Another sort of coffee maker

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Sewfrench

And it’s not a cabana boy, I promise you….

This is how I spend a down day, leasuirely quilting, watching old movies, today included Deliverence, (great actors, some who should have stopped after this one, if I do say so myself) and reading blogs and links to blogs, and links to links until my tray at the bottom is so full that my computer freezes.  You do that, too?  Right?  Right?  That’s normal, it really is………

It’s cold out there, we must stay warm, I say.  That’s where the laptop and quilting comes in to play….

Just one of the things I drooled over today…..  Guessing my wood loving, Barista experienced daughters and brother and brother in law and sister…  oh and nephews and nieces would probably appreciate this, too….  It’s a piece of art.

Is this not the coolest looking coffee maker ever?  Just look at the grain of that walnut. Fine, mighty fine grain, I say.  Look at the sheen of this board.  It has to be a curly walnut, right?  Does walnut do that?  All I know is that it is beautiful, in it’s simplicity. And mechanics.  I do know that….

Though we are not our parents, who bought every coffee maker known to man, this is an incredibly cool looking coffee maker, in my opinion.  I know the best coffee beans and where to get them.  And drip is the best method, you know.  Okay, well, French pressed is right up there, too, Illy, french pressed, in France, while sitting in a sidewalk coffee bar….

but still…….  I can’t be on the streets of Paris, every day.  Well, I could, no, I couldn’t.  I really couldn’t….  That wouldn’t be right….

This is pretty sweet.  I would adore this to take up counter space on my counters.

Now, if I only knew a woodworker, I could figure out the rest….  Then maybe we could spend more time in Paris.   Wouldn’t that be sweet?

Posted in coffee, woodworking | 2 Comments

Not your Grandma’s fish cakes…

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Sewfrench

We’ve been slacking in the fish department lately….  Not sure if we just got burned out or  just needed new recipes…..   But when Peter brought home and cooked up an awesome piece of cod for our New Year’s Eve dinner we knew we’d need to be doing something with cod again, soon, very soon.

So I set about gathering an idea and a grocery list.

A take off of Grandma’s salmon patties and our crab cakes and all together different, too.

Supplies are prepped

Fish is baked

Peter forming the patties. Love my new Williams-Sonoma biscuit cutters, so many great uses.

Spicy Sriracha Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce

1/4 c mayo

1 TBS or more of Sriracha sauce

Stir it up and enjoy.  Add more mayo or zip per your taste.  Personally I am planning on eating this whole loaf of bread schmeared with this spicy goodness.  You can have the butter.  That’s fine.  I’l take care of this……

Oven Fries

(for 2)

One sweet potato and one Idaho potato sliced  into 1/4″  *fries*

A mandolin works wonders for this.

Toss in olive oil, spread on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with your choice of seasonings.  I chose Penzey’s Southwest Seasoning.  Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until browned.

Fish Patties

Start with one and a half pounds of fresh cod, salt, peppered and sprinkled with the juice of one lemon.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, cool, then break up.

Mince 1 shallot, 1/2 onion, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, 1 stalk of celery, diced, 3 T red bell pepper, 3 T fresh parsley, 1 T fresh dill.  Saute up, just a bit, in a dab of butter and some olive oil.   Let cool, then mix the vegetables and the fish with 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a triple dash of hot sauce, juice from 1/2 lemon, zest from 1/2 lemon, 3T mayo and 1 T dijon mustard and 1 egg (which we did not use this time, but will the next, as in our crab cakes, for a tad more body). Form into small patties, coat in Panko breadcrumbs and pan fry in olive oil until brown. Serve with the aforementioned spicy mayo sauce and enjoy.  Though the sauce was so totally not needed and to hear that from me? being a saucy sort of girl?  That’s huge.   That’s how good these are……..

Makes 10-12, serves 4.

Thanks to Christine for sharing the idea.  I just wish I’d seen her new and improved recipe before I set about creating…  Doesn’t matter.  Between her idea and our tweaks it was superb!  Will repeat!  Oh yeah.

Oh and let us not forget the inventory reduction fresh garlic, cayenne, sauteed, green onion sprinkled Brussel Sprouts.  Even Peter may decide to take these up, which would be a total pisser because then we would have to share….  I’m not good at sharing.  Brussel Sprouts, anyway……  Just ask my siblings.

