Shoe Bag

My creative brain has been neglected lately. Well, not in the work sense, but in the sense of making pretty and useful things. Finally, I had a night when I didn't have late meetings. I made this shoe bag. I'll use it next week for the big work trip.

Here's the tutorial I followed, from Betz White who wrote Sewing Green. The nice thing about this shoe bag is that it takes little fabric - a perfect scraps or salvaged fabric project!

Nurturing

Nurturing comes in many forms, but one of my favorites is tea and treats with a friend.

Sweetcakes and I planned some time together this weekend. When she asked me what I wanted to do I said, "I want to come to your house and do nothing." I think that's one of the highest compliments I could give her - that simply coming to her home is nurturing to me.

Well, Sweetcakes went above and beyond for this nurturing session, as we sipped hot tea and had raspberry financiers and warm toffee pudding in front of her fire. Wow - yumm! Thank you! Just what I needed! A good friend and tea.

I hold in my heart right now all my friends and family in need of their own nurturing, as well as those across our world, especially our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I send thoughts and prayers of safety, peace, and hope for the future.

I also hold in my heart those who find themselves in need of nurturing while being caregivers and nurturers to other. This is each of us at one point or another. May we find the courage to take care of ourselves so we can help others.

Baie Dankie

I learned to say "thank you" in Afrikaans this week. This came as part of my work project, where I'm preparing people all over the globe for a conference. Learning this has been one of the highlights of my week! I can now say thank you in five languages. Next up to learn: Japanese and Chinese.

Expressing gratitude is spiritual practice I am cultivating. I think it makes me a kinder, happier person.

Happy weekend!

A Homemade Life

I've been coveting this book for some time now. I've checked it out twice from the library. I'm still not sure if I will buy it. The dilemma is that I'm actually thinning my book collection, in anticipation of a move. Now's not the time to be getting new ones. But I love this book! I might give in. The DH (dear hubby) and I have a date to the book store tonight.

The book is written by Molly Wizenberg, author of the Orangette blog. Read the first chapter here. I love the book for two reasons: 1 - The recipes appeal to me. 2 - The writing appeals to me. The concept of the book is not new. She takes recipes and weaves them into stories. In this case, Molly's love affairs with food, her family and her husband. It's an interesting and touching read, and it has recipes that I want to make.

Last weekend, I made two recipes: Fretwell soup and custard cornbread. The soup is an Italian vegetable soup with white beans, cabbage (from our CSA), chard (frozen from our garden), tomatoes, etc. It's delicious and I've eaten it for lunch all week long. That's rare for me. I move on quickly with leftovers.

The custard corn bread is a bit of heaven. Take corn bread batter and pour heavy cream in the center before it cooks. The cream makes a custard that is really, really, really good. I didn't see this recipe on Molly's blog - so find it in her book! :-)

If you've read the book, let me know what you think. If you're waiting on it from the library, I took it back two days ago. :-)

White Whole Wheat Scones

I tried something new today - using white whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat or white flour for scones.

Let's start with the nutritional value of white whole wheat. I read several articles on the web about it, including one from the Mayo clinic. They all indicated that yes, indeed, white whole wheat is good for us. Read more here.

I modified a recipe from an old cookbook, Recipes from Scotland. I picked up this cookbook while I was on the Tea in London trip in March of 2007. The cookbook was first published in 1946. I have the ninth edition, from 1969.

Basically, I took a regular scone recipe and substituted white whole wheat flour. I also added frozen blueberries. One interesting feature of this recipe is that it called for syrup as the sweetener. I'm guessing this might mean golden syrup, which I didn't have. I did have leftover Caro syrup (from the homemade marshmallows), and that seemed to work OK.

The recipe also called for the flour measured in ounces. I'm glad I got out the scale (instead of chancing the Pyrex cup) because the measurement would have been off!

The recipe indicated that I should roll out the scones, which I didn't do because of the blueberries. And because I had added too much milk. ;-) My dough was very sticky. I had to bake mine about double the time called for because they were very think. Nonetheless, all's well...they tasted good!

