The Biga, The Better

I am from Boston, but I don't mean "biggah," I'm talking about biga, a bread starter. Cousin to the sourdough starter, the biga is the key ingredient used in Italian-style country breads like ciabatta and pagnotta. It adds flavor and gives a crisp crust and moist chewy inside that, until now, I had only enjoyed in store-bought loaves.

It's a bit of a process, this biga business, but I found a recipe for a two-week biga in The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook, that makes a large batch that you can pull from for...two weeks.

A dough made with a biga is somewhat sticky, soft, and invitingly smooth. This batch made a delicious round loaf we devoured with pasta and broccoli. Pictured below are the rolls we ate with soup. Really though? It was more like the soup that accompanied the rolls. So good.

We have been baking our own bread for years now—sandwich breads, baguettes, rolls and sweet breads, but I have never been able to match that certain something found in country breads from the bakery. Bread with a crisp, knobby crust, airy inside, and deep flavor seemed out of my reach. Not so, anymore, now that I have tapped into the Italian in me. And just as the author of the recipe I followed predicted, I will never be without it. Best part is I still have another eight days to use the biga in my fridge.


I found a good history of the biga and instructions to make one here.

Mid-Winter Bits

Each February, just as the winter doldrums start to settle in, the kind folks at the seed companies throw us a bone and send out the seed catalogs. Those coveted booklets land in our mailbox reassuring us that spring is on its way.

We pour over them, making unrealistic lists of what we'll grow—giant watermelons, tiny yellow tomatoes, purple string beans, and white eggplants. We get all starry-eyed and forget the size of our garden. No matter, though. We can dream of bigger-than-life gardens while we're snuggled up warm inside. And anyway, we add a new raised bed almost every year, as a direct result of our overzealous seed ordering. The promise of spring that comes with these catalogs is infectious. And once those seeds are sprouting in their cups, there is no looking back.

Speaking of the winter blahs, I had a good dose of action this past weekend at the aptly named artisan show, Cabin Fever. It brought lots of shoppers looking for Valentine's Day fodder and a chance to get out and about. A few new pieces I had been working on made their debut there, like these Cuff Rings.

Oh, Valentines, Day. I am not crazy about this "holiday" but I have to admit, I do love the colors and art that comes with it. The girls and I were looking at some cute illustrations the other day and we came across a painting of a bowl full of hearts. I commented that I would love to have a bowl of hearts like that, and the girls giggled, "we have a bowl of hearts, Mama!" They were right. We did, in fact, have a bowl of hearts right on the table. A big bunch of multicolored salt-dough hearts, made for classmates.

School vacation is next week and soon, it'll be March. Then it's all crocuses and daffodils, Easter eggs and jellybeans. And seedlings, of course—maybe my favorite thing about winter.

Notes from the Bench

chaos [key-os]
–noun
1. a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.
2. any confused, disorderly mass: a chaos of meaningless phrases.
(definition from dictionary.com)

...and that pretty much sums up the news from my bench. I have been fabricating like mad the past few weeks, preparing for the Cabin Fever Indie Gift Show. My workshop has been reduced to a tangle of tools. Many fingers are wrapped in bandages. Today I emerge from the basement, get accustomed to the daylight, clean up my act, and go out into the real world. I love these shows for the change of pace they offer.

I'll be back into a more normal routine next week. I'm looking forward to seeing my girls, my husband, and the sun, and catching up with friends and blogs that color my world.

block printing for all

Whenever "A" makes a piece of furniture, he marks it with an original carving—usually hidden (like on this table), always incredible. Recently, he decided he wanted to explore wood carving a little further, and try his hand a woodblock printing. With this, my mind started zooming. I wanted a piece of this action, and I wanted to introduce the girls to some block printing, too. Since wood carving requires very sharp tools, the girls and I opted for linocut. (...and then I remembered Maya's beautiful cardinal. Oh, the possibilities!)

