Ribbon Bookmarks

This a great quick, easy project! It would make a great little Christmas gift or hostess gift (for a hostess who likes to  read, at least.) if you bought a journal and made a ribbon bookmark to match. I spotted this on Pinterest in the  DIY/crafts section (and quickly repinned it J).  I won’t go into too much detail with the how-to because Percolating Projects has a reallynice tutorial, so click on the link for the step by step! 

All you need are buttons, ribbons, and hair elastics (which I usually just call "hair things" but let us be fancy for the blog).  The only thing I did differently was use my hot glue gun for everything except sewing on the button, which I did by hand.  I just didn’t feel like getting out my machine for a few bookmarks (Crafter’s Lethargy takes another victim!) I made one for my journal, my Bible, and my slightly smaller Bible.

So Easy

So Cute

Of course, now that I have my beloved Kindle I don’t have as much need for bookmarks…but I’m not completely electronic yet, and probably never will be.

Happy Crafting!

A Student Staple Revisited: Ramen Shrimp Pouches

I wish some of the pretty scallions had made it into this shot.

Last week I made Ramen Shrimp Pouches for dinner (That is a weird name. I don’t relish having the word “pouch” on my menu).  It’s Alton Brown’s recipe, and you know how I feel about Alton Brown. 

Oh? You don’t? 

I think Alton Brown is great.  Really great.  He is hilarious, snarky, and science-loving. When ridiculous stuff happens on Food Network, he calls it like it is.  He was the speaker at my college graduation (a darn good speaker, ask anyone).  He’s from Georgia.  He went to UGA…..and apparently he’s friends with a friend of my Dad, which means I am 3 degrees away from Alton Brown (I don’t know what my Kevin Bacon Number is, though, and I don’t really care. Unless Alton Brown knows Kevin Bacon, and then my Kevin Bacon Number is 4.)

Back to the important part! The food. 

The recipe tells you to make pouches with foil and then you stack up all the delish ingredients in there, add the broth and seasonings, and then cook them in the oven for a little while. 

I didn’t follow the good Mr. Brown’s recipe exactly, because I was shopping at Kroger and they just didn’t have all the ingredients.  It still tasted pretty good, though, so…high five!

I didn’t have mirin, which is a kind of rice wine, so…I just added a shake of rice vinegar.  I fully understand this is not the same thing.  But it was something I had, and it had the word rice in it, and you can make vinegar out of wine so….I know. Still not the same thing.  Also, there were no dried mushrooms at Kroger, so I used non-dried ones.  There. That’s all.  Not so bad, huh? Everything else was by the book.

Here’s a link to the recipe!

My roomies seemed to enjoy it, even though Jessica is not a shrimp fan. (Which is fine, because Sammy and I just ate her shrimp for her)

I give it an A plus, but not for folks on a low-salt diet. It’s quite salty.  Stay away, my hypertensive friends! Or at least use low sodium soy sauce and broth…and maybe less soy sauce.

PS- I just joined Pinterest and Twitter.  What?! I’m having a pretty good time on there.  Join me. Or follow me. Or pin with me. I haven’t quite figured out the proper verbs to use.

4 dollars, 3 yards, 2 scarves, 1 hour

4 Dollars, 3 Yards, 2 Scarves, 1 Hour

Facts: The title of this post is slightly misleading.  I actually spent 4.50 on the fabric, but it didn’t look as snappy when the title was “4.5 Dollars, 3 Yards, 2 Scarves, 1 Hour.” You understand.

Fall is here, and winter is coming! That means scarves! Actually, these days we seem to wear scarves any old time, even the summer.  I’m sort of hot-natured though, so I can only wear fashionable lightweight summer scarves when it is decidedly cool.  I make a lot of scarves, and things with birds on them. I should probably branch out.  The fact is, though, that scarves are one of my favorite “quicker” projects (as long as you aren’t knitting it) and when your life is filled with words like “thesis” , “master’s degree”, and “graduating on time” sometimes you can't spend as much time on your hobbies as you might like.

