January: What I Read and Saw

This picture doesn't actually have anything in it I read or watched this month. It's worth saying, though, that I went on a book-buying binge last week. I picked up a bunch of professional titles - new things and some coaching things I haven't read - and the ALA award-winners I wanted to read. Believe it or not, I was still waiting for a few more books to arrive when this was taken.


What I Finished:
Super Sad True Love Story (audiobook)
The Fault in Our Stars
Thirteen Reasons Why (audiobook)
A Monster Calls
The Year We Disappeared (this month's book club)
Sarah's Key


Fault in Our Stars was by far my favorite read of the month. I really like A Monster Calls, too. Both were about how kids handle cancer. Each was written for a different age group, though. Sarah's Key was my biggest disappointment.

What I'm Still Working On:
Pride and Prejudice
Comfort Me With Apples (audiobook)
Scrawl
Skeleton Creek: The Raven (my read-aloud right now)

What I Watched:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Friends with Benefits
Moneyball
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Black Swan

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was by far my favorite. I was surprised by how much I liked Friends with Benefits, though. It was mindless but entertaining. I wanted to like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more than I did. I was really bothered by the violence; it didn't seem necessary. Black Swan was just weird.

Movies I Still Want to See:
Hugo
My Life with Marilyn
One for the Money
The Vow
The Artist
The Descendent
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris
Crazy Stupid Love

Project Life 2012: Week 3

I'm still loving Project Life.

A few observations about the process. . .
I'm keeping all the "stuff" I collect each week in a 12 x 12 envelope. I sit down with it, a planning grid, and my pictures (still on the computer) to figure out how to fit all the details of my week on two pages. The planning adds a little extra time, but it makes the actual work go faster.

I'm trying hard to keep some sort of consistent style. I want each week to look like I made it, but I also want all the weeks to fit together in a coherent year.

It was fun to add some transparent elements this week. It takes some extra planning, though, because they need to be incorporated into two different weeks.

Dear Maddie,

My mom told me you've been real sick. She said you've been a tough dog and a good girl, but that I wouldn't be able to play with you anymore.

My mom told me your mom and dad had to make a real hard choice about how to take care of you. I don't really know what it was, but it made my mom sad. She cried a bunch and kept hugging me and making me lay right next to her. I didn't mind much because it meant I got to sleep in the bed all night.

But, she did tell me I wouldn't be able to play with you anymore. She also said I wouldn't be able to sniff your butt, eat your food, or play with your toys.

So, I just wanted to write you a note (I learned how to type because I watch my mom do it all the time) to say I'm real sorry we won't be able to play anymore. You were a good friend to me, and you made your family real happy.

I'll miss you Maddie.

XOXO,
Memphis

Foodie Friday

Dinner Tuesday.

Sweet Potato Risotto
4 servings, I think


Combination of a recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and Ezra Pound Cake.

1 lb sweet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 C (about) vegetable (or chicken) broth

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 C risotto

1 C white wine

1/2 C chopped walnuts

2/3 C mascarpone cheese

1/4 C chopped parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel sweet potatoes. Cut into 1" chunks.


Heat 1 tsp olive oil in large, heavy skillet. Saute sweet potatoes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes or until tender.


Adjust heat to low. Add 1 tsp olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Saute over low heat, stirring often, for 3-5 minutes more or until the sweet potatoes are all glazed with the vinegar. Set aside.


Meanwhile. . . 


Warm broth over low heat. The broth doesn't need to simmer or boil. Simply keep it warm. Adding warm broth to the risotto speeds the cooking process.


In a heavy pot, saute onions for about 5 minutes in 1 Tbsp butter. 


When tender, add risotto. Saute, stirring often for 2 - 3 minutes or until rice is slightly transparent.


Add wine. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

Add about 1 C broth to risotto. Cook, stirring often, until risotto has absorbed most of broth. Continue adding broth 1/2 C at a time, stirring often, until risotto reaches desired consistency. Adjust heat, as needed, keeping mixture at a simmer.

As the risotto cooks, toast the walnuts over low heat. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes.

When the risotto is ready, it will look plump. It will taste soft but not mushy. It will sit in a beautiful, thick, gravy-like sauce.

Stir mascarpone into risotto. Add parsley. Stir. Add walnuts and sweet potatoes. Stir carefully; if you stir too aggressively, the sweet potatoes will get mashed.

