Easter Crafts!

For Easter this year, I decided to head off the possibility that my family could plan a luncheon at Golden Corral by offering to host an Easter brunch. I started painstakingly planning the menu and decor a few weeks in advance, and spent the week leading up to Sunday excitedly trying different natural egg dyeing techniques and making prospective timelines for the weekend. I. Was. Ready. 

For the eggs, I looked online for the various things that can be used to naturally dye eggs, and just kind of did my own thing. I would take whatever the color ingredient was, mix it with about 1/8 to 1/4 cup white vinegar, and place it in a glass bowl overnight or for around eight or nine hours. I mixed it around every so often. 

Above is the blueberry mixture. I thawed frozen berries and mashed them with a fork, added vinegar, and then the eggs. On the right is turmeric. I loved this color! I used several tablespoons of turmeric. 

Above from top to bottom is turmeric, blueberry and coffee. The coffee just made it look like a normal brown egg, but I did enjoy the speckles and inconsistencies in the shade. 

For this one, I put the eggs in there with beet peels and vinegar. I was so excited about this color. When I finally took out all the eggs and put them in various centerpieces and decorative bowls, I felt like fucking Martha Stewart. Unfortunately, being natural and whatnot, these colors faded in the sun, and my beautiful brunch took place in the backyard in the unforgiving beams of color-killing sunshine. Thanks a lot, sun! 

I thought I was really clever coming up with the whole wreath and green Spanish moss thing, but then I looked back at the initial website that inspired me and noticed how I just stole exactly what that person did. There are no new ideas! 

Here's another amazing idea I stole from the internet. It's an Easter banner made from paint swatches! I loved it! Here it is blowing in the wind above the food table.  

These are some little tulip toothpicks I made with hot glue and pretty paper. They were for the fruit, but no one used them except me. Maybe they thought they were too pretty to use. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough that I wanted people to spear their fruit with tiny spring-inspired toothpicks. Party planner problems. 

For the table settings, I utilized my huge stash of small glass jars. Each one served as a water glass, but initially I set a colorful napkin and a fork in each one. 

For the lamb and potatoes, I made two white sauces; one minty and one filled with horseradish. I didn't want people to be confused and I also wanted an excuse to make another tiny paper and toothpick craft, so I killed two crafty birds with one stone and labeled them with these adorable egg-shaped markers. 

Here's me checking on my crown rack of lamb. 

My crafty decorations and elaborate menu were fawned over by all, and we got tons of great photos of our loved ones having a fabulous Easter! Thanks to my exhaustive planning and timeline-making, the brunch was an absolute smashing success. Special thanks  also to the mimosa bar. Feliz Pescua! 

Veggie Harvest Stuffin' Squash

People like to be outraged that all the Xmas-mania is starting too early. "Halloween just ended!" they say. "What about Thanksgiving?!" I saw a newspaper cartoon in which a turkey is confronting Santa about backing off the turkey's month. Why are you so excited about your imminent doom, turkey? It doesn't really make sense. 

During a recent post-Halloween cold snap, I wanted to remind myself of T-giving and modify a stuffed squash recipe I make to more closely resemble a dish my mum used to cook for me and my sister. I kept thinking about sausage stuffing (or "dressing" for you Southerners), but I don't eat or cook a lot of meat. By incorporating thyme, rosemary, dried cranberries and faux sausage (I used a vegan Field Roast sausage in apple & sage flavor. You're welcome, turkey!), I tried to capture some fall flavors. The end result was pretty delicious and definitely homey and comforting—perfect for a chilly autumn evening. Here is the recipe. It takes a little more than an hour to make, and yields two cozy servings. It's also vegan if you omit the feta. 

Ingredients

Acorn squash

Olive oil

½ cup white quinoa

1 cup water or broth

Half of an onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 ears of corn, in husk

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Field Roast vegan sausages (or any fake or real meat crumble you desire. Or leave it out. Do what you want!)

Rosemary

Thyme

Dried cranberries

Feta (optional)

Paprika (optional)

Cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice acorn squash in half with a huge knife. Scoop out seeds, and set seeds aside if you want some extra crunch. Brush olive oil on cut sides and “bowl” of squash. Place in oven cut side up for about 45 minutes to an hour. Check on it after 45 minutes, and remove when tender. Turn oven to 350 degrees, and set corn in husk directly on rack for 30 minutes. (I roasted the corn in a separate convection oven, but you could put the corn in along with the squash at 350, then remove corn after 30 minutes and turn up heat to finish cooking squash.)

