24 January 2011
Favorite photos
Photography is a hobby of mine. I just posted my favorites from the past few years. If you would like to see more, please click on the flickr feed at the top of this blog.
Felted Fingerless gloves
Well all those sewing classes when I was younger are coming in handy. Actually, I used to sew all the time but when I moved to the Virgin Islands, I sold my machine to a friend. I saved my niece's from my parents, where all the kids were playing with it, quite a few months ago. It was sitting in a corner of my bedroom until yesterday. I dusted it off, readusted everything, made some bobbins and spent all afternoon sewing. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Renee and I made 3 pairs for her friends. I made the two above and started 4 more. I will try and post in the next couple of days the instructions. I am thinking of selling these, so if you are interested, let me know.
Here are some other ones that I made before Christmas.
23 January 2011
Calendar: Love & Logic
This is the calendar we made for Renee. She has the choice to do the jobs on it but she has to suffer the consequences of not doing them. Right now she has no time left for TV, Wii, or PC, so we will see how the morning goes. The Love& Logic program is hard, mostly because it requires that you don't get angry when they choose to not do things. Letting go of that is very difficult but we are working on it.
It is -7 degrees today!!! But sunny and clear and very pretty.
Time for French Toast! Happy Sunday.
20 January 2011
Healthy Habits and destressers(is that even a word?)
In an effort to be more healthy and create a "Better Version of Me", I am trying to get more exercise. This weekend, we went to Howard Christianson Nature Center http://kentconservation.org/hcnc.php , me snowshoeing, DD and DH skiing. We had a blast and got to enjoy the outside.
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| Enchanted Forest |
I am also walking the treadmill at least 3 times a week and using Myfitnesspal.com. It is a great way to track calories and exercise. They even have a really cool app for my phone.
In an effort to reduce stress in our house and have Little Miss Naughty, DD, not be so naughty, we created a system for her to earn things like TV, Wii, and PC time. We track all the good things she does everyday on a calendar with stickers. Following the Love & Logic program, we give her the choice of what and if she does anything. To my surprise, it has worked wonderful!!! So far, only a little bit of complaining and NO tantrums since we started on Sunday. She is really enjoying seeing how much time she has accumulated. And my house is clean!!!
10 January 2011
Follow this blog and get a chance to win a Lidia Matticchio Bastianich cookbook
I received two copies of this for Christmas. One was autographed, which I am keeping. The other got slightly damaged when our Christmas tree fell over. Lucky for you, I cannot return it. But it is still in good condition as the damage is limited to the back cover and the lower corner of some of the back pages. It is a wonderful cookbook with gorgeous photos of Italy. I plan on drawing the winning name from the followers of this blog on February 28th. Good luck!!
Paella
Paella is one of my favorite dishes. The flavor combinations are amazing and you can pretty much clean out your fridge to make it. While I was working out on Saturday, I was watching Daisy on Create TV. She made two paellas, one with chorizo, chicken, and seafood and one the was all veggies. I remembered that I had bought some really nice spanish chorizo at Costco that I hadn't used yet. This paella has charizo, chicken, mushrooms, onions, manzilla olives, capers, and peas.
I should add that Paella is made with Achiote (annetto) seeds or oil. I have a hard time finding it but I did find that Knorr makes a powdered achiote and corriander that works great.
08 January 2011
Great Day for Soup
My friend Betsy made Carrot Ginger soup this week and it sounded wonderful. So, I thought I would give it a shot. I have been on a ginger kick this week and made ginger tea from fresh ginger for the first time. I love cutting into fresh ginger as it has an amazing lemony smell. I was going to make the version of Carrot Ginger soup that Bets made (vegan) but I remembered I had some homemade turkey broth in the freezer that I wanted to use.
It is very cold today but sunny. When I checked this morning at 11:00am it was only 16 degrees. It has now warmed up to 21 degrees!!! This soup is great for a cold day as the ginger has a wonderful warming effect and it makes the whole house smell incredible. I enjoyed looking out my kitchen window at the snow glittering in the sunshine while I was cooking. Today is a good day.
