Melissa Coleman's Blog, page 10

Cleaner Skin Care

Years ago, I started to think about what I was putting in my body—food. Lots of years later, that question morphed into what I was putting on my body. I gave myself a parameter, that once cleaner skin care started showing up at Target, a place I could easily return things if they didn’t work out, I would give it a go. The day has come; it came. And it feels like I’ve tried it all, outside the new line they just launched. You’ll have to let me know what you think because I’m officially, mostly, done with the process of converting to cleaner skin care and makeup. And what a process it’s been.

I really had to own this mantra of clean-er, not clean, in converting my makeup and skin care towards more natural products. After months of trial and error, major breakouts, and itchy cheeks, I’m at a spot where my skin is really happy again, and my products are mostly clean, but not 100% clean. If you find yourself digging down the same rabbit hole, standing in the same aisle at Target, here’s where I landed. Settle into your chair. I’m sharing my tips for converting to cleaner products, the cleaner skin care and makeup I landed on (found mostly at Target), and a recipe for a DIY exfoliant (or as I like to say, exf-oat-liant).

Tips for Switching to Cleaner Skin Care

It’s hard to get it all right at once. In fact, if you have sensitive skin, like me, you’ll create a bigger problem, rather than solving one, if you do a major overhaul at once. For that reason, take the process of converting your skin care slowly, one thing at a time. Too many variables will make it difficult to parse out what’s working and what’s not.
Expect to make a tiny investment in this process. Converting to new products, especially ones that aren’t consumed at a mass level yet to bring costs down, is expensive. It’s also a long game of trial and error. When shopping, check the return policy first and save your receipts and packaging. Look for a 60-day return policy, specifically when buying foundation. It took me at least 1 month to really know if something would work or not. I’m also very stubborn. Maybe you’ll know sooner than that.
Try a sample if you can. Despite many great return policies, I wanted to keep my waste low during this conversion process. I tracked down as many samples as I could before purchasing.
One size never fits all. What works really well for one person, doesn’t work at all for another person. The product is not necessarily bad, just not a great fit. Keep looking.
Grab progress over perfection. I’m using some products, which you’ll see below, that fall in the cleaner category, but they aren’t necessarily considered clean. Sometimes the right product isn’t on the market yet or your skin is way too unhappy to proceed. Pause if you have to or look for something that’s a little cleaner than you had before.
Everything is connected. Your skin belongs to the ecosystem of your body and its external environment. So things like winter, humidity, diet, stress, and hormones are all variables to consider when understanding your skin.
Adjust your expectations. Cleaner products perform differently. So expect less suds, less whipped lotions, and a shorter life span. You’re trading store-bought applesauce for fresh apples.
Read Skin Cleanse by Adina Grigore, a nutritionist and the founder of S.W. Basics. Her advice is so reasonable and practical and educational. I’ve been using her simple skin care line for 2 years with great results. When I was in the thick of converting my makeup, I read every single word she wrote or spoke (podcasts). Her book has homemade skin recipes too.
Don’t forget to laugh. Here’s one: how funny is it that we wake up and paint our face every day? And now we’re looking for organic, natural face paint. It’s kind of funny.
Check out cosdna.com to better understand the ingredients in your products and to help figure out what might be irritating your skin. Warning: this site looks straight out of the early 2000s, but it’s super legit.

Cleaner Skin Care

Converting to cleaner skin care, which I did first, was a smooth process for me. The first thing I tried worked, and not only did it work, but it worked better than what I was using before. This adjustment was far easier than the makeup transition (see below). Here’s how my regimen goes: remove eye makeup with toilet paper. Remove face makeup with a cotton ball. Rinse face with a washcloth, warm water, and a pinch of exfoliant (see below). Using a cotton ball, rub cleanser over face. Rinse with warm water and washcloth. Using the back side of the cotton ball, rub face with toner and allow to dry before rubbing cream all over face and neck. Use acne treatment only as needed. Note: toilet paper and cotton balls can be composted.

SKIN TYPE: My mid-30s fair, sensitive skin tends towards dry. I have hormonal acne (and migraines) that show up around my chin. I also have an awful habit of touching my face, which spreads bacteria.
Makeup Remover

Physicians Formula Eye Makeup Remover: I’ve been using this product since high school. (It’s so good.) This gentle coconut milk lotion remover recently underwent a reformulation, pulling out the harsh ingredients. Physician’s Formula seems to be cleaning up their products. Note: I’m heavy-handed on mascara. If you’re not, you may not need eye makeup remover.

S.W. Basics Makeup Remover: Even with mixed online reviews, I love this 3-ingredient oil makeup remover. Many don’t like to use oil on their face, but my face is very happy with it. The oil is both a makeup remover and moisturizer. Bad news though, I think they may be discontinuing this product. I can’t find it online. However, made only of Organic Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, and Jojoba Oil, I think I can recreate it at home. I’ll update this soon.

Face Cleanser

S.W. Basics Cleanser: I started off trying their mini starter kit, with the cleanser, toner, and cream, 2 years ago to make sure it was a good fit. And oh, it was. With only 3 simple, familiar ingredients, this effective cleanser convinced me that we’ve been overcomplicating and over formulating skin care like we’ve been doing to our food. Note: this is a cleanser, not a makeup remover.

S.W. Basics Toner: I clean my floors and my face with vinegar. It’s gentle and effective and the strong scent quickly subsides. The apple cider vinegar works to balance out your skin’s pH levels while killing bacteria. This is the last thing I do before adding moisturizer, and it makes my skin feel so happy.

Face Moisturizer

S.W. Basics Original Cream: From the extra dry winter to the hot, humid summer, this cream is my moisturizer both morning and night, made from only shea butter, olive oil, and coconut oil. I tend to use smaller amounts during the humid months. It’s lush, buttery, and creamy, settling nicely into your skin after a minute or two of absorption. I coat my lips in this at night too. Note: Shea butter is naturally SPF 6. Coconut oil is known to cause acne for sensitive skin, but I don’t experience it with this cream.

Acne Treatment

TreeActiv Cystic Acne Spot Treatment: I get a monthly hormonal blemish or two, but when I was in the middle of converting my makeup, my face was an unhappy mess. With a quarter-sized pimple on my forehead, not exaggerating, I found this product during a desperate late night Amazon search. This is a miracle clay. Add a dab overnight, repeating as needed for the stubborn ones. Note: I also tried Burt’s Bees Spot Acne Cream with no luck but great online reviews.

Cleaner Makeup

It took a whole lot of trial and error to get to these products. From November to April, my poor face was in an itchy, painful state. My friend finally said to me, “Melissa, I’ve always known you to have great skin. It looks so unhealthy.” That was just the nudge I needed to abandon the search for the perfect liquid foundation and go back to old reliable, which wasn’t all that bad to begin with. If you ever need a reminder to pursue better over perfect, now you have mine.

