Ila's Vegan Veggie Pizza with Spelt and ChickPea Flat Crust

Blessed Love to the I,


Before I share my ultimate vegetable, vegan, dairy-free, wheat-free pizza (yay!) I want to remind you to link with my page on Instagram if you use IG of course. - it is no longer @italafrika, but @rastawifeline....I changed the name but the same page, as it was more fitting for the blogspot to have the title of the page. so on the IG I share pics of what new recipes I try before they actually reach the blog. And when I am finished with some other projects I will be posting on more than just food, but branching into other areas. You can actually see my IG feed from my website www.iloveafrika.com under the page ILA NEWS. Feel free to use the hastags #WombWellness and #RastaWifeLine to share your meals and tips as well, this needs to be something that InI Dawtas can use to share and inspire one another to be healthier and happier.



So, I really miss pizza, and I have finally finally found the perfect wheat-free crust, so that I can have a guilt-free pizza anytime I feel like it! And the bonus is that it doesn't take long to make. The vegetable prep is the same as making a salad or food, and the dough is quite simple with mixing it all together and rolling it out. A simple and perfect and better alternative to regular pizza that usually has wheat, table salt and dairy in it, which cause cramps, pain and other PMS problems.

Remember that my aim is to share "Period Friendly Meals" here which are vegan or Ital. Foods that will cause I and I to have smoother moon cycles without being sick and out of it. Though the spelt and garbanzo flours maybe on the expensive side, at least you can get good uses out of them over time, the key is to also cut down on any recipe that involves flour as such will still break down to sugar and affect sinuses and periods or whatever issues you have with mucus in the body. Spelt is like a parent relative to wheat. It is a whole grain that has not been genetically modified like all wheat that we get in our flour, and it is also not bleached or enriched with any unnatural products. These flours can be substituted for others such as whole wheat and corn flour if you don't have any other. You can also try quinoa or almond flour if they have a texture like wheat, corn, spelt or garbanzo. I am yet to try these two types of flour myself. I have also done this pizza using breadfruit flour which is available in Barbados, so you can try that as well if you ever see it on the shelf.

Flat Crust Vegan Vegetable Pizza

1 ½ cup garbanzo/chickpea flour
1 cup spelt flour (plus extra for kneading)

Or for a gluten-free, corn-free option try:
2 cups Breadfruit flour or 2.5 cups garbanzo flour

¾ cup slightly warm water
1/4 cup Coconut or olive oil with extra for pizza pan
1.5 tsp baking powder (or 1 tbsp flax)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano


Pizza toppings

Seasonings:

3 stalks chive,
1 onion,
3 pimento peppers or the like
5 clove garlic
1 big leaf of shadon beni

All finely diced.

And any combination of vegetables you have, for example:
3 sliced  Tomatoes
1 cup sliced Pineapple
1/4 thinly sliced Eggplant
3 leaves chopped pakchoi or other greens
1 cup each shredded or grated pumpkin, carrot, zucchini and beet

3 large spoons full Tomato paste (Matouks in the jar)


Pizza pan
Baking or wax paper

large bowl



Combine dry ingredients well with spoon: flour, salt and dried seasonings

Add the oil to flour. You will add 1/2 cup of water to this and mix with a spoon first and then use your hands when the flour is all wet. Add a little more water if you need it. Add sprinkles of spelt to make the right consistency as you start with your hands. It doesn’t take too long to knead. It should be smooth, soft and moist but not wet or too dry (add more spelt or water if you need to). 

I use my hands and make a flat circle and just set it aside in the bowl with a towel over it, while I put all the ingredients away.

(Note you can make mini pizzas by rolling dough into balls)

On your counter top, place a sheet of baking paper. Flatten the dough onto baking paper in a nice flat circle using your four fingers. knead all cracks. Cover that dough with another sheet and start to make a circle with rolling pin. When the circle has gotten a little wider and flatter it will stick to the paper, so take off the top sheet slowly and finish getting the circle bigger and evenly spread with the rolling pin. You shouldn’t need to add flour to dust. This is not that type of dough that you need it all floured up, it should not be sticky, but soft and smooth and very very firm.  keep kneading all cracks

Using the bottom baking sheet flip the circle onto the greased pizza pan and carefully peel the baking sheet off the back. Use your hands to further press dough around the pan. In my photo you can see what happens when you try to sprinkle flour, it doesn't blend in!
Do not bake with paper or it will stick -learned that the hard way!


