Yum-Ditty-Yum-Yum

I haven't decided what to call these little bundles of biscuit-wrapped-potatoes / carb-delight yet. But they are good.

Make them and taste for yourself.

Ingredients:
1 tube of pre-made biscuit dough
2 small to medium-ish baked potatoes
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 green onion, chopped
a few pinches of Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (or so) grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Add oil olive and yogurt to a medium sized bowl with potatoes, mash them up
3. Mix in garlic and green onion, add cheese
4. Salt and pepper to taste

It looks like this:

Next, pop open the tube of dough.
1. smoosh out the little biscuits flat

2. put a dollop of potatoes in the middle

3. wrap the biscuit up tight around the potatoes

4. plop the biscuits in a muffin pan

5. bake for 11 mins

6. get 'em out of the rack to cool

Birds for Dickey

It's pretty easy to form a friendship in high school with someone when both your last names are phallic references. It takes a little more work to keep the friendship alive when one of you uproots and resettles states away.

I made these little twirly bird tea towels for a friend to complement her (what I imagine to be) darling 1920s studio apartment. I stitched the birds facing opposite directions so they can look at each other and chat while hanging. I also had to free hand much of the purple bird. That led to slight wonkiness, but overall, not bad. Pattern here.

Happy Birthday, Dickey!

Arctic Blast '09

Ugh. Let's be done. Please?

MLK Jr Loved Homemade Bread

I can't say that definitively, but most people do, so I feel like it's a safe assertion. Naturally, I spent the MLK Jr holiday in my kitchen baking bread and making soup.

It was my first bread attempt aside from a failed batch of pita bread several years ago. I had it in my head that bread was hard, but this bread... pretty easy. I followed this basic recipe from justpeace.org. I liked the way it turned out but I think I'll try for something more savory next time. It was really good slathered with homemade pesto.

Now the soup! I followed this celery soup recipe from 101 Cookbooks. It was good at the time but I can hardly bear to look at it now. I added a few noodles because I saw someone else do it... mistake. Kinda gluey after awhile. Plus, it makes a lot.

Gnomes

All of my dishtowel embroidery gifting left me with a single dishtowel left over. I was planning on stashing it with all my crafting supplies when I realized that I could make myself something! I came across a cute little pattern of a gnome from Badbird's. I figured I needed about four of them to be truly happy.

My dishtowel is now a little gnome village.

Vermicomposting Love

Did I ever mention that I was a guest blogger at Trying To Be Greener? Well, I was! You can see my post here. It's all about the worms.

Trying To Be Greener let me know today that the post was picked up by this site over here.

I'm blushing a little bit. They said it was "comprehensive."

That's pretty neat.

Arctic Blasted Embroidery

After I had finished all of my handmade holiday gifts but was still trapped in the house due to snow... I attempted to keep my sanity by making Arctic Blast 2008 gifts.

I decided to customize hankies for a couple of friends based on their interests. One likes to dress up as Link from the Legend of Zelda and has high hopes for convincing a tattoo artist to inscribe a triforce on his hand. (I know, he's a lot cooler than he sounds). It was kinda obvious what type of hankie to make him.

The other likes really insane movies that basically freak me out yet nonetheless intrigue me. Like, nunsploitation...this stuff is for real? Wanting to keep with the idea of nuns but not wanting to do any horrific embroidery, I decided to go with a G-rated angle.

As far as I could tell, they were excited by the product of my nerdiness celebrating their nerdiness.

Mismatch Socks

I have a wonderful friend I've known since first grade. It wasn't until living with her in college that I realized she often wore mismatched socks. And not really on purpose. It wasn't her trademark fashion statement, it was just Jenny. If you happened to say to her: "Hey, do you realize you're wearing one Halloween sock and one Christmas sock?" She'd either lazily explain that she couldn't find others or she'd respond with, "Oh... yeah... " and trail off doing something else.

A few months ago I was over at her apartment for dinner when her boyfriend took his shoes off and revealed his mismatched socks. I pretty much took this as a sign the two were made for each other.

The story just makes me really happy and I think about it sometimes and smile.

For her birthday, which happens to be Christmas, I knew exactly what to make her. A pair of mismatched socks, of course!

$0 Gifts

More Christmas gifts to share... but I'm pretty close to the end.

Every year my extended family partakes in a $1 gift exchange. The object is to make something for everyone... but you're only allowed to spend $1 per person in supplies. Lately the enthusiasm for the tradition has been fading.

This year my gift cost absolutely nothing!

I happily constructed a bajillion Paint Chip Business Card Holders from the tutorial at Design Verb.

The Bearded Lady

You know those pretty little holiday cards my friend Sandra made me? Well, they were half of a much anticipated exchange we concocted. Forever ago, maybe last spring, Sandra asked if I would knit her the ultimate winter hat. She had something quite specific in mind.

I started scouring the web looking for patterns. With a hat like this, there's not much selection. On my third attempt I felt happy enough to finish the hat through.

I smooshed it in a box (with a few other goodies from Redbird Studio) and sent it on it's way to Germany.

I didn't know Sandra would look so good with a beard. (She's amazing at everything, I should have realized.)

Squirrels!

Taune, a friend to all woodland creatures, knows that if she sees a black squirrel in the morning, she'll have a good day. I couldn't help but try to increase her chances when I was thinking up a Christmas gift to give her.

A little black squirrel dish towel:

A little brown squirrel dish towel:

Friends:

Hello 2009

Even though the world is feeling a little uncertain and strange to me these days, there is plenty to look forward to in a new year. Last night we welcomed 2009 in a unique way, Jell-O Slip and Slide anyone?

2009 Resolutions:
1. Read more books than the previous year
2. Take my vitamins!

(I only make resolutions I know I can keep, but that vitamin one might be tricky)

Anyone else have a goal for 2009?