Eggplant

Try eggplant.

It is one of the more strange looking foods in the vegetable and fruit section but boy is it good. I have been looking for new things to try and also have been doing research on foods that help with high cholesterol ( my big issue according to my doctor). Eggplant kept coming up so I went out and got one.

Relying on my trusty copy of Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" I found out how to roast and then make the best Parmesan something ever, well so far. And it was so easy.

To Roast, peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick pieces. Brush with oil (olive), flip and sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. From there the slices can go right on the Grill or under the broiler, say the broiler on your favorite toaster oven.. leave them alone until golden brown, flip again and brown the other side.

At this point I like to coat the bottom of an oven safe dish with tomato sauce and carefully fit the slices in, layer in more sauce and mozzarella cheese and back that for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbling nicely.

If the prospect of another dirty dish is out of the question simply place a few slices on a plate, spoon hot tomato sauce over add cheese and presto! Self serve eggplant parm. The naked, cooked slices hold up well in the fridge for a day or two waiting to be a great lunch. Oh, if you like a more creamy cheese presence add a bit of American cheese to the mozzarella.

Skirt

I made a skirt!!!

This is a huge triumph for me. I started with 1.5 yards of fabric that I love and have had for 5 years. Adding to that is a great need and desire to make my own clothes as I can never find skirts or pants that fit me or my style.. well me mostly. Throw in motivation, time and an existing skirt (that I converted from pants 8 years ago) and there you have it!

The best part is IT ACTUALLY FITS! :D  When I first made the skirt it was really big and I was so pissed because of the way I did the waist band. I would have to completely deconstruct the top of the I skirt to take it in. Then I decided to wash it and see how things looked. My washer and dryer are miracle workers.

The liner fabric is from another project that I took apart

This project was a great experience for me. I used tissue paper ( for wrapping presents) for the pattern and did a bunch of math: my waist is so many inches and I intend on having 4 panels so they all have to be so many inches on the top.

 I used many different colored pens when I was converting the existing skirt dimensions to be the skirt that I wanted. To make the front and back panels symmetrical I discovered that I could just fold the fabric over - perpendicular to the direction of my pattern. I used an invisible zipper and foot for the first time! It worked out so well and I was so excited about it that I forgot to add the pockets (oh well).

 I even did darts - I had to, it was from the original pants and actually helped shape the skirt nicely. The darts are a funny learning experience. If you make them too severe you end with what I like to call Nipple Bottom. I have no pictures of said Nipple Bottom because I was able to undo and elongate them. I found the best way to determine how long they should be by using the iron, though I am sure there is an official way.

See, no Nipple Bottom.

Now that I have done this one I can't wait to change the pattern and see if I can make a different one! Or maybe just try the same one but with different fabric...

Charlie is SO helpful!

New Title

Don't worry people, the blog is not changing - just the name. I was never really happy with Creative Rambling but I had to come up with something to have a blog. I am extremely happy with The Sunrise House because I am often up at or before sunrise doing stuff and most of the rest of the house is up with me.

I am on a time crunch now but I will be back later to tell all about the most delicious and easy Eggplant Parm recipe.

See you on the flip side!!

Hummus Success

It is now Thursday evening and I have yet to write anything as I had planned, I did however get the computer turned on one morning this week. I am not so surprised, this week has been very intense, with heat, humidity, yorping cats and the need to (once) and mistake of (a different morning) sleeping past my alarm.


I did have a great pre-breakfast morning on Tuesday. Got up on time, maybe even early, got my exercise in and I experimented with a new hummus recipe.


This was not a planned or intensional experimentation but out of need. During the weekend when I might have had a quick 10 minutes to get some more hummus together I did not realize that my supply was so low. Monday rolled around and I had just enough to make the standard lunch of late, hummus and cheese with pickled something on HM roll. The pickled something refers to the two jars I have in my fridge; pickled curry green tomatoes and sweet picked hot peppers.


Lo and behold my pantry did not come through for me this time – no chickpeas. But I did have plenty of black beans, so I went for it. I was partially inspired to do a non chickpea hummus from the small spread about Fresh Peas in the May 2011 issue of Whole Living, featuring – you guessed it! - a fresh pea hummus.


