Just For Fun...Videos and Birthday Plans!

Good Bones...

This is our house "in the raw". We close in about two weeks. I am incredibly excited and a bit scared. It's going to take a whole lot of work, but what else do young married couples with a baby do, right?

It's a foreclosure with the most random assortment of things....such as cooking oil on a washer that someone decided should go in their glorious kitchen... hmmmm.

Obsessive Decorating...this could become an issue.

Decorating With Blue | Real Simple


I have been faced with the lovely task of decorating 2000 square feet of riverside ancient house. Its daunting to say the least. You can't go all IKEA cheap'n'minimal. You can't (or at least I won't) do all over the top French or Queen Anne. It's a careful balance of clean yet historic. Period yet contemporary. Child accessible yet not looking like an in-home daycare. Oy.

I have many grandiose ideas that would work perfectly if it wasn't for that man I call my husband. A two thousand dollar bed frame is out of the question, and I have to say that the good little Mainer in me just won't allow it anyways. So I must conjure a full house decorated on a shoe string budget while satisfying my goal of creating a cohesive, functional, and aesthetically pleasing home. It is consuming my thoughts to say the very least.

There's a few other issues that one might have to overlook, such as raw crumbled plaster in a few places, Vines protruding into my Sun Porch, and a few Squirrel friends in the cavernous attic. However, I don't find these issues anything that elbow grease, hedge clippers, and a pellet gun can't fix. (relax animal lovers, I won't use a pellet gun...promise).
Vintage Martha Stewart Image (true love)

I will be updating the ol' blogster with my victories and forfeitures in the realm of interior design as I am certain there will a lot of both. In the next few days I will posting images from Highland House, and Yes, I have named my house.

Avgolemono: A Hellaluva Good Soup Recipe...even if I can't pronounce it.

It seems like a life time ago that I was sitting in our tiny apartment nursing Dahlia, looking out the window at the snow, waiting for my far away friends to welcome the baby and bring me some much needed soup and conversation.

They came with paper 'Whole Foods' bags in tow; filled to the brim with beets, goat cheese, leeks, lemons...etc. I was blissfully exhausted in my new role as a Mamma but I will always recall those days as the sweetest days I had yet to taste. As sweet as it was, my body ached for sleep and nutrients. My friends were taking care of the later half of that last sentence. There were hugs, Oooo's and Ah's over Dahlia's most obvious talent at being the best looking infant ever, hand made gifts to unwrap and more Ooooo's and Ah's.

My kitchen was filled with the scent of sauteed leeks, mere poix, and lemon. I was being treated to their vegetarian version of the traditional Greek soup, Avgolemono. It is a delicious soup with lemon and a frothy egg tempered in among the leeks, carrots, and onion topped with a coarse chop of fresh mint and parsley. It fills a house and a belly with that wintery soup feeling.


This summer I was feeling a detrimental lack of inspiration and nutrition so I turned on NPR and opened the fridge. I saw all the ingredients for Avgolemono and a glass container of cooked wheat berries. Wheat berries are a hearty grain and I quickly realized that they had to fill the shoes of my non-existent pastine that the original recipe called for. The makeshift grain adds a more satisfying texture, protein, and fiber to the soup. However, you can use just about any small pasta or grain in this soup. The traditional Avgolemono has shredded chicken and uses Orzo, there are so many great renditions of this classic. Give this one a try...

2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Leeks(white parts finely Chopped to equal 4 cups)
1 Onion (smallish)
2 Carrots diced
6 Cups Broth (veggie broth works well)
1/2 cup Wheat Berries
2 Big Eggs
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped Oregano


1. In a small Pan Saute leeks, onions, carrots, and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes.


2. Stir in all of the Broth(chicken or Veggie, I don't judge). Season with the good old S and P. Simmer for 11 minutes. Add your wheat berries and simmer for five minutes and remove from heat.

3. Whisk eggs and lemon juice in medium bowl. Eggs should be room temp! Add three (non boiling) ladles from soup pot to the bowl with eggs and whisk very rigorously so the eggs do not cook. Whisk the egg mixture into the big Soup Pot and cook over VERY low heat for 2-3 minutes. If you boil the soup you will have a weird srambled egg soup....and nobody wants that. nobody.


4. Sprinkle the herbs over just before serving. Yes, I was reticent about the mint too, but Don't omit it thinking the soups taste will be the same or better off...it won't.



5. This is an optional step, for myself its essential. Feed a certain someone kale puffs so you can enjoy the lemony goodness in peace, fingers crossed.


Thanks Kara and Amanda for the recipe!

