It’s the eleventh day of Christmas and I have bought not one present yet. That’s because I’m making all my gifts again this year silly! The feeling in my family is that we are all so blessed and basically have everything we could ever “need” not “want,” so why spend a bunch of money on “stuff”? I will admit, I do miss those $200 Nordstrom gift cards from Grama Norma though! But really, there’s nothing I truly need, just a lot of crap I really want… HA!

My family is scattered everywhere these days. Rhode Island, Chicago, Florida. And it costs a lot to ship gifts, since the stupid post office upped their charges last January drastically and will probably do it again this year. Remember when stamps were like 25 cents? My plan is to stuff the crap out of the “flat rate” boxes with things like gingerbread granola, Pizelles, peppermint bark, citrus sea salts and foot scrubs that I’ll make this weekend… yes, I have a busy weekend planned… not to mention the holiday parties I got invited too!

Homemade gifts, in the form of food, is the best gift you can get if you’re an Italian, right?! I know my family will eat my Yummy Yogini creations up, and who really needs another knick-knack anyway? Oh! And speaking of homemade crafts, I made my own Christmas Card Wreath a few years back and people still ask me about it when they come over. I send out about 75 cards each year and I get almost that amount in return so this guy saves space big time! This would be a great gift idea for your Grama or Ma too!

All you’ll need to make this is an embroidery hoop, some gold spray paint, clothes pins, a hot glue gun, and a big bow. Easy peesy! Spray paint the wheel first and while it’s drying, spray paint the clothes pins. Then using your hot glue gun, affix the clothes pins on the wheel about two inches apart. If you receive a lot of cards like I do, make the pins only an inch or so apart. Then, tie a big bow on top and begin pinning your cards up! Here’s what it’ll probably look like at the end of Christmas!

Can you spot your card up there?

Have I mentioned I’m obsessed with making wreaths? Here’s a wreath I created by tying several different Christmas bows to a wire wreath frame. I’ve made this a couple of ways actually. One is by saving all the ribbons on packages I’m given and then tying them on the frame or you can just pick up the ribbon you like at Michael’s! The wreath on the right I created last year for my window out front. Using a fake wreath I purchased for peanuts at Michael’s, I tied pinecones around the wreath. Oh! And I picked those pinecones off the ground at Nojoqui Falls, a favorite spot of Andy’s and mine, and I spray painted them gold and strung lights all around. And lastly, I save all my wine corks and superglue them onto straw wreath frames for a different kind of holiday statement. It’s not a party without good wine eh?! She’s Crafty!!

It’s a wreath making party!

I just returned from the Farmer’s Market down the street from my house, singing Christmas carols at a high volume since I discovered we finally have a holiday radio station on the Central Coast! 93.7 people. Get on it! So yeah, I was there to purchase apples, kale, beets, broccoli and more purple cauliflower because the head I got last week was so delicious. I hadn’t had the purple variety before and it’s a little sweeter and more flavorful for sure. Here’s a wicked quick dinner I made for us on Monday night using said cauliflower. And if this doesn’t look like it’s filling enough for you, I made a “big salad” (Seinfeld reference anyone?) along with this cauliflower dish!

And why eat cauliflower? A student of mine said it has no taste but I have to disagree! I love the taste as much as broccoli and it’s low in fat, low in carbs, but high in fiber, folate, and Vitamin C. Boiling the cauliflower will make it lose some of it’s valuable compounds but roasting it won’t and it brings out the taste more. So have seconds, it’s good for you!

Pretty!

Garlicky Oven Roasted Purple Cauliflower- serves two or more 

Ingredients:

-1 head of purple cauliflower

-1 red onion

-4 cloves garlic

-1 T olive oil

-1/4 cup red wine

-handful of basil

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Break apart the cauliflower and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle some of the olive oil and salt and pepper on top and bake for 10 minutes or so.

2. While the cauliflower is in the oven, chop up the onions and garlic and place in a sauté pan with some more olive oil. When the onions turn brown, add the red wine and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring well.

3. Take the onion and garlic mixture and toss it on top of the already roasting cauliflower. Cook for another five minutes.

4. When the cauliflower is soft, remove and sprinkle the basil on top! Enjoy!

Quick and clean!

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One last thing for all you yogis out there- near and far! Did you know you can take my class anytime, anywhere, for nine bucks a month at www.yogacentre.com? Well now you do! And this month, post a picture of yourself on Instagram in Astavakrasana, Yoga Centre’s pose of the month and my personal favorite, and you could win a free month of unlimited yoga online with me and other teachers from around the world! So what are you waiting for? Pull out that Manduka, or log, or squash, or rock, and get posing!