Cream of Roasted Cauliflower Soup - non dairy, wheat, soy

 I've taken photos of my cream of broccoli soup and it looks green. Suffice it to say, cream of cauliflower looks --well --it's not photogenic. Really.

If you have been dreaming of Cream of Cauliflower soup, here's a version I did on instinct.

CREAM of ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

1 head CAULIFLOWER
1 quart Stock - I used homemade beef stock
THYME - 1 tsp.+
TURMERIC - 1/4 tsp
SALT
OIL - I used Hazelnut Oil
ARTICHOKE HEARTs in water. I used western family - 1/2 can ~7 oz.
Can of COCONUT MILK - I used Thai Kitchen 13.66oz

Cut your Cauliflower into chunks and place on baking sheet. Drizzle a bit of oil over Cauliflower. Place under broiler ~ rack at about  5" down. Broil/roast for about 10 minutes(?), turning a couple of times. Goal is to get some flavor into the cauliflower - not to make blackened cauli soup.

Meanwhile, heat stock in 3qt saucepan, add teaspoon+ of Thyme and 1/4 tsp of turmeric. Maybe some salt. As soon as cauliflower is roasted enough, add to pot and place lid on to steam cauliflower until tad past tender. -- 20 minutes? During the last five minutes or where cauliflower is about to go tender, add the artichoke hearts. We want them to go past tender too.

Turn off heat and mush with your blender stick and blend. If you need to throw it into a blender - go for it. I am loving my blender stick for these kind of soups.

At this point, you can add any kind of milk you can tolerate. Dairy and Soy are my nemesis's. Coconut milk is tolerable. Blend more until it is as thick & creamy as you desire.

Garnish with a bit of Romano cheese grated on top.

No idea why adding the artichoke hearts popped into my head -I guess I was thinking they would neutralize the strong cauli taste but I worried they would leave long stringy things. Steaming them until past tender took care of that worry. By the time you add the milk, it all works together.

RE: Oil. Use any oil that you have. Olive oil would work here as well as Walnut oil.  Grapeseed Oil too. This is what I had open.

Re: Milk. The 'fresh' coconut milk in the fridge had gone bad - they sell it in such big containers. I actually like the cans better - about two cups. I think if I made this again, I might use just a cup and see how it tastes.

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I've got lots to say in the blog but all my thoughts are really random, seldom finished. They are in progress.

The following could have gone into another post, but there are no photos, it's really random, needs to be written down to get it out of my head.

I have a serious addiction to Grimm going on. Thank God for Hulu TV. The little tv I do watch tends towards BBC productions and locally made shows. Movies put me to sleep which I reserve for those days when I am not feeling functional.

I am on Episode 5. During the first episode, I was thinking it was a little crazy scary in a Steven King way but I distracted myself by looking for Portland landmarks. However, when the mail carrier showed up - I got hooked. This fifth episode had  great shots of the St. John's Bridge - which my grandfather helped build. Grandpa was a steel worker.

I will probably have to watch this series again as it was filmed here in Portland and it's full of trivial pursuit-type film locations.

I had the last couple of Mondays off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. I had time to relax and I prepped for it by checking out a few books from the library. Now it seems that I need someone to come tell me to move my butt as I am having a great time reading and watching shows on the internet. It appears I am doing nothing at all.

On New Year's day, I watched all four of the Downton Abbey episodes. The first three were on PBS.org  and the fourth was on real TV - as in - I stayed up to watch the fourth episode at 9pm.

I have made one item since New Years as a thank you to someone who sent me fun presents from Japan. She is a new friend for me and lives on Awagi Island. Waiting to post on that one.

I know I have been busy but it has been at a slower pace. I managed to take down the Christmas ornaments and sort through to make a box each for my daughter and son. I plan on mailing it to them when they turn 30. Hopefully they will be situated by then and get all teary-eyed at unwrapping christmas ornaments they made in second grade  (macaroni pasta christmas tree anyone?).

I hope anyone who reads this had a chance to slow down too. It feels good once in a while.

Cool Coffee Table

My son had a vision. A creative vision. He wanted to get a glass top for this coffee table and place beer caps underneath. He found the table for two bucks and set about collecting beer caps. This took a few weeks (college student).

 I came up with the nine-patch design and he also wanted to incorporate his snowboarding sticker collection. The glass top idea was ditched and another design was hatched.

