Polenta Lasagna with Lemon Cashew "Ricotta"

Growing up Italian, we always had some kind of delicious baked pasta dish for every holiday and special occasion. Thanksgiving? Lasagna. Christmas? Stuffed shells. Easter? Baked ziti. These were dishes that were also made on weekends every now and then, but they were still special.

When we decided to go vegan, my husband and I wondered how we could still eat these favorite dishes. Not only were they dear to my heart because I grew up with them, my husband discovered what a real feast was with these baked dishes. It was important to us to continue the tradition of a special meal made complete with a hearty Italian dish. The solution was cashew cheese.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of cashews in some recipes because I don't particularly like the flavor. However, when put into a dish with a rich tomato sauce, only the creaminess and cheesy texture stands out. With a pop of lemon, it tastes fresh and rounds out the flavor profile.

This particular dish was created because I ran out of lasagna noodles but really wanted something similar. I had gotten a tube of polenta to make baked polenta fries (also delicious), so I substituted the noodles with it. The polenta added an extra richness and some pleasurable texture. It was a huge hit with the husband and toddler.

Below is the basic recipe for a quick meal. Homemade sauce would be even better, but I used jarred to cut down on dishes and time. Also, feel free to substitute or add vegetables to the layers.

Polenta Lasagna with Lemon Cashew "Ricotta"

Ingredients:
-1 tube polenta
-1 jar marinara sauce or homemade sauce
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-2 large zucchinis or other vegetables

For the cashew ricotta:
-1 cup cashews, soaked for several hours in 2 cups water
-juice of 1 lemon
-1 garlic clove
-2 tsp dijon mustard
-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-3-4 Tbsp olive oil
-1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Make sure the cashews have been soaking ahead of time. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the polenta and vegetables into medallions about 1/2 inch thick. The polenta is pretty delicate and may crumble a bit, that's okay, just save the crumbles to fill in holes in the casserole.
2. Put all the ingredients for cashew cheese in a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add water if it's too thick or dry.
3. Grease a small casserole dish with olive oil and layer as follows: 9 rounds Polenta, 1/3 of the cheese, even coating of sauce, enough zucchini to cover in one layer...etc. until everything is used up. Pour the rest of the sauce on top.
4. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, until nice and bubbly. Serve immediately with bread and light salad.

The KonMari Method: Clothing

After a quick read of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, I decided to give it a try. Read about my review here.

First on the list to be tidied is clothing. This includes underwear, pajamas, pants, tops, blouses, sweaters, leggings, dresses, skirts, coats, and shoes. I always considered myself to be an organized and clean person, but it seemed like the clutter always came back. This is especially true of my closet. I often got rid of clothing items and didn't shop very often, but my closet always felt so stuffed. I hoped that the KonMari method would help to tame my wardrobe.

I'll admit that a larger motivation to getting my clothing under control was the hope that it would mean less laundry for me. Laundry is by far my least favorite chore and it's never long before the baskets are overflowing.

This is how I do laundry.

Because I have a toddler to look after, I did not put everything on the floor to be tidied at once. I also did my decluttering during naptime or independent playtime. Instead, I decluttered by subcategory, starting with undergarments and going from there.

The first thing I noticed, was how different it felt to be decluttering based on what I wanted to keep rather than what I wanted to get rid of. By only asking myself if it sparked joy, I was avoiding any of the other justifications for keeping something. But those thoughts still creeped in every now and then. I kept catching myself thinking, "I don't love this but I can use this as pajamas since it's still perfectly good." Kondo brings up this in her book, warning us to avoid demoting clothing into the "lounge wear" category. This is something I'm often guilty of, so instead of keeping those items, into the donation bag they went.

I also found myself better able to part with gifts from people that never fit right or didn't suite my style. They weren't being worn anyway, but the larger point was that they didn't spark joy.

Folding the KonMari way is what I think really transformed my closet. It's one thing to get rid of a bunch of stuff and then throw the rest into drawers but it's a totally different ball game to fold her way. Whatever is not hung up on hangers, should be folded using her method and then "filed" upright into dresser drawers or on shelves. My socks in particular look AH-MA-ZING and there is now a ton of room in my drawers. Everything is in sight and I can easily grab exactly what I want.

