The Crafty Black Bird

Practical Pantry - Wheat-free Fish Cakes

2010-07-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

I grabbed a box of Gluten-free Bisquick this week at the grocery. Turns out it is basically rice flour and leaven-er, which is fine since I am smack out of rice flour and haven't found a local source near the new house.

This recipe is really easy to tinker with depending on what you have in the pantry. -The flours can be swapped out for a mixture of bread crumbs or crushed crackers or other flours.
-Green onions can be swapped for reconstituted dry onions, or finally minced fresh onion.
- The fish can become all sorts of things, tilapia, canned salmon, cod- I've even used canned tuna in a pinch.
-Old Bay can be replaced with other assorted low-salt spices,like blackening seasoning.

Fish Cakes- 6-8 patties

1/2 lb firm, cooked fish (I used whiting in the cakes pictured.)
1/4 Gluten-free Bisqick
1/4 masa harina (corn flour)
1 green onion (green bits and white bits) finely chopped
1 tsp Old Bay
2 medium eggs (or a single huge one)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, large shreds

Oil for frying about 1/4 inch deep.

De-bone your cooked fish and break into large flakes. Mix with remaining ingredients until it's just combined, trying not to break the fish up. Form mixture into about 7 patties (or if making appetizers 10-12 patties) Heat your oil in a large frying pan, you want it hot enough to start sizzling as soon as the cakes hit the pan, hot oil means less oil absorption, ('cause nobody likes greasy fish cakes). Fry each side under golden brown.

These can be served alone or with a yummy condiment. I've made cocktail sauce and tartar sauce but to be honest, my favorite is ketchup spiked with Frank's Red Hot.

Happy Cooking!

Where ya been, whatcha doin' now?

2010-07-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

I've been on blogging break. Not on purpose really. :) But I'm back with lots of new ideas for crafts, stewing over new recipes and excited about learning mosaics.

I've been visiting a wonderful little Mosaic and Glass Artist forum. It's filled with some great folks who are super talented, resourceful and very helpful!

Masgo!

Here's sneak peak at a piece I am working on currently, The Crimson Lizard.

Classic Christmas Tutorial - Orange Clove Pomander on Copper Hanger

2009-12-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

For some, it just isn't Christmas until there are Orange Clove Pomanders made. I love these and they are so easy to make. I used an awl to pre-punch my design onto the orange and some recycled copper wire to make a free hanging pomander.

Supplies

-one orange and quite a few cloves, enough for your design
-6 - 8 inch sturdy gauge wire, I used copper
-ribbon & tinsel

Tools

-awl or ice pick
-small knife
-pliers

To make the hanger, bend the wire in half and then bend a hook on each end of the wire using the pliers. Take your knife and cut a small slice into the top of the orange. Make the cut just big enough to be able to push the overlapping hooks into the orange.

Push the hooks deep and then try and encourage them to open a bit before tugging it back out a small amount. You are hoping to catch some orange pulp on your hooks so that the hanger doesn't slide all the way back out.

Once the copper hanger was secure, begin poking your design, art or lines with your awl. Also be sure to make a circle around the bottom of the orange with holes, so that once the cloves are pushed in, the pomander will stand up straight on a flat surface.Once you are satisfied with your design and have all your cloves pushed into the holes, you can tie on a ribbon to the hanger and then decorate the top of the pomander with some festive doodads.

I used a bit of holly berry tinsel wire and white ribbon to finish mine off.

Pre-punching the holes of the design can make this project even easy for little kids who may have trouble punching the cloves through the orange skin. The texture of the cloves and the strong scent of the orange oil with the spice makes for an impressive holiday memory.

Happy Crafting!

Vinegar- Food, Cleaner and Godly Tonic

2009-12-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

Since I am once again cleaning and deodorizing a post-flood basement, I though I'd would write a bit about vinegar, which is a wonder acid that's use dates back 10,000 years. With it's name coming from the old french term "vin aigre" which means "sour wine", vinegar has been used all through history for its preservative powers, medicinal use and flavor.

Me? I love the stuff. And now in no particular love order, here's ones I've played with...