"Maybe I drink tea with Criminals...Or I play cards with Grandmama"...Ira Atari

I have a friend. Her name is Amanda and I  have always secretly thought something about  her and I. Its that we are musical twins. My definition for musical twins is this: two people who are on the exact same page when it comes to the notes. I truly think this. I have never told her, but I am sure of it.  When a local Dj posted this on Facebook, I couldn't save it for those Wiley musical elite who think they guard the underground funk. This woman, Ira Atari, is ridiculously ridiculous. She's Talented as all hell and I know you and Amanda will love it as much as I do. If I'm wrong.... well then Amanda, maybe we are not music twins after all. 

Okay. Okay. I will also address the elephant in the room. I know I haven't been keeping up with the bloggy blog. I miss it. I assure you. However, when I look at my Dahlia, it's hard to part with her sweet smelling hair and double chins on my precious down time. But there is good news too, I received a project idea book which is brimming with amazingness, from my mother who is pretty amazing herself.  My inspiration is 'abrewing' like a good tea or ale...just you wait. Here's a few key words that describe several things in the Circus' future.....

Refinishing  and Reupholstering an Asian Toile Dining Room Set

A raised bed vegetable garden

New Samurai Bamboo purses

A kitchen utensil charm bracelet

and...Birds. Lots of them. Lots. 

Five Things You Should Never Say To Me or Anyone Else...

So, its been a while since my last post. I went back to school and am currently spending my days under fluorescent lights doing a whole lot mundane tasks. ____ Me.

My inspiration has been a bit lacking due to six A.M. wakings and no coffee allowed in the classroom. I talk to mannequins and cut imaginary hair. It will get better, This I know. Starting what you want to do is always tough. Becoming a Mom was hard. Resigning to letting go of the single life was tough as well (maybe even a bit harder than the mom thing). Ultimately they are all worth it. Very, Very worth it.

I was day dreaming during the perm lecture today and came up with a list. A list of things I never want you to say to me...OR anyone else...

1. "That was Delicious! Is that a Rachel Ray Recipe?"

2. "You paint just like Donna Dewberry!"

3. "Do You Scrapbook?"

4. "I got this cute shirt at Wal-Mart"

5. "What does your Tattoo mean?" ohhhh that's the worst!

I will try to keep up the Circus better. Those recipes for the tea infused oils is coming. I am making lapsang suchong tofu this Sunday.

Vintage Martha...

             I was a weird kid. I admit it. I liked things that kids weren't really supposed to "get" at my age. I had a subscription to "Victorian" Magazine and loved it. I poured over the pictures and was borderline obsessive of those smelly folded perfume pages. I collected the ripped out advertisements and sniffed away. After my "Victorian" stage ended, I decided I wanted Martha Stewart's "Living" Magazine. I had just baked my first cake from scratch while my mom napped, and I wanted more culinary challenges. In particular, I loved the perforated square recipe cards. If you ever find her recipe for her "Easy Spanikopita", try it!

    

During these times, my mother owned her own quilting store and was quite the quilter. I spent a good deal of time going to her quilting clubs and trying to avoid the old ladies that smelled like cat food. I was surrounded by all types of fabrics, sewing tools, and quilting notions. I took a liking to these little tomato pin cushions she sold in the shop. They were bright red with a Crayola Green top. I used to love to push the flat sewing pins flush with the firm cotton surface. It is always funny the random things that I remember from those times.

So, You are most definitely asking how these two random paragraphs relate. Well...here it is. I have a close friend who loved to take baths in the antique tub in her old apartment. I could tell this by two things: She would often answer her phone while she was "tubbing" and a weird watery echo then ensued for the length of our conversation. Also, by the enormous collections of magazines watermarked and crinkled from their occasional splashes and dips into the bath laying in her palatial bathroom. The magazines were a mix of Vegetarian Times, Domino, and my favorite, Martha Stewart "Living".      

       The other day she called and said she had a project for us to work on for her day trip up to Portland. It was a feature on heirloom fabric tomato pin-cushions from a very old issue of Martha's "Living". I tried to hide my giddiness because no one is supposed to be that psyched about a pin cushion OR an old Martha issue. I was. 

      While I waited for her to arrive I put the monster, Oops I mean baby, in the swing praying for quiet and ran to my craft room. I outsmarted the wiley pile of Leon's old computer parts to grab my fabric stash and set up shop in the living room. As my friend unpacked her pile of textiles the contrast of our palette choices was obvious, but we did have a few of the same patterns.

        A fun day of obsessive crafting, wine drinking, rocking babes to sleep, and "coffee talk" followed. Take a look at the "fruit" of our labor.   Just let me know if anyone wants detailed instructions. 

