Handmade Pendants

I've been experimenting a bit with making ceramic pendants...I got a few back today so here is one I strung up already....

I have more to get back yet, and I also have other ones like this one so I was thinking of selling them. Not this one though, its mine mine mine!

Any Thoughts?

Pictures: Portland's Rose Test Garden

Lady of Megginch

"Honey Perfume"

"Honey Perfume"

"Rosie O' Donnell"

"Sundance"

"Sundance"

"Strike it Rich"

"Voluptuous"

"Moondance"

"Scentimental"

"Scentimental"

"Eden"

"Black Baracca"  It does really look black!

"Eden"

"Julia Child"

"Julia Child"

2010 Winner "Easy Does It"

2010 Winner "Easy Does It"

Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody in Blue

a little break...

"Rouge Royale" (My Favorite!)

"Rouge Royale"

 

 

 

 

Cold-brewed coffee

For a long time I've been making iced tea by letting tea bags soak for a long time in warm or room-temperature water.  Recently though, I found out that this could also be done with coffee grounds. The cold brewing process supposedly produces a flavorful cup of coffee that is not acidic, and I really hate acidic coffee. I've been meaning to try it out, but since Betsey is in town this week and she bought some good coffee, I finally got to try it out and the results are fantastic!

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the process, but I did follow these instructions, which are pretty clearly laid out, with images included.  The result is a very flavorful cup of coffee that can be enjoyed hot or cold.

This was the best picture I could get before guzzling this down.  

The only change I made to the instructions was to skip diluting the coffee by half with water, and simply added the brewed coffee liquid 1 to 1 with almond milk.  I feel this would be just as delicious as adding condensed milk, and who has that sitting around, anyway?  At this point, I added sweetener and either microwaved it or added ice.  Yum.

Oneonta Falls + A log jam is a real thing

This weekend we went here:

But to get there we had to climb over this:

What is it?  Its a log jam.  Trees along the Oneonta Gorge die and fall down into the stream.  Water carries them to the end where there are large rocks that trap the logs.  They don't block the water, just the entrance to the gorge.  There is no way around except to climb...its quite a challenge.

When the log jam is conquered there's nothing left to do but wade in ice-cold water that gets waist deep at some points.  No you can't remove your shoes, but you can ruin them by getting them wet.

Sigh.  I actually am a little depressed about that.  Should have worn sandals.  I'm sure I'll find another pair of fuchsia New Balance.  Maybe.

 Don't bother holding up those shorts, it gets way deeper upstream....Sam and Betsey are going to be surprised next week!

The kiln is being fired this Thursday. Ceramics updates soon!

Everything is a work in progress...

Nothing is new lately.  My sweater is only at 40%, no glaze firings have been completed, and I've been cooking the same old dinners for a month.  Its summer.

My porch garden has been slow.  It doesn't get full sun, so most of the plants have been slow-growing, and even though its August, we only have two tiny tomatoes.

Peppers have done a bit better, each plant has about 2, except the Jalapeños, which have none.  Shockingly, we paid the most money for that plant.  Zach blames Furball who munched the leaves early on, but I don't think he had anything to do with it.

It doesn't matter.  Growing them, on the whole, has been more interesting than anything.  I can buy tomatoes at the store.  This is Oregon, so I can buy home-grown tomatoes at the store.

The Petunias are doing much better than the vegetables.  The Brachycomes could be better, but they have had the same trauma as the Jalapeño: munching by a certain someone.

Zach and I both got haircuts.  Zach got at least a foot taken off:

So for now, that's all I have. Except for this:

Cheeseless Nacho Cheese - How'd I do that?

While shopping in the Whole Foods Bulk aisle, I made an astonishing purchase:  Nutritional Yeast.  Wait, what?

Nutritional Yeast is inactivated yeast fortified with B vitamins that is rich in protein. Its sold in flakes or powder.  If you're a vegan and you're not eating this, you probably should be. It has a nutty, cheesy aroma and if someone just told you it was cheese sauce mix, you'd probably believe them.  Its shockingly flavorful, and its used in a lot of cheese additions.

I know you've had vegan cheese before, probably to your disappointment. This recipe, with some changes, is amazing as nacho cheese.  It fooled even me, and I made it.  I replaced 2/3 of the water with almond milk, rather than soy as many people had suggested, and added the tumeric.  Soy margarine was used this time but could probably be replaced with either oil or butter.

The result of this recipe will have you baffled.  Its so damn close to cheesy sauce you might not even miss it.

Lemon Sorbet

Lately I have been experimenting with a Donvier ice cream maker I bought at Goodwill last winter.  Its the kind where you freeze the cylinder overnight and then add your ingredients and turn the paddle.  Its a little difficult to get to know at first, and your freezer must be on the coldest setting possible.   Not doing so has resulted in one ice cream disaster (last Halloween), and one coconut sorbet disaster (last week, we still ate it, it was good but chunky.)

This time it worked!

Behold my latest summer dessert:  lemon sorbet.  Its an excellent treat for a summer evening.  No fat, filled with fruit juice and quite an excellent taste.   This recipe has half the sugar of the previous coconut one, which I found much too sweet.  So if you find yourself with an ice cream maker, or if you want to make sorbet with a blender or food processor, I highly recommend this one!

Don't like lemon?  Here's my Coconut-lime sorbet(vegan):

1 can Coconut Milk
Zest of 1 lime
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 - 1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water

Add the sugar to the water and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the water is reduced by half.  Remove from heat add the coconut milk. Put the lime zest in a tea ball and let it sit in the mixture that you have just created. Chill in the refrigerator.  Remove the teaball.  For extra lime-y flavor and tang add a little of the lime juice.  Pour into your sorbet-creation device.

recipe for lemon sorbet
no ice cream maker? no problem.