Make! Paper Craft Elephant
Thank you to How About Orange for posting, and Curiosity in Portland Oregon for making. Watch the video “From Flat to Flight” and download your very own easy-to-assemble-highly-cool elephant (download on the right hand side). He looked a bit lonely, so I added in the zebra from the back of the latest Anthropologie catalog.
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Tags: curiosity, elephant, make, paper_craft
Cooking with Nick: Surf & Turf
For Chen’s birthday, Nick cooked up a delicious surf & turf dinner. I think one of the most incredible things about cooking is that some of the more “fancy” dinners are the simpler ones to make — take Steak and Lobster tail, for example: A fancy dinner in my opinion, but not super complicated. This was a feast for six. Here’s what we had:
Brussel sprouts with leeks and bacon (left burner) and Roasted potatoes with jalapeno (right burner), which was extremely spicy.
Brussel Sprouts and Spicy Potatoes
Wine for celebration: Argyle Sparkling White from Dundee Oregon, Mac Murray Ranch Pinot Noir from Sonoma CA, Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon from CA, Pra Staforte Classico (Italian White), and Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis (Italian Red). Of course, the wines did not fail us.
Prepping three New York Strip steaks, and three Lobster tails
Look at this beauty:
Steaks seared 6 minutes on each side at medium high heat, then into oven at 350 for about 10 minutes; pulled out and wrapped in aluminum foil for about 10 minutes while lobster (with shell) goes into oven at high broil, for about ten minutes. Let cool, then pull out meat from shell. Oh, this whole time you should be clarifying your butter. 
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Tags: Potatoes, Cooking, cooking_with_Nick, lobster, steak, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, jalapeno
Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti
Last night I was craving lasagna, but didn’t want to put too much effort into dinner, so I picked up this great recipe from Real Simple: Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti. I didn’t have Ziti, so I used penne which worked just fine. I was so anxious to eat it that I forgot to take pretty plated pics. It was quick and easy – about 40 minutes total time to make. AND, if you make enough like I did, there’s extra for lunches.
Lasagna-Style Baked Penne
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Tags: baked_dish, italian, lasagna, real_simple, Recipe
Make an Ottoman Cover
I recently pulled over the ottoman from the sitting area into the living room, as part foot rest and part work station. It’s about twelve years old and looks it. With no desire to spend money on reupholstering it, I did have extra material from the day tote I made and thought it would make an interesting statement next to the other furniture. I took the dimensions, went to the sewing machine and voila!
Before
After
Filed under: Home Interiors, Sewing | 1 Comment
Tags: footstool, ottoman_cover, Sewing
Stir Fry & Beignets
There are two meals that are always easy to make and sure to please around our house: tacos and stir fry. We make both with lots of veggies and while they may not be authentic dishes, they are satisfying and delicious.
Frank & Julia’s Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. sirloin tip, cut into thin strips or small cubes
1/4 lb. snow peas, with ends cut off
1 large green pepper, cut into thin strips or coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, cut into thin strips
1 jalapeno, seeds discarded for milder flavor, seeds included for hot heat
6 mushrooms, sliced
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce
In skillet on medium-high heat, oil the pan and cook the meat, about 4 minutes. Salt and pepper the meat. Add the veggies and stir; add soy sauce, cayenne pepper and garlic chili sauce. Stir well so all pieces are coated with seasonings. Reduce heat to medium and cover, about 5 minutes. Veggies will be softened, but not mushy. Eat as is, or serve on top of rice.
I also made beignets on Sunday, in theme with the Vikings playing the Nola Saints. I can say one thing, the beignets were a bigger hit than the Vikings’ performance that night. Following the recipe from Epicurious was pretty easy. Getting peanut oil to the correct temperature in what I’m sure was the wrong kind of pan to use, was more of a challenge. As was getting the beignets off of the counter into the pot. They sure looked nice in their perfect squares pre-handling though.
First thing first: they say to lightly dust the counter with flour before you roll out your dough, but next time I may just put oil on the counter so when I go to get the dough off the counter, it actually does. The dough is ridiculously sticky, and if it sticks to your fingers, you’ve lost your pretty square shape. I ended up coating my hands with flour, separating the pieces, and reshaping the dough for easier handling. Then the heat: I lost the first ten beignets to too-high heat, so took it off heat completely to cool down. Once it had cooled to the right temperature (no thermometer, so I had to sacrifice some dough to test the temp), it was a pretty easy process. Five in at one time, then turn; add five more and when they needed to turn, took out the first five. Once to the party, they went in the oven at 200 for about an hour, then powdered with confectioners sugar and they were delicious! A note to those sensitive to post-cooking smell: the sweet fried scent was still lingering on Monday, a good 24 hours later.
