My little helper.

Dexter- the crocheting cat. Well, he cuddles and bats at yarn while I crochet, but I assume he thinks he's helping.

Home meals of the week #1

We love to cook and eat well. Decadent, on occasions, but fresh, simple, and healthy. We really try to minimize the amount of processed ingredients in our food, and make as much as possible from scratch! I was a vegetarian for about two years, but over the last few months I've begun to eat fish, so pescatarian now, I suppose? I eat seafood once or twice a week and find that I feel satisfied, energized, and not weighed down, like when I eat too much dairy. So, we'll see how it goes!

Here are our baked, bread crumb-encrusted asparugus:


We found the recipe on Pinterest, here's the link. It's very good!


We paired it with homemade sushi. (A strange combo, I know, but we had extra asparugus from another meal this week.) It was our first attempt at sushi, and it turned out ok. We need to perfect our rice cooking technique (it was very wet), and even though we bought only one tuna steak, it was too much. The rolls were mostly fish, and we couldn't even finish them. But at least we know for next time!




And, the highlight of the meal, a bottle of Surly Smoke I finally found! It's pricey, but thick, yummy, and well, smoky!





And, another evening, we made this:


We got fresh pasta from Whole Foods. It comes from Wisconsin and is made with all natural ingredients. We made our own pesto with almonds, basil, lemon, and olive oil. Add some arugula, parmesan, sauteed scallops, and shiitake mushrooms and you have a serious restaurant-quality meal! This time we had our home brew to accompany it. Home dining win!

Granny square success!

I decided to try something I've been dreading for a very long time: granny squares, and you know what? It wasn't that bad. I spent an hour or so cursing and ripping out stitches before I realized I'd been doing one stitch entirely wrong. My squares looked like sad, rumpled up little blobs. After I fixed the stitch, it was smooth going! I made two, without any plan for use, so I lay in bed last night thinking about it. A blanket is WAY too big of a project for me to consider taking on right now, and I want to make a variety of sizes and colors. So, the idea I may have settled on is a prayer flag-style chain to hang on the porch come spring! We'll see what happens!


Here are my first two attempts:

A sunny weekend!

So, there's snow on the ground today, but the whole most of the weekend was incredibly beautiful out. We got in a few walks and some playground fun.




Pretend grass.




Hidden Falls. Always a favorite.




Check that reflection!




Us.

How to: Tuna Ceviche

For our Presidents' Day off, my boyfriend and I decided to opt for a homemade lunch of tuna ceviche with avocado and rice crisps. Here's what you'll need:

-1/2 lb. tuna steak- sashimi quality (You will find that sashimi quality tuna is generally frozen or has been frozen. Freezing is common practice as it kills parasites that would otherwise be eliminated in cooking. Look for something very pink/red to ensure quality.)
-1 avocado
-2-3 Tbsp. cilantro
-1/4 c. green or red onion (or both!)
-wasabi (if desired)
-rice crisps (we used Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins)

Marinade:
-1-2 limes, squeezed, should yield at least 1/2 c. juice
-1/4 c. soy sauce
-2 Tbsp. olive oil
-chili powder to taste


First, prep your meat:

If your fish is frozen, defrost in your fridge or under cold water to speed the process. Ours was vacuum sealed, so we opted for water. The package suggested using a microwave, but I'd avoid this, as it would likely cook the fish.




There's the lovely defrosted meat!




Dice your meat with a sharp knife. We did approximately 1 inch cubes, but smaller would probably be better.




Next, make the marinade.

Mix lime juice, oil, chili powder, and soy sauce.




Now you're going to soak the tuna in the your marinade. Make sure the marinade covers the fish completely. Aside from flavoring the fish, you're also "searing" it with the lime juice. Notice the difference in color:





Your fish will begin to gray on the outside- it's still ok! Marinate for about 20 minutes or until you see this color change on most of the fish.



While the fish sits, get your other ingredients ready.

Cut red onion into thin slices.




Cut avocado.




Dice cilantro and onions.




And, if you like, prep your wasabi and soy sauce mixture for dipping.




When your fish is ready, scoop it out of the marinade. Layer cilantro, onion, and avocado over the top. Sprinkle a bit of your marinade or soy sauce over the whole thing. Serve with rice crisps on the side.




And eat! Preferably while a jealous cat looks on. (And apologies for the forks, we happened to not have chopsticks at home.)



We loved it and hope to try it again soon!

And my V-Day...

Flowers from my man. Technically from the weekend, since we did a night out on Saturday because I had class tonight.

I did a quick dinner with my mom before class and we traded my craft services (I made birthday gifts for a few of her friends) in exchange for a dress. (A super cute dress!) Love my momma so much!


And at work today, stuff from my students.



I love the "Ms. Karens" everywhere. Not pictured: a bunch more Valentine's and a stuffed bear wearing a cat outfit. However, unsure about that one with the skeleton on it. Does it say "You Rock Muy Valentine"? Some strange combo of Spanish in there? Hmmm...



Anyways, love to all!

Valentine's for little ones.

So, for Valentine's Day, I decided to take on a project for my students. I made each one (that's 39 kids!!) a felt keyring. They were pretty simple, but time-consuming, especially when I'd misplace my good scissors and spend loads of time trying to cut felt with a dull ol' scissors.



Here's what I did:
1. Cut out all the letters. 1 per student for their first initial.
2. Pinned the first letter on felt and cut two more layers, each slightly larger than the last.
3. Sewed the top two layers together. Added some beads and brightly colored thread for fun.
4. Used tacky glue to attach the top two layers to the bottom.
5. Sewed the keyrings on with a small strip of felt and more colorful thread.


It took approximately 10 hours altogether, but I got it done while watching some of my usual TV shows over the last week or so, so it went pretty quickly. Also, I loved some of the color combinations I came up with as I randomly placed felt together!








I have lots of "A" names!

Lipstick plants in bloom.