The Psychotic Hobbyist

Beatles Sgt. Pepper Costumes

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:38:00 +0000

While I'm not going into the costume-making business outside my own family, I'm happy to pass along any trial-and-error tips to the rest of the planet.

My Beatles-lovin' household decided almost a year out from Halloween 2010 that they wanted to be the Fab Four, specifically sporting the Sgt. Pepper uniforms.

Thus commenced not just sewing up some costumes, it involved much more than that:

Studying photos from all angles
Finding pattern(s) to as closely as possible duplicate the uniform look (while making sure aforementioned pattern(s) would be at my skill level
shopping for material, notions, and eleventy bazillion kinds of trim
shopping for specialty patches and/or ways to duplicate for authenticity
Cutting pattern pieces
Cutting material
Sewing costumes
Sewing on miles and miles of trim

First, I primarily used these two photos for recreating to the best of my ability the Sgt. Pepper costumes for my own Fab Four. Was I going to be able to duplicate them exactly? Hell no. But I could get pretty darn close.

I used a combination of McCall's Pattern 4745 (which is a Civil War officer uniform) and pirate costume Simplicity 3644. Not perfect, but close enough.

Aside from basic costume sewing here are some of the detailed modifications I made.

For the epaulettes on the shoulders, I used foam board to cut out the shapes, then hand sewed the material to fit around them and hand sewed on the trim on each one. Then using velcro that is how I secured each epaulette to the costume jackets.
On John's epaulettes there are daisies, so I got fake daisies in the floral craft department and hot glued them to each.
The O.P.P patch (which stands for Ontario Provincial Police) on the sleeve of Paul's costume I actually found a REAL patch online, so that patch was fabulous. The rest of the patches were made by scanning each image, reversing it, and using t-shirt iron on computer paper, transfering each image to material and sewing that on.
Medals were obtained at a local shop that makes medals and trophies - I bought samples that were blank or shapes that were close and turned them around.
The long "jewelry" item on Paul's jacket that starts about the waistline was done with wire and beading by the teenager assistant son.
The miniature canvas painting on George's jacket center chest was printed off then painted as a copy by my teenager.
Ringo and Pauls pants side trim, and John and George's pants side trim were the reverse of each other's main costume color. So, I just sewed those strips and sewed them onto the pants before constructing the pants.
My son's grandma had some John Lennon spectacles to complete that look

Each child has their own Beatle alter ego, so I started with the largest kid (the teenager) and constructed his first, then on down the line as I was cutting down the pattern pieces as I went. And this is the final result, the best and most time-consuming Halloween in the history of trick-or-treating.
I started out doing the uneven jacket bottom for George but then it looked terrible and I started swearing a lot (more) so I abandoned that in favor of a cleaner look. The trim for Paul's jacket bottom as well as all of the gold floral ribbon trim for Ringo was, in my humble opinion, SPOT ON. John's red trim was also a nice change of pace. Sewing the same thing does get pretty boring.

It should be noted I got some major mom points for this, also, the kids said a lot of people took pictures of them when they were out trick-or-treating.

Grand totals:
$291.42 for material, notions and trim.
Hours spent doing research, shopping and construction: 70 hours (give or take)
Best Halloween ever: PRICELESS

Saffron Risotto

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:43:00 +0000

This recipe come from Epicurious with my minimal modifications. I love risotto and have tried several recipes, but this is so amazingly good I make it as often as possible. And I ask you....is that bright yellow color not so incredibly gorgeous that you want to paint your kitchen that color IMMEDIATELY? OMG...yes.

Saffron Risotto

28 ounces chicken stock
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 C. arborio rice
1 C. white wine
large pinch of saffron
2 T. butter
1/4 C. - 1/2 C. freshly grated parmesan or parmesan-reggiano

Directions:
Bring stock to a low simmer in a medium pot. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 1 minute. Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice and a pinch of salt. Saute until rice is translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and saffron; bring to a simmer, stirring, until rice has absorbed most of stock. Continue adding stock, allowing rice to absorb it before adding the next ladleful. Cook until rice is al dente and mixture is a little loose. Stir in butter. Turn off heat. Stir in grated cheese. Cover and let sit 2 minutes. Garnish with more grated cheese if desired.

Homemade Laundry Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:27:00 +0000

Let me begin by clarifying. I'm green-friendly but not extreme. I have been slowly, over the past few years, been making choices that made sense for our family and are better for the environment. So, before you think I'm making our clothes out of hemp and eating all organic, that is not the case. Maybe someday *wink wink*.

