Pot Roast

The other day, I came across the seasoning isle in the supermarket - did you know they actually have seasonings especially for slow cookers? This got me super excited for another experiment. In went the vegetables: carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions:

Then came the roast and some beer. The seasoning called for a cup of water, but I substituted it with beer, after my last experiment with beer went so well. I do think the Asahi might be the better beer to cook with, though I think I prefer the Sierra Nevada to drink.

For this particular dish, I think red wine may have even worked a bit better, but it was pretty good!

Up next? Possibly a dessert of some kind? Maybe a dip?

Pistachio Icebox Cookies

Continued from yesterday's post, today I sliced up the cookie dough and baked multiple batches of cookies.

So buttery, so sugary, so good.

Thank you, Martha.

Green With Envy

Martha did me good with the chocolate chip cookies, so I'm going for the icebox cookies, with pistachios. I got a fresh batch of pistachios from Sunday's farmer's market, so I was ready to get to it.

After peeling the shells off of the pistachios, I crushed them a bit and added them to my icebox cookie batter. I also added a few drops of green food dye, to give them a nice, fun tint.

Martha suggests putting the parchment covered cookie rolls into cardboard tubes, which I did not have.

So, I'm afraid my cookies will not be perfect circles, but as long as they are tasty, I won't mind. They are in the fridge for now - but results will be posted soon.

Overdue Quilt

I've been working a little too hard on this quilt. Quilting is so addicting, once I start, I can't stop. Not good for my homework. I made my favorite new square today, which is making me rethink the entire quilt.

So far, the quilt is 65" x 51.5" (this will probably shrink a bit, once I sew things together).

I might sew the quilt together, then re-cut it up (which would re-shrink it again). The square above is definitely the most interesting area on the quilt, so I think I need more of that. I can always add it later because I'm definitely going to make the quilt bigger (how much bigger, I don't know.. but bigger than this). I know I eventually want to add the librarian style embroidery I have been working on, but I don't know whether to add it to the front or the back of the quilt. I have no idea. For some reason, this quilt might just consume me, unless I finish it. Unfinished projects make me way too nervous.

Milk And Cookies

Sundays are good. They are the day that I like to get things done and today I did just that. I went to the farmers market, worked on this quilt, made my lunch for the week, had some outstanding leftovers, and made many dozens of cookies for school.

Last time I made cookies, I wasn't completely convinced. They were good, but not repeat recipe good. This time, I went with Martha Stewart's chocolate chip cookie recipe from this book, though I changed the recipe slightly. This is definitely a repeat recipe. I loved this cookie and I hope my schoolmates do too!

Beer Chicken Fajitas

I don't get to play online as much as I used to. School has started and it has been pretty good, so far. I am IN LOVE with my preservation class. My inner science geek comes out and makes my heart pitter patter during each lecture. We actually tested paper samples for their PH and aluminum content the other day. It was absolutely wonderful. My true calling has arrived and soon, I will take on paper conservation internships. I can not wait. I knew I wanted to spent the entire day doing homework, so in preparation of dinner, I work up bright and early and started chopping onions and bell peppers.

Yes. That is a beer too. The beer, along with marinated chicken, the onions, and bell peppers, all went into my little crock pot.

About 8 hours later, I placed the mixture onto a hot tortilla with some sour cream.

This was absolutely the most tender chicken I have ever eaten, ever.

I will be making this recipe again and again.

Scrap Card

While sewing my scrap quilt, I've accumulated a number of fabric scraps. While most of these scraps go back into the quilt, some of them have inspired me to make fabric covered cards.


This one went to my friend, Beth. These cards are a great use of fabric scraps and are super simple to make - arrange scraps and either hand sew or machine sew them onto the card. I machine sewed the one above, and added a little heart on the inside.

