Binding Tape

This apron that I made from a poorly tested pattern in A is For Apron was my reward for working on my grad school essay. I bought the fabric with a $20 that a mad man dropped on the floor at work and didn't come back to get, ever. He probably didn't notice considering he had a huge wad of money shoved into a crumpled newspaper and asked one of my co-workers to help him count it in the kids department. Creepy. East Liberty is pretty rough. Anyway, I made my own binding tape and loved it! Everyone says the bias is so great and they were right. It hugged the curves easily and really made the apron look professional.

Our Winery

A couple months ago Brandon bought some beer and wine making equipment from a very enthusiastic garage salesman. Then his employer moved to a new building down the street from a really excellent wine and brewing supply store and our winery was born. So far he has bottled peach, blackberry (we picked them at his grandma's!), and coffee. The coffee is an exotic taste (read: sort of horrifying but not terrible.) We have pineapple, blueberry, strawberry, orange, and cranberry working right now. They taste really good, too!

Opening Day

After an exhausting attempt at being a football fan last year I signed on to only participate in the "big" games. Like the season opener. We had those same old amazingly delicious ribs. I also made a successful soft sweet dinner roll. My life has gotten that much better since giving up in the biscuit crusade. The roll recipe was from Joy of Cooking. Of course it was, right? Also, we had corn in butter with parsley.

Deep Dish

So I've become a little obsessed with home-made pizza. Thanks to a last minute glance through of last month's Good Food magazine I discovered deep dish. Not only is it yummy and a tidy presentation but the oil I coated the bottom with and the dough combined to give my much abused iron skillets some tlc.

Also, some last minute sangria. I mushed up some frozen strawberries with sugar and the juice of one lemon, sliced a couple peaches and combined with some jug wine. I also added a slug of orange juice which I would not recommend as the flavor was a little more subtle before that step. It was served with soda and ice in my precious pansy glass from the goodwill.

Caramelized Onions & Peas

This is loosely based off a "pitza" my ex-boyfriend used to order at a local restaurant that serves middle eastern food that is good but not very interesting. The one he got was much spicier and had chicken. I don't even remember liking it that much but suddenly woke up the other day desperate to make this. I had a container of tangy tomato sauce left over from a Moosewood meal. The peas were heated in a little oil with garam masala. The onions were finely sliced and caramelized. I made a big pan of them to mix with yogurt and cheddar in another loose remake of a real winner from Amy Sedaris.

Sicilian Pi

I took a cue from Laura and tried my hand at recreating a Pi favorite. I covered the crust with grated provolone, about 6 cloves garlic minced, sliced tomato sprinkled with generous salt and pepper and a handful of chopped parsley. It was really amazing. The crust wasn't the same, obviously, but I do intend to eventually try it with a pie crust. I think I may make this for dinner again tonight.

Recently Eaten

Bacon Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries.
I mixed chopped onion in the meat along with the usual worcestershire, salt, and black pepper. The fries were tossed with olive oil and baked until nearly destroyed in a 475 oven. Not pictured: amazing homemade Ranch Dressing. I found the recipe in How to Boil Water by the Food Network.


Chicken Green Bean Stir-fry

Made from a pretty close following of the recipe in the most recent Rachael Ray magazine. The sauce was better than good. Next time I would double the sauce, halve the chicken and replace it with more veggies, and double the rice.