Quinoa!

So, I guess I've been cooking a little more than crafting as of late, but hey, whatever I have time for...



I made this today (thanks to 101 cookbooks, again!): a blackberry and walnut and cinnamon and delciousness quinoa recipe! And, I got to try out the new, but actually used, ceramic bowls that I got at a garage sale on Sunday! I've been looking for nice bowls and cups and stuff for my dorm, and when I saw these I had to get them. And then the Quinoa recipe came along, and obviously it was a perfect combination.



In regards to the actual end results of the quinoa, the blackberries weren't so fab, but on the whole, it was such a perfect breakfast/brunch/lunch meal. And yeah, quinoa...it really has a knack for filling you up. I guess its all the protein or whatever, but the point is, I ate way too much and now I understand how "less is more" DEFINITELY applies to this recipe.

In other news, I'm making my second dress for my fashion design class and it's coming along swell. Part of the dress is using this gorgeous fabric I got in India, so I can't wait to see it finished! Pictures to come...

Lemon and Yogurt Scones!

I love tea.

And everything associated with it: brewing it, serving it, making it look all pretty, etc. So, seeing as the school year is winding down, I have planned a cute little tea party for some friends and myself at my house. Scones, I figured, were a must. So this weekend was a test round for the scones, and I must say they did quite nicely! I think I'm going to put more lemon zest in them, because you couldn't quite taste it enough, and I'm also going to make them a tad smaller, because despite how much I love monster-sized scones, I plan on making a lot of other finger food to go with it, and I don't want people to fill up too quickly!

If you are interested in the recipe, it can be found here (and thank you to the writer of the aforementioned blog!)

In other news, it's really warming up, which is nice because that means more dinners outside. I can't wait until summer...popcicles, sno-cones, running barefoot, the smell of hot sidewalks wet from sprinklers. So nice and nostalgic. The only thing that freaks me out is the idea of being COMPLETELY OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. It's a little surreal, and a lot scary. college...College...COLLEGE!

Embroidered Tea Bags!

Lately, I have been sewing little reusable tea bags and embroidering on them. I got the pattern from Craft Leftovers. The cool thing is, they actually work, and after several uses, they get this great tea-stained (obviously!) look. I think I want to sell them, and I will probably try my hand at this whole Etsy thing. Anyways, I love making them and brewing all my favorite teas. Mmm, just thinking about that Mauritus tea blend, yum.

In other news, next weekend I'm going to Disneyland! Yesssss! Life is so awesome.

Poppyseed Pancakes

So last weekend, thanks to 101 cookbooks, I made some delicious poppyseed pancakes. They have sunflower seeds too, so they are extra tasty! And they have this yummy orange/lemon compote stuff on it. Being pretty "new" to cooking (to say the least), I found these really easy and fun to make.

But I have been doing things other than cooking, namely bicycling! And as of right now, watching the Office. So pretty much, everything is great. Bicycling after school, working on setting up my darkroom, watching new Office episodes, all that.

Anyways, until next time....

Cats' Tongues!

By far the prettiest Cat Tongue I made...

Last night I made these petit fours called "Cats' Tongues." And I'm not gonna lie...it was way beyond me. I'm not much of a baker, or food maker in general, and these were pretty difficult for me. The first batch I made was way over cooked so I couldn't get them off the pan (sigh), and of course, the second batch was way under-done and floppy. Fortunately, the last batch was just right.
Timing is everything with these things; you have to get them out of the oven right as they begin to brown, so that they are flexible, but not brittle. Then you have to wrap them around wooden spoon handles! And let them dry in their perfect little helixes for 10 minutes.

Tasty, yes, but I wouldn't say that they were worth the effort!!

A Paper PDA!

Yay I made something! The other day I was using Stumbleupon (best Firefox add-on ever, by the way) and I came across this site where you can make your own little paper organizer. It's called PocketMod and it's quite neat, really. So I printed out one of the little organizers and folded it up and it was great. So I decided to make one of my own, using their same template, but making my own pages and designs using my tablet.If it tickles your fancy, you can download the template and print out a few for yourself!

Click to download the jpeg!

Until next time...

Russian/Hunter's Hat

Hello!

I'm bad at this whole blog thing. I'm just so busy, I can't seem to find the time to post anything here, let alone make anything worthy of being posted! That is, except for today!

Being Veterans Day, I had the day off, so I took the opportunity to crochet my very first crochet project: a hat! And to think I finished it in 3 hours, when these things usually take me weeks. Anyways, I am happy with the results and I intend to wear it when it gets colder.

So there it is. It's sort of Russian-esque mixed with a hunting hat. A Russian hunter, if you will. I got the pattern (for free!!) from Lions Brand. So check that out if you want to make it. It is quite easy, comes in several variations, and they have pretty models that make you want to wear it!

My ongoing project, a cable-knit scarf, has been put on hold, but I will try to pick it up again. I want to be able to wear it in the winter. And I still have to finish a sweater that I started knitting 2 years ago. I'm bad. All I have left to do is fasten on the pockets, but I think I stitched them on upside down, so that might be a gigantic issue. I'll make do...I have to finish it by Thanksgiving anyways. That's my self-imposed deadline; this sweater must end!!

Until next time, whenever that may be....