You folks know I have a hard time passing up a good fabric deal. So, when I found this awesome, light, sort of chiffon-esque fabric on the 1.50/yd rack, I got 3 yards.  The friendly saleslady suggested I make a nice blouse, but I felt like wearing this rather loud pattern ALL over the top half of my body would make me look sort of crazy. So, I decided to make a scarf! At first I was going to use my sewing machine to hem my scarf, but this fabric was kind of slippery and my folds kept unfolding.  So, I remembered my edge-burning method from my chiffon flowers and decided to singe the edges to prevent frays.  I think this was a pretty good decision because it eliminated a bulky hem on a delicate fabric.

First, I wanted to make a square scarf, so I folded the edge of the 3yds down into a triangle and cut along the line to make a square.  You know, like you used to in school when you had a rectangular piece of paper and you needed a square to make one of those foldy fortune teller doo-dads.  I wanted it to be a square so I could fold it into a triangle and wear it like..um..I am uncertain what this method of scarf-wearing is called…a neckerchief?  That doesn’t sound right.  I’m going to leave you with a picture, and hope you know what I mean.  For the second scarf, I just used the remaining long triangle, which was slightly less than 2 yds.  I singed all the unfinished edges, and DONE.  I kept one for myself, and gave the other to my dearly beloved friend/roommate, Sammy.

Photography by Sammy!

What IS that?

Self-timer fail.

This and That

My blog photography *might* get better soon, because I read THIS.

I'm going to make THESE candy corn cookies in October, because they are so cute and probably taste 150% better than actual candy corn.

Fellow crafters, you should check out Craft Gossip.

Chorizo Pasta Bake

Do you ever watch Chopped? I do.  Well, I do when I visit home; because my roomies and I are cable-free (not because we are TV snobs, but because with a combination of Netflix, Hulu, and ESPN online we can see almost everything we want, albeit on a small screen sometimes.)  On Chopped there is always some poor chef who doesn’t devein his shrimp or something and the judges say things like “I can’t believe this.  This is shocking. How could you not devein your shrimp?” as though it is the worst thing a human could possibly overlook.  I guess if you are a professional chef it is a big deal that you didn’t devein your shrimp.  However, I have the luxury of being a semi-regular person, and I have failed to devein my shrimp before.  I mean, if I was serving shrimp at a fancy party or making shrimp creole on Christmas Eve (which is a tradition in my family) I would definitely devein them.  But for a low county boil? A meal which is often eaten OFF OF NEWSPAPER? No. I am not deveining shrimp for that.  Consider it my rebellious return to nature (I like camping, but I’ve never been “primitive” camping).  

I think the point I was trying to make, but in fact was aimlessly circling around in the above paragraph is that I am not a chef so if I went on Chopped I would probably lose. I perhaps know more than the average bear about food/cooking (I’m not actually comparing myself to a sentient bear.  That was a Yogi Bear reference and I got scared no one would get it.  He’s “smarter than the average bear,” remember?) because I double majored in “dietetics” (which to many people sounds like “not eating anything good ever” but does not mean that) and “consumer foods” (when I tell people this they say “consuming foods? I could do that!” and then we all laugh but that isn’t what that means either) in undergrad and am currently attempting to become a “MASTER OF SCIENCE!” in “foods and nutrition”.

Please accept my humble apologies for my excessive use of parentheses and quotation marks. The internet is a wild, unregulated place.

Back to chorizo.

Chorizo is pretty yummy.  According to my copy of The Prentice Hall Dictionary of Culinary Arts it is “a Mexican sausage made from fresh pork, seasoned with garlic and powdered chilies, usually cooked without the casing” or “a Spanish sausage made from smoked pork, seasoned with garlic and powdered chilies, usually cooked without the casing”

We will be operating with definition 1 for the duration of this post.

As I said before, it is a pretty tasty food, especially if you are a fan of pork (yes) and spicy things (also yes).  Like most sausages, it tends to be rather high in fat, which is why it’s nice to use it as more of a flavoring type ingredient instead of a star-of-show kind of thing sometimes.

