tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36246389431395998392024-03-13T22:12:38.862-04:00Enterprises of a Crafty NerdCrafting, nerd stuff, cooking, recipes, tutorials, gardening, home stuff, and more! I make stuff. Sometimes I succeed, other times I fail, but I have fun trying!Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-87653505074087522642018-03-17T02:06:00.000-04:002018-03-17T02:17:36.904-04:00Instant Pot Cuban Style: Lechon, Moros, y Yuca<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iI9L7rp219U/WqyvmMTBB6I/AAAAAAABXbs/iTBE5wHI2Ac-GvG_E2GmWbKc9h33WzbFACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20180317_015537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iI9L7rp219U/WqyvmMTBB6I/AAAAAAABXbs/iTBE5wHI2Ac-GvG_E2GmWbKc9h33WzbFACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_20180317_015537.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juicy meat (not broiled), rice and beans, and yuca bursting with garlic and citrus flavor.</td></tr>
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A couple months ago my father in law brought over a massive pork shoulder that he had been given. Despite being Cuban, they had never cooked one before and left that to me to figure out. It was a 10 lb hunk of meat, bone and all, and seemed a little intimidating. One day I took it out to thaw and figured it couldn't be avoided forever.<br />
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I had done a little research trying to figure out what cut of meat it was, and what it was supposed to be used for. I read that a pork shoulder is best cooked over a long period of time on low heat, but it wouldn't even fit in my slow cooker. But then a light bulb went off as I came across <a href="https://thecuriouscoconut.com/blog/cuban-lechon-asado-pork-roast-paleo-aip-slow-cooker-instant-pot">this</a> site. I have an Instant Pot!</div>
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First of all, that source is not really authentic, but it does pretty much follow the same guidelines as most recipes I looked at. Except, you really don't need any additional fat at all whatsoever, because pork shoulder is very fatty. More on that later.</div>
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I am not going to go into the history of each dish or how they got their names. I'm going to provide links to sites I used for instructions and describe what I did and what worked for me.</div>
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<b>Lechon Asado: Cuban Roast Pork</b></div>
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I marinaded my 10 lb pork shoulder overnight in:</div>
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-1 cup sour orange juice (mine was 1/2 regular orange juice and 1/2 lime juice, because we had it on hand)</div>
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-1 head of garlic</div>
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-2 tsp salt</div>
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-1 tsp pepper</div>
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-1 heaping tsp oregano</div>
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The <a href="https://icuban.com/food/lechon_asado.html">Three Guys From Miami</a> recipe says to add 20 cloves of garlic, which makes me think it would have been more to my liking, but it was still very tasty. </div>
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The following day, when I was ready to cook the pork, I placed it in my 8 quart Instant Pot and set it to:</div>
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-Manual, High pressure, 150 mins (2.5 hours), natural release</div>
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Based on the Instant Pot instructions I found <a href="https://thecuriouscoconut.com/blog/cuban-lechon-asado-pork-roast-paleo-aip-slow-cooker-instant-pot">earlier</a>. She suggested 120 mins for an 8 lb roast, so I added another half hour for the 10 lb roast. Otherwise it would have taken 8-10 hours on the slow cook setting. In retrospect, while the outer layers were falling off the bone, the inner parts could have used more time. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the fat removed, in the process of removing the meat from the bone.</td></tr>
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So, I generally don't like working with meat on the bone, or with fat- but it adds flavor. It was a mess but worth the hassle. When it was done depressurizing, I put the roast on a cutting board and removed chunks of fat while I took the meat off the bone. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulled off the bone out of the Instant Pot.</td></tr>
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Afterwards, I skimmed as much liquid fat as I could out of the remaining liquid in the pot and then put the shredded meat with the liquid into my 4 quart crock pot (which it filled to the very top!) I left it to simmer while I used the Instant pot for the next part of dinner: rice and beans. Before we move onto that, I have to add that while we ate the soft, shredded pork straight from the crock pot that first night, I reheated the leftovers by broiling the meat for about 15 mins on high, flipping it mid way through. I liked it much better this way. The only things I think were missing from the pork were onions (both recipes contained them but I failed to add it) and fresh squeezed lime on top. </div>
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<b>Moros y Cristianos: Black Beans and Rice</b></div>
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I have never made this before, either- it's a version of black beans and rice that uses the black water from the beans to cook the rice, giving it a dark color. I have made black beans many times before and I have to say I need to perfect this method because it was a little bland for my tastes. I followed this recipe, even though it says "Congri" which I believed to be red beans and rice- but there is a bit of controversy and confusion over the name "Moros" but I'm just sticking to what I know here.</div>
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I put the following in the Instant Pot, and turned it to the "Beans/chili" setting. </div>
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-1 lb of dry black beans</div>
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-6 cups of water</div>
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-1 Tbsp of bacon fat</div>
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I let it do its thing and depressurized after 10 mins of natural release. Next, I drained the beans in a colander over a bowl to save the liquid. Then, on the saute setting, I cooked just until softened:<br />
-1 large onion</div>
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-4-5 cloves garlic</div>
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-1 large green bell pepper</div>
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Then added the remaining ingredients, mixing them together and cooked it on the Rice setting, again releasing pressure after about 10 mins after the cooking was completed. There was just enough liquid to cook the rice and everything turned out well.</div>
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-1/2 tsp cumin</div>
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-1/2 tsp oregano</div>
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- 1/4 tsp of bay leaf powder</div>
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-2-3 cups of long grain rice (I used 3) + equal amount of liquid reserved from beans</div>
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-drained beans</div>
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I feel it lacked something, then I remembered I failed to add salt and pepper. I've also seen recipes add vinegar, tomato paste, or red bell peppers, too. I usually add Sazon Goya to my black beans, I think I'll try that next time.</div>
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<b>Yuca con Ajo</b></div>
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Finally, I made some Yuca (from frozen bought) and made it exactly as this recipe suggested from the <a href="https://icuban.com/food/yuca_con_ajo.html">Three Cuban Guys</a> site, which is NOT done in an Instant pot. It's the easiest recipe out of all of these, though. It is boiling yuca for about 30 minutes and cooking garlic and onion in olive oil (with salt and lemon, of course). It was so delicious. For some reason, this always comes out a thousand times better than any yuca I've ever had in a restaurant. Maybe because I love the strong flavors of garlic, salt, and citrus together. It's pretty perfect. The only things I changed were that I crushed the garlic in a press and mashed it with the salt in a bowl, and that I like cutting the onion in slices so that there are rings of it when it's cooked, instead of dicing it up. The same thing goes for the pork.</div>