As for the white whole wheat, I found it to be very pleasant. The taste was a little less nutty/intense and the texture was less crumbly than a normal whole wheat. I can't say I liked it better, as I'm a fan of regular whole wheat. However, the white whole wheat is a good transition tool for those in my life less inclined to enjoy the dark stuff! Plus, I think it will allow me to make some food items that don't work well with the dark stuff.

I encourage you to give white whole wheat a try! I used King Arthur flour. (Per the new blogging rules requiring disclosure in product reviews - I did NOT receive any money or product from the King Arthur flour company for this review.)

Busy Month

January is going to be a busy month for me. I will do my best to blog frequently, but I expect some gaps. Hang in there with me, and send me thoughts of health, organization and a level head. :-) I'm in the final sprint towards a very large work event in early Feb.

*Photo from Microsoft Images

Blog Wordle

Happy 2010! I was inspired by this blog to start the year off with a wordle. The wordle tool looks at your blog and makes a word cloud, based on words you use most frequently. Cool! See http://www.wordle.net/. I think it must have looked only at my most recent posts, given the words that appear.

Happy Blue Moon!

Happy New Year to you, and happy blue moon, as well. 2009 has been a year of sweet and saltiness for me. I've had wonderful vacations and visits with friends. I've had excellent health. I've matured personally and in my partnership. I've lost friends and family. I've had to adjust my vision of the future to include alternate possibilities. I've dealt with job and personal insecurities. And through it all, I've learned. I welcome the release of 2009, thank it for all it has offered, and look forward to 2010.

I've spent the past few days totally off-plan. I had the idea of getting my tax stuff in order, cleaning house, writing in my journal, etc. Instead, and thanks to the DH, I've been staying up late and watching movies, sleeping in, going for long walks, and doing nothing much. This is precious to me! I'm not very good at relaxing into doing nothing. Thank you.

Sweet Potato Pie with Black Walnuts

The DH recently made a sweet potato pie. It tastes very much like pumpkin pie. I think most people wouldn't know the difference. He topped it with a sprinkling of black walnuts. They are strong flavored, and I like them!

I send to you wishes for happy holidays, with interesting and adventurous food treats. :-) Or your favorite traditional ones, whatever you desire. I'll be taking a few days off. I'll be back to writing shortly after Christmas. Cheers!

Harney & Sons Tea Tasting: Chinese - Japanese Greens

Cups at the ready

A few weeks ago, I had the joy of spending an afternoon with a friend, tasting 5 different teas. I wanted to compare Chinese and Japanese green teas. The difference between these two large categories is very broad, then within each category, the nuances and distinctions are quite interesting. We were using teas recommended in the Harney & Sons book. (And thanks to Angela for several of these teas! Some of them are hard to find!)

To start, we tasted two Chinese greens. Bi Lo Chun (Spring Snail Shell) and Lung Ching (Dragon's Well). The Bi Lo Chun had a hint of apricot in the aroma and the flavor was strong and roasted, but very pleasant. We both enjoyed this tea a lot. The Lung Ching is a very famous type of Chinese green. This one had a sweet aftertaste, especially as compared to the previous tea. Both teas were steeped at 175 degrees for 2 minutes.

As you can see below, the shape of the dry leaf is very different for each. The Bi Lo Chun is said to look like snail shells. It unfurls completely as it steeps, revealing two leaves and a bud. Lung Ching gets its flat shape by tea makers who press the leaves against hot metal with their fingers.

Bi Lo Chun (back) and Lung Ching (front)

Bi Lo Chun

Lung Ching

I wanted to compare the essence of Chinese teas and Japanese teas. Chinese teas are fixed -meaning the application of heat to stop the oxidation - in a wide variety of ways. Common means include using hot woks and ovens. Japanese greens, on the other hand, are almost always fixed using steam. Whereas Chinese makers coax a wide diversity of flavors and styles from the tea, the Japanese have kept tradition and continuity as a prime consideration.

We tasted three Japanese sencha teas. Matsuda's Sencha, Kakegawa Ichiban Sencha, and Kagoshima Sencha.

Three senchas: Matsuda's (back), Kakegawa (middle), Kagoshima (front)

Sencha teas are incredibly popular in Japan. Harney points out they are so popular, they are mass-produced (often yielding a lesser-quality tea).