Court’s Chorizo Pasta Bake

This is my new favorite casserole dish. The lid (to the right) is also a PIE PLATE!)

Servings: 6 

14.5 oz Whole Wheat Penne (aka a box of penne)

1 can Rotel tomatoes & chilies

2.5 oz chorizo (2 links out of a 6-link package, in my case)

2 cups red/green/yellow bell peppers

½ c onions, chopped

1 T garlic

2 cups jack/cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook pasta, drain, set aside.  Cook the chorizo and garlic in a nice big frying pan, then add the peppers, onions, and Rotel and let things simmer for a while, about 10 minutes.  Layer the pasta, vegetable/chorizo mixture, and cheese in a casserole dish in whatever order pleases you, but make sure you come out with a layer of cheese on top for added melted-cheese beauty.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Put some foil on top if your cheese gets too brown!   

The judges on Chopped would probably give me  negative points for "plating," I'm afraid.

Nutrition Facts! Thanks to caloriecount.com

Side notes:

I’ve been looking at Regretsy a lot this week. As a crafter, I find these craft-misadventures sometimes hilarious and sometimes horrifying.

I just arranged for dictionary.com to send me the word of the day via text everyday! How awesome is that?  Also, you should play Word Dynamo on there! Love it.

Chiffon Part Deux: Let it Burn

and other things.

 A while ago I posted about some chiffon flower hairclips I’d made (Check it out here). I had picked up a whole yard of chiffon in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby.  I think it’s weird to call an entire yard a remnant.  I thought the whole point of a remnant was that it was less fabric than anyone would conceivably want to purchase, which is why most remnants are less than a yard.  It’s not like Hobby Lobby is selling chiffon in great quantities.  Oh well, I shouldn’t complain, because I got it for half-price since it was a “remnant”.  After making the two aforementioned flowers, I had quite a bit of fabric left. Not enough to make any clothing, of course (besides, I don’t have a serger and chiffon looks sad when you hem it the regular way).

I made another flower with the remaining selvage-side, like last time.

Expect the photography to go downhill from here, okay?
And yes, I totally got this sweater at target. 

And then I thought “I must seek out a new, more challenging method!”

With this method, you cut out somewhat concentric, somewhat circular shapes and then burn the edges with a lighter until they curl up a little.

Concentric Circles!

I don’t usually bring fire into my craft projects.  Hot glue? Sure.  But fire? That seems a little risky.

Cut to me, sitting cross-legged on my bathmat, holding a piece of chiffon in one hand and my super cool 3-way candle lighter in the other, tentatively touching the flame to the fabric all while learning over the bathtub, which I’d partially filled with water in the event that everything caught fire and I had to drop it.

It all went very well, really.  I only had to blow out tiny little fires once or twice and the precautionary bathtub of water was quite unnecessary.

I really need to take a photography class or something.  

The first flower I tried was small, cream-colored, and I used a button for the center. (I attached the layers with a few small stitches prior to adding the button)  For the second flower I was feeling a bit more adventurous (more adventurous than FIRE, you ask?), so I pulled out my watercolors and painted the chiffon before burning (singeing?) the edges.  I fixed the layers together with fabric glue this time and left off the button. (but I did put a cute little bird holding a letter in the middle)  For both of them, I glued a felt circle to the back before adding a hairpin/regular pin

Painted Concentric Circles!

It looks better in person. I hope.

I’ve still got a fair amount of chiffon left….so….let me know if you’re in need of trendy accessories.

AND NOW FOR MORE THINGS!

Hey, I was on a kick today, and I couldn’t stop.  I finished up (almost) all my schoolwork like a good girl so I could enjoy (almost) all the weekend, so as soon as I got home I reached for my sewing box. What’s that? You’re laughing at me for spending my Friday afternoon sewing? Well, whatever.  We all have our things.

