I've Moved!

Hey guys! I never post on here any more because I have MOVED to Tumblr! This is the link:
http://divineinterventiondesign.tumblr.com/

You can also follow me on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/dvineintervntn

Stay Fabulous,
D.I.D.

I'm Featured on BGLH!!!

Hey Loves! I forgot to post that my interview was featured on Black Girl with Long Hair back in August. The comments that ensued were pretty interesting, including one from my wonderful dad! (Always there to protect his "Pumpkin BabyGirl!") and my wonderful pageant sister Sara. Big ups to BGLH for giving us Naturalistas a forum for questions, info, and general all Natural fabulosity! Love it!!!

Vintage Black Beauties

These are some pics I found on Flickr from vieilles_annonces'. They are some gorgeous vintage pics of African American beauties she has scanned from old magazines-these are a few of my faves.

Katherine Bell

Harlean Jackson

Cordie King (luv that swimsuit!)

Carol Preston

Carmen Dellavallade (not sure what that "Spare Parts for Sex" headline was about tho...? I'm sure it was for educational purposes)

Awesome Vintage Ad for "After Six"

I love looking at old vintage pictures for style inspiration and to see how beautiful we have always been as a people. I wasn't able to find much information for most of these beautiful ladies (as a history buff I always like to know the story behind the people), and it would have been nice to have seen some darker-skinned beauties in the old magazines-but I know unfortunately that for the most part, dark skin was not considered beautiful back then. Thank goodness things have changed and we have beauties like Iman and Alek Wek rockin it for the chocolate sistah's! I really love these pics nonetheless and you should check out vieilles_annonces' photostream for more vintage photographs of black culture.

A Very Veggie 4th of July

So this Sunday was the 4th of July which equals mucho bar-b-q's. For a vegetarian with carnivorous friends and family, you can often find yourself with only a plate full of rolls and potato chips to eat. Here are a few of my favorite, bar-b-q recipes that are quick and easy-I mean let's face it, there's only so many Veggie burgers you can stuff down before you want a little variety. And these recipes are so yummy, even the most skeptical meat-eater will enjoy them.

BBQ Tofu Burgers

The original recipe inspiration came from my Vegan Soul Kitchen, cookbook. I love having lots of flavor (something that is often lacking in vegan and vegetarian food!) so I added FortiSalt and Garlic powder along with the bbq sauce. The original recipe calls for a lot of ingredients but I simplified it for those nights you really want something good and healthy but don't want to have to put forth a ton of effort! This recipe is so simple-cut a block of drained firm or extra firm tofu in half (through the middle ) to make two "patties". Put in a pyrex baking dish, spray with FortiSalt, sprinkle with garlic powder, and cover in your favorite bbq sauce. Bake on 350° (with the pyrex dish covered in foil over the top to prevent the top of the "burgers" from burning) for about an hour-I never measure and kind of just go off of how it looks and smells to know it's done-you just want it warm all the way through basically. Put it on a hamburger bun and enjoy all the bbq-y goodness!

The Oldie but Goodie Meatless Shishkabob (sp?)

This is a classic. You can add whatever your fave vegetables are to this classic dish: bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots...the possibilities are endless but for me it's all in the flavoring. See the bottom recipe for my new favorite marinade that's perfect for adding some really good flavor to your meatless shishy. =)

Meatless Sloppy Joes

Another classic done meatless that tastes just as good. Mix in a crockpot: 3 cans of organic (drained) kidney beans, 3 cans of organic diced tomatoes, 1 can of fire roasted organic diced tomatoes, and one small can of organic tomato paste. Normally I am not an advocate of using canned foods (aluminum=baaaaaaaad), but in extreme moderation it can be a timesaver on those busy days you don't have time to do it from scratch. Season with a little white pepper, paprika, and garlic powder to taste. Cook in the crock pot on low (I put it on in the a.m. and let it cook all day while I'm at work). Put on organic whole wheat hamburger buns and nom! nom! nom!

