Current Reads: Week of July 22, 2016

Vegan Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

I’m sharing a super easy vegan baking recipe that I have used for the last two years to make the most delicious peanut butter cookies. I found the recipe through Healthy Happy Life and have tried the thumbprint variation when I’m craving something chocolatey.

This recipe is perfect if you have super ripe bananas that you don’t know what exactly to do with. I purposefully will keep ripe bananas to make vegan smoothies, breads, and these cookies! They are a perfect addition to any vegan recipe. I also included some semi sweet vegan chocolate chips that I found at Trader Joe’s to use as the chocolate component of the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour + 1 tablespoon  (I used whole wheat all purpose flour)

1  large ripe banana

1 cup sugar

1 cup chunky organic peanut butter ( I used Adam's Peanut Butter)

~1 cup semi-sweet Trader Joe’s vegan chocolate chips

1 dash cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350° and grease a baking sheet.
2. Unpeel ripe banana and place into large mixing bowl. Mash banana until it makes a thin banana mixture. Add the dash of cinnamon.  
3. Combine sugar and mashed banana together.
4. Add the cup of flour in slowly and mix. Once the flour is added measure out the  chunky peanut butter.
5. Slowly add in the chunky peanut butter and fold into the batter until it creates a thick dough.
6. Work dough with mixing spoon until all ingredients are combined.
7. Either use a normal large spoon or your hands to make a small ball with the peanut butter dough and slip it onto your greased baking sheet.
8. Once you have filled your baking sheet, take a fork and gently mash down the balls, creating the iconic peanut butter cookie impression.
9. Place in oven and bake for 13 minutes. Remove from oven and place a few chocolate chips onto the cookies and lightly press them into each cookie. Place back in oven and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Let cookies stay out for at least 6 hours before placing in plastic baggie or tupperware.

Two of Hearts

This is my first dress I’ve sewn in almost two months. I followed the bodice pattern from  Simplicity pattern 1873 that I paired my own self drafted skirt pattern. I’ve combined the two so that I can make my own dresses this past year. I loved this curly heart print fabric when I saw it on fabric.com and it had been in my stash since probably March. I began cutting and sewing Two of Hearts at the end of Me Made May when I was high on the completion of my pledge to make three dresses. I was trying so hard to finish this one and be an overachiever, but I ended up giving up sewing so that I could read more.

Two of Hearts has sat in my sewing room on the dress form all this time. I would go and look over my stitching or at the fine, delicate print of the fabric and just sigh. I needed a break. Fast forward to the beginning of this week. After having gone on two really promising and stressful librarian job interviews and not getting them, I felt I needed something. Anything that would pick up my spirits and make me forget the rush of the past month. In somewhat of a hurry, I went into my sewing room and pinned the bodice to the skirt and sewed them together. I ran some errands and then returned to the sewing room to insert the zipper and hem the bottom. And bam! Two of Hearts was finally finished. In some form of quick healing, I created something I have wanted for some time. An adorable heart print dress. I cannot wait to wear this dress with a cute brooch and cardigan. Two of Hearts will be a nice addition to my me made wardrobe. I love the color red and I cannot wait to wear this dress for any special occasion.

Here’s a little snippet of the heart print fabric up close:

Hope you have a wonderful weekend <3

Nikki

Getting to Know Me Tag

First things first, why not do a cheesy "getting to know you" tags that will let you know a little bit more about me. These 21 questions are taken from different getting to know you tag questions that I really wanted to answer.

Get to Know Me Questions

1. What is your middle name? Augusta. I never liked it as a child and I would often tell friends that it was Amanda.

2. What was your favorite subject in school? English. I loved writing essays, learning about grammar, and reading.

3.  Who was the last person you held hands with? My boyfriend Ray. He has the softest hands.

4. What is your favorite song at the moment? "Creep in a T-Shirt" by Portugal.The.Man

5. What is your favorite drink? Right now, I enjoy Earl Grey tea sweetened with Caramel Almond milk creamer.

6. What is your nickname? Nick, Nikkipoo, Nikki.

7. Favorite book? As a kid: The BFG by Roald Dahl. As an adult: Invisible Monster by Chuck Palahniuk. I also have a GoodReads account if you'd like to follow me there! Nikki Texeira

8. Do you have any pets? I have two green cheek conures! One is a boy named Muffin, and the other is a girl named Buzz. They hate each other which is really funny. Muffin is younger and Buzz is older.

9. What is the furthest you've been from home? The furthest I've been from home is  Provincetown, MA.

10. What are your hobbies? I like sewing, reading, hiking, and cooking.

11. Favorite movie? Pulp Fiction

12.  What would you name(or have you named) your children? If I had a boy I'd name him Owen, and if I had a girl I'd name her Sabine.

13. What is your favorite perfume? Black by Kenneth Cole.

14. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving!

15. Where do you live? Las Vegas, Nevada.

16. What is your favorite restaurant? Bangkok Orchid > really authentic thai food at a good price.

17. Do you have any siblings? Sadly, no :( I am an only child.

18. When was the last time you cried? A week ago.

19. Favorite blog? My favorite blogger/ YouTuber is Annika Victoria. She inspired me to learn how to sew so I could make my own clothes. I have used her YouTube tutorials to make dresses and skirts. Here is the URL to her link: http://www.pineneedlecollective.com/

20. What phone do you use? I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

21. Can you cook? Heck yes. Just this week I’ve made vegan peanut butter cookies.