Cooking was always assisted, a collaborative effort, until I hit my tweens and prepared for my first solo flight. The recipe was an apple tart from some teen magazine. The recipe looked interesting, and different from my families “apple slices”. After making sure we had the ingredients and getting permission, I took over the kitchen. With a few questions to translate a sophisticated cooking term or two, I was off and running. Cutting in butter, rolling out pastry and slicing apples thinly to scatter across the dough. The recipe was ok, nothing ground shaking, not any better then mom’s apple slices, but this was my recipe, my decision to make something new and to explore a recipe for the first time.

I moved on quickly, exploring cookbooks and magazines. Happiness for me was being tucked into the library , the carrels in the back with a stack of recipes. I went vegetarian for the first time not long after. What better way to try new recipes but drastically alter your diet. I’m sure it caused a ruckus at home as i cooked my own dinner, dirtying up a dozen more dishes in my efforts. The family never complained though, and my mom was an active participant as i introduced her to the exotic tastes of blueberry cheese blintzes and Indian food.

That’s how I started. Looking back I’m glad I didn’t get Easy Bake Oven. Instead I was given skills to last my my entire life. A nice trade off for a pink plastic box with a light bulb.

The event has grown leaps and bounds each year with new vendors, new sponsors and fun craft demonstrations. In some ways each show is a reunion as we see favorite vendors, chat up old friends and mingle with other craft enthusiasts. It is an adventure starting with the morning line up to get a swag bag, leading to the rush into the doors and the search for the coolest craft yet.

I usually share my favorites with you often there is a trend. Many of the same vendors return year after year, and delight me every show, but this year it is a little different. After the show, I reflected on the vendors that were missing, wondering what was up. Some vendors, some products just make an impression on you, and when they are gone, you wonder what happened.

I was looking for you Trixie Bakes, Chylo Creations, and that vendor with the glass pedastels. I was suprised not to see the aweome bags done by Mugwump (??) and wanted to share with Sunnie the plush marshmallows of Scrumptious Delight. Perhaps I just missed them in my wanderings. But it was a good reminder of how temporary the craft business can be.

On the other hand, I spent more at this show then I ever have before. I bought a couple of awesome nalgene bottles from Creation Station, plastic chem vials with stands, and mini magnet boards. (The bottles are water bottles, but I want to go back to see if they have more, could be great bottles for bubble bath.)

I replaced my missing wallet with a nice one from Maluhia I brought home some trim and a desire to go to Midori’s outlet. I fell in love with these letter press cards at Bison Bookbinding and Letterpress but refuse to buy more cards until I have more people to write to. I almost came home with .

I still have an unnatural bias against socktopuses,but the population is under control with them only infesting one booth.

In the end it was a good mix of the old and new, and I’m looking forward to December’s show.

(want to see previous picks? Dec ’08 August ’09)

Sometimes I take pictures of your food. Admonishing you not to take a bite until i’ve gotten a great picture. Two saturdays ago with Sunnie I took it one step further, and took a picture of a perfect strangers food.

We were waiting for our order to come up fro Koi Fusion PDX during the Mobile Chowdown. Excited by our tacos I opted to snap a shot of the sliders that we decided not to order, Not a great photo but in the heat of the moment I felt a thrill.

I’m usually “good” about it. I don’t take the camera out at really fancy places, and most places I go to I ask permission first. I asked permission today at Pix Patisserie, opting to order a couple of different items  to ensure the best photos possible. (Yes it’s your fault I had so much dessert. We’re not even discussing the cupcake you made me eat at Saint Cupcake)

I’ll never be a great food/craft blogger, I don’t have the attention span.

I’ll never invest in a DSLR and classes on how to photograph food. I have too many other hobbies that deserve my attention.

Instead I offer these images up as an intermittent digital scrapbook of my travels. I hope you enjoy them.

I got this vision.  A small wall of canning jars in my fridge, full of fresh soups for my lunch. Instead of subsisting on subway at school, I’d have a bowl full of soup filled from my jars.

I drafted a list of what I needed, picking out a couple other recipes to try as well, and began cooking. All told I made 4 soups : Lentil and Chestnut with Fennel, Black Bean with Coconut Milk and lime, Black Bean with Cumin, and  Barley with Kidney Beans.

The Lentil and Chestnut inspired it all, and was good but not amazing. In fact the $17 price for the small can of peeled chestnuts  and less then amazing results means I won’t be making this one again.