Here’s some more pins and clips made with the leftover fabric from my Scottish Hipster shirt.  

Also, I finally broke down the steps for how to make this kind of flower- and they are as follows:

1. Cut out a circle
2. Fold the edge over ever so slightly, and do a basting type stitch along the folded over edge.
3.  Pull tightly and gather.
4. Sort of push it into shape, and tack it down with a few stitches.
5. Add a button. Or don’t. I just like to add a button.

I love these sweet little flowers, I use them in projects all the time.  Like this shirt I made last summer:

"Hey, Take a picture like I'm just casually sitting here" "But you are just casually sitting there" 

AND NOW THE LAST THING

I bought some new stamps the other day, further expanding my custom-stationary horizons.  How precious are these birds?

Hall of Shame Volume 2: Video Fail

It’s time. After several months, I bring you the second installment of

CourtCouldMakeThat: Hall of Shame

Oddly enough, this is also my second video post.

This is not really a craft, but it is something I made…and it is quite a failure.  I once made a video with my brother on his Mac and iMovie made it seem so cool and easy. “I can do that,” I thought.  Then I got a new camera, and it takes videos! Videos, I tell you! I hastened to film the closest living being, who happened to be…my cat. Yes, I made a cat video. Just like thousands of other internet users.  Let me break it down for you.

Anatomy of a Good Cat Video:

-          The cat is cute and also visible

-          The cat is doing something interesting or hilarious

-          The video is appropriately short

-          The music/other audio is appropriate to the adorable cat situation at hand

I have scored my own cat video with a 0.5 out of a possible 4 points. Yes, POINT FIVE, because while my cat is cute, she is invisible for most of the video, being covered with a sheet (of her own volition).  She is not doing something interesting, or hilarious, unless moving around under a sheet is funny, which I guess at the time, I thought was funny. It’s not. The video is way too long, I’m bored just talking about it, and for a truly inexplicable reason I chose “I Know What I Know” by Paul Simon as the music.

Also, I do not have a Mac. I have a PC…with Windows Movie Maker? I think that is what I used.  It was hard to use, and I don’t even know how that “The End” got on there. Whatever.

So basically, my cinematic experience was a failure, and I share it with you because...well..I don’t know.  Catharsis? 

I'm just doing my part to add one more cat video to the internet. What are you doing?

Metaphysical Crafting: Infinity Scarves

This is a long post, but by the end we will have made THIS:

I said "put your arm there, on the bridge". Class A photographer. available for weddings. jk.

I remember the first time I really considered the concept of infinity.  It was in middle school math class. The teacher was talking about the coordinate plane:

The CARTESIAN coordinate plane.

Each axis, she said, technically extends forever and ever, way off the paper.  There is even a third axis, y, which makes the whole thing 3-D and heads straight towards your face.

Cut to me, trying to imagine 3-D rhombuses and whatnot (rhombi?) all semester.

I sat there in class and starting thinking about those lines, and how they went on and on forever in every direction, and I was just seeing a little tiny part on my paper.  In my head, the lines were red like lasers, and the other space was dark, and the lines just ran by faster and faster as I looked at them. It was like Tron (I’ve never seen Tron). Correction: It was how I imagine Tron based solely on the fact it is a movie called Tron starring Jeff Bridges. It was sort of mind boggling to realize I couldn’t possibly imagine it. Infinity, I mean, not Jeff Bridges.  I’ve got a fairly…active…imagination, and I couldn’t imagine the end of those lines, because they didn’t end. (So, maybe in a sense I could imagine them, because there were no ends to imagine?)

Anyway, all that is neither here nor there, because this post is about a scarf, which is a very concrete, tangible thing.  You’ve heard of infinity scarves, I suppose? I guess they are called that because they are made like a circle, they have no end, so you just wrap it up around your neck a few times and hope it doesn’t get caught on something and choke you (depressing, yes, but please always consider scarf safety, my friends).  If I had been taxed with the task of this taxonomy, I would have called it a circle scarf, because I think Infinity is a bit too grand of a concept to associate with mere scarves. (PS- the first phrase of this sentence is my best alliterative work ever)

A while back I bought this cool knit fabric (gray, with trees and flowers) that I intended to use to make a b-day pres (that’s the hip slang for birthday present, of course) for my friend.  However, summer internships and a 4-week long separation from my sewing machine (we’re back together now, everything’s fine) resulted in a less homemade, but equally well-meant gift.