Spread tomato paste on first with a large spoon.

Cover that paste with the finely chopped onion garlic chive pimento.

Evenly spread the vegetable toppings. I start with the pumpkin, carrot and beets, then the tomatoes and greens.


Bake pizza at medium heat of 150 C for 25 minutes or til edges are golden brown. 

Voila!

Grate my vegan almond nut cheese over everything when it comes out and allow to cool a bit before slicing and serving.
Makes four big slices or eight smaller.

 

My favourite part of this pizza is the crust. It's soft and yet has a slight cookie texture as well because of the chickpea flour.

Do try! and keep up with my Ital recipes also on Pinterest @iladesigns in the board "Ital with Ila"


Rastafari!
Sis Ila

How to Sew an Ethiopian Banner

In the Bobo House, youths are offered up unto JAH (blessed) wearing white garments and swaddled in the Ethiopian rainbow banner. Every family buys one for the ceremony from a particular Empress, who is like the deputy Leading Empress of the camp.

Here’s my princess with hers. It measured 31 x 41 inches. This is something that she will always have in her room. Her gown was actually my niece’s, it was like 11 years old when Nile wore it!

Besides using it for blessing the youths, the Ethiopian banner is hung around the home – outside the home, at all or the main exit/entrance doorways to the home, and over all bedposts. It is also placed in the direction of the East so that Idren face it when chanting Ises. The banner is not only a reminder of JAH RasTafari and Ethiopia, but it is viewed as a talisman, a symbol of JAH’s Love surrounding I and I through the ever-living rainbow. Moses in Exodus 17:15 "built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner," showing how much the Ithiopian banner symbolizes JAH Selah. Every RasTafari home has a banner even if it has the Lion symbol (which represents the Reign of the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Yehudah) or the black star (Ghanaian flag) or a picture of King Alpha and/or Queen Omega. But it is important to have the plain one, which symbolizes the blessing and Itection of the family.

There is always a “preference” that RasTa have regarding the order of the colours in the flag. Some want the green up top, some want the red up top – this tutorial makes a banner that can function either way. The green up top is the traditional, original national Ethiopian flag. Green represents the fertility of Ethiopian soil, yellow the religious freedom and richness, and red for the blood of the people who died to keep it free.

But the Red Gold Green is not only about Ethiopia, the colours of I and I banner are also representative of the ever-Living God, JAH through the real rainbow in the sky, which is primarily made up of red, yellow, green. The red is always up top in nature, being the truest banner. The rainbow represents the Covenant of Noah, which ideally is a promise that JAH shall not destroy the Earth by water. It represents mercy and JAH’s omnipresence and tending over the world. The full moon also has a night rainbow when it is surrounded by hazy clouds. A complete ring of a rainbow is usually formed around it, and it is always distinctly red, gold, green. This full circular rainbow represents again the continuity and fullness of JAH in the Iniverse – the Rainbow Circle Throne.

It is important to know that even though there is partiality, the Red Gold Green and Green Gold Red are indeed cosmic and terrestrial mirror images of The One. The order of the colours is in fact related to the Shield or Star of David, where the up triangle points to the heavens, “as above” and the down triangle points to the earth, “So below.” This is demonstrated by the moon’s full circle rainbow. If you cut the full circle rainbow in half, you are left with two separate bows – one will have red up top, and one will have green up top. I hope you see my point!

And finally, the reason why many Rastafari will also place red up top, is because (and I am going based on what is written in The Rastafarians by Leonard E. Barrett, Sr. about the Movement in its earliest days) the banner is also an adaptation of the Garvey banner which places red first, then black then green. Barrett says that in every camp the Red Black and Green could be seen painted everywhere – it was when dress and tams started being made, that the yellow which was in the Jamaican flag (green yellow black) was added. The red always remained up top. Either he is right, or he didn’t get the memo about the Ethiopian flag having gold in the middle. But it was with the creation of clothing that yellow started to make its appearance and was mixed with Red Black Green – so the Rastafari colours became Red Gold Green Black. Coincidentally, the Red Black and Green banner shares the #1 spot with the Red gold Green banner in the Bobo House, most houses have both banners, so please use this tutorial to make your Red, Black and Green or Garvey banner. The Red stands for the blood shed by the Black race for freedom, Black for the true colour of Afrika and Israel, the colour of the race; and Green is for the vegetation, the land which is the hope of the race in Zion.

