Heavy Fennel Week

I'm not sure why, but the fennel really caught my eye at the store this week. I had been meaning to try braising it for a while, and this seemed like a really good opportunity. Later in the week we made another dish with fennel. If you don't like fennel, or think you don't, I'd suggest you try the second dish described here.

First, I got two nice looking bulbs and found this recipe online:

Braised Fennel

This recipe is from marthastewart.com. (I halved the recipe.)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2/3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 4 medium bulbs fennel, each cut into 6 wedges

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place orange juice, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, cumin, and lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl; whisk until well combined.
3. Place fennel in a baking dish just large enough to fit fennel in an even layer; pour over orange juice mixture. Cover with parchment-paper-lined aluminum foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 35 minutes, uncover, and continue baking until fennel is golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from oven; serve warm or at room temperature.

I thought it was pretty good, and I'd make it again. But I might use a bit less cumin and lemon zest. Naomi tried a bite, ate it, and said "I tried it, but I don't like it. I don't like fennel the vegetable. I only like fennel the animal." I think she meant the fennec, but it was a pretty good reference nonetheless.

Now, onto the next fennel adventure...

When I was at the fish counter at Whole Foods the cod looked good, and that reminded me of a favorite dish of my husband's and another fennel endeavor.

Cod with Fennel and Capers

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa. There are some major ingredients missing in my version, but it's yummy and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion- chopped
• 1 bulb fennel- chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 28 ounces can San Marzano tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful fresh basil leaves- chiffonade
• 2 tablespoons capers and a splash of the brine from the jar
• 1 lb fresh cod filet

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute onion and fennel until just translucent.

2. In a small mesh sieve set over a bowl, drain tomatoes. Break all tomatoes open with a spoon so all liquid is released. Reserve juice for later. Add drained tomatoes to pan. Stir into fennel and onion.

3. Cut fish into just-larger-than-bite-sized pieces.

4. Add fish, capers, caper brine, and a enough of the reserved tomato juice to barely cover fish. Stir gently, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until a large piece of fish flakes easily when tested with a fork- about 20 minutes.

5. Stir in fresh basil (which my store was out of today, I couldn't believe it.), and serve. We always serve this over orzo tossed with a pat of butter. Yum.

Matisse Quilt

I love this whole line of Alexander Henry Matisse fabric. I love the oversized roses, the mini flower still life, and this classic Matisse paper-cut pattern. I knew I wanted to make something with this amazing textile inspired by some of my favorite works of art. But what to make? I decided to make up a quilt design that maximized use of this fabric, and allowed for some large, unbroken areas to show off the great shape and pattern.

This quilt quickly became a geometric experiment that merges Matisse and Mondrian. Cutting the pieces made me kind of dizzy, and when it was all laid out I admit that I didn’t love it. So I left the quilt on my design wall and slept on it (though it was all cut, so I’m not sure what I could really have done about it.) Don’t worry, though, the next day when I looked at it with rested eyes I thought it was pretty cool.

This design really reinforces the old adage “measure twice, cut once.” As a sculpture major in college this phrase was tantamount. And I was careful to measure each piece of fabric even three times. But what I discovered is that measuring three times doesn’t help if the measurement you’re checking is incorrect. I bought the exact amount of fabric for this layout. I swear I have NO black scraps leftover, and only a few small strips of the Matisse. But I made a mistake in the design that didn’t allow for feasible piecing. I solved the problem, but the solution included cutting one of my Matisse pieces in half and adding an additional black strip. I salvaged a few tiny pieces of black to piece that strip- hardly noticeable unless you know about it, see?

Betcha can't even tell which line it is. Anyway, once cut, this was a really easy top to piece. Almost like one huge log cabin block.

At first I thought the fabric was too sophisticated for a child, but now I think it’d actually be fun for a baby because of all the great contrast. Leah, who is seven months old, loves this fabric and keeps trying to play with it.

The top is done, and the solid yellow binding is all ready to go.

Now I just need to choose a back for it. Hmmm…decisions, decisions.