So, I consider myself Tree Hugger-ish.

There are an alarming number of incidents of cancer where I live in proportion to the population. Alarming. And, I'm no scientist, but wondered how much of it is affected by environment. So, to that end, I thought I could make at least some common sense changes.
I got one of those Brita water pitchers (no bottled water, all those bottles end up where? Landfills, yes...) so we're drinking filtered water and cooking with filtered water. I also wondered how many toxins are making their way into our soil, our water, etc.

One of those things that was easily changed was making a different choice about my laundry soap. I could wash my family's clothes with stuff that had a fraction of the toxins, right?? Sure...I just needed to find a combination of stuff that was more natural but also got our clothes clean. Here's what I came up with, after scouring the internet for "recipes".

2 bars Fels-Naptha soap
1 box (4 lbs. 12 oz.) Borax
1 box (55 oz.) Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda
1 box (4 lb.) Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

Seems kind of silly, huh? Just that stuff. Here's how you prep it.

Get yourself a tub with a lid, should be easy to find a size that you can put with your laundry supplies in whatever size with spring cleaning boxes out in abundance. Mine is about a foot square or so.
Take the Fels-Naptha bars and cut each bar into about 8 squares. Using your food processor, pulse about 4 squares at a time until it is finely chopped up, but not a powder. This will take some time. When you've done both bars in the food processor, put the stuff in a bowl or something and just leave somewhere to dry out a bit. Half a day or overnight is fine.
Once you've done that, mix all the components together one box at a time and a little bit of the soap inbetween each box. I use a wooden spoon to mix well making sure the whole mixture has all the ingredients evenly distrubuted. This will create some dust flying in the air and going up your nose...take your time, pour slowly or you'll be hacking and coughing and there'll be dust everywhere.

That's it! I have a high efficiency front loading washing machine. I use about 2 1/2 tablespoons for a load. Honestly, my clothes don't smell like anything, and it gets everything except super horrible stains clean. For that, I resort to liquid evil (like Clorox Color Safe Bleach). Everything else the homemade powder works just fine. And this batch will last me many many many months doing laundry for a family of 6. For real.

So....let's compare the two big points here.

Cost:
Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap $1.00 each at Hy-Vee
Arm & Hammer 4 lb. Baking Soda $4.04 at Ace Hardware
Arm & Hammer 55 oz. Washing Soda $3.79 at Hy-Vee (finding the washing soda can be tricky)
Borax 4 lb. 12 oz. was $4.93 at K-Mart

GRAND TOTAL: $14.76 (this will last my family of 6 many months at 2 1/2 tablespoons per load)

A 33 oz. box of Tide with Bleach costs $14.02 and does a measly 15 loads.

The "greener" option. Compared to using the alternatives, my soap is way more natural and I feel better about it than using something else. See the websites for more information.

Fels-Naptha - packaged like a bar of hand soap, this laundry bar soap has been around for over 100 years
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda - like I really need to explain baking soda since it has so many uses, but ingredient-wise, it is 100% sodium bicarbonate.
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - the box has written on it "Pure and Natural since 1874 - 100% fragrance and phosphate free" is a sodium carbonate and is also called soda ash (a cleaning agent for swimming pools, much cheaper than pool company cleaning stuff) or soda crystals. It behaves as a water softener and gets everything sudsy and removes some of those pesky stains.
20 Mule Team Borax - you've seen this stuff at your grandma's house, remember? It's been around since 1891, people. Benjamin Harrison was President then. It's sodium tetraborate, for you home chemists.

Here's the stuff in Original Tide with Bleach (not that I hate Tide or something, but I'm just using it as a popular option):

Bleach Activator - Nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate
Chelan - Diethylenetriamine Pentaacetate (Sodium Salt)
Colorant - FD&C Blue 1
Dispersant - Sodium Polyacrylate
Enzyme - Amylase & Protease
Fragrance - Fragrance
Oxygen Bleach - Sodium Percarbonate
Process Aid - Palmitic Acid, Sodium Sulfate, and Water
Removes Water Hardness - Sodium Aluminosilicate & Sodium Carbonate
Stabilizer - Polyethylene Glycol 4000
Suds Suppressor - Silicone
Surfactant - Alkyl Sulfate & Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate
Whitening Agent - Disodium Diaminostilbene Disulfonate

So, that's it. It's a lot cheaper doing the "homemade" version and I think I'm putting less toxic junk on my clothes and back into the water supply. And saying Fels-Naptha is super cool.

