the sea x love

Author: brianna

  • Lemon, Lavender, Cardamom (LLC) Cookies

    CW: death, near death experiences (skip to the second photo for the recipe)

    Nearly two years ago I was in a near death accident while on vacation with my family. It was the climax of what would become the most draining year of my life. A few months after that experience, I lost someone near and dear to me, who inspired me and nurtured my love of cooking, my grandma. I absolutely gutted. I honestly didn’t know how to function. I was barely holding it together and I’m so thankful for my Scoopies, members of my coop, for helping me through such a rough time. I used cooking to help cope and process everything that I was going through. Throughout this time, I enjoyed challenging myself using only ingredients we had on hand in our co-op and minimizing food waste. I wanted to incorporate lemon zest in a recipe because I had planned to make some mango lemonade so this was a great chance to create something.

    Lemon, lavender, cardamom cookies (LLC)

    2c flour

    1c + 1/3 c sugar

    2 eggs

    1/2-3/4 c of coconut oil (melted, start with a 1/2c)

    Zest from 3-4 lemons

    Cardamom powder

    Lavender buds (these are supposed to be food-grade lavender buds)

    Sprinkle of baking powder (about 1 tsp)

    1. Mix flour, sugar, zest, cardamom, lavender buds, and baking powder together.
    2. Ensure everything is homogenously mix and the lavender, cardamom, and zest are well distributed.
    3. Add the 2 eggs and melted coconut oil, in quarter cup increments, to the flour mixture and mix together. The dough should be smooth and stick together as a large singular ball.
    4. Refrigerate the dough for around 1hr. You want the dough to be soft and pliable but not too hard otherwise you’ll have to let it thaw because the coconut oil will it too hard.
    5. These are dropish cookies. I just pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into balls and place them on a well-oiled baking sheet.
    6. Bake for 5-8min on 350 (I err on the side of 5/6 minutes and let them finish cooking on the baking sheet)
    7. Remove from oven and let cool on a baking sheet. Enjoy with lemonade!

  • sustainable fashion

    ocean view from Cabo Verde. our fashion choices directly impact our environment specifically oceans and waterways

    Sustainability. It’s in the news throughout the day. Everyone has thoughts on how we, as individuals approach sustainability from giving up plastic straws and single-use items to going vegetarian to boycotting corporations and the US military. None of these are wrong or bad ideas, some of these suggestions refuse to acknowledge the privilege it takes to take certain actions or they refuse to acknowledge the root causes of climate change or environmental degradation. In a previous version of this blog, I focused on sustainable fashion but it’s counterproductive to run a sustainable fashion blog in the same way that people run conventional fashion blogs because sustainability isn’t about excess. But fashion (and art) isn’t either (at least not in the capitalistic sense that fashion currently operates). Fashion is a form of expression— a form of art— and I respect and support these characteristics. 

    It is, however, important especially for Americans to be less wasteful; it’s equally and arguably more important to hold companies accountable for the waste they produce and the energy they use.  I try to be intentional about what I purchase. I went a number of years without buying anything that wasn’t necessary clothing-wise, but honestly, it wasn’t great because I wasn’t happy and I ended up wearing a bunch of outdated clothes. (I ended up feeling horrible about my clothes and how I presented myself so it wasn’t great). I’m still buying clothes since that decision, but I’m being extremely intentional about what I buy and who I buy it from because fashion is a huge polluter. Therefore, you will occasionally see fashion posts here but don’t expect them all the time, but when you do the brands and designers I feature will have been chosen with intention. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with my guidelines for curating an intentional wardrobe.

    Guidelines to curating an intentional wardrobe:

                I want to preface these guidelines by saying these are my personal guidelines for buying clothes and they work for me because I have prioritized and am also privileged to make some of these decisions. Some of these guidelines can be generalized for other aspects of living.