Balsamic- Yum! This stuff is great to jazz up food! Sprinkle it on watermelon cubes, or blanched asparagus for quick and fresh appetizers. My favorite use for this is making chutneys- fig or cranberry Mmmmm. <3 Love the fruit chutneys.
Balsamic vinegar is traditionally made with a white grape wine. The really expensive ones involve decades to make, being stored in a variety of different wood barrels to infuse the different notes. Your everyday cheap commercial Balsamic is usually a mix of strong vinegar and assorted grape juices and sugar. What do I use for my chutneys? The cheap stuff :)

Malt- A must for fried fish!! <3 When I was pregnant, I couldn't get enough malt vinegar and fish.

Rice Vinegar- Sushi! <3 What's to say after that?? Asian salad dressings, marinades, oh and MORE SUSHI!

Apple Cider Vinegar- this is great for subbing out in your own go-to slaw recipe for something different. Also good for making chutneys and many mix the organic kind (with the 'vinegar mother" in it, that's the brown floaty stuff in the bottom of the bottle) with water and honey for a healthy tonic. I've heard reports from people saying it "cured" anything from acid reflux to arthritis to IBS. (other vinegars have been used medicinally for centuries for it's disinfectant and anti-bacterial properties).

White Vinegar- I use this stuff alot. For cleaning- Wiping counters down, disinfecting and deodorizing floors (like in my case, if you have a new piddlin' puppy or a stanked-up basement from fall flooding). And there's no worries of anyone licking it off the floor and getting sick because, hey, it's vinegar! I use it a lot in my artwork, as well, since nothing cleans copper better or faster than rubbing a salt & vinegar paste over it. (way cheaper and less labor intensive than my $8 metal polish).
And in the kitchen, I use it to make hot pepper vinegar for when we serve cooked collard greens, in stir-fry when I want a hot and sour flavor, for perkin' up tomato gravy and making summer pickles!

Needless to say, the white vinegar arrives at my house by the gallon. Momma ain't messin' around.

Happy Cooking and Cleaning!

Roasted Garlic Stuffed Vidalias

2009-11-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Onions!
Love them! Alot!

I realized the other day as I was writing out a recipe list of family favorites, we use onions in almost everything we eat at home. But, what about a dish that focuses on the onion itself. Now, with the holidays pending, I thought I should share this super easy recipe. The presentation is beautiful and perfect for taking to a gathering or potluck, as it reheats in the microwave nicely (so no fighting for a turn in the oven).

Roasted Garlic Stuffed Vidalias

2 large onions, peeled and ends trimmed (bottom portion trimmed flat so the onion will stand up) (softball size)
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped garlic (good use for jarred chopped garlic)
2-4 tbsp warm bacon grease
Salt

2 large squares heavy foil

Preheat Oven

The first step will be to make your well in the onion to hold the garlic. There are a few techniques to accomplish this.

-Use a melon-baller or similar small thin round spoon (I used a thin metal tsp measuring spoon) and scoop out a hollow big enough to hold half your garlic. Know you will have alot of garlic lovers? dig it deep :) Watch your eyes!

-You can also microwave your onion for a few minutes before attempting to hand-pick just a few of the inner most layers out to create the garlic well. It is supposed to loosen the onion up by pre-cooking it a bit

-Last year I cave-manned it a bit and just cut the onion in quarters, but not completely through and spread the onion open with my hands, then removed a few of the very center layers.

Of the 3 techniques, a melon baller was fastest and took just a minute.

Next fill the onion with garlic. Don't pack it down, you want to leave a few small nooks for the bacon grease to dribble down into, which is the next step. Use a spoon and slowly spoon the bacon grease down onto the garlic. You may even want to use a fork to work it in to the onion.

Now pop your onion down onto the foil square and lift all the corners and sides up to close the onion in. It can be a little loose around the bottom to allow the juices to build up but pinch the top closed.

Bake for approximately an hour. I check them at this point. They will be cooked but usually not brown enough, leave the foil cracked a bit to allow the top to brown up slightly and roast for about another 15 minutes.

This goes great with roasts or grilled meats.

