Mic-mic-microscope

This is a not-particularly-well-rendered scan of my most recent efforts into the realm of SCIENCE. Yes, it's  true: my interests are not only in the area of science fiction, but also science itself (insofar as it can be rendered in tiny thread stitches.)  

Up next? It could be a Bird of Prey, it could be the Canadarm. OR MAYBE it will be Kamala, the empathic metamorph who pair-bonds with Picard only to be cruelly ripped away (in the name of Duty) in episode 21, season 5, The Perfect Mate. Only time will tell.

Do it yourself. No seriously, do it yourself. I don't wanna.

That's a bald-faced LIE! I DO wanna do it myself.

Brian and I have done-it-ourselves again. This time, it was Pho (which is pronounced 'fuh' or 'foo' or something else other than 'foh', which apparently sounds like the word for poop. Or something. Anyway. Oops!). Brian loves Pho. He loves the way it makes your eyes water and your nose run, and the fact that you have to work your way through all of that broth to get to the solid parts. Naturally, we had to try making it ourselves, which involved:

- 5 pounds of beef knuckle for the broth

- 3 pounds of additional beef

Thirty dollars worth of animal parts, in other words. Thank god it provided us with enough broth to make lots of Pho AND ALSO potentially drown a person in.

Throw in some star anise, cloves, charred onions and ginger (putting my burning-stuff-skills to good use) and you're just about there.

Pair it with a bottle of the world's finest home brew, and you have a night to remember.

Elementary, My Dear Readers

I'm sorry to report that the updating fire nearly (NEARLY) died in the Internet-related portion of my creative heart, as the scanner which once felt so near suddenly seemed to be light years away (and only reachable with the assistance of a mysterious being called The Traveller, whose mission appears to be to wander around the universe until he meets someone as awesome as Wesley Crusher (NB: Nobody is as awesome as Wesley Crusher, except the Man(?) Himself, so this seems like a frustrating endeavour)).  Lucky for all 5 of this blog's loyal followers, this Sadness did not come to pass and I present to you three not-particularly-recent creations. 

Number one is the pipe that Data uses when he's playing the part of Sherlock Holmes, in what is quite possibly my least favourite TNG storyline trope (see: a story from a book played out in a holodeck on a ship in a TV show I'm watching in my living room. I don't care what kind of wacky effects the goings-on in the holodeck have on the Enterprise as a whole, I demand more aliens! (Unless those aliens are giving Riker yet another chance to be smarmy in which case you can keep them to yourself and, okay, I'm fine with Data wearing Tweed and affecting an accent)).  I'm going to go out on a limb here, actually, and say that my embroidered, embuttoned representation of the pipe is actually better than the episode that inspired it. 

Moving on, the second button depicts the Klingon battleaxe that Worf uses on the guy in the green mask, whom you will no doubt recall has already been so lovingly rendered and shared on this blog. Not much to say here except Worf talks a big game about training and being a warrior, but when any kind of fighting takes place he sure goes down quickly and with little effort. I'm just saying.

The final button is the goopy black tar monster that ***SPOILER ALERT*** kills Tasha Yar on the Sad Sand Planet of Styrofoam Rocks in the episode Skin of Evil (and in so doing somehow made me cry. Who knew such a thing was possible?) This Tar Guy was extra grumpy and acting-out because his people had all ditched him there when they left for another home planet, due to his being thoroughly unpleasant and embodying all of the evil in their world. Clearly by the time he killed Tasha he had not yet looked within to find life's answers, and was instead still blaming everyone else. 

Will he ever become self-actualised and find redemption? Will any of us? 

Back on the scone train

It's been a while!

Nobody was eating any scones around here over the past two weeks. The first weekend, near the beginning of March, was way too busy. The second one, last weekend, was spent in Toronto, where we woke up to fresh blueberry muffins, fruit salad and coffee compliments of our B&B, and then Brian's great aunt and uncle.

