Yo-yo Mama

My mom is my shero.  She has been through so much in her life and has never given up.  She is still so strong, kind, loving and nurturing after all she has been through.  She has taught me so much about life.   One of the precious gifts she has given me is the knowledge to sew. 

I have always been amazed at the time and hard work that has been put into yo-yo art.  My mom and great-grandmother have both made large quilts. They are so beautiful!  I can't imagine the time put into those quilts.

 The one I made for my mom is small, but meaningful.  I used the fabric from my baby blanket (I still sleep with), old scraps of fabric she gave me when I was really young, and new fabrics I have used in recent projects.  It's special to both of us because of the memories in the fabric. 

I made up my own yo-yo design, making each seven pieces to look like a flower with a green center.  I stitched it together in the shape of a snowflake.  It looks great on my parents Victorian sofa. 

The pillows below, I designed, sewed and embroidered for her.

Thanks Kris (mom)!  You are amazing!!!  
I love you.

Jaimo, I'm from the South...

Matt and I went for a hike in the snow this afternoon (12/26/12).    It was so cold and windy, but I still enjoyed the fresh air, the open space and the beautiful snow!  

Poor Matt got really cold.  While we were hiking in the freezing temperature and strong cold wind, he said, "but Jaimo, I'm from the South".  It was his nice way of saying "I'm freezing!!" 
Once we got home, it took Matt about two hours to warm up.  Even though he was freezing on our hike, he still made me laugh the whole time.  I am so lucky to be with someone who makes me laugh and smile so much.  As you can see in the photo's below, Matt can never take a serious photo and is still handsome.  I love this guy!   

I am sitting on my couch admiring the storm from inside.  Days like today make me appreciate the warmth and coziness of my home.   

Matt with the wind in his hair. :)

Me

 

My new Timbuk2 bag.  I love it!!

 

 Matt trying to warm up.  His hands were freezing!!

   Me.

 Enjoy the snow and fresh air. 

Happy trails! 

3D Snowflake

In my last post (12/21/12) I said I would let you know how my handmade 3-D snowflakes turned out.  See my photo's below. I can't believe how easy and beautiful they are. 

 The top snowflake is made from ruled paper from my notebook.

The bottom snowflake is made from note cards.

If you want to make one yourself, 
you will need:

• 6 squares of paper
• Tape 
• Scissors
• Staple

Fold your paper in half.  If your folded paper does not make a triangle, then cut the excess paper and to make a triangle.  

Make three cuts on each side of the triangle, cutting from the folded side.

 Roll up two points, and tape.

 Turn over, roll up, and tape.

Repeat until all sides are folded up.

Follow those steps for five more squares, until you have six rolled up squares.

 Staple three rolled squares together.

Staple the remaining three to the three you just stapled.

Staple the touching points to one another to keep the shape of the snowflake.

 This is what your snowflake should look like when you are done. 

This is super easy and ends up to be a unique decoration for your home.

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook Elementary

This site is collecting hand made snowflakes for the children of Sandy Hook elementary school.  They are decorating the halls of the school with these handmade snowflakes to welcome the children back so they can have a comforting place to return.  The site has an address for you to mail in your handmade snowflakes.  This is the link: 

Sandy Hook Snow Flakes

This is a cool tutorial that teaches you how to make a 3-D snowflake.  I have not tried it yet, but I am going to tomorrow.  I will let you know how mine turns out.  

This is the link:

3D snowflake

If you are thinking of a way to give your time to something good for the holidays, this would be a fun and fulfilling thing to do. 

Pizza Night

I was in the cooking mood last night, but didn't want to spend all night standing in the kitchen.  I found this pizza crust recipe on Allrecipes.com.  After making it, I decided it's easier to make than buy in the store.   The homemade dough is easier to work with and tastes amazing.

This is what you need:

• 1 cup warm water  (110 degrees F)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons fast acting yeast
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour

I added:

• wheat grass
• rosemary
• garlic

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. 

In a bowl, add your water, sugar and yeast.  Stir together until the yeast and sugar dissolve. 

Add olive oil, and salt.  Stir.

Lastly, add the flour (I added the wheat grass, rosemary, and garlic with the flour)

Form the dough into a ball and let rest for about 10 minutes. 

