Creativity isn’t my strong suit

When I first started my first blog, I was in my third year (of six total) of graduate school.  I had my master’s degree and I was surrounded by other graduate students, each of whom were equally enmeshed in, what a current colleague recently called, the “odd world of the hard sciences.”

We scientists are not known for our creativity.

That was the reason I started my blog.  I wanted to hone my creativity, if such a thing can even be done.  (Leave it to the scientist to try a systematic approach to building creativity, right?)

In the ensuing four years (five?  I can’t even remember anymore….) I think I have, if nothing else, become a better writer.  And writing is creative, right?   

So, I win….right?

No.  

It turns out that I’m really not all that creative, I’ve just gotten better at making myself look creative.  

And I’ve gotten really good at googling.  (And I’ve gotten hyper anal about grammar.  But not anal at all about typos and editing.  So, if you see an error, rest assured that I know it is there, I just don’t care to go back and fix it.  *Embrace the irony*)

This was made pretty clear a couple weeks ago, when I made sunflower Seed Butter Bread for my ornithology students, which I had also made for my students last year at the same time.  

I did this without realizing it until much later.

The recipe was almost exactly the same, too.  Which I also did without realizing it until much later.  

(True story: I don’t look at recipes when I am baking.  I know the basic ratios and just go off memory.  The results are usually good, or at least goodish.  If not, I feed poor college kids.  They’ll eat anything.)

And then, yesterday morning, I woke up a little early.  So I did what any sane person who is awake at 4 am during a thunderstorm about to take 11 students out to look at birds would do.

This was taken the day before the rain; on Monday.

I baked.

And what did my uber-creative self make?  (Aside: I have no idea how to get umlauts on that u.  But see?  I recognize the typo and the poor grammar, but I just can’t be bothered to fix it. Told you so.)

I made….wait for it…..Peanut Butter….MUFFINS.

Whoa.  Hold the phones, she branched out?!?! 

 Yeah baby!  Muffins this time, not bread.  I like to get c-r-a-z-y in the early hours of the day.

I should make muffins more often, because, you may already know this, but muffins are far easier to transport and they bake a lot faster.  Not that speed was particularly important yesterday, since the bus driver didn’t show up because apparently no one told him that you can still watch birds in the rain.

No really.  People do.

See?  Birders are nuts.

Apparently, when I set out to bake at 4 am, I have only one thing on my mind:  Peanut butter.  Or Sunflower Seed Butter.  

Since I’ve now made this recipe, with only slight variations, twice in the last 2 weeks, I think it’s high time I give you the recipe.  

Peanut Butter (or Sunflower Seed Butter) Bread (or Muffins) (Or really any combination of these things)

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cup oat flour
• 6 T peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter)
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup almond milk (start with 1/2 cup’ if your nut/seed butter is thick, you need to add more)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Both of the times, I just tossed everything into a bowl at once and then mixed it up.  There’s really no need to cream this and add that, especially not at 4 am.  The dough should be about the consistency of pancake batter.  

 

Bake in lined muffin tins or in a greased 8×8 inch pan for 20-25 minutes.  You could also bake these in a regular bread loaf pan, but it would take longer; 40-50 minutes, I’m guessing.

Both of the times I made it, there were none leftover.  But yesterday, even through the early morning brain fog, I remembered to take a picture!  (After four years of blogging….I’m starting to learn.)

Oh and?  I doubled the batch.  So I had enough to make some bread when I got home.  

For myself.  Because I’m selfish.  

But not creative.  

Do you consider yourself creative?  What’s your creative “strength”?  

Do you use recipes when you bake?  

It’s back!!

There was a time in the not too distant past that I ate more tahini than any other nut or seed butters.  There was a time, in fact, when that was the only nut or seed butter I ate.

Yes, I ate it just I do nut butters, which is to say 90% straight from the jar and 10% in baking.

So, what happened?  Why did I suddenly stop with the tahini obsession?

When I moved here two years ago, I moved A LOT of pantry items with me.  It kind of seems silly now, but I was really worried that I wouldn’t find my favorite foods, so I loaded up on them.  This was obviously before I discovered that you can buy anything on Amazon.  

