New projects

Now that my shoulder is mostly back to normal -- I have about 95% range of motion back, all except being able to get my arm behind my back. Truly, if I'm never able to do the cow pose in yoga, that's fine by me -- I'm back to doing all the stuff that's been waiting for me.

So far, I've canned 6 quarts of plum tomatoes, 9 pints of salsa, 11 quarts of dill pickles and 5 quarts of bread 'n' butter pickles. Out of all that, only the jalapenos came from my own garden. My tomato plant is producing, but only enough for eating here and there and my cucumbers died off completely. I've planted some seeds and will see how they go, along with more green bean seeds. I'm not counting on being able to harvest much from them, but we'll see. The extreme heat is really taking it's toll except on the peppers which love it.

I've also (FINALLY) start sewing my Steampunk costume. I'm using this Simplicity pattern as the base. It's my first time REALLY sewing something since I was 13-14, and my mother was there to help me. I'm moving very slowly, with 5 books and various web pages to guide me. OF COURSE, I not only choose a pattern that requires princess seams and darts and such to allow for the curves of  the body, but also a fabric that is slippery (in this case, I'm using a shantung.) Not quite the thing to do for a first sewing project but since when do I do things the easy way?? So far, I've gotten the back panel and two front panels finished.

I think I'm actually getting the hang of it. I've figured out how to clip the edge to allow for curving, overstitch the edge to keep from unraveling and press the seams correctly. Since I've started losing weight, it'll probably be too big for me, but I'll make adjustments as I go. I'd rather it be too big and have to take it in that make it too small.

I've also finished a few knitting projects I was working on. One tank top was finished a while ago, but I forgot to take a picture. The other tank (the purple one) I finished a couple of weeks ago and have mostly finished a Give it Forward project -- that one just needs some finishing and it'll be off in the mail.

For the purple one, I had to make adjustments in the pattern because it was obviously written for people without boobs. One inch for the bust is NOT going to cover me up! LOL So I added a few inches of the bust band as well as to the straps. The green one is slightly short on me, but hopefully as I lose weight, it'll settle better on my body.

So I've gotten quite a bit accomplished lately. I'm feeling rather proud of myself.

My garden is not a happy garden

The extreme heat is taking it's toll on my little garden. It's a container garden, which is harder to maintain than a conventional garden but I've been diligent in watering the plants either early in the morning or late evening so the sun doesn't burn the plants.

The only plants that are still thriving is the patio tomato, the jalapenos and the oregano. The bell peppers are holding on, as is the Stevia, but everything else is dying. There's no way I can salvage the cucumber -- it's dead. The roma tomato isn't doing well, I had to cut down the basil and hope it can recover and my green beans are hanging on by a thread.

This is sad. Last year, it rained so much most of the plants drowned. Yes, I have drainage holes in the pots and also use perlite or small pebbles to allow for more drainage. This year, they're wilting from the heat and there's no where I can put them to make it better. When it's 97° in the shade, it's just a bad summer. And it's not even really summer yet.

*sigh* Guess I'll have to shop the farmer's markets again for enough produce to make pickles and such.

Mexicali Pork Chops

I made this up a few years ago, and I'm glad it fits within the Weight Watchers points system.

	1 14 oz can tomato sauce
	1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
	1 can sweet corn, drained
	1 medium green pepper, chopped
	1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
	1 small raw onion, chopped
	2 tbsp Goya sofrito sauce
	4 lean boneless pork chop
	1 small can chopped green chili peppers

Instructions

Sprinkle chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder (or use Goya Adobo powder). Saute over medium heat in pan coated with cooking spray, about 2 minutes per side until browned. Add rest of ingredients, bring to slow boil.

Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 20-30 minutes until pork chops are cooked through.
Serve over spanish style or yellow rice.

Pirate hat?

This latest project is a reworking of some horrible hat I found in a thrift store. It's a peach straw hat that had a ribbon rose thing around it. Perfectly terrible, but good bones. It started out looking somewhat like this, minus the netting and in a bridesmaid peach color:

I had found some funky paisley fabric in the remnant section, and used that to cover it after trying to dye the straw failed. Then, I sewed a ribbon to the brim and stitched the sides up to the crown to make it more in a tricorn shape.

Added some rosette trim to the top of the brim and braided trim to the bottom. I cannabalized a Halloween hat I had for the black roses and net in the back and added a few feathers, a button and a pin. Voila! A sort of pirate hat/Victorian style ladies hat.

