Mad Scientist Monday #12: Snow +Molasses with a little Hocus Pocus

Day 222 Today's post is brought to you on a snow day here in Albuquerque, a rare sight indeed here in the desert.  It seems that Professor Hinkle's hat really was magic and it not only brought Frosty back to life but it has been lightly snowing since 10PM yesterday.  I loved and hated when this show came on...the girl character always made me too sad and even the jolly song didn't really help, plus we ended up having the song in our head for days but it was fun when we didn't have VCRs or DVRs and had to wait in anticipation for all the holiday shows to be on once a year.

1969 Frost the Snowman TV show

For today's Mad Scientist concoction we give you molasses snow candy.   Since snow days are so unxpected I found that I unprepared with molasses supplies and only had this little bit left.  Make sure you get REAL molasses with no other STUFF in it.  It is very thick and gloppy so carefully spoon about half in a double boiler on low or medium but make sure you watch it carefully or it will burn and stick to everything you just want it to be fluid and almost water consistency.

In the mean time direct your kids to the nearest patch of fairly deep, unstepped on, non yellow, cleanest snow they can find.  Give them a pan or shallow dish (in this case I used a 15" pizza pan with edges).  I have the kids scrape off the top layer of fluffy snow with their hands or a clean cup.

Then pour the molasses in drizzles randomly all around the pan.  Nothing fancy now just go all over the pan.

As the molasses makes contact with the snow it will harden into a strip of candy.

 
Let it cool for just a minute (it will cool fast) and pick up a drizzle to eat.  They are delicious with the snow clinging to it, cold and sweet at the same time.

I don't recommend making more than you can eat at that time because if left in the house the candy will go back to it's molasses state.  Better yet take a few to eat yourself and give the rest of the snow pan to the kids to take back outside and eat in the cold.  It will give them more energy to run around and get adorable red cheeks as they 'accidentally' throw snowballs at each other's faces.

After some of the drizzles have been picked out and eaten!

This stuff is so good and you really can't eat too much it is so sweet but simple!

What will you create today?

Sewing in the home of the dumbest cat in the world

Day 156

It has been a rough week--a friend of our family passed on from this world suddenly. The juxtaposition of tragedy and love has been a mental balancing act leaving me exhausted and wrung out. While I have been trying to give my love and be supportive I want to just cocoon in my house and create things as my therapy but it is not to be until tonight after the memorial service. Here is what I did get done though:

An 'I heart New York' pillow for G2 from a thrifted shirt.

I got the free flow stitching done on our Sun Rising from the Rubble projects.

Darker bedroom curtains for my daytime sleeping hours from a poly satiny vintage fabric.

I ate my artichokes and then bought more for this weekend! I am in dire need of more garlic ;) there is never such a thing as too much fresh garlic

and the dumbest cat in the world watched the frogs, fell asleep, fell off, got back up and watched them again...seriously this cat is so lacking mental power she not only failed the 'put a blanket over her head' test in which she just sat there for nearly an hour trying to figure out why the world went dark but when we (gently) pushed her over sideways under the blanket she laid there imitating road kill SIGH

Hug your loved ones today! What will you create?

It may have choked Artie but it ain't gonna choke Stymie....

Day 155

Am I dating myself with that quote? I was telling my girls the other day that we used to watch TV in *GASP* Black and White and there was only a couple of channels-they didn't really say anything just gave me a look trying to figure out if I was telling them a fib or not. I find it funny to see the looks on their faces when I explain old technology to them like how we didn't have cell phones, tapes that you had to turn over, walkmans and boom boxes-they are not impressed. When I said I was on a swim team as a kid the oldest says " oh you mean you swam with Plesiosaurs?" as she rolls around guffawing on the floor with her sister. Oh I couldn't wait for them to start talking when they were babies could I now? Puberty is F-U-N!

Our cherry blossoms are coming along--stitching some pretty sparkly beads in the center and then they will be attached to the brown part.

