Quite, Quite Fantastic

Cloth diaper supplies

2012-01-28T04:00:00.001-05:00

So, I've been away for awhile... A long while... But with good reason! I had a baby! A wonderful, sweet, darling little girl.

After almost 10 weeks, I feel I am emerging back into society a bit. Like we're getting the hang of it. I've been absent from the blogging world for months. I rarely read any blogs during my pregnancy. Now I've started poking around at my favorites and I'm thinking about projects I want to do.

I started and completed the Capucine hat (minus the tassels) today but my gauge was off and it was a bit small. It looked more like a pilot's cap. So, I'll frog that and start over. But it was nice to get my hands on yarn again on a project for myself. I forget to do things for myself... So knitting helps me to remind myself of myself. It helps to reconnect with the person inside who's not just a person attached to a booby.

I'm also going to give a try at hand quilting a small quilt for the babes. The quilt I'm going to hand stitch is a cheater's quilt. It's fabric that my friend gave me when i was pregnant with the baby. It is fabric that's already quilted! It's a soft flannel with brown minky fabric too. So cute! Right now I have the fabric draped over the back of the rocker in the nursery and Violet loves looking at it while we're hanging out.

While poking around at Joann.com I saw their Babyville section under Sew and Quilt. It is a special section for sewing items for babies like cloth diapers (!), diaper bags, etc. They also have the waterproof fabric for sale. Check out the Babyville section. I love that they have the fancy snaps. I see those on the cloth diapers on Etsy and I always thought they were super fancy that they were able to get the professional-looking snaps... But you can just get the at Joann's!

I hope to post more now that I've come back to life a bit.

Xoxo

Hello, again.

2011-07-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

I've been gone for awhile... with good reason, I suppose. I'm expecting our first baby and I've been holed up with first trimester fatigue. Now that I'm well into my second trimester, I don't have that much of an excuse... other than I'm just figuring stuff out. You know, how to work, and do normal things while being pregnant. Many things seem to cost a lot of energy, taking a lot out of me. So, I try to do one thing a day. Usually it's just something simple like make a meal or do the dishes or go to yoga. I'm doing a little every day!

During my hiatus I haven't been forgetting about crafting. Here is a little fun craft from Martha that I might do for the little one's room.

Find the instructions here.

She uses paper for her collage on canvas. I think I will use up my fabric strips. It is very similar to the birdie counting cards that we have above our bed that we use in place of a headboard (we have yet to get a real bed! Just a metal frame for us, frustratingly so):

(Picture is from Amazon.com)

The cards are 8x10" so we bought a bunch of cheap frames from the dollar store and put them on the wall in two rows of five cards. They are super cute and get lots of compliments!

I'll be back with more crafts... although they may be baby-inspired!

xo,

Infinite Variety, Red & White Quilt exhibit

2011-04-03T08:31:00.001-04:00

The American Folk Art Museum just exhibited 650 red and white quilts, amazingly arranged within the Wade Thompson Drill Hall Armory on Park Ave. The collection, on loan from the collection of Joanna S. Rose, was beautifully arranged throughout the space.

Here are some glimpses of the exhibit (which closed on Wednesday -- sorry!).

The hubs and I had a good girl date. After the quilt exhibit, we went to Alice's Tea Cup and had a nice tea with scones, sandwiches and desserts. Super cute. Kids can get fairy wings to wear! I want some!

For more on the quilt exhibit, check out the American Folk Art Museum web page and their exhibit Flickr page (you can add your photos to the pool).

Tucked away in the mountains - blanket finished!

2011-02-27T08:29:00.002-05:00

[Written on vacation with no internet or cell phone service! Yay!]

Oh, my! I am on vacation now, staying at my lovely friend’s house in the woods in West Virginia. She rather generously offered her place as a vacation spot for me and the hubs. We see each other but a couple of times a year since I moved to New York, which is a sad state of affairs. Whenever I spend time with her, like those great friendships that aren’t nourished enough, I get an immense sense of sadness once she leaves. I miss her and our daily friendship so much. But I am terribly lucky to have such wonderful, inspiring friends!

After last semester, and having finished grad school and started working full-time, I decided I needed a break to mark my transition from grad school to working life. First off, I finished school. I am done. I have a master’s degree in library and information science. I am a librarian. (I got to say this officially when I served jury duty. It was recorded by the courtroom reporter under oath: I am a librarian.) Yay!

Second, living in the city – in the belly of the beast – can take its toll on you. People are everywhere, and inevitably right up your ass, whether you like it or not. I wanted to get away to a place far, far away from train access and hopefully without people, TV, internet or people. My friend Michelle has a place in the woods in West Virginia and we’re the first honored guests to stay there sans the owners.

And it’s wonderful and peaceful. I sat and crocheted a blanket I started three years ago for Michelle when she was pregnant for her first. It is the pictured project in my blog banner, and I never finished it. Even the hubs was surprised to see it, it had been so long since it had last made an appearance. It’s the Malibu wave pattern from the 200 Ripple Stitch pattern book that I love, made with random color changes between a bright blue/aqua, darker green blue and orange.

I spent much of the time crocheting in the quiet. We got snowed in, went to some hot springs, went antiquing, and visited our old favorite farm stand in Maryland, Catoctin Mountain Orchard, and spent a day and night in Amish country.

Things spotted on our trip:

Belted kingfisher (first ever!)
Possible pileated woodpecker (heard him)
Red-bellied woodpecker
Red-tailed hawk
Bunny tracks
Deer tracks
Miniature horses (!)

More to come on our antiquing finds! Hint: my quest for a vintage Pyrex kitchen continues!

knitted ascot

2011-01-31T07:35:00.001-05:00

I started this knitted ascot for my mother-in-law two Christmases ago. I never quite finished it in time for 2009, but picked it up, halfway through, and finished it in time for last year.

The pattern is from Martha Stewart's January 2009 issue (available here on Ravelry and here at Marthastewart.com). I used Blue Sky Alpacas sport weight yarn on size 5 needles, and knitting for about 14 1/5 inches long because my mother-in-law is a little lady.

The design is easy, in which you create little leaves on the end, and two ribbed tubes (by casting on stitches with another ball of yarn) that allow you to pull one end of the scarf through to secure the scarf around your neck! Super cute! And it looks pretty darn chic on my MIL, if I do say so myself! Plus, the alpaca yarn is so soft and snuggly!

Instructions: reusable produce bags (for the store and at home)

2011-01-21T08:17:00.005-05:00

I hate plastic bags. I hate the sound of the plastic tearing, prying the two sides apart, and seeing them all lined up on the conveyor belt at the register. They drive me crazy and I hate to see them in the train tracks, in the subway, in the ocean, in the sand… arg! I’ve been thinking of making reusable produce bags that you can use at the grocery store instead of tearing off those green plastic bags they keep in the produce aisle. I finally decided to get down to it and make them for my pal for Christmas.

I did some research online for some design (seriously, where would we be without Linda Permann and lindamade?) and function ideas and found that many places indicated that it is best to make produce bags that are see-through so that cashiers can see the numbers and SKUs while ringing them up. (I had assumed that a cotton produce bag would be best, but it was pretty much agreed that mesh bags were best.)

But where to get the fabric? Maybe this is a little too easy, but I just ordered the mesh at Joann.com, after doing a simple search for “mesh” in their online store and using the faceted search on the lefthand menu to narrow down the options to “fabric”.

Joann.com had basically two options for mesh fabric: tutu fabric or “dot mesh”. I chose the dot mesh, not fully knowing if it would be the stiff plasticy fabric reminiscent of the scrubby puffs used with liquid shower gel. Indeed, when the order was delivered, the mesh was what I had envisioned! Yay! I’ll also make cotton muslin bags to put the veggies in once I get them home. The mesh ones are too airy to keep the produce from going bad, and the cotton lets in some air but keeps them fresh in a microenvironment. Now, to practice with the design…

The design is simple: folded fabric with a drawstring at the top. Mesh ones have openings for the drawstring at the seams, while the cotton ones have a drawstring that opens in the inside.

Mesh produce bag instructions

Cut fabric to twice the height of the fabric plus 2 inches and to the width plus 1½ inches. Fold over top and bottom of fabric ¾ of an inch and pin.

Stitch along the top and bottom of fabric, tacking back and forth at beginning and end to secure seams. This is the drawstring casing.

Fold in half length-wise lining up the drawstring casing with the wrong side on the outside. Sew side seams beginning immediately underneath the drawstring stitches, tacking back and forth at top and bottom to secure seams.

Turn to right side out. You should be left with a square bag like thing with a drawstring casing at the top with two openings on the left and right side of the casing. Insert a string (ribbon, yarn, etc.) through an opening using a safety pin to guide it through. Tie the knots together and you have your drawstring! Ready to use!

Fabric produce bag instructions

Again, it is not a good idea to keep your veggies in mesh bags in the fridge. A cotton fabric (like muslin) allows some air to get in so your veggies can breathe without letting in too much that might make them go bad quickly.

First, I cut the fabric in strips twice as tall as I wanted, plus room for a drawstring casing (make the casing three times as tall to fold over twice before seaming to hide the raw edge inside – so it’s the height + one fold + another fold), plus some for the seam allowance for the width (you can do a French seam if you want, just double the seam allowance).

I just did one seam allowance for the width and then did a zigzag stitch along the seam to prevent fraying. I chose three sizes (ish): tall and skinny for greens, standard large-ish for things like potatoes, tomatoes, bananas or apples, then small ones for little guys like nuts, grains, smaller fruits or onions and garlic.

Before seaming, I stamped words using foam letters (purchased at the SugarOwlSupplies on etsy) and some fabric paint (with a touch of water to thin it out). This was my first time fabric stamping with letters and I thought they turned out pretty cool! Let the ink dry and sew the side seams first, stitching back and forth to secure ends.

Then, with the wrong side outside, fold down the top of the fabric once, iron, then fold again and iron. Pin and start stitching close to the fold. I started the stitch in the middle of the back of the bag. Go all the way around the bag, stopping one inch from the start. This is the drawstring casing with a gap left where the drawstring end will come out. Turn right side out and iron, making sure to iron over the stamped letters to set the paint. Insert drawstring (I used yarn) and tie ends together. Voila!

I realized I didn’t finish these in time for the Sew Mama Sew green grocery bag challenge meme, but with all the craziness of finishing school and completing other Christmas presents, I didn’t have time to submit anything. But be sure to check out other green grocery options on flickr and the Sew Mama Sew blog!

These bags were a present for a fellow librarian crafter. It’s such a fun and easy project! I hope you enjoy making them too and show me your results! xoxo

minty cowl

2011-01-11T21:46:00.006-05:00

I can stay in my apartment for days. I have been known to stay in my sweats doing various projects, going from one thing to the next, and then suddenly realize that I haven't left the apartment for more than 24 hours. That happened one night -- it had been a good day or more... probably more -- when I had just completed mega projects for school and had been knitting up a storm trying to get out my stress left over from school. It was dusk and I decided I needed to get outside. I decided to go get cat food.

The pet store is only a few blocks away, but it's in a fun neighborhood with lots of cute shops, so I walked a few extra blocks peeking in windows. Then, down on Thompson just one block south of where I usually turn off, I saw this super chic and somewhat barren store with what looked like a few skeins of yarn on the wall in a magnificent minty green color. Wool and the Gang. I'm not a big fan of empty stores that have 5 things on display, but I set hat aside and went inside because I needed to see that yarn!

They sell kits with super chic patterns and wonderful Peruvian wool yarn and gorgeous needles. I got just one skein of the CRAZY SEXY WOOL in magic mint and gigantic 15mm (size 19) wooden straight needles. I already had a pattern in mind for a cowl I wanted to make my sister, so I didn't need to buy the pattern. (Yet.... I do really like the Lula Hoop pattern!)

I loosely based this pattern on the Purl Bee pattern, The Eleventh Hour Scarf. I added several stitches to make it wider, casting on 9 or 11 stitches, and used a single strand because the Wool and the Gang mondo bulky yarn is gigantic. The pattern is easy: slip the first stitch and seed stitch across (knit the purls and purl the knits).

I knitted the scarf on straight needles and then stitched together with a mobius twist. You can wear around neck once, or loop twice for a tighter, warmer fit.

Note: it's just starting to snow now for the latest snow storm of the season. In anticipation of a snow day tomorrow, I think I am going to start working on the February Lady Sweater or the Kusha Kusha Scarf!

Marimekko baby activity mat

2010-12-31T12:08:00.001-05:00

The Crate & Barrel around the corner from us on Broadway and Houston opened up the Marimekko Shop a few months ago. I like a lot of Marimekko's fabric prints, and I picked up some fat quarters for $6 each at the Marimekko store in Silver Spring, Maryland. Fabric was sold by the bolt at the Maryland store, as well as finished products like bags, pillow cases, and clothing.

This is very similar to the shop in the Crate & Barrel. I passed by the store almost every day wondering what the shop looked like, totally intrigued by a black and white print with animal silhouettes. It was super cute (and I can't find an image on the interwebs to post here).

I finally went in on Christmas Eve, right before we went to a movie at the next door Angelika theater, hoping to buy a quick half yard so I could whip up a playmat for my niece-to-be. My sister-in-law was pregnant with her first--my husband's family's first grandchild--and she was due two days after Christmas. Alas, when I went into the shop they had no more of the adorable animal print in a soft cotton, only in upholstery fabric. Plus, they were discontinuing the fabric, and had pulled the cotton out of the window display. There was none left. Lesson learned: just go ahead and go into the darn store... things don't stay around long in New York City.

Instead, I bought 2 feet (they sell fabric by the foot, probably so you don't get taken aback at paying $41 for a yard of fabric) of the next best thing: the signature Marimekko poppy fabric. It's bold, black and white, plus some pinks and reds -- perfect for little developing eyes to see shapes.

