new idea: chili cheese burritos!

originally, i had set out to use my leftover chili and make chili mac. but instead, i came up with the chili cheese burrito!

i had to stop eating this glorious thing to take a picture!

here’s how i made this:

first, i sauteed some diced onions in some olive oil.  when they were nice and yellow, i added diced red peppers and jalapenos.  after a few minutes of cooking, i then seasoned them with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and cumin.  next, i added the leftover chili.  while the chili was heating, i warmed a tortilla.  next i diced up some cabbage and fresh cheddar cheese.  then i built the burrito, first layering the cabbage for some cruchiness, then the chili mix, then topping with sour cream and cheddar cheese.  i next wrapped it up, heated up a skillet with a bit of olive oil, and seared the sides of the burrito.  because of all the liquid inside, you’ll have to eat this monster with a fork and knife!

enjoy!

<3 kt

Vintage handmade aprons

i love wearing aprons!  these are handmade by Boojiboo and they are super cute!  they are available at her etsy.com page and are only $28.75!

homemade parmesan croutons

i have a leftover day old baguette that i do not want to go to waste.  in these times, and with economy, streatching food and money is on everyones’ minds. i thought i would share my homemade parmesan crouton recipe!  you can use any type of bread (hot dog or hamberger buns, sandwich bread, english muffins, bagels, etc).

directions

preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  take your day old bread and slice it into small pieces.  take a baking pan and sprinkle with olive oil.  add bread slices, then sprinkle with more olive oil.  next top with spices (i used garlic powder, paprika, and dried basil) and fresh parmesan .  bake for 8-10 minutes.

throw on top of a salad or some soup and enjoy!

<3 kt

jalapeno strawberry jam and cornbread

i have been adventurous lately, wanting to make everything from scratch.  needing a cornbread fix, i decided that i would make some along with homemade jam. 

seeming how it was going along side cornbread, i decided to add a bit of spice to it! here’s what i did:

jalapeno strawberry jam

ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3/4 pint of strawberries
• 1/4 cup of diced jalapenos

directions

combine the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. add the strawberries & diced jalapenos and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate. (i put one in the freezer.) pour very carefully into 1 pint canning jar and either seal or keep refrigerated. use immediately, or follow proper canning guidelines.

*i wanted to make a fresh jam that did not use any gelatin.  i was inspired by Barefoot Contessa a.k.a. Ina Garten’s recipe

i let the jam settle overnight.

this morning, i made some healthy cornbread to go along with the jam:

healthy cornbread

ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 2 eggs, beaten

directions

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, soda and salt. stir in oil, honey, yogurt, and eggs. do not over mix, stir only until well blended. pour batter into prepared pan. bake for 20-25 minutes.  (about 3/4 of the way into baking, i coated the top of the bread with butter!)

spread the jam on top of a warm piece of cornbread and enjoy!

<3 kt

Periodic Table Table

When Theodore Gray read Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks he misread a passage and thought there was actually a Periodic Table table in the Kensington Science Museum, he soon discovered there was none and felt a void needed to be filled….oh and he needed a new conference table. So he set to work with a pantograph engraving machine that he got at a hospital auction and created a table depicting the entire Periodic Table of Elements.

But of course making a table with the Periodic Table of Elements on it isnt enough, he actually filled each slot with samples of its respective element (Uranium in the coffee table?!).

To see the whole process visit his website.

[link via Current]

<3 seanalyn

New theory, anything is cute in Sackboy form

Today I learned that crafty geekette Maggie Wang just produced another amazing custom crochet Sackboy in the form of Prince of Persia.

Sack Prince of Persia

This adorable little creation is amazing because of the sheer detail put into it. Maggie sells custom Sackboys for $50 which made me ponder what I would want in Sackboy form. My first desire would probably be a Watchmen set followed by a Girls Next Door trio. Although Im convinced anything would be cute in Sackboy form…hell a Dick Cheney Sackboy would probably still be cute! What would you want in Sackboy form?

<3 seanalyn

yes, it’s Valentine’s day

by this time, you should definitely have something for valentine’s day.  here are some more over the top ideas:

for the gal/guy that has everything:

it’s an edible 24 karat gold lollipop.  that’s right, a champagne flavored lollipop with gold flakes inside.  now that’s original! for approximately $7.99 each, this gift will surely ‘WOW’ your loved one!

edible has other fantastic creative treats as well.  for instance, their scorpian vodka is an eye catching gift! equipt with a real edible scorpian, it makes any regular martini into something adventerous and epic!

comes in red or pink

a super cute heart watch can sweeten up anyone!  this Paul Frank watch is full of love.  it retails at $49.99 each and can be found at popdeluxe.net!

