to say that I'll be away for a bit, we are going to my grandpa's funeral. He had a wonderful life and accomplished many great things. I'm sad that he is gone, but I'm looking forward to celebrating his life with the rest of the family, some of whom I haven't seen in years.
Thank you, and we'll talk again when I return.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Deconstruction Of A Bell Pepper
Or, how to cut a bell pepper.
Start by cutting the top and bottom of the pepper off. This creates a flat surface on the bottom and allows you to see through to the inside.
Make your first cut into the pepper to the right of the pith (the bitter white part).
Your next cut will be right before the next line of pith.
You now have one section of pepper, and a peek at the inside.
Continue cutting around until you have a skeleton of a pepper.
Notice, there are no seeds on the pepper or the cutting board that need to be wiped away. You also have lovely pieces of pepper that can easily be cut any which way you desire.
Start by cutting the top and bottom of the pepper off. This creates a flat surface on the bottom and allows you to see through to the inside.
Make your first cut into the pepper to the right of the pith (the bitter white part).
Your next cut will be right before the next line of pith.
You now have one section of pepper, and a peek at the inside.
Next, you will be cutting behind the pith.
And then once again in front of the pith.
Continue cutting around until you have a skeleton of a pepper.
Notice, there are no seeds on the pepper or the cutting board that need to be wiped away. You also have lovely pieces of pepper that can easily be cut any which way you desire.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Free Form Sewing
That's what I'm calling it because I didn't use a pattern. I just laid the fabric out, drew on it, cut it out and sewed it together. I'm happy with how he turned out.
He is for a friend of Wren's who is throwing a super hero party.
Of course, you can see the influences from here, here and here. It was great fun letting the creative juices flow, using what I've learned and seen, but trying to make something of my own.
Violet really wanted to be a part of the photo shoot.
He is for a friend of Wren's who is throwing a super hero party.
Of course, you can see the influences from here, here and here. It was great fun letting the creative juices flow, using what I've learned and seen, but trying to make something of my own.
Violet really wanted to be a part of the photo shoot.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Update On The Roasted Tomato Sauce
I roasted some more tomatoes, this time I added some sweet peppers and basil. I don't add any salt or oil so that it is easier to control when used in a recipe. I've been getting a lot of inspiration and information from Dan and Nicki. Also from friends I work with at the market.
I must tell you, this sauce smells delicious. I wanted to pull it out of the oven and eat it with a spoon.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
We Survived!
We were all exhausted by the end, but we survived the first week of school!
Silly face pose for Dad on the way out the door on the first day.
Signing in.
Finding her cubby.
I've got a back log of posts that I've been wanting to get to, some foodie stuff and some crafty stuff too. Hopefully I'll be able to think about more than getting the kids out the door with the appropriate items and then picking them up on time so I can squeeze in some blogging.
Silly face pose for Dad on the way out the door on the first day.
Signing in.
Finding her cubby.
I've got a back log of posts that I've been wanting to get to, some foodie stuff and some crafty stuff too. Hopefully I'll be able to think about more than getting the kids out the door with the appropriate items and then picking them up on time so I can squeeze in some blogging.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Making Some Sauce
I brought home about 35 lbs of tomatoes from the market. Suffice it to say, we spent a few days roasting tomatoes.
For the most part, we quartered the tomatoes, placed them on the pan skin down and roasted them for about 3 hours at 250 degrees. Then we skinned them, weighed them out to 28 oz (large can size) and threw them in the freezer.
After hearing from some friends that they roast tomatoes with onions and garlic and then blend it all up in to a nice sauce base, I had to try some. The sauce was bursting with roasted garlic flavor and had a lovely sweetness to it. Hopefully I can make some more of this before tomato season is over.
I also tried my hand at crock pot tomato sauce and came up with a pretty good one.
Crock Pot Tomato Sauce
8 cups chopped tomatoes, I skinned mine, but it isn't necessary
3 carrots, grated
1 large onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T olive oil
3/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried marjoram
1 t dried basil
3/4 t fennel seeds
3/4 t salt
Heat oil in a sauté pan. Sweat onions, bell pepper, garlic and grated carrots until soft, being careful not to brown. Place everything into crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours or until done. You can blend this sauce or use it chunky.
For the most part, we quartered the tomatoes, placed them on the pan skin down and roasted them for about 3 hours at 250 degrees. Then we skinned them, weighed them out to 28 oz (large can size) and threw them in the freezer.
After hearing from some friends that they roast tomatoes with onions and garlic and then blend it all up in to a nice sauce base, I had to try some. The sauce was bursting with roasted garlic flavor and had a lovely sweetness to it. Hopefully I can make some more of this before tomato season is over.
I also tried my hand at crock pot tomato sauce and came up with a pretty good one.
Crock Pot Tomato Sauce
8 cups chopped tomatoes, I skinned mine, but it isn't necessary
3 carrots, grated
1 large onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T olive oil
3/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried marjoram
1 t dried basil
3/4 t fennel seeds
3/4 t salt
Heat oil in a sauté pan. Sweat onions, bell pepper, garlic and grated carrots until soft, being careful not to brown. Place everything into crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours or until done. You can blend this sauce or use it chunky.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Christmas Gift List, Halloween. Wow, It Must Be Sept.
I'm starting on Christmas gifts. Here's what I'm doing so far.
This portable doll house for Violet from UK lass in US.
From mmmcrafts. I've just got to make these for the kids. I'll do a boy version with removable pants for Wren.
I really like this double sided cable scarf from Sweater Surgery.
This is what I want to make for Violet's Halloween costume from Wee Wonderfuls. Wren's costume idea changes weekly, so I'm not sure what that one is going to be.
Last year he was the Prince from Katamari. I also crocheted the Prince for him from a pattern I bought from anapauloli on Etsy.
Things have been extra busy here. Wren is starting kindergarten next week and Violet is going to preschool. It feels like the end of an era for me, life is never going to be the same. It is going to be all about school for the next 15 years or so.
I've been at home with my kids since the beginning and this is a bit of a hard transition for me. On one hand, I'm thinking about all the time I'm going to have for myself. On the other hand, I'm really going to miss Wren. He is going to be in school for 6 hours a day! That is 30 hours a week! Violet will only be going for 5 hours a week, so she will keep me company. I think she will miss her little buddy too though.
This portable doll house for Violet from UK lass in US.
From mmmcrafts. I've just got to make these for the kids. I'll do a boy version with removable pants for Wren.
I really like this double sided cable scarf from Sweater Surgery.
This is what I want to make for Violet's Halloween costume from Wee Wonderfuls. Wren's costume idea changes weekly, so I'm not sure what that one is going to be.
Last year he was the Prince from Katamari. I also crocheted the Prince for him from a pattern I bought from anapauloli on Etsy.
Things have been extra busy here. Wren is starting kindergarten next week and Violet is going to preschool. It feels like the end of an era for me, life is never going to be the same. It is going to be all about school for the next 15 years or so.
I've been at home with my kids since the beginning and this is a bit of a hard transition for me. On one hand, I'm thinking about all the time I'm going to have for myself. On the other hand, I'm really going to miss Wren. He is going to be in school for 6 hours a day! That is 30 hours a week! Violet will only be going for 5 hours a week, so she will keep me company. I think she will miss her little buddy too though.
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