Seafood Pot Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:57:00 +0000

This is the promised pot pie recipe that I tried out and must admit, gave MUCH praise to the results, despite the skepticism by many hither and yon that a seafood pot pie could not possibly taste good.

Oh yes. Yes it does.

(I do believe it is a Paula Deen recipe but I clipped it out of the magazine and can't remember for sure, but I do believe that it is Paula - 92.7% sure)

Also, it should be noted, it was VERY good as leftovers too, I ate for lunch the next day and it was darn tasty warmed up.

SEAFOOD POT PIE

1/4 C. butter
1 C. chopped onion
1 C. minced celery
**recipe calls for 1 C. mushrooms but we don't eat those so I left 'em out**
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 C. half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp. Creole seasoning
2 T. dry sherry
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound bay scallops
1 (8-oz) container lump crabmeat
10 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
3 T. butter, melted (I used a LOT more)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Place baking dish on a jelly roll pan.

In a large skillet, melt 1/4 C. butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and mushrooms (if you're using them), and cook 6 to 8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in half-and-half, and cook 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in Creole seasoning, sherry, and cheese. Remove from heat, and add shrimp, scallops, and crab. Spoon into prepared dish.

**I changed the phyllo section somewhat because they are so delicate those suckers fall apart easily. Also, pay attention to how long your phyllo dough package says you need to have it thawing and use it right away - my package was 2 hours thawing on the counter. MAKE SURE YOU PLAN AHEAD!**

Layer one sheet of phyllo over the dish. Brush carefully with melted butter. It will droop over the sides of the baking dish. Layer another sheet of phyllo crosswise over the first, brush with melted butter. Repeat layers, using the remaining sheets of phyllo. Make 3 slits in center of top sheet of phyllo to allow steam to escape. Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pasta Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:59:00 +0000

I know, I have actually been doing some cooking and a little bit of knitting, but the time to post on it has been microscopic!

This is pretty slick though and I thought I'd share it.
A guide to figuring out which kinds of pasta should be used when and with what type of sauce.

As a pasta lover, it's pretty nifty.

Thought you might like the info too!

Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:48:00 +0000

I love me some Asian food but sometimes I'm a little intimidated wondering if it's going to turn out as well as it tasted that last time I had it out to eat.
Well, I realized that it's not intimidating once you just accept that you can keep it simple and it can be really super good and worth doing.
This little recipe is VERY quick and was super good. I mean, it was awesome. Got the recipe from Relish, my favorite go-to site for getting recipe and menu planning ideas.

Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak
1 C. sesame ginger marinade (there is Lawry's or something that this comes in a bottle, ready to go)
1 T. canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 T. soy sauce
1/2 C. dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 head Boston (butter) lettuce
salt and pepper, to taste

1- Place the meat in the freezer for about 20 minutes (for easier slicing) if you have time. Slice the steak into thin strips against the grain. Season the meat with salt and pepper and place in a large ziploc bag. Add the marinade and turn to coat. Place in the refrigerator and marinade all day.
2 - Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and cook another 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
3 - Remove steak and discard the marinade.
4 - Add a little more oil to the skillet over medium-high heat and let it get hot. Add the steak to the skillet. Sear for 2 minutes, turn and cook another 2 minutes or until cooked through. Return the onion mixture to the skillet and stir in the peanuts and vinegar.
5 - Place the meat mixture in a serving bowl. To serve, form little cups with the lettuce leaves, scoop the filling into them, wrap and serve.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Marinade time: all day
Cook time: 25 minutes

Crockpot Jambalaya

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Got this recipe from Taste of Home but made a few changes to get it how I liked it. Seriously tasty and hubby thought it was even better the second day when all the flavors sort of melded together.

1 can tomato puree
20 oz. chicken broth (recipe called for 1 can but the consistency just needed more in my opinion)
1 can tomato paste
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. dried parsley flakes
2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 pound chicken breasts cut into cubes
1 pound smoked sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Hot cooked rice

In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the tomato puree, broth and tomato paste. Stir in the green peppers, onion, celery, garlic and seasonings. Stir in chicken and sausage.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is tender. Stir in shrimp. Cover and cook 15-30 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with rice.

Ultimate Party Meatballs

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:49:00 +0000

Appetizers: my favorite food group.
What? Not a food group, you say?
Shut it.