Peace, Love, and Quilting in Woodstock

There used to be an amazing little quilting shop in Woodstock, NY. My husband and I stumbled upon it when we were wandering the main street in Woodstock on our way to Mohonk Mountain House a few years ago. The shop was in the most beautiful old house.

Image courtesy of ctpubblog.com

As soon as we walked in I knew I wasn't leaving without some fabric, and my husband knew we weren't leaving for at least an hour. The main floor was full of bolts of the most beautiful fabrics, modern and vintage lines, and a wall of batiks. I wandered for a while and chose a few things (a bag pattern and fabric for that project, plus a yard each of a few fabulous textiles), but I just couldn't decide. And I couldn't leave with only a few fabrics.

One of the things I loved about the store's set-up was that every fabric was presented on the bolt and as a fat quarter. Usually stores have leftover fabrics in fat quarter packets or rolls on a table or shelf. At Woodstock Quilt Supply every single fabric had a fat quarter of itself on the shelf right there. As I made my last rounds through the enchanting store I started to pick up miscellaneous fat quarters of fabrics I loved and needed in my life. Miraculously, I only chose six. While they were not chosen to coordinate, with each other or anything else in particular, I thought the six stacked in my hand looked amazing together.

I knew they'd be used in one quilt, and I saved them in a little stack until finally finding a binding and back that would sufficiently accompany this amazing sextet. I kept the quilt design pretty simple so I could enjoy each one, and so it wouldn't be too busy as each of the fabrics is a bit on its own. I began making the top for this quilt over a year ago. Pregnancy and more pressing projects have kept me from it, but today I got in a small chunk of time to work on it. The top is now one seam away from completion! You'll have to wait for another post for photos of the finished project.

How I still yearn for Woodstock Quilt Supply. I took my only sewing class in the upstairs classroom, driving 1 1/2 hours north on a quiet Saturday to learn how to free motion quilt over a year ago. I'd set my heart on making that pilgrimage once a year (or more) to take a class and indulge in some new fabric. But, alas, when, a few months back, I tried to call them to get more of one fabric that I fell in love with that summer I found they'd closed and consolidated their inventory with another shop, The Joyful Quilter. I'm sure this other shop is lovely, but at 2 3/4 hours north of here, I don't think I'll be heading that way for a quiet Saturday pilgrimage any time soon.

Rosette Barrettes

As usual, I cannot peruse the Purl Soho craft blog without stumbling across at least one project I feel compelled to make. A few weeks ago it was their January 2010 post on Rose Barrettes. It looked like a cute project, and one that would be doable while sitting on the couch with a baby sleeping on my legs. (Crochet is another project of that ilk, which might explain my recent prolific hat making.)

Purl has a link to the template on their site, and the directions are very easy to follow. My only suggestion: I needed to use a pliers to pull the needle through the thickest layers of felt.
Start by cutting out all pieces of the template. Arrange them on your felt, and pin into place.
After cutting a few sets of pieces, I tried to figure out how to get as many roses from my little felt squares as possible. (This layout gave me three flowers and two barrettes.)
After cutting out the pieces, roll up the center strip to make the rosebud, and you can begin sewing.
The rest of the directions are at the Purl Bee.

These came out so cute, and my daughter, who normally resists hair clips of any kind, loves the big flowers. The clip becomes less strong when thickened by the felt. I might try to make a few with a bigger clip or a different kind all together. Other than that, and my random pliers tip, I like these just as they are. In fact, I've got another batch of felt pieces all prepped and ready to go.

Cat's out of the Bag- Gift Reveal

Thank goodness Chanukah is behind us and I can reveal a few of my secret projects. These first two pictures are of sweaters for my sisters. More information on this project can be found on the Merino Bouquet post.

This one is for my sister who we always tease for predictably only wearing shades of blue.

And this one is being modeled by my other sister (who shall remain nameless/faceless).

I think they both liked their happy wool cardigans. It was fun to make them, and fun to give a handmade gift.

This next project was a fun and easy one to make, and a great way to preserve a favorite t-shirt. My faceless sister from above asked me recently if I could do anything to save part of her favorite old t-shirt. I took it home and here's what happened.

