The winter holiday planning continues, and is much more pleasurable now that it is not simply a procrastination technique for other parts of my life. I am realizing that I need to sit down and pick a few specific crafts to do for my DIY gifts rather than just bookmark several dozen ideas and pick up various accouterments as I find them. I'm going to end up with too much stuff I'll never use. So--that's the next step. Hammer out the details. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to ruin the surprises for any friends who may read the blog! I also printed out a handy series of holiday planning page templates from Organized Christmas, which I've begun filling out. I'm doing a lot of picking and choosing with it; not every page they think is necessary is appropriate for my situation. For example, no matter how much I dream of it, I am not able to afford a full new outfit for every holiday party I attend. I do like that they have a template specifically for gift brainstorming, and even one that goes into specifics about handmade gifts. Perfect! I wish I were this organized in other aspects of my life.
In between all this planning, I came across a quote about Tori Amos that I wrote down more than a decade ago, and which happens to be very blog-appropriate. From Barbara Ellen at New Musical Express in 1992: "She's a Grade A, Class One, Turbo-driven Fruitcake." You bet your bottom dollar I'm itching to re-post the Superion's Fruitcake music video!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
So remember that DIY ethic I was thinking about last year?
Well, I've begun gathering ideas for DIY crafts that would make good, inexpensive gifts, and it occurred to me: What if every gift I give this holiday season is handmade? I'm not talented enough to do it alone; I'd include Etsy.com and other artisan items in the mix.
Can you imagine how awesome it'd be to:
1. Save money?
2. Save resources?
3. Save transportation costs and fuel?
4. Disconnect from the holiday mass consuming culture?
5. Support small-scale crafters and artisans?
6. Learn new crafts and improve my crafting abilities?
(7. Make my holiday blog more compelling?)
Yes, it would be VERY AWESOME INDEED.
(Fat square!)
Of course, this means I will need to get started extra early. Like, right now. But that's cool. Any excuse to tune into the Pandora Christmas station and Google the you-know-what out of craft ideas! Oh, and the idea fits in beautifully with the goodies I bake every year anyway. Maybe there'll be other food-based gifts to explore!
What do you think? Do any arts or crafts come to mind if you were going to give this a shot?
Can you imagine how awesome it'd be to:
1. Save money?
2. Save resources?
3. Save transportation costs and fuel?
4. Disconnect from the holiday mass consuming culture?
5. Support small-scale crafters and artisans?
6. Learn new crafts and improve my crafting abilities?
(7. Make my holiday blog more compelling?)
Yes, it would be VERY AWESOME INDEED.
(Fat square!)
Of course, this means I will need to get started extra early. Like, right now. But that's cool. Any excuse to tune into the Pandora Christmas station and Google the you-know-what out of craft ideas! Oh, and the idea fits in beautifully with the goodies I bake every year anyway. Maybe there'll be other food-based gifts to explore!
What do you think? Do any arts or crafts come to mind if you were going to give this a shot?
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Beets for Life!
I'm glad someone else was paying attention to Tom Robbin's beet love in Jitterbug Perfume. Aside from being in the list of my top 10 favorite novels, Robbins also used Jitterbug as a vehicle for discourse on the lowly beet. This writer over at Saveur.com talks about the Tom Robbins/beet connection, and provides several good-looking beet recipes to try out!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
First Visit to the Farmer's Market
I am so, so stupid for going to my first farmer's market of the season with only $6 in my wallet. All I walked away with were these extraordinarily sweet and tiny strawberries:
I ate them all within 20 minutes of buying them. I excused myself for this, knowing that these are the sort of ephemeral fruits that mold over with white fuzz within several hours of picking. My companion, M, bought some fresh snap peas, and we traded back and forth on the car ride home. This market, which I had never been to before, had some offerings that I've not seen at my local farmer's market. There were various cuts of local lamb, black currant cordial (the sample was divine!), lavender-infused goat cheese, and locally-sourced maple cream. But most exciting was the strawberry-rhubarb shaved ice, which was made to order using a large, rotary shaving device. It was fun to watch the process, and I only hope that they'll offer it again the next time I'm there!
I ate them all within 20 minutes of buying them. I excused myself for this, knowing that these are the sort of ephemeral fruits that mold over with white fuzz within several hours of picking. My companion, M, bought some fresh snap peas, and we traded back and forth on the car ride home. This market, which I had never been to before, had some offerings that I've not seen at my local farmer's market. There were various cuts of local lamb, black currant cordial (the sample was divine!), lavender-infused goat cheese, and locally-sourced maple cream. But most exciting was the strawberry-rhubarb shaved ice, which was made to order using a large, rotary shaving device. It was fun to watch the process, and I only hope that they'll offer it again the next time I'm there!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Cooling Off Drinks
I've been wearing my inventor's hat the past couple of days. The hot weather just begs for some kind of cool, hydrating drink. And because I'm me, those drinks are best served in whimsical, colorful ways. Here are my two newest creations:
Rhubarb Bubble Tea
5 plain black tea bags (caffeinated or not)
a cup or two of extra-large tapioca pearls (any color you please; I used white)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 pint rhubarb syrup*
sweetened condensed milk or vanilla soy milk
ice cubes
Plan on starting this recipe at least 2 hours before you are going to serve the tea, as it needs time to cool down and chill. Fill a large saucepan with water and set to boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the tapioca pearls. Cook the tapioca, stirring occasionally, until the "bubbles" soften and become almost completely transparent. This can take up to an hour for large pearls, and you may need to add a little more water as it steams out. Check for doneness by picking out a pearl and eating it; it should have a pleasant chewiness without any hardness or crunchiness. When the tapioca is cooked, drain the water, then spritz tapioca with nonstick cooking spray and stir to coat. Set aside.