I was cleaning out my craft closet last weekend, which is really just the lower-left quadrant of my regular closet, and Jessica was sitting on my sofa watching Northanger Abbey because I like people to talk to me while I’m doing stuff like that.  I pulled out the aforementioned fabric and she said something like “Oh wow, I love that fabric, what is that for?” to which I replied, “Um, well, I got it for your birthday present…but then I gave you that fish mug instead (in my defense, it is a really righteous fish mug)…but I’m still going to make you something out of it (because she can wear something with this pattern, and I don’t think I can. It’s hard to explain, but it is similar to why I cannot wear graphic tees).”

The fabric

I decided to make her an infinity scarf, right then, right there. No more tarrying. This is my first infinity scarf.  I’m not sure if this is the established, evidence-based method prescribed by the American Association of Infinity Scarf Makers, but it worked pretty well for me, and gave my mind a little conceptual exercise.

First I cut this piece of fabric (of unknown length, perhaps 1.5 yards) in half longwise. Then I sewed the two lengths together, right sides together.  Next, I folded the now very long piece in half, right sides together, and sewed the edge, making a very long inside-out sleeve.  I turned the whole thing right-side out and matched up the two end seams right sides together, and sewed them until I couldn’t any more because the rest of the fabric was all bunched up inside it, at which point I right-side outed the whole thing again and stitched up that last little hole just like you would when you make a pillow. In this way, you only get the right side of the fabric showing.  I will perfect this method and provide you with a more coherent, perhaps illustrated, version of these instructions later.

The whole process took maybe half an hour, including the time it took me to rip out a seam and do it again because I sewed a right side to a wrong side once. Scarves are probably going to be my craft jam for a while, because I saw an adorable Nine West ruffle scarf at a consignment shop the other day (I was going to buy it, but my inner American Colonist was going “Mmm-hmm. NINE dollars? For a scarf somebody already WORE? Get thyself over to the General Store and make thine own scarf that is NEW.”  Apparently my inner American Colonist is also an English Separatist).

Well goodness. If you made it to the end of this post, I’ll probably have to buy you some frozen yogurt sometime, because that kind of time commitment shows some real dedication. If you are an internet stranger, though, it will probably have to be imaginary fro yo, because I’ve seen Dateline and Law and Order. You don’t just go meeting internet strangers all willy-nilly in frozen yogurt shops.

ABC, it's easy as 1,2,3!

Jessica, searching for her lost tomorrows. Whatever that means.

 Special thanks to JT, who kindly allows her likeness to be posted on my blog.

Court's Favorites of the Week!

Favorite Thing of the Week:
My new kindle.  It's so great.  I've already got 56 classics on there. FOR FREE. because that's how it works!  I've actually purchased one book with cash-money (or rather, credit card (my Costa Rican Friends would say "tarjeta de credito") since it is ever-so-conveniently linked to my amazon account) which was BOSSYPANTS by Tina Fey.  It was hilarious, although the language, at times, was a bit rough to my delicate ears. Or eyes, as it were.  The only possible downside to my kindle is that you cannot read it while taking a bubble bath, for fear it will fall into the warm soapy water and be ruined forever.  So....I'm keeping a few paperbacks around.  Actually, I plan to still purchase physical books....but just the really special ones. Or 50 cent ones from the Thrift Store. (I found Ragtime a few weeks ago, imagine that) The kindle is also good for reading free-Inspirational-Romance-Novels-Set-In-Pioneer-Times, which is A) A good thing to take your mind off more serious matters, B) A bit dangerous to my expectations of men ("What do you mean you don't know how to lasso a cow? Lucas in Sixteen Brides could do that with a broken leg")  and C) Hilarious and honestly, satisfying. (because you just KNOW how it's going to end.  Double, possibly triple wedding. DONE) Who created this genre? Is this genre sanctioned by any particular religious body?  Just curious.

