Knitting, Singing, the Universe and all....

While dilly-dallying along an aisle at the Good Food Store, I saw the Nori Sheets, and said to Jon, have you ever made sushi?" and he replied that he had, long ago. Into the basket went the Nori! We wheeled over to the meat counter and bought 1 crab leg, flew over to produce to pick up a cucumber and a couple of avocados, and found a bamboo rolling sheet in the gadget section. At home, we set about cooking rice, slicing vegies, and taste-testing the crab. Then came the "rolling"....... the first try was a bit lumpy because we stuffed lots of filling in! We also realized that we were not going to be able to do the "inside out" wrap like California Rolls, with the rice on the outside. Second roll was still a bit funny-looking, so we went to the internet and googled "sushi +rolling", and discovered a more efficient "loading" technique, as well as an understanding that the "rolling mat" is really used for "shaping" more th

Memorial Day Weekend: Jon and I packed the pups and the Boler for the first "camping" trip of the season: for the Jones FamilyGotTogetherAgain days. Yes, sometimes by the end of the weekend, we have been smooshed all together just like that! :-) We brought doglets, Zuzu and Pippin, (my brother)Todd and Nancy brought Zip and new addition to the dog-cousins, Australian Shepherd-Border Collie cross, Sis. Chip and Sharon brought both their Chocolate Lab, Quigley and their little fluffy white girl, Lily. There were only 3 human cousins this year, Kellie and Izaya and Eli. O.k., maybe it doesn't really count if you go "camping" on your Mom's front lawn... but she DOES live right on the shore of Canyon Ferry Lake near Helena Montana, I got more knitting done on Jon's arch-shaped socks - one down, and the second one half way done. It's a bit hard to see, but the pattern I'm using creates a bias-shaped fabric that pulls the bottom of the sock snug again

Thanks to friend, Dianne T. for finding this wonderful video to watch with your morning coffee.....

A knitting friend of mine gave me this recipe a few months ago, saying, "These are the Best Muffins in the Universe. I can make them on three hours of sleep and hung over!" I have to agree. The technique is simple. The night before, put 1 cup of sugar, the peel of 3 limes (or 1 large orange, or 2 lemons!-take the peel off with a vegetable peeler)and about 2 inches of peeled, fresh ginger, cut into hunks in a bowl on the counter. Smoosh the peel and ginger into the sugar. Place a stick of butter on the counter next to the bowl and go to bed! In the morning, go straight to the kitchen and turn on the oven to 350-375 degrees. Make coffee. Drink coffee while setting out silicone muffin cups (this makes about a dozen - if you use a muffin tin, grease the cups well!) Now, buzz the sugar, peel, and ginger in the food processor until the peel is just little flecks and the sugar is fragrant with citrus! Add the butter. Buzz some more, then add 2 eggs, one at a time while continuing t

Have you ever thought about making your own mustard? You know, the spread of champions; the stripe for your hot dog; the squirt of devil for your boiled eggs..... It's much easier than pie, and here's how to do it~ Place equal amounts of mustard seeds and vinegar in a jar, along with a peeled, halved clove of garlic. I use 1/2 cup seeds to 1/2 cup vinegar. Cover the jar and let it sit for a day or two in the refrigerator. This allows the mustard seeds to plump and soften, as well as absorb some of the lovely garlic flavor. When you are ready to "prepare" your mustard, and you have about 5 minutes to spare, discard the garlic cloves and scrape the remaining seed-sludge into your blender. Add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. salt, 2-3 TBS water, and a good sized blob (maybe a tablespoon) of honey. Blend it to smithereens, or until it becomes pasty, which ever comes first. Last of all, store it in a lovely upcycled mustard crock - or a jar of your choice! in the fridge and use within a c

How do you clean out the fridge? Here's how I do! First, throw out anything that's too limp/moldy or smells like decomposing matter.... This is what I was left with today: some Italian grain "sausage", leftover pureed tomatoes,a few "shrunken" cherry tomatoes, a handful of baby 'bella mushrooms, half a bunch of celery, some garlic, and an onion. I added a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas from the pantry. Swirl about a Tbs. of grapeseed oil in the pot, and saute the celery, onion, garlic, and mushrooms...Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and puree, then spice it up! Since the grain-sausage was "italian-style", I used generous amounts of basil and oregano, and added a bay leaf. The tomato puree was juicy enough, but I would have added a cup or two of broth or water if necessary. Add a loaf of "Five Minutes a Day" bread (today's loaf had fermented in the fridge for about 5 days! and it was yummy-sour!)and here's dinner.... Viola! H

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so Jon made a Rhubarb-Cardamom pie & I packed up Zuzu & Pippin and off we went! First stop: Jon's mom, Cindy's house in the woods near Flathead Lake. Since we had gotten a late start, Cindy graciously cooked her own Mother's Day brunch (Dutch Baby Pancake, strawberries with sweet cream, fresh pineapple and maple sausage patties - yum!) so we could hang out and Jon could help her a bit with the computer..... Pippin is happiest playing ball with Denny. This is after he chased the cat, broke the lamp, drank the "Liquid Fence" solution (deer aversion spray), and spent another 20 minutes under the porch brawling with the other cat! He's fine, by the way - "liquid fence" is made with "putrefied eggs" so he was just more pungent than usual-?! Zuzu, on the other hand, was a perfect grand-dog, and distributed unlimited kisses in honor of the day. We shared some pie, packed up again and off to Robbin's mom

TAKE BACK YOUR FOOD!!! Eat LOCAL (pictured: Missoula Farmer's Market - Opening Day May 2nd, 2009) Isn't it lovely? and Healthy!! Genetically Modified Foods. Top five GM Foods: Soy, Canola, Corn, Cottonseed, and Sugar from Sugar Beets This is why eating organic is so important. "Organic" = "the way food was grown/cultivated for thousands of years". Genetically Modified Foods are sterile crops. And they "infect" other crops (through wind-blown seeds) - cross-contaminated crops can become sterile as well. Who benefits from sterile seed? One multi-national company owns all GM seed companies, as well as several chemical companies that produce herbicides to kill the superweeds the GM seed have encouraged. Yes you read that correctly - one company - Monsanto - owns ALL GM seed - this is the company that brought you Agent Orange, RoundUp, Aspartame, and Posilac! Monsanto would love to sell you seed every year rather than allow you the ability to save see