 My son asked if I had some webbing/netting to place under the table to hold remotes. Nevermind that I was knee-deep in Christmas preparations, sewing gifts that needed to be done,  and a crazy work schedule - not to mention the baking.  I jumped to attention and sewed some double-fold bias tape around the edges, and placed grommets at the corners.
Well - actually - I was about the change the serger thread and it still had black thread cones on - so I quickly zipped this out. I think this originally came from a trampoline? but I found the material at a garage sale.

 

The tedius job of drilling holes for the beer caps was started.
Then straightening the caps a bit so they would drop down into the holes.

 Figuring out patterns.

 First coat of varnish.

 Each sticker had to be carefully set-in before the beer caps were dropped into the hole.

 Tape around the edges to keep varnish from dripping. Clean edge. This table rocks.

I want one. I may have to buy it off him.

This is like the ultimate I Spy coffee table.

Kitty Nightie

The nightie arrived in a package from Minnesota today.

I am this close to becoming one of those grandma's who have life-size dolls at their houses.

Fortunately I still have this big teddy bear floating around one of the bedrooms so I have a model. It's not like Rusty would ever wear this and not try to rip it to shreds at the same time. There are moments when I really miss my other dog, Rocket. He lived to dress-up.

The nightie is for the three-year-old great-niece, Sophea. My sister found the fabric and a pattern and sewed this really cute nightie to go with the doll bed.

at least we can drink the beer now that it is no longer needed as a model.

The Phea bear modeling in the hangar as it is chilly outside (freezing fog this morning).
I don't know how she climbed up into the airplane.

A  friendlier perch on the tail.

Rusty is not ripping this outfit to shreds although a thin trail of lab slime might have attached itself to the hem. This is the fifth photo as Rusty cannot hold still.

Close-up of the front details.
Pretty ribbon and flowers.

Notice the perfect kitty button closure and the pink-heart stitching around the neckline.
Purr-fect placement of the button, sis.
 

 

 

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  I did an informal  survey at work Friday.   Until 3:48pm, I had a 100% response  for Not staying awake until midnight (hubbardites are SLUGS), then all of a sudden, I had four in a row say THEY WERE STAYING UP to see the new year in.
I went from being very impressed at having a 100% survey response to  understanding the night owls hadn’t come in yet to my retail business.

PIllowcases & Snap Purses

 One of my favorite purses to make right now - the Snap Bag

 Sized to hold two bundles.
Pillowcases rolled up.

My sewing machine did not like sewing lace and rickrack over the seam line on the first pillowcase.
In fact, I had to use my seam ripper too many times on this project. I also had a rickrack disaster. The original rickrack was wider but when I started picking stitches --it dissolved into pieces. The rickrack fabric rotted!
I know the rickrack was old but I have never had that happen. It was sealed in it's original cellophane wrapping.
Smaller rickrack was substituted and actually sewed better- or I learned from my mistakes.

 Oops, one of the gold coins hidden in the case fell out.

 Deciding to gift the niece with this box was one of my better decisions this season.
Filled with paper scrunchies, this stuff is replicating - like Tribbles. This box came our way via a delivered gift and there are paper scrunchies everywhere underfoot. Yet, the box always seems to have more.
I placed the snap purse/pillowcases underneath so she would have to dig for her gift.

Won't she be surprised!

Pillowcase Instructions. 

Last year, Pencil Girl and I made pillowcases to donate at SewExpo  for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. We'll be doing that again this year.

The Doll Bed

 

 

This was a fun project for my sister and I to work together on. I found the doll bed at a rummage sale this summer.
The plan morphed from sewing some bedding to sewing matching nightgowns for little Miss Sophea and her dolly plus the bedding.

I started off making a mattress pad. Then I grabbed a piece of muslin to make a sheet and did some embroidery -- mostly daisy chain stitch.

I drew a chalk line and envisioned a green stem with pink and red flowers twining across the sheet and I am really pleased with how it turned out. No pattern - just free-hand stitching.
After I finished embroidering - I used a hoop - I cut it to a sheet size and utilized a double fold narrow hem on three sides and the fourth is folded over  all of the embroidery stitches - keeping the loose threads safe.

I was also working on this blanket at the same time - binding it with a blanket stitch.

