Dreaming Into Creation

Almond and Orange extracts.  I figured it was about time to see how the experiments panned out!  The almond, seen in this post , was a beautiful murky color.  Just look at that color!  It smelled wonderful too (once I opened the jar).  I can't wait to try it out, possibly with this yummy almond apricot oatmeal scone recipe that I have.  I may or may not post that recipe in an upcoming blog.  Depends on if people want it!  So, as seen in my loverly Halloween post, I have all these little mini booze bottles.  I like them, they are pretty (some of them) and can be darn useful!  Either for little potions bottles or for bottling up small amounts of extracts!  (And I have them because I work as a booze seller, and the little ones make it a lot easier on my wallet for when I want to try what we sell.  In WA the liquor prices are so ridiculous that I can't afford to get bigger bottles anymore.)  As you can see, I have one l...

I know, the whole 'make your own recipe binder' thing has been done like crazy on different blogs all over the internet.  I should know, I've looked a bunch of them up to get different inspirations for this one!  See, I will be moving within a few months (the lease on our current place is up at the end of July, and we will all be parting ways and going in different directions) and I'm trying to think of ways for me to lighten my load, so to speak.  One of them is to get my recipe books and all that together and organized (and paired down...)  One of the things I will slowly be doing over the next month or two is copying down the recipes that I do actually use from various cookbooks so they are all in one spot.  As you can see, I have a lot of cook books.  This actually isn't even all of them.  And, this doesn't include the year subscription I had to Food magazine a few years ago.  Or the magazines I've gotten that are not i...

Season three premier of Game of Thrones was last night.  Oh Ma Gawd......  I love the show.  That's all I have to say about that... Well, I own the loverly A Feast of Fire and Ice cookbook (and I frequent the blog innatthecrossroads.com quite often) and I decided that for the much anticipated premier, that I would make a bunches of foods.  And I did....  if you count four things 'bunches' hahaha Be warned.... this post is picture heavy and foodgasmic.  You have been warned... So here be the final product....  minus the lovely dessert.  Mmmm... Ommegang Iron Throne Pale Ale.  It was quite delicious, and I am not a big beer person at all.  So that's saying something... And here is how all that yumminess came into being...  Most of the foods mentioned from here on out can be found on the Inn at the Crossroads  food blog.  If not in there, then they can be found in the fore mentioned book, written by th...

So, its been a hard month so far.  My mom passed away Jan. 30th from still unknown causes (Harborview is still investigating why she died) and we have been getting things ready for her Celebration of Life on March 2nd.  So, lots of things have been going on. But, I have been working on things that are crafty as well.  They have been keeping my mind busy.  Also, because mom drank rum and no one else in the house will touch the stuff...   First was orange extract. We had one orange left sitting out, and I decided that I might as well try making extract out of it.  I mean, why not?  So, I zested the bugger.  After cleaning it of course.  I didn't want any weird tastes from whatever they put on the skins of fruit. Orange zest... smelled yummy....  I read somewhere on another blog about making extracts that you can add sugar to the zest.  It called for a full teaspoon, but I thought it was a little much, so I added about an eig...

...kinda... Well, after a few awesome complete cross-stitch projects, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to start one of the things that I really  wanted to do, thinking it wouldn't be that  hard. Didn't take into account how different stitching on linen if compared to stitching on aida cloth.... Or how small it would be... Or how to read an actual  pattern... Or.. Well, you get what I mean.  However, I have started  Heaven and Earth's Map of Middle Earth  about two weeks ago and so far I think I'm doing an alright job. So far, I think I've done an alright job! But, it will be a long time in stitching!  First, I have maybe a fourth of the needed threads.  Maybe.  Might be less that that.  And on my budget, I'll only be able to buy a few threads a month (shipping can be a biotch, and there is no Michael's or JoAnns or anything like that where I live.  Yay for small town living... :'( ), and this thing is o...

So, I was searching through my cupboards this morning for something for breakfast when I found one lone little baggie of slivered almonds.  It seemed like it was calling out to me to do something that I've never done before. So, I toasted the little buggers up, and added vodka and water, and it is now sitting in my back room cupboard for the next three months to magically transform itself into almond extract! Yay! The little baggie was a half a cup of slivered almonds, so I modified the recipe that I found to reflect that. 1/2 cup almonds, toasted 1/4 cup vodka 1/4 cup filtered water Lightly shake the jar every 3-5 days for 3 weeks - 2 months. So I toasted them up, stuck them in a clean jar, added the vodka and water, shook it up, and it instantly clouded!  I think thats a good thing... it looks kinda like orgeat syrup (I used to be a barista) so I think its right.  And yes, I am using a high-end vodka.  I know it doesn't matter what quality is used,...

...of the December cross stitches!  Oh so nice to finish the ones that I started (minus the two for niece and nephew... those will take some time yet...)  First, as said in previous installment of things from my boring life (which I plan on changing, and soon  XD), my sister's present was finished quite a while ago, but I didn't want her to see it.  Now that it is safely in her possession and no longer in danger from cats who assume they rule the household, I can put pretty pictures online.  It makes me happy!  So the pattern is one I found online when searching for Lord of the Rings inspired crafts.  It is a free pattern from Hancock's House of Happy  and I fell in love with it!  It says Mae Govannen (well met) in Quenya.  I changed the colors for it, as the ones I had would fit in with my sister's decorations around the house better than the green and tan.  Also, I didn't have any green or tan... So, it actually d...