{tsiporah}

I've Moved!

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:39:00 -0700

Hello everyone, I have moved!

Please visit my new blog at tsiporahblog.wordpress.com

See you there!

adios, tumblr amigos!

*Photo credit

Easy Quinoa Stir Fry

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:27:00 -0700

This recipe is super easy, healthy and satisfies a serious craving for veggies, healthy food and stir fry all at once!!

Honey-Sesame Quinoa Stirfry

Ingredients: (serves 1)

~1 cup of vegetables of your choice, chopped

(I used broccoli, red bell pepper and loads of green onions)

Cooked quinoa, 1-2 cups according to your preference

1 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, whatever you prefer)

Sauce:

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

siracha, to taste

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tsp corn starch + 2 tbsp water

Directions:

Mix together honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and siracha for the sauce. Taste and adjust according to your preferences. Then, in a separate bowl combine corn starch and water. Slowly add to your sauce. Set aside.

In a wok, heat 1 tbsp oil. When the oil starts to smoke, lower the heat to a medium- low setting and carefully add chopped vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are almost done, adding a spoonfull of the sauce at a time in order to prevent burning. When the vegetables are nearly cooked through, add the cooked quinoa. You can add as much or as little as you like, I used roughly a cup or 1.5 cups. Pour in the rest of the sauce and stir until it is well incorporated and the vegetables are cooked through.

Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

*Optional- top with freshly chopped green onions and sesame seeds.

I apologize that the nature of my recipes often require adjusting on your part, but I usually don’t know what I am making until it is done. So I usually never measure, but I am trying to work on this! :)

Spiced Banana Oat Bread

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:43:42 -0700

You know those recipes that you make, and you instantly regret putting the egg in it because you just want to eat it raw? This is a perfect example. I had to change the original recipe quite a bit to make it healthier and to fit it to the ingredients that I had on hand. Here is my amended banana bread recipe, with oats and spices!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour*
1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup of butter, softened
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups mashed bananas
Chopped nuts, optional

Kitchen Tools:

Measuring cups + spoons
2 mixing bowls
Hand mixer
Fork to mash bananas with
Pliable baking spatula

Instructions:

In one bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and soda, and oats. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together sugars, butter and apple sauce until fluffy. Slowly add the egg, then the milk and vanilla. If you are using nuts, add these in as well. Mix well. Alternately add the mashed banana and the dry mixture until all of the ingredients have been incorporated. Pour into greased loaf pan. Optional- sprinkle with a pinch of oats and spices. Bake at 350 for about an hour, give or take 15 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.

You could also choose to use a muffin pan, or mini loaf pans! You could then use a toothpick to check for doneness. Optional- serve with cream cheese and a cup of tea, coffee or milk. Enjoy :)

Don’t you wish it was fall? I sure do…

*A note about flour: if you want this recipe to be even healthier, you could use half or all whole wheat flour instead of white flour. You could also add other kinds of fruit, such as raspberries or blueberries.

Photo

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:28:41 -0700

Fresh Veggies & Orzo

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:36:39 -0700

Today for lunch, I got to cook for myself! This is a big deal because now that I live with my parents, they usually are cooking for me, so I don’t get a chance to be creative in the kitchen anymore. But, today was an exception :)

Fresh Vegetables with Orzo

Ingredients:

Aprox. 1.5 cups uncooked orzo pasta (or about 1/3 of a box, I use Barilla)
Aprox. 2 cups vegetable broth
Aprox. 2 cups of water
3/4 cup of chopped fresh green beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/3 cup of cherry tomatos, halved
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes (optional*)
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and garlic)
1/3 cup of italian blend cheese
1 tbsp romano cheese
Fresh basil, romano cheese, and chili flakes, for garnish.

Cook orzo for 8 minutes so that it is al dente, using 1 cup of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water (approximately- add more water if you need to). When it is done, move the pot to a cool burner.