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Tags: beignets, Cooking, stir-fry, Vikings
The All-Day Tote
I know I said I would be making the Lotta Jansdotter apron over the weekend, but on Friday night, Frank’s sister surprised me with a gift from her and her mother – you guessed it, an apron. AND it was embroidered! It is very retro cool, and I can’t wait to make stir-fry tonight with such a cute addition to my outfit. So, there was no need to make an apron but an all-day tote? Sign me up. I had already marked this sewing project as one to get to from her book “Simple Sewing,” and had fabric on hand, so I just went for it. No pattern, just lots of fabric squares in varying sizes that some way or another, would get assembled. I love the two exterior pockets (one on the side for coffee mug, and one in the front for just about anything, but good for a magazine), and two inside pockets (see bottom pic). It strikes me as a really friendly way to keep organized, yet act as a catch-all during a mad dash out the door. So, I started sewing away and four hours later, there it was, a really cute tote and a super proud owner. Now, if only my Matt & Nat super sale satchel didn’t arrive today…
Filed under: Design, Sewing | 5 Comments
Tags: bag, lotta_jansdotter, purse, Sewing, textiles, tote
I’m pretty excited about this weekend, as it is the perfect balance between social calls and at-home coziness. Here’s what’s up for the weekend:
1. Starting it off with my favorite, Mac+Cheese with Leeks and this time, I’m adding bacon. Should be awesome.
2. I’ll be attempting the Lotta Jansdotter Double sided apron pattern, and will try making a patchwork pocket from the fabric scraps laying around on the plain side:
2. Make a neck muff (there has to be a better word than “muff” but it seems to describe it well) to keep me warm next weekend, when the weather plunges back into the negative numbers. I love scarves, but realized the cool or pretty ones I can wear with my dresses at work aren’t really that warm. So I bought a nice thick fabric with fleece on one side, for the inside part, and am going to sew the two ends together to replicate one of my fav finds:
Because the material is a bit thicker and won’t have all the nice layering this one does, I’m going to fancy it up by:
3. Embroidery. Crafty Planet, my go-to Minneapolis craft store, carries all the materials to knit, sew and now I know, embroider. I picked up thread, needles, hoop and some practice fabric, and of course, Jenny Hart’s guide to kick-ass stitches. Check out more of Jenny Hart’s projects at her blog and store. I’m thinking the pattern will be of the skull and some hearts.
4. Pre-game warm up making Beignets. The Vikes are playing the Nola Saints, so I’m going to make beignets for the Vikings party we’re going to. It should be tasty with the deep-fried turkey that the hosts are making. Buttermilk Beignets Recipe here.
5. Vikings game. This guy says it all.
Filed under: Food, Lifestyle, Recipe, Sewing | 1 Comment
Tags: apron, bacon, beignets, embroidery, Jenny_Hart, Mac+Cheese, Sewing, Vikings
Scottish Scones
On Sunday night, feeling the usual excitement of watching the Golden Globes yet restless with just sitting, watching and secretly guessing at the winners, I picked up Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life to find a delicious Sunday treat that wouldn’t take too much time to make, and would be a nice snack in the morning on my way to work. It is yet another recipe from Molly’s book that has pleasantly found its way into my kitchen, and inevitably, into my stomach. Full disclosure before I dive in: I have a really bad habit of not following a recipe generally but especially if it involves 1) raspberries or 2) chocolate. Of course, with both items in my possession, I breezed past Molly’s condition that to make these you use non-wet, neat foods, like raisins or cranberries and not wet, messy foods. What did I use instead? Wet, messy raspberries and chocolate. Not only did I go astray form the recipe and totally ignore Molly’s condition to use the recipe, I used too much of both. Way too much. The scones turned out more like a chocolate and raspberry pie than a Scottish Scone with lovely flavorings of them. Yet…they were still really good and gooey.
Scottish Scones
This recipe was given to my sister by a good friend of hers who, appropriately, is Scottish. I pass it on to you only on the condition that you try making it first with something neat and non-wet, such as raisins, currants, dried apricots, citrus zest, or candied ginger. Wetter things, such as frozen berries, will send you into murky territory, and it’s best to learn the lay of the land first.
