housewifery

party bunting

2012-01-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

I got on the bunting bandwagon.

We have a small paper-cut banner of sorts that we put up for celebrations, but I wanted something a bit more sturdy and well, bunting-like.

I went after my fabric scraps with pinking shears and now we've got seven yards of bright bunting. Party on.

I know, I know, the silly things have been everywhere. But I don't care. They're cute! Don't they make you want to have a cupcake or a slice of pie?

In case you're interested in all things bunting...
say it with a bunting birthday card
tell guests they're awesome with compliment bunting
or tell them whatever you want with alphabet bunting
icing's out, bunting on cakes is in
paint one on your tablecloth
Easter is coming. make a string of peeps
every nap is worthy of a rainbow bunting baby quilt

a year at our table

2012-01-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

After Christmas last year, I began compiling recipes and ideas and pictures and came up with the one gift we would give everyone on our list this year: a cookbook of our family's favourite recipes.

It was a project I enjoyed working on all year long. The book ended up with five recipes for each season, lots of pictures of food, and some pics of our kid too.

Thanks to Blurb, it was relatively simple to design what I wanted and the quality of the final book is great. But no thanks to Blurb, the pictures printed a tad dark and I ran into a few bugs in their formatting software. Such is life. I'd still use them again and recommend 'em to anyone looking to do a similar project.

toddler's apron

2011-12-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

My kid's got the best play kitchen ever, so naturally, she needed an apron in her stocking.

But since I didn't want to have to make a new apron every time her head grew, there was the problem of making it adjustable. I didn't have one of those buckles on hand, nor did I like the idea of tying ties at the waist and at the neck every time she wants to put on her apron.

Then I saw this apron (via this motherload list of apron tutorials), which is completely adjustable thanks to just one long tie. Genius!

Rough instructions should you want to make one:

Measure the kid and decide on your length and widths*, create a pattern piece out of paper and cut out one piece from cool fabric and one from muslin or bedsheet (or whatever you want as a backing). Sew right sides together, turn inside-out, topstitch, sew in casings along side edges, and finally thread through a tie (I use cotton twill tape).

*Final measurements for my two-year old's apron (add seam allowance if you want to make the same size):

8" from top to waist, another 7" to bottom, total of 15" long

6" wide at top, 12" wide at waist, 14" wide at bottom

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

And with that final stocking stuffer, I'm signing off for a little while. Instead of a picture of boring poinsettias, I'll give the final word to my purple pansies. (I had no idea these little guys were so hardy.)

Enjoy the holidays!

it's finally done

2011-12-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Wow. I finished this little quilt top and back in February of '08 (original post). I said then that I wanted to use its little size to learn the proper way to bind a quilt.

Four. Years. Later.

All the quilts I've ever made made use of some sort of cheater binding -- either folding over and topstitching extra fabric from the quilt back or just machine-sewing on the binding, both of which leave a visible stitch. I finally did it the 'right' way, using using Heather Bailey's instructions.

Sure, I like the result, but meh, I think a little visible stitching is far preferable to so much handstitching.

little gorilla

2011-12-15T14:28:00.002-08:00

There is a great children's book called Little Gorilla about a lovable gorilla that gets big and has a birthday.

This little guy was given along with that book to a big, lovable one-year old.

Even though the birthday is in December, I finished this softie back in June (hence the blooming pansies). The pattern (from one of my favourite knitting books; ravelry details here) uses skinny sock yarn, but the size makes him a surprisingly quick knit.

Does it look like a gorilla to you? Maybe I should've stuffed his shoulders more.

a tasty rut

2011-12-09T19:09:00.001-08:00

I'm on 'repeat' in the kitchen lately...

brought these cheese balls to a party
...along with a gingerbread cake,
made and devoured this chicken again (it still reigns as the best roast chicken ever),
enjoyed mocha pot de creme with a good friend this season,
froze the extra butternut squash soup,
love that the kid is so into kale chips these days,
and I plan on making up another batch of these lovely cranberry lemon scones soon.

Jeff's the only one trying new recipes. He made Elise's chicken parmesan tonight. Delicious!

anticipation

2011-12-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

Have I told you lately how much I love the month of December? Crafting, sending cards, counting the days...

Dana over at Made has a great idea for Advent: read a special Christmas or wintery book each day. This, my friends, is right up our alley. We've already started our collection and made our book wish list for the Grandparents. It'll be like watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every year... kind of.

Here's a new book with lots of inspiration: Countdown Calendars. I'm not sure I'd ever make half of them as written (Is it really necessary to 'count down' to Halloween with candy every day?) but they could easily be adapted for Advent.

And here's a good idea for older kids: an activity advent calendar. I love that she uses her kids as motivators for her own to-do list.

Thanks to a generous friend, we are counting down the days this year with good ol' fashioned chocolate.

temporarily festive sweaters

2011-12-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

The assignment: Two cheesy Christmas sweaters for the holiday bash at Jeff's office.

Limitations: Didn't want to buy anything. Had less than an hour of naptime to spend on this.

The process: Used bits of felt from my stash and the sewing machine to make appliques. Safety-pinned them to sweaters we already own.

The result:

wool skirt

2011-11-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

As much as I complained about those pajamas, I will sew more clothes. In fact, I got right back on the horse with this very simple wool skirt.

And since I received this lovely book for my birthday, I've got grand plans. The little red riding hood cape on the cover may be the first thing I attempt, but I can't decide whether I'll make it with a red cotton or with a nice gray wool I already have... ooh, a red wool would be nice.

off and on the needles

2011-11-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

Made a pair of these socks, but they ended up being too small. Unfortunately, my kid still likes to wear them. They slip off and then she needs help getting them back on -- a high maintenance toy, really. Note to self: should probably put some sort of grip on the bottom of the next pair so she doesn't have to do so many splits and slips to get around.

Just finished another one of these sweet reversible birds. We'll keep this one. (Doh. I just realized I got carried away when I was seaming and sewed its two beaks together.)

Working on a new navy toque for me. Trying to wait until I finish the knitting before I pick out the perfect button. Free pattern via ravelry.

llama llama red pajama

2011-11-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

This will not become an annual tradition.

For all the folks that sew their kids new pajamas every Christmas -- wow, what an effort. I just made this one little set and think that sewing clothes is dang fiddly. I would've bought the pajamas if I could've found Plain Red Pajamas, but all I found were silly bears and moose and reindeer.

So, onwards and upwards, I decided to make my own. Granted, it would have been easier if I'd used an appropriately-sized pattern. I ended up using a baby pattern from this Amy Butler book, attempting to make the pattern bigger in the places I thought it ought to be. That's probably a relatively simple task for someone who understands clothing construction and sewing patterns, but for me, it involved some trial and error for sure.

At any rate, the pajamas are done, and they fit, and they're pretty cute. They're to go along with a favourite bedtime book, llama llama red pajama, which, after Christmas, will finally be owned and not just perpetually borrowed from the library.

Yes, this is a Christmas gift and it is beginning of November. (Don't hate me 'cause I'm organized -- try as I might, I am not a last-minute shopper.) But this way, my kid will forget she ever saw it by the time Christmas morning arrives.

handmade holidays

2011-11-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

See you over at Sew Mama Sew this month.

happy happy

2011-10-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

It's birthday season.

In the next two months, there are twice as many family birthdays as there are the whole rest of the year.

*cupcake pattern from One Skein (ravelry details)

for the larder

2011-10-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Bring it on, Winter. I'm ready.

13 lbs cherries = 17 pints cherries

tomatoes, jalepeno, green peppers and onion = 7 pints salsa (the 8th couldn't handle the pressure in the canner)

18.5 lbs peaches = 13 pints peaches + five 1/2 pint peach jams + 1 peach crisp

4 lbs ridiculously late seasonal strawberries = six 1/2 pint strawberry jams

1 flat of raspberries from friend's backyard = 1 batch raspberry freezer jam

40 lbs fresh blueberries = 40lbs frozen blueberries

28 lbs Roma tomatoes = 19.5 quarts tomatoes

11 lbs apples = 8 pints chunky applesauce with cinnamon

* Last year I experimented with freezing tomatoes and canning tomatoes. The clear winner: canned. Although the reason may have been skin off (canned) versus skin on (frozen).

