cook: fajitas

I was going to go to a Harvest Festival Arts and Crafts show in my home city, but changed my mind because 1) there was an admission charge--and on principle I have a problem with paying to then pay more; 2)Meral said she went once and it was just meh including the earrings she bought (at least at the Renegade or the Etsy craft fairs, you're buying handmade and mostly one-of-a-kind items); and 3)I really needed to finish my popup shop banner.

And so my indulgence this past weekend was the wasabi poke I got at Costco. I've found if I always have jasmine rice, scallions, cilantro, avocado, jalapenos, miso dressing, sriracha mayo, and soy sauce on hand, I can always construct a poke bowl when I make a run to Nijiya or Suruki supermarkets to satisfy that fresh fish craving. I spent the day stitching down raw applique and still am not done! My goal is to come home after work and finish the stitching before I attempt to paint the canvas with even more text. 

Before I knew it, it was time to make dinner. Before walking Sadie, I remembered to thaw flap steak and to take out the vegetables I would need in my refrigerator bin. Safeway had a special on precut vegetables of 3 for $10, and I felt like resorting to convenience cooking. I bought the washed, trimmed and pre-sliced packages of red, yellow, green bell peppers; broccolini; and brussels sprouts. Patrick thinks I'm notorious for letting foods go bad before I use them, but with groceries being so expensive these days, I'm mindful to now not let that happen. I sliced a white onion and sautéed it with the peppers with just olive oil, salt and pepper.

When I returned from the dog park, the meat was still pretty frozen. Microwave to the rescue while I prepared a marinade: a teaspoon and a half of cumin, two teaspoons of mild smoked paprika, a half teaspoon of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, a teaspoon of Mexican chili powder, citrus juices from a tangerine, half a lemon, half a lime, a teaspoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of Worcestershire, a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, and 1/4 cup of olive oil into the freezer bag of the thawed meat. The flap steak marinated for an hour in the fridge and then an hour on my kitchen counter to come to room temperature before I grilled it.

I grilled it 6 minutes, give or take on each side. I also made guacamole, chopped cilantro, sliced lime wedges in addition to taking out salsa and sour cream to go into the fajitas.

And then you place and spoon all those ingredients into a flour tortilla and shake a couple drops of Cholula hot sauce (because I went easy on the chipotle in my marinade) before rolling it up and eating.

Even though we just had chicken and cheese enchiladas the previous night, the flavor profile was different enough to eat Latino again last night. Also the leftover pepper and onions will go on our Italian sausage in brioche buns for dinner tonight. I'll also cook yellow rice and black beans to eat with the leftover flap steak. Waste not, want not, deliciously.

craft: diy modern mini

I’m part of a Facebook group called Buy Nothing, and I received my first item: a dollhouse kit. I picked them up yesterday. I wasn’t sure what the kit would entail. To my pleasant surprise, the gifter gave me two of these. It's basic or just a shell, which is A-okay with me as I've never constructed a dollhouse though I tried years and years ago and ended up dumping all that ply and balsa wood.

When I looked at the back of the box, I noticed that the 7-piece kit is just one module of a line called DIY Modern Mini. I wondered where I could get the other two modules by which to have other rooms and a patio like that depicted on the back of the LOFT box.

DIY Modern Mini is part of a dollhouse line sold at Michael's which has since been discontinued. I had almost succumbed to getting these modules of NOOK/COIN and BUNGALOW on EBAY, but I dialed my enthusiasm down thankfully because then it would've turned into an obsession of finding and acquiring furnishings too. Umm, no.

They are cute however even if the scale is not 1:12. And so maybe I can just go with the loft and decrease the scale and figure out a way to add a platform to make a second floor for a bedroom and bathroom, decorate the downstairs to be open concept of living room, kitchen, and dining room, and thus be a model of a tiny (literally) home. And surely I can cobble furnishings and decorations from cardboard, foam core and fabric? There's a YouTube for constructing just about anything.

clay: slump molds

Last week’s ceramics club was super fun, for it had turned into coffee and clay. I added “and snack” as I was starving and wanting a veggie delite from Subway which then turned into a run for even more vegetarian sandwiches for other hungry potters.    