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There you have it. It's a lot of work (initially) but it's doable when you don't have a Cuban restaurant handy nearby, and if you're like me you can make a HUGEMONGOUS amount of food and feast all week long. Or invite your friends and family, like we did that first night. Or freeze some for later. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VtY3CTXS-H4/WqyugqGw8iI/AAAAAAABXbI/f6M70zS3HvUrhlaM28NQxnqCqX__3AS8ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20180314_190739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VtY3CTXS-H4/WqyugqGw8iI/AAAAAAABXbI/f6M70zS3HvUrhlaM28NQxnqCqX__3AS8ACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_20180314_190739.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lechon reheated under the broiler in the oven- slightly crispy.</td></tr>
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<br />Not pictured: about the fourth meal into this pork, we bought some frozen maduros (sweet plantains) from the supermarket and baked them in the oven. It caramelized them and made them slightly crisp on the outside. Yum!</div>
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Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-77381902213645581432017-01-21T12:45:00.001-05:002017-01-22T14:01:03.791-05:00"Create Your Own Tumbler" Travel Mug Sweater<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTwl1k7Jsfw/WIOd4cmvc7I/AAAAAAAAeRA/izgkWRKFjhMdhjl0I-_ljxzQPel_QqOfgCLcB/s1600/20170120_153240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTwl1k7Jsfw/WIOd4cmvc7I/AAAAAAAAeRA/izgkWRKFjhMdhjl0I-_ljxzQPel_QqOfgCLcB/s640/20170120_153240.jpg" width="345" /></a></div>
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I don't recall where I first saw this idea, maybe a friend had favorited someone's project. But I just loved this when I saw it and had to try it myself. The first project I saw was from Ravelry user <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/jpknitknot/travel-knitting">jpknitknot</a>, but I based my project from the notes that Ravelry user <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/swellknitter/cozy-cup-sock">swellknitter</a> took. I changed the decreases at the bottom.<br />
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Anyway, here is a rough guide to how I made mine. I used Opal sock yarn, which is 465 yards in a 100g ball. I used my 40" circulars in 2.25mm using magic loop. I saw that others had used their 8" or 9" circulars, but I felt it was too fiddly for me at this circumference, and used magic loop instead. I got about 8 stitches per inch, and knit until my cozy had reached about 6.25" before starting the decreases. You can block it to fit if it's a little small. Mine felt snug, but was very fitted, not loose.<br />
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Roughly, the pattern is to make your first decrease about 2" after the ribbing, and then again every 1.5" (twice) for a total of 6 decreased stitches. Once you knit the length of the mug, start the bottom decreases. If you want to try using a different yarn, try to knit a circumference of about 7.5" so that you have some negative ease (the mug is about 8.5" at the top).<br />
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Materials:<br />
Fingering weight yarn (about 65-80 yards)<br />
Size 2.25mm circulars or DPNS (or whatever is needed to meet gauge)<br />
I bought the mug here at the <a href="http://store.starbucks.com/products/stainless-steel-create-your-own-tumbler-16-fl-oz-011025477/">Starbucks Store.</a> It had better reviews than other brands.<br />
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CO 60 sts using long-tail cast on. Knit in the round (using magic loop with long circulars).<br />
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It curls a little when it's off the mug, but if you choose not to use ribbing, the outer plastic sleeve will hold it up. Use the look you want!<br />
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Rows 1-4: 1x1 ribbing (knit1, purl 1 across) - or just start in stockinette.<br />
Rows 5-29: knit<br />
Row 30: [K2tog, K28]* twice. (58 sts)<br />
Row 31-47: knit.<br />
Row 48: [K2tog, k27]* twice. (56 sts)<br />
Row 49- 64: knit<br />
Row 65: [K2tog, k26]* twice (54 sts).<br />
Continue knitting until your cozy reaches the bottom curve of the stainless steel interior of the mug, about 6.25". For me, it was until row 77. Decreases for me started at row 78.<br />
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Decreases (6 decreases every other row):<br />
1: K7, k2tog around (48 sts)<br />
2: Knit<br />
3: K6, k2tog around (42 sts)<br />
4: Knit<br />
5: Knit 5, k2tog around (36 sts)<br />
6: Knit<br />
7: Knit 4, k2tog around (30 sts)<br />
8: Knit<br />
9: Kknit 3, k2tog around (24 sts)<br />
10: Knit<br />
11: Knit 2, k2tog around (18 sts)<br />
12: Knit<br />
13: Knit 1, k2tog around (12 sts)<br />
Cut yarn, draw through remaining sts.<br />
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Tip: Try on the cozy as you go. If you are getting close to the center and you haven't decreased to the end, you can skip a plain knit row (12) to decrease faster. If you find that you need more rows to meet in the middle, knit row 14 around, then row 15 K2tog around.<br />
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Also, if you are using a different brand or style of mug, here are some basic guidelines:<br />
- If it is a straight cylinder and does not gradually get smaller at the bottom, do not do decreases until the bottom portion.<br />
-Measure the top of your mug- as a rule, you want to make your sleeve slightly smaller than your mug so it hugs it, just like when you're making socks. So for mine, it starts off as 8.5", so I started mine at 60 sts which is 7.5".<br />
-When you start your bottom decreases, if you use a different stitch count than the pattern suggests, just make sure it divides by 6, or find the closest stitch count to divide by. For example, if you are using a thicker yarn and cast on fewer stitches and end up with 50 instead of 54 sts, just decrease 5 times (k8, k2tog). Or if you have 56 sts, decrease 7 times (K6, k2tog).<br />
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-Another thing to consider: When you put a hot beverage in your mug it will loosen the fibers of your yarn, so you don't want it to be loose fitting when you make it. Also, it may not be a good idea to use acrylic because of the heat factor.<br />
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-38830830333437955932015-04-22T23:56:00.002-04:002015-04-23T09:02:15.173-04:00Fitbit One Wristband - crochet version<div dir="ltr">
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_kWvpPNlHVU/VThu4hGxlBI/AAAAAAAAFzo/ajZv1GieTCk/s640/20150422_235809%25257E01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_kWvpPNlHVU/VThu4hGxlBI/AAAAAAAAFzo/ajZv1GieTCk/s640/20150422_235809%25257E01.jpg" height="400" width="331" /></a></div>
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Materials:<br />
Size 4.0mm hook, or appropriate size depending on how loose your tension is<br />
Small amount of worsted yarn (leftover scraps will do)<br />
Yarn needle<br />
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Row 1: Chain 5, HDC in second chain from the hook, only in the back loops. Complete 3 more HDC for a total of 4. Turn chain, and HDC 4 in the front loops. (<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ctHFvR0YCrI/Uvi0xnlInZI/AAAAAAAAG_I/q9cGnR0OEGM/s1600/front+and+back+loop+of+chain,+crochet+tutorial.jpg">This image</a> is helpful)</div>
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Rows 2-10: Work in the round, 8 HDC stitches per round (do not join for each round).<br />
At the end of row 10, sl into next two stitches (I found that the start of the round migrates and this was to make the seam of the pocket align with the edge of the band). The pocket should measure about 2" and be longer than the Fitbit once inside. Try it out before continuing.</div>
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Begin Band:<br />
Row 1: Ch 2, DC in same stitch, DC in next 3 stitches. (2 chain stitches +4 DC)<br />
Row 2: Ch2, turn, DC 4.<br />
