pinned it. did it. {with doña}

Doña is back with another Pinned it. Did it. post. At my retreats, Sasha makes some pretty awesome recipes with quinoa and every single retreat I think, "I'm going to use that stuff more often." But my husband is determined to stick to the story that he isn't a fan. But I love it and am convinced my whole family would too if only I knew what to do with it. Doña reminded me that I'm not alone in this and shares an adventure with quinoa that is inspiring me to get the box out of the cupboard and do something about putting it onto the table. Love how she also gives us insight into how she tweaks recipes to use what she has on hand.

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This post isn’t about a recipe. Not really about a recipe.

This post is about how to use a recipe as a starting point. It is using Pinterest not as a place where you fall down the hole of craving a beautifully-presented meal or new art supplies or a whole new house, but about how to use Pinterest as the tool that it is - to inspire you and help you use what you already have, well.

What I had was quinoa, and it was lunchtime.

Quinoa is one of those grains that I know I should eat more of, but I just don’t know what to do with it. I had cooked some up to serve with dinner the night before, but then I forgot to serve it. So I had almost three cups of plain leftover quinoa that I knew I should eat but plain quinoa just isn’t that exciting.

I have a shelf full of cookbooks, but they don’t have a search feature. So I turned to Pinterest. I needed a recipe that used quinoa, I could make with what I had in the house right this minute, and that would be fast. 

I found Greek quinoa salad - yummy, but I didn’t have most of the ingredients. 

I found a grilled chicken, avocado and lime salad that looked like an awesome summer dinner, but would take too long for my lunch. I pinned that one for later. 

Then I found it: Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa. I didn’t mind eating “cereal” for lunch, and I was pretty sure I had all of the ingredients. Also, the recipe said it took five minutes to make. And it had a really pretty picture. I’m a sucker for the pretty picture, I admit it.

It is super simple - blend warm milk with cinnamon and vanilla bean, pour it over quinoa, then garnish with blueberries, sliced almonds, and honey.

Once I got in the kitchen I realized I didn’t quite have everything. And also the recipe made enough for four and I was eating lunch alone. I’d have to improvise.

A few years ago I did some traveling with a woman I used to work with who is also an accomplished cook. Whenever we’d eat a meal together in a restaurant, she’d take notes. Not a slavish list of exactly what we were eating, but the flavor combinations. A way of plating a dish that she’d never seen before. What spices she guessed were in there. When she got home she’d use her notes to recreate her memory of the meal, which was not ever what we’d eaten. It was a soup with the spices we’d had in a dessert, or a cocktail with the scent and colors of a starter plate I’d barely even noticed.

After that trip I realized that a recipe didn’t have to be followed, exactly, to make a great meal. I don’t mean bread - if you are making bread, follow the recipe! But with most everything else you can lead with what you have on hand, what you like, what you want to experiment with. Recipes can be sketches, I realized. 

So I started sketching with my quinoa. I roughly divided the recipe into four, so two cups of quinoa became 1/2 cup. Which didn’t look like enough, so I doubled that. One cup of blueberries became 1/4 cup. I didn’t have fresh berries, so I warmed up some frozen ones in the microwave. I didn’t have a vanilla bean, so I substituted some vanilla bean paste that I bought by accident a few weeks ago. No sliced almonds, so I rough-chopped some raw almonds that I picked out of a bag of trail mix. I added some shredded coconut because it sounded good. I didn’t measure the honey or the cinnamon.

I took my bowl of quinoa-with-stuff out to my back yard and sat in the shade of an apricot tree near my chicken coop to eat it, and it was delicious.

Was it exactly like the picture? No, not at all. But it was good. And next time I have some leftover quinoa I’ll be able to make that dish by instinct, not with a recipe.

Need some more recipe inspiration? Browse though my What’s For Dinner board for lots more delicious ideas.

Doña Bumgarner is a writer, artist, mama and a craft project-collector from way back. She loves Pinterest and uses it to help solve a household dilemma at least once a week (see her “pinned and done” board here). She lives in Santa Cruz with her partner, their little one and his almost grown one, and a collection of cats and chickens. She writes about the practice of moms feeding their souls in the midst of raising a family on her blog, Nurtured Mama. 

