2nd Yule at SilverHouse - An Adventure in Building Traditions

Hello folks!

Welcome to our second holiday season at SilverMoon!

This year, thanks to a visit from D's parents and a giftcard for my birthday from my mom, we really upped the holiday spirit in the house. Since I didn't come here with a lot of things holiday related I've been slowly  building up my seasonal decor by getting one really nice piece a year. Last year was a blown glass Christmas tree in a clear ball, this year was a layered forest scene made out of several thin sheets of wood.

The rules for holiday decorations here are:
1. No loose glitter. Glitter gets everywhere and I hate cleaning it up, especially if it keeps hiding in various nooks in the house.
2. Dog friendly. The last thing anyone wants is a sick dog - so decorations with lots of loose parts, things that look like chew toys, or tiny decorations that could be swallowed in one gulp are all no-go.

Two rules. That's not so bad. ;-)

Last year's ornament - blown glass Christmas tree

Two piece deer and heart ornament

Perfect Christmas tree - comes with lights and easy to store!

You can tell from the photos that I also prefer things that are hand-made out of wood, glass, or ceramic. I also really like deer and elk images over little Lord Jesus. I've seen deer and elk and they are amazing, but Jesus imagery, while a concept of rebirth that I appreciate, doesn't speak to me as much. Plus, I enjoy having a religiously ambiguous home where I hope everyone can feel welcome.

The other things I like to think about before getting a new piece are where the item came from, who made it, how durable the item seems to be, and how storable it is. It isn't like we have a ton of room in the tiny house, so setting aside three feet or more for an actual tree wouldn't work on both the space level, and that I just don't want a dead tree disintegrating in my home. So - things like garlands, recycled pieces that D grew up with, and the flat-pack lit Christmas tree with two reindeer carved into it work really well in that they don't take up much space, show really well, and will all fit neatly into storage after January.

One of the fun things about living in a new place is setting new traditions. We talk about things like when to set up decorations, who does what job, how to hang the lights, and when decorations should come down. We each have our own family traditions that we are used to and just feel right - to us. D is used to Christmas stuff going up Thanksgiving evening. I'm used to things happening Christmas week or even Christmas eve. T is about a week or so after Thanksgiving. This year we set up the Yule decorations the first weekend of December - which we all liked as a group compromise.

D got out the boxes from his childhood, I went out and used my giftcard and brought home some new treasures, T helped me hang things and held the chair and untangled and tested the lights. Perhaps this is the start of a new tradition?

What sort of traditions are in your house? What sort of ornaments do you own and why? Who made them? What is their history? What are your customs around the end of the year and dawn of another? How do you build traditions in a blended household?

Next week we plan to visit ZooLights - pics and updates coming soon!

Thanksgiving Photo Update

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We enjoyed the first Thanksgiving at SilverMoon with a feast, games, movies, a concert, and walks to burn off some of those calories!

It was pretty relaxing. 4 days of friends and family, cooking, some cleaning and organizing, and we even went out into the crowds - not to buy, but just to observe the chaos and enjoy the decorations.

Early on Wednesday morning, very early, we woke to screaming and gunshots coming from outside. We couldn't see anything but it was just to the other side of our neighbor's house. Generally our street is pretty calm (yes, just our street) so this was very unexpected and upsetting.

I was not a happy camper at work on Wednesday. Thank you to my bosses and co-workers for being awesome. Wednesday was rough.

Thankfully, after work I was able to focus on preparing the menu - getting the veggies chopped, fruits washed, and sides made took my mind off the violence. I searched for the police report just to see what the story was - but they don't publish reports on open investigations so I let it go.

I assumed no one died as there were no news stories or news vans in the area. I made a pie and cranberry sauce since those things taste better after 24 hours and they took all of my attention.

Thursday I made the ham - Alton Brown style - finished the potatoes and the sides and we enjoyed a feast with friends and games and so-bad-it's-good TV.