Set a tea kettle full of water to boil. Pull the tag off the tea bags (if they have any) and put them in a large heatproof bowl. When the water boils, pour it over the tea bags; set bowl aside to let the tea steep and cool down.
Make the simple syrup: Pour the 1/2 c granulated sugar in a small saucepan; add about a cup of water and stir. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and liquid thickens slightly. Set aside to cool.
Remove the tea bags from their bowl; discard. Pour tea into a large pitcher, followed by simple syrup and rhubarb syrup; stir well. Add enough water or ice cubes to the pitcher to fill within a few inches of the top. Add sweetened condensed milk or vanilla soy milk to taste and stir well. You may need more or less depending on how sweet your rhubarb syrup is. Add the tapioca pearls just before serving and stir well again. Serve bubble tea in large glasses over ice--extra wide straws optional.
*A note about the rhubarb syrup: I used syrup that a friend and I made using the rhubarb from her backyard. We cut the rhubarb in small pieces and boiled it for a long time with water and sugar until it was softened and stewed. Then we put the mixture through a food mill and put back on the stove to reduce to a syrup. We canned ours, but it's not necessary if you're making just enough for this recipe. Extra syrup would be good in any number of drinks, or drizzled onto ice cream! The New York Times has a similar method here.
Makes a large pitcher of tea, serving 6-8 people.
Damn-it's-hot Mango Lassi
about 1 mango's worth of frozen mango pieces (Trader Joe's sells these frozen and ready to go; you can also cut up a mango and freeze it beforehand)
1 single-serving container plain non-fat Greek yogurt
a pinch of ground cardamom
fruit juice (most any kind will do as long as it has some sweetness to it; I used leftover rhubarb bubble tea minus the bubbles!)
1/3 lime
Cut 1/3 of a lime and squeeze juice from smaller section into blender; reserve the rest of the lime for another use. Dump the yogurt into blender, followed by the frozen mango pieces. Sprinkle in some cardamom. Add just enough fruit juice to allow the blender blades to work properly. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour into a large glass and serve immediately.
Makes enough for 1 large or 2 small drinks.
For posterity's sake, here I am with my mango lassi, amused by the fact that my straw matched my drink and my drink matched my dress! I wonder what kind of dress I'd wear to match my rhubarb bubble tea?
Rhubarb Bubble Tea
5 plain black tea bags (caffeinated or not)
a cup or two of extra-large tapioca pearls (any color you please; I used white)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 pint rhubarb syrup*
sweetened condensed milk or vanilla soy milk
ice cubes
Plan on starting this recipe at least 2 hours before you are going to serve the tea, as it needs time to cool down and chill. Fill a large saucepan with water and set to boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the tapioca pearls. Cook the tapioca, stirring occasionally, until the "bubbles" soften and become almost completely transparent. This can take up to an hour for large pearls, and you may need to add a little more water as it steams out. Check for doneness by picking out a pearl and eating it; it should have a pleasant chewiness without any hardness or crunchiness. When the tapioca is cooked, drain the water, then spritz tapioca with nonstick cooking spray and stir to coat. Set aside.
Set a tea kettle full of water to boil. Pull the tag off the tea bags (if they have any) and put them in a large heatproof bowl. When the water boils, pour it over the tea bags; set bowl aside to let the tea steep and cool down.
Make the simple syrup: Pour the 1/2 c granulated sugar in a small saucepan; add about a cup of water and stir. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and liquid thickens slightly. Set aside to cool.
Remove the tea bags from their bowl; discard. Pour tea into a large pitcher, followed by simple syrup and rhubarb syrup; stir well. Add enough water or ice cubes to the pitcher to fill within a few inches of the top. Add sweetened condensed milk or vanilla soy milk to taste and stir well. You may need more or less depending on how sweet your rhubarb syrup is. Add the tapioca pearls just before serving and stir well again. Serve bubble tea in large glasses over ice--extra wide straws optional.
*A note about the rhubarb syrup: I used syrup that a friend and I made using the rhubarb from her backyard. We cut the rhubarb in small pieces and boiled it for a long time with water and sugar until it was softened and stewed. Then we put the mixture through a food mill and put back on the stove to reduce to a syrup. We canned ours, but it's not necessary if you're making just enough for this recipe. Extra syrup would be good in any number of drinks, or drizzled onto ice cream! The New York Times has a similar method here.
Makes a large pitcher of tea, serving 6-8 people.
Damn-it's-hot Mango Lassi
about 1 mango's worth of frozen mango pieces (Trader Joe's sells these frozen and ready to go; you can also cut up a mango and freeze it beforehand)
1 single-serving container plain non-fat Greek yogurt
a pinch of ground cardamom
fruit juice (most any kind will do as long as it has some sweetness to it; I used leftover rhubarb bubble tea minus the bubbles!)
1/3 lime
Cut 1/3 of a lime and squeeze juice from smaller section into blender; reserve the rest of the lime for another use. Dump the yogurt into blender, followed by the frozen mango pieces. Sprinkle in some cardamom. Add just enough fruit juice to allow the blender blades to work properly. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour into a large glass and serve immediately.
Makes enough for 1 large or 2 small drinks.
For posterity's sake, here I am with my mango lassi, amused by the fact that my straw matched my drink and my drink matched my dress! I wonder what kind of dress I'd wear to match my rhubarb bubble tea?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Let's keep the funny Martha Stewart thing going. Here are some hilarious Martha bloopers. It pleases me to know that she, too, makes mistakes and has a bawdy sense of humor.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Planning Ahead for Halloween...
This is one of the creepiest things I've ever seen from Martha Stewart.
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