Anna Maria Horner.......total inspiration!!

Anna Maria Horner.......total inspiration!!,
originally uploaded by SquareBag.

Birds......

Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce

If you live in Canada, your Worcestershire Sauce will have gluten. So make your own. It tastes awesome!!!!

Raspberries and Ta Dots all over....

A new bag made its way into my shop today right in time for Valentine's Day!  I call it "Pleated Boutique Bag For Your Valentine"...let's hope that Google dosen't choke on the wordy title.

It doesn't come with the candy box (candy long ago consumed, box now holds love letters from Garth:)....)

It does, however, look pretty snazzy....you think? 

J.Dewberry-Almond

J.Dewberry-Almond,
originally uploaded by Maria Elena Designs.

This fabric in this colorway is really hard to find. Do you anyone still selling it?

The mailman came with Love.....

Lest you think there is something going on between me and the stalwart representative of the U.S. Postal Service ... I need to say that he turned up with this fabulous package just bursting with Amy Butler fabrics.

I did the unthinkable for an organized Etsy merchant and put everything aside and just sat and played with those fabrics. YUM!

I ordered home dec weight fabric and it is heavy and smooth like sateen.  Takes a pleat with grace and has made my new creations look sooooo different.  From now on, bags will be home dec.

I've got spots.....

spotted squares quilt blocks,
originally uploaded by filminthefridge.

Ashley, over at FilmInTheFridge has put together my next project.  Sooo nice of her to design, test and create my next quilt for me.  I have been collecting polka dots for a while.  I have the white ....so am good to go before too long.  Click on the link go look at Ashley's creations both on her own site and fliker.  Don't forget about the links I put up here for you.....anytime you see underlined text just click on it.

There is this huge plastic tub in my sewing room full of scraps from my bag-making.  They are all funny and wonky shapes.  Not enough for another bag, but good enough for quilting.   Last year, I took a class from Freddy Moran,  the queen of off-the-wall fabric combinations and quilts that make you smile.  One of her essentials is what she calls "The Parts Department".......I have a plastic box so designated 4" squares and 2" inch strips.  When the mood hit me, I will grab some pieces and make a block.

The plan is to square them up and put them together into a quilt.  Talk about scrappy!  A little nostalgic too since the fabric was used to make a purse or bag that is either in my shop or sold long ago.  Please forgive the flagrant promotion for my shop, but if I don't sell bags....I can't buy fabric.  I have placed myself on fabric restriction after my Laura Gunn binge!  

Flikr Photo Of The Day

AggieRay
originally uploaded by aggieray46.

AggieRay Designs has come up with a real head-turner! Aside from the stunning design of the bag...I love the staging of the photo with the mirror. Beautiful.

Terrific Thai Red Curry

so, here we are using up the rest of the red curry paste we made the other night for the fajitas! And oh yum! this was good. It goes straight into our favorites list!

Red Curry Paste-


Ingredients:

1 shallot, chopped fine
2 tsp. gluten free Thai chili sauce
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 Tbsp organic tomato ketchup
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp. dried shrimp, ground in a mortar and pestle.
1 tsp. sucanat
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/3 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions- combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Thai Red Curry

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup eggplant, cubed into bite size pieces
1 red pepper, cubed
2 hot red chilies for fire
1 stick of lemon grass
3 kafir lime leaves
stick of cinnamon
fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions

1. Put the chicken in a casserole dish, add the sauce (red curry paste), the limes leaves, the lemon grass and the hot chilies. Cover and bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes.

2. Add the veggies and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Serve with rice and garnish generously with cilantro

Baked Sweet Potato Breakfast

For breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or anytime! I love sweet potatoes. Luckily sweet potatoes are very good for us! This is one of my favorite ways to prepare them. I always make extra so I can keep some in the fridge for a snack. A sweet potato baked with skin is an excellent source of vitamin A. They are also a very good source of vitamin C and manganese. In addition, sweet potatoes are a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron. (you must eat the skin!)

Ingredients:

3-5 small sweet potatoes (I usually buy the yellow flesh variety from my organic market)

2 Tbsp of either quality vegetable oil or olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

butter


Directions:

1. Move oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Wash and dry the outer skins of the potatoes. Cut off any small hard bits. Using a fork, stab the potatoes three or four times each.

3. Rub the potatoes with oil to cover and arrange them on a foil lined baking sheet with space in between. Bake for 40-50 minutes (do not turn) or until a knife slips easily into the center.

4. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with a little butter if you are feeling decadent. (they taste really great without I promise!)