We both found Matsuda's Sencha to be very appealing. No bitterness at all with a sweet aftertaste. After reading Harney's description, we understand why. The tea is made by Matsuda, his wife, and his mother. He does not shade his tea as it grows (a common practice to boost amino acids). He considers it unnatural. He uses other processing differences to produce a sencha that is unique and quite wonderful. If you can get your hands on some of this, give it a try and compare it to other sencha teas.

Not to say the other two were bad. They were fine teas. It's just that the one was extraordinary. The Kakegawa, to me, was the least memorable of the three. A bit astringent. The Kagoshima was more memorable, but I didn't' care for it. I think it has to do with the fukamushi processing. This is an intense steaming process that breaks up the leaves into fine filaments, and gives a stronger flavor. I had a sense of this tea being salty. My friend found elements of raw bell pepper (as the tea cooled).

All the teas we tried, from left to right

I recommend you try a tea tasting that highlights the differences in Chinese and Japanese greens.

A Beautiful Breakfast

When everyday things, like breakfast, are beautiful, I try to pause and notice them. I also try to make everyday things beautiful out of habit. *Sometimes* I get this right. :-) This recent breakfast is one example.

I remember the first time I read of the concept of making everyday habits beautiful. It was from Alexandra Stoddard's book, Living a Beautiful Life. A good one if you haven't seen it.

He's Hot...She's Not!

The giant comforter above is quite the masterpiece, I must say. It's a homemade down comforter. It's incredibly warm on my side and not warm at all on the DH's side. Just the way we like it. (It's folded in half above.)

The DH had the idea for the comforter over 13 years ago, before we were dating. I was complaining about always being cold in the winter. He, always looking for a way to repurpose something, thought up the plan to use recycled down from coats and sleeping bags he picked up at thrift stores.

Fast forward to last summer, when we decided to make the thing. My contribution was the idea of it being full of down on my side only. We used very high thread count sheets. I sewed three huge channels for my side. His side is just the sheet. We stuffed and fluffed, stuffed and fluffed, stuffed and fluffed. Then we did a lot of vacuuming! Mostly of ourselves. We washed and dried the thing in hot temps at the laundry mat. It wouldn't fit in our machines!

It's finally been cold enough to try out, and the comforter is v.e.r.y warm! Some pics of the stuffing and fluffing. We did this on the front porch, a smart move.

Make, Ship, Green

More marshmallows and persimmon-cookie making for me this weekend. Anybody know if these marshmallows will freeze?

With the persimmons, I'm glad to return to the whole wheat, non-white sugar plan. (I used a mix of sourghum and honey, both local).

I boxed and shipped some gifts today. I was reflecting that most of the gifts were handmade or local. I can't say that I planned this strategy, but it shows how the buying local value has seeped into my life. I'm very happy about that!

We're going to help trim a tree at some friends' home tonight. I'm looking forward to this quiet, meaninful evening - minus the holiday hubub and expectations to be twinkly.

Here area few good articles I've read recently. Enjoy!

10 ways to enjoy the holidays that have nothing to do with buying presents

Recycled wrapping paper

E-how to a green Christmas - One caution; I work for a high-tech company and feel compelled to pass this along...be careful with those e-cards. Use only ones from very reputable sources. They are a common spyware carrier. If you're unsure about opening one, check first with the sender.

Gilgit Tea

I was recently thumbing through a book called The East India Company Book of Tea by Antony Wild. I came across a note for Gilgit Tea. I'd never heard of that. Here is the recipe:

"Add a few pods of cardamom to a pot of Chinese green tea. Allow to brew for five minutes."

I gave it a try! I brewed the green tea for about 2.5 minutes, and as such, the cardamom flavor wasn't very strong. I added in a tiny sprinkling of ground cardamom and was pleased.

Have you heard of Gilgit Tea? I wasn't able to find it on the Internet, tho I did learn that Gilgit is a city in Pakistan.

Homemade Marshmallows

We had our first dusting of snow yesterday. Perfect for trying out my homemade marshmallows! So many of you were curious about them in the giveaway post, I decided to share how I made them.

