AfricanKelli

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This afternoon I joined 7 girlfriends at the Great Harvest Bread Company in Tempe for a bread baking class. I wasn’t sure what to expect; I love to bake and finally mastered a great loaf of bread with the ever-so-popular No Knead recipe. Then again, I’m rarely one to turn down an opportunity to learn, eat or bake. For $25 we got to do all three, plus spend several hours gabbing and having a great time.

Carolyn, the former owner, is transitioning out of the business and training the new owner Leslie. The two make a great pair; they were polite and friendly and you can feel their love for baking. It is always nice to be around people who are passionate about their work. They described Great Harvest’s business model, commitment to making healthy food (the company was founded by Montana hippies who ground their own wheat and sold bread by the roadside. How wonderful is that?), and community involvement. We placed our lunch order, threw on aprons and hats and headed back into the bakery to learn how to knead.

Their baker measured out two one-pound loaves of bread. We each kneaded, decorated and dabbed a honey mixture on top of these before they went into their ferris wheel oven to be baked. After a tour of the bakery, we sat down to eat. I’m not easily impressed with sandwiches. I love lots of sliced meat, generous veggies, no mayo or cheese and a great bread. They knocked it out of the park. My black forest turkey sandwich was so, so good. I had it on their nine grain and it was truly the best sandwich bread I’ve ever had. I was happy without eating another bite, but then of course came two large plates of sweets. Soon enough, the eight of us magically made brownies, cookies, muffins, scones and several types of specialty bread disappear. My favorite was the flax seed, carrot bran muffin. Sounds gross, but it was just the right balance of sweet, dense and healthy-ish. Yum.

Phoenicians, if you are looking for a fun way to get a group of friends together, this class is a wonderful way to escape the normal mall/shopping/lunch/movie/happy hour routine. Plus, you get to come home with a belly full of healthy, yummy food and two loaves of bread. For $25, it’s a steal. Plus, it’s a great chance to look at your girlfriends and say, “Nice buns!”

~K

Dear Finny,
When you announced the theme of selecting one of the children’s projects or making a project for a child, I was thrilled. I have so many wee ones in my life these days who I love to spoil. One in particular has a fondness for change. It’s gotten to the point that when there is money missing at his house, his parents automatically go to his room to ask Mr. Sticky Fingers where the dough is. Ha! I love that mischevious side. So I thought — why not make him the coin purse? He is 4, loves his money and loves his Auntie Kelli. I figured this would be a perfect crafting storm.

Alas, this project was not as easy as I had hoped. Working with vinyl isn’t so bad, but getting this darn coin purse to cup, as shown in the directions, is tricky. In fact, I never figured it out. Thankfully, my recipient isn’t terribly picky and I’ve already added a few copper friends to the gift to make him smile.

Believe it or not, this was created while sewing sober. I can see how you’d think otherwise.

I hope you and Bubba are having a fabulous adventure in Costa Rica. I can’t wait to hear all about it. And I really hope someone is there to care for the Magic Garden while you are gone. I am loving the gardening inspiration you’ve been providing with your daily jaunts and finds.

By the time you get home, I hope the Flickr pool is full of great projects and I can pick one for our winner. And I’ve got August’s theme selected and it is a challenge. Good thing you are on vacation resting up!

Love,
Donk

Flickr inspiration for a creative weekend. For more info on these incredible projects (which are NOT mine), visit: 1,2,3,& 4.

I talked to my mami in Texas this morning and she was lamenting how their business is so busy at the moment and she feels behind in every step. The house is a mess. The lawn needs attention. The dog is biting at her heels for a walk. The books need balanced. The car needs washed. And what she really wants to do is sit down to sew.

My week exactly, minus the lawn and dog part. I’m cleaning things off of one desk and starting over a new one. It has been a refreshing and exhausting week. I’m looking forward to a weekend for time to catch up with Singer, my running shoes and my friends. Hope you have a great one too!

~K

The bag where all of my fabric scraps have gathered for the last several years, including lots of teeny tiny worthless pieces that leave me scratching my head. What did I think I could use that tidbit for?

Old wool sweaters, felt, and gobs of cotton.

It wasn’t pretty.