Babies.......I have no words!

From Troy Livesay in Haiti.
 Six month old baby boy named Obama had a broken upper arm - no crying during casting. This from Troy Livesay's tweet from Haiti. Family blog, click here.

Superman Salad

Oh Nooos! Kencent has gone and suffered a leg injury on the ski hill. I want to help so I will be feeding him extra healthy meals to speed up his recovery. That's where this salad comes from. The bonus is that it tastes most excellent. But it has every good thing imaginable inside.

Ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce, washed , dried & sliced
1 red grapefruit, cut peel away & segments removed between the membranes using a sharp knife, do this over a bowl and reserve the juice
1 navel orange, cut peel away & segments removed between the membranes using a sharp knife, do this over a bowl and reserve the juice
2 small kiwi fruits, cut in half & fruit scooped out with a spoon
1/4 cup fresh blueberries, washed
1/4 cup fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
1 small avocado, cut in half, stone removed and avocado flesh scooped out and cubed.
2 scallions, washed and chopped
1/2 cup sunflower sprouts, washed and chopped
1 Tbsp shelled hemp seed
1/4 cup organic raw walnuts


Dressing Ingredients:

1 Tbsp reserved fruit juice (see above)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. cold pressed organic canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. cold pressed organic flax seed oil
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Prep all of your fruits into one bowl and your greens into another separate bowl. That way you can save any leftovers for the next day or prepare this ahead for lunch.

2. Combine your salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

3. In a large bowl, add salad greens and fruit until desired portion is reached. Pour some dressing over and toss all to combine. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and walnuts. Serve immediately.

Craft Hope on Etsy......Thank You, Thank you, Thank You!

From Sara and Jade over at Craft Hope for Haiti...
"Wow. Just wow. Sarah here, stopping in to say thank you to everyone who has been part of the wild ride that is Craft Hope for Haiti.

As I’m sure you’ve seen on the Etsy shop, we’ve been listing and selling items nonstop since Friday morning. The response from the craft community has been amazing and overwhelming. You are a remarkable bunch of people. Jade and I and the other volunteers are humbled by your willingness to give when often you don’t have much yourselves. This experience has been a testament to the power of a connected community.

Jade and I started this effort as a quick offshoot of Craft Hope because we wanted to help and knew that sending things was not a viable option. We hatched a little idea about the shop on Etsy and figured we’d raise a few hundred dollars. We had this pie in the sky idea that we’d maybe get to $5,000 eventually. You all got us there by yesterday at noon. As of now, we’re rapidly approaching the $10,000 mark. Amazing. Overwhelming.

From a housekeeping perspective, you should know that listings are taking up to 72 hours to place on Etsy. Currently we are notifying sellers of the shipping information the day after the sale, and we will try to maintain that pace, but it may go to 2 days. We ask for your patience as we process a tremendous number of transactions. We may make an occasional listing mistake, and we’ll hope you forgive us. We have streamlined and slowed down our pace a bit so we don’t make hurried errors. There are only a few of us, and so many generous gifts.

This operation is being run by a mom with 3 kids under 5, including a 3 month old baby and by a mom who is 7 months pregnant and has 2 homeschooling kids. We are relying on the kindness of our wonderful friends (who are also all moms with babies or homeschooled kids or jobs) and our husbands who have given up their weekends to help out. The task at hand has become far larger than we can maintain for any length of time. We don’t want the program to become a victim of its own success because we were so excited to help that we didn’t take the time to set up sustainable systems.

We have decided to stop accepting donations on Wednesday evening, January 20. We will list everything we have received by the following weekend, and we will keep the store open until everything has sold. The plan is to be closed to new donations for 2 weeks while we regroup. This has taken us in a direction that we never anticipated Craft Hope going. In order to serve the community better, we are going to take a break and organize our thoughts, our systems, and our mission. While we would LOVE to just keep on going, we have to do so in a sustainable way so that we do it well and still have time to feed our children, take showers, and interact with our families on occasion.

Over the next few days, we will be forwarding funds to Doctors Without Borders and will post the transactions to this site, so you have verification of the donations. We understand that donating and buying is an act of trust by all of you, and we are committed to living up to that trust. Thank you, all of you, for giving us the opportunity to help the Haitian people in a meaningful way. Because this isn’t about us at all. It’s about the generosity of each and every one of you.

We are all so grateful to be a part of this effort, which is a small part of the larger effort to help the Haitian people. We hope you understand our reasons for regrouping in order to serve the effort even better. Thank you again for everything you have done and continue to do.

