Hoo'ville returns

I made another owl. This one is slightly more advanced than my first attempt. Slightly.

This time I appliqued all the pieces using zig-zag stitches around the entire piece...it looks MUCH better than my initial attempt when I just used a topstitch and left unfinished edges. I drew up a pattern for myself (something I've never done before), to make sure that I liked the proportions before I started cutting the fabric.

Since this was a gift for a newborn I made sure that all the fabrics were pre-washed...I also made sure to use materials that were washable so that the new mommy could easily stick this in the laundry, if needed.

I started by piecing together the eyes...which was much more difficult than it sounds. I didn't use any kind of stabilizer, which meant that keeping the two very soft fabric flat was a challenge. (note: I did, very stupidly, try to iron some fusible interfacing to the back of the fleece to help... DON'T do this! it melted. onto my iron. it was a nightmare)

(i made 3 eyes before i finally succeeded...)

In the end, I used two eyes that weren't exactly the same...which I thought gave a wonky-fun look...right?

(appliqued)

After all of the pieces were appliqued to the front of the owl, I sewed the front and back together, turned it inside out and...

(before stuffing)

Then I stuffed 'er up.

(stuffed! the iron is cold...I'm never taking fleece close to an iron again) 

I could have been clever and sewn a tag on BEFORE sewing the sides together and stuffing, but I didn't think that far ahead.

(tagged!)

Then I shipped her off to the brand new baby! (along with this fleece flowered hat).

c'est tout!

alina

éclairs

(mmmmmmm....mmmmmmm)

I made éclairs.

Not for fun, mind you, but as a continuation of chemistry baking experiments. You might think that they don't look very science-y, especially when compared to past experiments. You would be right. The experiment itself was for the pate de choux (the type of pastry used as éclair casing), but it seemed wasteful to have a stack of empty choux- obvious solution: make a chocolate creme patissier and a simple chocolate ganache. Voila! yummy snack.

The purpose of this experiment was to see the difference between a milk based dough and a water based one. I had always assumed that most pate de choux was made with milk, but apparently using water, or a mix of the two, is also very popular. Both options will work, but the proteins in milk add structural and taste differences (milk also affects Maillard browning).

Our first batch was a milk one.

(ball of dough.)

The technique for choux is significantly different from others we have used. The methodology and order of combination is crucial for a successful dough, and much simpler than other "pastry" doughs, which require lamination.

Choux requires a LOT of vigorous mixing.

(check out that vigorous incorporation of eggs)

Choux also requires a wooden spoon. Don't ask me why (yet). I am planning on finding out, but EVERY source I looked into, including the chemistry of baking book, specified a wooden spoon. If any of you know why please share (otherwise I know how I'm spending my weekend: next experiment: choux with a wooden spoon vs. with a metal/plastic spoon...ok, maybe not)

(mlik batch: success!)

After baking the first batch we turned our attention to the water-based dough. We failed. Scientificallly, our explanation is referred to as "human error". We don't really know where we went wrong. I think we may have allowed the butter to separate by over-boiling...Essentially our dough ball before eggs was leaking oil (butter), and then when the eggs were added we ended up with a very, very liquid batter- think pancake.

In order to maintain some semblance of scientific method we baked the dough anyways, just to see what would happen.

(this is what happened...FAIL)

This was our first real failure in our experimenting. It was incredibly disheartening, particularly because we had promised to bring éclairs to our Chem Lab (don't worry...not INTO the lab). But, we learn from mistakes, so it's ok. Our conclusion: Milk makes the better éclair. Of course this conclusion has absolutely no scientific basis since we are the ones who messed up the water batch...but this isn't my lab report.

(lots of messy chocolate)

I wasn't a fan of the filling recipe we used (not a part of the experiment)...but my classmates certainly didn't notice. My professor was super pleased to be fed  to see how far our experiments have come. 

(one last picture to make you hungry)

I'm off to do some (less fun) chemistry. So sad that my whole chemistry course isn't centered around baking. Alas, solubility, thermodynamics and voltaic cells it is.

Come back soon for a wooden spoon update!

c'est tout

alina

(happy)time-out chair

Since we moved in last summer, I've wanted a chair for our bedroom. Mostly so that I have somewhere to dump worn clothes (other than the floor), but also because our bedroom is the least "done-up" room, and I thought it needed some love.

