Sunny Delight

A hat for the young'un, made from leftover lace yarn.

Ibid

Add some fried eggs to last night's dinner and there you have tonight's. Yum.

Veggie Delight

I love it when my live-in hunter returns with a big farmer's market kill. Last night we feasted on whole wheat spaghetti with field peas and sauteed greens, and roasted red peppers with all the fruity intensity of jam.

Vogue 8511

The pattern of this fabric is working against its photographability, but perhaps you'll take my word for it that in life it is flattering (especially when I remember a belt.)

New Look 6968

This is one of those patterns that experienced sewers describe as very simple to put together. For sewers like me, on the other hand, nothing is simple: despite the fact that I made a full muslin for this dress before starting on the real thing I still had to put in nearly every seam twice. I also experienced a crisis of faith near the end when my fabric choice seemed all wrong, the silhouette blah, the fit depressing. I persevered, however, on the theory that the only way to get better at something is to put in hours doing it, whether or not the outcome is any good. And in the end, it's ok. Also, it's my first ever invisible zipper!

Sockeye Salmon

with a melange of brown rice, field peas, and sauteed greens.

Scrambled Eggs

with okra and sweet potatoes.

Rainbow Trout

with cornbread and roasted sweet peppers.

Pink Hat

This pattern was designed by the same person who designed the purple hat.

Purple Hat

I'm woefully behind on my craft blogging. Lately I've been using up spare skeins of yarn, so stay tuned for hats and fingerless mits.

Leftover Pot Rost

as good as it promised to be. With more greens, more cornbread. Do you want to know my cornbread recipe? Here it is:

2C cornmeal (any grind is fine with me, but I only roll with the whole grain. McEwen is my go-to.)
1/2 C other flour (lately I've been using semolina, but I'll use anything)
1 1/2C milk
6-8T melted butter (I've used bacon grease but I actually prefer butter)
1 egg
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1 t salt

25 minutes in a 400 degree oven. It's true that the very best way to make it is in cast-iron cornstick molds, which tips the crunchy outer to tender inner ratio in favor of improbable levels of deliciousness, but I rarely have the patience for this. Usually I just bake it in an eight inch cake pan.

Pot Roast

Two short words, one flabbergasting meal. We had it with sauteed garlic and greens, and boiled red potatoes. When I saw the three dishes together in their respective vessels I suddenly understood what color composition in a meal is all about. The pot roast was super simple: a big piece of meat browned, then long cooked with carrots, celery, onions, stock, and some wine. At the end I reduced the remaining liquid to about a quarter, having squished the juice out of the vegetables into it and run it through a strainer. As good as it was last night, I anticipate it being much better tonight.

Grilled Grouper

with fried grits and a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, and feta.

Cornbread

with okra and scrambled eggs. Sometimes the longing for cornbread suffuses me; thank goodness it's easy to make at the last minute.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

with scrambled eggs and pan-roasted okra. Every time I have a truly delicious sweet potato I can't believe I don't eat them every day. The best ones (I've learned) are small and fresh from the dirt. They bake into a velvety, not at all watery or stringy, paste. I know eating paste sounds awful, but in this one case it isn't.

Crawfish Cakes

with fried grits, salad, and some delicious whole roasted little red, yellow, and orange peppers.

Lamb Chops

Grilled, with pan-roasted okra and corn on the cob.

A Surprise Winner

Sometimes you get home and think: "dinner has to happen. How can it happen with the absolute minimum of work on my part yet still be something I want to eat?" Last night I answered that question by dumping leftover roasted vegetables (eggplant, onion, tomato, red pepper, olive, garlic) into a pan with fresh arugula and half a can of tuna; when it was hot I put it on whole wheat spaghetti and called it dinner. And it was fantastic! Truly, a great meal! It's so nice when things happen that way.

Short Ribs Again

which, following the law of all things long-cooked, were twice as good on the second day. It helped that we had them with out-of-this-world cornbread (thank you, McEwen & Sons cornmeal!), pan-roasted okra, and a friend's delicious kale salad.

Braised Short Ribs

There are times when Smell-O-Vision is called for and nothing else will do; this is one of them. This (not great) photograph doesn't do justice to the rich, complex scent the pictured dish filled our house with all afternoon as it braised. I followed the recipe for Braised Barbecue Short Ribs in the Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook. To the standard broth and mirepoix braising liquid it adds some barbecue sauce, and it's an excellent marriage. I used sauce made by my semi-uncle Loy. Delicious! With brown rice and pan-roasted okra.