Repeat row 2 until the band is a snug fit on your wrist, the DC will stretch. For me, 11 rows of DC was perfect.</div>
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When you're done, leave a long tail for sewing, and sew the end of the band to the closed end of the pocket. The FitBit should fit snugly inside, so if you feel like it's too loose, go down a hook size. If it's too tight, go up a size. It should be snug, but not difficult to slip in, and I made it so that the pocket is longer than the Fitbit so that it won't slide out easily. I also find that you can wear the wristband with the opening on the inside, toward your wrist, but it's not absolutely necessary.<br />
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The Ravelry page featuring this pattern can be found here: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fitbit-one-or-pocket-wristband-2">http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fitbit-one-or-pocket-wristband-2</a></div>
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<script type='text/javascript' src='https://www.etsy.com/assets/js/etsy_mini_shop.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new Etsy.Mini(7498004,'thumbnail',5,5,0,'https://www.etsy.com');</script>
<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-60158518531409096642015-02-09T21:35:00.001-05:002015-02-09T21:35:05.105-05:00Picadillo the SequelI've been making this for years, and have been eating it years before that when my mom would make it. Either I'm getting older and my tastes are changing, or this new way is really kind of awesome. Rather than a meat mixture over starchy rice, I've begun adding lentils to sort of "extend" the beef and add more nutrients. Other than the texture feeling less meaty, the taste largely remained the same. Then, I got this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/TRUROOTS-ORGANIC-SPROUTED-BEAN-TRIO/dp/B005HXGHO8">sprouted bean trio</a> and used that instead of lentils. Actually, I replaced about half the beef with beans this time. To compensate, I increased the spices. We really love our spices in savory foods here. I also got some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Earthly-Choice-Organic-Italian/dp/B0078DPH8M/ref=sr_1_4?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1423535443&sr=1-4&keywords=farro">farro</a> from my mom, and have never cooked with it before. Well, I'm sold. This is going to be the way we do picadillo from now on. Thanks mom for the grains, and sorry mom that we don't like picadillo the old way anymore.<br />
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The original post is <a href="http://craftstina.blogspot.com/2011/07/picadillo.html">here</a>.<br />
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Picadillo mixture:<br />
3 large beefsteak tomatoes, diced<br />
1 large green bell pepper, diced<br />
1 large onion, diced<br />
small head of garlic, minced<br />
1.5 lb of beef<br />
1 cup green olives<br />
3/4 cup raisins<br />
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
1 tsp cloves<br />
2 tsp cumin<br />
salt to taste (we had around 3-4 tsp, I think)<br />
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Grains & Beans:<br />
2 cups of sprouted bean trio<br />
2 cups of farro<br />
about 12 cups water<br />
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1- Brown beef in a wide, deep pan on medium heat. Meanwhile, chop onion, tomato, and pepper, and peel garlic.<br />
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2-Drain fat off beef. Add onion and garlic to beef, and cook until onion starts to soften.<br />
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3- Add tomato, peppers, spices/seasoning, olives, and raisins, lower temperature and cover.<br />
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4- Add water to larger pot with farro and bean mixture. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to med-low and cover. After about 15 mins, check to see that the beans have softened and the farro is "al dente". Cook longer as needed.<br />
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5- Toast the almonds in a small saucepan in butter over low heat. Be careful, it can burn if you leave it unattended!<br />
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6- When the beans/farro is done, drain excess water. Add picadillo mixture from the first pan into the larger pot. Mix it all together and top with almonds. You won't regret it!<br />
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Personally, I like it after it simmers a bit to allow all the flavors to mix, and the olives and raisins absorb some of the juices.<br />
<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-57530739170617295412015-01-21T12:18:00.000-05:002015-04-23T09:02:27.940-04:00Fitbit One WristbandIt's been a long, LONG time since I've posted anything here. I just wanted to share the sleep tracking wristband I created for mine and my husband's new Fitbit One, as we find it more comfortable than the one it comes with.<br />
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Materials:<br />
4.0 (size 6) double pointed knitting needles (or go down a size if you tend to knit more loosely. I am a tight knitter!)<br />
Small amount of Worsted yarn (I used leftover scraps)<br />
Yarn needle<br />
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Long tail CO 10 sts.<br />
K1P1 rib in the round until the pocket measures a little longer than the Fitbit (without the case). Mine was about 2 inches.<br />
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Then, divide the stitches evenly on 2 needles and knit the 2 rows as one to close the pocket, which is known as a 3 needle bind off.<br />
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Knit the band (5 sts) in garter stitch until it is the right length for the wristband, keeping in mind that it will stretch out a bit once you try it on. I stretched mine out a little first so it fit a little more snug.<br />
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BO and use the tail of the yarn to sew the BO edge to one side of the pocket opening. The band can be worn with the opening on the inside to prevent the Fitbit from falling out, but it isn't necessary. It stays in pretty well as long as the pocket fits snugly over the Fitbit.<br />
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The Ravelry pattern page featuring this pattern can be found here: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fitbit-one-or-pocket-wristband">http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fitbit-one-or-pocket-wristband</a><br />
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-14159298414173201472013-07-12T17:46:00.001-04:002013-07-12T17:46:53.161-04:00Looking to buy new needles, part 2<p dir=ltr>I heard back from Knitter's Pride customer service. Basically, the set sold on Amazon that was on par with the Harmony needles price-wise is not considered to be from an "authorized dealer"and therefore I'd be out of luck if a needle broke. My alternative is to buy it from an "authorized dealer" and pay $20 more for a set. I was a little confused because I saw a couple of Amazon reviews that mentioned they got replacement parts. I want to get something that will last, but also something affordable, so I am trying to make sure I'd be covered. I don't want to rush out and buy anything just yet, but I am excited to start knitting with a new set of needles! Pretty, shiny needles that will improve my knitting experience from now on.</p>
Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-59866878552248461322013-07-11T22:34:00.001-04:002013-07-12T17:32:51.101-04:00Looking to buy new needlesWhen I started seriously knitting (around the time I joined Ravelry) I purchased circular bamboo knitting needle sets to get me started. They shipped from China, and were extremely affordable (15 sizes for $20). Those have lasted 2 1/2 years now, but sadly, as my Ravelry project page has climbed to almost 90 projects (although a few have been made on DPNs), a couple of the cables have snapped or popped off. More irritating though, is that the cable portion is a clear tube that stays kinked up from being folded, and is a little infuriating much of the time. These interchangeables have memory-free cables.<br>
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I have considered getting a nicer set since I am officially a knitter now, not just someone dabbling in knitting. It's not just a passing phase. I haven't had huge issues with the set I have, but from reviews I've read, there are pointier, slicker needles with more flexible cables that may be so wonderful to work with, there will be no going back.<br>
