Well, Hello There.

I spent many evenings walking these beautiful valleys throughout May. Green became my favorite colour.

I passed! I can officially teach yoga, give me a call anytime. Purna was the first friend I made at the Ashram. She lives in the garden, enjoys long walks and trying to scare the local cats. We were tight.

This is Steve, the resident goat. JK. His name is not Steve and I am pretty sure he is a she. But Steve just suits him/her.

A perk of my new job at the Veggie place and my favorite topic- Food.

I was gone. Now I am back.

In the lat year and a half I have been searching for things a little beyond my sewing machine. I LOVE creating and always will, but I felt something was lacking. So I started to look for places outside of my studio that I could help. I love the excitement of small business and felt I had some experience in this area that I could contribute to another company. First I started working with a Mens clothing company and did so part time for about a year. It was interesting, I learned some things, they learned some things but at the end of day it for the most part was me creating ads and marketing strategies which were all driven by sales, sales, sales!  I wanted to find something a little deeper, so we politely parted ways.

Time went on, I continued to sew and searched for a new place I could help. I decide to volunteer. I thought maybe a new "job" would find me this way. I started with what I love-food. I became a part time cook at my local hospice and became an un paid employee at an organic veggie delivery place. This was a new company that was working to get healthy food into as many homes as possible. Both were a great fit. It allowed me to step out of my comfy sewing comfort zone and explore other passions I have. But at the end of the day, I am not a rich lady and as much as I would love to volunteer my life away, I need cash pay my bills. Luckily, my wish to work with another start up company was granted and I was hired part time by the Veggie place to help with all kinds of random stuff that a new business requires. It has been a great fit and its a job I can feel really good about.

So up until now, I have CHA CHA, Veggie place job and my volunteer chef (using this term loosely). I am diversifying and I am definitely not bored. But I want to add one more element to the mix. Yoga.
I have been practicing on and off since I was a teenager and in the last few years have really grown a deep appreciation and understanding of its benefits that are far beyond physical. So I decide to become a Yoga teacher. I want to be able share this amazing practice with others.  On May 1st I flew to California where I stayed in an ashram for 31 days and completed my Teacher Training Certificate at the Sivananda Yoga farm in Grass Valley. It was intense, difficult, fun, exciting and definitely out of my comfort zone. I am happy to say that I passed and I am currently using friends and family as guinea pigs as I get this teaching thing down.

So thats it,  that is where I have been and what I have been doing for the last 18 months or so. I am excited to be back in my sewing room, listening to library books on cd and watching ridiculous amounts of Netflix documentaries while I sew up a storm. I look forward to sharing progress pictures with you over the next two weeks. I will try to be more social media savvy and post pics on my Instagram and Twitter accounts.

I am always surprised by the amount of emails and messages I get from customers wanting to know where I am and when new bags will be available. I am just one small women in the crazy world of online retail and I am SO SO grateful for the love and support you all show me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Lori Cha Cha

Winter Food- Roast Carrot & Fennel Soup

Soup is my go to winter food. It is easy to make, keeps you warm and most importantly it fills you up in the healthiest way. I made this Roast Carrot & Fennel Soup on my lunch break today.

Ingredients: Measuring is over rated, I just throw in what I have.

- carrots
- fennel
- garlic
- veggie stock
- salt
- pepper
- chilli fakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place carrots, fennel and onion on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 20 min, then add garlic cloves and roast for another 20 min or until vegetable are soft.

2. Remove the papery skin from the garlic and throw everything into a pot with vegetable stock. Add some salt, pepper and chilli flakes for a little warmth. Bring to a boil then blend until completely smooth.

3. Save the tops of the fennel plants to chop up and add right before you serve for a little extra fennel flavour.

Simple Almost Always Tastes Better- Salsa Recipe

I love food, a lot. The food I usually love the most is also the simplest. If it has 18 ingredients and 24 steps, I am probably not going to attempt it. So I thought I would share one the simplest recipes I make on a very regular basis. Salsa. If I was asked that old question, what would my last meal be?? I would really have to think about it, but I do know what part of it would be... Salsa, chips and guacamole. Spicy, salty, crunchy and creamy all in one, for me it doesn't get much better then that. Add add a glass of white wine or a beer and I am one happy lady.

So here it is.

SALSA
Step One:
Toss a can of tomatoes, a chipolte pepper, onion, garlic, cumin & lime into a blender and blend for a few seconds.

Step Two:
Toss in the corn, black beans some torn up cilantro. Let it blend just enough to mix it up, you don't want the corn and beans to be pulverized.

