Homemade Millet/Spelt Bread

I made bread the other day and decided to substitute some of the regular flour with some millet and spelt flour (to add some extra nutrients). I did a hybrid type bread. I didn't want to wait all day so I didn't opt to make the 500 degree sourdough recipe. Instead, I used my dad's pizza dough recipe but cooked it similarly to the 500 degree bread.

After the bread cooled down, my husband and I made tomato sandwiches, which are a summer staple in our household! I'll create a post soon for that recipe.

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour (extra for kneading surface)
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup millet flour
3/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon yeast (proof your yeast first if you are unsure if it's good)
1 cup warm water (around 114 degrees F)
2 TBSP organic olive oil

parchment paper
plastic wrap
dutch oven


Sift the three different types of flour into a large bowl. Add salt, sugar, and yeast. Stir. Add olive oil and warm water. Mix well. Dough should not be too sticky or too dry.  Knead the dough on a clean, floured work surface for 6-8 minutes.  Place in a pan which is lined with parchment paper; dust some flour on top to prevent sticking. Put plastic on top of the dough and let rise 45 minutes to 1 hr.

After dough has been rising for 30 minutes, preheat oven to 495 degrees Fahrenheit. I put my cast iron dutch oven, with the cover on, inside the oven and heat it up for 20-30 minutes. When dough is ready, carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven. Adjust oven temperature down to 425F. Take the plastic off of the top of the dough but carefully pick up the dough using the edges of the parchment paper and very gently drop into the hot cast iron pot. Put your oven mitts back on and put the top on the dutch oven and place in the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes.  Take off the top of the dutch oven and let it bake another 8-10 minutes.

Remove and let cool on a cooling rack.  This recipe is a variation of an earlier recipe which you can find HERE . There is a really good link in that post which shows a video how-to on the baking portion of this bread.

Uncooked dough in the enamel pot about to go in the oven (picture below)

Wet N Wild Eyeshadow Palette in Comfort Zone

I purchased the Wet N Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette in Comfort Zone after hearing so many people rave about it. I've had it for about 6 months now and really love some of the colors (see the starred colors in the second picture).  Some of the colors look best applied wet (the dark bronze/brown color in the bottom left) while most can be applied directly without any extra steps. I really like the iridescent look of the shadow in the bottom right corner. Gorgeous!

I think this is a great warm-toned palette and would recommend it for anyone.  Plus, it's perfect for fall!

Pros-
Great quality
Inexpensive ($4.99 USD)
Smooth Shadows
Pigmented / Great color pay-off

Cons-
Packaging is a bit flimsy
Tools for application not durable

My favorite colors have stars next to them in the picture below-

My Wedding Day Makeup Tutorial

LORAC Mint Edition Palette

I wanted to do a quick review on a palette I've been using a lot this week.  It's the LORAC Mint Edition palette. The Collection/set came with an adorable clutch and lippie but I only want to review what I have used, which is the eyeshadow and blush palette.

The box claims there are three matte colors and three shimmery. One of my matte colors, the white one (which is my least favorite color), has flecks of glitter in it. Noooo! Also, one of the shimmery colors has glitter in it too (bottom middle color). Muwhhaa! I wish that LORAC would leave out the glitter all together. I like shimmer but no thanks to the glitter.

The consistency of the eye shadow is nice, very soft, velvety, and most shades are pigmented.
My favorite colors are the soft matte brown (top middle), the mint green (top right), and the soft lavender shimmer color (bottom left). The blush is really pretty too. It's a soft peach color and lasts all day on my cheeks.

I would recommend this palette. I think the product itself is high quality and lasts a while on my skin. The packaging is cute too (palette stays shut with a magnetic closure).  On the LORAC website the value of the whole collection is $120. I purchased it for $17 on their website (in the sale section). I'm pretty sure LORAC doesn't charge anything for ground shipping either, which is awesome! I know that fall is just around the corner but for the last few weeks of summer I'm going to get a lot of use out of the summery shades in this palette. Also, I think several of the eyeshadow colors are versatile and can be worn all year round.

I purchased this item with my own money and I'm not receiving any money to review it. This is my honest opinion.