Breakfast Of Champions

It's been quite a few weeks. Homework? Not really. Crafting? Yes, but that wasn't it either. I actually got out of my apartment and socialized.. a lot. I'm not a hermit or anything, but I'm not the type to go out all day, all night, everyday. Well, the past few weekends, I have been the type that goes out, a lot. It's been nice. A little crazy, but nice. Waking up has been a bit more difficult. My weekend mornings have been later than usual, but whether it's 7am or 2pm, I still love me some breakfast.

My mom visited me on Saturday afternoon. She brought me Fruit Loops too! She knows my addiction to sugary cereal all too well. It's my weakness.

Though, I'm also a sucker for over-easy eggs and veggie sausage. Breakfast is my favorite.

Real Simple Pasta

During lunch today, my friend Julian mentioned I should try a recipe from the current issue of Real Simple Magazine. I had all the ingredients at home, so I went for it. The recipe is Parmesan pasta with chicken and rosemary.

It was pretty good, only it was very rich. I only managed to eat a few bites before I got full. Making this recipe made me realize that I have way too many magazines at home. I must miss lots of great recipes, because I never get a chance to fully appreciate everything that each magazine has to offer. Some of my magazines have bookmarks (aka bobby-pins) on pages with recipes I'd like to make some day, but I think it's time to go back and do a thorough recipe search.

My New Sewing Kit

My friend Lauren gave me the most wonderful sewing kit!

Not only is it pretty on the outside and goes perfectly with my decor, but the inside was full of surprises!

Vintage sewing notions galore.. thank you, Lauren!

Quiches

I went a little nuts making quiches over the weekend. Since I had both vegetarian and non-vegetarian guests, I made a few variations to please everyone. I made both mini quiches and two big quiches. The mini quiches were fun to make. I didn't have a mini-cupcake tin, so I just lined the quiches with cupcake paper.

I served them hot out of the oven, as guests arrived. I didn't get to take a picture of them fresh out of the oven, but here they are towards the end of the night. I made chicken quiches on the left and mushroom, asparagus quiches on the right.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the big quiches too. They were so pretty fresh out of the oven! Here is the aftermath. The one in back was a bacon quiche and the one in front was a mushroom-asparagus quiche. All quiches had grilled onions, and some of them had sliced almonds.

I really got to experiment with them! Though, this whole experience made me realized that I probably should invest in a food processor at some point. I think it would cut my crust making time in half - though, I did really enjoy the process. I baked while listening to Tricot Machine, Belle & Sebastian, and Jens Lekman, which I highly recommend doing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night, I had a bit of party at my place. It was a very last minute decision, but I somehow pulled it off. It was actually the least stressful party-planning experience I've had so far, which is probably due to the fact that it was so last minute. I'm usually a planner, but it was nice to just be spontaneous this time. I made lots and lots and lots of quiche. It's kind of my specialty lately, so I went with it. More on the quiche tomorrow. Today, I will share pictures of my chocolate chip cookies. I'm actually more of a fan of the flat-buttery chocolate chip cookies, but I'm into the soft chewy too. I went for the soft chewy this time around.


I'm happy to say the cookies were gone at the end of the night. This was the best recipe I've used for chocolate chip cookies so far, but I think I'm still looking for the right one. Not ready to settle on this cookie just yet.

15 Minutes Too Late

I was hoping to get this post in before it turned into Saturday. So Close. This is what I have been doing with my scrap fabric.

My plan has been to finish this quilt by the time I finish graduate school.. though, graduate school hasn't given me much time to work on the quilt! I'm almost halfway done with school and less than a quarter done with the quilt. I've spent my spring break trying to catch up, but there hasn't been enough time. To give spring break the proper goodbye, I decided to throw a party tonight, so my day will be spent baking and preparing for the night ahead.

The Fresh Bias-Tape Maker

I've been doing lots of sewing this week. My first priority has been to finish making a case for my new Mac Air. The bulk of the case is finished and it has been time to concentrate on the finishing details. That's where bias tape comes in.