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I am not considering splurging on anything too extravagant, but want to purchase a set of interchangeable wood circulars. The two that I've seen that have rave reviews (not just for quality, but customer service) have been KnitPicks Options and Knitter's Pride. Specifically, I want pretty shiny ones like KnitPicks Harmony or Knitter's Pride Symphonie Dreamz (as much as I loathe the spelling).<br>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://knittingetcithaca.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Dreamz-Interchangeable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://knittingetcithaca.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Dreamz-Interchangeable.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knitter's Pride Dreamz Deluxe Interchangeable Long Tip Knitting Needle Set</td></tr>
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There are many who absolutely love both of these sets. So I can't go wrong with either, right? Once I felt like I was leaning toward one, I would find something to make me skeptical. I've read people complain about so many things concerning each, despite all the people who loyally love them dearly. I still think it would not only be a huge upgrade from my eBay needles, but the customer service would cover any defects, which is reassuring.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vlRr_DyF8dU/UEEH-kZb6zI/AAAAAAAABYk/USCfm3S7EzM/s640/needles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vlRr_DyF8dU/UEEH-kZb6zI/AAAAAAAABYk/USCfm3S7EzM/s400/needles.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KnitPicks Options Interchangeable Harmony Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set</td></tr>
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One of the concerns expressed recently about the KnitPicks needles is that I've heard they have switched manufacturers which has caused the quality to suffer. I heard they were previously manufactured in the same place as the Knitter's Pride needles, but now are more cheaply made. That really disappointed me, because I heard so many good things about them before, and the needles really are beautiful. I had total faith in KnitPick's customer service, too.<br>
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I leaned more toward the Knitter's Pride Dreamz needles after that, and they are being sold on Amazon.com for only $5 more than the KnitPicks Harmony set. The only concern I have there is, will I be able to get a defective tip replaced as easily as at KnitPicks if anything should happen? One may complain that there even has to be any replacements made at all, but in that price range, I'm sure it happens. Maybe it just happens no matter what. But I'd rather be covered. So... which set will it be?Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-50589091223162397872013-06-18T18:06:00.000-04:002013-12-11T12:17:32.721-05:00Gumbo-ish soupI had some keilbasa in the freezer and thought of making some kind of soup with it. After looking up a few different gumbo recipes, I decided to write down a bunch of the ingredients and just make it up as I went along. I was a little skeptical, but when I tasted it, my eyes widened in a "holy-crap-that's-good" sort of way. Here's what I used:<br />
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3tbsp of bacon grease + 4 heaping tbsp flour for the roux.<br />
3 cups of beef broth or 3 cubes bouillon with 14-16 cups water (add after the remaining ingredients- some of the water will cook off, and you will need to add more for a total of 14-16 cups)<br />
1 large onion -diced<br />
3 large celery stalks -diced<br />
6 small/med carrots -sliced<br />
2 med green bell peppers -diced<br />
2 large tomatoes or 28 oz canned tomato -diced<br />
1lb keilbasa -quartered, then sliced<br />
2 chicken breasts<br />
1 cup long grain or wild rice<br />
6 baby portabella mushrooms -thickly sliced<br />
1 small bag frozen okra (12-16 oz)<br />
10 cloves garlic -minced<br />
1 tsp ground bay leaves or 3 whole<br />
2tbsp Worcestershire<br />
2tbsp hot sauce<br />
1 tsp cajun seasoning<br />
1 tsp salt (after tasting, if needed at all)<br />
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I basically made the roux, added the water/beef broth (and made sure it was smooth), then threw in the rest. The chicken was thrown 1/4 breast portions, then shredded after it was cooked. It was just the right amount of spicy, and a lot of tasty. I let it boil then turned it to medium heat and left it simmering for a good 2+ hours. I'm not sure the minimum time it takes, and I would have left it in the slow cooker if it fit. When making the roux, turn the heat on enough to melt the fat, and whisk in the flour until smooth. Add a little of the broth at a time, whisking, and make sure that you keep an eye on it- if you have the burner on and leave the mixture on the stovetop before adding the broth, you will end up with dumplings instead of a soup base. Yes, I've done that before. You can also briefly cook the kielbasa first and use the fat cooked off that instead of some of the bacon fat.<br />
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Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-35897023724042514122013-02-14T11:40:00.003-05:002013-02-15T09:39:15.798-05:00Happy Valentine's DayI found so many awesome Valentines online that I wanted to create a treasury of them.<br />
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This last one is dedicated to my husband, who fixed up my "balloon".</div>
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-1290789678058046112012-11-08T10:20:00.003-05:002012-11-08T10:20:58.090-05:00Hats and more hatsIt's been over a month since I updated. I am doing better than I was then, just because I've had time to digest what's happened in my personal life. I'm trying to do NaNoWriMo this month, but I'm finding myself very distracted and generally emotionally drained. That's a bad thing. I feel really off my game. Some of those who have given me constructive criticism have said that one of my greatest strengths is my ability to convey emotion vividly in writing. I don't feel like I can give it my all right now. Even when I'm not thinking about my daughter, I just have that weariness.<br />
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Anyway, I've kept knitting. I have about six weeks left to finish gifts, and I can safely admit here that I am making hats for my family, knowing they will never ever read it. So far, I'm on my 8th hat. One for each of my siblings, my mom, as well as Jorge and me. I wanted to make another one for myself because I'm selfish like that. I also made mittens for Jorge and myself. I am getting really psyched about seeing snow for the first time. If I have time after making the 9th hat (for me), I will make a cowl/scarf. I am on fire! Not literally, but if I was then that would be too warm, what with all the winter clothes and all. I will post pictures eventually.<br />
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The hat I'm currently working has cables, and in a sad and lame way, I'm excited about learning cables. Sometimes I look at that hat and say, "Oh, you fancy, huh?"<br />
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See how disconnected this all is? Back to NaNoWriMo-ing. It is sure to be a muddled mess.Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-34311189968967711152012-09-29T22:33:00.002-04:002012-11-08T10:07:50.088-05:00I last updated this blog on September 12, 2012. Two days later I wound up in the hospital, and to make a long story short, I am no longer going to be a mother in February. I guess you could say I'm a mother now, but we didn't get to take our daughter home. Not the way we wanted to. I feel like my whole world just went swirling down the drain.Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-41330388628920526232012-09-12T14:19:00.000-04:002012-09-12T14:19:00.649-04:00So many knits to make, so little timeI have so many projects I want to start, I don't even know where to begin. I tend to have periods of extreme motivation to do things, and then I have these lulls where I can't bring myself to work on something to save my life. That's kind of how I do most things, including housework. I will procrastinate until things get very messy, then put in a few solid hours and make a huge difference.<br />
