Tag Archives: random

Upholstery Class: Week One.

25 Sep

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After wanting to take an upholstery class for a while, I finally was able to get in and sign up before all of the spots were filled in this 9 person learning experience. I also purchased a spot for my husband, as he is also interested in learning how to restore furniture appropriately. 

I found this chair on Craigslist for $48 and it was exactly what I had in mind. It was an antique and had character in its bones, which I suppose were my only criteria. Upon starting  to take this apart, tack by tack by tack, it became clear that this chair had originally been crafted with great care. The instructor noticed this as well, and commented on the hand sewn details of the interior, the hog hair filling, the burlap crown on the inside of the cushion filled with more hog hair, and the different sized tacks used for differing details.

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Another interesting part which I loved about the chair, as did the instructors, was the backrest of the chair. The fabric had been sewn, tacked and held in place with handmade buttons in an intricate way which would have taken great skill and talent to accomplish. It may not show in the photo below, but it is quite impressive in the flesh (fabric?).

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The underside of the chair was dusty and dried out, and was easy to take apart. With each tear and pull, more dust floated out and I was able to get a clearer view of the springs.

 

By the end of the three hour class, I had removed EVERY tack, which was one of the most meditative and relaxing things I have done in a long while. There was something so satisfying about pulling and picking out each individual spike. The only thing left intact is the fabric and hog hair on the front of the backrest. This is to preserve the uniqueness of the chair, and replicate it when reupholstering it.

I will update my progress here as the weeks go on. Now to decide on a fabric….

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Rainbows and bunnies, for real.

17 Jun

rainbow

I made it home from work right before the skies opened up and an hour or so long thunderstorm rolled through. When the thunder stopped and the storm eventually fell apart, the skies cleared from west to east as the sun began to set, casting a rainbow over the Boston skyline. 

I first noticed it out of my living room window.A clearly defined double rainbow making its way through the trees and roofs. (I thought it was “rooves”, but no. It’s not. That’s hooves, apparently.) At the same time, the humidity in the air broke, and I had no choice but to wander outdoors to follow it further.

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On my way to find a bigger slice of rainbow, I ended up having conversations with strangers on three separate occasions, something which rarely happens in Boston – and to have it occur three times in twenty minutes? Crazy (and welcomed). I also saw a brown rabbit and a twenty-something year old dude standing three feet away from it taking pictures of it eating. That doesn’t happen much here either.

I arrived at my vantage point about 10 minutes after leaving my house. Here are some shots I took with my phone of the Boston skyline, on what I have dubbed Boston Day (because the date is 6/17, and also, our area code).

As I turned to leave, I looked at the sky to the west. It was missing the rainbow, but had the sunset, and was equally as awesome.

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Fast And Easy Falafel Lentil Loaf.

9 Jul

Yeah, this recipe does have a lot of letter “L’s” in it. Rest assured, they will all stand for “love” once  you taste this dish. This has been a staple dinner recipe in my home for quite a while, for a few reasons:

  1. It’s simple to make.
  2. It’s inexpensive.
  3. There are always leftovers to enjoy the next day.
  4. It’s healthy.
  5. It’s filling.

The ingredients are most likely things you’ll have around your kitchen anyway. I always check to make sure I have the basic components (canned lentils, jarred roasted red peppers, falafel mix) in the pantry at all times.

It’s really great on those nights when reality hits. Those times you barely got yourself home from work and somehow forgot that you still need food before the evening is through. (It’s also really great on those nights when you plan ahead for it, too.)

Basically, you throw the seven ingredients in a bowl. Form that mixture into a loaf and put it in the oven. Wait a short while and dinner is served! It’s not hard. It’s super easy food for times when life is hard/annoying/too fast. 

How To Make:

(serves up to 4)

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 6 ounces falafel mix
  • 1 can lentils, rinsed
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 cups of chopped baby spinach
  • 1 12-ounce(ish) jar roasted red peppers, cut to 1/2″ pieces. Reserve 2 Tbs. of liquid from jar.
  • 2 eggs
Recipe:
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, including the 2 tbs of liquid from pepper jar. Mix well.
 
Form into a loaf on baking sheet with aluminum foil or other non-stick layer.
 
Bake in preheated oven set at 375° for 35-40 minutes. 
 
Eat on its own, or combine with a fresh vegetable or other side dish. This also goes really great with this easy to make peanut sauce recipe!