If there was a way to do it without seeming a total freak, I'd eat appetizers for every dinner. Little bits of 20 different things...heaven.

Got this recipe from Mom Central to try out a new way to make party meatballs. Yeah, those ones you stab with the fancy toothpicks that everyone has had before.

My MIL makes them with chili sauce and grape jelly. So when I told her I was bringing some for Christmas Eve that were slightly different, she seemed a bit skeptical.

You see, at my inlaws, Christmas Eve is a ton of appetizers and soups. We just graze and open gifts, and then go fill up the plates again, open more gifts, eat more. It's a vicious cycle of gluttony and greed.

I made the Ultimate Party Meatballs hoping they would live up to MIL's incredibly high standards.

The recipe:
1 16-oz. can Ocean Spray jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 12-oz. bottle Heinz Chili Sauce
1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail size meatballs

Dude.
They were really good.
And, the review from MIL was that she liked them much better than her own version because, with the cranberry flavor there was a little more kick and less sweet (which she is not a person who likes things sweet) than using the grape jelly. (And ignore the fact that in the photo it's not all cookbook pretty looking...stuff in a crockpot in my world is messy)

So, we all know that New Years and bowl games are all about parties and appetizers.
This is the cheapest and easiest appetizer you could possibly make.

Yum and tasty.

And the Ultimate Party Meatballs website has a bunch of party ideas, so you could be hungover and still plan a party.

My Christmas Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:38:00 +0000

I make a few varieties of cookies for Christmas each year, a couple standbys and then I try something different to keep it interesting.

This year, a few pictures and recipes for you to check out!

Dipped Gingersnaps
(got this out of Taste of Home years ago)
2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 C. molasses
4 C. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 T. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
Additional sugar
2 packages vanilla baking chips
1/4 C. shortening

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into 3/4 inch balls and roll in sugar. (I use a cookie scoop for this so that the cookie will be uniform in size). Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. Remove to wire racks to cool. Melt chips with shortening in a small sauce pan over low heat. (I use the double boiler method or have found sometimes this can scorch. I don't have a double boiler, I just use a bowl that is slightly bigger than the sauce pan and get that going with a rolling boil of water and that melts everything nicely for dipping). Dip the cookies halfway; shake off excess. Place on waxed paper to harden.

Cream Cheese Finger Cookies - (this is the exact recipe, I always double it)
(another winner from Taste of Home)
1/2 C. butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 C. flour
1 T. sugar
dash salt
1 C. finely chopped pecans
Powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in pecans (dough will be crumbly). **I have found if the dough is just a bit to dry/crumbly to shape, I will keep the mixer going on low and add a bit of water until the consistency seems right.**
Shape tablespoonfuls into 2-inch logs. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire racks.

Best-Ever Turtles
(from Gooseberry Patch Christmas book 6)
2 1/2 C. pecan halves, toasted
1 C. sugar
3/4 C. corn syrup
1 C. whipping cream, divided
4 T. butter
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips, melted

On a baking sheet, arrange pecans in sets of 3; set aside. Combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup whipping cream in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches full boil. Slowly add remaining cream and butter; heat, stirring, until mixture reaches soft-ball stage or 236° on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; still until caramel is creamy (about 5 minutes). Spoon about 1 tablespoon caramel over each set of pecans; cool. Spoon 1 teaspoon chocolate over each; let stand to harden.

Also did some sugar cookie cutouts the kids decorated - I think they do great work!!

Hope your Christmas is also this sweet!

MS Slippers

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:09:00 +0000

My pal Andy has MS. And instead of getting that bit of news and running out and feeling super sorry for herself, she did something else instead.
She started knitting. And the money she makes from her endeavors online goes to support other artists living with the disease.

She has slippers and baby legwarmers. And she just fired up an Etsy store as well to multi-promote herself.

Check out her main site at MS Slippers and also her new Etsy store.

Food Porn

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:22:00 +0000

I can't believe I haven't posted any of the photos from Thanksgiving on here yet. OMG!!

Sonia's Hot Artichoke Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Here's the world famous, best you'll ever have,
Hot Artichoke Dip:

1 C. artichoke hearts (get the can of quartered artichoke hearts and then chop them up really good on your cutting board)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 C. mayo
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chile peppers
1 C. parmesan cheese
1 t. garlic salt (add more if you wish but it's pretty strong stuff)
additional parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix artichoke hearts, mayo, parmesan cheese, cream cheese and green chile peppers. Definitely use a mixer and not by hand or the mixture will not be combined well enough. Scoop mixture into a deep dish pie plate. Sprinkle parmesan cheese lightly over the entire top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and bubbly. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

That recipe is my own creation, configured it myself, don't say I never gave you anything. When you serve it, there is never any left - so no hope for some to make into a soup later. Sorry!