Posted in cod, Cooking, Eating, fish, Recipes, Wellness | Tagged | 10 Comments

Smell o’web

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Sewfrench

(Almost) Vegan Pasty Pie ingredients

You wish, you had smell o’web, you would know just how heavenly it smells in here….

The sauteed up product. Can you smell it, can you smell it now???

Do I love my baby or what?  Just because we are overflowing with fresh veggies, working on an inventory reduction plan, and we need to meet up for a trade, does not mean she deserves this?  Does it?  Or does it not?   Just because she is a hard working, healthy eating, super smart, creative, a fabulous photographer, does not mean I should just hand it over.  I think she owes me.  I taught her all she knows, trained her in what is right and good…..  She owes me, like some graphic design work, like some art work, like graduating college with an art degree *and* a minor?  in 4 years?  with 2 internships?  and a job?  Wait, yeah, she’s doing/done all that and then some.  Dang.  She *is* good.  Check out my custom banner for one example……..  Check out her blog for another…  Yeah, she did teach me all I know about blogging…  I’ll give her that…  But…….. it smells awfully good in here and if it could buy *me* another night off of cooking, I wouldn’t hand it off to her………..

That’s how good it smells…

Another one of these…

It’s just a good thing, I have a dinner date tonight or this would be on our table.  Seriously.

Posted in Cooking, Eating | 3 Comments

Where I love to be….

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Sewfrench

I have been meaning to do this for years.  That’s how long I’ve been in this space.  When we bought this home 4 years ago, it had a beautiful, concrete shell of a space, destined to be mine.  We knew *this* was the house when *I* opened the double doors that led to this unfinished space.  It would be mine, all mine!!  Jump for joy, forget all those other houses we were considering and even the one we made an offer on (thank goodness it had inspection issues that allowed us to escape unscathed).  Remodeling was not something I was excited about, but neither was *he*, thank goodness!  So here we go!

Before.  What potential!  A studio with natural lighting!

Help arrives by the way of very talented carpenters.  We tell them what to do and they do it.  They are good!

We had done this before, so we had ideas, but this space was quite a bit bigger.  It is 30′ x 15′.  I believe my last space was 24′ x 12′, not too shabby either, similar, but different.  Peter had the walk-in closet idea, which I had never had before and which I adore!  It is designed and decked out for more storage than you can ever imagine.  All those UFOs, leftover scraps, things that have just not been taken care of, yet?!  Lots of projects in there.  I love to pull the pocket door closed and forget what is in there!  The single door at the far end leads up the stairs to the garage, so up and out for trash and easy down and in for supplies, no one else has to know about deliveries!  The double-doors lead to the family/game/theater/main downstairs area.

craft room

Same view, but we have now moved in. And yes that is Grandma Ellis’s Opryland U.S.A. yardstick on the table. And Ray, I use it daily. Isn’t its asymmetrical quality sweet?? Must be circa the 1970s.

craft room cutting table

I can not believe how this place cleans up!  A place for everything and everything in its place.  This table is huge, it’s 7′ x 5 1/2′ with a 1 foot cantilever on each end, if a person wanted to sit, they have plenty of knee room.  It is large enough to have mmm, 6 projects going at once?  But, I wouldn’t do that.  You know?  That would be way too cluttered and disorganized…. LOL! You see stools everywhere, but I am a stander, constantly kicking stools out of the way.  But, they do make great places to stack *stuff*.  The only time I sit in here, is when I am at a machine.  Standing burns more calories. You knew that, right?

my craft room cutting table storage

I am into gift wrapping, among other things, so lots of ribbon storage was needed.  Around the corner, under the table, is open shelving that stores all my gifts bags along with rolls and rolls of gift wrap.  The right side, of this table, is all drawers, (9), the left, (this side) is two drawer banks and a double-doored cabinet for larger items.

sewing space storage

Lots of project storage in the closet. That door only gets pulled at Christmas when there are snooping eyes in the house.

craft room storage cabinets

Batting, fabrics, thread and papers. Pretty organized, just a lot of it…  Thank goodness the double deep stacking and to the floor shelving isn’t visible…..

craft room storage

Photos, scrapbooking, books, Cricut machine and more paper. And paint and paint supplies, lots of supplies…..

sewing space layout

You can’t see the number of light banks here, but it is key to the success of this room. These photos were all taken under the light of the room, after dark, no flash. The color is pretty darn accurate, so very important in a studio space.

sewing room

One of my favorite places in all the world…. It look so nice and clean it makes me want to pull up a chair and get back to work!

natural lighting

and my view for most of the year… Isn’t it gorgeous out there?