I recalled the techniques that had gotten dusty in my head (too many years since the days of art school). After we fooled around with the tool and the different tips for a while, we all started to work the kinks out. Still struggling with controlling the lines, the girls decided they would create images that were mostly black (good call). Here's what we ended up with:

a second grader's solar system

a kindergartner's rose

a woodworker's tree scene

...and a metalsmith's hen (this is "Rocky", the beast who continues to eat her own eggs)

We have plans now, many plans—starting with more practice. Custom stamps for friends, prints on cards, teeny little icons to carve, as well as bigger woodcuts. Working in new mediums has a way of stirring up the creative juices that the daily work (in metal, for me) sometimes lets settle.

Use It or Lose It: The Series

Our One Small Change for January was to be more conscious about the food we have in the house, and waste less of it. So, for the past month we have made an extra effort to use up the produce and other perishable foods before they have a chance to rot. With a little imagination, we came up with (and found) some new recipes that include those cast away ingredients in the fridge. I'll be sharing those recipes here in a new series called Use It or Lose It.

I'm starting off the series with this recipe for Savory Tortilla Chips, in an effort to use those tortillas before they turn a fuzzy blue-green.

Start with a handful of tortillas and cut into quarters (the girls love any task that calls for the kitchen scissors).

Coat a baking pan with olive oil (or any cooking oil) and arrange the tortilla pieces in a single layer. Spray the tops of the chips with olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder, curry powder, and salt (use whatever ratios you prefer). Bake at 350° for 4-5 minutes, turn each chip over and return to the oven for another 5-6 minutes. Be sure to watch them closely after 4 minutes, as they can go from perfect to charred in a flash. The chips will be a bit soft when you first take them out but they will crisp as they cool.

The variations to this recipe are endless and, really, you could use whatever spice combo you can come up with. Plain salt and pepper would be great, or a sweet version using butter, sugar and cinnamon sounds delicious, too. Enjoy!

...and February's One Small Change is in the works, stay tuned.

Thirty-four

As you know, I've been featuring my husband "A's " creativity this week. The reasons are many, but he celebrated a birthday the other day, too, and this was my way of shining the spotlight on him. Here's how we celebrated his turning thirty-four:

His gift was this crazy little bonsai tree. Coupled with origami, you'd think he is a dedicated student of the Japanese Arts, wouldn't you? While it hasn't been a conscious decision, he has delved into both origami and the art of the bonsai whole-heartedly. And wait till you see his most recent creative endeavour—a decidedly Japanese art form (more on that soon).

We chowed down on some Root Beer Float Cake (do yourself a favor and try this). I am now Joy the Baker's biggest fan.

Remember the birthday tree? The pug ornaments made way for volcano ornaments, the "theme" of A's birthday celebration. It's funny, the girls insist that even the adult birthday parties in our house have a theme. With help from two small girls, A came up with volcano, and all agreed that is was boy-ish enough for the only male in the family.

I think it's worth mentioning some of the themes the girls have chosen for their parties over the years: unicorn, horse, Star Wars, Chicken, Star Wars Chicken (seriously), and last but not least, Jerry Seinfeld (don't ask).

After seeing the recipe for chai concentrate on Amy's blog, I knew it had to be part of A's birthday gift (he's a big fan of chai). Then I started seeing it everywhere—bloggers from all walks were talking about it, all of them raving about it. And now I know why. Super easy, super delicious. (happy birthday to me?)

Paper Creations, Part II

After seeing Between the Folds, the PBS film about origami, "A" tried a few new kinds of paper forms, like this mushroom.

This paper is twisted, flattened, and crinkled rather than folded, and the resulting fungi are whimsical and delicate. He worked this up fast and it is actually quite simple to make.

There is so much amazing origami out there (like this and this and this). I am completely bewildered, knowing that each of those sculptures is made from a single sheet of paper.

If you're curious about origami, the crane is a great place to start. My girls (ages 6 and 7) can both manage a crane completely on their own, and they love it. (I would say 5 is a good age to start, as younger kids could be easily frustrated by the process.)