Place quinoa and water/broth in pot and add some salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn down heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is fully sprouted and liquid is absorbed. While quinoa is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in sauce pan on medium and brown the sausages. Remove to paper towels, then add a little more oil if necessary and sauté onions and mushrooms. Turn heat down a little and add minced garlic and about a ½ cup (more if desired) chopped dried cranberries. Chop up cooked sausage and add to pan. Use a sharp knife to carefully scrape corn kernels from cob and add to pan. Toss to incorporate.

 Turn heat off. Finely chop as much thyme and rosemary as you want (a couple tablespoons, probably, but be careful because too much rosemary can overpower a dish easily and make it taste “soapy.”) and add to pan. Toss to incorporate. When quinoa is cooked, add to pan and mix it all together. 

For crunchy roasted seeds, remove as much squash innards as possible from seeds and rinse in a colander, then dry. Toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne. Place on cookie tray and roast at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, tossing once halfway through.

When squash is tender, remove from oven and scoop quinoa corn sausage mixture into the bowls of the squash. Top with feta crumbles (if desired) and spicy roasted seeds. Stick a piece of rosemary in it and pretend you're fancy. Happy Fall!    

Some notes: Again, I have a small convection oven, so I used that and the oven, since there's a lot of roasting going on here, but I think it could be manageable to do it all in the oven. To speed things up, you could roast the corn ahead of time, use a can of corn, or skip the seed step completely. Other suggestions I would have would be add sage, swap diced apple for the cranberries, add pecans or walnuts. Go crazy. Just make sure there's some nice textures and a bit of sweetness. 

Emily's (Soon-To-Be) Famous Veggie Stuffed Peppers

I wanted chile rellenos, but they’re typically breaded, fried, stuffed with tons of cheese and meat, and most conveniently available at the nearest Mexican restaurant. I wanted something homemade, relatively healthy and vegetarian but still protein packed, and I knew there had to be a better way to some yummy stuffed peppers, so I set out in my usual manner—scouring the internet for recipes, combining several of those with my own “whimsical” culinary know-how, and hoping for the best!

In the autumn I perfected a comfort food that reminded me of a dish my mom used to make. The original dish was a beef and rice stuffed acorn squash, but I turned it into a black bean, roasted corn and quinoa stuffed version. This chile relleno-like stuffed pepper recipe is something of a summery adaptation of that recipe, and, I must say, it turned out pretty awesomely. This dish could also easily go vegan; just omit (or replace with vegan alternatives) the cheese and Greek yog.

Ingredients

2 ears of corn, still in husk

Olive oil

Half of a red onion, diced

About a cup of mushrooms (optional)

Clove or two of minced garlic

Red wine vinegar

Liberal spoonful of cumin

1 cup of your favorite broth

½ cup white quinoa

Can of black beans

2-4 poblano peppers

Cilantro

Shredded cheese (I used a cheddar jack)

Tomatoes

Lime

Greek yogurt

S&P

-Roast corn in the husk on 350 for about 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

-Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions mushrooms and sauté until shrooms are tender and onions are translucent, then add garlic and sauté lightly. Add black beans.

-Mix in cumin, two small splashes of red wine vinegar and salt & pepper to taste. Scrape corn kernels into black beans, but save some corn for a side salad. Corn is great in salads!

-Bring a cup of broth to a boil and add slightly less than ½ cup of quinoa. Boil for a minute, then cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.

-Place poblanos under broiler and char evenly all over, about 15 minutes. Move the oven shelf close to the top broiler to get a reasonable char.

-When quinoa is cooked, add it to the black bean corn mixture. Add a bunch of cilantro.

-Split the charred peppers open with a large slit, (but don’t cut in half), then scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and put a little cheese in the bottom each pepper. Stuff each split pepper with lots of the black bean and corn mix, making it overflow with black bean quinoa corn goodness, and top with more cheese.

-Place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese.

-Make a quick salsa with diced tomatoes, a little diced onion, cilantro and lime juice. Put on top of cooked, stuffed peppers.

-If you like sour cream, take plain Greek yogurt (which tastes the same but is more nutritious and protein rich) and scoop some into the corner of a plastic zip top bag. Cut a teeny tiny bit of the bag’s corner off so it’s like a pastry bag and make an ornate squiggle of Greek yog over your pepper. If you’re serving people who think Greek yogurt doesn’t belong on a stuffed pepper, just tell them it’s sour cream. They won’t know the difference.