The Menu -

::Main & Sides::

Glazed Ham

Maple Syrup baked Sweet Potatoes 

Braised Carrots and Parsnips

Corn

Biscuits

Cranberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

 

::Snacks::

Grapes

Carrot sticks and Garlic Humus

Little Oranges

 

::Desserts::

Chocolate Truffles

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Bread with home made Whipped Cream

 

::Drinks::

Ginger Ale

Apple Cider

Mulled Cider

 

When we finally got restless and dared to venture outside - the weather was lovely...cold, but lovely. We walked around Greenlake and into the stores to enjoy the throng and excitement and energy without feeling the need to buy anything.

Also, my scarf matches the Japanese Maples in Waterfall Park - who knew?!

 

On Sunday we found out what the shooting was about. Apparently someone was walking their dog in the early morning hours and another dog, a dog known in the neighborhood as being very aggressive, jumped the fence and attacked the dog walker and their dog. The screaming was the woman being attacked and the gun shots were someone shooting the attacking dog.

Lessons learned -

My neighborhood is interesting.

Keep an eye out when walking you dog.

In my neighborhood folks pack poop bags AND loaded guns when they go out in the morning.  

 

 

Easy-Peasy Meal Planning

Does this ever happen to you?
You go to the grocery store, walk around for way too long, find a bunch of deals and things that look yummy, pile everything into your cart, pay way too much money, then get home to unpack everything only to discover that you have no idea what you are going to make for dinner. To top it off, you've spent so much time in the shopping center that you feel rushed to try to make anything moderately edible!

...this has happened to me more than once...

So - to change things up, I made a grocery list, started planning meals, and it has been wonderful!

When you go to the store knowing what you are planning to eat for the week and knowing what items you need to buy - you get into the store, shop, and leave. It saves time by letting you skip unneeded browsing, and it saves money but making sure that the food you are buying wont be wasted.

In a tiny house with a small fridge - everything needs a place. I don't have acreage of refrigerator shelves for left overs or random groceries. I don't have extra money for bread to go moldy or veggies to go limp from want of eating. I don't have extra time to stroll casually from aisle to aisle browsing cereals and pondering what to make for the evening.

If you have and excess of these three things, well, enjoy (or come over to my house and I'll put you to work) but if you don't have an abundance of space/money/time, you may find this helpful:

(Click Here) Free Shopping List

You'll notice that my list is vegetarian but you can edit it for your own use. If you absolutely never eat peas, then having peas on your grocery list is just a waste of ink. Remove it and add parsnips or something else you love.

How I use it -

1.) Make a meal plan.
I give myself 10-15 minutes to think of or find recipes for meals for the week ahead.
I'm a big fan of: Post Punk Kitchen, The First Mess, and The Food Network for ideas and resources.

Things I look for in a recipe - one pan / one pot recipes, crock pot options, and things I can grill.
They also need to have easy to understand directions, simple lists of ingredients, and bonus points for nutritional breakdowns.

Of course, I love trying new cakes and fancy stews with 25+ ingredients, but I save those for the weekend and focus instead on healthy, simple, and fast meals for the week.

Print or write these out and attach them to the list so that everything stays together.

2.) Analyze the meal plan for ingredients.
Have two recipes that call for half an onion each? Great! Chop up the whole onion and save yourself having to chop again the next day.
Mark down the ingredients you need and take stock of what things you already have in your cupboard.

3.) Take the thing to the store with you! Remember the reusable bags! :-)
Of course while you are at the store you can keep an eye out for discounts and those fancy special ingredients, but try to limit the cursory shopping to a minute or two and no more than two items. Even if there is a great sale on frozen sliced carrots - do you really have room to store all ten boxes? Instead grab one or two and start your meal planning for next week by looking up a carrot soup, carrot cake, and carrot and lemongrass curry.

4.) Save your work!
All that planning and shopping won't do you any good if you look in the fridge on Wednesday and can't remember what you were going to make. So, save yourself the stress and smack the list and recipes to your fridge with a magnet. That will keep it handy and visible for the Wednesday you had to work late and can't even remember your own name by the time you got home.

So - good luck darlings and happy cooking!
 

February Photo Update!

It has been a very busy time at the Venture House this past month!

We've been working on the tiny house pretty steadily.

