urban earth mother

Greetings! As you can see, I'm not the only thing growing here. I planted some basil seeds in our seed sprouter and they seem to be coming up nicely. With luck we'll actually be able to have some homegrown herbs this year, in spite of our city status. I am going to try to set them outside later so that they can get, hopefully, more light than our living room provides. And speaking of things what grow, my darling Spouse came home with a huge bag of produce yesterday. There's a group that sells low-cost organic produce at the housing authority where he's working. He didn't want to take any last time they came even though they offered, but this time he gave in. The haul included a very large amount of rhubarb which he took because no one else wanted it. His first thought was a nice crumble . He ended up making three, one of which he gave away. It might not look pretty, but it sure is tasty. This morning I took a few more spears of rhubarb, because even after thre...

I haven't been posting here as I've been working on a little side project that just became public. And no, I haven't been sewing as I should but I have at least gotten this pattern cut out and ready to alter. I'll need to enlarge the bust quite a bit, but then bring the shoulders back in. Fortunately I bought some Swedish tracing paper which you can actually sew and use as a muslin. Now I just need the motivation to get going! My constant fatigue has subsided now so I should be able to do a little bit before it gets too warm. Most likely I will be getting my fabric at the new Stitch lounge Gather Here . I KNOW I'll be going there when it comes time to make button holes! My machine doesn't have a button holer and I'm not really good at doing them by hand. I will, of course, be delving into their yarn stores too for soft yarns for a new small body. If I start now I might even finish a receiving blanket! But knowing my procrastination, that sounds like a ...

Happy New Year! I'm not one to make new year resolutions (you know, because I break them) but may just set myself a new year goal this year. Not weight loss (which is my constant struggle) or exercise (already have Spouse nagging me (because I asked him to) for that) or packing a lunch every day (although I did bring in three days worth of meals today) but sewing. This year I would like to make one item of clothing per month. The item need not be elaborate, even an accessory could do, but I would like to make use of the expensive sewing machine repairs and this seems rather practical. I may even go all out and finish some of the knit UFOs lurking in the closet as well! So that's the plan for me. Anyone else have any goals for the new year?

If you wear a bra and lament things like underwires shattering before the rest of the bra has worn out, or just want to try your hand at DIY undies, the Bra-makers Supply site rocks! I haven't yet ordered from them, so I don't yet know what there customer service is like, but that will very soon be remedied. I spend close to $100 EACH on my bras so not tossing keeping them going is a big concern for me. Now that I've got a working sewing machine, I may try my hand at making my own dainties and save a little money, as well as having custom design.

Spouse came home from his house-call yesterday with a big black trashbag which he set on the kitchen floor and said, "This is for you." Inside the bag was a 17 pound turkey. Raw. Thawed. Apparently the person he's gone to see had two and they hadn't been kept frozen. One was cooked for Thanksgiving but the other needed to be cooked soon. Guess what I did today? If you said, "Roasted a Turkey," you would be correct! A couple years ago I found a 1924 Boston Cooking-School cook book at a flea market in excellent shape and only $12. It's a great reference book if you can get over some of the rather vague instructions. Here is how to roast a turkey (emphasis mine): Dress, clean, stuff and truss a ten-pound turkey. Place on its side on a rack in a dripping pan, rub entire surface with salt, spread breast, legs and wings with one-third cup butter, rubbed until creamy and mixed with one-fourth cup flour. Dredge bottom of pan with flour. Place in a hot ove...

We were invited over to a friend's home for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. While bringing a dish wasn't required, I offered and brought a large salad, complete with home made dressing, plus a bottle of wine. Many hours of h'ordeuvres, wine, a HUGE meal and dessert later, we were driven home, sated and ready for bed (at least I was ready for bed!) For a wonderful day, I most heartily thank Tim and Susan for hosting, Katherine for bringing us there and Bari and Terry for taking us home. Like in the US, turkey tends to be a once per year food in the UK, in their case at Christmas. And like here, one of the joys of cooking something so massive is leftovers. Spouse apologized for his presumption, but asked if he could take a little turkey home with him. Given that there was HALF a turkey left in a home with one meat eater, they happily obliged. He was looking forward to turkey sandwiches. "In England," he said, "we have them with sage and onion stuffing. Do we h...

I didn't get pictures of all of it as by the time everything was cooked I just wanted to sit down and eat. The menu was: Salad of cabbage, spinach and carrot Roast Quorn with Roasted potatoes Mushy peas Yorkshire pudding Bread with homemade butter Steamed pudding with custard Peas soaking Potatoes await their fate Another gorgeous loaf of bread Fruit was leftover booze-soaked fruit (kept in the freezer) from the Christmas pudding With Custard

Just out of the oven Out of the pan First steaming slice with homemade butter

I decided to start the Christmas Pudding early this year. Traditionally it's supposed to be made the Sunday before Advent (Stirring Up Sunday), but since they are meant to be aged, and Advent means nothing to me, I opted to do it earlier to let it mellow. The first step was chopping 2 cups of mixed fruit and letting it soak overnight in alcohol. Sherry, port, rum or brandy are typically used, but I had none of those! I used a combination of whiskey, Grand Mariner, sweet vermouth and a splash of absinthe. Greased pudding basin and fruit soaked in booze Another old tradition is to place a silver coin in the pudding before steaming. Good luck comes to the person who finds it on their plate. A thuppence (three-penny coin) or sixpence was traditionally used, but these coins disappeared with the switch to decimal currency in 1973.  As luck would have it for us, downtown Boston is chock-a-block with various collectibles shops and we bought about a half dozen assorted coins from WWI...