Blueberry Millet Pancakes

I was really craving pancakes this morning! We had a pint of blueberries in the fridge from the farmer's market on Saturday so I figured those would make the pancakes even tastier!
I cut the recipe in 1/2 because I knew Athan and I wouldn't eat very many, but I'm going to give you the full size recipe in case you have more than 2 mouths to feed :)

Ingredients-
1 1/4 cup organic unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole grain stone ground millet flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
2 teaspoons of sugar

1 1/2 cup  Rice Milk
1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce (I used my homemade, unsweetened pear butter instead)
2 TBSP melted soy-free Earth Balance
Extra Earth Balance for the pan

1 pint organic blueberries

Add the dry ingredients into a large bowl. You can sift them if you want to, I didn't bother; I was too hungry!   Heat a pan on the stove - medium/low heat. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well. Add more Rice Milk to the batter if the consistency is too thick. Add blueberries (or chocolate chips or bananas).

Add a small spoonful of Earth Balance to the pan and then pour about 1 cup of the batter in the middle. Cook evenly on both sides. My rule of thumb -when the middle of my pancake turns darker (medium yellow/beige) and has bubbles, it's time to flip!

I think this recipe is great! If you like flat ass pancakes, this isn't for you. These pancakes aren't super fluffy but they are definitely not flat.

Natural Foaming Hand Soap How-To

Sweet Husband & Gazpacho

I've been on vacation for a few weeks visiting my family.  My husband, John, came back a few days earlier for work and I stayed with Athan at the beach. When we got home, John told me he had a big surprise for me and opened up the refrigerator. Inside was a huge glass bowl of gazpacho! He had taken a special trip to the farmer's market and then made a double batch of gazpacho from scratch! John also added extra lime and used less salt than the recipe called for (just how I like it). It's so delish and just tastes like summer! Thank you John!

I started salivating when I uploaded the photo for this post :)

Tarte Giveaway

I'm doing a giveaway!!!! Please check out my Youtube channel http://youtu.be/0vQu55U0AIM  The prize is the Tarte stand outs limited-edition best-sellers kit!  It is a super cute set and the products are really nice.  Please check out my video!

Also, please share this with your friends who are interested in beauty/fashion/makeup. I would really appreciate it! 

I purchased a set of the limited-edition best-sellers kit for myself and loved the products so I also purchased one for my YouTube giveaway. 

Below is a picture of MY set. The lip pencil and waterproof eyeliner are FULL-Sized products.  The double sided brush is really nice too.  The set also comes with a lights, camera, lashes mini mascara.

Cashew Dip

A few years back I tried some cashew dip at a restaurant in downtown Boston. It was delish!  A few days ago I decided I wanted to try to make my own.  I found a good recipe to work off of and then changed a few things to give it my own flavor.

Ingredients:
1 cup lightly roasted, lightly salted cashews  (or raw cashews and add a little salt)
1 TBSP raw, organic tahini
1 TBSP organic olive oil
Juice from 1 fresh lemon
3 fresh roasted cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1/8 teaspoon Penzeys fine ground black pepper
a tiny pinch of cayenne
filtered water

Soak cashews in water for at least 2 hours. Drain cashews and place in food processor. Place all other ingredients in food processor too. Blend until very creamy. Add a teaspoon of water at a time if the consistency is too thick to process.  Adjust seasonings to your taste (add more salt or pepper or even throw in a pinch of cumin!)

This did not last more than 2 days in my house. It was especially good with pita bread and fresh greens (mini yummy sandwiches, yes please!)

The picture above was taken with a flash

The picture above was taken in natural sunlight without a flash

YouTube Here I Come!

So... I started a YouTube channel!  I am super excited to be making videos. Most of them are going to be about makeup, beauty, fashion, and the like.  I am going to film "monthly favorites" (where I talk about my favorite products of that month/ products I used a lot that month),  "monthly empties" (film what I used up and quick reviews on whether I recommend the product or not), makeup tutorials, product reviews, first impressions, haul videos (purchases), fashion videos, hair tutorials, swatches, crafty projects, and more!  Also, I plan on doing giveaways as well.  I have a great product in mind for my first giveaway!  I've been enjoying this product myself and I think that others would too.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in watching/being a part of, please visit my channel and subscribe!  http://www.youtube.com/user/thekristenkchannel 

If you go to the main page (I provided the link) there is a button that says "Subscribe". It is located to the right and under the header image at the top (my current image is of an assortment of makeup, LORAC, NARS, Too Faced). Please click that button, you may have to sign in or create an account if you don't have a YouTube account already. 

Also, if you like one of my videos, please click the "Like" button (located under the video right below my thumbnail image)! This helps me to know what you like and what I should focus on for future videos.  

I've had so much fun creating these videos and would love to share my interests and knowledge. It would really mean a lot to me if you check out this new project of mine :)

Above is a still shot from one of my videos :)  This IS NOT the product for the giveaway. The giveaway is going to be a makeup item.