Things done:

• Installed windows and doors
• Drywall and patching
• Straightening wires and cables in the ceiling
• Trimming nails and sanding the ceiling
• Painting
• Redoing the floor

I learned how to get comfortable using a staple gun and a paint sprayer. For the ceiling we had to use plastic sheeting and protective gear like a ventilator mask and goggles. Protip - put saranwrap tight over your goggles. When the paint blasts back and gets on your goggles remove and replace the saran wrap rather than smearing the paint all over trying to clean it off! :-)

It is coming along!

There was a slight break in house work - I went to Denver, CO to see D and went to FortLauderdale, FL to explore the everglades. 

(walking the dog in Denver)

(nightwalk)

(deep muddy Everglades)

(rental car free upgrade!)

(giant lizards and birds - FL wants to kill you)

(kayaking with Garl - AWESOME)

(great day on the water)

(learning to snorkel at the marina pool)

There was also a last-minute wedding I helped with. Jimu and Anesu are an awesome couple! Anesu wanted whites and creams with pale colors to accent. She also wanted white cake with strawberries, and she is allergic to flowers so no real flowers allowed. Jimu likes the color orange and everything else was up to me. 

So - I made a bunch of white cupcakes and filled them with fresh strawberry puree. I also made a bunch of strawberry cupcakes and filled those with strawberry puree for a big double-dose of awesome strawberry power! 

In all, it cost just under $100 to feed 40 people and make the cake topper. 

Yay - Frugal wedding sweets!

 

Tiny house kitchen plans!

Bit the bullet and bought a kitchen over black Friday! In the realm of house-building there are things I can do well and things I have no business doing. I have no business doing plumbing or electrical - although I can help for both, if I were in charge it would take forever and possibly be all backwards!

Things I can do - insulation, drywall, painting, and building ikea furniture. We got high gloss grey base cabinets but we plan to custom build the top cabinets to hold gallon mason jars. I can't handle standard top cabinets, they tend to get left open all the time and constantly threaten to take one's eyes out. Poor Hubs has been nearly mortally wounded! Plus, I can't reach half of the height. Our current top cabinets are mostly unused except to store things we only use on special occasions.

Not my kitchen - but this is a picture of the high-gloss grey. 

So - high gloss grey for the bottoms, white custom gallon mason jar holders on the top. The countertop will be poured by the same awesome folks who sanded and leveled the floor. It should be white or pale grey somewhat like the picture. 

Also - working model of the plans for the house. The door to the workshop goes into the shared space for working on bikes, sewing, crafting, and all the hobbies of the associated house residents. You'll notice the lack of a stove...well, we decided not to get one! Instead, we have a retractable induction cooktop that sits below the cabinet so there are no seams between the countertop and the stove. When needed, it will just pull out from the counter and pop up on the countertop. 

If I need an oven, there is a standard stove just upstairs. 

The washer and dryer are shared but it will be so nice not to have to share them with 20 other apartments. 

This is the working model - more to update as work progresses! 

Lemon Curd - egg and butter free

Oh, Lemon Curd, how I love thee!

Sunny, tart, sweet, tangy, but still smooth and rich and creamy - how do you do it?

Is it butter?

All those egg yolks?

Does lemon curd have to be filled with so much saturated fat in order to taste so good?

According to the internet: yes.

Well, in the words of Adventure Time's Earl of Lemongrab, "UNACCEPTABLE!"

I worked through last week with flavors and ingredients trying to find a suitable egg and dairy free lemon curd. First came the vegan sites and blogs. Vegan cooking is a happy hobby of mine and finding healthy alternatives to traditional dished can be a great experience. But, with two vegan lemon curd recipes tried and the results not-so-stunning, I decided to try my own. 

Cornstarch didn't have the right texture, and coconut milk altered the flavor and left it a bit weak. 

Chance left me with some very large stalks of green rhubarb from a sweet family in Tacoma. When they bought the house it came with several fruit trees and a HUGE rhubarb plant. She had rhubarb stalks as thick as my wrist but she simply didn't like the taste / texture of rhubarb in general so it was all going to waste. We connected online and I ended up with a bucket of rhubarb waiting for a recipe!