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Make a Gooseberry Smoothie.

7 Jul

For some reason, this past week has seen me and smoothies having a serious love affair. I’ve been loading them with strawberries and kale and raspberries and blueberries and anything else I could find fresh. When the produce available at my local grocery store wasn’t cutting it, I ventured on over to my local farmers’ market. There were plenty of vegetables and fruit to choose from. Looking around, I was drawn in by the large, oddly shaped gooseberries. They look like a grape, but at the same time, not at all. 

I remember tasting one last year and enjoying it, but didn’t buy any at the time. They are often used for baking and are featured in pies and other desserts. They are also used to make beverages such as wine and tea. And smoothies.

 

Now, I wasn’t quite sure what to combine with the gooseberries, but something told me mango. So I did that. And some fresh blueberries. And honey. I added in some frozen peach slices as well for temperature control (I also used some frozen vanilla yogurt for this). A splash of vanilla flavored almond milk to round out the liquid portion and…

It was pretty darn refreshing! And apparently also very energizing, as after having one I went on a six mile walk. For real. 

Recipe…

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of whole gooseberries
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 3 frozen peach slices
  • 1/2 mango, cut up
  • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 3/4 cup frozen vanilla yogurt
  • 2 Tbs raw honey

To make:

Add all of the ingredients into a blender. Turn the blender on. Mix into a smoothie. Drink. (I know. It’s incredibly hard to make.)

Will make about 2 cups worth of liquid smoothie goodness.

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Cheesy Bacon Jalapeno Grits, Deviled Egg Style.

25 Jun

This weekend one of my best friends (Shari!) and I took part in the Boston Bacon Takedown. Twenty home cooks creating dishes all using bacon fifteen pounds of free bacon. Last year the two of us were so impressed by all of the entrants, we decided that the following year we would give it a go. And we kept our word.

We decided to go the savory route instead of the sweet route. Last year the sweets just were a little too much, and there was an overload of maple accompaniments which after two or three recipes using the same groundwork became just a bit too much to enjoy. And we were blown away by last year’s winner who made an asian inspired taco that was insane.

Our entry? Cheesy bacon jalapeño grits, served deviled egg style. Topped with bacon, of course. The concept came to me and I thought it was a pretty safe bet. After boiling and peeling FOURTEEN DOZEN eggs, I was having second thoughts. At this point, however, my thumb was barely intact from being impaled by egg shell and it was too late to turn back.

The grits portion was a mad science experiment that actually succeeded. We started with 36 cups of liquid, boiled it, and added 72 ounces of grits. Once that thickened up, we added Gruyere cheese. And then we added some cheddar cheese. And then we added some more cheese. From there on in, it was anyone’s guess how this thing was going to turn out. It took about forty minutes for us to tweek it to perfection.

All totaled, we put in about 6 decent sized jalapeños. Somewhere around 8 tablespoons of Sriracha red chili paste. About a cup of lemon juice. Six pounds of bacon cooked and put through a food processor. A few cloves of garlic. Some dijon mustard. Some melted bacon lard.   And of course salt and pepper to taste.

WHAT!?! It worked. It was delicious.

While we didn’t win (first place went to a caramel bacon candy – sweet won this year, who would’ve guessed?!) My favorites this year included the bacon corn dog and the bacon wrapped blue cheese meat balls.

We also came home with a few parting gifts from Le Creuset, which is never ever a bad thing.

Now, does anyone know how to remove the smell of fifteen pounds of cooked bacon from one’s home?

Recipe:

Okay. Let me be real here. I have no idea what quantity of anything was used. All I can say about this is start out with some grits in a pan. Then, add in cheese until it suits your taste. Add in a decent amount of cooked bacon cut up in a food processor (or chopped…). Then, add in pepper/garlic/dijon mustard puree, salt, pepper and sriracha until it starts to taste awesome. Then, add lemon juice! (This was Shari’s tip and it made a HUGE difference. The Greek in me should have known this. The Greek in Shari did.) Finesse until you are blown away. Eat plain or stuff into a hard boiled egg. 

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Easy To Make (and eat) Peanut Sauce.

30 Apr

As a teenager, I spent most of my free time hanging around Harvard Square in Cambridge. You could find me either sitting in “the Pit” with friends or browsing about the stores at The Garage for music, apparel and random accessories to add to my wardrobe.

