“Oh stop it, STOP it, Renegade Craft fair….(sobs incoherently)…you had me giant stuffed penis…”
I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve never liked crafts or any type of craftiness. I scrapbook because I am overly obsessed with visual pictures, not to mention the super cool stickers you can decorate your pages with. But I, like most of the people I know, associate crafts with crocheted owl toilet paper cozies or macrame potted plant holders. You know, stuff you see at your crazy Aunt Linda’s house when you to go to check on her because the neighbors called you to say there was a ‘distinct odor’ coming from next door. Turns out, she was just experimenting with curry.
I first heard about Renegade Craft Fair last year from my friend Natalie. I believe she described it as “not your mama’s craft fair” so I was intrigued by that. It was started in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood in 2003 but has since branched out to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn. It is basically a place for those of us who are sick of sending our money overseas-thanks to corporate machines like Wal-mart- and would like to give our money to real actual people who make cool stuff. As an added bonus, I don’t have to feel guilty about some sweatshop employee getting paid eleven cents per day.
I made plans with the one and only Cakespy to meet her there and to pick up another piece of her wonderful artwork she made especially for me. This insured that I could not at the last minute back out of my plans to go to the craft fair. I am infamous for making plans then deciding I’m too lazy and unsociable to follow through. It happened last year for Renegade and it really sucks when I sabotage myself like that but what can I say? I’m afraid of people. Well, Mrs. Spy did not disappoint. I love it! I don’t have a camera to replace my old broken one yet and I’m sick of taking pics with my phone so I’ll post a photo of it soon, I promise!! I even bought a set of cute Paris-themed magnets of hers for a dear friend, to remind him that some day…some day.
I brought along my daughter Carmen since she was about to turn 17 and we don’t get to spend a lot of time together as she usually opts for a night with her boyfriend over a night with me. I can’t blame her, my nights consist of whatever her 3 year old sister wants to watch or do until she decides she’s tired, then various B-horror movies for me until about 1 am. And whereas Natalie brings a list of things she needs and looks for those things, Carmen and I wandered around aimlessly checking out the booths that caught our eyes and buying things like mustache pillows and horror t-shirts. I only took so much money with me but I managed to grab the business cards of the stores who I didn’t buy from but still loved. You know for Christmas or birthdays or Rosh Hoshannah, whatever.
One of the first places we went to was R and R Tees where I bought the coolest tribute shirt called ‘Giallo.’ If you had to look up that word, then don’t bother looking at the shirt, it won’t be nearly as cool to you as it is to me. There were so many shirts he had that I wanted but like my own Sophie’s Choice*, I had to choose. Except unlike the movie, I picked this shirt and no one had to die. I also got a kickass bright blue belt free just for getting the shirt. And the only way this shirt could have been any cooler is if it had Fulci’s name on it, too, but I already technically have a Fulci shirt titled ‘Zombie Vs. Shark’ so no worries.
Next, we headed over to the Circa Ceramics booth where I met Nancy and Andy for the first time. It seems weird and creepy to meet people via the internet, but when all you do is comment each others statuses and retweet their tweets, it makes you want to know who they are on the inside, you know? I bought this awesome Chicago flag mug for a friend for Christmas (geez, i hope she doesn’t read this) and I really wanted to say ‘hi’ to Nancy but she looked super busy. I left then came back and I introduced myself to her. She gave me the biggest hug ever and immediately turned around, picked a necklace off the rack and handed it to me. It was the Chicago flag necklace I had once told her that I loved. Nancy remembered. And I almost cried. I know it sounds lame. Bear with me, there are penises ahead, I promise.
Carmen and I checked out the booth of Tara to the T next. There we ogled the hot babe selling her wares and wondered how we can get our hairs to do that. Almost at the same we said “I want this!” about an amazingly functional yet still cute dress called the Brittany. When you visit the link, picture it in red, then picture it on me, and voila! This is the dress I will be wearing to a wedding then to a Christmas party and who knows what else. I’m not really a dress gal but when I see one that might actually flatter my shape instead of hugging every scary curve, well I want to snap it up immediately.
