belle epoque

I finished HMB’s Waldorf rag doll over a month ago, but then she was without wardrobe for another month, and now she is dressed but for shoes, so I’ll show her to you!

Her pinafore is reversible and serves as a summer top with her little pants

As HMB’s favorite state for herself and her dolls is “neekit! neekit!” I’m guessing this doll’s clothes won’t stay on for very long, but one day perhaps she will enjoy dressing as well as undressing her. I used Maricristin Sealy’s book Making Waldorf Dolls for this one, and there is a lot I am not happy about. Her head is not round enough (which is my fault, and I need more practice with doll heads), but the body proportions are also off– the arms much too short and the legs too long, which is the fault of the pattern. The clothing patterns were also very weird and sized funny, and I was only happy after I had tweaked them beyond recognition. While the book is a huge wealth of information on doll making of this kind, I’ve been frustrated/unsatisfied with a lot of what I’ve made from it. Another mom at one of our Waldorf classes recommended getting a pattern/kit from Joy’s Waldorf Dolls (which is sadly closing due to retirement), so I have one for a 16″ doll waiting in the wings for another time. I also got some of my supplies from Weir Dolls, and they are lovely–their wig-making pamphlet is terrific, and I might try one of their patterns or kits one day as well, assuming my girl(s) are interested in rag dolls for a few more years.

Since the days are getting colder and holiday gift season approaches, I also thought I would share my recipe for gourmet hot cocoa mix. I’m sort of a snob about hot chocolate and have been ever since I had my first sip of French hot chocolate at Payard in NYC–made with cream and melted chocolate, it forever severed my ties to watery Swiss Miss or even homemade Hershey’s. These days, my favorite place to spend non-toddler alone time in San Francisco is Bittersweet, a local chocolate cafe. Their hot chocolate is delicious and everything else about the place is just lovely. But there are days when I don’t feel like coffee in the morning, and afternoons when, if we make it out the door at all, it will be to go to the park with no stopping for a treat for mommy. For those days, I need a stash of good cocoa at home. I think ounce for ounce this recipe is a LOT cheaper than comparable cocoa mix from Vosages, which is my favorite of the gourmet varieties I’ve tried. Of course it is a lot more effort than microwaving some water and pouring in a packet, but the taste difference is incomparable.

Gourmet Cocoa
small (1/4 lb?) block of bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate (I get reasonable Ghirardelli from Trader Joe’s)
1/2 c good unsweetened cocoa powder- I like Droste. Do not use Hershey’s, it tastes awful.
1/2 c Sugar (superfine is best, but anything that isn’t fake will do)
A tin for storage
Chop 1/2 cup of the chocolate relatively fine (just pop the bits in your measuring cup as you go, and when you have 1/2 cup stop chopping and save the rest of the block for later)–a few chunks can be the size of chocolate chips, but you want most of it to be more like little slivers so it will melt easily. Pour the chocolate chunks, cocoa and sugar in the tin, shut the tin tightly and shake to combine.

Preparation
12 oz whole milk (it is fine with low fat or skim milk but if you really want to go gourmet, make it with whole milk, or add some 1/2&1/2 or cream to your lower fat milk)
1/4 cup cocoa mix
Frother if you have one
Pour your milk into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep an eye on it! The minute it begins to boil, throw in the cocoa, turn off the heat and whisk until you are sure most of the chocolate chunks have melted. If you have an aerolatte or frother, go ahead and whip it in the sauce pan to get a nice frothy chocolate top and ensure good chocolate meltage. It will be scorching hot, so if you have some vanilla ice cream or cold whipped cream to put on top, go for it, you’ll be able to drink it sooner without burning your tongue.

If you have a fancy jar or tin, you could make a batch for a cocoa-loving friend as a holiday or hostess gift, along with preparation instructions, a cute mug, and if you’re feeling extra-generous, a frother.