** Favourite once-a-year tool: the apple machine!

beets

2011-10-20T19:04:00.007-07:00

I didn't mean to be away quite so long. Sorry you had a whole month to contemplate our oatmeal regimen.

I wanted to just share a trick I recently learned in case I'm not the only one on the block who struggles to peel hot roasted beets with a paring knife.

Paper towel!

Since my trusty kitchen towels do most jobs just fine, we rarely buy paper towels. But peeling beets is now one task I will reach for the ol' paper kind for.

Once you roast the beets and cool them a bit, just rub them in the paper towel. The skin just slips off. Like buttah.

And you've got some beets ready, you're practically halfway to enjoying this salad.

our oatmeal

2011-09-22T20:49:00.001-07:00

We eat a fair amount of oatmeal around here. Not boring, plain oatmeal, but the kind with lots of our so-called 'buried treasure' in it. (The kid eats an entire bowl trying to get all the dried fruit and berries.)

We keep a large jar in the cupboard with the base mix, to which we add frozen berries (hence my freezing 40 pounds of blueberries this summer!) and water when we're half-awake. Trouble is, there's an extreme lack of precision when we mix up the base and make up the oatmeal and honestly, I've been sitting on these pictures for a couple of months already because I can't be bothered to measure all the stuff.

I'm hoping that if you're interested, you'll start experimenting with your own batch, using what you like from ours. An adventure in the kitchen!

To make the base, we fill up almost 1/2 the jar with the additions -- a couple of wooden spoons full of brown sugar, a couple pinches of salt, 2-3 handfuls of dried fruit (Raisins and dried cranberries almost always. Golden raisins, currents, or cherries sometimes), several spoonfuls of wheat bran, a few spoonfuls of flax seed or ground flax, and several shakes of the ground cinnamon.

Then we fill the jar up with quick rolled oats, shake it and roll it around until it's all mixed together, and put away in the airtight jar until needed.

In the morning, we put 1/2 cup per big person, 1/4 cup per little person into a frying pan (as opposed to a saucepan -- more surface area works better, I find), add a couple handfuls of frozen berries, and add water from the tap.

How much water you ask? "More water than last time, but less than that time that it was too watery." That's about how it goes -- I kind of shake the pan as I'm adding the water and I only add the water until everything is nicely covered. If there's too much, the oatmeal gets gooey and bland, if not enough, it's kind of gluey and thick. What's the difference between gooey and gluey, you ask? Try it and you'll see!

What a lot of words and explanation for a little pan of oatmeal, eh?! But wait, there's more! I have to tell you what happens next.

Bring it up to a simmer and let it bubble for a few (maybe five?) minutes, until it's the consistency you want and the berries have had a chance to stew and bubble their juices into the pan. To serve, we mix in a couple big spoonfuls of flavoured yogurt and voila -- a delicious, quick and warm breakfast.

And since oatmeal does not 'stick to my ribs' as it's apparently supposed to, I recommend eating it with a piece of toast n' jam or a hard-boiled egg.

ribbit ribbit & whatever turtles say

2011-09-16T12:21:00.004-07:00

More knitting! With football season finally here -- with its long games of prime knitting time -- I'm afraid I have no reason to stop.

But I might take a break from toys to make a few practical items. It seems that our summer, lame as it was, has ended, and we'll need to warm some ears and toes around here soon.

This little frog/turtle has been sent to its new home with a very new little boy in Seattle.

The pattern is just as easy as the other reversibles in Susan Anderson's collection, but it's not quite as cute as that elephant/lion I think.

this little piggy

2011-09-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

Introducing our new bouncing pigs!

Squeals of delight (sorry, puns can't be helped) confirm that these are good for Daddy-O's Juggling Act.

Free pattern available on ravelry.

italian fries

2011-08-19T21:26:00.002-07:00

Well summer finally arrived to the west coast and we're enjoying every minute of it -- beach picnics, a little road trip, frozen yogurt star pops (three cheers for my new star pops!), a ton of fresh fruit... the usual summer drill.

There's been some knitting (more on that soon), but no sewing, because my machine rolled over and died. I'll get around to having it fixed/buying a new one one of these days. But first, there's canning to do, and sand to play in... and I must convince you to make these fries.

I don't think it will take much convincing because these fries are like nachos -- cheesy, herby, crispy carbs -- but with potatoes. 'Nuff said.

You'll find them in LSQ's Mad Hungry cookbook, or on the MSL website.

lemon wine mousse with raspberries

2011-07-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sweetly tart is a tasty contradiction.

lemon wine mousse with raspberries

Gourmet Magazine

2 eggs

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C dry white wine

3 Tbs fresh lemon juice

2 teas fresh lemon zest, finely grated

1/2 C heavy whipping cream, chilled

1 1/2 C fresh raspberries

To make the custard, beat eggs in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed to blend. Slowly add sugar, beating at moderately high speed, then beat for a few more minutes. Add wine and lemon juice and beat until just combined.

Transfer mixture to a heavy saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon (about 5 minutes -- do not let boil.) Stir in zest and transfer to a bowl. Cover and chill until cold, about 30 minutes. (The surface can be covered with wax paper and the custard chilled for up to one day.)

Beat cream in chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into lemony mixture. Layer mousse and berries into 4 serving glasses and chill until cold, about 1 hour.

pretending it's summer

2011-07-18T12:02:00.004-07:00

I've heard tell of heat waves, but we on the west coast are having a non-summer. Rain, gray, cold rain, and more 'isolated showers'.

I've been coping with iced rooibos tea. Earthy and herbal rooibos, brewed up with a tablespoon or two of honey, chilled in the fridge.

A stack of library books is fun and all, but I'd much rather enjoy my sweet rooibos tea outside at the park. Under the sun, even. Is that too much to ask? After all, this is July.

animal print

2011-07-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

There are four frames in the kid's room that I had every intention of switching up often. That was my plan prior to the her arrival, anyway.

First, the frames held pages from a picture book. And then they sat for a year and a half before I got around to changing them up with these animal silhouettes.

I started with a kind of A is for Antelope, B is for Bird theme, but then I liked the idea of a kangaroo too much to continue with that plan. I only wished I had one more piece of bright, some-what matching paper lying around, because my little fish are a hard to see -- especially against a similar pale green wall.

I can't decide which is my favourite. Today, I think it's the antelope.

breakfast sausage patties

2011-07-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I mentioned these breakfast sausages once before, around the time I made a batch and froze them. The fennel, sage and thyme makes these so tasty, it's already time to make another batch. I can attest that they're excellent with a side of eggs, with potatoes, or like so, in a breakfast sandwich.

breakfast sausage patties
from Mad Hungry

makes 8-12

1 lb ground pork
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs dried sage, crumbled
3/4 teas dried thyme
1/2 teas dried fennel, crushed
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg white
2 teas vegetable oil

Mix together the pork, garlic, sage, thyme, fennel, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add egg white and combine thoroughly. Cover and chill for at least 15 minutes.

To easily form sausage patties, rinse your hands in cold water. Shape mixture into 2" patties (original recipe says you'll get 8, but I got 12 out of a batch).

*If freezing for later, freeze individually on parchment-lined baking sheet, and then wrap each in a little of the parchment before putting into ziplock bag.

Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Fry sausages on both sides until completely cooked and golden brown. Drain and serve immediately. Apparently cooked patties can be fully cooled, wrapped, and frozen for microwave reheating, but I haven't tried it.

fat mama robin

2011-06-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Why is it that female birds are dull and brown while male birds get to dress up in spectacular feathers?

I know, attracting a mate, yada yada yada. But it would make toy birdies so much cuter if beautiful, colourful birds laid the eggs.

