Spazzmanda

Mom came over again and we painted some more. Still not finished. This is going to take a long, long time.

Here is the progress of her RUG that she is knitting. (Who knits a rug? I wouldn’t be able to bear someone putting their feet on something that took this much time, but whatever floats your boat.) I think it looks like Uncle Sam’s lower intestine, but I’m assured it will be rug-shaped.

She then made me this salad, which was very appetizing even though there were no tomatoes.

I’m mad today. Mad is better than sad. Sad sucks.

Angry is working for me today.

I’ve been a lazy blogger. And I have some finished objects that I haven’t had the inclination to photograph.

I like to cook and share recipes, so I thought it might be fun to share this one.

It has also come to my attention that my photo sizes that I attach to ye olde blog from my flickr account cause the page to load slower than is desirable, so until I can come to terms with that (or figure out how the heck I’m going to fix it) I thought I’d just post a favorite recipe of Jeff’s to share with the whole wide world on such a cold and icky day. (He wants me to make this every other week or so.) Read the rest of this entry »

I know it is quite the ambitious title for a post, but I have a lot to catch up on. Last weekend we went to see the Police in concert on Saturday and then Blue Man Group on Sunday. That is a lot of concerts. That is a lot of concerts for a girl that has a pretty strict bedtime. So, of course, on Monday I woke up with a cold (I consistently get sick when I get tired) but it was totally worth it. I got to see Sting, up close. Our tickets were for right behind the stage, but it was so much better than being in front of the stage and far, far, far, away. I swear he smiled at me, and I screamed my head off. It was awesome.

Here we are at the Police (that is me and Jeff, of course, with my mom and stepdad.)

I had seen Blue Man once before, and let me tell you, the show is an amazing experience. This time we were up front and it did not disappoint. The band that plays with Blue Man is phenomenal. Really, I don’t know if people realize what an amazing group of musicians they have backing them. Again, I jumped around, acted a fool, and quite enjoyed myself.

This year, we decided to do a low-key Thanksgiving (i.e. not to spend all day in the car going from place to place and stuffing ourselves silly.) We went to my Dad’s in Stone Mountain and just watched T.V., ate, took a little nap and had a pretty wonderful day. I made Paula Deen’s Sweet Potato Balls and they kind of flopped. You see, the mashed sweet potatoes were wrapped around a marshmallow, which I did the night before so I suppose that my marshmallows must have just dissolved or something, because they sure as heck didn’t ooze out of the balls like they did on Paula’s plate (Oh well.)

Then on Friday, Jeff, Ted and I went to Watkinsville to an artist’s open house. There were potters, jewelers and the main draw (for me) was Loretta Eby, glass blower. I met her at work, we sell some of her ornaments and things and she is one of the most entertaining people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Every Thanksgiving, they have an open house the weekend after the holiday. What better way to spend “Black Friday” than to watch a glass blowing demonstration? I was in awe. We bought some things for gifts (and she personalized them for us.) It was an awesome trip and well worth the hour drive.

So, now I’m full, happy, tired. I dyed my wayward gray patch (yeah that was me) and baked some ginger snaps so the house smells fantastic, and I think, I daresay, I might just be starting to feel that holiday spirit! Just let me get through the next week or two at work and I’ll be golden!

Oh, another finished object- a hat for my friend Les. I learned a wonderful technique, the duplicate stitch, it beats the hell out of intarsia any old day!

Imagine it surrounded by blue jello and you have the finished project. It is two sheet cakes stacked (then frozen) then carved in the general shape of a naval aircraft carrier. (the most expensive part of this cake were the airplanes- but they were absolutely necessary for the success of the piece and they came with the bonus blue sky backdrop.) The tower is made from two mini-loafs, frozen then cut (a very important step) and then iced with pretzels stuck in for the antennae. All in all, it was a very cool cake to make and pretty tasty (so I’ve heard) so I think it to be a success. I do believe I may have peaked in my short career as a hobbyist/amateur cake chef. I don’t think I can out do this one, so I’m going to retire for a bit- maybe focus on pies. If you want to see REAL culinary talent, please check out my friend Jen at sugarchef.com. (Hi Jen!) She is a south-Floridian now and I haven’t seen her in ages, but she remains a pastry chef and artist that has impeccable taste and talent, and I love her dearly!

Also, I finished my Le Slouch last night (helloooo- free pattern over at Knit and Tonic!) Actually, it started as a Christmas gift, hence the no progress photos so as to not spoil the surprise, but then I remembered how last year, I made all these cute beaded fingerless mitts and never a pair for myself (sniff sniff) so I decided to keep her.