Step Three:
Add some salt to season and your salsa is complete. It can last a few weeks in the fridge, although mine never does, it gets devoured pretty quickly.

GUACAMOLE:
I like mine simple.
Step One: Mash up an avocado with some lime juice, salt and a little cumin.

Done, now eat.

Trying Something New.

My creative flow has been a on bit of a hiatus while I try my hand at other professions. I figure life is short, might as well try as many new things as possible. But this week end I finally have no commitments so I plan on spending some quality time with CHA CHA. I will be adding some new Entourage Totes and clutches to the shop as well as introducing a small Pre-Loved section. I have a serious love for all things second hand & repurposed so I thought I would include that in the mix as well. I have been also playing around some new jewelry ideas which I will probably share pictures of.  I think I will need some input from you lovely ladies on those ones!
Till then shop is looking a little bare, but to make it a little more interesting you can use discount code 40 to receive 40% off your entire order. So happy it's Friday, YAY!

Cuban Black Bean Soup

Perfect for the hottest day of the year, right? Soup may not be a summer time favorite, but it's so good and so easy to make!
I borrowed this book The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau from the library last week and have been trying out some of the recipes. First up was the Cuban Black Bean Soup, I loved it. Filling and tasty.

• 2 tablespoons of water, for sauteing
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 4 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 medium bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons of hot sauce ( I used chilli flakes)
• 2 cans of lite coconut milk
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Place water in soup pot, heat over medium high. Add onions, garlic and chopped red peppers. Cook until onion is transparent, about 5 min.
Stir in black beans. Add bananas, cumin, ginger and hot sauce. Stir and cook until fruit softens. Pour in coconut milk and vegetable stock. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid reduces, about 45 min.
Place soup, in batches into blender until blended smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: I tried to take a picture of the actual soup. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of soup and make it look good????? Shout out to all the food photographers out there, I couldn't do your job.

What I am EATING.

In my on going attempt to eat out less and cook more I have been trying some new recipes. This month has been full of a lot of Mexican flavours and soups. Soups are perfect for winter and a great way to get tons of veggies in.

While waiting in line at the grocery store one day last month in I got sucked into the magazine rack. Usually I flip through cheap tabloids that can be read in their entirety while you wait to check out but this time food caught my eye. I love Mexican food so I thought I would give it a try. I ended up making my entire New Years Eve Dinner out of it.

I couldn't find Poblano peppers in my local store so I used jalapeno peppers. A little spicy but great. Next time I will replace the black beans with some shredded chicken.

I was most skeptical about this one. Was it a corn bread a pudding? I didn't get it. But it turned out to be one of my favorites. It was the prefect mix of sweet and spicy, a great side dish.

Super simple, quick and tasty.

This recipe is a little cut off here, but its not missing anything too important. I replaced the chorizo with shredded chicken in this because not everyone in my house eats pork, but to be honest the chorizo probably would have added quite a bit of flavour. It was still good, I would make it again but would just pump up the spices a little.

LOVE THIS SOUP. Easy, tasty and affordable. I increase the spices, I actually double them and add some chilli flakes for a bit more spice. This recipe is from the Looney Spoons Series. I make a big batch of this soup and put some in the freezer. It's always nice to have a plan B on hand for days when I feel too lazy to cook.

What did you do this week?

1. I made a scarf. I love wearing scarves when the weather gets cooler. It never occurred to me that I could make my own. I'm gonna test this one out this week end. If I like the way it feels l will make more. I see lots of colour for these.

2. Worked on some new pattern ideas.

3. Made cupcakes.

4. Made one fancy dinner with good food and the cheapest wine. Some days its gotta be one or the other.

5. I had a 4 legged visitor, Bella. They would take quick naps in between wrestling sessions. I don't think they even noticed I was here. Until they got hungry.

Welcome to Monday

Making messes, bags and snacks.

                                    

What should I make????

Last week I went away. I read a lot, and ate lots of chocolate. Today I HAVE TO get serious.
What should I sew?????
 • A big screen printed canvas beach/shopping tote 
OR 
• A clutch made of recycled leather in bright blue?????

Food Love- Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce

Have you tried this???  Valentina is amazing, can't get enough, I really do put it on everything.

Yummy

I made this last night for dessert. So good.

Espresso and Banana Smoothie

Place 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, 1/2 cup cold epresso, 2 teaspoons honey, and 1/2 cup ice in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Please, come take this away from me.

I can't stop eating this stuff. I can hear it calling my name. Sometimes I don't even like it anymore, but if its sitting there I will still eat it.