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.

Spiced Tea and Shawls

It's that time of year when hot drinks and warm clothes aren't just luxuries; they're necessities. So I have this nice recipe for my spiced tea and added this new shawl made by a technique that I invented/taught myself. After all, there's nothing new under the sun, so maybe I just re-invented it.^^ It's kind of a cross between crochet and weaving, so I have no idea what to call it. Suggestions?

Makes about a pint of spiced tea mix

18 oz Tang (or other sweetened orange drink mix)
1 dry unsweetened lemonade packet
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
3/4 cup instant tea


Mix. That's it; just put it in a bowl and  mix. To brew you just add a heaping spoonful to a coffee cup with some hot water.

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

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)

Shibori Tie- dye.

So, my latest children's yukata order is made of this lovely faux-shibori.



What is shibori? Shibori is a Japanese tie-dying technique, typically done in blues on white, but other colors are also used on occasion. This is not your 'I made a rainbow t-shirt at camp' kind of tie dye though. The fabric I used doesn't look like tie dye at all, does it? Well, it's not, because it's fake shibori made through fabric printing. However, it could be made through shibori methods. Each dot would be tied off to prevent the fabric from absorbing dye. Really good shibori can have thousands of tiny little dots, each tied off separately to produce patterns and motifs. Varying the sizes and shapes of the tied off areas make different designs, square and round shapes being the most common in shibori. At one point kimono made with certain patterns of shibori dying were considered as formal as a tuxedo in western Europe, because it could take weeks of work making all of those tiny dots!

If you would like to see pictures of someone's modern shibori work, or you live in California and are interested in learning how to make your own, visit Susan O'Fennell at Oriba Shibori She also has some cool links on her blog as well^^

Cosplay Costumes

I just finished this Rurouni Kenshin Cosplay kimono. I can't wait to see my customer in full gear^^

Happy Birthday to Me....

Today was my birthday. Odd things happen on my birthday; odd smells from the kitchen, getting trapped in my room for a couple hours so the littles can 'decorate', bizarrely creative presents such as tissue paper dolls. I got a lemon layer/caramel frosting/fudge layer cake. Kind of an odd combo, but it's cake....so I ate it!


Maggie and I also made pie. A tiny, one person pie, out of a single apple.
Basically;
1) cut off top of apple, then hollow it out. I used a grapefruit spoon^^
2, cut up apple bits, leaving shell and top intact.Put apple shell in muffin liner.
3, mix bits in a cereal bowl with a teaspoon of honey and some apple pie spice
4, stuff the hollowed apple shell with the bits, put top back on, and rinse the bowl
5, add a quarter cup of flour and about a tablespoon of butter to the bowl, mixing until crumbly. Add a bit of water, until it becomes a ball. Flatten it out and plop it on top. Put the whole thing on a pan. bake at 350 F until brown. Cool and eat warm^^

The apple pie shell.feel free to trash any seeds and stems. Yuck!

The finished mini pie. Not the prettiest, but hey, it's just going to get eaten. And how did it taste, you ask? I have no idea; Maggie ate it all before I could get any. She claims it tasted like pie, so I'm going to go with that.

Amigurumi

Amigurumi is a Japanese word simply meaning knit/crocheted toy. Basically amigurumi are stuffed animals, dolls, etc which is made by knitting/crocheting the form of the toy and then stuffing. The method of making these toys is not Japanese at all; however, those that knit or crochet often use the word amigurumi simply because saying something like 'a stuffed, crocheted cat' is a mouthful.
Amigurumi are usually worked in the round, which means instead of working back and forth like you see in afghans and sweaters, you work around and around. Amigurumi have very few if any seams; often the only stitching involved is the attaching of limbs. They come in as many shapes and sizes as any other soft toy, and are gaining popularity with both handicrafters and toy collectors of all ages.
I crochet, not knit, so the only example pictures I have are of crocheted amigurumi. I can't knit something that doesn't look like a cat chewed it to save my life! However, if you search for images under amigurumi, you can see many different types. Some are really creative, like an amigurumi Spock^^



An amigurumi Curious George. He's over 60 cm (two feet) tall, and does NOT have a tail. Curious George is a rather odd monkey like that^^



A mouse amigurumi, roughly 10 cm (4 inches) tall