Pumpkin Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:59:00 +0000

These pumpkin bars are easy and darn tasty. Got the recipe from a friend about ten years ago. Ten blissful years of pumpkiny, cream cheesy goodness.

Without further ado...

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 2/3 C. sugar
1 C. oil
16 oz. pumpkin
1 tsp. baking soda
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients and spread in a jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Buy the cream cheese frosting from the store and resist the urge to eat it before you spread it on the cooled pumpkin bars.

Halloween Costume

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:57:00 +0000

My younger son Zach wanted to be something a little outside the norm. Link from Legend of Zelda. He actually wanted to be Link last year but I was already constructing a complex witch costume for Sammie and knew I'd never have time to sew both so I promised him this year I'd do Link for him.

So....what do you think?
The forearm pieces are old soccer shin guards he outgrew that I spray painted. The boots are women's fuzzy slippers (two pair, one for the cuff added on). I sewed the tunic, hat and pants. We threw on some leather belts for the body pieces and I managed to find a sword and shield that were fairly close matches.

11th Hour Halloween Sewing

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:43:00 +0000

This is what I'm doing right now...full costume details after Halloween if I manage to get this sucker done!!

Apple Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:34:00 +0000

I pink puffy heart me some apples. So I make every different combo of everything in the universe that has apples in it.
I really like Allrecipes and when stuff has a 5-star rating by hundreds or thousands or users, chances are it's a pretty solid recipe.
I have made this Grandma Opie's Apple Pie and it is darn good. The only change I would make to the recipe is that I've used my basic pie crust recipe and doubled it so I have plenty of dough to make sure I can do a nice lattice top on it.
Seriously, go to the link and print off the recipe and ENJOY! Yes, it's a little time consuming to make a pie from scratch, especially when you slicing and peeling a bunch of apples for it.
Guess what...doesn't matter, it's so good! Love yourself with a beautiful apple pie!

Fall Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:02:00 +0000

With the end of warm temperatures nearing, I'm trying to enjoy the flowers that are blooming now and are hanging on to give me some pretty color before the snow flies. Hope you enjoy too!

Tuscan Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:38:00 +0000

I already mentioned that this year is the Year of Bread. I want to make "REAL" bread. The good stuff. The stuff that sometimes takes 2 or 3 days of your attention between the rising and the pounding and the yeasting. The ultimate for a carb lover, like myself.

I have the most fabulous cookbook for making authentic breads, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I've made several things out of it and though making bread is a combination of artistry and science, I haven't had a dud yet.

Tuscan Bread

Flour Paste
1 3/4 C. boiling water
2 C. unbleached bread flour

Dough
2 2/3 C. unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
2 T. olive oil
about 1/2 C. water, room temperature
Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting

1 - Make the paste 1 or 2 days before making the bread. Pour the boiling water over the flour in a mixing bowl and stir vigorously until the flour is hydrated and makes a thick, smooth paste. Cool, cover, and leave out overnight at room temperature.

2 - The next day, make the dough. With a large metal spoon, mix together the flour and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the paste and olive oil. Stir together (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), adding as much water as it takes to make a soft, supple ball. It's okay if the dough is a little sticky because you can add more flour while kneading.

3 - Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead by hand for about 10 minutes (or mix for 6 to 8 minutes on medium speed with the dough hook; you can let the dough rest after 4 minutes of mixing and resume 5 minutes later to make it easier on your machine). The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Continue to sprinkle in more flour as needed. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

4 - Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. If the dough doubles in size prior to that, knead it lightly to degas it (the "punch down") and return it to the bowl to continue fermenting until it doubles again or until a total of 2 hours has elapsed.

5 - Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal or semolina flour. Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces (they should weigh about 18 ounces each), being careful to minimize degassing the dough. With a light touch to protect the internal gas, form the dough into boules. If you plan to bake the loaves as rounds, transfer the dough to the prepared sheet pan. If you prefer oblong loaves, shape the dough rounds into batards after a 15-minute resting period, and then place them on the prepared pan. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

6 - Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough by placing the covered pan in the refrigerator immediately after shaping and leave overnight. The dough should be nearly ready to bake when you pull it out of the refrigerator. If not, leave out at room temperature for a couple of hours.)