Considering I started out sewing for the public, which allowed me to be a stay at home mom and professional volunteer, all the while sewing at the kitchen table, picking up then putting away, to cook dinner for five, to this space still awes me. I am grateful.

Thank you, Sue, my fabric pusher, for pushing me to get this job done…  Now on to the next one.

Posted in Crafting, Decorating, Design, fabric, organizing, Quilting, Sewing, studio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

I’m so glad you’re back

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Sewfrench

I’ve missed you.  A lot.  I wasn’t sure where you went but it doesn’t matter now.  You are back.   Don’t leave me again.

Listening to my friend Gary talk about all the fabulous smoothies he’s been making, then reading my friend Casey’s blog and all about the green smoothie challenge, I got to tossing around the idea of bringing them back into my life.  I’ve got the Vita-mix, I’ve got the ingredients, I just need to get moving quicker, so that it doesn’t become my lunch…

So today was the day.  It was the slowest, most pitiful run since the beginning.  Maybe because I have run 5 out of the last 7 days?  Maybe because I’ve put on almost 27 miles on these shoes in the last 7 days???  Or maybe it was last nights dinner, sitting like fried food tends to do….  Maybe I need to start fueling, better, prior to working out…..

So a fresh start after that pitiful run.

1/2 of a beautiful Bosc pear

1/2 cup of our wonderful *Up North* frozen blueberries

1/2 scoop of protein powder, unflavored

a splash of almond milk, original

a double handful and then some of fresh spinach

a stalk of celery

a chunk of cucumber

a healthy sprinkling of cinnamon

a few almonds and

some flax seed for Omega 3 and fiber.

Heaven on Earth.  I feel reenergized.  And all is well with the world.

Posted in Eating, Fitness, Wellness | 17 Comments

Pay it Forward

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Sewfrench

A little Facebook challenge came along last week that I couldn’t help but join in on.   When Sostinkinhappy offered up the challenge I jumped on it.  I can’t wait to see what is in store from her.   She is so creative.  Busy, busy, busy with a young family, and very creative.  I wonder if she would come and make *me* a replica gingerbread house of our home???  Wouldn’t that be sweet?!  I must be patient, I must be patient, I must be patient….

Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They must in turn post this and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their status. *The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011.*

Anyway, I was shocked at how quickly I had 5 people signed up!  In under 7 minutes?  That is crazy.  Is it because I have too many friends?  I posted at a fabulous time?  Everyone was feeling extremely generous on January 4th???  Now I have new projects to think about!  I love it!  The challenge is the best part.  The perfect project for the person.  All will be different according to my perception.  Right or wrong, it’s what you get, LOL!

I ♥♥♥♥ surprises, no matter what they are!  I know, I know, I have to wait just like all my followers do….  Remember we have a year to think up just the right handmade surprise for each of you, no pressure there, LOL!

My first project is on the cutting board.  I love it!  Maybe I’ll keep it…… since I don’t have one  and the next project I Will itPay Forward…….  Can I do that???  Hmmm…….

Posted in Crafting, Sewing | 4 Comments

Camera strap

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Sewfrench

One of *our* projects, while A was home over Christmas break, was to make her a custom camera strap for her Nikon D3100, which she got for her birthday.  She scrounged around and found these coordinating scraps and off to Field’s we headed to find some coordinating suede.  Then we proceeded to deconstruct, for parts, an old Minolta strap.  We think it turned out pretty sweet, for a pretty sweet camera and a pretty and sweet photographer.  Just sayin’……..  I hear ya, I hear the groans…….  I’m okay with that….

Camera strap

Posted in Crafting, Sewing | 10 Comments

Ideas on an ideal diet.

