How to Do the Tunisian Simple Stitch

Today I will be showing you the Tunisian simple stitch or Afghan stitch. This stitch is so versatile. You can make dish cloths or wash cloths for the bathroom, baby blankets, and even reusable mop covers for your swifter!!! ( if you have one that is) You will need to purchase appropriate yarn for your project- for the dish cloths and swifter mop cover I use 100% cotton yarn and often buy Peaches & Cream. You will need a special hook for this type of crochet- You will see it in the video :)

Fits perfectly!

Tucks in nicely!

Hope the video helps! Let me know in the comments below. Have a good Monday and crochet away!!!!

~LexxyV~

Coconut Flour Blueberry & Lemon Muffins

Another recipe from yours truly

Coconut Flour Blueberry & Lemon Muffins

For ingredients you will need:

1/2 cup coconut flour ( I use Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup Organic Milk

1 Medium banana- ripe

2 sm cases of Blueberries

1 tsp Natural vanilla extract

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 Lemon- cut in half- seeds removed

1/2 cup Honey

2 Cage free eggs

2 tbsp of Unsalted Butter

Muffin pans

Ice cream scoop

2 bowls one large one medium

Potato masher

A large spoon

Electric mixer with whisk attachment or whisk

Now that we have all the ingredients it is time to make some awesome tasting muffins- this recipe is friendly to those who eat gluten free- safe for people with nut allergies ( though always check ingredients of everything). I am sure the recipe could be tweaked to be dairy or egg free. 

In a large bowl combine coconut flour and baking powder- sift the mixture around for about 2 minutes coconut flour tends to clump up. 

In a medium bowl you will need to combine the banana, vanilla extract, .and eggs together- I mash the banana first then pour in the milk and vanilla extract-  Place the 2 tbsp of butter in microwave for 30 secs- then pour it in. Squeeze the two halves of the lemon into the mixture; then the eggs and honey.Whisk the mixture until well blended.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry very slowly and whisk again whisk until well blended and mixture is sticky. After you have done this you then grab a large spoon and pour the blueberries into the bowl. Gently fold the blueberries into the muffin mix. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare muffin pans by lightly greasing with melt butter or spray ( something healthy!) Use the ice cream scooper to create the muffins. I scoop and then pat the mixture in with a spoon. Place muffin into pan and fill up the muffin pan and then place in oven once ready

Timing is a bit different for these I start out with 25 minutes but always watch it after that for about another 10 minutes. When the muffins are nice and brown remove them from oven and let them cool down. 

  Let me know how these turn out! 

This was just an experiment and I am still getting used to coconut flour

These came out really moist they cooked for 35 minutes

Dry ingredients

Mixing the wet ingredients together- mashing banana a bit more :)

blue berries! ( we had them sealed- food saver awesomeness)

ze butter!

Mixed!

Getting those berries in there

Ready to be baked

......

molding those muffins

:) 

Pretty!!!!!

Ready for oven!

All cooked and ready to be eaten with delicious butter

TASTY!

Enjoy and have a good rest of the weekend!

~LexxyV~

Frozen Coffee Treats

So these treats may not be especially primal friendly but I was getting sick of wasting coffee- you see my dear husband ( whom I love dearly) often makes WAY too much coffee and it often goes to waste. So this evening I decided to make sure it didn't go waste.

I mixed in some organic milk (  about a cup) and 1/2 cup of agave nectar ( the not so primal part) and then poured the coffee mixture into my handy dandy popsicle maker. The sweetener bit is all up to you too. You can choose to sweeten or not to sweeten. I am still making small adjustments to my primal diet so I still use agave- some people would say this is a bad choice but I say hey it's my 20% ( the 80/20 rule for keeping to a primal diet).

If your coffee is light to medium in taste they may taste funny once frozen we like our dark and robust coffees :) You might mix less milk in the mixture if you want to preserve the coffees taste.

Enjoy!

=^.^=

So here we have the left over coffee and popsicle maker. The coffee is still warm- so it is easier to mix in the milk and the sweetener. 