My bias tape maker has been sitting in it's package for months. I thought it was finally time to open it up and put it to use. I was surprised at how easy it really is! I kind of want to make all of my scrap fabric into bias tape now! Though, my scraps are also being used in another project. More on this other project tomorrow.

Pencil Soup

Since I've been going through a soup phase lately, I have lots of cans to show for it. There are plenty of uses for these cans and I plan to explore the options. For now, I'm going for the simple pencil holder.

First I sewed a little tube of fabric to cover the can. I left a little bit extra on the bottom and a good amount on top. I folded the fabric on top inside the can.

Using a brush, I glued the extra fabric on the bottom.

To even things out, I glued a round piece of felt on the bottom of the can.

A quick pencil holder, in less than 20 minutes!

Easter Baskets

At 1:15pm this afternoon, I turned in my last paper officially began my spring break! I actually stayed up until about 2am this morning working on my final paper, but I'm extremely awake and just happy that this quarter is behind me. Giddy, really. The next few days are sure to be filled with friends, family, not-so-long-hours at work, and plenty of crafting! The past few weeks have been crazy, but I somehow managed to finish making easter baskets for my two nieces and nephew.

In the coming week, I really want to finish making a case for my new Mac Air and possibly my pink ipod nano! Aside from that, I might work on finishing up a few projects, and hope to blog before school starts up again... in a week!

Abra Ca-Crock Pot

I finally got a crock pot! It's been on my to do list forever and when I saw this mini crock pot for $9 at Target.. I just had to go for it! My first dish included: one can of chicken noodle soup, some rice, vegetables, chicken, spices.. pretty much things I had laying around in my kitchen.

Not too shabby! This machine is a bit like magic.. you just pour a ton of stuff into a pot and out comes a hearty, tasty meal!

Speaking of magic, I'm really going to need some super powers to get my last paper of the quarter done.

Tan Abour (Yogurt Soup)

Mimi’s Tan Abour (Yogurt Soup)
Approx. 30 oz. Yogurt
1 cup Barley
5-6 cups water
1 bushel of Cilantro, chopped (to taste)
1 yellow onion, chopped
Salt (to taste)

1. Rinse Barley, until water runs clear
2. Mix Barley with the water in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Continue to boil, letting the Barley to fully cook.
3. In the meantime, sauté the onion and chop the Cilantro
4. After the Barley has cooked, whip the yogurt (by spoon) and slowly pour into boiling water/barley mix, making sure the water is continuously boiling.
5. When the yogurt is mixed in, add the sautéd onion.
6. Let boil for a few minutes, then add the Cilantro.
7. Turn off heat. Add salt to taste.

Almost A Month Later

I guess I got a little busy there. I still have about one more week of school and two more papers left, but I found a moment (notice 12:30am) to post in my neglected blog, that I love and miss so much. In the past few week or so, I've welcomed a new roommate to live with me. I went to the Mac Store and fellin love. Yes, the Mac Air is my new roommate. I also got a new pink nano and an external disc drive! I went a little overboard, but I think after all of the papers I've had to write and all the long hours I had to work this quarter, I was in dire need of a present. On a crafty note: cases for my three new toys are in progress and will be posted soon.
Other than that, I've been on a soup kick lately. I re-fell in love with good old Tomato Soup.

This weekend, I'm going to make my grandmothers recipe for Yogurt Soup (also known as Tan Abour). This is step one in Operation: Get Grandma's Recipes / Make Mom Write the Family Recipes Down / Annette Needs to Cook More Family Recipes.

Thesis Pieces

I feel like I just started school, but I'm one quarter shy from completing my first year, and almost half way done! It's surreal even typing that out, but somehow it's true. I'm now in the process of preparing to submit my thesis topic for approval. I spent the day at school doing research and staying super productive. I've been really excited about school lately. I thought it would take a lot longer than it is (though, it still might) and my library school-scrap quilt is not growing with my school progress. I'm going to have to get busy with that one! I think I'll start now...