Canning!

So I may have gotten a little too into canning. The proof is in the cupboard:

Fun fact: I don't really like jam. At most I can take a spoonful in my oatmeal in the morning before I'm on the verge of a sugar coma. Why do I keep making it? A mild mason jar obsession may have something to do with it...

I've made- left to right

Apricot Rosemary Jam: (top jar, leftmost column). A little too much rosemary- wish I'd put the herb in a cheesecloth bag so I could've mitigated how intense it got. But! really awesome when mixed with soy sauce and sriracha and used as a glaze for chicken. Nom.

Gingery Plum Jam: (bottom jar, leftmost column). May be my jam favorite to date, wish I hadn't given so many jars away. It ended up being a little too firm but great when warmed.

Ginger Apple Cranberry Jam: (from this lovely book- obviously I have a favorite recipe source). so much sweetness, but also too much lemon. Also made too much of it. I did get to play around with apples though (Winesap, Cortland and...I forgot the third one). Anyone want a jar? Those pints are going to be tough to work through.

Gingery (Bosc) Pear Jam: (Third column). I forget where I got this, sadly. I almost burnt the bottom, but I think that added a little carmel-y depth to the flavor that I really like, even though I'm not a big pear fan. A little loose though- was worried about keeping it on to thicken when the bottom was burning...

The remaining columns are variations on the following recipes: Blood Orange Marmalade, Kumquat Marmalade and Meyer Lemon Curd (actually not pictured up there, whoops).

The Kumquat (the shortest column) is a little on the sweet side, but I think with time the citrus will assert itself and be easier for me to take. Also I was a little lazy (and seriously in need of a small-batch canning pot) so the curd is not shelf stable...but it's so effin tasty I can't imagine it lasting more than a month in my fridge anyhow. Here's a pic, as it's not one of the above:

The real star for me was the Blood Orange Marmalade. Marmalade uses the pith, whose bitterness balances out that intense sweetness I'm not the biggest fan of.

I've made straight up batches, some with honey, one with a meyer lemon when I realized I was short an orange, and- probably my favorite- a batch with a little jalapeno. The heat is mild, just a little tickle in the back of your throat. I doubt people will even realize it's in there unless you tell them.

Here it is as breakfast, on sourdough:

Dangerous stuff, this. So I may need to stop canning for a bit, or at least until next season's produce tempts me. Rhubarb, you're on my list.

Dinosaur Earrings!!

Last year my mom gifted me a bag of dinosaur party favors. There were six kinds, I'm still not sure what breeds (not the right word) they are. But they're light enough for earrings and just generally amazing, so it really doesn't matter.

One week last October I made a point to make a new pair every day, using my standard drill/headpin/hook method. They all kind of tie for favorite- here are the Stegis:

I've included the rest after the jump, as well as a handy link as to where to buy your own. Maybe later I'll post a how to- but as long as you have a power drill you can probably just guess and be right :)

Partial Recap

So...it's been a bit.

We'll need to change the name of this blog, probably.

I've really restarted making stuff...though I never stopped? I just recently refell in love with the process of creation, and regained my will to make things and the desire to share it. And other things I'm still formulating.

Since my last post....almost a year ago :)...I've made (partial partial list)

• About a millions EARRINGS- bottle caps mostly, but some fun things like these typewriter keys for a friend:

• Bags - yes, plural. Just barely. The version 2 of the bag I mentioned in my last post:

 

 And a new similar bag based off a storebought one from years ago- just in the test phase now though:

•  I've made a recent brief but intense foray into Aprons- here's my original 1.5 hr prototype:

And more recently they've gotten classy- though my favorites I don't have pics of here, I'll detail in another post.

• And well, everything else. Including infusing vodka a bit, and etching flasks to store it!

 

And that doesn't even include food. My god, the canning alone.

More posts soon. Promise promise.

Sketchbook Project

So yesterday was the deadline to mail in your sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project 2012. I'm very proud to say I made that deadline, though I won't lie and say I wasn't tempted to email them and ask if I could just drop the book off later in the week. They are in Brooklyn after all...

Originally I'd settled on a sketchbook about my current project- making a copy of a bag I loved and destroyed:

It was supposed to be a guide detailing what I did from start to finish. Only problem: I wasn't going to finish the bag in time.

So I adapted it to being a guide through the first two muslins. Only problem: I accidentally cut out the second muslin wrong- the back panel pattern piece was flipped so it'll be a lefty bag instead of a righty and I had/have no will to finish it.


So I altered my idea again, to just being through that first muslin. Presumably I'd detail changes I was going to make in the pattern for the second. Here is the first muslin is question:

I was even going to include my pattern if people wanted to play along. This was my idea through Monday afternoon, the day before the deadline. Monday night I realized the draft I'd written up was terrible- it would just end up being pages and pages of words.

So I decided to scrap it. I worked out a plan to just do diagrams of most of the bags I'd made over the years, including inspiration and some construction notes. I worked out a quick draft Tuesday morning. I think I drew my first line in the actual sketchbook around 11:30am. I finished at 2:05pm. My hand is still sore.

I'm not thrilled at how it turned out- I was hoping to do a lot more- but given my time constraints I like the end result. Here's a sample page (yay for the fax machine at work's ability to scan and email things, since I didn't pay for it to be scanned by the people running the project):

Maybe one day I'll post the whole thing. For now you'll just have to view it in person. My Sketchbook's number is S66384 if you wanted to look it up during the tour.