This blanket started out as a wool (lambswool) sweater that I picked up at a garage sale. Even though it was seriously pilled, the gal wanted $3.00 for it just because of it's label (Gap?). I talked her down to a buck because no one was ever gonna wear it again with all the pillballs. I felted it the easy way by throwing it in the washing machine with an old towel. Then I threw it in the dryer. I picked the sweater after skyping with my sister who was in charge of buying the flannel for the nightgowns. Our color palette started off in red because of the doll bed. The computer screen clearly showed a PINK fabric which this blankie matches quite well.

Next up are two pillows because one is never enough. I had some old sheeting in my stash and cut two 4" x 6" pieces of loft batting and one 3" x 5" piece which I sandwiched between the two larger layers, creating a rather inviting pillow. I serged two sides of the folded fabric, turned it right-sides-out,  inserted my batting package and then pushed it out of the seam area while I serged the fourth side closed. A little finger push was all it took to move the batting back to flat.
The pillow cases were made similarly but before I sewed the two sides together I sewed a pink running stitch along the seam where I doubled the fabric (as in a real pillowcase). All rough measured with fabric on hand. The only thing I measured was how wide the doll bed is. I took some fabric, folded it over the batting - is there enough for a seam? and sewed.

Lastly (haha), I cobbled together a Waldorf nightie for the doll. I looked around the web but I did not want to purchase a pattern as I don't have the doll here. Not sure if there is enough room at the shoulders for the arms, but everything is elastic. I might still do some more trim work here (or not)-- If it works, great. I don't exactly have dolls laying around anymore. My kids are more into bottles.

My niece's kids have four sets of grandparents so they are quite busy during the holidays. I won't see them for another week - which gives me time to work on a little doll quilt, and maybe a fitted sheet for the mattress. I would think putting a fitted sheet around a mattress would be a huge dexterity skill for a 3-yr-old.

My sister is still sewing Phea's nightie and will send it as soon as she finishes. She actually bought a pattern which we can use again.

Bottled presents at our house.
About the size of Phea's doll.

I was thinking of a simple patchwork quilt with lace trim around the edges. I will utilize some of the nightie fabric and some other fabrics that go with this rosy pink color theme. Then again, I may come to my senses and realize I am done with this project and it is time to move on to the next -LOL.

Coconut Macaroons

Fudge on top - Macaroons - Ginger Snaps.

My daughter made Coconut Macaroons for me a year ago and I can have them in moderation (as in all things) with little or no reaction.
It was easy to substitute gluten-free flour for the flour with just a tad longer baking time.


Here's the recipe:

COCONUT MACAROONS

4 EGG WHITES
1 Cup SUGAR
1/4 tsp SALT
1 tsp VANILLA
1/2 Cup CAKE FLOUR (or gluten-free)
3 Cups sweetened SHREDDED COCONUT (14 oz bag is perfect)

1st note: The 14oz bag of coconut is perfect. Ignore the "Contains 5 1/3 Cups." Even the bag recipe calls for the entire bag for 4 egg whites.
2nd note: I used gluten-free flour and increased it to 3/4 - 1 cup. This keeps macaroons from sticking and if you are a college student and do not have parchment paper - then this is a plus.  ***June 2013 addition: The last three times, I have used 2/3 coconut flour +1/3 gluten-free baking flour mix - both are form Bob's Red Mill. Whatever equals 3/4 cup of flours.
3rd note: ours were not browning this time at 325'. Try temporarily turning on the broiler to help get those tops browned.

In a stainless steel bowl set above a saucepan of simmering water (double boiler), mix EGG Whites, SUGAR, & SALT until mix is warm to the touch and nice & creamy.
Remove bowl from heat and stir in VANILLA, FLOUR & COCONUT. Refridgerate two hours or until firm.
Drop onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 325' for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. When bottoms are lightly browned, they are done.

We are off to our family Christmas get-together this afternoon. We are in charge of desserts.
This three-tiered Desert Rose dessert thingy, two pumpkin pies and the Christmas hearts below.
There is a pear torte as well but it was still in the oven when I ventured out into the cold patio to take photos.

These Hearts were made with popsicle sticks, melted chocolate and crushed peppermints.
Candycane Hearts Recipe is here.

No snow here. I almost cracked my hummingbird feeder this morning. I thought the weather people were predicting Oregon would finally get warmer than freezing (last five weeks!) and it would rain. Still freezing this morning. . . .and no snow (or rain).

The Ultimate Christmas Yard Decoration

{Images proudly stolen from somewhere.}