Ok, I’ve said my full on the importance and significance of the Banner in the Rastafari Home – onto the banner tutorial. Remember Empress, you can use this banner in the home, or you can sell them, put a print on them , bless up your sistren or anyone you know trodding Fari and could use a lil strength.

Materials: 1 yard of red, yellow, green cotton fabric each at 45 inches if you want to make it big enough for the youth blessing purpose. Black cotton thread, sewing machine, scissors, pins, chalk, yard stick.

Note: you are cutting both your red and green sections with a selvedge side, so that you only have to make hems for two sides of the banner. If you are making two banners from the 3 yards, which I did, then one of them will have to take 3 finishing hems instead of two. Note also that this tutorial is also a basic guide on how to do patchwork.

This banner I made was from the scraps I had from making a jean skirt (tutorial to come), so it’s an odd size: 28 x 32. Note the width is the side along a solid colour, the length is the side with the tricolour. Each panel was about 10 inches long x 34 inches wide. I used a 1 inch seam allowance.

First, cut three panels the same size as shown above. Use the ruler and chalk to help get it as straight as possible. Whatever size you want your banner to be, add an extra 1 inch for your seam allowance. Smaller seam allowance if you can get it smaller of course.

Next, join the panels together in this order:

Yellow panel over red panel and pin:

On the other side of the yellow: Green panel over yellow panel and pin:

This is how it will look when pinned:

   

 Sew the 3 pieces together at these two points, using a ½ seam for both lines. Zigzag ends together.

    

Make the necessary hems to complete the banner. Press in two ½ inch folds and pin.

Sew all around with straight stitch

Iron over all seams. You are finished!        

I hope this tutorial is clear, it is very very easy! Time to get sewing one of your own!

Blessed Love

Sis. Ila

How to Sew a Turban for Your King-Man

Blessed Love in the Name of JAH RasTafari!

Like the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Aaronic Priesthood, the Rastafari Priest wears fabric wrapped around his crown to signify his worship and service of the Most High JAH. The Bobo turban is however, much more fabric and made of cotton rather than white, fine linen. It is usually made by the leading empress or an appointed empress of the camp, and a brethren receives it from the leading priests of the tabernacle in a special ceremony, after a period of culturing and transformation. The time when a prophet or apostle or priest is crowned or brought into altar service, is determined by the Leading Priests of the community, who would have monitored his attendance to service and gathering, progress in the Livity and Scripture, and heartical attitudes for a period of months. The state of his household is also considered if he has one.
 The crowning of the turban is indeed a baptism, just not with water. It comes at a time when the RasTa Man is totally read to "take up his cross" and walk in the path of JAH, Melchizedek, the King, the Priest. The Bobo prophet or priest must now walk with honour and live in cleanliness every day, never defiling his crown by sinning against the Laws of King Emmanuel, the Commandments or Priestly Order of Leviticus. That’s one of the reasons I raspect the Bobo Shanty, because those brethren make a serious commitment in covering their dreads, much like I and I Sistren make in covering up. Bobo Husband and wife perfectly reflect one another in their coverings, it is such a beautiful sight.

So with a slight tip-toe around technicalities (which may land me in some fire later on too), I wouldn't make a turban for anyone who is not living righteously and is not conscious of the Nazirite and priestly code of the turban. But I thought for the strict Bobo Empresses out there who may not have a Taba or camp to go to, whose King-Man (who has been officially crowned already) may want turbans but can't access them regularly - this might be nice for the Sistren~ This method also serves for the Empresses too, in making a headwrap out of Afroprint!