What I used to give the coffee flavor

Stir the coffee, milk, and sweetener together 

Pour the coffee mixture into the popsicle forms

tada! All filled!

Place in freezer for 24 hours or longer

I hope you enjoy the coffee frozen treats- I am trying to decide when I will have these. I limit my intake of treats but sometimes when it is near my time moon time ( period) I may have 1 to 2 extra treats to curb my insane PMS cravings!!! Out of all the things I never thought switching my diet and lifestyle to primal would be a pain in the rump when it came to that time of the month. Maybe as time goes on I will better handle these cravings... this little tidbit is for the ladies out there who know exactly what I am talking about... At the moment having extra snacks seems to help calm the insanity that I call PMS ( I really have PMDD) along with weird ass cravings I also have weird aversions to food I cannot stand fish and on occasion the sight of red meat makes me sick! 

I am hoping as time passes as I work towards my goal of getting healthy that all in the hormone department will change. 

Well that is it for today's post, I am in the workings of creating a tutorial for Tunisian crochet- I am currently working on some swifter covers- I will use them to quickly mop the floor in the kitchen.

=^.^=

LexxyV

Perfectly Roasted Potatoes & 4 Year Anniversary

Today was our four year wedding anniversary:) the hubs( James) and I cooked a whole chicken, roasted red potatoes and steamed some fresh broccoli. We also had mojitos while we were cooking our delicious dinner ( it was a simple anniversary for us but absolutely perfect). I figured I could share my perfectly roasted potatoes. I found the idea for the recipe on the food network... but I am not one who closely follows recipes instead I get ideas from them and come up with my own dish so here it is.

So for the perfect roasted red potatoes you need:

3 to 4 red potatoes washed and scrubbed- skin on
2 garlic gloves- minced
Paprika- a pinch or so- leaving this up to your discretion too much will make the food taste bitter
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 of  a white onion- finely chopped
Fresh parsley- chopped
Pepper to taste
In a pan on low heat- melt butter and then add a tbsp of olive oil.  Add paprika and minced garlic- stir. continue to cook on low for about 3 minutes.

Set the butter mixture aside and cut the onion up- then mix it in... cut the potatoes and place in a small cooking pan.. pour the remaining olive oil over the potatoes along with the butter mixture and then pepper to taste. I cooked this along  with our chicken... the tempt was 450- but if cooking alone 400 should do and for 45 to hour. With the chicken I cooked it for about 45 mins and the turned to  broil on low for 5 minutes to really brown the potatoes.

In the meantime while potatoes cook chop up the parsley and set aside

Remove the potatoes from oven with ready ( soft when poked with fork). Add parsley and mix it in well. Potatoes are ready to serve!

The potatoes ready for the oven :)

All cooked and ready to eat :) ( Ooo look at the tasty chicken too!)

p.s The chicken was relatively easy to make- buy a whole chicken- small to medium- if you froze the chicken then let it thaw out of course.I wash the chicken off and if it came with giblets - remove from the inside of the chicken- I don't really use the giblets. I brine the chicken before cooking by placing the chicken in a large pot with warm water ( covered- make sure chicken is fully submerged in water) and herbs/ spices- fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic, and lemon peel ( dried)... After brining all day ( I started this in the morn) you will remove the chicken and use the same spices as before and rub the mixture onto the chicken.You can stuff the inside of the chicken with fresh rosemary sprigs, a cut lemon, and other herbs if you like; we also placed some of the brine juices into the pan with the chicken- cooked on 450 for an hour or until done ( check with cooking thermometer).

Hope you enjoy the tasty potatoes!

=^.^=

LexxyV

p.s while this is not exactly what some people would call primal I beg you all to visit Primal Toads site and read his post about potatoes. Also I have found that I do way better with potatoes when I eat then with a dark green veggie and chicken or fish. With red meat I feel a bit comatose from eating the potatoes in conjunction with the beef- this may or may not help you- but it is worth a shot- most of the time I eat foods to keep my energy balanced so I can do more throughout the day.. It is a long hard road when trying to lose weight- I am constantly experimenting with my food.