½ c milk (I’ve used skim with no adverse effects, although it might be best to use one with more fat and body)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
3 Tbs sugar (I often choose the finely milled raw cane sugar—hippie sugar, as I call it)
Flavorful additions of your choice, to taste (see above for ideas; if you use berries, make sure they are frozen)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar and whatever additions you choose, and stir or toss to mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dries, reserving just a tad of the milk-egg mixture to use as a glaze. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it no more than 12 times. [Apparently, twelve is the magic number here; surpass it at your own risk.] Pat dough into a round approximately ½-inch thick, and cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat, if you have one. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack.
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Tags: Dessert, Molly_Wizenberg, Recipe, Scottish_Scones
Back Entrance Revamp
It’s been a busy week at the house, tackling the last two projects that have been lingering for too long: back porch closet organization and back entrance revamp.
The closet is a classic old-house small space that is the landing pad for all things to be shoved in, hidden, put in a box and forgotten about. Even the cats didn’t want to play hide and seek for fear they’d be sucked into the dark void forever. While emptying this small space, I was surprised at how much came out (think clown car scenario), particularly in the shoe and coat area, as I didn’t recognize a good lot of it. I painted the closet from a late 70s dark beige-meets-peach color to bright white, bought two shoe organizers and reused an old one, organized the shelves for tall boots only (if I see one brown box up there, it’s going to get tossed) and cleared the floor space for two bins to hold winter gear. I think it’s a pretty huge improvement and isn’t the eyesore it was before. As the “before” picture too horrid to actually insert, here is the “after”:
As for the back entrance, the green floral print with accented brown baseboard wasn’t working for me, and while I originally gravitated to a light sky blue, white felt best in the end. It’s a space now that I wish had enough room for a sitting chair. Bummer – it’s an entryway.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
For most of the art, I took fabric squares from the quilt I made my mom (I guess as my own memento of sorts), and postcards I’ve collected over the years that had a nice abstract quality. And the light globe – who can’t love a paper globe from Ikea for $6? Most of my inspiration comes from the posts at Apartment Therapy, seeing what people are using in their spaces, and how they arrange them.
Filed under: Home Interiors | 1 Comment
Tags: Back_Entrance, organization, painting
While not quite a full month from our last dinner party, Nick and Chen have baby boy #2 on the way soon, so we thought to kick up the timing for this one. Our food theme was Asian, with Nick on a Momofuku kick, and me loving Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings. We made braised pork shoulder with black sesame green beans and steamed vegetable dumplings; the pork shoulder went nearly 8 hours and for that great fall off the bone, nearly melt in your mouth effect, you’ll need to go that long.
For the wine, we started with Spring Valley Merlot from Walla Walla, WA, then to Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley OR, and then had the delightful indulgence of drinking The Contender and In the Rocks Syrah from Reynvaan Family Vineyards in Walla Walla, WA (and yes, the picture on their homepage is what Walla Walla looks like). This was a special treat, as we all love Syrah from that area, and I personally was excited to try the first vintage of wine from a family I know, have spent time with and respect, the Reynvaan’s.
Washington & Oregon Wines
I love drinking wine from that part of the country, not just because I lived six years there, and not only for the sentiment of knowing something personal about the wine, winery or vineyard, but because it tastes so particularly of the place (also known as terroir, but I won’t call it that). It’s fun to remember a hot July day driving through the mixture of wheat fields and vineyards, seeing the grapes starting to swell and turn purple, getting that excited feeling in my gut that harvest was right around the corner. In this instance, of the Reynvaan’s In the Rocks Vineyard, I remember walking through this rocky stretch of land before the vines were planted, feeling dusty and thirsty, and just imagining that day in a few years when wine from that place would be in a glass to drink. Pretty sentimental, maybe even schmucky, but pretty cool. Both wines were simply beautiful, and had their own character and charm. Get on the waiting list now, because they are going to be hard to come by in a year or two.
More information about Walla Walla wines, wineries and vineyards at the Walla Walla Wine Alliance. If you think about planning a trip, this is a great place to go for a long weekend of wine tasting, and great food.
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Tags: Asian_Dumplings, cooking_with_Nick, Momofuku, Reynvaan_Family_Vineyards, Walla_Walla, Wine, winery