Until the animal kingdom changes its ways, I guess I'll have to pretend.

Let me introduce you to the latest installment in my Susan B. Anderson knitted toy extravaganza knitting fest obsession, Fat Mama Robin.

e-i-e-i-o

2011-06-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

This project started with a bit of hubris, an 'I could make that!" declaration in a store. The store-bought play kit had a fold-up barn made out of cloth and a cute collection of felt animals.

I quickly decided my barn would be a much simpler drawstring bag, but I didn't really intend for my animals to be quite as, ahem, rudimentary as they turned out. I think it goes without saying that I didn't use a pattern, but just whipped out these critters with little regard for the details. I like the horse, but all of my animals kind of remind me of what you'd get during craft time in kindergarden. But whatever. They looked enough like animals for my kid say, 'oh, this must be a cow!' or in her words, 'mooo.'

And then I saw these felt animals at Ikea -- too cute! I had to buy them. I planned to just toss my animals and let these new ones live in the barn, but now I can't bring myself to throw mine away. I've grown attached! And I'm kind of touched that my kid doesn't seem to have a preference for the professional-grade barn animals.

So I think we'll keep all of them for a little while longer. Mine will fall apart soon anyway.

in season

2011-06-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Strawberry rhubarb crisp :: and there are two more in the freezer for those sad, dull days when these two lovebirds are not in season together.

spaghetti and swiss chard

2011-06-06T20:50:00.003-07:00

Looking for what to do with swiss chard? We're kind of stuck in a rut with the leafy green, though it is a lovely, tasty little rut.

We either saute it up a la Simply Recipes or make this spaghetti and swiss chard with garlic chips from Gourmet. The flavour combo of salty feta, sweet currants, bitter chard, and toasted garlic is unique and oh-so delicious. It's a fabulous way to enjoy our farmer's market chard.

Head over to Gourmet for the recipe. (sigh, I miss Gourmet magazine.)

his and hers

2011-05-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

DIY deodorant update: I am in love with my all natural lavender deodorant! I made a sage-scented batch for Jeff. Very studly. We smell great.

lentil soup

2011-05-26T21:07:00.002-07:00

I recently checked out Mad Hungry from the library. Man, it's a good cookbook! So far, I've made the blueberry muffins, breakfast sausage, and this lentil soup -- and I've copied several more recipes down for later. It's not the most beautiful cookbook around (I prefer more pictures) but the recipes have been winners so far and I like Lucinda Scala Quinn's style of writing and cooking.

This soup is delicious and hearty. I forget how rich and meaty lentils are -- and how cheap!

lentil soup

adapted from Mad Hungry

serves 6-8

3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, copped

3 garlic gloves, finely chopped

1/2 Tbs sea salt

1 small tomato, chopped

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 C green (or brown) lentils

1/2 teas dried thyme

1 small bay leaf

6 C beef broth (LSQ calls for chicken or veggie broth but I really liked the deep dark flavour of beef)

4 C water, plus more if needed

2 teas red wine vinegar

Heat large soup pot over medium-high heat and swirl in olive oil. Add the onion and saute until starting to soften. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute until the vegetables are lightly caramelized (5-8 mins). Add tomato and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add lentils, spices, broth, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender (about 20 mins). Stir in vinegar, thin the soup with more water if needed for desired consistency, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in a bowl topped with fresh croutons if you'd like. (Check out this post if you're interested in making croutons.)

lion and elephant

2011-05-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

I know lions don't usually hibernate, but this one sure did. Deep in his den at the bottom of my WIP box. But he's done now! Yep, Hank the Lion is forever joined with his jungle buddy, Lola the Elephant.

Pattern from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Toys

baked egg rolls

2011-05-20T18:54:00.001-07:00

I had been craving the salty crunch of egg rolls ever since I talked with my awesome sis-in-law the other day. She was making egg rolls for dinner and just like that, I had to try to make my own. The power of suggestion is indeed powerful. (Thanks for the great idea, Ada!)

I did a little online searching, taking techniques and tips from Steamy Kitchen and from good ol' Emeril (he's annoying, but he's got some winners -- ever try his key lime pie?) This recipe is kind of cobbled together and improvised, so some measurements are approximate.

baked pork egg rolls

makes a lot (for the freezer)

2 packages egg roll wraps (6x6" square)

1 lb ground pork

cayenne pepper (I didn't measure, but I'll assume 1/4 teas)

salt

1 14oz package of prepared coleslaw veggie mix

3 green onions, finely chopped

2 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs cornstarch, divided

1 Tbs sesame oil

vegetable or canola oil

In small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and soy sauce. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Cook pork, sprinkled with a dash of salt and the cayenne pepper, until no more pink remains (about 5 mins). Add the coleslaw mix and saute for a couple of minutes. Clear a space in the center of the pan, then add a bit of vegetable oil and saute ginger and green onion for about 30 seconds. Drizzle in sesame oil and stir all ingredients together. Once vegetables have started to wilt, add soy sauce mix and stir to coat well. Remove from heat and spread on jelly roll pan, letting cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cornstarch slurry by stirring 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1/2 cup water.

Have a couple of damp tea towels ready to cover prepared egg rolls and the egg roll wraps while you are working.

Working one at a time, put 2-3 tablespoons of cooled pork mixture on a wrapper, and using this technique and your cornstarch slurry, prepare all of your egg rolls. Put completed egg rolls on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and keep covered with damp towel. Brush with vegetable oil on all sides, and then bake until nice n' golden, 20-25 minutes. Serve with Chinese plum sauce.

Freeze any leftovers separately on a cookie sheet before putting them in a plastic bag together. To cook from frozen, we've been microwaving them, and their okay that way, but I'm going to try popping them in the toaster oven next time to see if I can retain some crunch.

bouncing flamingo!

2011-05-19T19:29:00.001-07:00

But one thing: it doesn't really bounce. The ball in the butt, as seen here, was not an original Pinky Hi-Bounce but some dollar-store-variety 'bouncy' soccer ball. If you cover a not-so-bouncy ball with yarn, then it's really not very bouncy. Blame physics. Only if I really give 'er, do I get a bit of a rebound. (Yes, my kid thinks it's pretty funny that I'm throwing her new toy against the ground.)

But the ball gives it shape and heft -- this flamingo feel less like a softie and more like a toy. A toy gets to be thrown about and chucked into things. A person could feel bad doing that to a cute stuffed bird.

almost done

2011-05-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Any guesses??

chicken with mushrooms and rice

2011-05-15T10:03:00.002-07:00

I was craving cream-of-mushroom comfort, minus the cream of mushroom can.

chicken with mushrooms and rice

serves 4

1/2 onion, finely chopped

pinch of dried thyme

1 1/2 C brown rice

3 C low-sodium chicken stock

2 handfuls of dried mushrooms

4 chicken pieces, bone-in

freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together onion, thyme, brown rice, dried mushrooms, and stock. Pour mix into 9x12 baking dish.

Meanwhile, pat chicken dry and season with pepper. Nestle chicken pieces into brown rice mixture in baking pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake, until chicken is done and rice has absorbed most of the liquid, about 1 hour. Garnish with fresh parsley.

a bag for books

2011-05-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what happened, but Blogger ate this post. Here's a repost...

Look, it's a book bag!

That's right, a bag for books -- library books, to be more precise. And look, a perfectly-sized hidden pocket for the necessary library card.

I was inspired by the Library book tote that Holly of Chez Beeper Bebe made for her boy -- made with a few adjustments.

I'm imagining a bag for the BEACH and the STORE and for FOOD. Honk if you love taxonomy too.

pale green thumb

2011-05-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm new at this. We'll see how it goes...

mummy dearest

2011-05-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

The spring sweater I started over a month ago is almost done!

Well, the front and back are done -- it still needs sleeves and a neckline. So maybe not almost done, but gettin' there.

But I'm going to show you now, because, well, it's Mother's Day!