Black Bean with Coconut and Lime was quick and easy to make. Had I used canned beans it would have been even easier. Its a little thin, i added a bit too much water, and a little spicy. Served over rice it makes a great lunch.

Black Bean with Cumin is amazing. I added extra  of the  vegetables, and cooked the beans from scratch. I added some tomato paste and ended up with a  soup that isnt thick, but has a nice body.   (Shredded chicken or pulled pork would go well here)

Barley with Kidney Beans is also fabulous. The barley is a thirsty little grain, so the final product is not as soupy   as soup should be. Instead its a stew of barley and vegetables, with beans sprinkled in like  little gems of protein.  (I’ve considered cooking up some sausage and pouring the soup over it for a more substantial meal.)

It’s worked well. In the morning I take my little tupperware bowl, fill it up with soup and slide into a ziplock bag  to prevent spills.  It’s tasty and once this batch is gone I’m planning another day of soup making.

We’re taking Micheal Ruhlman’s great book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking.

Every two months we’re going to take a ratio and play with it, sharing what variations we come up with, what worked and what didn’t. I think it will be fun to see what other folks will come up with. What size batch can you make? How small or how big did you go? In the end, we’ll finish the year with 6 solid ratios and some great tried and true variations to use.

I’ve started a Google Wave for it, let me know if you want to play along and I’ll invite you.

Even if you don’t want to play along you should consider getting the book or the iphone app.

I woke  at 7:30 or so and headed up to make breakfast

• Baked Eggs & Sausage casserole from Simply Recipes.

I used stuffing mix for the day old bread, choosing some that was unseasoned , it worked perfectly. I used a little too much sausage but the end product was good. The baked french toast was just better.

• Baked french toast

I picked a recipe from about.com   that basically worked like this:

Mix 2 cups of brown sugar with 1 stick melted butter, place in bottom of 9×13 pan. Add maple, almond or vanilla flavoring on top.  Dip Challah or thick french toast bread in a custard of milk and eggs. Place on top of browned sugar. Pour remaining custard over the top. Sit 10 min, or overnight. Bake at 350, turning 20 minutes in, bake till custard is cooked enough, and sugar is carmelized. (45min-60min total)

This was amazing. Leah tasted it and said “This is covered in candy!”  I’ll be making it again.

• Orange juice
• Mimosas

Christmas Appetizers:

• Chex Mix – Julie’s  Extra Special Chex Mix. With Bacon!
• Cheese Puffs- Pâte à choux with cheddar cheese. It was ok, but not amazing
• Vegetable Tray – We skipped this. vegetables are for the weak.
• Deviled Eggs
• Smoked Sausages – Little smokies in barbecue sauce. So low class, but so tasty.

Christmas dinner:

• Roast Beef – Beef rib roast, turned out well. I pulled some off so it would be rare, then popped the rest in the oven to cook to everyone else’s standards.
• Roast Pork – A little dry, I should have brined it.
• Yorkshire Pudding – Tasty, but not amazing as usual.
• Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic – Yum
• Roasted Carrots – A little overcooked, but good.
• Brussel Sprouts – Very happy making, cooked with bacon
• Mashed Potatoes – Easy and rounded out our plate

Christmas Dessert:

• White Chocolate Cranberry Trifle

The inspiration for this came from a cake found here . I saw it and new Aron would like it, but he had asked for trifle. So I made the cake, a white chocolate custard, and the cranberry filling. I layered cake/custard/cranberries and mandarin oranges. I let it sit overnight, then to the remaining custard i stirred in whipped cream and mandarin orange juice from the can.  It turned out really well . Next time I will cut the cake bits smaller, and mix whipped cream with all the custard.

• Hot Cocoa Cake

This came from Fine Cooking. Initially I decided to convert it to cupcakes, but the cake was so moist  they wouldn’t hold up. So I ended up making one large cake, cut and layered with frosting and homemade marshmallows. It was good, but very rich, as with every piece I heard “Omg this is soooo rich”

See tonight Miss Sunnie and i are going to Art Restaurant for  happy hour . They are having a chocolate buffet, and Sunnie and I decided to indulge in a proper end of the quarter celebration. I got off work at noon and decided to indulge in some free time, something i’ve been sorely lacking  as of late.

Somehow I ended up on a Seattle Times Coffee City article for the Fonte Coffee Roasters Cafe and Wine bar.  And I couldn’t resist.