I found a chair on craigslist, and although it was not attractive, it was only $20 (which may sound not so cheap but I was looking for something solid wood with armrests and a cushioned seat). I should mention that this was back in August. I bought the chair and brought it home...it was very grandmotherly (no offense to grandmothers, vintage is totally "in"), and too formal for what I wanted, but I had a vision.

I got to work.

(we removed the WHITE fabric covered seat...and two legs...and started sanding)

I kept sanding and sanding and sanding. Seriously. For months. Because of the curved shapes and small spaces I had to hand sand the chair instead of using a powered-sander. I got busy with school and work, and almost forgot that I had a half-sanded chair sitting in my dad's shed. Almost.

Finally I told myself that I HAD to finish the project. The pile of clothes on the floor was getting to be ridiculous, and I really wanted our bedroom to feel a little bit more finished (I also decided I should sew some curtains...after I completed the chair).

So I (we...eventually I enlisted help) continued sanding.

(sanding is no fun...I have an awful tendency to sand the skin off my knuckles...)

FINALLY, we finished sanding. Now came the fun and easy parts. I re-upholstered the seat cushion with some fun and bright fabric, and painted the chair (we used primer and paint in one).

(oooh. pretty)

It looks much brighter in person (it's not very pastel/easter-y).

Since I used paint we already had (from our table project), I only had to buy the chair and fabric to cover the seat...so it was a pretty economical project. That is, unless you count the hours of work I put into it...

Moral of the story- re-doing furniture is a lot of fun...when it has straight lines!

c'est tout.
alina

Kosher for Passover

Or not...

(for those who don't get it...the matza and the festival of lights do not go together...)

It is nice to know that Whole Foods was ready with the Matzot back in December...but I'm hoping they bring out fresh ones for the spring...Matza tastes stale enough as is.

I used to go all out for passover. I mean, not just avoiding bread and baked goods, but not eating anything with corn syrup either. (Oh Ashkenazim, why make life harder than it already is?). While this might be seen today as a great low carb diet, it was truly limiting, and no fun. I have since given up avoiding kitniot. And, I consider anything that technically keeps to the rules of kosher for passover, kosher. What I mean is if it takes less than 18 minutes from the moment the grain touches liquid to make, I'm allowed to eat it. This means that a bowl of oatmeal, for me, is fine. Obviously I'm not a true resource with regards to the laws of Kashrut, but I like for things to be logical...and this makes the most sense to me.


I will add that I've been making batches of really delicious no-bake cookies for the last two weeks, which are, according to my logic, kosher for passover (if any of you needed some extra passover friendly dessert ideas...)

Why eat macaroons all day if you can go chocolate/peanutbutter/oatmeal-y?

Oh, and it's ok that I've been downing these no-bake cookies (I boil them for less time than needed and then freeze them and then they are a delicious chewy frozen treat...not just a cookie), because I've been running!

Delicious chocolate pb oatmeal yummy things:

2 tpsb cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter (I tend to put just a little bit less than this..)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (I used the quick cook version)
1/2 tsp vanilla (I just add a small splash)

Melt the butter into the cocoa sugar and milk over low heat in a small/medium saucepan. When smooth and fully mixed, turn up heat. Measure out the rest of the ingredients. When the mixture begins to boil start a timer and let boil for 1min and a few seconds (or a little bit longer if you want them to be cookies and not frozen delicious blobs). Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add oatmeal. Spoon onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Voila! stick in the freezer and within 30 minutes you have cold chewy deliciousness.

On that note...Happy Passover.

c'est tout!
alina

battle of the sweeteners

I've been tempted to try using Agave syrups for a while now. I've gotten a vibe (mainly from reading healthy-living type blogs) that everyone who does healthy food uses agave as a sweetener.

So.

I turned to my chemistry book, this time looking into different sweeteners and the way they change baked goods.

Today, we made pound cake (in cupcake size for experimental reasons). This time the process was the same and the ingredient list similar (except for the type of sweetener). For one batch we used regular granulated sugar, the second honey, and the third agave. There is one conversion needed to lower the amount of fluid added in the batches with honey and agave (since both come in liquid form), but otherwise, the recipe was identical.

