Sewing Seeds

Fun little ring inspired by all of the random seeds I have been planting and that I have from Hawaii. This was once an earring, I have just dropped the ear part. It's ok if it's ugly, it can't hear you. Seed earring , silver wire.

Slow Sunday Steak

Today was an inspirational day. We took things slow. We woke up without alarms. We had breakfast when we were hungry. We did whatever we wanted until it was time to change. We cleaned a little, read a little and cooked a litte. Here's what came from the day.

Sunday Steak:
1 grass fed NY strip
olive oil
salt pepper
Let it hang out with it's new friends on the counter for an hour or so.

Meanwhile...

Make white sweet potatoes. They are like those white nectarines, but better. Cut in 1 in rounds, and boil with a dash of salt for 10 min.

Beet Tops. Rough chop and place in a heat safe bowl. You will be straining the potatoes over these to blanch and then straining the water out for serving.

Caramelized onions in duck fat. Thinly slice 1 onion. Cook in a skillet over low heat with 1 tbs duck fat for 10 min.

Grilled beets. Small, golf ball sized beets ( sorry Matt, they were going and I will get you more) cut in half, trimming the tails and stems. Place on the grill when you grill the steak.

Grill the steak and beets for however long you like. I just tempted mine with the flame. There was some competition between it and the beets as far as colors go.

If everything times out well, you should have all of these come together at the same time.
Enjoy with a scotch and soda and someone you love.

Tropical Flower Birfday Cake

Happy birthday Ellie! I hope you like this fun and festive birthday cake that I made.

1 box organic yellow cake mix
1 can coconut milk ( not low fat)
1 c shredded coconut milk
1 c applesauce OR if you can find it pineapple crushed
1/4 c coconut oil
(eggs are pictured, but as I was making this, I decided not to use them as I didn't know if the group was going to be vegan or not. Just added a bit more coconut oil.)
mix and bake the box mix with the above ingredients as directed, treat all of the wet ingredients as you would the ones on the box.

I used a flower pan, but another pan, 9 in round, square can be used.

After baking, let cool and stand for 1 hour.

I iced the cake with a rice mallow cream found at our local organic grocer, but buttercream could do just fine. I am trying to keep it vegan as I don't know the crowd that will be there.

Rice Mallow in a piping tube = fun and effective way to decorate a cake without making icing.
top with coconut shavings and 1 whole candied pineapple ring. 3 chocolate chips for center.

Enjoy with friends and plenty of cocktails.

Dinner in a pinch

Tonight was a hurry up and get to it, then crash kind of night. Spence and I both had long, full weeks and the best of intentions for a fun Friday date night, but life happened while we were making plans and it ended up being for the best. Hungrrrrryyy, food and quickly while still remaining healthy and keeping it in for the night was the turn of events. I love a fridge challenge.

We had, 1/4 chicken that needed to be used.
A package of tortillas, or as Spencer likes to refer to them as "burrito skins"- which came from Rawn apparently. (per the discussion happening while I am trying to compose this.)
1 jar kimchi
1 head napa cabbage
assorted condiments and stuffs

And the Korean Burrito is Born!

Sauce for the chicken, which in it's original form is rather bland.
2 Cloves Garlic
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs coconut oil
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp chili paste
add all ingredients into a small sauce pan and simmer for 5-7 min

chop up the chicken and toss in the pan with the sauce.

chop the napa cabbage and toss in a large bowl with kimchi

heat the burrito skins in the micro for 40 seconds to make them pliable

add in a large amount of the kimchi/napa mix and spoon on the chicken.
wrap up in a bundle and enjoy with a sigh of relief, it is Friday after all.

Perspective is Key

I spent the better part of the day trapesing around in conditions that would suck running from the car to the office door, much less trying to find health and human services with only my two feet, and spotty public transportation, trusting that it will get me across the miles that I needed to go from point A to B to C. To be able to eat, I needed to sign in, take a number, be monitored by officers, queue up and act quickly about it lest I made the others in line behind me wait too long. I was confronted with lack of appropriate signage, long waits in less than desirable waiting rooms. I was however, always greeted with a warm eyed smile, and kind words everywhere I went. The people that guided us along were always welcoming and patient with all of our requests.