2011 Photo Book

I didn't really keep up with my 2011 Project Life. I love the pages I managed to finish and look at them often. And, I did keep up with a photo-a-day for most of the year.

I ended up putting the pictures together into a photobook. I had a coupon from Shutterfly, so it worked out perfectly.

Supplies:
Cathy Zielske The Monthly 12 x 12 Starter Set
Cathy Zielske The Monthly Printables for 12 x 12
Colored solids (Echo Park Walk in the Park Set 1 and 2)
Jesse Edwards Clean and Serene 2 Solids (no longer available from Designer Digitals)
Other products from Jesse can be found in her shop (The Green Pineapple)

Cupcakes: A recipe

I got a fun, new cookbook from a friend for Christmas. I needed a treat to bribe colleagues to come to a meeting. I think I found just the right recipe.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes with Vanilla Marshmallow Buttercream


Cupcakes:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C hot strong brewed coffee
1/2 C sour cream, room temperature
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Frosting:
3 large egg whites
1 C sugar
3 sticks (36 oz) unsalted butter, each cut into 10 pieces, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract


Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 345 F. Place liners in cupcake pan.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Sift sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. Blend hot coffee, sour cream, and vegetable oil with a whisk.

With mixer on low speed, add coffee mixture to dry ingredients. Blend for about 45 seconds. Scrape, as needed.

Add eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl each time. Add melted chocolate. Mix until batter is uniform in color.

Divide batter evenly in cupcake liners. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Frosting:
Whisk egg whites and sugar in a double boiler until mixture is opaque, warm to the touch, and sugar has dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes.

Trasnfer to mixing bowl. Use electric mixer and whisk attachment to beat (medium-high speed) until mixture is tepid, 5 to 7 minutes.

With mixer still on, add butter 2 to 3 pieces at a time. Stop frequently to scrape sides of bowl. Add vanilla and continue beating until light and fluffy, additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Notes:
I may have overcooked these just a little. They got crunchy on top and stuck a little to the liner. They still tasted great, though.

And, the frosting was a success. It tasted great, but was a little heavier than I wanted it to be. I would imagine that was the three sticks of butter.

I tried to fill the cupcakes with chocolate ganache. I didn't have the right tools, though. I think I'm going to need to get one of these.

Chicago SMASH

Katrina and I had a meet-up in Chicago at the end of October. Em was there. Angela was there. Kristi was there. Christine was there.

Four of the six of us are scrapbookers. You can imagine the amount of camera clicking that went on.

All those pictures need a good home, right?

Katrina and I both brought a SMASH book along on the trip. (If you are anything like me you have a huge bin of SMASH products that you've been looking at, collecting, and drooling on without actually using.)

We saved bits and pieces from our trip, took a few (very few!) Polaroids, and did some journaling while we were there. We shared pictures after we each got home.

I developed my pictures in a variety of sizes from Scrapbookpictures.com (which I just realized closed!!!) and have been busy sticking them in and adding journaling over the past month of so.

I'm so happy to share the finished product.

I wanted some full-page photos. I was stumped at this by first because I wanted to just somehow add these to the binding of the album. I couldn't figure out a way to do that; I ended up using Washi tape to attach the photos to the pages.

I made lots and lots of fold-ups. Sometimes it was because I wanted to add more journaling than I had room for. Other times it was because I wanted to add more journaling than I had room for.

A quick note about logistics. I divided the empty album in to sections for each day with an introductory section at the beginning and a section with addresses and random notes at the end. I tore many pages out of the book. Some of the pages were torn because I just didn't have enough to put something on every page. Other pages were torn because I couldn't figure out how to incorporate the theme on them (like an accordion and the word "Polka!") cohesively into my album. I tried to leave a basically blank page with some sort of message on it as a title page in each section.

I am ridiculously excited about this little project. I think I have looked at it about a million times since I finished it.

Supplies:
International Folio SMASH book
SMASH Folder Pockets
SMASH Jumbo Band
SMASH Clips
SMASH Stickies
SMASH Stickies (red & blue)
SMASH Pad Blank
SMASH Pad Entertainment
SMASH Pad Travel
SMASH Pad Special Occasion
SMASH Pad Word of Mouth
SMASH Decorative Tape (Black Dots)
SMASH Fabric Tabs
SMASH Paper Clips
October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers (Red & Cream)
American Crafts, Hardcover Thickers (Black)
Studio Calico Scrap Pad (Memoir)
Lots of Washi tape