Crafty Weeks

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I’m not sure exactly who reads this weblog, so instead of posting pictures of what’s been keeping me busy over the past couple of weeks, I decided to post a picture of Kallie eating lima beans. Mmmm… lima beans!

I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to buy Christmas presents for my family, or make them all. I have a pretty good list started, but traditionally the family Christmas Present time goes on and on, with everyone spending way too much money on everyone else.

The sad thing is, all said and done, my handmade gifts are racking up more on my credit card than a quick shop-and-go trip to a big mall would cost me. But… I’ve been learning to sew this year, and I’ve been playing around with Potassium Hydroxide and some (cosmetic) emulsifiers/detergents/etc… and some really nice new soy pillar wax… it’s mostly the guys in the family that I’m worried about, I guess.

The sewing projects have been turning out far better than I ever thought they would. I’ll post pictures after the holidays.

TONIGHT… because I wore holes in my slippers last year and have been tripping over Chris’s slippers as I try to wear them this year, I am attempting to sew a new pair of slippers for myself. My “projects” have left me with some extra material that is perfect for slipper-making, so I hope they turn out. I will post pictures of those if they do!

Jarradale Pumpkin

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Pumpkin, squash, and sweet potatoes definitely top the list when it comes to cat favorites. Kallie turns into a little green monster when we pull out the pumpkin. Niko scored this snack by herself when Kallie was too busy sleeping. Lucky girl!

The jarradale (blue) pumpkin is my favorite variety of pumpkin (well, of the varieties I’ve tasted, anyway). It has super dark-orange flesh, and makes wonderful breads and pumpkin sauces. My uncle grows many acres of pumpkins each year for his October Pumpkin & Hayride event at The Eveland Family Farm. We came back from the Twin Cities a few weekends ago with sooo many pumpkins and squashes… and my mom is bringing more next weekend! I’ll be bringing a lot of them to The Food Co-op to sell, and hopefully building up enough energy to freeze what’s left.

Mmmmm…

T-shirt Cat

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Here’s Kallie, sporting her little Flash Dance-style dress. She was spayed in early October, and two weeks later her scar became infected, and she wouldn’t stop licking it. I heard about the t-shirt idea, and it worked like a charm – she couldn’t lick any more, and the infection completely cleared up after a day. Saved us a trip to the vet. She’s mostly healed up by now (this picture is from a while ago).

It has been pretty busy around here. My website business just keeps growing – that’s a good thing! We are coming up on the busiest time of the year at the co-op, so I’m preparing for that as well. For the past few months, the co-op has been consistently seeing its highest month in sales – ever… I can’t imagine what November and December (our two busiest months, historically) are going to look like this year.

In my wee freetime I’ve been doing lots of crafty stuff. I’ve finally figured out votive candles (they are not as easy to make as one would think), so that’s been kind of fun. I’ve got a couple of big crochet projects. And yesterday I made this nifty little thing:

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… I think we’re heading out to a larger town with a nice fabric store today. I have some things in mind for Christmas presents. I found the shiny blue fabric on the cat house at JoAnn’s in Willmar for $1/yard (!!!) a while back – I’m kicking myself for not buying more of it now.

Artichoke Dip

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The Food Co-op is having a potluck tomorrow evening, so today I’m working on pre-preparing stuff to bring, and also working on new recipes. (I’m also cleaning the house and putting off my “real work”).

This artichoke dip has always been a favorite of mine – but I rarely make it because it’s kind of expensive (raw almonds, pine nuts, artichokes)…. I made up a double-batch and froze a good chunk of it, so we’ll have it on hand in case I crave it!

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked
  • 6 Tbsp. pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup. water
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cans artichoke hearts
  • 1 cup spinach (more or less to taste)

Directions:
In a food processor, combine almonds, pine nuts, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Process until smooth, scraping the sides once to work in chunks. Add half the artichoke hearts and spinach, process well. Add the remaining artichoke hearts and pulse until they are just incorporated. Chill and serve.

Makes 4 cups.

I also made “imitation wheat thins” which turned out well, but are way too sweet. I’ll be modifying this recipe a bit, and hopefully be able to bring them with the dip to the potluck!

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Vegetable Split Pea Soup

Here’s a split pea soup, heavy on the vegetables. We had this for dinner last night.

This makes A LOT… usually enough for leftovers for a few days! I like being able to heat up soup for lunch in the fall. Also, the veggies usually break down quite a bit, so if you want large chunks of vegetables in your soup, you can add them after you add the peas and water. But I think it’s better when everything turns to mush.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. oil
  • Two vegetable bouillon cubes
  • One Large Onion
  • 3 carrot
  • 3 leeks (optional)
  • 4 large potatoes
  • Any and all root vegetables you may have that need to be used up (er – probably not beets, though)
  • 4 cups split peas
  • 8 cups water

Instructions:
Put a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and boiullon. Dice onions, put into the pot. Chop up the rest of the veggies one at a time, and add them to the pot, giving it a good stir after each addition.

When you’re done chopping, stir it up really well and reduce heat to low. Put the lid on the pot and go get something done for 10 minutes. (Here’s a good time to fold your laundry!).

Return to the kitchen and add 4 cups of split peas and 8 cups of water. Stir well, turn heat up to medium, cover and leave the room for another 10 minutes. Check on the soup periodically and stir… it takes about an hour to cook.

Long Time, No Posting…

So, I had this great idea to start a weblog and write about cooking, veganism, and my cat. And then I got completely busy, side-tracked, and didn’t keep up with “the demand”. (Yeah, there was a lot of demand – so much I could barely breathe!).

So, to keep this from being a “nothing” website, I may add some more animal categories in, to poste cute pictures of my boys and girls. I don’t know how many people actually read this website, oh well.