passing it to the next generation

So, I've been on a serious sewing kick lately. No, more like I've rediscovered and deepened my love of sewing. Blame it on Heather Bailey, Amy Butler, and Anna-Maria Horner for their luscious fabrics and simply beautiful projects. They have inspired me to start sewing, and gasp! without a store pattern...
I even revived my old-new sewing machine this weekend. I had parked it away for over a year because I broke the needle clamp in a freak sewing accident. Instead of purchasing the part needed, I bought an old 'Husky' from my favorite thrift store for a whopping $8 and used that for a little while. My old-old Husky, while a great machine, is rather noisy. It's hard to sew at night with a noisy machine, so I decided to fork over the $30 for the part I needed for my old-new Brother. And boy, am I glad I did! I've been in sewing heaven for the past 24 hours. I'm discovering the joys of scalloped stitches, drop-in bobbins and automatic button-holers! I never knew such bliss was to be had!
This means I now have 2 perfectly functioning machines. Everyone should be so blessed. I decided to gift the Husky to my 8 year old daughter who has been begging for one. Most 8 year olds get a toy sewing machine, but she gets a REAL one! Boy I tell ya, she is her mother's daughter! She is begging to learn knitting, crochet and sewing. I encourage whatever she is into because the girl has talent, if I do say so myself, and I do!

Eat To Live

Here is a picture of tonights dinner above. Isn't it just gorgeous How the red 'pops' off the green? That would be the graphic designer in me talking. The dish you are looking at is Basil Pesto 'Pasta.'
Look closer. That's not the traditional pasta you are looking at. You are looking at thinly shredded fresh zucchini coated in a basil pesto sauce and topped in fresh chopped tomatoes tossed with some seasoned rice vinegar (my favorite!). And yes, it's all RAW. And deelish!
Anyone who knows me knows I love food. Chicken, Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw. If it tastes good, I'll eat it. I'll try just about anything once (as long as it's not bugs or strange creatures, yecch!). If I don't like it, I never have to eat it again, is my motto. I was a vegetarian for about 5 years, and it was great, I felt healthy, and good, but I just couldn't bear the thought of phasing out a whole food group altogether. As long as good food exists, I can't phase out a whole segment of food just as a general policy.
Now, that being said, a good portion of my family's diet is still vegetarian. The husband is still staunchly vegetarian, which leaves me either cooking vegetarian, or cooking two meals for dinner. Since I don't want to spend my whole day in the kitchen, I usually cook what everyone can eat, most of the time.
I went to the farmer's market yesterday and stopped by the Raw Passion Bistro and they served this dish. As I always do whenever I sample a great dish, I did the copycat at home, and the results are above, right. I think I pretty much got it dead on...after all, there's no cooking involved. Bon Appetit! The dish is tasted even better since I got my ingredients from the farmer's market.
Oh, and the cooked pasta dish on the right is what the kids ate, since I know they won't eat the food (except for the oldest, she leans vegetarian.) I used Gimme Lean Sausage style in this, but I used real mozzarella and Colby-Jack cheeses. It was all good.