halloween!

you know how in some families there are things that are passed down from generation to generation? i guess family heirlooms? sandia and i don't come from a family like that. instead we like to buy cheap silly toys and knick nacks that we keep for years and get tons of enjoyment out of. take our 10 cent pumpkins for instance. purchased about 10 years ago by my mom... every year they come out to play for halloween. they hide all over the house and pop up in the strangest of places! this year they were found in the bookcase trying to look inconspicious in the teacup display. caught ya!

nano

i've been wanting a nano for awhile now. the shuffle doesn't quite cut it with it's lack of screen. the apple store has lowered it's prices on the refurbished ones! i don't NEED one, but the 4G black nano is only $149! whoa.

mini harvest

I have one square, or four plants of chard in my garden. Two of them are big and have several leaves, whereas the other two are about an inch tall, and maybe the same size that they were a month ago. Wanting to even things up a little big and actually eat some vegetables, I picked a few leaves. I'm not sure if I've ever eaten chard before today. I didn't know what to do, but some recipes suggested stir frying it in butter. That advice has usually not steered me wrong in the past, so I tried it out. The chard was nice and leafy, almost like spinach but with less of that irony taste, and I was surprised to think that it was a little salty. I think I always expected it to be slightly bitter, but it wasn't. I'm saving the stems for something else.

Next up on my garden to-do list is to plant more lettuce in a pest-proof container. I've read that snails and slugs don't like to crawl over copper because it gives them a little electric shock. Those buggers have been eating up my lettuce and it is highly annoying. After waiting a long time, my lettuce sprouts finally got their first true leaves. I was excited and could almost taste the salad, but the next day when I went out to the garden, they were down to only one leaf apiece! No wonder the lettuce never seems to grow! This little arrangement should solve my pest problems, unless it's actually a rabbit doing the nibbling...

unagi sushi

if you couldn’t tell by now, i’m sort of food obsessed. this weeks food obsession: japanese food.

i’m not really a big fan of cooking japanese food due to the long prep time (usually involving chopping vegetables into extremely cute shapes and sizes). not that it’s not tasty and pretty. i love it when someone else prepares it for me. i just don’t have the patience to sit around and do that stuff.

this week however, i decided that i would make something with this cute, clear, rectangular thing that has been sitting in my drawer for i don’t know how long. i don’t even know what it’s called. but i do know that it’s for shaping rice.

i ended up layering sushi rice with avocado and unagi (bbq’d japanese eel) with a drizzling unagi sauce. after i took the picture i sprinkled a bit of sesame seeds over the top because i felt like it needed a little something.

below are some simplified recipes for the rice and unagi sauce involved in my creation. Sorry they’re not very comprehensive. sometimes i just cook to taste...

Sushi Rice (cheater style)

Make a pot of rice. Mix seasoned rice vinegar (to taste) into hot rice. Fan rice as you incorporate in rice vinegar to create a glossy sheen on rice.

Unagi Sauce

1 part soy sauce
2 parts mirin
Sugar to taste

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Let sauce sit on medium heat until thickened.

*update*
so my friend told me that the picture looks like maggots! i thought it actually looked tasty! what do you think?

flowers and weird ladies who bump into things

I am a Violet
What Flower Are You?

Things are growing over in the garden, but I still keep forgetting to bring my camera. Today I went to the hardware store to get a chrysanthemum plant, since for some reason I wanted one. It seemed seasonally appropriate and I kind of wanted a yellow or orange flower. I also tried to get a skull mold to make sugar skulls or almond jello skulls, but apparently the only designs that get sold are pumpkins, ghosts and witch hats.