(blue paper: agave (clever, eh?); pink paper: granulated sugar; yellow paper: honey)

(they all baked for the same time- but look at the difference in color and shape!)

(mmm...getting closer to the taste test)

We found that the different sweeteners affected the crust (sugar was crunchiest), the dome shape, and the crumb texture. Not to mention the different color...

(moving in for the kill...taste test BEGIN!)

Mere moments later...

(did I mention that our lab group consists of only two of us? woops)

All three versions were, as the book would have us say, "acceptable". Unlike the muffins from our first experiment, all three versions were tasty and well textured. Having never tried agave before, I had expected it to be interchangeable with sugar taste wise. WRONG. Agave has a very distinct taste, but it was yummy. I least liked the honey, but only because it tasted like honey (which in itself is not an innately bad quality). Also, although the sweeteners did affect the texture (the honey and agave were denser and a little bit chewier), the results were all still yummy.

I should mention that we did make one other change (non-sanctioned by the book), by using coconut oil instead of shortening. This was for two reasons: 1. the idea of using shortening makes me feel ill to my stomach... and 2. if we're already trying agave why not try with the "healthier" fat for an overall healthier muffin?

I am sold with regards to the coconut oil. (we substituted 1 for 1, but we probably could have gotten away with a little bit less coconut oil...the cakes did have a slightly greasy feel). It added great flavor and was very successful in producing quality results as a substitute.

As a disclaimer I will add that DESPITE all the hype, Agave really isn't healthier than sugar. Although it comes from a natural source (like sugar), it is still processed (like sugar). Both provide very little nutritional value, and they have comparable calories per serving. That being said, Agave does have a nice taste, but I'm  still not entirely convinced that it is worth the extra $$. Anyone want to convince me otherwise??

C'est tout.

Alina

wheat vs. white

Well, it seems I've been a little weak on the blogging front. My mind has been way too caught up in science-y fact related thoughts to be able to escape into creative mode on short notice. It's a problem. Really, not just with blogging, but I have a hard time switching into writing for classes as well...it takes hours to get the creative juices flowing.

This is more of a catch up/see what I've been up to kind of post. Mid-terms were last week, which was thrilling (or mostly just stressful!), and now I'm on "spring break". I say that in quotations because I still feel like I have way too much to do, and since I still have work 5 days of the week...it seems unfair to refer to this as a real vacation.

Last week we had another chemistry baking experiment. This time we used different types of flours but otherwise the exact same recipe and procedure in creating sugar cookies:

(King Arthur Flour is apparently the best you can get in the US, according to my croissant making research...it's worth the extra moolah)

(I'm so dubious of this baking thing)

(Experimental batch: left hand side whole wheat, right side cake flour)

(Mmmm...Raspberry iced cookies, framboise at its finest)

 I'm happy to report that the whole wheat ones were delicious. I had been a little nervous that they would be dry and gross, but actually we preferred their taste over the white flour. Ideally we would have done several more batches with different flours, but there were just TOO many cookies.

On a non-baking note: I've been sewing! Just a little bit, but I've made a baby hat, a zippered lined pouch, and the muslin of a reversible dress (which may be overly ambitious..we'll see)

(With huge congratulations to Emily and Scott on their new baby girl!- the hat is on its way with another give for the wee one) 

(Green Corduroy zippered pouch....it may have been a mistake to do this without a pattern, it was no easy task to turn it right side out)

(Lining: so cute, so worth the sweat and swearing)

I'm still working on the muslin of the reversible dress...but I did teach myself buttonholes, so easy and so beautiful, I may start using buttons on EVERYTHING (the same way I do zippers). Pictures to come.

c'est tout!
alina

discovery! (ok, old news)

(Not my finger...sadly)

Has everyone met Brookesia micra?? This little dude is the newly discovered world's tiniest chameleon. What a winner.

Apart from the fact that he is just too cute, his discovery also coincides very nicely with our current topic of discussion in biology (you guessed it! evolution!). The researchers who discovered him have written a fabulously interesting report, the gist of which points to the idea of "island dwarfism" which basically means that if you are on an island and the resources are limited, it's much better to be tiny than huge.