Face Makeup

W3ll People Concealer: Though expensive, this super tiny tube goes a long way and covers well without caking or breaking out my skin. Note: I also tried Burt’s Bees Concealer. It offers only light coverage and tends to cake.

Clinique Acne Solutions Foundation: I’ve used this matte, oil-free foundation since college. While it lands in the cleaner category, free of parabens, phthalates, and fragrance, it’s not quite as clean as I’d like. I tried several other liquid foundations for a minimum of 1 month each, to give my face time to adjust. After 5 months of trying, my face was an itchy, swollen, broken out mess. For whatever reason, my face is very happy with this foundation. I’m sticking with it for now. In the process, I tried these foundations, all with great online reviews: Pacifica Alight BB Cream, Tint Skin Foundation from Beauty Counter, and Zuzu Luxe Oil-Free Liquid Foundation (I liked this one best, but still couldn’t shake the breakouts).

Zuzu Luxe Blush: Our co-op sells this brand, as well as Target. I trust them to vet and stock the best products. Though the price point is on the higher side, I really like this brand. I use this blush in Sunset.

Eye Makeup

Zuzu Eyebrow Pencil: I use this in Mink, which is a little on the light side for my brown hair, but I don’t want to go too heavy with my brows. The next color up reads more as black.

Zuzu Eyeliner: I use this in Obsidian. While I miss the twist-up plastic eyeliners, made like a wood pencil, this eyeliner is low-waste.

Burt’s Bees Eye Shadow: This switch was an easy one. Previous shadows made my eyelids itch from time to time. I’ve had zero issues and the color goes on so nicely.

Burt’s Bees Mascara: I don’t wear a lot of makeup, but I wear some mascara. I was worried I wouldn’t find what I was looking for in a natural version. I love this one, with a few things to note. It layers on well, separates, and thickens lashes without clumping. I haven’t had a problem with flaking off during the day, either. However, when my eyes water (or more than water), the mascara easily comes off, which is probably a good thing. If you happen to get a little in your eye on application, it has a slight sting. I’m almost out and plan on buying this again.

DIY Exfoliant

Exfoliating is great for ushering off those dead skin cells. When I don’t exfoliate nightly, I’m prone to bumpy skin, clogged pores, and extra breakouts. Believe it or not, a really great exfoliant is sitting in your pantry—oats. You read that right. To make, blitz organic oats in a Vitamix or food processor until a coarse meal. Add a pinch to a damp washcloth and gently rub around your cheeks and forehead to exf-oat-liate. When Hal was just beginning to eat food, I fed her oats this way, soaked in hot water and served with either mashed ripe bananas or roasted berries, plus a pinch of cinnamon. Oats are magic.

(Note: Opt for organic here. Organic food is grown free of toxic, persistent pesticides. Keep those chemicals off that pretty face of yours if you can.)

And with that, I’m mostly done with this process of converting to cleaner skin care. Have you gone down this rabbit hole too? How did it go? Did you land on a couple things you love? Will you share in the comments, including your skin type?

Here’s to clean-er, not perfection.

The post Cleaner Skin Care appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti

Kev’s doing a 34-day fitness program, which includes changing up your macros, your carb intake. I’ve been a little grumpy about it all. Mostly because I’ve had to change my cooking habits. Let me clarify. I didn’t have to change a thing. “Mel, you don’t have to change a thing. I can eat around what you serve,” he said. But I’m the dinner maker around these parts. He does the laundry. Dinner is my job. And dinner is communal. And we sit together at the table to eat, eating mostly the same thing. I can change my dinner-making rhythm for 34 days, for Kev, I told myself. It hasn’t been without a grumble or two.

Mostly because diets make me a little grumpy. I’ve done my fair share. And they work until they don’t. Or until I hop off because the lifestyle isn’t conducive to my lifestyle. And then I’m on to the next one. I’m talking about my late teens and early 20s here when my weight yoyoed. And yoyoed. And yoyoed until I eventually put down the yoyo. That’s when I started making long-term decisions for myself. Can I eat like this 2 years from now? Does this food give me energy or take away energy? Am I trying to maintain an unrealistic weight? Can I still be social and eat over at friends houses or out at a restaurant? This way of thinking, of long-term decision making, seems to work for me.

In saying all this, I don’t want to villainize diets. Each one has shaped the way I eat now. Because how else do you learn how to feed your body well? I learned over trial and error, over this diet and that one, over this success and that failure, and, currently, over Kev’s 34-day program.

Which has me thinking—we can always add more vegetables. Can that ever be a bad thing? This came up last week over dinner, where we ate this Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti from Maggie Battista‘s new book, A New Way to Food. Kev wondered, “Gosh, can it be good to eat a huge plate of vegetables?” His plate: zucchini, noodled (to keep his carbs on track). My plate: a mix of zucchini and old fashioned noodles. Hal’s plate: much like mine, though she’s adept at picking out fraudulent noodles. (Everything is a stage. Right?) Kev looked over at our plates and laughed out loud at his question. “Why do we not question the big plate of pasta, but we question the big plate of vegetables?” I laughed too. He has a point.

All of this leads me back to the idea of Clean-er, a place I keep coming back to. The place of making tiny little changes that add up to the big ones. Diets, for me, were always too extreme. Doable for a second, but not for a lifetime. They promised quick results, which could be undone even faster after I hopped off. As a designer, my job is to solve dynamic problems. And my favorite solutions are usually the ones that are sitting right next to the obvious answer. In the case of pasta, the obvious answer is to take it off the menu. Get rid of it. But sitting to the left is another, less obvious solution. Adjust the ratio. Keep the pasta, serve a little less, and add a lot more vegetables. In the form of zucchini noodles or roasted vegetables or a salad on top or on the side. It can’t be bad to add more vegetables. Can it?

PS—Here’s my favorite vegetable-manipulating tool again in action. I don’t keep a zoodler around anymore. The julienne insert works just fine. Note: I always handwash this tool. Mostly because I use it daily, and secondly, because I don’t want to chance the dishwasher dulling the blade or altering the shape of the inserts.

