boristhumbkin

Set Design for A Midsummer Night's Dream

Set design for A Midsummer Night's Dream

This is my entry for the Spoonflower contest in a few weeks.

Systems of the Male Frog

Systems of the Male Frog

This is my entry in this week's Spoonflower contest. After the contest is over,I'll enlarge the design & (maybe)  lose 3 of the 9 frogs ( endocrine,respiratory,and urogenital?).

A Few Garden Shots (Unedited)

Grilled Vegetable Tostadas

Grilled Vegetable Tostadas

This was a 2-day project for me. I did most of the prep a day ahead,& was able to concentrate on building a fire &c. for lunch the next day. WIC items are in bold:

1.) The schmear ( you know, that Mexican term "schmear"):

Just coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil.

Place 2 T. pumpkinseeds and 1 t. sesame seeds in the cold pan. Gradually heat until the seeds are just turning golden.

Add: 1 diced onion

          2 cloves garlic,minced

          1 T chili powder ( I used guajillo)

          1 t. cinnamon

          1/2 a jalapeno,minced

         1 oz dark chocolate,chopped fine

         a few grinds of black pepper

Saute a few minutes. Add 1/2 cup vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce it until there's almost no liquid left. Process until it's pretty smooth. Add 1 can rinsed black beans. Process until smushy. Refrigerate.

2.) The Crema

Combine : 1/2 cup yogurt

                      1/2 cup sour cream 

                     the zest of 1/2 lime

                     the juice of 2 limes

                    1 canned chipotle,minced

                    1/3 of a bunch of cilantro,chopped

                    1 T. olive oil

                    1/4 t. salt

Refrigerate

3.) The Salsa:

Combine: 3 mangos,peeled and chopped

                     2 tomatoes chopped

                     1 tomatillo,chopped

                     1/4 of a red onion,chopped

                     the zest of 1/2 lime

                     the juice of 2 limes

                   1/2 jalapeno,minced

                  pinch cayenne

                  salt to taste

Refrigerate

4.) The Quinoa: Soak  1 cup quinoa for a few hours or overnight. Drain. Cook in a rice cooker with 2 cups vegetable or corn stock  and a pinch of salt.

5.)The Vegetables:  Cut lengthwise about as thick as your pinkie:

                                                                                                  2 zucchinis

                                                                                                  1 butternut squash, peeled and de-seeded 

                                                                                                  1 eggplant 

                                                                                                  3/4  red onion

                                                                                                  1 red pepper

Also prep 4 ears corn: pull the husks down enough to remove the silk. Return the husks. 

Spread all the vegetables on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt (being sure to hit the eggplant). Sprinkle with cumin. Let sit. After a few hours there will be a lot of water on the pan so switch the veggies to another pan and drizzle or brush them with more olive oil.Let sit overnight.

6.)The Assembly:

The next day,build a fire (I like charcoal grills better than gas but whatever works). Grill the vegetables. Cut an avocado. Grate some Monterey Jack or queso fresco. Chop some cilantro. Warm the schmear and the quinoa to room temperature,need be. Grill some corn tortillas.

Then assemble: first a corn tortilla

                                 then some schmear

                                 then some quinoa

                                 then the veggies

                                 then the salsa

                                 then the crema,cheese,avocado,and cilantro

This one has more cheese,better crumbled

The Carbon Cycle

Recently Spoonflower and Robert Kaufman had a joint contest called Fabric8 with the theme "geek chic",whatever that means. I decided to do something science-y. I'm actually not thrilled with how my final carbon cycle looks. I think it's a little busy:

 

The Carbon Cycle

 

However,as is often the case,I do really like some of the other designs I was able to generate off of this one:

 

Fossil Flowers

Day of the Dead Plane Flies in front of the Sun

Root Systems

 

Rainbow-Makings

Papel Picado Flight

Suns

Oil

 

  

 

Garden,etc.