Or you can take a portion of it and blend it up with some sour cream and softened cream cheese for a really savory dip.

Or make onion butter.

Or wear the juice as perfume! (only for the Hard-core)
Happy Cooking!

Southern Fried Chai

2009-06-20T04:28:00.001-07:00

Southern Fried Chai

makes 1/2 gallon semi-concentrate

2 Luzianne Family size tea bags

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger (or chunks of fresh is wonderful too!)

18 whole cloves

1 cup Dixie Crystals sugar (okay, I picked them 'cause they are southern, really I use bobo generic)

When I make this I just add the spices and tea to 5-6 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil. Turn it off and let steep 15 minutes or so and then add to my pitcher and sugar. Stir it to dissolve the sugar and add enough cold water to make a full 1/2 gallon. You can bundle the cloves in some cheese cloth before boiling if you'd like, though I use the lazy method of just trying to not pour them into the pitcher... though if one jumps in, I leave it. It makes me feel all rustic 'n stuff. :)

To serve, pour warm over a full glass of ice, this melts the ice enough to dilute the tea down a bit. If serving from the fridge cold, I will cut a glass with about a 1/4 cup cold water.

This is also very good served hot.

Happy Cooking!

Go Dawgs!

2009-06-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here he is in all his Georgia Dawgs glory.

We have a door fitting this evening and hopefully an installation the next day.

Geez... what are you doing?? Not writing, evidently...

2009-06-02T19:36:00.001-07:00

Just a quickie, here's what's been occupying me. The Bulldog. From my hand drawn pattern. He's big, 13" x 26" and so far he's really cool... I'll own up to having been totally intimidated by this endeavor. But he's really looking nice. Not too much cursing... no tears, only a bit of blood :D

Next time you see him, he will be in the door!

Vintage Pillow Case to Chic Retro Mega-Valance

2009-05-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

In the tradition of tradesmen long ago, I have swapped services and goods with my Sister-in-law, Christine, for a custom window treatment to match my 70's color scheme of orange and avocado (and was able to work in the pink I wanted, too). She did a fantastic job in making one lonely, old family pillowcase into a beautiful lined valance. And.. Oh, Look! A Tutorial! Lovely!

http://sewing.today.com/2009/04/17/window-treatments-window-valance/

It really buttered up the lighting in the kitchen and looks just perfect in there. Impressive enough to make the Husband comment on how nice the draperie looked.

In return for her goods, I am making her a glass candle plate and making a stained glass privacy screen for her bathroom- a la French Froggy Fleur De Lis- in exchange for blackout curtains for the computer room.

I love a good trade, man.

Building Moss Terrariums: A Short Tutorial

2009-04-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I saw some cute moss terrariums on Etsy and decide I must have one... or some.

I did some Googling on what it takes to keep it alive and basicly... closed terrariums are best left untouched and ignored.

This is the first one I assembled.
Built in a recycled gamer's dice container.

I spent some time in the yard, gathering...
- mosses and tiny plants.
- pea gravel and small stones for
drainage, river rocks for decor
-dry tree moss
-extra dirt from the area (potting soil is not recommended)

I also sat and made a few cutesy polymer mushrooms and animals and collected up some jars.

I built the terrarium up in layers at an angle.
(some article mentioned mosses being happy on slopes)

The layers went like this- small gravel, dry moss, dirt, pretty moss and ornaments

I groomed my moss up a bit, shaking off sand or twigs and tree debris.

Using a pair of chopsticks and a long handled dinner fork, I arranged my moss, plants and rocks.

I used a dry craft toothbrush to brush any dirt away from the sides of the jar.

Next, I added in ornaments and made sure the soil and plants were dampish.

I tucked this tiny clover plant between two mosses and curled it's roots under the dirt. I don't know how the pairing will go, it's an experiment. But, man, it's cute!!

This frog looks lonely and his home slightly sparce. I'll need to work on his living conditions. One noteable thing about the frog, I sculpted him around a wire and baked it inside. It left a good half inch of wire sticking out of the bottom and keeps him perched in place.

