Sewing...yep still hate it.

I managed, against all odds, to finish this.  That's a really easy-looking tutorial, right?!  Wowee, what fun, I said to myself.

The tension on my sewing machine is very iffy and no matter how you do it, it only goes right every...3 times you re-thread the machine.  This means the thread may break at any time, or get loopy in the back or whatever the hell else thread wants to do wrong.  Annoying.  Also while I was sewing, the needle snapped in three pieces.  I still haven't found one of them.  Maybe it flew up my nose and is currently lodged in my brain.  That could explain why I feel dumber than when I started.

Not to mention finding acceptable-looking fabric at JoAnn's is like looking for the Arc of the Covenant. It may or may not exist.  If it does, its probably buried very deep, and its going to kill you to find it.  I guess most people who sew go on the internet to find their lovely designer fabric.  I managed to get this one with shoes (wtf?) that isn't too bad.

In the end, the goddamn fabric shrunk so much during prewash, that I was only able to make the bag half the size I wanted it to be, so now it's totally unsuitable for its intended purpose, which was to be a swim/gym bag for myself.  Now its more like a purse.  What a scam.

The straps were also twisted, even though I swear I had them in there straight when I sewed it up.  I tried to fix this but only one one side, and I found that to be the least valuable endeavor I've ever attempted.  So one is twisted?  Well too bad, nobody will ever notice.

Oh, and I added a pocket.

Ugh point me towards the handbag store. :(

I finally did it!

Zach helped.  Really. Our own crepes with Nutella and home-made cardamom-vanilla-agave whipped cream.  The All Clad d-5 pan helped a little, I'm sure.

And if you don't have one yet, you should get yourself one of these:  MISTO.  Its a bit like Pam or other non-stick cooking spray, but you can use your own gourmet oils (EVO or something organic?).  Pump it up and it makes a fine spray that easily coats pans, veggies, etc. Re-use again and again.  Find them at discount stores like Marshall's and also at places like Kitchen Connection. Genius.

Fall in Oregon...

Half a mile from my house is Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, home to much wildlife and a great hiking experience.

Things growing on things which are growing on other things which are...you get the idea.

Blue Herons and Egrets are common here.

No-Knead bread

I've never had very good luck with loaves of bread.  While tasty, they always come out a little bit heavy, not moist enough, or both.  Bread also requires a lot of work which, as a modern person used to modern conveniences, I am not really willing to do.

So what I need is to not knead.  Enter the no-knead bread method brought to the table by author and bread-baker Jim Lahey, who revolutionized bread by creating a method so easy, and foolproof that you could literally have fresh home-baked bread in your house every single day.  Without a bread machine or doing more than 5 minutes of actual labor.

The secret is time.  The bread dough is mixed and then left overnight to basically "knead" itself.  Then the dough is baked in a dutch oven to control the moisture and create a moist bread that still has a crispy crust.  Why not try it yourself?  Here is the original 2006 New York Times Article with the basic recipe:  No-Knead Bread.

The recipe is really easy to tweak yourself, or grab a copy of Jim Lahey's book with more no-knead and some sweet bread and other interesting recipes:  My Bread.  There are also many recipes available on the internet, and many other books, too.  While a little primitive and simplistic, I think this method of bread-making will satisfy most people who are tired of flavorless and expensive store-bought bread but who also have no time or patience for cooking.  I'm not a bread-baker, but I do love this recipe.  It's great and leaves you enough time to find your next great cooking adventure.

So how does the bread turn out?  I'll let the pictures tell you themselves:

My first loaf, still in the pot.  I replaced some of the bread flour with 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour to make it a bit healthier.

As the bread cools and the crust shrinks, it makes a fun crackling noise that the book calls "singing".

Amazingly lofty, not heavy at all for home-baked bread!  We've already made sandwiches with handmade charcuterie purchased  from Elephant's delicatessen here in Portland. 

Loaf #2, baked with 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour plus amaranth, sesame seeds, oatmeal and other grains for bite and flavor.

Halloween. Things on fire.

Last day of October today.  What does that mean?  A lot of things.  Its my Dad's birthday, for one.  It's also a holiday.  You may have heard of it...Halloween.

In the United States at least, Halloween means Jack-O-Lantern carving.  Cookies, roasted pumpkin seeds (from that Jack-O-Lantern), candy and costumes, Trick-or-treaters.

November is also the start of the cold part of the year, to me anyway.  November and December are really dark months, especially considering here in the Northwest it's cloudy most of the fall and winter months (though, oddly enough I am looking out my skylight at blue skies with puffs of clouds right now.  Don't be jealous, it won't last).  This stove came with the house.  What is it?