7 - Prepare the oven for hearth baking, making sure to have a steam pan in place. Pour 2 cups of water into the steam pan. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Just prior to baking, mist the loaves with water and dust lightly with bread flour by tapping some through a sieve held over the loaves or by flinging the flour across the surface of the dough. Score the breads (shown in the photo).

8 - Slide the breads directly on to the baking stone (or cookie sheet), parchment and all, or place the pan on the middle shelf of the oven. After 30 seconds, open the door, spray the oven walls with water and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals, and then lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the steam pan 10 minutes after loading the oven (be careful not to splash yourself in case there's any water left), rotate the loaves 180 degrees for even baking, and continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until the loaves turn a rich golden color and register over 200 degrees in the center. If the crust is getting too dark and the inside has not reached above 200 degrees F, place an aluminum foil tent over the loaves and continue baking until the desired temperature is reached.

9 - Transfer the loaves to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

Days to make: 2
Day 1: 15 minutes flour paste
Day 2: 10-12 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20-50 minutes baking

Chicken Parmigiana

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Here's the post that proves my reviews aren't total BS. I love writing the reviews over on LRR and generally try to get products I anticipate actually liking or finding useful. My most favorite and useful "product" thus far has been the subscription to Relish! as I have used it faithfully, renewed the subscription with my own money, and recommended it to many friends.

Here's a great recipe I did not too long ago that was super easy and super tasty. Even the boys were willing to try it. And, that Italian parsley is fresh from where I plucked it outside my back door. Jealous?

Chicken Parmigiana

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 C. panko bread crumbs
3/4 C. parmigiano reggiano cheese, freshly grated (or use parmesan if that's what you've got on hand, the real stuff, not the powder stuff in the green can)
2 large eggs
2 T. olive oil
2 C. marinara sauce
1 8-oz. fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 C. Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

1 - Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board in between two sheets of plastic wrap (I actually use wax paper, it holds up better). Using a mallet, pound chicken thin. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

2 - Combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in the beaten egg, the dredge in the breadcrumbs mixture, turning to coat both sides.

3 - Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken in the skillet (you might have to do in batches, or use two skillets) and cook until golden, 3 minutes per side. Spread the marinara sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish. Preheat the broiler.

4 - Transfer the chicken pieces to the baking dish, placing them on top of the sauce. Top each chicken piece with slices of fresh mozzarella. Broil about 4 inches from the heat until the sauce is hot, cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.

I grabbed a Barilla noodle I had on hand, and made up noodles to serve over because I cannot say no to carbs.

Photoshoppin': Diffuse Glow

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:16:00 +0000

One of my big goals is to learn to do more with my camera (a Canon Rebel SLR) which I love even with the, like, two things I know how to do with it besides point and shoot.
Another goal is to do cool stuff with my photos on Photoshop.

So, the light outside the other night was really great and the girls looked a little rumpled but very cute even after a grueling (ha!) day at school, so since they are my only two willing photography subjects, we did a few shots and then I played with them in Photoshop and wanted to share a "new to me" option I found while fiddling.

Here is Sammie's photo SOOC (straight out of camera):

And here is the photo after I brightened it up a bit then used the "Diffuse Glow" option in Photoshop. I love the effect!

Same with Emersyn, SOOC:

Then, with "Diffuse Glow":

How about you, any favorite Photoshop tricks you like?

Pulled Pork

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:00:00 +0000

I am fortunate. Because of where I live, there are some things that pretty much, it's the best ingredient I can possibly put on the table. Case in point: pork.
When I go to the butcher to get pork, any cut, it's worthy of a centerfold in Bon Appetit. End of story.
So, though I don't exactly cook using pork constantly, when I do, the recipe better stand up. I mean, what is the point of having access to such excellent product when the recipe to prepare it is only mediocre?
It sucks.
But, as I've said before, I can read a good recipe and taste it in my head and KNOW if it's going to be good or not. Sometimes my gauge is a little off, but rarely.
So, I set off for the quest to find the most wicked awesome pulled pork recipe, my arrival at this recipe means I have deemed it - kickass. It is WORTHY of Iowa pork. Thank you Tyler Florence.

And, seriously, it's easy. If you can make a rub, and you can throw a few things in a saucepan, you've got it nailed.

