Rings and Rhubarb

While I was in Taos, New Mexico, I bought some gorgeous turquoise stones at the local rock shops. I had some confidence and decided to make a ring!

I used a silver plated serving platter to make the band and backing for the stone and copper to set the stone. Here is one where I used one of my patterned platters.

This tiny stone was actually hard to set. I really liked using the design of the platter to figure out where I wanted the stone. I really like this one because it looks more refined and contemporary. I'm sizing these rings to fit me!

I had another platter that I hadn't cut yet and decided because it was smooth with no pattern that it would be great for ring bands. As soon as I fired it, all of the silver disappeared and the solid brass came out! How cool! I hadn't run across a platter yet that did this. I really like the brass and intend to do a line of brass rings and pendants.

These are all still looking pretty rustic (except the patterned platter). I have a rolling mill on order which should arrive on Tuesday. Wait until you see what comes out of that! I also have some sterling silver sheet and fine silver bezel wire ordered. Once I start using silver sheet and fine silver instead of serving platters, I'll be able to refine the pieces. They won't have the same charm as the recycled serving platter pieces, but I like refined pieces, too.

We've had frost advisories the last couple of nights; here is the garden all tucked in for the night.

The rhubarb is up enough that I pulled a couple of stalks and made a rhubarb crisp. YUM!

Sharee's Rhubarb Crisp:

about 4 cups of chopped rhubarb

1/3 cup good maple syrup

1 T crushed ginger

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Mix all of the above and put the mixture in a buttered  pie pan

Crisp:

1/2 cup oatmeal (not quick cooking

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

6 T butter cut into small chunks

Mix all of the above with your fingers until it is crumbly (like little peas). Add a little water if you want it stickier like dumplings. Spread it on top of the rhubarb.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the topping looks browned.

Same as it Ever Was and Rain

Here I am! I'm back to blogging on the Blogger site. I put a link on my website to point here for blog posts, so you can find me either way.

Why the move back? I like the interface for creating the posts here better. It's faster, you can save drafts, and photo uploading works better. I also like that there is a search button and the navigation to other posts works better. I also like that I don't have to re-size photos before publishing them (and you can click on them and they get bigger).

We've had rain, rain, rain. It's really a good thing given that we had a fire two weeks ago that almost hit Ely. Several homes were evacuated. We pumped up our Scamp tires in the event we had to flee. The fire crews were fantastic and all is well. This photo is looking southeast over the Lucky 7 gas station.

Look what happened to our dock in the rain, though!

In the past when we've had high water, we have had the dock float away! This time we tied it up just in case. Sure enough, I saw that a neighbor's dock has floated off! We have a "Dock on Wheels", so Steve attached it to the truck and pulled it out some. He then had to level the dock using a come-along tool. 

Tansy likes to help. She thought a stick might work.

We put our screen house up this weekend. Today's high is predicted to be 58 degrees, so I've been thinking about putting a fire in the wood stove. Maybe instead I'll make a rhubarb cobbler.

Recycled Purse Bottoms and Picnic Food for the Boat

Necessity is the mother of invention. I ran out of the thick interfacing I was using to make purse bottoms, and the store in town does not sell it. Instead of taking a road trip, I tried ice cream bucket lids.

I had to splice the lid together to get the length I wanted and also to get length with square ends. This works for the smaller purses; the length in these photos is 7.5 inches. My larger totes are more like 11 inches across the bottom. I'm still working on alternatives for those. What another great way to recycle!

Here is a finished purse with a moose! I got some fabric samples from a friend and this moose was in the pile. (Sorry about the lighting, it's early morning and rainy.)

We've been getting out fishing. Here is that silly Tansy after the lure. We've had to modify our casting techniques to avoid her catching our lures. She stays totally fixated on them the entire time. If we want her to move to the other side of the boat, we just move the lure there.

