Damn you Erika!

I just spent $25 thanks to you (not counting the other $40 in books that I had to get at the same time). I'd already given up cross stitching fifteen years ago, but no, I just had to pick up yet another hobby. The list of projects I currently have going:

- New cross stitch Black Eyed Susans
- Skew socks 50%
- Vampire BF socks 25%
- Wedding shawl (for wedding this saturday) 25%
- Sweater, 2" to be frogged
- purple spinning 75%
- new green spinning
- Swap #2 project, purchased
- Swap #3 project, purchased

not to mention the lotions I have to research.

[recipe] Bruschetta

This is what I'm having for breakfast today ^_^
Ok, nothing revolutionary, but damn is it good!

Previous day:
- four or five tomatoes on the vine
- a sprig of fresh basil
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt, pepper and garlic to taste

Chop and mix, and let sit over night.

This morning:
- baguette, sliced on the diagonal
- Cabbots Seriously Sharp Vermont Cheddar, sliced

Place bread on tray and toast in oven at 400 for a few minutes. Meanwhile, slice the cheese, which is then placed on the toasted bread and stuck back in the oven to melt. When gooey, spoon tomato mixture on top. Nom. Try not to scrape your gumms on the toast, like the klutz I am.

Things I want to make someday*

*but probably never will. Or it will take me several years to get around to them.

In Mexico, there is a gubernatorial agency in charge of consumer affairs (PROFECO) that analyzes products and grades them, and then offers recipes on how to make them for super cheap! (unfortunately, not all are from scratch, and go for an emphasis on cheap rather than hippie) I remember watching a show about ten years ago on how to make chapstick and lotion!

Here is a "short" list I just compiled of some of the cool things I want to make. Mind you, the links are in spanish. I plan on eventually adding notes, specifying if they can be made naturally.

- Cajeta (video)
- Dulce de Mango (video)
- Marmalade (video)
- Rompope (video)
- Soy Milk (podcast)

Personal product master list
- After Sun Cream (video)
- Antiperspirant (text)
- Bug Spray (video)
- Face Tonic (video)
- Hair Gel (video)
- Hair Wax (video)
- Liquid Hand Soap (video)
- Mascara (video)
- Shaving Cream (video)
- Shoe Deodorant (audio)
- Vick's Vapor Rub (video)

- Insecticide (video)
- Kitchen Cleaner (video)
- Play Dough (video)

I love you alot!

We were having a discussion on LSG about someone not wanting to hire a birthing coach because the class announcement ended with something like "hope 2 see you there". I agree with another poster that mentioned it being unprofessional, like going to an interview in your bunny slippers. Her ravatar is also an alot. I made this for her ^_^

[recipe] Strawberry Pie

I compulsively bought two pounds of strawberries a couple of weeks ago, without any time to eat them or cook with them before leaving town for MDSW. So I stewed them!

I cut them in half and tossed in a pot at low flame for a few hours until they condensed. No sugar or anything (well, a tad of leftover Manischwietz). The next week, when I had more time, I bought another pound of strawberries and shoved it all in a Pie ^_^

Hot Water and Lard Pastry

Ingredients (makes 2-3 single crusts)

• 1 cup lard or shortening
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour

Directions

1 - Put lard in a medium bowl and boil the water.

2 - Pour water over shortening and blend until all the water is absorbed and the mixture is smooth.
3 - Add the flour, salt and baking soda.
4 - Once it is mixed and in one large ball, cut into 3 balls of dough, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. If you want a larger pie crust, just do 2 balls of dough. Uncooked dough can be kept in the fridge for about a week or frozen.

6 - Bake these pie crusts up as you would any others, at 350-400 for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
7 - Follow instructions for double crust fruit pies.

[recipe] Teriyaki Turkey Triangles

I got home the other day from the gym, to a very boring and very bland pack of ground turkey in the fridge. I asked Dan to mix up some teriyaki while I showered, and he found a great recipe in one of my books! Of course, we completely improvised from there, but here's the gist:

Sauce:
soy sauce, ginger powder, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, probably something I didn't notice.

Cook up the ground turkey for about 4 minutes, stir in the sauce, simmer and hope it thickens a bit.

Meanwhile, pull out a roll of filo dough that has been in the freezer for about a year a nobody knows how it got there, and let it thaw. Since you are going to be impatient and unroll it while it is still frozen, anyway, break it off at the half wrap (ideally at around 2" wide).

Place individual strips of dough on a cutting mat, oint with melted butter (or butter spray) and layer three high. Place a very small amount of meat at the end of one of the stacks and fold the corner over repeatedly until you have a small pastry triangle.

Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper, with the dough flap on the bottom and repeat until you've used up all the meat or dough, or are fed up with the process. Oint with leftover butter and sprinkle on sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

WAIT FOR THEM TO COOL. Nom. These were adorable, and would definitely be well suited as easy to make hors d'œuvres. Filling can be substituted for anything, really, since there is little flavor to the filo dough. I really want to try a broccoli version one day.

Firefly and Spinning

So I was informed yesterday that there will be a Firefly (the show, not the bug) themed swap on Ravelry in a month. When I went to sign up, I was presented with the questions of what are my favorite episode and character. Now, I'd only seen Firefly once all the way through (and the first episode five times...) so I figured rewatching it all was in order. And you know what was absolutely wonderful? Last tuesday we got the Netflix Wii disc in the mail, so we are now able to Watch It Now on the televsion without having to connect my computer!!!

And the best news of all? As of three days ago, they have all of Firefly, Buffy(!!!!!!), Angel and Dr. Horrible, along with all of Dollhouse and Doctor Who that has already come out on DVD.

So I spent the past two days watching all of Firefly, and spinning up this beauty on my Hitchhiker.

It is a braid (which I think is superwash merino) that I got from Nanonukie as a christmas present, which she hand dyed herself. It is really nice! You can't really tell the range of colors in the pictures, but it goes from teal to violet, through a really nice rich cobalt. I've managed to spin up 1/4 of what I think is a pound through about 11 of the episodes. It is terribly thin, so I hope that when I 2-ply it, I'll get a decent lace weight. I can definitely say it is a lot more even than things I've done before!

And not that you can tell from the damned pictures, but it matches my sock.