Saint Lucy's Day and Lucia Buns

So, after the whole Saint Nicholas visit, the next tradition we have is the visit of Saint Lucy. No, we're not Swedish, but it's still so much fun. The youngest girl in our house dresses in a white gown, and wears a wreath of greenery in her hair. Maggie is old enough to carry the tray now, so it's her turn^^

And I have my recipe for my special breakfast rolls. Don't they look tasty?

Christmas Lucia Buns Recipe

2/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup dry milk
1/2 stick butter, cubed for melting (little pieces)

1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast

1 egg + egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
3 cups all purpose flour

oil
1 egg white
raisins

First combine water, butter and dry milk.
When the mixture has cooled to bathwater-warm, add the sugar and the yeast. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes (it's a good time to seperate that egg)

Add egg and egg yolk, cardamom, and a cup of flour.
Mix well, then add the salt and the rest of the flour a bit at a time. Knead (play-dough time^^) for about five minutes, then oil the surface and cover with a towel.

Wait 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled.

Punch the dough down, then divide the dough into 20 equal parts. Form each part into ropes about 6 inches long.

Put two ropes in an x shape on a greased cookie or baking sheet, then curl/roll the ends up towards the middle. Repeat for all the remaining bits. Allow the buns to rise for about 30 minutes.

Remember the egg white? Mix that with a tablespoon or so of water. Put a raisin at the center of each arm/curl of the bun (4 for each bun), then brush the buns with the egg white mixture.

Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes. They are done when they are golden brown. The picture has a couple that are a bit too brown, but that's what I get for spending too much time gathering greens. Best eaten warm; and they keep well in the fridge.

Saint Nicholas and the Land of Sweets

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! In several cultures, this is the day Saint Nick (or Santa) comes to visit. He sure left a lot of stuff in  my stocking^^

Saint Nicholas was actually the bishop of Myra (modern Turkey) in the early 300's. He was known for his defense of children; in particular young girls being forced into marriage. In fact, he is the patron saint of children. Almost a thousand years latter he became a favorite among Scandinavian children due to the nuns that taught them; the nuns used his feast day as an excuse to collect food, clothing, and toys in time give them to the poor among their students for Christmas. 

Maggie's class also conveniently went to see The Nutcracker ballet at the University of Northern Alabama. Most of the ballet was put on by local kids, like these sweet little gingerbread men.  

What special things do you do befor Christmas?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are having as much fun as I am up at my grandmother's, that you are eating lots of good food, and that you have lots of things to be thankful for^^

Train tracks and fall leaves. I'm thankful for the great weather!

All Souls Day and Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

My family celebrates? All Souls day. Not sure celebrate is the word I'm looking for, but it'll do. Much like Obon in Japan, All Souls day is a way to remember everyone who has died, and to pray for both their happiness in the after life and that we might see them again after our death. Most people don't believe that the dead come back on this day as ghosts to visit like Obon, but I'm sure there's some who do out there somewhere. It's a pretty quiet, but international, festival; unless you celebrate it in Mexico. There they call it 'the Day of the Dead' and it's like a funeral, Halloween, and Mardi Gras all rolled into one. I have never heard the more widespread All Souls day be brought up on the news, but I think the world has heard of Day of the Dead. Crazy, right?

Many cultures have a fondness for round themes when it comes to the departed. Both Buddhists and a variety of Celtic folk stories say ghosts like round foods like rice balls and cakes. What else would I make then, but my baked pumpkin doughnuts? Here's my recipe, which is oil and butter free and full of spiced pumpkin goodness^^



Doughnuts
1 small can pumpkin
1/2 cup honey (or 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed, and 2 TBSP extra milk)
1&1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
2&1/2 cups self rising four
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk


Glaze
6 tablespoons or so cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered or confectioners sugar

Mix the pumpkin, spices, and honey together in a bowl. Add the flour, milk and eggs and mix some more. Dough should be thick, slightly thinner than peanut butter. Spoon into greased doughnut pans (I got mine from Wilson's Cake decorating supplies. The pan is like a muffin pan, but doughnut shaped!)You can also use muffin liners and make muffins instead.

Bake at 350 F until a toothpick comes out clean, about 8-10 minutes for the doughnuts. DON'T overcook them; if the bottoms get more than slightly brown you'll end up with dry doughnuts, and that's bad^^

Mix the sugar and cream cheese in a micro wave safe bowl. Then, nuke it for about 30 seconds. Drizzle over slightly cooled doughnuts. Best eaten warm of course, but you can microwav the about 30 seconds and they'll taste fresh baked. Keep them in the fridge for over a week; they freeze well too as long as you don't glaze them before you freeze them. Makes about 18

Halloween

Happy Halloween!Hope you had lot's of fun, lot's of treats, and no bad candy!



