Destiny's Kitchen

Canning & Bike Riding Fun!

2011-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Early last week, I went to visit Coral & she sent me home with a ton of leftovers from the wedding, including several pounds of plum tomatoes (7 1/2 lbs.) & Anaheim peppers (4 1/2 lbs.). They sat in our basement for a couple days, while I wondered what I should make with 'em. I finally decided to make canned diced tomatoes & pickled Anaheim slices. For the peppers, I used a basic pickling brine, & added garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns & a hot pepper to each jar. I have to wait about a month to try them (so they can develop their flavor), but I hope they're good! The tomatoes are just lemon juice, salt & tomatoes, so they'll be pretty versatile.

Before pickling:

After pickling:

Smels was gone all last week. Coral's sister, Laurel, had to head back to school in Wyoming after the wedding festivities were over, so Smels went with her & they had a fun road trip. All four of us: Coral, Laurel, Chelsea (Smels) & me, have been friends since we were toddlers. Their mom is like my second mother, & they're all such dear friends. <3 <3 <3

Thankfully, Smels is back. She got me this beautiful bowl in an antique store. I love it! It feeds my bowl habit & matches my tiered candy dish thingy too. :)

Yesterday, before work, my sister & I went to the King Farmers Market. I got some basil & Walla Wallas, & a treat from the Grand Central stall. Plus we each got a free bag at the Farmers Market, which was cool:

After that, we decided to go on a bike ride to the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant, then the Smith & Bybee Wetland area. Whoa...going to a stinky sewage place, for fun?! Well, there are both the Peninsula Crossing Trail & 40-Mile Loop around there, & Smels knows some good blackberry-picking spots nearby. We picked 4 quarts of them, so she can bake a pie or two.

We also saw three Western painted turtles! They were far away, sunning on a floating log, so forgive the blurriness:

After our berry picking, we rode to Kenton & went to an antique store, the library, & then got iced mochas at Posies Bakery & Cafe. Tasty!

Now for something sugary: the other night, I whipped up some raspberry crisp for a dinner at Smels' house, so I made a behbeh portion for myself too, mwa ha ha. I used the same filling as this raspberry pie, but cut down on the sugar, since the topping is sweet, unlike (most) pie crust.

This happens to be my favorite-est crisp topping in the Universe...

Fruit Crisp Topping

1 cup flour (white whole wheat is my favorite)
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Mix everything together until combined. Just lightly sweeten & thicken your favorite fruit by tossing it with some sugar & either cornstarch or flour, then put it in a casserole dish, generously layering a bunch of this topping over it. Bake at 350*F until the fruit is bubbling & the top is brown, around 45-55 minutes. I usually lightly cover mine towards the end of baking, to prevent over-browning. Don't cover tightly though, or you'll steam your crisp, making it pasty & sad. :(

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Ooh, I also made some Pad Thai today, using Pim's guide, but substituting vegetarian fish sauce for the real deal. I got mine at Fubonn, but it's probably available at larger Asian grocery stores. The resulting dish was pretty tasty. I made it with ingredients I had around (carrots, basil, tofu, egg, cilantro, Walla Walla onion, jalapeno, etc.), so it was far from authentic, but I was satisfied with it nonetheless.

Coral & Ryan Get Hitched!

2011-08-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, this has been an amazing process, & now it's time to relax! Coral has spent so long planning her & Ryan's beautiful day, & it sure paid off. Everything was lovely & perfect in the end!

I'll start out with the prep work that I was responsible for. Ryan & his awesome friend, Chris, built a photo booth from scratch! Coral asked me to make some silly props for it. It took a while to get the method down, so I started on the simplest pieces, the lips.

Here's the first batch, on our trippy green couch:

The felt wasn't stiff enough to hold up on it's own, so I ended up painting them with diluted wood glue & letting them dry. Then I hot glued them to sticks. Some shapes were easier to cut with scissors, while others (especially the glasses) were easier with the Exact-o knife. For the glasses, I actually painted entire sheets of felt with the watered down glue, then let it dry before cutting them out. I'm not exactly sure of the method the people who sell them on Etsy use, but you couldn't pay me to sell these things, ha ha!

I was also asked to cut a couple dozen burlap table runners. Good thing we have a big basement crafty area now! It's not easy to find 10 ft. of blank space for cutting fabric. :)

Ready to be delivered to Coral:

My biggest contribution to the wedding was in the form of baked goods. Coral wanted 125 or so cupcakes, half carrot cake w/orange cream cheese frosting, & half traditional butter cake w/chocolate frosting. She also wanted 150 lemon bars, but they only needed to be a square inch, so that wasn't too bad.

The recipe I used for the lemon bars is available here. I've used it before. I really like the texture of the bars & they aren't as "wet" as traditional ones, so they won't get weepy & soggy.

What got me was the last-minute cutting & frosting! I baked the lemon bars & carrot cupcakes the day before, & also prepped the frosting, but wanted to wait till the day of the wedding to bake the butter cupcakes. Rose Levy Beranbaum, goddess of baking, recommends serving them on the day you bake them, so I wanted them to be as fresh as possible.

Here's the first dozen, fresh from the oven.

The recipe I used was for Downy Yellow Butter Cake from the Cake Bible. I used 3 tablespoons of batter & baked them @ 350*F for about 28 minutes. Even though I'm a baker, I don't really love cake that much. I'd much rather have some chocolate or a cookie, but this recipe is so amazing. It's light & fluffy, with such a deliciously sweet buttery flavor. I'd even prefer it plain, or with some macerated fruit on top. Mmmmm...

Here's some of the frosted lovelies:

The carrot cake recipe was an original that I've tweaked over the years at work. I added raisins & walnuts to these, but coconut &/or pineapple would also work. Yes, the recipe is eggless! It's also great with soy milk in place of dairy, for a vegan version.

Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup milk with 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice added (or buttermilk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
zest of 1/2 an orange

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper cups & set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & ginger; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, milk, vanilla, carrots, raisins & walnuts.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones & mix until combined. Scoop 3 tablespoons of batter into each paper cup. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

There will be enough extra for another cupcake or two, or a baby cake for the baker!

Cool completely, before frosting generously. To make the frosting, whip all the ingredients together. Try not to eat it by the spoonful!

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And here are some pictures of the payoff of so much hard work by so many incredible people! I would have taken more pictures, but I was helping to set up, then had to get bedecked in my bridesmaid attire.

First of all, here is the beautiful bride. Did I mention that she made her entire dress herself?! One of her sweet neighbors happens to be a retired professional seamstress & she was a godsend! Coral also sewed the two flower girls' dresses, & all the bridesmaids' dresses. There is nothing she can't do!

Coral & Smels:

Smels literally teared up at Coral's beauty! :')

Here's a shot from under the tent. Look at the beautiful place settings! And I spy my old frenemy, Mr. Burlap! See the little jars of light & dark honey that we got as wedding favors?

And now for the dessert table, which was breathtakingly beautiful, thanks to Coral's thoughtful planning. I was honored to have my baked goods be a part of something so stunning. One of her friends from work, who does some catering, baked chocolate chip cookies too!

At this point, we were in the process of setting the cupcakes out at the last possible minute, since it was so hot out. The poor babies already had a long trip in the hot trunk of my (no air conditioning) car, so they were nervous to be displayed! We set 2 or 3 on each antique, floral saucer.

This sort of shows the left side of the table:

And this shows the right side:

I almost forgot to mention the cake! Coral wanted something tiny & rustic, so her & Ryan would have something to cut & shove into one another's face (lovingly, of course!). You can see the frosting was getting that glossy, I-want-to-melt-but-I-won't look to it. Thankfully, it held up for the whole evening! Whew!

Smels & Ethan show wear from too much good food & booze:

I'll end with a couple of photo booth pictures. Outside the booth, there was a table set up with a scrapbook, markers, glue sticks & scissors, so guests could leave a cute picture & note for the newlyweds.

Ethan & I:

Smels & I:

We love you, Coral & Ryan! Congratulations on your new life together!

We Moved!

2011-08-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Again, it's been awhile since I posted. So much has happened, including a big move from Southeast to North Portland, so we were really busy settling in. It's SO NICE to live in an actual house, rather than an apartment. We had forgotten what it's like to sleep through the night, as we'd had horrible upstairs neighbors for the longest time! Now, instead of living around a bunch of self-entitled hipsters, our neighbors are super friendly & down-to-earth. Yay!

Shortly after moving, my siblings & I went on our annual camping trip, this time to Champoeg, one of my favorite camping spots evar!

We took our time at camp, after surviving an indecent rush-hour trek to Champoeg. Sean munches a Tofurky-avocado bagel, in recovery:

Smels was impressed with her mustard skillz, & had to get photographic evidence:

Friday night, we went down to check out the beautiful river.

A confession: my biggest fears in life are drowning, & having big fish touch me in the water(so irrational, I know! I hope to conquer these neuroses before I die!), so I wasn't keen on diving in, but the next day, after we walked a few miles to the Butteville Store, Sean asked if he could swim in the freezing, murky, Willamette. My sister, the voice of reason, said she thought it was okay, so he bravely waded in. This is one of my favorite pictures ever. Such cuteness!

We also walked to an old grave site & found an orchard with pear, apple & hazelnut trees. Smels spotted this picturesque ladybug. Way to strike a pose, gurrlll!

We also found some shelf fungi along the trail, home to behbeh slugs!

I brought a pie, baked from these delish raspberries from Sauvie Island.

We had zero trouble eating it all up. I used a recipe from CHOW as the base, but modified it a little bit, for pure raspberry delight.

Raspberry Pie

2 1/2 cups flour (I used half white whole wheat & half white)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons cold, salted butter
6-8 tablespoons ice water, mixed with 2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 cups raspberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of one lemon

milk for brushing crust, plus sugar for sanding (optional)

Mix together the flour & salt. Cut the butter into it, until sandy, with small, pea-sized balls of butter. Add the minimum amount of water necessary to get the dough to hold together. Try not to overwork it! Divide dough into two disks, then refrigerate them till chilled.

In a separate large bowl, mix together the berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, & zest.

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Roll out the pie crusts to 1/4-inch thickness. Line the bottom of your favorite pie tin with one of the crusts, leaving the extra dough hanging around the edge.

Pour in the filling. Top with the other half of dough. Trim the edges, but leave about an inch extra around the outside. (Save the extra tidbits for turnovers, or cinnamon-sugar munchies!) Turn the dough under, then crimp/decorate in your own way.

Brush the top with milk & sprinkle with sugar, if you like it that way. Cut a few slits in the top, then bake until the crust is golden & the filling is bubbling out the slits. If the crust begins to brown too quickly. cover it lightly with foil. Let cool before cutting, or it'll be soupy!

Here's the jam I made with those same raspberries! It's made with only three ingredients: raspberries, honey & Pomona Pectin.

Fun! Fun! Fun! I also want to recommend the OMSI exhibit, "Game On", to any gamers out there. We took Sean & had a blast. There were SO MANY CONSOLES, from all around the world, most of which were playable. My brother & I even played PONG, which was projected onto a huge wall. I took a bunch of pictures before I saw the "no pictures" signs that were posted in randomly weird areas. It was hard to notice them through the herds of kids & flashing lights, but I stopped once I saw them. Oops! I feel like an asshole, since people who saw me snapping away must have been like, "This lady thinks she's too cool for school..."

Hello there!

I just had to share this amigurumi schlong that I made for Coral's bachelorette party. A bunch of us ladies went on a limo-driven wine tour around 5 or 6 vinyards (I lost track after awhile), which is hilariously unlike me, but it was fun. The peen is from Anticraft, but I used worsted weight Red Heart yarn. I didn't make the taint. It looked weird, so I frogged it out & just sewed the shaft & balls together. He seems happy, even though he's taintless.

Here's the beautiful bride-to-be. Her feather boa kept shedding all over, ha ha.

Hope everyone is having a good summer! I can't wait to share photos from Coral's wedding! See you soon...

Strawberry Mania!

2011-06-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt very bloggy, as I have been up to my ears in strawberries, ha ha! My sister & our friend, Cristy, went to Sauvie Island Farms last weekend & picked soooooo many berries. I got 24 pounds of them. :/ Somebody stop me! Here's what I did with most of them, besides eating them plain...

First off, lots of Strawberry-Honey Jam. I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is awesome because you don't need to use much, if any sweetener, depending on the fruit; in fact, it gels with calcium, rather than sugar. I've been avoiding white sugar, for the most part, & used 1/2 cup honey to sweeten each batch (per 4 cups mashed strawberries). The resulting jam is just right & won't give the recipients diabeetus.

There are 29 jars of this stuff---some pints, some half-pints, & some teensy-tiny ones. I can't wait to mix it into yogurt & slather it on toast throughout the year!