The last time I sconed, it resulted in two batches: Pina Colada, and Peanut Butter and Bacon. Both were awesome, and within a few hours, thanks to some hungry musicians, this is what we were left with:

So, after a two week drought, I made a batch of rhubarb scones. I'd been under the false assumption that rhubarb was pretty much inedible unless it was mixed with strawberries, but I forgot to buy more strawberries after accidentally eating all of them in one of my sleep-eating episodes.

In light of this, I did what any reasonable person would do: I went to the cupboard and consulted Marie Nightingale's "Out of Nova Scotia Gardens" cookbook. Rhubarb is kind of a big deal back home, whether you're sneaking it out of someone's garden and eating it until your face feels like it's going to turn inside out, or tucking into a strawberry rhubarb crisp. I flipped through the rhubarb section (see? It's a big enough deal to have its own section), noted the ingredients it seemed to get friendly with, and came up with Rhubarb, Orange and Walnut Scones. They were dope.

Because I am an amazing lover, I did all of this with the end goal of bringing Brian breakfast in bed, as I usually do on Saturdays (aka Sconerdays). Because I am also crazy, I posed the food, ingredients, cookbook and coffee and took a picture for this blog. I made food porn. I'm sorry, and you're welcome.

Honour is a Good Feeling at Any Time of the Year

Ever wondered what kind of mask is featured on the monster that Worf fights in the holodeck when he's training to be a Klingon Ninja (Klinja)? That would be the first button on the left. 

Have you had nightmares about Data's arm being removed in the court when that jerk was trying to get permission to take him apart by proving he was not really a sentient being, but was instead property of Starfleet? Well, are you in luck with that middle creation! 

"Hey," you say to yourself, "what was that crazy weapon that killed the bystander when Tasha Yar went to the 'African' planet and had to fight off the ruler's First Wife in a fluorescent light-enhanced gladiatorial battle, after the ruler decided he wanted to Get With Her (in the biblical way)?"  That's right! Button number 3!  

You'd think that I would have more to show for the last two weeks, but I've actually been cheating on Star Trek with a Different Embroidery Project of an Entirely Different Nature (photos probably not forthcoming).  Hopefully these delays won't continue!

I MADE SOMETHING WEARABLE!

That's right, people. I made something - no, TWO THINGS - Tamara won't have to rip apart and fix for me. They may even manage to keep me clothed, as per Canadian law, in public. I may even leave the house looking presentable, no thanks to the clearance rack in the juniors section of Sears.

First, a dress I have been working on for ages, and which still requires a few nips and stitches, a clasp to keep my cups from runnething over (not usually a problem, but I'm approaching 30 and These Things Happen, according to my doctor), and possibly a corset:

And then, a full skirt to stand in for the one I can't afford/can't bear to invest in at Club Monaco. It looks almost pleated in the picture, but it's an optical illusion (c'est magique!) created by sets of 3 vertical black pinstripes, placed a few inches apart. I used gingham ribbon for the waistband, a side zip (sewn properly, the first time!) and I can't wait to wear it FAR too early in the season, perhaps tomorrow:

There's somethin' happenin' here...

What it is... you'll find out later.

Tanzanian Dress

I always put in requests for my globetrotting father to pick out for me unique fabric from places he's visited. Recently I received this hand printed fabric from Tanzania in the mail - its a light cotton. I wanted to make a dress that highlighted the patterns in the fabric - here is the result. I love a day dress for summertime - its so comfortable - like walking around in one's pajamas.

Deep Pleats

Yet another skirt - made with fabric picked up for me by by father in India. This skirt - though slim in shape - actually uses a ton of fabric (around 2 meters). I wanted to make a skirt that was both architectural (hence the deep pleating) and heavy. So, a lot of fabric went into it. It also has large deep pockets. Again - love pockets!

Open-backed dress

I’ve been interested in creating a dress with a cutout in it and so I came up with the design shown below. The problem with cutouts is that the fit needs to be really good and the material of a certain stiffness otherwise there will be an unflattering pull to the garment. I’m really happy how this one turned out and it has pockets! Love pockets!