This is my favorite, I think. The largest mushroom is actually a gnome's house with a little door and the double mushrooms up front cause me to make squeally girl noises. There's a tiny Pine seedling backed up to the house.

The mushrooms were also made to stick down into the moss a bit. I sculpted them with pointy ends instead of wire. Both methods worked just fine, though the wire poked into the thick mosses easier.

Here's my collection. You can see the smallest one is starting to fog up and make "rain" on the sides of the cube.

These are not for direct sunlight. It will cook all your plants.

This link was really pretty informative about Terrariums and their care.

http://www.growit.com/bin/KnowArt.exe?MyKnow=56

My new Valance!- Window Valance - Christine Sews

2009-04-18T18:52:00.001-07:00

Made for me by my loverly Sister-in-law through a trade for a cut glass candle plate and stained glass privacy screen.

I am also getting black-out curtains for the computer room and an Owl oven mitt!

Window Treatments - Window Valance - Christine Sews

Posted using ShareThis

How to Make a Reversible Swiffer Sock - CraftStylish

2009-04-15T03:58:00.001-07:00

How to Make a Reversible Swiffer Sock - CraftStylish

Love this! I need 3 for my Lovely Mother-in-law. I will have to brush up my crochet skillz.

Posted using ShareThis

Chicken Sour Soup

2009-04-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

This recipe springs forth from a mighty craving for Hot and Sour-esque soup. I did a lot of subbing in and out of ingredients depending on what was in the pantry (like most of my recipes). So feel free to tinker with what you have.

Chicken Sour Soup

2 servings

2 cups Chicken Stock (or whatever strong chicken broth, I used Vigo soup base and water)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil
2-3 oz frozen pepper and onion mix
3-4 oz cooked chicken (pictured- leftover rotisserie)
1-2 oz broccoli florets, chopped (yep, mine were frozen)
1/4 garlic powder (don't use garlic salt)
1/8 tsp Sriracha Rooster Sauce (more if you are feelin' froggy)
7-8 cranks of fresh ground black pepper Black pepper (1/4 tsp?)
1 tbsp cornstarch (use 2 tbsp *cold* water to make a slurry)
1 egg, beaten up

Get your broth, soy sauce and sesame oil to just barely a simmer in a medium sized pan. Add your garlic powder, veggies, and chicken. Return to just below a simmer add your pepper, Rooster Sauce, vinegar.

Keeping your hot broth just below bubbling add your cornstarch slurry while constantly stirring. Allow the starch to cook in, you will notice the broth go from cloudy and dull to clear and glossy. Next while slowly stirring again, drizzle in the beaten egg. It should cook immediately. And you are done!
Garnish with a generous amount of green onion. Share, if you are forced.

Things that could be added...

bamboo shoots
other veggies
bok choy
mushrooms, thin sliced if fresh
water chestnuts
small diced zucchini
straw mushrooms

Yum!

Turtle! Lined Zipper pouch with Tutorial Link

2009-04-10T03:54:00.001-07:00

I am short. It's cool, I'll own it.

Because of this I often cut off the last 4 inches of jeans so that they aren't waaaay too long. And usually I look at them and say "Hey, these pieces are big enough to do something cool with!" and I save them for 8 months and then toss them out when I do nothing. But not this time!!

Jean scraps, fabric scraps, a zipper scavanged from the plastic packaging that held a sheet set and a little embroidery doodling and TADA!! a Zipper Pouch for my turtle lovin' sister

For the Embroidery, I sketched on the outline of the shell and legs of the turtle, sketched in approximately where I wanted the blocks to be in the shell area and then basicly free-handed the designs in each block. It was great practice for all those different stitches. I used a biggish needle and crossstitch thread.

Here's the tutorial I used to make my zippered pouch. It was pretty clear in the instructions and has lots of pictures for those of us who need to "see" it.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=22875.0

The strap I made from the thick cuff hem of the jeans, as seen in this picture... and if you peer closely under the cat's butt and feet, you can just see the blanket stitch I worked around the edge of the strap to hide the fray.

The cat was totally peeved I was using his sunny spot. Spoiled monster.