I also made some pseudo-ice cream. Since I don't have an ice cream maker, I just whipped some heavy cream, then folded in some strawberry puree before freezing. It's a little crystallized, but I wasn't feeling fancy enough to care. :)

If you're in a similarly non-fancy mood, here's how I made it:

Rustic Strawberry-Honey Ice Cream & Sauce

1/2 pint heavy cream
2 cups strawberry puree
3/4 cup honey (more or less, to taste)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip, or you'll have butter (which isn't that shabby, actually). Fold about half of the strawberry-honey mixture into the cream. It will be somewhat runny, just so you know. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or so.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking the arrowroot into the remaining syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for about a minute, then pour into a jar to cool.

Drizzle the ruby syrup over your ice cream & eat it while basking in the sun!

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I also whipped up a couple treats for a dinner at Coral's house. Of course I forgot to take pictures of them until after I wrapped them up. By the time I realized it, I was running late & just wanted to head over, so sorry!

Luckily, I had set aside a cookie for Ethan, so I have a better shot of that. I made cookie sandwiches, filled with a little homemade peach jam. Mmmmmmm...

Brown Butter Shortbread adapted from My Madison Bistro

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 325*F. Brown the butter by melting it over medium heat, stirring it frequently until brown & fragrant, about 4-8 minutes. Chill it in the freezer until solid again.

Cream the butter, brown sugar & vanilla. Add the flour & mix until combined. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Pop into the freezer for a bit until it's firmed up.

Cut into desired shapes & place on a cookie sheet. Bake until golden on the edges, 15-20 minutes, depending on how large you made them.

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Black-Bottom Coconut Bars adapted from Martha Stewart

Base:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

Topping

2 large eggs
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 cups unsweetened coconut (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 375*F & butter a 9X9-inch pan; set aside.

Whisk together the butter, sugar & egg. In a small bowl, stir together the flour & cocoa, then stir into the wet ingredients. Spread into the prepared pan & bake for 10-15 minutes, just until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

While that's baking, prepare the coconut topping. Whisk together the eggs, sugar & vanilla. Stir in the flour, then fold in 2 1/2 cup of coconut. Spread carefully over the baked base. It's pretty thick, so I just dolloped it on top, then carefully pressed it out. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

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On the crafty front, I've been in a crocheting mood, working on my granny square blanket & making a garland for my mom.

Here are all the little hearts, before weaving in the ends:

I made the small hearts from here, then made the garland according to here, except I only chained 4 on top of the hearts, rather than 6, since they were smaller. And here's the finished product:

Cute little hearts!

Southern Night & Several Recipes!

2011-06-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

The other night, my sister & her friend, Megan, invited me to their cute new house for a Southern feast! My sister made delectably tender cornbread. Megan made baked beans (which, tragically, wouldn't soften up till way after dinner) & perfect peach cobbler. I went overboard, of course, & brought BBQ ribz, coleslaw, roasted asparagus, & iced tea!

Only shot I took of the initial feast:

Smels gave me her recipe for cornbread. It is so good! She doesn't know where the recipe came from, besides her greasy Post-it note. :)

Smels' Cornbread of Delight

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Ener-G egg replacer (or a large egg)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 400*F. Butter an 8X8- or 9X9-inch pan & set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients & mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pan & smooth out the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Eat with butter & honey!

Once I got home, Ethan requested some more ribz, so I made another batch of them, plus more coleslaw!

WARNING: what follows is basically an excuse for eating a bunch of BBQ sauce...

BBQ Ribz adapted from VegFamily

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
7 tablespoons nutritional yeast
9 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup cold water
1 bottle BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 350*F. Oil a large cookie sheet & set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter & peanut butter; once you've stirred them together, remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the gluten, nutritional yeast, flour, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. Stir in the water. If the dough is super dry, you can add a teensy bit more water. Use your hands to form the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, vaguely rectangular, shape.

On a large cutting board, pour half the peanut butter mixture. Plop the rectangle of dough on this, then pour the remaining peanut butter mixture. Use your fingertips to poke the dough over & over, getting the peanut butter goodness into the whole thing. The rectangle will get bigger, but you shouldn't be poking holes into it, just go halfway through the dough.

Using a big knife, cut the nutty dough into strips that are about 1/2-inch wide. Carefully transfer them to the oiled cookie sheet. It's okay if some break or stretch out---those are the little taste-testers for the chef!

Bake the ribz for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn them over, & spoon about half the BBQ sauce over them.

Bake for 5-7 minutes. Turn them again, & spoon the remaining sauce over them. Bake for another 5-7 minutes. Let cool for a while, so you don't burn yourself. They're actually much tastier if you let them sit for a couple hours, or even overnight!

This coleslaw recipe is from my late Granny, who no doubt clipped this from The Oregonian. It's a copycat of the Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe, so there are copious amounts of sugar in it, of course. Feel free to cut back as much as you want, but realize you won't be eating all of the sugar, unless you drink the sauce from the bottom of the bowl. :)

Best Coleslaw Evarrr

1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled & shredded
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1/2 cup sour cream (or vegan equivalent)
1/2 cup sugar (I know, I know!)
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the hugest bowl you can find. Refrigerate for at least an hour, stirring a couple more times. The veggies will let go of some moisture, & will wilt down into the saucy goodness.

I discovered that a delicious wrap could be made by laying down some greens, coleslaw & 3 ribz on a scrumptious wheaty tortilla. Perfect with hot sauce too!

The Saturday Farmer's Market had some scrumptious sugar snap peas, which are a perfect snack!

Oh, I also made the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies for my Feminist Biblical Interpretations class party! I'll admit that I don't follow the recipe to its utmost pretentiousness level, & they're still edible, ha ha.

Big ol' cookies, cooling in the windowsill...

Chocolate Chip Cookies w/Toffee & Pecans adapted from Jacques Torres

1 1/4 cups butter (I use salted, sue me!)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4-1 teaspoon kosher salt (use less, if using sea salt, or table salt)
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
4 ounces toffee chunks
4 ounces chopped toasted pecans

Cream the butter, sugars & vanilla till light & fluffy. Add the eggs & beat for about a minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Either add the flour, half at a time, to the mixer, or just pour the creamed ingredients into the flour bowl & do it by hand. I prefer the latter, since I can make sure everything is combined evenly, with less of a risk of over-mixing.

Dump in the add-ins: chocolate, toffee & pecans. Work them in, stopping as soon as they're evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Cover the dough & let it rest for up to 36 hours in the fridge. I have made these immediately, & they're amazing. I think I let the last batch rest for about 12 hours...

When you're ready to bake them up, preheat the oven to 350*F. Portion out 1/4-cup balls of dough, placing about 6 of them to a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen big-ass cookies.

***The original recipe calls for portioning the dough into 1/3-cup blobs, then baking for 18-20 minutes. They make 5-inch cookies though, so look out!

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On a sad note, Ethan's Mom's oldest brother passed away yesterday, so I made Cathy some lavender & orange bath salts. All you do is mix 1/4 teaspoon of essential oil with each cup of Epsom Salts. I usually don't tint mine when I make only one type, but I added a bit of food coloring this time, to delineate between the two scents. Put them into canning jars, or any other glass bottles you have floating around. Milk bottles look really cool too!

Lavender:

Orange:

Hearty Hash Recipe

2011-05-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

I plotted this out last night, because I had just the right combination of veggies & sausage for some heavenly hash. Along with the chipotle chorizo (from Viva Vegan!), I've recently made the chicken & Italian sausages from Vegan Diner. So, so good. My freezer is full of assorted veggie sausages, what could be better?!

This "recipe" is pretty loose. Use whatever veggies you have on hand, and if you can make it without using so many pans, go for it. I just wanted everything cooking at once, but didn't want watery sausage, so I kept things separate till the end...

Hearty Hash w/Chipotle Chorizo

olive oil for sauteeing
7 small potatoes, cubed (I peeled mine, since they were sprouting)
1 chipotle chorizo, chopped
15 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 a medium sweet onion, diced
salt & pepper to taste
shredded pepper jack, sour cream, & hot sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 400*F. In a large cast iron pan, toss the potatoes with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 35-45 minutes, stirring them halfway through cooking time.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, saute the chorizo in a tablespoon of olive oil until golden on most sides. (I recommend a little hotter than medium-low, and make sure to stir them often.)

In a large frying pan over medium heat, saute the mushrooms till they're golden; place them in a separate bowl & set aside.

Using the same pan you used for the 'shrooms, saute the onions & peppers till tender, but not mushy (I didn't need to add more olive oil, but you can).

By the time all the components are sauteed, the potatoes should be just about ready. Take them out of the oven & dump everything over the potatoes. Season them well with salt & pepper, & give them a good toss. Serve with cheese, sour cream, & hot sauce, or whatever you like. Ketchup would be good too! Enjoy!

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I hit the crafty mother-lode at Goodwill the other night. Someone must have been ovah their beading hobby, because there were probably 60 tubes of seed beads, all 99 cents each. I limited myself to 20 tubes (a couple aren't pictured, because I forgot to grab the 2 that were in my bag), so now I've got to put them to good use!

Three Recipes of Delight!

2011-05-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a productive day for me. After I did homework, went to the Farmer's Market, & walked to the store, I cooked all evening! So fun. The first thing I made was a new batch of granola. I used the honey I got at the Farmer's Market, but you can also substitute maple syrup or agave, if you're vegan or don't have honey on hand.

The recipe that inspired my "regular" granola is from the Vegan Spoonful blog, which no long exists, so that's why I'm not linking to it. :(

Honey Granola

4 cups oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup flax seeds
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2-2 cups dried cranberries (set aside till granola has baked)

Preheat oven to 325*F (honey burns easily, hence the low temperature). Prepare a large jelly roll pan by lining it with parchment. In a large bowl, toss together the oats, nuts, coconut, flax seeds, salt & cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey & olive oil. Pour the honey/oil mixture over the other ingredients & toss till combined. Spread granola over the prepared pan & bake for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Toss in the dried cranberries. Let cool & store in an airtight container.

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I recently re-watched Food, Inc., which was depressingly inspirational. I went through all my food & donated the "healthy" processed stuff & possible GMO crap to my sister & stocked up on staples at the store. I decided that, instead of munching on a Tiger's Milk Bar when I'm heading out, I'd make my own emergency energy bars. They're mostly raw, & totally delicious. The recipe is inspired by Chow's Figgy Fuel Bars, but I didn't follow it exactly.

I love how the owl is side-eying the bar...

Knock-off Lara Bars

1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 pound Medjool dates, pitted
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Line an 8X8-inch baking pan with plastic wrap. In a food processor, pulse the nuts till pretty finely chopped. Add the dates & pulse until the nuts & dates form a sticky, chunky dough. Add the remaining ingredients & pulse until combined; you'll need to scrape the sides of the bowl & push the mixture down to the blades. Pack the mixture into the prepared pan & smooth the top. Freeze till firm, then cut into 12-16 bars. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving.

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I also wanted to make something from Viva Vegan!, which I got from the library. It's a really awesome cookbook, so I might buy it myself. The chorizo recipe in it kicks the ass of the one from Vegan Brunch.

I'll write the recipe as I made it, which is pretty close to the Chipotle Chorizo variation. It's tangy & spicy! I subbed a couple things, plus baked it low & slow, which I do with all homemade sausages. Amazing...

Chipotle Chorizo

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
4 tablespoons pureed chipotle in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 2/3 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup garbanzo flour
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
4 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325*F. Tear 4 square pieces of foil & set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth, chipotle puree, olive oil, vinegar, & garlic. In a large bowl, stir together the vital wheat gluten, garbanzo flour, nutritional yeast, & all the spices/seasonings. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ones & mix to combine (the recipe says to knead the dough to activate the gluten, but I like mine tender).

Divide into 4 portions & place each blob on a piece of foil. Pat into a long log & then roll up the sausages, twisting the ends (don't roll them too tightly, or they'll burst open in the oven). Bake for one hour, rolling them over about halfway through. Let cool completely before slicing, or you'll have a mushy sausage log.

The book says they'll keep in the fridge for two weeks; freeze what you won't be able to eat in a timely manner.

It's difficult to take an appetizing shot of a sausage schlong, sorry!

One of my favorite ways of eating veggie sausage is with baked homefries. As soon as the potatoes are almost done cooking, sautee some diced sausage in a separate pan till crispy & fragrant; toss with the potatoes & serve with some nutty wheat toast!

I love the new bike signs on Clinton. So cute! They have a bunch of colors, but I took a picture of a pink one.

This is one of my favorite Spring views in the neighborhood. It's so much prettier in real life though!