Enough about my food story. We all have one, and I have loved reading Maggie’s story in her book, A New Way to Food, one part cookbook, one part food story. I hear so much of my story in hers, and I think it will make you think of yours, too. I get to teach a class on blogging locally. And in it I say, in order to know your story, it’s helpful to write it, so you can see it, read it, wrestle with it, change it, own it, tell it. There is so much power in knowing your story. Only then can you begin to advocate for it. Maggie does that, so beautifully, so raw and honest. She also does another thing so well in this book. She gives recipes and words and practical solutions to the idea of balance, going so far as to tell you how often she eats a recipe, from every week to once a year on a special occasion. This book is dynamic. It’s a celebration of food done well, done cleaner. At a minimum, I hope you check it out from the library. At a minimum, I hope you try this simple, doable recipe that Maggie’s let me share from her new book—Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti with a mix of old fashioned noodles and zucchini noodles. The ratio, well that is up to you.

Here’s to loving food and yourself, to making tiny changes in place of drastic ones, and to looking for answers off to the left. They’re there. I’m not sure when I started toasting at the end of every post, but, here here.

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Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti




Prep Time: 20 min

Total Time: 20 min

Yield: 2 to 3 servings







Print Recipe
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Description

This is recipe is from A New Way to Food by Maggie Battista © 2019 by Maggie Battista. Photographs by Kristin Teig. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for pasta water and seasoning

8 ounces (227 g) semolina-flour or gluten-free spaghetti

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 small zucchini, shredded

Instructions

Heat 4 quarts of water in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add in a big handful of sea salt (at least 3 tablespoons). Add the pasta and cook according to your pasta package directions. Cook the pasta about 1 minute less than recommended, as it will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Don’t begin making the sauce until the pasta is well on its way to done.

Heat the oil in a shallow wide pan over medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves and sauté until the garlic is golden (but not burned) on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool. Add the pepper flakes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shredded zucchini and salt, and toss around in the oil until slightly wilted. Add the pasta and 2 tablespoons of pasta water, or more, if needed, to bring a whisper of a sauce together that just coats the pasta with silkiness. Thinly slice the garlic, if you like garlic, and toss it into the pasta. Sprinkle with a bit more salt, to taste, and serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe is so versatile. Here are my alterations: Add a large handful of halved juicy, ripe cherry tomatoes (or similar size) to the pan while the red pepper flakes cook. If you want something more saucy, add a half can of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes to the mix at the same time. You might need to also add a short drizzle of honey to help cut the acidity. Tip: If you have trouble remembering to reserve that salty, starchy pasta sauce, add a measuring cup to the strainer so you don’t forget. It’s bound to catch that water for you. Top with basil from the garden or shaved parm and serve with a side salad. Can you ever have too many vegetables?

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefauxmartha on Instagram and hashtag it #thefauxmartha

Recipe Card powered by [image error]

If you’re looking to add more vegetables to mealtimes, check out these new books:

Mostly Plants, by Tracy, Dana, Lori, and Corky Pollan
Healthier Together, by Liz Moody
Little Green Kitchen: Simple Vegetarian Family Recipes, by Green Kitchen Stories

The post Spicy Zucchini Spaghetti appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Make Ahead Thai Mango Salad

After eating my way through a couple diets in my late teens and early 20s, I now have one mantra for feeding myself—lead with vegetables. I’ve heard this advice a thousand ways over the past 10 years. From Michael Pollan who said, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” And from Bringing Up Bébé, where a French mother recounts putting vegetables on the dinner table first to feed the grumbling children begging to eat. (Maybe she didn’t say grumbling. Maybe only mine grumbles?) Let them fill up on that, she said, before setting down the next course, which has led me to believe that a 2-course meal does not need to be fancy. For us, that looks like a salad before pasta or pizza. For me, that looks like a salad before dinner, at lunchtime. And a salad at lunch only really happens if I prep in advance. So I’ve added this Make Ahead Thai Mango Salad to the menu. 

This post is part of the month-long (life-long) Clean-er series, where I’m talking about making better choices. Not the best. Just better. I don’t know a lot, but I know this. Prepped food makes for fast food. So prepare what you can in advance, especially vegetables. I try to be in the business of setting myself up to succeed. Success at lunchtime tastes a whole lot like this Make Ahead Thai Mango Salad.

Salad Prep Tips

Let’s break this Thai Mango Salad down to doable (and delicious). First things first, size matters. In design, we call this scale. You use it to draw attention towards or away from something. In the case of kale, breaking these large, fibrous leaves into smaller shreds makes them so much more palatable. I noticed this on a salad I ordered out recently, where they finely diced the red pepper. It was crunchy and consistent, not overwhelming and disruptive. Imagine the difference if those diced peppers were cut into hunky strips. Size changes the flavor. So, in the case of this salad, go small. Chiffonade your kale in the same way you cut your basil. When you’re down to the last 2-inches of the stemmy end, rip off the leaves, discard the stem, and chiffonade those as well. If you’re into the rooty end, well then, discard this advice. You’re the one holding the knife now.

We’re going to do the same fine slicing to the cabbage as well. With a sharp knife, you can shave the cabbage. Or you can use my favorite tool for quickly manipulating vegetables into different sizes, the OXO Grate and Slice. I’ve been waxing on about this gadget for the last couple years. The orientation of this grater is far more user-friendly than the traditional upright grater, in my experience.

To quickly shave the cabbage, use the mandoline insert. To julienne the carrots, use the julienne insert. The problem with vegetables is that they take time to prepare, which isn’t actually a problem but rather an adjustment of expectations. So, if you want to add more vegetables to your life, add some prep time too. And if you’re really serious, invest in good tools, like a sharp chef’s knife or a mandoline or a Grate and Slice, to make this task more efficient.

Now, once all the vegetables and the stir-together sauce have been prepped, you have lunch for the week. Store the contents in a closed container, placing the wet ingredients in first, like the mangos, then stack the remaining vegetables. Leave the herbs and kale at the top, the ingredients you want to keep dry to extend their life as long as possible. You can also make individual, to-go salads for each day of the week (see image above).

How to Recompose This Thai Mango Salad

Let’s not stop at this salad. One of my favorite things to do is to recompose the flavor profile and components of one meal into 5 other meals. I’m not sure if this makes me lazy or efficient. You can read more about this idea here. To do so, turn this salad into a wrap with the addition of a tortilla. Or, turn it into a rice or cauliflower bowl. Serve it over buckwheat noodles. Can you taco this? Definitely. Note: you may need to adjust the kale ratio a bit, reducing the amount. Also considering briefly sautéing the salad mix when making a warm dish. Adjust the amount of sauce as needed. Noodles absorb sauce faster than kale. For added protein, add pulled rotisserie chicken or roasted chickpeas to the mix.

In short, you’ve got this. We’ve got this. Here’s to the idea of clean-er. To adding a couple more vegetables into the day. And a square of salted dark chocolate. And sparkling water. And, and, and. Someone cut me off. Here’s to you.

