summer quinoa salad.

With the hot weather we've been having in Montreal the last couple of weeks, I've been looking for light, easy dinners to make that don't take a lot of stove time.  This quinoa salad is perfect for a quick week-night main dish.  It also makes great leftover lunches, and would be a nice side dish to bring for a BBQ pot-luck.

You'll need:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chick peas
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1/4 cucumber 
- 10 cherry, or 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup feta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste


* could also add olives, toasted almonds, avocado, mint leaves, etc.

Rinse the quinoa well. In a pot, add water and quinoa and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, drain and rince the chick peas.  Chop all the veggies and feta.  Mix quinoa, chick peas, feta and veggies in a large bowl.

For the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over quinoa mixture and stir well.  Enjoy!

I'm looking forward to using some fresh herbs from the mason jar garden I planted last weekend the next time I make this!

ikea rug makeover.

                         www.urbanoutfitters.com/p-20659470-050.shtml


I'd been admiring this grey chevron rug from Urban Outfitters for months, but it was always out of stock on their web-site (never mind the fact that I can only access their site from outside of Québec due to silly french language laws!).  When it was finally available, I found out that they don't deliver large items to Canada...boo!  So, I decided that since the UO rug wasn't meant to be, I would make one myself.


Supplies:
- Ikea NÄSTVED rug in 'natural' (or any other flatwoven cotton rug)
- Interior latex paint (I used CIL Velvet Flat)
- Fabric medium
- Painter's tape
- Smooth paint roller
- Paint tray 
- Plastic drop sheet
- Ruler
- Cardboard or poster board for template (optional)

Mix 1 part paint and 1 part fabric medium in a paint tray (Note: the fabric medium will cause the paint to lighten, so you might want to go a shade darker with the paint).

Tape a zig-zag pattern onto the rug, keeping in mind which spaces will be filled in with paint and which will be left white (it can get a bit confusing!).  Use a ruler to press tape down well.

Apply paint to taped off sections, making sure to press fairly hard.

Let paint dry for 24 hours before removing tape.  (Peeling the tape off took FOREVER because I pressed it down a little too well!)

 

I'm really happy with the finished result...and Amino approved too!

I was on such a roll that I decided to give this other really cheap ikea rug a makeover too.  For this one I just taped off the design and used acrylic paint. It took less than 20 minutes and made a huge improvement!

green onions.

 Whenever a recipe calls for green onions, the Dutch part of me starts to grumble. I can never use the entire bunch before they get wilted, and it seems so wasteful (even though they cost approximately 30 cents). I recently learned, however, that you can grow green onions in nothing but water!

Simply cut the onions down very close to the white part and place in water (make sure to change the water every couple of days). After about a week they'll be a good size, and you can use them as needed.  If they start to grow too big, just trim them down to ensure they continue to grow.  They won't last in water alone forever, but should keep growing for a month or so.

They also make a nice addition to a kitchen windowsill!

polaroid magnets.

I recently jumped on the pinterest band-wagon, and must say that I'm now obsessed.  While gushing over the countless DIY & craft ideas, I found these tiny polaroid magnets and thought they would fit in perfectly on my already magnet-overloaded fridge.  

I followed the tutorial here for the most part, but made a few small changes.
First, I uploaded photos taken from instagram to picnik, and applied the polaroid effect.    
I re-sized the photos to 2.7cm * 2.1 cm in Word, printed them on photo paper, and cut them out with a paper cutter (you could also use an x-acto knife).

Next, I glued the photos to pieces of cardboard which I had painted white (in the future I would either use cardstock, or purchase white cardboard from the craft store, since the paint didn't cover the corrugated edges very well).  

To finish off, I hot glued a piece of magnet to the back.  And Voila!  Tiny personalized magnets for all of your paper-holding needs!

  

easy granola.

Although I haven't lived in Guelph for almost 4 years now, part of it's hippie attitude has stuck with me.  I still wear my Birkenstocks proudly, am a vegetarian, and yes, even make my own granola.  

I've been searching for a good low-sugar granola recipe for a while now, and finally found a winner.  This recipe (slightly adapted from one my friend Dafna gave me) is super easy and delicious (and will also make your house smell amazing for hours!)

You'll need:

- 1.5 cups rolled oats

- 1 cup slivered almonds

- 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)

- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

- 1-2 tbsp. water

- 1 tsp. cardamom

- 1 tsp. cinnamon

- pinch of ground sea salt

* Can also add or substitue other nuts, seeds, dried cranberries, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then spread on a baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, stirring a few times to avoid burning.

I sprinkled some of the granola and berries over greek yogurt for a quick and healthy breakfast. Yum!

honey roasted almonds.

In the spirit of DIY, I wanted to make something special to give to friends and co-workers this Christmas.  I've tried this honey roasted almond recipe a few times before and thought they would make the perfect edible gift.


You'll need:
- 2 c. whole almonds
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground sea salt
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil

Spread almonds in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan.  Bake at 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes (don't preheat the oven first).

Mix together sugar and salt.

Bring honey, water, and oil to a boil over medium heat.  Add roasted almonds and stir until all liquid has been absorbed (about 10 minutes).  Immediately transfer to medium bowl and add sugar/salt mixture.  Spread on wax paper and allow to cool completely.

I put the finished product in these little jars that I found at the dollar store.

I also typed up some gift tags on an old typewriter and tied them on with ribbon for the finishing touch.

Cute. Delicious. Homemade!

cookies & crafts.

It's finally December! I'm officially allowed to start christmas-izing the apartment (although I did cheat and put up the tree last weekend!) To kick off the holiday season, my room-mate Brittany and I hosted a cookie exchange and decoration making night.  


We decided to make m&m cookies using a recipe from my friend Linsday's amazing food blog, pink peppercorn (check it out!).  After going to four different stores looking for christmas m&m's, we finally gave up and bought a package of the regular ones - I was set on the cookies being christmas-y though, so Brittany picked out all the reds and greens!

The cookies turned out great!  The only change I made was to switch the measurements for the brown and white sugar (I used 1 c. brown and 1/2 c. white)

We ended up with soooo many delicious cookies - lemon shortbreads, hello dolly squares, oatmeal, and fancy french macaroons!  After recovering from our sugar comas, we started crafting...

Our efforts resulted in some 'interesting' decorations, and a lot of glitter everywhere!  

Not exactly Martha Stewart worthy - but still festive!