Thank you for being a friend

And if you threw a party, and invited everyone you knew, you would see the homemade gift would be from me and the card attached would be appropriate to the occasion, but not homemade as I have too many interests already.

For better or for worse, I have been trying to make most of my gifts over the last year.  It certainly was a crafty Christmas.  If you nail the homemade gift, there is nothing more personal or treasured.  Of course, if you goof, there is nothing more awkward (and nonreturnable).  So, you've been warned.  One day, you may be gifted with an awkward and nonreturnable craft project that I slaved over and thought you would love.  And my earnest little face will shine as you stare at it in horror wondering what in God's name I was thinking.  And you will feel obliged to dig it out of the deep recesses of your closet to display it when you know I'm coming over, to avoid crushing my delicate soul.  But, hopefully, I'll knock it out of the park.

Christmas, birthdays, babies, weddings, housewarming are all fair game to my crafty gifts.  I've had a number of projects on the go, including:

My favourite recipes on cards and hand embellished tea towels for weddings;
Homemade preserves, teacup candles and aprons for housewarming/hostess gifts;
Quilts, sweaters and hats for babies:

Rainbow Quilt and log cabin pillow

And a little girl being carried away to dreamland

For birthdays, it really depends on the person.  For instance, I made my niece a little frock and crochet collar that looks equally adorable on the hanger, hung as it is meant to be worn, and on her with the collar worn as a crown, because, well, because.

 

My favourite of late has been an attempt at cross-stitch.  This is my first real foray into the thready arts since a mother's day project at Girl Guides.  I don't even remember if that was particularly successful, as I hated stitching (and given the number of badges I had, you would have thought I had gotten somewhat used to it - not so humble brag).  I preferred my crafts executable with a hot glue gun.

 

Picture it, Ucluelet, 1992.  We didn't have a lot in the way of TV signals making it to us.  One of the only consistent TV stations that we had was the CBC.  And, for whatever bizarre reason, despite being below the 49th, we only had access to CBC North.  This meant that we had nightly news that was based in Yellowknife and was often in one of the Aboriginal languages of the North.  However, everyday after school, my girlfriends and I would rush home for one particular program - The Golden Girls.  It was awesome, and it was in English.  Long before there was Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, there was Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche.  Oh, we loved them so.  In particular, my friend Z was taken with them. 



Inspire your prayers

One day, I was on the twitter and someone posted a set of prayer candles emblazoned with these remarkable women.  I immediately started an Etsy search, but alas, they had sold out.  I was now convinced, like a sign from St Estelle Getty herself, that I needed to make a gift by hand.

 

I've been thinking of starting to explore embroidery for some time.  I love the look of a little bit of embellishment on the corners of napkins, little flowers on pretty dresses, and the woolly tattoos that Dottie Angel has been busily adding to her thrifted finds.  However, as I have explored elsewhere, I don't really have a ton of patience and my hand stitching always starts off ragged, becomes great and ends rushed.  But whilst searching out gifts for Z, I came across a cross-stitch pattern for the Florida quartet, and I knew I had to give it a whirl.  It took time, and I got annoyed (and stabbed) but in the end, I think it turned out magnificently.  And while I'm in no rush to get there, I do look forward to being a subversive senior, running amok with my besties.

Monday's Frugal Menu

A cold (in fact, ice dammed) reality check has us facing some leaner times.  We hope the vast majority of our winter ice damage will be covered by insurance, but our delightfully quirky old house is sure to have some stories and surprises behind the sodden walls.  If we're lucky, in some places, the insulation will simply be insufficient.  In other places, it likely doesn't exist, and in still others, it could be old seaweed, a common insulation material used in NS around the time the original parts of the house were built.

 

So, I was inspired by different (and cheaper) cuts of meat, canned tomatoes, dried lentils/peas, which along with healthy doses of leftovers will be on the menu for the next few months as we try to squirrel away some pennies to cover our winter loses.

 

Sunday - Pollo alla cacciatorra Jamie's Italy.  I use rice flour for dusting the chicken. A divine dish, bursting with flavour.

 

Monday - Tuna Melts.  An old favourite.  To make mine, I dice up some of my homemade garlic/dill pickles, stir in some salt, pepper, Frank's, and cage-free lemon-caper mayo.  I top Jeff's with mozzarella and mine with Daiya dairy-free cheddar. A little salad on the side, and we're in comfort food central!