Farmer's Market Loot

2011-05-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm embarrassed to say that my trip to the Farmer's Market this morning was my first visit of the season. Damn. I usually end up talking myself out of going, since I spend what feels like my entire existence at the PSU campus. This morning, however, I forced myself to go & battle the yuppies, ha ha, & I'm glad I did (sorry, but the PSU market crowd is pretty bourgie!). We'd been out of honey for so long, & I always seek out the lovely people from Raynblest Farm. I got a nice, tall beeswax candle too; they last forever & smell amazing!

I rewarded myself with a nice bouquet of flowers, even though our apartment is crammed with houseplants. The more the merrier!

Things are quiet around here, without Ethan, so I've been intermittently studying, gardening, & making cards. There are more cards on my Flickr page, but this one turned out pretty cute.

For now, I think I'm going to walk to the store, then make some energy bars & a batch of granola for the week.

<3 <3 <3

Gardening & Baking Cookies

2011-05-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Ethan is going to visit his parents this weekend, while I suffer with gobs of homework, so I made some cookies for Cathy & David. These are vegan chocolate chip cookies, which are just a veganized version of the Toll House recipe. So good! I make these all the time at work.

Vegan Toll House Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
egg replacer for 2 eggs (I use Ener-G)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375*F. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, & salt; set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together the margarine, sugars, egg replacers, & vanilla; beat till light & fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl a couple times. Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl; mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips & nuts. Place 2-tablespoons-sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, letting them cool on the sheets before removing.

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I had to get a few pictures of the garden. It's so sunny today & everything is growing like mad!

Here's some of the mint, hanging with its gnome guardian:

Begonia & Salvia flowers:

Violets:

Enjoy the day, wherever you are!

UFO FEST 2011!

2011-05-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today we got back from our 5th annual UFO FEST in McMinnville (it was actually the 12th year of the festival though). The festival is sponsored by McMenamins, & is the product of so much hard work & planning by many people, especially Tim Hills. <3 <3 <3

The festival is in honor of Evelyn & Paul Trent, local farmers who (reluctantly!) witnessed a UFO on May 11, 1950.

We always camp in Champoeg State Park, then head into McMinnville for the guest speakers & events. So much fun!

And it's beautiful too!

We camped in our tent Friday night, then had to pack up early Saturday morning, since we had different arrangements for Saturday. On the way into McMinnville, we stopped at the Goodwill & I found this Finel mushroom bowl. I'm embarrassed to say that I had a serious shopping high after finding it; I've wanted one for years & they're always WAY overpriced on Etsy!

The guest speaker on Friday night was Robert Salas, a teacher & former air force captain who, while working at Malmstrom Air Force Base in 1967, experienced a systematic shut-down of 10 nuclear missiles. This occurred as guards sighted a UFO outside the gates! This presentation was amazing. Mr. Salas believes the aliens did not intend anything harmful, but were sending us a message about the dangers of nuclear weaponry. This was not the only time missiles were shut down, nor was it an "accident" of engineering. So fascinating! He is a proponent of disclosure, & does a lot of research through FOIA & interviews of military personnel.

The next morning, we heard from Stan Gordon, who shared a wealth of info about UFO incidents around the Pennsylvania area, and specifically the Kecksburg Incident. He also talked about the prevalence of Bigfoot sightings in the area, & how they often go hand in hand with UFO activity. He was a great speaker & had a ton of eyewitness accounts & photographic evidence. I could have listened to him all day!

Saturday afternoon, we staked out a perfect spot to see the UFO Costume Parade down Third Street. We were going to wait in front of Third Street Books, but moved up to another spot where we could get closer to the road.

I love this shot of the Hotel Oregon rooftop.

The turnout was huge! Everyone gets into it---even babies & pets!

Emcee Peter Davenport, from NUFORC, greeted local fans!

Stan Gordon too!

The final speaker was Paola Harris, an amazing teacher, researcher, & journalist, who has worked with pretty much every well-known ufologist out there. She is adamant about young people getting into ufology, as well as interviewing our elders before they pass on. Many of them have witnessed things that they were hesitant to come forward about, especially if their families or employers swore them to secrecy. She believes we need to unite as a species & develop a method of exopolitics, in order to peacefully welcome alien visitors.

I got a shot of Stan Gordon, visiting people after Paola Harris' presentation. All the speakers are down-to-earth (ha ha) & are very approachable. Of course I'm too chicken to do so, but Ethan has!

After listening to Ms. Harris, we headed back to Champoeg & stayed in a cabin for the night. It was our first time renting a cabin there; we usually camp in a tent, but thank goodness we got the cabin for Saturday---it POURED rain all night & morning. :)

My sister checked on Yoda & gave him some snugglin' while we were gone, but he was so thankful & affectionate when we got home. Poor behbeh.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

I barely finished the project in time, since Mom & Sean came out to visit yesterday, instead of today! It was fun. My sister came over, so Smels, Mom, Sean, Ethan & I went to Namaste Indian Cuisine, for delicious Indian food. It's so good. Sean ate three ice cream cones! They're those baby cones, but still!

This photo of the cross stitch is hard to read, so I'll type out the text. It's based on an affirmation by Louise L. Hay. I thought it would inspire Mom to keep on her path of self-healing. She's such a strong woman. I love you, Mom!

"I am one with Life, and all of Life loves and supports me. Therefore, I claim for myself an open heart filled with love. We are all doing the best we can at any given moment, and this is also true for me. The past is over and done. I am not my parents, nor their own patterns of resentment. I am my own unique self, and I choose to open my heart and allow the love, compassion, and understanding to flush out all memories of past pain. I am free to be all that I can be. This is the truth of my being, and I accept it as so. All is well in my life."

Send your moms some loving vibes, today & every day!

Delicious Cauliflower Soup!

2011-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last night, I came home & decided to use the beautiful orange cauliflower I'd gotten last weekend.

I LOVE getting colorful fruits & veggies, especially ones we're not used to seeing that often. Since the cauliflower is orange, I thought Cheesy Cauliflower Soup would be perfect! I just winged it, & kept track of what I put into it. Try it sometime, if you need to use a head of cauliflower, or even a large head of broccoli.

The cauliflower lightens up when it's cooked, so Ethan thought I'd put corn in it. :) Sorry about the wonky lighting, but it was dark outside when the soup was done.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/4 cup butter
1/2 of a medium onion, finely diced
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups water
2 cups whole milk
6 ounces Sharp Tillamook Cheddar, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Place the cauliflower in a medium pan; add about an inch of water to it & cover it with a lid. Steam cauliflower for 5-7 minutes, depending on size & how soft you like it; drain & set aside.

Meanwhile, in another medium pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions & saute until soft & translucent. I turned the heat down towards the end, because I didn't want the onions to brown. Once the onions are softened, add the flour, stirring often for several minutes (you want to cook the "raw" taste out of the flour, so the soup tastes just right!).

Add the water and whole milk (or just use 4 cups of 2% milk), stirring often until it thickens up. Remove from heat, stir in the cauliflower & cheese cubes. Stir gently until the cheese is melted. Season well with salt & pepper. Enjoy!

Today. Was. Awesome.

2011-05-01T23:12:00.001-07:00

What a gorgeous Sunday!!! And it's International Workers' Day too! Workers of the world, unite! :)

I woke up @ 7:00, for some odd reason, & was so full of energy. Everything in the Universe was full of potential. This is what happens when the sun shows in Oregon, ha ha.

Ethan was promised a hearty, homemade breakfast, so he could finish his mid-term paper with proper fuel. It was delish, consisting of chipotle-roasted potatoes, whole wheat toast, maple-y tempeh bacon & eggs from Coral & Ryan's chickens (I'm not a big egg-eater, so I abstained).

Here's my plate of delicious brown foodz:

After doing some Spring cleaning, I headed to the nursery & got a ton of plants: tomato starts, pink sage, a curry plant, several succulents, lavender, rosemary, pea seeds, salvia, & a shit-ton of various flowers. I still need to get a bit more potting soil, as well as a few more large pots for the remaining tomato starts.

Rainbow flower pots:

Side View:

Some of the tomatoes:

Pansies & marigolds:

After all that gardening fun, Coral & my sister came over for a crafty night. Coral worked on a couple flower girl dresses for her upcoming wedding, my sister worked on a dress she was fixing up, & I worked on Mom's Mother's Day present---it's a surprise, so I can't have any spoiler pics. Here's a clue though...

Globalization Project...

2011-04-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

For my Globalization class, we were assigned small groups & were asked to visually depict the Development Project. Our group (Matt, Travis & moi) made a stop-motion animation of the Green Revolution. We tried to contrast two farmers, one of whom accepts HYV seeds, while the other remains traditional. The short, thick, HYV wheat demands more water and chemical fertilizers, while the natural variety is more resistant to pests, weeds & flooding.

We had to take over 500 pictures, & I guess I didn't let the camera auto-focus each time, so there are some blurry parts. It's pretty cool for first-timers though! Our class enjoyed it. :)

This is what we came up with...

This weekend, I don't have any major projects looming over me, so I hope to have a crafty night with the ladies! I've gotten my dress pattern, so I just need to pick which fabric I'll use & get going. Fun!

Oh, I found these cute Spring cookie cutters @ Goodwill the other day. I love the mushroom one sooooooo much!

We also found a mug rack...finally! Ethan gets annoyed with all my mugs. Whatever, dewd.

Ready to Sew!

2011-04-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent some time re-organizing my craft supplies. I prioritized the sewing stuff, since that's what mode I'm currently in. Coral & I ran to the Fabric Depot, because they were having their Mother's Day sale. I got 4 yards each of green polka dot fabric & some bright orange flowery jazz (8th & 9th from the top). When my Etsy patterns arrive, I'll be making my second dress! Well, the first one is NEARLY done---I need to install the zipper & sew the bottom hem...I can't wait to wear it!

This pile of fabric is so bright & cheerful:

Here's a potential craftvalanche waiting to happen:

So Many Houseguests!

2011-04-17T10:25:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything. We've been busy with school & company, so I haven't been crafting it up much, besides adding tons of fabric to my stash. :)

We're watching Ethan's parents' kitties, Yoda & Lady Bobcat. Yoda was our kitty, until a few years ago when he got hit by a car. Thank goodness he survived, but it took thousands of dollars & surgery to fix him up! We sent him to the coast so he could live a peaceful life in the forest, away from speeding cars. Now he's back for a visit, & he's older & wiser. No more dodging cars, kid!

Lady Bobcat was a feral kitty at Nestucca High School, until Ethan's mom, Cathy, rescued her. She was named after the Nestucca mascot, but we just call her Bobby. She's really sweet & has a funny, chattery meow. She LOVES my bed...

Last weekend, we were fortunate enough to have my good friends from Washington visit us. Diane & I have known each other for 20 years, if you can believe that! I've known the kids since they were born, & babysat them a zillion times. It was so fun catching up with them! Eric, the oldest, is 18 years old & building a cabin, so he wasn't able to come down, but he wrote me a sweet card. They're such great kids!

Here are Diane, Marcus & Alaina:

Ooh...Ethan found a new gamer bud. Marcus was trash-talking him right & left! Look out!

In terms of food, I've been making lots of vegan soup on the weekends, then living off it for the week. It's super healthy & assures I'm getting plenty of veg. I usually freeze about half of what I make, so it doesn't go bad by Friday. A great trick I've discovered is blending 1 cup of cashews with 4 cups of water in my Vitamix. This "cashew cream" is a great addition to chowders. What I do is make the soup in a veggie broth base, then stir the cashew cream into it at the end. Ethan was going on about how good the potato chowder was, so I'm pretty sure it would pass for a "real" cream-based soup. Try it sometime!

Adventures in Reusable Sandwich/Snack Pouches

2011-03-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

My sister gave me the cutest gnome sandwich keeper, so I wanted to try making some from scratch. There's a lot of debate about lining them with various sketchy plastics, such as PUL, vinyl, etc., so I just lined mine with more cotton fabric. Who cares if the inside gets a little mustard-stained, am I right? And it's not like you'd pack super drippy sandwiches into these anyway, since they'd be soggy by the time lunch rolled around.

The fabric I used were scraps from other projects & stuff I'd gotten from thrift stores. This tutorial was, by far, the simplest & most straightforward that I found. The fruit one is the first one I made, & is lined with that never-ending pink gingham. Thanks for holding it open for me, Mr. Fuzzy Owl!

The blue flowery one is lined with some pink rose fabric, plus it has a heart applique on the front. :)

Below is the cute, yet somewhat deformed, heart. The applique tutorial here is awesome. I used a plain stitch around the outside, rather than the fancy one shown, but I'm sure it'll stay put with the help of the fusible interfacing.

