proof

Evidence that my scrapping mojo has so graciously made an appearance.  And I'm so deliriously happy.  (Please excuse the state of my scrap table.)

The past couple weeks or so I've been happily making some headway (finally) on the mini book of my niece, Ms. H.  I've been working with an older Cocoa Daisy kit that contained lots of pinks and blues. Fun mix of stuff for a little girl.  I pre-made the first five of so pages, but I ran into a bit of a problem: 4 x 6 photos are not ideal for an 5 x 7 mini book. I've made adjustments and it's coming along really well.  You can see a couple of the pages in the picture. I am hoping to order a couple more pictures before the weekend.

one the menu

Since my weekends are consumed with cooking our lunches and dinners for the week I thought it would be fun to share my weekly cooking endeavours both good and bad.  That and I'm still suffering from a bad case of unabletowriteintellibly syndrome.

While Jay and I have our own tried and true favorite recipes, I also like to try out new recipes.  I was inspired by a conversation with a friend about Fall and crock pot cooking, about how Fall inspires stews, soups, and gumbo.  I found a crock pot recipe for gumbo here, but after reading through the comments I knew I had to make a few changes.  One substitution I made was using fresh tomatoes instead tomato juice; however I also added 2 cups of water.  Big mistake.

Overall I liked how it turned out, but I agree that it is not real gumbo. The test though is if Jay liked it and he did so I'm happy. I will definitely try this again this fall and winter with more tweaking of course.

I paired the gumbo soup with saffron rice as suggested by one of the commentators.  I used this recipe here.  Overall it was good, but I would not substitute the broth the recipe calls for with water. And don't skimp on the saffron, be sure to get nice "big" pinch.

Gumbo
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 (16-ounce) package frozen okra, thawed
4 links andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, chopped 
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon tablespoon creole seasoning
1/2 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to your taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
5-6 tomatoes, diced 

In a slow-cooker, combine all remaining ingredients except the frozen okra. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Add frozen okra three hours before end. Serve with rice.


Enjoy!

12 by 2012

With the holidays approaching I have a long list of crafty to-do's waiting for me to work my magic. Unfortunately last time I checked I don't have any magical powers that will get them done in a snap of a finger. To keep on track and honest Danni at ohhellofriend has an awesome idea 12 by 2012.

My list of 12 by 2012

1.  Sew pillowcase for Sparky's bed

2.  Damson hat (for me)

3.  Meditate twice a week.

4.  Eleanor cowl (for gift)

5.  Shale scarf (for gift)

6.  Christmas cards

7.  Minibook of my niece

8.  December Daily (from 2009)

9.  Read 6 books

10.  Autumn wreath

11.  Bake a cake with everything

12.  Transfer recipes to index cards.

I love a list and I hope I can most, if not all, of the things on this list done before I ring in the New Year!

What do you say? Is there anything you want to get done by 2012?

friday faves (saturday edition)

I wish I could claim that these beauties are from my garden, but they are not. Thankfully my in-lays have green thumbs, and they've had a very bountiful year. I decided I wanted to make pasta sauce from scratch with these lovelies. I've already made three pots of homemade tomato sauce which I've frozen for future use.

And yes, it's Saturday, but I'm still not quite up to speed. I'm a bit rusty in the writing department, but I wanted to share some of my favorites from this past week.

I fell in love with the cool colors of this beautiful throw. 

Check out the fun collection of products for a December journal kit.

Looking forward to trying to make this and that in my kitchen really soon!
It's never too early to start thinking about the holidays.  This is a cute idea for office mates.

And I'm hoping that my in-laws still have tomatoes because I need to make this awesome tomato soup.

Have a great Saturday!

hello october

It's definitely fall, but winter is currently threatening a hostile takeover.  Winter storm warnings and snow in the Sierra at this time of year is, well, unusual.  Strange as it may sound, I am reveling in the cold and overcast skies. 

This kind of cold calls for comfort food.  My favorite comfort food is a bowl of hot soup like the split pea soup I made over the weekend.  Absolutely fulfilling, absolutely serendipitous!  I think this winter is going to be all about soups, chilis, and stews, especially if I can make it in my crock pot.  (And I found a new crockpot cookbook that I can't wait to use.)

 What's your favorite comfort food?

happy labor day

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I absolutely did!  I did a whole lot of NOTHING!  Except for maybe eating. 

 

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There was also a pan of fudgy brownies that I baked this morning, but forgot to take pictures.  Oy!  I guess it wouldn't be a holiday if there was no overeating involved!

Starting tomorrow it's back to a healthy diet and working out.  (Need to get ready for snow season!).  Working out regularly was difficult last month with my work schedule and combined with lack of sleep resulted in a noticeable difference in my mood.  Hoping to turn that around this month, pronto!

It's a short week, so we're at least one day closer to another weekend!  Have good one!