[Also, I stopped eating hummus because as much as I love the stuff, it tears me up.  Literally.  As much as it pains me still, I just can't eat hummus without getting sick for days.]

After I ate my 4 jars of Joyva (best tahini EVER!), I didn’t see it at the store.  I saw Krinos, which, though expensive, I still tried it and I didn’t love it.  So….an unplanned tahini drought happened.  This drought lasted for almost a year and a half.  

Then I got this book.  

You might be thinking  ”What the hell does a KOREAN book have to do with a Middle Eastern/Israeli/Greek condiment, Katie?”

The answer, in all honesty, is nothing really, but for a single recipe for Mushroom Sesame Soup which suddenly had me craving tahini.  I read the recipe (which you can find here), saw the accompanying photo, and immediately set out to find some tahini.  

And by “set out” I mean “opened my computer.”  By “to find” I mean “searched for on Amazon”.  Amazon, ever the trusty source, delivered again.  (Literally.)

A 4 pack of Tahini, made in Israel, for less than $15.  

Yes, I went from no tahini for a year and a half to 4 jars of it.  That’s the beauty of the internet, kids.  

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it is good.  A little runnier than I am used to, but most real tahini is kind of runny.  (The ingredients in this is “sesame seeds”.  Can’t beat that.)

It should come as no surprise that I made cookies the first day I opened it.  And the second day.  But more on those later…..

I made several other things from the Korean Table book last week also.  You can check them all out here, but here’s the Reader’s Digest version:

Korean Kimchi and Seaweed Salad.  Inspired by equal parts The Korean Table and The Seaweed Salad I bought at Trader Joes many months ago.

The TJs salad was great if a little heavy on the sauce (did I just say that?).  So again I hit up….wait for it….Amazon (shocking) and ordered a bag of mixed dried seaweed, which I’ve been eating….let’s just say a lot.

It’s so easy!  You just soak some dried seaweed in cold water for about 10 minutes, drain, and add whatever you want.  I’ve also mixed it with Soy-Scallion Dipping Sauce (from the Korean cookbook also) for a sweeter, less spicy version.

I made other stuff too, but I’m going to make you click over and read about them because I’m feeling too lazy to give you a proper update.  

Something tells me you will live though.  Especially with the promise of a cookie recipe to come…..

Do you like tahini?  What’s your favorite tahini recipe? 

Your thoughts, please?

I hope that you are all out enjoying a beautiful day in sunshine and warm weather.  

Me?  Well….I’m enjoying a day of dreary weather – overcast and with a slight nip in the air.  And no, that isn’t sarcasm. I really am enjoying it!

I spent my morning shuffling clothing around my house – putting away the winter stuff and taking out the summer stuff – thereby assuring that it will snow this week, because 1) Murphy’s Law and 2) that’s how my life works.

And now….for the real reason I’m posting this.  The real two reasons, really.

First of all, if you could, please (pretty please) go vote for one of my recipes in the So Delicious recipe contest. I have absolutely NO chance of winning at all, but with a $500 Williams Sonoma gift certificate on the line, I would be kicking myself if I didn’t at least try.

My recipes:

• Buttered Corn-off-the-cob “Ice Cream”
• Vegan Tomato-Raspberry-Lime Ice Cream
• Tom Ka Gai Soup

Just click on the link and it will take you to the pinterest page.  ”Likes” and repins each count.  Thanks!!

And so….now.

This afternoon, I saw my a sign for a garage sale at my neighbor’s house.  I have never met these neighbors, and it turns out, I never will.  It was an older woman who reacently passed and her son is selling EVERYTHING.  So really, it is more of an estate sale.

I got there before they really had anything priced and I saw….THAT UP THERE!!

Remember when I moved into my new house and I so wanted a stove and fridge set that looked like that??!?!  

The only ones I could find were over $1000 EACH, and these?  These authentic (and yes, really not at all energy efficient) fridge and oven combos….I got him down to $100 for BOTH.

I am still hemming and hawing about it because of a couple caveats.  

