Kiki(verde)

Variations on a Theme

02.9.10 · Filed under cooking & baking, sewing & crafty things

More snow. More carbs. Lots of hot beverages. That seems to be the theme around here lately.

What’s new is the lovely blue quilted table runner that brightens up my kitchen table. It was made by my aunt Linda- who does amazing work, I must say- and arrived in the mail just before the big snowstorm. I oohed and aahed over it the moment it came out of the envelope and then promptly called to tell her how amazing and perfect it was. I’ll share more pictures of it another time. Maybe when I finish (or should it be start) the curtains. I just know they’ll look so perfect together!

We’re supposed to be getting even more snow today which means I’ll be in the kitchen baking something provided we still have power and our house doesn’t cave in from the giant glacier currently creeping its way across the roof. The raisin bread pictured above came out wonderfully delicious. I baked two loaves– one small loaf for us and a larger one to share with some of our neighbors. I’d like to bake another loaf today but I haven’t decided exactly what kind yet. If you have any recommendations or suggestions I’d love to hear them!

Comments (2) »

The Antidote for Grumpy

02.3.10 · Filed under cooking & baking, life, pets

It turns out the antidote for grumpy is enjoying hot cinnamon buns and making snow people in the yard with hubby and Mr. Tucker.

In anticipation of a snow day, M called his mom last night for her cinnamon bun recipe and made quick work of starting the dough. They turned out rich and delicious.

This morning after enjoying one of the cinnamon buns, I took Mr. Tucker out to play in the snow. It’s one of his favorite activities and I decided that since the temperature was above freezing and the sun was shining it would be a good time to get out of the house and take some photos of the newly fallen snow.

As soon as I stepped foot outside I could tell that this was the perfect snowman snow. It was wet and heavy, and a little push with the tip of my boot resulted in a pile that stuck together quite well. I decided to make a snow person and quickly amassed a huge ball of snow that grew even more humongous in size with the momentum of rolling down the small hill. It took longer to get the center ball up onto the base than it did to make the actual snowball itself.

I decorated her face with button eyes, a carrot nose, and a smile made of seed pods from one of the plants in the garden.

As if one snow person in the yard wasn’t enough, M went into the other corner of the yard and announced that he was going to make a snow person that was even bigger and better than the one I had made.

Please note that his is not nearly as large or fantastic as mine…

Although I do give him kudos on his first real snowman. Previous attempts of his have ended up in complete failure because of not having the “right” kind of snow.

Note the fancy beret on the snow man. That would be one of Mr. Tucker’s frisbees. As we were decorating the face and body, he leapt all around barking at it and trying to get up high enough to retrieve his toy

It was a fun morning, and the perfect way to ward off a case of the grumpies.

Comments (4) »

Carnitas: He Said, She Said.

01.28.10 · Filed under cooking & baking

How to Make Carnitas: (husband style)

Women always say they want a man to do things like cook and help them, and even though we discussed this last night and I was told NOT to touch the pork, I decided that women only say what they mean about 50% of the time so I was probably in the right by getting everything started.

I did a lot of research online and I came up with what I felt was the general consensus for a carnitas marinade recipe.

First, you add about 1 cup of OJ into a bowl. Micro-plane in about 4 little nubbies of garlic and a handful of cilantro that I ran my knife through a couple of times like Rachael Ray does it. Then I used the salt and pepper grinders and ground some salt and pepper in there too, maybe 10 turns of each. At this point I’d forgotten what I’d read, but then remembered that some people put bay leaves in the marinade, so I added one of those. And they also used oregano, so I added 3 good shakes of dried oregano. Then came the moment of decision. I looked at how many spices we had (A LOT) and I thought about all of the things I could do and heard Julia Child in my head saying “Be Fearless” but I thought it could also turn into a big disaster, so discretion won out there. I whisked it up, poured it in a plastic bag, threw in the meat snakes* and put it in all in the fridge to marinate until the wife could get it in the crock pot later on.

I was very proud of myself for taking the initiative.

*Meat snakes defined as: Pork loin- about 2.5 lbs.

The meat marinated for about 6 hours. Remove the pork from the marinade and cook it in the crock-pot on high for 4 hours. Right before serving, use two forks and lightly shred the meat into chunks, then give it a good toss in the juices that it secretes into the crock. This much meat will serve 4-6 people.

If you’ve been here before, you know Carnitas is a favorite of ours.