When everything was folded and put away, what surprised me was the feelings I now had towards my wardrobe and in getting dressed. It was pleasurable to put on clothing that I knew I really loved and that made me feel good. My wardrobe is now made up of clothing that is softer, fits nicer, and that better suits my personality.

Socks, bras, stockings and underwear

Bags, accessories, and swimwear

Robes, sweaters, cardigans, and blouses

Pajamas and "lounge wear"

T-shirts, tops, and tanks

Long sleeve tops and sweaters

Pants (The right side is my side, the left side is hubby's)

Even though my side of the closet is much more organized and just has less than my husband's, I feel like the entire closet is already different. My clothing is easier to find and manage, no more shoving a drawer shut! I even folded my husband's clothes the KonMari way. Without getting rid of anything, everything fits better and is just much nicer.

After going through my clothing, I got rid of two full garbage bags worth of stuff. This is after regular closet purging as well as delegating a few items elsewhere. And no, nothing became lounge wear. Items that weren't put into the donation bag were put in my fabric stash for planned projects, my son's dress up drawer, or were severely demoted to cleaning cloths. This is how I kept the process as green and eco-friendly as possible:

-All clothing in good condition will be donated. People in need are going to get good quality clothing and that also means less will end up at the dump.

-Clothing that can be used as dress up is saved for my son. Blouses, bandanas, hats, etc. that can be used in pretend play, were saved for that purpose. For example, a white button up blouse can be a business top or doctor's coat. I save money because I don't have to buy dress up clothing, plus children would rather play with real, grown-up items.

-Clothing is stained, has holes, or is just not donation worthy is saved as cleaning cloths. Instead of using paper towels, I use these items of clothing (cut up to be smaller if necessary).

-All of these pieces of clothing are fabric, Pinterest as a wealth of ideas on how to use them for sewing projects. This is particularly good for making people gifts (like fabric headbands, wallets, or bags) because you save money and reuse something instead of buying new.

Overall, I'm very happy with results, even if I didn't get rid of as much as I anticipated. I realized that my true style is very geeky and very casual. I ended up keeping mostly yoga and sweatpants because the thought of being able to move more freely with my toddler brought me joy. Plus, I absolutely love the feeling of getting into comfortable clothing when I get home. Most of the tops I kept have to do with a particular fandom, like Sailor Moon, and those make me very happy. So, I still have a lot of clothing than I think Miss Kondo would like, but I feel joy about my wardrobe. I plan on continuing the major decluttering and am anxious at how the rest of the house fares. Up next, books!

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Too much stuff...

Our consumption obsessed society has left us with a lot of stuff in nearly every aspect of our lives. It seems like America in particular is all about BIGGER, BETTER, and MORE, whether it be cars, clothes, phones, beauty products, accessories, home goods, and even food. We love to get the new phone, even if our old phone is really not that outdated or old at all. The food portions at one restaurant are so much bigger than that other restaurant, we feel like we are getting more for our money. What we bought to wear last season is no longer in style, and the newer clothes at the store seem so much cuter....

Even after organizing, it feels cluttered...

Let's face it, new things are nice and they give us a thrill to buy them. When I find myself feeling sad or overwhelmed, I often buy myself something to make me feel better. And sure, it helps, but the feeling never lasts long. In fact, I often end up feeling guilty for making an unneeded purchase and then overwhelmed by having more stuff in our small house.

Desks are often used as dumping grounds for more stuff.

It's the stuff and the clutter that contributes to feelings of stress. Especially as a mom of a toddler, I find myself overwhelmed trying to keep up with house work. The dishes and normal cleaning routines aside, tidying up clutter EVERY DAY is tough when a toddler is tugging at my pants. And even with all that cleaning, my house is far from magazine-worthy. I mean, it's clean: the bathrooms, floors, laundry, kitchen, etc. are all washed. But there's just too much stuff. I want to devote less time to cleaning and more time to my son.

Everything just feels messy all the time...