 

Tuesday - Pig and Pea Soup from Michael Smith. I've adjusted this slightly over time...I use the slow cooker for mine.  8 cups of water with chicken bouillon cubes, one big old ham hock right in the pot with the onions and carrots, 2 tsp dried thyme, 2 bay leaves and a tsp of garlic powder.  I do not use celery (it goes funky in the slow cooker), and I tend not to use fresh garlic, as it can leave a metallic taste if used in the slow cooker.  About 10 minutes before I'm ready to serve, I fish the ham hock out, peel away the skin and fat, remove the bones and shred the meat, returning it to the pot with a cup of thawed fresh peas.  I also stir in a Tbsp of Dijon mustard instead of the vinegar.  I don't add extra pig...the ham hock is plenty rich, but I guess if you're feeling really swine-ish, bacon does make things better.

 

Wednesday - Butternut Squash, Pear and Chestnut Salad from the Healthy Foodie. 

The true glory of the feast cannot be captured in pixels.

 

Thursday - Slow Cooker Pear and Raisin Pork Loin Roast from the Healthy Foodie.  Hot damn.  In her post, Sonia claimed that upon her first taste she proclaimed to her dogs that she is a 'true, profound, culinary genius'.  I also do this on a regular basis...and this dish is very worthy of such proclamations.  Spend the time to marinate.  Spend the time to make the gravy.  The leftover salad from Wednesday complemented the meat perfectly. 

 

Friday - Glorious leftovers.

 

Saturday - One Pot Turkey Chili with Cornbread Crust.  This is all about the smoked paprika.  Make sure you have some in stock.  Some changes I've made to the recipe: chickpeas instead of beans and, one package of Bob's gluten-free corn bread...taking easy to a whole new level.  I also used the Daiya cheddar to top. (I let the batter rest for an hour before putting it on the chili and in the oven, it makes a big difference).  For dessert, I made my gluten-free version of Chocolate Diablo Cookies.

Until next Monday, happy cooking!
xo
s.

Monday Menu

This past week's inspiration was two-fold.  First, after a delightful dinner with our neighbours, which included a short side conversation about lamb, I had a hankering for some myself.  Jeff and I have a friend that worked in Grand Pré and has connections with some of the local farmers.  Each spring, we put in an order for locally sourced lamb, which we then get to enjoy all year long.  It being February, we are getting low, but it seemed like a good time to pull out an all time favourite, care-of Jamie Oliver's "Cooking with Jamie".  It is several hours worth of work, but dear lord, worth every single second.

Also inspiring me this past weekend was the shit ton of snow that has been dumped on Halifax.  I needed warm and comforting, but I also needed bright and full of flavour.  Lemons, fresh herbs and crisp veggies were all a must this week.

Check out my "In my belly please!" board on pinterest for recipes.

Sunday - Slow Cooker Chicken Mulligatawny Soup (Chatelaine Magazine)

Monday - Mad Moroccan Lamb (Cook with Jamie).  I make this recipe gluten free by using quinoa instead of couscous, and dairy free by using soy 'sour cream', which has a closer consistency to Greek yogurt than non-dairy 'yogurts'

Tuesday - Leftovers (there were a lot! - 4lbs of lamb goes a long way.)

Wednesday - Slow cooker beef ragu with basil gremolata (Real Simple Magazine).  The basil gremolata elevates this dish from standard beef stew to something fresh and bright.

Thursday - Turkey-scallion melts with oven fries and veggies with hummus (Real Simple Magazine).  These are part turkey burger, part grilled cheese.  All parts delicious.

Friday - We treated ourselves, post house drama, to a night at the Stubborn Goat in Halifax.  I had the steak and truffle frites (they have a gluten free fryer) and Jeff had the Surf and Swine pizza with scallops, bacon and gremolata.  It was a lovely night out.  I may have gotten a little silly.

Saturday - Superfood salad with creamy cashew dressing (Chatelaine Magazine).  While kale and carrots and chickpeas and dried cherries and avocado and almonds and apples etc, you will feel both virtuous and very satisfied.  Pairs nicely with a Chardonnay and a movie.

via Chatelaine Magazine

My Bookshelf - January

The Pokey Little Puppy - A classic

 

I am a reader, not a writer. As you sit and read my writing, that sentence will either be utterly perplexing or undeniable fact. The truth is, I like to write, but I'm not all that good at it. But I know good writing (and good writers), and I emulate and mirror, but the threads I weave don't usually create a fabric that could keep you warm at night. I am, however, a magnificent reader. I devour words, my brain sponges ideas, my eyes search out the next literary meal. I flip thoughts and concepts, devices and language over and over, likely imbuing each with far more meaning than what was intended. But that doesn't matter. These are worlds, character, experiences to explore, try on, absorb. They become a part of you, a moment of time, a fixed point to return to. Books are our histories, our treasures, our weapons, our time-machines. They have always been my fortress.

