AfricanKelli

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Friends, my life is so scattered at the moment, I feel like a sandcastle that’s just been hit by an ice cold wave. Then again — it is self-imposed chaos after three back-to-back trips and a new job. And so, I ask that you hang in there with me while I get reorganized.

A couple of odd errors I’ve been meaning to correct:

1. My recipe for this month’s OYW project? 1/2 cup of peanut butter. NOT 1 1/2 cups. Jeez.

also,

2. The sewing projects for this month’s OYW project? They are the summer nightie and the pintucked top. Also, you have 2 months to complete these. I am going to try both. I know. Big promises for a girl who can’t seem to buy groceries and make dinner most nights of the week nowadays. (Is nowadays a word? If not, I’m making it so.)

So — 1/2 a cup of PB. Cute clothes. Two months to complete. Cook. Sew. Go!

In other news, I’ve read a bunch of great books lately and haven’t posted the details:

1. The Help. 4 out of 5 bananas. I really enjoyed this read and it left me with a newfound hunger for southern American writers. I actually bought Faulkner after reading this. It is a beautiful story of race, women, motherhood, and the South in the 1960s. This was an anti-vampire book club selection and I was very pleased. Read this book.

2. Little Bee. 3 out of 5 bananas. I also enjoyed this, mainly because it discusses both refugees and Africa. I thought the story was interesting and the characters were good. I simply wanted more. The main character in particular — Little Bee — was fascinating and I felt like we only got a glimpse at who she really was. Plus the ending left me wondering if it was written for a sequel. Nonetheless, any book that discusses these heavy topics is a winner with me. I appreciate the author’s attempt to teach the masses about those often overlooked in society.

3. The Blood of Flowers. 3 out of 5 bananas. An interesting story about Persian women and carpet making centuries ago.

I am currently reading, The Elegance of the Hedgehog for book club. It is translated from French and you can tell, which drives me a little batty. But the story is so far keeping my attention. I am debating several options for my selection for book club next month, including Brady Udall’s newest book, The Lonely Polygamist. Udall is the author of one of my favorite books of all time, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. Others under consideration include: People of the Book and Half the Sky.

Also? I currently have about 10,000 tomatoes, thanks to those 23 plants I planted back in January. I am going to can tomatoes this weekend, like some sort of homesteader. And do laundry. And by groceries. Because, by golly, I will catch up, put away the suitcase. I will. I will. I will!

~K

Finny,

I’ve been on the road for the last few days and am behind, behind, delightfully behind. A couple pre-new-job-trips have me happily distracted. However, in trying to keep up with the new gig and the suitcase that hasn’t been put away for several weeks, I’ve been delayed in posting the new OYW projects!

Did you pick a winner? Is it my turn to pick a winner from the dog collar project gone awry?

{Update: It is my turn to pick! And Sarah HB! You win! Love this shot of your fab fennel salad. Brava! Prize forthcoming.}

What do you suggest for the May sewing project?

For the May cooking project, how about what I made last night. This goes with our theme of being both seasonal and cleaning up what you have in the pantry. Because let’s be honest — who doesn’t have 5-14 different boxes of pasta in their pantry that have 1 serving left? This recipe calls for angel hair, but I guarantee is delicious with whatever you’ve got. Including a handful of peppers from the farmer’s market.

Summer Thai Peanut Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 package of angel hair pasta

.5 cups of peanut butter (or almond paste, if you’d prefer) — updated!

1 bunch of scallions

3 bell peppers of your choice

3 cups of assorted veggies of your choice (I like broccoli and snap peas)

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced.

splash of rice vinegar

splash of teriyaki sauce

dash of cayenne

1 cube of chicken bouillon

splash of hot sauce (either a spicy oil, or your favorite salsa. Mine is Sriracha)

Can of water chestnuts

Peanuts (added as a topping, optional)

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Cook for 6-8 minutes — al dente.