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I go on knitting and reading binges all the time. I mean, I'll go six months without reading a book, then in 3.5 weeks, I finished all 7 Harry Potter books. Well, I have knitting fever once again, I just finished a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Craftstina/japanese-feather-and-fan-shawl">wool lace shawl</a>, am about 5" away from finishing <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Craftstina/storm">the other sock</a>, and am wondering what comes next. I made swatches for a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saranac">sweater</a> for Jorge. I bought the yarn back in January, and I want to finish so he can use it this winter (if it even gets cold... HA!) I settled on everything, It's just a matter of casting on.<br />
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But I can imagine I'd be working on this thing and nothing else till almost Christmas. That leaves me in a pickle, considering my ambitions include making warm weather accessories for my siblings who just moved to Minnesota, and I have a long queue of baby items waiting. I have until around Feb. 1 to finish, and then I will have no more time for knitting. That's because I will be too busy being a mother! That means, any items I want to use for the baby will have to be finished by then, hopefully much earlier. When planning these things, it seems like the months will fly by. Heck, it already seems like that now. I've had a productive year, though. I finished my knitcoat (which I started in Oct last year), and I've finished & started 3 shawls, 1 wrap, *almost* a pair of socks, a pair of mitts, and some random small projects like a needle roll and an Oliphant that looks like Max Rebo. I really should post these, shouldn't I?Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-55545014134626987352012-09-06T21:39:00.003-04:002012-09-06T21:40:59.225-04:00I made a sock!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am now halfway through making my husband a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Craftstina/storm">pair of socks</a>, still trying not to get distracted with other projects, namely baby ones. I'm at that age where everyone I know is pregnant, which means everywhere I look there is baby pictures, baby news, cute baby things. I really should try my hand at tiny baby things, they take so much less yarn. The next socks I make may be tiny ones. Anyway, this is the first one just before I bound off. He was so happy to wear that one sock, telling me "No one has ever made me a sock before!"</div>
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-30765168320483027962012-09-03T20:18:00.000-04:002012-09-03T20:18:03.219-04:00Hello, blogHow long has it been? Too long, surely. Well, we've been up to many things lately, and I suppose that I ran out of a bit of steam when it came to documenting. As a matter of fact, I don't see how I will be able to permanently keep up with a blog with all the other stuff I've got coming up this next year.<br />
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For the moment, I'm enjoying my home with my husband, and all the domestic bliss that comes with knitting by his side while he plays L.A. Noire (a detective game set in 1947). We just finished sending my mom and siblings off to the northern parts of the midwest, where my siblings will surely suffer shock when they experience their first winter. I still haven't seen snow, though.<br />
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Tonight I hope to finish a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/japanese-feather-and-fan-shawl">shawl I've been working on</a>, and will block the beauty sometime over the next week. I just finished the first of a pair of socks for DH, and will eventually make its mate.<br />
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Anyway, I'm a knitting fiend at the moment, I can't get enough. I go over to Ravelry for times like this, because they understand me there. Yes, I realize that it makes me sound like a hipster, but hipsters are big frauds. They like to do things before they were cool, but doesn't that imply that they wanted to be cool first, though? I'll never understand.<br />
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Till next time.Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-55167705414065678822012-02-21T22:07:00.000-05:002012-02-21T22:07:12.657-05:00Not-so-winter Garden - Week 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So much for "winter" around here. We had some torrential downpours here, and the garden seemed to shoot up overnight.</div>
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As you can see, the red bucket is filled with water pouring off the roof- it filled up in just a couple hours.</div>
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More sprouts popped up all over. These are the habaneros and cayenne peppers.</div>
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Whoops, one zucchini too many. Have to either get rid of it or transplant it!</div>
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These are sweet peppers from a carnival mix. I guess I won't know what they really look like until they bear fruit!</div>
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Eggplant! This interesting plant will always remind me of that episode of Inspector Gadget where he feeds a bunch of Mammoths some red eggplant things.</div>
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Tiny fernleaf dill sprouts.</div>
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The row of moneymaker tomatos grows as I feel pity for the runts and transplant them instead of getting rid of them completely. I don't know what I'm going to do with everything I have!</div>
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The first tomato set fruit. This is why I do this.</div>
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Another angle of my tomato runts.Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-22986222996477652462012-02-21T21:32:00.002-05:002012-02-21T21:33:45.319-05:00Winter Garden - Week 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I just wanted to post a quick photo update of the garden two weeks after planting. Not much has changed since the last post, except that a few more seedlings have sprouted up.</div>
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These are the transplanted herbs. From the left: Basil sprouts, parsley, another variety of parsley (and much healthier looking), and a small Oregano bush that used to be hanging in a pink pot.</div>
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Tomato plants, which are much bigger now.</div>
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Not very visible, but there seems to be some chamomile, marjoram, and thyme sprouts there.</div>
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Habanero and cayenne peppers.</div>
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-79937793311015508122012-02-16T22:07:00.003-05:002012-02-16T22:07:46.909-05:00Winter garden - week oneI should have planted three months ago, but my dear husband was still putting this thing together for me. He is so good to me, I just thought I should say. He's got a lot on his plate (teaching 7 periods!) but he still made the time to help me make my garden. We hauled in over a ton of manure from Home Depot for this project! There were no truck rentals available, so we just made several trips. I was a bit dubious about using only the manure because the HD sales dude told us we should not just buy the $1.75 bags of manure, but buy the $4.97 bags of "garden soil" instead. Let me tell you, I got the idea for using well-rotted cow manure from "experienced" gardeners who teach at Fairchild, and featured an article on the intarwebs somewhere. We actually saw them speak at our local library. They said that it's safer because it's disease-free. Well, the manure we bought looked like it had some mulch and sand mixed in, but at that point we already bought a TON of it- literally. Let me tell you, seven days after planting- I saw sprouts popping up all over! Oh joy! No more doubts now. Chamomile and Thyme which aren't supposed to germinate until about 14 - 28 days were the first! Among the others were Zucchini, Tomato, Marjoram, Onion, Peas, Dill, and Forget-me-nots. Yay! At this point, just about all of them have sprouted, but since I haven't been updating, I'm going to focus on one week each post. Here are some pics from the first week after planting (Jan 29 - Feb 4)<br />
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This is what the garden looked like approx. one week after planting the first seeds directly into the soil. I transplanted all my existing plants (the ones in the background will be added later). That includes parsley, oregano, sweet basil, Moneymaker tomatoes, and Yolo wonder bell peppers.</div>