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Make Ahead Thai Mango Salad




Prep Time: 20 min

Total Time: 20 min

Yield: 3 large salads







Print Recipe
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Description

A sweet and spicy, crunchy and crispy vegetable-loaded make ahead Thai Mango Salad with a simple peanut sauce for the lunch week.

Ingredients
Peanut Sauce (yields 1/2 cup)

1/4 c. (4 tbsp.) creamy natural Peanut Butter

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tsp. (or a 2/3 tbsp.) maple syrup

1 clove garlic, minced

Salad

1 bundle (about 1/2 lb.) dinosaur kale (also known as Lacinato kale)

1 c. shaved red cabbage

1 c. julienned carrots

3/4 c. diced mango

3/4 c. shelled edamame

1/4 c. roughly chopped fresh mint and cilantro, lightly packed

1 green onion, sliced

1 jalapeño, thinly sliced

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

Instructions

To make the peanut sauce, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until smooth. Thin with water if desired.

To make the salad, prep all the ingredients. This can be done in advance. Be sure to wash and completely dry the kale if prepping in advance. Chiffonade the kale, or thinly slice, as if you were preparing basil. Breaking it down into smaller sizes makes it more palatable, easier to eat, and allows for more even coating of the dressing.

If serving immediately, add all the salad contents to a large bowl and dress liberally, to your liking, stirring to coat.

If making ahead, store salad contents in a large airtight container or individual containers. Note: Store the wetter ingredients, like the mango, carrots, and edamame at the bottom to keep excess moisture away from the dry ingredients, like the kale, herbs, and green onions. Water will cause these more fragile ingredients to deteriorate faster throughout the week. We want to keep them nice and crisp until later in the work week. Add nuts to folded parchment or lay a piece of parchment on top of the container to keep those guys nice and crunchy for tomorrows lunch. Place the dressing in a separate container.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefauxmartha on Instagram and hashtag it #thefauxmartha

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You might also like:

Mom Lunches
Lucy’s Chicken Salad
Tex-Mex Chopped Salad

The post Make Ahead Thai Mango Salad appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Reusable Cleaning Supplies

Well, the verdict is…still out for us. To hire deep cleaners a couple times a year or do it ourselves? That is still the question. At a minimum, we will be maintenance cleaning over here, which means we need to keep our cleaning supplies around. But what supplies do you actually need? Are they reusable and durable? User-friendly and efficient? Affordable and effective? Compact and easy to store? Below is a list of the cleaning supplies I’ve landed on to make this mundane task of cleaning more doable + a giveaway from OXO.

DISCLOSURE
This post was created in partnership with OXO, a brand that I’ve had in my home since day one of adulthood. Their products are smart, affordable, storable, and so very durable.

Before we dive in, I’d like to introduce you to my mantra for the month (and beyond). It’s called Clean-er. The idea came from my friend, who started out the year with the goal to make the everyday a little better, not the best or perfect, just better. As we try to shift towards using more natural and reusable products around here, I’m trying to adopt her idea of working towards better, not perfection, making tiny changes as things run out or need replacing. I have a tendency to want to fix everything at once. Homeostasis. 98.6°F. All the time. I crave it. With this mantra, I’m freeing myself up to slowly pursue better—from skincare to lunches to cleaning products, all things you can expect to see this month on the blog.

Now you may be thinking, Melissa, why are you showing me your dirt? Maybe my highlight reel and edited images have led you to believe that I don’t have dirt. Maybe you have a hard time picturing me sweeping, especially in a dress. Who cleans in a dress? Maybe I’m hoping that you’ll share your trusted cleaning tips that I don’t know about yet. Will you share yours if I share mine?

Either way, I want to hold a place for the mundane, ordinary parts of life as much as I honor the beautiful parts. Eve Arnold, a photographer, said this, “It’s the hardest thing in the world to take the mundane and try to show how special it is.” Maybe my dirt is special. Maybe yours is too. There must be a lesson in all of this.

We keep landing here—there is something meaningful about taking care of what you own. Exactly what, I don’t know. But it’s why we mow our lawn, sweep our floors, water our plants, clean our windows, and rake our leaves. Maybe it’s a reminder that the mundane is worth pursuing, worth a spot on the calendar. We also have a tiny family of 3. Maybe these things just fit into our schedule right now.

Here’s to the everyday, the mundane, and the dirt and to the reusable tools that clean it up too. My reusable cleaning supply list is separated into the every day, weekly items and the special occasion, deep cleaning items. If you hire out cleaning on a regular basis, you may not need to keep things from the special occasion category.

Everyday Reusable Cleaning Supplies
Supplies used every day to a weekly frequency for maintenance cleaning.
OXO Sweep Set

I am a huge fan of this broom and dustpan set. The length of the broom adjusts to Hal’s height, Kev’s height, and to my lazy, extra long length to keep from having to bend down and move chairs to get those hard to reach places under the dinner table (see above). Designed to fit together, the dust pan is always nearby so those rouge piles around the house actually get swept up. And when dust bunnies collect on your broom, use that built-in comb to clean. It also stores compactly in our tiny mudroom closet and stays upright. Win, win, win.

Swedish Dishcloth

Think paper towel meets sponge. I’ve never been a fan of sponges or even rags, but I fell in love with this reusable cloth after being gifted one. We have greatly reduced our paper towel usage since using these super absorbent cloths to wipe down the counters daily. Rinse to clean. For a deeper clean, place in the dishwasher, like a dirty bowl, before running a load. I also use this to wipe down my stainless steel stovetop after dinnertime. For deep cleaning the stovetop, I use a paper towel, Norwex Cleaning Paste*, and lots of elbow grease, wiping down with this dishcloth afterward.

*You can also use Bon Ami or a slightly harsher cleaner, Bar Keepers Friend.
Reusable Glass Spray Bottle

I’m moving towards making my own vinegar based cleaning solutions. Vinegar is delicious on a salad and works wonders as a cleaning agent—on your counters and your face (more on the latter soon). Do you have a favorite all-purpose cleaner concoction?

OXO Hand Duster

I’ve been on the hunt for good a reusable duster in place of my disposable duster. With high reviews in agreement, this microfiber duster holds the dust without spreading it around and gets tossed in the washing machine between uses.

OXO Toilet Brush

Finally, a brush that’s designed to handle that unattended space right under the lip of the toilet basin that causes all the problems. You know the space. This brush also comes with a holder that opens when you pull the brush out, stays open, and closes when you put it back in. Everything is contained.

Occasional Reusable Cleaning Supplies
Supplies used more occasionally for deep cleaning. If you hire this out, you may not need these items.
OXO Spray Mop

I’ve tried several mops throughout adulthood. I love this one for several reasons—the microfiber pad is reusable and washable and can be used on multiple types of floors. You can also add your own cleaning solution of choice (or water) to the dispenser, which is great for cleaning different floor types. And it has a slide out scrubber to remove the glued on avocado from your 5-year-old without getting on your hands and knees.

