today i am thankful for:
1. health insurance.
2. a husband who believes the best about me even when i don’t.
3. npr and ira glass, whom i found inordinately funny this morning when he asked if i, the listener, was one of those people who had listened to npr for years but never pledged, inculcating my children while they sit bored in the backseat – and i thought, omg, i’m going to be one of those parents! i was one of those children who grew up on npr, bored in the backseat, and now i love it – and i’m sure i will be one of those parents who inflict npr on their children as well. and isn't inculcate a great word?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
pretty and functional, right up my alley.
this was also a small project this weekend that i have been meaning to do. this creative idea was stolen from my mother:
i like it because it is crafty and functional without looking like some nifty crafty organizer thingy you'd buy at a holiday bazaar and pawn off on some unsuspecting b-list relative. i also like it because it makes my everyday things like artwork. brian actually even liked it, a lot i presume, because he kept commenting on it. or maybe he just liked that we finally have something (anything!) hung on a wall in our master bedroom.
it took about a half an hour to complete and no swearing at all which is my kind of project. i used the glass in a frame i had as a template to cut a rectangle from a piece of canvas, about 2-3 inches larger all around than the glass. i sewed on five random shank buttons from the button jar all in a row. they are about 1½-2 inches apart and kind of large-ish in diameter, and you need the shank so there is some depth for the chains. then i ran a length of heavy-duty thread across the back from one side to another in a kind of Z pattern, pulling the canvas really tight around the glass so it would not shift. i was not so concerned about the sides but i didn't want the top to wrinkle funny and maybe drape from the weight of the necklaces. then i just reassembled the frame and hung it on the wall by my dresser and voila, we finally have something mildly decorative.
i like it because it is crafty and functional without looking like some nifty crafty organizer thingy you'd buy at a holiday bazaar and pawn off on some unsuspecting b-list relative. i also like it because it makes my everyday things like artwork. brian actually even liked it, a lot i presume, because he kept commenting on it. or maybe he just liked that we finally have something (anything!) hung on a wall in our master bedroom.
it took about a half an hour to complete and no swearing at all which is my kind of project. i used the glass in a frame i had as a template to cut a rectangle from a piece of canvas, about 2-3 inches larger all around than the glass. i sewed on five random shank buttons from the button jar all in a row. they are about 1½-2 inches apart and kind of large-ish in diameter, and you need the shank so there is some depth for the chains. then i ran a length of heavy-duty thread across the back from one side to another in a kind of Z pattern, pulling the canvas really tight around the glass so it would not shift. i was not so concerned about the sides but i didn't want the top to wrinkle funny and maybe drape from the weight of the necklaces. then i just reassembled the frame and hung it on the wall by my dresser and voila, we finally have something mildly decorative.
Monday, January 26, 2009
condensed, sadly (but nicely streamlined)
the big project around the house this weekend was moving my sewing room downstairs along with all the assorted sewing/crafty crap i have collected over the years. this meant the downstairs closet had to get cleaned out, which was good because it was just storage for a bunch of stuff that did not need to be stored in the house. um, luggage? my upstairs closet also had to get cleaned out which was good because there was a lot of stuff that i just had not dealt with since we moved in six months ago. including stuff that just got thrown into boxes that really ought to have been thrown in the trash but just seemed vitally important at the time. and a bunch of brian's stuff that mysteriously migrated from the museum, how did that happen?
this is what i ended up with, sharing space with the guest room, which really feels a lot better now that the huge dark bookcase is out of there (the books went upstairs onto the ledge in our bedroom) and the futon looks like a real bed:
small notions in the top two drawers which previously housed random scrapbooking crap that now has a new home. isn't it nice to clean stuff out? the bottom drawer is scrapbooking paper, and the boxes behind are my sewing box (random stuff like the cams for the elna, extra knife blades for the serger, the buttonholer that i haven't figured out how to use yet) and two boxes of scrapbooking stuff. on the shelf is the cd box i repurposed years ago to hold my working patterns (those currently in rotation), a box of zippers and a box of elastic/velcro/bias tape, tailor's ham and seam roll, and the "reference" books and magazines i've collected over the years pertaining to my varioushobbies obsessions. the small corkboard is a must for keeping pattern instructions handy while sewing a new project.
the shelf i repurposed from our old entertainment center that was in the original sewing room. i was going to hang both shelves but at the moment i like the spare-ness of just one, and (i think) i have enough space with just the one. hopefully it will also force me to keep things neat and tidy. this room also gets great light during the day but like all our bedrooms the overhead lights are crappy and dull at night. hence the torch lamp with the reading light which was previously down here and stayed, because i tend to like to sew at night when it is quiet. the ironing board will come down here also in the next day or so but i think i am going to have to get another over-the-door board for our bedroom/clothes ironing. we'll see how all the tromping up and down the stairs works out or if i can be counted on to pull the ironing out of the clean clothes basket before it goes upstairs.