At our most recent Waldorf cooking class, HMB wore her new fall outfit

and we made some apple muffins and a very simple fall mobile out of twigs, roving and embroidery floss. It may be that I’ve just drunk the Waldorf kool-aid, but I find the mobile really charming– such simple materials, sort of thrown together (HMB doesn’t always have a lot of patience with me crafting, even in a room full of toys and other toddlers), and without any conscious intention on my part, it turned out reminding me of fall fairies or elementals

I realise, however, that with the kool-aid factor, I could be imagining that and it just looks like bits of fluff tied to a stick. What I know for sure is that the muffins were delicious, and since not everyone has a Waldorf cooking class at their disposal, I’ll share the recipe they taught us. They are also quite healthy, as muffins go, and if you like you can put the batter in a baking dish and make it more like a nice moist bread.

SF Waldorf School Apple Muffins
Wet ingredients (mix in bowl together)
4 eggs
1 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
Dry ingredients (mix in bowl together)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Fruit- fold in at end
4 cups peeled, chopped apples(you could also use pears or whatever you like)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing gently until they are just combined. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into greased mini muffin cups (or pour into a greased baking pan) and bake for 25 minutes. They will still be moist when fully baked, but the tops should be a nice golden brown and firm.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get it done properly, but I’m working on a tutorial for the Playground Purse– it will not be for the faint-hearted seamstress, as it involves 2 different zipper setting techniques and a little bit of manipulation to get the strap sewed on, but hopefully I’ll be able to make it make sense with lots of pictures. Anyhow, in the meantime, hopefully you’ll enjoy some nice fall muffins!

Oh friends, I’ve missed you. It has been a weird kind of busy/angsty around here that I’ll just file under “Spring Fever” and have done with it. I’m hoping now that it is May we can all accept that it is spring already and have no more fevery flibbertyjibbetness around here (and no more middle of the night business from a certain person. But I’m afraid there is always a bit of the flibbertyjibbet (sp?) in me, so I make no promises.

I’ve been missing out on my bloglines lately too, and now that I’m catching up– WOW, there are so many great tutorials, cute articles of clothing and other goodies out there. I’ve recently fallen into the trap of starting more than 2 craft projects at once which means I get overwhelmed and nothing gets done so I sit here not crafting and not blogging, feeling wretched. Sadly seeing all this cuteness popping up all over makes me all the more inspired to take on even more projects. But I must be strong.

What I have been doing since we last met
*Baking bread- I gave in and got a pizza stone and container so I could try my hand at the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It was both good looking and pretty delicious, though my crust could use some work

*Knitting- HMB and I have been attending wonderful classes put on by the SF Waldorf School since she was 6 months old. Now we are in a *very* clever craft class that allows the moms to craft while the toddlers cruise around and play. There is singing and a warm snack too. I can’t tell you what a bright spot this is in our week! We’ve already made a crocheted market bag, and now I’m working on these

One down, one to go!
*Cooking, again and more and always.
*Re-reading Anne of Green Gables, and realizing how woefully miscast Meagan Followes and that guy who played Gilbert Blythe really were, as much as I enjoyed the CBC series when I was younger.
*Failing miserably at spring cleaning! Though you know, I have gotten into the habit of making the bed every day and *really* cleaning out the fridge every grocery day. So that’s something. But the craft room is taunting me with its clutter and disorganization, as ever.

Anyway, that’s about all here. I’ll try to pop in again before then but if I don’t–HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! to all of you amazing, inspiring moms out there– I don’t know how you guys do it, crafting like crazy, cooking delicious food, looking great and raising amazing children too. I’m sort of hanging on by my fingernails most of the time, so I salute all of you out there making it happen!

I’m hoping to have a tutorial for the Tea Party Girls up by Monday, but in the meantime I’ve been cooking and baking a lot. A subscription to Everyday Food has inspired me to try new things beyond my old standbys of roast chicken, chili and marinated chicken. Most of the time Martha delivers, for example the Lighter Pulled Pork Sandwiches from the Jan/Feb issues were fantastic. I have no pictures as it isn’t something that lends itself to an artful photo (unless you want to see me with an orange face after eating it). I made the pizza crust from the same issue, which takes a pretty picture but wasn’t as yummy.