It's a wood pellet stove.  Not a wood-burning stove that uses logs, because I would have enjoyed that.  No, this stove gets filled with what is essentially feline pine.  It makes an annoying noise.  But it is warm and the cats LOVE it.  I'm not sure if it's because cats like the destructive power of fire.  Or warmth.  Or maybe the stove, which has four legs and makes a similar sound to a purring cat, seems like one of them.  They love to sit in front of it and watch the flames dance.  One night, we left it on very late, with the door to our room open. That night, Furball slept on top of me all night, purring loudly, just to tell me how happy he was that the stove was on.  Supposedly, however, it is very efficient, the pellets take up no space, and the stove is smokeless, which is good for your lungs.  I'll get used to the thing, I'm sure.

On another note, I've had a visitor lately:

Rrreeerrrrnnnt. 

This is my dear, sweet Priscilla.  Well not mine.  She belongs, according to her tag, to the Sailer residence at 8515 8th.  Her meow is really strange; she sounds like a creaky door.  At least once a day, usually in the morning or just after dark, she shows up to get treats and curl up on my porch furniture.  Yesterday she got a third of a can of cat tuna.  I'm sure this means she'll never leave.  Sometimes she finds her way inside, but Balloon and Furball chase her off.  I wonder what her family will think when she gets really fat from all the treats she's been eating here.

Next time:  The virtues of No-knead bread.  I'll leave you with this year's Jack-o-lantern.  I'm sure you recognize the fluffy shape.

New cookware...

...and a recipe to christen it!  On the way home from our anniversary trip to Sisters (and Bend!) we spotted some really nice cookware on the cheap and my fabulous husband decided to buy it for me.

Given the choice, I went with the larger pot.  This thing is huge.  It's got to be up there with the largest pot Le Creuset makes.  So what to do with such a massive Dutch oven?

 Hungarian Goulash.  Bet you didn't expect that.

Inspired by travel documentaries of Hungary, I decided to make something I have never attempted before.  In fact, I've never actually had it before.  I researched "authentic" recipes, but having found so many varieties of  Magyar Gulyas I had to make my own recipe.  Really, according to the internet, Goulash needs beef, potatoes and paprika only to make it authentic.  The rest is up to you.

New knife, too.

Here it is:

Serves 4-5:

1lb stew beef (like round steak, cut up.)
Beef stock
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 large potato, cubed
2 large carrots, cut up
fresh parsley, about 1/2 cup
salt
pepper
all the world's paprika*

*Note:  I have no idea what kind of paprika I used.  Honestly, there are sweet varieties and hot varieties but mine just says "paprika".  I'm guessing it's not the hot kind because it's not spicy at all, so I used some cayenne for bite.  I plan on finding out more about these things, and updating my recipe accordingly.

Sautee the onion in butter or oil until soft but not brown.  Add about...3 tablespoons of paprika.  Add the beef to brown it.

Once your beef is brown, add the stock, some of the parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer this for at least an hour, but if you can manage two hours your beef should be really tender.  Then add the potatoes and carrots (and the rest of the parsley) and cook for about 30 minutes.  Check the taste to see if you need to add anything.  The broth should be brownish-red and kind of awkwardly thick with paprika.

It's really good.  I was also urged not to serve it with any kind of noodles since the potatoes are going to carb you up enough.

Hanging Around...

So since we're getting moved in, I started a bunch of new houseplants which will probably, inevitably, die.  I always start new plants when I move, then forget about them.  But we're not thinking of that.  These are the plants that will last!  Yes!

I have plenty of pots, but what I need are hanging pots. Why? Because cats love to munch on some houseplants. In fact, that's what did in my last house plant.  Furball chomped it down to stems.  Bad kitty!

The key to having both pets and plants is first to find plants that your cats won't die from eating.  Common spider plants are an easy place to start.  Second, you must find a spot to put your plants where your cats can't get to them.  Because spider plants are tasty.  Very, very tasty.  Ask Furball.

Plastic hanging planters are tacky.  Metal ones and nice ones are too expensive.  In fact, the plastic ones are too expensive, too, while still being tacky.  What to do?  Make your own, dummy.  There are a bunch of tutorials online.  Here and here.  I'm fairly excited about that "double" hanging planter, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

 All are fairly easy, and don't limit yourself to a particular kind of string(for indoor planters, anyway).  Anything strong enough to hold your plants which can also hold a knot is going to work.  These can also be customized for any size pot or basket.  I prefer not to make my look all funky with lots of knots, but that is a fairly easy option to add if you've ever made jewelry with hemp or leather cord.

I bought some colorful plastic pots from the store and used ordinary twine for mine.  These are going up into the attic room with all the nice skylights when they have rooted.  Thanks to Sue at work for the spider plant babies!

ASPCA list of plants that are Toxic and Non-toxic to pets.  It's not comprehensive, but it should give you a good idea.