After the movie I went home and spent a couple hours making a very small baby activity mat. This one was only about 14" square, which I thought was a good size to take on the go. I added about 3" of folded ribbons and ricrac to the edges so little fingers can grasp and pull at them. The ridges and velvet let little fingers feel different, interesting things. The bold, large pattern is good for developing eyes.

To sew it together, the layers are as follows:

Cotton batting
Layer 1 of fabric, right side up
Ribbons, with folded edges on the inside of the fabric and raw edges matching the fabric's raw edges
Layer 2 of fabric, wrong side up

Then, sew around the edge, leaving a gap to turn between the two layers of fabric. The batting will be in the middle after turning.

Turn, sew top stitching, and add a some quilting detail if you want; I just made a little square centered in the middle.

I tried to add a ribbon with a snap opening to attach a pacifier but my snap machine wasn't cooperating. I have so much trouble with them!

So, little baby now has a designer activity mat to keep her busy. Plus, it's cotton, so it can be thrown in the washing machine to clean! I will definitely make this again.

Crate & Barrel image from http://www.crateandbarrel.com.

Baby-in-law ripple blanket

2010-11-23T11:59:00.001-05:00

I finished a baby blanket for my sister-in-law who's expecting her first at the end of next month. I chose a crochet ripple, the Malibu pattern from Jan Eaton's 200 Ripple Stitches, and it appears to be my fall-back stitch pattern. (You'll even notice my photo as the image for the pattern in Ravelry!)

It works up so quickly and looks so fancy without being a lot of work. And you get to use lots of different colors. I chose Lion Brand's Cotton Ease yarn because everyone seems to be allergic to wool, and Cotton Ease comes in super cute colors.

No joining, no stitching blocks together, just weaving in the ends at the end. I have a lot of leftover yarn, too, so I might make some booties, hat or toy to match! Super cute!

I hope my new niece likes it!

New Stitch N Bitch book out

2010-11-13T10:40:00.000-05:00

Last night we randomly ended up at The Strand, where I usually go to check out the crafting and kids books. And how lucky I thought myself to find laying on top of the rather messy shelves of knitting books but a new Stitch N Bitch book!

It's Stitch N Bitch Super Star Knitting (go here for a preview) (ISBN 9780761135975).

It goes beyond the basics and guides you toward fancy top-down and colorwork styles. I'm ready!

I want to make these Squirrelly Mittens!

Fun!

Yarn bombing and suggested new LC Subject Heading?

2010-11-06T07:38:00.009-04:00

yarn bombed bike, east village, nyc

I saw my first yarn bombing installation a few years ago in Washington, DC, and I was totally intrigued and tickled. I'm not a yarn bomber but I appreciate seeing the hidden fun of a knitted band on a lonesome, stark lamp post. I first saw one in New York in Washington Square Park on a lamp post by the arch. I giggle every time I see them!

From the website of the book titled "Yarn Bombing" : "'Knit graffiti' is an international guerrilla movement that started underground and is now embraced by crochet and knitting artists of all ages, nationalities, and genders. Its practitioners create stunning works of art out of yarn, then “donate” them to public spaces as part of a covert plan for world yarn domination."

Above and below are some recent images I captured in the East Village while out on a morning walk of a bike and a VW bug. Totally awesome!

View some yarn bomb photos in flickr here.

My friend sent me some information for a suggested Library of Congress Subject Heading for Yarn Bombing, submitted to the Cataloging Policy and Support Office by the wonderful Sanford Berman, which I've reprinted below with permission via my friend. As of 5 November, the Yarn Bombing heading had not made it into the LCSH listing.

YARN BOMBING

SN	Here are entered materials on the practice of placing knit or crocheted creations in unusual, often public, places like trees, playgrounds, and dumpsters.
UF	Bombing Yarn Graffiti knitting Knit grafitti Yarnbombing Yarnstorming
BT	Graffiti Knitting Public art Street art

Attached with the suggestion were entries from Wikipedia, Google, video, book citations, and news articles.

LC subject headings are constantly being updated. Submit subject authority proposal to LC here.

Okay, I hope I got my librarian post out of the way. Thanks for bearing with me. Back to crafting....

Finished! Dropped stitch scarf

2010-10-18T11:39:00.004-04:00

I first posted that I was starting the Yo Drop it! dropped stitch scarf back in 2008. And I only just finished it a couple of months ago. The pattern comes from Stitch 'N' Bitch Nation, and is a great scarf for taking on the road.

Since we moved to New York a couple of years ago, we have been taking the train to Connecticut to see family pretty regularly and this scarf project is very portable and easy to memorize for on-the-go knitting.

You probably don't recall since it's been more than two years since posting, and two years sitting on my needles on the shelf, bookcase, yarn stash, etc.... wherever I tend to randomly leave a project that I get bored with and hope to pick up again....

The yarn is called A-Maiz-ing yarn, punnily made from corn fiber. It's an orangey-pinkish colorway, variegated, and ribbon-like. It's very nice, stretchy and breathable. This yearn would make a nice summer tank top with some details to pick up the ribbon-like thickness of the yarn.

I should also note that I actually finished the scarf in August and it took me this long to take a photo of it, not to mention that I placed it "somewhere" and then promptly forgot where it was. I'm surprised I remembered to look for it again. Poor little scarf. I'll wear you with much love this fall and will not forget about you again. xo

Totally homemade chicken rice soup. Like my mommy's.

2010-08-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

For those days when I don't feel like cooking, I try to plan ahead and make a large something the day or two before that we can eat or use to make something quick on those late days.

Roasted Chicken
This week, I baked a chicken on Sunday. My basic recipe for baking a chicken is either to poke a lemon a few times and stuff it in the bird with some rosemary or thyme or whatever fresh herbs I may have on hand. This time, Fannie Farmer told me to cut up some carrots and celery and stuff that in the bird, which I did. Then, I cover with olive oil, salt, pepper and if I didn't put any herbs inside the bird, I'll cover with dried thyme, then truss. (I still haven't gotten around to getting the right kind of trussing thread, so I've been using crochet thread, which does the job nicely!) Lately I've been using my cast-iron pan, so I cook the bottom of the bird on the stovetop for a few minutes to get it a little brown, then pop it in the oven, usually around 425 or so. After awhile I'll add some veggies around the bottom and a little bit of water to moisten it. And cook till she's done.

Chicken Stock
So, a few days later, I take the chicken bones (carcass sounds too gross... but I just said it, so now you're thinking it... sorry) and make stock. My stock is just adding the bones with 6 cups water or enough to cover, a bay leaf, some pepper (corns, if you've got em), and some carrot, onion and celery chunks. Bring it to a boil, simmer for about an hour, then strain into a bowl.

Whenever I stayed home from school with a cold, my mom would always make me chicken rice soup. It was the best. If I wasn't sick and she made it, it was a super treat! Here's my recipe.

Chicken Rice Soup
Pour the stock back into the stock pot. I take the carrots and celery from the strainer and cut them up and put them back into the pot. You can add fresh ones too. Take any meat left on the bones or meat you've reserved for the soup and add to the pot. Add 1/4 cup uncooked white rice. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. The soup should be a bit thick and gloopy. But add more water/stock to your liking. Serve with fresh cilantro.

Veggie alternative: Make your own veggie stock. I keep a baggie of veggie leftovers in my fridge. When I want to make my stock, I take the bags out and add them to a pan with water, plus a chopped up onion, garlic clove, peppercorns and salt. Simmer about an hour to reduce. Strain. Take stock, add some veggies back in, add rice, serve with cilantro and yum!

Apartment gardening

2010-06-01T07:46:00.000-04:00

We are getting a little tired of living in the city. We couldn't stand being in the city over the weekend so we made an emergency call to my mother-in-law to go visit her over the weekend. We took the train and had a little overnight at her place, walking along her complex trails and down to get some Italian pastries. I think we saw maybe four people along the way; you see that many people in the lobby of our apartment alone.

We also went to the local garden down the street from her. They are celebrating their 100th birthday this year. It was busy, thankfully, but not a New York City busy that is totally insane and annoying. This was the kind of busy that can only be had in a sweet summer New England small town with kids pulling carts of geraniums and petunias and moms and daughters planning vegetable gardens.

We picked out some herbs to fill out our little herb garden that sits on my desk in the corner of our apartment. But they also had little cherry tomato plants. And jalapeno pepper plants. So, I picked up some of those too, and some chives. So, we had to go on a mad dash to pick up some extra pots and soil once we got in the city. We found an herb container set that works well for the oregano, peppermint and cilantro. I was able to take out an herb that was overcrowding my basils, and planted a cherry tomato with some peppers.

I can't wait to see what happens. They've already grown a little. I grew up with a big garden and miss it. Someday we'll have dirt!

Wind Knitting Factory

2010-04-29T10:37:00.001-04:00

Merel Karhof's fabulousness.

Garden Granny

2010-04-05T08:38:00.000-04:00

I've been working working working on a granny square baby blanket for a few months now. I finished it just in time for my friend's baby shower this past weekend. Yay!

I first started with a pink recycled yarn from Lion Brand, and tried knitting a basket weave blanket, but I hadn't doubled up the yarn and it wasn't working with the size needle I used. It was getting down to the wire (3 months out), and knowing I also had schoolwork and internships in my schedule, I had to start on the final project ASAP!

So, I decided to go with crochet because it's quicker than knitting and would be easier on my hands (been having trouble holding little knitting needles lately). And I had just finished one granny blanket, so I thought I'd do a granny square blanket and sew the squares together. My first one!

I started working on the middle squares first because I had that yarn in my stash. It's 100% acrylic Berrnat.

Then, after I did a lot of the middle grannies in the light yellow-green, I went to Michael's (a new one opened on 96th!) and got Vanna's acrylic in the apple green. Vanna's is a little thicker than the Bernat, but this worked well for the borders and trim; it hid any holes in large stitches.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the completed blanket. I'll post one if I can get the final pic!

The trim (not pictured) is one row of hdc in the lighter yellow-green, then 2 rows in green, and then a scalloped edge all around. Fun!

Red potato pizza

2010-03-10T09:37:00.001-05:00

After reading on one of my favoritest blogs, House on Hill Road, and seeing her magnificent bread creations, I just had to get the book she recommends, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I reserved it from NYPL and was like 300 out of 300 on the list of holds. Ugh. That's one of the most annoying things about living in New York City: you find something cool and about a million of other people discover it too, rendering it way too annoying to be worth experiencing.

I have to say that the book really is amazing. I quickly whipped up some dough, let it rise for two hours and popped it in the fridge. And whenever we wanted some fresh bread, I took out a blob of dough, shape it, let it rest, preheat the oven and pizza stone and bake for about 30 minutes. Delicious.

I've only made the light whole wheat bread so far, and it's been so good that I haven't really made anything else! I'll have to buy the book because I know it's going to be a book I'll use forever. (Reason number 395 why libraries rule: you get to test out cook books to see if you should buy the book. I've wasted a lot of money on what looked like good cookbooks but then turned out to be stinkers.)

For the red potato pizza, I took a blob of light whole wheat dough and rolled it out, which was a lot easier to do than more traditional doughs that pull back a lot. Then:

Brush a thin layer of good olive oil on the crust
Sprinkle 2 cloves of chopped garlic
Sprinkle about 1 tsp of dried basil
Layer a good layer of super thinly sliced red potatoes (used a mandolin on the smallest thickness), after soaking them in cold water for a minute
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Add about 2-4 tbsp fresh ricotta (from Joe's Dairy on Sullivan? and Houston), plopped around the pizza
Cover with fresh sliced mozzerella (also from Joe's. Handmade there almost daily)
Cover with another sprinkle of dried basil and salt (because the mozz was unsalted)

Place on pizza stone with corn meal. Cook at 450 for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese and dough is just browned. You can bake at higher temp, but my smoke detector always goes off at anything higher than 450.

The photo doesn't do it justice. I need to start baking and cooking during the day only to get better photos! Blech!

Cupcake!

2010-03-03T10:44:00.001-05:00

It was my friend Meredith's birthday last week (or so). She had people over for some wine, cheese and chocolate... a pretty good combination for any occasion I think!

The hubby and I were totally exhausted that weekend and during our lounging around watching bad movies we borrowed from the library, I found this adorable pattern from to make a crocheted cupcake at Bitersweet!

It only took me a couple of hours, and I used some cheap "craft floss" (doubled-up) to make some sprinkles. (Sorry the pictures are so stinky. My digital camera is totally from 1989 and is horrible!)

Who doesn't love chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting and sprinkles? Yum!

Chinese New Year Dinner - Recipes

2010-02-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

This is late in posting, considering the Chinese New Year was on 14 February. I've been a bit busy with school lately... only a couple more meetings of my Sunday class and then I'll have my weekends back to myself!

A few folks came over to our place for a New Year dinner. It was the first time we had people over for a special occasion and I was frankly surprised that so many people could fit in our apartment! My mom used to make egg rolls growing up for New Year's and I wanted to do something nice for Chinese New Year this year.

I made a spring roll assembly station on our kitchen table. I've posted about spring rolls before (here), and the leftovers make good noodle bowls the next day:

To make spring rolls, you need Banh Trang large egg/spring roll wrappers, white rice noodles and other fillings. We had vegetarians over so I had options:

Baked tofu strips sprinkled with sesame seeds or black pepper, with a splash of sesame oil on top (bake at 350 for 20 min)
Shredded boiled chicken (boil chicken breasts with sliced lime and a bay leaf for 15 min. or so until done, cool, and shred with two forks)
Cooked shrimp
Cucumbers
Bean sprouts (mung or soy)
Sliced hot peppers
Mint
Cilantro
Shredded daikon
Shredded carrot
Chopped peanuts

I made some sauces:

Peanut sauce (with hoisin, so it's sweet, too)
Fish sauce with shredded carrot and daikon
Chili garlic soy sauce

To assemble the spring rolls, put some water on a place larger than the spring roll wrapper and place a dry wrapper in the water for a minute or so until it become a little rubbery. Place wet wrapper on your plate and wait until it gets pliable enough to wrap. Place ingredients on the wrapper and roll up like a burrito. Dip in sauce and enjoy.

