Olivia's Quiet Book

My friend Melanie is home schooling her son, who will start kindergarten this year, just like Abby. Melanie also has Olivia, who is 2. Melanie has been looking for things for Olivia to do while she and Mitchell are doing school. Melanie had seen my old Quiet Book (which Abby plays with) and wanted one for Olivia, so I made one for Olivia's 2nd birthday. All of the words are hand embroidered and I did most of that while watching "Law and Order" re-runs in the afternoon.*

I decided to photograph all the pages before I bound the book--I thought that would be easier. There's two pictures of some of the pages, so you can see the "activity"

Imagine that there's a drum roll, as I'm really proud of myself.

OLIVIA'S QUIET BOOK

I have all the pages sewn together** and am working on the cover now. I think that I'll have it done tonight, or at least by tomorrow. I'll post pictures of the cover when it's 100% complete.

I'm planning to offer this as a custom item at my Esty shop and then make one with fewer pages and without any personalization that will also be available. I think that my favorite thing about making these was getting to use all the scraps that I've been collecting.

Abby has invented a new game using the pieces from Cranium Carboo, the people from her doll house and a jump rope, so I need to go and see what that's all about. Perhaps Abby will get an Etsy store too.

*Not relevant, but something fun to know

**Which was a challenge and I really wish that I knew how to use a thimble.

My Fancy Yogurt Maker

My sister called over the weekend to ask me about my yogurt maker. Her birthday is coming up and she said that she wanted a yogurt maker for her birthday, but all the ones that she's found are too expensive, so she was wondering where I got mine.

My yogurt maker consists of the following: two pots put together to make a double-boiler, a candy thermometer, a whisk, a sink full of ice water, an electric blanket and a bath towel.

I made yogurt on Tuesday and here's some pictures of the process so you can see my fancy yogurt maker at work*.

I am heating the milk up to 185 using my two pot double boiler method, with the candy thermometer to check the temperature and the whisk to make sure that there aren't any hot spots.

Now the pot with the milk is in the sink to cool to 110 degrees, so the yogurt cultures can grow.

This is the key to the yogurt-making--the pot is wrapped up in an electric blanket to hold the temperature at 110 degrees. When I read about making yogurt at http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/ they recommended sitting your pot on a hot plate. I don't have a hot plate, so I decided to try out my first batch with the electric blanket and see if we liked home made yogurt. My intention was to get a hot plate, however the electric blanket works so well that I'll just use this now. My parents, in particular, get a big kick out of the fact that I use a blanket to make yogurt.

And finally, everything gets covered with a towel to hold in the heat for the 7-9 hour process of the cultures growing.

Making yogurt is like having a science experiment in the kitchen and I always enjoyed my science fair projects. My sister is now trying to think up a way to use the heat of Phoenix to make her yogurt, so maybe I'll have pictures of her fancy yogurt maker sometime soon.

*In addition to not having a fancy yogurt maker, I don't have a fancy kitchen. Someday, perhaps...

What's for Dinner?

Making a menu was hard this week. I don't know if it's because it's summer or if I'm just in a funk, but I don't feel like cooking and it was hard to come up with stuff to make. So...

I went looking through my recipe printouts from stuff that I've found on-line in the past. There are two recipes this week from "30 Minute Meals." Let me say, right off the bat, that Rachael Ray annoys the heck out of me. I hate that she can't just say "olive oil" and that she has all the cutesy expressions for everything. However, Rachael Ray used to be on at 6:00 pm in our time zone and when Abby was a baby that was a VERY bad time of day for her. We were careful with what kind of TV shows we watched with Abby around even when Abby was a baby and the Food Network was a "safe channel". Abby really liked Rachel Ray and I enjoyed sitting in a chair with a baby who wasn't crying while I waited for Nick to come home. When Abby learned to talk, she called Rachael Ray "30 Minute Meals" (or a baby talk approximation of that--I can't remember exactly how she pronounced it.) As much as I disliked Rachael Ray's personality, I had to admit that she made some good food. So, that's the story behind those recipes.

Sunday
Make your own Tacos*
Watermelon

Monday
Frozen pizza**
Jell-O Jigglers with Strawberries

Tuesday
Italian Mini Meatloaves with Macaroni and Cheese (this is one of the "30 Minute Meal Recipes that you can find here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/italian-mini-meat-loaves-with-mac-and-three-cheeses-recipe/index.html
Green Salad

Wednesday
Wild Mushroom Quesadillas with Warm Black Bean Salsa (I'm getting them out of the way together. Here's the recipe for this one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/wild-mushroom-quesadillas-with-warm-black-bean-salsa-recipe/index.html)
Green Salad
Watermelon

Thursday
Hoisin China Noodles with Four Flavors (from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper--this is my only night of real cooking this week)
Stir Fried Bok Choy

Friday
Breakfast for Dinner
Fruit Salad

Saturday
I have no idea--hopefully an idea will come to me and I'll have everything that I need in the cupboards. Or hopefully we'll have some left overs.