My sister totally loved it and it was the perfect size for holding her chapstick, cash and cards.

Happy Craftin'!

Horde Pride- Thrifted Dinner Tray Makeover

2009-04-09T11:45:00.001-07:00

I fight for the Horde, despite the occasional desire to play a pink haired Gnome Rogue (but there's pills for that). No clue what I'm babbling about? That's okay. We are really here for the table.

This is one of four dinner trays in a rickety old set I snagged for $3. Yes, they wobble and can lean to one side on occasion, but that can be handy if you are trying to keep bean juice from rolling under your fried chicken. I prettied it all up with...

-some matte black and clear semi-gloss spray paint

-old manilla folder to make a pattern template

-acrylic paints (burgandy and gold metallic)

-sand paper, big grit and little grit

And here's how!

First step, take tray outside and clean it up. I used an ammonia based glass cleaner and gave it a good wiping down. Take a second and tightened all the screws holding it together.

Then attack the top with your sand paper once it is dry. The top of mine had seen lots of sweatin' tea glasses in it's time and had big patches of warped particle board and strips of missing veneer. I used a large-ish grit sand paper to bring those down a bit and then a finer grit to smooth it down further. Next dust it off and wipe it down with your cleaner again. Go make some coffee and let it dry.

Now on with the painting! Using your base paint in steady, even sprays, repaint your table. If when you are painting and the paint starts to puddle and run, you are moving too slow. It may take quite a few coats of paint if you are going from a light to a dark or vice versa. Once it's colored to your satisfaction, leave it out to dry. And run in to make your template.

If your design is mostly symetrical like mine, fold your manilla folder in half. With the fold laying the right, draw the left half of your design onto the top. Leave it folded and cut it out. When you open it up, you should have a symetrical pattern. (If there are bits that need to be trimmed, re fold and trim or you can start to make it a little less symetrical by trimming bits individually) Flowers and hearts can be done this way, geese touching noses, whatever suits your fancy.

To trace your pattern onto your table, you can use a graphite pencil or something similar (possibly in the same color as your design paint) Once you are comfortable with your traced guidelines, start painting! When you are done, leave it to dry. You can come back in with a sharpie on the dry acrylic and add in any details or lines that you would like. Or if it's a black background like mine a Sharpie is great marking over any little misplaced dots of paint.

At this point for my Horde design it was still too "clean" looking. I decided a little splatter painting would mess it up just right. You can make an acrylic wash with a few drop of paint in 1-2 tbsp of water (depending on how pigmented you want the water). Get a big thirsty brush, load it up with your wash and start flinging! A word of caution, though it is quite fun to fling poo... er paint, sometimes less is more. So every few flings, step back and inspect your work.

I went with a gold wash because I like how it dries on the black background. Kinda, high class messy.

If you painted pretty heavily, you may want to wait 24-48 hours before varnishing or spraying a clear coat. I used the cheap ol' clear spray from the dollar store and my table is going on a year of use with no noticable wear.

Have fun with this! Make a special tray for every member in the family, paint a racey one for Grandma!

My Favorite Things

2009-04-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sung to the tune of My Favorite Things…

Eggdrop or Hot-n-sour and thai-curry eggrolls,
Hot Andouilli sausage left to blacken over coals,
Bubbley fat cheeses, dripping in strings
These are a few of my favorite things.

Paper with painting and pencils and scissors,
Big sheets of glass in three thousand colors,
Upcycling and Reconning, Bent Wire Bat Wings.
These are a few of my favorite things.

Epic novels with Vampires who really do love;
Kick-ass cop witches, whose clothes fit like a glove;
3 hour movies about hobbits with Rings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the Kid ‘tudes,
When the dogs bark,
When the Cat’s Bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so sad.

Early morning Raiding and caffeinated gaming,
Rogues pwning mages with The Slicing and Maiming,
Backstabbing Allies and Guildshouting my “Dings”
These are a few of my Favorite things.

Lightsaber fighting with The Jedis after noon.
Flying spaceships with boyheros to the moon.
Pretend cops and robbers, taking captives with strings,
These are a few of my Favorite things.