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Sewfrench
People ask me all the time, what *should* I eat???  These are just some guidelines I like to start with.  5 veggies a day is great 7 is a major goal.   Fruits I consider God’s candy.  One, two max, per day, will help to get you where you need to be without causing a blood sugar crash.
di·et 1 n.
1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal.  The way we eat, the norm.
1. Grapefruit ~ at least 3 sections, per day (not juice – you need the fresh fruit) and no sweeteners.  Fabulous for the skin, I bought grapefruit again this week…..  I’ve been slacking…  The peels in the bath are fabulous for cellulite, weird but true….

2. Romaine lettuce ~ at least 3 leaves a day. I love those triple washed romaine hearts that come 3 to a bag. I don’t even make salad with them, they make great snacks or holders for sandwich fixings.  Egg salad is awesome on one (or two)!

3. Cherry or grape tomatoes  3-5 daily. These small tomatoes are so convenient, great to poop as a snack at any time of day. Otherwise I aim for ½ a regular tomato per day.

4. Broccoli ~ 2 cups every day. This is a super veggie, a must for everyone.  Just keep trying, LOL!  I’m much better mixing this count up with spinach, kale, brussell sprouts and/or cabbage.

5. Carrots ~ 2 daily  preferably the kind with green tops, still attached, so you know that they are fresh and full of nutrients.  I feel good if I get one of those bunches in per week, but I keep trying.

6. Almonds  7-10 raw (not roasted) daily ~ love to keep a handful in my pocket to snack on throughout the day.  And I realize I photographed raw almonds.  They are awesome, two.  I can not believe, me, the promoter of almonds, found myself lacking in raw almonds…  Other raw nuts available, just not almonds, today….

7. Red bell peppers ~ 3 “strips” a day. Usually one will last for 3 days ~super high in vitamin C.

8. Parsley ~ one fresh small bunch per week ~ very cleansing.  Awesome in smoothies.

9. Cucumber ~ one per week, divided throughout the week.  Another green smoothie favorite.

10. Sweet potato ~ one per week ~ love them as oven fries, besides being baked.

11. Eggs ~ 2 per week, not much of an egg person, but I do love egg salad.  Can I have that on a croissant???  Of course, you can!

12. Brown rice and/or wild rice ~ 2 cups per week.  A rice cooker makes this SO much easier!  Leftovers we toss in the freezer and they are handy for the next meal!

13. Kiwi ~ as often as posible. Very high in nutritional value, which few people appreciate. Weight for weight they are substantially richer in vitamin C than oranges and contain more fiber than apple. They’re very rich in potassium, too.

14. Blueberries ~ or any of the dark berries, rich in phytonutrients – antioxidants such anthrocyanin – as well as anti-inflammatories.  If you don’t drink red wine, this is a fabulous addition to your diet.  If you do, they are still tasty and healthy.  We buy them locally and freeze them for year round goodness!
Posted in Eating, Health, Wellness | 2 Comments

Saturdays…….

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Sewfrench

Amanda’s last Saturday home…….

She and Peter did some banking, then she and I did some produce/grocery shopping.  She is all set for healthy eating for her first week back.  This is good, because she is going to be busy, just unloading her car…..

We enjoyed a lazy afternoon watching Gasland, very enlightening, very scary, very, very…  And a bit of quilting……  An intentionally out of full view shot of a Kona cotton solids project, I’m working on.  Love Kona Cotton!  And I love Sue!  Her selection, prices and most importantly, customer service, is tops.  For real.

And another fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself!  Who knew you could get such fresh okra in January?  OMG, I believe it was fresher than most we get *in season*!  I might go get more tomorrow!

Current quilting project. I know you can't see it, that's the point...

Fried okra. Is there *anything* better in the world??? I didn't think so.

Long grain wild rice, sauteed orange roughy and fried okra, this was after another asian dressed salad. SO good!

Posted in Cooking, movie, Quilting | Leave a comment

Movie and a Date

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Sewfrench

The Fighter and The Bluewater Grill.  It doesn’t get *any* better than this.

This movie will win lots of awards, predicted, no doubts.  We all loved it.

The Asian Salad, Mahi Mahi tacos and Blue Water Grill Prime Sandwich have already won them.  Oh, and let us not forget the Walnut Crest Pinot Grigio and the world famous fries!  Oh my!  Glad I did a kick butt workout yesterday!

Thanks Amanda for joining us!

Posted in Eating, movie | Leave a comment