*This was really fun, as I got hard taco shells and Abby called them "Taco Buns." She also pretended that she had her own cooking show and narrated for us while she made her taco. Perhaps she was remembering back to those long ago days of watching "30 Minute Meals."
**Nick had a board meeting and with my lack of desire to cook, I wasn't going to cook for just Abby and me.

Lunchbox Ideas

Abby starts kindergarten soon (August 24th), so she'll start taking her lunch ever day. She doesn't like sandwiches, so I've been trying to think of some "sandwich alternative" ideas. We have some insulated containers, so she can take potsickers and rice, or scrambled eggs and bacon, but we need some other options.

Right now* I'm trying out two things. I have dough rising to make Portuguese Corn Bread**. My "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" has a recipe to use the corn bread dough to make spicy pork buns. I read through that recipe and it doesn't seem like something that Abby would like, however I'm thinking that I can use the technique to make buns that are filled with ham and cheese and maybe tomatoes or some kind of vegetable. I think that Abby would eat that and it would be a sandwich alternative.

I'm also trying to make-over my banana bread recipe. My recipe is the one that my mom always made and it comes from my aunt's neighbor. It has a lot of sugar in it, so I've tried it with an extra smashed banana and almost no sugar. I added a little bit extra flour to take the place of the bulk of the sugar. The batter tasted right,*** so will hope that the bread comes out okay. I have no idea if I need to adjust the baking time because I took the sugar out. The reason for the banana break make-over is that Abby likes banana bread and cream cheese sandwiches, and that will be a viable lunch option as long as the banana bread isn't like cake.

Finally I'm making Jell-O Jigglers with strawberries. I feel like Abby (and me) doesn't eat enough fruit and vegetables, so I thought that the jigglers would be fun to make. I have tiny flower cookie cutters that I want to use to cut them out, once the Jell-O has set.

I talked to my sister yesterday and I think that she is a homemade yogurt convert. She lives in Phoenix and is trying to figure out a way to keep her milk at 110 degrees using solar power/the heat of Phoenix. If you want to try making your own yogurt, I recommend the directions at http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/.

Happy cooking!!!

*Literally, right now
**I don't know what makes it Portuguese--I haven't made corn bread from scratch before
***Yes, I taste things with raw eggs in them while cooking because I like to live on the edge.

I wish that you could smell my kitchen

I am making four loaves Brioche Filled with Chocolate Ganache today for the cake stand at our church's Parish Festival. I think that this is the best that my kitchen has ever smelled. The brioche is like a giant chocolate filled croissant. There's ganache rolled up in the bread dough, caramelized sugar on top and then more ganache--how can that not be tasty.

I'm still working on Olivia's Quiet Book. It's going pretty quickly, but now I have probably jinxed myself. I'll post more pictures of it soon, as I'm really happy with how everything is turning out.

I also got the pattern yesterday for the apron that I'm making my best friend for her birthday--that will be the next project once the Quiet Book has been completed.

I'm going to go and smell my kitchen some more.

My Quiet Book

I had a beloved Quiet Book as a little girl. It was a gift from my grandma, handmade by some hospital axillary ladies and sold as a fund raiser. I have no idea how many trips to church this book has made, since Abby has now adopted it as her own. I loved everything about my quiet book--especially when my mom remembered to put a piece of gum in the "Surprise" pocket at the end of the book.

Since I started sewing again, I have wanted to make my own Quiet Book. I'm updating some of the activities (and eliminating the racism*). I'm making my first book as a present Abby's friend Olivia, who will turn 2 soon. Here are the first four pages of Olivia's book. The letters on the "Write your name" page Velcro off, so Olivia can practice spelling her name. Olivia's book is going much faster than I anticipated. I'm not sure if I'm going to put these on Etsy--it will depend on the total time that they take (and also how much Olivia likes hers). In the mean time, I'm having fun re-creating one of my favorite toys. I'm hoping to hide this one from Abby, so she doesn't demand a new one. I quite like that she uses my own. Oh, if you look carefully in some of the pictures, you'll notice my trademark wonky style of hand sewing.