My sewing machine has been repaired and cleaned and works very nicely. I had so much fabric let over from the six-gore skirt that I decided to go all out and do a skirt without a pattern. I really, really want one of these Vivien of Holloway Pinafore skirts , but a) they're kind of expensive, and b) they don't come in my size. So, what's a girl to do? Well, they look like straight skirts with some darts for shaping, an extra high waist and straps added on. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Well it took longer than I thought simply because I managed to throw my back out and sitting for long periods of time hurt too much. I eventually made myself start it on Saturday so I could wear it to a wedding on Sunday. The straps originally went over the shoulders straight, but I had cut them too long and my sloped shoulders enabled them to slip down constantly. After we got back from the wedding on Monday, I took the straps off in the back and crossed them over. The straps are ...

Well, the sewing machine needed some work after all so I sent it in for repairs and a replacement motor. $200+ later, it's home and I did get to use it. Here is the skirt I made: It actually didn't come out all that great so I think I'll be taking it apart and redoing the seams. Still it came together quite quickly and got me inspired. I'll be working on a new project this week (hopefully tonight) and will write more, with pictures) once that's underway.

Here are some photos of what I've been up to. First up is a stack of sub-par crumpets (they ended up more like pancakes, but are okay toasted) next to the tub of homemade butter Of course they were much nicer combined Next up on the breakfast menu is homemade yogurt with the last of the blueberries from Tuesday's market And finally, the results of my trip to the Friday farmer's market in Copley Square You can't even see everything! From left to right we have: two balls of mozzarella (and notice my mozzarella kit lurking in the back) Bag of tomatoes The carrots and French radishes seem to be completely covering the pickling cucumbers and green beans Small bag of plums in front of the carrots Bag of English peas Sourdough baguette Basil and dill Two small tubs of goat cheese with olive oil and herbs de Provence and a log of plain goat cheese Jar of strawberry jam I spent a ton of money, but looking at all of this wonderful food, I think it's worth it. You really can...

I'm such a bad blogger (and I seem to say that a lot.) I've been working on things in the kitchen which I should have mentioned, bought new (old) clothes, and even started looking for a place to call our own. On the Kitchen Front (I'll update with pictures later), I tried water bath canning pickles for our family reunion in June. I made beets, spicy garlic sprouts and dilly carrots. It seemed to go well and only two jars didn't seal. The plan is to put up a few market crops this summer so we can have them in the dark of winter. this weekend I will be doing beets and possible green beans as I saw some at the Tuesday market. In other kitchen news, Mother Trucker inspired me to try my hand a yogurt. I found it had a lot of whey separating out, but haven't found the right mix for draining it yet. The second batch drained a bit too much and is almost cheese-like. Fortunately I kept the whey this time and can mix some back in. Speaking of cheese, all this fermenting got ...

I replaced the belt on the sewing machine last night, fired it up and she works a treat! I still haven't oiled anything yet, but I'm already planning a real, non-hankie project. I just ordered this skirt from Davenport and Company in Springfield. Fantastic email customer service by they way if you ever decide to order anything. This looks like it should be easy enough for me to muck about with using whatever fabric I can find around the house before I go buy something nice. The next project I'm contemplating is a vintage jumper with an Ubuntu logo embroidered on it for spouse. That will probably take a while though, and I still have a few other things to finish first. I promise I'll get the pictures of the tea cozies I made over Christmas plus the one I'm working on now.

Hey, kitty, what's in the box? Looks interesting. Could it be... Oh yeah! Sewing machine from the over-priced used furniture place next door! I didn't even haggle as it was only $30 and at least mostly works (we were only able to test the peddle in the shop.) First order of business, after cleaning it up a bit, will be to take the old, ripped sheets and make hankies. Yea! New toy!

2009 was not a great year round our place, but now we can start fresh. I think I should learn to sew this year.

It's been ages since I updated!. This is just a quickie to show off the sweater I'm making for SIL's baby due in November. I never made anything for the new niece in California when she was born in March, so that will be the next project. If I haven't burned out from getting back in the swing with knitting, then the things for the nephews will be forthcoming as well. But on to the current project! I'm making the hooded version of Daisy from Knitty.com. As you can see, I've nearly finished one side and am halfway through the back. Since it's for an infant, it's pretty fast going. Plus it's a dead easy pattern so I can knit on the T in the morning when I'm half asleep. That's it for now. More when I'm further along on this project.

Spouse wanted to have a picnic tonight, but since we had no picnic basket, I balked. Goodwill to the rescue! He found a never-used (tag still on, utensils still sealed) basket with plates, cups and utensils. So I prepped a meal and off we went to Dorchester Heights with a blanket and food. Here is Spouse relaxing before the meal. Me squinting in the sun. Remains of the meal Spouse confirms the time of the historical places bike ride he's going on tonight (it's midnight-6am and goes 30 miles) Getting shoes on to head back down the hill to home Sunset over Dorchester And if you're interested, the meal was a caprese salad (tomato, basil and onion all local), oven chips with salt and rosemary (local potato), carrot and leek gratin and cod poached in proseco with rosemary, garlic and lemongrass.

Spouse wants to have veggies put up this year. He says having food in the cupboards makes him feel secure. Unfortunately it's not a good tomato year what with the blight, but we're thinking of at least having pickles (especially since he ate the last of the cucumber refrigerator pickles this morning.) So my mission for the rest of the growing season will be to gather and properly can things. I'm thinking cucumber pickles, pickled green beans and picked beets. If I can get some tomatoes at a decent price, I'll put a couple of jars of those up too. Brandied peaches seem to be calling my name as well, but they have so much sugar. Maybe I could substitute larger quantities of brandy to preserve them *hic* Ponder.

You know, just because I know you read this :)