Excitement All Around

1.  We recently got back from a little vacation to Vermont.

2.  We got a great new car!!

3.  Our daughter says alpaca.  (So stinking cute!)

4.  I just gave the ok that I would like to work on some interesting metal pieces.

5.  I have some repairs to do.  They are for my mom, but they are still repairs, and I think they are fun. 

6.  I have some new jewelry projects to work on.  (Sneak Peek.  Don't worry, they are always prettier in my head and once they are done than they are on paper!)

7.  I started working on a jewelry course curriculum.   It has quite a way to go, but I think it is a great start, and I am really excited about it.  

8.  We picked our own strawberries a few weeks ago, and my husband made really delicious jam with some.  I think raspberries are almost ready for picking... I CAN'T WAIT!

That's all I've got for now.  

Cheers!

Whoops!

Oops! #1
I have had so many ideas, and thought so much about posts that I want to write, that I didn't think it had been so long.

Oops! #2
I was starting to become worried that toys or other such things were acting as voodoo dolls.  This SUPER FUN pull car was broken the same day the radiator went in the car that I drive.

The difference is, I could fix this car myself with some superglue.

(And I did.)

I am hoping there is nothing else going on with my car- I have to clean up some of the super glue on this yellow one.

In other news:

I am still very excited about some jewelry that I am working on.  I can't wait to share it once it is done!

Also, I think I am going to start working on writing up a metals course that I would like to teach.  I am not sure where I will start, but this is exciting, too!

And... Still working on the job search for my wicked smart, super talented and amazing husband.  Ideas are welcome.

Parsley Pesto Pasta

We had (still have) an abundance of parsley in the garden out back.  It was getting to the point where I was concerned for the well-being of my young radishes, beets and lettuce.  So, my parsley got a haircut. A big ol' chop chop. And then I had this.

 A lovely, fragrent bouquet.

Which took up space in my fridge. 

So I thought I would try something new, and make some parsley pesto.  

I chopped up some garlic cloves and a chunk of parmesan in the food processor, then added a little pool of olive oil to the mix.  I threw in some pecans too, though I suppose I could have tried almonds.  

Pulse, pulse.

Add the parsley.

Chop until it looks good and ta-da!

It took longer to cook the spaghetti.

But boy, was it good!

I will be tinkering with carving wax soon.

I have to clean off my bench first. Ug.

Raspberry Gelato Trial

Hiding in the depths of my freezer, below the frozen pizza dough and rings of red "Sweet Heat" peppers, I found a treasure.
Raspberries.
Frozen in pristine condition.
Perfect for some springtime raspberry gelato, made with my new ice cream maker.
I got all of the fixings at the store and they sat in my fridge as one day blended into the next.  Mother's Day, the day I really wanted to make a nice dessert, was just too busy.  Plus, I hadn't read the recipe fully before.  It was supposed to sit in the fridge for at least 6 hours...  We went out for ice cream.

Today, amid the chaos of my life, I decided to make the gelato.  As my daughter ate her lunch, I pureed and strained the raspberries, then beat the eggs and heated the cream and sugar mixture.  I just didn't heat it enough.  I wasn't thinking.  So a little cream mixed into the egg just fine, and that mixture went into the rest of the cream fine too.  But it wasn't hot enough, and slowly, I noticed that I had broken the sacred rule of custard making.  *Don't scramble the eggs.

Google, Help!
Some nice lady named Sarah with  Baking911 had the answer.
Immersion blender.  Ohthankgoodness, I have one of those.
So after a bit of a fright, I ended up with a fine custard.
 Seven or so hours later, after the raspberries were mixed in and the ice cream maker worked its magic, we had some pretty great homemade raspberry gelato.




Additionally, I have some jewelry projects in the works, which I am very excited about.
One of which is fixing a pair of my earrings that my daughter was enjoying playing with.  She got them from my bedside table and sat in the hall playing with them.  As she saw me walking up the stairs, she happily said "Diam-boonds." (They're really only silver.)

I do like repairing jewelry.

That's what was for dinner.

Green salad topped with 

   Cucumbers

   Tomatoes

   Quinoa

   Cranberries

   Lemon-Cranberry chicken

   Cheddar and

   25 Star Balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.  (Of course that was from our beloved shop, Olio.)

I cooked the strips of chicken in my handy cast iron pan, and squeezed in the jiuce of 1/2 lemon.  While that cooked, cranberries boiled in a saucepan with a bit of water.  When the chicken was just about done, and the lemon juice sizzled in the pan, I added the cranberry water, turned up the heat and let that reduce.

The combination of the tart lemon and cranberry with the sweet balsamic and the sharp cheddar made this meal *Pop*.

What's for dinner?

As a professional tinkerer, I suppose you can say that I tinker in the art of good food.
And thriftiness.
Full-time mom.  Part-time jeweler.  Part-time lenscrafter.  Part-time good-deal-shopper.
Since having this cute little kid, I noticed it just isn't as easy to throw together a meal as it used to be. It's also not as simple to hop in the car to go get something to make for dinner.
So I started planning.
I am a list maker.
I've been a list maker for a good long time now, but it's gotten more serious lately.
Sunday morning rolls around and we have our breakfast, then I go through the paper, my husband actually reads the news, I look at the fliers for sales and coupons, and the wee one gets a marker and the discarded parts of the paper to draw on.  It's all good fun.  Especially when there are scones involved.  Or my mother-in-law's coffee cake.  (Hopefully it lasts until then!)
Then I try to plan the meals for the week.
For a while I would run them past my husband and ask if he had any requests.  I guess I don't really do that much anymore, but he doesn't complain, so I guess I'm doing alright!
At one point, though, I had planned out meals for nearly an entire month.
TRUST ME.  I know how crazy that probably sounds.  I Know.
But, when it came time to make dinner and buy groceries, it was so fast and easy.  Sitting down and racking my brain for probably close to an hour that one day saved me so much time and energy later.
Now that I really look at the fliers, since we just started to get the paper, it is a little different, because I try to plan dinners based on what is in sale for the week.
Anyway, I thought that I would try to get ahead of this meal planning thing, and even though I don't know what will be on sale coming up, I could get some ideas together.
Obviously, I googled meal plans.
I got some good websites like Cooking Light, and Whole Foods.  The thing that I had noticed was that sooooo many websites that boast their meal ideas use meat in their main dish.
Don't get me wrong.  I would be a GREAT vegetarian, except that I Love eating meat. Kinda wrecks that.  But, I don't want to have meat for every dinner.  Also, it is pretty easy for me to come up with a meal that includes meat- basically, I just add sides.  
It is coming up with the rest of the ideas.
A non meat based dinner that will still be filling, since everyone in this home eats a lot.

Two of my favorites to add to a weekly meal plan are
Fish with quinoa and asparagus
Followed a few days later with
A Huge salad topped with avocado, leftover quinoa that is then pan-fried to make it crispy,  and sautéed onions and peppers.

So, I'm not certain what will be for dinner coming up, but I did find this Sweet Potato Chickpea Cakes recipe.  I do believe that will make it in the mix!

Cheers.

The Sweet Scent of April Showers

We returned from a sunny yet crisp, extra long Easter weekend in Vermont
To find greener grass and bigger blooms.
While we were gone, our daffodils, shaded on the north side of the house, grew tall and flowered.
A playful morning at the park
Making new friends
Lunch on the porch
Now followed by some April showers.
 I sit to continue the job hunt with fingers crossed and high hopes.