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Here are some of the Thyme sprouts. I put stones next to where the seeds were planted so I could remember where to water.</div>
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The zucchini was one of the first ones to sprout. </div>
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This is literally one day later.</div>
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This is two days after that.</div>
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Another two days later.</div>
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You can see the second zucchini sprouted days after the first. I started to get worried after seeing just some of the seeds sprouting, so I planted extras to be safe. Well, now I have three zucchinis, about 16 eggplants and 20 peppers. Oh well. The peas are an exception, I wanted to plant a bunch there. They were very early sprouters, and 100% of the peas planted sprouted eventually. I'm hoping these will make it worthwhile!</div>
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Sadly, one of the first casualties came this first week. A bastard cat used my garden as a colossal litterbox! I found cat scat in there and everything! >=(</div>
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I put these Moneymaker tomato plants in the ground, which I had been waiting to do for a while. They didn't look like they were doing well. It turns out it was really good for them to be planted in the ground because they took off from here.</div>
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It's pretty amazing. Three days after I transplanted the tomato plants into the ground, flowers opened up! Now I've got tomatoes growing! They weren't doing so well in the tiny pots I had them in. They have made so much progress since then.<br />
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-88884451833845178912012-02-09T19:36:00.000-05:002012-02-09T19:36:21.736-05:00Knitting a rainbowFirst of all, I've been a busy, busy lady. I may not have documented my hobbies here for posterity, but I have done many things. I've completed a dozen more knitting projects, invented and tried out new recipes, and our queue of home projects are slowly getting completed. Right now I'm drooling over the yarn I have sitting in my stash, I can't wait to make more lovely things.<br />
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My <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Craftstina/ruffled-shawl">current WIP</a> is a shawl I'm making for myself (and another three or so things I'll write about later). I used to think that shawls were something only old ladies wore, just like knitting is supposed to be a pastime for the female members of the retirement community. Since I joined Ravelry over a year ago, well, all that changed. Now I think they are artistic and refined, a means of self expression and a manner of warming oneself in a stylish way.<br />
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The first shawl I tried to make was a lovely lacy purple one, but my gauge was too large for the amount of yarn I had in that color. Since I love my Plum Pudding colored yarn, I bought a little more in the same dye lot, and now I can make more purple things. Anyway, I have this soft fingering weight rainbow yarn, called Serenity Garden by Deborah Norville. The colorway is Gems.<br />
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I fell in love with the color but had no idea what I was going to make of it. I've seen other Ravelers make lovely lacy shawls with this, but the sad part is that in the pictures at least, the intricate lace is not as aesthetically appreciated because the Gems outshines the actual pattern. My eye is drawn toward the color changes, not the pattern itself. So, I found a simple shawl that would be the vessel for this beautiful, bright yarn.<br />
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I chose a pattern that is worked from side to side so that the stripes are vertical (rather than the typical top-down shawl that has horizontal stripes). I chose this for two reasons. The first reason is that toward the beginning of a top-down pattern, the stripes are visible, but as the stitch count grows, the stripes start melting together in a weird variegated pattern. I guess that the colors are pretty regardless, but I prefer the neat transitions.<br />
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Second, I just like the stripes better vertical. I added two pattern repeats because the pattern calls for worsted and a larger needle, but it seems to be plenty large with the way it's coming out. I can't wait to wear it, and be shameless about fashion faux pas in public. I will update again when I'm done!Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-11732974166216903052012-01-19T22:55:00.000-05:002012-01-19T22:55:03.070-05:00Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!We have had a busy and productive past few weeks. My husband is on fire! He resolved for this new year to be more productive, and so far he's installed a mirrored jewelry cabinet (he bought as a gift), taken down the track spotlights in the kitchen and installed a new light- I can see now!<br />
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Here is the hubby in the kitchen with the original spotlights. Note that they do not light up the area well.</div>
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And here is the new and improved, bright and evenly lit kitchen! Note how much more lived in the house looks now as opposed to the previous pic, where we hadn't moved in yet. Jorge also hung the frames on the left recently, which deserve a post of their own. I cross-stitched a massive Save the Date and Wedding invitation. On the right is a double sided clock, imitating a vintage Parisian train station clock. We also finally got our wedding photo framed, and Jorge put that baby up!<br />
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Finally, Jorge is helping me plot that garden. I know, it's something we have been talking about since June! Since then, I've lost all my tomatoes and peppers to whitefly, but replanted a few weeks ago. So far, these are doing much better in the cooler weather. I think that the high humidity was a lucrative environment for pests.<br />
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This is what the "garden" plot looked like last time I posted about it. Now, here's what it looks like:</div>
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We got cedar instead of pine even though it's a bajillion times more expensive (and is very fragrant) because cedar is rot resistant. Those frames are going to house lots and lots of garden soil, and it will look great. Note in the upper left hand corner of the yard, the banana plants have flourished!</div>
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When I decided to start planting, I wanted to immediately dig up all the rocks in my little plot and fill it up with soil. I went and borrowed a dozen books from the library on the subject. A few months ago, all we just had were a tremendous pile of rocks that no one wants, and it was either too hot or too wet to plant anyway. The thing about a sudden urge to do something is that it doesn't work well with having to wait. I haven't been taking pictures of our compost bin, but it's actually broken down quite a bit as it is teeming with grubs! Timon and Pumba would love it in there. It's not really enough to amend let's say 200 lbs of topsoil, but I plan on adding some cheap cow manure compost (don't worry it doesn't smell) and using my compost as an organic side-dressing. Hold on, I can't help myself.</div>
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I still have some plants that are somehow alive. This is the second batch, the first (as you saw in past posts) did not survive the whiteflies and blight. Well, the oregano and succulents did.<br />
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Here's my Oregano and sprouts of Sweet Basil. As you can see, the Oregano is doing well.<br />
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Here we have the new tomatoes and bell peppers, and a tray of butterfly flowers.<br />