1. The fridge, as my dad pointed out, is not going to be “green” at all and will likely be hella expensive, energy-wise.
2. The oven is set up for propane, not natural gas.  But I think that is probably really easy to fix.
3. 

These are old photos of my kitchen (it is much more decorated and *ahem* lived in now), but in case you can’t remember what my kitchen looks like (what?!? Impossible!), how AWESOME would those look in here?!?!

Seriously.  What am I waiting for?

This is silly.  I should just go buy it.  

Right?

My attempt at a wordless post (includes words)

 I want to attempt to write a post without any words.  Let’s see how this goes.  (<- That doesn’t count.)

EWWW!!!  This is disgusting.  Why would anyone want to brush their teeth with pickle-flavored tothpaste?!?!

Yeah, I failed, but….how could I NOT comment on that nastiness? 

Horned Grebes rule.

I give up.  Wordless is not in my vocabulary.  (Get it?  See what I did there?)

It’s garden thyme.  (Get it?  See what I did there?  I’m on FY-AH!)

Re-reading a Judy Blume classic before the movie comes out.  Have you read it?  

And now, in all seriousness….

Peace kids.  I’m out.

Celebrating summer with birds and cookies

Did you notice in the title of this post that birds comes before cookies? 

That isn’t a mistake.  I’m going to make you wait (wade?) through my musing on springtime, gardening, and birds before I reward you with cookies.   I’m mean like that.

I will also tease you with a picture of said cookies.  (See above: I’m mean like that.)  I suppose there isn’t anything stopping you from just scrolling to the end of the post to see what the cookie commotion (curfuffle?) is all about.  Nothing except my endearing writing.  And karma.

Well, it has finally decided to be summer here.  The trees finally  have some buds on them, the birds finally have food from nature (as opposed to the seeds I supply for them), and my garden is turning green again.

Springtime has always been and will always be my favorite season.  It just makes me smile and puts me in such a good mood.  

This week has been an amazing (and I try not to use that word because it is SO overused but there is nothing else I can really say) week for my ornithology class.  Yesterday alone we saw 44 different species of birds in four hours in the field.  

This is one of my favorite birds of….ever.  A male Chestnut-sided Warbler.  How could you not fall in love with birding after seeing this lovely male?!?

To put that in perspective, we saw 104 in the entire month long class last May.  

There were multiple exclamations of “WOW!! LOOK AT THAT ONE!! THAT’S A BEAUTIFUL MALE!!”   Exclamations by yours truly, of course.  Though some by the students, too.

I was truly on cloud nine all day yesterday.  I couldn’t have been in a better mood if Clay Matthews himself had come out birding with me.

That’s not true.  Clay Matthews birding with me?!  That is the stuff my dreams are made of, right there.

Also?  Happy belated birthday to the newly re-signed Packer and love of my life!  He was born in May, too!!  AND I rocked a mullet when I was that age, too.  See?  We’re soul mates, him and I.  

Anyway.  I had a goofy grin on my face and was ridiculously chatty for the rest of the day. So much so that I am sure I was as annoying as….something really annoying.

My colleagues were subjected to my giddiness.  The coop workers got an earful when I went to buy coffee.  The garden shop employees were regaled with stories about birds and my garden when I went to buy mulch.

Hey, look at me.  I’m mulched.  I look all dressed up and pretty now.

I’m just a nerd all around, guys.  I know it.  My colleagues know it.  My students definitely know it.  You know it.  And in just the two short years I’ve lived here, I think everyone in town knows it.  

The weather was so great that after work, I went for a bike ride until the wind drove me bonkers.  I was planning on wasting away my afternoon/early evening reading a book in my backyard, but when I sat down and saw the state of affairs in my garden, I just couldn’t sit there.   The ugliness of the garden was too much for my eyes.  

I’ll spare your delicate eyes and just show you the after photos, complete with the chair that I pulled out of storage and sat in for all of 2 minutes.

[Insert lots of weeding and buying of mulch and spreading of mulch and thinking about how much this work will pay off in a month when these flower beds are looking like heaven.]

After all that hard work, all that back-breaking work, all that splinters-in-the-fingers work (three splinters, to be exact), it was time to get myself  cleaned up before my grilled vegetable dinner plate.  