We then went to Moth Written’s booth where Carmen picked up a shirt that has a ribcage on it and the word ‘human’ written in Arabic. These ladies are trying to bridge a small bit of the gap between the Arabic speaking world and the English speaking. I wanted a shirt too but my husband is already jealous of Sayid from “Lost” so I figured I’d better not push my luck.
Carmen bought a giant fuzzy plush mustache from these guys. Need I say more? Oh and a mustache on a stick, but I can’t remember where from. If anyone can help me on this, I’d be much obliged!
We also happened upon a lady selling stuffed penises of all shapes, sizes, cuts and colors. All I could do was stare. Then she said to Carmen, “Do you want to stroke the big one?” I shit you not. We just giggled like the dorks that we are and kept walking.
Last but certainly not least- Seibei!! Carmen took them up on the three for thirty special in which she also got a killer bag, but then I got this sweet little prize. I wasn’t going to buy yet another t-shirt since I’d already purchased one earlier but I had just stopped to chit chat with my aforementioned pal Natalie and she was showing off her pink and green “Make Me a Sandwich”, so I went back and bought the purple and blue one. I know, I’m such a copycat. Suck on it, will ya? (Just so you know, I’m still waiting their Intramural Zombie Hunting League t-shirt. And yes, Natalie already has one. I didn’t know that before I bought mine though, so it’s okay. I’m not sure how I didn’t know since she is the Zombie queen of the Midwest, but I didn’t. Oh well. She has good taste I guess, right?)
Honorable mentions:
I plan on buying this necklace from Cookoorikoo some time soon. Why? Who knows! I don’t usually wear jewelry but I might surprise everyone and start. I was definitely digging on a dress similar to this one from Pierogi Picnic as well, but mostly because I wanted to smooch the adorable female seller who actually knew what seitan was. Pretty Theory had the most amazing handbags I’d seen in a long time and I wanted to snatch up the Edgar Allen Poe one to satisfy the emo kid in me but alas, it will have to wait. Mehoi had some extremely cool earrings that I’m still thinking about, honestly. Diffractionfiber has very interesting pillows including one that looks like a giant fried egg. Yes, I want it. I also want this stuffed asparagus from Steff Bomb. It comes with a spray can, in case I feel like pretending to tag my neighbors garage doors.
We also stopped for about ten minutes to eat at the Mana Food Bar tent. Carmen had the mushroom slider and I had the peanut noodles with an apple cider. All of it was amazing!
I had so much fun just walking around and looking at stuff, then meeting online friends, then seeing old friends. I can easily call this one of the best days I’ve had in a long, long time. There was so much stuff at Renegade, I’m shocked it only took me three hours to walk the length of the fair. I wish I had the time and the cash to go to every booth but I’m cheap and lazy. Perhaps next year, I will save up ahead of time…
*yes, I totally ripped off that line from Glee, whatcha gonna do about it??
This was a truly heavenly dish I lovingly giggle about while calling it my world-famous “nut loaf.” Its main ingredients are bread crumbs, carrots, onions, and cashews with a delicious filling of pureed chestnuts. You bake it the way you would bake a banana bread, in a loaf pan. I also made a wonderfully creamy and rich veggie gravy. Throw some mashed potatoes on there and you’ve got one hearty meal even a lumberjack won’t bitch about.