OXO Microfiber Under Appliance Duster

For those super hard to reach places—up high and beneath appliances. Unsnap microfiber and wash between uses.

Glass Cleaning Cloth

This cloth is magic. Just add a little water, and you’ll have the cleanest, streak-free windows you’ve ever seen. We have glass exterior doors and glass interior doors on the office. No cleaning solution or trick in the book would work until a friend brought one of these magic purple rags over.

OXO Extendable Tub and Tile Scrubber

Squirt a little Dr. Bronner’s* (what I also use as body wash) onto the scrubber and clean while taking a shower. The wand extends to reach those hard-to-reach spots—high and low. Fill a cup with water to rinse tiles.

*Or try Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, an all-in-one concentrated cleaner.
OXO Heavy Duty Scrub Brush

A comfortable-to-hold brush for covering large areas at once or for getting out tough tile grime and calcium build-up. This guy blasts our shower clean.

OXO Deep Clean Brush Set

For getting the stubborn grit and grime around tiny spaces like sink drains or calcium build-up around a faucet. You could use a leftover toothbrush, but these bristles are stronger and come to a nice point to really get in there.

Cup

Keep a cup in your cleaning basket to fill with water to rinse a surface. I store my cleaning brushes here when not in use.

OXO Compact Dust Pan

This super tiny guy fits in my cleaning basket and is perfect for tiny places, like behind my desk and the tiny space between the bathroom vanity and the wall.

Help

A couple things I’ve yet to figure out:

What do you use to clean your stainless steel appliances? Our oven cleans up nicely yet our fridge and dishwasher keep fingerprints better than a memory book. I use this sponge that works pretty well but the fingerprints persist.
Do you have a favorite dish towel that dries really well and washes well too?
Another trick we all must know about? Share!

Giveaway

To enter to win a set of OXO cleaning and organization tools including the Upright Sweep Set, Spray Mop, Microfiber Hand Duster, Toilet Brush and more, sign up to receive the OXO newsletter below.

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OFFICIAL RULES: Sweepstakes valid from 9am CST on May 2, 2019  to 9am CST on May 9, 2019. Must be a resident of the United States to enter. Void where prohibited. By entering this giveaway, you are opting in to receive email marketing communications from OXO. View their Privacy Policy.

You might also like:

Hiring Green Cleaners for Deep Cleaning
Reusable Food Storage
How to Shop in Bulk

The post Reusable Cleaning Supplies appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Hiring Green Cleaners for Deep Cleaning

There’s a running discussion over here—to hire out deep cleaning or continue doing it ourselves. I’m team hire. Kev is team DIY. I posted about our debate last year here on Instagram, and boy did you have your opinions. “Hire it out! It’s worth every penny.” “Outsource. It’s been wonderful for our marriage.” “No one will clean your house like you do.” “I would never hire cleaning out.” “Wait, you can hire out deep cleaning?!” I just assumed you could hire out deep cleaning, more like hoped you could hire out deep cleaning. Maybe you can’t? Come to find out, you can, and you can’t. Here are my findings.

Why Hire Out Only for Deep Cleaning?

We don’t want to give up cleaning our home altogether. For us, there’s something about taking care of what you own, despite the drudgery. (More on that later in the week.) I also work from home and regular cleanings would disrupt my work hours. But Melissa, you have a flexible schedule. Yes, but even a flexible work schedule needs some firm boundaries. I thought, too, if we only hire out for deep cleanings, then we’ll only have harsh cleaning products in our home a couple times a year. Then I drove by a building, painted in bright colors and infographics, that read “GREEN CLEANING.” The writing was on the wall. Maybe I could find a green cleaning company who does also does deep cleanings.

And I did. Several. If you’re in Minneapolis, scroll down for a list of local green cleaners and their offerings. If you’re outside of Minneapolis, here are a couple of things to consider when hiring a green cleaner.

5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Green Cleaner
Ingredients

Green or eco-friendly is a broad term. So how do you know how green a green cleaner is? Some companies list their products, as well as the tools they use, on their website. If not, ask them. Others use certified non-toxic, green cleaning supplies. From here, you can determine the level of ec0-friendly cleaning products you want in your home. I’m looking for simple but effective ingredients like essential oils, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Bon Ami in my search. Note: Some cleaners are open to using products supplied by you, and some are not. I’m looking at hiring a green cleaner as hiring an expert. I want someone I can trust, someone who knows more about this than I do, and someone I can learn from.

Recommendations

Ask a friend or even a trusted local business for recommendations. We found a cleaner who also cleans for our local co-op, a grocery store I trust to carry sustainable products that are also environmental-friendly. Be sure to also read reviews on individual websites, and then dig a little deeper on their social media, Google page, and Angie’s List to get a well-rounded idea of what their customers are saying. Notice other things like—do they send the same team out every time, are they on time, how do they handle a mistake, are their employees paid a livable wage?

Offerings

Rates vary from company to company but so do their offerings. When comparing rates, look into what’s included in a cleaning before choosing the best price. Many companies list their offerings on their website. Some will even give you a custom estimate tailored to your specific needs. Maybe you don’t want your oven cleaned or the interior of your drawers wiped down. Or maybe you do.

Flexible Frequency

Some companies will only take on recurring clients, requiring a monthly service minimum. Others will take on one-time to quarterly clients. Note: infrequent cleanings usually take longer to complete and cost more money. If you’re looking for more infrequent cleanings, it might make sense to quote out monthly vs. quarterly to check the price difference, which is exactly what we did.

Minneapolis Green Cleaning Companies

Below is basic information about Minneapolis green cleaning companies. The estimates were based on the following information: 1800 sqft home, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. I asked for two quotes—for quarterly deep cleanings and for routine monthly cleanings. If/when we decide on a company, we will proceed with a custom, more accurate quote. Note: many companies quote out in hours then divide total hours by the number of people they send. For example, a 4-hour cleaning estimate with two people would be completed in 2 hours or with 4 people would be completed in 1 hour.

Happy Earth Cleaning Service

Supplies: Vinegar, Baking Soda, Bon Ami, Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, Coconut Oil, Hydrogen Peroxide, Oreck Commercial HEPA Upright Vacuum, Hoover Portapower Handheld Vacuum, microfiber mops, Norwex cleaning cloths, and reusable cloth diapers.
Estimate: $235.00 + tax for a monthly cleaning (5 hours). $470.00 + tax for a deep cleaning (10 hours). Standard hourly rate of $47/person/hour.
Frequency:  Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly service, move-in/out cleaning, party or event cleaning, office/business cleaning.
Miscellaneous: They specializes in personalized, custom, eco-friendly deep cleaning. They also tend a community garden, sharing produce among employees, provide resources for employees and customers to adopt their own green living habits, and work with Second Harvest Heartland to collect food for neighbors in need.

