dreaming out loud, Introspection

Happy New Year!

Ok, so I’m late. It’s just so I can be sure that you hear my New Year’s greetings over everyone else’s. I’ve got a stack of posts to write to share the last minute creating from December. My sewing corner is a big pile of stuff since I was making things (and coming up with more ideas for more things) and then abruptly stopped to focus on actual Christmas prep. I always feel that my version of Christmas dinner is a lot less complicated than the traditional turkey feast, but somehow I still spend two days before Christmas in the …

in the kitchen

Introducing Opera Crispies

 

Have you ever heard of Opera Cremes? They are out of fashion now, according to Grandpa’s vintage books, because they are tiny and have to be hand-dipped in chocolate. But they used to be popular among Victorian opera-goers, for precisely the same reason. Tiny candies are easier to sneak into long opera performances, and you can eat them surreptitiously. No large nut-cruching to distract the performers, no large mouth movements to give you away. Grandpa’s books have a couple of recipes for opera cremes, one of which includes instructions for topping with a layer of melted chocolate and cutting into …

sewing

An Interruption

 

Look what came in the mail last week: StephC over at 3 Hours Past has launched Cake Patterns, focusing on make-able, wear-able, everyday wardrobe options, “always with pockets”! Tiramisu is the first pattern, and I’m extra excited because Steph is going to do a sew-along after the first of the year with info for the knits newbie. (Ok, maybe I’ve done a few things with knits in the last year, but I still feel awkward and intimidated around them.) Oh, and Steph is doing a pre-sale “circus” this week for Cake’s second pattern, Pavlova, a wrap top and skirt. I …

in the kitchen

Not done yet!

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A rough count, so far: 4 pts heavy cream 2 cups peanuts 7 11 oz bottles of corn syrup approximately 4 cups almonds approximately 4 lbs butter and a lot of sugar (Apologies for the less-than-thrilling photography. Yesterday, Seattle had it’s sixth darkest day of 2012, according to our local weather guru. Sure, it’s a dark time of the year, but our cloud cover is so thick that it basically looks like twilight all day long!) Save

family, in the kitchen

Gratutious Cat Photos

 

Taking pictures of our cat is hard. Wasabi doesn’t pose. He sleeps in dark corners. He’s prone to rearing up on his hind legs and swiping at things out of place, including camera lenses. Every once in a while, though, he’ll get curious about a camera. Actually, I think he’s not so much curious about the camera as why this weird black thing is hovering in front of my face. Wasabi likes to visit people in the kitchen, since, obviously, we might be talked into feeding him. Also, he’s realized that the catnip lives in the spice cupboard. Any time …

in the kitchen, Seasons

If you need me

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I’ll be in the kitchen for most of the month. The first batch has been beta tested and deemed a success. I’m still not sure what the final collections will include beyond the essential caramels and English toffee. I’ve got all of Grandpa’s candy books, which mostly means that nothing is impossible. Which leaves me with improbable amounts of sugar. Hooray! Save