Crochet spider pattern will be available at my shop again next year!

Shepherd's Pie, ala Monster

Here's a twist on a classic shepherd's pie. Normally one just spoons/smears mashed potatoes over the top. These spooky little monsters/ghosts are made with a mixture of mashed potatoes, eggs, cheese, and spices; then shaped and decorated. You could even tint the little guys colors to match your party!



Robert was my helper today. Aren't his ghosts spooky?


Pie mixture;
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, etc)
1 pound ground beef
1&1/2 beef gravy
Whatever other veggies you want, like half an onion, a can of tomatoes, etc.

Potato mixture;
2 cups water
2&1/4 cups potato flakes
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
2 eggs


First you want to cook the ground beef in a skillet until you can't see any pink. If you're going to add onions, which I do, cook them with the beef.

Drain it well, then dump it into your pan. I use a 9x13 inch Pyrex, but you can use any baking pan that holds about 2 quarts. Drain and add any canned veggies now.

About this point you need to put the two cups of water on to boil for the potatoes.

Put the frozen veggies (minus some peas or something for eyes) in the skillet with a dash of water, and heat until all visible ice is gone and they are warm to the touch. You could cook them all the way, but you'll cook them in the oven so why bother?

Dump the veggies in the pan and add the gravy. Mix it all up and smooth it down a bit so it's nice and flat for the monsters.

Now that your potato water is boiling, pull it off the stove and add all but the eggs. It should be rather stiff. Give it about five minutes (time to wash that skillet^^) and add the eggs. Once you've done mixing it should be cool enough to touch and work with.

Shape those monsters with your hands (and your little kitchen helpers, as long as they don't try and eat it. Raw eggs, yuck). Decorate with reserved veggies. (I just used peas for the picture. Lima bean eyes, carrot spikes, or corn bumps would be fun.) Any leftover veggies from decorating can just be dumped into the baking pan. Put your monstrous potatoes on top and bake until potatoes are slightly brown (about 20 minutes)

Halloween Costumes

On the one hand, yukata make great Halloween costumes. On the other, I hope nobody freezes. There was frost on the ground this morning! Here are two new yukata; a lovely purple and green combination with one of my pre-tied obi, and a sakura (cherry blossom) one for a Madame Butterfly costume. Both future owners are apparently very sophisticated young ladies; I know I wouldn't have gone as an opera character at eight years old!

Freedooooommmmm!

Today was the last day of class. Whooohooo! In celibration, I have been cleaning my workroom/bedroom, doing my laundry, and eating lunch. You might not think those things are celebratory actions, but seeing how my laundry basket has been full for two weeks, and I have neither cleaned nor eaten lunch in even longer, they are. Summer classes really put you through the wringer.

Fourth of July

Two days in and I'm already praying for it to stop. What genius came up with mini-summer semesters? I'm doing a weeks worth of work every day.
In other news, happy Fourth of July to all my American friends!


Projects I have done for said holiday;

Summer Vacation 8

And here we are, in New Orleans. Home of Mardi Gras, Cafe Du Monde's Beignets (epic), and apparently a lot of rain. This leads me to use the phrase "I got sloshed in New Orleans." Literally^^
We made it home, and I'm ready for a vacation!



Sloshed is the term I would use. It took two days for my shoes to dry!



The rain did not stop the street performers though^^



The original Plague Doctors were medical men who volunteered to treat poor plague victims during the black death. They wore waxed clothing, long cloaks, and beaked masks given to them for their service. The beaks were filled with herbs to prevent the doctor from catching the disease, and the clothes were also supposed to protect them. Simply by being there they may have saved many lives. Sadly, only one known doctor survived the outbreak; all others died of the disease. An ornate version of the mask became popular at the Venetian Carnival, and has been a popular mask design since.

DAIKIN Festival.

Every year the DAIKIN company in Huntsville puts on a huge festival. The company makes a variety of plastics, but the festival includes dances, balloons, and free food. Once again, I didn't get a balloon ride; the lines were literally over a hundred yards long for each balloon. I did however, dance some really ridiculous looking dances, and ate way too much yakisoba and ice cream....



I also made this sunflower Kanzashi today. Maggie wore it to the festival, and it was a good thing I sewed it to a hair elastic; she danced really hard^^

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morichansgarden/7284006306/in/photostream/

Happy Easter!

It's Easter!



Here comes the Easter bunny! At my house, the Easter comes while we are at church.



And Easter means treats, and eggs. Why not both at the same time? These lemonade cookies were fun to paint. Food color paint, that is^^



My new Easter jewelry set. I hadn't tried this kind of bead weaving before. What do you think?