Dry Rub:
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator. (I always leave the rub overnight, I mean, just do it, this is a plan ahead meal anyway)
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.
To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes.
While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.
While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat. (Put the amount of sauce according to taste, it is a very intense sauce...add a little at a time, then I serve some in a milk creamer to put on the table so people can add more or less according to their personal preference)
To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun. Add slaw or pickle or any other condiments your guests might enjoy.

This is the pork (I get Boston Butt if possible) with the rub, just out of the oven before it's been shredded. The rub and the hours in the oven have made this completely great crust of flavor all over the pork shoulder.

This is the sauce, simmering away on the stove. Now, seriously, make sure you scrape up all the burned bits of drippings on the bottom of the pan from the pork - deglaze the sh*t outta that pan, it makes the sauce taste ridiculous. And those "white" things floating around in it are the garlic cloves (which I usually double). This sauce is so good, I start just eating it with a spoon while hubby is shredding the pork, it is sinfully good.

You want a pulled pork sandwich right now, don't you? Yeah, me too.

Stop and Smell the Roses...

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:51:00 +0000

Well, the old-fashioned roses, but they don't have much for smell.

With our home improvement projects this year, I added a lot of perennials to a couple of flowerbeds once the construction was over. I've really been able to work a lot outside this year since all the kids are finally old enough to entertain themselves in the yard without me needing to keep a constant eye on them for fear of someone running out in the street.

So, these are the best pics I can take until I get a macro lens, but really, I just like having pictures of the flowers that greet me when I go outside! Enjoy!

As we head into fall, will you be doing any planting for next year?

Rustic Apple Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0000

I make a lot of dessert dishes with apples. Why? Because every single person in our house will eat them, even hubby who rarely eats anything sweet, he likes apple stuff.

This is a recipe I clipped from a flyer from my local grocery store. I've modified it some as the original recipe made too much filling for the pastry, I didn't even end up using it all, so I'm adding those changes to be closer to what I did use.

And, yeah, it was darn tasty.

4 apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 sheet (1/2 package) puff pastry, thawed
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 T. butter
1/3 C. sugar
2 T. orange juice
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract

1. Combine apples and lemon juice. In another bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Toss together flour mixture and apple mixture.
2. Roll out puff pastry on a baking sheet. Brush pastry with beaten egg white; top with apple mixture. Dot with butter, and fold edges toward center.
3. Bake in a 350 oven for 40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine sugar, juice, vanilla and almond until smooth. Brush glaze over tart. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

And The Winner Is...

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Thank you to all the people who added me to their blogroll and readers! I'm excited to get some great ideas and feedback from readers here about all the things we all enjoy - cooking, knitting, gardening, arts and crafts, and so on and so forth.

The winner of the $25 gift card to Williams-Sonoma is As American as Apple Pie!

Thanks to everyone and stay tuned for fresh new posts coming out of the oven soon!

The Psychotic Hobbyist Relaunch!

noreply@blogger.com (Sunshine) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:33:00 +0000

I've moved all my posts from my old location and will now have recipes, knitting projects, gardening, and so on and so forth all here so I can have the entire list of my blogs in ONE SPOT! Yippee!

So, to remind you about this one over here and to start diverting the traffic where it is supposed to be, I'm having a giveaway. And it's not something I got paid or I'm regifting, no sir, I'm paying money out of my own pocket to give you something super cool. Because I want to build up this location to start some dialogue with other bakers, gardeners, knitters and crafters. It's what keeps me sane during the school year!

What you can win: a $25 gift card for Williams-Sonoma (because everyone has to eat, but not everyone has all the other hobbies)

How to enter:

Leave a comment on any post (besides this one), a recent dated post or a newer one, it doesn't matter. In transferring the posts, they are now commentless. So go comment on a post (not this one, go exploring...). I added the topics list on the sidebar if you only want to look at knitting posts or sewing posts, etc. Leaving a comment gains you 1 entry.
Add this blog to your feed reader. Leave a comment on this post saying you did, gain 1 entry.
Add this blog to your blogroll. Leave a comment on this post saying you did, gain 1 entry.
Mention this blog in a post on your own site, leave a comment saying you did, gain 1 entry.

This giveaway will end August 14th, 12PM Central time.

Also, if you have a hobby type blog yourself and want to swap links, let me know, I am building up my blogroll here too.

Thanks for stopping by, hope YOU win the $25 from Williams-Sonoma! Good luck!