Here is why I put the quote in the title ARTICHOKES seriously my favorite food on the planet~especially the way I make them using my Dad's recipe~garlic, olive oil, parsley, oregano, lemon uuummmm drool oh I have to stop cause I work all night and I can't cook them till tomorrow.....they are heavenly and I am so happy they are back in season....this is what I will be eating for lunches ALL weekend!!

My little G2 and I stopped at the thrift store this week but not a whole lotta new discoveries except for these additions to her I love 80s fashion favorite fashion accessories-makes me want to sing.... be bop be bop a loo lop girls just wanna have fun.....

I must say I HATE nay DESPISE the mindless brain rotting shows on the Disney and Nick channels but G2 watches some of them after she earns the time and the one show called 'Shake it Up' the girls have all the cutesy outfits but they often talk about how they shop at the thrift stores for their wardrobes so at least that is helping reinforce my shop at thrift stores for clothes that are unique discussions!

G2 LOVES the 80s-paint splashed and layered looks or finding any current brand name clothes for under a $1

G1 is all about the Mad Men type vintage look or the loud 70s fashion and I mean LOUD-clothes with a crazy vibe, clothes that are the red, white and blue designs, she is so there....SIGH but it looks good on her

So to G2 finding these chunky bracelets for a dime a piece and hearing them clink around on her arms is like me finding a piece of Liberty fabric for the same price lol lol...I love thrifting!

More on the projects in process later......what will you create today?

Juicing and Painting....Spring Break rocks on

Day 147

Thoroughly enjoying my break of not driving the kids ANYWHERE just lots of cooking, cleaning and crafting....this IS the life!

It all started yesterday with some homemade applesauce--per my usual MO I don't really follow a recipe....cut some apples up, put water in the bottom of the pot, throw some smell good spices on top (cinnamon and cloves in this case) and cook until mushy then mush them up with a spoon strong enough to fend of the kids from taste testing while you are mushing and listening to them say 'ooo thats hot it burned my tongue, let me have another taste' lol lol its that good

While this was going on we juiced up some grapefruit and oranges for fresh squeezed goodness--this is my favorite vintage blender which I know probably needs a tuneup since it is older than me lol

Doesn't everyone have their own personal juicer? It was so good tasting we even had minimal work complaints from the staff about the 'work' of juicing

Quick sketch of my fabric collage project to help the beautiful country of Japan--they are an amazing in their strength--more on this later!

Then it was over to my art friend's house for some self portrait painting and art therapy--man did it work I was so relaxed when I got home I just wanted to sleep--just the act of painting makes me feel better

Here is mine I really didn't have a plan I just kept adding to it and it just turned out fun which is what I was really going for...colorful and fun!

Here is my youngest's.....

And my oldest daughter has yet to finish hers because she wants to do some details....we have done these portraits for about 5 years now and my only rules are fill up the whole canvas, paint yourself whether it is just a face or the whole body, paint how you see yourself at the moment....it just fascinates me how the girls grow and see themselves..

Here is my arty friend's (<-check her stuff out) but I will let her post it on her blog when she is ready to discuss the details I swear I couldn't stop watching her work-- I am surprised I even got mine done...she is certainly beautiful and amazing, seriously amazing

And here is her youngest daughter's-serious chip off the block that one is.....love that kid

I decided to post these instead of the felt creatures the girls are finished/working on so will post that one tomorrow...no sewing done yesterday but painting is the next best thing!

What will you create today?

Mom is great, making chocolate cake....

Day 57

Boy I have a lot of respect for those ladies who bead intricate designs because this shoe square is taking forever....I knew after I got a cell phone with texting ability that I had chubby thumbs but I feel like I am all thumbs lately sewing on these beads......BUT I carry on because I actually like texture in my works!

Wasn't it me who praised our one car from breaking down recently? Yes, yes it was! Well Friday afternoon hub calls me and says 'Car broke down, stalled but I got it off the interstate' so to the shop it goes and it is Monday now without a word SIGH LE HUGE SIGH.... lucky hub can take the bus to work and we have plenty to do here.

And what would life be like without the best friends in the world who have helped when we really needed rides somewhere!?