You can watch a clip from Between the Folds here. Check your local PBS listings to see the complete film, including how those mushrooms are made.

Paper Creations, Part I

Origami. One more of A's seemingly endless talents and hobbies. Yet another skill he spends his time honing, along with playing piano, creating in his wood shop, or whipping up homemade candies. Over the years has folded scores of tiny animals—penguins, giraffes, chickens, humming birds, kangaroos, each one more amazing than the last.

Recently, he has departed from origami animals and is taking on modular polyhedra. That's a mouthful, I know, but it's just origami that is based on folding a simple unit over and over.

This giant star (or, stellated dodecahedron) was made from 30 sheets of paper folded exactly the same way, then assembled using interlocking flaps. It's surprisingly heavy and strong, but the true appeal is its sheer enormity. It virtually commands you to play with it. If you're up for the challenge the instructions are here

The magic origami ball is my favorite, and it's not just the name that won me over. This ball can be squished into an urn-like shape and tucked into itself to form a disc. It moves in and out like an accordion and it can take many shapes. It's irresistible. Speaking from experience, there's nothing better than a magic origami ball to dwindle away valuable time with. (Watch this video to see how it's made.)

He makes it so easy for me, really. Whenever I am lacking in my own time or creative endeavours to share, I always have A's latest and greatest to gush on about. More from his portfolio coming very soon...

Dino Factory and Turtle Love

I have been living in a prehistoric world for the past week and a half, and it's not such a bad thing.

Last summer I was contacted by Adrianne, the owner of a very cool online shop called Turtle Love Committee. She had seen my Triceratops charm necklace, loved it, and asked to see if some other kinds of dinosaurs might work as charms. She suggested a Brontosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus might have some appeal, too. Well Adrianne knows her clients, because before either of us knew it, she was ordering more. And then more. And then, yes, more.

The success of those dinosaurs at TLC has turned my workshop into somewhat of a dino factory as of late. They start off on a sheet of paper and are then glued onto silver sheet. Once the glue has set, it's time to break out the jewelers saw. Many saw blades and sheets of sandpaper later, I have these to show for it:

But enough about the dino charms themselves. I think you need to know a little more about Turtle Love Committee, who exclusively carries the dinosaurs, because this business has so much worth mentioning. TLC got its start selling unique wedding and engagement rings "for cool people," as the website puts it. After noticing that most women have the same engagement ring, Adrianne set out to offer alternatives to the overdone costs-as-much-as-a-car solitaires. She wanted rings that would symbolize a couple's commitment while preserving an individual's character. (As a woman who married in Vegas on a whim, I love this concept.)

TLC has since moved into offering non-wedding jewelry, too. Their collection now features pieces that focus on simplicity. They subscribe to the theory of quality, not quantity—having a few items of meaning, rather than lots of stuff that ends up in the trash.

As TLC took off, Adrianne decided to seek out jewelers who are ecologically and socially responsible (I promise I don't put my girls to work. Yet...). She talks to each artist "about their social and environmental impact, and being friendly towards people and the environment is TLC's core value." But the folks at Turtle Love Committee don't just lip sync these sentiments, read more about their commitment to making the world a better place here.

Turtle love really is a great thing. And so is dino love. I can't leave you without mentioning how much I have learned about dinosaurs throughout this venture. Did you know that the word dinosaur was derived from the Greek words meaning "terrible" and "lizard"? I didn't.

The Birthday Box

I wrote about celebrating a certain little girl's sixth birthday last week, but I didn't show you everything that was made especially for her. "A" makes boxes for the girls on their birthday each year, and it has become their favorite tradition. The birthday box is a much anticipated gift—how big is it going to be? What will he put on the cover this year? Where will the secret be carved this time?

The answer to the question of what to put on her box this year was obvious. Our pug-crazed girl would get a box with a little doggie smiling right back at her.

Of course, she loved it. Just as much as all the others. We are compiling quite the collection of birthday boxes, and they seem to be getting bigger each year. (We may need a bigger house when the girls are teenagers.)