While the orzo is cooking, combine the onion, green beans, broccoli, butter and olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Saute with the lid on for 5 minutes over medium heat. Uncover, add a generous splash of vegetable broth, your tomatoes, sun-dried tomato oil, and garlic. Cook until the green beans and broccoli are fork-tender, adding more broth if needed. Then add your drained, cooked orzo to the skillet. Saute with the vegetables. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning and stir. Slowly add the cheese, and stir to form a creamy texture (add more stock if needed).

Garnish with fresh basil, additional romano cheese, and chili flakes if you wish.

*I don’t actually like sun-dried tomatoes, I only like the oil in the jar. You can add the actual tomatoes if you want, or skip this ingredient completely.

This recipe was not very easy to write, because I neglected to measure while I was cooking. I need to get in the habit of always measuring! Anyway, it is a pretty easy recipe that I made up off the top of my head. Obviously, you can add more vegetables if you want, or even a lean meat on the side! This was a really delicious lunch, that would definitely serve two with a little bit left over. Bon apetit, friends!

**Optional additions, to keep you full longer: a sprinkle of chia seeds or ground flax seeds.

before & after

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:06:00 -0700

some crafty things lately..

PICTURE FRAME » EARRING HANGER

before- picture frame from goodwill

after- earring hanger!

BED AND WINDOW LINNENS » CUTE SKIRT!

before: sheets and a lace window treatment

after: super cute skirt!

a close up of the bottom:

Another before and after, that I don’t have pictures of- Sarah’s super cute white board made from a picture frame. It is so adorable!

My baby kitten is 3 today <3

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:56:27 -0700

My baby kitten is 3 today <3

Adventures of a Babysitter

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:03:42 -0700

Sorry again for my absence on my blog! I had been in California since Sunday, and just arrived home last night. I was in California with some good family friends whose girls I babysit. Their father couldn’t come on the trip, so their mom asked me to come along to help with the girls (3 and 7 years old). It was so, so fun! We were in San Diego all five days, and we got to see many parts of San Diego that were new to me, which was fun. Their mom, Cathy, used to live in SD, so she already knew of a lot of places that she wanted to take the girls. Some of the highlights of the trip included the children’s museum, Coronado Island beach, the Birch Aquarium, Balboa Park, a cruise tour of the San Diego shoreline, a La Jolla beach, and lots of food!

Here are some pictures from the trip..

Balboa Park

In the garden at Balboa Park

Orchids at Balboa Park

Lily Ponds at Balboa Park

View of Downtown San Diego from our boat tour

cutsies

Abby & I on the boat tour

Star fish & sea urchin at the Birch Aquarium

La Jolla Beach

It was super fun! The girls were very good for the most part.. I have to admit, it seems so quiet now that I am home and the trip is over! Abby and I had a lot of fun doing the “big kid” things while her little sister spent time with her mom doing thins appropriate for her age. Together, Abby and I found over 20 sand dollars at a Coronado beach! So, so amazing!

I can’t wait till the next time that I can travel…

Summertime..

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:14:30 -0700

It’s funny how one summer can change everything. It must be something about the heat and the smell of chlorine, fresh-cut grass and honeysuckle, asphalt sizzling after late-day thunderstorms, the stem rising while everything drips around it. Something about long, lazy days and whirring air conditioners and bright plastic flip-flops from the drugstore thwacking down the street. Something about fall being so close, another year, another Christmas, another beginning. So much in one summer, stirring up like the storms that crest at the end of each day, blowing out all the heat and dirt to leave everything gasping and cool. Everyone can reach back to one summer and lay a finger to it, finding the exact point when everything changed. That summer was mine..

Sarah Dessen

Fancy Kitchen Items

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:59:07 -0700

I LOVE new things for my kitchen! Right now it is super unrealistic to be buying things for “my” kitchen, since I’m currently living with my parents. But a girl can dream, right?

I am loving these farmers market inspired pieces from Anthropologie!

Tea & Toast Butter Dish

Farmer’s Market Basket

Farmer’s Egg Crate

I also adore any painted stoneware or ceramic, like this gorgeous tea set..

I do love a good clean white plate, but eating off of these dessert plates would just be so much more fun & cheery, don’t you think?