Because we are staying home I decided 'let them eat cake' home made cake, from scratch...my poor darlings have NEVER eaten homemade cake and at first G2 was a little leery but we carried on and came out with this.....

......UUUUUUMMMMMM even the frosting is from tscratch....now making a cake from scratch with G2 goes something like this (G1 just licks he frosting bowl, she says she prefers to eat instead of cook lol)---NO NO too much, aaa don't move the measuring cup, it's ok you can sweep it all up later, gently stir GENTLE, no no don't lift the mixer out of the bowl (as I wipe my glasses off) lol lol and MOOOOM I prefer to cook with dad or by myself

it was a blast and a good distraction from having to stay at home!

Tomorrow, homeschooling and working from home--along with all the other 12 million things moms do....

We interrupt this blog for general holiday food & chicanery

Day 40

Finally, finally the kid related school activities are almost over and holiday family time is close at hand. These are the moments, the memories, the years before they grow into strong independent women with lives of their own....my girls..we love'em

The girls imitating that there bullfrog at the River of Lights here in Albuquerque

Go ahead drool--I ACTUALLY cooked again-hey now get up off that floor, no need to faint from shock...remember I am the one who likes to clean oh and well eat of course. Here are mussels from Costco (cause well out here in the desert we don't really get good seafood that I consider good growing up in Florida with a seafood eating family)

My own recipe---lots of spices, tomato & red pepper bisque, green chiles--now to find a friend to eat them with as I have a lot and no one else in my family eats them SIGH so go ahead invite yourself over! I will make some bread too! You want the recipe?

Seriously green chiles in New Mexico go in EVERYTHING and I think I am going native because I am addicted especially when I have had a horrible head cold going on it clears everything right up!

Fa la la la, meow hiss meow meow.....this vintage patch found it's way onto a chenille skinny scarf this week--doesn't he remind you of old time Disney cartoons?

I will catch up on all the events, handmade goodies and activities of this past week this weekend for now it's holiday family movie night!

Drool over these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies...

Day 27

Hub made these today, smelling up the entire house with the smells of fall--cinnamon and pumpkin! They are soft and the pumpkin is not overpowering and actually quite perfect with the chocolate chips!

(I will post the recipe tomorrow.)



I spent an evening this week rearranging my sewing room to make more table space for the scarves I was cutting. Hub got me a piece of mdf for the top which I am going to cover with a large self-healing cutting mat after I find a source to get one large enough. So now I have a large cutting space that is about 6'x4' and since I put it in the middle of the room I can cut from any side instead of turning the fabric! YAY!


See I am making yo-yos from the circles I cut out of the Peppermint Dot scarves going to put them together in something just have not figured out what yet but they kept my hands busy during swim practice this week!


Just one of my walls I just like to look at the little doodads.

FYI: More info on the expo is coming up-if you are interested in joining and are in the Albuquerque area I can forward you the information to check and see if there are more spaces--just email me momtasticstitchery@gmail.com

Also YES I will take pics of me in my Scientific Seamstress tunics ala my favorite Sis Boom I just always forget to have others take pics of me....

Gingerbread House here today, gone tonight...

Day 26

The gingerbread house was obtained at Costco and we will probably be picking up another one this was so much fun.

The girls and hub decided to put it together while I was in my lair sewing. Surprisingly not too much candy was eaten as it was being built BUT then I found out the reason is we have friends coming to dinner tonight and they have plans to eat it and were evening discussing the details with their buddies over the phone. So I decided I had best take pictures before it is gone!

Actually in rebellion I snapped off a small corner and sampled the gingerbread already-it was pretty good then the girls chased me off. Frankly I felt like I was in Hansel and Gretel's story eating the house lol lol

I highly recommend this kit it was soooo easy and very low frustration level!