I was completely humbled today, taking a moment out of my all too fast paced life, given a moment to reflect on all that I have, a house, warm and filled with love and loved ones, a job that I actually like coming to, and my full faculties allowing me to have all these things and more. There are so many people in the world that have so little, and all I ask of you, my friends, loved ones and random FB stalker peeps, is to take a couple of hours out of your life, a few dollars out of your wallet and contribute that time and money to an organization that will help someone else feel like a human being again.

The pendant is superfluous to the message here but my blog is about pancakes and pendants, so I have to kind of keep it on the theme. I had a little eye opening event today and I hope that posting about this key, will help you see my point. Thank you to Homeward VA and all of the many other human services organizations for taking part in this amazing event. Thank you to all of the adventurous individuals that I met today and got to share this experience with.

Welcome to the hood

We got to share some vino with our new neighbors and friends this evening. Christine went all out and made a lovely and completely unexpected and amazing dinner. We are really lucky to have so many friends so close. Here's a little pendant that paired well with the evening. Cork wrapped in cord. Cheers to more friends and a good glass of vino.

Today is History

and I have had way too much bubbly for a Tuesday night. I spent all day at the VA Historical Society due to various events and thought it appropriate that I use a something from there to create my piece. They had a really cool squash-a-penny machine that just needed to be played with. So I took my squashed penny and turned it into a necklace. I think this one is a keeper.

thinking of friends

makin' earrings for the lovely lady who has inspired and sent me trinkets to create. Missing you. Hope to see you soooooooonnnnn.  ( These are headed your way, BTW. Fragile, they aren't Italian tho)

silver, glass beads, opalized quartz and Burbon

I'm tired and covered in bananas Soup

It's been a long weekend. I completely missed yesterday's post. COMPLETELY. I am not going to even try to make that one up. Spencer and I have been spending time with our nephews and OMG are they a lot of work. So, after battling 95 traffic in a storm with a car full of Ikea, having to pee for 90 minutes, and coming home covered in dried banana paste, I wanted nothing more than my bed and a shower. So a quick dinner was essential. 20 minutes and a healthy soup was born.

Quick Veggie Soup:

4 quarts pre made chicken stock
1 giant leek / 2 small onions, finely chopped
8 carrots, cut in rounds
1 bunch kale, rinsed well and roughly chopped
2 tbs butter
1/2 chicken pulled and rough chopped
salt & pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes

bring stock to a boil
throw everything in

heat through and serve with parmesan on top.
preferably with a glass of burbon and a large ice cube.

Pass out with toothbrush in hand at the foot of bed. Sleep has come

This v/s That

This is what we were too involved in that kept me from posting anything at all today. You know what, I am not at all upset and think that creating memories with my family was WAY more important than jewelry / cooking. For today at least.

The Fated Nose Ring

I really have missed my nose ring since I lost it my FIRST night in Istanbul. I have been to lazy/broke/busy to go get a new one and this morning I woke up and realized, what if it's closed?!! Fortunalty for me that's apparently not the case and I vowed to remedy this before I left for work. Found an earring with the perfect little ball at the end, put it in my bra for transport ( if you know me at all, you know many things end up traveling in this fashion) and completely forgot to go to the studio to edit the earring and make it a nose ring. I found this object in my bra later while at work and decided to remedy the situation. Thanks to purse tools, metal nail file and small leather-man type tool, I got my nose ring and removed what could have been a dangerous situation later in the day. ;-)

I made....Broth

Ok, kitchen essential = broth. It's not rocket science, but good science. This stuff is essential in all sorts of dishes and ends up being at the very least a yummy solution to the blues, of which I have had a remarkable case of lately for whatever reason. So, I made a TON of it. You can make it vegan, vegetarian or full on chicken stock, but whatever you do, take your time. A slow cooker / crock pot is essential to the success of this simple staple.

Broth / Stock:
1 whole chicken ( if vegetarian / vegan omit chicken)
6-8 medium carrots ends trimmed, washed, left whole
4-6 ribs celery, washed and tips trimmed, leaves on is good
1-2 medium onions
8-12 peppercorns
1 tbs salt
4 cloves garlic
( I used the green parts of the leek that you can't really eat in my broth to give it a little more flavor and make me feel like I was not wasting that much of an edible.)
put all bits in a crock pot and cover with filtered water. Cook on medium heat for 6 hours if in a crock pot. If you are cooking this stove top really low heat for 3-4 hours. I cooked mine for 10 hours, and it's totally fine.