For all the special treasures and trinkets the girls collect, there is a special place to keep them safe. I love peeking in these boxes to see what the girls are coveting this minute. Their most prized items seem to change quite often. I have spied a gamut of things—from cherished souvenirs brought back for them from far away places to grapes. Old ones.

Just today we found the elusive remote in the pug box. I think I may have to make box inventory checks more of a routine occurrence.

Craft Hope for Haiti

It's amazing, the generosity and swell of support. Craft Hope has opened up an Etsy shop to help the efforts in Haiti, and in two short days they have sold a whopping 111 items (and counting, fast!).

Some might call it a bandwagon, but I choose to see it differently. It is a way to give. An alternative way to help. Last night I donated a piece to the Craft Hope shop and it was listed and sold in a matter of hours. It's quite an operation over there, and I imagine they are working 'round the clock to keep up.

Here's how you can be involved: consider donating a piece to be sold in the shop, or choose to support this cause by making a purchase. There is a mind-boggling variety of handmade goods for sale and each time I check back, there are more and more items listed (and sold!).

All Proceeds, less Etsy fees, will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Help spread the word! Visit the Craft Hope blog to get the code for a button you can post on your own site/blog.

One Small Change

Hip Mountain Mama has organized a challenge for anyone interested in making a positive impact on the environment. The program, One Small Change, calls for participants to make one adjustment, big or small, each month leading up to Earth Day.

The first small change my family will be making is to be more conscious about the food in our house. I am not talking about buying local and organic (we do our best to stick with those kinds of food already) but, rather, using the food we have in the house. Some leftovers are eaten up with gusto for lunch the next day but beyond that, we still end up tossing out a good deal of food each month. Spinach that has turned slimy, broccoli that's stinky, and additional leftovers that are,well, just left. It kills me to toss even a crumb.

We buy food responsibly and for the most part all our food waste goes right back into the natural system. We do a great job with composting, so any food that can, goes to the compost pile or to the chickens. But there's just some kind of disconnect in our house. How is it that we can be so careful about the food we choose to bring home, and then disregard (some of) it once it is here?

The answer, I know, lies in organization and menu planning. I do plan out our meals somewhat and buy accordingly, but towards the end of the week we tend to get a little loosey goosey about it all and change up the dinners. This leaves certain ingredients with no assigned meal, and that's how food gets forgotten.

So, in a effort to waste less, this month we are going to be more conscious about the perishable food that is in the fridge, and make a point to use it all before it has a chance to go bad. Because, see that broccoli in the above picture? yeah, I'd be surprised if you couldn't smell it from where you are.

Six

She's six now. Her special day comes so close after the holidays, our projects just keep on keepin' on as we put together special things for the baby of the family, Ruby Jane (aka Janie-wa, the rubster...).

Her recent fascination with a certain dog breed called for a pug-themed celebration, complete with a, uh, frog pinata. (what to do when there is no pug pinata and it's the day before the party?) And so, in what has become a post-holiday tradition, out table top tree is transformed into a birthday tree. This year it was decorated with those adorable "smiling" dogs. (That's the attraction—pugs look like they are smiling)

But it's not just pugs on her mind these days. There's a new love. She has always gone in waves of obsession, mostly from one dog or cat breed to the next but she has recently broadened her animal-loving horizons to include reptiles. Clearly, a knit lizard was in order.

And after receiving a Snuggie from her auntie for Christmas, she was dying for a doggie Snuggie (I saw it at the pharmacy, Meems, I know exactly where they are. I'll spend my own money!). Curses to the strategically-placed items and hard-to-resist packaging. She was right to want a snuggie for her special dogs—who can resist being wrapped in cozy fleece?

My solution was homemade "snuggies" that would actually fit all her favorite friends. Bring on the cold weather. We have one cozy little six year old, and four cozy little friends.

"A" wants a homemade snuggie , too. Now that would be some good comedy.

Henna Art

Santa brought the girls henna this year, and school vacation gave us lots of time to learn about the ancient art form and have fun with it. We started by researching online and found so many inspiring images, like this amazing work of art.