Ecomaids

Supplies: Green Seal Certified Peroxide Cleaner & Deodorizer (water, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol ethoxylate, Orange fragrance), Tub, Tile & Bowl Cleaner (water, urea monohydrochloride, plant-based alcohol ethoxylate, sodium lactate), Glass & Window Cleaner (water, proprietary plant-based surfactant, complexing agent: effectively cleans without the addition of ammonia or alcohol), Multi-Surface Cleaner (water, plant-based alcohol ethoxylate to dissolve soil and grease, sodium gluconate to soften water for more effective cleaning, sodium carbonate).
Estimate: $140.00 to $175.00 + tax for an initial cleaning (2 people, 2-2.5 hours). $210.00 to $$225.00 + tax  for a deep cleaning (2 people, 3-3.25 hours). Standard hourly rate of $35/person/hour.
Frequency: Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly service, deep cleaning, move-in/out cleaning, post construction cleaning, fill-in cleaning, and housekeeping.
Miscellaneous: A franchise with locations in Minneapolis, MN, Portland, OR and Raleigh, NC. They offer a 64-Point cleaning check-list creating clear expectations. Interior window washing is an add-on.

Mill City Cleaning

Supplies: They use Green Seal bio-renewable products to conserve resources and protect the environment.
Estimate: $175 + tax for a regular cleaning. $250-$275 + tax for a deep cleaning.
Frequency: Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly service, move-in/out cleaning, one-time deep cleaning, office/business cleaning.
Miscellaneous: They try to always send the same team for consistent service. They also offer window and carpet cleaning.

Two Betty’s

Supplies: They use non-toxic products, avoiding harsh chemicals like bleach, ammonia and petroleum-based irritants, as well as products that have been tested on laboratory animals. Their cleaning products are made with a range of biodegradable agents effective at cleaning dirt, scum, and mildew, that don’t carry health or environmental safety risks.
Estimate: Average home costs between $124–$166.
Frequency: Minimum frequency of every 4 weeks. No one-time cleanings.
Miscellaneous: They offer health insurance, paid sick time, a living wage, and supply the products and tools to employees. They also have a bulk cleaning refill station for their employees to cut down on waste. Not so important, but worth mentioning, their branding is super cute.

Aaron’s Green Cleaning

Supplies: They make their own all-purpose cleaner using certified organic, therapeutic grade essential oils (lemon, clove, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lime), coconut based surfactant (non-toxic biodegradable soap), and water. Their wood floor cleaner is made from High Alps French Lavender and a dash of soap. For tubs and sinks, they use Bon Ami. For a vacuum, they use Panasonic commercial upright vacuums equipped with potent filters and the highest quality hypo-allergenic bags. They also use store-bought glass cleaner and wood polish purchased at the Wedge Co-op.
Estimate: Average home costs $118.75 per cleaning (2.5 hours).
Frequency: Ongoing residential and commercial cleaning. No one-time cleanings.
Miscellaneous: They clean for our local co-op.

Now, to pitch all this information to Kev. Will we hire out deep cleaning or not? Say a prayer. Cross a finger. I’m leaning towards doing 2-4 deep cleanings a year. Do you hire out for cleaning? Any other things I should know before diving in?

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Hallie’s Room

When we started designing our home, I was pretty sure every room would be as colorful as Hal’s turned out to be. Either my color palette was refining itself, or I just couldn’t pull off more than 3 colors at a time. It’s probably the latter. Because in my junior year as a graphic design major, I was reamed in front of the entire class over my color palette choice on a magazine redesign project. I am not so great at pulling off a lot of colors at one time like Jenny Komenda, one of my favorite designers. So we renegotiated a rug, a large piece of framed art, and a couple bright pillows from downstairs to Hal’s room, and they felt right at home and like a cousin to her bathroom.  

See all room sources at the bottom of the post.

After seeing this bed at our friend’s house, I bookmarked it for Hal’s room. And then I saw this pin, with the same bed, while gathering ideas. I was sold. The drawers are a major plus for toy storage. And the whole drawer unit pulls out to fit another twin bed, which, in theory, sounds like a great idea for future sleepovers and having family in town. In actuality, we recently tried to turn her bed into a king to sleep a couple. With her tall regular mattress and a short blow-up mattress, it didn’t turn out so well. That idea is a work in progress. For everyday sleeping, and probably for sleepovers, it’s wonderful.

Inspired by the same room, we swapped the standard knobs out for oversized wooden knobs to tie in the natural wood elements used throughout her room—from her tent to a frame to a sconce to her baby bed. This is also a prominent element we used throughout the house, helping to bring some sort of visual continuity from room to room. Maybe the buffalo check bedspread accomplished that as well. Can you have too much buffalo in a house? I hope not.

Though we’ve outgrown all being able to squeeze into her tent at night to read a bedtime story, she still loves to play in it (and completely tear it apart to my demise). PS—if you want to add a cozy floor to your tent, add a couple memory foam dog beds to the base and cover it with a blanket. We bought our dog beds a couple years ago from HomeGoods.

Designing with Color

Ok, so how did I pull together a lot of colors at once? Repetition. Like the wood, I repeated the same handful of colors throughout the room—coral, blush pink, teal, navy, natural wood, brassy gold, mustard yellow, and tiny pops of green—to keep your eye bouncing. My design professor always said, “Design it so well, they don’t consider the designer.” When your eye stops or pauses in a room, you begin to consider the designer, question what’s in front of you, and pick it apart. I had that pause with a peachy frame on Hal’s gallery wall. The muted orangey-pink was throwing all the pinks off balance. But once I made that change, taking the pink from peach to blush, eyeballs were back to bouncing around the room. That’s how I know I’m done designing a space, when there is no pause.

How to Create a Gallery Wall

I love gallery walls, but they can be hard to pull off, so I limited myself to one in our house and followed a tip from Young House Love from way, way back in the day. First, I built the gallery wall on the floor. Then, once it felt right, I traced everything on paper like YHL recommends, also marking where to place the nail hole. Then I taped the paper cutouts to the wall in the same layout, hammered in the nails, removed the paper, and hung the art. Voila. A naraly painless gallery wall!

For the wall, we used all the original artwork from her baby room, added some 2-year-old artwork, hung a couple animal heads, salvaged two pages from her torn up Pat the Bunny book, printed a photo Sarah Kieffer took of us, turned a fast-food sticker treat into artwork (the giraffe), and I designed an I LOVE YOU print for her. That sign is our thing. Maybe it’s your thing too. If so, it will be available soon in my digital print shop.

