If you like to crochet but don't like being stuck in the same ol' chair to do it, this super simple yarn basket is a great option. It's whimsical, practical, and mobile. I've crocheted in the chair by the fireplace, on the couch while watching tv, in the office, while lying in bed. I've even taken it with me in the car and busted it out at the park, on campus, as we watched movies at our buddies' place... The one you see here can hold a good 4-5 yarn eggs, each egg one skein big, a pair of scissors, hooks, and the piece I'm working on. Of course, if you're crocheting a granny square blanket or something, you will probably need to keep most of your finished squares elsewhere, depending on how big your blanket is, but this will certainly hold a recent/current batch no problem.
-Simple Yarn Basket-
You will need:
1 split basket with a sturdy handle (got mine from Michaels for about $3)
1 piece of scrap fabric (big enough to fill the bottom and sides of the basket you picked)
(I chose a split style basket in large part because it was substantially cheaper than the wicker ones. But aside from cost, I actually prefer it because it's not as heavy and it makes me think of strawberries & farms.)
(I've carried around this scrap piece of pretty red roses for years, since I was like eight. About time it got some use. And the color offsets the wooden gold of the basket very prettily.)
Arrange the fabric (which may need cutting) into the basket, making sure the bottom is well covered to avoid the wood snagging your yarn.
While making out my grocery list the other day, I thought it'd be fun to ask my HunBun to pick out a recipe he would like me to make for dinner this week. "Anything at all," I said. I handed him the encyclopedia: The JOY of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, et al. After a few minutes and several flips of the big book, he smiled and exclaimed: "This sounds good. How about millet cakes with parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes?"
I said, "Wha?"
He showed me the recipe. It was listed under the JOY chapter titled "Grains." Millet cakes. I had never even heard of millet, couldn't recall ever hearing it on the Food Network. Millet. I was nervous; this was new territory. So I had to find out - What the heck is it?
Millet looks like this:
According to good ol' wiki, millet is a group of small-seeded cereals or grains that are used for food or fodder. Yes, it's spread as bird seed, but the kind that's used for human consumption is hulled and perfectly delicious when cooked. It's a grain largely cultivated and consumed in arid and semi-arid regions, particularly India, Africa, and parts of East Asia, because it does well in drought. It's also glucose-free and high in protein and B-vitamins.
This grain has been cultivated in East Asia for 10,000 years, and I had never heard of it! Crazy!
Millet cakes, then, are basically little fried grain pancakes.
The ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, hulled millet, long-grain white rice, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, onion, garlic, beef stock, and one egg. (I used beef instead of chicken stock because that's what I had on hand. If you're interested in these, please reference JOY for the actual recipe; I can't say enough how much I love that cookbook and how handy it is in the kitchen.)
So after dicing onions, dabbing tomatoes, sauteeing millet & rice, boiling stock, steaming & stirring, you get a fluffy mixture like you see below in the red bowl. At this point, the mixture tastes like a basic beef-rice-couscous pilaf. You may be tempted to add more seasonings, but all you'll need is a little salt. Anything else is really unnecessary; the initially underwhelming taste of this mixture is about to get kicked up in the following steps.
Add one beaten egg & some parmesan, mix well, then form the sticky mixture into little cakes with wet hands. I used a 1/4 measuring cup to help me form pretty, restaurant-style looking cakes. They stick together surprisingly well.
After letting these cool for about an hour, you fry them up on skillet:
I served these cakes under beautiful skillet fried steaks with a salad, making a plate of food looked and tasted like it came from a fancy restaurant.
Let me tell you what they're like. Texturally, they are like fried hashbrown patties, crispy on the outside with a soft inside. When you cut your fork into one, you can see strings of melted parmesan cheese pull away. They're savory from the stock and toasted grains, and the bit of diced sun-dried tomatoes give it a layer of summery sweetness. This thing is quite complex in flavors, and pairs beautifully with the skillet roasted meat. Careful if you choose a dipping sauce, because I found that many sauces can overwhelm this complex little cake; if you go that route, less is more.
The total estimated cost for two plates, one for me and one for HunBun, was $8. Basically, $4 a plate. The steaks I bought were $5 for .97lb (in other words, they were super cheap steaks that needed help; I trimmed fat off them and cooked them up in such a way as to make even lesser steaks into something divine - don't worry, I'll blog about my steak method later). The salad with croutons and ranch was about $.50 a plate, the millet cakes about $.25 each. And I have enough leftover ingredients to make millet cakes for days.
Challenge Millet Cakes complete! This definitely makes for a Fancy Friday Feast!
Growing up, I was a total wannabe-goth girl who loved anime. Wannabe goth + anime came together in me as a fashion style that was slightly rebellious with a flair of superhero-mutantness. I used to paint my nails all the time, because I thought polished nails helped a person be more "kick-butt." It did for these girls:
But because I was all "dark" and stuff, I often went with metallic silvers and blues thinking it gave me an edgy, "don't F with me" look...well, kind of like this:
The Terminator-blue color Lady Deathstrike is sporting graced these tips frequently between 1996-1999 (minus the, uh, extensions).
Now that I'm in my mid-twenties, my style has changed a bit. I have a new favorite color that's still shiny but not so darn metallic-y.
(Excuse the grainy pictures). This polish is so pretty. It's a lilac-pink color with sparkles in blue, purple, green, orange, and yellow. It takes 2-3 coats to get the fullest effect, and boy does it shine! It's my absolute favorite nail polish because it packs a lot of punch while still being relatively subtle because it's pink. It's much more cheerful that my previous polish, I'd say. It's not Terminator-blue, but I definitely still feel "kick-butt," just in a much more polished sort of way. ;)
In yet another installment of the 30 Day Song Challenge, we find ourselves considering "a song that makes you sad." There are half a dozen burned CDs on my music rack that are full of broken-hearted crush songs from middle school and high school - songs I used to play over and over again, pining after this boy or that. But I have chosen to forgo those depressing (*ahemNineInchNails*), screaming (*ahemLinkinPark*), and off-pitch songs (*coughcoughMidtown*) to go with something a little prettier and a lot more *ahem* current.
"Jar of Hearts" (2010)
By: Christina Perri
No, I can't take one more step towards you
‘Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live, half alive
And now you want me one more time
[Chorus:]
Who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?
I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms
I've learned to live, half alive
And now you want me one more time
[Chorus]
It took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
‘Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back
Who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
Who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
This is one of those sad songs that's so relatable and raw a girl really can't help but sing along to it. It's particularly great to belt out loud while you're in the shower. I like to push play on my portable iPod jam box, turn the water to steaming hot, step in, and let the wondrous echo chamber effect of the bathroom do its wondrous thing. This song should be in a musical, playing the moment the ingenue, who's caught up with some bad man, lets her heartwrenched emotion out in song. Ah!, such bittersweet release on such a pretty melody line!
I just hope my darling sweet boyfriend who lives with me can't hear me from our office - he'll think I've gone Glee happy ;)