These below were our first attempts. No comment.

Not your Gramma's Canape'

One fateful summer in Maine, a Democrat actually tried to run for Congress...Go figure. Of course I had the pleasure of being an indentured servant to one of his top "people". A few hours before a large fundraiser my job description of nanny changed...to caterer? I had the task of preparing several different types of appetizers to be passed. It was a fundraiser set against the backdrop of a private beach estate and many people in attendance would not be impressed with Tostito's and salsa for the cost of their invites. They talk about champagne taste on a beer budget. Well, I had to have gourmet hors d'ouvres on a cheese 'n' crackers time frame. 

My Employer gave me a recipe she insisted I "whip up". I glanced at the list of ingredients...the words "Hell No" came to mind. White bread and cream cheese? However, I didn't care enough to scour Epicurious.com for the perfect canape'. White bread wrapped canned asparagus with cream cheese spread would have to do. While reading the recipe in detail I became, as I often do, a bit defiant to this dish's lack of character. I opened the fridge looking for some small additions and got down to business. That is how one of my favorite dishes was born. Forty minutes later I pulled my Siracha and blue cheese asparagus bites out of the oven and plated them for the Soiree'. A few days later, I was writing the recipe down for my boss to email to the several guests who raved about my pinch hitter canape'.  Was that last sentence me being a bit too braggy? I guess you'll just have to deal and then make these.

Gather:

Softened cream cheese (a small tub)

Four tablespoons Blue Cheese (you can add this to taste)

A loaf of the whitest, grossest bread you can find

Siracha Hot sauce 

Half cup melted butter

Fresh Asparagus cut as pictured above

Mix the cream cheese with the blue cheese and add the Siracha to taste. Cut the corners off the bread and flatten with a rolling pin (or hands). Spread a generous amount of blue cheese mixture on the flattened piece of bread. Put two or three asparagus spears in the middle and roll up. Make the roll as compact as you can. Cut the "log" in three pieces as shown below. Place on buttered baking sheet and brush generously with the melted butter. Put in freezer for twenty minutes to firm up and bake at 375 until golden brown. 

This weekend I had a friend visiting for some wine, sewing ( I couldn't bring myself to say crafting), and baby Dahlia time. I woke up and had a mere thirty minutes to go to the grocery store before the man had to leave, so I made these. My friend doesn't even like blue cheese which I remembered on my way home from the supermarche'. She loved them, at least she said she did. Also, unfortunately the Democratic candidate didn't win... hope it wasn't the food. 

Cast Your Old Tea Bags Aside and Solar Infuse Olive Oil With Your New Loose Leaf Tea...

It's no secret, I love me some tea. Not that dust and catnip that comes in bags, but fresh and robust loose leaf tea.  Tea isn't just for sipping when you have a cold, you can do all sorts of things with it. As I was putting together a friends tea themed Holiday present, I came up with the idea to delve into the world of cooking with tea. Numerous devilish and delicious deserts call for green tea in their mascarpone or mallow.  In reality, I don't bake. Never have, never will. In fact,  I am diabolically opposed to a recipe telling me in absolute terms what I can and cannot do. I don't play that. So, I have decided to solar infuse olive oil with a few different types of tea for marinades and sauteing savory dinner entrees. 

   

Below there are three kinds of tea. 

The left is a lapsang suchong, or Pine Smoked black. It is a BOLD black tea with a smoky infusion. My friend calls it camp fire tea. 

The middle is a white Earl Grey. White tea is a light tea from the newest tea leaves. It is highest in antioxidants and it is crisp with a sharp bite. This white tea has a bergamot citrus essence as is traditional for Earl Grey teas.

The right tea is a lychee fruit essence black tea. Tea producers will infuse a tea with a flavor, like bergamot, during the drying or fermentation process of the leaves. Lychee is a strong citrus like fruit that will pair well with salmon or other types of fish. 

           DIRECTIONS

1. Gather the ingredients: 

A glass bottle with stopper. 

Mid-grade Olive Oil. 

Good organic loose leaf tea.

Later you will need a fine strainer.

2. Wash and dry glass bottle. Fill two inches from mouth with Olive Oil. BTW, I will never use the terms EVOO. Neither should you. 

3. Fill with approximately two tablespoons of the tea leaves. Use your judgement when utilizing smaller or larger containers. Note:container should be clear for solar infusion.

4. Cork container and place in moderate sunlight for a week and a half. Oil may become cloudy, don't worry, oil with preserve anything and cloudiness doesn't effect the flavor. 