1.Cut a rectangle from the shirt, preserving the center image. Using that piece as the center, work as you would for a quilt block and sew strips of fabric around your rectangle until is is desired size.
2. I bought a 12x16 pillow form at Joann Fabric and Crafts. You could certainly use batting and make the pillow any size you want. When my front piece reached a total of 12 1/2 x 16 1/2, leaving my a 1/4 inch seam allowance, I sewed front to back, right sides facing each other around 3 sides of the rectangle.
3. Flip pillow cover right side out, and poke corners out with a knitting needle or closed ballpoint pen.
4. Stuff pillow inside, and hand sew final side closed.

This gift really made my sister smile, and that made me do the same.

Sneak Peak

I'm still busy making miscellaneous gifts for some secret recipients, so I won't post too many details about my projects. One project I can tell you about is this set of drawstring bags. As a parent, I always have mixed feelings when I either buy or receive a toy that comes in many loose pieces but is otherwise great. My favorite toys are those that come in their own storage container, like these new pop beads my daughter loves. My solution is often to rush to the Container Store for a suitable and appropriately sized box for any new toy liable to leave bits around the house. Our Lite Brite pegs are in a little Tupperware that lives in one of the rooms of my 3-year-old's doll house.

For Chanukah, I'm giving a gift to my niece and nephew that is comprised of 69 pieces. Mind you, I've purchased this same item for my own child, so I do believe the pieces are worth it. But, even though the pieces are not small enough for an infant to choke on, I can't, in good faith, give my sister's kids a gift with no storage option. A sister who, by the way, gave my daughter a set of Little House books in a lovely canvas box from, I believe, the aforementioned Container Store.

Enter the drawstring bag.

I decided to make a drawstring bag to accompany the gift. This bag is great for two reasons, at least.
1. It can house all or some of the pieces when not in use.
2. It is made of leftover fabric that's been lying around since I shortened some IKEA curtains. I love the fabric, and the weight is nice and durable. Perfect for an easy, toy-storage solution.

While I cannot disclose what these bags are for, I can certainly tell you that I think they're really cute. And, I'm psyched that I was able to finally find a good use for some of that curtain fabric. Now I can give my multi-pieced gift in peace.

Pureed Goodness Despite a Bay Leaf's Best Efforts

You've just got to love an immersion blender. I've been using mine so much my husband started teasing me about it. Anyone else get teased about their blender use?

I made butternut squash soup this weekend, as you might have read. It's a pureed soup, and a yummy one, at that. However, even though it's written explicitly in the recipe, I skipped the step where you remove the bay leaf before blending. Oops. Having used white pepper instead of black so the soup would look just perfect, I was surprised to see a dark bit floating around when I began blending the soup. I realized pretty quickly what it was.

Can you see all the pieces of bay leaf I picked out of the soup? As soon as I saw a piece floating in the soup I stopped blending and began picking. After a while, the picking got old. That's when I turned to my trusty friend, the internet. What? You know Internet, too? Does yours also have the uncanny ability to tell you all sorts of information, like what happens if you accidentally eat a bay leaf?

Well, here's what I learned:
Clearly, the bay leaf isn't poisonous, or you wouldn't cook with it at all. And it's ground up fine in Old Bay, so consuming it is ok. HOWEVER, it doesn't even wilt when cooked for a long time, and the edges of the pieces of leaf, when broken, can be very sharp. According to a number of online sources, the sharp leaf can cut the throat and stomach lining. Yeah, not something you'd want to do.

So I quit picking out the pieces, and pureed the hell out of my soup. If I saw a big piece of leaf I removed it, but otherwise I just made sure to chop the pieces up so tiny that they wouldn't perforate my esophagus. Good plan, right? Anyway, if you make this soup, which I highly recommend, save yourself some time and trouble by remembering to remove the bay leaf.

We had the soup last night with fresh multi-grain bread (from the store. I don't make EVERYthing.) and a favorite salad. Here are the recipes...