My sewing machine is my late Gran's Singer 404, so I don't have that neat-o zigzagging ability that most people use for appliques. I guess they made an attachment for this machine, but I haven't found one in Gran's stuff. Last night, I was looking for a zipper in the various tins & drawers which housed her sewing loot, when I realized that she was such a meticulous lady---she kept little dated notes with everything & marked future projects in pamphlets & magazines. So cute. Anything I sew that turns out half decent is dedicated to this fierce HBIC! :) I love you, Gran!

Crafting It Up!

2011-03-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's Spring Break, all my friends have real jobs, & Ethan's visiting his parents, so to stave off loneliness, I've been super crafty. Because I wanted to challenge myself, I decided to make my second ~*real*~ sewing project, which is a ginormous grocery bag. It's sewn so sloppily (think *seam of allowance of anywhere from 1/8" to 1/2"*, seriously), but I love it. :) It's so goddamn huge, ha ha. Ethan promised to go to the Farmer's Market with me next weekend, so we'll put her to the test & see how much kale she can hold!

It's lined with the same pink gingham fabric that I used on my owl apron.

This space puzzle of Ethan's has been hogging the "craft table" for several months, so I decided to finish it & reclaim my rightful surface. He did about 85% of it, then petered out when there were tons of black pieces left over. It was fun to listen to Car Talk & wrap this up. Then I Mod Podged it, so Eth can hang it in his room. It glows in the dark!

We had this rickety, nondescript shelf lying around, so I tipped it over, pounded about 10 nails into it, then decided it needed to have a more glamorous look. I used this awesome Etsy creation by pixlpshr as inspiration, but changed it up a bit.

I think it's much cuter & works perfectly for my old NES & N64 games.

Lastly, my obsession with kitchen towels led me to start this cute towel, but I botched the pattern I was working on, so I'm just making a mutation of several towel patterns together...

I did it!

2011-03-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today I graduated the Couch to 5K program, after running my third 5K for the week! I'm so happy & can't wait to work on my speed. Here I am after the first 5K, last Tuesday. So glam.

After my owl post last night I found the coolest site for "owlovers", My Owl Barn. I am trying with all my might to resist ordering these boots. Gah! So tempted...

I've had my eye on these earrings too, but I'm graduating soon-ish, & need to be frugal. So pretty, & they're silver too!

Owls, Owls Everywhere...

2011-03-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some of my owls that I've collected over the years. Most of them are from thrift stores, but some are gifts from friends & family. I'm not crazy about buying EVERY SINGLE owl thing I find, because our apartment is small & I don't like clutter. But I'm tempted sometimes!

This is my newest find. It was only $1.99 at Goodwill & it's a vase! Can't wait for Spring, so I can fill it with flowers!

This enamel number is a gift from Mom. It's really beautiful when the sun shines on it. Sparkly!

I get made fun of for this quirky wood-cut, but whatevs. It has the cutest, fluffiest little baby owl blob on it!

Here's another one from Mom. It's so cute & I love it's little, flowery eyes. :)

Japan makes the cutest owl stuff. These are two mugs from Goodwill.

This one is very delicate, so I have to be careful not to break it.

The left one is an essential oil diffuser, that I always fill with pine tree oil. The second is a cool metal planter that we put a cactus in.

Up close planter...

This is a beautiful owl ornament from my baker friend, Laura. It's hanging on my grapefruit tree!

This trio is composed of two owls from Laura (left & right), & a blue one that's buds with my garden gnomes outside.

This one on the left is a planter that I found at Goodwill. I love the cute little faces on the owls. They're so round! The one on the right is a fierce owl that I put in my mystery plant.

The last owl is a watchful bird that spies on me when I'm in my room. Whooo...

Shrinky Dinks & Cards

2011-02-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

I spent this rainy day with my sister & we had a crafty ol' time. First, she took me to lunch @ Vita Café, which was delish, then we went to her house & made cards & Shrinky Dinks.

She always makes such beautifully embossed cards! The pictures are kind of dark, due to the rainclouds that were looming up above at the time.

While she was concentrating on her cards, I was doodling & stamping on Shrinky Dink plastic. I'm psyching myself up to (finally) start an Etsy shop, especially since I'm getting closer to graduation time, thank Christ. These are eventually going to be earrings, once I get some silver findings.

Sexy Sandwiches

2011-02-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

Everyone who knows me knows that I am in love with Grand Central & their Vegetarian Grinder sandwich. If I could eat one every day, I would. However, I'm not a millionaire & have to make 95% of my food at home. A nice compromise is to buy a loaf of Grand Central bread (the Rustic Baguette) & make my own lowly substitute. They're super delish, but don't hold a candle to the real thing.

I made these with variations of roasted red peppers, avocado, peppered Tofurky, thin-sliced extra sharp Tillamook cheese, Vegenaise, & lettuce. Scarf time!

I also made another birthday card variation for my friend Diane, & my little bro.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes & Stuff

2011-02-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

I've been neglecting the ol' blog again. The cloudy Winter months tend to put me into a semi-funk, but I've been getting back into running again---it's been a couple years! I'm doing the Couch to 5K again, but this time, I'm using the Running Mate podcast, which I love! It's got some funny electronica (?) music & the host, Todd, is super motivational. Now I'm able to jog for 12 minutes at a go. :) Here I come, week 7! (A couple of friends are doing it too, but we're on different weeks.)

Ethan & I found some roller skates for me, & roller blades for him, at Goodwill. So fun. I'll spare you the pictures though. Let me tell you that roller skating in the apartment, after a 20-year hiatus, was a blast!!!

Yesterday morning, it was actually (temporarily) sunny here, so I made pancakes for us. They're a rare treat, mostly because I don't like standing around waiting for all of them to cook. The half batch is your friend, by the way. I used this recipe, & added some frozen blueberries. Mmmmmm...

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons cooled, melted butter
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Get your cast iron pan going. Everyone should know their stove's ~*special pancake temperature*~. Ours is one notch below medium.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, & add the egg, butter, & buttermilk. Whisk everything together, but don't over-mix! Perfect, fluffy pancakes are the result of semi-lumpy batter, trust me. Fold in the blueberries.

Add a little butter to your skillet, spread it around, then pour some batter on that. Flip it when you see bubbles coming up through the pancake. Cook for another minute or so, then eat it up! Repeat till batter is gone, or you are tired of making pancakes.

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I have so many people with February birthdays, so I got a couple new stamp sets & made this card for a few of them. There was a blue version too, but I didn't take pics. Robo-luv...

I finally finished my Feet Eaters too!

They are so damned cute. I want to make some for others, but all the finishing wore me out. I don't like sewing on little tidbits, even when the resulting product is awesome. Maybe after a break though...

Happy crafting!

Whoa, it's Been a Month!

2011-01-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else, I was super busy over the holidays, so blogging wasn't high on my list of priorities. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend time with friends & family before getting sucked back into the Winter term of school.

Sean came out for a few days, so we headed to Mt. Tabor, our usual funtimes place!

Here's Smels & Mom's new-ishly adopted cat, Motley, who is finally getting brave enough to come downstairs from his lair.

Here's our cute Momma, who is known to shield her face with an alien vag when she sees a camera. Just kidding, she was actually repairing this alien figurine that she got for my stepbrother.

I wanted to share some of the recipes I made for gift-giving, since they were pretty delish!

Here are most of the plates I made for peeps. Instead of buying new ones, I got them at Goodwill. Much better to re-use ones that are already floating around the world, I say! There were Strawberry Jelly Dot Cookies, Chewy Gingerbread Trees, Chokeballs (Mexican Wedding Cookies), English Toffee & Honey Caramels. SO. MUCH. SUGAR.

Here's what the finished product looked like. I used these cute, printable labels & a little ribbon for flair.

Rows upon rows of honey caramels! I couldn't believe how long it took to wrap them all, but luckily I was watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent, w/my main man, Vincent D'Onofrio.

I found the recipe here. The only things I did differently were to substitute honey for the corn syrup &, since I didn't have fleur de sel, I used kosher salt instead; despite panicked warnings on the internetz against using honey for candy-making, it worked perfectly, so yeah.

Honey Caramels

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water

Butter a square baking pan & line the bottom w/parchment, buttering that as well; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the cream, butter & salt to a bowl; set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan, boil the sugar, honey & water, stirring until sugar is dissolved (try not to splash the sugar up on the sides of the pan!). Boil, without stirring until mixture is a light golden color, gently swirling the pan occasionally.

Pour the cream into the caramel, being careful not to get splashed by the sputtering brew. Stick your candy thermometer on the side of the pan (don't let it touch the bottom though!) & simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248*F.

Pour caramel delight into your prepared pan & let sit at room temp. until completely cooled. Once cool, cut into 64 pieces & wrap in 4-inch squares of wax paper. Be careful when you twist the sides, or you'll tear the paper. It gets easier as you go, especially if you watch Criminal Intent!

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Another recipe that I make EVERY year is my Gran's Jelly Dot Cookies. The original recipe was from a Nucoa margarine package, hee hee.

Jelly Dot Cookies

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups finely chopped walnuts, for rolling
1 cup jelly or jam of your choice (strawberry & raspberry are faves here)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, & vanilla until smooth & slightly thick. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add them to the first mixture, stirring until thoroughly mixed. If dough is too soft, chill it until it is workable. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll them in the chopped nuts. Place them on a cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven & use your thumb (you may have to wait if you don’t have “asbestos fingers”) to make a dent in the center of each cookie. Then fill the dent with jam or jelly. Place back into the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned, then devour these addictive beasts!

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Chokeballs

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are tasty)
powdered sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream the butter, powdered sugar & vanilla until light. Add the flour & salt & stir until combined, then stir in the nuts. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet (don't worry, they won't spread much at all) & bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven & roll in the powdered sugar. Let cool, then re-roll them. Sometimes I give them a third roll, if I'm feeling saucy.

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These next cookies were a first for me, but they were very good! I got several compliments on them, so I plan on making them again next year. The only thing I would change would be to add more salt to them. I made the dough a little differently too...

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

12 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons milk
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt (1 would double this next time)

Cream the butter, brown sugar & molasses until creamy. Add the milk & try to blend until it emulsifies as much as possible. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients & whisk them or sift them until they're blended. Slowly add them to the creamed mixture, stirring just until combined. Dough will be pretty sticky. If it's too sticky, chill it before rolling. If it's workable, roll it out, with a teensy bit of flour, until it's 1/2-inch thick. Wrap & chill for a couple hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*F. Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes & quickly put them on a cookie sheet (an inch & a half apart); bake for 8-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. They are done when a gentle finger pressed into the center barely retains a fingerprint. One sheet of mine was a bit underbaked, so I put them back in for a couple minutes, which worked just fine. If you cook them too long, they won't be chewy, but they'll still taste good!

*****************************************

English Toffee

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6-8 ounces dark or milk chocolate for spreading (amounts depend on taste)
about 2 cups finely chopped nuts for sprinkling

Line a sheet pan with parchment & set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter; add sugars & water. Stir, over medium heat, until it reaches a boil. Turn heat to somewhere between medium-low & medium. Don't stir very often, or you could summon the dreaded ~crystals~.

Stick your trusty candy thermometer on the side of the pan, careful to not let it touch the bottom. When the mixture reaches 300*F, it's ready. Pour it onto the parchment, WITHOUT SCRAPING THE PAN. There will be some candy left in there, but if you scrape the sides, you risk incorporating some sugar crystals into your toffee, which could cause the whole thing to crystallize. I know, it's a high stress situation, this toffee-making, but it's worth it. You can sort of lift & tilt the cookie sheet & allow the mixture to spread a bit, if you want it thinner.

Once it cools, melt some chocolate & spread it on the toffee. Sprinkle some chopped nuts on top of the chocolate, pressing them into it. Let the chocolate harden, then turn it over & repeat the process on the other side. When that side is hardened, break it into pieces & try not to eat it all!

*****************************************

I didn't even have time to take pictures of all the projects I made, since I was down to the wire, but here are some cute, felted nesting bowls I made for Rod & Anna. I love the colors & want to make some for our house too!

Yesterday, Smels came over, so I could show her the Wii---yeah, I've wanted one since they came out, & I couldn't resist any longer! :) I made her some Jammers, which are her favorite treat from Grand Central. She said they were perfect, yay! I didn't cut the jammers into circles, because I didn't want to deal with scraps. It just seemed simpler to form the dough into a rectangle, then cut it into 12 squares.

Before baking:

Grand Central Bakery Jammers

4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk (I squeezed the juice of one lemon into a measuring cup, then topped it off with 2% milk)
about 3/4 cup jam (I used peach-lavender & strawberry)

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line a baking sheet w/parchment & set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & baking soda. Add the butter pieces & work it into the dry ingredients until teh mixture is mealy, with some quarter-sized pieces of butter remaining. Try not to let it get warm from your fingers; work quickly & pop it into the fridge if you think it's getting warm.