Making a turban or headwrap is very easy – the hardest part is just having patience to go through all that fabric, pressing and pinning, then sewing! Note that this turban tutorial is for a brethren with a big crown or dreads past the buttocks. For those who have shorter requirements, just cut the excess before starting using an old turban as a guide. If you don’t know how long it should be, and the dreads are shorter than waist length, try 1t o 1 1/4 yards until the fit comes. To determine the size, the brethren can wrap and when he reaches the shape and neatness, he can stop and the remaining fabric cut and hemmed. That would be the length to cut future turbans at.

You will need: 2 yards of 45 inch fabric, scissors, lots of pins, iron, sewing machine and corresponding needle to match fabric (just the regular needle should be fine), yard stick, matching thread. The size of this turban will be 21 1/2 inches wide about, and around 4 yrds long.
Having a middle seam can leave a dark mark on the bredren's foreheads, so it is also a good idea to buy the total length needed and make two turbans out of it. Avoid middle seams!

Press out all the creases as much as you can, out of the 2 yrds of fabric.

Fold the fabric in half, selvage edges together, to form a long narrow rectangle.

Pin the edges together and press down this fold well.

Cut the rectangle into two along the side with the fold (opposite the pinned side).

 Don’t move anything during this next part. Pin the two rectangles at one of the short sides. Unpin the long side. Selvage edges together still.
*if you are using the full length of the fabric, without the middle seam, skip this part and just press and hem the raw edges.

Along the short end, Zigzag the edges and sew a 1/2 inch seam. Iron this seam out. 

Starting at the top corner of the right short-rough cut end, start pressing in the first fold of the 1/2  inch hemline that will run along the non-selvedge side of the turban.

When you get to the left short end, go back to the beginning and start the second 1/2 inch fold of the hem. Pin this time around, not too many pins close together as the seam should hold from the iron alone. Too many pins makes the sewing part tedious with pin removal. Always put the pins in sideways or horizontal to the hem and not along the fold, so the machine can run over them, and you don’t have to be unpinning and stopping all the time. (As you can see I broke all my rules in the pictures below, but that’s why I can tell you now to avoid giving yourself the extra hassle!)

(Also note in my pictures I made my hem big – the smaller it can be the neater, but really no one sees those edges anyway so no stress about that!)

 When you have finished pressing and pinning, take your “train” to the machine and start at the top right corner again, that way you can just sew without having to stop. When you get to the corners, stop, lift up the presser foot, turn the fabric, put back down the presser foot and continue sewing.

Iron out all the seams with a hot pressing! When it’s finished this is how it looks on the wrong side. The Seam is a middle seam and the brethren uses that seam as the mark for the middle of his forehead. 

This is how the finished turban looks (Sizzla Kalonji):

 Well Sistren, I hope this tutorial helped the I! If you make a turban for your King, be sure to send I a picture of his stepping out!

Blessed Love

Sis. Ila Addis

How to Sew a Triangle Scarf (Ises Wrap)

  How to sew a triangle scarf

The ila Ises Wrap

(aka the one yard scarf)

                Materials: 1 yrd voile, scissors, thread, appropriate size machine needle, sewing machine

Every RasTa Wombman wears a head-covering at some point during the day: whether it’s for giving Ises, going out to work, to the Taba, to the grocery – whatever the place or reason; it is important that the crown be covered, and the sanctity of the dreadlocks maintained.  

                This Tradition I and I have learned from our Afrikan Mothers who in any tribe or religion have always maintained the aesthetic value of covering themselves in flowing garments. The Ethiopian Wombman uses the Shamma or a woolen shawl which I think might be called a shash - I’m looking for the origin of this word if anyone knows – it’s a word I’ve heard other Fari call the Ethiopian shawl. Check out this link also http://www.tadias.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Ethiopian-Easter1.jpg

 Empress Menen wore the Shamma to Church for Ises and service. The Shamma is more of a rectangular shape, however. It is larger than this triangle scarf. And that’s because this scarf is more of the perfect accessory for that emergency or momentary “cover-up.” Not every time I and I cover up, does it have to be “a big production.” Every dread gets to the stage where it’s hard to manage due to the length and fullness.  Sometimes if it’s just the hour of Ises (6, 12, 6, 12); or a stranger appears at the door, or a bredren/elder quickly stops by to hail the I or the King-Man;  at the drop of a pin sometimes a Dawta needs to “throw on something” to make herself appropriate, neat. (The Kaftan dress is a good thing to just throw on too, we’ll get to those tutorials as soon as I get my memory card in the mail!)