Favorite Song(s) of the Week:

Pumped Up Kicks- Foster The People (I've heard this song may be about  some kid going crazy, but I'm going to choose to appreciate the music for now)

I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You- Black Kids-

Favorite Adorable Thing of the Week:
Okay, I talk about ruffles and stuff too much, but Disney is too cute, and this story book she made for her daughter makes me either want to A) Be 5 years old again or B) Have a family immediately.
Both seem unlikely, so I'll content myself with sharing her adorable work with you:
http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2011/08/mommy-and-paige-story-for-my-punkin.html

Favorite Thing of this Week that is Happening Next Week: OKGO is doing the Muppets Theme song.  I'm on board with that!

Adventures in Pottery

Hoping to expand my crafting horizons and pass a Friday night in an enjoyable fashion I recently took a trial pottery class (“on the wheel”, I think they call it) with my friend Olivia. It was, I must tell you, quite harder than I expected, but very pleasant.  The very kind and patient teachers instructed us in the proper methods, then set us free to do as we wished.  I made one bowl and felt quite proud of myself.  Aiming for both great quantity and quality to come out of my 20 dollar fee and 2 hour time limit, I quickly began my next piece. I thought to myself “This time I will make a taller bowl.” Despite my best efforts, I had produced a bowl of remarkable similarity to my first piece. In fact, if I had been trying to make a matching bowl, I do not think I could have done better.  The instructor came to assist me in removing the twin bowl from my wheel, and said “All right, you’ve got bowls down, Now this time make a cup.”  

“Yes!” I thought to myself.  I will make a cup! This will be very different. No chance of  a repeat performance here.” I bit my lower lip in concentration and centered my clay on the wheel, mentally repeating the 5 steps I’d been taught so as not to forget the proper methods. I centered, I made the little hole with my thumb, I pulled it out, I collared it, I pinched and pulled it up, all while my wheel spun along happily.  I tried, and tried, and tried.  “Up!” I thought. “You must get taller! You are a cup, Sir!” I silently ordered my clay. The base too wide, the sides too long; this was no cup.  

Yes, I had made another bowl, although it was ever so slightly taller than its older siblings.

Time was up, and I sat down at the table to decorate my pieces.  Being unskilled in this particular art, I bear myself no ill will for my slip color choices, although, were I to do this again, I’d leave off the white.  We left our treasured pieces with the instructor, who promised us a call when they were ready.

A week or so later we set out to collect our self-made treasures, unsure what we might find.  We were each presented with a big paper bag, our pieces carefully wrapped inside.  We coolly accepted our parcels and walked out of the studio, our pace quickening as we headed to the car. 

“I can’t wait to see it!” I admitted “Let’s look at it before we start driving” I said.

“Um, OF COURSE” Olivia returned.

We sat there, baking in the warm summer oven my car turns into during August as we carefully removed our bounty from its elegant protection of Banner-Herald castoffs.

Olivia, you see, had actually succeeded in making 3 things which could be distinguished from one another; a bowl, a taller, more narrow bowl, and a rather charming little vase which she accomplished by abandoning the proscribed methods and following her own little potter’s heart.  I wish I had pictures to show you, her things were very cool looking.

Now, I do not intend to imply I was in anyway dissatisfied with my own efforts.  I admit I was quite enthralled with following the methods I was taught, and even in that short 2 hours imagined myself becoming some sort of master potter respected far and wide.  My three little bowls came out well for a first attempt, and I shall let you see them for yourself presently.

The moral of this story, I suppose, is three-pronged, like a grounded electrical plug:

1. It is fun to try something new, especially with a good friend.
2. Pottery is not particularly easy, and in fact requires a fair amount of upper body strength, a steady hand, and a good measure of patience.
3. It may take longer than 2 hours to master this craft.