In hope,

Sarah"

Well...all of you, thank you so much for all the effort.  It has been very exciting to go shopping at the site www.crafthope.etsy.com,  and watch our donations sell.  Click on the link to the left or the button at the upper right of the page.  Time to shop and help out. 

Mascarpone Mousse for Smoked Salmon Burrata

3 cups mascarpone
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup ricotta
5 sheets gelatin, bloomed in cold water
zest of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, microplaned
1 shallot, minced
1 Tbsp minced chervil
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 cups whipped cream seasoned to taste with salt and white pepper

- combine all ingredients except gelatin and whipped cream in a saucepan over low to medium heat
- melt mascarpone and ricotta completely and continue to cook 10 minutes; whisk in gelatin
- strain through chinois into mixing bowl and whip on medium high speed 30 minutes
- fold in whipped cream and chill until use

In my yard??

,
originally uploaded by la vida compartida....

Are these chairs fab or what?

I want to do this project.http://lavidacompartida.blogspot.com/

Baby Wonderland Quilt

baby wonderland quilt,
originally uploaded by filminthefridge.

Ashley over at FilmInTheFridge posted this photo of her quilt for Etsy's Craft Hope Shop on flikr.

All proceeds of the Craft Hope Etsy shop will benefit Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. All items have been generously donated by the crafting community. If you'd like to donate an item please visit the Craft Hope website (www.crafthope.com).
http://www.etsy.com/shop/crafthope

Saddened....

We are so saddened by the devastation in Haiti this week.  I cannot wrap my brain around it.  So maybe this will help me feel I am contributing. 

A brief list of several organizations currently working to provide aid and relief......here are some links:

The American Red Cross

www.redcross.org

Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 (billed to your phone)

The United Nations World Food Program

www.wfp.org

The Salvation Army

www.salvationarmyusa.org

Action Against Hunger

www.actionagainsthunger.org

Project HOPE

www.projecthope.org

Partners in Health

www.pih.org

The list goes on, and we all have our own ways to help.  

I am following a blog from a family in Haiti (Troy Livesay and his wife Tara)....if you are interested...the site is:  http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/


Also, I am following  Anderson Cooper on Twitter.  


I hope these links work for you...I have cut and pasted them from the sites that I am following, and believe me, I am no techie. 



So...we can help by being informed.  We can help with our American dollars. We can help by talking about what we are seeing and how we feel about it.  We simply cannot be remote.


Blessings,


Kathy

ten thousand ingredient Fajitas

Ha! We were watching Bobby Flay throw down on TV the other night and wanted to make his fajitas. Dude makes some long complicated food! We really enjoyed the taste though!


We added to the complication by making our own gluten free Curry paste for his recipe. Also, a few gluten free substitutions and omissions here and there.

First of all. Keep in mind that you need to marinade the steak for 4- 8 hours.

Read through everything several times before starting.
The Curry Paste will keep for a week in the fridge- use it in another dish that week!
The BBQ sauce will keep in the fridge for 1 week. Barbecue some chicken with it another day!
The BBQ Rub will last for ages in a sealed container. Again, nice on any meat or veggie!

I would prepare it in this order.
1. start by making the curry paste, make marinade and marinade the steak in the morning.
2. make the BBQ rub and BBQ sauce.
3. make the avocado crema
4. grill the steaks, let sit
5. grill the onions while warming the tortillas and letting the steak sit.
6. eat three helpings like we did. :)

Here we go-

Curry Paste-

Ingredients:
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 tsp. gluten free Thai chili sauce
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 Tbsp organic tomato ketchup
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp. dried shrimp, ground in a mortar and pestle.
1 tsp. sucanat
2 Tbsp chili powder
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions-

1. Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
store in an airtight container in fridge for up to 7 days.


BBQ Rub-

Ingredients:

3/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup paprika
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp dry mustard
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. coarse salt

Directions-

1. Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container until ready to use

BBQ Sauce-

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 cup organic tomato ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 canned chipoltle chile in adobo, chopped
2 Tbsp sucanat
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp molasses
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over med heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and cook until soft (3 min). Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Add the ketchup and water, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

3. Transfer mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a bowl and allow to come to room temperature.


Barbecued Onions

Ingredients-

BBQ rub (see above)
BBQ Sauce (see above)

2 Walla Walla onions cut into 1/4 thick slices
canola oil

(also slice up some red pepper to grill beside the onions if you like)

Directions:

1. Heat cast iron pan on medium. Brush the onion slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Season one side of the slices with BBQ rub.