Pour 1 1/4 cups buttermilk onto the flour/butter mixture & work it in with your fingers. It's should be pretty dry, but hold together (sort of like a drier pie dough). If necessary, add more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time.

Dump dough onto your counter. Pat it into a rectangle that's about 2 inches thick. Cut into 12 squares with a sharp knife. Carefully transfer the squares to your baking sheet (they're flaky & delicate at this point), spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Use your thumb to make an indentation into the jammers, & fill them with about 1 tablespoon of jam. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. They're done when they reach a deep golden color.

Nintendo Christmas!

2010-12-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

Inspired by several cool, Perler bead-bedecked trees out there, I decorated our tree this year with NES ornaments.

There are some from Super Mario I, II, & III, plus Duck Hunt. I had to work with what I had on hand, but I plan on adding more, once my Perler bead order gets here. It goes pretty well with my Mario table too, ha ha. :)

I finished this garland this morning, using my handy dandy paper punch, some glue, & white thread.

It's so festive in here! Even my grapefruit tree is ready for the holidays! We're having a really simple, homemade Christmas this year, so I've got to get crafting!

Lastly...I've really been into making Mind Maps, ever since my meditation teacher taught us about them. They're a great way to illustrate information, as well as memorize important facts. And they're fun to make! This one was for my Meditation for Global Healing class---it's for "Ethics for a New Millenium" by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Food for Chilly Weather

2010-11-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

Just posting some food stuff...these rolls are so good! They stayed pillow-y soft for days afterward. Coral, Ryan, Clementine & my sister came over for dinner. Coral brought over some homemade soup & I baked these dinner rolls.

Best Soft Dinner Rolls (from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book)

*2 teaspoons active dry yeast
*1/2 cup warm water
*3/4 cup very hot water
*1/4 cup honey
*1 1/4 cups cold buttermilk
*3 cups all-purpose flour
*2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
*2 teaspoons salt
*4 tablespoons cold butter, diced

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. In a separate small bowl, mix the hot water & the honey. Add the buttermilk; the mixture should be just warm---if it's hot, it will kill the yeast, so let it cool!

In a large bowl, stir together the flours & the salt. Pour the yeast mixture & the buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients & mix it together. It should be a pretty soft/wet dough (I had to add some water to mine). Turn dough onto a lightly floured counter & knead for 15 minutes. Really work it! Gradually knead in the butter chunks; it's awkward at first, but it'll get in there. Once it's incorporated, you're good to go.

Place the dough into a large, oiled bowl & cover with a damp towel. Keep in a warm, draft-free spot (like the oven) & let rise until doubled (about 90-120 minutes). Punch down, & let rise again (45-60 minutes).

Preheat oven to 400*F. Turn the dough onto the counter & cut into about 18 pieces. Shape the dough into 18 balls & place onto an oiled cookie sheet. They should be about an inch apart, so they have room to rise. Let them rise until doubled, then bake for about 20-25 minutes. I took mine out a little earlier than I thought was best, but Coral knew what was up (they continue baking a little, once you take them out.) After they cool for about 5 minutes, serve them with butter & some steaming hot soup!

Veggie Chowder, made with carrots, onion, corn, potatoes, celery & love!

Also, I'm addicted to this granola. A big scoop of yogurt, covered with this stuff, is the best snack ever!

Granola (based on this recipe)

*2 cups oats
*1 cup nuts/seeds (sunflower seeds, walnuts & hazelnuts are great)
*1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
*1/4 cup flax seed
*1/4 cup honey
*1/4 cup maple syrup
*2 tablespoons oil
*1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
*spices to taste

*3/4 cup dried fruit---added towards the end of baking (raisins & cranberries are my favorite)

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment & set aside.

Place the oats, nuts, coconut & flax into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the honey, maple syrup, oil, salt & spices. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, stirring to combine. Spread onto the cookie sheet, making an even layer. Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring a couple times. Add the dried fruit, stirring it into the granola. Turn the oven off, but leave the granola in the cooling oven for several hours, or overnight. Once cool, break it up & store it in an airtight container.

Late Halloween & Birthdays Post!

2010-11-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

I had a somewhat lacking Halloween this year, which sucks because it's my mom's birthday & my favorite holiday! Oh well. My sister & I went to visit Mom for one night, then I watched half of Wizard People, Dear Reader with my sister on Saturday & ate delicious baked tofu sandwiches & cranberry sauce. She's seriously the master of baked tofu & cooking tasty food, sans recipes. The main reason my actual Halloween sucked was because both Ethan & I had to work. Wah, wah, wah! Oh, and we never got pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns either! Next year, I tell you, next year!

I thought these tomatoes were really beautiful---all the colors of the rainbow. I picked them when they were really hard & green, so I was surprised at how ripe they got. They actually got much riper, but I didn't take any more pics.

Yesterday was my friend Drew's birthday, so I gave him this card that I made. I carved the mushroom & happy poo stamps too. It's really fun to carve your own, but the material I use is pretty fragile, like if you rub it, it will crumble. My advice: simple is better & don't be too attached to your creations!

Ethan recently found this owl that I made a year ago. It's been driving me nuts, not knowing where it is. I thought Ruben ate it or something!

I made some Halloween cards for sending out. They were made with a combination of purchased & homemade stamps.

For my mom. She loved this witch design that she found on the internet somewhere. I kind of simplified it, but she still thought it was cool.

Skull card. I carved the skull & really like how it came out!

More generic cards, made from the set of Halloween stamps I got at Joann's.

Purple:

Green:

Orange:

I also made a couple non-Halloween cards, in case something non-Halloween-y came up.

Green deer:

Brown deer:

That's it! I need to do homework now...

Epic Mario Table, Completed at Last!

2010-10-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!! This project has haunted me, because I just couldn't get motivated to finish it. I even dragged its components through several moves! The table was found outside a dumpster, back when I lived on Belmont & walked to Movie Madness one night. My brother, Ethan & I took turns lugging it back up the hill to 60th because I saw its hidden potential.

Before:

It actually looked worse, because the shards of varnish were peeling off unevenly. This is about halfway through the sanding process.

And after!:

After sanding off the 70s varnish, I hand-blended a few colors of acrylic paint to get just the right shade of blue, then sealed it with a couple coats of Krylon UV-Resistant Clear Acrylic Coating.

The Mario part was made from bits & pieces of this awesome chart from Sprite Stitch, & unfortunately, I stumbled upon this cleverly badass method, AFTER ironing of the sections individually. D'oh! There are some visible spaces between some of the sections, but I'm not sure I'd be into investing that much moolah on zillions of Perler pegboards to avoid that flaw.

Oh well, if it were perfect, I'd be afraid to use it, right?! I kind of improvised the top section because I was running low on certain colors of Perler beads at that point, & came up with the Nintendo emblem on my own, since the original was too large. The ironed Perler pieces were glued on with Beacon's Mosaic Glue (& weighted down for 24-36 hours, a few at a time), that I found at JOANN's. It says it's suitable for ceramic, glass & plastic, so we'll see how it holds up. So far, so good!

Here's the top tier:

And here's the bottom level:

I LOVE IT!

I've also been working on this owl cowl, which is so cute! The two-handed fair isle method isn't too hard, once you practice a bit. Much quicker than one-handed, in my opinion. I'm using smaller needles than the pattern recommends, because many people on Ravelry thought it came out too big.

Even more craftiness! My sister came over a while back & we were carving stamps & making Halloween cards. I really like this one that I made for a friend's b-day.

Ooh, for my meditation class, we get to do an assignment where we tune out technology for 3 consecutive days! I'm super excited, because I'm way too dependent upon the internetz for entertainment & need to get back into reading. How can I live without watching Hoarders, Hell's Kitchen, & Fringe?! We're allowed to use computers for work or school, but nothing else; no personal e-mails. And phones are to be used as land-lines---no texting, only talking to people when you're actually at home. No radio, no podcasts, no MP3 players, no DVDs, no nothin'!

I can't wait to challenge myself this way & hope it inspires permanent change within me. My professor warned us that we may experience severe discomfort at first, but to be mindful of how we feel. Not to trivialize actual addiction, but there are definitely some similarities between our excessive use of gadgets & other addictions. They can often distract us from the present moment & cloud our awareness & emotions! I'm telling myself that this Friday, Saturday & Sunday will be best, since I can get a lot of homework done & I'll actually be home most of the time. Plus Ethan will be home too, so I won't feel as lonely & depressed, ha ha. :)

In Memoriam

2010-10-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ruben Colburn: April 19, 2004-October 4, 2010

We will never forget...

*how gentle you were with kids, smaller dogs, puppies, kitties, & especially your brother, Yoda.

*our long Summer walks to the library.

We will never forget...

*the way you would guilt us out, with a look, when we went out.

*how excited you got when we mentioned going for a ride, or a trip to the beach, or for a walk.

We will never forget...

*your goofy smile.

*how much you loved when we'd sing to you or play Enya for hours.

We will never forget...

*all the fun we had.

*our awe of your slobber strings & their seemingly impossible velocity.

We will never forget...

*how sweet you looked when you cradled Baby in your arms & nuzzled her as you slept.

*the way you'd snore sometimes.

We will never forget...

*how excited you'd get when company came over, especially Auntie Coral & little Clementine.

*how you'd beg us to play tug-of-war, & bark insistently when we stopped.

We will never forget...

*how concerned you were when Papa was "out of range".

*the way you would talk to us & let us know your needs/demands, depending on your mood.

We will never forget...

*the way we would mimic your fusses & how we'd take turns, back & forth, for the longest time, almost singing to each other.

*how you'd shake your head, rattling your collar when you needed something.

We will never forget...

*the enthusiastic way you'd welcome us home from work or school.

*how much you loved to chew on carrots, bones, & lavender!

We will never forget...

*how faithfully you protected us over the years.

*the way you charmed everyone around you.

We will never forget...

*your puppy-like spirit, that outlasted your Earth body.

*your beautiful, soulful, brown eyes.

We'll love your forever, Noodle.

Another Sweater Done!

2010-10-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is the infamous Buttony Sweater, by Katie @ Oh My Stars.

She has a free guide to knitting a custom-fitting, asymmetrical, bulky-yarn sweater. Years ago, I made a magenta one, but the asymmetrical thing just didn't look right on my chest...at all. I think it looks better on smaller folks, but that's just my opinion. I recently frogged that one & cranked this version out It's a more traditional, down-the-middle cardigan. I love it & have gotten several compliments on it already! I didn't add any waist shaping, so it's one of those comfy, warm, non-form-fitting sweaters.

I'm planning on making another with my magenta yarn, but I want to see how this yarn holds up, & whether or not it'll stretch out or anything. That way I can make the next one a little smaller.

And, for some reason, I've never taken pictures of my cell phone cozy, so I wanted to add it to my Ravelry projects page. It's cute, but it's always floating around in the bottom of my backpack, hidden from human sight, including mine. Poor little mushrooms. :(

This weekend is rare, in that I have zero responsibilities! Ethan & Ruben are visiting his parents, & I don't have to work or dog-sit, so I can put my feet up & just chill. So nice. My sister is coming over later for a slumber party, & we're gonna craft our asses off, make enchiladas, & watch The Avengers. What could be better?! After this, I'm going to decorate the house for Halloween, which is also Mom's birthday. This is so fun! Happy October, everyone!

Completing Oodles of Projects!

2010-09-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

I've been squeezing the last little bit out of my summer break by finishing projects & little odds & ends that have been cluttering up my life. It feels so freeing!

Firstly, I've finished knitting my second sweater. The first one didn't fit too well, so I've frogged it. At least I can use the yarn for another one! This is the "Cozy V-Neck Pullover w/Deep Ribbing" from Fitted Knits, by Stefanie Japel. What's so great about this pattern is that the ribbing does the shaping for you. It's really flattering in the waist department & is a great basic sweater.

Another thing I did was repair my Nintendo! When Sage was visiting, we played the hell out of it & it finally started to have problems when we'd switch cartridges. We ended up having to jam a particular book into it to hold the game down far enough to make contact w/whatever parts are necessary for play. I found this great place & ordered the repair kit. Using their photo guide, I was able to get in there, clean it out, & replace the 72 pin cartridge connector, which apparently wears out in 25 years or so, ha ha.

Here's the best picture I took. I was too busy cussing to take more!

It took an hour, at the most, then I ended up w/a happy NES, ready for 25 more years of action!

Another thing I got done was the "butchery" of our tomato plants. Coral recommended I trim the shit out of them, so they'd put their energy into ripening the stragglers. I hope it works! For some reason, I feel guilty pruning plants. :( Here's the latest batch I picked.