So, I had all this rhubarb and I needed something tangy and flavorful to add to the lemon juice... ha! Flavor Experiment!

The rhubarb was washed, cut, cut and simmered with a little sugar, lemons, ginger, real vanilla, low sugar pectin, and lemon zest. Low heat and constant stirring as the rhubarb dissolved let the liquid evaporate without burning at the bottom of the pot. 

In the end it became a rich, thick, lemony spread - worthy of the title Lemon Curd.

Egg and Dairy free Lemon Curd!!

I have about 20 sample jars and two 9oz jars of this deliciousness. More coming soon!

The Plums Have Arrived

There is a great variety of delicious local plums coming up fragrant and ready for the picking all this week and next!

I have batches of Rosemary Plum Sauce, Ginger Plum Jam, and Strawberry Plum Preserve filling shelves soon!

 Rosemary Plum Sauce - a sweet and herb infused sauce great served over grilled lamb and red potatoes. The plums come from one tree in the Interbay neighborhood. The rosemary is picked fresh from a large bush just down the block. I place the washed and crushed rosemary into a kitchen cotton-tie bag and allow it to simmer with the plums until the syrup becomes a deep garnet and carries the smell of rosemary all the way to the neighbor's.

Ginger Plum Jam - a spicy sweet reflection at the end of summer, great with a scone and a mug of Seattle Chai Tea! These plums are sourced from a large row of trees on two different properties. The neighbors who gave me permission to pick as much as I like! (- thanks guys!) The organic ginger is from a local market, it is diced and simmered along with the plums and sugar until the sauce gels, it hits 220F, and reaches a deep dark red.

Strawberry Plum Preserve - a surprisingly rich preserve filled with large pieces of fruit and chunky juicy texture. This is a favorite on an English muffin in the morning with some Irish Breakfast Tea. I'm lucky enough to grow fistfuls of fresh strawberries on my patio! The plums are from the same source as the Ginger Plum Jam, but they are simply sliced in half and pitted and then added whole to the pot. The strawberries are sliced in half and simmered with sugar and organic lemon juice. The result is a thick preserve with large bites of fruit and a satisfyingly sweet, but not too sweet, flavor. 

I leave you with two lovely quotes by the poet Mary Oliver - 

My work is the world.Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird- equal seekers of sweetness.Here the quickening yeast, there the blue plums...                -Mary Oliver

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your wild and precious life?           - Mary Oliver

KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!

The Kickstarter is live!

I'm so excited and I hope everyone enjoys watching me be camera-shy in my tiny kitchen.

Check it out! :-)

www.tinyurl.com/SugarSpoon

SugarSpoon Kickstarter Revamp - goes live Thursday!

Hi Darlings!

So lots of little adjustments going on to make everything alright.

I found a reliable source for straight-sided glass jars! I'm working with the company to get the product to look right. Of course things will change - so the product you get may not look exactly like the product seen in the old pictures, but the recipe is exactly the same and the inside is just as tasty!


I'm working on label changes using color and different style backgrounds. I want to make them more abstract in the background, like a watercolor painting or a jam stain across the paper.

The SugarSpoon label is set - a circle with a black spoon at a dipped angle across. Also, I've got the fonts set up and the spacing looking good!

These are all back office changes, things I want to get set up before shipping out rewards to people from Kickstarter.

The Kickstarter is also getting some changes - adding a $1 option, updating and adding flavors, and just obsessing over every little thing. I'm anxious about taking that first step - Thank goodness for Doc and his ability to push me along!

Kickstarter goes live on Thursday!!!

Sugar Spoon - launches soon!

So excited to finish up all the little projects related to Sugar Spoon!

Almost done with Kickstarter - The page is all set but a certain someone (*cough, D, *cough) needs to assist me in getting the video portion of my begging for cash. The fees involved with setting up a small business are pretty high! I was surprised at how much regulation costs - business registry, insurance, website, materials, marketing, licenses, food workers card, getting your kitchen certified or signing a lease with a commercial kitchen, packaging, and tons more make this a huge investment. None of that even considers the time I've spent in the kitchen making samples and trying recipes, going to houses to collect product, trips out to buy jars and lids and rings, rearranging my whole kitchen into a little cannery...it's a huge commitment. 