2. Grill the onions rub-side down until lightly golden brown. Flip over, brush with BBQ sauce and grill until just cooked through. Separate the slices into rings and serve with the fajitas.

Avocado Crema

Ingredients:

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup water
1 lime, juice of
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions-

1. Place the avocado, water, lime juice, rice vinegar, and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend to incorporate. (store in fridge until ready to serve.)



Fajitas:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red curry paste(see above)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, cut in half or thirds crosswise
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
12 organic corn tortillas, wrapped in foil and warmed in oven
BBQ onions (see above)
Avocada Crema (see above)


Directions:

1. Combine the curry paste (see above), canola oil, and 1/4 cup of the lime juice in a food processor until smooth.

2. Place the steak in a large baking dish and add half the marinade. Turn to coat the steak in the marinade, pour the remaining marinade over, cover and refrigerate for 4 - 8 hours .

3. Whisk together the honey and remaining lime juice in a bowl.

4. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Remove steak from marinade and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the steak until golden brown and slightly charred on both sides, brushing with honey lime juice a few times and cook to medium rare, about 12 minutes total. (about 120 or 125° internal temp.) Remove from grill and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing across the grain into thin slices. Place meat on a platter.

5. Lay warm tortillas on a flat surface, add a few slices of beef down the center, top with onion slices, grilled peppers and small dollops of avocado crema. Roll and eat.

Hawthorne Threads

Ooooooooooo..... mgosh!  I have found it.  I didn't know it was there.  Here it is!!!
Found this link over on Filminthefridge and clicked it just because it was there.  Well, let me tell you all....you will love this site.  All our wonderful new stuff is there from Amy to Windham House and everyone in between, with those adorable Japanese fabrics to boot. There are patterns as well.

Click on a collection, then a fabric and you will see a larger graphic of the design, then some color bars underneath where you can select coordinates to go with your fabric.  The user interface is friendly and easy and the site design is eye candy.   Not only that.....
...............well you have to go an see.

Flikr Photo of the Day

Love this series of quilts and the photos from Ashley over at FilmInTheFridge .

New Year's Day....

Yesterday was a grand day....beautiful weather, houseguests and fooooooood!

Garth has been asking a friend from the Bay Area up to visit for who knows how long.  Yesterday, he and his wife came to visit and spend the night.  And guess what they brought????

DIM SUM!  Lots of magical pink bakery boxes packed little incredible foodie delights....pork buns, little egg custards, won ton-wrapped pork and vegie jems, steamed buns with roast pork and those wonderful shrimp dumplings with the translucent skin.  Finally, there's dessert. There were little custards; and we had a sweetcake that is going to be dessert tonight.



Ohmygosh!

Many Lentil Daal

You can make this with as many different types of split lentils as you like.
If you only have 2 kinds (like I did tonight) That works fine as well.

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp split green lentils
5 Tbsp split red lentils

(if you have any split gram lentils ; split and husked black lentils (urad dal) ; or split yellow lentils, you can substitute some of the volume with those)

1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
2 Tbsp ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1 tsp. ground garam masala
1 tomato, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 lemon, juice of

Tadka-
1 Tbsp ghee
1 dried red chili
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
4 cloves
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Mix all of the lentils together, wash under running water. Leave them to soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Drain.

2. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. tumeric. Bring to a boil, skim if necessary. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes (or until the lentils are are very soft).

3. While the lentils are cooking, heat the ghee in a frying pan until hot, add the onion and cook until golden brown. Add the remaining salt and tumeric, the chili powder, the the garam masala and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomato and cook until soft.

4. Pour the onion and tomato mixture over the lentils and bring to a boil. When it has all reduced to your liking, stir in some fresh cilantro and a splash of lemon juice. Remove from the heat and keep lid on.

5. Make the tadka quickly- heat the ghee in a small saucepan until smoking, add the whole red chili, cumin seeds, cloves and garlic. As the garlic begins to turn golden, remove from heat and pour over the lentils. Cover with lid again and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove lid, stir once and serve immediately.

6. Serve with basmati rice and chutney.

Just Listed In My Shop....Look, Look....

What do you think....is this suedecloth bag just green or deep celery....how about basil?

I have just listed this and the Lucy Tote in my shop.  

I love suedecloth, but it is not new to me....But  Laura Gunn’s new fabric line “Lantern Bloom” knocks my sox off and really shows off this bag…or this bag shows of her fabric line. The lining is also from the line. Laura is an artist and this bag, inside and out, looks like a painting. The aqua background really makes the orange Chinese Lantern Flowers pop.