Butternut Squash Soup

(Serves 10-12. Use 2 med sized squash, and 4 cups broth for 6-8)

8 ½ pounds whole butternut squash

2 chopped medium white onions

Tbsp chopped ginger

Zest of one orange

3 large carrots

1 bay leaf

olive oil

7 cups vegetable broth

heavy cream-optional

1. Cut carrots into large chunks and place on a baking sheet with halved squash placed cut side down. Roast until you can pierce the skin of the squash easily with a fork.

2. Let squash cool. Remove all flesh with a spoon and discard skin.

3. While squash is cooling, sweat onion in 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large soup pot.

4. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir.

5. Stir in squash and carrots.

6. Add broth, ginger, and orange zest. Stir well, and bring to a boil.

7. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

8. REMOVE BAY LEAF.

9. Blend until nearly smooth either in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender.

10. Stir in cream if desired, totally not necessary.

11. Great garnished with frizzled, salted leaks.

Tri-Color Salad with Dried Cranberries
Salad:
1/2 a head of radicchio, sliced across the grain into thin strips
1 bunch watercress, washed and thick lower stem removed
1 endive, leaves and core sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
blue or goat cheese- optional
Dressing:
You can use any vinaigrette. I make one with
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
a splash of water
Tbsp dijon mustard
Tbsp honey

Mix all salad ingredients except cheese. Dress and toss. Top with cheese if desired.
Yummy Yum!

Yes, My Kids Do Eat Their Veggies

I love a quiet Saturday for cooking, and today was a busy day in my kitchen:
Breakfast: Fried Eggs with Polenta
Lunch: Turkey Sandwiches (not that earth shattering)
Dinner: Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower and Roasted Sea Bass

Not to mention that, in between, I made fresh baby food purees of peas, carrots, and mango, and a batch of our very own butternut squash soup for tomorrow.
The main item of note was the Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower. While walking through my favorite market, DePiero's, I saw a pile of Romanesco Cauliflower, and immediately thought it would be fun to show my daughter. She likes cauliflower, and, because she's a curious, goofy toddler, she likes all things wacky. I quickly chose a head of this psychedelic vegetable to bring home. Naomi preferred the cauliflower plain, and liked it both raw and boiled. The recipe I tried is below, but allow me to digress for just a moment.

At our house, it's sort of an if-you-cook-it-they-will-eat-it-or-at-least-try approach. Some of the tips for making this work, at least in my house, are these:

• Let your kids wander with you in the produce department. Teach them to stay close to you and the cart, but allow them to ask what everything is and to choose the items that look good.
• Explore favorite produce in various preparations or varieties. Have a taste test of raw and cooked veggies. If your child loves broccoli, try broccolini or broccoli rabe. Do they like it when tossed with a bit of olive oil and garlic? If it's cauliflower, try roasted with garlic or mashed with parsnip. Likes cantaloupe, how about Crenshaw melon?
• Find produce that's your child's favorite color. Around here we get excited about yellow varieties of tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and beans. We also discovered that Naomi loved eggplant because she was in a really purple-loving mood one day at the store. We watched it turn colors while cooking and it's been a favorite of hers ever since.
• Try, like I did today, to pick things up with strange names or shapes. The pumelo is popular in my kitchen these days because it's an "egormous" grapefruit. The romanesco cauliflower of tonight's meal is a "crazy cauliflower" with spikes, and "isn't that so silly?"
• Figure out a safe way for your child to help you cook. Let him watch the food you chose together at the store change shape and color. Make sure he has a job, so he's really helping you make it.
• In any case, if you end up with an item that you're not sure how to prepare, look it up. Don't let that be a reason not to try it, and don't let that be the reason your kids don't try it.
• Our rule is that you have to try it. One bite is enough, and if you don't like it you don't need to eat any more and we'll find something else. (If you really don't like it you can VERY politely spit it out. This has only happened twice.)
• And please, never tell your child what they do and don't like. What not to do:"Oh, that's a (fill in the blank), you won't like it." Instead, try: "That's a ______. Can you believe how (big/bumpy/shiny/pretty) it is. Would you like to try one?" If you've never seen something or eaten it, tell your child that. Suggest trying something new together. Don't go too over-the-top, but try to make the item seem interesting, mention a few ways you could use it at home. It's no guarantee that your kid will say yes, but at least it's your kid who will decide. Yes, sometimes food will get wasted, or you'll end up eating something you don't like best because your child won't finish it. But you never know what item is the one she'll love.