And these salt & pepper shakers sure would add a nice pop of color to a dining table..

Okay, okay I’ll admit it; I really just wish I could decorate my entire kitchen from anthropologie!!

The big office clean-up

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:58:44 -0700

My mom’s office was so, so messy. I was in the middle of a sewing project, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I got up and immediately started re-organizing the book shelves. It kind of got out of control for a while, tackling the big mess in the middle of the room, but I am SO GLAD to say that it is done!!! See the before and after pictures below!

BEFORE

AFTER

look you can see the floor!

labeled book shelves

There was a desk under there!

Coffee Bag Adventure

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:08:00 -0700

Today, I struck gold! I set out looking for local coffee roasters who received their beans in those large burlap sacks. I found not one, but three locations! One of them was closed, and one of them only had 5 bags, but the first one I went to was a true gem. He had a lot of bags to choose from, but only a few colorful ones. He allowed me to look through all of the bags and pick my favorites. He also told me about coffee beans, about his travels, and about a potential employer! Yes my friends, I know- could my day be better?!

Here are some photos of these bags.

Only a few were this cool, and I will definitely cherish them! I was also told that another location will have more for me to look through on Thursday!

Yay for a successful day!

Peaceful, Grateful, Grounded

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:13:11 -0700

A wise person once told me,

Our greatest challenge in life is to remain peaceful, grateful, and grounded.

Lately, I have been keeping a journal of 5-10 things that I am grateful for each day. This has truly brought so much positive energy into my day, just trying to think of what I am grateful for that day.

Today, I am grateful for

Modern eye care
Kindness
Having the ability to read and write
Access to information and knowledge
My creative abilities
Freedom of choice

Sometimes, it is just the little things that make you think about how lucky you truly are.

Tell me, what are you grateful for today?

Also, visit theideaswap.com if you’re bored. Swap an idea, or 20. You might just come across something truly inspirational.

4th of July Holiday Weekend

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:46:56 -0700

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July! We started our holiday weekend in the beautiful and cool city of Flagstaff. One of our first adventures was a ride on Snowbowl’s scenic sky ride. Only my cousin Alex was brave enough, and the two of us rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain. There, we hiked up and took some really great pictures!

Afterwards, we went downtown to grab a bite to eat, followed by some errands where we ran into my sweet best friend, Dena, and her fiance Michael. Later, we explored downtown Flagstaff. We visited shops, candy stores, etc.

Afterwards, we met Dena and Michael at my apartment and had a fun night filled with catch phrase and pizza bites.

Sunday, we woke up and headed straight for the farmer’s market. We bought a cucumber, two cantaloupes that were the size of grapefruits, some plums and apricots, and a few tomatos. We also visited Art in the Park, and swooned over the baby animals in the petting zoo. We also fell in love with these drums.

Afterwards, we made our way south to Sedona. We enjoyed shopping, frozen and sweet treats, beef and buffalo jerkey samples, and the beautiful rainy weather. Then we stopped at the creek for a bit.

After we got back to Flagstaff, we put dinner in the oven and enjoyed some time in the hot tub.

Monday morning we went downtown for Flagstaff’s 4th of July parade, which was really awesome!

After the parade and a quick tour of campus, we reluctantly made our way down the mountain and back to Phoenix.

Our 4th of July celebrations ended with fireworks at Tempe town lake.

I hope everyone’s holiday was safe and fun!

California Adventures

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:45:02 -0700

Hello, friends! Sorry for the lapse in my posts.. we took a brief vaca to California for a long weekend. I have two cousins in town, Alex & Amanda - both 19 years old, from Kentucky and Indiana. Each summer it seems, my family and I go on a trip to California. It is usually a last minute, cheap getaway centered around the beach and having fun. This year, we planned it out a little better than usual, since my cousins had never been to California and they had a lot to see in just a short 4 days!