Phew. Better. That bag is full of smaller scraps to be sent off to a teacher friend. The box is full of folded larger scraps for a quilt I’m putting together as a wedding gift.

Much better.

Next up? Notions. How is it that I have safety pins, spools of thread and pairs of scissors in 45 places in my house? No longer.

Before. Oy.

After. Better.

The knitting bin wasn’t looking any more organized. With stacks of half completed knitting projects that needed to be frogged and a fair collection of teeny tiny balls from left over projects, this bin was crying for attention.

And also pleading to ignore that tempest JoAnn and her mighty coupons. Not a thing needs to be added to this department.

Instead, with a bit of planning, I divided up this nonsense into future projects. There are lots of babies coming this Fall to friends who may need a soft cotton washcloth or two.

Or a pretty pink wrap cardigan.

Or perhaps a felted market tote or two.

I think I’m addicted to productivity. It is disgusting how much pleasure it gives me to clean, organize, send excess off to a better home and make a lengthy list of future projects. Not to mention the joy I get from documenting such nuttiness.

~K

It’s been quite a while since I’ve browsed my copy of “You Can Do It” — a book blogging project I’m doing with Aimee. Rather than do the badges in order, I’m skipping ahead to badge #41: Eat It.
Essentially the idea is to take a closer look at what you are eating, see how it makes you feel, eliminate junk and add more healthy stuff. This isn’t that big of a leap; I’m neurotic about what I eat. I grew up in an athletic home. My mom taught aerobics for ten years, my dad and brother were great swimmers, and I’ve recently dug in my heels to become a triathlete. You feed your body crap, you feel like crap, you swim/bike/run like crap. Einstein, I’m not.
So, knowing how to eat healthy is in my DNA. Doing so habitually, and eating an appropriate serving size, is not.

Fruit-free breakfast that screams: time to go to the grocery. 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese, one Western Alternative bagel, 2 tablespoons of fat free cream cheese: 272 calories, 1 gram of fat, 38 grams of protein.

Specifically the badge suggests you:
1. Food journal for a week to take a nutritional inventory. I like Sparkpeople. It’s free and comprehensive. Also, I like having a buddy. Colleen encouraged me to stop drinking soda and I feel worlds better having made this little change.
2. Follow the guidelines. Know how much you should be eating vs. how much you are eating. Here’s a great tool.
3. Learn serving sizes and how to read nutritional labels. (I am also on alert for high-fructose corn syrup in my food. It seems to be in everything these days and there is nothing about “corn” or “syrup” that is going to make me healthier. In simple terms: the feed corn and other grains to animals to fatten them before slaughter. Old McDonald, I’m not.)
4. Make a meal plan and shop with taste in mind. Fresh produce and spices are easy and healthy ways to make your meals much tastier. This is an area where I need to change; I go to the market about once a week and never have enough produce in the fridge. With my new job, I’ll walk past the market each way everyday and I hope this helps nudge me to be different. Also, I’m getting more involved with the Phoenix Farmers’ Market.

I also figure a great way to have ready access to fresh produce is getting off my lazy duff and gardening. I’ve lamented countless times how my patio garden is tiny and gets the wrong sunlight and a dozen other reasons why it won’t work to grow a thing. However, the main reason nothing has grown is because I haven’t been here long enough to keep it watered and pay it enough attention. And frankly, I want a magic garden too! This resource for Phoenix gardeners and my new schedule are giving me hope this will change.

Peter Hoffman was recently interviewed in Bon Appetit. Hoffman is the owner of several restaurants in New York City and is a champion of buying local, supporting farmers’ markets and eating healthy food. A bit I enjoyed, while we’re on the topic:

Bon Appetit: Why should Americans support local farmers’ markets?

PH: Buying from local farmers is about getting off the grid — not the power grid, but the food-system grid. Money stays local, our outlying regions can remain agriculturally productive, and the landscape is preserved. The food tastes better because it hasn’t traveled as far and is fresher.

Bon Appetit: If someone says to you ‘I don’t shop at farmers’ markets because they’re too expensive,’ how do you respond?

PH: Get with it. That is the real cost of food. Vote with your fork and your belly, and support the opportunity to buy directly from farmers — and eat better food by buying from them.

Getting with it, Peter.

~K