The elaborate designs were striking and the detail is insane. We practiced drawing flowy lines and filled organic shapes with traditional intricacies. The girls sketched their ideas, choosing elements from different references, and came up with original designs.

Practicing the art form on paper was the highlight for the girls, and they filled many pages in their sketch books with mehndi designs.

They each chose their favorite from their own inventive sketches, and I applied the henna. I tried oh so hard to keep pieces true to the original designs, but don't think I did the six-and-seven-year-olds' fine work justice. Seems this mama isn't quite capable of matching the impulsivity and freedom of her kid's art. (I'm workin' on that, though)

After working with the henna on these illustrations, I have the utmost respect for artist who can render that liquid into sprawling designs made of intricate details.

The girls had fun showing everybody their new body art, explaining what they used, and how it was done. I even witnessed my one of them reassuring her grandmother that the henna will wash off in about a week. Not to worry—no real tattoos, like Mama and Daddy. Yet.

Charming

Gifts I made and gave aside, I still have a few things to show from the holidays. Today I'm sharing a commissioned work, personalized for a very special Nana. A friend of mine had the brilliant idea to make a few custom gifts from the Remembery tokens. The first request was a bookmark with a token on it (a few of you suggested this idea in my recent bookmark post), and the second was this set of stethoscope charms.

Made with large lobster clasps and sterling silver tokens, these charms clip onto the tubing of a stethoscope. Now Nurse Nana can have her grandchildren proudly on display, ready to show off on a moment's notice. (This is high priority for grandparents, as we have had the joy of coming to understand)

These little tokens invite curiosity and beg to be held, turned over, and inquired about. The combination of the polished silver and the black and white photos give the charms a sleek look that shouldn't be reserved for medical professionals. They could work in so many other applications—backpack pulls, key chains, ID badges, ornaments...

There's gotta be more clever uses for these, but I just can't seem to come up with any right now. So once again, I'm going to defer to you for more charming ideas (sorry, couldn't resist that pun) and uses.

You Talk Too Much

"Khangas" are traditional cloths from Tanzania. Often worn as skirts or head wraps, they feature bright colors and bold prints, and always bear a proverb or other educational saying. These phrases run the gamut from everyday expressions to riddles, but the khangas with attitude are my favorite.

This one, roughly translated from Swahili states, "you talk too much." My mother brought it back from Zanzibar (Tanzania) last year and she asked me to make a tablecloth and some napkins with the fabric.

The colors, amazing and the patterns, vivid. That brilliant shade of blue is complimented by the striking black and white designs. I cut the pieces for the napkins starting at the edge to showcase the fabric's best asset—the border. I made eight napkins from one half of the khanga, and made the other half into a tablecloth. My mother had forgotten all about the fabric (yes, I suppose forgetfulness does run in the family) and we used them with Christmas dinner.

I spent a good while reading Khanga phrases online today. The vastness of the sentiments are amazing and range from scorching: "The mother-in-law resorts to witchcraft to alienate her son from his wife" (ouch!), to loving: "There is no guardian like a mother." And from blunt: "I don't want empty greetings" to contemplative: "To give is something of the heart, not riches."

I'm on board with this Tanzanian tradition of wearing convictions and dispositions like this. I have already chosen a few favorites: "Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children" and "This is the place you are looking for."

Which one would you choose?

(More) Bookmarks

By now, you may have guessed that bookmarks would be on my roster of holiday handmade gifts. I am lucky to have so many readers on my list, so just about everybody got a custom bookmark, and a book to put it in.

My mother and my sister each got a fleur-de-lys in all its tiny, hammered, oxidized glory. I expanded on my bookmark offerings, departing from the hearts and baubles I made so many of in the past two months. And now there are scores of ideas swirling in my head—a simple dangling charm is just so easy, almost any shape could be used for these. I am currently trying to narrow down my design choices for a few more bookmarks to round out the line. Any requests? Suggestions?