Food Porn 1.0

I have to admit I love food! So to begin adventures into my kitchen I thought I would post a few of my favorite eats. I will briefly described how I made each dish as well! ENJOY the porn for your eyes!

This is a primal friendly Italian dish with seasoned chicken breast ( with basil, rosemary, thyme, and some homemade Italian dressing) the antipasto ( though it was served with the meal) is tomatoes, shallots, and avocados tossed with Italian dressing I always add some extra spices to it and some red wine vinegar.  The pasta is spaghetti squash with some Romano cheese and as always more seasoning and plenty of pepper! Buon Appetito!

Here we have a simple breakfast of two hard boiled eggs- the secret to perfectly hard boiled eggs is 20 mins! I place the eggs in cool water in a pot- place on stove and set timer for 20 mins. Let water come to a rolling boil and turn down to medium-low heat. Let eggs cook until time is up! Perfection!
The eggs looked deviled but they are only cut in half and seasoned with garlic and onion powders- and of course paprika! a fake deviled egg! ahah! and of course blueberries and raspberries YUM

A simple Roast with seasoned with sage, thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper, garlic, and sliced onions. 

I took this picture the other day before grilling the kebabs- they were so tasty!!!! Best thing to do for kebabs is to marinate the meat for at least a day so you can everything off the stick with ease! Easy clean up

Coconut flour blueberry muffins and applewood smoked bacon- another great start to the morning!!!

And now ends the tour. If you have any more questions about the foods just comment. All these tasty foodies are primal friendly and friendly to those who have intolerance's and some allergies- no grains- no nuts in the muffins- the only thing is the cheese on the first dish- which can be omitted for something like pasta sauce.

For the Coconut Blueberry Muffins recipe please visit:   http://thisprimallife.com/2009/07/primal-coconut-blueberry-muffins/     (best recipe I have found yet!) 

 over and out

~LexxyV~

Bathroom Makeover!

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!!! Today is filled with some mild crafting since I have been sick. The guest bathroom has been in "makeover" mode for some time.. I was looking for the right spray paint to give some bathroom pieces a new look.. 

So here is the before decor- quick little side not- the candles are actually a robin egg blue and  are in clear  candle holders- I had placed scrap paper- some ribbon and a bead to create a different and unique look- easy to do and changes up your candles ( if you don't burn them) I often have candles for two purposes ( well okay three) for decor- unlighted or for smell- lighted and if you want to count the spiritual into this I also use candles for healing and prosperity ( that sort of thing)  We also have the two baskets hangy thing- they were pink and white-

The new shower curtain- it was the only one left of its kind!!! I felt lucky  to have found it at all! I also bought some acrylic paint and a bag of craft brushes

I used acrylic paint and the round sponge brush to dab paint on the candle holders- to give them a more matte look- I also painted them a darker blue green to bring out that color in the shower curtain- really gives it a pop

If you go back through my posts you will find the post on the inexpensive soap dispenser- well it got a revamp!! AGAIN! Lol! What I used was the same paint for the candles and the same round sponge brush and dabbed paint onto the bottle- after I was finished with this and the paint was dried I applied mod podge as a sealant- it is nice and shiny! 

The soap area of the sink

On the toilet I have a few things sitting a glass bowl- you may laugh at this but I used an old pillow case for inside the bowl and placed some toiletries in it - I think it looks pretty dang good!!!

This is the current project! I just got the spray paint  the other day and I am now working on spraying the stand and baskets- they are outside drying as we speak on the balcony - I will need to do an update picture of these in the next blog post!!!

A quick picture of me blotting on the paint on the candle- you can also see my first attempt at painting the baskets- by hand!!! NOT such a good idea- very time consuming- so spray paint it was ( originally I feared getting spray paint since we live on the second floor of the apartments but I decided an older towel would be the perfect thing to use to make sure I didn't ruin anything outside

A before pic if you will- the red just really made the bathroom closed and dark! I didn't like it!!