Consumerism has completely taken over today's society. Our stuff is not only packing our homes and causing us to feel stressed and overwhelmed, it's literally destroying the earth. Americans are averaging about 250 million tons of trash per year. Everything that you buy at the store required the usage of some combination of natural resources to make it's way to you. The point is that our needs for more are causing more land to be wasted for waste management or for use to satisfy our cravings and needs. The solution is simple: buy less and buy more mindfully.

When I came across the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering by Marie Kondo, I was hoping that this highly recommended book would help start my path towards minimalism and give me tools to steer clear of the siren calls of consumerism.

This was a super easy and quick read. Kondo is a bit quirky, but she was very relatable and pretty adorable through her writing. The goal and purpose of the book is to help the reader get rid of all the clutter they have accumulated and to help create a peaceful environment. There were a couple of messages that stuck out and gave me an "ah-ha" moment.

Only keep what gives you joy
This is the main message of the book and the one that is obviously the most important. It was such a simple message and makes complete sense. I have so much stuff that I keep just because it's still "perfectly good" or "I might need it later". Why keep things that don't make me happy? It made me look at my stuff from a completely different point of view. Just knowing that certain things brought me joy, made me appreciate them more.

Declutter all at once, by category
Many people recommend decluttering a little at a time or by room, but Kondo brings up a great and almost obvious point: declutter a little at a time and you will be doing it forever. How true! By going about tidying just a little at a time, you really don't realize how much of something you have, especially if like items are scattered around the house. Plus it gives you plenty of time to add more stuff. By piling ALL of your clothes in one spot, it's helps to create perspective on your belongings.

Fold properly and vertically
Without getting rid of anything, this tip alone changed my closet. By folding things so that they all stood up, like files, everything is in view and totally organized. Yes, even folding your socks. In fact, folding my socks is probably my favorite tip of the book.

Organizing gives the illusion of a clean room
Kondo emphasizes that all the organizing bins and fancy contraptions will not take care of the main issue: too much stuff. You can file and sort to your hearts content, but your house will still have too many things.

However, there were a few aspects of the book that I felt could not work for everyone. The main one is that tidying should be done alone and all at once. I totally get the recommendation because I'm sure it's easier to do so alone. But with a toddler, it's just not feasible to get a babysitter for every part of decluttering. She says not to do this during a child's naptime either, but in order for tidying to happen at all, I need to work with the time that I have. She also assures the reader that other members of the household will most likely join in on the decluttering. My husband has the most stuff out of all of us and is the absolutely worst at letting go of possessions. His motto is practically, "I might need this". So I was hoping for more recommendations on how to go about cleaning with a messy family, but who knows, maybe she is right and maybe he will join in after I declutter.

The biggest thing that worried me, however, was the amount of trash the tidying would generate. Wasn't I trying to make my carbon footprint smaller? Wasn't I trying to reduce the amount of stuff I sent to the dump? But, Kondo assures the reader that it's about jumpstarting a lifestyle of minimalism, a lifestyle of reduction and buying less. The idea is that with a peaceful environment and clearer mind, the need to buy more will be abated. That we will see what we have, realize that we have everything we need, and be happy with our beloved possessions. It's worth a shot to try to combat the gnawing need to buy stuff.

I plan on tackling each subject and writing a post on it in the coming weeks: Clothing, books, papers, komono (miscellany), and personal mementos. I'm also going to include a few posts that are outside of the musings of this book, but related to a lifestyle of less. Posts will include making more mindful food choices as well as reduction of waste in general.

Up first.... is CLOTHING!

Happy tidying!

Check out the book here

Review: Doeck Tulipa Rosso

I had seen this wrap in one of the Facebook babywearing groups and it took me a while to track it down. It was red, my favorite color, and it had an almost retro feel to it. When I finally found out what it was, I was happily surprised that it was on sale.

Doeck is a Dutch woven wrap company started by Anneclaire Hortensius. She is a trained babywearing consultant and has a focus on simple designs and high quality materials.