So, if you help me out with fundraising I'd be ever so grateful. The Kickstarter page will go live in a week or so. I'll update again when the video is all finished.

Last weekend I went to Seafair on Saturday to enjoy the jets - D and I found a good spot away from the large crowd and in the shade. I was pretty happy actually since last year with the sunburn, sweat, long walks, and pressing crowds, had me somewhat dreading the event. 

This year was much better. I lounged in the shade and enjoyed watching the jets rumble by. My favorites are the older prop planes with the shiny aluminum and rivets. I think about how, while I'm enjoying them as a historical art show, there are certain people who would be unnerved by the demonstration. Myself, I get a little uneasy at times. These aren't toys - they are killing machines at their core. Even though they are being used to make an airshow - throwing smoke ribbons, loops, and death-defying acts to entertain, they were originally made to kill people. 

Similar to a gun show - there is beauty, and they can be used to entertain, but they weren't made with those things primarily in mind. 

I didn't go back to Seafair on Sunday. Instead, I spent the day rearranging my kitchen for Sugar Spoon. I have a limited amount of space - it's a small apartment after-all, so everything needs to find a place. This includes the massive jar collection I'm growing and the ingredients and associated supplies with the business. 

I also wanted to add some color and details to the kitchen area - you'll see the "after" in the video, but the "before" was pretty plain. The biggest issue for me is the cupboards. I hate them. 

Yeah, not joking - the horrible mouse brown that shows every fingerprint, yeah, I hate that. 

But, I can't do much about it - I tried to brighten things up with a rainbow of other colors. I'm using lots of red, yellow, and orange to try brightening up the room. 

I stained the wooden shelves a bold, bright red, using some acrylic paint, water, and a sponge. 

I layered on the watered down paint in thin coats so that they wouldn't have that sticky, heavy acrylic, feel to them. Also - full strength paint would've covered the wood grain and stuck to the bottom of my heavy mixing bowls. ... plus...I'm frugal and paint is expensive!

Also, I went to my favorite Goodwill and found some bright lemon meringue kitchen towels. I also found a new Gorgeous Item. It's an Technique brand enamel and cast iron 4qt round cooking pot with a heavy lid embossed with roses and topped with a little bird. 

My pretty kitchen find!

It is fantastic and I can't wait for the cooler months when I'll make sukiyaki, roast chicken, chili, and slow cooked black beans in it. It cost me $20, which is a ton for me to spend on anything at Goodwill, but I consider this an investment. This is a heavy duty piece that should last me forever, I can and will use it, and it is a beautiful addition to the apt that brings me joy to look at and use. 

Also, I found it on Ebay for $168.

There are still some things I'm keeping an eye out for in the kitchen - pegboard, trivets, and wall art or multi-use items that can be used as wall art. But, overall, I'm pretty happy with the results from Sunday. 

It was a busy weekend. 

This week I have plans to see Imelda May on Wednesday and then Guardians of the Galaxy on Friday. 

If you'd care to stalk me, well, I guess I just made it pretty easy. 

Also, I've got to squeeze in some kitchen time for Sugar Spoon, and side jobs cleaning and walking dogs, and meeting friends, and running amok. 

It'll be a busy week!

Mega Photo-bomb update

Hello all,
Things have been a bit busy and I just haven't gotten around to updating recently - so, to make up for my lack of follow up, here's a mega photo-bomb update!

It has been mentioned to me before that sometimes I do things with my house that other people could use to help them be more organized. 

One of those things is bundling my cables. 

For example: In my tiny two-butt kitchen there is only one precious power outlet. I have the same amount of fun kitchen gadgets as the next person who loves brownies- so I needed a solution to the power cable mess. 

All my gadgets have cords of different lengths and yet they all look the same. I used to have to grab a loose cord and follow it back to the machine that may or may not be the one I'm looking for. The other option is pulling out various devices with one hand and trying to untangle messy electrical wiring with the other. 

The solution? Zipties, bread tags, and a Sharpie!