The pattern is from Picture Perfect Knits, a kind of beginner's guide to intarsia. I'm a newbie so it got a little messy, but apparently even the wrong side of an expert's intarsia isn't much to look at. It's like a mullet -- business in front, party in back.

I heart mom. Here's a little history and slideshow of the iconic tat.

mini double chocolate truffle cupcake bombs

2011-05-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Remember Calvin and his Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs? That's how I feel making up a name for these cupcakes.

I mean, the recipe says 'chocolate cupcakes' but they are so much more than boring ol' cupcakes. There is a double chocolate thing happening (I'm a fan of this choco-layering apparently.) They're a little fudgy, but not too sweet. I know I'm at risk of overselling these cupcakes right now. Okay fine, they aren't that good. Just make 'em and try 'em and see if I care.

mini double chocolate truffle cupcake bombs

makes 36-40

Sorry, I never wrote down the source for this recipe. I copied it from the internet way back in October 2005 for a Halloween party (death by chocolate, anyone?). All I remember is that it was from one of those scary and overwhelming sites like allrecipes.com with a bazillion recipes for everything.

1 1/3 C flour

1/3 C Dutch-process cocoa

3/4 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened

1 C sugar

1 Tbs instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 Tbs warm water

3/4 teas vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 C whole milk

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (even better if you have the mini ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare mini muffin tins by lining with paper liners or spraying with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until soft. Gradually pour in sugar and beat together for about a minute. Beat in coffee mixture and vanilla. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. On very low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 equal additions, alternating with the milk in 2 equal additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Stop mixer as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Fill prepared pans with batter, filling each muffin tin almost full. Bake cupcakes on center rack until a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 mins. Remove from oven and gently lift cupcakes fro the pan. Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy at room temperature or cover and refrigerate cupcakes for up to 2 days. If you want, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

bathing with animals

2011-05-02T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ever since my friend gave us a little washcloth bunny, I have been meaning to add to our bathtime zoo with repurposed towels. After cleaning out the linen closet over the weekend, I had the old towels I needed -- including a striped one just destined to be a zebra!

The zebra, which admittedly looks a little piggish, and the puppy dog are puppets -- a simple zigzag stitch around the embellished pieces. The bunny is a sew-right-sides-together constructed washcloth.

Isn't it crazy how a little embroidery thread and some felt can turn a simple blank body into a recognizable animal? I mean, that one little patch under the eye is kind of an ingeniously simple way to indicate 'puppy,' don't you think? (Thanks to Martha Stewart -- the puppy puppet washcloth is in her fabric & sewing crafts encyclopedia.)

Rub-a-dub-dub. Arf, arf.

routine

2011-04-29T11:51:00.003-07:00

play with toys

2011-04-24T21:43:00.001-07:00

Honk if you love Lego!

knit a doorstop

buy some recycled crayons -- men or bricks

make your own crayons or soaps (or ice, I suppose) with these ice cube trays

make some cookies

cuddle a knit lego man

buy a tee

pick a print from this art collection (I think this one's my favourite, or maybe this one)

papier-mache surprise eggs

2011-04-22T20:15:00.004-07:00

Looking for a solution to silly plastic eggs? How about these beautiful papier-mache eggs!

Catch up with me next year and I'll have some photos to share. It's a little late (and my kid is a little young) to worry about making papier-mache surprise eggs in the next 24 hours -- but I love that we have a solution.

paper pinecone eggs

2011-04-21T10:35:00.003-07:00

I don't like styrofoam. But I like this little project.

I need to find some substitute styrofoam eggs before Sunday.

Any ideas?

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

2011-04-21T09:43:00.001-07:00

I had a mason jar full of quinoa in the fridge for... I don't know, a year. But after making this dish a couple of times, and then trying variations of it a few times, all my quinoa is gone. Must buy more.

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

from my friend's cookbook that I can't quite remember the name of -- I think it was called The New Grains

serves 4

1 chicken (3 1/2 - 4lb), cut into pieces

1 garlic clove, bruised

salt and pepper

2 Tbs unsalted butter

1 1/2 teas vegetable oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

2 ripe medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/2 C home-made or low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 C quinoa

1 teas chopped fresh tarragon

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Rub chicken with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken pieces until well browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet. Add the shallot and saute, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as it cooks (so much flavour in those browned bits!) Return chicken pieces back to skillet and sprinkle with vinegar, cooking until the juices have almost evaporated. Add tomatoes to the pan. Pour the stock over the chicken and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.

Rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain. Add the quinoa to the juices around the chicken. Continue to cook, covered, until the quinoa is tender (10-15 mins). Sprinkle with fresh tarragon and parsley. Serve.

hand sewing

2011-04-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Finally stitched up some bunny finger puppets. So easy, you could make a bunny army -- a very non-menacing bunny army.

And I've been whipstitching some magnet letters à la this plush alphabet set. I doubt this will ever be a complete alphabet though -- hand sewing may be relaxing, but it takes time.

spring fling

2011-04-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Feeling bright blue? Or perhaps orange?

That's the choice with this sweet little reversible top. (free pattern from Prudent Baby)

Funny story. One exactly like it -- or rather exactly like it except for the size of the neck hole -- is sitting in the whatamIgoingtodowithyou pile. Yep, I made the whole thing, was just about to put on the bias tape, thought to try it on for size... and I couldn't get it over my kid's head! (Anyone else have scenes of So I Married an Axe Murderer in their head right now?)

In my kid's defense, it's not as if I measured anything when I 'followed' the pattern.

But my second attempt fits great. I'm thinkin' of making a third, but with oilcloth on one side for a wee artist's smock.

* mosiac maker c/o bighugelabs

sausage and mushroom papardelle

2011-04-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

I have a big bag of dried Oregon portobello mushrooms in the freezer and let me tell you, a handful of those babies improves the flavour of almost anything. It doesn't necessarily make it taste mushroomy either -- there's something in mushrooms that actually enhances the flavour of whatever they're with. I use them more like a seasoning in my dishes, rather than another vegetable.

Anyway, we recently received a package of beautiful, dried mixed wild mushrooms along with this Jaime Oliver recipe. With so many different kinds of mushrooms, there was a ton of flavour. So, so good. Note to self: specialty dried mushrooms make a great gift.

In the tradition of the country store that has everything, Jack's Country Store on the Washington coast is a very cool place. You can order dried Oregon mushrooms from them, along with everything else under the sun. Seriously, they sell an amazing variety of fun stuff -- everything from cast iron pans to old fashioned candy, vintage toys to lug nuts for your car.

sausage and mushroom papardelle

adapted from Jaime Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off

serves 4

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

9 oz pork sausage; remove casings (not sure of the conversion -- I used 3 links)

olive oil

2 handfuls fresh thyme leaves

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

14 oz mixed wild mushrooms* roughly chopped

pappardelle, enough for 4 people

pepper

2-3 Tbs unsalted butter

handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

freshly grated parmesan cheese

*If using dried mushrooms, you obviously don't need 14oz worth. Just use a couple of handfuls, enough for 4 people. Try chanterelle, shiitake, portobello, morel, etc. Reconstitute in warm water, drain, and then roughly chop. (Save the soaking liquid to add to your next soup!)

Fry onion, garlic, and sausage till cooked and golden brown. Add thyme, chili pepper and mushrooms. Continue to fry until mushrooms give off their juice. Scrape up any browned bits from pan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta, reserving a little cooking water.

Remove mushrooms from heat, season with a little pepper and stir in butter until melted. Toss with drained pasta and stir in a little cooking water if too dry. Serve, sprinkled with parsley and grated parmesan.

spring

2011-03-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Rain rain go away...

At least I have these postcards from the weekend. A promise of what lies ahead.

royal mussels and fries

2011-03-27T12:05:00.001-07:00

For my brother, eating like a king means daily breakfast meats. You know, bacon, sausage and the like (although really, what else is there besides bacon?)