I mixed and poured three big bowls of plaster into forms and burned out from mixing and pouring so much before I could make myself a damp box. But we've got hump molds! I can start to make bowls to go with my plates. And I’m starting to survey what I’ll be selling at my popup next month.             

I may hold on to these Frida Kahlo mugs until I've completed another two for a set.

And I had thought I would've made many more salt crocks and bud vases. But I'm no production potter, and that's more than okay.

 

Yesterday I thought I was going to work out in a dance fitness class and swim laps, but Zan said hey let's do clay club since school will be closed this Thursday. Ironically, I was the only one in the studio that afternoon as everyone else was too busy or too tired. Which was all good. I've thrown away two of these Obsidian clay plates:( because of cracks, and so I need to not score so deep or use another tool to mark the back along with my signature. I'm determined to make a dinner set of 4 plates, and so I rolled yet another slab plate and filled in the one surviving bisque plate and a bisque spoon with white underglaze. I do love the detail. I will remain undeterred by my mistakes and will course correct.

While problem-solving, Zan brought out another tool bin and started playing with them on the rest of the dark clay slab of my plate, on which I wholly intended to pinch more spoons. I kept her clay play and wrapped them in plastic and will shape them today during my lunch break. The handles need to have a slimmer profile.

And as planned, I ate my Burmese prepared dinner, which I warmed first in my new nonstick pan. They're kind of a pain in the ass to have and use because you have to use an oil with a high smoking point instead of olive oil or butter or cooking spray which will burn or leave a residue in the pan that's difficult to remove. I can't even use the green scrunchy side of my kitchen sponge to remove those residues and have to instead boil water and then let the pan cool to room temperature. Patrick asked me what I planned to cook in these three Green pans instead of in our cast irons. Eggs, of course. My Korean kimchi fried rice. Quesadillas and tacos. More vegan and vegetarian dishes like the curries, rice, and noodle meals I'm eating from Thistle.

Freakin' delicious. I love how all the flavors of India, China, and Thailand meld together in a nation's cuisine. And because I didn't work out Monday or Tuesday and because I have Thursday off from work this week, I'm going all out on the dance fitness and swimming.

Funny but I find the small pool too hot almost to the point of heat exhaustion for lap swimming and love the cooler temp in the larger, Olympic sized pool, which I use when there isn't a lane available in the instructional pool. However, I'm treating my body physically like it's a novice and swim only 20 laps during a workout. I suppose in a month or so, I'll get bored or strong enough to want to swim more laps in water that's 5 degrees cooler.

cook: tuscan soup

I can tolerate rainy and chilly weather if I get to wear a cashmere sweater and cook soup. Last night was such an evening in Northern California, and so I made soup. I suppose the Italian sausage and cannellini beans and lacinato kale make this soup northern Italian.                     

Like any delicious soup, I started chopping aromatics of a yellow onion and garlic. I also chopped vegetables of carrots and celery as well as fresh herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme to sauté in butter and olive oil.                   

And then I added 4 Italian sausages, both mild and hot to brown. And then homemade chicken bone broth and a little beef base because I saw it in the fridge which then got me to wondering if I still had chicken base—I did and so that went in the pot along with soaked and boiled Northern white beans (about a cup of dried which expanded to what you’d get in a large can) along with its boiling water to which I had added a teaspoon of salt. That was the only salt I added because I figured the sausage and soup bases had plenty sodium. 

And then it was just a matter of boiling to soften the beans even more and hopefully break down in order to thicken the soup. I added the kale last and let the soup boil even longer to tenderize those thick stems. If I could have, I would’ve had this pot simmering more slowly for another hour rather than furiously boiling just one hour before dinner.              

I managed to clean my freezer of the rest of package of frozen bread sticks. Soup for dinner, not the hubs' favorite, but I've a feeling the soup will be even more delicious when the flavors have melded more overnight or longer. There was enough leftover to fill two big and one small mason jars, and of course, I'm giving a big batch to Cecilia.    