Now that I’ve finally finished her room, she’s asking for a desk. A desk! Well, here’s Hallie’s room, for now. And hopefully for lots of years later.

Room Sources
Bed

Bed Frame | Tuft & Needle Twin Mattress* | Bedspread | Wooden Pulls | Plugin Sconce | Bike Artwork | I Love You Print (coming soon to my print shop) | Brass Frame | Custom Felt Wool Balls | Bear Head | Felted Donkey Head | Wooden Doll Bed | Ralph Lauren Indigo Indoor/Outdoor Rug | Yellow Flush Mount Light

BookShelf

Abstract Art in Matte Brass* | Lamp (DIY) | Jenny Lind Bookshelf (thrifted) | Rattan Baskets (similar) | OK to Wake Clock | Painted Rocking Chair (thrifted) | Stacking Blocks

Dollhouse

Wooden Hook | Dollhouse | Green Bug (a gift from my 16th birthday instead of a real car)

Tent

Canvas Tent | Knitted Play (DIY from Knitting without Needles | Pillows (Random Collection) | Streamers (DIY)

*denotes products that were provided
SEE ALL FAUXHOUSE POSTS>

The post Hallie’s Room appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Hallie’s Bathroom

Before we moved in, the only spot of color in the house, outside the vintage green pendant in the kitchen, was Hallie’s blue vanity. Brittany, who worked with us to design our home, picked out the color. My brain was so decision fatigued by this point in the building process, after seeing a swatch on a screen, not in real life, I said “Love. Let’s do it.” And we did it. 

See room sources at the end of the post.

With this color as our guide, we decorated the room around a muted bright blue. I’m so glad we chose the color of Hal’s vanity before she could really talk or it would have gone down Flora vs. Merryweather style in Sleeping Beauty. Blue dress. Pink dress. Blue. Pink! Knowing Hal’s color leanings though, we brought in plenty of pink to the room by way of a shower curtain and a couple hits of spray paint. As you can see, she brings extra pink where ever she goes.

You might remember this post about making a DIY mirror frame for the Powder Bath. I happened to stop by the house when they were gluing mirrors to the wall, mirrors without frames! That’s when I realized we forgot to talk about the bathroom mirrors during the design process. I’ll figure that out later, I thought. And I did. I made a DIY frame for Hal’s bathroom, too, out of square trim from Home Depot. Our neighbor helped us cut 45° angles using his saw. And, with a little wood glue, a couple cookbooks to hold the corners together, and a hit of white paint, we had a frame, a frame hung by 3M removable strips. It’s still happily hanging, happily hodge podged together.

When designing in a minimal, simplistic style, everything counts—from the framed mirror to the hung artwork. Toeing the line of sparse, well, can often look sparse. And that mirror looked so sparse, even unfinished, without a thin trim. To bring visual continuity to the house, we repeated the same elements, like the classic subway tiles in Hal’s bathroom also used in the kitchen and in our master bath (though we played with the scale of the tiles in there). Don’t be afraid to repeat elements. Likewise, don’t be afraid to add warmth to the sparse. Minimalism and cozy can coexist.

Now, if all those bath toys would naturally coral and clean-up themselves up in this cute container/shelf. The Black Hole is a more trusty theory than this blue whale. I definitely sat in a bath full of toys with a tripod to get this shot. Stay tuned to Hal’s room reveal next week, full of punchier colors, even more animals (repetition), a cozy reading nook, and a bed with storage.

Sources

Vanity in Sherwin Williams 6228 Refuge (Custom Built) | Vanity Sink Top | Purist Sink Faucet in Polished Chrome* | Hex Milk Glass Pulls | Toilet Paper Bar | Mirror | Frame (DIY) | Vintage Jam Jar (from my grandma) | Baltimore Cord Pendant in Oil Rubbed Bronze with 6″ Clear Ball Shade* | 2″ Hex Tiles* | Stool (out of stock) | Shower Curtain (out of stock) | Striped Hand Towels (from the kitchen towel section at HomeGoods) | Spray Painted Ram Head (HomeGoods) | Baby Zebra Art in Natural Raw Wood Frame * | Purist Shower Faucet in Polished Chrome* | Bath-friendly Farm Animals |  Whale Bath Storage

*denotes products that were provided
SEE ALL FAUXHOUSE POSTS>
SEE MY GOOD DESIGN FOR LITTLE HUMANS PINTEREST BOARD>

The post Hallie’s Bathroom appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Chambray Every Single Day

I have a work uniform. Maybe you’ve noticed? And since I work from home, it’s my around-the-house and out-of-the-house uniform too. Chambray every single day is my mantra. “Mel, shouldn’t you consider another fabric?” Kev says as I pick up yet another chambray top. I said the same thing to Kev a couple months into dating about the color of his clothes. He only knew the color blue. I resonate with that boy now.

I don’t love picking out an outfit in the morning in the same way that I love picking out what to make for breakfast. Getting dressed does not produce happiness. Between analysis paralysis and clothing discomfort, I can waist a good 20 minutes staring into a closet, wishing my favorites from the dirty clothes were clean. But if I keep a very pared down wardrobe with only my favorite cuts and materials, including some duplicates, getting dressed is thoughtless. Just the way I like it. Should I wear chambray or chambray? It’s classic, durable, cozy, and so forgiving.

If athletes can wear uniforms, then so can we. In fact, I wore the outfit above to every book event last year. And if you catch me out in public this year, there’s a good chance I’ll be wearing the same. This outfit makes me feel comfortable and (mostly) confident, carving out more mental space to focus on my work or other pressing issues instead of my appearance.

Speaking of mantras, I have this other mantra for myself where I try to make as many decisions on behalf of myself ahead of time. I call this bulk decision making, which is far less rigid than it sounds. Here’s what I know about myself: I tend to make poor decisions in the moment. It shows up when I’m getting dressed in a hurry before a meeting or at the end of the day when someone is knocking at the door asking for a donation. When I’m getting ready for a meeting, I’ve already decided what I’m going to wear months in advance—a chambray shirt and usually white pants. Or, when someone asks for a donation, I always give myself 24 hours to think about it and do some research first. I let them know my expectation for myself at the door.

Tiny adjustments can have a big impact to every day life. And sometimes it looks like chambray. Do tell. Would you wear a uniform? What would it look like?

Here’s a quick round-up of classic, chambray tops.

Light Wash Button Up (My shirt. I sized down for a more fitted look.)