And it's got me thinking about what food -- however simple -- makes me feel like I'm living high on the hog.

I think I've figured it out. Good quality seafood.

I'm not sure why mussels feels like an extravagance for us when, for 9 dollars total, we each get a huge bowl of mussels. But it does feel indulgent -- and we feel like kings.

Throughout this entire meal of simply prepared mussels with french fries and mustard mayo and some roasted veggies, both Jeff and I couldn't stop ooing and ahhhing, loudly enjoying each bite, and filling the space between bites with declarations of never moving far from the ocean.

If you could bottle the ocean (I mean, obviously that would be quite easy but I'm talking about essence of that salty air) in a bite, that would be these mussels, cooked in white wine, butter, garlic and onion. It's almost too simple.

And the best pairings? French fries and mustard mayo for dipping. Hands down. It will take you on a trip to France before you've even had a moment to think about what to pack. We enjoyed ours with a Duvel beer -- a Belgian for the full experience.

This is from Gourmet, so I'll just send you on over for the recipe.

Pssst, Glenda. Don't make this at home. Just come over to our house on Saturday night!

dreaming of laos

2011-03-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

Some friends of ours brought me four beautiful, embroidered fabric panels from their trip to Laos. Now that they're expecting a wee one, I thought I'd give one of the panels back in a very useful form: a drawstring bag.

The rest were made into mini blankets for all the mini things that take naps at our house.

knit-athon

2011-03-17T11:26:00.006-07:00

bunny - duck :: done!

Before being joined for life...

...and after. Something about this duck makes him look guilty.

Wha? A bunny? I don't know what you're talking about.

elephant - lion :: making progress

I wish an elephant-bear would be as cute so I could skip the time-consuming mane.

new project :: started

a spring sweater for the kidlet (and my first attempt at intarsia)

bunnies galore

2011-03-10T17:46:00.000-08:00

Easter is fast approaching and I want to get some serious crafting happening 'round here because, as I've said before, my kid has a thing for bunnies. Imagine her delight with a whole holiday decked with bunny rabbits!

A few projects to get me started...

finger puppets, which I linked to last year, but I still really want to make

bunny bowling!

a sweet dancing margaret (also on scribd)

a recycled mooshy belly bunny (such a great name)

and because I'm gonzo for reversible toys, a knit bunny & duck.

And this peanut butter and jelly game is totally beyond my wee toddler, but it's so stinkin' cute I have to pass it along in case you know someone the right age.

plum pullover

2011-03-08T19:37:00.001-08:00

I knit a sweater for me.

So what, you ask? Well, after 11 years of knitting, I finally knit something for me that doesn't go around my neck or on my head. A sweater, people. A bonafide, adult-sized sweater. I'm feeling proud -- and plum.

It's the oatmeal pullover pattern (available on etsy too). The pattern required some math to fit me and my gauge, but thanks to Glenda, my sweater fits! And the yarn, Cascade Eco+, is a dream to work with.

My favorite part is the neckline. (Feeling a bit funny about modeling the sweater for ya'll, but since you can't really tell anything about a sweater until you see it on someone, it was either me or Jeff.)

And finally, it's time for a confession: I already bought the wool for another sweater pour moi. It'll be green and cable-y.

I know what you're thinking -- watch out, this could become a terribly time-consuming addiction. But I'm not too worried. I know that deep down (well, not that deep) I'm too impatient to stick with these sorts of big projects for long. I like my knitting satisfaction to come quick n' easy.

But maybe just one more for me...

diy deodorant

2011-03-05T17:01:00.001-08:00

I smell like lavender. It's lovely, really. I'll let you know how it turns out in the long run, but right now I smell like lavender.

I've been wanting to try making deodorant for a while now. None of the 'natural' deodorants that I've tried really work that great, it bugs me that none of their plastic is recyclable, and I'm kind of scared of the ingredients in anti-persperants.

When I came across this recipe, I was inspired. I talked a friend into splitting the first batch: hippy party, check.

We had some trouble sourcing the cocoa butter (at a price we were willing to pay) and after much discussion with folks who seemed to know what they were talking about, we got talked into coconut oil instead. I was a little worried about having to cover up the scent of coconut (not my fave) instead of cocoa bean, but it was actually shea butter's strong scent that was the holdout. But given enough lavender essential oil, even shea butter can be knocked down to just a hint.

homemade deodorant

adapted from Amy Karol's recipe

makes enough for 2-125ml jam jars

4 Tbs shea butter

4 Tbs baking soda

2 2/3 Tbs corn starch

2 2/3 Tbs coconut oil

essential oil

Add all of the ingredients except the essential oil in a small glass bowl and melt in the microwave for about 20 seconds (coconut oil gets hot quickly.) Stir well. Start adding the essential oil and keep adding and stirring until it's the desired scent. Pour into jars and put in the fridge to set. Once it's cool, you can store it at room temperature (but it won't be as solid as in the fridge.)

banana oat muffins

2011-03-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

These are tasty -- and they're healthier than your average bear's banana oat muffins.

Recipe here. Following some advice in the comments, I used unsweetened applesauce instead of the oil, upped the vanilla to 1 teaspoon, and added 3/4 teas of cinnamon. Perfect.

The few that were left after a couple of days went bad on the counter. Looking back on it, I should've put these in the fridge on account of the applesauce.

cinderella

2011-02-27T10:37:00.001-08:00

Well, that elephant I started yesterday now has his head and trunk, but I got side-tracked with finishing this lovely Cinderella doll before I could finish his ears. Soon, Dumbo. Soon.

The pattern for this doll is called 'sisters' and it's just written as two ladies with different colour dresses. I improvised the pattern a bit to make a Cinderella doll.

I had to wing it for the hair as the original pattern just has the ladies in hats. There must be a better way to get full and voluptuous-looking hair, but I guess my method worked okay. The hair just parts in funny places, like Cindy is suffering from bald spots.

Whatever you want to call these toys -- reversibles, topsy turvy dolls, inside-out dolls -- they make me giddy. I swear, this Itty Bitty Toys book, which has a whole chapter of them, has been one of my best knitting purchases ever. So much fun.

elephant in the room

2011-02-26T11:41:00.004-08:00

I'm neglecting my to-dos this weekend, but I have a really really good excuse: I wanna work on a little knit elephant. (details on ravelry)

purple bunny blanket

2011-02-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a completed quilt for my gal. It's her 'purple bunny blanket' since she's got a thing for rabbits.

soft chenille back + plain cottons + a few of my favourite prints =

I've been noticing appliqued animals all over blogland (cute onesies, anyone?) and I was inspired by the lovely quilts here and here to try my hand at it.

My free-hand bunny came out a bit ~~fat~~ plump, but until my kid gets really into aardvarks, I'll enjoy trying to wing it without clip art. Handmade is supposed to have imperfections, right?

Of course, now that I've done one rabbit, I have grand plans for a whole quilt full of critters. We're supposed to be optimistic, right?

squash and lentil curry

2011-02-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

Man, I'm on an Indian kick and boy, do I love curry. I'm finding that curries are very forgiving of my lack of knowledge about Indian spices. They're great for dinner, and maybe even better for lunch the next day. What's not to love?

This recipe is one I adapted from this curried soup recipe from Gourmet--adding a couple extra spices and using more veggies but less onion (and adding less water, of course.)

squash and lentil curry

serves 6

3 Tbs vegetable or canola oil

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs minced peeled ginger

1 Tbs curry powder

1 teas cumin

1 teas garam masala

1 C red lentils, picked over and rinsed

3 1/2 C water

fresh cilantro

plain yogurt

basmati rice

Heat oil and butter in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until beginning to soften, then add garlic and ginger. Saute the aromatics a couple of minutes before adding squash, carrot and celery, seasoning the pot with a bit of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown (15-20 mins.)

Stir in curry powder, cumin, and garam masala. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add lentils and water and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender (25-35 mins.) Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over basmati rice. Top it all off with a small handful of fresh cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt.

pintos galore

2011-02-13T12:06:00.007-08:00

Quadruple the beans, people!