Reduce, reuse, recycle, reupholster

I’ve reupholstered every piece of furniture that I own several times over on account of the nasty clawing creature I live with (Mr. Fisher). One of my more recent projects involved the painting and reupholstery of four dining room chairs in silk damask. Silk is NOT a traditional upholstery fabric – its not long wearing and is easily and irreparably stained by moisture and oils. But its so pretty – so even knowing this I decided to use it.
The chairs were purchased on Kijiji and unfortunately were from the home of a chain smoker. I will never ever buy chairs that have been around smoke in this way again – it took tons of cleaning with TSP and multiple layers of paint to get rid of the smell and still the residue will seep through the paint job.
For any upholstery job you will need foam, sometimes cotton batting, upholstery needles (curved) depending on the project, a staple gun, hammer and upholstery nails, material and cotton backing (depending on the project). I find that foam is rather expensive in Canada – but really high quality foam will last for ages and can be used over and over again for different projects.
The chairs were hideously ugly when we first bought them – but after some love I find them much cuter and we’ve managed to save ourselves from buying expensive chairs, made who knows where, shipped from across the world and probably containing fire retardant chemicals. After initial interest from Mr. Fisher, he has since given up on destroying this particular piece of furniture and so they are actually standing up rather well.
Also, here is a picture of a chair and foot rest that I recovered in fabric that I thought looked like a pebble beach – but once on the furniture it looks more like the hide of strange animal. As you can see, Mr. Fisher approves. Him and the furniture animal do regular battle and I foresee more upholstery projects in my future.

Scone of the week: Apple and old cheddar with streusel topping

Behind the scenes, it ain't pretty. I make a big mess every time I bake. I always have to wash my clothes afterward, because I still can't control my habit of wiping everything on myself instead of, you know, a towel, or whatever adults do. But while I'm sharing, you should know that beneath all of those burnt blobs and blips of miscast streusel lies one of the best investments I have ever made: a Silpat. I've been known to create full-blown fires in our oven, so anything that cuts down on the likelihood of burning food gets my approval.

Anyway. Scones. These puppies are good. No, great. They are the best scones yet: they've got chunks of apple, hunks of sharp, old, white cheddar, a pinch of cinnamon and cloves, and crunchy, buttery, oaty streusel on top. I have, in effect, recreated apple pie with a slice of cheddar (a favourite pairing of my father's I used to find puzzling, if not revolting. Alas, just like his peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, I've come around to it and regretted wasting the first 20-odd years of my life not eating it.), only in scone form, so it's acceptable breakfast fare. Right? Right.

Plenty of soup for you

I do not think of myself as a lover of soup. As a rule. It doesn't feature on my desert island list. It's not one of the foods I daydream about while camping in the backcountry. It wasn't one of the things I doodled, salivating, with a pencil and paper, when I had my wisdom teeth and tonsils out (separate incidents; perhaps because it is one of the only things you're allowed to eat when you've had those particular body parts yanked out).

But something happened tonight - something with roots stretching back into the beginning of the week, when I surveyed the contents of my refrigerator and tried to figure out what to do with the odds and ends left over from meals gone by. (It's a perpetual problem; especially when dealing with buttermilk. Who ever uses the whole carton without some serious, frantic, pre-expiry-date recipe searching?) In any case, something happened. I had to make buttermilk biscuits, and I found myself planning to make soup to go along with them. And not to spoil the ending for you, but clearly I don't know myself that well at all. I really, really liked this soup. It also reminded me of other soups I adore, and which I only have a month or so left to make before the Ottawa summer sets in (optimistic, je sais) and barbecue becomes the only realistic means of preparing food.