Character inspired jackets & My (short) not very good ode to Artichokes

First up I wanted to show you the pics I took of me actually wearing my beaded wrist corset I showed you after beading this post ...I have gotten a ton of compliments because it is so striking-even teens and kids (they are a separate species ya know) said it was cool-does that move me up in cool mom status UH NO according to my girls but they tell me it does mean I make cool things...chuckle lol

And lets see I don't know about you all but we do Spring and Fall cleaning here and this weekend was IT....we cleaned out closets and bedrooms and everywhere in between decluttering together as a family SNIFF it was so BONDING I was so "verklempt" this I told the girls as they rolled their eyes

This is also when we plan what the girls need for Fall/Winter or try to plan anyway yea they still end up going out in highwater pants (which I tell people are capris lol) and since the kids INSIST on growing there are some things that they will need whether they are bought or made sooo trying to involve the ever changing and slightly picky and OF COURSE opposite spectrum dressing girls I asked for their input and went through patterns together

Jackets were a big individualized choice that they wanted this year- we have the sightly poofy warm ones but they want fall ones or ones that look cool and are able to be worn with layers...layers are very important in NM where it can change as much as 30-40 degrees in one day

Here is the jacket that G1 wants-yes it is a character from the Pokemon Colosseum game but I can tell the style she likes...course I also informed her she would have to either be in constant motion or travel around with her own fan blowing on her to make the jacket tails go out like that which earned me yet another inheirited withering stare


Image from borrowed from here

So I found something more uh realistic even if it is on a TV show and well who can resist the 6" something package it is wrapped around? We are big Smallville fans here and it is just a coinkidink that in the new season he is wearing this jacket--new season Sept 25th too bad we got rid of our Directv (yes we went from 800+ tv channels to 0 and no commercials) so we will have to anxiously await it to be on Netflix or Hulu, etc....

Thanks to the person here who created this picture cause there are no clear images I can find from the new season shots...thank goodness for fan sites.

Now on to G2's jacket...as I said above we got rid of our satellite TV so we have none...we have Netflix and the internet to watch shows--even though we sometimes are a little behind it is way worth not having to explain a 4 hour erection to a 9yo ya know? lol anyway so we got the movie 'Push' this weekend...reminds me of Bladerunner, seemingly low budget, scifi, no Harrison but it worked for me...I was not wanting to like it but like it I did and G2 liked the clothes the character Dakota Fanning wore, she says she liked the movie too but I dunno she does not really get into scifi it freaks her out a little and I will bet she was just studying the outfits

PS as an aside we also rented Coraline totally creeped out G1 in a good way they way and it's target audience, great animation, fantastic animation BUT G2 got really creeped out big bug eye freaked out which of course made us tease her a little about sewing buttons eyes onto her (ok just go read the book) but it was a good movie the book is better waay better as is his (Neil Gaiman's) other kid one The Graveyard Book but I digress

So here is the jacket from a movie still I found

And here is the back of the ACTUAL jacket yes for only a mere $1400 you could purchase the entire outfit Ms Fanning wore in the movie, a little creepy but whatever I found a good costume image resource--isn't it funny how the character tries to be so grungy looking yet her bag is a Dolce & Gabana?? can you say product placement, c'mon lesson for the kiddies say it with me ADVERTISING lol

And here is my reward for the hard work today--ARTICHOKES--first they smell up the house with garlic, olive oil and simple spices making my tummy rumble in anticipation then as I sample the first leaf my taste buds go wild--some melted butter, some squeezed lemon and I sit downstairs sneaking my own personal goodness before the kids realize someone in the house is having a treat without them (it's like a second sense I have come to learn) and circle like vultures until I prepare theirs...

...artichokes in my family are like a religion along with olives and well food in general...growing up in a household from cooking backgrounds in Italian, Greek and American our lives sometimes seemed to revolve around food.

When I have time later I will share this simple recipe for my dad's famous artichokes but right now it is off to spend some family time...

Mouth watering garlic cloves, home grown oregano and parsley YUMMM go ahead drool...it was that good--yes I actually cooked--I am not a big fan of the kitchen eating and cleaning OH YEA but cooking? NO....Hub hates artichokes so anything he hates he will not cook, fair deal...and when he comes home the kitchen is his relaxing time and we are not allowed to invade his space until he is done lol lol

Sushi in a Box and Meringues

The girls decided they wanted to make these meringues and not only did they turn out exactly as the recipe intended they were DELICIOUS! And they did them all themselves (for the most part) lucky for them dad let them use the blender to whip the egg whites.