I really enjoyed it, and should my schedule ever allow it, will probably take the beginner’s class. 

Salvage a Selvage

Make a pretty chiffon flower with your fabric scraps to decorate a headband, hairclip, cardigan, or blouse!

Top: Salvaged selvage flower. Bottom: Regular scrap flower.

sal·vage

  [sal-vij]  noun, verb, -vaged, -vag·ing.

–noun

1.

the act of saving  a ship or its cargo from perils of the seas.

2.

the property so saved.

3.

compensation given to those who voluntarily save  a ship orits cargo.

sel·vage

  [sel-vij]  

–noun

1.

the edge of woven fabric finished so as to prevent raveling,often in a narrow tape effect, different from the body of thefabric.

2.

any similar strip or part of surplus material, as at the side of wallpaper.

3.

Also called margin. Philately . the surplus paper or marginaround a sheet of stamps: The number of the plate blockappears in the selvage.

I’m talking about definitions 2 and 1, respectively.

Cut off selvage (about 1.5 inches wide, ¾ yd or so).  Stitch along the edge. Gather. Sew in place. Done! (The second flower is made in a similar fashion from a long sort of weirdly triangular scrap.)

A less beautiful, but more instructive view.

A Patriotic Place Setting

I haven't posted much lately.  I've been on vacation. I tend to blog as a fun, sort of stress relieving activity.  On vacation there is little stress to be relieved, therefore I have neglected my blog.

Today is Independence Day, and I'm very glad to be an American.  Don't tax me without representation. Don't tread on me.  

A table always looks nicer when it is set. So, without further ado, please check out my subtle Salute to America in the form of....ceramic, silver, crystal, and linen.

Min-tea. Mint Tea. Minty Tea?

Hello Summer.  Yes, it is quite hot outside.  What's that? Iced Tea? Oh yes please.  Now let me just add a sprig of mint from the garden and I'll meet you out by the pool.

A Healthy Dose of Deception: White Bean Blondies

A Healthy Dose of Deception: White Bean Blondies

I like spy/detective comedies like Get Smart ( w/ Don Adams) and The Pink Panther (w/ Peter Sellers). I like preposterous CIA shows like White Collar and Covert Affairs. I like hilarious detective shows like Psych and Monk. I like getting-it-done-our-way-who-cares-about-the-law-we-are-the-law-and-we-are-also-like-a-family shows like NCIS. Basically, I like (fictional) lies, deception, and secrets!  To satisfy my taste for intrigue and scandal, I’ve hidden a scandalously healthy vegetable….in plain sight (I do NOT like the show In Plain Sight, actually) Better yet, in a place where you would hardly expect it! In….(dramatic pause) A DESSERT!

I’ve tried recipes for black bean brownies before (1 can beans, pureed + 1 box brownie mix= a pretty tasty fudgy brownie….by the way that’s a recipe I learned from a friend’s mom) so I thought it was high time to address a high protein, high fiber, low fat solution to the brownie’s paler cousin, the blondie.  Don’t be afraid. You really can’t taste the beans unless you’re looking for them.  I’m still fiddling around with this recipe, but they were a hit with my family- gone in 2 days! (I thought they were much better warm and on the first day)  I know some of you will think this is disgusting, but if I gave it to you without telling you what was in it….you might just like it! (But of course, I wouldn’t do that to you. So, without further ado, here’s the recipe.  Try it out yourself!  It’s also good with butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips added!

1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup skim milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup All-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped.

 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 8X8 pan with cooking spray. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and soda; set aside.  Puree the beans in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Mix with brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients, mix. Stir in chopped nuts. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Surprise!!!

Also, here's a shout-out to my readers from Slovenia, where, according to the blogger stats, there are quite a few folks reading my nonsense.  I'm not sure how that happened, but you're very welcome here, and perhaps you can send me some Slovenian recipes....