This was so delicious, words cannot even describe. I’ve never been a huge fan of mock meats but I don’t just want to eat a pile o’vegetables either. I made my own seitan using a modified version of the one in Veganomicon then sauteed it with some Mongolian stir-fry sauce and added a little extra crushed red pepper. I like spicy, maybe you’ve noticed. I served it on top of some Israeli couscous, which is larger than regular couscous. I just like saying couscous. Couscous, whee!! Ahem, the couscous was tossed with fresh basil, toasted walnuts, and lightly browned garlic. Mmmm…
These were the most amazing treats. I am a huge lover of all things coffee-flavored so when I heard that Starbucks was coming out with their own line of instant coffee called VIA, all I could think was, “Hm, how can I put THAT in a cupcake?” For this, I basically made the chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and dissolved a packet of VIA in the soymilk/apple cider vinegar mixture. For added buzzed-up fun, I put one tablespoon of coffee grounds in the dry ingredients, too. Lucky for me, one of my BFFs works at a Starbucks in Nashville and I still had some of the coffee left over that she sent me for my birthday. Next, I made regular old buttercream but instead of using one or two tablespoons of regular soymilk to soak up some of that powdered sugar, I dissolved another packet of VIA into the soymilk. Heaven with a capital V. Seriously.
If you’re like most people in this country, things have gotten pretty tight as far as money is concerned. If you’re like me and have a family of five and you live modestly (in other words, the hubs I put together don’t bring home six figures) then you start to rethink your budget without compromising your principles. There are days when it becomes difficult. “Mac and cheese on sale for fifty cents a box? What?” Yes, I know it was my decision to have three children but I still don’t feel that I should be held to the same standard as other vegans/vegetarians. The ones who are doing all the yelling are the ones who don’t even have one child, let alone three. I do what I can, when I can and I’m not going to beat myself up about it. If there is a vegan option, I will always choose it. If my only option is to starve, then guess what? I’m eating that mac and cheese.
Tamale Pie
Cornbread
Black Bean Salad
This picture was taken before I added the tomatoes. Sometimes I get ahead of myself. Oops.
Today, you’re going to get a two-fer, as in two recipes on one blog. Yay you! I went on a crazy baking spree last week and in addition to the vanilla cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies I made, I also made these babies. These are the toasted coconut cupcakes with coffee buttercream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. You will benefit from my desire to put on extra weight just in time for swimsuit season.
Banana Cake with Frosting
I tried each separately, then each on top of a cracker. I didn’t like the one with the blue green algae as much as I loved the one without it, and the opposite was true for my friend who was also tasting both, kind of like my wingman if I decided I wanted to cut and run the hell away from this stuff. There was no need for that, however. The plain cashew cheese was smooth and creamy, with no gritty texture at all, which surprised me. The cashew with the blue green algae was also smooth and creamy, but with a certain tang at the finish. These were very delicious indeed.
First up, we would like to thank our friends over at
The large ones are sandwich sized and the small ones are perfect for a handful of wheat thins or a few chocolate chip cookies. They have an easy to clean inner lining that is not PVC and seriously, if your kids take lunch to school like mine do, you know just how many of those plastic baggies are getting tossed in the trash each year. To me, that’s sickening. Now, with shipping, all 8 of these were about $65 if i recall correctly, but they are super cute and you’ll save at least that in one year over buying those baggies, so they’ll pay for themselves eventually. Wait til your kid comes home and tells you about all the oohs and aahs they got at the lunch table over these!
Here is a picture of me that my daughter Carmen took while i was writing this blog. Can’t say I don’t love argyle, because you would be lying.
So, we’re coming up on Passover in about another month and while I don’t feel like going into all the customs and laws that the Jewish people must observe, I will tell you i found a pretty decent recipe full of yummy stuff to eat that does not contain chametz or kitniyot. That is, wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, rice, corn, or peanuts. It does have beans but you can just as easily leave those out and sub in more lentils or potatoes.


I’m thinking of changing the name of my blog to “Just Soups.” Just kidding, but it does seem that I’ve been posting an awful lot about soups lately. Speaking of awful, here’s a recipe for some potato asparagus soup that looked a little like “dirty dishwater” as a friend of mine so lovingly put it. It didn’t taste horrible but as I post this, know that I am not posting the original recipe, but the recipe as I feel it should have been originally done. Any questions? Save it. I don’t care that much about this one.
Bow Tie with Nuts