Anyway. You need a diversion from the soup so LOOKATTHESEBISCUITS! They are... well... perfect. I love them. I think you should make them, say, tomorrow. I've served them with chili, turkey stew, jambalaya, chowder and all alone for lunch. They're the ideal mix of salty and sweet, with a kick of onion and the tang of buttermilk, all packed into one fluffy, moist little circle. Tonight, Brian made them, because I was too busy chopping and slicing and simmering and sauteeing, and I will say it with pride: the man can bake. (If you make them, don't skimp on the sea salt on top. Just ask my dad.)

But the soup was so good, it was hard to decide whether to take a bite of biscuit or a slurp of soup (so very hard! The humanity!). You should probably make it too. You'll like it because it's earthy, with precisely the right broth:chunks ratio. And you might just fall in love with dried porcini mushrooms, which I did, about a year ago.

Now. What am I going to do with the dark green parts of those leeks? Seriously. One billion dollars to the person who comes up with a truly delicious and worthwhile recipe that uses the part of the leek nobody else has the huevos to do something about.

Mr. Fisher Fancy Blanket

This is a very princessy blanket that I made not long ago with fabric gifted to me from my lovely sister in Kyiv. The fabric is thick and so I didn’t feel like it would work as a garment. This was one of my first attempts making a quilt and - unsurprisingly - I have since learned that I did the entire project backwards. One is meant to sew a quilt from the center out rather than the outside to center. Had I thought about it for a second I should have figured this out – but I didn’t – so, voila! A slightly odd but never-the-less cute blanket. But, MY! – Who is that handsome creature lurking underneath there? He certainly looks mighty fancy!

Gold Lame Pencil Skirt

My sister picked up this gold lame fabric for me in Kyiv a while ago. It was hard to know what to make out of it – but I ended up making a pencil skirt. As yet, I’ve only worn it once – I guess I just don’t have enough occasions upon which to wear a gold lame pencil skirt. I also have two pillows that match my skirt. I consider the whole ensemble together (skirt plus pillows) very fashion forward – non?

Liberty

The Liberty department store (est. 1987) in London (on Regent street) is a must see for textilophiles! I’ve never seen such a selection of fine carpets – but the main thing I go there for are the bright patterned cottons that are probably the only things in the store that I would consider reasonably priced. Last time we were there we managed to stealthily snap a few pictures of the textile section. My favorite selections of cottons are from the Art Collection – each season a series of prints from different artists are launched. This seasons prints are from Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry, Paul Morrison, Mike McInnerney, Michael Angove, Anj Smith, and Simon Hart.
I’ve included here a picture of three pieces I’ve made from Liberty cottons – which only get softer the longer I have them (I also have placemats to match one of the skirts shown here because when you sew – that’s just the sort of thing that happens).

Scone of the (last) week: Honey Vanilla Almond

In January, I made a promise to myself and The Generalized Other that I would create a new, unique scone every weekend.

So far, I have kept that promise, with the exception of this Saturday, when I fulfilled another promise made to a Significant Other: that I would, when the time was right, attempt to bake cinnamon rolls.

This post isn't about them, unfortunately, because when I went to take a picture of the last one, it had 'mysteriously' disappeared. But they were pretty good, especially the second batch, which I made more carefully, with more flour on my hands, knowing and avoiding the mistakes I made with the first batch. Still though, even the duds, made duddish mostly by their gnarly, sloppy aesthetic, were pleasant, balanced, indulgent.

Enough about them. This post is about last week's scone: nicknamed 'The Nougat', it was my secret base recipe (to be revealed later, surely) with the addition of real vanilla, toasted sliced almonds, and honey (not enough of it).

They were only OK. They were not as good as previous scones, such as the apricot walnut beauties I debuted with, or the bacon, pecan and maple-glazed garlic heart-stoppers I tried two weeks ago. Next week's are sure to be a hit though, so stay tuned!

This is just to say

I have eaten the

marshmallows

that were in the cupboard

and which you were probably

saving

for baking

forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so soft

- Adapted from William Carlos Williams's poem about plums.