What the new curtain looks like- I think it does a good job of brightening and opening up the bathroom- not so dark and dank!!!!!!!

A close up of the shower curtain

So there ya have it folks a bathroom makeover without too much fuss- just get a new shower curtain, some candles, and spray paint- have at it- and Ta Da! I guess this wasn't much of a tutorial or anything but everything is pretty easy to do.... so yeah.. hope ya'll enjoyed seeing my makeover - minus the basket hangy thing after photo ( which will come I swear!!) What are you doing for Spring decor and crafts?

Do you give your living space a Spring makeover each year?

over and out

~Lexxy~

A Bit of Change

Been making some changes to my blogs all around and Lexxy Knits is now the Vorpahl Den... Just a blog about my general life and of course crafts, along with primal cooking, and gardening...


Been working on a few things and will be posting my latest creations and projects here soon! 


Also- my blog is rated adult for some content like the cloth feminine pads and some mild language. Do not fret when you see this before entering. It is just a precaution I take because frankly my posts will contain things more suited for adults like the pads... just making a mere mention of this. 

~LexxyV~

The Crafty Tavern

A lot of my crafty stuff is often shared within a group on Facebook ( and perhaps more-so than the blog- ah ze blog feels unloved and not cared for- shame on Lexxy) this group is the Crafty Tavern and this is our newsletter- I thought it may be inspiration for everyone out there so here goes!

( find the Crafty Tavern at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112531788865565/)

The Group is a closed group but I always accept those who wish to join in the crafting

APRIL 2012- Crafty Ideas of the Month Newsletter

Hello my Crafty Ladies!

This will be our first official newsletter for the group via the doc section- speaking of the docs- check them out right now!!! We have some great links!!!

Up-cycling/ Restyling & Thriftiness

In March we had a restyling/ up-cycling theme going. Take all your old clothes and revamp them without having to buy any other items to jazz them up. This month we will keep with this theme but allow some thriftiness into the mix... lately I have been addicted to the site polyvore.com ----This site is amazing! I create different sets of clothing and share it via my tumblr ( sweet I can have a fashionista-ish blog after all!!!) Eeeek sorry tangent here! ANYWAY this site inspired to me find ways to get those high fashion looks for much cheaper either by sewing my own version ( which is way better and completely unique I might add!!) or thrifting it up!

I have always been a strong believer in being fashionable but reasonable with the pocketbook. Most of us are on budgets and can't afford the insane prices of certain items by those creative fashion designers. So for the month of April SHARE with us your revamps and your amazing finds! These finds can be anywhere from Goodwill to Amazon.. Anything is game. Share as many as you like or just share one. Also if you find something for the house or do so revamping of pillows,etc PLEASE do share. If you think about it- for example: four pillows for the couch- all need to be replaced. on average a decorative pillow costs around $10 and up ( so four new pillows equals around $40). I bought fabric for around 10 dollars to cover all the pillows instead!

Organization

Now I know a lot of us have probably already done the big Spring Clean ( or maybe not) but like I always say there is room for improvement ( right?) So if you ladies want- start organizing like a crazed mad woman who is PMSing and the only way to get to the chocolate is getting to the back of the pantry ( hey I hear it happens). Check out http://organizedhome.com/ for ideas.

Some of the best ideas I have seen for organizing are from the Better Homes & Garden magazine "Organized" one of my favorites was the pantry idea- containers for all food items- all labeled for ease of access and to declutter the pantry. Must do this I say! I did it somewhat but with old containers. I used a peroxide bottle ( with the top cut off) covered with paper as a assorted tea bag holder. I made a box with cardboard for all canned meats and used a old fancy feast box for canned cat food and cat treats..

And now we come to the end. I say try to reuse as much as you can where you can but of course if needs be go ahead and buy some containers ( check out the thrift store first) and label away - make labels with scrap paper and laminating sheets... AWESOMENESS! Until next month keep the tea kettle on and craft away!