The night before we left, I was kneeling at my computer in my room (because my desk chair had been used at dinner, and I hadn’t returned it yet). I felt a sharp pain in my right calf low near my ankle. Thinking it was a needle that had dropped in the carpet, I looked down to pick it up. To my surprise, I saw a bug scurrying away from me. In the dim light, I realized that it was a scorpion, and that I had been stung. To make matters worse, it was headed straight for Mika. I quickly picked her up by her scruff, hugged her to my chest and backed under my desk. I screamed for my Dad, and at first he was like “what” until I screamed that a scorpion had stung me. My poor cousin Amanda was sleeping on my bed, and I woke her up. I jumped up on the bed with her and my Dad came running in my room. He lifted up Amanda’s suitcase, where the scorpion had run under, and smashed it into 3 pieces. It wasn’t until then that I felt the numbing pain, creeping through my leg. I didn’t let go of Mika for another 10 minutes, just glad it was me and not her. So.. needless to say, I was not so thrilled to be getting up at 5am to drive to California. My sweet sister stayed up until 3am with me to make sure that I was okay. And because of my sting, I couldn’t help my Mom by driving part of the way.

So, with that hiccup, we had to divert our plans. We were going to go to Venice Beach on day 1, but I could hardly walk better than a wobble. I looked like a penguin following them into gas stations when we would stop!

DAY 1- Driving, Redondo Beach, Mission Beach

We went to have a nice picnic dinner on Redondo Beach at sunset, only to find that they were having an issue with sand flies. So, we ended up cooking on a cement bench. Then we went to the Mission Beach area to walk around some cute shops and experience the nightlife.

DAY 2- Venice Beach, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive

We woke up relatively early and drove to Venice Beach. We battled with parking for a while before finally giving in and paying for a less than ideal spot. We walked along the board walk for a while, enjoying the eclectic mix of people and shops. To my cousins, it was a different world.

After we had our fair share of sun and walking, we came back to this restaurant that we had passed earlier. It was just a window that you ordered from, but it was really, really good. It was called Sababa, so of course I had to try something.

It was fantastic- I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. We took our falafel, chicken skewers, beef, baba ganoush, etc to a picnic in a nearby park.

After lunch, we started our drive to Hollywood. We parked here, and walked around to see the theaters. I was surprised- I had been to Hollywood before but somehow missed this.

After walking around a little later than we had planned, we briefly passed through Rodeo Drive so that Alex and Amanda could see it. Then we drove south for two hours to San Diego.

DAY 3- Coronado Island, Amanda’s Birthday

This day, we drove to nearby Coronado Island. We enjoyed the beach all day long!

Then, we went to our favorite restaurant on the island, Village Pizza, for Amanda’s birthday dinner!

DAY 4- Coronado Island, Driving Home

On the last day of our adventure, my Mom fell off the car while strapping our bags down on top. Her elbow was swollen and painful, and she thought it might be broken. We still went back to the beach for a few hours. Then we cleaned up, walked through the Hotel Del Coronado, drove across the bridge back to SD, and began our journey home.

My Mom has been to the doctor, and found out that it is fractured, so she has been icing it to numb the pain. They didn’t give her a cast, so she has to lay off of it for a while.

This weekend we are going up to Flagstaff to get out of the heat and enjoy some pre-4th of July festivities.

I hope you all are having eventful, fun weeks!

Tell me- what is the wildest adventure you’ve been on with family? With how big my family is, it would be hard to narrow it down to one, but it usually involves a beach or a road trip- or both!

"The greatest danger is not that we aim too high and we miss it, but we aim too low and reach it"

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:47:24 -0700

“The greatest danger is not that we aim too high and we miss it, but we aim too low and reach it”

- Michelangelo

Beautiful flowering kale. I made this last Shabbos with some...

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:11:06 -0700

Beautiful flowering kale.

I made this last Shabbos with some maple syrup and chili flakes, adapted from this recipe.