I wouldn't steal someone's plums. I did, however, on a regular basis, eat the marshmallows my mom had intended for baking. I learned how to do this from my dad, marshmallow-consumer-extraordinaire. I thought a marshmallow couldn't get much better than the first one snuck from a freshly-opened bag, consumed in secret, standing up, leaning against the counter, but I was wrong.

I had my first small-batch marshmallow at the Gingerbread House Inn in Wolfville two Christmases ago. We bought a bag of them at Pete's Frootique, packed them down with us, and ate them, in our robes, with champagne and other vices. It was a good night.

I thought it couldn't get much better than that.

Wrong again.

I made my own last weekend, after months of intention to do precisely that. I can't say I'll never buy another mass-produced package again, but it's going to be a rare occasion. These were easy, fun to make, they offered plenty of bowl-scraping, 'necessary' taste testing along the way, and the phrase "I made marshmallows" is about as foreign and satisfying to say as "I touched a monkey" or "I shook hands with Liberace."

If you're interested in trying, you need only a candy thermometer, one or two weird ingredients (potato starch and gelatin), and this recipe. Note: I added vanilla bean to mine. It was a good idea.

Also, because I am too lazy to transfer anything over from my old, failed, cooking blog, you can check it out here for more recipes and rambling.

Painting with Acrylics

Its been many, many years since I last picked up a paint brush - and so, a painting attempt was long overdue. I bought a rather large canvas - 4 ft by 2 1/2 and after some noodling around came up with this picture. It was my first time working with acrylics - I've always painted with oils. The quick drying time which hampered blending was made up for by the lack of mess and the ability to finish a painting in under two hours. It's definitely something I'll be trying again. I think that the sheen on the acrylic lacks depth and so I'm looking to add a layer of gloss over it to mimic an oil finish.

Skirts are just so quick and easy to make - and there are such endless combinations! Here are three of my recent efforts - a blue Black dress with pockets that stick out, a pencil skirt with fold-over pockets, and an Ikta mini.

Ikat is among my favorite fabrics. This particular fabric is from Uzbekistan and is rather old - it had a Soviet era hand stamp dating it to the 1970s. Ikat is so vibrant and unique - it's a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process on the threads prior to them being woven. The fabric is produced in Central and South America but also central Asia and South East Asia. Uzbek Ikat is among my favorite because it is so incredibly vibrant.

I must find myself some more!!!

Et voila - the four most recently completed buttons. Of these, I think my favourites are the shuttlecraft and the uniform top - the other two just didn't quite Make It.  Live and Get Better, though, hopefully.

(From L-R) The first is a shuttlecraft from an episode in Season 1 that I can't remember just at the minute - my heart says Code of Honour but my Internet searches tell me otherwise. Maybe some other Nerd will recognise it and let me know. "FULLY FUNCTIONAL" is of course a key quote from (everybody's favourite episode) The Naked Now, when the Drunken Virus fills the ship, Tasha goes and steals all of Troi's most alluring scarves to safety pin into an outfit in which to seduce Data (who is apparently programmed in a variety of techniques, if you get his drift), and after the antidote is found everybody works somewhat fruitlessly to de-awkward the Bridge environment and move on to something more PG. The third button is Tasha's regulation uniform, and is a little homage to her inspired by her (SPOILER ALERT) Death By B-Movie Quality Tar Monster (that button to come!) in Skin of Evil. The final work of Art is an Eiffel Tower with a space ship in honour of We'll Always Have Paris, where Picard has to save the universe AND get over a decades-old previous heartache (in Paris, obviously). Romantic!

Star Trek Buttons 1, 2, 3

Here are my first three efforts - all season 1.  The first is the Terallian Ship from the episode called Haven.  The next two are from the first-ever episode, Encounter at Farpoint (these aren't being done in any particular order). 

When I was first watching TNG at 12 or 13 I approached every show with a seriousness that was somehow undiminished by the general silliness of the special effects and plot lines. Now I spend much of each episode giggling, and noticing interpersonal dynamics and acting ... techniques, which I'm sure I did not see at the time.  Neither is a better approach. The show is still Genius.