Crazy two weeks of sewing and leftovers

Happy Memorial Day to all! Boy have the past 2 weeks been a whirlwind. Brandie and her sweetheart were invited to "War". For those of you who don't know what that is, it is like going back in time to the early Medieval times. This was a 4 day bash out in Petreo, California over Memorial Day weekend. There is Merchants row, sword fighting, a carnival with games of the period, music, dancing and classes to learn everything from beading to shoe making. They have a big feast and good old fun. Once sundown hits everyone must be dressed in "Garb" (clothing for the period), or they must leave the park. I have been sewing Brandie and Micah's outfits. I was worried what to make, so Brandie researched and we got a very good idea. With my back injury I could only sit at the sewing machine for 15 minutes at a time and them I would recline or lay down. I finished the clothes at 12:30 on Friday afternoon, 40 minutes before they headed out. Brandie ended up with one dress, 2 tunics, and a belt. Micah ended up with 2 pair of pants, 2 shirts, and one tunic. Brandie went to the thrift store and picked up solid color sheets, which were turned into Medieval clothes. She picked up a couple yards of material at Wal-mart for a buck a yard too. I love that she is so thrifty. Anyway they had a good time below are the come pictures when they got home.

I love this picture of them. They have such nice smiles. Here Brandie hasher tunic over her dress. She said she would get hot and take it off. I am kinda glad, since she looked so cute in her dress.

Brandie's dress from the front. Micah hand stitched their little bags on their belts.

Good job, Son! Almost done!

Back view of Bandie's dress. Shoot, the pattern called for a zipper, something they did not have back then. I sewed in little loops of cord so we could weave the dress closed. We had fun.

Our Medieval couple!

Now you have seen why we ate leftovers for the past couple weeks. I just didn't have it in me to do too much cooking and sewing. Don't you just love your freezer in times like these.

So here are some goodies we munched on.

Before we found out about the kids going to "War", I made a huge pot of Pinto beans. I cooked them with "no-chicken broth, canned green chilies, cumin, chili powder, onion and garlic. Lucky for us Pinto beans are a magical bean that can be turned into tacos, burritos, soup, and stew.

Here is a recipe for a Couscous salad that Brandie changed a bit from the original on Susan's site fatfreevegan.com, which orginated from Vegan Fusion.

Mt. Carmel Couscous Salad

1 3/4 c No-Chicken Broth, 1 c Couscous, 1 c Tomato, chopped, 3/4 c Cucumber, seeded and chopped, 3 Tbl Italian parsley, minced, 2 Tbl Lemon juice, fresh squeezed, 1 Tbl Balsamic vinegar, 11/2 tsp Garlic, minced, Sea salt, and Black pepperto taste

Bring broth to a boil. Remove from heat, add the couscous, cover and allow to sit until all liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork and let it cool. Once it is cool add the remaining ingredients. It says it makes 2-3 servings, but it fed us more than once. Check out the original recipe from Vegan Fusion

Thank goodness for left over "Mac and Cheeze" This is my adaptation from Susan's "Baked macaroni and cheese" Our families favorite. You can see my recipe here http://boosveg-a-nut.blogspot.com/search?macaroni+and+cheese

Please check out Susan's recipe: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/pasta/976.shtml

Veggies getting ready to be roasted. I love roasted veggies!

Simply steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
Somehow we survived and I am done sewing for awhile and ready to cook! Hope I didn't bore you all too much, with family photos on this post. Off to the kitchen.....