Nashville Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival)

Today was the 2012 Nashville Sakura Matsuri. Here is the official website; nashvillecherryblossomfestival.org. The curse continued; rain chased us from the park as the festival came to a close. Always with the soaking!
There are several Sakura matsuri, or cherry blossom festivals, in America this time of year. Washington DC in particular is a big one, but Hanami (flower viewing) parties are scattered all over the US. This year was special because Nashville received three baby cherry trees grown from cuttings from the original cherry trees given to our countries' capitol by the mayor of Tokyo in 1912. This year marks the 100th aniversary of the first Japanese cherry grove in the US. I know that according to Japanese folklore objects sometimes gain spirits after reaching a hundred years. I wonder if cherry trees do as well?

The last of the cherry blossoms. It rained petals as the wind blew.

These guys were adorable little troublemakers. Their mother would dry them off and they'd be right back in the fountain. It was too cold, but they didn't seem to mind.

This was a demonstration of a tea ceramony. The way of the tea is so complicated!

A sakura kusadama.

Yoyo balloons. You had to hook the string with a wire hook attached to a twisted rice paper rope. Tricky like you wouldn't believe.

First Day of Spring

Spring Equinox is here, and with it the Spring. There are bugs, birds, and baby animals everywhere. Is it any wonder almost every culture and religion has a celibration of new life this time of year? Easter, of course, is what I celebrate; a story of rebirth out of what appears dead. Like a pheonix, let's make this new life better than the old one.

With all the warmth all my flowers are seriously confused. The lilac is blooming almost a month before usual.

I took this picture of cherry blossoms last weekend. Good thing too; they're already falling. Looking forward to the cherry blossom festival this weekend, even if the trees are bare.

Not sure what kind of flower this tsumami kanzashi hairstick is, but I made it anyway.

Also, this strawberry kanzashi. It was a fun hair accessory to make. It seems a little early, but the plants are already blooming. The berries will be here before we know it.

Hina Matsuri (Girl's Day)

Today was hina matsuri, or girl's day, in Japan. It is also known as momo-no-sekku, which means peach festival, because this is when Japanese peaches begin to bloom. Girls all over Japan set out their hina ningyo (dolls) several days or weeks before the actual day. The most important dolls are the Emperor and Empress. Every little girl is supposed to have a set of them. There are ministers and servants, soldiers and attendants, and even house wares that are also part of the display. These are not always there; I only have an emperor and empress mayself. They are often passed down from mother to daughter; some of these dolls are two hundred years old! Many snacks are served, and prayers are said for the girl's growth and happiness. Usually one eats oyster soup, sweet sake, and scattered sushi for girl's day: we had udon noodles with veggies, chicken, and seafood instead. Yum!



Hina matsuri dolls. I made them myself. The hardest part was the the outer kimono; my bunnies were a bit chubby around the middle, so they aren't quite right. It's very hard to get the right silks here in the US, so I used brocades instead.


A pink flower tsumami kanzashi I made for my mother. I can't decide if it is a peach (momo) blossom or a cherry (sakura). Maybe it's neither!


This is a doll yukata I sewed for Maggie's doll. It's made out of scraps from her yukata, so they match. I had to put in a few weird seams though... it's almost like patchwork!


Dango. Traditionally sakura cakes and tricolored mochi are eaten, but I had no pickled sakura leaves and Maggie doesn't like mochi without beanpaste. So I just made tricolored dango instead. Maggie helped make them. She's getting to be a pretty good cook for an eight year old!

St Valentine's Day

So for St. Valentine's day I made all my sister's hair pin kanzashi. My brother Robert and I made one for mom as well. I made up a new recipe for linguini using chicken, tomatoes, and king oyster mushrooms. They really do taste like oysters. A little cheese, some spices and pesto sauce and it was ready to go. Of course for dessert we had chocolate.(^.^)



Holly's hair pin kanzashi. I still think I should have painted a little white something on the middle bead.



Maggie's hair pin kanzashi, plus one for her doll. The big one looks longer than it really is; I have no idea why the photo came out this way

Easter and Mother's Day

Unfortunantly, Easter fell right before finals week this year, and I didn't bother to post anything. So I'll post the Easter stuff along with Mom's present. Crochet is such a good thing to do while studying; put your fingers on auto-pilot and go to town. I never follow patterns any way, and if you over do something a few quick tugs puts you back on track. Gets rid of fidgiting fingers and nail biting too ^^

Mother's Day set

Double soled slippers

Amigurumi bear

Amigurumi bunny. They don't have a face or limbs, but they're so cute. I made almost a dozen of them^^

Turtle amigurumi

stalker amigurumi turtle ^^

Easter fairy bunny

The wings are like a back-pack, and come off