scrabble cards

My most recent late night project - making scrabble cards!

Since anything scrabble is fun, I bought this paper a while ago (see below). At the time, I didn't really know what I would use it for, but when the card idea hit, I couldn't be stopped...

The inspiration.

baked eggs in ham

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.

~ John Gunther

A weekend isn't a weekend without a fun breakfast. This Gourmet recipe has been in my stash of fav brunch foods for a while. Tarragon and eggs go marvelously together, and the crispy ham and sautéed mushrooms take it over the edge of yumminess. Folks are usually impressed by the presentation, but don't look too long or your eggs will get cold...


baked eggs in ham
serves 6

7-8 (about 3/4 lb) mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 cup shallot, diced fine
2 Tbs unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs sour cream (or crème fraîche if you've got it)
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh tarragon, plus whole leaves for garnish
12 slices black forest or virginia ham (without holes!)
12 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400°. Cook mushrooms and shallot in butter. Add a dash of pepper and cook on med-high heat, stirring occasionally. When the mushrooms are tender and the liquid that they give off is evaporated (about 10 mins), remove from heat and stir in sour cream and tarragon.

Lightly oil muffin tin. Fit 1 slice of ham into each cup, letting the ends stick up and hang over the cups. Dollop some of the mushroom mixture into each of the ham-lined cups. Since my muffin tins never seem to be big enough to handle the ham, mushrooms, and a whole egg, I crack my eggs in a bowl and spoon a yolk and as much egg white that will fit into each.

Bake until whites are cooked but yolks are still slightly runny (15-20 mins). Gently remove from muffin tin (try using a couple spatulas, or a fork and spoon combo). Top with a sprig of tarragon and serve. I usually serve these with hot biscuits and fresh fruit.

risotto

Rice is born in water and must die in wine.

~ Italian Proverb

It's a shame that cheesy, starchy, yummy risotto often gets overlooked in this anti-carb world. Since I don't like peas or tomatoes or anything in mine (except maybe for a little prosciutto), here is a recipe for classic parmesan risotto. (It's adapted from my favourite cookbook: the New Best Recipe.)

risotto
serves 6

3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1-2 shallot, diced fine
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
6-8 slices of prosciutto, chopped fine - optional
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Bring broth and water to a simmer in saucepan over med-high heat. Reduce heat to low, just enough to keep warm.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan over med heat. Once foaming subsides, add shallot and a dash of salt (but don't add salt if you're going to be adding prosciutto later--the meat is salty enough). Cook until shallots are soft and translucent.

Add rice and sauté, stirring often until the edges of the grains are ttransparent(about 4 mins). Pour in the wine. Cook, stirring often, until the wine is completely absorbed (about 2 mins). Then add about 3 cups of the broth mixture. Let simmer, stirring every few minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. If you want to add prosciutto do so now. Add more broth (1/2 cup at a time) until the rice is cooked (cooked through, but still a little firm in the center), being careful not to let the pan go dry. Stir in parmesan and serve!

spaghetti con vongole

Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

~Fellini

I try not to let life pass me by -- perhaps I'll sit down with one of Fellini's films (Amarcord is particularly magical) as I devour this delish dish.

spaghetti con vongole (a.k.a. pasta n' clams)
serves 4

porcini mushrooms (I usually use dried porcini -just soak 'em in water for a bit before using)
olive oil
1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes or a few dashes of cayenne
Fresh clams - enough for 4 seafood lovers
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tomato, cubed
handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
spaghetti

Scrub and rinse clams, tossing any open or cracked shells. In a large saucepan over med heat, sauté mushrooms and pepper flakes in olive oil. Add clams and wine. Cook, covered, until clams open. Once clams open, pick them out and put them in a large bowl; set aside. Toss out any clams that didn't open. Stir tomatoes and parsley into the wine sauce. Simmer until thickened (about 15 mins).

Meanwhile, bring salted water to boil in saucepan and cook spaghetti al dente. Drain. Return clams to pot with winey-goodness. Add cooked pasta. Stir to combine, garnish with parmesan and parsley, and serve.

bloomin' napkin rings

I'm not one of those people who like hearts, wicker, and faux flowers, but I let my guard down ant made something with silk flowers. I found myself inspired by some mini mag in the grocery store check out line.... I don't remember which one. Perhaps I'm on a slippery slope and I'll soon start making other crafts in the "country decor" family-- ahh! In any case, I think they're cute. If you want to make these colourful (even if a little country) napkin rings...

Cut a wire-stemmed flower at about 7 inches or so and remove most of the leaves. Using needle-nose pliers, bend the stem into a C shape and bend a little hook on the end for securing under the flower.

I'll let you know if I start collecting apple crates.

who's afraid of socks?

This goes out to Glenda...I made a sock!

A bit of history...
After I taught Glenda the basics of knitting, she went on to tackle feats of strength-- such as badass socks, intricate baby blankets, a baby's thumper jumper, and cabled sweaters (but not for boyfriends)-- while I stayed in the land of knit 2, purl 2. I had convinced myself I didn't like to count, and was happy to knit scarves, toques, and legwarmers.

But now, wanting a bit of adventure, I ventured to make a sockette. With the mini sock pattern by Jackie E-S, I faced my fears and started small. :)

Just starting the heel...