Don’t tell hubby, but I really liked the marinade he made and I’m glad he took the time to do it. Usually, we don’t plan ahead enough to make a marinade and end up putting seasonings right in with the meat when it gets put into the crockpot. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, it’s just about getting the meat seasoned. When it comes to things like this, every Hispanic family has their own unique seasonings and preferred method of doing things. As the person who married into the Hispanic family, I usually just try my best and hope everything turns out alright.

When it comes to tortillas, Mr. Tucker will sit by the table for the entire meal and smack his chops while shifting his weight back and forth, hoping you’ll notice him. When we lived in Albuquerque, Michael’s Nana would make tortillas and toss an entire one down onto the floor for Mr. Tucker to gobble up. He doesn’t get much people food anymore because of his Epilepsy (not to mention he’s a few pounds overweight!) but usually someone will sneak him bits of soft tortilla under the table when he thinks I’m not looking.

Comments (1) »

IVDSO Your Curtain Ideas

01.27.10 · Filed under house & garden, sewing & crafty things

Please pardon the dust, I’ve been working hard over the past few weeks and have been trying my very best to get organized! It doesn’t help that I keep rearranging my furniture, but I think this is the configuration that I’m going to keep. (Finally!)

I would love some help or suggestions regarding the curtain situation in my studio. I have two windows– one is pictured in this photo and the other is located just outside of the photo, to the left of the table that you see in the lower corner of the photo.

I’d really like to make some curtains and need some help. I have no idea what fabric to choose, or really even what style of curtain I want. I’ve checked numerous home decor books out from the library and have flipped through them all. Everything I find is just “eh” to me.

And so, I turn to you, my creative friends! Do you have any suggestions or photos of inspiration? Favorite fabrics you think would work in my room? I’d really love to hear your opinions!

Just a few things about the windows–
The dimensions of the window are approximately 43″ wide by 42″ high, that includes the surrounding woodwork. The windows already have blinds which I plan on keeping so I don’t really need something to block out light or provide privacy since the blinds will do that when necessary.

I really can’t wait to see what you suggest!

Comments (1) »

Let’s Pretend

01.25.10 · Filed under life, photography

that it is Spring.

The thermometer outside on my porch is obviously in on the game…

It reads: 65 degrees!

I decided to take my lunch outside to enjoy on the porch. I took in the lovely blue skies and clean breeze. Mr Tucker sniffed the air and also tried very hard not to bark at neighbors walking their dogs. (Not really, he barked a lot. But this is pretend, remember?)

I read a book (One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell) until the sky turned dark and storm clouds began rolling in. Now I sit inside, perched next to an open window, waiting for the rain.

I know I probably blog entirely too much about the weather. I really cannot help it. It’s not that I’m trying to make small talk or I don’t have anything else to say, it’s just that it has such an impact on me I feel compelled to talk about it.

I promise I’ll bake or cook or sew something for you soon.

Comments (2) »

Morning Stroll

01.22.10 · Filed under house & garden, photography

I’ve been going outside to my garden in the morning, to gather my thoughts and center myself.

I think about what I would like to grow when Spring comes, and I watch how the light plays across the space.

It’s magical, sometimes.

Comments (3) »

A Beautiful Light

01.8.10 · Filed under life, photography

Tuesday 1/5/10

I was standing at the kitchen sink pondering our dinner menu and gazing out the window when I realized just how beautiful the light was outside at that very moment. I grabbed my camera, and six legs went bounding out the front door and down the porch steps.

The world looked awash in color, all aglow. Everything that was mousy brown or grey had turned a brilliant honey-gold and orange, as if it were radiating heat. It was surreal and beautiful. I stared for a full minute trying to take it all in.

It was gone in a matter of moments, but I felt so blessed by such warmth on such a bitter cold day.

Comments (3) »

Lazy Sunday Morning

01.3.10 · Filed under books, cooking & baking

There haven’t been many Sundays lately that have been filled with such laziness. Being a new homeowner means that most Saturdays and Sundays are filled with numerous trips to Lowe’s, Home Depot, and/or the locally owned hardware store. Sometimes all three in one weekend– and sometimes, even, more than one trip to each in a day. But I digress. Today, was indeed a lazy morning! We spent most of the morning on the couch reading our respective paperbacks. M is engrossed in Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, and I finished up a book called Riverside Park.