Five shillings for my father. My parents have traveled to Africa a few times now, so I used a coin from Kenya for his bookmark. A dangling object felt too feminine to me, so his is set in a bezel and attached directly to the silver hook. The coin I chose was beautifully time-worn, with some of the lettering nearly completely rubbed off. I like this idea of using a coin, and I was recently reminded of a Norwegian coin bookmark I had made for a friend a few years back. (I had forgotten about this completely. Scary!)

I am thinking of offering custom coin bookmarks in my shop. They'd be a nice way to remember a vacation, especially because it seems like coins are the one common souvenir everybody comes home with. (Then they end up in your coin jar, only to get rejected by the coin counting machine when it's time to cash your pennies in...)

Hope you new year is so far, so good!

Between (and sugar on top)

The week between Christmas and New Years is always a unique one. A week filled with a bit of reflection as we absorb the events of the past year, mixed with a sense of anticipation and renewal, as we await the new year. Kate, of Marmalade Moon recently wrote about these days, the "days in between," or “mellandagarna,” in her native Swedish. I love the idea of giving this week "in between" a name and celebrating it.

When you think about it, most of us do celebrate it, in our own ways. This year, we have been celebrating mostly with food (our very favorite way to commemorate occasion). Cooking and eating some old favorites and trying a few new recipes, too.

Banana bread has always been a favorite, but it was taken to another level after a friend told me what she recently ordered at a diner: banana bread toasted with butter and powdered sugar sprinkled on top (!). So we baked a loaf, using our preferred recipe, thickly sliced it, slathered it with butter and sifted the sugar onto it and, wow. The sugar dissolves into the melted butter, becoming something reminiscent of frosting (which is always good for breakfast. My mother would be proud—and I am being completely serious). This may be a fantastic new tradition for us—ringing in the new year with some good ol' sugar coated bread.

Wishing you a peaceful new year!

A thousand thanks for stopping by this little place and commenting. This blog has been a wonderful avenue of artistic expression and you, the readers, have motivated and inspired me to continue on a creative path. I look forward to sharing so much more in the new year. Best wishes for the new decade!

From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Day two of homemade gifts:

Amigurumi Star Wars characters, of course. The perfect combination of the girls' latest obsession and my crafting preferences. My sister in law forwarded a link to these after she came across them and knew I would go crazy for them—she knows me well, and I did.

(From left: Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Yoda)

These two are our favorite, by far. Leia's hair was a bit of a challenge for me and, as you can see, her buns are two very different sizes, heh. Little Yoda is just too much with that robe.

Han and Luke are ready to take on the dark side. Or snuggle up with a little girl. They're good like that, and will gladly do either.

The patterns are from Geek Central Station. If you stop by, be sure to check out the pirate captain pattern. Cracks. Me. Up.

*Sigh*

Sigh...
I think that sentiment pretty much sums it up. After a whirlwind of celebrations with family, countless delicious meals, and hours passed watching the girls enjoy their new toys, we are rested and fulfilled.

The nearly two feet of beautiful snow we got last week was washed away by Christmas rain, leaving the neighborhood looking less than magical. The girls have noticed how ugly everything looks when the last mounds of snow that remain are gray from dirt, sand, and exhaust. But there's snow in the forecast, so we look forward to having our world covered with that glittery powder again.

We burned the midnight oil last week making gifts, fueled by our tight deadline. I'll be showing you those things, along with some items we received, over the next few days.

Today, I'm sharing this bunch of pencil rolls, personalized for each little recipient. The smaller kids got crayon rolls but this time I made the pockets taller, so they can graduate to having pencils when they've grown old enough to wield a sharp stick. (Felt Pencil Roll instructions are from The Creative Family, by Amanda Soule)

I can't say that the days of furious making are done for us yet. We have a 6-year-old's birthday on the heels of Christmas, so we'll continue crafting this week for our special girl. And once those projects are completed and gifted, I don't imagine we'll stop any of our creative endeavors—it's just what we do. It'll be a nice change of pace, though, to not have a time frame attached.