A Pluot Lion

Black Bean, Corn, and Pepper Burrito

This is a trick I read about in a parenting magazine a while back: Use a bag clip to hold the soft taco shell closed. My daughter also used it as a handle. She thought it was so funny, and ended up eating two burritos. Afterward we thought of other foods we could eat in that kind of wrapper with a clip. Her only complaint, she wishes the clip were yellow. Guess what I'm looking for on my next trip to the store?

Pasta with Romanesco Cauliflower
adapted from Rachel Eats
A head of romanesco separated into florets, and stalk cut into small pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a knife
Freshly grated parmigiano
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes, optional
1 lb of a pasta that will hold sauce well. I suggest something with lines or curls.

1. Boil salted water in a pot big enough to hold the cut-up cauliflower.
2. Rinse the cauliflower. When the water starts boiling, add the cauliflower and boil for 5-8 minutes over medium-high heat. The cauliflower should be very tender and break easily when pierced with a fork.
3. Remove the cauliflower from the salted water with a slotted spoon, but save the water for the pasta! Bring it to a boil again, adding more water if needed for the amount of pasta you’re cooking, and cook your pasta al dente according to the package directions.
4. While the water is coming to a boil or the pasta has just been added, in a large frying pan, heat up a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, pepper flakes, and cloves of garlic. Let the garlic and pepper infuse into the oil for a few minutes. Remove garlic cloves.
5. Add the cauliflower florets and saute them over medium-high heat, starting to gently smash them with your spoon so they break down into an almost-creamy mixture.
6. After the pasta is drained, mix together the pasta and the cauliflower off the heat and add an extra touch of good olive oil.
7. Serve with a generous sprinkle of parmigiano.

DIY Blog at Gift Giving Time

I'm facing a conundrum.

There are projects in the works that I'd like to write about, but they're gifts for folks who I believe read this, at least occasionally. What to do? If I post the works-in-progress I'll spoil the surprises. If I don't, I might not have much else to say for the next few weeks. Something to ponder. Maybe I'll just have to really motivate to work on more things so I have posting material that won't interfere with my gifts. That might be the solution. Anyone know how to add a few hours to the day?

Super Baby! and other adventures of applique

I never thought I had an addictive personality. I never got into drinking, I turned down a variety of drugs when offered them in college, and I don't gamble (even though my father thinks I should at least learn how). But I admit it, I'm sort of addicted to applique.

After making that onesie a few months back, I began to collect basic shirts that could become my next project. If you read my last post, you know that I've also expanded into my own attire. Here are a few photos of some recent jersey victims:

I was trying to decide what to make for a friend's new baby, and, with applique on the brain, went right to a solid pink hoodie. The question of what to sew onto it was clearly inspired by my love of the "Incredibles" and interest in the new family show "No Ordinary Family." Who doesn't want, in some small way, to be a super hero? Taking my cue from comic strip exclamations, this hoodie was born. (The B is the baby's initial, by the way, not just for "Super Baby.")

This is the first time I used stabilizer, and I have to say I totally love it. This discovery will only enable my addiction. Now, in addition to fusible webbing which can turn any fabric into an iron on decal, I can stabilize any floppy material like jersey. This makes me an unstoppable applique monster. If you're already familiar with stabilizer I'm sure you think I'm a big doofus (which you are free to think anyway), but if you're an aspiring applique-er, read on.

How to:
Iron applique onto the shirt in desired location.
Iron the stabilizer to the inside of the shirt, being sure to cover entire applique from behind.
Sew as you like, I chose satin stitch for this one, but the orange shirt (above) is just a doodle-ish free motion stitch.
Tear away the stabilizer, it will essentially be perforated by the sewing machine needle.

Ta Da!

I hope I can keep this habit limited to cute, fun, and age appropriate use. I currently don't plan to make any holiday specific sweaters or t-shirts with obnoxious attitude. If I do, however, stray into that kind of territory, I hope those of you who love me will stage an intervention. Even applique can get out of hand.