Because of that functionality this little triangle scarf, my Ises Wrap, is one of my favourite items to wear. It suits the warm weather of summer, and sometimes I don’t want the headache tying up my dreads too much.  I use it when it is time for Ises or when I am going out. I recommend making as many colours as you have in your wardrobe! Mix and match – one on the head, one on the shoulder at the same time - each scarf only takes 1 YARD of 45 INCH COTTON  VOILLE. If you want to use other cloths, feel free! I have made this scarf for other sistren who have shorter dreads – it’s the perfect covering for a short crown. For those Sistren with the large, thick bongos , this is a one size scarf, so it will not be able to completely cover your dreadlocks, it would more work as a bandana would.

Note this scarf also functions as a wrap, so it is not a Fall which is the official Bobo Shanty Empress and Princess head covering . The Fall achieves total covering of the dreadlocks from root to tip;, this scarf is really to cover the crown – and can only cover all if the dreads are neat/small enough in a bun.

Now, onto the tutorial:

Get your 1 yard of voile cotton fabric.

Take the bottom left corner and pull it over to meet the top right corner.

With your hands, smooth down or lightly press in the fabric to keep that triangle shape. The Triangle should be uneven; one end should be longer than the other on both sides opposite the fold.

 It should look like this (please excuse the stuff in the way lol – I have a large table but it can’t fit in the house so I use the floor for now because my current work table is too narrow!):

If you look at the left and the right sides (close to the bottom) you can see the uneven parts.

I folded the triangle in half again to show what my two sides look like:

Next, Pin the triangle together so it doesn’t shift. Get the scissors and cut away the longer side of the fabric, evening up the ends and shape of the scarf. It should now look like this! (sorry it’s a bit blurry)

Now it’s time to go to the sewing machine. To complete the Ises wrap just ZIG ZAG all four sides of the triangle TWICE. You will need a matching thread colour – or contrasting if you want to spice it up. Also a small sewing needle – green coloured or size 70/9 (Singer universal needle) (or 70/10 for other brands) for sheer knits and thin fabrics like voile and chiffon.  This needle is what I use in a Brother BM-2700. I turned the Zigzag Dial to size 4, which is not too big, but not too close that I keep missing the fabric, which sometimes happens to me when I zigzag at size 3 or 2.5.

The first zigzag is simple all around the edges. You can add an extra layer at this point if you want to, making it 3 zigzag layers in total. The only reason why it might not be necessary is that too much needle work in the same point makes tiny holes in the voile fabric.

The second layer of zigzagging entails making a tiny fold at the edge, setting that under the presserfoot, and then zigzagging the edges again but with the little fold. So the zigzag is not directly on the edges but makes a tiny sized hem. Like this:

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PIN ANYTHING to make this tiny hem! You just have to hold the voile and ensure that the small fold stays there as the machine sews, it works perfectly this way! Trust me, there’s no need to use pins for this second layer of zigzag! Just take your time.

 When you are finished zigzagging all edges in these two steps, you are finished! This is what they look like:

(I’ve added some other colours  – the mustard colour I wear the most alongside the pink, so you can see the wear and tear of washing doesn’t really affect the seam.)

After reading this I bet you think it’s super easy, and you could do that in no time! Especially if you have a serger – well I don’t, so that’s why my methods will entail using zigzag stitches a lot.

But the quick ease of this great scarf-slash-wrap is the little surprise I was keeping back! The Ises wrap is a must-have, totally easy addition to every Empress wardrobe! What’s more, it’s the PERFECT SIZE for your little princess! Ages 10 and up should be able to wrap the Ises wrap as a covering too!   

Here’s how many ways you can wear it!

As a head scarf:

As a wrap:

Wear it as a shrug by tying it behind your back - this will only work for a smaller person I think:

If you can’t sew or don’t have a machine, or anyone to zigzag for you, feel free to order the Ises wrap now, I can set it up at my online etsy store - www.etsy.com/shop/iladesigns.

