Just a quick hello to say I am still making jewelry. Like anyone was waiting with bated breath, right?
Anyhoo, the urge to create, like probably everything in life, has the usual ebb and flow, predicated upon the newness of the beads in my stash. Take, for instance, the peach aventurine in the bottom photo, my most recent strand purchase. Look how I found multiple ways to play with it. Such fun!
As for the top photo, save that teeny bit in the left corner, I made every bracelet pictured! Lots of turquoise, of course, some larimar and jade (colored), emerald, quartz, more aventurine, citrine & sodalite, and agate. There aren’t enough days in the week to wear them all, and multiply that number by ten and you probably have all that I’ve made and given as gifts, too.
Happy Winter Days! We are blissfully over a very localized blizzard (What do you mean there is no snow on the West side?!) and horrible deep freeze, lasting over a week and preventing any serious Juniper walks. On one occasion, we were out shoveling, and she had to wee, so she bounded out in her usual happy fashion only to realize the subzero temperatures by walking on her hind legs to spare her front paws from freezing. How is that for funny and sad in one gesture?
Here’s a hoot and holler for my best batch of marmalade, ever! As you hopefully can see, I used orange – blood and navel, lemon, and grapefruit, each of which is discernible, a perfectly balanced medley. I also added slivers of zest, as I only wanted the pith from half of the fruits. Good gracious – the color, the texture, the flavor. I am seriously in love with it. Greg is, too.
Costco had giant jars of nacho cheese at a very nice low, low price, so, of course, this nacho lover had to bring some home. I dolled it up with chipotles and pureed beans, this bit of salsa, and, of course, chopped slices of pickled jalapenos, for the perfect distribution of flavor in every bite. Happiness and memories of paper boats with light bulb warmed chips, layers of glorious glop, and fingers crossed for a generous spoonful of peppers when catching a movie at the Westminster Mall as a whipper-snapping teen.
I have really refined my soap-making these past few years, narrowing down my favorite scents and oil blends, even creating a most fabulous shampoo. Those above even have prickly pear juice from our own fruits, which makes for super nourishing bars. I’ve also taken to adding zinc oxide to both for all the skin and hair benefits (scroll down to Table 1 and take note of topical uses).
Further proof that everything in life is a work in progress, I added a little too much zinc to the standard soap, and it leaves a thin film on the bars in between uses. We’ll see if I can make it disappear, peeps!
Last look and a link to very fine listen of my favorite Thin Lizzy song…
Hiya! After having quite a few friends and family ask how I make my super creamy barista style almond milk, I am here with a tutorial. There are a lot of directions, but don’t worry. It really isn’t very difficult.
First off, to toot my own horn, this almond milk is the best you will likely ever taste. Second, unlike many store bought milks, you choose the sweetness. I choose not at all, so you’ll have to figure out what you’d like to try and in what proportions on this front. Third, this milk doesn’t separate in the bottle or your favorite hot beverage. Finally, if lectins from almond skins make you break out in a rash, like they do my husband, or upset your tummy, like me, use blanched, as I do. They cost more but are totally worth it.
Now, for supplies:
A high speed blender is an absolute must
Large – 8 cup – glass measure
rubber gloves
glass container(s)
clean nut milk bag, cotton bag, or t-shirt
almonds
filtered water
salt
xanthan gum
Just in case you are thinking, like I once did, that using your favorite stainless steel water bottle is a fine option for storage, please don’t. I have zero understanding of the chemistry, but no matter how freshly sanitized with boiling hot water, our precious milk promptly went bad. Giant sad face. Use glass. Read all of the directions, then get the proper sizes washed and ready.
Okay, let’s go! To make what we use over a week, we use these measurements, but, obviously, scale to your needs. The ratio is 1 part almonds to 4 parts water.
4 cups almonds, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons salt (just over 1/4 teaspoon per cup of almonds)
3 cups boiling water, plus a little more
13 cups water
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (1/8 teaspoon per cup of almonds)
Now that you’ve decided on your ratio, wash your hands. If you’re using gloves, wash the gloves, too. Don’t chance the milk going bad. Put the almonds and salt (to help preserve it; I don’t know how it will last without it, and it won’t taste salty) in the blender. The almonds need to be room temperature, or your yield will drop. Add the boiling water. Let sit one minute.
While the almonds, salt, and boiling water sit (we’re softening them up and hopefully killing any stray nasties), pour the other bit of boiling water over whatever cloth you’ve decided to use and your glass containers. Swirl the water to get the sides and rim. Pour out. Add three cups of water to the blender, and turn on high. Blend for one minute.
Turn off the blender, and carefully pour the thick mixture into your bag or t-shirt over the large measuring cup. It will be HOT!! Use gloves if you are sensitive to heat. The amount you pour will vary, depending on the volume you made and size of the bag. This picture shows about half.
VERY gently squeeze the bag. If you are too aggressive at first, the almond solids can literally burst through the seams or the fabric. Squeeze until you feel the majority of milk is in the measuring cup. Pour that milk into your clean glass container. Add more of the almond water mix, if you have any remaining. Gently squeeze again. Pour into the glass container(s). Repeat until there’s no more almond mix. Pour some of the remaining water in the blender to get every bit off the sides and pour it over the solids in your bag. Now, pour the remaining water through the almond pulp, in whatever proportion works best, and pour that into your glass container. It’s okay to be agressive at this point. Use those muscles. We want to get every last drop!
Once you feel you’ve gotten all that you can, wash out the blender container. The next step is to add the xanthan gum. If you’re like us and use 16 cups of water, this will be done in two batches. Since there is less almond and more water with each progressive squeeze, we make sure to mix all of our glass containers equally into the blender, so none of the bottles are watery. Don’t worry about being exact, just do the best you can.
Alright, your blender should be full of almond milk. Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the top. If you are doing the full recipe, this will be 1/4 teaspoon. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting for one minute. Any higher, and you’ll make a frothy mess. Pour proportionally into your glass container(s). See photo below. Pour the remaining milk into the blender. Add the xanthan gum. Blend on the lowest setting for one minute. Fill your containers.
As you can see, there might be a little more than you initially intended. A bonus to drink first, since you probably did not pour boiling water over the container. Refrigerate. Use within a week. Most of all, ENJOY!
Hello there! Happy Friday afternoon. It’s been a while since I posted many of my own words, one part absence of them, two parts business. My friend Bebe and I did a whole bunch of beading, with bookmarks, tassels, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces made. There’s one more set in a holding pattern while I decide if they are quite right.
Another bit of business has been our Taos house. I cannot tell you how many iterations of the design I have made over the past two years since buying the land. Fifteen? Twenty? Thankfully, my wonderful husband got me a design program for the computer, as all the first tries, maybe even half of them, were done with sharp pencil and ruler on graph paper. Oof. I made fine work of several erasers.
Just this week, I landed on the layout of our dreams, and it is now in the pre-fab designers hands. She will work out the finer points of passive construction, then sometime early next year it will rise from the ground in 7-10 days.
As for the design itself, I will likely keep secret until the big reveal, but I will tell you that it has everything Greg and I have ever dreamed of in 2200 square feet, including a slightly over-sized single garage: two wings separated by the main living space, a large covered patio, an office for me (with a view window for Juniper), a cozy guest room; and a multi-use space for working out, Greg’s desk, and guitar jam center. Truly, all the things!
A lot of the design was driven by the near tragedy of our dear friends’ son. He was in a horrible car crash three years ago and is mostly wheelchair bound. We realized something similar could happen to us or a beloved guest at any time, so we might as well try to future-proof by modifying and stretching every space for wheelchair access. It isn’t difficult, but it does take more thought and a little more money. I’ve got a crazy spread sheet with estimates of the highest average cost for every job and detail I could conjure in hopes of not being terribly surprised when the bids roll in. Fingers crossed!
So there you have it. Time well spent, I think. Now a little summer dreaming in the depths of cold. I can’t remember if I shared this photo before. We suspect the previous owners were quite short, and this doorway from the patio is a perfect example. In order to keep Greg from knocking his noggin, I bought these cute flags. They do a fine job and are super cheerful, too.
The last of our garden tomatoes, before and after roasting into a delicious soup.
The first year since moving to our Colorado house that the garden aspens actually turned sunset hues. They’re usually killed by frost or snow before the opportunity arises. What a show!
Juniper looks so little when she sleeps.
Jett came for a visit. We gorged on Italian food and homemade ice cream, shopped, walked, and puzzled. It was a great day!
Doing a lot of meat over shredded cabbage, as of late. This is a middle eastern take on ground chicken, with tomato, onion, raisins, and hot honey pinon nuts. It was delicious.
Have you watched Sprung on freevee? If you haven’t and are a laugh out loud and nice show person like me, get to it! It’s a super fun series about three people released early from prison because of COVID. I’ve watched it twice and highly recommend the same.
I am holding a John Wayne casserole made after seeing it on the show. It has a biscuit base, ground beef, cheese, and a million different iterations after that. In keeping with old school casserole vibes, I added a can of cream of mushroom soup, then a mixture of garlic and chile powders, tomato, green chile, and corn. Tasty!! I’d make it again in a heartbeat.
When Greg and I were in Wisconsin, we had some really good maple pecan fudge. Its only defect being it was a bit too sweet for us. I couldn’t get it out of my head and decided it could benefit from the bitterness of chocolate. I made a batch this past weekend, dividing the basic five-minute fudge recipe, two thirds with white chocolate chips and 3/4 teaspoon maple flavoring (real maple syrup was a major fail), and one third with the usual chocolate chips, and layering the two. It is amazing peeps!
Bought a jar of wonderful creosote and rosemary cream and a delightfully scented candle from Sonoran Rosie. So pretty and smells like the desert in bloom.