If anyone was wondering, I'm not posting a "What's for Dinner" this week. I do have a menu, however we have too many variables in our evenings this week and I've basically thrown the menu out the window and plan to recycle it for next week. Now you have something to look forward to.

*It's crazy--who would have thought that a Quiet Book from the '70s could be racist, yet mine is.

Tiny Totes with their New Owners

I was really pleased this morning to get an e-mail from my best friend that the personalized totes that I made for her kids had arrived.* I had LOTS of issues at the post office last week when trying to mail the package. The post code for Wales wasn't showing up in the computer and I was very worried that these weren't going to make it or that they were going to get there AFTER they had left for their trip. Ben said that this bag was the best thing that he has ever seen, which is saying a lot for an almost 6 year old boy. It is always really nice when something that you make is appreciated!

In other news, Yukon seems to be mending well and about 80% recovered. I think that he'll be sad when he has to go back to his usual food and isn't getting homemade boiled chicken and brown rice.

*If anyone is wondering about the picture, I used the "Cartoon" effect from my Kodak EasyShare Software to conceal the kid's identities a little bit. James is missing from the picture, as he didn't feel like posing this morning.

Little Sickie

Our dog has Pancreatitis*. This really doesn't have anything to do with anything, but here's a picture of our little sickie, who has been confined to the kitchen (which you will understand if your dog has ever had Pancreatitis). Abby made Yukon a sign with says "No Yukon**" to remind him that he can't leave the kitchen.


Today has been a long day. Using the steam carpet cleaner before 8:00 am is usually a good indicator that the day will be bad. I'm looking forward to Nick getting home in about an hour and then I can start cooking dinner, which is relaxing for me.


I'm also getting ready to start my next project, which is going to be a Quiet Book for one of my friend's daughters.


Hopefully all of you are having better days than me.

*Who knew dogs could get Pancreatitis--apparently it's very common.
**The sign has all the correct letters for Yukon's name, just not in the right order. She did know how to write "no" all by herself, which I find impressive as she hasn't started kindergarten.

What's for Dinner?

I spilled Diet Coke (it just splashed, so "spilled" is perhaps exaggerating) and it ruined the computer keyboard earlier tonight, so Nick went and got a new keyboard. It is one of those curved ergonomic ones and it's really hard to type on. I feel like I'm having to re-learn to type.

Anyway, I've been meaning to post this week's menu. This week isn't anything spectacular. I'm not in a fancy cooking mood and many things seem to be conspiring against me and have been delaying dinner. This week is more simple, but still has some family favorites.

Sunday
Salt & Pepper Pork Chops
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Garden Green Beans

Monday
Giant dinner salad with my home made dressing
Fresh baked baguette (that I made myself and was very proud of)

Tuesday
Hamburgers
Corn on the Cob
Sauteed Mushrooms
Tater Tots
(not my best night)

Wednesday
Seven Layer Taco Casserole (from The Frugal Chef http://thefrugalchef.com/2009/03/seven-layer-taco-casserole/)
Fruit Salad
If you've never looked at it, I'd check out The Frugal Chef website. She has a ton of recipes to look at and you can also sign up for a weekly email with a new recipe

Thursday
Leftover Seven Layer Taco Casserole
Fruit Salad or Green Salad

Friday
Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes and Gorgonzola Sauce (from Cooking Light, September 2008)
Green Salad

Saturday
Eggs Baked on a Bed of Sauteed Mushrooms and Croutons (from Weeknight Kitchen with Lynne Rossetto Kasper, March 5, 2008)

Much of my dinner issues this week has to do with this really nasty road construction near my house--it keeps making me late. Also I am feeling extra lazy this week. Hopefully next week I will feel more inspired.

Pressies

I finished up these personalized tote bags for my best friend's children and now they are all packed up and ready to go across the sea. After that, they will be driving to France. These bags will be well traveled soon!

I had a lot of fun making these--I'm not sure which is my favorite. I love the way the car turned out for James', but I also love Katie's flowers, Emily's butterfly and the soccer ball (which was so hard to draw) on Ben's.

These will be available as a custom order item in my Etsy shop: http://www.giupettos.etsy.com/. Come and visit me.

Now I'm off to the Post Office!

