annaramma

A leetle modification

So Nikita has a little problem with chewing.  She gets the teeniest tiniest bit of dry skin or a flea bite and it's nom nom nom nom nom . . .

This time it was the tip of her tail.  I thought that the e-collar would keep her from chewing the bejeezus out of herself, but she was too flexible for that.  So, some slight modifications needed to be made.  A cover from the old phone book, a little packing tape and there you go!  I has a slightly deconstructed look, but it gets the job done. 

Now I just need to know how she still manages to weasel her way under the covers with this on her head.  It's her special superhero power, bed-weaseling.

Gnomie!

This little guy is one of the very best projects I've received in a trade.  I love his adorable little face and his ornate little house.  He couldn't possibly fit in that house, so maybe it's a gnome doghouse?  I also LOVE the woodgrain tape for the old school dymo label maker, that's fabulous.  I would love to find some of that for my old machine. 

Best of all, this gnome reminds me of one of my favorite books, Gnomes by Wil Huygen and illustrated by Rien Poortvliet.  I used to pour over that book as a kid.  Oh, I could just read it over and over!  If you haven't read it, you really should.  It's magical for kids, but it's fascinating (and kinda retro 70s) for grown ups.

Hooray for gnomes!

Odd Spaces

I work in an oddly industrial neighborhood that manages to be both urban and rural at the same time.  There are benefits to being able to walk to the corner store or take the bus downtown, but being close to wild animals is pretty awesome too. 

My office is in an old tech manufacturing facility on the edge of one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, but it also hides a secret.  Somewhat hidden from the road, is a beautiful mill pond teeming with birds, frogs, fish and even our fearless bobcat.  Unless you were on the lookout, you would never know about the creatures making their home in the shadow of a relic of the corporate world. 

My daily (okay sometimes weekly) walks by the pond are all the sweeter knowing that this place is a bit secretive and unexpected.

Eggcellent!

Egg-tremely bad humor is a tradition in my family.  Terrible puns, spoonerisms and inside jokes abound.  After a few eggisodes of Batman, my mom and I were batting eggscrutiating jokes back and forth.

So, of course, this brings us to deviled eggs. 

If you make deviled eggs, people will eat them.  It doesn't matter how fancy the party or how snobby the guests, they will disappear.  These were a little on the ritzy side.  I used sour cream, capers, fresh parsley, chives, a little pimento, a dash of old bay and a dash of curry powder.  Delicious, if I do say so myself!

Plus, I splurged (whoa big spender!) and bought myself a deviled egg carrier.  It's awesome!  All my eggcellent eggs made it safe and sound.  I didn't even lose the chives off the top!

Crafty Goodness

Of all the awesome awesome stuff at Renegade, this is my favorite.  It's a resin necklace by Faryn Davis.  I love the stark bird drawing paired with the little nest of turquoise eggs.  It's just lovely.  You can see more of her stuff here.

I also found a great graphic necklace in a basket of seconds from Mediums to Masses and the most bittersweet robot print from 3 Fish Studios.

It was a wonderful show and I found so much inspiration from the artists and crafters.  Next time I need to bring my camera and do a better job of photographing the stuff I want to try for myself.  I think I'm going to remember it, but it just becomes one big mush of fabulousness!

Renegade Extravaganza!

What took renegade soooooooooooooo long?  I can't believe this weekend was the first Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco.

The show was in the beautiful Fort Mason Center and it was packed!  The huge old warehouse on the water was a great venue and there was plenty of room for the throngs of customers.  I was so impressed with the incredible quality of the vendors and enthusiasm of the visitors. 

I always find something at a craft fair, but this was overwhelming.  I could have exceeded my budget ten times over.  I'll post links to some of my favorite vendors as I sort through all the cards, stickers and other goodies.

Snow in July

Seeing smittenkitchen's yummy-looking wedding cake reminded me of the coconut cake I made for a party last weekend. 

I started with with a vanilla chiffon cake, made a coconut-lime filling and a very successful seven-minute frosting.  I know some people prefer buttercream, but a boiled frosting creates such a nice fluffy and slightly powdery texture.  Plus, it is so much fun to stick the coconut shreds to the ooey gooey marshmellowey goodness. 

There's one piece left, along with a dab of bitter-chocolate sauce. 

Next cooking project: replenishing the lemon curd supply. 

Chinese Box

A Chinese box, no not that Chinese Box or that Chinese Box.  Definitely not that Chinese Box, but mmmm . . . yum!

I found this the same place I purchased the serendipitous vintage plates.  I'm thinking it'll go nicely on my coffee table, holding stamps.

Sharp and Pointy

Taking a queue from the Amateur Gourmet and inspired by my admiration for Tom Collichio, I have been working on improving my knife technique at home. Using books, articles, and even YouTube videos, I've started taking a recipe and focusing on the "right way" to chop, dice, slice, pare and prep the ingredients. 

In this case, I went with the cross-hatched cut for my mango (you can see a version of the written instructions here). It was quick, easy and produced lovely little cubes of mango for a fruit salad. They were delicious with my supremed oranges and juicy pineapple chunks. 

It may seem like useless foodie fussing, but it is really satisfying to learn the correct way to dissemble your food. Not only are the results more professional, they're faster. Though I'm always careful, I think the majority of these techniques (especially done with a sharp knife), are actually safer.  Hacking away with the wrong knife or the wrong method is a sure way to draw blood. 

Next stage is trying to get my onion dicing down cold.

101 Ways to Be a Good BBQ Guest

Here are my most-used cookbooks.  If I'm making something for a special occasion I'll go with The Best Recipe, old and reliable is Fannie Farmer, using up random produce is Moosewood's and I'm working my way through Mark Bittman.  I've been very happy with his recipes so far and I always enjoy his NYTimes articles, but his latest 101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics is just brillant.  There are scores of great low-key recipes, including one for a grated beet salad.  That just might be what I bring to BBQ #2 on the 4th.