I am all for the kids learning how to cook and use the kitchen. We still help them with the burners and the oven but they can almost take over prep, cooking, baking and clean-up! And of course we count it towards our homeschooling experience!




The girls found this while grocery shopping at our fave Walmart Neighborhood Market and it was the easiest lunch they could put together EVER! You microwave the rice, chop up whatever you want inside the sushi and put it all together yourself. Even G2 who does not often (ever) try new things ate 2 rolls. They were so excited because our WallyWorld also stocks the Nori by itself and the rice so we can get them to make for lunches more often.

They stuffed theirs with carrots, cucumbers, avacado and are going to try some cooked seafood next time and pesto with cheese.

And once again I did not have to do anything but chop the carrots smaller for them they did almost all the prep work!

365 Challenge Post 16 of 365- YUMMMM RIBS...

Yes I actually cooked again and under the quite intense watchful gaze of not only hub but the critics (I mean girls) I made boneless short ribs tonight. I looked up some recipes on AllRecipes.com and then went to town with my own concoction. Those of you who know me personally know how much I loooove to follow directions NOT so of course I cook the same way and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, you never know till you try right, and food network I am not...Suzanne if you don't like to watch me put in zippers I dare you ladies to come try out my dad's recipe for artichokes sometime just don't watch me cook'em lol

OK so here is a basic recipe that I made:

in a deep sauce pot on the stove top
Olive oil (bout a capful)
onion pieces (sauteed in oil till brown)
as onions are cooking I added salt, pepper, ground hot pepper, garlic powder
take ribs out of package and cut off all visible outside fatty pieces (I mean really you should have chosen some that did not have too much fat on them way back at the store)
while this concoction is all simmering on low on a plate on the side I mixed flour and garlic salt and pepper and organic sugar....when the onions are brown and it smells good I dipped the ribs each into the plate turning and coating them then toss them into the pan to brown
with my fav wooden spoon I turn and scrape the (not burnt)stuff off the bottom to be able to mix with the ribs better!
When the ribs are nice and brown and smelling good dump your fav bbq sauce on them, enough to cover them each (meaning not like a pot full but enough to be able to make some good sauce and each rib can comfortably sit in sauce to it's top)
add in some red wine vinegar, turn the heat down to med and then low till it is nice and bubbly stir a few times, cover and resist urges to keep taking off lid and smelling

After about an hour of bubbling and some small stirring activity along the way turn off put on a plate and eat with a fork, a sharp knife and make sure you put some of the bubbling sauce on top ooooo it was soooooo good --top it off with a salad with Paul Newman's Creamy Caesar dressing (not only is it a good side dish but it makes you feel like you have balanced the carnivore with a healthy green salad and it alleviates all thoughts of food/calorie/beefy guilt over the aformentioned rib and bubbling sauce recipe)

Enjoy!

No really enjoy...feel free to experiment. My Nana cooked like this and a pinch of this a tad of that is exactly how I like it!


PS and the girls refused to have any part of the tasting session as their taste buds have been corrupted by past cooking experiments ala mom but hub had one and declared it 'pretty good'

365 Challenge- Post 6 of 365-- Soup Marvelous Soup

Yep Soup-- French Onion Soup to be exact! I actually cooked and it was not a disaster.

Now I can cook I just choose not to because it is my hubby's time to relax and unwind when he gets home and he has declared the kitchen off limits to me lol...that and my kids had some choice words to say about some of my dishes I created over the years-ingrates that they are!

So I impressed them by not only following the recipe, sticking to the recipe but it coming out delicious! My little daughter does not eat much, does not try new things and she INHALED this soup, declaring that it was delicious and absolutely fabulous-one of the best things she had eaten in while!! WOOHOO! Sucess!! I mean really this is a plain soup with beef broth and lots o onions, some spices some cheese, some bread and SHE ATE IT!

And it was perfect because it has been geting cold quick once the sun goes down here...cold and windy on the desert mesa.