deconstructed ratatouille

We have eggplants.  With more eggplants to come!  I actually really enjoy ratatouille but I do not feel that I really have to follow the normal recipe.  This is my autumn style one.

I take some winter vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and eggplant.

I peel the potatoes and slice all the vegetables.  I roast them at 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  I give them a bit of a stir part of the way through.

You want golden bits through out.

Hours before I started a red sauce.  One can of whole tomatoes dumped into the crock pot.  Some onion.  Some garlic.  Some swiss chard that needed using.  Fresh basil from the garden.  Salt.  Pepper.  A little honey.  I put it on low and let is simmer away.

And then I whirred it.  That is the technical term in our house.  Makes me smile.

Now this is why it is called deconstructed.  Russell was hungry so instead of putting it in a casserole and layering the vegetables and sauce.  I made the roasted the vegetables on a plate and poured sauce over them.

Yumminess!

success! vegan chocolate crinckles

I re-engineered the whole recipe and came up with vegan chocolate crinckle cookies that taste like they have butter and eggs in them!

Vegan Chocolate Crinckles

1/2 cup sugar

2 2/3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup hempmilk

2 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate

1 tablespoon tapioca flour

3/4 cup flour

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dredging

Put the chocolate and oil in a medium sauce pan.  Put over low heat and stir until chocolate is melted.  Add the sugar and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add the hempmilk and tapioca.  Mix well.  Add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and mix well.  The batter will be very thin.

Put the batter in a container and refrigerate.  I use pyrex.  You want to refrigerate at least one hour if not overnight (I actually did days.  Forgot it!)

After refrigeration, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Take a teaspoon of chocolate cookie dough, roll into a ball, and dredge in powdered sugar.

Bake 10 minutes or until firm but not hard to the touch.

Pretty fabulous!  I only had to try three times but these are keepers.

new top

I have been feeling like crud.  Having allergies feels like having the flu at times!

Before the allergies hit, I cut all the fabric from yesterday.  One of the things that I cut out was a new top.  Blouses and tops was one of the reasons for my purchase of all the Sense and Sensibility patterns.  I have been having problems finding tops I like and patterns of tops I like.  They are either too big, too short in the sleeves, too frilly, too tailored, too unstructured.  I could go on but you get the picture.  Yes, I am picky and it is one of the reasons I sew.

I took the bodice from the 1911 kimono dress from Sense and Sensibility.  Changed the neckline, shortened the sleeve, flared the waist, and made it shirt length.  This is me following a pattern.  Russell laughed at me and said I just use patterns as guides.

This is the muslin I made up.  It does not look like much but I really recommend a muslin when you modify as much as I do.

Then I put it on.  Would you be surprised if I said I do not like t-shirts?  And this was so comfortable and soft that it may definitely become the "t-shirt" in my wardrobe?  I have already cut out two more.  If I have time, I may add some embroidery or ribbon trim or wait until the next batch but I can say:

I finally found that top that works for me!

What a relief!

my fabulous worktable!

I pulled out fabric on Saturday.

And started cutting.

Finding more fabric

And cutting.

I ended up cutting out:  three tops for me, two shirts for Russell, two half bags, two dresses, and an apron.  If I tried to have done all this on the floor, which was my previous cutting surface, I would not be walking today!  

I (heart) my new worktable!

Thank you Russell!

winter garden and Russell's newest knife (that left the house already!)

I got the winter garden in last weekend and I am waiting for my seeds to sprout.  I had some of the grass come back already.  I may need to go to Joshua's and get some vegetables to transplant.

The one eggplant bush that made it is turning into a tree again.  There are three or four eggplant that are growing and just need to get bigger.  The tomatoes and watermelon have blooms so I am hoping that we will get some fruit and vegetables.  By the way, did you know that tomatoes are fruit and watermelon are vegetables?

The peppers are a profuse as ever and I need to fill the freezer with chili and chilaquila.  

Russell finished this knife while I was at work.  It is a seven inch Santoku style blade.  It is absolutely beautiful and well balanced.  He took it to our naturopath's office and one of the ladies there bought it!  He sold a knife within a hour of finishing it.  Just amazing! Before I even had a chance to hold it!  And it was the blade of the two he cut out that I liked best.  Just an absolutely fabulous knife.

I have a feeling it is going to be an interesting weekend and potentially an interesting spiral path we are to walk.  Is that not a Chinese cures?  May you live in interesting times.  It does make me smile.