TBP: Le Pain Quotidien Recipes

I didn't mention it when I posted about my Le Pain Quotidien Bread class, but we got a little packet to bring home that had a few recipes (two, actually- white and whole wheat) and other bread basics in it. I'd held onto it but hadn't made anything because they were both weight-based and I didn't own a kitchen scale.

Well I got one for xmas! So last weekend a went a bit crazy making bread. I was pleased to find the white bread recipe was as perfect as it was in class- the lovely tacky but not sticky consistency I strive for but hardly ever achieve. We'd used the basic white bread for pizza dough in class- and as D and I didn't have much for supper in the fridge, that's what I did again here:

A little bit of mozz, homemade tomato sauce, spinach and eggs. It's a shame one of the yolks broke. So so tasty.

The whole wheat bread didn't come together quite as well at first- but I let it hang out in the fridge for a few days and used my Le Creuset when I baked it and...well...just look:

So pretty!

I wish I'd remembered to score the bread- and though the bottom was a bit dark it could've stood to cook a little longer. Still, very very delicious. Will definitely be using these recipes again.

Turkey Chili

This is something you will hear me say a lot: my Le Creuset is probably my favorite thing ever. It was a surprise gift for xmas. I need to give him a name. Suggestions would be appreciated.

This past weekend was so cold. Nowadays I am always cold, so I was just colder. Though I'd planned to make turkey chili this past weekend anyway, the weather really pushed me along to do it. Apologies for the vagueness of the recipe- hopefully it inspires you to kind of wing it, instead of just frustrating you.

Yummy:

Ingredients:
2 turkey thighs
1 yellow onion
A few cloves of garlic (or like 10, if you're me)
2 jalepenos
1 28 oz can of diced tomatos
appox 1 1/2 cups turkey (or chicken) stock
1 bell pepper - green was cheap so I had that
2 cans of beans (I used 1 chickpea and 1 pinto)
1 tbs recaito (or some cilantro)
Bay leaves
Chili powder
Cumin
Chipotle

Helpful tools
Dutch Oven
Tongs (I improvised with two forks)

Put your dutch oven on high heat, once it gets nice and hot drizzle in some oil and sear your turkey thighs. While that's searing dice up your onions, garlic and jalapenos (remove the seeds if you wish- I didn't). Once they get nice and brown move them to a plate.  Be sure to keep those tasty bits on the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat down to medium and toss in the onion/garlic/jalapeno you just diced and saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Then add your can of tomatoes and the stock. Add your recaito/cilantro, and as much spice as you wish. I enjoy cumin, chili powder and chipotle. Also two bay leaves. Honestly I didn't measure. If you're nervous err on the side of caution- you can always add more later.

Throw your turkey thighs back in and let all that simmer for about a half hour, or until your thighs are cooked through.

While that's going have a bit of fun. Take your bell pepper and wash it well, removing any stickers. Then turn another burner onto high and put the pepper down on top of it. Char the outside well, using the tongs (or the two forks) to turn it to get it it blackened all around. Then put it in a bowl, cover that tightly with plastic wrap and let it cool.

Now take your turkey thighs out and let them cool. Once you won't burn yourself, take your two forks and shred the meat. Add that back into the pot.

At this point that bell pepper should be about cool, so take that out, remove the stem and seeds and cut it so it lays flat. Then take a knife and scrape off that charred skin. Dice the rest and also add it to the pot.

Then drain and rinse your beans and throw those in the pot. Let everything simmer until they're the beans are enough for your liking.

Take another taste and adjust your spices.

Eat, preferably with some crusty bread.

Cranberry Ginger Shrub

What is a shrub? It's like a simple syrup...only with vinegar. Does that sound weird? I've become a bit obsessed with tart and spice, so it didn't bother me at all. It may turn people off though- just say it's awesome. They will agree.

I'd been wanting to make a ginger shrub for a while, but since we're in the middle of The Great Cranberry Overbuying Experiment of 2011 (now extended into 2012), it seemed like a good idea to add some of that as well. Our freezer is full. God help us.

Cranberry-Ginger Shrub (recipe slightly adapted from Well-Fed Everyone)

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 giant piece of ginger, peeled and diced (exact amount up to you- I err on the side of way too much)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

For me the right amount of ginger is one that attacks your face with spice. So I can't say how much I added to the shrub, but it was a decent amount.

After peeling and dicing the ginger heat up the water and sugar in a nonreactive pot. Once the sugar dissolves, add the ginger and let it simmer for 10 or so minutes to really get the flavor in there.

While that's simmering, rinse and pick through your cranberries. Add them to the pot and simmer, stirring every once in a while.

Let it get nice and thick- at least 15 minutes, maybe longer. Then add the vinegar and let it simmer for another five minutes to let the flavors meld.

Take it off the heat and let it cool a bit, then put a strainer over a large bowl and pour the contents of your pot through it. Take a spoon and press down on the berries to get all the lovely juice out.

Let it cool on the counter, then pour it into a bottle and stash it in the fridge.

Once it's cool it's great added to seltzer, maybe a little rum if you're in the mood. It's also great added to a mug of warm water. Such a wonderfully versatile beverage, I'll definitely be making more.