5. Strain the oil with a fine strainer and return to container. 

Above is the Lapsang Suchong Oil

White Earl Grey Oil Above

My first inclination is to use the oil in a marinade for fish and tofu. When my oil is fully infused I will get in the kitchen and post a recipe that worked. In the meantime, I suggest googling some tea recipes to see what you can with your leftover tea. You can make a hell of an alcoholic punch!. Put your tea bags down, loose leaf is where it's at.  

Make Your Mark...On a Plant Pot...

          One summer I went to Sweden on an extended trip. It was an unforgettable adventure featuring abundances of weird sausage plates, 30$ dollar kamikaze shots, bizarre Scandinavian night clubs, and a Nas concert in a huge open park just hours before my flight back.

   Back home, in a less exciting Portland, I had a glorious kitchen full of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs graciously about to bear the fruit of my high hopes. Starting tomatoes and peppers from seed in Maine indoors is no easy task. They habitually become too leggy and mine had fought a bitter battle for limited window space & sunlight but they had prevailed.

       While In Sweden I had trusted my apartment, mail, AND my precious plants to a friend who was sick of staying at her parents house before she moved cross country.  After several calls back home to my makeshift "house sitter" went unreturned I feared the worst...and I was right.  The sweltering heat of a closed up third floor apartment had stolen my cherry tomatoes and my green thumb for that summer...to be a bit dramatic. 

     In a forced and sheepish attempt to apologize for the agricultural mishap, my scatterbrained, plant killer friend procured some new greenery in an ugly pot. Uggghhh. Not one to throw things away, no matter how ugly something might be, I kept it. But today I decided to give the pot and some others a makeover. And yes, we are still friends.

      The Offending Plant Pot

       Of course it won't be an ordinary craft paint and polka dot plant pot spruce up. I am going to use the chalkboard paint I purchased to make chalkboard pots. This way I can remind myself of re-potting dates, type of plant, and origin of possession. Oh, and maybe I will write a reminder for Leon to be more careful when vacuuming and just plain walking near the plants. My Terra Cotta graveyard needs no more additions. 

 So here's the basic directions because it's a basic project. Get to it, Summer is peeking round' that corner, promise. 

                      

•  Spray your clean, dry plant pot with chalkboard spray. Decorate as you see fit.  You will need heavy coats as the porous terra cotta is thirsty.   

             It was good idea to give the ugly duckling pot a paint job hoping to turn it into a swan, however, it didn't work. I underestimated my loathing for the color combination of black and red. So, in the end it's still ugly, but at least I tried. Here is the repeat offender...

• The whole endeavor wasn't a complete bust. See for yourself, I might not believe me if I were you after the last pot re-decorating disaster. 
  

             

Read These Books...For Real...

"The Secret Life Of Plants" 

by Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins

This book is a 1978 non-fiction about the crazy experiments on plants and their "personalities". It is also the name of a damn good Stevie Wonder album. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_secret_life_of_plants

"Paris Underground" (2005) By Caroline Archer and Alexandre Parre'

 

A crazy dope non-fiction pictorial book about the history of the art ridden tunnel complex under Paris. It interests the history buffs and the street art crowd. 

                        

            

"The Organic Suburbanite: An Environmentally Friendly Way To Live The American Dream"

By Warren Schultz...The way we live our lives and run our home are heavily influenced by the American Dream and its ideals. This book brings it all into perspective to give us some tips to alleviate the tread on the earth.

An excellent non-fiction novel that I picked up in an old resale book shop..."Waiting by Ha Jin"

It's a simple tale of a Chinese military officer caught between two worlds (and obviously two chicks) during  the beginning of the Socialist Government in China. 

AND FINALLY...My Number One Recommendation for EVERYONE...

"The Wu Manual"   by the RZA

I bought this book for an old boyfriend at his request and I would soon find myself being read bedtime stories from this ultra handy manual. It includes everything from how to wear your pants,to explaining Wu Tang lyrics, all according to the RZA...PRICELESS! I bought it at the same time as I bought the "Organic Suburbanite"...quite the Juxtaposition...read it...don't judge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_wu_manual

Enjoy-Kate

Drink Wine So You Can Make your own Cork Board...

                    One rainy Maine Fall, a few years ago, a good friend and I made drinking wine our number one seasonal job. We rationalized the consumption saying that we would make our own cork boards with the plethora of corks we would have on hand. 

       Every purchase was a carefully scouted decision based on the unique qualities of the cork, if the wine was bad, we just drank that one at the end of the night. We calculated the number of corks needed and realized that even we could not drink that many bottles. Hell, if we did, we would forget to ever make the cork boards.