I mostly think he's cute, but also, it astounds me that he was ever discovered: he is both teeny teeny tiny, AND a chameleon!! What are the chances of finding him in the middle of a jungle? Someone was bored, huh? It does add another reason to my list of "why to visit Madagascar",ok, in truth, this is the beginning of said list, but now it seems necessary.

(It kills me...look how tiny he is)

There are tons of other too cute images of him floating around the web or in the links above, I highly recommend checking them out. Also, if it interests you and you don't have other work/commitments read more about insular dwarfism, it's fascinating and you can learn about dwarf elephants (who, despite significant decrease in size, are unable to walk on the tip of your finger...).

c'est tout!

alina

great success!

Well, I haven't been very good at balancing the blogging thing with all my other time commitments.
School, homework, work, occasionally running and even less often sleeping seem to take up SO MUCH TIME. I've found it really difficult to fit in creative projects like fun cooking or sewing. It's gotten to the point where I actually put hot dogs in our dinner last night. (I'm embarrassed...nay, appalled...but it's true).

So I've come up with at least a partial solution:

(Chemistry Baking!)

Sometimes I'm so clever that it surprises even me.

I'm taking an "Honors" Chemistry course, which means very little except that we have longer and more advanced labs. This semester we were told to choose an independent study project for the majority of our lab time (Yea, the lab is from 1-5 every Wednesday. Brutal). When the independent study was announced I think we were all a little hesitant, our prof gave examples from previous years of growing algaes and doing little chem demos for kids, which is fun, but not thrilling.

That's when I happened to discover this:

(you clicked to look inside, didn't you)

I happened upon this book entirely by chance when I was doing research for my croissant paper, and I decided right then and there that I would clearly be doing a chemistry project revolving around baking. This may not sound so exciting, but when other groups in my class have chosen to do water purification experiments (I just use a brita, ha!), baking sounds pretty awesome.

The book is laid out like a chemistry course. There are textual explanations and then questions for thought, and then...the best part: Experiments!

This week I learned about the different processes that the dough undergoes, from the addition of fluid, through the order of mixing, and up through baking. The experiment then was to make the same recipe, using the same ingredients and quantities, but using two different mixing techniques- the muffin technique, and the creaming technique. The two are baked for the same amount of time and at the same temperature and then you test them. They taste COMPLETELY different, it's crazy! both texture and taste were affected by only changing the way we added the ingredients together. I would get into the technicalities of why...but I'm procrastinating, and a deadline is coming up, so that will be in the next post.

(sorry for the messy kitchen and crummy photography- I have limited counter space, and a very dark kitchen)

(in order to be experimental we had to weight the amount of dough in each muffin, 2.00 oz)

(I also bought an oven thermometer so I would find out just how wonky my oven is...again, experimental accuracy, etc)

(Checking the differences in: Height, crust, texture, color, and taste. Very technical, very scientific)

The point of all this was simply to say: I have found a way to get some baking into my life again, which is so exciting, especially since it means that Wednesday afternoons can be spent in my kitchen...and not in a lab (we also have a really awful lab director guy- who will find any reason to tell us off, so this is a nice escape! he must be turning purple thinking of us baking for our project- his big thing is no eating or drinking anywhere CLOSE TO the chem lab, he will tell you to throw out your lunch if he catches you in the hallway eating... aw poor guy.)



c'est tout!

alina

This post is dedicated to my lab partner, who thinks I am crazy, but goes along with it. Thanks!

hiatus

My apologies on the brief hiatus.

My days have been filled with lovely, (not so) fun things like limits and regressions, freezing point depressions, plant phylogeny, etc. Yes. That's right. Not only has this semester begun in full force, I already have exams in some of my courses! EXAMS! Seriously, I feel like the semester started yesterday, but in fact, I had a biology exam yesterday, and I have a chemistry exam tomorrow. Thrills.

(OMG! so exciting! It's like watching water freeze...oh wait, it is watching water freeze)

Unfortunately, what this this means is less time for blogging, and more time set for analyzing graphs and numbers, and memorizing plant life cycles. Hurrah! It also means I have had NO time for any kind of fun projects.

(Good old Bryophytes...much more interesting than you would think, but not as fun as the sewing project waiting for me...)