In a wok or other large pan, brown onion and garlic with olive oil. Add diced veggies — minus the scallions. Add dash of vinegar and teriyaki. Drain pasta, saving 1/2 cup of cooking water. In the pan you cooked the pasta, add 1/2 cup of cooking water, 2 cups of warm water with chicken bouillon cube, peanut butter, another dash of teriyaki and a dash of cayenne. Mix until it comes to a simmer. Return pasta to this sauce and mix. Plate with cooked summer veggies on top, with a handful of peanuts and scallions. This is excellent with grilled asparagus on the side and a nice red wine. Or two.

Don’t judge. Did you see how many veggies were included in this recipe? A few more grapes won’t hurt.

~K

Finny,

Safe to say, I’m not having much sewing luck these days. While your pattern in One Yard Wonders is adorable and I can’t wait to make it, I’ve had nothing but trouble from the others we’ve so far selected for our monthly sew-along. This month’s Pampered Pooch project was no better.

Dharma, the family pooch, is always next to my mom. In this case, by the sewing table.

I read the pattern for the dog collar with two dogs in mind: Sydney — the super guest, and a new puppy friend — The Snows of Mount Kilimanjaro (Kili). I read the pattern. And then I read it again. And then one more time. Not only was I going to have to guess the length of their necks but I also had no luck finding an O ring at my sewing shops in town.

So I did what any logical seamstress would do. I took the project to Texas and asked my sewing mama for help. Now, I’m going to add the following details as background information — not simple bragging. My mother has won international sewing prizes for her quilts. She’s got more ribbons pinned to sewing projects than you can imagine. Some of these quilts have taken years (like her Dear Jane.) So a simple dog collar shouldn’t be Everest, or in this case — Kilimanjaro.

Alas, even she threw in the towel after two hours of trying to make the instructions work. As you noted, this collar is a Martingale style. Most vets, pet salons, dog parks, etc., require quick release collars. So the shopping for supplies, the gorgeous orange Mozambican capulana I cut up for the fabric and the time trying to decode the pattern were a complete waste.

I see you had problems too. I also see you are far more motivated than I am and you turned these lemons into lemonade. (My mom and instead made margaritas.) I’ll have to give your pattern a whirl! Next month? I’m going to let you happily pick the sewing project. And I promise to do it and be happy about it. May I suggest the laptop sleeve? That looks simple enough. Or better yet — how about your trash bag?

~K

Finny,

I know! April! And do you know how many of these projects I’ve sewn? 1.

It’s awful. I’m the worst sew-along organizing partner ever. I don’t know what problem has been, but I haven’t had any sewing mojo lately. The good news is, this afternoon it came back in a wave of creativity.

I’d purchased this super cute Columbia skirt at the REI garage sale that had a faulty zipper. It had been sitting on my sewing table for months. Voila. Now fixed. I even got some embroidery done too.

More importantly, I promise you I’m sewing this month’s One Yard Wonders project — the Pampered Pooch. How great are these? I have many friends with furry children to spoil. I am looking forward to it.

Also, I can’t wait to try your citrus fennel salad. I love both flavors and it is getting warm again in Phoenix; time to think of lighter meal ideas.

Now, off to the sewing machine. She’s finally calling my name!

With love,

Donk

Finny,

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! In high school, part of my student council responsibilities included fundraising. My junior and senior years, I led the March of Dimes walk-a-thon team and coordinated coin drive contests between the classes. This provided a great chance to be on the morning announcements daily, and of course, because I was far too secure and far too silly, I did these announcements in an Irish brogue, pretending to be the Lucky Charms leprechaun. By the end, I usually had the principal laughing so hard at me (and with me) that she had to stop for a moment before she could finish with the lunch menu. Some 3,000 kids at my high school and I’m doing an Irish comedy act on the morning announcements; my mother wondered why finding a prom date from a different school was really the only option.

Of course, still overly secure and equally silly, I am wearing a green dress today and passing out the loaves of Irish Soda Bread I baked for our One Yard Wonder + Recipe Challenge. Even with matching correspondence, this seems like a lurch toward normalcy by comparison. I added cranberries, cinnamon and pepitas to the recipe. I’m not a huge fan of the messy, knotty loaves, but they smelled amazing coming out of the oven. Next time, I’ll bake them in a bread pan.

It’s a good thing you love your friends a green shade of ridiculous, lassie.

Wishing you luck and rainbows (in marshmallow form),

Kelli