Categotry Archives: handmade

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VEGAN QUICHE

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When my lovely friend Gigi came to visit us in March she wowed us with the vegan quiche she whipped up. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen so I decided to try my own.

vegan quiche pie crust

My I got my crust recipe from my mom:

2 1/4 C cold flour

2/4 C shortening

7 T ice water (possibly more)

1 t salt

Mix flour and salt; cut in shortening. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with a fork or beaters. When the dough is mixed (it may still be crumby) roll it onto a floured surface. Fold flattened dough in half, roll out, fold again, and continue about 4 times. Roll the dough about 1/8″ thick and press into pie pan. Trim the crust and poke with a fork. Prebake at 375º for about 15 minutes. Continue reading →

I’ve seen lots of different recipes for the filling, but this one is a combination of what Gigi used and what we had in the fridge. All of these measurements are extremely approximate.

vegan quiche ingredients

Blend:

1 14-oz pack firm tofu

1/2 C plain almond or soy milk

1 T turmeric

1/2 T paprika

Use either a blender or food processor. Don’t be afraid to the let thing run as long as you need to make sure everything’s smooth.

Sautee:

vegan quiche ingredients(in olive oil or margarine)

1 leek

1/2 onion

1/2 lb oyster mushrooms

shallot

garlic

Mix the tofu and the sauteed vegetables and pour into the pre-baked pie shell. If you want to be fancy, top the custard-ish mix with some slices of red bell pepper. One could also sprinkle a colorful spice, namely paprika, although I would recommend stopping short of actual rainbow sprinkles.

vegan quiche vegan quiche

Bake for 45-60 minutes at about 375º. You’ll want to let the quiche set for about 10 minutes before cutting into it. At this point, it will be pretty deliciously gooey. If you’ve got any leftovers they will be firmer after sitting in the fridge for a few hours, and it tastes wonderful eaten cold.

There are no photos of the cut quiche on our plates because we were too excited to eat it all up!


surprise apple pie

If I’d rolled it out thin enough, I could have used the dough to make two quiches. There was certainly enough filling to split between two pies. But I really like my dough thick, and with the excess dough from the single quiche I made a little apple pie for a surprise dessert.

Needless to say, the entire meal was delicious!


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custom handlebar grips

I recently got a twist shifter for my three speed. This is extremely awesome and I love shifting gears constantly now, but the vintage grip didn't quite match my newer one. Admittedly, it wasn't a huge difference, but it was bugging me and I knew I could do something fabulous.

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First off, welcome to the new site! Since I’m no longer on WordPress’s server I don’t have to follow their rules, so expect the site to get really wild. Until then, please excuse any awkwardness!

Secondly, this Saturday I will be doing an art market at Fabric Planet, so if you’re around Venice come by!

I recently got a twist shifter for my three speed. This is extremely awesome and I love shifting gears constantly now, but the vintage grip didn’t quite match my newer one. Admittedly, it wasn’t a huge difference, but it was bugging me and I knew I could do something fabulous.

custom handlebar grips custom handlebar grips

My custom grip shifter is made out of cork paper that is painted and hot glued on. For the other side I also used craft foam. All of these supplies can be easily found at a craft store.

custom handlebar grips custom handlebar grips

So you want to make your own now, right? Continue reading →

Well, the obvious first step is to remove your old grips. The easiest way to do this is to put a few drops of denatured alcohol at the opening of the grip and try to get it to drip down toward the end of the handlebar, then pull.


DIY handlebar grip

I wrapped my handlebar in craft foam so that the grip would be the same thickness as the twist shifter, and it’s really nice having that extra padding. Choose a complimentary color foam because it will show on the edge of the grip. Cut the foam to the length you want for the grip, and wide enough to wrap around the bar once or twice, depending on your preference. Glue the foam to your handlebar by applying glue a few inches at a time until you’ve completely circled the bar. Place the edge of the foam on the bottom of the handlebar.

Make sure that the end of the foam is flush with the end of the bar, and keep it tight while you’re wrapping.

custom handlebar grips
Trace the circumference of the wrapped bar onto a piece of foam and cut it out. Glue this onto the end of the bar.

You could also use a cool bottle cap if you like, but I didn’t have any on hand that I was fond of. You could actually leave it at this, with just the foam grips. It should be pretty weather and UV proof, and you could decorate it with cut-outs from contrasting foam. But this isn’t that kind of tutorial, and we’ve got to keep going.

DIY  handlebar grip cork end DIY   handlebar grip

Next it’s time for the cork. Cut out a circle from the cork paper about 1″ larger in diameter than the foam end cap. When you’re cutting the foam use a sharp blade or scissors and be careful: the cork fibers can tear apart very easily. I recommend putting an awesome design on your endcap either with acrylic paint or even Sharpies. When you’re satisfied, glue the cork end onto the foam.

You will need to cut wedges out of the cork so that the edges will lay flat when they are glued down. Cut as close to the edge of the foam as possible without tearing or leaving any gaps! I cut 10 wedges, each about 1/4″ wide at the outside end. Glue the flaps down onto the foam, going a few at a time.


custom handlebar grips

So that the outer layer of cork is smooth, you will need to add a base layer of cork. It should go from the edges of the endcap flaps to the end of the foam. Tightly wrap this around the grip and glue down.

custom handlebar grips glue cork custom handlebar grips cork wrap

Now you’re ready for the final layer of cork. I painted mine a solid color before gluing it on. You may also be able to paint any designs on it at this point, depending on what your design is (if you want a spiral you will have to wait until the cork is glued onto the handlebar so that the stripes will line up correctly). Apply a line of hot glue to the wrong (unpainted) side of the cork and attach this to the underside of the handlebar. Wrap the rest of the cork around the grip, gluing along the way, and securely glue the end.

custom handlebar grips cork wrap custom handlebar grips cork

The final step is to decorate!

custom handlebar grips cork custom handlebar grips

This post is dedicated to Meridith with the potentially awesome bike, who I just met at a bar on the beach.

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circus shirt & shorts

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Want to know what makes me tick? Check out this interview on Slow Southern Style.

The pink and yellow stripes of the fabric made me feel like I’m at a never-ending circus in my head. All you can eat cotton candy!

circus striped outfit circus striped outfit circus striped outfit

I made the shorts for our weekly game of ultimate frisbee, but I get a kick out of wearing the set together. So far I haven’t really worn it out yet, but I think it would be great for a bike ride to the ocean. In the meantime, I’ve been wearing the shirt with a polka dot skirt or pants.

Continue reading →

It’s made out of jersey I picked up at Fabric Planet for $1/yd–gotta love that place!

The fabric was meant to have the stripes running horizontally, but since it’s got great stretch in all directions I figured I could rotate it with no problem. Since I was already re-thinking the orientation of the fabric, I went ahead and used the back side. I like that the stripes look a little more painted on, and it hides that the fabric is turned.

circus striped outfit circus striped outfit circus striped outfit

The shirt is a heavily modified version of the pattern I made for T shirts. It’s got raglan sleeves that come to just below my elbow, which is an unusual length for me, but I think it works great for this project.

circus striped shirt circus striped shirt

DON’T FORGET TO VISIT MY ETSY SHOP!

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