However, I did start running again this week (finally!). I'm signed up for the C'ville 10 miler at the end of March, and decided that just about right now would be a good time to start training. Woops. So far I've run 3 days in a row, tomorrow will be a day off...

In other news, my upstairs neighbors have a child who WILL NOT stop crying. This isn't your average colicky baby, he's way past a year old and can cry for hours without stop. It makes it difficult for us to work or sleep in our apartment, which is pretty miserable. Anyone have tips for how to very kindly mention to his parents that they should probably give him some attention, or possibly learn how to be care for him?! In the meantime I'm seriously considering calling child protective services. It is miserable.

I will get back to posting more often once this nightmare of a week is over. I'm simply much too busy writing a million other things for my English class...which I love, but still, it takes up so much time and energy.

c'est tout.

alina

pingu

Do you guys remember pingu from your childhood?

(claymation : pingu is great, but I have to admit that I prefer when there is dialogue...like Wallace and Gromit)

I'm not even sure if it came to the States, or if I only ever saw it in Canada (insert Canada joke here). This is what I thought of as I worked on my latest sewing project:

(look! I'm a penguin!)

(Now I have little orange feet, finally, I can stand on my own!)

(Maybe if Alina had any small black buttons I would have real eyes, alas-hand stitched it is)

So he's a little sloppy (mostly because I didn't take a whole lot of time to hand stitch the closing on the wings, or the back. And I didn't leave a large enough seam allowance, I was just trying to see what result I would get, and, well, I was lazy. Unfortunately, this means that I can see some of the stitching (done with black thread...gasp!), and also that his belly could open up at any moment.

(Yes, he did get tagged...)

(So did this robot skirt: For my sister, not for me...sadly)

C'est tout.
alina

Yay!

 I have tags/labels!

I realize I've only been sewing for umm, two months? But after much perusal online, my jealousy of other peoples labels got to me. Obviously I did not order actual tags because those cost hundreds of dollars and you have to order HUNDREDS of tags, which I most certainly have no need for. Instead, I did a custom designed fabric at spoonflower, and now I have little framboise labels to put on everything!

(oooooooh.)

(I handstitched it...and made it purposely "hand made" looking. Oh wait, it is handmade)

(I thought I would make this card holder a little bit more professional by sticking to black and gray...until I added a bright pink button that is)

(One last view from behind)

Oh, so about the fabric: I bought just a fat quarter of a repeating pattern with my label, but it gave me over a hundred little labels for $10!! All I have to do is fold the edges back, press on some fusible interfacing, and sew it on! so fun.

I feel like I need to start sewing several projects a day now, just so I can put labels on more things!

alina

Chips

Not the kind that are deep fried and packed into noisy bags which sit on the grocery shelves for months(ew)
Also not the kind that are referred to as "french fries" by Americans. (really? french? not that "freedom" was any better...but still?)

Paint chips.

(paint chip boxes. pinterest, how did I ever waste time before you?)

Taking a large stack of paint chips from Lowe's is completely legal; it is also a little bit less socially acceptable. I must say that I felt red in the face and sweaty as I stocked up on literally tens of paint chips last week. I also felt like I was stealing as I stealthily placed them in my bag. I kept trying to tell myself that they are there so that you can take them. Annnnd, who knows, maybe I will use them to help pick out a future paint color. In the future (far far future). But no. I felt awful, I also felt like the paint department people were looking at me like a crazy person.

Speaking of which: that seems to be a common theme lately.

Hm. I'm ok with that.

Back to what I was trying to say. Those paint chips were for a purpose. I think most people who use paint chips for other projects are looking for a way to use up paint chips they already have...I'm special. I didn't have any paint chips, wanted to do a paint chip project, and so did the unacceptable. gasp.

But look at the awesome result:

(clearly only a small percentage of the chips I actually took...woops)

It was so easy (apart from all of the emotional distress), and looks cool! I have to admit that I was particularly lazy about cutting the chips, and so had a lot of not quite square little boxes. If you see (even though it is a particularly poor quality photo) that they are not evenly spaced: SHHHH! I did them in a completely non-technical and non-measured way. I eye-balled it. Apparently I am wonky. Or at least my eyes are?

What do you think?

alina