BBQ or Grilled or Broiled Portabella Mushrooms

I definitely saved the best for last on this one. An idea that came from Planet Green, portabella mushrooms are an excellent choice for a vegetarian menu because of their meaty, filling quality. Emeril Lagasse has an awesome recipe for Portobello Mushroom-Blue Cheese Burgers that I haven't tried yet but definitely intend to! When I made mine, I used the following marinade, brushed on to the mushrooms which had the stems removed (don't throw them out, chop em up and use them on your salad!)

*You can either grill them or put them on a baking rack in the oven over a cookie sheet and broil them on about 400 for approximately 10 minutes-check frequently because they burn easily!

Yummy Garlic-Herb Marinade-Use it on everything!!!

In a food processor:

Start with some olive oil (alway use first cold pressed-you don't want all the olivey goodness filtered out!)...

Add some FortiSalt-I take the lid off and just pour it in-much faster than spraying for this recipe!

Add some Basil...

And my favorite herb: ROSEMARY!!!

Play with the proportions until it makes a semi-thick paste and add as much or as little of the herbs as you want depending on your taste preferences. Like I said, I never measure!

Use a marinating brush to cover both sides of the mushrooms (As demonstrated by my son in the first pic)

*Throw in the grill and cook until tender or broil in the oven on 400 for about ten minutes as I mentioned earlier. Another yummy take on portabella mushrooms is to just cover the underside with feta cheese and broil on 400 for ten minutes...that's what I had for dinner tonight and it was sooooooo gooooood. Warm feta cheese is like a little slice of pure goodness-it melts in your mouth-LITERALLY.*

Enjoy these recipes, I'll be adding lots more as I embark on my adventure through veggiehood! Much love!

Brown Skin, pt. 1

So, it's been a while since I've updated this blog, and it didn't really have anything on it in the first place actually lol. But since this is technically the first post, I guess I should sort of introduce what this is all about. I titled it "Brown Skin" after the India.Arie song because it's all about loving brown skin (*wink*wink* lol) and this blog is basically themed with the same idea. It's all about my adventures with Natural hair, vegetables, and all around Naturalista fabulousness! And fyi: I am famous for run-on sentences, a trait I inherited from my mother heehee, but hopefully this will all make sense!=)

My Natural hair journey:

After BEGGING my mom to get a relaxer to tame my wild hair whose texture had been changed to a matted mess after a bout with a nearly life-threatening advanced double sinus infection being treated with the steroid Prednisone at age 10 (and to in my mind fit in more with the white kids I grew up around as well as buying in to the whole wanting long, straight hair mentality), she finally gave in at age 12. I can be a pretty darn convincing woman when I want something-ask anyone who knows me! But anyhoo, after years of relaxing, dying, frying, and doing everything else bad you can think of to my hair, I got pregnant with my son Nathaniel at age 20. Growing up in a home where living a natural lifestyle was the norm (we are the original black dirty hippies lol), it was time to "get back to my roots" so to speak. I was concerned about the chemicals from the relaxer affecting my unborn baby, so I only had one relaxer sometime towards the end of my pregnancy.

My beautiful baby boy Nathaniel was born on June 21st of 2006. In October, just before my 21st birthday, I decided to do the Big Chop! (I liked parting it on the side and using gel to hold down the sides for some variety to my curly TWA [teeny weeny afro]) I had never felt so liberated and happy with a hair choice in my life! I've been Natural ever since and have never looked back! Curly fro's, double strand twists, braids...I had no idea there were so many versatile options to being Natural! YouTube became my best friend as I discovered this not-so-hidden society of beautiful Natural sistahs who are happy to be nappy. I'm proud to be a member of this society and this blog is basically celebrating this fact as well as showing some of the things that work for me in doing my hair. It won't just be all about hair, I'm a vegetarian and a mom and and a business owner and I love fashion and design and upcycling so of course there will be some of that too. And hopefully somewhere along the way I can inspire that little girl who is struggling to embrace her beautiful kinky curly hair the same way I was to love her hair and her self! Much love!