We’ve been making this and that for valentine’s day this week: some hearts, some secret grandparent gifts, and some popcorn.

This popcorn falls under the category, “ridiculous things pinterest makes me do.” Also in the category are watermelon stars and temporary tattoos on bananas. Party popcorn–awesome name by the way–is melted white chocolate poured over popcorn and then covered in sprinkles. I added a little crunchy salt too, because it’s aways delicious.

My children were so unbelievably excited about making this and said many times, “this is the best thing you have ever made, ever.” I’m not a fan of popcorn or white chocolate, so I’m not the best judge, but I believe them. You can’t really go wrong when you pouring chocolate on something.  I found a few–printable!–pop-corny puns thanks again to pinterest.  A few staples later, Bob’s your uncle, and you’ve got 18 valentines ready to go!

Did you already do your valentines? Or are you a last minute scrambler? I’ve got a tutorial for a super quick Me Hearty Eye Patch, if you are still searching for ideas. There are so many good ones out there. Got any favorites?

My youngest has recently decided he wants nothing to do with button pants–anything other than elastic and it’s a fight to get him dressed in the morning. I, on the other hand, want nothing to do with the track pants most boys live in (or “fast pants” as my friend’s sons calls them).  Fast pants can be stylish, but are usually not; and they are always made of that slimy, synthetic fabric that gets pill-y and gross when you wash it. Picky mother => picky son.

I haven’t been sewing much lately, but this pants situation has to be remedied somehow. So I’ve been looking for pants I can sew for my sons that are comfortable and stylish. There are surprisingly few clothes out there for boys that fit the bill.  I discovered the Japanese brand, mol and they seem to get it right. The pants pictured above are my absolute favorite: a little stripe action, a random patch, some fuzzy pockets, and boom! your pants are awesome.

They also have pants with pockets that look like bear paws, which any kid is going to love. Often times children’s clothes are just a mini version of boring grown up clothes. But kids are hilarious! and they like to wear hilarious clothes, like snake socks and swan dresses and hoods with teeth and hats with whiskers.

I like the idea of a capri length, comfy, elastic waisted pants with cozy leg warmers attached at the bottom. Is that too weird? There is a pattern in Carefree Clothes for Girls which is exactly what I’m talking about: sweatpants with knitted leg warmers sewn to the bottom. The photo above is a lovely version by Sew Nancy from a few years back. I have been meaning to make this pattern for years–how is my to sew list possibly that long?  I even have one leg warmer crocheted.

Help me out here people! Are my children going to look like crazy people or the most stylish kids on the block?

I have a rather large backlog of projects I want to share with you guys. The deadly cough/fever/will this go on forever? flu visited our house last week. We are all–finally!–crawling out from the sickness wreckage.

There has been much cozy making because of all the illness and I have rediscovered these wrist warmers I made in the fall. I never have been fully on the wrist warmer bandwagon.  When not done right, they tend to resemble arm support braces from walgreens–not really the look I’m going for.

There is no mistaking these colorful guys for medical supply (I hope).  Last summer, a friend of mine was clearing out her yarn stash and I was the lucky recipient of some gorgeous variegated Noro sock yarn. There was only a bit left, so I needed a small project to showcase such awesome yarn.  There are only about a million patterns for fingerless gloves out there, so it took me a while to find something just right. I wanted simple, but not super boring, something that would show off the yarn, and be functional as well.

I’m happy to say these check all the boxes. There are more details about my Noro wrist warmers on Ravelry if you are interested. Sometimes I forget how satisfying it can be to make something for yourself. Have you made anything for yourself recently?

