are in a honey jar (I found that on Ebay).
Bias tape and rick rack in a little suitcase (Flea market).
Fabric scraps are stored in an old hatbox (also from the flea market).

Often old things have an old smell, so to get rid of it, I wash the item with a damp rag to get rid of dust and grime, then I let it air out for a few days. If it still stinks, I get another damp rag, put a few drops of essential oil on it, and wipe it down again. The suitcase stunk really bad, and I wiped it with essential oil months ago and it still smells nice whenever I open it. Sometimes I open it just to smell inside. lol
If you didn’t want to get more delicate items wet (like the hat box, which is cardboard), you can also put a little sachet filled with herbs, flowers, and maybe a drop or two of essential oil inside the box and it will smell great too.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The story of stuff

Here's a great video about stuff - where it comes from, how it's produced, why we buy it, and where it goes when we're finished with it. Anyone who buys stuff should watch it.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hello

Hi and welcome!
Well after reading various blogs almost daily for quite a while now, I thought I might like to try this for myself. So here I am! :)
Let me introduce myself. My name's Leah and I live near Detroit, Michigan. I work as a naturalist at a nature center, but I just finished school with degrees in graphic design. Completely unrelated, but I love them both.
Some of my hobbies include sewing, knitting, baking, gardening, making things like candles and soaps, playing with paper, camping, and finding treasures at flea markets and estate sales. I love the outdoors and care deeply for the environment.
And I'm sure this blog will involve much of the above list, so stay tuned.