When it arrived, in loomstate, it was surprisingly soft and floppy. I washed, dried, and steam ironed it and it was already satiny and smooth. The color is incredibly vibrant in person and the truest red that I have ever seen in a wrap. There are simple tulips evenly spaced around the wrap, facing in opposite directions. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked that not all of the tulips faced in one direction, but after some use I found it pleasing that every carry showed a similar design, no matter how many flips or passes I did. The middle marker is small and only on one side. It's rather hard to find and I find myself wishing that it was on both sides to make wrapping in the car easier.

This wrap is so soft, almost with a wet, satin like feel. It has a great drape to it, and is very easy to wrap. Passes are easily made and tightening is simple. The design gives a pretty minimal texture to the overall feel of the wrap, and I think this would be a great newborn wrap for that reason. The weave is also very neat and tight, this is a workhorse of a wrap and not pull-prone at all. The weave and feel reminds me of a tighter woven FireSpiral. Despite being smooth, this wrap is not very slippery, and knots hold well.

Tulipa is a medium weight wrap that feels thin in hand. It also seems to fold up really flat and small, which is odd because it does not wrap like a super thin wrap. On the shoulders, it feels nice and solid with no dig. There is really no stretch and my 30 pound toddler was supported for long wears with no sag.

I would recommend this wrap for beginners, experienced wrappers, newborns, and large children... practically everyone. It's, to me, a perfect all around wrap. It is: soft, beautiful, supportive, medium weight, folds thin, a workhorse, and easy to wrap with. Everyone needs one of these!

Check them out here!

Review: FireSpiral Octarine Frost Midwinter

If you haven't tried FireSpiral yet, you need to. I would easily consider them one of my favorite woven wrap companies because their wraps are so special.

FireSpiral Slings make baby wraps that are woven in the U.K. They have two lines: Alchemy, which are a looser weave, and Elements which are a tighter weave. The Alchemy line are incredibly soft and have amazing drape and moldability. The Elements are the workhorses and still very soft, they just take a bit longer to get there.

Octarine Frost Midwinter is part of the Alchemy range, it is 100% cotton and has a loose weave. It arrived fairly quickly all the way from the UK and was considerably soft in loom state. After a bath, dry, and steam iron, this wrap was already softer than some of my other wraps. The more I used it, the softer it got and the more I became convinced that this was truly woven with unicorn hair and kitten fur. This would make the perfect squish wrap based only on it's softness, but that's not the only amazing quality it has.

The design is an owl on a sprawling tree as snow gently falls all around. The colors are white and blue, although the blue looks either purple or grey in certain light. It is breathtakingly beautiful and intricate. Because of the design and the loose weave, this wrap is extremely pull prone. I had to be careful about snagging a thread on a nail or looking at it wrong, but pulls were easy to weave right back in if they didn't work themselves out with a few wears. The design adds some texture that was pleasant to the touch and seems to help it stay in place when wrapped. Because the wrap is so soft and smooth, this bit of texture is definitely needed.

It is a medium weight wrap, coming in at 240 g/m2. It felt thin in hand and had a bit of cush which was nice on the shoulders, but I preferred this wrap in multiple layers with my big toddler. There was a nice amount of stretch, making chest passes easy, but it didn't ever translate to sag. Even in single layer carries, this wrap proved to be nice and supportive. I was surprised about this because I thought that the looser weave would mean less support. But it handled my 30 pounder toddler like a champ.

Wrapping with Midwinter was as pleasurable as it was to snuggle it. Passes were easy and the glide was just delicious. Midwinter truly wraps itself; it was so easy to get a nice wrap job every time, even with a squirmy child. The wrap felt like it melted and molded right to us.... it is just so comfortable.

I would recommend this wrap to everyone: beginners, experienced wrappers, small babies, large children... It really is amazing. It is supportive, SOFT, easy to wrap with, glidey, moldable, cushy yet thin, and did I mention SOFT? I don't even mind fixing the pulls it gets because it is just so darn snuggly and comfortable.

Check them out here!

Pavo Spearmint Etini Ring Sling

After falling in love with Pavo Granite Etini, I really wanted to try another Etini because I had heard that each one was different. Although Spearmint Etini is very similar to Granite, it still felt unique, beautiful, and did not disappoint.