You can sift out the edibles and chop up roughly for a simple soup. The broth can be jarred and kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and frozen and kept for up to 6 months. I would suggest using pint size plastic take out containers for freezing since you can pop out the stock right into the pot as needed. As for the leftover skin, that makes for happy cats.

More soup thoughts to come, if I have time this weekend. Life is moving very fast. Perhaps a savory pancake. Funny diagram on Pancakes, thanks Bizhan.

Trying to go with it

OK, so blogger changed it's structure on me and I am getting used to it. This may be a little bumpy. I have had a rough day and tried to make it better by going to the market which usually makes things better, but just ended up with a bunch of randomness and nonsense, which by the by makes for an unusual dinner. So, here goes.

 Browned Tempeh in Duck Fat with a honey miso glaze:
1 package tempeh 3 tbs rendered duck fat, mine came from Belmont and the awesomeness that exists there - you can also make this meal vegan and use olive oil. cube tempeh and fry in duck fat on all sides until a light golden brown.

 Sauce:
1 1/2 tbs miso
 1 tbs honey
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs boiling water
1 pinch pepper flakes
 mix well and brush / spoon over fried tempeh when it's finished cooking, the sauce will be absorbed better that way.

 Spicy Baby Broccoli:
1 bunch baby broccoli, ends trimmed dunk in boiling water for 2 minutes and quickly remove, no need to blanch if you are going to eat quickly.
 toss with 2 tbs olive oil, 1 clove garlic diced, 1 pinch red pepper flakes, good dash sea salt
lemon spritz is good here too

  Oyster Mushrooms with Caramelized Onions:
1 small onion, sliced
1 good bunch of high quality oyster mushrooms, separated and ends trimmed in the tempeh pan, fry with remaining duck fat and a dash of olive oil so they don't stick. stir occasionally until golden brown.

 and sweet potatoes to round the whole thing out. I boiled mine and then tossed with some of the tempeh sauce.

 All very lovely together, a bit strange but combining the flavors across the meal without using the exact same thing for each part of the meal helped to bring it all together. Top it off with a brand new seltzer maker, and I am feeling a bit better than I was when I got home.

Small thoughts

I am full of introspection lately and this small piece speaks volumes about my external attention span. Bent yellow paperclip on black cord. It looks like the hearts that I sign my letters with. It's going on Spencer's bedside.

Lost and Found

I found this washer while walking with a friend this evening talking about how we have both become lost in our own lives and needing to find some grounding. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking, but I feel that with each piece like this, I am a bit closer to myself.

Sunday Brunch

I now know why I don't do brunch that often, because if I start drinking at 11 I don't get shit else done for the day. Regardless, I needed a nice lazy day off to visit with friends. Jen & Jaime came over for some Carra style Brunch and I dolled the house up a bit. Lots of flowers and fancy glass ware.

Chocolate bread pudding:
6 leftover / day old chocolate muffins / cupcakes
6 eggs
1 c milk
3 tbs sugar
1 bag choc chips
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs butter melted
1 bunt pan

Butter the bunt pan. Crumble the muffins in large chunks into the pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl whisking thoroughly. Pour over the crumbled chocolate in the pan. Mash into the pan.
Bake for 40 min at 350.

While that's cooking I made a lot of other small treats:

Bacon: Don't. Cook. Bacon. Naked.

Hard boiled eggs with caviar.
Boiled baby potatoes with butter and pepper.

STRAWBERRIES

And of course, mimosas.

Happy Sunday.

Beautiful fish dinner for Spencer and I. A little bit of down/quiet time before we head out for the evening. Starting it off with a bit of bubbly. Much needed after a long day of cleaning and running around looking at art. Here's a quick and easy dinner that is perfect for this kind of evening.

Cook 2 c brown rice in rice cooker. While it's steaming make the remainder of the dinner.

Miso Marinated Cod:
2 tbs Miso Paste, 1 small knob ginger, 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp chili paste. Process in blender with 1 tbs oil. Baste on 3-4 cod fillets. Let stand for 20 min.

Chop baby bok choy and small mushrooms and stir-fry with 1 tbs coconut oil and 2 cloves garlic. After about 3 minutes of cooking, add 1 tsp chili paste and 1 tbs soy sauce and remove from heat.

In a large skillet heat 1 tbs coconut oil and fry the fish with the marinade. 3-4 min each side until tender and lightly brown.

Serve greens and fish with marinade over rice.

Enjoy with another glass of bubbly.