still not sure if i am going to bring the knitting basket down or leave it upstairs in our room and i still have to re-hang the pictures i took down while we were moving stuff around. even with bare walls the room just feels good. even though it is smaller than my previous beloved space i am somewhat excited to get to work on a project in there. i think it is because the drawers under the table will make it so much easier to sew and scrapbook, because the little stuffs are not hidden in my sewing box or in the closet but usefully, easily within reach. the biggest thing i lost is large space to cut out patterns, but really, i can do that on the island in the kitchen or on my table if i move the machines.
in other news, rather coveting this cd from fiction family. nickel creek plus switchfoot equals beautiful. i wonder if i have enough change saved for a new cd?
this is what i ended up with, sharing space with the guest room, which really feels a lot better now that the huge dark bookcase is out of there (the books went upstairs onto the ledge in our bedroom) and the futon looks like a real bed:
small notions in the top two drawers which previously housed random scrapbooking crap that now has a new home. isn't it nice to clean stuff out? the bottom drawer is scrapbooking paper, and the boxes behind are my sewing box (random stuff like the cams for the elna, extra knife blades for the serger, the buttonholer that i haven't figured out how to use yet) and two boxes of scrapbooking stuff. on the shelf is the cd box i repurposed years ago to hold my working patterns (those currently in rotation), a box of zippers and a box of elastic/velcro/bias tape, tailor's ham and seam roll, and the "reference" books and magazines i've collected over the years pertaining to my various
the shelf i repurposed from our old entertainment center that was in the original sewing room. i was going to hang both shelves but at the moment i like the spare-ness of just one, and (i think) i have enough space with just the one. hopefully it will also force me to keep things neat and tidy. this room also gets great light during the day but like all our bedrooms the overhead lights are crappy and dull at night. hence the torch lamp with the reading light which was previously down here and stayed, because i tend to like to sew at night when it is quiet. the ironing board will come down here also in the next day or so but i think i am going to have to get another over-the-door board for our bedroom/clothes ironing. we'll see how all the tromping up and down the stairs works out or if i can be counted on to pull the ironing out of the clean clothes basket before it goes upstairs.
still not sure if i am going to bring the knitting basket down or leave it upstairs in our room and i still have to re-hang the pictures i took down while we were moving stuff around. even with bare walls the room just feels good. even though it is smaller than my previous beloved space i am somewhat excited to get to work on a project in there. i think it is because the drawers under the table will make it so much easier to sew and scrapbook, because the little stuffs are not hidden in my sewing box or in the closet but usefully, easily within reach. the biggest thing i lost is large space to cut out patterns, but really, i can do that on the island in the kitchen or on my table if i move the machines.
in other news, rather coveting this cd from fiction family. nickel creek plus switchfoot equals beautiful. i wonder if i have enough change saved for a new cd?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
again with the pears.
i was going to make cobbler from the leftover pear pie filling but i decided on muffins thinking brian would like that better. turns out he apparently "only" likes blueberry muffins. too bad for him because they turned out delicious. more for me i guess.
i adapted the double blueberry muffin recipe from butter sugar flour eggs. it is my absolute favorite dessert cookbook and probably the most beautiful cookbook i own. maybe the most beautiful cookbook in the world. in case you don't have your own leftover pear pie filling, here is how you make it:
½ c. golden raisins
2 T. minced crystallized ginger
2 c. diced ripe pears
1 T. melted butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
combine raisins and ginger in a small saucepan with enough water to just cover. simmer until liquid is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes. combine raisin mixture with pears, butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, stirring to coat evenly.
muffins:
8 T. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 c. pear pie filling (above)
1½ c. flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. milk
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ginger
preheat oven to 375º. cream butter until smooth. add sugar and mix. add eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt, and mix together.
in a shallow bowl, mash about ¾ cup of the pear mixture with the back of a fork. add to the batter and mix well. with the mixer running at low speed, add 1 cup of flour and half the milk, mixing well. add the remaining ½ cup of flour, whole wheat flour, remaining milk, and spices, and mix well. fold in remaining pear mixture by hand.
spoon mixture into muffin tins, about ¾ full. bake until golden brown and risen, about 25 to 30 minutes. makes about 20 muffins.
they did not rise very much and i don't know why, maybe the whole wheat flour and the pears were just too much for the baking powder? i may have to play with the recipe. they taste heavenly, especially warm. nicely spiced but not too overdone. cakey and crumbly but not too sweet. just the way i like my muffins. yum.