I made wonton soup for the first time too. I made shitake shrimp wontons, which were surprisingly easy. The wontons are based off of this recipe that I got online (originally from the Washington Post) and what my mom told me to do. Some changes were that I used cooked shrimp instead of raw. I've never cooked shrimp before and I wasn't about to start! Yuck!

I chopped up the shitake, some carrots and scallions and added some tamari and cooked with a little sesame oil in the same pan I was going to use to make the broth. I added some marsala wine and cooked until just tender. I put that in a bowl, added the shrimp and egg white (reserve the yolk for wonton assembly). And I mixed together using the best too ever to use in the kitchen -- my hand blender. Love it!

Then, the assembly. Take your wonton wrapper (if frozen, thaw in fridge overnight), place a teaspoon of filling in the middle, take the reserved egg yolk, beaten, and put a little around half the perimeter of the wonton wrapper. Fold in half into a half moon. Dab a little yolk on one pointed end, bring the other pointed end to meet the yolked one, press together, so they kind of look like to little arms holding hands. Place on a baking sheet dusted with corn starch. When you're done, place in the fridge until about 40 minutes before you want to eat. When you're ready, boil water in a large pot, add wontons and cook a few minutes at simmering until they float. Work in batches. Then, add to your prepared broth.

While the wontons were in the fridge after I finished assembling them, I made the broth. In that pan I used to cook the filling, I added a carton of vegetable stock, which turned out to be gross. So, I watered it down with equal parts water and a few tablespoons of white miso paste, a few dashes of tamari and sesame oil and it tasted ok. Usually, you'd use chicken broth, soy sauce and sesame oil and that should be OK.

For the party, I kept the broth in a crock pot and kept that on low all night and added the cooked wontons right when we were ready to eat. Pretty yummy! You can add some reserved, chopped shitakes to the broth, garnsish with green scallions.

Serve some green tea, too.

Tiger from deviantart.com.

Stash Bustin' Cowl (pattern)

2010-02-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

I made a cowl using some leftover yarn from my stash. It is leftover Moda Dea Tweedle Dee from this scarf project. It's on the bulkier side of the yarn spectrum, and I used a larger needle so it wouldn't be as stiff as the scarf turned out. I had less than one skein left and had just enough for the cowl!

Here's the pattern:

Using a size 15 circular needle (yay for interchangeable needles with gigantaur needles!), about 12-16" long, cast on 61 stitches. Slip the last needle onto the left needle and knit two stitches together (the first and last stitches are knit together to join).

R1. K

R2. P

R3-6. repeat rows 1 and 2

R7 and up. K until it measures desired length, about 9". [stockinette stitch]

Repeat Rows 1 through 6 to finish. Bind off.

It was a super easy and quick project -- perfect for a time when I had many long-term projects in progress and just wanted the instant gratification of a few hour project! And it's super warm and cozy!

Groundhog Love

2010-02-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Groundhog Day holds a special place in my heart. I think it's the buck teeth. My mother-in-law also celebrates her birthday on Groundhog Day and we're always looking for fun things groundhog.

This just in from Craft:

A groundhog iPod/iPhone cover. Brilliant!

Winter

2009-12-23T21:03:00.002-05:00

I took some photos of the snow, which didn't turn out to be as much as I had hoped. I do love the snow, though.

When we were in DC I couldn't help but hope for a mega snow storm like the one they just had. It reminds me of being back in Connecticut, when it would snow and everything would get so quiet.

And I'd check every hour or so out the window to see how much had fallen, by looking at the piles slowly creeping up on the picnic table, the front steps or the roof of the car.

Snow meant hot cocoa time and blankets and cheesy Christmas movies. Icicles and really, really bright sun.

Snow storms are a little bit different in the city!

Happy winter!

Seed stitch scarf

2009-12-18T09:50:00.001-05:00

I started this scarf last year. It really takes me forever to finish something it seems! My friend loves orange and I thought the seed stitch would give the scarf a nice texture while making the same design on both sides of the scarf.
This was the first time I've made tassels that actually look good. Just two strands of four inch yarn doubled through every other stitch. Easy peasy. Hope she likes it. Made from acrylic yarn with a sheen to it on size 8 needles. Good mindless knitting on this one!

I don't get to see her that much, even though she lives a short train ride away. But I thought of our friendship spanning 17 years (wow, I didn't realize it was so long until I wrote it out!), and filled each stitch with sweet thoughts and love for her and her family as I knit... so that she can quite literally wrap herself with love this winter. She's such a rare, fun spirit, so it's only natural that her favorite color is orange! Merry Christmas, sweetie.

Overdue Presents - my first granny blanket

2009-12-16T09:42:00.004-05:00

I started working on a baby blanket before our friend's baby was born seven months ago. I finished it a long time ago, too. But I ended up giving it to mom and the little one only last week!

This was my first granny square. I don't know why I hadn't done one earlier. I am always fascinated by others' grannies, always up for some insider's tips. So, if you have any, like how you deal with the ends from changing colors, please let me know!

The border is a simple pique trim, but adds a little bit of girliness.

Mom gave me an update and said that baby pulled the blanket from the back of the couch (which matches the red in the blanket) and started snuggling with it. Yup. That makes it totally worth it!

My new favorite thing...

2009-10-22T15:53:00.004-04:00

I was doing a search for a recipe and saw this in the sidebar. How adorable are these? This may be my new favorite site. These are seriously the most adorable things I have ever seen. This was her first time using marzipan.

Go see them at VeganYumYum and fall in love!

Photos courtesy of www.veganyumyum.com

Back in the Saddle with Fabric Bowls

2009-09-11T17:48:00.009-04:00

I'm back! My friend/co-worker made a point of telling me that since I started working full-time for our organization again, I haven't blogged at all. It's true.... there hasn't been much going on here but work this summer!

But now that's done. I'm in grad school now full time. I'm nervous...but most of all, I'm excited! And happy to have some time to decompress with some crafting.

In the last few weeks, I've cranked out some crafts. Maybe as I was working, the craftiness built up inside... and as soon as I found an excuse (e.g., a friend's wedding), it started me back on the creative front. I'll show the few things I've managed to make over the next few days.

I usually have lulls in my creative streaks that I let work out and find other arenas to occupy my need to do "stuff", like through yoga or hiking. I get frustrated when my life gets me so exhausted that I can't even get time to relax with a little mindless crocheting while watching television. It was only for the summer, but I feel so bad that I didn't get a chance to knit or crochet out IN the summer! I looked out my window (north-facing) as it rolled by as I sat stationary (with kitty on my lap). So, now it's Fall. Time to start the scarves and shawls and say goodbye to sunshine and hello to full-spectrum light bulbs. I made apple crisp yesterday. Soon it will be pumpkin soup!

Perhaps the highlight of my summer came at the tail-end. My good friend got married at the end of August and I made the bride and groom some homemade fabric bowls. I found a pattern at my new favorite store in the city, The City Quilter. They're called "Bali Bowls," which are bowls made from fabric covered cotton clothesline.

Rather than use a jelly roll of fabric, I cut the strips myself. The pink fabric with the balls on it is one that my husband picked out for himself when I made us some laminated lunch bags. Super cute.

(joining the strips)

In wrapping the fabric around the clothesline, I found I had a bunch extra fabric on one side, so it looked like store-bought fabric piping that you'd sew around a pillow. So, when I was coiling the rope while making the bowl, I tried to fold this extra flat flap in between the two coils to hide it. This uses A LOT of thread (especially if your machine needs to be serviced and the bobbin gets all junked up), so buy super mega tons of thread.

I had a hard time manipulating the fabric to make a wider base. In my head I wanted it to have a much wider base than this (like 8 inches) and then slope slowly up the sides, so that it would be more elegant and be a nice fruit or yarn basket. But the base quickly started rolling up on me and before I knew it, I was making the straight sides.

So, I had probably 70 yards of fabric coil and with a smaller bowl than I anticipated, I decided to stop on the larger bowl at a good stopping point and make an accompanying smaller bowl. I thought this one would be a good one to put your keys and wallet and loose change in when you get home, and I again anticipated a wider base. But, it curled up on me again. So, this is something that I'll work on for the next one....

....and my kitty is looking for a nice napping bowl. He has a semi-permanent spot on my desk that is now marked by an old dishcloth, where he sleeps while I'm at work.

All in all, this was fun project. You should totally try doing this!

Neoprene Laptop Cover How-to

2009-05-14T13:18:00.005-04:00

I work from home and my organization gave me a laptop to use. I go back to our office in DC pretty regularly and up until now I've been using a huge, ugly backpack with a built-in laptop sleeve to cart my computer around. The backpack was free, and it's ugly and big and uncomfortable. I'm going back to DC this week for a few days, and I'll be traveling frequently for work, and I'm also going to DC for a wedding, so I don't want to carry around any extra baggage, so to speak! So, I finally broke down and made a laptop sleeve!

I don't have a pattern; I didn't even use any measuring tape, ruler or straight edge. I just eyeballed everything. I'm sure you can make it much more legitimate with a ruler! I had some scraps of neoprene in my stash that I got in the remnant pile at Joanne's, and some Amy Butler scraps for the cover. The neoprene has a black squishy side and a grey foamy side. The grey side is the "wrong side."

To measure, I laid my computer down on the fabric. For the width, I added about 2 inches on either side of the computer... the depth of the computer (how tall it is sitting on a desk) is about 1.3 to 1.5 inches tall, so 2 inches leaves enough for 2 seam allowances -- one to attached the cover fabric to the neoprene and another seam allowance to sew the front to the back.

Height -- fold over the fabric so it comes to just above the top of the computer, and then fold over the fabric for the flap and cut to where you want the top flap to end, plus 1/2 inch.

You'll see I sewed in a notch at the top flap. This is so the top flap will be flush with the width of the rest of the bag because we're adding the depth of the bag in with the width measurements. The width of the flap is just the width of the computer, plus 1 inch (2 x 1/2 inch seam allowance after sewing cover fabric to neoprene).

After cutting, place wrong sides together and pin cover fabric on top of neoprene and smooth out any wrinkles with your hand. Leave about 6 inches in the side to pull fabric through. Sew, trim seams and corners. Turn and iron.

Here it is turned.

Checking the measurements with my laptop. At this point, I sewed around the top flap to make a nice edge, just stopping at where the side "flaps" of the T start.

Sew on velcro. I only had skinny velcro on hand, so I doubled them up, and did a zig zag in between. Attached the velcro on with tape before sewing. To figure out where to put the velro, place your laptop on your fabric, and fold over the front piece and the top flap and see where a good spot is where they intercept to place the velcro. Mark with a pin, and before you sew your velcro on, center it width-wise on your fabric. Mine's a little off because I eyeballed it.

Then, sew vertically up the left and right sides of the fabric, lining up the bottom edge with the top of the T below the front flap.

Turn. Place your laptop in and smile!

If you want, you can see how the bottom edges are very triangle-y. You can box out the corners to make them look more sleek.

All in all, this project took me about 1.5 hours. Enjoy!!

Mother's Day + Crafting

2009-05-07T08:05:00.005-04:00

I actually know this mom interviewed at Craft. This is a super cool family. Go read the interview with a DIY mom for mother's day here.

True story: I was sitting with the hubby talking about kids and crafting and about how I want to be able to pass on what little crafty knowledge I have to our kids if they are interested. I said, "I mean, look at the Sterns! Mrs. Stern [I still call her that!] is the Queen of Crafting and she makes them sweaters every year for Christmas and they're kids are totally cool. I mean, Becky's working at Craft!" Not that there is any correlation between crafting and being cool, but I like to think there might be.

I am ultimately saying that they all appreciate the world a lot, I think, especially the things that are made from scratch, with love. The values of patience and hard work, among others, are quietly instilled and appreciated when you take the time to sit and learn how to make something with a loved one. And I only hope to be able to pass these values onto our kids.

I first learned how to sew from my mom when I was in high school. She used to sew clothes for everyone, but mostly stopped by the time I could remember. But I would go through her fabric remnants, old homemade clothes and patterns and look at the sewing machine wondering what I could make. Then I just decided to try to make something and she took some time to answer questions and help me through. I made a simple a-line dress out of a psychadelic polyester that I used as a swimsuit coverup for a few years. I loved it. And it started me wanting to make more. I taught myself how to crochet and then knit and now she wants me to teach her. Now my sister crochets and we talk about crocheting when we next see each other.

Thanks, mom, for taking the time to show me how to make stuff. I can't imagine my life without it.

So, like I said: Go read the interview with a DIY mom for mother's day.

Weekend Retreat Cardigan - WIP

2009-04-28T11:29:00.001-04:00

One goal I had this year was to make a knitted garment for myself -- the obvious option would be a sweater. Some folks have told me that cardigans are way too complicated and they never make them; others have said that they're just as easy as regular sweaters.

Well, after looking through many patterns, I decided on Lion Brand's Weekend Retreat Cardi made from recycled cotton (left) (here it is on ravelry). It was the simplest cardigan pattern I could find, and I knew I could find the yarn without any problem. And it's a light, natural fiber yarn so I could wear it easily in the summer to events where I'd need to cover up the tat.