-Serve with a colorful side salad topped with corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and/or whatever pretty veggies you have lying about. Shake up a lime vinaigrette using lime juice, olive oil, a little honey, maybe some hot sauce (I used an aji amarillo paste) and S&P, all to taste.

-Take a picture and then enjoy your scrumptious meal with a Mexican beer! Ole!

The Faux Vintage Apron to Infinity

Our kitchen has recently become a space rocket on a mission to uncharted culinary galaxies. From our adventures with the Fry Daddy to our attempt to recreate our favorite deli soup, we're becoming seasoned gourmonauts one recipe tweak at a time. These explorations require specialized tools and equipment, and as we delve yet further into the cosmic kitchen abyss, we must don the heavy armor necessary for the possible dangers that lie ahead.

While the vintage apron is a common and fashionable way to shield oneself from the powdery, drippy and often sticky elements of cookery, I needed something a bit sturdier for an upcoming Pan-Asian Dinner Party to End All Pan-Asian Dinner Parties. My mission was clear.
I picked up this pleated red and white striped skirt at a thrift store for about $5. I love the details and cutouts in the embroidered flowers along the edge and I think the style is befitting of a kitschy kitchen.

Next I adjusted the white balance on my camera and cut out a triangular apron shape from the skirt, along with two long skinny pieces for straps and one small bunch of flowers to adorn a pocket. Then I ironed everything. For the pocket, I cut a pocket shape out of a holey, old pair of red running shorts. I sewed back the edges on the apron and pocket. I sewed up the straps and turned them inside out.
Next I sewed back the top edge of the apron triangle and sewed on the straps, making sure they were stitched securely multiple times over. I hand sewed the pocket to the apron so that I could be sure to follow the jankity stitch along its misshapen edge perfectly. I hot glued the flower cutout to the pocket top because I didn't want extra stitches obscuring the embroidery detail.

My craftsmanship style is of the it's-supposed-to-look-like-that school of thought, and this faux vintage apron embodies that perfectly. With this creative, one-of-a-kind, bulletproof apron, I'm ready to tackle any kitchen mission.

Stay tuned for a picture of me wearing it while prepping for our highly anticipated Pan-Asian Dinner Party!

Handmade Holiday Continued!

Fuck it. I love Christmas this year. I spent my Sunday crafting silly ornaments and making holiday confections while listening to a playlist of festive holiday music with my boo, and it was SO AWESOME.

Curling up on the couch with a felting needle, watching Labyrinth. Wrapping gifts I know the recipient will love and laugh about and think about the years of friendship attached to it. Meow-singing along to carols I don't know the words to. Powdered sugar everywhere. Giggling. Christmas rules. You just have to kind of make it your own.

And here I thought the first post-Boardwalk Empire Sunday would be a massive disappointment.

These are the easiest holiday treat to make in large quantities and they offer a satisfying combination of salty and sweet. For these reasons I will now share with you the instructions for preparing them.

First you need a bag of small pretzels, red and green M&Ms, wax paper, and chocolate and/or white chocolate flavored bark. It has to be the chocolate BARK, so look carefully. Melt a few squares of bark in a glass cup or bowl in a microwave for increments of 15-30 seconds, but don't completely melt it, because it helps to have a little malleability to it. Spread pretzels on wax paper and spoon a small dollop of melty bark on each one. Stick an M&M on each and let cool.

Make pretty bags by wrapping one end of a small box in shiny wrapping paper. Slip the box out of the unwrapped end. Crease the sides of the "bag" and reinforce the seams with tape. Fill bag with chocolate pretzel treats, adorn with ribbon and deliver to friends. Feast on smiles.

I just love these little owls and each one has a different character to me. This one is kind of a spunky, little baby owl. He hasn't really learned the ropes yet, but the wiser ones I made previously will help him out. Hopefully there are many more owls to come because my friends seem to like them a lot.
To top our mini tannenbaum, Tobi wanted a starfish. I love Tobi's felty requests. Sometimes I unload my growing collection of craft supplies and I just stare at the rolling mountains of felt, misshapen balls of brightly hued raw wool, and tangled spools of string and yarn and become immobilized by the very lack of creative boundaries. Then Tobi swoops down on his frazzled heap of girlfriend and gives me a little project to tackle, and suddenly I have a vision, direction and a constant source of encouragement. Thanks, Tob.
Now stick with me here, people. My boy also wanted a little a Christmas tree alien, and like I said, I feel no less than compelled to oblige all of his Christmas crafty desires. Let's critique this photograph: It's too dark and a little blurry. Maybe one day I'll give a crap and post a better one.
Here she is: Olivia. Some of the gifts beneath her are even real.