Once I was at the hardware store, I ended up grabbing a tiny kalanchoe plant in a 1" pot. It's so cute! Haha. Then I also decided that I needed to have some violas in my life and picked up a six-pack. Then I got a chrysanthemum (not yellow). Take all of the three above steps and then imagine me putting back all of the things I picked up, and then selecting new ones that look almost exactly the same, and then repeated the last two steps another time. Once I made it to the checkout stand, I was waiting in the weirdly long line when I felt a tree brush up into my back. Sort of stunned, I turned around to see that the woman behind me in line had placed some shrub on the floor, supposedly not noticing that I was a human and not some garden center display or another shrub! I gave her a dirty look and began plotting what I would do if she did it again (saying "excuse me!!" really loud and with attitude, additional dirty looks, etc.). She kept pacing around the area, seeming to look for something, but in kind of a weird, squinty way. When she went to take her place behind me in line again, she decided that she needed to move her shrub again and AGAIN hit me in the back with her plant. I decided that she was insane and that she was slightly scary, so all of my plans went out the window and I only gave her some additional weird looks. Somehow, everyone else in the line managed to not rub their purchases up against the other people in line!

It was like the time lf, our mom and I were sitting in the car and this lady hit our car as she pulled into the parking space and then hit it again when she left! Hello!!

P.S. I went to another store and ended up getting a yellow chrysanthemum (and some bulbs) there. It's cute.

ornament swap

ornament swap


freshlyblended is hosting an ornament swap. i'm pretty excited to participate. hopefully i don't end up procrastinating like i did with my post card swap. i do happen to have a couple of ideas swimming around in my head already!

unexpected flower

it looks like my balcony garden is winding down. i walked outside this morning to discover that one of my (thai?) basil plants had flowered! the tiny flowers are a lovely shade of light purple. i tried to get closer shot but my lens isn't quite good enough to get a good macro.

enterprise

i've discoverd that one of the great things about living on the edge of downtown oakland is that you can rent a car roughly two blocks away. that means i can walk there. awesome! and everyone was really nice there too.

pumpkin sage pasta

I'm not as much of a pumpkin maniac (or a food photographer) as lf, but I think this pumpking sage pasta sounds very promising, but small. A 1-1/4 cup serving size?! I think I'll have to at least double the recipe and decimate my sage plant. Yum.

Updated 10/23: The pumpkin pasta was quite yummy, but I'm not sure if it tasted like pumpkin. That could either be a good or bad thing, since I recently tried pumpkin ice cream and didn't really like it. It was something about the cinnamon and pumpkin, which is weird, since I like cinnamon. Oh well.

ninja dad

i've been meaning to post this up for awhile.



ninja dad if you visit here... you're on our sidebar too! =)

just the way things go

I've been pretty busy on this end with reading and writing and other random things. As usual, this means that I develop weird urges to obsess over things other than reading or writing. Some recent obsessions have included:

1. How to make a bonsai out of wisteria. I picked up a seed pod on my way home from campus one day. Wisteria pods are sort of soft and velvety on the outside (except for American wisteria) and I've always liked velvet. When I was in junior high, I cut up an old velvet dress and covered my binder in velvet. My mom was not amused. The pod was half-open, which I thought was promising. When I got home, I put it on top of my computer monitor and forgot about it until a couple days later, when the pod suddenly snapped open and launched itself into the air and behind my desk. I was reading through some gardening forums and found out that wisteria can be used for bonsai (though the poster was pretty adamantly anti-bonsai). Since I don't exactly have a trellis or any place to put a trellis, this bonsai thing seemed like a good idea. However, whether I need new, obsessive hobbies that involve training plants with various tools, is highly debatable.

2. Beans. My mom gave me a jar filled with four different layers of beans and I had no idea what to do with them, but I wanted to use the jar, so that meant using the beans! I forget the exact scope of the bean obsession, but here are some of the recipes I used.

-Black Bean Soup - This one came out a little bland, but that probably wasn't helped by the fact that I forgot to put in the vinegar and the sugar. I think next time I'll go with a recipe that includes cilantro or chipotle or something to give it a little more interest.