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So, the weather is nice and our one week cold snap is over. This weekend we are going to fill that baby with soil and transplant my garden- or bust. The good thing is that with all the work that we (Jorge) put into it, it will last years to come, and there's always next October...Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-18923095021917418482011-12-02T13:55:00.001-05:002012-11-08T17:06:14.152-05:00Hark! Do I hear another blog post?Things tend to get really busy during the last quarter of the year. This is some of what I've been up to:<br />
1- Visiting with my brother when he came to town in early October.<br />
2- Late October- Painted our bedroom finally, and set up our new furniture.<br />
3- Participated in NaNoWriMo and Won! Well, finished the 50k. I still have much more writing to do.<br />
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4- I also cooked my first turkey/ hosted my first Thanksgiving. </div>
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Somewhere in there we also drove up to my friend's wedding and had just about every weekend spent busy with something!</div>
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I'll expand on this all soon, I promise. I need to take a good photo of the bedroom.</div>
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-13093731328096267212011-09-26T12:00:00.000-04:002011-09-26T10:52:30.212-04:00Blog ain't dead (and stuff about furniture)On the contrary, there are ideas that have yet to be realized, and topics that have barely been touched. I've lost considerable steam here, yes. This can possibly be attributed to several things: One, I've been reading a ton-load of books. Two, I am trying to acquire pictures of things that I both promised to blog about and I very much want to post on. Three, my obsessive nature leads me to do one thing very intensively, and then forget about it for a time while I obsess about something else. Four, I realized that I actually have other things I've been neglecting to do, mostly stuff around the house. I mean, not just <em>some</em> things, more like a list of about 30 things I've been neglecting. Lucky for you, I've got some useless banter to fill the void today, including a trip we made to Ikea yesterday. We brought home some beautiful white furniture for our bedroom that looks something like this:<br />
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I really love this style of bed frame. It's simple and classic; I doubt that this is going to look tacky and outdated ten years from now. It almost looks vintage, and I liked vintage before it was cool to like vintage (Uh oh, I sound like a hipster!) I found this image on a google image search and would attribute the source if it was known to me:<br />
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Isn't it gorgeous? I love it. Unfortunately, I married a man who loves sleek and modern decor (which utterly clashes with my love of classic) so we had quite a time trying to compromise on decorating the house. We both liked the Ikea Hemnes series. It looked simple and vaguely "country" style to me, but sleek enough to satisfy Jorge's tastes. Either that or I'm just rubbing off on him. Anyway, our dressers look like this:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7CeblqibKcw/TkwPrXD75DI/AAAAAAAADxs/wsBdc9oJ5GU/s1600/hemnes%20dresser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7CeblqibKcw/TkwPrXD75DI/AAAAAAAADxs/wsBdc9oJ5GU/s320/hemnes%20dresser.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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So, white bedroom furniture. I like the look of wood furniture, but the floors of our bedroom are some kind of wood laminate that looks somewhat like this:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flooring-manufacturers.com/picture/engineered-wood-flooring/beech-laminate-flooring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kca="true" src="http://www.flooring-manufacturers.com/picture/engineered-wood-flooring/beech-laminate-flooring.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I thought that the wood finishes we liked best would clash with this color floor, so we went with white. It's not only a pretty color, but it's safe and it matches with things. Now we are asking ourselves what we are going to do about the paint job. The previous owners didn't do a very good job, but they left the can of paint at the house. I like the color, but am not sure that it would work with everything else we've got going on. I mean, it looks good (and would look better as a contrast against the white) but I spent years of my life making this quilt and want it to look really nice with the quilt as the focal point of the room, without compromising the beautiful contrast of the headboard against the wall. Our walls are currently this color:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-STEhkWEfc8o/ToCAL9ER4QI/AAAAAAAAC3s/tUxS9Tz0-tI/s1600/greenroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" kca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-STEhkWEfc8o/ToCAL9ER4QI/AAAAAAAAC3s/tUxS9Tz0-tI/s400/greenroom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It feels a little darker than it looks in the picture. I know that it would contrast against the headboard on the bed, and made that stand out... but I feel like maybe going a little lighter or maybe in the neutral range. Here's what<a href="http://craftstina.blogspot.com/2011/06/depression-era-quilt-going-on-10-years.html"> the quilt I'm talking</a> about looks like: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l6Zye49DdNE/Tf_XGKpo_qI/AAAAAAAAC3k/bK_wh6PR2f4/s1600/IMG_2903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l6Zye49DdNE/Tf_XGKpo_qI/AAAAAAAAC3k/bK_wh6PR2f4/s400/IMG_2903.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, what do you think? Leave it like that? Maybe go a little lighter and match the green on the quilt? Go neutral? Darker? Blue? Purple? All I know is from reading blogs like <a href="http://www.designsponge.com/">Design*Sponge</a>. I don't claim to be good at this, but I'm pretty sure I know what I like (more or less). Now that I'm shifting gears back into house decorating, I think I'm going to follow up with the things we have already did back in April and May.</div>
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Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-88208579358004597832011-09-21T19:12:00.001-04:002011-09-21T19:13:48.300-04:00Apple Pie Cupcakes (with caramel whipped topping)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All, right! So, I've had this thing not quite ready to post for ages now. I actually have quite a few things to blog about, but am reading my 9th book in <2 weeks. Right now, I'm on the 4th book of the Harry Potter series, and people were quite right in saying that I would enjoy them. I think I'm going to try and see how many books I can finish before the end of October, because I got my kindle for my birthday last year and have been keeping track of how many books I've read since I got it (a disappointing 21 so far- I want to make it to 30!)</div>
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Back to the cupcakes. I made them for my husband's birthday in May, and have been needing to blog it for a while because it's one of the best desserts I've made. I threw this together before the <a href="http://craftstina.blogspot.com/2011/08/ice-cream-filled-cupcakes.html">ice cream cupcakes</a>, and had to hide them in the fridge for a surprise party! I based the filling from<a href="http://annies-eats.net/2008/09/26/apple-pie-cupcakes/"> this blog</a> and the frosting <a href="http://dailydelicious.blogspot.com/2008/10/whipped-cream-cup-cakes-with-caramel.html">from here</a>.</div>
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What you'll need:</div>
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For the cake:</div>
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1 box cake mix plus egg, water, butter (whatever it says on the box).</div>
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Or cake batter from scratch recipe of choice</div>
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Bake them in cupcake papers and let them cool.</div>
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For the filling:</div>
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3 cups of cored, peeled, and diced granny smith apple</div>
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2tbsp butter</div>
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3tbsp sugar</div>
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2 tsp cinnamon</div>
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1 tsp nutmeg</div>