When we fish after work, I bring a picnic along in the boat. Lately I've been bringing a box of wine along (you cannot bring glass or cans into the Boundary Waters. Once opened, box wine keeps for like six weeks, so I save the boxed wine for the boat and have different wine at home. Pasta salads always work great in the boat. I posted a recipe for sesame noodles a while back, here is the recipe in my older post. In this particular batch, I picked a whole bunch of fresh chives to mix in and I had some yummy mini-peppers. I did not pre-cook the mini-peppers. Usually you cook some veggies before you add them to the pasta, but you don't have to. Go by your taste. (i.e. If you like eating raw asparagus or broccoli, you don't need to pre-cook them. Personally, I'd cook them a little.)

Here is another pasta dish that I made for this week's outing. This one has anchovies in it!

Sharee's Yummy Anchovy Pasta

Cook a box of pasta according to the directions on the box (I usually go with whole wheat pasta). Drain the pasta, return it to the cooking pot and let it cool down some as you prepare the "sauce".

• 1 large onion (definitely add more if you like onions!)
• 1 can anchovies in oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like more heat)
• 2 crushed garlic cloves (or a lot more as you go along - see directions below)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (make these yourself - so easy in a food processor)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Saute the onions and garlic slowly in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the red pepper flakes and some salt (I put about 1 tsp salt - taste as you go). Sauteing slowly allows the onions to "melt" rather than brown. Add the anchovies with their oil when the onions look melty. The anchovies will melt into the onions and you won't even see the little fishies anymore. Add this mixture to your drained and slightly cooled pasta.

Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan. When it's hot, add the bread crumbs, a little salt and another clove or two of crushed garlic if you like, and saute until the bread crumbs look a little browned and crispy. Pour them into the pasta pot.

Put your basil, pecans and one more crushed garlic clove into a food processor and pulse until it is all finely chopped. Throw that also into the pasta pot. Now mix it all up. Taste it for salt. Add another 1/4 cup of olive oil to make it extra yummy.

WARNING: This is so addictive you may not want to make it yourself at home because you will likely eat the entire pot.

Fixated on Italy

We're planning a trip to Italy the last week of September and first week of October this year. We had planned to go last year for our 10th wedding anniversary, but the timing didn't work. I have booked the flight, booked an apartment in Venice for three nights, one in Siena for five nights, and now am agonizing over which apartment to choose in Florence for the final three nights (and our anniversary night).

I just get so fixated until it's decided and finished. It's that way with everything. Here is the dilemma. Apartment #1 is lovely and spacious, right down town, but we're having some trouble with payment due to them not having Paypal. Our bank charges like $85 to do a bank transfer. No way! Too expensive. And I don't want to just give our credit card number.... It has a teeny balcony which doesn't fit a chair. http://www.waytostay.com/florence-apartments/della-pergola-2249

Apartment #2 sounds pretty romantic. It's the top floor of a tower with 360 degree views from the windows. It's four stories up, the bathroom is the next level up and the bedroom is at the top (six stories in all). But it is our anniversary, and having that view of the city would be pretty spectacular. http://www.larovaia.com/la_loggia/inglese/de.html

And the final one on my short list is a tiny apartment (the bed is essentially in the "kitchen"), but it has this fantastic private terrace and is only three steps from the duomo (center of Florence). http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g187895-d2059366-Apartment_With_Terrace_Near_Duomo_Sleeps_2_or_3-Florence_Tuscany.html

I'm waiting to hear back from this owner and then will have to make the final decision. All of them are similarly priced. I guess it's a good decision to have to make. Each one has its pros and cons. Which would you choose?

Meanwhile, I'm still working away in the studio to get my inventory up for the Blueberry Festival. Do you think I'm being influenced at all by these Italy plans?

Fairly Gothic/renaissance looking to me! I'll let you know in the next post which apartment we finally choose.

T-Shirt Ice Fishing and Coconut Lime Fish Curry

Spring is here a whole month early! We took advantage of the warm weather and still good ice conditions, and went out fishing for crappies. We skied to our fishing spot.

I had Tansy in her harness and she pulled me a little. We were out there for maybe two minutes and Wade already was down to his t-shirt. He fished like that all afternoon. (That's Steve on the right.)