In a little experiment, I bought some dry pinto beans. I paid what I would have for one can of beans. But after just a bit of soaking (I only ever soak for an hour or two -- anyone know why they recommend overnight?) and boiling for about an hour, I have a potful of beans. That's one pot full! What's that, like the same as four or five cans? But I don't have any BPA-lined cans to show for it, and I'm only out two bucks!

Now I can make chili, try my hand at refried beans, and still put lots in the freezer.

No doubt, more time is required than using a can-opener. But it all can happen before noon and in my book, that's worth repeating in a smug voice. 'This all happened before noon.'

cranberry-lemon scones

2011-02-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

All too often, cranberries get paired up with orange in baked goods. Why is that? They aren't that great together (in my humble opinion, of course) and there's a far better option: cranberries and lemon.

Need convincing? Try these cranberry-lemon scones.

roasted cauliflower pasta

2011-02-05T12:52:00.002-08:00

We eat a lot of broccoli and nut pasta around here. Roasting vegetables and then tossing them with pasta is molto semplice. So naturally, this recipe for roasted cauliflower and proscuitto pasta caught my eye over at Simply Recipes.

It was earthy, roasty, and salty. Delicious.

kindle cover

2011-02-01T10:50:00.002-08:00

I suppose it's time to show you a Christmas gift I made for Jeff. It is February, after all.

Both Jeff and I weren't really keen on the kindle when he got one as a gift from work, but it's grown on us. In those early days of rocking (and rocking and rocking) the babe to sleep, one-handed reading came in very handy.

As it came into our good graces, I decided it needed a handmade cover. Enter this great tutorial. Do you know a kindle that needs a cover?

mocha pot de creme

2011-01-28T21:21:00.001-08:00

We have some friends who, whenever they are over, one of them asks, "Is there dessert?" as we are sitting down to the meal. And while the other one, the wife, rolls her eyes and laughs off her husband's faux-pas, I always wonder if he doesn't have a good point. Would it be good policy to let our guests know what's for dessert so they know how much room to leave for the sweet ending?

Not sure why these are called 'mocha' pot de cremes because there isn't a shot of coffee or espresso in them. They're more like chocolate custards. But I didn't name them, Martha Stewart did, so we still call them mocha pot de cremes.

And just so you have all the facts, one requires hardly any room at all. Enjoy seconds and dessert.

mocha pot de creme

serves 4

1/4 C dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 C + 1 Tbs skim milk

1/4 C low-fat evaporated milk

1 large egg

1 egg white

3/4 C white sugar

pinch of salt

confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line shallow baking pan with cloth towel and set aside.

Place cocoa powder in medium mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix milks. Slowly whisk 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture into the cocoa and whisk for a thick paste. Whisk in remaining; set aside.

In large bowl, combine egg, egg white, sugar, and salt. Whisk until combined. Whisk in cocoa-milk mixture. Divide among 4 4-oz ramekins. Place in towel-lned pan and pour hot water into pan, until water is half-way up the sides of the ramekins. Transfer carefully to oven. Bake until puddings are set with slightly jiggled, about 50 minutes. Remove from water and transfer to wire rack. Let cool 20-30 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve warm. Excellent with mint tea.

indian beans and rice

2011-01-22T09:47:00.003-08:00

When someone says rice n' beans, I usually assume we're talking about Mexican food, but that just shows my ignorance because it's a super common dish around the world. This Indian version, called rajma chawal (pronounced 'chavel'), is made with kidney beans and it's got umpteen layers of flavour.

In their new cookbook, Vikram Vij and his wife say it felt silly to write down a recipe like this, one so common in an Indian household. But I'm glad they did because I needed help with the spices. They encourage folks to play around with the amounts of spices to find a combo that works for their families. We made the dish as written and it's fairly spicy, but so delicious I doubt we'd change a thing.

rajma chawal

from Vij's at Home

serves 6

1/2 C cooking oil (canola, olive oil, ghee, your choice)

1 1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)

2 Tbs finely chopped garlic

2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger

1 1/2 C chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 Tbs chili powder (mild Mexican)

1 tsp turmeric

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ground cayenne (optional, but in my opinion, essential)

1/2 C plain yogurt

5-6 C water, depending on how soupy you want your curry

3 14-oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

5-6 C cooked basmati rice

Heat oil in a medium pot on medium-high. Add onion and saute until slightly dark brown, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute, then add ginger and tomatoes. Stir in spices -- chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cayenne -- and saute this masala together until oil glistens on top, 5-8 minutes.

Place yogurt in a small bowl. To prevent curdling, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the hot masala into the yogurt. Stir well, then pour yogurt into the pot. Saute for a couple of minutes, until the oil glistens again.

Add water, stir, turn up the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans, stir and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to medium and cook for a few minutes, until beans are warmed through.

Serve over rice, adding a dollop of plain yogurt if you wish.

mild chicken masala

2011-01-15T20:40:00.002-08:00

Need an excuse to buy some garam masala? Look no further!

I've got just the meal plan for you. It's easy and tasty. If you're afraid of spicy heat, don't be scared. It's a 'family style' recipe from Bon Appetit designed to introduce kids to Indian cooking. So, no heat, just subtle Indian flavours.

Here's the deal, I barely strayed from the original recipes so I'm just going to link to them here...

easy chicken masala -- Really, it's easy. Marinate, then bake. That's it.

caramelized cumin-roasted carrots -- Your basic roasted carrots, but with cumin tossed in with the olive oil and salt.

cucumber raita -- That cooling yogurt & cucumber spread that's so great on everything from naan to chicken.

And I served all of the above with some store-bought naan (but here's a recipe for whole wheat naan that I've been meaning to try) and a pot of basmati rice. (Basmati has a unique fragrance and texture -- don't settle for long grain white if you can help it.)

What comes next? Soup!

Since we had chicken, carrots and rice left over, I made soup. If you'd like to do the same...

Thinly slice the roasted carrots, remove the cooked chicken from the bone and dice, and finely chop 1 small yellow onion. In a medium saucepan, saute onion in a bit of olive oil. Add in 1 tsp ground cumin. Cook for 30 seconds or so before adding carrots, chicken and 3 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low. Add cooked basmati rice, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through chopped fresh cilantro and serve in bowls with a dollop of plain yogurt and a dash of cayenne pepper.

It just occurred to me that the amounts of onion, cumin, etc will depend on how much leftovers you have. (Sorry, I'm slow.) So if this recipe is going to be at all useful, you should know that I used 1 tsp cumin, 1 small onion, 3 cups broth, and a small handful of cilantro, to about 1 cup sliced carrots, 3 drumsticks, and a couple of cups of rice.

projects for the new year

2011-01-10T10:59:00.006-08:00

Check out this fantastic list of tutorials -- a roundup from 2010. So many of these projects are ones that I'd love to make. But first... I need to get organized!

I mean, I've got patterns printed and waiting in my WIP box, a ton of ideas bookmarked on the computer, pdfs saved to the desktop, inspiration jotted down on our fridge's whiteboard, my queue in ravelry... it's hard to keep it all straight, really. I need a master list somewhere.

What's your system? Is it paper or digital?

jar o' goodies

2011-01-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Still digging out from the holiday travel miscellany around here, but I wanted to drop in to say Happy New Year!

This little mason jar of craftiness (thanks to martha for pincushion lid idea) sets off a new year of making.

happy holidays!

2010-12-22T10:48:00.005-08:00

get it? block bag

2010-12-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

I made a simple drawstring bag for the blocks we got for the babe's birthday. I had what I thought was the perfect fabric on hand...

And some little hot wheels will be making their home in this bag (truck definitely not to scale)

I'm not sure I have a fabric for every toy, but I sure like it when it works out.

mrs claus never gets coal

2010-12-20T17:21:00.001-08:00

I needed one more stocking to round out our set of three. Here's the one I made last year, and here's the one I made from a hideous sweater at the thrift store. It was just begging to be made into something new...

