NatureBox

I splurged. At least, for me it's a splurge. One of my crazy-awesome/healthy runner friends posted on FB about this company and it took about 6 minutes after reading it before I signed up. I'm always finding myself grabbing handfuls of chocolate chips out of the freezer because I'm crazy hungry and (once again) didn't buy any quick, easy food at the grocer. NatureBox sends a box of random healthy snacks monthly and I figured it would be a good way to try new things and have easily portable food I could stash in my purse on my way to work to avoid getting home in that "GIVE ME CHOCOLATE OR GIVE ME DEATH!!" state.

Anyway, I decided to blog what I get each month. Truthfully, this is only for my benefit so I can keep a record of what I like or don't like about it and decide if it's something that I'd like to keep doing, but it may help you find some snacking ideas you hadn't thought of before. 

It's here! Seriously, I don't know if I just ordered at the right time or if they schedule your shipping date based on the date you sign up. Mine arrive less than a week after I signed up. 

Here's all the goodness! It came with a nice card talking about what was in this shipment and included a breakfast recipe using the contents.

My gut reaction was that the bags were a little small, then I figured out in my head how much they would have cost at the grocery store and I think it's reasonable, especially when I figure out the savings (both financially and health wise) of not needing to stop for gas station snacks on busy days.

This month includes:
Wild Berry Bunch 
A blend of dried fruits including cranberries, golden raisins, blueberries, and cherries. I am weird about dried fruit because I don't like raisins, but the mixture here is really good. I love the blueberries in it.

Cranberry Almond Bites 
Crispy little bites of puffed rice, dried cranberries, almonds. Squirt and I LOVE these. This is my favorite feature this months.

Lone Star Snack Mix

Mesquite almonds, cashews, and peanuts with crispy crackers. This is my least favorite of the box, but even then I'm alright with it. The mesquite seasoning is pretty mild and I like the nuts a lot. 

Masa Crisps

Masa crisps with flax seeds in them. This is my second favorite item this month. I could snack on these all day. 

Orange Crush Granola

This granola has a really subtle citrus flavor and is really tasty. I haven't tried it with yogurt yet but plain is really delish. 

I'm really happy with February's box and am already looking forward to finding out what is in the March box! Want to try it? Send me a message and I'll email you a discount code for 25% off!

If you have tried it or plan to, I'd love to hear what you think.

(In full disclosure, if I refer you I do get a discount, but so do you!)

Teal Trim Rustic Mirror

Yesterday I was sick as can be. It was not fun. Not fun at all. But it did give me a chance to selfishly indulge in whatever I wanted, so long as I could sit up long enough to do it. I've been increasingly frustrated with the space that my craft stuff takes up (really, it's not much) and the lack of time to use it since I started subbing. I seized the moment and finally made a frame for this mirror I've had sitting around for a few years (yes, years) from a thrifted frame purchase.

I realized one day that I had a spare tomato stake from last year's garden and it could make a decent rustic frame. I don't normally do rustic, but there are exceptions to everything, right?

Here's how it went down:

I wanted to use only stuff I had on hand, but realized that I wanted the wood to overlap the mirror edge and I'd need something else to make a lip on the back of the frame. I bought two 1/4inch square dowels for $0.86 each and that was it.

Measuring the length of each side plus the overlap length I cut the tomato stake to length. For simplicity and to make it more rustic I didn't miter the corners.

Using wood glue, I attached the pieces at the corners to create a basic frame.

Large rubber bands were sufficient to hold it in place while the glue set.

Then I cut the dowels to length and used wood glue to attach them to the back of the rustic frame. I wanted to be sure they adhered well so cookbooks came out to join the party.

So, I discovered really quickly that my measurements were off slightly (despite my scribbles and math before the fact) which I blame on being sick and not having a fully functioning brain. I had to cut tiny pieces of the dowels to fill gaps on one side, and the frame was exactly 1/2 inch too wide on one side. AND, I didn't square it when I glued the pieces so it's slightly caddywhompus. Oops.

I found that dowel scraps once again came to the rescue to hold the mirror in place so I used wood glue on those puppies too and then hot glued the mirror in place along the exposed edges.

For the backing, it was Costco to the rescue! We had a large cereal box which was really sturdy since the bulk ones are reinforced. I cut it to size and then wrapped picture hanging wire around it both horizontally and vertically - so I can be completely indecisive about which way to hang it.

