tutorial...THURSDAY! French Press Cozy

I talked about a Christmas present I made for J, a french press/Bodum cover/cozy.  I made one this week for my Dad's Christmas present (He was away for 2 months, over Christmas, we're celebrating this weekend)

Things you'll need:
-an old felted/shrunken wool sweater, or something for insulation
-fabric
-elastic
-3 buttons

First, measure your FP.  Add 2cm to the length.  um...I didn't measure...what I did was use the one I made for J as a template...once you make one, most FPs should be the same around...We have a short one too, but all we do is flip down the top!

Cut the felted sweater to size.

Lay on chosen fabric.

 

Cut Fabric about 2 or 3 cm bigger than felt.

 

Pin both long and one short side, using felt as a guide (NOT pinning TO fabric)

Sew along the edge, the size of the felt, and trim off edges.

Flip right side out and slide the felt in.  Tuck the cut ends in, and pin 3 loops of elastic inside.

Sew all around the edges, and 'quilt' the middle.  This will keep the felt from moving around.

 

Sew 3 buttons on the nice side, opposite the loops.

Now you will have hot coffee for a little longer! 

tutorial Tuesday?

ooops...I didn't prepare anything today...
why don't I tell you how I make my chicken stock?
There won't be any photos yet...I'll maybe add them in another day.

I call my chicken "triple threat chicken".  It acts, sings and dances!
wait...no.  It roasts, simmers and soups!

To make my stock, first I roast a chicken.  (a tutorial for another day!?)
Then we eat the chicken breasts with some sort of steamed green veg, maybe some rice, or potato.

Right now it's only the two of us, so that idea works well...'cause you can't eat more than that if it's going to be a triple threat.

With the rest of the meat, the legs, I make a curry, or burritos. 

DO NOT THROW OUT THE BONES/FAT/JUICES/CRUNCHY BAKED ON BITS/SKIN of your roast.  I just shove the whole roasting pan with the bones in the fridge after it's roasted.  Toss the leg bones back in the roasting pan on day 2.  If I have time, I make the stock on day 2.  Sometimes I don't, and I can make the stock on day 3.  Stop being so paranoid J...it's FINE...especially if I'm going to BOIL THE HECK out of it... (ahem, pardon me, my hubby is paranoid about food...he won't eat leftovers if they've been in the fridge for more than a day...if he eats them at all)
Now...If I know I can't get to making stock asap, I stick the bones and juices in the freezer.

Stick the bones, juices, fats, skin in a big pot.  Add 2 or 3 carrots snapped in half, a few stocks of celery snapped in half...thick white bits, leaves and all (yes, I do wash the dirt off), add a couple onions, skins and all, quartered.  Sometimes I add herbs...sometimes coriander.  Whatever you like really... oh, salt and pepper too.
Fill the roasting pan with water.  Take a spoon and scrape up all that yummy baked on chicken! Pour it over the stuff in your pot.  Keep using the roasting pan to add water until you have covered the bones and Veg.  now BOIL.  When it gets crazy, put the pot on simmer.  I say it's done when the carrots are soft...I've never timed it.  I turn off the heat, and let the pot cool all day or over night.  LID ON.  Not refrigerated.  I dunno, is that bad?  lol.  I heard from someone never to put hot food in the fridge.  Something about bacteria thriving...

Once it's cooled enough I strain it stock, either into another pot if I'm about to make soup, or into big tupperware and into the freezer.  If you are freezing it, leave a good 5 cm at the top for the stock to expand into.

tutorial Tuesday - Kim Chi!

Tuesdays have been named Tutorial Tuesdays!
It is my hope to post a tutorial once a week.

From cooking to crafting to gardening to space travel...

today...KIM CHI!

J (the husband) took up to Korean BBQ.
Have you ever been?
It's all you can eat grilled meat and fish.  they give you sides of kim chi (kim chee, kimchi), spicy potatos, and rice.  you all sit around a grill, open flame, and grill and eat as much as you can.  I've only been once.  It was WAY to much meat for me, not enough vegetables.  But I fell in love with kim chi.  Fermented spicy cabbage.

I found some at my grocery store.  At almost $5 a short jar it was a rare treat (not to mention it went really fast and  not always stocked!).  I would eat it in a day if I let myself.

I have IBS, and I was concerned that I might be negatively effected by eating so much at once!  It turns out not!  It's really good for you and aids digestion.  No wonder Koreans eat it a lot!

I figured I'd try making it.

I used this recipe.  There are a lot of different versions, and this one seemed simplest.


ingredients:

Napa cabbage - approximately one pound
4 cups of cold water
3 tablespoons of sea salt
1 tablespoon of fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh green onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 teaspoon of dried red chili pepper flakes (more if you like things spicy, less if you don't)
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of sugar

First you cut the butt end off.  I forgot to take a photo, but please take note of the pretty pattern the end makes!

Rinse the leaves in cold water.
(this part sucked 'cause we keep our apartment pretty cold 'cause electricity costs so much!)
Pack 'em in a bowl and cover with cold, salted water.  Put a plate and a weight on top and stick in the fridge over night.

 

 

 

 Chop up your green onions, garlic and ginger.  I did more than the recipe called for.  I had a big cabbage.  In retrospect, I would have used less ginger and green onion.

 

 I blended all the ingredients because I don't chop very fine.  It made it much easier to spread on the leaves.

I didn't take photos of this next bit...it was too messy!   I spread a small amount of the paste on each leaf and shoved them into a big jar.  I might try chopping the cabbage first next time and just kinda tossing it around...
You don't have to put a lot on each leaf.  When it starts to ferment it all gets yummy.

I used two jars and 2/3rds of the cabbage. 

Stick the jar somewhere not cold.  Warm room temp.  (that means for my cold apartment I put it about a foot away from a heater!  The jar never got warm.)

Then you wait 3 or 4 days. 

If you have a sensitive nose...um...beware.  When you open the jar, it smells like old garbage feet.  J came home from a weekend away and exclaimed "wow!  it stinks in here!  didn't you take out the garbage?"
So, don't open it the day you have company...unless maybe they are Korean...they might enjoy the smell as much as I do...

I wasn't thrilled with the results.  I think it had a lot to do with too much ginger and green onion, and maybe not enough marinating time.  I've put it in the fridge and left it alone, and it's better.

I also made kim chi soup.  OH DIVINITY!  So good.  I used this recipe and added shitake mushrooms.  I got so excited I didn't take photos of the finished kim chi or the soup.  Next time!