The pattern seems pretty easy so far. I've messed up once already -- I purled 13 stitches instead of knitting, but I was in the park on a beautiful day, so I was very easily distracted by everyone else! And I fixed those easy enough by going back and undoing the stitches down to the purl and switching those around with the crochet hook. I was actually kind of impressed with myself that I could do that! Yay for learning!

On a side note, I got the yarn at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio on 15th Street, just a few blocks west of Broadway. It is a beautiful space -- very spacious! A class was just letting out and the students were pretty excited about buying yarn for more projects. I bought the yarn suggested with the pattern - recycled cotton in the green "seagrass." I am hoping the sweater will be a little small, so it will look nice over a little black dress for a wedding I have to go to later this year (one of three!). By the way, before you head over to the LBYS, check out their web site to see what yarn is featured this month -- there's usually a discount on them.

Let's hope this cardi goes well! I may be asking questions. I just hope I finish this baby since I have an apartment full of works in progress: The drop stitch scarf, the baby blanket for Jonah (who just celebrated his FIRST birthday - super ugh on that), my own ripple blanket, an orange seed stitch scarf, the soy silk cowl... not to mention the sewing projects! I think I need help!

Low-Budge Dinner: Steak with shallot sauce, roasted asparagus and steak fries

2009-04-23T16:07:00.002-04:00

This month I'm featuring low-budge recipes -- tasty dinners that cost little. This one reminds me of the yummy steak frites we would get all the time in France. For this one, get your cheap steak at the store -- on sale -- and we'll make a red wine shallot sauce to give it some flavor.

Rosemary and garlic oven steak fries
First off, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take 2 Idaho potatoes or sweet potatoes, cleaned, and cut them in half lengthwise, then take one half and cut it lengthwise into thirds. Repeat with the other one. Place in a large tupperware with a lid. Take 2 large cloves of garlic and mince, add to tupperware. Take about 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped rosemary and add that too. Add 2 tbs olive oil to the tuper ware, 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of pepper. Toss.

Roasted asparagus
Asparagus was on sale too -- the really fat ones -- so, we snapped off the bottoms and added those to the tupperware to mix the ingredients. You could do the same with brocolli, cauliflower or another hearty veggie.

Spray a cookie sheet with spray oil and place the fries and asparagus on one layer. Place in heated 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes.

Grilled Steak with Shallot wine sauce
While the taters are cookin', heat a grill pan and grill your steaks. While those guys are going, in a small saucepan, heat 2-3 tbs of butter/butter substitute/olive oil. Add 2 shallots, diced (these are those midget onions, not the green onions) with 2 tsp of herbes de provence or italian seasoning. Heat over medium-low heat until shallots are translucent. Add 1 cup red wine to deglaze the pan. Simmer, stirring while it reduces.

Hopefully everything will finish at the same time. Plate em up! We had some sour cream, so we dipped the fries in that. YUM! It looks very high-budget, but it didn't really cost that much. And fresh rosemary is awesome -- get a fresh bunch and you will use it the whole week. If you don't, just tie it up and let it dry.

DESSERT - Boxed tricked-out yellow cake and chocolate frosting

I had a craving for boxed yellow cake with that chocolate frosting that comes in the plastic can. I don't know why. So I made the cake. BUT I added stuff to the batter. It was a "super moist" yellow cake mix. I didn't have any real butter (it called for 1 or 1 1/2 sticks), so I added 1/4 cup of plain low-fat yogurt, 1 tbsp of vegan shortening, and 1/4 cup of canola oil. I also added 2 tbsp of ground flax seeds. The rest of the recipe called for 3 eggs, which I added. You could probably get away with only using 2 though because the rest of the stuff I added would bind it all together. I followed the directions for cooking and frosted it with that chocolate frosting that comes in the white plastic packaging. YUM.

Granny love

2009-04-21T21:28:00.002-04:00

I have never done a granny square before. I've tried but I never could get the slip stitch part right. I tried it again. And I got it!

My five year old nephew gave me great advice the other week when we babysat them (twins). I was trying to hit a plastic baseball that popped out of an automatic popper-outer and I couldn't hit anything! I was huffing and puffing and saying I couldn't do it. Then he said to me as he's giving me a little plastic ball in his even littler hand, "It's okay. You just keep trying and trying until you get it. And it'll work." Totally taken aback and absolutely enamoured, I tried again and I got it. A good hit.

So, I'm making a baby blanket for one of C's coworkers - just a small carriage blanket. The pattern is Lion Brand (here on ravelry). Here's what I have so far.

Below, the colors are shown a bit more true to life -- tans and browns with a deep red color. I know they aren't the most exciting colors for babies, but I think the tan gives it a nice 70s touch that I'm going for. I love seventies granny blankets.

So, then I went to flickr to see what other grannies are out there.

Check out these beauties (click on the pictures to go to their flickr albums):

Knit and Crochet for Charity and pattern

2009-04-20T12:01:00.001-04:00

Times are tough for everyone now, and it is during times like these that folks really depend on others.

I'm involved in a knitting and crocheting group that creates things exclusively for charity. We donated hats and scarves to Visiting Neighors for the winter and we're not creating baby items for those in need. Here is the latest carriage blanket I made for my knitting group. These are going to moms and babies in need. I used 1 large skein of Bernat acrylic and some leftover white trim.

Here is the pattern from what I remember: It's just using Bernat acrylic (so they can just throw it into the washer and dryer). With an H hook, chain 63, hdc in third chain from hook and across, chain 2, turn (60 stitches). DC in 2nd stitch from hook and DC across (60). Crochet until you're almost done with the skein, about 2 1/2 feet long, ch 2, turn and finish with a hdc row. Break off yarn.

Add a trim!
Take a contrasting color and add at the corner with a hdc, hdc in same space. hdc in each hdc on the top of the garment, do 3 hdc in the corner. Going down the sides, do 2 hdc in each dc space, in the SW corner, do 3 hdc. Then just 1 hdc in each of the bottom hdc stitches, then 3 hdc in the SE corner. Then, 2 hdc in each dc space going up the right side. Finish this round with 1 more hdc in the NE corner (b/c we only started with 2), join with a sl st, ch1. Then, follow the same pattern but working with sc throughout the round, join with sl st, ch 1 and do another SC row. At the last sc in the NE corner, join with a sl st and break off. Weave in ends, take a picture and give to someone who will love it!

You can even embroider a little ducky or flower in a corner to spice it up.

So, here's a list of charitable organizations found on the interwebs in case you can squeeze in an item for charity during your knitting and crocheting time, or into your circle's routine. Most folks are incredibly grateful to receive a thoughtful handmade item. And while you're making it, think optimistic and warm thoughts to infuse the item with love and hope!

Here are some links to just a few charities I found on the web:

Project Linus - blankets for kids 0-18. Quilters welcome.
Lion Brand's Charity Connection - Search for charities by location, genre, free patterns
Snuggles Project - make snuggly blankets for animals in shelters, free patterns
ASPCA - looks for blanket for animals, even old laundered ones.
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network - November is Pancreatic Cancer Month, and some local chapters (like NYC) will distribute items to folks undergoing treatment. Check with your local chapter.
Chemocaps
About.com's knitting for charity links
Check out www.MeetUp.com for local knitting and crocheting groups; see if you can do a project for charity.

Check out your local hospitals to see if there is a need for baby items for NICU babies; check with your local library for more local charities -- they might actually meet at the library!

Chicago - Food

2009-04-16T10:47:00.001-04:00

Here's more on Chicago. Had lots of fun for just a couple of days! We ate at a lot of places. We had a wonderful Armenian lunch one day, Indian that night, and then we met a friend and headed to Earwax in the hip part of town.

This was fantastic! I asked for the vegan milkshake with blackberry syrup and they made me a vegan milkshake with fresh blueberries! It was the most delicious belly-friendly shake ever! AND it totally matched the shirt I was wearing -- ridiculously so!

I met a friend for dinner and art openings and s'mores and drinks. We went to the Chicago Diner, an all vegetarian diner. YUM. We both had the sweet potato quesadillas. Delicious. And then we met up with our friend for some tapas. It was a nice visit with friends you hope to meet up with every year at the annual conference. Plus, I met up with an old friend which was even better.

I bought a super cute hat that I love. But I won't post the picture.

Apple Molasses Muffins - Recipe

2009-04-15T08:42:00.001-04:00

This month, I'll be featuring food made at home. We had to pay a bit in taxes this year, so it'll be lots of homemade foods to help save us money this month!

This weekend we actually had a weekend to ourselves. We didn't do anything on Saturday. We had to go and take a walk to force ourselves out of the house. It was nice! I started a crochet baby blanket for my friend who's due pretty soon, watched two movies -- one while I tried out different patterns, and another one that I actually crocheted to. And we baked.

I made pancakes on Saturday -- an adaptation from Vive le Vegan, using one of the apples sitting on our kitchen table that are ready to go at any second, so I needed to find some ways to use them up. And Fresh Direct gave me some complimentary strawberries, so those went pretty well with the pancakes!

On Sunday I made non-vegan muffins -- apple molasses muffins sprinkled with maple syrup granules. These are super good!

Here is the recipe, adapted from The Baking Bible (I, of course, changed it a bit!)

Combine with a whisk:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup sugar or sugar-like substitute equivalent
1 tbsp baking powder, plus 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp salt
1 medium baking apple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)

In a separate bowl, combine:
1/3 cup milk or milk substitute
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine until just blended. Fill greased muffin cups (12). If you have them, sprinkle maple syrup granules on the tops. Place in oven at 450 for 6 minutes, then turn down to 350 and bake for 18-20 minutes more or until tops are just turning brown and they spring back when you poke them. Let them cool in pan for 5 minutes before taking out. Let cool on cooling rack for just a minute more before serving.

Serve with a little butter or dust confectioner's sugar on top as they cool. They smell delicious as they're cooking, so you will have lots of oohs and aahs coming from around the house until they're done!

Here is the photo of them from the cookbook. Enjoy!

Are you cooking and baking more at home? What are you making?

Chicago - Architecture

2009-04-14T08:31:00.001-04:00

We recently went to Chicago for some fun following a conference. We went on a 3.5 hour architecture bus tour with the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It was a long trip, but a lot of fun. We drove out to the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House. I don't know much about FLW, but this house exemplifies his Prairie style design -- the long, low and flat lines. I loved the stained glass.

We went to the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and looked at their dorms, student union and a classroom building there as well. Very cool designs there. Above the student union, they built a corrugated tunnel through which the elevated train runs. That was pretty amazing!

Chicago is cold. I suppose that's no surprise, but I was surprised at just how cold it was. We stayed north of Navy Pier, so we got the breeze from the Lake (which we could see from our hotel!).

More later -- with food and friends!

Money savers - recipe

2009-03-12T13:20:00.007-04:00

We, like everyone else in the world, are trying to save money. This means not going to the grocery store just next door and buying all of our groceries, but doing large weekly purchases from larger stores. We're also cooking most of our meals at home. Luckily, C works 4 blocks away, so he comes home everyday for lunch. He also brought a coffee filter thingy to work so he makes coffee right in his office.

Every week, I make granola to last us through the week for breakfast. We've always been the hippie-love granola types (well, there was that Pop-Tart phase...), so when we buy cereal from the store it's usually a granola-type anyway. I've been making granola for awhile. Here's a recipe I previously posted. Here's another:

In a large bowl, combine:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)
1/3 cup roasted almonds, crushed with mortar & pestle
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 tbsp oat bran
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp spice - like pumpkin spice or straight-up cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp sugar

add the wet ingredients:
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange extract

Place on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven in the middle rack for 20-30 minutes. Every ten minutes, take out and move the granola around to prevent burning and sticking. It's done when it is no longer wet and just about to turn brown. As it's cooling, add 1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruit, like apricots, craisins, mango and mix. When it's cool, store in an airtight container. Enjoy with milk or yogurt!

I have also been making cookies from homemade frozen cookie dough rolls. It started when I was totally over-ambitious and was going to make all these cookies to give to people for Christmas last year. I made cookie dough from several different Christmas cookie recipes, rolled them into long logs about 10-12 inches long and froze them, wrapped in wax paper and plastic wrap. But I ran out of time to cut, bake and wrap them all in time to give them away for the holidays. I was left with about 8 rolls of cookie dough in my fridge!

So every few weeks, I'll pull out the frozen cookie dough log, unwrap it and place it on a cookie sheet in a warm (and off) oven, like after making granola, for about 20 minutes to defrost. Take it out, slice, and place on greased cookie sheet at 350 for 12-14 minutes. Instant dessert. Great for company, too, and they think you worked all day to make dinner and dessert. The ones above are a pistachio cookie with green sprinkles on the outside. Yum!

New York Green

2009-03-07T11:56:00.001-05:00

Spring seems to be here today; it's around 60 degrees. My windows are open and doggies are out playing!

These are photos from a walk in Central park last fall. This is the northern most end up by Columbia University.

And then there's the city behind the green.

This is not in CP, but at the Cloisters.

I can't wait to enjoy my first spring in the city. I feel like I'm already getting a glimpse of it now! Today's tasks involve going for a leisurely walk and finding a nice patio cafe and having a cool beer with lunch.

Happy Green Week. It's been fun! Check out Shining Egg and her Green Week photo pool on Flickr.

Green - Desert

2009-03-04T14:29:00.005-05:00

We went to a wedding last fall in Arizona at the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. There is a lot of green in the desert -- a different kind of green than I am accustomed to.

Check out Shining Egg and her Green Week photo pool on Flickr.

Kenya Green

2009-03-03T10:04:00.006-05:00

I guess folks might not exactly think of green when they hear Kenya. This picture was taken on the coast, just outside of Mombasa, in 2002. I was there during one of C's summer field seasons and we took the overnight train from Nairobi to the coast and stayed in a cottage on the beach. My favorite part was that a man came around in a bicycle with fresh fruit in the morning. Mmm... mangoes and passion fruits. Yum.