First, I narrowed down the amount of appliances to my top three due to counter space limitations. 

I collected the plug ends of the cords and attached them together with a ziptie then followed the cords down adding a ziptie every two inches or so making one larger cord. 

At the plug ends I attached the Sharpie-labeled bread tags identifying what leads to where. 

Now, when I'm all groggy in the mornings and want some toast and tea, I reach for one cord, grab the end that says "toast" and smush it into the socket. Yay toast!

One of the other things I do in my kitchen and with the rest of my home is make the stainless shine. 

I use a cap full of Meyers or Ecover with a bucket of warm water and a few drops of lemon. 

It takes just a minute or two to get dingy and grey metal to bright and shiny!

BEFORE

AFTER

Fish babies! My Betta fish had kids while I was on vacation!

I went with Hubs to visit the family on the East Coast and that's the time my betta fish decided to enjoy themselves a little too much and spawn. Maybe they were just shy while I was watching?

For being totally absent for the majority of the action - I still ended up with about 15 little fry. They are free swimming now and I removed momma and papa into their own neighboring apartments where they try to get at each other during most of the day. When they aren't flaring and waving their fins - the male, Mr. Fish, builds bubble nests and the female, Hera, swims around her crystals and moves pebbles around at the bottom of her tank.

The babies are still too small to take pictures of - but mom and pops are photo-licious!

                     

Hera loos pretty much the same but Mr. Fish turned all dark green. His head is totally black now too - it was really surprising and fast! I've changed his diet to have less bloodworms, but I think he's just gotten darker as he matured. 

All this happened while I was visiting family and friends - Me and Bumble Bee!

Also - Its still snowy in Massachusetts! 

Alright, that's it for this picture-post. 

I need baby-names for all the little fishes - one of course is Fish, like his papa, and one of the light-colored girls will be called Chips. Fish n Chips!

This is turning into a lunch blog...

I've got a thing for lunch. Instant oatmeal may be fine for breakfast, and ramen is alright for dinner - but lunch needs to have something a little special about it.

I usually make my lunches the night before. They can take some time to make so today I tried two days of lunches at the same time. I made a crusty bread sandwich the "Alton Brown" way, added dried apricots and prunes, banana chips (on one only because I had a little extra room), chocolate cinnamon roll, cantaloupe, and grapes.

Another recent lunch:

Salad with black pepper and italian dressing (that little bottle with the aqua cap), white cheddar Cheeze-its, dries apricots, and watermelon over angle food cake. 

And one more lunch made using the same container: 

Veggie lasagna, strawberry Nutra-grain bar, apple sauce, soy yogurt, apple slices, banana chips, and a different brand of dried apricots that made me feel ill, made my dog ill, and made the Hubbs gack. We threw those out when I got home. 

These were all made using the Sistema container I raved about before. I dropped one of the containers while setting it in the drying rack and the connector piece that holds the top to the bottom shattered. I was so upset  I won't even mention - but Ty calmed me down and I used some fancy duct tape skills to reconnect the two. That's why on some of the photos the connector has gone white. 

New Lunch Box Lurvs

I heart the Sistema Klip It Lunch Cube. While nothing is unsexier than "lunch cube," it's a totally functional lunch holder and deserves love despite the horrible name. It holds enough to be a real meal, the different sized compartments rock my love for more fruits than veggies, and (very importannt) it's easy to clean.

Traditional bento boxes are pretty awesome - but I hate losing those little dividers down the garbage disposal!! I don't like putting my hand down that thing to fish them out...gives me the shivers.

So this is my lunch -

Sammich, veggie mac, applesauce, and up in the right top corner are dried cranberries and apricots. Under the dried fruit there'll be some cashews and almonds. Yay Lunch!

Not just lunch really...it can hold enough food to be breakfast, lunch, and a 2pm snack if you pack it right.

It folds up to look like this - 

It's an easy shape to store in the fridge and then grab in the morning before running out the door. The divider that covers the sandwich area locks in with the divider on the bottom so nothing gets messed up even when you toss it into the passenger seat while trying to find your ID badge.

I'm pretty happy.