Hot in Here?

This time of year I keep the fire going in the basement, (right next to my quilt studio!) seems like I'm feeding the dragon all the time. I keep a fan there to circulate the air.  Or did...

But I think it got toasted. (What was my first clue?)

I guess it was finally dispatched by the breath of the dragon.

RIP Fan

dust to dust

ashes to ashes

Wishing you warmth for your castle,

-C

Polymer Clay Learning Curve

Oh yeah, nothing like learning the hard way. I made these for the bi-fold doors on the pantries in my kitchen - three doors need three knobs.

Apply heat to set the polymers. Heat is what takes it from being mailable to being just like PVC pipe at the hardware store - same stuff. Check out those three bad boys in the middle of the firey furnace. They looked good at the beginning!  (Yeah, we all look good at the beginning)

However... the plastic of the door knobs just didn't stand the heat so well.

And they turned out looking like rather sad mushrooms. No worries, I'll find another use for my three homeless flowers, but just in case you give this a whirl... don't put plastic knobs in your polymer oven!

Lesson learned.

Carry on.

-Carmen Rose

While Waiting for the Paint to Dry

I decided to try something a little different for dinner. I pulled a pork tenderloin out of the freezer and put it straight on the grill, seasoning it with garlic olive oil and lemon. I turned it very slowly so that each side got nice and brown.

As that was cooking we sliced up some potatoes thin, set them to rest in balsamic vinegar for a bit and then put them on the grill. I turned them once, brought them out and dusted them with sea salt and a little more balsamic vinegar. We ate those rather quickly while waiting for the pork to finish cooking. They were Good!

I cut into a pineapple and it was a good one. The first two slices were devoured on the spot before I realized that it might be good on the grill. I love serving fresh pineapple with a strawberry lime yogurt sauce, I love that. I cook with canned pineapple some, on pizza, in quiche and sweet and sour dishes, but I’ve never grilled fresh pineapple before. So I got some ideas from friends on Facebook and couldn’t make up my mind between sweet or savory, so I did both. First was a lime, jalapeño oil and fresh basil combination. The second was vanilla bean paste, brown sugar and fresh mint combo. A soon as we took the pork loin off the grill I popped the pineapple on. While the cheddar garlic bread was toasting the pineapple cooked, a few minutes per side.

I cut into that pork roast and sliced it up. Hubby wandered by and helped himself. “Da-Yum!” LOL! I think THAT is a compliment! =) The pineapple came off the grill and the toast came off at about the same time and we started in. Hubby liked the sweet one with the vanilla and brown sugar, I think I liked the one with the jalapeno kick a little better. I was really surprised how good it was. I would do the sweet version again with a desert, maybe served with something creamy plus something crispy. And I would do the spicy one again and figure out a way to ratchet up the heat a little more, it was a bit on the mild side for me but still lovely. Both were wonderful paired with the pork. And the crispy edges to the bread were nice also.

I looked at my plate and had to laugh, it was all kind of beigy yellow, which is totally not my thing. A meal should have color, but what this one lacked in color it more than made up in flavor. That was fun!