CARROT GINGER SOUP
INGREDIENTS
1 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
2 lbs. of carrots, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced
fresh ginger peeled and sliced thin (this is to taste, I used approximately 1/2 cup sliced but you can use more or less)
1/4 cup cooking sherry, dry white wine, or water
8 cups of broth, chicken or turkey
1 14 oz can of light coconut milk
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
fresh ground pepper
fluer de sel or other course sea salt
in a heavy sauce pan 7 quarts or larger, saute onions in olive oil on low heat until translucent.
add garlic and saute until caramelized
pour in sherry and deglaze pan
add carrots and broth
increase heat to medium high until boiling and then reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour
let cool for 15 minutes and then puree in small batches in either a blender or food processor.
stir in coconut milk
garnish with fresh ground pepper, fleur de sel, and pine nuts
The following is the appoximate breakdown of nutritional information.
07 January 2011
Paying it forward
I am a firm believer in the power of random acts of kindness. I was pleasantly surprised to read on a coworkers blog about the notes of encouragement I had posted on the mirror at work months ago. I believe it just said "you are beautiful the way you are". I also try to pay for the person behind me in the drive-thru once a month and even though I can't see the effect it has, I can imagine that it makes their day brighter and that makes me feel like I am making a small difference. See the link for info on operation beautiful. http://operationbeautiful.com/send-in-your-notes/nce.
Someone hacked my Twitter account. I have deactivated since I do not use it anyway. Please disregard any messages you may have received from me on Twitter
--
Tracie
Natalie Dee
I love Natalie Dee. I try to check her site everyday. She is quirky but funny. http://www.nataliedee.com/archives/2011/Jan/
06 January 2011
Got blogger for my droid
So excited because I can blog from my phone now. A much as I enjoy the holidays, I am glad they are over. Work has been super busy. I am looking forward to staying home this weekend. I am going to try and make ginger carrot soup! Time for a martini and some mindless tv. Caio
New hobby?
My friend Kaleena told me how to make these. So, I made all of these, plus a few more, as gifts for Christmas. I have already had requests from friends of friends to make more. As soon as things calm down as home, I will be all over that. They are super easy to make and lets be use my creative side.
Happy New Year
I can't believe how little I posted the past few months. This is basically a test because I seem to be having some issues.
06 August 2010
31 July 2010
28 July 2010
27 July 2010
Lemon Cucumbers and Refridgerator Pickles
These cucumbers are so good and refreshing during the hot summer months.
Thin slice on madoline slicer 3 cucumbers, one lemon, and one small onion.
Layer in a glass dish. Add 1/2 white vinegar, 1/3 lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of sugar. optional 1 teaspoon of rosemary or dill. Refridgerate. They will be good in a couple of days and keep about a month
This was my first attempt at pickles and I hope they turn out. I just used a recipe for refridgerator pickles that I found online and of course add more garlic and some hot pepper flakes. I also did dilly beans. I am going to try real canning in a couple of weeks.
Summer Squash and Tomato Tart
Summer Squash and Tomato Tart
This was easy but time comsuming--so yummy and pretty.
line tart pan with cresent roll dough
spread on pesto
mix one cup of ricotta with one egg and spread that over pesto layer
layer 8 oz of Gruyer cheese sliced or shreadded
slice thin with a mandoline slicer one medium yellow squash (or zucchini, one medium onion, and two medium tomatos
saute squash, onions, and one clove of garlic in olive oil with one teaspoon of rosemary until slightly tender
alternately layer in a circular pattern squash and tomato
bake in 400 degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.
23 July 2010
CSA finally kicking in!!
Wow, we got a huge delivery this week. Cucumbers, pickles, green peppers, hot peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, green beans, wax beens and basil.
So last night I made a huge amount of pesto; cukes and onions marinated in lemon, vinegar, sugar and rosemary; cucumber tea sandwiches; and a mock lasange with zucchini, pesto and tomato!!
Last week we also go a lot of cukes so I made a cold soup I found in Martha Stewart Living. It called for buttermilk but I used heavy cream. In the past I haven't liked buttermilk, but I bought some yesterday and am going to make the soup again. It was sooo yummy.
All I want to do is cook!!!!! I will take more pics this weekend. I love summer harvests.
So last night I made a huge amount of pesto; cukes and onions marinated in lemon, vinegar, sugar and rosemary; cucumber tea sandwiches; and a mock lasange with zucchini, pesto and tomato!!
Last week we also go a lot of cukes so I made a cold soup I found in Martha Stewart Living. It called for buttermilk but I used heavy cream. In the past I haven't liked buttermilk, but I bought some yesterday and am going to make the soup again. It was sooo yummy.
All I want to do is cook!!!!! I will take more pics this weekend. I love summer harvests.
09 June 2010
28 May 2010
Tracie
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21 May 2010
09 May 2010
02 May 2010
03 April 2010
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