You could also find me at the Thai restaurant around the corner. I don’t remember the name of it (but they definitely knew me and my friends’ names). It has long since closed. But I know that is where my love of peanut sauce began. And my taste buds will forever be thankful.

I will admit to putting peanut sauce on anything that is edible. Pasta. Cheese (with or without crackers). Vegetables. Chicken. Hamburgers. Rice. It really does work with (almost) anything. Even on ice cream? I’ve never tried, but I can totally see it working out for you. Continue reading →

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Roller Derby #10

7 Mar

Here’s an old photo of an old skateboard I took about two years ago. I really love the color of the board and the worn out nature of the wood.

It sat here on display in my dining room for quite some time, and now resides in the same room, but in a different location.

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Letterpress Weekend Course: Day 2

26 Feb

Today was the second and final day of my weekend letterpress course. Remember how much in love with it I was yesterday? I still feel that way. And will definitely be investing in one of these machines (albeit most likely a much smaller one) in the not too distant future.

The machine we used today to print our designs was a Chandler and Price machine manufactured in 1902. It uses nothing but the power of your own arms and legs. It’s a workout and a creative design session all in one.

The creative part came to me a little too late however. I had no idea what to make. I was over-thinking it all weekend to the point where my mind could not decide on anything. Business cards? Greeting cards? Coasters? As I was gathering materials this morning, I still had no clue. Joe(y) had suggested I make recipe cards, so that’s what I did, sort of.

I made the design. It was a half-postcard half-recipe card hybrid, apparently. I enjoyed having to put everything in reverse. Where the top is at the bottom and the left is on the right. It fits in with my day job quite well as I view reversed images all day long. My brain easily adjusted to this part.

Next, I set the locked frame into the machine and applied the ink color that I had mixed together.

Once the machine had been set and inked, the actual printing process was quite speedy. I realized I probably should have made my form a bit smaller, and not the exact measurements of the size paper I would be using. I know better than that. I just wasn’t thinking.

In turn, I lost one of the lines I set in the process in order to be sure everything else fit it.

While I am not quite sure what exactly I made today, I love that I made something and understand how it all works now.

I have been wanting to learn this craft for a long time now, and have finally done just that. I’ll most likely be going back for open studio time in the near future, this time with an actual design and project in place.

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Letterpress Weekend Course: Day 1

25 Feb

Today was the first of my two day crash course on learning how to set and operate a letterpress machine and type. I am incredibly in love.

I have wanted to take a course like this for several years now. I was always either too busy with actual classes that lead to a degree or I would have just missed a deadline whenever the idea popped back into my mind. This year, however, I was determined.

I found the course being offered at a local art school – Montserrat College of Art – and eagerly awaited registering and paying as soon as I could.

Today we learned the basics. How to set type correctly, how to use the machines, how to care for all the materials, techniques, etc. Our instructor was very friendly and insanely knowledgeable about all things letterpress – as well as lots of other things too!

The group of six in the class we all given a topic and asked to set type based on the theme. Our instructor showed us one from a previous class for which the topic was “food”. I wished that was today’s topic (If you’re new to this here blog, just take a look around, you’ll see why). Instead, we got “Myths”. Fine. I’ll work with it.

After setting my type (see the above pic – I apologize for the quality, I didn’t think to bring my actual camera today) we all then put our random thoughts and ideas regarding myths together. The press we used for this project was a Vanderbilt 219.

The final result:

I did the last line “SHE SANG THEM to THEIR DEATHS”. For some reason the only myth I could remember for the life of me was that of the Sirens in Greek mythology. I was super excited to have found little lobsters though. I love lobster.

Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’ll make. Most likely I’ll make some cards to send out. We’ll see what I come up with I guess…

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Vinyl Devotion.

4 Feb

I feel weird posting a blog that does not revolve around foodage. What the what? When did this become a food blog?

Sometimes I do think about things other than food. This is one of those times.

I got this lovely piece of equipment at a yard sale back in 2002. I spent $25 dollars on it. Twenty-five. It’s a Morse/Electrophonic AM/FM radio, 8-Track player and record player. It came with about 18 8-track tapes as well. (Including an Elvis Christmas, Heart, Billy Joel, Carl Perkins, and the B-52’s, amongst others).

It lights up to the beat when you play music. Or talk radio. Or NPR.

Ever had an audio/visual experience while listening to Prairie Home Companion? It’s not that exciting. I should probably stick to putting the lights on only when there are strictly songs playing. I’ll work on that. Continue reading →

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