I used picnik to "dreamify" this photo. It seems so long ago when we went on this trip; it was my first international trip and I had so much to learn! I was there for three months and when I look back, it seems a little surreal that I was there. And that C goes there pretty much every year. I feel a little disconnected from his travels there. As if he's off to a mystical fairytale land that I had a glimpse of once. I plan to go back, when the time and circumstances are right, though. It is such a beautiful, different place.

So, this is my contribution to Green Week, day 2, organized by Shining Egg. See more fabulous photos on the Flickr. pool.

It's Green Week!

2009-03-02T13:59:00.004-05:00

Yay! It's green week. Right when we need it, too; I look out my window and all I see is white. So, I am going through my collection and finding the greenest photos I can that remind me of warm summer grass, trees, and warm weather. Did I mention warmer weather? I just have to say that my tootsies are cold!

Check out Shining Egg and her Green Week photo pool on Flickr.

We took this photo at the New York Botanical Garden, my favorite refuge from the busy city. We hope to go when we have a free weekend for their free birdwatching tours, Saturdays at 11am.

Audacious and Knitted Ripple

2009-03-01T17:47:00.005-05:00

So, I'm currently studying to take my GREs. I am studying from a book I bought in 2007. That's when I originally had planned to take them. And it's a year and a half later and I've finally cracked open the book.

The fact is, I've been afraid to. Taking the GREs means that I will definitely have to apply to grad school and then that means having to put myself out there for evaluation. Ugh. And commitment. To a degree and a career. I've just had a job for a long time, not necessarily one that I want forever. One of the words in the Hit Parade is: It's one of those words that I thought I knew the definition to... but I really only kinda knew it. Fearless. Extremely bold or daring. That is what my grad school experience will be -- before, during and after. I am making the commitment to go forward audaciously. I will swallow any doubts and fears and flow through this experience recklessly brave. I mean, how much trouble can I get into in library school, right?

On another venture, I am making a knitted ripple baby blanket for one of C's coworkers. She's due pretty soon, but I expect it will be awhile before we get to see them all, anyway, so I hope to be able to finish it.

This is my first attempt at a knitted ripple anything! It's pretty much my first one that's not a straight-up knitting or rib or garter! The color is a pea green with a turquoise blue stripe that I'll repeat on the other end. It's got nice texture, which I think the baby will like. The pattern is from Jan Eaton's 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns .

Have you done a ripple yet? Lemme see. I am totally addicted to them!

Yellow Week

2009-02-21T18:46:00.002-05:00

It was my first time partaking in a flickr photo group pool. This was organized by Erin House on Hill Road. It was fun! Most things were found around my house. Check out more in the flickr pool, or check out mine.

Enjoy the sunshine. Have a great weekend. xo

Print your own Hermes bag

2009-02-20T10:29:00.002-05:00

If you didn't catch the blog for Marie Claire Idees (and if you haven't checked out the magazine, go do it right away), they featured a print your own Hermès bag. So cute.

"Mon Sac Hermès" -- Go to www.hermes.com and click on whatever country you're from, then "Travel the World of Hermès", then click on the icon of the "Kelly" bag that says "I want it, I'll have it" (Je le veux, je l’aurais !). Instructions follow. Super cute.

(image from http://mci.blogs.marieclaireidees.com)

Yellow - Art

2009-02-19T09:05:00.005-05:00

More yellow -- hung on my walls.

My friend Andy's milkman woodcut. C and I went to an art opening in the town we lived in -- all of our friends had their art displayed -- and at the end we both said we totally loved this print. It's pretty easy when you have the same taste! So, we bought it. I think I made some Vietnamese spring rolls for him as part of the negotiation.

My dad's painting of flowers. He's taken up painting since they moved to senior housing. This painting was hanging on the wall of his building and I said how much I loved it. So, he took it down for me and we brought it back on the train in a large canvas bag. I love that my daddy made it.

Erin House on Hill Road is hosting a Yellow week (see the flickr group here).

Travel + Yellow

2009-02-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

Pardon my absence. I've been gone for quite awhile. It's been about 2 weeks of either visiting with family or having family visit with us!

It can be quite exhausting! On Monday afternoon I found myself curled up in a ball on my bed at about 5pm completely depleted of any ability to function. My kitty came and comforted me. That's how I react when it gets to be too much. I had tons of fun, but two weeks a long time! First we drove down to North Carolina to celebrate my mother-in-law's momentous birthday (won't tell you which one!). So, it goes without saying that we had tons of fun, and we even drove down there! We had wine and Bojangles, Chick-fil-A, barbeque and pimento cheese to help us along the way. Then my sister was in town for a workshop and we went to the beautiful Carnegie Hall to see her sing. Fabulous. She really makes me proud!

On a fun note, now that I'm back in the saddle, here's a photo for Erin House on Hill Road's Yellow week (see the flickr group here). I'm not sure if I will officially join the group, but here's some prettiness to brighten your day. This is my view from my work desk and the lighting caught my eye.

A weekend away from being away

2009-01-30T08:28:00.000-05:00

We went away for the weekend for our fifth anniversary. C only just got back from 3 weeks in Kenya the weekend before... and was battling still battling traveler's stomach. During the third week of being away -- the week in which we both become incredibly homesick and just want to be with each other because the whole being apart thing is getting really old -- he said that he'd like to go away for a weekend for our anniversary... he was away during it and I spent it with some friends. Of course, I started looking at destinations accessible by train right away.

We decided on Cold Spring, NY. It's up right on the Hudson and right on Metro North and only an hour and 15 minutes from Grand Central. The train ride was beautiful -- right along the Hudson the whole time and Cold Spring is located right where the landscape starts to get really dramatic.

We stayed at the Hudson House Inn; they were having a special (stay one night and get another at half price -- good through March, I think). It was super cute with a good restaurant. We ate there the second night after the champagne we brought with us in the room.

In the morning the Hudson was covered with ice. We saw a boat get caught in the ice and the subsequently get freed. But I don't have a photo of that. We were eating our complimentary breakfast (I had blueberry pancakes and C had the waffles = YUM!).

The little townlet is adorable. Tons of antique stores and cute restaurants -- but not too quainte (prounced with the "ee" on the end), but just real folks types of spots. This place could easily be high brow but is refreshingly real with no pretention.

Some of our treasures we got there. I used the platter just last night for hummus, crackers and bread. I love it!

Believe + Obamicon

2009-01-20T15:05:00.006-05:00

My friend, Michelle, and I are trying to check in with each other this year. It's our New Year's resolution to check in with each other to be sure we're keeping on task for our respective resolutions. The image above is from Obamicon.Me, where you can upload a photo and turn it into a version of the famous Obama poster. My slogan is my word for the year. Michelle was saying that she had read somewhere where folks took a word to live by for the year, a mantra of sorts.

Mine this year is BELIEVE. I've found through moving, grad school and working out with this personal trainer of mine (that's another story!) that I need to believe in myself. Because, well, I don't really. Additionally, maybe it's the new year, the new surroundings or the new president, but I am hopeful that things will be better this year.

On a lighter note, here's a favorite Obamicon:

He's the famous I Can Haz Cheezburger? kitty. Hilarious.

Ravelry Roundup

2009-01-19T18:01:00.005-05:00

I might be addicted to ravelry.com. I want to make lots and lots of things and improve my knitting and crochet skills. Here are some of my recent favorites from Ravelry.com:

- Irish Hiking Legwarmers and Armwarmers --> to test my cable abilities!
- #22 Garter Yoke Cardigan
-Tiramisu Baby Blanket (crochet)
- Thorpe hat
- Best iPhone cozy ever
- February Lady Sweater
- Couvercle hat (crochet)

What's in your ravelry queue?

F.O.: A nice Toque (or a knitted boy cap)

2009-01-15T10:26:00.001-05:00

I've been gone for awhile. A long while. I guess you could say I took an extra long vacation. I'm sure you can agree that the holidays are very exhausting. I was going to school and working and then working on a Christmas workshop at night. We made some chocolate candies which were only okay. Martha Stewart's stuff sure looks good on the pages, but doesn't always come out the way it should. Arg.

Here is a hat I made for my hubbie. It's from Canadian Living's web site. It's my favorite site.

They call it a toque. I had never heard that word before, but when I showed the pattern to C, he said it right away, Canadian accent and all.

I used Karabella Aurora 8 in grey and Patons merino wool in the green (I just had some leftovers).

This present was a request from the hubby, much to my surprise! I have the tendency to make girly things for my girlfriends and family members (mostly all girls there too!), and I struggle to find cute boy patterns for the hubby... mostly because I'm distracted by pretty girly stuff. I'm sure the boy patterns are out there; I just tend not to seek them out!

So, C didn't have a proper winter hat! Poor thing. And I have like 18 billion. So, he requested the hat and I made a deal with him because the temperatures in the city started to dip in early November, that he could open his present early and start wearing as soon as it was done. Cool deal, right?

Well, because of finals and the Christmas workshop, I had to rush to finish it by mid-December (remember, I started in November!) -- just as another major cold snap came in with single digit temperatures. (I sound like Sam Champion!) But it all worked out in the end!

The 1x1 rib makes on size 7s made it a bit thick, but the height makes it so you can wear it close to your head at the top or do a Mike Nesmith version. And it covers the ears. Thank goodness. I thought his little ears were going to fall off from the cold!

F.O.: Misty MeriCash Cowl - Knitted

2008-12-24T06:33:00.000-05:00

Here is the second cowl I made with the Purl Bee's pattern (view on Ravelry here) like the last one. This one's made with Punta del Este Yarns Mericash -- Merino wool and cashmere blend.

It also worked up very nicely and is very warm, fuzzy and comfy. Let's hope she likes it!!

Happy holidays!

Finished Object: Soie de Vivre Cowl

2008-12-21T19:45:00.002-05:00

Here's one finished present: Soie de Vivre (view in Ravelry)! I'm not going to say who this is for because I haven't given it to her yet!

This is the cowl pattern from the Purl Bee, and Purl is actually just down the street from us. I walked in the other night for the first time and the tiny little store was super packed! I could see why because of the beautiful yarns they have in stock.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in a pretty sea green color. Soie is French for silk, hence "Soie de Vivre"... pretty clever, eh? It's really so soft, I kept rubbing it against my cheek as I was working it up!

I'm very excited to have taken the pictures with my husband's new toy: a Nikon D80. It's for work and we were just testing it out. He'll take it into the field next week to see if it really works. He'll be gone for 3 weeks, so be sure to leave lots of comments... I'll be in need of human interaction!

A new book club + a give away!

2008-12-17T09:13:00.003-05:00

Hey, folks, my pal Michelle at Savor It has started a book club (The Savor It Virtual Book Club). The inaugural book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Apparently, it's a pretty hot book right now. (She's always been so on top of the trends...) And Michelle's having a give away to win a copy of the book! So, go over there to win! And meet some nice folks!

A chickadee landed on my arm!

2008-12-15T10:49:00.006-05:00

We went up to the New York Botanical Gardens yesterday. This is a fantastic getaway from the city for the day. We are members and always find a chance to go to get some fresh air and look at birdies and pretty plants. It's also a nice place to go Christmas shopping! (And if you're leaving from Grand Central on the weekend, you can go there via Metro North with the reduced price City Ticket.)

We were in the rock garden, walking along a path right on the edge of the forest and some swampy parts -- the perfect place to see some birds. I saw a black-capped chickadee in the tree and stopped still to watch it flutter around. It jumped from branch to branch, getting closer and closer to me, watching me the whole time.

Then, it started flying right at me! I was so surprised, and it must have been also, because he stopped about 8 inches from my face and then flew back to the tree. "He thinks I'm a tree!" I thought. So, I held out me arm straight to the side. And, I'm totally not lying here, the little black-capped chickadee landed on my gloved hand! And it started pecking at my fingers!

He was so cute. I cannot believe his little legs work -- they're so tiny -- but I could feel his little claws, and especially his beak, through my leather gloves!

I stood there as still as I could be and watched him. C looked back in total amazement (he was a bit up the path from me). The chickadee stayed for about a minute only and then flew off.

(Photo from Northwest Ohio Nature.)

2008 Bloggers Ornament Exchange

2008-12-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

I sent off my Bloggers Ornament Exchange gift to Ang at Life and Laughter on Roanoke, who should be having a little baby girl anytime soon! (I'm hoping it's soon, Ang!).

I used a super cute mini stocking pattern that I found online. This was my first time picking up stitches and doing a mattress stitch. yay! I threw in a crocheted sparkly ornament, some origami and chocolates into the package as well. Happy Holidays!

Brooklyn Handmade Holiday Craft Fair

2008-12-05T13:58:00.004-05:00

Hey -- if you're in the NYC area, check out the 3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair. I've never been, but I'm sure it'll impress. There will be DJs, freebies and 50 local artisans showcasing their goodies.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

2008-12-01T09:58:00.002-05:00

After reading this entry on My Muffin Thursdays, I HAD to make these muffins! I made them to bring to my meetup knitting group. The theme for this meeting was chocolate treats. We had hot chocolate and folks brought yummy treats like fudge, cookies, these fantastic pumpkin cranberry scones and breads. And, of course, lots of chatting and great knitting! I made great progress on C's toque.

I didn't have all the ingredients for the recipe, so here are my changes:

I multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2 so I could the whole can of pumpkin pie. Instead of OJ, I added apple sauce. I used pumpkin pie seasoning for the ginger and cloves. I sprinkled the muffins with some granulated maple sugar that C brought back from Canada.

You need to go make these muffins now! They are so yummy!