One well rinsed 16oz can of black beans, a medium clove of garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon each of tahini and lemon juice, a half teaspoon each of salt and cumin plus a quarter teaspoon of black pepper later I have a respectable amount of the best hummus I have ever made.


It is smooth and full of flavor, great plain (even before 6AM) or on my sandwich. The smooth part is really key for me as I usually end of adding way too much tahini and lemon juice to my chickpea hummus to try and get it to smooth out. I would, and will, say that this was a huge success.
My next adventure is eggplant parm, though I am planning for his one. What adventures have you taken in the kitchen lately?

Dressing a Salad

Salad Dressing
The Rule of Threes..or fives depending :)

In trying to get in shape and get into healthy habits now while it is “easy” I make myself a salad for lunch every day. It might just me a side salad of spinach or the main course with spinach, beans, nuts and tomato – all depends on what I am feeling like and how hungry I was the day before.

Whatever the salad I always need dressing but I am usually not satisfied with the store bought selections. I find dressing to be too fatty or not have enough oil, too salty or with too sugar and never the right consistency. Being from a family of great cooks I have grown up with homemade dressing so it was not daunting for me to just make my own and be happy.

I make a half cup batch at a time because that it the container I have to bring to work and I can usually get 4 to 5 days out of that amount. I love this system because I like variety. Having the same dressing ever week is boring and makes me regret salad which is a very bad thing. I should say this applies for non-creamy dressings. But I guess you can mix some mayo or sour cream in and achieve what you are looking for.

Making the dressing. I find it is a rule of threes but if you like dressing to be lighter on the oil it should be a rule of fives. The basics are one part flavor and acid two parts oil though your preference might be 2 parts flavor and acid to 3 parts oil or vice versa. The creamy ingredients would be on the oil side of the parts and maybe use a daily liquid to loosen not oil. I always season with 2 pinches of ground pepper and a ¼ tsp of kosher salt. For the spices I use dashes so the absolute max amount would be a ¼ tsp, the sweeteners could range from a ¼ tsp to a full tsp and anything chunky (onion flakes, or dried herbs) usually is a main flavor so ½ tsp to a full tsp.

The main combinations I use are:

curry, ginger, cumin and garlic with brown sugar and white wine vinegar
ginger, honey and lemon juice with white wine vinegar
ginger, garlic, chive and soy sauce with a few drops of sesame oil with light oil
garlic, mustard powder, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar
onion flakes and parsley with balsamic vinegar

I try to experiment with the herbs and spices I have to find new and interesting (but never again) combinations. I would recommend working in small batches until you get the hang of it. There is nothing worse than being stuck with or throwing out a large amount of nasty dressing.

on my mind...

Lately I have been bursting with great crafty ideas and filled with a yearning to do...something.... Every time I turn around a new idea comes to me; a cotton shell to wear over tanks for work, a sandwich roll idea using pizza dough, trying to adapt my bread recipe into cinnamon swirl, making a skirt.. and the list goes on. I also again find myself starting blog posts in my head but I never write anything. This is frustrating for me because if I don't take the time to write things down and think projects through I forget – either the whole thing or some key part.

Baby's First Haircut

Today Henry got his first hair cut; I think it was harder for me than for him. I was very nervous about how he would react and if he would have a really hard time with the whole ordeal. I had my husband take him so that I would not have to watch the freak out. Henry is the black and white long haired one on the right.

I had nothing to worry about though. Adam came back with a full report of considerably good behavior and reaction. The Groomer did cheat a bit with 'Rescue Remedy' - Natural stress relief for pets, which may have mitigated some of the panic. Whether it helped or not, she did manage to get all ten of his nails clipped as well.

I think the most shocking thing is how small Henry really is. We consider him to be the big man on campus. He is heavier than the other two and just bigger overall. But let me tell you; its all hair. All of it. My Mother- in- Law was correct in calling him the Marshmallow.

I guess we will have to come up with some new nicknames....'Big Fluff' just does not seem very fitting...