And so there was no time for crafting while cooking my soup because after work I had stopped at Hobby Lobby to buy transfer markers and fabric paint and at World Market to buy some red curry paste. My Gado Gado at lunch was so delicious, and it was because of the dressing. And so I aim to make an Indonesian salad at home by making that savory satay sauce, hence the red curry paste. I spied some cute Christmas décor at the store and couldn't resist buying these twelve glass acorn ornaments--they're almost as pretty as my one mercury glass acorn. 8 are already hanging on my tree until I get more twine (I use my glue gun to seal the knot) to hang the other 4. I can pluck them off the tree and use them as embellishment for any Christmas presents which I always wrap in kraft paper:)

Cook: Hot Dogs for Dinner

Well not really hot dogs, but bockwurst or a gourmet combination of veal and pork. Not our childhood Oscar Mayer or Ball Park franks.    

And we grownups like brioche buns. And not just ketchup on our dogs.  

Though I’ll still resort to canned baked beans to accompany our hot dogs.              

Hot dogs. It’s what’s for dinner.             

And I never drank wine with dinner as a kid. Oh! And my salad lunch and vegan dinner arrived from Thistle.               

I’m glad I remembered to look outside my front door after dinner and before going to bed.

I’m so not hungry right now, but my palate is excited for lunch today.

And the day after tomorrow after dance fitness class and swimming, I’m looking forward to this Burmese meal. Tonight however I’m going to cook a Tuscan white bean (which are soaking now) and sausage (I bought both mild and hot Italian)and kale (gotta love the convenience of washed and chopped greens that include turnip tops and collards) soup. Luckily I’ve still got homemade bone broth and celery in the fridge and remembered to get carrots and onion in my grocery cart.

Clay Cloth: Amoeba Vase + Popup Shop Banner

The chilly and damp weather was not conducive on Saturday for hand building. By the time I wedged and slabbed and wedged again the clay, studio time was up and I made nothing. All I could do in those two and a half hours was glaze two of my sea mugs. I did take home my amoeba vase though.                                     

I applied the glaze very thickly and it was wet when I put it on the glazing shelf that you can see the white spot where Meral picked up the vase to place inside the kiln. Errrg.                           

I do love the interior of the vase though. On Sunday I drove to Fort Mason to window shop the Renegade Craft Fair. As I was creeping along in the hunt for a parking space, I saw the sea of shoppers as well as the line to get into the pavilion and promptly returned home to instead enjoy the glorious sunny weather with my dog. I also worked on my banner for popup sales of my ceramics and quilts.                                      

I pulled out my stash of colors of Kona cottons that I consider somber and neutral or not primary. I had printed the letters in my favorite font called Century Gothic and traced them in reverse on fusible web to cut and adhere for raw appliqué.                      

The labor of this banner was the careful spacing and placement of the letters on the banner before ironing them a bit more permanently. I'll stitch the raw edges down tomorrow. I pondered whether to put my full name in between the shop name and its “brand identity." I appreciated thinking about the aesthetic I’m aiming for in any future output of ceramics and textiles. Next I’m going to work on an artist or craftsman statement and use it to create new business cards and marketing materials. I had blown up my signature quilt label to add somewhere in between my shop name and description of my ceramics and quilts. However, my neighbor, Helen suggested that I include my Etsy shop name (uhh I don’t really have one, or rather it’s very raw and spare in inventory) or a marketplace handle of some sort. I wonder if this name of clay and cloth is already taken in Etsy or if it’s a domain I can create and claim. But Helen is right, I should have some additional info on my banner for customers to take a pic and find me on the web. And so I finally adhered the raw appliqué letters at the top of the banner and will probably create fabric T-shirt decals or use fabric paint to include future shop information. Instagram handle? Or just my email? I dunno.                               

To be determined:)                        

Cook: Shepherd’s Pie

The weather hasn’t been too dreary, but yesterday at work I was mostly cold. Shepherd’s pie is one of those dishes I can pretty much cook from memory, but just to be sure I glanced at the recipes for it in Martha Stewart’s website and Epicurious. Yep, that’s right: a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, but no recipe called for celery or brandy or Old Bay or even a bay leaf, so those were my additions.                              

But yeah when you don’t feel like a Greek adventure with ground lamb, Shepherd’s pie is a reliably delicious go-to.          

And since we can no longer harvest flowers from our garden, nor potatoes—I bought both at the store.                   

And these smaller bouquets are why I make bud vases.