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm continuing to add a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

pinned it. did it. {with doña}

Note from Liz: I'm so happy to share that Meg, who is a frequent "Pinned it. Did it." contributor here on my site, had her baby on Monday! Mama and baby girl are doing well! Meg will be taking a break from guest posting for a bit but will be back later this summer.

And I'm happy to share that my friend Doña is going to share a few columns with us over the next few weeks! First up is her gorgeous natural-dyed eggs DIY. Oh my goodness these are gorgeous! Read on for her column...

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Last Easter we had cousins visiting from England. Did you know in England they don’t dye eggs like we do in the US? Instead they decorate them with markers and stickers. Last year I made sure we had an Easter egg dyeing day, so my young cousin could experience the American way of colored eggs. Unfortunately the experience was a little disappointing, at least for me. The dyes from the little tablets I dissolved in water and vinegar just weren’t very vibrant. Yet the mess they left on my counter was epic.

This year I wanted to try something different. I’ve always been intrigued by natural, vegetable based dyes and I’ve seen some really gorgeous colors on yarn and fabrics dyed this way. So when I came across a few images of vegetable-dyed Easter eggs, I knew that’s what I wanted to try. 

There’s something just so appealing to me in these natural hues. I picked one post that had good, clear instructions and collected all of my ingredients together. I wanted a range of colors, so I used red cabbage (for blue), skins from brown onions (for dark orange), turmeric (for yellow), beets (for red), and a combination of carrot tops and parsley (for green).

Full disclosure here - I didn’t involve my 3-year-old in this process at all. I wanted to do a “dry” run to make sure it worked and also to figure out how messy it was going to be (it was messy - my butcher block has a big red beet circle!). I started the whole process, including hard-boiling the eggs - after she went to bed one night this week. I also wanted to test out what I’ve discovered is the most important tip for dyeing eggs with vegetable dyes - let them sit in the color over night. 

The whole process went surprisingly fast, even though the color pots all needed to be simmered for 30 minutes. I just used all the saucepans and burners I had!

By morning I had this - success!

I used both brown and white eggs. I thought there would be more difference in the final colors, but the difference is actually pretty subtle. The only color that didn’t really work was the yellow/green from the carrot tops and parsley. The color is barely yellow green and very light. Though I really love the pattern the leaves left on the shell.

I am so impressed with the depth of the dye saturation with this method. It is really obvious here, where part of the egg was not completely covered by the dye water.

I’ll definitely be doing this method of egg dyeing again. I also saved the bowls of colored water and I’m going to try dying some natural-colored sock yarn in the remaining dye to see how the colors turn out. 

You can find all the pins I’ve collected for vegetable dyed eggs as well as other fun egg decorating methods on my Spring pinboard on Pinterest. Follow me on Instagram see the yarn dyeing results and to see what other fun Easter crafts we come up with! 

Doña Bumgarner is a writer, artist, mama and a craft project-collector from way back. She loves Pinterest and uses it to help solve a household dilemma at least once a week (see her “pinned and done” board). She lives in Santa Cruz with her partner, their little one and his almost grown one, and a collection of cats and chickens. She writes about the practice of moms holding space for their own well being in the midst of raising a family on her blog, Nurtured Mama.  

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

 

Meg is back with another Pinned it. Did it. post. There are so many awesome DIY ideas out there for bath scrubs and love having this recommendation from Meg. If you try it or have another one you love, let us know in the comments.

Meg writes:

I happen to fall into the large portion of the population that suffers from Keratosis Pilaris - tiny red bumps on the backs of my arms. I’ve had it come and go since I was a teenager and have finally found something that seems to help. I love how many smart ideas I come across on Pinterest that I might otherwise not find. This sugar scrub is one of those things. 

I’ve been using this scrub for over a month now and am starting to see a decrease in the red bumps on my arms. I’m hopeful that there will be a huge improvement by summer when I like to have bare arms. It is certainly not a quick fix, but I love how natural it is and how easy it is to personalize. I think it would make a great DIY gift for anyone to pamper their skin. 

I used avocado oil and coconut oil, white sugar, and a calming blend of essential oils. It’s recommended in the comments of the original post to not use 100% coconut oil (unless it’s fractionated) because it solidifies at room temperature. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about different essential oils that I could try in my next recipes of sugar scrub. I love how easy it is to personalize or experiment with. The scrub itself is so easy to make. It’s as simple as covering a scoop of white sugar with an oil of your choice (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil are some that come highly recommended), and then adding a few drops of essential oils of your choice. You could also leave the oils out for a fragrance-free option for anyone with sensitivities.