After 10 minutes, form your pizza crust on a oiled pan.  I would suggest putting corn meal on the oiled pizza pan before laying down your dough.

 Next, add your toppings.  I love this part.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Take your pizza out of the oven, slice and enjoy!!!

Tofu Burger with Red/Sweet Potato Fries

I was cleaning my kitchen this evening and noticed I had a bunch of red potatoes and sweet potatoes that were ready to eat.  I decided I would make fries with the potatoes and tofu burgers from the veggies and tofu I had in my fridge.  Matt picked up some buns to put my spur of the moment tofu burgers in.

To make the fries, I washed the potatoes, cut into skinny long strips, and seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, garlic powder, and red pepper chili flakes.  I placed the fries in the oven for about 40 min at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, turning them once after 20 minutes and again after 20 more minutes.  

Before you take them out, taste a fry to make sure they are the crispiness you are looking for. 

I made my own tofu burger recipe and used what I had in my fridge.  If you use this recipe, you can add what veggies sound good or buy what I used. 

This is what I used: 

• Medium firm tofu (next time I will use extra firm tofu; I just used more bread crumbs than if I were to use extra firm)
• bread crumbs about 1-2 cups or until thick enough to form a patty.
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 celery stalk (chopped)
• 1/2 sweet onion (chopped)
• 1 medium carrot (chopped)
• 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
• 1 sun dried tomato (chopped)
• 1/8 cup fresh basil (chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste

I mixed the ingredients together, formed into patties and placed in my heated (on medium), oiled (olive oil), cast iron pan.  

Cook each side for about 4-5 minutes or until golden-brown.

 I then dressed my burger, put some fries on my plate and enjoyed my dinner with Matt and Bella.

Bella hid behind the wheat grass because she was scared of the oven. :(

Jaimey's Caprese Pasta Salad

My work is having a potluck tomorrow for a baby shower.  I signed up to make a pasta salad, but none of the online pasta salad recipes appealed to me, so I chose to make up my own.

Here is my version of a Capresse pasta salad.  It's very simple and tastes fresh and flavorful.

 

 This is what I used:

• fiori pasta
• about 1/4 cup fresh cut basil
• one package grape tomatoes (sliced)
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella mini pearls
• one yellow bell pepper (diced)
• 1/2 of a sweet onion (diced)
• juice of one small lime
• splash of vinegar
• splash of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

I cooked the pasta for 7 minutes until al dente, drained, and set aside to cool.  

I chopped my sweet onion, yellow bell pepper, and basil. Diced my tomato and sliced my lime, and added all of my ingredients into the cooled pasta.   The pasta salad was mixed, tasted, covered with tinfoil and place in the fridge for tomorrow.  

My mom gave me a great tip when I was growing up to refrigerate pasta salad over night.  This enhanced the flavor of the pasta salad by it allowing the spices and oils to be absorbed.  This makes it delicious the next day.

All together it took about 15-20 minutes.  

Deep Dish Polenta Pizza

I got this idea from a blog called carrotsncake.com.  She got the recipe from Realsimple.com.   This is super-easy, healthy, and tastes amazing.  The crust is crispy and holds together like crust made from flour.  

 The recipe on realsimple.com said to make your own polenta, but I had never done that before.  I did some research and decided to experiment with my own polenta creation.  It actually worked really well!  

I added one cup corn meal, one cup veggie broth, three cups water, salt, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, and olive oil.  I cooked the corn meal on low for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.   When the polenta started to get thicker, I turned the stove up to medium and let it cook for about 10 more minutes until my creation became thick.  I tasted it to make sure it was edible, and to my surprise, it was more than edible.  I could have eaten the pot of polenta for dinner and been satisfied. 

Next I pulled out my cast-iron pans and oiled them with olive oil, then spread the polenta in the pans about 1/4 inch thick. 

I love my cast-iron pans!!

For my toppings, I added a small amount of spicy tomato sauce, sundried tomatoes, mozarella cheese, and basil.  

I placed in the the oven (425 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes.

 

After taking the pizza out of the oven, I let it cool for about 10 minutes and placed it on a plate to cut and eat.

The crust was crispy, easy to make and held its shape.  Matt and I loved this meal!  

I will be making this pizza again soon.