I also baked popovers for the first time. The recipe was sent to me by Alicia and was easy to follow. Almost too easy, and I was apprehensive about them the entire time they were in the oven. The recipe specifically said “no peeking” and our oven light mysteriously stopped working today so there was really no way for me to see the magic that was happening inside. And they really are magic, by the way. Picking one up for the first time is akin to lifting what looks like a big, heavy terracotta pot only to find out that it is actually painted styrofoam.

We tried them with all sorts of tasty things. Hubby had his with Gramma Freda’s home-canned peach jam, and I tried mine with raw honey and dandelion jelly. Both were delicious. I see many more popovers in our future.

The Tensies: Resolutions and a Recipe

01.1.10 · Filed under cooking & baking, trips, events & holidays

Did you have a happy new year? I would love to report that I did something fun and exciting to bring in 2010, however M & I just had a quiet night at home with the dog. Nary a toast of sparkling wine to be had! In hindsight, it was probably for the best. A whirlwind of activity was our 2009, and being well-rested amongst flannel sheets was a wonderful way to start off this new year!

M and I were discussing if we were twenty-ten sort of people or two thousand ten sort of people when he interjected that he plans on referring to this decade as the tensies. Obviously it’s much more important to get down the decade jargon, at least he thinks so. By the way, we’re both twenty ten sort of people. Please don’t hate us for it.

(Don’t worry, photos are coming soon…)

So what are my 2010 resolutions? I’m not really sure, to be honest. This year I feel like instead of focusing on what I want to change, I’m more drawn to things I want to stay the same. Time well spent sewing, gardening, reading. Trips to the park and frisbee with Mr. Tucker. Cookouts with friends. Lazy family dinners at home with M. And speaking of M and lazy family dinners at home…

I feel so blessed to have a husband who can hold his own in the kitchen, especially on a day like today when I would have been perfectly happy to plop a roast in the Crock Pot and call it good. He not only cooked this feast, he also did the grocery run.

M made this recipe for Apple-Fennel Stuffed Pork Tenderloin that he found on the Rachael Ray site. Some of her recipes may be a little out there, but we’ve found that the more traditional ones are really solid and never disappoint.

Did I mention it was a feast? We had the stuffed pork, cornbread dressing, asparagus, cranberry sauce, and veggie mashers. The veggie mashers were delicious- a concoction of turnips, parsnips, and butternut squash mashed so that they were half creamy, half textured. I asked him if he used a recipe, which he did not. I asked if he would tell me how he made them so that I could share, and he obliged. I’ll share the how to with you, but must warn that this is the story of a side dish with many asides.

M’s Veggie Mashers, as dictated to me:

Well, if you want to do it like I did, you wander around the produce section for 20 minutes and try to remember what exactly was in that thing Jamie Oliver made. (See notes) Then you get one of each turnip that they had at the store since they must be different in some way and would add variety to the dish. One was yellow and one was white. And then, you think of any other good root vegetables that they might have at Giant, and you look for them and find a bag of parsnips. (Punctuated with a yawn.) And then you think that’s going to be boring-looking since everything is whitish, so you wander around some more and find some cubed butternut squash thinking that will add some color. Then you put it all in the basket, then take it out thinking: will it be too mushy to smash? They do make baby food out of this stuff...and then decide to put it back in the basket because it’s beechnut that’s the baby food, nut butternut. Then, you check out and try to convince the check-out person that there are two different types of turnips that she needs to ring up.

When you get home you peel everything and and cut it into cubes. Except the butternut squash because that was already peeled and cubed. Then you throw it all in a pot of boiling water and boil for about 20 minutes until fork tender. It was tender a lot faster than I thought it would be. Then you take them out of the water and put them in a big bowl.

Here’s where it starts getting dangerous, because you throw in [more like hide from the wife, omg!] an entire stick of butter and decide if you want to try and make it taste like mashed potatoes with salt and pepper, or sweet potatoes with brown sugar. It’s easier not to decide, so I added a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar, and a few shakes each of salt and pepper, then mash with a potato masher until some of it is smooth and some isn’t.

And that’s it.

Note:
I’m pretty sure that this recipe from the show Jamie at Home is what he was thinking of– Jamie Oliver’s Bubble and Squeak.

Also, we agreed that maybe an entire stick of butter wasn’t really necessary. I suggest cutting it down to a few tablespoons, instead.

—–

Happy New Year! May it be a year filled with moments that put a spring in your step, a song in your heart, and a smile on your face.

Comments (3) »