Craving Crazy

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:30:14 -0700

I have to admit, I have not been eating all too healthy lately, like this beautiful cupcake that I ate yesterday. I made them while babysitting, and brought one home for my dad for father’s day. Then, we had a way too filling dinner…

Smoked ribs, bbq apricot chicken, Texas sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, watermelon, baked beans, Hawaiian sweet rolls, and sangria. I was uncomfortably full afterwards. Then I spent some time reading a few new blogs, and got a serious craving for chocolate almond milk. At 10pm. So what did I do? Instead of going to the store and just buying almond milk, I ate chocolate ice cream instead. See what I’m saying? I’ve been so bad with eating healthy lately, but its so hard when I’m living with my parents. When I was on my own, I never or rarely bought chips, butter, ice cream, crackers… etc. I bought organic, cage free eggs, almond milk, fiber 1 cereal and ate things like kale and whole wheat pasta for dinner. I rarely ate meat, and I ate carrot sticks for a snack. I just can’t control myself when snacks are around, which is why I never bought them for myself.

Things need to change.

I woke up too late again today, so I’m going to go to bed no later than 10 tonight and wake up no later than 8am tomorrow. After I work out today, I’m going to go to the grocery store and buy some wholesome, organic food to eat for a few days before heading to California this weekend. I can’t do this anymore. I may have to live with my parents, but I don’t have to eat like them.

So tell me; what is your biggest obstacle with cravings and avoiding them?

Bedroom Bliss

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:44:12 -0700

Today I want to share with you some of my favorite bedrooms, design wise.

In this first one, I love the use of a vintage suitcase as the top of a bedside table. You would be surprised- these are pretty easy to find. Keep your eyes open when you are visiting second hand stores or garage sales. I also love the color combination- relaxing and super cheerful!

I love the combination of cream/yellow and blue. This bed looks so comfortable, I just want to crawl right in it and take a siesta!

In this bedroom, I love the blue walls! I also adore printed pillows, like this bed has. I dislike how the headboard covers parts of the windows though.

But this last bedroom is my absolute favorite. It is the one that I can see myself trying to mimic when I have my own home. I love how soft the white linnens on the bed look, mixed with the knitted blankets. My new knitted blanket would look lovely on this bed.. I also love the french doors that bring nature inside. It almost looks like that is a balcony. The rug is beautiful also, and along with that mirror, there is a hint of flair in an otherwise plain room. The chandelier is the cherry on top of the sundae!

I think this all is coming about because I am just so cluttered in my room. I feel like I need to clean it every day. I just really need to find a job so I can get my own place and escape the clutter of living out of one room! I had to expand to the office, and my Dad told me I need to rent a storage unit :(

If anyone knows of places hiring in Phoenix/Scottsdale.. let me know!!

Tell me- what do you envision in your dream bedroom?

Healthy, Productive Day!

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:43:12 -0700

Healthy and productive days are my favorite type of days!

Being unemployed is a busy life. Besides hunting down jobs every which way I can think of, I’ve got all this other stuff going on as well. Just kidding, I shouldn’t complain since I love free time and I have a lot of it! Today has been a very fun and productive day! I woke up and went for a jog with Chili, my Dad’s dog. She definitely challenges you! Then I showered and had a nice healthy breakfast of my favorite Simply Harvest Apples with Cinnamon oatmeal by Quaker Oats. I also added some strawberries and half of a banana on the side.

Then I got ready and went with my best friend Dena and our friend Jacqui to go to a bridal shop to order a new veil for Dena. Afterwards, we decided to Goodwill hop to try to find some board games! I was lucky enough to stumble upon Imaginiff, Cranium Family Edition and the origional version of Candy Land.

Dena also bought her fair share of games, including a crystal set of backgammon, chess and checkers!

I also picked this up.. I don’t really know what to call it. It is made out of fabric and wood, and folds out to look like this..

The inside is a nice silky fabric, and it has allowed me to organize all of the books that I had stacked on my bedside table. Since I had to fit an appartment inside a relatively small bedroom, I’ll take any organization help that I can get! Especially if it is pretty!

So, here is a picture of all of our purchases.. I would say it was a successful day!

Now I’m waiting for my man so we can go run errands and get ready for game night/potluck dinner tomorrow night!