...starting the toe (I was beginning to taste the victory)...

...Voila!

pretty in pink scarf

I just finished the first scarf of knitting season! I already threw out the label, but I think the yarn is Cathay, a cotton/silk blend by Debbie Bliss. The stitch is an elongated stitch (video link). For this scarf, I cast on 22 stitches, used 4 loops around the needle for the elongated stitch, and garter stitched 5 rows in between rows of elongated stitches. The scarf grows lopsided if you don't do an uneven number of garter stitched rows. It's not the warmest scarf I own, but they can't all be warm fuzzies. :)

brewmaster

Without question, the greatest invention in the

history of mankind is beer.

Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention,

but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. ~Dave Barry

We made beer! Since we live in the land of lagers and no one has yet heard of using hops to improve the taste of beer, we needed to take matters into our own hands. The kit was a birthday present for my hubby and he's already addicted.

It's quite the process, but there are many helpful sites out there. We especially liked John Palmer's How to Brew. Let me warn you, there is lots of sterilizing and washing up involved! The fermenter sat in the middle of our living room floor (a place of reverence, and the coolest spot in the house) for 10 days. Bottling is the best part of the process because you get to use fun tools like a bottle capper. Five gallons of ale became 46 silver-starred bottles. These sat in dark boxes in our kitchen for the next 3 weeks until they were ready to drink. Now, we've got cheap (works out to about 50 cents a bottle!) and tasty ale!

stashing away summer eats

Since I was determined not to face another winter in which my only option for fruit was apples, I've been prepping for our winter hibernation. I've tried my hand at (from left to right) sweet cherries, peach jam, applesauce with plums, and triple berry-ness/syrup/jam (more on that later). And, my freezer is busting at the seams with lots of sweet summer veggies in Ziploc bags.

I'm not afraid of no winter...


Sweet cherries These cherries are a bit of work because there is a lot of stemming, sorting, and pricking involved. Instead of pitting the cherries, which apparently robs them of flavour, pricking each cherry end with a pin helps to avoid splitting during processing. I followed this recipe for raw pack cherries (the site looks kind of industrial, but there are lots of great canning tips and ideas for fruit). Made 8 pints of cherries!

Peach jam (truth be told, the peaches were bought with the intention of plain ol' canned peaches, but I neglected to buy the "freestone" variety, so my efforts soon became peach jam) To make two pints, I used 4 cups crushed, peeled peaches, 1/2 cup water, and about 2 cups sugar (I made this batch with 3 cups and it was too sweet...so I would try 2 cups next time). I followed the canning instructions on the same site as above. If you do actually remember to buy freestone peaches, these lovely ladies have a great site of instructions and pictures.

Applesauce with plums I like my applesauce with a little kick, and cinnamon can only do so much. The plums add a really nice level of tartness and spice. I used a dozen apples and 18 plums, and followed a recipe for basic applesauce (omitting any called-for sugar or spices). Made 5 pints of plum-apple goodness. I'll probably use it on french toast or enjoy it straight from the jar.

Triple berry-ness/syrup/jam I wanted to make jam. I bought the low sugar pectin and was just going to use some of my frozen blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Then I realized that jam might not set properly in my pint jars (my recipe called for half-pint jars). Since I love anything fruity on my pancakes, waffles, and other bready brunch fare, I decided to make berry syrup of my frozen berries. After boiling the fruit, straining most of the seeds, and following this recipe for berry syrup, my "syrup" was extremely sweet and set up like a jam! My triple berry-ness is a little too sweet and congealed to be a syrup, but a little too runny to be a jam. I'll still enjoy it on toast -- french or buttered.

kim's skewers and parm toasts

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon

or not at all. ~Harriet van Horne

My friend Kim shared this recipe with me, so I shared it with my hubby over some pinot grigio. These takes a bit of fiddling, but they're worth it. When you're making the crisps, be sure to not get distracted because your mean oven will try to burn them if you're not careful.

skewers
grape tomatoes, marinated
kalamata olives, cut in half, length-wise
fresh basil, smallish leaves
boccaccini, marinated
olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Marinate the grape tomatoes in a little balsamic and olive oil for a couple hours. Marinate the boccaccini as well, but in a mix of olive oil, chopped basil, a little freshly ground black pepper, and a swig of balsamic vinegar.

To assemble, take a toothpick and start with a tomato. Add a basil leaf, then the boccaccini, then half of a kalamata olive (facing in, if you want to be "lana" about it). Serve with parmesan crisps.

parmesan crisps
part of a loaf of italian white bread
lots of freshly grated parmesan
olive oil

To prepare the bread -- first, cut into thinnish (1/2-in) slices, then use a small cookie cutter to remove the crust while creating fun bready shapes. I would recommend staying away from stars or something with appendages because the ends will be crispier and browner than the rest of the piece.

Preheat oven to 350°. Put the bread on a cookie sheet in a single layer and brush one side with olive oil. Toast in oven for a few mins, until starting to lightly toast. Remove from the oven, turn all the breads over, and brush the opposite side with olive oil. Toast in the oven for a few mins. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each piece with parmesan (be generous to the edges!). Toast until parm melts and is beginning to bubble. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before turning over each piece to sprinkle cheese on the other side. Toast again, until the parmesan melts and is toasty. Serve warm or at room temperature.