For the next while, I thought I'd give you a sense of what sits on my bookshelf each month, what I thought of them and what they each inspired. I'll also point you to an all time favourite that you may want to explore your self.

January was a lighter than average month for reading. Between a new puppy and absolutely no time in an aeroplane (a place that the fortress is incredibly important to my sanity), I found many other things to occupy my time. But I did manage to read the following:

The Paying Guest, by Sarah Waters

Some of my Halifax ladies and I have a very informal book club. Our guys like to get together and drink beer...we decided to put a little structure around getting together and drinking wine. We all have weirdly divergent schedules, so we probably only manage 5 or so gatherings each year where we can all be there. We've recently decided that the host of the evening also picks the book. At our last meet-up (I want to say early November), I chose our next book based on a rather stellar review in the Globe and Mail. We finally had a chance to sit down and discuss at the end of January. Two of our five didn't finish it (it's a long book), and the other 3 of us each gave it a 3/5 on Goodreads. However, as we started to discuss what we liked and didn't, I realised how much more I liked the book than the initial knee-jerk star rating system indicated.

The book is a great character study of women in post-WW1 England. It explores class and privilege, grief, sexuality, and the Victorian generation trying to cope with a world with no men. It is written in the quietly stuffy way the mind of such a woman dealing with these conflicts would experience them. Stiff upper lip, chin up, keep calm and all that, but acknowledging that the status quo led to the war, and left something scratching at the back of skull, something unbalanced. I loved her voice, her doubts, her neurosis. There was probably at least one too many twists than necessary, leaving me feeling like the author was trying just a titch too hard, but if you have any interest in WW1 era England, women's suffrage etc, I would strongly recommend.

Serenity Vol 2, by Joss Whedon

I've never really been one for graphic novels. I didn't read comics as a kid (full disclosure, I hated Archie and his gang. Why two women were fawning over that jackass didn't make any sense to me. I've always had a bit of an attitude about these things). I do love the Marvel universe on film. I am also a huge fan of sci-fi - Star Trek, Doctor Who, Firefly, Buffy, Supernatural, yes, even Star Gate. Last Christmas, one of my BFs got me the most perfect thing I had ever seen - a graphic novel mash-up of the 11th Doctor fighting Cybermen-Borg hybrids with Captain Picard. Come on! It was amazing.

Every Christmas, Jeff and I binge watch a TV show or two on Netflix. This year, Jeff suggested we re-watch Firefly/Serenity on Netflix. I fell back in love with Malcolm Reynolds. I couldn't just leave Wash and the Shepherd dead. I required more of that universe. Happily, the story has been expanded. I'm looking forward to re-entering that world at carefully rationed times in the future.

Chatelaine Magazine, February 2015 

I've been a subscriber to this magazine for the last 6 years or so. Sadly, since Jane Francisco left as editor-in-chief, the magazine just hasn't been the same for me. However, because of Chatelaine, I have cue cards full of recipes. I was inspired by a couple of recipes this month 1) Turkey Chili with Chedder Cornbread and 2) Coq au vin blanc. I can report that with a few substitutions, both turned out well. The Coq au vin blac was maybe only okay, but the one pot comfort of the Chili was very welcome during the blast of winter the Maritimes has been having of late.  I substituted chickpeas for the bean medley, and made cheaters gluten-free cornbread (Bob's premix gluten-free) in order to really simplify the whole meal.   

Mollie Makes, Issue 49

I have an e-subscription to this magazine full of craftiness. There are interviews with crafty people, links to crafty sites, crafty tends and crafty projects to inspire your crafty juices. Beautiful photos and easy to follow instructions sit well on the pastel hued pages. I love it. A couple of crafty projects that I could see myself trying 1) the Jackalope Tote - I keep meaning to try my hand at embroidery, and 2) the Patchwork Needlecase - for Christmas, Jeff signed me up for a quilting class at Patch Halifax.  I now have the itch to quilt everything.

Simply Crochet, Issue 27

I also have an e-subscription to this one. Since learning to crochet, it has been my go to for fun projects and a supportive online community. Sister publication to Mollie Makes, magazine follows a similar format, except it is all crochet all the time. I was inspired to try 1) the Chunky Cowl - I knocked-off in a couple of hours, and is very cosy indeed, and 2) the Winging It blue cardigan - I love the retro vibe and the sparrow detail, though I am slightly intimidated by the commitment!