Hope you love the Ises Wrap!

Bless

Ila

How to Make a simple Princess Skirt with a Split

Materials: fabric, ½ inch elastic, thread, scissors, ruler, pins, sewing machine, chalk, iron, safety pin

I know there are lots of tutorials on how to make a simple elastic waistband skirt, but I wanted to do all the basic how to’s here on this blog too - so it can be a sure one-stop for all Sistren. 

The elastic waist skirt is great because it can be grown into, it can be made in any fabric you wish, and it can always be used as a template for other styles like a frill skirt or a dress. If you are making a  skirt past the knees, then you need a split. Realistically little girls do a lot of jumping and running, and will want the extra leg room. If the skirt is only about 12 inches long, it doesn’t need a split. That is more 2T-3T sizing.

The basic method to making this skirt is to take the following measurements and then apply a simple formula. Waist, hips/buttocks, length. Take the hip measurement and add 3, then divide by 2. This is the width of your skirt that you will cut out already inclusive of a ½ inch seam. So you are really adding 2 inches to the hips measurement, which allows the garment to slide on and off.

Eg: here are my daughter’s measurements. She 4 ½ yrs

Waist = 20

Hips = 22.5 (round up to 23)

Length (waist to desired length) = 15

Formula for skirt length:- add 2 inches for hem and casing 15+2 = 17

Formula for width of skirt:  23 + 3 = 26    26/2 = 13

Formula for elastic, take away 1 inch:  20-1 = 19

The skirt I am making is therefore a rectangle that is 13 inches wide and 17 inches long. 

Note: at this point you can decide to cut your fabric with two pieces, or cut the rectangle inclusive of the fold, so it would be a one-seamed skirt. If using thicker fabrics it might look better with two seams, with simple cotton knock-around play skirts, one seam is fine. They really don’t look different, however. 

I am making a denim skirt with this tutorial, demonstrating the 2-seam skirt. But I am only inserting 1 split. If you want to do 2 splits, you just repeat these steps on the second side.

First lay down the fabric flat, right sides together, and mark out your rectangle.

Pin together and cut out the rectangle. The splits are added when sewing up the 1 seam or the 2 side seams for the skirt. So draw in the ½ inch line on 1 side, and for the next side stop 5 inches up from the bottom (do this both sides if doing 2 splits).

Unpin. Serge or zigzag all the edges that will fray.

Pin the pieces back together, right sides together again.

Stitch up one side, then stitch up the other side stopping at the point where the split starts. Reverse stitch here. A space with two flaps is left.

 

Iron out the 2 seams. But this time you are pressing it open right down to the end, including the open flap. You will be bending both sides back in the same ½ inch that the seam itself has. 

 

 Next, make the hem. To make the hem, press in and pin the two ½  inch folds that make up the hem, starting at the right side and going around to the left. Pin in place.

 Straight stitch all around, completing the hem.

Though they are pressed in place, and now stitched in place at the bottom by the hem, you still have to sew in the two side flaps that are open to make the split:

Starting the at the bottom right hem, sew up to the top of the split, lift up presser-foot, turn skirt to side,

    

Sew across that short ½ inch space above the top of the split – reverse and come back again to secure it. 

Lift the presser foot and turn the skirt again, stitching down the left side to the other hem. The split is complete. 

  

Iron the split and hem.

Iron in your elastic 1 inch casing. You can tuck under the zigzag edge as another small hem, pin in place. Or, you can leave the zigzag or serged edge exposed – either way no one will see it and It won’t fray.

Starting at the seam, sew the elastic casing being sure to keep the line as straight as possible, but leave about 1 ½ inches free to insert the elastic.

Cut the piece of elastic, mine was 19. Attach a big safety pin to the elastic and insert it into the casing. Make sure the elastic isn’t twisted, join at ends and sew together going back and forth three times with a zigzag or straight  stitch. 

     

Spread the skirt out properly and using a straight stitch, close the elastic casing.

 

Iron out all the seams.

You’re finished!

So sorry my photos were so light and dark, but I tend to sew at night so the flash was kind of making everything light.

Here is a picture of the one seam skirt:

Bless!

Sis. Ila