MY VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT:

i am making my boyfriend a baked gift, which is always appreciated, very cheap in cost, and easy to make!

yum

strawberry topped sugar cookie:

i made my own sugar cookie mix, but you can just buy pre-made sugar cookie dough. bake as directed.

*you can use a cookie cutter to make hearts.  i used an adorable heart dish that i found and instead of making cookies, i made a heart shaped sugar cookie bar.

the topping –

• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream

mix all of this and top each of your cookies or bars.  next, cut up strawberries and bon appetite!

refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving!

happy valentine’s day

<3 katie

BSG Cylon Knit Hat

Previous I wrote about how my friend Steph made the most amazing Battlestar Galactica beanie based off of Starbucks mandala aka the Eye of Jupiter. Well I just came across yet another crafty BSG fan who has made the most amazing and adorable cylon hat youve ever seen.

The Happiest Cylon Beanie

A knitted by a crafty little geekster by the name of Wonderfallz, this pattern is so frakin awesome (although I’ll have to make sure I done wear it riding my bike. To make your own Cylon beanie download the pattern for free here.

Happy knitting all you fraking toasters!

<3 seanalyn

Homemade Acorn Flour

Recently I passed through my hometown of Bakersfield and immediately my allergies kicked into high gear. This time of year the key culprits are almonds and acorns. There was an acorn orchard not to far from my house and I remember walking through it to get home crunching acorns shells under my feet. With all those acorns lying about, I wish back then that I had this recipe for homemade acorn flour.

Eric and Julia of Ramshackle Solid recently posted up a step by step guide for acorn flour which could then be used to make delicious things such as acorn pancakes, muffins, cookies, etc. Im drooling right now.

The process seems a bit labor some, but for someone with an abundance of acorns in their area, this seems like a great healthy treat.

[link via BoingBoing]

Cheese Making 101- Paneer

Yesterday I was perusing one of my favorite sites Apartment Therapy when I came across an entry about the best cheese making kits which got me thinking about making cheese at home. Why have I never done this?! I guess its because I thought it was something that could not be undertaken in ones private kitchen without fear of creating some strange super mold that would bring about the end of mankind. While pursuing the list of at home cheese kits drooling at the thought of fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese I saw a link about making Indian Paneer cheese at home! Knowing my boyfriend’s love of Saag Paneer I decided to try my hand at homemade cheese.

Using the recipe from Apartment Therapy I went about making my own fresh cheese. The one adjustment I made was to use low fat milk instead of whole milk to make the cheese a bit lighter (next time I plan on trying with soy milk to see if that works). To my amazement making paneer is incredibly easy, in fact so easy I think Im just going to start making my own infused cottage cheeses from home (to make cottage cheese instead of paneer you just skip the pressing step). Basically if you can boil milk in a pot you can make cheese, who knew?! Just make sure to heat it slowly and stir so that you do not burn the cheese.

How the cheese should appear after pressing

Tips

If you do not have cheese cloth, just double up some sturdy clean paper towels. Just make sure that you dont get any paper towel bits on the cheese ;)

Add a little salt to the milk while you are boiling it to give it a little extra flavor. You can also try throwing in lemongrass, dill, or other seasonings.

If youre looking for something to use your paneer in, try making Saag Paneer which is almost as easy as making the paneer itself!

Saag Paneer

Ingredients

1 large bunch of fresh spinach washed and cleaned

1/2 tbl sp tumeric

1/2 tbl sp garam masala

1/2 tbl sp paprika

1 tbl sp salt

1 garlic clove crushed

1/4 cup water

1 chili (either dried or fresh, you can add a second one if you like it spicy)

8 oz fresh paneer (the recipe above for paneer will make about 8 oz) cut into cubes

3 tbl sps Ghee or unclarified butter (if you absolutely cannot find Ghee, a little unsalted butter will work fine).

In a pan cook the first 8 ingredients until the spinach has completely wilted. Then remove the pot from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Transfer all contents of pot including liquid into a blender and puree until smooth (but not liquid!). Then in a pan, heat the ghee and saute the paneer until light brown. Add the spinach mixture to the pan and cook for a few more minutes. Taste to see how it is, from here you can add some chili powder for extra spice or a bit more tumeric or masala to add extra flavor. Serve immediately with rice.

So there you have it, easy homemade cheese and homemade delicious Saag Paneer. All in all everything was incredibly easy to make taking about an hour total. As I mentioned in a previous post, I would include photos, but my camera is broken right now, so once that gets fixed I will update this with photos.