-Sprouted Bean Rice Pot - This was very tasty and I actually made it twice. The gomashio, sesame seeds ground with salt, was really good, and also made me decide that I needed to finally get a mortar and pestle. Hahaha! A mortar and pestle. I guess I've wanted one for awhile and now I can finally grind up these cardamom pods that I've had. I think this particular project was related to the bean obsession, but also to the microgreens obsession, what with the sprouting and all. I had mung beans in the cabinet just because. Anyway, gomashio, thumbs up.

3. Microgreens. My friend mentioned that he was growing microgreens (sprouts with about four leaves). I had no idea what they were, so I did some research, at which point I started to get a little excited because I have a huge amount of mizuna and daikon seeds. I'm not sure how much mizuna and daikon one person can eat, so sprouts or microgreens seemed like a good way to put the seeds to use. After all that, I haven't actually made any microgreens. Haha!

4. Socks. I tried making them before, but a sock obsession never really got off the ground. After a new addition to the family prompted some scrambling on my end to come up with a small baby gift and I remembered the baby sock pattern from Interweave, I joined Socktoberfest. Once you get a hang of them, socks are supposedly pretty straightforward with less fitting issues than something like a sweater, and you have to wear socks everyday (at least during non-flip flop weather). Let's hope the yarn turns into socks at some point.

Whew.

pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin pie spice cream cheese frosting

fall is my favorite season of the year. the cold crisp air, leaves turning color, and… pumpkins! i’m definitely a fan of all things pumpkin. pie, pudding, ice cream, and of course, cupcakes!

I started out with relish magazine’s recipe for pumpkin cupcakes.
it was my first time using a recipe from relish and I was honestly not that impressed. the cupcakes ended up being nicely shaped but pretty dry. who likes a dry cupcake? not me!

since the first batch were disappointing I ended up trying to make a second batch of cupcakes. this time I used a tried and true recipe. during my first “real” job out of college, my manager brought the best pumpkin bread to a company potluck. when I asked him about the bread his eyes lit up. “pumpkin bread is my specialty! I’ll bring you the recipe tomorrow.” true to his word he showed up the next day with a recipe card for me to copy. several jobs (and years) later, ted’s pumpkin bread recipe is still my favorite.
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ted’s pumpkin bread

1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs

preheat oven to 325 degrees.

sift together baking soda, salt, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. in a separate bowl mix together oil, water, and pumpkin puree. blend dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. blend in two eggs. pour into a 5X9 loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.
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I only made a small alteration to the recipe to make cupcakes. instead of a loaf pan, I used soufflé cups filled just slightly less than halfway leaving room for the frosting topper and baked them for 25 minutes.

the decoration idea was inspired by kuidaore’s post about her recent tea party. after frosting the cupcake using chockylit’s recipe for thick cream cheese frosting (with a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice mixed in), i topped the cupcake with a marzipan flower made with my new cookie cutter set.

some recipes just never fail you! =)

harvest

harvest
Originally uploaded by itslynzee.

it's my first experience growing plants from seed. pretty fun if you ask me! the salad tasted nice and fresh. made a sort of thai peanut dressing. there was no recipe but the ingredients were: rice vinegar, peanut oil, peanut butter, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. mix all those things to taste. chop up some peanuts, green onions and cilantro and toss them in with the greens. pretty satisfying to know that i grew it. =)

sock history

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started making socks about four years ago. I made one sock using a customized pattern that I found online somewhere. The sock didn't really fit and the second sock languished on the needles for years until I decided that I needed them for something else and ripped them out of the project. The half-knit ribbing then dangled around the ball of yarn for years.


What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

Since that pair never really reached completion, I guess my second sock project was really my first pair. I don't know how they've held up or if the recipient actually wears them.


What would you have done differently?

I think I liked the way those came out, but since I haven't been around to see them age, there could have been a glaring error or finishing issue that I don't know about.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

It's only been those two sock projects for me, so I've only used Sisu sock yarn in pumpkin tweed and Patons Kroy. I don't think either one was spectacular, so maybe I would have chosen to use nicer yarn! The Sisu yarn is actually three threads held together, making for a pretty splitty knitting experience. Up next after the tiny pair I'm making out of those is some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. Anticipation is high.


Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I've only used dpns so far. When I had been reading about socks online, the Magic Loop method had this aura of mystery, but when I found out that it was really just making a loop out of the extra cable from the circular needle, I felt let down. I had been doing something similar to finish hats when I didn't have the corresponding pair of double pointed needles, and found that experience to be far from magical. I could be prompted to use circular needles to make two socks at once, but circular needles don't grow on trees or in community garden plots!


Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I don't really have a preference at this point. Maybe I will have one once I make a pair of socks for myself that fits. Then I will also join the Handknit Socks + Shoes = Happiness Forever flickr pool.


How many pairs have you made?

1 pair and two half pairs.

socktoberfest

I decided to join , organized by Lolly. It's more of a month of appreciation of socks than a deadline-oriented knit-a-long, so the hope is that I won't feel stressed out or lame if I don't do a whole lot more than sit around thinking about socks and looking at sock yarn online. How could I say no to a hilarious stein of beer in the shape of a sock?

Some of my current sock inspirations are these knee-high socks, the ubiquitous Jaywalkers, the confusing to spell pomatomus, this color scheme (above), and some flummery socks.

the met

Cai Guo-Qiang’s
Move Along, Nothing to See Here, 2006
Painted resin with sharp objects confiscated at airport security checkpoints

this sculpture was hanging out on the roof of the metropolitan museum of art. it seemed funny, ironic, and sad to me. all at the same time.

adventures in hummus

Browsing around in ethnic grocery stores is sort of a pastime for me. There’s something oddly fascinating about being surrounded by unknown spices and vegetables. The other day i found myself with some time to kill and standing in front of an indian supermarket. Hmmm... what happens next? I went in and bought some dried chickpeas of course!

I’ve followed maki’s recipe for hummus before with pretty good results. Maki’s recipe makes gobs of hummus. Way too much for one person with an already overstuffed freezer to handle. So i made a half batch. I also altered the recipe a little bit just to suit my tastes... less garlic (i used 8 cloves), cooked my chickpeas in the slow cooker, and used chicken broth instead of the chickpea water to thin the hummus. when i was done i split the half batch in half again to add some additional flavorings.

The night i picked up the chickpeas we had a potluck of sorts and one of the participants made wasabi mashed potatoes. Man! That was good! It made me think about all the other things that wasabi might taste good in. i decided that hummus might be one of them. =) i just mixed wasabi powder into the hummus mixture and kept tasting until i thought it was right. I think starting out with a tablespoon is probably the safest way to go with when using the "season to taste" method.

For the other batch, I added sundried tomates to the other half-of-a-half batch. I chopped up about 1/2 of a cup of sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil and pureed them right into the hummus mixture. I didn’t really think it tasted that great that night but the by the next day the flavors had really set in. the picture is the sundried tomato version of the hummus piped onto some (erica’s kitchen/grocery outlet again!) crackers and topped with a fresh basil chiffonade.

mint chocolate chip gelato

Yum yum. I used chocolate mint and I was surprised that the gelato actually turned a light green color. I was stirring the mixture on the stove, waiting for it to thicken when my friend called. When she found out that I was making ice cream, she got pretty excited and asked if I could bring some to campus the next day. Since I was planning on chilling the mixture before freezing it, that didn't happen. She still hasn't made it over to eat the ice cream and seems concerned that I will eat it all before she can. The batch is pretty small, filling up a teacup, a yogurt container and another quarter cup container, but it is rich enough that I can only eat a little bit at a time, especially with all the chocolate chunks.

not spinach!

by now just about everyone has heard about the e.coli scandal that has rocked the organic farming industry. I was amused to find that the mache at the grocery outlet had been marked with a fluorescent orange “does not contain spinach” sticker! as if the label clearly marking the package as mache was not enough. I used the mache in place of spinach in what is normally my spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette. mind you this is not because I’m afraid of eating spinach. it’s just because mache is yummy!