I used Martha Stewart's recipe, which is basically adding sugar to corn syrup, and bringing it to the soft ball stage. Combine with gelatin and beat the heck out of it. A candy thermometer and a stand mixer make this part really easy.


What's not easy is getting the marshmallow goo out of the whisk and mixing bowl (above) and onto the cookie sheet (below)! Spread it thick, so you have plump marshmallows. When this task was done, I had marshmallow goo in a lot of places. Tip: Once you've been victorious in this battle, use really hot water for cleanup. (I put the kettle on for boiling water.) The heat helps soften/dissolve the stickiness.

Let this sit overnight. It will still be spongy and stringy in the morning, but that's OK. When ready, you can cut into desired shapes. I started out being cute with these round shapes, but shortly after this photo, I switched to using a pizza cutter and made larger squares. Much faster and less waste. When you're done cutting, dust them with powdered sugar so they don't stick together.

Ta-da! These taste really, really good. I was sugared up yesterday, for sure!

Winners!

I feel like a fairy godmother today, because I'm pleased to announce that not only will I be sharing my original giveaway package, but the nice people at Teaflection.com are pitching in with prizes, too, and generously so! A half pound of tea from their website to a handful of lucky ducks. Thank you!

By the way, SO many of you asked about homemade marshmallows. I'll blog on that tomorrow!

And the winners are....

My prize winner:

• Brooke of Earthmonkey Mama!

Teaflection prizes:

• Steph at stephjacobsen (great name!)
• Nicole at Troyers
• Mara at kleio's belly
• AZ Tea Lover
• Angela at Tea with Friends (This is a thank-you. Angela just sent me extra catalogues that enable more envelopes!)

I'll be connecting with each of you privately for shipping info, etc.

Again, thank you to all and know that I'm grateful that you visited.

ISBN Delights

Christmas just came early for me! The gift is seeing my words in print, published in this book (page 22)! I can hold it in my hands, flip the pages, smell its new-book smell, and give my gratitude for all the words inside, all the women who wrote them.

I’m part of a women’s writing group in my hometown. Two visionary women in the group worked long and hard to create this anthology, a collection of pieces from the past 5 years. The stories are diverse: heart-breaking to funny; poetry to prose and in between; by professional writers and women writing for the first time; written from jail cells, states of euphoria, deepest depression, everyday life; from birth to girlhood to motherhood to death.

One of my stories is included. I’m so excited! Heck, we’ve got an ISBN# and we’re on Amazon!

Last night was the book release party. I was honored to read my story from the book at this event. (It's about my first bra.) My fullest gratitude to A and L for the hard work to make this happen, and always to B for being such a great teacher and facilitator.

Cheers! Stephanie

It's Here! Giveaway Day 2009

It's here! Sew, Mama, Sew's annual handmade giveaway day. It's a very, very fun event and I'm excited to be a part of it! Check out all the participants and leave comments at their blogs to be considered for a prize.

My contribution to this event includes the following fabulous prizes:

• Handmade envelopes/cards (like these)
• Homemade hot chocolate mix with homemade marshmallows
• Some very flavorful tea (coconut pouchong)
• A poem written just for the event

To enter, please leave a comment, and if you don't have a blogger account, leave me a way to get in touch (e-mail). Good luck! And thank you for your participation!

Winner announced on Monday, December 7th.

Giveaway Day - Tomorrow!

Please join me in celebrating Giveaway Day tomorrow, organized by Sew, Mama, Sew! I had a fantastic time with this last year, and I expect no less this time! Please stop by here and see what I'm giving away, plus visit the full list of participants on Sew, Mama, Sew!

Stipulation: the items given away either need to be handmade (or raw materials to be converted to something handmade)!

Stephanie

A Respite at Clifty Falls

I love this photo of me (taken by the DH). I love it because I know I'm happy and relaxed. We spent the early part of last week in Madison, IN. This photo is at Clifty Falls State Park. The few days away were a respite for me, a much needed break.

Here are a few more photos from Clifty Falls. It's a very nice state park. Be sure to eat at the Inn, with birds-eye views of Madison. If you plan to hike, go prepared for mud. There are many natural springs that bubble through the limestone, dribbling across your path.

Big Clifty Falls

Little Clifty Falls