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Heat butter, cinnamon, and sugar on med-high for a minute. The mixture should bubble a little. Throw in the diced apples and turn it to medium. Cover the apples in the cinnamon sugar mixture and heat until soft (about 10 mins). Let it cool before adding to your cupcakes! </div>
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For the topping:</div>
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2 cups heavy whipping cream</div>
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6 tbsp granulated white sugar</div>
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1/2 tsp water</div>
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1 tsp vanilla</div>
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Okay, this is a bit trickier than the first two steps. Making caramel is pretty simple, but if you goof it gets too sticky. You can, however, salvage a mess and use it for this recipe as I did. My mistake? I didn't stir the sugar enough! I read from <a href="http://dailydelicious.blogspot.com/2008/10/whipped-cream-cup-cakes-with-caramel.html">this link</a>: </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Prepare the caramel sauce. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and stir well to mix. Put the cream in a second small saucepan (or put in the microwave proved measuring cup). Place the first pan on medium heat and cook undisturbed until the sugar begins to melt and caramelize-you’ll see a few wisps of smoke coming out of the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally so that the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. Remove it from the heat when the caramel is still very pale (the sugar will continue to darken off the heat). Slide the pan with the cream onto the burner. As soon as the cream has some bubbles around the edge (if using microwave put the cup in the microwave and heat for 1 minutes), add it to the caramel at arm’s length, averting your face-the caramel will boil up and may splatter out of the pan. Pour the diluted caramel into a medium bowl and cool it to room temperature."</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">It says "cook [the sugar] <i>undisturbed</i> until the sugar begins to melt and caramelize". If you haven't done this before, let me warn you to be vigilant! I left it too long before lowering the heat and stirring. If you're not sure if the sugar is caramelizing yet, toss it around in the pan to check for signs. Again, don't let this keep you from trying this combination of apples and caramel whipped cream- you will NOT regret it even if you mess up!</span></span></div>
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I baked the cake and hollowed out the cone shapes like I did with the <a href="http://craftstina.blogspot.com/2011/08/ice-cream-filled-cupcakes.html">ice cream cupcakes</a>. Then I added the apple filling and put the lids on. </div>
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Set them aside while you work on the topping.<br />
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Looks like caramel, right? Well, mistake #2- I wanted dark caramel. It was super sticky! I lost a lot of it, but the good news is, it washes out really easily with hot water.</div>
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Mixing the caramel with the rest of the cream- this is when it really started to come together. I thought there was no way the cream would whip up stiff peaks with all that sticky caramel, but it didn't let me down! The result was worth the effort.<br />
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Mmm, look at the surprise inside! My husband loved these for this 30th birthday.<br />
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<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-41897409654881284262011-09-18T16:44:00.000-04:002011-09-18T16:44:52.887-04:00Books: Bigger on the insideAfter catching up with Doctor Who, my husband and I decided that we, too, are huge nerd fans for the show. I admit that during the first few episodes I was getting used to the campyness of some of these villains... only to find even campier ones to come. I think the climactic moment of campiness was when the Daleks and the Cybermen headed toward each other in a hostile manner crying, "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" and "DELETE! DELETE!" respectively. Perpetually seeking ways to incorporate my geek passion with my crafty passions and live up to the title of this blog, I leapt at the opportunity to knit a Tardis. Yes. Ravelry is a treasure trove of patterns that one would not have imagined possible... So, without further ado, view this nifty kindle cozy that fits the kindle inside the leather cover from amazon. When you think of it, the Tardis is not the only thing bigger on the inside!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--sspT7kS7rU/TmaleLaWg1I/AAAAAAAAC2o/XYNgkypZUBs/s1600/IMG_2160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--sspT7kS7rU/TmaleLaWg1I/AAAAAAAAC2o/XYNgkypZUBs/s400/IMG_2160.jpg" width="343" /></a></div>
<br />Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3624638943139599839.post-40415708423225491272011-09-14T14:01:00.000-04:002011-09-14T14:01:38.671-04:00Curry Lentil Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In case you're wondering, I don't exlusively cook horribly fattening albeit fatally delicious meals. They are just so much more fun to take pictures of and blog about than healthy things like salad and whatnot.I've made this a half-dozen times now, and this makes a great comforting soup that actually has a great flavor and is a satisfying meal. I added chicken base and bacon fat, but if you use substitutes, this can be made entirely vegetarian. </div>
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4 small red potatoes or 1 lb russet, diced into small 1/2 cubes</div>
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2 large stalks celery, diced</div>
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2 carrots, diced</div>
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1 medium onion, diced</div>
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1 lb diced tomato</div>
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2 cups frozen chopped spinach</div>
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6 cloves garlic, crushed</div>
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1 tbsp bacon fat or oil</div>
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8 cups water</div>
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1 tbsp chicken base</div>
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1 1/2 tbsp curry powder</div>
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1 tbsp badia complete seasoning</div>
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salt & pepper to taste</div>
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1 lb of lentils (about 2 cups)</div>
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Tip from me: Celery leaves are great in soup. No need to discard that good stuff! When I use celery stems in things like tuna salad, I save the leaves for soup. Likewise, when using herbs like cilantro or parsley, don't just use the leaves, throw in the stems, too. Use everything you can, just wash it first. I put cilantro in the food processor. The stems have a lot of flavor!</div>
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Add the bacon fat or oil and the chopped carrot, celery, onion, potato, and garlic. Mix it up and leave it to cook covered on medium heat while you rinse your lentils. </div>
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Add all remaning ingredients (make sure you have a big pot!) and bring to a boil.<br />
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When it comes to a boil, turn it down to med-low heat and leave to simmer until the lentils and potato chunks are soft (about 30 mins).</div>
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The soup is going to be chunky, so you can add more broth and less veggies if you like it more soupy.</div>
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It got the seal of approval from Jorge, who said that he could smell it before he came in the house. It came out great, and I'd make it again! It's pretty healthy except for the oil/fat I added at the beginning. If you want to omit that part, you can add all your ingredients together at once and boil them. You can also add less water and serve as a stew over rice. Cilantro would also make a great garnish for this soup. Cristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05069170872951620317noreply@blogger.com0