I may have talked you in to making toasted coconut butter, but now you’re yelling, “Meg, what am I supposed to do with this stuff anyway?!” Besides eating it straight from the jar, which I find myself doing often, toasted coconut butter is lovely melted and stirred into oatmeal (with some chopped, dried mango sprinkled on top); made into a PB&TCB; melted, swirled into yogurt, and poured on top of pancakes; or added to a coconut based curry to deepen the flavor. But my favorite way to eat toasted coconut butter is in bon-bon form.

coconut banana bon bons

gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, but oh so good

ingredients:

• 1 or 2 bananas
• 1/2 cup or so toasted coconut butter
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)

directions:

1. melt the toasted coconut butter in the microwave at half power (or if you don’t have a microwave, in a double boiler) 
2. slice the bananas into thick 1 to 2 inch pieces
3. roll the bananas in the melted coconut butter and place on a cooling rack to let the excess drip off. 
4. for an extra thick coating of coconut butter, wait until the first coat is hardened (or pop in the freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process) then dip again
5. before the coconut has set up, roll the edges in toasted coconut
6. eat immediately!

The kids are crazy for these! My youngest asks to make them almost everyday. Even though he is only 3, he probably could make them himself at this point!

Do tell me if you make them. I’d love to know what you think!

Thank you, everyone for all the emails and comments after my last post! One of the things you want more of is food and recipe posts. And I do too! I am a little insecure about my food photography skills especially when there are so many drop dead gorgeous food blog out there, but that is a silly reason not to share the awesome recipes I’ve found with you. I also wonder if you will find the recipes I like awesome, because I’ve adopted a rather odd way of eating–no, not with my toes. Last year I stopped eating gluten and felt so great I soon forced my whole family over to the gluten-free/dark side.  Slowly I stopped eating legumes and most grains too and one of my new year’s resolutions was to cut out sugar from my diet. Wow, could I be more unfun?

I feel like I have to confess this all to you because the recipes I make are sometimes odd. Even if I don’t eat a lot of what is normal, the food I eat is always delicious! This recipe for toasted coconut butter proves my point (I think, I hope). I never knew coconut butter existed before last year. It’s a lot like nut butters, super delicious but more savory and crazy expensive ($15 a jar!). Toasting the coconut brings out a nutty sweetness and grinding it yourself brings the price down (~$5 a jar). All these dietary confessions are making me hungry–I think I might go scrape the last bit of toasted coconut butter out of that jar up there–and you need to go make some!

toasted coconut butter

ingredients:

• 16 oz unsweetened, shredded coconut
• a pinch of salt

directions:

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees
2. Spread the coconut out on a cookie sheet and put in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Taking it out after 5 minutes to stir the coconut, so it toasts evenly.
3. Let the coconut cool (at least 10 minutes, but longer is fine)
4. Put the coconut and salt in your food processor or high-powered blender.
5. Buzz, whiz, chop, whatever the verb is, for 5 minutes. The coconut will get clumpy at first, then slowly turn more smooth and liquid-y. Be sure to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula a few times, so all the coconut turns into coconut butter.
6. Pour into a jar and store in the cupboard.

a word about texture

Coconut butter is weird. It is liquid when it’s warm (and when you make it fresh) and very solid below 70 degrees F (20 C). Think of coconut butter like you on a tropical island: totally relaxed when it’s over 80 degrees F, but uptight and pissy when it falls below 70 degrees F. So be sure to store your coconut butter in the cupboard. because it will turn into cement in the fridge. To eat it you can warm the whole jar in a hot water bath or heat a bit up in the microwave (30 seconds at 50% power–it burns easily!). What to eat it with, you ask? I have a delicious recipe coming up on Monday, so you’ll have to eat it straight from the jar until then!

variations:

quick disclaimer: I haven’t tried any of these, but really you can’t go wrong adding sugar and nuts or chocolate to pretty much anything.

maple pecan coconut butter:

follow the recipe above, but toast 1 cup pecans at the same time as the coconut (on a separate pan), then grind both the nuts and coconut together. When all is mixed up and smooth, add 1/4 cup real maple syrup.

honey cashew coconut:

same as the maple pecan, but use honey and cashews instead!

chocolate coconut swirl:

after everything is smooth, swirl in 4 oz. melted dark chocolate. It’s like a grown up Goobers.

coconut caramel butter:

okay, this one might be a little much, but I think a mixture of  1 part dulce de leche and 1 part coconut butter would be pretty freakin amazing. Oh look, I have a recipe for dulce de leche right here.