Besides, I had to retool the gauge a tad (I was using a finer yarn than the pattern called for.) And I swatched. Ok, I semi-swatched so it is a hair bigger than it could be, but it is a slouchy beret and I love it. Crap, don’t ask me to recall the yarn. I bought it at Hobby Lobby a month or so ago. I actually think it is actually a baby yarn, but it is cool with this little white and pink wrap around the black, made the seed stitch really ‘pop.’ Yes, probably asscrylic, but it is soft and I don’t care. I do have an affinity for black and pink together, so this was meant to be my hat. (See how I justify being so far behind on the holiday knitting and keeping an FO for myself?) I’m not going to sweat it, really.

Tah!

So, first- I finished Sheldon and I used a retro yarn color palette (and the yarn itself is probably ‘vintage’ since it was once a friend of mine’s Grandma’s Stash.)

He is far from perfect, and might be a tad over stuffed, but he is a cute little f*@&er! I added a little turtle ’smirk’ to cover a minor flaw and now I love him even more! (He is to be a gifty for a special friend this Christmas!)

Next up, I cooked dinner last night. And not just any dinner, I was inspired by this recipe in the recent Southern Living- Corn Waffles and Cajun Shrimp and Vegetables and I made up my own “Spazz” version with what I had already in stock. And OH-MY-GOD everyone should make their cornbread in waffle irons, seriously, it is like all crust (like this brilliant brownie pan that I covet, covet, covet.) Anyhoo, I took no photos because I was too busy making an Apple Pie. I’ve been thinking about pie for weeks- maybe months. I dunno, just cuz. And I got to talking to my Mom yesterday about wanting to make a pie (crust from scratch and everything) and that Sarah Lee or whomever in the frozen food section just wasn’t going to cut it. So I did. I Googled “Apple Pie” and came up with this recipe.

This is me in full on pie mode- which was then served a la mode- so that is a good thing.

P.S. and by the way- God Bless the Cuisinart with dough blade. Moo-moo watched my every move. I suppose in her own way she was ‘helping.’ My pie wasn’t as pretty as the one in the photo online, but it was mighty tasty.

Yes, that is an mmm-mmm good Campbell’s soup bowl. Because hot pie and Häagen-Dazs could get sloppy on a plate, you know? We ate pie and watched my new favorite show, Pushing Daisies. If you don’t watch it- you must- it is one of the best things on TV right now (other than Heroes) and it comes on at 8 PM on Wednesdays.

And now for a work-in-progress. I teased that I was actually making a corset to go with a yet-to-be-revealed Halloween costume, and yes, I am indeed making one. Jeff doesn’t understand how it is going to hold anything up without boning, but it isn’t really a structural garment, it is more like a really wide belt. Can you handle it?

Now, it only looks like a big, ribbed, square, I swear. In actuality it is an ultra-sexxy corset fit for a queen. Hmmmm. I think the super-sexiness must come with the crochet border, right? Nothing sexier than crochet. I’m almost finished really and not worried at all. Nope. I’m sure I’ll find the time tonight- er- no, maybe tomorrow, um, wait going to this concert, ok, then on Saturday, the day of the party, sure thing, I don’t have anything else to do that day, no problemo.

All you SAFF-heads, have a rip-roarin’ good time and please, please, bring your schwag to the next meetin’ so I can ooh and aaah and rub my face on your fiber. You don’t mind, right? My face is normally pretty clean.

In my quest for 101 uses for sun dried tomatoes- I’m now up to two.

I made these Cottage Cheese Sundried Tomato Muffins twice last week (or was it the week before???) when a brief but powerful downpour snapped my poor basil plant in two causing me to have to make stuff using lots of basil and quick.

And these muffins were mighty tasty- and nutrient-packed (bonus!) Not to mention that the whole house smelled like tomatoes and cheese and basil. mmmmmmmmm.

I had some sundried tomatoes left after this baking tornado (apparently little goes a long way) and I made some sun dried tomato cream cheese. Jeff loves the bagels at Harry’s that have them baked right in, so I figured this is a way to duplicate the flavor sensation without driving across the world for some bread. It is like a little pizza on your bagel each morning, also YUM! Here is what I did:

Sun Dried Tomato Cream Cheese

One block of cream cheese or equivalent (softened), pinch of garlic salt, hand full of basil, 1 cup (ish) reconstituted sun dried tomatoes (I boiled mine to soften them a bit)- add all to food processor and turn ‘on’. Smear on a bagel/triscit/hunk of French bread and mmmmmm.

Sorry, again no pictures. I suck.