Ethan & I have been watching X-Files, but this puzzle got us hooked to the point where we were putting it together WHILE watching it. Horrible! This is from Goodwill, & stated on the bottom that there were two missing pieces. Whoever donated it is so sweet to write that on there!

We came up with the idea of replacing them with cardboard (traced, then cut w/an Exacto Knife), then painting them to blend in. I think it worked really well! You'd only be able to tell if it were pointed out. I Mod Podged it a bunch, then hung it on the wall this morning. Cool!

Speaking of mushrooms & Goodwill: Mom bought these giant garden shrooms for me, when she was visiting last time. I LOVE THEM! They're originally from Target, but our Goodwill gets a lot of their close-out & remainder items, so you can sometimes get new shoes & stuff for a steal.

I also mended my sister's slipper that her kitty chewed a hole in:

Other tasks I completed: cleaned my room, washed 3 loads of laundry, made fruit leather out of a box of pears from Coral, backed up all my photos to Flickr & DVD, plus sold a bunch of old books on Amazon. I am officially declaring my old habit of procrastination OBSOLETE! If it feels so good to catch up on things, imagine what it's like to feel that way ALWAYS!

Catching up w/Quiche!

2010-09-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Most of my life, I've had a weird love/hate relationship w/eggs. When I was little, Mom used to scramble them, then COVER them w/cheese & serve them w/toast, in order for me to eat them.

I'm okay if they're in food (I LOVE mayonnaise, to the disgust of my sister, who's also egg-phobic!), but I'm pretty particular about heavily eggy dishes. For instance, I love egg salad sandwiches, but only if I make them myself, & without any funny business, such as relish, or olives, etc. Hard-boiled eggs, mayo/Vegenaise, mustard, S & P. That's it! Crepes are pretty much a "no", although Coral got me to eat some wheat-y, strawberry crepes at the slumber party. :)

I've made plenty of quiche in my time, for a couple of jobs---a café & also at the preschool I worked at---but I always steered clear, myself. Too eggy & wiggly for me! Now I'm feeling like I've missed out on a lot of good food, simply from imagining (wrongly) what it must taste like.

Finally, before our TLC work retreat, we enjoyed a catered breakfast from a nearby café. They had an amazing spread of fruit, baked goods, home fries, & three quiches. I asked my friend, Joey, if I could try a bite of his. It. Was. Amazing. So rich & delicate! I've learned my lesson. Be adventurous! Try new things! (As long as they're vegetarian, ha ha.)

When my mom & brother were here last time, I cracked open my new favorite cookbook, The Grand Central Baking Book, & found a recipe for quiche. It had bacon in it, plus a few ingredients I didn't have on hand, so I improvised. It paid off & I was rewarded with one of the tastiest things I've ever made. Please keep an open mind & try foods you might not otherwise eat. Since I've been a cook all my life, I thought I could imagine what quiche would taste like, but I was wrong! If you don't like something, you can always spit it out & chug some juice or something, holding your nose all the while (which is a great tip that got me through childhood). :) Here's my version of delicious quiche:

Spinach, Onion & Cheese Quiche

1 pre-baked pie shell
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
handful of frozen spinach (about 1/2 a bag)
salt & pepper
5 large eggs
1 cup half & half
3 ounces grated Asiago
3 ounces grated Double Gloucester w/chives & onions

Preheat oven to 325*F. In a large pan over medium heat, sauté the onion & garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add spinach & cook until defrosted & no longer watery. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Whisk together the eggs & half & half, with another good pinch of salt & pepper. Place the veggie mixture into the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust & spread evenly. Top with grated cheeses & then carefully pour the egg mixture over the top.

Slowly walk to the oven & place the quiche inside. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set.

Let cool a bit before digging in!

I wanted to show you what happens if you get impatient & don't let your pie crust rest before baking.

Before:

After:

D'oh! A lot of the pretty details get garbled & it shrinks inward a bit. Oh well! It was tasty & we were too hungry to wait any longer. Next time I'll begin earlier...

In other news, I rescued this plant from the dumpster area out back, after Ethan told me about seeing it. It's cool, though I'm not sure what it is yet.

I brought it in the house when it started raining, then checked the soil a few days later. What the hell?! I took it back outside to photograph these tiny, neon yellow, penis-shrooms!

Yeah, there's tons of dog hair in there too. I ended up scraping out the first couple inches of soil because I think it was full of mold, fungus & dog hair, then topped it off with fresh potting soil. It seems happier already! Who knows what kind of mushrooms those were...

I also disassembled a rainbow wool sweater that I got from Ara @ the clothes swap/bbq that her & Drew hosted. The sweater wasn't flattering on me (too short & wide, plus chunky yarn=not the best look), but I LOVE the colorway. I think I'll make a few kinds of hats & maybe some headbands or something. It took quite a few episodes of The X-Files to get through it (we're re-watching them & are almost done w/Season Two!), but I'm excited for all the possibilities.

Tryon Life Community Retreat

2010-09-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

A while back, everyone from work went on a retreat to TLC Farm, in order to become more familiar with the consensus decision making process, which we've been using for about a year & a half, & to learn about sustainable living from the nice people who live & work at the farm. I'd gone there a couple summers ago for my Ecofeminist Spirituality class, so it was neat to see how the plants had grown & filled out since I'd last been there!

View of the information board, composting toilets (which were the first legal public composting toilets in Portland! Cool!), & cob sauna:

We started out by listening to the founders of our co-op speak about how they got organized & had to learn the ways of the school's bureaucratic bullshittery, in order to start out. It became apparent that we've been slacking on knowing our rights & how to get better deals written into our contracts w/the school.

View from the stage, down towards the main garden & creek area:

The sauna, which they were working on that day:

Then we did an exercise in honest communication, led by our awesome advisor, Shannon, to help curb passive aggressive complaining, which is actually a form of violence, under the consensus model. It divides & taints the group, while solving nothing. What is interesting is that conflict is important & necessary; it's how we handle it that's key. We got a little silly during the activity, but basically learned to use "I statements" to convey how we feel when a co-worker is continuously late, for example. It's also important to deal with the situation at hand, rather than bringing up other issues, which usually gets personal & causes the conversation to spiral out of control. It was super helpful & I can't wait to see how we use this knowledge, once we re-open for the fall term. Cool!

Part of the heated, cob bench. I love the face!

The other end of the bench. It reminds me of a dragon:

After that, we built our pizzas, then handed them off to Matt for baking in the cob oven! We all brought three ingredients, then shared them. So many tasty toppings! Unfortunately, I didn't take any food shots because I was too hungry.

I LOVE the beautiful ceiling above the outdoor kitchen area. It's hypnotizing:

Here's some of the peeps, waiting on the slow eaters:

Matt shows us their consensus model & introduces Brush, who helped us with the nitty-gritty & gave us tips on making the consensus process go more smoothly.

What I loved were Brush's hints on incorporating the voices of those who tend to be more quiet at meetings. One idea was to give each person in the group three stones. These represent the number of times you can speak up. Each time you talk, you throw a stone into the center of the table or whatever. This encourages the chattier folks to weigh the importance of what they want to say, & gives the quieter ones more room to speak up. He calls these techniques "Step Up, Sit Back", I believe. This challenges chattier people to hold back a bit, & urges quieter folks to be brave & "step up." I'm someone who processes things internally & I appreciate a quiet 30 seconds, or so, before I'm ready to share my thoughts. If everyone jumps in immediately, I tend to hang back & space out, honestly. :) Brush said he'd be happy to lead a workshop on facilitation, so I hope we invite him to help us out!

Here are two beautiful sheep. Matt said they are going to be sheared soon. How I would love to have some of the wool! They were total snuggle-bunnies:

Drew couldn't hold back & ran ahead to see the goats:

My parents raised goats when we were growing up, so we grew up drinking goats' milk & Mom even made homemade raspberry yogurt with it! Their names were Ethel & Michelle. This Nubian mama looks a lot like Ethel. She was pretty feisty though, so I stuck to petting her babies.

Cute little horned behbeh. Their eyes are so reptilian:

Hee hee!

Yay for my rain boots! Joey wanted me to take a picture of 'em. I'm usually living in my sandals, even in the rain, but these were necessary for stomping through the muck. And I didn't fall on my butt, even once!

If you live in or around Portland, I encourage you to visit the farm. They offer classes, workshops, work-trade, & have times where you can go in the sauna! It's a really open, spiritual environment, full of happy kids & wonderful people. Thanks, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

2010-09-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

Time for another birthday post. Ethan turned 26 years old today, & is working at his awesome, new job, which was the best birthday present he could have gotten! I'm whipping up a feast tonight, but might not take pictures, since the lighting will suck & the food is heavily brown, ha ha. However, I wanted to post a couple pictures of the cake I made, as well as some hors d'oeuvre I made for him.

Since dinner won't be served until 6:00, I wanted to surprise him once he gets home, w/a glass of Cabernet & some of these bad boys:

They're peppered Tofurky slices, spread with a thin layer of softened cream cheese, then rolled up. My grandma used to make these, with real turkey, sometimes rolling up a pickle spear or some cheddar. So addictive!

This is the cake I made. It's a quarter batch of this recipe, minus the filling. I just filled it with cream cheese frosting. It's a little baby cake!

It's always a hit; I used to make it at my last job & everyone who tried it was a fan. I've only made it as a layer cake, never as a tube cake, but I'm sure it's great no matter what. This time I used white whole wheat flour & brown sugar, so it's a LEETLE BIT more wholesome...

Eth, you're my bestest friend & I'm so thankful for all our dorky, good times!

P.S. Ruben says, "Happy birthday, Papa!"

Happy Birthday, Sage!

2010-09-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not actually her birthday till tomorrow, but we had to celebrate early, since she was heading up to Vancouver before the real day. She mentioned that she just received her Granny Mom's (grandma's) recipe for pound cake, so when I said that neither myself nor Ethan had ever had pound cake before, she was astounded! I asked her if she wanted me to bake her one for her birthday & she said "yeah"! The morning of the last full day that she stayed here, she went off to run errands & I got to work baking.

I was a little tentative about the recipe, because it mentioned "3 heaping cups" of flour, which is an estimate, not a measurement. The precise baking part of my brain was all **illogical! illogical!** I was nervous! How much should I heap?! I guess I did alright. It came out delicious---buttery w/a hint of vanilla.

Here's the recipe. If you're planning on making it, make sure that the butter, shortening, milk & eggs are at room temperature beforehand. Also, Granny Mom says you shouldn't even attempt this cake without a stand mixer. The world might end if you were to mix it by hand. Super important!

Granny Mom's Pound Cake

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1/2 cup Crisco (I used Spectrum)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 heaping cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325*F. Grease a bundt or tube pan & set aside. Cream together the butter, shortening & sugar till fluffy.

Here's the Spectrum shortening I used in place of gross Crisco:

Add eggs, one at a time, stopping often to scrape down the bowl of the mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt & baking powder. Add part of the flour, alternating with some of the milk & vanilla, mixing just until combined. Repeat until all the ingredients are added.

Pour into prepared pan & bake for 1 hour to 1 hour & 15 minutes. Apparently the usual toothpick test doesn't work well for this cake. To test for doneness, press your finger into the top of the cake---if it feels firm, it's done. If not, put it back into the oven for 3 more minutes, then check again.

Here's the baked cake, cracky & gorgeous:

Sage made me eat the first piece. I made a raspberry sauce to go with it.

Thankfully, I've been eating food other than cake too. Mainly messy, delicious sandwiches. This one has Vegenaise, Tillamook pepper jack, veggie burger, tomato, avocado & pickles, on cracked wheat sourdough. YUM!

Today, when we took Noodle on a walk, I brought the camera along. He's so cute! We can only go on very short walks, because his hips hurt him, but he has so much fun sniffing around. :)

Last of the Peaches!

2010-08-30T11:22:00.001-07:00

We have finally used up the 67 or so pounds of peaches that we picked! It was no small feat to process &/or eat so many golden, juicy globes, believe me. I made 9 pints of peach sauce, which is similar to applesauce (or baby food!). It's really good, with a hint of cinnamon & the bare minimum of sugar. The downside is that it's runnier than applesauce, but I didn't want to cook the piss out of it & kill any & all vitamins, so whatevs.

The other night, Sage & I made peach crisp, which was EXCELLENT. We combined a peach pie filling recipe w/the crisp topping that I always use for apple crisp. We ended up with 3 individual ramekins, plus a large casserole of it.

Excuse the bad night-time photo:

Here's the recipe, if you want to try it. I cut the sugar down a bit, since I like the fruit to be on the tart side, which is balanced well by the buttery, sweet topping. You can make it sweeter if you like it that way.