Pavo is a U.S. based woven wrap company with two lines: Form and Guild. Form is a bit more accessible and affordable but still amazing. Guild is their high end, "specialty" wraps with intricate weaves and very unique wrapping qualities.

Spearmint Etini came to me in the form of a ring sling. I was never really a fan of the ring sling because my son was always pretty large and heavy, so it was just too much weight on one shoulder. I preferred as much even support as possible. When I opened the package, my eyes widened and I grinned: this thing SHINES and GLOWS. The color itself is lovely, but it really has shimmer. The intricate weave stood out a lot more than on my Granitini, though both are lovely.

Spearmintini is still very thick and very heavy, coming in at 360 g/m2. It needs breaking in when new, but gets to a point of awesome wet fluidity. The shoulder was a floating, gathered one (meaning the seam was sewn about 9 inches away from the rings) so the term cush would be an understatement. The floating shoulder provided marshmallow clouds on my shoulder. I do have very narrow shoulders, so it took a lot of effort and adjusting to get it just right, but it felt very bulky.

The texture and stretch on this etini are perfect. The texture provided grip in the rings, but it was not difficult to pull it through because of the softness. The stretch never translated to sag with my big boy, but instead hugged us tight. The stretch, I feel, really helped to keep his seat in place.

I would recommend this wrap for experienced wrappers with a larger child, but broken in it would be nice for a newborn. Pavo etini makes the perfect ring sling because of their cush, support, slight stretch, and ring holding texture. Although I still prefer wrapping over the ring sling, I would happily use this daily. Out of all my wraps, this is still the only one Dominik has brought me.

Recipe: Spelt Pancakes

One of my favorite breakfast foods are pancakes. There's something so hearty and comforting about them. Pancakes can be eaten plain, with butter, with syrup, with blueberries, with bananas, with chocolate chips... the ideas are endless. They can be even be made to be savory and healthy with scallions and zucchini. Pancakes are, in every way, totally awesome.

They bring memories of waking up Saturday morning to my mom in kitchen with a big stack of hot pancakes, drinking her coffee while watching to Food Network. Although she used the Bisquick box mix, they were always better when she was the one to make them.

Now that I am home every morning with Dominik, I no longer have to rely on a super quick breakfast like granola or a smoothie. Sometimes, especially after a long night, it's really nice to be able to stay in our pajamas a little longer and make pancakes. But now that I'm more aware of ingredients I would like us to avoid, I realize that the box mix is no longer a great choice for us. It's packed with added sugar and highly processed flour. I searched and searched for a recipe that used whole grain flour and no refined sugar but I felt like it was nearly impossible. Most, if not all, recipes contained at least a few tablespoons of granulated sugar. Plus, the whole wheat pancakes that I tried to make were coming out like hockey pucks.

And then I perfected it. The most delicious whole grain, sugar free pancake recipe. The secret? Spelt flour. I use spelt flour to make baked goods like muffins because it really helps them to be light and airy like a white flour would. It's a water soluble grain, so it's easily digested and nutrients are absorbed quickly into the body. Because I omitted any sugar from the batter recipe, these are a very plain pancake. For sweetness, fruit or maple syrup can be added; just avoid fake syrup and stick to the real stuff. For a savory pancake, veggies and spices could be added to the batter. Feel free to play around. We love applesauce on ours.

Spelt Pancakes

Ingredients:

-1 cup spelt flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (if making sweet pancakes, omit for savory)
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 chia egg (1 tablespoon chia seeds soaked in 4 tablespoon water)
-1 cup non-dairy milk
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if sweet, omit for savory)

Directions:

1. Prepare your chia egg by mixing the seeds and water in a bowl and letting sit until it is nice and thick.

2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Whisk milk and vanilla into the chia egg.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and only stir until combined, do not over mix.

5. Let the batter sit for a few minutes while the pan heats up. Put a frying pan over medium heat with some vegan butter or coconut oil and let it heat up.

6. Pour the batter into the pan, to make a pancake of your desired size. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

7. Serve immediately.