Popover

Short-Sleeve Popover

Puff Sleeve

Tunic/Maternity

Everyday Dress (Just purchased this. It’s light-weight and becoming not boxy.)

Night Out

You might also like:

My Winter Minimalist Wardrobe
Wardrobe interview on Real Simple

The post Chambray Every Single Day appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake

My friend Jeanine from Love & Lemons makes the prettiest cookbooks. They’re bright, delicious, happy, and so well designed. Like a magazine and cookbook all in one. Even Kev, not the cook of the family, got lost in her new book, Love & Lemons Every Day. Maybe not as lost as he got in her Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake after work, where he hacked into this tiny work of art with a dull metal spatula. “Gimme that spatula, Kev.” I followed suit.  

Jeanine is known for her uncomplicated vegetable-forward, often dairy-free, sometimes gluten-free, dinner recipes made from familiar, every day ingredients. She’s now known around our house for this Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake shared over an afternoon tea party with Hal, her friend, and some lukewarm tea that spent the last half of its life sprawled across the tiny table and floor. You know how 5-year-old tea parties go. Don’t worry, the slices of cake and the seconds were spared. Read: devoured.

This simple lemony, pistachio cake has me rethinking cake recipe composition altogether. Stirred together in a bowl without a mixer, with plenty of eggs and lemon zest, a little olive oil, and a good amount of raw pistachios blitzed into a flour, it is so unfussy and so moist. (Sorry if you hate that word. Is dewey better? No. Moist will have to do.) I’m also smitten with the idea of pistachio flour. I sprinkled it like fairy dust across the top of the cake. Across my bowl of oatmeal the next morning and on top of my pasta the next night.

Kev and Hal agree, this recipe landed firmly in the keeper category. Also bookmarked: well, the whole book, which Jeanine gives a huge sneak peek at here. PS—I’m giving away a copy of her book over on Instagram! Head this way to enter.

To Jeanine (and Jack, too), I hope you’re so proud of this thick, beautiful encyclopedia of recipes. It’s so stunning and so delicious!

Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake












Print
shopping list






Prep Time
15 mins



Cook Time
35 mins


Yield

8

   
adjust servings

Reprinted from Love & Lemons Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2019, Jeanine Donofrio

Ingredients

Cake

1

cup shelled raw pistachios*



1

c. all-purpose flour



1

tsp. baking powder



1/2

tsp. kosher salt



1/3

c. extra-virgin olive oil



1/3

c. almond milk



3/4

c. pure cane sugar



3

large eggs



1

tbsp. lemon zest



3

tbsp. fresh lemon juice



1

tbsp. chopped pistachios, for garnish

Glaze

1

c. powdered sugar



1

tbsp. lemon zest



2

to 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice






Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 (6-inch) mini cake pans or 1 loaf pan.

Process the pistachios in a blender to produce a coarse meal or flour. Measure 1 cup of pistachio flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of pistachio flour, the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, almond milk, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Whisk vigorously until frothy. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes for mini cakes and 45 minutes for a loaf. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice as needed to make a smooth, pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled cake and garnish with the chopped pistachios.

Notes

*Can be substituted for 1 cup almond flour.

My notes: I pulled the cakes out at the 30 minute mark as my oven tends to run a little warm. I went with a thicker glaze to top the cakes since I didn't have cute cake molds like Jeanine. To do so, I made a 1.5 recipe of the glaze, thickening it with a bit of heavy cream, eyeballing the consistency until it was thick but spreadable.

PS—I bought just the amount of raw pistachios needed for this recipe in the bulk section of our grocery store. Read more on how to do that here.

The post Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake appeared first on The Faux Martha.

Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza

When we lived in Oak Park, IL, when we were young and alive, when we didn’t have enough money to take the train downtown to Chicago, I stood next to the continental divide sign, legs spread wide, imagining I was standing on two magnets pulling water to opposite ends of our coasts. Would I spilt in two like the water? Turns out I’m not that malleable. Not nearly as malleable as a recipe. We’re straddling two seasons right now, standing in muddy, dead grass with glints of green over a slice of Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza, between winter and spring.

This Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza is comprised of bits of both seasons. The hardy butternut squash turns into a sweet and smoky chipotle sauce. Springy radishes are split thin and soaked in vinegar, turning pinker than an Easter egg. Limes and green onions stand in as signs of life, if not in Minnesota then in California.

It’s also compromised of leftovers from my fridge—leftover pulled beef, puréed butternut squash, and pickled radishes. I call this game Leftovers Tetris, which is one of my favorite games next to Dishwasher Tetris (the only two games I can smoke Kev in). The game goes like this. You take leftover Chipotle Butternut Sauce from this recipe and leftover pickled radishes from that recipe and leftover humble chuck roast from The Minimalist Kitchen and turn it into something entirely new, a Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza. It’s also a game of emptying out the fridge completely by Sunday. I seem to be winning this week.

In parenthood, they tell you to turn things like cleaning or brushing teeth into a game instead of a fight. Trickery, you know? It works on adults, too. Especially adults straddling dinnertime and deadlines, grocery budgets and aging produce, early spring and late winter. And it tastes like a Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza. But don’t tell anyone you made it from leftovers.

Butternut Bánh Mì Pizza












Print
shopping list









Yields

varies

   
adjust servings

This is one of those non-recipes. Use this recipe as a guide. Start with your favorite homemade or store-bought pizza crusts, top with olive oil, cheese, prepared beef. Then garnish with all the traditional Bánh Mì toppings. I like to make this pizza when all the ingredients are present in the fridge, when I have leftover butternut squash, pickled radishes, and a roast. Otherwise, this can be a bit clunky to make in one sitting.

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

Use your favorite homemade or store-bought recipes

Bánh Mì Beef

3/4

c. leftover cooked beef*



1

tbsp. soy sauce



1

tbsp. water



1

clove minced garlic





drizzle of honey

General Toppings

olive oil





shredded mozzarella cheese

Bánh Mì Toppings

Butternut Chipotle Sauce





Quick-Pickled Radishes





thinly sliced jalapeño





sliced green onions





roughly chopped cilantro





lime wedges






Instructions

Make pizza crust of your choice. Try the quick, crispy recipe in this 72-hour recipe.

Make bánh mì beef. Into a small sauce pan or skillet, add all the beef ingredients over medium heat. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pizza. Brush the entire crust generously with olive oil and coat with mozzarella. Sprinkle beef over pizza. Bake until bubbly according to pizza crust recipe instructions.

Top with remaining bánh mì toppings, garnishing as desired. Squirt or drizzle generously with butternut sauce. Serve hot and squeeze with lime.

Notes

*Feel free to use leftover pulled chicken or pork. I used the Humble Chuck Roast recipe in The Faux Martha.