Wade ended up getting pretty sunburned. I had the foresight to put sunscreen on my face, even so, my face is looking tan and I got a little bit of burn in the part of my hair. This is crazy warm and I'm guessing we might have ice-out by the end of next week. If that's the case, we'll be camping and fishing by boat in April!

Even though it feels like spring, it looks funny outside. The light is kind of silvery and the sun is still quite far to the south. This is around 11:00 a.m. and you can see the length of the shadows.

Our neighbors are out on a dogsledding trip. They're likely sticking to the lakes as all of the snow in the woods has now melted. Here is their truck as they were getting ready. See the big, freight sled on top of the truck? The back of the truck has the dog boxes where the dogs get to ride before heading out.

We caught crappies while we were out and I made a coconut lime curry with it. It was so good! (This photo shows right after you put the fish into the sauce - later the fish turns white when it's done.)

Sharee's Coconut Lime Fish Curry

1 T oil
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 tsp red Thai curry paste
1 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp tom yum paste
1 tsp crushed ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 small lime squeezed

Saute the onions and carrots in the oil with the curry paste, shrimp paste, tom yum paste, ginger, and garlic until the onions and carrots are soft. Add the tomatoes and heat until bubbling. Add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the fish just before you are ready to eat, they will cook in about five minutes (you can use shrimp, too). Once the fish are cooked, add the cilantro and lime. Taste for salt and add some if needed. Serve over pasta or rice or sop up the sauce with a good bread.

Gnocchi Revisited

I made gnocchi a while ago and while it was good, the little potato dumplings didn't turn out very pretty. Here is the post where I show how they look.

There is some trick to forming the dumplings. They're supposed to have little ridges along them to catch the sauce. You make the ridges by "flicking" the dumpling off the tines of a fork. I think I got it!

I used a recipe from Cooks Illustrated cookbook. You start by roasting the potatoes in the oven. I actually roasted mine too long, so I ended up with less potato than anticipated. So instead of precisely weighing the ingredients like the recipe said to do, I eyeballed it. These dumplings had too little flour so after they cooked, they were much too delicate for the sauce I made to go with them. I'll keep working on it and when I get it right, I'll give you the recipe (I can guarantee that it won't be precise weighing of ingredients!).

Here's the sauce recipe. I use this or a slight variation for any pasta dish or for pizza (just simmer longer to get it thicker).

Sharee's Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions sliced
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup dry red wine
32 oz. can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they are very soft (starting with a lid on the pot so that they get very soft without browning). Keep your temperature low so that they sweat rather than saute. Add the red wine and simmer the sauce until the wine reduces some. Add the tomatoes, season with a little salt and pepper and let that simmer away, uncovered, until the sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, I've been very busy in the studio. I'm still going on the assumption that I'll make it into the Blueberry Festival in July, so I have work to do every day to have enough inventory for the show. Today I'll be finishing some necklaces and earrings. I tried to find pre-made earring wires to save some time, but I just like my handmade ones best.

Computer Crash and New Work

My computer had a major crash on Sunday. I ended up having to re-install the entire operating system, which meant that I only had access to data and files that I had backed up on my external backup drive. Lucky for me, I stay pretty organized and backed up! I stopped in to Wolfland Computers and had Dave help me with a couple of things. His daughter makes and sells these "Mopettes".

Here is a new necktie purse that I made for a custom order. I think it might be my favorite of all time. He had requested a turtle theme. My Pfaff machine has a turtle symbol that I can sew! So I added the turtles by putting them on the shoulder strap.

The photo is a little dark (the right side of this purse is a beautiful, rich blue) because we've had a lot of snow storms lately, which makes catching the light for photos a little trickier.

I've also been working on some new pendants.

I haven't given you a recipe in a while because we've been cooking the same things that I've already shared with you. Tonight I think I'll give that gnocchi a try again. I have some russet potatoes and I'm going to run into town to see if I can find a potato ricer.

Now it's time to strap on the skis, tie the dog to my waist and head out onto the lake.