         So our cork board dreams waned and over the years my cork collection increased slightly while my time for projects decreased dramatically. The other night I concocted this small test project as I was awake at four a.m. It was super easy and relatively inexpensive, plus each cork tells a story unlike the ones you can buy. 

       My former wine guzzling partner is coming to visit next weekend and I think I will give this to her as a keepsake to remember that fall and all that wine. 

Here is the list of supplies you will need. Shop your LOCAL art supply when you can!!

1. Corks (about 10-15 for the size shown)

2. A cheap or antique picture frame with glass removed and backing still in

3. Slate finish-quick drying-chalk board paint (one pictured worked great)

4. Craft contact adhesive in tube, clear. " "

5. Acrylic craft paint if you wish to paint your frame

6. SUPER sharp x-acto knife

7. Thick rubbery cutting mat. This really helps control the corks for cutting with that sharp X-acto knife

8. A "Gessoed Art Board" made by Speed Ball found near the flat canvas'. Buy one the same size as the backing of your picture frame. If you can't find one the same size,  you can easily cut it to size with a small hand saw (The Board is the Mona Lisa label below)

9. Fun permanent adhesive stickers- I found mine in the dreaded Scrapbooking aisle.

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray the art board with a light coat fully covering surface with chalk board spray

Paint your frame if you wish to do so at this time as well

2. While you wait for first coat to dry, half the corks lengthwise carefully... I almost lost an index 

on this step. 

3. Coat chalkboard again and let dry one hour.

4. When dry, place chalkboard surface in frame and secure backing.

5. Chose your layout of the assorted corks. You may have to cut some of the end ones to fit, just make sure you stagger this so it doesn't look too engineered.

6. Glue in place the corks, starting with the bottom and working up. On the top row only put adhesive on bottom two thirds of the cork so the glue will not show.

7. Once all corks are secure, place your sticker and let dry. 

I plan on writing on the chalkboard portion some good wines for my friend to try

Grow This Tree...

Ceramic bird courtesy Kara Kowalczyk. Broken Pot courtesy of Leon.

       One summer night my fiance offered to cook dinner and I knew that it would include meat, red meat. It was Carne' Esada, so while it included a flat ironed spiced rubbed meat,the meal also had an avocado to pit and chop up.

      Over the eight years I was a nanny I was constantly reassuring the youngest child that you could grow your own tree from the pit inside the green guacamole' maker. After many failed attempts, I began to secretly doubt this. I had dismissed it as an agricultural urban myth. 

          However, my reluctant optimism got the best of me and we tried to sprout the seed from our Spanish feast. Maybe it was the magic window in his cavernous third floor West End Apartment,  or maybe I  had gotten pretty good at sprouting things, seeing as I became pregnant with our daughter the same week. 

           Who knows, but you can't leave it up to chance so here's some tips if you have always been curious... I assure you, this is no myth.

 

• Dry the Pit in the sun for a few hours
  
• Stick three toothpicks a half inch in the pit at the half way point of pit (lengthwise)
  
• Place the wide round portion in a cup of clean water-make sure it is submerged up to half way mark
• Place in sun and keep water level constant. Do not pour out, just refresh
• In about four to six weeks it will sprout roots and leaves
• Three weeks after pit sprouts green leaves from top, snip them off and wait three more weeks
• It's time to pot the plant- put it half way submerged in soil in a lofty sized pot with leaves open and free from soil.
• Water fairly often, keep soil moist not muddy. It also helps to mist plant. Moderate sunlight. If leaves turn light or yellow it means too much H20.
• Keep in sun-bring outside in summer-bring inside in winter if temps are below 45 degrees
• Prune your plant, I didn't keep up with this but I'm sure it helps grow a sturdier base plant
• Your tree will begin to bear avocados in a bout two years. Pollination is tough, so it helps to have multiple  plants close in proximity.

                       About half of all trees cultivated will bear fruit. So it's kind of a gamble but either way, if you win- you come up with green. 

Welcome To The Simple Circus

Life is a Circus, and I love it. Here you will find random things, thoughts, recipes, and projects of mine. I live in a great city and have amazing friends. Good food, exceptional wine, and crafty crafts are a way of life, my way of life.

I'm no Oprah, but I too have a changing collection

 of things I enjoy immensely.

Currently...

 

 Cheap Spanish espresso coffee in a tin 

  French Toile fabric and it's numerous applications

                                      

        Our lady of Guadalupe Candles

                   

   Vintage clothing tags 

                                 

         Matchboxes. Matches are a dying breed

     

Growing my own avocado tree in a third floor walk-up