It was ok- a bit gluey and too yeasty, I think. I’ve come to the conclusion that if one is going to make pizza at home a pizza stone is a necessity. I have enough rarely/never used but wonderful kitchen gadgets (I’m looking at you mandoline!) that I really can’t justify it. Maybe when HMB is older we’ll have a pizza party and I can splash out on one knowing it will be used at least once.

And thanks to Arwen at CRAFT I was compelled to try this delicious looking Olive Oil Almond Cake recipe. Holy Moly. It is ridiculously good. I only bake with what I have on hand, and amazingly I had everything this recipe needed in the house! I used some delicious sweet blush oranges for the zest and juice which I think made a difference. I did not glaze it and I quite like it this way as a not-too-sweet treat with coffee or after a meal. Yum.

First of all, THANK YOU for all of your kind comments about the tape measure dress! I’m still working on getting back to each of you individually, but my head was bigger than usual and my cheeks pinker than usual for days. Clearly garment sewing is where it’s at for me, and I’ll be trying to get more of it in from now on!

The reason I’ve been quiet (again) is that I was spending all my extra time getting ready for a big day– HMB’s first birthday! It is crazy to me that it has been a year since she looked like this, but it has. We had a big tea party with all of her baby friends. There were cupcakes

Homemade, of course, and I even broke out the amazing stainless-steel pastry bag thingy I got as a wedding gift to pipe the pink buttercream icing on in little puffs(that was fun! I need to ice more stuff). And for table decorations/party favors, I made the Tea Party Girls

Clearly inspired by Alicia’s clothespin dolls– they actually come off of their little stands to be finger puppets. If you’d be interested, I can post up a tutorial and pattern for their little bodies– let me know! They were super fun to make, and all of the babies seemed to enjoy grabbing them off of their moms’ fingers and chewing on their heads (I used non-toxic paint, of course!).

And this post wouldn’t be complete without a picture of the birthday girl herself, in her party dress!

I hope to be back soon, as I have a bunch of fun stuff to tell you about, including some of the amazing handmade and crafty birthday gifts lucky Miss S got that I just have to blab about!

Hello! Just a little post about a few things I am enjoying this week
1. Parsnips. Oh my gosh! My new favorite vegetable– they are so sweet and piquant! I am a lover of the root vegetable in general (perhaps my Irish heritage?), but for some reason hadn’t really gotten into parsnips before. I now add them to anything I’m roasting, and just made this parsnip soup from Everyday Food. It is delicious and very easy– I used my immersion blender and skipped the cream so that HMB could share it with me for lunch. She likes to eat whatever I’m eating so I try to avoid adding the “forbidden foods” (i.e. cow’s milk, nuts etc) to what I make so she can have some. This doesn’t need the cream, though if you’re feeling fancy you might add a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream to the top.
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day: Lee Pace! Ciaran Hinds! Thirties clothes and music in a charming, sweet, British romance! What more could you ask for? I know, if you were me you would ask for a subscription to Persephone Books. Yup. But if you were me you’d also have to do something really good to deserve it. Or, you know, wait for the dollar/pound exchange rate to fall really low and order it for yourself? No, no. Foolishness.

Also, if you have an iPhone, did you know that there is an application that contains the collected works of Jane Austen? Yes! There is! For only $1.99! As I spend a lot of time with my iPhone while rocking and nursing HMB to sleep (oh I know, it is a bad habit and she should fall asleep by herself– please tell her that, because she disagrees with all of the sleep experts and claims she actually can’t do that, no ma’am, and would rather stay awake and be cranky than forgo the pleasure of my pre-sleep company), ANYWAY, I’m reading Persuasion (my favorite) in bits throughout the day, when the New York Times gets just too depressing. If you ever find yourself on a long bus ride, or waiting room or something without a book, surely you’d be glad of Miss Austen’s company on your phone too?