This one's for me. Doesn't it look like a stocking that Santa would fill for his wifey? Just call me Mrs. Claus.

But now I think the striped one from last year is kind of a weak link in our set, so I've decided it'll just be Jeff's interim stocking until I find the time to make another one. For sure before next Christmas, okay hon?

How could it possibly take a person three years to finish a set of three stockings when one is already store-bought? Ah, but a clue!

ornamental

2010-12-17T18:04:00.004-08:00

You don't have to look far in blogland before finding some pretty darn cool handmade ornaments. I especially like this felt bird and this cool felt ogee number. Oh gee, I wish I had some felt.

on the list

2010-12-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

Between hitting the nog, I want to to make this chili and its scrumptious-looking biscuits. Who thought to put the biscuits on the chili? Genius.

And while I'm wishing I had more time...

how about this darling quilt? think of the advent calendar possibilities

these little fortunes for New Years Eve

honk if you love cardamom and pulla as much as I do

keep meaning to make my own yogurt -- 2011 will be the year

wish I still had photoshop, I'd be making calendars with this cute template

my hot chocolate needs a gingerbread house its own size

make a four, make a knot

2010-12-13T15:32:00.005-08:00

Will you be my friend? What if I sweeten the deal with a strip of candy?

I re-learned how to make these from YouTube, and my hands remembered the movements just as soon as I started. Oh man, I made a ton of these back in the day. This one is for a sweet young thing in Michigan -- shhhhhhh.

the moon looks like a shortbread cookie

2010-12-09T20:57:00.003-08:00

I'll be up late. I'm making the crowd-pleasing lemon shortbread cookies for tomorrow's party.

I made them before with poppy seeds, but this time I had to forgo the little guys. Did you know poppy seeds go rancid? A quick google search informs me that poppy seeds, in fact, go bad very quickly. Oh well.

I mean, I'll miss their aesthetic appeal, but who can taste a poppy seed anyway?

roasted eggplant pasta

2010-12-08T09:10:00.001-08:00

This recipe requires just a bit of planning ahead -- you need to roast the whole eggplant for an hour before getting the rest of dinner underway. But your efforts pay off with an eggplant that's buttery sweet and a great foundation for your pasta.

roasted eggplant pasta

serves 4

1 large Italian eggplant

olive oil

1/4 onion, finely minced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teas dried red pepper flakes

1 can/jar tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped (reserve a bit of the liquid)

herbs and spices: oregano, basil, parsley, dried or fresh, your choice

fresh parmesan cheese

salt

cayenne pepper

dried pasta for 4

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash eggplant and prick with a fork in several places. Place whole on parchement-lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until skin darkens and caves to the touch (so you know the insides are mushy.) Remove from oven and let cool just a bit. To prepare for cooking, cut off the top and roughly chop the body into 1-2" pieces.

In saucepan over medium heat, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and saute for a few minutes, until onions are soft. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute 30 seconds more. Add prepared eggplant and drained tomatoes. Season with salt, stir in any dried herbs, and bring to a simmer. You may want to add a little of the drained tomato liquid for desired consistency. At the end of cooking, before serving, stir through fresh chopped herbs.

Meanwhile, prepare pasta al dente and drain. Combine pasta and sauce and divide among serving dishes. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a dash of cayenne pepper.

up do

2010-12-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

No crafts or holiday baking for you today. Today we talk hair. Specifically, ponytails.

Ponytails are the only 'do' I do these days. When I stumbled upon these simple tips on how to keep a ponytail from looking like you just got out of the shower and pulled it back (when in fact that's just what I did), I felt like the cosmos had given me a little nudge.

Thanks, cosmos.

advent

2010-12-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

Anyone who was reading this blog last year (thank you, so glad you're here!), knows I like advent calendars.

I don't have the one of my dreams yet, but that's mainly because my dreams keep changing. Each year, I'm swayed by other beautiful options like these, and well, I just plain can't decide.

But for someone who loves advent calendars to not have any... well, that seems a bit strange to me too. So now we have a calendar to tide us over until the next -- a wee box calendar from a kit found at the art store and bits of paper I had on hand.

Now I can relax, grab a cup of tea, and continue to hem and haw over my creative options.

cabled fingerless gloves 3.0

2010-11-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

Another pair of fetchings (love this pattern -- made twice before)...

...and a stoic little sheep. I cut her out of from hunk of rubber like so, and she'll be tagging along with all my woolen gifts this year. Baaa.

ready for my cameo

2010-11-28T22:22:00.001-08:00

I thought these silhouettes were so cute, I'm using the good gift idea for the great-grands this year.

ginger beef

2010-11-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night was Elise's stir fry ginger beef. I was delighted by how the cumin and honey in the marinade made it through to flavour the final dish. Highly recommended!

green birthday dress

2010-11-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

It's time to party. The babe is turning one next week -- and I finished her birthday dress!

As I mentioned before, it's been a bit of a slow slog of stockinette for this one. It was my first larger-than-a-sock-size project with skinny sock yarn. Beautiful results, but no doubt about it, a labour of love.

So I'm glad she'll get more than one season's use of out of it -- this year a dress, next year a sweater, and possibly a third year of a skin-tight tank top. And perhaps I'll make her drag it to school with her too.

The pattern -- the little sister's dress (free on ravelry) -- is super easy and kind of star-trekkish to me. The Zarina yarn is a super soft, rich, vibrant merino.

I love, love the result. Hopefully she does too since she'll be wearing it for a while.

baked eggs

2010-11-14T10:11:00.005-08:00

It was a good morning. We all slept until 8am. That's 8 o'clock, people! Pretty darn great considering we have a babe in the next room that usually wakes us up by 6:30am. We were so happy, we made baked eggs.

(Oh how I wish I had natural light in my kitchen!)

This recipe calls for a few different herbs, but feel free to use what fresh herbs you have on hand. I tend to make this in the summertime when I have a variety of herbs growing, but it's equally good in the winter when I may only have one herb at the ready.

This morning I used fresh parsley and a pinch of dried thyme, but I've also made it with dill and parsley, and it's really good with just tarragon. (But we already knew that eggs and tarragon go really well together.)

baked eggs

inspired by Ina Garten's herbed baked eggs - Barefoot in Paris

serves 4

1/2 teas minced fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teas minced fresh rosemary leaves

2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

2 Tbs freshly grated parmesan cheese

8 large eggs

1/4 c cream or milk (not skim though, fat content is important)

2 Tbs unsalted butter

salt and pepper

toasted french bread, brioche, or just plain whole wheat

Preheat broiler for about 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6-10" below the element.

Combine the fresh herbs and cheese. Set aside. Carefully crack 2 eggs into each of 4 small bowls. (You won't be baking in these -- you just need to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)

Put four individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet and put 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish. Place under the broiler for just a few minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Quickly and carefully, pour 2 eggs into each gratin dish and then sprinkle evenly with the herb-cheese mixture. Season each with salt and pepper and then place back under the broiler for 5-7 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are just cooked. Remove from oven and allow to set for another minute or two. The eggs will continue to cook but the yolks will stay nice n' runny for dipping your toast.

on the go

2010-11-08T12:43:00.007-08:00

There isn't near enough knitting on this blog lately.

For this space to be representative of what I spend my free moments doing, there needs to be more wool and yarn and needles, because let me tell you, I've been knitting.

There's a plum pullover that'll be the first sweater I've ever made for myself,

there's a darling little green dress that's taking forever (skinny sock yarn!) but hopefully the babe will fit it by Christmas,

and I've managed to finish a couple of toques. One fits, one didn't.