I’m enjoying feeling a bit pampered while I wait for baby to arrive in April. It’s funny how something so simple can feel like self-care and a pick me up in the winter days we’re having. It’s like having a hint of a spa indulgence at home. What ways do you like to indulge or pamper yourself with for some luxurious self-care? Tell us about them in the comments! I’d love to hear. 

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

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Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

Meg is back with another DIY she found on Pinterest. Ellie would love this! And I think it would appeal to the science teacher in Jon. Might be a perfect thing for them to do this weekend. Thanks Meg!

*****

The cold January weather has brought us the most lovely snow flurries this morning. When we look out the window, it looks like a snow globe in our neighborhood. It’s a comforting type of snow. Not a run out to the grocery store and stock up on staples type of snow. And with the windchill outside, it’s too cold to take my son out to play. So we pulled up my Pinterest board where I pin Kid Crafts and Activities and picked a fun indoor activity. I’ve been eyeing various homemade play dough recipes and we settled on a no-cook version that uses our essential oils.  

A perk to using a no-cook method, was that my son, Julian, was able to help measure and pour (all except the boiling water). This recipe requires few ingredients that are all non-toxic and chemical free. 

 

I split our dough into three portions so that we could have three different scents of dough. We are really loving using essential oils in our house and I love the therapeutic qualities it adds to an already therapeutic and soothing activity. We used Wild Orange, Lemon, and Eucalyptus. I used food-grade gel food coloring (which left a tiny reminder of our adventure behind on my hands - perhaps rubber gloves for that part in the future?). And we substituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil since that’s what we have in the house. The texture of this dough is so soft and silky which I love. I was worried that the use of salt would make it gritty but it ended up so soft and smooth like the store-bought versions. 

 

My summer-born baby is an outdoorsy boy and I always struggle through the coldest parts of the winter to keep him inside. We venture out when we can, but it’s days like today that I’m so thankful for the Pinterest goodness of toddler activities and ideas galore. How fun it is to scroll through my board together and select an activity for the day. 

What type of winter day activities are filling your days? We’d love to hear about how you are spending your cold, winter days and if you are using Pinterest for ideas. Tell us about them in the comments below.

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

***

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

I'm delighted that Meg is sharing about a group of creative kindreds she gathered with over the weekend to just have some girl time. And lucky for us, she's sharing about the bread she made for the occasion. She finds the best recipe pins!

*****

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to gather with some friends who I knew/made while Jen Lee was in town touring with her documentary, Indie Kindred. These ladies, in a few short get-togethers, have become very dear to me as kindred spirits and fellow creatives. We sat and ate delicious “brunchy” foods and pulled out knitting needles and crochet hooks (most of us had to work just to remember what to do with them because it had been so long since the last time we’d picked them up). But just the act of gathering together feels so sacred and so special. We love to chat and scheme about how we are going to collaborate or plan our dream events and who we can meet along the way. Having this community is invaluable. We even scheduled our next “knitty brunch” date before we left so another one is already in the works. Magic, I tell you.

I have a whole breakfast board on Pinterest filled with decadent and delicious ideas for such a brunch. But I’d seen a pin that stuck out in my mind and knew it was the one I wanted to make to take with me to our get together. A huge perk to baking it was that it would satisfy quite a few different diet restrictions (gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free). 

This bread is delicious. And smothered in chocolate. But to warn you, it is quite rich. The use of peanut butter and chocolate chips make it perhaps more dessert-like than breakfast-like. I think you could cut way back on the chocolate chips or replace many/all of them with nuts or dried fruit for a different take on it. But I went full-force on the chocolate chips (I used these) and found it decadent and wonderful. 

The batter is very thick but it bakes up beautifully. A few tricks I learned while making this bread: 1) add a few tablespoons of water while blending to get a wetter batter, 2) let it cool completely before turning it out of the pan or it will fall apart, 3) use two small loaf pans OR one large loaf pan, and 4) have a beverage nearby when eating it. It’s a bit dense and all that peanut butter will make you thirsty!

So many good things coming from my Pinterest boards lately. Have you been doing anything from your Pinterest boards? Share about your Pinterest inspirations in the comments or leave a link for us to see. 

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

***

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.