Dragon Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonjournal) wrote2012-01-01 02:15 pm
dragonjournal) wrote2012-01-01 02:15 pm
Entry tags:
New 2012 post
So, this is 2012. Things are going to be a little different. This isn't so much a "writing blog" any more as a "creative blog". I think that works better.
I still won't be mentioning too much fanfiction, unless I have a recc or something. However, I will be mentioning knitting, cross stitch, writing, cooking and perhaps art.
I don't really draw that much, but occasionally, I do pick it up. I have children so I cook quite a bit, believe it or not.
Creativity is part of my New Year's resolutions. Not necessarily writing. However, I am going to post them here:
- Query letter out for KoO
- Finish shawl
- Finish Geisha
- Cook more
- Learn to bake bread
- Sew something
These are my creativity goals for the year. Along that note, I'm looking for recipes and patterns (sewing, not knitting) that are relatively simple and easy.
In sewing patterns: I really don't like hand sewing except for cross stitch and I do have a sewing machine (not a serger). I do have an iron, and will be purchasing an ironing board. I'm a relative beginner when it comes to sewing, but know a few things. I prefer sewing home furnishings to clothing, but simple skirts/dresses would be okay for my daughter. I would like to also sew stuffed animals and things like that.
Recipes: Cheap, easy and simple. Crock pot recipes are love. Nothing too spicy (my son is allergic to capsaicin) or too dependent upon fancy cooking utensils. We love chicken, fish and pork chops. We don't eat a lot of beef, but do enjoy it. I do make beans, but lentils aren't a big hit.
Yeast breads are what I don't really know how to make, so recipes for them are complete welcome, as well as tutorials.
Even if you aren't sure? Just post a link and I'll take a look! I like to try new things.
Keep in mind, I'm not looking to sell anything. I'm just looking to make them for my own enjoyment.
So. These are my goals for 2012. Today's the first day and since there's football, I'm going to go work on the shawl so that it's closer to getting done.
Happy New Year everyone.
I still won't be mentioning too much fanfiction, unless I have a recc or something. However, I will be mentioning knitting, cross stitch, writing, cooking and perhaps art.
I don't really draw that much, but occasionally, I do pick it up. I have children so I cook quite a bit, believe it or not.
Creativity is part of my New Year's resolutions. Not necessarily writing. However, I am going to post them here:
- Query letter out for KoO
- Finish shawl
- Finish Geisha
- Cook more
- Learn to bake bread
- Sew something
These are my creativity goals for the year. Along that note, I'm looking for recipes and patterns (sewing, not knitting) that are relatively simple and easy.
In sewing patterns: I really don't like hand sewing except for cross stitch and I do have a sewing machine (not a serger). I do have an iron, and will be purchasing an ironing board. I'm a relative beginner when it comes to sewing, but know a few things. I prefer sewing home furnishings to clothing, but simple skirts/dresses would be okay for my daughter. I would like to also sew stuffed animals and things like that.
Recipes: Cheap, easy and simple. Crock pot recipes are love. Nothing too spicy (my son is allergic to capsaicin) or too dependent upon fancy cooking utensils. We love chicken, fish and pork chops. We don't eat a lot of beef, but do enjoy it. I do make beans, but lentils aren't a big hit.
Yeast breads are what I don't really know how to make, so recipes for them are complete welcome, as well as tutorials.
Even if you aren't sure? Just post a link and I'll take a look! I like to try new things.
Keep in mind, I'm not looking to sell anything. I'm just looking to make them for my own enjoyment.
So. These are my goals for 2012. Today's the first day and since there's football, I'm going to go work on the shawl so that it's closer to getting done.
Happy New Year everyone.
no subject
Check out a book called "My Bread." You absolutely cannot go wrong with its basic bread recipe and tutorial--and it uses barely any yeast, so it's pretty economical. All you need is instant yeast (obtainable through King Arthur Flour's site, sometimes through grocery stores), bread flour (KAF, grocery store), and a big cast-iron dutch oven (Amazon, sometimes wal-mart or harris teeter type places, get the big one for about $35). If the book's out of reach let me know and I'll post just the recipe itself, though I won't be able to reproduce its stunning step by step instructions. The bread the recipe makes is stunning--you won't believe for an instant that it came out of your oven and not some professional bakery. Otherwise, Cook's Illustrated and KAF have terrific recipes for bread (and KAF is free).
Speaking of the Dutch Oven, you'll love it for economical recipes like Boston baked beans, roasts of all sorts, and soups. It holds heat like a champ (so can be used as a slow cooker of sorts) and is large enough to contain anything up to a small turkey. That pot takes all the challenge out of cooking. When I roast chickens, I make stock out of the carcass with mine, and I love green beans slow-simmered for hours with a lump of bacon.
I learned to sew by taking a quick little class out of Joann's some years ago. It wasn't expensive at all, like $20, but it was money well spent--it gave me a lot of tips about preparing fabric for sewing and doing the seams right and finishing them. When I was a fundamentalist, I sewed all my clothes by hand, and I've done a fair bit of Renn costuming too. Simplicity makes some super "1-hour" patterns. The name is a total lie, but what isn't is that they are quite easy. I'm wearing PJs I made from one right now. I get my fabric as cheap as humanly possible so that home-sewing makes more economical sense; Joann's is famous for its sales racks, but larger fabric stores sometimes hold huge sales, so keep your ears open (in Atlanta there was a place like that which had semiannual "by the pound" sales).