Yes, I was quite worried about the wire cutting the cardboard. I reinforced the paper with packing tape and then hot glued the wires to limit the likelihood of it cutting through. Oh, and see the funky orangy colors? I also freaked out that the wire was going to scratch the mirror backing so I placed random unused felt from my stash between the mirror and the backing.

Which left us here! I actually like the contrasting edge of the dowel, but decided it looked a little unfinished and random. Two naps later I pulled out some acrylic paint and painted that little edge turquoise while Squirt sat across me at the table doing homework. It was a beautiful moment with no tears involved! Is homework a brutal hour at your house too???

Here it is with her pretty little edge.

I hung it next to our front door (for now) to hopefully reflect some of the natural light from our skinny little window and keep that corner from feeling so dark. I've always liked mirrors, but living in the Northwest has made me almost obsessed with them.

It's so subtle and simple, but so far I dig it. What do you think?

HIt By a Bus

Every time (Every. Time.) I decide I'm going to care about this little blog and be more dedicated (as in I make a spreadsheet and plan out my projects by month) life sends me in another direction. I've started working which is a great blessing to my family financially, but really wrecks havoc with my selfish desires for endless free time to spend in any creative desire I choose. Add to it getting sick and I really feel like I was hit by a bus, but - at least for today all my towels are clean.

If I can figure out how to work, get my grad school papers done, take care of my family, and finally get my Valentine's day crafts (that have been in the works for a whole month already) done, then I'll be able to actually take pictures of something to show you. Until then, can I please have some Nyquil?

Lemon Mousse in Sugared Phyllo Cups

(I couldn't help this font combination and color. It looks almost exactly like an old Sunset cookook my mom had from the 70's)

Last night I attended a baby shower and was asked to bring a treat. Actually, I was asked to bring a dip but as the conversation carried on somehow "dip" evolved to "treat," which I can embrace fully. This week has been crazy as I just started subbing. After 18 months of looking for work I'm happy to have some bit of income, so I sub in Life Skills classrooms with SPED students. It's a hard transition for me, but I'm embracing it. I miss the energy of my freshmen and being able to teach a content area that I love. One day I'll have that again... hopefully.

But back to baking.

Never in my life have I taken a food item that received so many enthusiastic requests for the recipe. Considering that I made it up on the fly it made my baking heart swell just a little bit. It's a fairly easy recipe, but it does take a couple hours start to finish with chilling times.

Lemon Mousse in Sugared Phyllo Cups

For the lemon mousse: 

3-4 lemons, juiced and zested 

5 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (one stick)

1 pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla bean paste (regular vanilla would work)

For the Phyllo Cups:

1/2 pkg. phyllo dough

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar (approximately)

Set Phyllo dough on counter (still in plastic) about 2 hours before you plan on working with it, or according to the package directions. 

Place butter and sugar into bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and cream together. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolks and mix for about 1 minute on medium speed. The mixture will look separated but that is ok. Place lemon mixture into metal bowl and place over saucepan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until mixture is light in color and has thickened to coat the back of a spoon. 

Allow mixture to cool, then refrigerate until chilled. (Yes, you can put it in the freezer to speed things up! It still takes about an hour or so though.)

Add cream cheese to lemon mixture and cream together, making sure there are no lumps. In separate bowl, combine whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and whip until mixture holds stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream into lemon mixture and chill. 

Work with one phyllo sheet at a time while keeping the remaining sheets covered with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. Brush the first sheet of phyllo with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Lay a second phyllo sheet on top, butter lightly and sprinkle with sugar. Continue until you have a stack 6 sheets thick. Cut the phyllo rectangle once lengthwise and twice along the width to create 6 squares. Lightly press each square into a standard muffin cup being careful not to damage the delicate layers. Continue until you have used the entire roll of phyllo dough, which should make 24 cups. 

Bake phyllo cups at 350 for about 8 minutes, or until lightly golden. My oven bakes hot and uneven so keep an eye on them as this temp/time may not work as well in a better oven. 

Allow the cups to cool completely before filling. 

Using a standard cookie scoop, fill center of each phyllo cup with one scoop of lemon mousse then garnish as desired. In this case, with blueberries and additional lemon zest.

Grab one and eat up!! Seriously, the raves when I walked into the party with a platter of these were definitely notable. The raves after people started eating them were indescribable. Eat these. They are yummy.

Seriously though - if you try them I'd love to hear what you think about them.