Holiday Handmade Cavalcade -- Knitting Factory

2008-11-26T15:13:00.002-05:00

Oh, my. Why didn't I know about this before now? And it's just in my own backyard. I mean, like just a few blocks away. Oh, goodness. This could be a problem!

Tutorial: Sparkly crocheted snowflake ornament

2008-11-25T07:07:00.000-05:00

I love the holidays! Here's a tutorial on how to make a pretty, sparkly crocheted snowflake ornament.

First, find a cute snowflake ornament pattern (like this one or choose from these). Then, get your crochet thread and a small hook. You can use any small size hook for these because gauge isn't important. I used a size 4 hook and Steinbach Wolle Sissy 10 thread.

It looks pretty floppy right after you finish crocheting. We'll cover it with some watered down glue to stiffen the arms.

Make your snowflake like normal and a series of chains to hang the snowflake on the tree and join with a slip stitch in the same space. Next, take white craft glue and water it down so it's not goopy anymore. You can either put the glitter in with the glue first or sprinkle the glitter on after you put on the glue. Put enough glitter in the glue so it sparkles, but not so much that it is a goopy glittery mess... about a teaspoon.

Take your finger and cover your snowflake on the front and back so it's pretty soggy but not dripping. Straighten out the snowflake's arms and loops. The glue should be thin enough so that when it covers the yarn you can still see the crocheted thread and crocheted elements. Use a pin to clear out sparkles that may fill in the crochet gaps and to straighten out the snowflake's arms.

If you glitter after the glue, then, over wax paper, cover with clear/white small gauge glitter on the front and back.

Shake off the excess. Take a pin and clear out any glitter clogs in the and to show off the crochet work. Dry on wax paper, you can pin down to block if you'd like, but you probably don't need to. You can attach to the top of your holiday presents or bags or give to an ornament swap ;). Enjoy!

Try crocheting the snowflake with sparkly beads as well - put one at the end of each arm!

Decorate your tree, mantle, window (attach to those window suction cups) or add something special to your holiday card display!

Le Slouch - C'est fini!

2008-11-20T16:28:00.001-05:00

I've finished Le Slouch (from Knit and Tonic). It was a little big at first, but I blocked it and now it's nice and snug.

I used Berrocco Jasper in Raspberry and size 8 circular needles. I did the seed stitch version.

I feel a little hip with all the NYU kids walking around with their slouchy hats. But don't get me wrong, there's way too much dorkiness involved for me to ever be hip.

Cash in Frequent Flyer Miles for Gifts

2008-11-18T13:41:00.004-05:00

Cut down on your holiday costs this year by cashing in your frequent flyer miles for free gifts. Are you ever really going to get up to the 25,000 miles to get a free round trip ticket somewhere, anyway? And who doesn't love free stuff?

Here are just a few:

Delta: magazines, buy stuff like electronics, hotel stays and giftcards in their marketplace, or in their online auction.
Northwest Airlines redeem your miles homepage. You can create custom luggage tags.
American Airlines. You can share or gift your miles to someone else. (honeymoon coming up?)
Continental Airlines. Buy stuff, donate miles, get magazines.
United. Redeem for rental cars, dining gift cards.
Air France.

Or donate your miles for charity (Delta & Continental). You can contact your favorite charity to donate your miles too (like Make A Wish).

Do you know of any other freebies?

secretly crafting....

2008-11-13T18:04:00.003-05:00

Shh... I've got lots of secret crafting projects goin' on right now. But I'm not going to show you what I'm making...

Not this warm fuzzy. Or this one either.

And then there's the bloggers ornament exchange... I've made my ornament already and I'm going to see if I have enough time by the 22 November deadline to make a little something sparkly to go with it.

And then there's something to do with photos, from here.

I'm keeping very busy here! I hope my arms can keep up! I'll show photos in a little while....

Button Scarflet

2008-11-10T09:51:00.001-05:00

My pal, Susan, gave me a bunch of beautiful yarn for my birthday way back in February. I am slowly finding the perfect projects for them. One of the yarns was a Karabella Puffy black and white yarn. It is so soft and couldn't stand to see if piled up in my yarn bin. I needed to make something out of it.

So, I picked it up and cast on some stitches on my biggest needles -- 15s -- and started going in garter stitch. I call it a scarfelt. My husband adds "let" onto anything that's small (we'd love to get a house with a little patch of grass, which he calls a "yardlet.").

The scarf is about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long and covers your neck very nicely and is super, super soft. I added some pretty pink buttons to keep it together around your neck. No need to make button holes -- the gaps in the stitches are just big enough for the buttons.

Hats, hats, hats

2008-11-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

I'm making hats! I discovered circular needles.

This one is for the Naught Knitters group. We're making hats and scarves for charity this winter. I made this watching the election returns slowly, slowly, slowly come in during the night... with much anticipation and hope!

This is the unfinished Kittyville hat from Stitch 'n' Bitch. It seems like my guage is a little big on this one, and it covers the ears pretty well, so I don't need to make the ear flaps. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran. So soft. I may make a man hat with this for the hubby for Christmas.

This is Le Slouch (in progess). C'est fantastique, non? I love working this up in Berocco's Jasper yarn. It's so soft and bumpy and works up very nicely. I'm just starting the decreases now.

Indian-Inspired "Kitchen Sink" Vegetarian Soup Recipe

2008-11-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

Like everyone in the world, we're watching our budget. So, that means more home cooking. I love to cook, so this isn't much of a problem for me. The other night, just when the weather had turned cold and windy, I decided I wanted to make a hearty soup. And one that I didn't have to puree in the blender because that's was just too much for me to do. Oh, and I was feeling very lazy and didn't want to go to the store.

So, I looked in the cupboard to try to make one of my everything but the kitchen sink recipes -- that is, try to make something out of the random stuff we have lying around.

I had: a sweet potato, fresh ginger, chick peas, kale, garlic and some weird Goya pigeon peas with coconut milk. Don't ask my why we had them; we picked them up at a grocery store a long time ago thinking that we could find some use for them. Yeah. That was a long time ago!

So, here's the recipe:

Saute in large pot: 1 tbsp fake-o butter with:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 thumb nail size piece of fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp curry powder

dash cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

big pinch of red pepper flakes or rooster red chili sauce

--> saute for a few minutes until fragrant

Add to sauce pan:

5 cups water

1/4 - 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 can chick peas, rinsed

2 tbsp tomato paste

salt & pepper to taste

--> bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

After sweet potatoes are soft, add:

the pigeon peas with coconut milk (you can substitute 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and 1/2 can of light coconut milk)

1/2 bunch kale, rinsed and cut into small pieces

-->bring back to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Take about 3 tbsp of the broth into a small container, let it cool just a little. Add equal part white flour and mix well together so it's a little pasty. Add this to the soup to thicken the broth.

Serve with toasted bread.

Alternatively, you can add brocolli or corn or whatever veggies you'd like. The end product is a a creamy, tomato-y indian spicy soup.

Desert Botanical Gardens Wedding

2008-10-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

We went to Phoenix this weekend for a wedding at the Desert Botanical Gardens. We had a lot of fun and the light was falling just right on the few plants we saw.

Soft sage-y feel.

A spash of color.

I love nature's patterns.

And sharpness.

And softness.

And perfect arrangements.

So cute!

Fabric planner covers

2008-10-27T15:48:00.003-04:00

I love my planner. My friend, Michelle, (boy, I feel like I talk about her a lot!) introduced me to Planner Pad a couple of years ago when we worked together. I love it. It's organized to help you manage all of your daily and weekly tasks. You categorize tasks by type and then plan your attack for the week. It's very good if you, like everyone else in the universe, juggle tons of different things every day.

The brown one was a test to see if my pattern worked. The design is inspired by a cover I made in 2003 for a journal I got in Borders -- it was fake moleskin with an inside pocket and tie closure. I used it as my travel journal/scrapbook when we lived in France. I cut the fabric a little short (not making room for seam allownance), and had to physically trim the planner pad cover to make it fit. This was fine (because it was mine) and actually kept the profile very streamlined and slim.

The blue one is Michelle's. I have tons of other fabric I wanted to use, but I didn't have good coordinating fabric except for this. I feel like it's very Barbie or something. The brown fabric is from sew mama sew.

Hers has a different accent fabric on the inside flap. The backing is a light green flannel I had leftover from a baby quilt I never made. I didn't use any interfacing, so the cover is very soft and pliable. The Planner Pad cover is stiff itself, so it's not super floppy overall.

The solid color fabric is one huge pocket, so you can put your business cards in the front pocket so you can pass them out at networking events with no problem. I never have any pockets when I need them, so I shove everything in my planner or notebook. It's a nice way to spice up my planner without it being another mongo item I have to keep in my bag!

My first felting project -- crocheted potholder

2008-10-24T08:01:00.000-04:00

I felted my first project: potholders! Well, I've made just one. The pattern is from LionBrand; the yarn is Patons Classic Wool (Merino) in That's Pink, Green Leaf and Purple.

The potholder pattern is a very easy crochet. The felting is great because if you make something wonky, it might not come out as bad once it's felted.

I never made a second potholder, so I just decided to felt it one Saturday because I knew I'd never get around to making it. I took a bucket and added a couple drops of dishwasing liquid and just started mixing it around and rubbing it together on my living room floor. It probably took about 20-30 minutes to fully felt with continuous agitation.

You can see from the pictures the various stages of felted-ness and shrinking.

Very cool. I'd do it again!

10 tips to combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

2008-10-18T07:53:00.008-04:00

Ugh. This happens every year. And every year I can see it come way off in the distance, like those old movies with the guy in the middle of the desert at night who sees car headlights coming from way off in the distance. And it feels like forever before it reaches him. Every year I get sad, sluggish, grey (not blue), lazy and unambitious and I can see it coming a mile away, slowly creeping up on me.

It always begins in the fall, but usually around the middle of January it hits BIG time when I'm in the northeast. That's because winter's been here for a long time and I just want flowers and sunshine to come... and the lack of sunlight has really done its job on me.

So, it seems like what I and what most of my friends have is seasonal affective disorder, or SAD (how quaint!). Even though it's just the beginning of fall, here is what I've been doing to keep me moving and not laying around getting sadder:

1. Craft. I've made planner covers, a hat and a scarf in the last week. If I see myselft just laying around, I pick up something and start working to keep myself busy.

2. Challenge yourself. Working off the last item, I've tried making something new and challenging. I learned how to use circular needles and made a hat! The challenge of doing something new keeps me occupied and brings life to my craft, and brings color to a world that's getting blander and blander with SAD. Plus, the satisfaction of having tried something new and successfully completed a challenging project brings a sense of satisfaction and pride that, in itself, can combat yucky SAD feelings.

3. Move. Okay, I don't want to craft all the time, or it may just seem too daunting to get all the supplies together and start something new. So, I'll just go for a walk. I don't go to the gym. And I have't gotten the guts to go to a new yoga studio yet. So, I go for walks

around my neighborhood and explore new streets, builidings, stores and restaurants. If you don't live in the city, walk around your neighborhood. Maybe meet up with a friend and walk together.

4. Sit outside and enjoy the changing season. After all the changes I've experienced in my life, I've learned that you just have to accept and appreciate change. And the changing of the seasons is no different. With the seasons changing, take a seat on a bench and watch the leaves fall or see how the sun casts different light. If it's in the middle of the winter, take a seat by a big window with a cup of coffee and a blanket and watch the trees or snow. Take a breath.

5. Get a grow lamp. This is a more practical step. A full spectrum light bulb or a grow lamp can help you adjust for the shortness of actual sunlight outside by bringing the full spectrum inside. I bought a light bulb and put it in my office desk lamp and kept it on all day last year. I got mine at the natural food store.

6. Take your vitamins. Take a good multi-vitamin with all the vitamin Bs and supplement with omega-3s and -6s.

7. Detox. I like to detox with the seasons. It's a great time to start over, eat "clean" food for a week, and then start fresh with good food. Go back to the basics with whole grains, miso soup and greens, greens, greens.

8. Eat with the seasons. Eat what's in season now. It's the fall and I first knew I was really being affected by the changing season when all I wanted was to make pumpkin soup. In the winter, all i want to eat is carbs and sweets. And I do, but I make healthier versions myself, like vegan chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat pastry flour and flax meal, whole wheat and oatmeal bread, baked sweet potato fries, etc. Plus, you're making some new things yourself here, so you get that sense of accomplishment!

9. Stick with date nights. My husband and I have date night every Friday, even after 10 years. It's a promise we make to ourselves that, no matter how busy we are, we make the time to have at least one night a week where we have time together away from the TV to talk and laugh and reconnect.

10. Call a friend. I'm such a bad friend most of the time because I never call people on the phone, mostly because I spent all of college working in a phone center calling people for surveys, so I hate the things now. But, take a moment to call that pal you miss and have been meaning to call. It's so great to talk to them to check in and see what they're up to and inspire you to do different things. My friend, Michelle, and I Skyped the other day and I saw her beautiful baby. It was nice to see her after I've moved away, and we made a commitment to inspire each other throughout the next year. It may be bitter sweet: talking to that old pal who's not around may really make you sad because you miss them, but it really makes you happy to have such great pals to begin with.

So, there are my 10 tips to avoid getting SAD this season. Well, really 10 tips to fight it. It'll still be there, but at least you can do something about it and not let it grab ahold of you until spring comes. If you have any tips, leave a comment -- I'd love some new ideas!

Totally 80s Mix Tape

2008-10-15T20:04:00.003-04:00

My friend, Michelle, turned me onto Mixwit.com, where you can make mix tapes using music available on the web.

I made a mix for her. And I, of course, had to make an 80s mix tape. I totally used to love making mix tapes. My sister and I made a Totally 80s mix tape for my other sister to send to her in college; I was in grade school then, and I found it when she moved her stuff home and listened to it all the way through college. Totally rockin' out in my parent's minivan.