That's not all, but the rest are either gifts or I haven't taken photos of them yet. All in good time. But at least now you know where I am -- on the couch, knitting.

it's november

2010-11-01T07:57:00.001-07:00

I've been eagerly waiting these 30 days of sewing & gifting inspiration over at Sew Mama Sew. They're giving away a lot of stuff this month too. Very cool. See you there...

halloween

2010-10-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Quick, we're only a few days away from Halloween '10!

cast on and knit fast (darn cute yoda hat, anyone?)

make your own owl pellets (I wish I had miniature bones lying around)

adapt these scavenger hunt cards for a scary search

or get working on a costume for me: Indiana Jones, the Lego

gingerbread cake

2010-10-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

When it's like this outside...

it's best to stay inside and eat cake.

gingerbread cake

serves 9-10

2 C all-purpose flour

1 teas baking soda

1 1/2 teas ground ginger

1 teas ground cinnamon

1/4 teas ground cloves

1/2 teas salt

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 C molasses

2/3 C hot water

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease 9" square baking pan (2" deep) and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl.

In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one and a time, beating well after each. Mix in molasses, then flour mixture, then the hot water. Mix well until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until a tester is clean. Cool in the pan, on a rack, for another 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

veggie chili

2010-10-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here and I, for one, am ready for it. Ready for some comfort food, ready for these cold sunny days, ready for a fire in the fireplace, ready for a warm bowl of chili...

Oh, look! A warm bowl of chili!

I warn you, this recipe makes enough for an army, or a freezer-full. But it's so good you'll be glad you've got extra on hand. Trust me. Start chopping.

Yeah, I should mention that this isn't a 'quick, it's 5 o'clock what are we having for dinner tonight' recipe (I mean, just look at that ingredient list!) No, this is a lovely vegetable-filled recipe that requires a bit of slicing and dicing. Nothing difficult or tricky, just chopping. Your efforts will be rewarded with layers of flavour and deliciousness.

It is known in our house as 'Kim and Larry's chili' because they are the friends who got us hooked. I'm not sure where they got this recipe, but I hope they don't mind me sharing...

veggie chili

serves at least 12

1 1/2 C dried beans (black, pinto, red, your choice)

4 C water

3/4 C bulgar

1 1/2 C boiling water

2 Tbs oil (or more if necessary)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 C celery, finely chopped

1 C carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4" coins

1 C squash, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" cubes (we use butternut squash)

1 C eggplant, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 C mushrooms, halved or quartered

1 red pepper, cut into 1" squares

1 yellow pepper, cut into 1" squares

1 zucchini, cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" cubes

1/2 teas Tabasco sauce

3 Tbs chili powder

2 Tbs cumin

1/4 C (or 1 Tbs dried) each of fresh basic, dill, and oregano

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

2 28-oz cans tomatoes

3 C V-8 juice

2 oz tomato paste

1 C niblets corn

grated Monterey Jack cheese

First, bring beans to boil in water, then simmer until tenter. Strain, saving liquid. Also, soak bulgar for five minutes in boiling water, then set aside.

Saute vegetables (garlic, onion, celery, carrots, squash, eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, sweet potato) in oil for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add spices (Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, basil, dill, oregano, jalapeno, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes) to vegetable mixture, and saute 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, V-8 juice, tomato paste and beans. Add a tablespoon of the beans' cooking liquid, and add more to taste. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, for 30 minutes. Add corn and soaked bulgar to the pot and cook until heated through.

Serve in bowls, topped with cheese.

a tale of two slippers

2010-10-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Girl's feet were cold. Girl knit slippers.* Girl's feet were warm. Girl was happy.

* Ribby Slipper Socks from Interweave Knits, Holiday 2008 edition. Available as a free download via Ravelry.

knitting needle roll

2010-10-16T19:02:00.002-07:00

My knitting needles are no longer tangled up in the bottom of the yarn box. No siree. Now they're properly put away in a cozy knitting needle roll.

The features I wanted: lots of pockets, enough fabric at the top for an overflap, elastic (instead of ties) for quick one-handed securing, and fun fabric.

I used the ideas of a few different tool rolls, including Lotta Jansdotter's in Simple Sewing and this one, but didn't follow any particular pattern. If you want to make your tools a cozy home, there are a ton of designs and options out there. I'll share a few more photos in case you're interested in how mine came together...

for the record

2010-10-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

1 bucket strawberries = 5 half-pints jam

3 bags fresh peaches = 11 pints preserved peaches

25 pounds tomatoes = 9 quarts stewed tomatoes

30 pounds apples = 6 pints cinnamony-sugary chunky applesauce for me + what looks to be a lifetime supply of applesauce for the baby

2 bags ripe pears = 10 pints pearsauce

in season

2010-10-12T18:39:00.002-07:00

market bag

2010-10-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

To market, to market, to buy... a lot!

This here is a hybrid market bag. I used the bottom and body of the 'let's go shopping' pattern (free ravelry download) and incorporated the design of the 'grrlfriend market bag' pattern (another free download) in the top handle.

It was a pretty quick knit, but not so quick that I'd mass produce them for gifts or gift wrap.

This one was filled with birthday goodies and given away. Fun. I definitely see more market bags in my future. Perhaps a red one for me?

butternut squash soup

2010-09-28T20:15:00.007-07:00

A perfectly fall soup for these shorter days -- butternut squash with apple.

I know, apple? I thought the same thing. But trust Elise of Simply Recipes. It's delicious!

egg & bluebird

2010-09-24T11:39:00.004-07:00

It's an egg...

...no, it's a bird!

I absolutely love this wee reversible toy. And my new book has four more to make -- and there's a freebie on ravelry for a fifth. Oh man, I'm going to collect the whole set. Err, for the baby, of course.

This one knit up pretty fast because there aren't a lot of pieces. Some of the others look like they'll be more fiddly.

Here, in the light of late night knitting, are all the pieces ready to be seamed together...

Now, should I make the frog/turtle or elephant/lion next??

for tobias

2010-09-21T21:33:00.002-07:00

The garter stitch wrap top from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies.

reusable bags

2010-09-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Since I made those kitchen towels, I've been re-examining all of my disposable habits in the kitchen. I was feeling guilty over the plastic bags by the sink. I mean, even though we wash and reuse plastic bags around here, they eventually and inevitably get thrown into the landfill.

But now we have muslin produce bags and snack bags to use instead.

produce bags: A simple bag. Nothing fancy. The seams are a mess. But who's looking? Major bonus: I no longer have to fight to open (the wrong side of) those darn thin plastic bags with my hands full of apples.

snack baggies: Again, nothing too terribly fancy, but they have a nifty flap. I used angry chicken's funny video tutorial.

roasted cauliflower

2010-09-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I think we can all agree that cauliflower is not a photogenic vegetable. But trust me, when it's roasted with a bit of lemon juice and garlic, then topped with parmesan cheese, it shines. Head over to simply recipes for the deets.

t-shirt jumper

2010-09-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Cute stripes + long-sleeve onesie + leggings = fall uniform

The warhol dress is a great pattern for refashioning a big t-shirt into a wee jumper. My only modification was the plain neckline (the original has a bow.)

But oh how I struggled and fiddled with that *$%# knit fabric. It was a scene from the high seas, I'm telling you. The mouth of a sailor at the sewing machine.

I am really happy with the way it all turned out though, and we'll get lots of use out of it. After all, it's part of her new uniform.

crazy knitting

2010-09-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

Back when I first learned to knit, oh ten years ago, I inadvertently converted how I was taught to knit into a method of always knitting through the back of the loop. The day after my friend taught me how to knit, I remember practicing in front of her -- "I never showed you to knit like that," she said. But because my final products never seemed too different than those made properly (knitting through the front of the stitch) I never paid too much attention to the fact that I knit wrong. Until now.

Just look at this vest.

I mean, it's cute and all, but the original doesn't have a band across the chest. The original doesn't have slanted stitches.

So, with my latest project I'm in retraining. It's a very verbal process: through the front, the front, the front, through the front, not the back. But it's looking good -- and oh so straight! -- so I'll try to keep it up.

Toddler t-shirt vest (free pattern)