For treats! Let’s leave aside the over-a-week silence around here, kay? Good. Today I had a babysitter and tomorrow miss S and I are hosting our first joint party (10+babies in costume! I’m freaking out a little with excitement). Because only the adult attendees of the party will be eating actual food, I thought I’d go ahead and try to make some sophisticated grown-up candy.

Fleur de Sel Caramels. And OH MY GOSH, they are delicious. And really not that hard if you have a candy thermometer and can be somewhat nonchalant about molten sugar. Here they are in progress

I will post about the party and show you pictures of HMB in her (homemade, natch) costume tomorrow or Fridayish, but had to share this candymaking experience now in case you’re feeling the urge to make your own treats too!

I’ve made some more quick and easy meals that really satisfy on these chilly (even in California) fall evenings, so I thought I’d share! Two caveats: there are vegetables but I’m afraid the meals as a whole don’t translate as well for my lovely vegetarian friends (my apologies!). Also, there is butter involved- I make no claims as to the “figure friendliness” of these meals, but they are yummy, which is sometimes the most important thing! All of the photos are a little funny since they were taken at dinnertime, with no flash, but you get the idea.

Pork Marsala(ish) and Roasted Acorn Squash
Squash:
1 acorn squash
2 T butter (divided)
2T brown sugar (divided)
ground nutmeg
salt
1/2c water
Heat oven to 400. Halve your acorn squash lengthwise and remove seeds & stringy pith. Pour water into a small glass baking dish (I use a 9×5ish pyrex) and place squash in it, cut side down. Put in hot oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove from oven and turn squash halves cut side up. Put butter and brown sugar in center cup of each squash half, sprinkle over a dash of nutmeg and salt on each half. Return to hot oven for another 15-20 minutes until the butter and sugar are melted and bubbly in the centers of each squash half
Pork Cutlets marsala(ish)- I don’t care for mushrooms these days, so I leave them out!
4 thin-cut pork cutlets
2 shallots, cut into rings
1T butter
1t olive oil
1/4 c sweet marsala
salt & pepper
Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring until they are soft and starting to turn golden. Push them out of the way and place pork in skillet (I do them in batches), cook for 2 minutes then turn, salt and pepper the done side and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and pop in the oven to stay warm while you finish the sauce. Pour marsala in the hot skillet with shallots and bring to a boil, allow to boil down almost completely. Remove plate of cutlets from oven and pour juices on plate into skillet with sauce, stir a bit. Divide chops onto plates and spoon sauce over each portion.

Roast Chicken Breast with Shallots and Greenbeans
2 (or however many people you’re serving), bone in, skin-on chicken breasts
3-5 shallots, each cut in two pieces
melted butter (1t per chicken breast)
salt and pepper
Heat oven to 400. Wash chicken breasts and pat dry. Place in baking pan (skin side up), brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange shallots around chicken breasts. Bake for 35-40 minutes. That’s it! You could also toss some new potatoes with some olive oil and put them in with the chicken and shallots to roast. Yum!

Green Beans
1 lb trimmed, washed greenbeans
olive oil spray
salt & pepper
Spray baking sheet with spray, throw in greenbeans, spray again, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and put in the oven along with the chicken. Everything will be ready at the same time.

Oh! And last night I made the Shepherd’s Pie from the latest issue of Everyday Food:

I highly recommend it! It makes *a lot* and though it has more steps and chopping and dirties more pots than I typically like for a weekday meal (which is why I made it on Saturday with Moondoggie there to entertain HMB while I peeled potatoes), it is very easy and very tasty. I did make some changes- tarragon instead of thyme (bleah! thyme!), yellow extra-sharp cheddar instead of white, buttermilk instead of regular milk and less beef than recommended since that is how much came in the package. I think we’ll be having leftovers for dinner tonight…

I’d prefer mists and mellow fruitfulness, but poor HMB seems to have caught her very first cold so we’ve got a lot of sneezing & snarfing and not much snoozing around here the past few days.