First (and probably last) Green Beans

This year I started my garden from seeds, planted in tiny newspaper pots (which I made myself). All the little seedlings lived on the dining room table, which gets the best light, from mid-March to mid-May. This was my first attempt at starting from seeds. I did something wrong, though. A lot of my seedlings died during the transplanting process, so I started new seeds outside in the containers. My green beans were my pride and joy, though, as they didn't die and it looked like we were going to get TONS of green beans. I had looked into canning vs. freezing and everything. I had been watching them to see when I should pick them, and I had decided that yesterday was the day. When I went outside though, I saw a tragedy. In about a 24 period some creature ate holes through almost all of the leaves. It ate a lot of the green beans and ate holes in the green beans that it didn't eat. These are the the sad, remaining green beans (which we ate anyway--and they were good). I looked for the creature, but it appears to have eating my green beans and moved on. I also looked for something on all my other plants, and thus far, everything looks okay. It was a sad day for green beans, though. This is why you shouldn't count your green beans before they are ripe--I think that I cursed them with looking into the canning/freezing options.


Moving on from the green beans.... I have been making these little bags for my best friend's 4 children. Three out of the four have their birthday's in August, so this year I decided that everyone gets their present at the same time. They are getting ready for vacation, so I'm making each child a little themed bag and am filling it up with art supplies and treats for the trip. (I used some of Abby's creatures for photography proposes.) They are driving to France.* (They live in Wales, so driving to France is an option and actually they are taking a ferry boat across the English Channel.) The trip should take them 13 hours, so new toys are always appreciated. I'm thinking about offering these little bags as a custom item in my Etsy store. I'll take pictures of all four of the bags together once I finish the last one.


*I love saying "my best friend is driving to France. I've been working it into as many conversations as possible.

I am the Birkenstock Contessa

Opa! I am the Birkenstock Contessa!!! One of my favorite things about having my blog is that I can take pictures of the food that I make.* Tonight's dinner was Spanakopita from the Barefoot Contessa's (Ina Garten) new cookbook "Back to Basics." I was so proud of how mine turned out that I had to take a picture with the cookbook. They were also REALLY tasty**. We had homemade Greek yogurt with fruit and honey, instead of a salad, but we kept with the whole Greek theme. If you like Spanakopita, give these a try.

Now back to making a soccer ball applique out of felt for my best friend's son's birthday present. Soccer balls*** are really hard to do out of felt, especially when you can't draw. Hopefully Ben's bag will be done soon and I'll post pictures.

*I don't think that my family truly appreciates pictures of what I made for dinner. Perhaps you don't appreciate it either, but I'm proud of myself.

**As they should be given the amount of butter and cheese that they contain.

***Or footballs, since he is in Wales

What's for Dinner?

I hope that everyone had a great Fourth Day of July!* Abby is spending this week with Nick's parents, so I'm just cooking for Nick and me this week. Here's this week's menu:

Monday
A feast of Trader Joe's frozen Indian Food and frozen Naan
I am feeling really lazy today, since we just got home last night. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, I would give the Indian Food a try.

Tuesday
Steak Frites with a Shallot Pan Reduction (from Cooking Light, September 2008)
Green Salad

Wednesday
Dinner Spanakopitas (from Back to Basics by Ina Garten)**
Greek Yogurt and Fruit

Thursday
Pan Bagna or THE BEST SANDWICH EVER (from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois)

Friday
Chicken Shawarma (from Cooking Light, July 2008)
Chopped Vegetable Salad
Greek Yogurt with Honey

Saturday
Honey Glazed Spiced Pork Chops with Chipolte Mashed Sweet Potatoes (adapted from The Most Decadent Diet Ever by Devin Alexander)
Green Salad

On anther note, the Pointy Kitties were a big hit with Baby Natalie and I did get a bag made to use as wrapping paper. I made that in the car on the way to our Fourth Day of July celebrations and discovered that although I can't read in the car because it makes me sick, I can embroider. Our family all lives far away, so this will make for better car trips for me.

I'm starting a project this week that will go in Giupetto's Etsy store and that I'm also going to be giving to my best friend's kids for their birthdays--more on that later.

*"Fourth Day of July" is Abby's way of saying it and I think that it sounds a lot more festive.
**Yes, I was supposed to make these last week, but they didn't happen because I got a migraine that night.

Happy Birthday from Pointy Kitty

I decided to make Pointy Kitty for Natalie's first birthday. When I finished the first Pointy Kitty, he looked lonely, so I made him a little friend.

I love these guys--they are one of my favorite things now. I was excited to finally find something good to make out of the polka dot fabric that I bought as a remnant in February. I did all the sewing by hand, which was fun to do again. It was nice to take a machine break. I am thinking about making the Pointy Kitties a ball to play with. I'm also going to "wrap" them in a little tote bag for Natalie to carry her "babies" in.

If you want to make your own Pointy Kitty, you can find the pattern here: http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html