I used to love making mix tapes! The covers -- we'd take those free postcards that you'd get in Boston or Northampton and use those for covers. They were just the perfect size to wrap around a cassette. And you always had to end with just enough time left at the end of a side. You NEVER cut off a song in the middle. And the last song on a side had to be a good closer and the first song on the B side had to kick it back up again.

And you would get clever a la Fine Young Cannibals and NAME side A and Side B (like The Raw and The Cooked).

Oh, yeah. It was a science!

And don't forget making a mix tape for a crush. Not too mushy, with some edge, and make sure you pull out the good stuff so you can have some cred.

And make a pretty cover. Will it be pasting something underneath packing tape? An old photo? The aforementioned postcard? Good times...

Enjoy. Rock out. Fer sure, fer sure.

Call for Crafty Survey Participants

2008-10-14T13:32:00.003-04:00

I'm a sucker for supporting survey folks. Maybe it was all those years doing survey research and those times that people made me cry that make me want to help out. Plus, it's my fabulous friend who is getting her MFA in Fiber & Material Studies in Chicago who is conducting a survey for school. Please take a moment to answer her questions (pls email her directly!) and forward onto your fellow crafty friends! Thanks! xoxo R

Questionnaire: This questionnaire is part of a research project to gather information about and for artists involved in textiles and crafts. Please return this to fiber.research[at]gmail.com.

Name:

Where do you consider home:

What type of textiles, craft, or fiber art do you do?

How would you describe your work?

Are you involved with a community of artists or artisans? If so, how do they impact your work?

Who is the audience for you work?

Is there a culture or process that influences you and your work? If so, which ones?

Is Labor important to how you view craft? ... in Fine art?

Where does craft and fine art merge?

How would you describe “fiber art”?

Would you be interested in doing an interview or participating further? YES NO
If YES please list your name and the best way to contact you.

Thank You! Please send any questions about the research or further participation to: fiber.research[at]gmail.com

knitting with circular needles! (And loving it.)

2008-10-12T10:11:00.004-04:00

I am attempting to make something with circular needles. A hat, to be precise. I've always been one of those people who is in absolute awe of other talented knitters and crocheters who can make something beautiful out of nothing. And those people that whip out these knitting projects on circulars, with the needles sticking out in every direction. That is way too advanced for me, I've always thought.

And then through my web searches, I discovered a yarn store/coffee shop called The Point in the Village. It is SUPER cute. They have classes regularly, along with an hour with a knitting genius to help you with your knitting questions.

Usually when I go into beautiful yarn stores I am totally intimidated. But everyone there was very friendly and sat with me to talk about the possibility of taking a mittens class (a little too advanced for me). We decided that I should start making a hat -- that way I can use all my skills that I have to make flat things into a three-dimensional useful thing like a hat. A woman there said she is addicted to making hats... and now I can see why!

I've got all the Stich 'N' Bitch books, and decided to make the Kittyville Hat from the original book. I'm using the fantastic machine washable merino wool from Debbie Bliss. It is spongy and gorgeous.

I just started on Friday. I love it! It is a lot easier than I thought it would be and the pattern and yarn are both great to work with.

I think the thing I like most about knitting and crocheting is the great network of people to help you out along the way. I joined a knitting group with NYU folks (the Naughty Knitters) and they are just the best bunch of folks around.

Homemade granola + recipe

2008-10-06T13:18:00.003-04:00

I made homemade granola for the first time ever. And it came out really well! It's not clumpy or very sweet, but very "wholesome" and nutty tasting.

Here's the recipe:

Mix dry ingredients:
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups roasted or raw almonds, cashews or walnuts, crushed with mortar & pestle
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/8 cup oat bran
1 1/2 to 2 tsp pumpkin spice (or cinnamon and/or nutmeg)
3/4 tsp salt

Mix wet ingredients together then add to dry:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup liquid sweetener like agave nectar, brown rice syrup or maple syrup (or combo)
1 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil
2 tsp vanilla
dash sea kelp flakes

Mix together and place on large ungreased baking sheet into 300 degree oven. Cook for about 25-30 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes to mix it up as you go.

After it comes out, mix in:
1 cup dried fruit (combo of dried cranberries, mango, bananas, apricots (cut), blueberries, etc.)
After it cools, enjoy with soy milk or low fat yogurt! Yummers!
Alternate versions I'm thinking about: ginger, coconut, carob chips.

And look at how beautiful my new Fiestaware dishes are! I love them! The mug is really a deep purple (plum), not black.

Governors Island NYC

2008-09-16T21:21:00.011-04:00

Our local friend gave us a great insider's tip to living in Manhattan. Go to Governors Island. It's free and offers nice green space and wonderful views of the city skyline, Brooklyn and New Jersey... plus, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

We actually went over Labor Day weekend, but I only now got around to posting pictures. Governors Island is only 800 meters off the coast of Manhattan in New York Harbor. It was a military and Coast Guard base for awhile, until the government sold it to New York for $1. The National Parks Service the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp. watch over it.

View Larger Map

We took the M6 bus right down Broadway all the way to the end of the line near Battery Park. The ferry (which is free) is right next to the Staten Island Ferry building. The ferries run every half hour to an hour. You can take the 4,5 or R subways on the weekends to Bowling Green or White Hall stations.

We had a picnic on the grass looking out over the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

We walked around the park some more and looked at the old military houses. You could go in some of them. Very cool. I would definitely take one of those! I ended up taking a long nap in the late afternoon after an ice cream break. It's a great getaway for the day to relax in the grass and cool breezes.

Turkish Delights

2008-09-04T08:02:00.002-04:00

C brought back some fantastic finds from Ankara, Turkey. This is our kilim. He also got one for his sister for her upcoming wedding. What a great wedding present!

It's handmade. The outlines are embroidered.

He got me this beautiful necklace. The silver work reminds me of a necklace he got me from Ethiopia. It's from a style called çini, which, from the card it came with says, was used in Anatolia in mosques, libraries and Turkish baths.

Union Square Market, NYC

2008-09-01T11:51:00.007-04:00

We live pretty close to Union Square (E 14th and Broadway), where they hold a green market on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We've gone twice so far and have totally fallen in love. It reminds me of the markets in France, and because it's open so frequently, we can go very often for our fresh veg, meat, eggs and bread.

Saturdays are the most busy times to go, and it's also when most of the vendors are there. Be prepared to walk the whole thing... and to drool over all the beautiful displays and yumminess available.

We have found a super favorite vendor, Hawthorne Valley Farms. Here, we bought homemade farmer's cheese, whole wheat bread, caraway sauerkraut, yogurt and some veggies. The sauerkraut is so tasty and amazing. Feel free to ask for a taste before buying!

On our second trip, we got a huge bunch of basil to go with the heirloom tomatoes and bread. I'm going to make some pesto today with the rest.

We also got an Aloe plant for a friend's housewarming, as well as an alocasia for us at one of the plant and flower stands.

This was the meal from the first trip -- the typical weekend meal we made in France: an omelette with herbes de provence, small side salad, a bite of cheese and a glass of rose. This time, we also had a side of the yummy sauerkraut -- filled with probiotics!

We also found a frozen yogurt shop on Bleecker, Red Mango. It's like real yogurt that they freeze and add flavors to, and it still has the good bacteria in there. It may taste a little sour at first if you're not used to homemade yogurt.

Movement

2008-08-26T21:40:00.012-04:00

It's crazy to think that we're living in New York City now. DC helped us out in adjusting to real city life -- almost like training wheels.

I lost some sleep over getting packed up. The movers came and packed up everything for us, but after reading web sites and testimonials filled with horror stories, I couldn't help but freak out. One tip I read that really helped us out: use lots of zip lock bags to store the random stuff laying around like pens, buttons, electrical cords, loose change, etc.

Also, pack the essentials in a plastic tub that you'll need before the movers come with your stuff. Pack things like sheets, pillows, coffee, coffee making device (those tiny espresso makers are handy!), silverware, knife to open boxes, clothes for 3-4 days and cleaning supplies. Pledge makes these awesome wipes that are good for wood, windows and electronics. These are great for last minute clean ups and less than hardcore cleaning.

I generally don't deal very well with moving or change. Having contants like C and the kitty make it a little better. Our first night here we had old friends come visit. We had a full house and it felt so nice to have friends who really know you stop by to welcome you.

The part about moving that is most difficult is meeting new people -- finding that safety net of your friends with whom you can be as candid as you can be with your bestie from sixth grade. We were in DC for 4 years and I think we left just as I was really getting on with some good friends. Those pals that will stick with you for awhile. It's a bit heartbreaking to leave. Let's cross our fingers that it won't take another 4 years to make more!

Our new place is right in the middle of everything. The kitty stayed under the blankets of the inflatable mattress for the first whole day. We slept in the living room surrounded by the kitty's toys. He readjusted very quickly and started playing that night. The wood floors definitely make kitty toy playing much more enjoyable!

More greenery outside our window! We don't have our own patch of dirt to play in or plant in, but at least we can watch all the doggies play. The sun catches the corners of the rooms for a little bit in the morning and my plants can get a little sun soak in.

Next time: Union Square Market and New York City Living.

A bit of nature before the big city

2008-08-20T18:29:00.007-04:00

We will be moving to the heart of the City in the next 24 hours. i'm sitting on the floor next to the Big Kitty waiting for C to come home with the rental car.

A couple of weeks ago, after my big convention, C and I drove from Las Vegas out to Bryce Canyon, Utah for some walks and stars and fresh air. It seems fitting to get a small breather in before we move to the craziness of New York. First, let me say that our conventions are a lot of hard work. Like months of hard work. And everyone is a total zombie for a week following the event. Surprisingly, I was only a mini-zombie during our trip, although i totally took a nap one afternoon and left C watching HGTV.

I relaxed after a couple of hours and I could feel my shoulders gently fall down past my ears. it's great to do breathe the fresh air, even if it's at 8000 feet.

My favorite was the sunset walk. We saw a little hummingbird that was way too fast to get a picture of. We saw stars. Lots and lots of stars. And the milky way. You're not gonna get that in NYC.

Look at this twisty tree! Fabulous! Next time: NYC, here we come!

Vegan Cupcakes - Cookies 'n' Cream

2008-06-21T08:39:00.005-04:00

It's C's birthday week, even though he only celebrates his birthday for one day... as opposed to the week or month that I am known to celebrate mine for. I'm very excited this year because this is the third birthday that we've been able to celebrate together in the US -- of the nine birthdays we've been together for! He's usually out of the country on his birthday, celebrating it in a lonely tent or dreary apartment.

So, it's a special birthday extravaganza this year with a bowling celebration. I'm bringing cupcakes -- vegan cupcakes! And I didn't even hippie-ize them or anything. I stayed true to the recipe (found here, excerpted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). So, no whole wheat pastry flour or brown rice syrup. Just the normal vegan sugars and white flours. I cooked the muffins last night while we watched The Office.

This morning I woke up early because I was excited to frost them! The frosting is also homemade (here's the recipe) and mixing it with a Kitchenaide mixer made is super easy. This was the first time I used Earth Balance shortening, and it was very nice and whipped up nice and fluffy. I crushed Newman's Own cookies and cream cookies (Oreos) into the cupcake batter and folded it into the frosting. The frosting recipe was just enough for 2 dozen + 3 cupcakes and really super yummy and fluffy.

I will definitely make this recipe again -- even just for chocolate cake. Yummers!

Recipe: Panko breaded tilapia fish sticks

2008-05-23T15:55:00.002-04:00

Last night was the "find anything and cook it" kind of dinner... We actually pulled together a yummy dinner. We made some sweet potato fries and tilapia fish sticks breaded with seasoned panko.

I had a lone filet of tilapia in the freezer that was left over when we bought just a little too much for dinner one night and then with just one filet in there, it wasn't enough to make a whole meal out of it. So, I thought I'd make some fish sticks, but not the greasy Van de Camp's kind.

The good thing with this is that you can just cut up the tilapia into little bite size pieces (1-2" wide) while it's still frozen. It cuts well because it's so thin!

Here's the recipe:

1 frozen tilapia filet, cut into bite size pieces

Breading (placed in a shallow dish):
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
-2 tsp dried dill
-1/2 tsp dried lemongrass
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-salt & pepper

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or unbleached white flour) (placed in a bowl)
1/2 cup soy milk (original flavored) (placed in a bowl)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (We cut up the sweet potato and put it in the oven while we did the tilapia.) Put parchment paper on a small cookie sheet. Mix together the seasonings for the Panko mixture. Take tilapia pieces (still frozen) and coat with whole wheat flour on both sides, then dip in soy milk to cover both sides, then place in Panko to coat. Place on cookie sheet and repeat for the rest of them. Easy peasy!!

Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning halfway through. Test for doneness. Enjoy! You can serve with a piece of lemon.

Enjoy!

(Sorry there are no pictures, we ate them up right away!!)

Joy's Yoga Mat Bag

2008-05-14T08:01:00.011-04:00

Jump (back) for Joy!

Well, I'm not that advanced to do the yoga 2s where you jump back. I'm still a level 1 yogi. And I haven't been in a few months, but I at least do it at home. That's something, right?

My pal, Joy, asked me to make her a yoga mat bag. It's part of her new game plan to get more fit. I came in with my fabric swatches and she chose the stripy one. I got it in the fabric district in Philly in the scrap bin!

The front pocket was leftover from fabric I got at anna maria horner (http://www.annamariahorner.com/). My master plan was to make a quilt for my pal who just had a baby, but I didn't much like how it turned out. So I decided to make a crocheted ripple blanket in bright colors. I still plan to sew something for her though! Stay tuned! So, the yoga mat bag... it's drawstring at top. With a front pocket for your metro card, cell phone or jewelry. I usually leave a little extra room in the bag for your clothes and a towel.