Our Shade Garden

The shade garden,the vegetable garden,the herb garden, the flower bed,& the hydrangeas are all coming along nicely. Of course,you just turn around & look northwest & this is what you see:

This will be a 5-story Hampton Inn & a 6-story parking deck

When my in-laws downsized,we snagged some weathered lanterns (the St. Lawrence River will do that to anything) . I recently repainted them to match Doug Buckner's crane:

Red Lanterns

I even entered Spoonflower's garden tool fabric contest. It looked like this:

"Toolshed Wall"

It came in forty-first. I'm curious enough about how it prints that I included it in my latest collection sampler.

Sweet Potato-Lentil-Chard Stew

Sweet potato-lentil stew

WIC items are in bold.

Heat 1 T. olive oil.

Sweat 1 diced onion 6 minutes.

Add: 2 minced cloves garlic

           1 inch fresh ginger,peeled & grated

           1 jalapeno,de-seede & minced

           1/4 t. each: turmeric,cumin,cayenne,black pepper

          1 t. coriander

Cook 1 minute. 

Add: 2 sweet potatoes,peeled & cut into cubes smaller than 1 inch

           1 and 1/2 cup dried lentils

           1 bay leaf

           1 quart veegetable stock

Bring to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes.

Add 1 pound Swiss chard,de-stemmed and chiffonaded. Re-cover. Simmer another 25 minutes. 

Add 1 and 1/4 t. salt, the juice of 1/2 a lime, & 1 chopped scallion.

Simmer another 15 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes seem completely cooked. Season to taste.

Spoonflower Contests

Red Herrings,Etc.

I've entered a few Spoonflower contests lately. The one above was for a "Murder Mystery Toile du Jouy". It came in eleventh. I like the peeping Tom. Maybe he gets his own fabric ('cuz y'know there's a big call for peeping Tom fabric.)

 

Shrovetide Line-Up

 The one above was for the Mardi Gras contest. I don't know yet how it did.

 

Oh,Mr. Mailman!

This one is for next week. The contest topic was "love letters". As is often the case I like some of the collateral designs better than the contest entry:

 

Envelope Dots

Cabbage-Bean Slaw

Green Cabbage-White Bean Slaw + Fish

This is more of a template than it is a recipe... WIC items are in bold.

Cabbage-Bean Slaw

Combine:

1/2 of a head of cabbage,sliced thin  ( I used green cabbage but any color or type would work)

1 can of  beans,drained and rinsed ( I used white)

1/4 cup dried fruit (I used sultanas)

1/3 cup seeds ( I used sunflower seeds)

2/3 cup nuts (I used a mix of almonds & pecans)

1 scallion  (or shallot or chives or 1/4 of a red onion)

2 Carrots,grated

1/2 of a roasted pepper ( I used red bell)

Set aside.

Dressing: 

Combine: 3 T. vinegar (I used balsamice)

                      juice & zest of 1 piece citrus (I used lemon)

                      2 t. sweetener ( I used turbinado sugar)

                      1/4 t. each black pepper,salt and red pepper flakes

                      a handful of fresh herbs ( I used basil)

Whisk in: 1/4 c. oil  ( I used olive oil)

Drizzle over cabbage-mix . Let macerate.

 We served this with (2 kinds of!) fish, & then sausage-pita sandwiches the next day.

Spinach -White Bean Patties

Spinach Patties

Spinach-White Bean Patties

(WIC items are in bold)

1 cup oats or crushed oat cereal

1 can white beans,drained and rinsed

1 8-to-12-oz. pkg. frozen spinach,thawed,drained,and squeezed dry

1 scallion,chopped

2 T. wheat germ

3 sprigs fresh dill,chopped

1 T. milk or rice milk

1 egg 

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. each salt and smoked paprika

1/4 t. each black pepper and cumin

1/2 cup panko or whole wheat bread crumbs

Process all ingredients together until they are combined & beans are mostly chopped. It should still be chunky--not a smooth green paste! Chill while you make the dredges (or longer).

For the first dredge: beat 1 egg with a splash of milk or rice milk

For the second dredge: combine 1 c. almonds, 1/2 cup panko or whole wheat bread crumbs,1/2 t. salt,1/4 t. pepper, & 1/2 t. smoked paprika. Process.

Form the spinach mix into 6 patties. Dredge each cake in each dredge then saute in a hot pan with olive oil. They will look something like this: