pazzo for pizza

Hey there, peeps. Please excuse erratic my erratic posting of late. A baby happened, summer happened, and well, you understand.

But speaking of cornmeal...

Humdrum it may be, but I have a soft spot for cornmeal. I love cornbread, swoon over cornmeal pancakes, and I can't resist a pizza with a cornmeal crust.

And so, as it happens from time to time, we've been eating quite a lot of pizza lately. My go-to crust recipe is this one from Martha Stewart (but I sub half the flour for whole wheat). I like that it freezes well. (One friend of mine uses tortillas brushed with olive oil for an even easier, crispy pizza crust.)

My simple tomato sauce is usually a few of my jarred tomatoes, a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, and some dried basil and oregano. We tend to keep toppings a simple fare of sauteed veggies, sometimes sausage, and some cheese grated over the whole mess.

Other nights we get more creative, with fresh goat cheese ricotta from our friend 'Farmer Dave', bacon, sauteed leeks and peppers, and fresh tomatoes to make it pretty.

But back to cornmeal. Know any good recipes? I'm all ears.  

tomatillo salsa

I'm loving our CSA this summer. 

Even though it's made me use way more rutabaga and cabbage than I otherwise would have, it's also provided us with the tastiest carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, lettuce, etc.  

And I used tomatillos for the first time. Tried them in this green salsa. Exciting stuff. 

wet coast wools

My friend Glenda opened a yarn store!

It's amazing, folks. I wish you could all stop by and see it (and buy something!) But hey, if you're not in Vancouver, you can shop anytime at the beautiful website. 

I've instructed my hubby to get me something from her shop for the gift-giving occasions on the calendar. There are so many great yarns and doodads to choose from. Like this ultra-soft yak yarn, or this amazing (and environmentally responsible) wool from Imperial Yarn in Oregon.  I don't own a stitch counter, I need a 16" circular, and, well, I think I'm going to just make a wish list and leave it with Glenda. 

I'm so happy for her. I swear, this city has never had such a kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and talented yarn store owner. Three cheers for Glenda!

beer and chocolate

Why, hello! Sorry I've stayed away for so long. What's been happening around here? Not much and a lot, all at the same time. A needy baby, a toddler... and homemade ice cream. 

For Jeff's birthday I got him the ultimate self-serving gift: the ice cream maker attachment for our KitchenAid. Wow, making your own ice cream is fun. And then you get to eat ice cream!

The first batch was guiness-chocolate ice cream from the reigning ice cream guru, David Lebovitz. Great stuff. The next batch was blueberry frozen yogurt. A tad sweet, and not unlike frozen blueberry pie filling, but practice will make perfect. 

paper crafts

My toddler goes nuts for scissors and glue and anything she dubs "arts and crafts" so I'm always on the lookout for stuff that fits the bill. 

Mr Printables fits the bill!  It's got a ton of cool paper crafty stuff for kids, and the cone girls have been a big hit around here.  

And PaperMatrix has some beautifully intricate paper crafts for those of you up for a challenge. I want to try my hand at those hot air balloons someday.

(Thanks to How About Orange for the tips.)

banana-y muffins

Remember that slogan 'kid-tested, mother-approved'? If muffins needed slogans, that one fits these bran-banana muffins. 'Cause even though I only added about 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, you'd have thought they were covered in chocolate given the resulting smile!

[recipe here, but sub chocolate for nuts and butter for margarine]

And while we're on the subject of banana muffins, here's another recipe I've made a couple of times (but again subbing in butter for whatever oil it calls for.) It's quite nutty, for when you're feeling... well, like a nut. 

magic ribbon stick

dowel + ribbons + duct tape = 1 magic stick and 1 happy kid

Thanks to curious bird for the idea

proscuitto + egg + baguette

I'm slowly surfacing after my babymoon. So much so that we had some good friends over for brunch last weekend and I made something new! 

It was all very exciting, coming from the land of frozen soup and frozen mac 'n cheese. 

These eggy baguettes from a recent Martha Stewart mag are pretty tasty. My only complaint is that they are a tad awkward to eat, but that's a small price to pay for such a union of delicious ingredients. Proscuitto, lemon, parsley, parmesan, baguette, and egg. What's not to like? Especially since they are darn simple to make. 

Just add fruit salad, yogurt, and a strong cup of tea to help you forget the hours you were awake with the baby the night before.

 

[recipe here]

right on cue

Babies are funny.

Within 5 hours of publishing that post, our daughter was born. No joke, guys.

Since I will have my hands full for a while -- and it probably won't be because of new crafts or recipes -- I'll just say catch ya' later!

slow knitting

I've got a few knitting projects on the go in anticipation of keeping my idle hands busy while my newborn sleeps quietly in the next room and my toddler quietly plays by herself... 

Ha! 

I don't have a deadline for any of these projects precisely because it may take me a year (or more) to complete any of them. Oh I suppose it'd be nice if the vest fit my kid this fall, but it's coming out so large that I think I've bought myself an extra year without meaning to. 

a soft, soft alpaca cowl for me

a plum vest for the toddler (made before, but this time I'll try some mods)

and an orange and white chevron blanket, stroller-sized

And yes, for those of you keeping track, I'm still pregnant. I've become walking proof of statistical outliers.