The strap is adjustable and is a recycled convention bag strap. We had a ton of extra bags from last year's convention and I have taken most of them to strip out useful parts and use for my own sewing purposes!

The drawstring is also recycled convention materials -- old lanyards! (It's pretty amazing how much is wasted at conventions.)

And here are my QQF labels I ordered from http://www.namemaker.com. Neat!

Let me know what you think!

Playmobil Fun

2008-04-16T21:08:00.007-04:00

We stopped at a Targay to get some presents for my twin nephews: Playmobils. Of course, we got some for ourselves. It was a long ride home from NC. Put them on the dashboard and made some sound effects. The Romans are the boy's and the silly cop and burglar are mine. I like the scruff on the non-Roman guy.

I like the shifty eyes on the burglar. The cop comes with a pistol on a holster on the back. Fun!

We used to get the advent calendars all the time. My favorite character so far is the lady with a vaccuum cleaner! Check out Playmobil's website.

Messin' around with Holga

2008-03-25T12:43:00.007-04:00

I got a holga camera. I guess it's kind of a hip thing to do, take artsy photos of buildings and the sky, but I was just messing around with these. I love the dreamy effects. This is downtown near the capitol.

Dupont Circle.

Gnomes!

I have one photo left on my roll (120 film) that has been sitting there for a few months now... I will take it so I can reload to take cherry blossom photos! My favorite!

I didn't mean to...

2008-03-17T17:35:00.005-04:00

And I'm wearing a green shirt to match. I really didn't mean to... and it's St. Patty's Day and all. And I'm not even Irish! Ha!

This is my husband's favorite color, too... hmmm.....

Have a great day and enjoy some green alcoholic beverages!

R

WIP: Drop Stitch Scarf with corn fiber yarn

2008-02-24T14:43:00.011-05:00

Back in December, I went back to Connecticut to help my parents move. Cat and I went the long way around to get back to my parents’ house -- to go back to our old backroads short cuts. We did a cute circuit - went to the cute 100 year old health food store (picked up some kelp flakes, full spectrum light bulb, quinoa and some yummy carob cookies!!), went down the back road past the rolling glacier-formed farmland, and up to the old church thrift store that has the awesome stuff-a-bag sales. But we didn’t find anything good at the thrift store, unfortunately. But we saw some cows and hawks and opened the car windows and got some fresh air. We didn’t even really need to talk at all during the ride; we were just enjoying our old ways.

But not soon after we turned off onto Route 31 in Coventry, we saw a sign next to the weird Italian restaurant for The Knitting Nook. Before I could even say, “Let’s stop there!”, cat was already turning around. It was the cutest little knitting store... and I was so sad to have discovered it after I had moved from town. There was a little area in the front with couches and tea and coffee and the local ladies were talking and knitting this week’s project - a felted bag. Even cat felt at home as he sat on the couch and watched the ladies knit.

The owner showed me around. I fell in love with this yarn: Amaizing yarn in Mango -- made from corn fiber in beautiful sherbet hues of pink, orange and yellow. I grabbed a couple of balls (probably more than enough, so maybe I’ll make 2 scarves and give one to my sis), and some size 6’s (they were out of 7’s but I wanted to buy them from this nice store rather than a larger company! The sample hanging from the shelf was of a drop stitch scarf and it looked so cute! The owner convinced me that i could do it and that it was pretty easy to do. So, I decided to give it a go. I am still a little scared of knitting...

So, this is a pattern from Stitch 'N Bitch Nation for a drop stitch scarf. My first time doing it and it was a little scary at first, but it’s so fun and make such a pretty fabric. Especially with the corn yarn that is elastic and soft and squishy. I think I may keep this one for myself (it's been a long time since I've done that!) and make another one for my sister.

Curried turkey “samosanadas” – recipe

2008-02-18T10:26:00.008-05:00

Cat and I went super mega grocery shopping in the ‘burbs and decided to get some ground turkey. I think I can count the number of times I’ve cooked with ground meats on one hand... but I decided I would make samosas, but bake them instead of frying them. I had a loaf of pizza dough in the fridge since the pissaladiere, so I could use that for the shell. That’s where the “samosa” part of it got a little funny because the pizza dough shell would make it a lot more like an empanada than a samosa… So, the samosanada was born!!

FILLING
2 shallots – diced
1 garlic clove – diced
1.25 lb ground turkey meat
1 cooked sweet potato – cut up into 1-2 cm cubes
1 ½ cups peas, thawed

SEASONING:
1 tsp herbes de provence
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp pilau masala
1 ½ tsp good Indian curry
2 tsp cumin
½ tps red pepper flakes
½ tsp ginger (or 1 tsp fresh grated ginger)
S & P to taste
3 cardamom pods
juice from ½ a lemon

1 frozen pizza dough, thawed, cut into 8 pieces.
1 egg white
1 lemon cut into wedges

METHOD:
Saute onions and garlic with sprinkle of salt, herbes de provence and cardaom pods in 1 tbs olive oil in a non-stick pan for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add garam masala, pilau masala, curry, ginger, cumin, red pepper flakes and sauté for a minute until aromatic and the pan starts to get a little brown film on the bottom (don’t let this burn). (Cat gets all the great Indian spices every year when he goes to Kenya… but let’s hope this batch lasts until next year! I don’t think he’s going back this year. I think you can find the good stuff in asian markets.)

Remove cardomom pods. Add ground turkey and break up with wooden spoon. Cook until nice and brown. Add sweet potato and peas and sauté for 5 more minutes. Taste. Add more of the seasonings to suit your taste (I added more garam masala, pilau masala and cumin at this point to find the perfect mix). I also added juice of half a lemon here. Turn off heat when cooked all the way through.

While the meat is cooking, form the dough into little balls. Start by spreading out the dough from the middle with your thumbs. Be careful not to break the dough. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into 6 inch circles, working from the middle toward the edges and rotating the dough as you go. I used the marble pestle from my mortar and pestle to roll out the dough, rather than break out the honkin’ rolling pin.

ASSEMBLY:
Take a rolled out dough piece and place ½ -3/4 cup of the mixture on one half of the dough. Wet the edge of the half of the dough with the filling. Fold over the empty dough half on top of the mixture and press down a little with your fingers. You can press it down some more with a fork.

Place samosanadas on a greased pan (I sprayed with vegetable oil.) Brush tops with egg white. Place in a preheated oven at 375 (or use directions on the pizza dough). Bake for 15-18 minutes until tops are golden brown. Serve with lemon wedge and squeeze lemon juice on top as you devour them! Yummers.

...and someone was very interested in what I was doing!!

Ripple blanket started – and stopped momentarily

2008-01-28T06:50:00.003-05:00

I started my first ripple blanket! I am using “soft waves” from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns that I got a very long time ago. I tried making a blanket a few months ago but I didn’t get the crochet 2 together stitch right.

The trick is to leave 2 loops on the hook before you start the next dc (instead of looping through these two to finish off the stitch), then you should have 3 loops on the hook before the last pull through point where you normally would have 2 for a normal dc – and you pull the yarn through 3 loops. So, it goes: yo, insert into next dc, yo, pull yarn through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), insert into next dc, yo, pull yarn through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), pull yarn through last 3 loops. So, you are really using 4 dc stitches to make 2 dcs by combining the 2 stitches. But this works itself out because you increase 2 in 2 stitches (making 4) on the upswing.

I hope this makes sense because I have neither my yarn nor my book in front of me and it’s really early in the morning! Just let me know if there’s a problemo!

So, once you get the pattern going, it’s super easy and is very addictive! I can’t stop. I’ve already completed a few more rows since these photos were taken. I can’t wait. It’s about 60 inches wide and will be song enough to cover my body – to make a good couch afghan for me and the kitty to snuggle with. I’m using up my stashes of Red Heart (kinda yucky), but it gives it a nice “grandma’s afghan” quality to it. The underlying tones are browns and tans, to match the couch.

So, I started my blanket over the weekend and the kitty discovered it! He laid right down on top of the blanket on top of my belly. Right near my needle, too, so I couldn’t crochet anymore! Silly boy. So, I wrapped part of the blanket around him and he couldn’t stop purring. Sweetums.

Dinner Challenge: Black Bean & Corn Chipotle Burritos

2008-01-25T14:41:00.003-05:00

In response to the Five Night Dinner Challenge, here's what I made the other night. Super easy. It was the, "Hmmm....what do I have in the cupboard with only getting a real 'few' things at the store to make?"

So, here is what we did.

Black bean and corn chipotle burritos

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion/shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp chipotle sauce seasoning (Goya)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 - 1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder or ground mustard seeds

1 can black beans (the small can), drained and rinsed
1/2 bag frozen corn kernels or cut from 2 cooked ears of corn (which was half the price of frozen corn!)
2 plum tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
S&P to taste

Up to 2 cups water, to keep the mixture from going dry and burning.

Burrito wrappers, large or small. Rice (cooked with some saffron).

Serve with jarred salsa (or make your own!) and cheese or guacamole.

Method
Start cooking rice (I put a few strands of saffron in to flavor).

In a large skillet, sauté salted onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes until getting soft. Add chipotle sauce, cumin, chili powder and mustard powder (maybe some taco seasoning from a packet if you have it). Sauté for 3 minutes or so until nice and fragrant and it starts to get a little dry. Add beans and 1 cup water to simmer and steam. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add corn, tomato and cilantro, salt & pepper. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, adding water to keep it from drying out if you need to.

Place a small layer of rice on a burrito, add beans and cover with cheese, salsa and/or guacamole. Even try placing made burritos in a backing pan and cover with cheese and salsa. Yummers!

Is it still Christmas? Plus, cauliflower soup recipe

2008-01-13T08:48:00.002-05:00

Is it still Christmas? My Christmas cactus started blooming a few days before Christmas. And she's still blooming! Mom says she'll bloom until May... if I keep it alive! It's so nice to have a pretty plant blooming for a few months. And it's in my lucky elephant planter that my friend gave me. Thanks, mommy, for potting it and keeping it alive for me.

Speaking of Christmas, I never posted the photos of our homemade Christmas presents. I found a book at a large bookstore chain for three dollars that had recipes for cookies in a jar.

So, that's what we decided to do. We got jars from the hardware store and used pretty velvet ribbon we found at my parents' house when we were cleaning. And the boy made pretty snowman stamps out of linoleum that we used for the front of the instruction cards (and our holiday cards).

We made three different kinds: Mocha Chocolate Yummers (with cocoa and coffee), Yin & Yang (milk and white chocolate chips on a chocolate cookie) and Trail Mix in a Cookie Cookies (with coconut, raisins and M&Ms). We made the trail mix cookies and the boy fell in love with them. Super yummers.

Cauliflower Soup

I'm attempting to do a mild detox to get back into eating right. We went to Philly and ate our hearts out up there, and then there was the happy hour at work, and all that cheese I've been eating... ugh. I just feel bloated and gross. So, i wanted to make a nice soup to warm up my belly that was yummy and good for you. Cauliflower is cancer-fighting, and the seaweed has lots of minerals. Parsley aids in digestion, and ginger cleanses the blood.

ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, broken up into little flowerettes

1 small sweet potato, diced into small pieces (and peeled)

1 large shallot or green onion, diced (green onion also cleanses)

1 piece of ginger root the size of your thumb to the knuckle, grated

1 6" strip of kombu

5 cups water

4 tbs + 2 tsp italian parsley, chopped very fine

1 sprig dried rosemary

3-4 sprigs dried thyme

S&P to taste (or sea kelp granules)

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs vegan butter (like earth balance)

directions

In a stock pot (or a beautiful Le Creuset like I got for Christmas!!), saute onions in olive oil until just turning brown. Add water, dash of salt and kombu and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower, sweet potato, herbs and ginger and simmer 10-15 minutes until tender. If it doesn't have enough flavor for you, add 1/3 of a cube of vegetable stock to the water. Fake vegetable stock annoys me because everything just ends up tasting like the stock and not the veggies!

When the cauliflower and sweet potato are tender, add fake butter and puree with a hand mixer or in a blender. Serve with sprinkle of pepper and kelp granules, a dollop of flax seed oil and the rest of the parsley. Serve with yummy french bread!

Bon appetit!

Christmas pissaladière + recipe

2007-12-29T10:44:00.003-05:00

It was a french Christmas this year! It was also our first Christmas alone, so we enjoyed laying around in our jammies reading new books and cooking recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (a present!). I just finished reading her autobiography My Life in France, which is so cute and hilarious and I highly recommend, especially if you've ever lived in France.

So, we started out with the pissaladière niçoise -- an onion tart with olives, anchovies and fresh herbs. We used to get this a lot in France. Here's what I did (adapted from Julia's book, but I changed stuff of course).

First, I caramelized the onions in a bouquet garni (fresh rosemary, thyme, parsley wrapped in cheese cloth) and 2 cloves of unpeeled garlic for an hour. I thought I could get it done in 20 minutes, but no way. 1 hour indeed. Thanks Jules.

Then, I used frozen pizza dough ("New York Pizza" style pizza dough from Whole Foods) and rolled that out and put it on a greased cookie sheet. Covered with the caramelized onions, chopped pitted black olives in half (12-14) and scattered them on top of the onions, added 5-8 anchovies (in olive oil and capers) and their capers, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary leaves. Popped in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 -20 minutes until crust in a little brown (follow directions on pizza dough package). Yummy!! But that was lunch...

For dinner, we had steak with a red wine and shallot butter, mashed butternut squash and potato with rosemary and garlic and salad. Oh, and champagne from Dr. Frank's that we got during our trip in October. So yummy!