Peach Crisp

Crisp Topping:

1 cup oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

Peach Filling:

4 pounds ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, & sliced***
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Make the crisp topping by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine the peaches & lemon juice in a large bowl, then mix together the dry filling ingredients (flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon & salt) in a small bowl. Dump the dry ingredients over the peaches & combine them gently. Pour the juicy peach filling into whatever baking dish(es) you're using, then sprinkle the topping over it. Bake until the topping is golden & the filling is bubbly. Let it cool a few minutes before devouring, because it would be a shame to damage your taste buds before you could enjoy this feast!

***hint: The easy way to peel peaches is to cut a little "X" into the bottom of them, then toss a few at a time into boiling water. Leave them in for about a minute, then plunge them into cold water. This will allow you to slide the skin right off. Cool!

Our garden is trying its damnedest to grown & ripen, but we get so little direct sun, due to the ginormous tree outside our apartment. Imagine my excitement when I saw this little tomato the other day!

Most of the others look like this:

I'm really hoping that the red one sends out some hormones or something that will kick-start the rest, otherwise we'll be eating fried green tomatoes & canning green tomato relish. C'mon, babies, go!

Here's a cute succulent terrarium I made recently, using a cool goblet I found at Goodwill. I really like how it turned out.

I've also been knitting this Circle Sock for myself, which is reminiscent of a TMNT shell. Turtle power!

Noodle (Ruben) is doing much better, after a rough patch of health. He's been loving to sunbathe on the porch during our more temperate days.

Peaches, Peaches, Everywhere!

2010-08-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday a bunch of us headed out to Bays Farms, in Banks, to pick peaches. The summer has been mild, & Coral had been calling the farms every week, asking if the fruit was ripe yet. It was finally time!

It was a blast & went much quicker than berry picking, that's for sure! The people at the farm are sweet---we go there regularly for fruit & Christmas trees---& they always give us freebies. This time they gave each of us 3 pounds of Shiro plums, which are a beautiful, pale, yellow-green.

Here are the lovely peach-mamas (Allie, Smels, Coral, & Sage), with fresh buckets in hand, ready to go back for another round of peaches:

Here's some of our loot:

Gorgeous golden globes:

Once home, we had to decide what to do with all these peaches. I think I got 50 pounds & Sage got 17 (a much wiser amount, in hindsight!). Here we have peaches in medium syrup & plain peach jam.

Then the next day, Sage made scrumptious poached peaches, with a hint of spice & vanilla. Tastiest. Breakfast. Evar.

And I made a few quarts of peaches, as more of my peaches ripened. (I picked them at various stages of ripeness, since there was no way I could have canned them all in one day---in fact, I still have a TON left). Yeah, they are floating, even though we followed the "rules."

And then Sage made her very first pie! It came out delicious as hell & it was my first time eating peach pie too. Weird!

Then we made more jam. Peach-lavender & shiro plum, with vanilla & black pepper. F'realz! It's an old-fashioned, pectin-free recipe.

The lavender flavor was made by using the peach recipe on the no-sugar/low-sugar pectin box, but we steeped 2 tablespoons of lavender flowers in hot apple juice for 10 minutes. I won't post the basic directions, since they come with the pectin, but the "recipe" contained:

2 tablespoons lavender
1 cup apple juice (heated to steep the lavender)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 cups diced peaches
1 box pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 1/2 cups sugar

You wouldn't believe how well the lavender flavor compliments the peaches. We were blown away. I can't wait to give a jar to Ethan's mom, Cathy, who loves lavender & once made me some lavender shortbread. :)

Even after all these peach concoctions, we still have about 30 pounds of 'em here. Millions of peaches...

Pizza of Supremely Magical Powers

2010-08-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've been bad about posting because we've been like a bed & breakfast up in here, but I had to write about this tasty pizza we made. We usually just use whatever we have around the house, but this time everything came together to sort of taste like pepperoni!

We used homemade dough (from Martha), then covered it in sauce, feta, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, pickled jalapeños, smoked gouda & red pepper flakes.

The cool thing is is that most of those ingredients were free or nearly free, & they turned into one of the tastiest pizzas we've ever made.

I also made a hat from the book Hip Knit Hats, which I checked out from the library. Warning: see this errata page, if you get an earlier edition of the book.

The hat is called "Ella" & is an entrelac pattern, the second one I've made. (Well, the first project was a scarf that I didn't like, so I ripped it out before finishing it.) I love it, even though I'm not a "hat person."

Very unenthusiastic modeling shot:

Houseguests & Sushi...

2010-08-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'd post more, but I've been really busy with company & haven't been crafting or cooking as much as I normally do. I've also been backing up ALL my digital photos onto Flickr, because I'm paranoid. :)

My brother is visiting now, then leaving on Monday after I get off work...then my friend Sage is coming to stay that very same night. She's on her way from Sweden to Vancouver, B.C. for her next round of grad school. My head is spinning, but it's been a lot of fun!

Yesterday, he requested this super-breakfast: home fries, scrambled eggs w/cheese, homemade wheat toast, & raspberries!

The potatoes were from Cathy & David's garden & there were some blues in there! Cool.

The toast was from Dave's actual wheat bread recipe. I've made it so many times, usually in the summer when I have more free time. The rest of the year, I either buy it, or get Ezekiel, which I love as well. The recipe is available here.

With all that food in his belleh, he was powered up for some fun at Mt. Tabor Park!

Horsing around:

Probably gettin' too big for the ol' seahorse, kid...

Swinging away.

After wearing him out, we headed to Fubonn & got the missing components we needed for sushi! Sean was a great sushi maker! The texture of the nori sheets squicked him out, so he was in charge of filling the inari. Look how great they turned out:

I made the veggie rolls, which were filled with chives, avocado, carrots, cucumber, & the best fried tofu I've ever had in my life! It's made locally & is SO FRESH. We got the onion flavor, but they also make a spicy lemongrass that is to die for. Try it if you find yourself near Fubonn. You won't regret it!

Here is one happy kid!

Uber-tasty Homemade Lasagna w/Mushrooms & Rainbow Chard!

2010-08-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'd only had lasagna made w/fresh pasta ONCE, & that was when a hilarious Italian man I worked with made it. It was epic---so tender, gooey, & rich.

A couple weeks ago, when I made fresh pasta, I reserved some of the plain sheets, & rolled them up in parchment for lasagna. I try not to use too much parchment/plastic bags, but I'll be re-using these, & just rolled them back into the freezer for my next pasta-making extravaganza.

Here's the pasta peeking out:

I don't usually follow a recipe for lasagna, but use whatever we've got floating around here. This time we had some veggies from Ethan's parents & it just worked out really well. I wrote down the general recipe here though, just in case it was worth repeating. I think it was! :)

Lasagna w/Mushrooms & Rainbow Chard

fresh lasagna (I used about 6 sheets---they're irregular, so yeah)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound mushrooms, diced
2 large handfuls of chopped baby rainbow chard
salt & pepper to taste
2 pounds ricotta
1 large handful of chopped fresh chives
4 ounces of grated Parmesan, divided
garlic powder (I was out of fresh!), salt & pepper to taste
1 pound grated mozzarella
1 jar pasta sauce---I used Paul Newman Tomato/Basil or something

Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a large pan, saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms & cook until tender, then add the chard. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the chard is tender, but not mushy. Season with salt & pepper as you're stirring.

Steamy veggies:

In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, chives, & about half the Parmesan (save the rest for the top), then season with garlic powder & salt & pepper.

In a 9X13-inch pan, place a thin layer of sauce, then top that with a layer of pasta, then a thin layer of the ricotta mixture.

Try to use a delicate touch here, but even if you butcher the layers, it will taste great & no sane person will complain!

Top the ricotta with a little mozzarella, then sauteed veggies, then sauce. Keep layering until you run out of ingredients. Make sure to have enough sauce & mozzarella for a little sprinkling on the top. Sprinkle with the remaining half of the Parmesan too.

Bake for about 45 minutes or so, until bubbly. If the top begins to brown too much, cover with foil or a lid, if you have one. Let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes (if you can!), as it will aid the cutting process.

Serve with garlic bread or whatever you wish. Eth made some garlic bread with Dave's Killer Bread & it was tastay. You could also serve a salad or some side veggies, but this had a bunch inside, so we just rolled with it.

Also, check out this cute egg holder I found at Goodwill! I love, love, love it!

Camping in Yachats...

2010-08-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

It took me a few days to get caught up on life, before I could make a post about last weekend's camping trip. It was a family trip, with my sister, my brother & I. Believe it or not, the three of us had NEVER gone camping together before this!

We didn't have reservations, so we ended up driving down the coast until we found an open campground. Talk about stressful! Having the car loaded up, the bike rack on, & a few antsy wannabe campers on board was rough. Just as we were about to give up, we stumbled upon Cape Perpetua, just outside of Yachats. We immediately set up camp, ate, then headed to the beach.

We found the coolest beach, called Neptune State Park.

There were all these cool, shallow caves everywhere.

Nearby, there were tidepools full of tadpoles. Weird! They were for sure on their way to becoming frogs though...

It seemed obvious that the area was so named, due to the space-y terrain & unique rock formations. So cool!

Sean & Smels on some rocks:

Sean, looking pensive:

Smels, exploring the rocky terrain:

We went on a couple short hikes, back at camp, including this one to the Giant Spruce Tree.

Smels spotted this beautiful, dewy plant.

Sean proved himself to be a champion kindling chopper!

The next day, we went to another beach, called Bob Creek State Park. We saw a lot of critters there.

A sassy baby crab:

A white sea anemone:

And some green ones:

And this poor starfish was regenerating itself, after some sort of near death experience:

There was a lot of stinky slime!

And some pretty seaweed/kelp. I'm too ignorant to know the types!

Sean was feeling tired, so he decided to take a break for some whittling:

Back at camp, he used candle wax & some scrounged wire to complete the boat & make it seaworthy. It passed the test here, floating in some mosquito larvae-laden water. Ew!

On the last day, before packing up, Smels spotted a couple lobster mushrooms. One of them had already been harvested by another camper.

This was so much fun. We'll have to go camping together more often!

Fresh Pasta From Scratch!

2010-07-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've got this big list of goals & fun things I want to do before school starts back up, & making fresh pasta was one of them. Little did I know that my mom would spot this awesome Ampia pasta machine at Goodwill! It's really heavy-duty.

We think that the ravioli attachment, on the right, doesn't actually go with the base part, since there is no way to attach it---it was just sort of piled on top of the pasta maker, so we got it. Maybe another brand? It doesn't say Ampia on it...oh well. I may try to use it as is, but didn't attempt ravioli this time. I'm going camping tomorrow & don't have a lot of tasty filling options on hand.

I used the recipes from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman & they worked really well. I ended up making 6 pounds of pasta---24 main course servings! I figured I might as well make as much as I could, since I had the house to myself & could freeze it all.

First I made spinach pasta:

It wanted to become fettuccine, so I obliged:

Then I made black pepper fettuccine, which I'm super excited to try:

Next, I made some plain ol' spaghetti:

I froze some of the plain pasta sheets for lasagna, then made tomato fettuccine, flavored with tomato paste:

The only kind I've tried so far was the tomato. I put a little pesto on it (not the best color combo!) & it was heavenly---so light & tender. I'll post some pictures when I make something that looks somewhat appetizing!

Traditional Egg Pasta Dough

10 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
a few drops of water, if needed

You basically just mix these ingredients together, adding a little water, if necessary, then knead for 1-2 minutes. If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour. For best results, let rest for at least an hour. Divide dough into 6 pieces, then roll it out according to your pasta machine.

*Spinach Variation---use 2 more ounces of flour (12 ounces total), add 1/4 pound frozen chopped spinach (cook, mince, & squeeze out all water)

*Black Pepper Variation---add 1 tablespoon of freshly ground pepper

*Tomato Variation---add 3 tablespoons tomato paste

My First "Real" Sewing Project!

2010-07-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky to have my Gran's old Singer, & have only just now completed my first garment...this cute owl apron! I think I'm going to give it to my friend Sage, since she loves to cook & her birthday is coming up soon. Excuse the poor lighting, please. I planned on taking better pictures today, but our apartment is all dark (closed blinds to keep out the 95*F sun), since we're trying to keep the interior cool for our dog, Ruben. It works, but looks a bit dreary.

I got the owl fabric from Joann's, & the gingham was from a free pile---there's a ton more of it too!

It took me two days to sew, because I ran out of ric rac & had to make another little run to Joann's, which ended up being an hours-long adventure, when Ethan wanted to come along. We then had to go to his bank, the library, Movie Madness, the library again (since they'd left some DVDs out of the cases!), Trader Joe's, Joann's, Goodwill, then Joann's again (he found a cool calligraphy book & wanted some pens). Whew! That must be why it wasn't finished till 10:00 last night, ha ha. It probably needs to be ironed again, but that can wait.