i adapted the double blueberry muffin recipe from butter sugar flour eggs. it is my absolute favorite dessert cookbook and probably the most beautiful cookbook i own. maybe the most beautiful cookbook in the world. in case you don't have your own leftover pear pie filling, here is how you make it:
½ c. golden raisins
2 T. minced crystallized ginger
2 c. diced ripe pears
1 T. melted butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
combine raisins and ginger in a small saucepan with enough water to just cover. simmer until liquid is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes. combine raisin mixture with pears, butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, stirring to coat evenly.
muffins:
8 T. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 c. pear pie filling (above)
1½ c. flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. milk
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ginger
preheat oven to 375º. cream butter until smooth. add sugar and mix. add eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt, and mix together.
in a shallow bowl, mash about ¾ cup of the pear mixture with the back of a fork. add to the batter and mix well. with the mixer running at low speed, add 1 cup of flour and half the milk, mixing well. add the remaining ½ cup of flour, whole wheat flour, remaining milk, and spices, and mix well. fold in remaining pear mixture by hand.
spoon mixture into muffin tins, about ¾ full. bake until golden brown and risen, about 25 to 30 minutes. makes about 20 muffins.
they did not rise very much and i don't know why, maybe the whole wheat flour and the pears were just too much for the baking powder? i may have to play with the recipe. they taste heavenly, especially warm. nicely spiced but not too overdone. cakey and crumbly but not too sweet. just the way i like my muffins. yum.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
pear pie
this week i am thankful for:
1. my husband, still, for being patient with me even as i am a cranky, hormonal bitch to him.
2. good friends who make me laugh and listen with understanding and without condemnation.
3. flexible recipes that still taste good even when i forget ingredients. i made this last night and forgot the sugar in the filling and overdid it on the pears, so it was un-sweet and the flavors were somewhat diluted. i love pie. i love how easy it is to make and how flexible it is to create. i love that even though i forgot the sugar, it still tasted delicious. like breakfast instead of dessert. i may start forgetting the sugar all the time.
gingered pear pie with golden raisins
crust:
2½ c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ c. chilled butter, diced
½ c. chilled shortening
¼ c. plus 2 T. buttermilk
filling:
¾ c. golden raisins
¼ c. plus 2 T. minced crystallized ginger (about 2½ oz.)
3 lb. ripe medium pears (about 7), peeled, cored, and sliced into ½-inch dice
½ c. sugar
3 T. melted butter
2 T. quick-cooking tapioca (i used cornstarch)
1 T. lemon juice
1¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
glaze:
1 egg
2 T. milk
combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. drizzle buttermilk over mixture and stir until moist clumps form. gather and divide into two balls, pressing flat into disks. wrap separately and chill one our. let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before rolling.
combine raisins and ginger in a small saucepan. add enough water to just cover and simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
preheat oven to 400°. combine pears, sugar, melted butter, tapioca, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl; stir in raisin/gigner mixture. roll out one pie crust disk and transfer to pie plate. trim edges and fill with pear mixture. roll out second pie crust disk and cover pie, crimping edges to seal and slashing to vent. glaze top or sprinkle with sugar.
bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble up through slashes, about 1 hour. cover edges with foil if browning too quickly. serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
1. my husband, still, for being patient with me even as i am a cranky, hormonal bitch to him.
2. good friends who make me laugh and listen with understanding and without condemnation.
3. flexible recipes that still taste good even when i forget ingredients. i made this last night and forgot the sugar in the filling and overdid it on the pears, so it was un-sweet and the flavors were somewhat diluted. i love pie. i love how easy it is to make and how flexible it is to create. i love that even though i forgot the sugar, it still tasted delicious. like breakfast instead of dessert. i may start forgetting the sugar all the time.
gingered pear pie with golden raisins
crust:
2½ c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ c. chilled butter, diced
½ c. chilled shortening
¼ c. plus 2 T. buttermilk
filling:
¾ c. golden raisins
¼ c. plus 2 T. minced crystallized ginger (about 2½ oz.)
3 lb. ripe medium pears (about 7), peeled, cored, and sliced into ½-inch dice
½ c. sugar
3 T. melted butter
2 T. quick-cooking tapioca (i used cornstarch)
1 T. lemon juice
1¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
glaze:
1 egg
2 T. milk
combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. drizzle buttermilk over mixture and stir until moist clumps form. gather and divide into two balls, pressing flat into disks. wrap separately and chill one our. let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before rolling.
combine raisins and ginger in a small saucepan. add enough water to just cover and simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
preheat oven to 400°. combine pears, sugar, melted butter, tapioca, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl; stir in raisin/gigner mixture. roll out one pie crust disk and transfer to pie plate. trim edges and fill with pear mixture. roll out second pie crust disk and cover pie, crimping edges to seal and slashing to vent. glaze top or sprinkle with sugar.
bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble up through slashes, about 1 hour. cover edges with foil if browning too quickly. serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
afternoon project: upcycling
turned my childhood twin comforter into a comforter/bedspread for our full-size guest futon:
all it took was two king-size flat sheets (purchased on sale by my lovely hubby) and a package of batting, 45"x60". it's basically a duvet with large (14") flaps on the sides, batting in the flaps to make it comfy and warm. it was either this or store/donate the twin and buy a larger comforter, and this was cheaper. i'm inordinately thrilled with how it turned out, i almost want to sleep in the guest bedroom just because of it.
in other news, lots of swearing when it came to using my serger. as usual. i have a pfaff hobbylock 797, a 5-spool serger. we just haven't bonded yet, after three years. granted, two of those three years it lived in my closet because i couldn't figure out how to thread it, but still. that seems like not bonding to me. currently my problem is getting the machine to sew a 5-thread safety seam (3-thread overlock with a running stitch seam) without the left needle breaking against the presser foot. seems the presser foot wants to slip around, but everything seems tight as can be. right now i'm using a 4-thread overlock which is nice, but isn't the point of a 5-spool (versus four) serger that i can do that 5-thread seam? and i can't. any tips would be appreciated.
all it took was two king-size flat sheets (purchased on sale by my lovely hubby) and a package of batting, 45"x60". it's basically a duvet with large (14") flaps on the sides, batting in the flaps to make it comfy and warm. it was either this or store/donate the twin and buy a larger comforter, and this was cheaper. i'm inordinately thrilled with how it turned out, i almost want to sleep in the guest bedroom just because of it.
in other news, lots of swearing when it came to using my serger. as usual. i have a pfaff hobbylock 797, a 5-spool serger. we just haven't bonded yet, after three years. granted, two of those three years it lived in my closet because i couldn't figure out how to thread it, but still. that seems like not bonding to me. currently my problem is getting the machine to sew a 5-thread safety seam (3-thread overlock with a running stitch seam) without the left needle breaking against the presser foot. seems the presser foot wants to slip around, but everything seems tight as can be. right now i'm using a 4-thread overlock which is nice, but isn't the point of a 5-spool (versus four) serger that i can do that 5-thread seam? and i can't. any tips would be appreciated.
Monday, January 19, 2009
apparently i need to step it up a notch.
brian recently told me he did not want to eat meat anymore for dinner, which leaves me scratching my head a bit to come up with meals. i tend not to be a very creative cook, much like other parts of my life. (see especially: sewing.) i'm a very good copycat and great at putting my own spin on things but atrocious at coming up with them on my own. i'm content that this is my creative lot in life and i make the best of it but it sure does suck when it comes to thinking of what to make for a man who once told me that souplantation was a restaurant full of appetizers and where was the real food?
so i got some scallops and some tilapia at the store the other night and made scallop crostini caprese, a little recipe card that i picked up at the store. super easy. basically bruschetta with a scallop on top. brian's comment (besides that it looked delicious) was that it looked so nice!
the tilapia i just broiled in the oven and served with a lemon-rosemary vinaigrette, basmati rice, and broccoli. also super easy, another supermarket recipe card. we have two huge rosemary bushes in our front yard so i thought i'd get fancy and snipped a sprig of rosemary to garnish his fish and twisted a lemon on the side. he asked what the green stuff was, was he supposed to eat it?
* update: the point was not so much my lack of creativity in cooking but my lack of creativity in presentation. brian was alternately thrilled and confused at how "fancy" things looked on the plate, because though i love to cook i generally do not run a gourmet restaurant at dinnertime and do not do frilly things like drizzle balsamic vinegar or garnish with "weeds" (his term).
so i got some scallops and some tilapia at the store the other night and made scallop crostini caprese, a little recipe card that i picked up at the store. super easy. basically bruschetta with a scallop on top. brian's comment (besides that it looked delicious) was that it looked so nice!
the tilapia i just broiled in the oven and served with a lemon-rosemary vinaigrette, basmati rice, and broccoli. also super easy, another supermarket recipe card. we have two huge rosemary bushes in our front yard so i thought i'd get fancy and snipped a sprig of rosemary to garnish his fish and twisted a lemon on the side. he asked what the green stuff was, was he supposed to eat it?
* update: the point was not so much my lack of creativity in cooking but my lack of creativity in presentation. brian was alternately thrilled and confused at how "fancy" things looked on the plate, because though i love to cook i generally do not run a gourmet restaurant at dinnertime and do not do frilly things like drizzle balsamic vinegar or garnish with "weeds" (his term).
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