Honey Tahini Almond Cookies

Posted in Food, pinterest by peppermintsandhoneybees

This is one recipe that I tried from pinterest that I will definitely be making again! Not only are they healthy but they are addicting. These cookies are packed with nutrition and naturally sweetened with honey. I also added a little agave nectar to mine for a little extra sweetness.

I got the recipe from a blog called http://www.anjasfood4thought.com/2014/03/honey-tahini-almond-cookies

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup tahini
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon agave nectar (optional)
1/2 cup sesame seeds

Combine the almond meal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Next combine the honey, vanilla, tahini, and agave. Slowly stir in the dry mix until everything is mixed up. Roll into quarter sized balls and roll into the sesame seeds, coating the balls. Press them down on your lightly greased cookie sheet so they are about 1/4″ thick.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 10 minutes or until the bottoms are brown.

Enjoy!

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23Jun2014

Colander Hanging Basket

Posted in diy, home, pinterest by peppermintsandhoneybees

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all having great Summers so far! Sorry it’s been so long since I posted anything, I was in Indiana visiting family and friends and have been busy doing typical Summer things like weddings, garage sales and so on. I’ve also been trying to beautify my outdoor spaces as well so I thought I’d share this DIY colander hanging basket. It’s pretty easy and I’ve been meaning to make it for a long time now I just needed to acquire a metal colander. I was helping a friend have a garage sale this weekend and she had an old colander that she let me have in return so voila!

all you need is:

A colander

Dirt

Plants of your choice

Chain plus S hooks to stick either in the colander holes or around the handles

And another hook for the top

my supplies

I actually found a hanging basket chain kit at Walmart, it was in the chain and rope section. I had to bend the S hooks to get them to fit but all in all it was very easy.

Before the chain, I made a mess!

Plus the colander is perfect since the water drains right though the holes!

Happy making! Let me know what other found objects you have used to put plants in.

Jenna ♥

6Apr2014

Tangerine Upsidedown Cakes

Posted in Food, pinterest, Uncategorized by peppermintsandhoneybees

I don’t cook to many desserts but I was in the mood and wanted to try this recipe I found on pinterest from

http://drizzleanddip.com/2012/09/10/clementine-upside-down-cakes. I used tangerines instead, but whatever! I varied my recipe because I used a cup of Greek yogurt and a cup of water instead of butter and eggs but I will give you the recipe from Drizzle and Dip and if you feel adventurous like I was you can deviate from the recipe.

225g butter – room temp
225g caster sugar
225g flour
2t baking powder
4 large eggs – room temp
finely grated zest of 2 small clementines, or in my case tangerines
about 1/2 – 1 t of brown sugar for each cake
15 slices of peeled clementines (1 slice per cake)

Hot Syrup

1/2 cup of clementine juice
1/2 cup sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 c / 350 F
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing to fully combine between each addition
Add the clementine zest and mix.
By hand sift the flour and the baking powder over the mix and fold it in to combine
Sprinkle around 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of brown sugar in the the bottom of each cavity of a greased muffin pan.
Add a slice of clementine (cut about 1cm thick) on top of the sugar.
Using an ice-cream scoop, evenly measure out the cake batter and dollop onto each clementine (about 3/4 of the way up the pan).
Bake for 25 – 30 mins, until golden brown. Mine took 30 minutes with the Greek yogurt.
Make the syrup by bringing the juice and sugar to the boil until the sugar has dissolved and it just starts to thicken.
Using a spatula gently loosen the baked cakes from the mold and tip out onto a cooling rack. Pour the warm syrup over the cakes to allow them to absorb.

Mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty as Drizzle and Dip’s did but they were delicious and still look pretty good I think!

enjoy!

17Mar2014

How to upgrade a plastic hanging basket

Posted in craft, diy, home, pinterest, Uncategorized by peppermintsandhoneybees

So I’ve had this plant for about four years now which for me is an eternity! I definitely do not have a green thumb, most of my plants die right away, but this little guy has been able to survive me so far. I kept it in the plastic basket it came in because I was too scared to re-pot it but hated the way it looked in my house. I figured a simple fix would be to take the plastic hanger off, drill four holes evenly spaced around the top of the rim and string twine though to hang, and it made such an improvement with very little cost and no replanting, yay!

2Mar2014

Headboard DIY with cardboard

Posted in craft, diy, home, pinterest, Uncategorized by peppermintsandhoneybees

I have been wanting a headboard for our bed since we bought it a few years ago but have limited space to make one, and well you know how I feel about buying things I can easily make! I came across this tutorial from http://james-michelle.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-diy-headboard.html?m=1 on pinterest. It uses a cardboard form instead of wood, making it easy, cheap, and replaceable. Plus no power tools required! If you have one big piece of cardboard this is best but if not you can tape two together with packing tape. Here are the materials and tools I used:

cardboard
2 yards of quilting batting
2 yards of fabric
packing tape
staple gun
utility knife
heavy duty scissors (optional)
ruler or measuring tape

Also note my bed is queen sized so you might need more if you have a king sized bed. I was going to buy some of the cardboard used for science fair projects but then Ben ordered some floor mats for his car and the box was the perfect size, score! I bought the batting and fabric at Joanne’s Fabric store. Both were on sale, and I used a 50% off coupon on the batting bringing the total to around $14. I recommend using thick quilting batting if you can.

If you didn’t know all the large craft stores like Joannes, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby have coupons every week. I use the apps on my phone but you can look it up and print it out if you don’t have a smart phone. I never shop these stores without coupons.

The tutorial I followed suggested using bowls to make the different curves so they come out even and perfectly round. I used a pen to make the shape and cut it out using a utility knife and heavy duty scissors.

I had to tape the top curve on because I didn’t have enough at the top, but that’s ok, it’ll get covered up.

Next I put the batting under the cardboard and taped and stapled it up around the cardboard. I stapled and then taped the edges to the cardboard so they would be secure. Then I repeated these steps with the fabric, making sure the fabric was tight in the front with no tucks and folds. I cut off the extra on both the batting and fabric so that there were about three inches to fold over before I covered the cardboard.

I had a helper

After I was done I used those clear mirror hooks to attach it to the wall, and ironed it. The best part about making a cheap headboard is that if we get a new duvet or change bedroom colors the fabric can be easily replaced.

Here is the finished product. I need to do some more ironing, but I think it turned out pretty decent for about an hour of work and $14. Lucy seems to approve!