Court's Favorites of the Week!

I really like this no-sew fabric flower tutorial from Disney at Ruffles and Stuff.  I'll be trying this very soon!

Check it Out HERE!

I've made curried chicken salad before, but this recipe caught my eye because of the fruit.  It's also on the list.

Check it Out HERE!

I really like this song...by Hanson. Hanson! You know, the boy-band that was so popular back in elementary school?  Well, they're still making music....and it's pretty great!  This video is sort of adorable.

My friend Jess showed me this Sugarland video the other day, and I have to say, it makes kidnapping look hilarious.  Also the song is pretty cute.

I continue to be impressed by A) Melinda Sullivan's tap dancing and B) Sara Bareilles' voice in this video.

And finally, to close things out, I'm a tremendous fan of the newest Hellogoodbye album.  So, here's one of my favs off of it, "Getting Old." Just listen to it, it's not a video.

And those are my favorites for the week.

Georgia: Just a scone's throw away from the UK, right?

As any true admirer of Jane Austen, I often find myself sipping a cup of tea while reading a favorite novel. In fact, I’ve quite the teapot collection, but that is another story for another time.  Now, as a southern girl my first recollection of tea is of course of sweet iced tea and I must admit that on a true Georgia summer day you’d be hard pressed to find something more delicious. 

That said, hot tea is almost equally delightful and certainly deserving of the appropriate baked good to accompany it.  In an effort to complement my tea with a worthy companion I recently tried my hand at making scones with a recipe I found in Southern Living.   I used white whole wheat flour rather than white all-purpose flour, however.  The scones still turned out quite delicious, I think.  I had every intention of adding walnuts to them but after painstakingly chopping all the nuts I completely forgot to add them.  To make up for this negligence I melted a bit of chocolate to add to their tops so that my dear little scones might not look so unclothed. Next time, I plan on adding dried cranberries and using skim milk, just to see how it works with a bit less fat. Recipe after the picture!

This china belonged to my great-grandmother!

Scones (Southern Living’s “Best Ever Scones”)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup whipping cream, divided

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cream, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

2. Turn dough out onto wax paper; gently press or pat dough into a 7-inch round (mixture will be crumbly). Cut round into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops of wedges with remaining 2 Tbsp. cream just until moistened.

3. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden.


YUM!

It’s a Jolly Holiday with Amelia

**This post got deleted for some terrible internet reason, so I reposted it***

When I was a freshman, I met this girl named Amelia at the dining hall through some mutual friends and then sort of never saw her again.  Until this year (hereafter referred to as “the year of Amelia”) when we hung out bunches, mainly because:

1. I did ISM, and she was an ISM intern
2. I went on a mission trip to Costa Rica…which she led. Or rather, co-led..
3. She is awesome

Anyway, I’m kind of sad that we didn’t hang out since freshman year, but at least we had this year (she told me we’re “legit” friends now; I told her before we were “sort-of-acquaintances”).  Amelia is wonderful, so when she told me she wanted to come over and do crafts with me, I was pretty excited.  Our original plan was to make these adorable animal-puppet washcloth things, but at the last minute I realized I have really let my embroidery skills slide and didn’t have time to learn the chain and satin stitches required for said project. So then we went with making a teddy bear. We made a bear for Amelia and a bird for me.  They look……well….unique.  The bear’s ears are on the side of his head, I’m not even sure how that happened. His weird arm is totally my fault; I was the one doing the sewing machine. My favorite part was when Amelia said “If I tie this ribbon tight around his neck, it gives his head a better shape.”  Poor little bear. I forgot to put a weight in the bottom of my bird so it doesn’t sit up without assistance.  So, while our crafts may have gone awry, it was a morning well spent with a great friend….who is about to pack up and move hundreds and hundreds of miles away.  Amelia and Michael, I’ll miss y’all!

Tea Party. Because my bird can't sit up on her own.

Amelia's bear, named "Courtney Jessica Harrell"

My bird, Named "Amelia Michael Harrell"