November Fodder School

Even though there are a few more FS Challenges I wanted to try, I have moved on to the November lessons with Arlyna Blanchard. 

The first thing I did was make my "fodder-dex" box.

 

The second thing I did was perform the necessary surgery to move the rods (chopsticks) closer together and a little higher. Then I began Arlyna's card lessons.

The first involved hand embossing vellum, which I found extremely tedious. I liked the results but so not worth the effort. So I used some vellum for windows. 

  

I'm now moving on to the envelope lessons. I'm also adding things from past FS projects and challenges as it's the perfect place for these once homeless and stashed away bits. 

 

Oh, and since a bag of pears appeared at my door...a neighbor of a family member has a tree, I baked a couple for our breakfast. They were beautiful and very tasty!

 

 

 

 

A Little Late

 I finally used all of my tea bag fodder to create the March Fodder School accordion book. I struggled a bit because I didn't bother to watch the lessons...I probably should have. But...

I have been struggling a bit to keep working with the current state of things.  I think this turned out fairly well. (I also made a cool video instead of this photo collage but, as usual, it failed to upload properly.) 

And, I also made an Irish soda bread...first time ever. It looks really bumpy but tasted wonderful! 

Monstersheets and Some Cooking

I've created two mastersheets that are about 36" by 24"...monstersheets. I even experimented with gesso transfers. I think I'm ready to tear these into pages.

And, I tried a new recipe...sticky sesame cauliflower. It looks delicious but was a bit too tangy. I'll have to make some adjustments.  

Baking Queen

 I spend most of the month baking cookies! 

 

 

And then, because I couldn't let fresh cranberries go to waste...muffins!

 

 

Today, because the butternut squash has been rolling around the kitchen for much too long, I made soup!

 

 

 

More Remodeled Junk Mail

 I painted and then made some adjustments to a couple more pieces of junk mail to create two more folios. 

 I used the travelers notebook kind of binding to add little books to each.

 

Because I've reached a certain age, my mailbox is full of all kinds of Medicare Advantage junk mail,  just when I have a use for it...finally, another aspect of aging I can embrace. 

 And lest I forget, I tried a new to me recipe...twice baked spaghetti squash. I did add grated Parmesan and a small handful of my sun dried cherry tomatoes into the squash filling. It was delicious and I've already got another spaghetti squash rolling around on the counter getting in Bill's way.

 

January Fodder and Some Bundts

I've spent the last week creating some grungy crispy fodder! I think I'll put this pile through a few more rounds of stamping and stenciling. 

And I tried out my new KitchenAid mixer with these mini bundt cakes...no full size bundt cake as I have managed to misplace my really cool bundt pan.

 

 

I did overfill my little bundt compartments, but the resulting mushroom caps made nice little troughs to catch the icing!

Cookies!

While I've been making cards and sending them out into the world, they are mostly basically the same. So I haven't felt the need to photograph them and post photos.

 

But I have been baking cookies and tried a new recipe today....Santa's Whiskers. They are fabulous! They taste great and they will look beautiful on a cookie platter.

Four Days and a Big Pancake

Day 91/100 is grocery bag paper.

Day 92/100 is another envelope. 

And for breakfast Sunday morning, after receiving a photo of hers from my cousin, I made a Dutch Baby pancake. It was so easy, but looked so impressive. This will be a semi regular thing! 

Since I forgot to publish this post and two more days have gone by...

Day 93/100

And Day 94/100

I did a little prep for my May Fodder School project, too.

Bird Stamp and a Spicy Kani Salad

I'm working on a bird stamp. This rubber stuff sure cuts much more easily than my old battleship linoleum.

And because I was craving a spicy kani salad, and I had the ingredients,  I attempted to make one instead of trying to talk Bill into a sushi place. Although my knife skills are sorely lacking, it came out pretty tasty.

Two Haiku and More Book Work...Oh, and Cookies!

Here are #49 and #50. I can't believe I've made it to the half way mark.

 

Today, I spent too much time working on my books....

And I nearly forgot about the cookies I made yesterday. I saw a reference to recipe on Proud Italian Cook and I had cornflakes! So I made Umbrian snowflake cookies....Biscotti ai Cereali. Maybe some of the best cookies I've ever made.

Haiku #43 and #44

 It's fairly early in the evening and I suppose I might make something else, But I am feeling exhausted right now. So here are my haiku from the last two days....

 

 

I did, in fact, make that beautiful loaf of bread yesterday. I begged Bill not to "butcher" it while I was at work, and I still haven't cut it. 

And I just remembered that I had sprung forward yesterday! No wonder I'm so tired! 

Haiku #28 and Some Cookies

I made some cookies for Bill...German chocolate. He loves them and they could not be easier....

Preheat to 350°

1 Box of German chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup (heaping) of mini  bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips 

1/3 cup (heaping) chopped nuts...I used walnuts

Chill the dough for a bit. I stuck mine outside on the back porch while the oven heated. 

Bake for 12 minutes (I use parchment.) . Leave on tray for 2 more minutes. Remove to cooling rack.

 

There! And you didn't have to scroll through miles of ads and random musings to get the recipe. 

 

                                        Oh, here is Haiku 28/100...

Haiku #18 and Cinnamon Bread

Today's Haiku 18/100...

And then, I baked my first loaf of cinnamon swirl bread. Apparently I scored the top too deeply and it developed a big buttery cinnamon tumor. 

Zentangle Day Six...and Some Bread

After watching what unfolded at our Capitol building today, I was sick to my stomach and didn't feel like doing anything creative. I sat down with my book and intended to get a Zentangle done quickly. I was going to skip practicing patterns,  but I couldn't focus on the new ones enough to get started on a tile. So I slowed down and did a little practice. After I completed my tile for the day, I did feel a little calmer.

Then, I made this beautiful loaf of bread. 

Baking More Bread

I tried my baking hand at sandwich bread today. It stuck in the baking dish and even after an extra 20 minutes, it didn't seem done on the bottom. I think I'll try again in a metal baking dish rather than glass. 

It looks lovely, though.  And it tastes great. 

 

 

Soup!

There was a recipe in our local paper this morning and I had all of the ingredients,  so I made tomato and white bean soup. I used tomatoes from my garden that I had frozen, and I cooked Rancho Gordo beans. Soup was delicious! 

Tomato Pie

I picked a big bowl of tomatoes this morning and had to use some of them. After a friend posted a recipe, I made a tomato pie. It looks and smells delicious. Now I get to taste it!

 

 

 

 

Pesto!

Earlier this summer, when I couldn't get basil plants in any of the area greenhouses, I planted a packet of seeds. And now, I have a beautiful crop of basil. (I even gave seedlings to my neighbor!). Today, I harvested some and made pesto...first time ever! I cannot wait to try it on some pasta and on my homemade bread. 

The young man at the greenhouse said I would be happier with basil started from seed. He was sure right on that call.

Croutons

It's not much but today, I left croutons off of the grocery list and made them instead, with all the stale ends of my homemade bread that I have been squirreling away in the freezer. I will never by croutons again. 

Earrings and Bread

Yes, I'm still baking bread, but since I can now do this in my sleep (or while drunk!) it really doesn't count. So I made some earrings.