New Project: Goggles

I've made a couple of other things, but I didn't post here about them. Today, I created a pair of goggles for either mine or Will's Steampunk outfit.

Here's what I used:
Faux leather from a thrift store jacket -- I cut the collar off and used that part.

Some plastic from an egg carton, specifically the domed part:.

And a couple of brass napkin rings from the Salvation Army. At least, I think they're napkin rings, I'm really not sure.

First, I cut the egg carton so I had a dome shape that fit inside the ring, and hot glued it in. I then cut another piece of straight plastic and put that in the other one. I used some Sharpies to color in the middle of the dome and attached old clock parts to the straight piece.

Then, I wrapped some of the leather around the ring, sewed it together and used hot glue to glue the excess to the inside of the ring.

I took a small piece of the leather and sewed it into a tube, then turned it inside out the make the nose bridge. A few more pieces of leather created the cuffs on the outer edges and the straps. Now I'm just waiting on Will's decision on how he'd like to wear them; either around his head or on a hat. I still have to figure out the closure of the straps, but I'll probably do it with the buttons from the same coat.

This is what they look like at the moment:

Not too bad for a first attempt. I'm still learning all this stuff, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

Basic Marinara Sauce

I put this together for a friend, figured I'd also post it here since I haven't post anything in months.

Basic Marinara Sauce
I start with canned tomatoes. You can use fresh ones, but you end up going through the same process as canning them (blanching, peeling, cooking, etc.) This is just the basic sauce, you can make variations on it according to taste. It’s also the amounts I normally use, which will make 2 quarts or so.
Ingredients:
6 large cans of tomatoes. NOT paste, NOT sauce. I usually use 4 cans of whole tomatoes (or crushed) and 2 cans of puree. If using whole tomatoes, I squish them as I add to the pot, giving a chunky sauce. Sometimes, I’ll use 2 cans each of puree, crushed and whole.
4-5 cloves of garlic, pressed.
Basil, Oregano, Parsley
Black pepper
Salt
Olive oil
Carrots (you’ll see why)
Medium Onion, finely chopped (if no allergies or dislikes)
Cinnamon (my secret weapon)
Bay leaf

In a big pot, sauté onion and garlic in a little olive oil (about 1T) until tender and fragrant. Add tomatoes and start bringing to a low boil. Don’t heat too quickly, or it’ll burn. Add a palmful each of the herbs. If using fresh herbs, chop very finely and use 2-3 times the amount. Add a pinch of salt, a few dashes of black pepper, and keep stirring. Toss in a bay leaf or two. When it starts to bubble, cover and lower heat to simmer.
Cut carrots into big pieces. Toss them in. The carrots will release their sugars and soak up some of the acid from the tomatoes. If you want to get more veggies into the kids, finely shred the carrots and leave them in the sauce. If doing this, you’ll still want a couple of larger chunks to fish out after cooking, taking a bunch of the acid with them.
Add a dash of cinnamon. Not a lot, you don’t want to taste it. It’s simply to counteract the acid.
Let this simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
Sauce will thicken as the water evaporates. Taste it after a couple of hours and adjust to taste. You can add a pinch or two of sugar if it’s too acidic or you want more sweetness than the carrots release. Make sure you take out the bay leaves and carrot chunks before using the sauce. You can let it simmer for as long as you want, really. Mine usually sits for at least 4 hours before I use it, if not more.

Variations:
I do the following, depending on my mood and what I’ll use the sauce for.
Add red wine (or marsala if I don’t have red). Not a lot, and add this after it’s simmered for a few hours. Let simmer at least another hour to burn off the alcohol.
Roast the garlic instead of sautéing.
Add parmesan or romano cheese. Do this toward the end of the cooking.
Red pepper flakes will give a spicier sauce.

If you like mushrooms, peppers, olives, etc. in your sauce, sauté and add them with the tomatoes. I don’t usually do so until I’m ready to actually use the sauce. Same goes for meat. I don’t add meat until I’m using the sauce for a recipe.

A couple of finished projects, and one half done

I finished the doll sweater I was working on, but I won't get the child sweater finished in time for the holidays. I'll have it done for her birthday in February. I've also been making armwarmers for my daughter's friend back in PA. I've got one finished, and am starting the other today. The pattern didn't have a hole for the thumb, and I didn't feel like futzing with a thumb gusset, so I just added in a buttonhole where the thumb is.





I've also decorated the mantle for the holidays. I purchased the wreath and garland from Michael's, and they already had the pinecones attached. I added the rest. I'm very happy with how they came out, and I LOVE having a mantle to decorate.