    1. Define your style.
      1. This is entirely up to you and requires a bit of soul searching.
      1. It also makes sense to consider what you actually do for work and hobbies and your body shape. In each case, I like to have intentionally selected items for them.
      1. It is pertinent that you also consider your body shape because clothes are designed for different body types and somethings will look better (i.e. your clothes won’t gather in certain places or be tight in other places).
        1. Try using Pinterest to define your idealized style/wardrobe. It’s totally okay if this changes over time, you’re human and fluid!
    2. Go through your closet, keep what fits (both your new style and your body), and toss what doesn’t.
      1. You have a few options with the clothes that don’t fit, you could donate them or you could resell them. There are a number of issues with donating clothes mainly that many of them end up in African communities and are a drain on the local economy. It’s better to donate with intention and if you find communities in your area that would actually use the clothes, that’s would infinitely better.
      1. If you opt to sell them, Mercari and eBay are great sites to sell your stuff on. Poshmark is okay but they take a larger percentage out of your earning. These are also great sites to shop on.
    3. Buy clothes from thrift stores and online resell websites (post about my favorite sites coming soon). Reusing and recycling are still important. If you’re looking for new clothes, I have a whole map of brands that are sustainable or ethical in some way. I’m currently in the process of updating and streamlining it so it’s down for the time being.
    4. When I look at individual articles of clothing, I look for natural materials (think cotton, linen, leather {especially if it’s preloved}, wool, and silk etc.//contrary to what most people think about me, I’m actually not a vegetarian so I try to buy natural fibers and materials). These materials are safer for the environment as plastic-based fabrics produce microplastics in waterways, which is detrimental to the environment. I also look for good stitching (this is a bit difficult to do online but if you can look at some stuff by that brand in person you can get a feel for the quality).
      1. It’s important at this stage to ask yourself if you truly love something

    Repeat as necessary.

  • seeded sprouted wheat tortillas

    photo of tortilla cooking in a cast-iron skillet

    I’ve been trying to make these tortillas for off and on for a few years now. I buy similar tortillas from Central Market but they carry them irregularly and Central Market is pretty far from my house so it’s a bit of a hassle to get these tortillas, plus the cost isn’t great. The first time I made these they didn’t work out well at all. The second time they were too thick and not really pliable. I finally figured out how to make these after making a bunch of all-purpose tortillas over the course of the past academic year. My favorite way to use these is breakfast tacos (bacon, egg, onion, + kale/spinach is my go-to combo, but they also go well with bean + cheese). They’re also good for quesadillas, sautéed mushrooms, or any place you would use all-purpose flour tortillas. I will definitely start taking better photos that aren’t ripped from my Instagram stories so please bear with me until then. 

    photo of dough

    2 c sprouted wheat flour (I like this one)

    ½ c boiling hot water

    1 stick of butter (at room temp) ( you can also use miyokos vegan butter to make this vegan) 

    1 + ½ teaspoon salt

    ½ teaspoon baking powder

    ¼ c Mix of chia, pumpkin, flax, and sunflower seeds (optional)

    1.       Mix dry ingredients in a bowl including seeds

    2.      Cut the stick of butter in tablespoon pieces. Add pieces to dry ingredients in a bowl and crumble and mix with hands. The dough should be crumbly at this point

    3.      Slowly add water to flour in a piecewise fashion and mix w/ rubber spatula until the mixture forms in a uniform dough that doesn’t crumble. The dough should be hydrated (i.e. moist and not crumbly). If the dough is crumbly add more water.

    4.      Let rest for at least 30 minutes (max 2 hours). Do not skip this step! It is vital in ensuring that the dough stretches without recoiling;

    5.      Form ~½ in diameter balls and roll out with rolling pin until it’s about 6in in diameter (they should be pretty thin max 3mm thick because they expand as they cook)

    6.      Cook on hot cast iron griddle, making sure to flip them when they start to bubble.

    These will last about a week in the fridge and even longer in the freezer (like a few months)

    photo of uncooked tortilla with sunflower, pumpkin, and chia seeds

     

  • welcome

    Hi! I’m Brianna and I recently graduated from college, where I studied architecture and applied geosystems sciences (in short, I researched, studied, and designed sustainable products and spaces with communities in the US and abroad to increase sustainability//you can read more about my other work here). I’m starting the sea x love for my friends and family to keep up with me and share works, spaces, and communities (with their permission) that I love. I’ll also post some insights to whatever I’m working on and different recipes I create. Thanks for the sea x love out!