I don’t know why I do it to myself- I don’t even really enjoy eating cake all that much- but I feel the need to bake for people’s monumental occasions that celebrate their birth (i.e. birthdays.) Sick and sad as it seems- some folks apparently like this tradition and I may have just screwed the pooch on this one as, it seems, the birthdays keep on coming and I’m having to outdo myself time and time again. (but seriously, will it ever be better than the great Pirate Cake collaboration 2007? I think not.) In this particular instance, I made a birthday cake in the shape of a purse for Rachel’s 30th birthday from a recipe I found here.

Totally cute idea. I followed the instructions exactly (well, a minor strawberry cake mix substitution) but almost exactly. I got this late Friday night:

Now, I must interject that as I made it, Jeff was expressing his concerns from a basic construction standpoint. But I wanted to follow the directions. And for him to shut up. (Not necessarily in that order.) I should have listened to Mr. Erector-Set (tee-hee- erector) because at 6:30 AM on Saturday morning, I had this:

Read the rest of this entry »

I had some pals over for dinner last night, my friend Holly and her little boy Brosey.

I made a big batch of Chicken and Rice Soup- from leftover chicken and rice- it rocked. My grandma has a cold, so I’m taking her some tonight cuz chicken soup is scientifically proven to help with colds. I also made some more beer bread (because it is impressive to whip up fresh bread for your friend all lightning quick from a few simple ingredients.) Since the whole wheat version was dense last time, I made a half and half -wheat flour and regular flour- and it lightened it considerably. Jeff says it is a little bitter-but it may be the cheddar or the beer- and he still likes it. Hmmm, it might be the cheapo beer (Sorry John)- I used Budweiser again- but I think that a darker ale will only enhance this bitterness so I’m going to have to think more on flavor combinations and consult with Jenny. And hey, it is beer bread, so it might just taste like its ingredients a bit, right?

Well, one person for sure really liked the bread.

Brosey insisted on wearing a Batman mask at dinner- hey, whatever gets a 2-year old to the table to eat is fine by me, right? He gave the meal an enthusiastic thumbs up!

Have a lovely weekend, y’all!

Yesterday I called Jeff and told him to throw some frozen chicken in the crock pot and pour some cream ‘o something on the top- we were having chicken and rice for dinner and I thought a head start would be nice. Now, my man is very smart, but intelligence and spending time in the kitchen with momma and grandmomma aren’t the same thing. This is his first time being exposed to some basic Crockpot cooking, and I’m more than happy to help him through it- he’ll be a pro in no time- nothing like just turning the thing ‘on’ and being done with dinner.

He did say to me “What if there isn’t any Cream of Mushroom Soup in the cabinet?”

(Snigger) Well, honey, in the south, there just always is.

His instructions were to turn the crock pot to low, thunk in the chicken and pour on soup, and no, don’t stir it.

I forgot one minor detail. Do you see it?

How about now?

I neglected to tell him to take the paper off of the back of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Oops.

It was still delicious, and we had a good laugh. A very good laugh. A very, very good laugh. There were some tears and knee slapping and I had to call my mom.

I sure do love my mayun- he keeps me entertained.

Monday night I made some beer bread that was inspired by Jenny’s culinary endeavors on the bread making front. I also had some Budweiser I brought back from the beach and we don’t really drink beer.

I made a Whole Wheat, Cheddar-Dill Beer bread from a recipe at Farmgirl Fare.

All the ingredients before the beer:

In the pan:

And a final photo- quick before it gets gobbled up! Oh, and since Jenny put her fancypants beer in her bread photos, I decided I’d honor her and do the same. Nothing classes up a photo like a can of Budweiser, don’t you think?

I love fresh baked bread and use my breadmaker frequently in the winter. I don’t really have the patience for any ‘real‘ bread-making so this recipe was perfect for me. Overall I really liked this bread- it was dense- but I did make the whole wheat version and was slightly unsure as to the freshness of my baking powder- I bought it at the beginning of the summer when I made a tomato pesto pie (also awesomeness from Farmgirl). How long does baking powder stay fresh in a sealed container in the fridge anyways? Not being a beer drinker (except for the occasional Corona) I still really couldn’t taste the beer-ness much- so I’d say if you don’t like beer, the beer flavor in a beer bread isn’t overpowering. Jeff thinks a darker ale would make for some interesting bread, and I’ll definitely give that a shot this winter. The bread went really well with the beef stew I made for dinner (I threw some fresh dill into the crock pot with the stew to tie all the flavors together and that seemed to work nicely.)

And it was really easy and quick- did I mention that?