Said ric rac:

Cute, ribbon-y pocket:

This garland was my first little warm-up project. The idea is from The Purl Bee (they have the cutest free project ideas/patterns!!!), but I didn't use invisible thread (because I didn't have it, or care enough to buy it). I haven't figured out where I'm going to hang it, which is why it's just in a pile on the desk. I didn't place the colors randomly, like they suggested, because I am obsessed with rainbows & it can be a pride garland too!

Now I've got to get sewing on a poppy dress that I actually started last summer. The pieces are all cut out, but are jammed in a drawer of fabric. I was too intimidated to start sewing...until now!

Making Crème Brûlée!

2010-07-24T09:44:00.001-07:00

Ethan recently quit smoking, so I wanted to reward him with one of his favorite treats---crème brûlée! I *thought* I was going to go with Nigella's recipe, hence the cookbook in the background, but I realized her version made a giant casserole of it (not individual ramekins), plus it wasn't baked in a water bath, which I wanted to do.

I ended up going with this recipe, since it called for a pint of cream, which was my limit, ha ha.

The ingredients you'll need are: 4 egg yolks, 1 pint cream, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, plus a little extra sugar for the broiling part.

Preheat the oven to 275*F & get a bunch of water boiling, so you'll be prepared for the hot water bath. Scald the cream & vanilla by putting them in a saucepan over low heat, until the mixture begins to steam.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks & the sugar until combined.

It should look like this:

Once the cream is steaming, remove it from the heat & whisk about 1/2 a cup of it into the yolks, whisking constantly (or you'll end up with scrambled eggs). Repeat this tempering step, then whisk the yolks into the pan of cream. This should combine everything together without shocking/cooking it.

Divide the mixture between your ramekins. The recipe said it would make 4, but I only ended up filling 3, since I wanted the custard to be high in the ramekins, so the broiling would be easier & quicker.

Carefully pour the boiling water until it reaches about halfway up the ramekins. Place in the oven (using mitts!), & bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until the edges of the custard are set, & the middles wiggle like jello. Don't over-bake them, or the texture will be gross. Mine took about 10 minutes longer, since they were deeper. They'll continue to set as they chill. Remove the ramekins from the water bath & chill them until cold, preferably overnight.

Time for the crunchy top! Get your oven broiler super hot. If you have a torch, it works much better than the oven broiler, so use it! Take a paper towel & carefully blot off any moisture from the top of the custards. Sprinkle them with a thin, even layer of sugar, then place as close to the broiler as possible. You want to caramelize the sugar before you recook the custard & get it all melty again. Once you get the color you want, remove them & put them back in the fridge to chill for about another hour or so. If you wait too long before digging in, the topping will lose its crunch.

After all that hard work, share & enjoy the fruits of your labor! So rich...

Fancy Egg Salad

2010-07-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

This turned out surprisingly well, but it was likely due to the amazing eggs & chives I'd been given by Coral, my sister, & Ethan's parents. The eggs were almost buttery...

Egg Salad w/Chives

*6 organic, free-range eggs
*Vegenaise/mayo to taste (maybe 1/4 cup?)
*2 teaspoons mustard
*salt & pepper to taste
*handful of minced fresh chives
*delicious bread---I used Grand Central's Como

Gently place the eggs into a medium pan, then cover with cold water, by about an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, then let sit for 12 minutes. Drain water, then fill pan with cold water, letting the water cool the eggs. If the water gets warm, drain & refill with cold again.

Crack the eggs & peel them. Chop them to whatever texture/size you desire: I really use a fork to make 'em fine. Add Vegenaise, mustard, and S & P. Taste & get the seasonings perfect, then fold in the chives.

Lightly toast bread & spread with egg salad. Garnish with chive blossoms, if you want to be super fancy.

Cravings, Eggs & Succulents

2010-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had a majorly wacko craving for toast: one piece with homemade strawberry jam, one with butter & nutritional yeast. It was delicious. For a moment, I was tempted to sandwich them together, but thought better of it. Maybe next time...

I also have all these eggs to use at some point. Some are from Coral, some are from my sister. They both have a bunch of happy chickens that crank out the best eggs in the Universe---the yolks are so bright that they're almost orange! I see a lot of egg salad sandwiches in my future.

Ethan's on the coast, at his parents' house, trying to quit smoking, so I told him that when he gets back I'll make him some crème brûlée. And Coral is letting me borrow her blowtorch for the crunchy sugar topping. I'm excited!

Speaking of Coral, she goes to the Country Fair every year & does henna tattoos for people. She brought me back this zig-zaggy hand-thrown pot that I adore!

Since I'm obsessed with succulents, I planted a variety of little starts in there, hoping they'll go wild & fill it up. Hmmm, I see a dog hair in there too...bonus of living with a big ol' dog!

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

2010-07-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

It's sort of difficult for me to transition from the quiet, nature-filled camping scene, back into the obnoxious (at least where we live, ha ha!) city environment. One cool thing was going to the Farmer's Market though. I got a rainbow bouquet of flowers, a bunch of fresh lavender, & an armful of phallic veggies: regular & yellow zucchini, plus a few cucumbers.

Pretty flowers:

I decided to make roasted zucchini, since roasting is super easy & always brings about great results. Here they are on an olive oiled sheet, after slicing into 3/4" rounds.

And here they are after being tossed with a mixture of olive oil, the juice of a lemon, a teensy bit of sugar (like 1/4 tsp.), & salt & pepper. Roast away in the hottest oven temp. possible, turning halfway through, for about 16-20 minutes. Try to hold out for the browning.

Can you see all those glorious browned bits? I wish I would have let them go longer, but I was too hungry, plus my pasta was ready to eat. The ones on the edge were the best.

At work, I made some cinnamon-raisin & cranberry-orange scones, along with a batch of orange-nutmeg cookies...

The recipe is from The Grand Central Baking Book, but I vegan-ized it for work.

I also found comfort in Mario. Ethan & I had a video game night & it was a blast. My old NES is still kickin'!

I feel better now...I'm outta here!

Mega Coastal Camping Post

2010-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

For my main birthday present, Ethan took me camping from Wednesday to Friday. We decided to head to Cape Lookout, since we're both from the coast & wanted to head back home. I definitely didn't appreciate what a lovely area I was born into till I went back last week. It's hard to imagine that a more beautiful place exists in the world, though I admit that I might be biased!

We got into the park around 4:00 p.m., so we set up camp & got down to scarfing. There were plenty of Smart Dogs & Tofurkey Sausages to be had!

Yum!

After the food had a chance to settle, we headed to the beach for some Frisbee, but ended up splashing in the ocean after awhile. The weather was magnificent! Most people would probably avoid water in the mid-50s, but it was calling our names & we got used to it pretty quickly. Then we were hooked! We went in up to our waists, but that was enough.

Modeling my new birthday hat:

We saw a couple of nesting seagulls too.

My sister stocked me up on Smart Wool from head-to-toe, so I was nice & snuggly, even when it cooled down at night.

Here's the beautiful night sky that we were treated to at camp:

The next day, Thursday, we went for an amazing hike out to the Cape, which was a little over 5 miles, round trip. Shortly after taking off, we were in awe of the beautiful, gnarly, old-growth forest that surrounded us.

The weather was really humid at first---this is a rain forest, after all! We went for about a mile & ended up on the stormy side of the Cape, which was beautiful.

It wasn't technically raining, but the moisture condenses on the trees & showers down on everything below.

After that windy section, we ended up on a drier path that was perfectly warm & sunny.

Yeah, the water was actually that bright! It almost looked unreal, it was so beautiful.

The trail was so varied that a person has to pay close attention, or risk going headlong down a hill or off a cliff! Yikes.

Here's Eth, peeking through a tree-gina (not the scientific term, I'm sure!).

After all that work, we made it to the end! The cliffs are loosely fenced off with rope, but many people (not me!) climb under them for a better (deadlier) view. You can see little dark blobs, which are actually seabirds & dolphins...yes, dolphins! We were looking for grey whales, since they migrate through around this time of the year, but we were delighted to sea pods of bottlenose dolphins instead.

Unfortunately, my camera is not the best, so we only got a few blurry shots of some fins & tails, but this one below is probably the most obviously dolphin-shaped one...

Some edibles we came across, not all of which were ripe & ready to eat...

Salmonberries:

Salal Berries:

Deliciously fragile Thimbleberries:

Tangy Wood Sorrel:

NOT EDIBLE, but eating...

And this one is clearly trying to attack me!

Everything was so ALIVE. Fallen logs were their own little ecosystems, teeming with fungus, lichen, moss, bugs, etc.

Shelf Fungus:

On our last day, we were out of firewood, so we headed to Tillamook (my hillbilly hometown) for some good ol' greasy breakfast. We cruised through Oceanside, where I used to want to live.

After our bellies were filled, we made the most of the drive by heading up to Cape Meares.

Beautiful view of Three Arch Rocks:

The historical & mysterious Octopus Tree:

Ethan, being tourist-y:

I might as well be tourist-y too!

And lastly, the lighthouse. Sadly, some very bored, ignorant people have gotten their kicks by shooting at the windows.

This was one of the most fun birthdays/camping experiences I've ever had. Thank you to all my friends & family. I'm thankful that our lives overlap! :)

Nikola Tesla, Reincarnated...

2010-07-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

So, my 13-year-old brother is a regular boy genius, & he just made this video, so I wanted to share it here. Great work, Sean!

Homemade Puff Pastry & Croissants!

2010-07-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have a long list of goals for this summer, since I'm not taking classes, & my work hours are pretty measly. Might as well take advantage of my free time, right?! One of them is to make puff pastry & croissants from scratch, since it is a time-consuming feat of baking & patience. Thanks to my sister & the Grand Central Baking Book, I've done it! I went ahead & made the largest 3-pound batch that's in the book, so I can give a roll each to my sister & my friend Coral.

Though there isn't a recipe in the book for croissants, I learned from King Arthur Flour that there are two ways to make them, one with a yeasted dough, & one with puff pastry, which is just made up of flour, butter, salt, sugar, & moisture (ice water & lemon juice, in this recipe). According to Coral, Grand Central likely makes their croissants with this same puff pastry dough, so I figured that's good enough for me.

I won't write the recipe on here, but I highly recommend this cookbook. It has a ton of pictures & the steps are clearly written. Here we go!

The ingredients:

The mound of flaky, buttery crumbs:

The same mound, after shaping & chilling:

The first roll:

Folding the dough:

This rolling, folding, & chilling is repeated a few times, then, depending on what you're doing with the puff pastry, you can roll it out & make tasty treats, or you can roll it in parchment & freeze it for later. I ended up rolling it into two large sheets for Smels & Coral, but used the scraps from the edges to make Ethan & I breakfast this morning...

Before baking:

And after:

The flavor was amazing---simple & buttery! I think they would have risen more, had I chilled them again before baking. The very centers were a tad doughy, but I learned a lot & hope to make them again very soon! Maybe chocolate croissants or cheese croissants...or jam-filled...so many tasty options.

Fun in the outdoors!

2010-07-11T16:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my sister asked if I wanted to go on a hike with her, so I headed over to her house. She has a really cool book with NW Oregon hikes in it, so she chose a "moderate" one for me, since I am out of shape!

We went with Angel's Rest Trailhead.

Sounds innocent enough, right?! No...I was dying from the start. It was so steep (a common trait in mountains!) & I felt like a total wimp. It did make me realize I need to get out & do more hiking though, so I can show my sister that I can tackle a decent trail!

She looks skeptical though...

After the initial shock of such an arduous trek, I got more & more used to the painful & sweaty state that my body was in & kept trucking along. We saw some really cool stuff on the way to the top! I would have taken more pictures had I not been having a heart attack along the way.

Here is what I imagine a space flower would look like:

It's hard to tell from the picture, but these slabs of rock were massive! We were like ants crawling over them. Speaking of critters, we saw a crazy-big spider up there, but it went between some rocks before I could snap a picture.

After huffing & puffing for miles, we were rewarded with this beautiful view of the Columbia Gorge!

Gorge-ous! (Sorry, I had to.)

It was definitely worth the pain & I felt so good afterward---my muscles were humming. On the way back home, I HAD TO get a shot of this place that Eth & I drive by on our way to Goodwill. I've told friends about it, but the picture is priceless, I mean, really! So many peenz!

When I got back, Ethan was intent on going to the driving range, to practice his swing. I'm not into golf at all. Just going to the fancy-schmancy golf course is a total culture shock---let's just say that hanging with rich people in polo shirts isn't my thing. It was fun to watch him though. He's really good!