Luckily I went a little crazy in the kitchen and made two big pots of soup at the same time the other night, so there was plenty to eat that can be quickly heated up in between sessions of calming down and distracting a sick baby.

I’ve made one of these before, and the other is new to me, and they both (hurrah) came out delicious. The one on your left is Zucchini Parmesan Soup, and on the right is Beef and Sweet Potato Stew. The stew is inspired by the one in the FABULOUS book Apples for Jam. Mine is different enough that I don’t feel bad about sharing the recipe here, but I highly recommend buying the book. It is so inspiring and beautiful.

Without further ado, the recipes!
Zucchini Parmesan Soup
3T butter
1tsp olive oil
1 lb Zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 t ground nutmeg
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 c parmesan, grated
1/2 c carrots, diced quite small.

Put butter and oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot. Throw in zucchini, onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Add the nutmeg and broth and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes (check to be sure the zucchini is nice and soft, if not, keep simmering until it is). Puree half the soup in a blender or food processor (I just ladled out half of it and pureed the stuff in the pot with my immersion blender). Return all of soup to pot, add carrots, cream and parmesan and simmer, stirring frequently (so the cheese doesn’t stick to the bottom) until the carrots are tender. Serve alongside some salt and pepper. Yum!

Beef & Sweet Potato Stew
4T olive oil
1.5 lbs stew beef, cut into 1.5″ chunks
1 onion, diced
2 T butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup marsala wine (or regular red if you have some on hand)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 cups beef broth (or hot water if you haven’t any broth)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into similar size chunks as your meat.
Heat oil in a big, heavy pot until nice and hot. Brown the beef over high heat until it has a nice color on all sides. Put in the onion and cook, stirring until it is golden and soft. Add the butter and garlic and cook for a minute or two. Throw in the wine and let it cook down all the way. Add the tomato sauce, broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1.5-2 hours (go closer to 2, it will be yummier), stirring every so often. Uncover, add potato chunks and cook for another 30 minutes, until tender but not total mush. If you like, add a handful or so of egg noodles in the last 8 minutes of cooking time, otherwise serve with noodles, potatoes or bread! YUM! It is sort of a sweet/savoury thing, but so simple and comforting on a cold evening!

Remember! Today is your last chance to comment on this post to be entered in the De-Stashing Giveaway!

I must say, all of your comments on my confessions post are spurring me on to great heights of giving away, and I already feel more inspired! I am particularly excited to come up with crafty uses for the tiny baby food jars piling up since HMB started eating actual victuals. Since I’ve been busy cleaning up the craft room, I don’t have any big new projects to show you. But I have made some more ribbon straw flowers, big and little:

And I am sorry to say I don’t remember how I came across the recipe, but I made these

They are like a cross between a less bad-for-you dutch baby and no-special-pan-required popover. They were easy and tasty and not too sweet, but made me wish I was having a dutch baby or a popover, so… maybe I need a popover pan.

I also think I forgot to crow about being the one to win Michelle’s giveaway! I may have to wear this pincushion as a bracelet it is so cute.

I am SO EXCITED about Hillary’s Kit, Chloe and Louise doll patterns! I could definitely make one of them without buying any new supplies, so they’ve moved to the top of my list after I finish other unfinished stuff(I have this fantasy of making a rag doll with an entire wardrobe, quilt, pillow and other accoutrements for HMB, then putting it in a little cardboard trunk to give her when she’s old enough to appreciate it- when would that be, do you think?).

And finally, I never linked to the three lovely bloggers who won in my PIF Exchange– do check them out because they’re great, and also participating, so if you’re lucky enough to comment on their PIF Exchange posts, you’ll get something fun! So, congratulations and thank you to Lisa of The Bunny Log, Mary Beth of Love Running Deep and Vonnie of Blotted Copy Book! Hurrah!