So now I find myself tucked into a padded bar bench seat, counter height, I have a cup of coffee, and have finished a divine plate of salumi for lunch. Indulgent much? If I wasn’t going to  the chocolate buffet I’d be sampling the chocolate bread pudding.  There is a wide window out to 1st avenue ,  we’re across from SAM, and I can see people wandering by. A soccer game plays on the TV, and there are a few groups of people  enjoying lunch, or just hanging out.

The space is ultra modern, but the waitstaff beckons with hospitality.  The menu is varied from brunch all day to mac and cheese, to  sharable snacks. My salumi platter was considered a “shareable snack” I called it lunch with some sliced french bread, prosciutto , a capicola, bresola (i think) and  some pickles.

Everything is housemade. Everything.  Pastries, coffee syrups, chocolate syrup, entrees,  snacks, chai.  And if it’s all as good as my lunch was?

Thats two great Cafes in the Pike/Pine downtown area now. Two cafes to beckon me to come down here more often.  I look forward to indulging more as I  have more free time.

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A schedule change left me out of the house tonight at the last minute. “I’ll toss something in the crockpot on my way out” I promised my family, since I’ve been bad about meal planning lately.

Sure enough, I stopped home after my coffee morning and got ready for work then  as I was headed out, I went to put the pork in the crock for pulled pork.  Plopped the pork in, covered it turned it to medium, then went looking for the cord.

Which was fused to the back of the toaster over. Not stuck under, or tangled with. Fused.

F*ck!  Pork went back in the fridge and it will be cooked tonight for dinner. I’m now shopping for a new crockpot. Or  a multicooker

No I don’t need 3 crocks in a buffet server. Yes I want it, but I don’t entertain much anymore.

From Blog Photos

I’m leaning towards this to go model of the Hamilton Beach

From Blog Photos

or a Fagor Multicooker

From Blog Photos

(Pressure cooker steamer and rice cooker in one.)

Or maybe both? I’m not sure. Very frustrating though.

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No Cooks challenge?

You’ll note there was no cooks challenge reveal this month. The recipe chosen didn’t fit within the household allergies. It was Indian Dosas Vegan Style, and more information can be found here.

It’s hard to find someone who’s schedule i mesh closely enough with that I can cook for. I didnt realize  that until this challenge. Next months challenge is in the works already.

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I’m working away on Leah’s socks still. I have one done, and have to recast on the second one. A few weeks ago at Aron’s birthday drinking bash I discovered why one should not drink and knit. I also am working on something out of  some homespun that Leah gave me and casting on Riverbanks from Knitty.

Thats all the scraps you get today

Follow if you want: FatandCraftyJo

The thought is that farmers need to be paid more money for the goods they provide at the market. Two folks were “twittering” that farmers should get between $25-$30 per chicken. Another person responded that folks can’t always afford that and I jumped in to agree.

See I feed the family for about $500-600 a month. Groceries every two weeks are $250, and then we end up filling in extra milk and odds and ends to the tune of about $100 a month. Too feed us and accommodate our assorted allergies**, and budget I split my shopping between Cash and Carry and Safeway. It used to be Central Market until it got too expensive. I support local food when I can, I shop around the edges, I cook from scratch 99% of the time. (We have a couple of convenience items that we keep on hand for emergencies. ) I shop at farmers market, Pike Place Market, and local fruit stands as i can/need.

Is it the local farmers problem? Not at all. Are we poor? I don’t think so, I think we sit pretty middle class. With two students, 2 children, 1 person working retail and another in education none of us are rolling in cash either.

Yet $25 a chicken is out of my reach. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is the assumption that everyone can pay that, and if they can’t or don’t they are paying for with their health. Truth is organic is not necessarily nutritionally superior And the attitude is condescending.

This ties back to my fair trade conversation on Seattlejo.com. I wonder, do you consider every transaction you make and the financial repercussions. Does your barista get a fair wage? Does the teacher at your local school? Where do you draw your line? Is it just because farming is an exploited industry no matter if its a small farm here or a farm in a 3rd world country?

I don’t know the answer. I do know that I do the best that I can and hope the farmer will understand when I pass by the $25 chickens and $25 a lb pork. They are fun to buy for hobby cooking, but it just doesn’t work when I’m working to feed the family off the budget.

**Allergies?
Beans, Soy, Milkfat, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant. plus a strong fish aversion