But first?  Those cookies.

Because springtime is not springtime if your day is not spent outside looking at birds, playing in the dirt, grilling food, AND eating fruity cookies.  (And also?  A cocktail.)

Right?   Right.   

Tropical Chilli-Mango Cookies

• 1 cup frozen mango chunks, thawed and mashed (leave them a little chunky though)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup erythritol (you can also use granulated sugar, but cut it back to about 3/4 cup if you do)
• 10(ish) drops of Orange NuNaturals liquid stevia (or add extra sweetener and 1/2 tsp orange extract)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour*
• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp chili powder, plus more to dust on top
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional, but I wanted more spice….always more spice!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Blend the mango, eggs, erytritol (or sugar), and liquid stevia drops.  Add in the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well.   Drop by generous drops onto a cookie sheet and flatten just slightly.  Dust with a little bit more chili powder, to make the cookies look fancy.  

 

Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes.  

 

Notes about coconut flour: I am still very new to baking with coconut flour.  It is…..interesting to say the least.  It gives cookies a slightly “fluffy” mouthfeel that sounds gross but is really quite pleasant.  The taste isn’t very coconutty, but it does complement these flavors really well.  If you want to sub regular flour, this post explains how and what to use instead.  

Even with the extra cayenne, these weren’t overly spicy.  Next time I make them, I’ll add some cut up dried mango chunks for added mango flavor.  Or….oooh!  Maybe even some of the chili-mango slices!  (I never buy those because they are like crack and I can’t stop eating them even when my mouth is burning and the microtears on the inside of my cheeks are being seared with chili powder, leaving me crying in pain.)

But these cookies aren’t like that. They don’t cause micro-tears.  They are sweet and just a little spicy. 

Like me. 

Do you mulch your gardens?  I haven’t in the past, but I’m channeling my dad here.  He always does and it makes everything look so neat and tidy.  My Type A side loves that look.

Do you like mango?  Do you like the mango chili slices?  What’s your food “crack”?

Isn’t Clay A-Freaking-Dorable?!?!

Happy birthday to me!! (In two weeks)

Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.Ohmygod.

You guys.  My birthday month could not BE any greater.

In less than two weeks, one of my all-time favorite tv shows is releasing an entire new season worth of episodes!  

It’s only being released on Netflix, which I don’t have but will definitely have to sign up for just for this occasion. (Hello there, birthday present to myself!)

What?  Don’t pretend like you don’t get birthday presents for yourselves too.  Everyone does.  Admit it.

Right?

Ummm…..right?

In case you are still looking for a present for me, allow me to give you a few ideas.

Just some ideas for a few little things.  Stocking stufferes, if you will.  You know…. for those birthday stockings that we all get.

It looks like a book, but it holds a plant….it’s a book planter!  (Also?  It’s not cheap, but I think I could DIY the crap out of this.)

It looks like a book, but it holds a plant….it’s a book planter!  (Also?  It’s not cheap, but I think I could DIY the crap out of this.)

These salt and pepper shakers would look great in my collection.

I could use this showerhead that changes colors!!! for all those mornings (or evenings since I never shower in the morning) that I just want a little rainbow.

Sure, usually I want a unicorn to go with my rainbow, but I’ll take just one for now.

No words needed to explain this one.

(Because alcohol plus coffee = heaven.  <- That’s sort of an explanation, isn’t it?)

Or this one:

Or this one:

Turns out I’m kind of predictable when it comes to gifts, huh?

If it is cute and cheap(ish), I’ll probably like it.   If there is a pun involved, I’ll LOVE it.  Or alcohol.  Or gardening stuff.

Or you could just not get me anything.

Jerk.

What are some things that you are coveting right now?  Do you countdown to your birthday like an 8 year old, or is that just me?  Are you SO SO SO excited for the new Arrested Development shows?!?!  

Best. Present. Ever.

**I am absolutely, 100% kidding here with this entire post.  I mean, I’m not kidding about wanting these things in general, but about wanting you to get them for me.  I’m sure you knew that already though.

Things I Made: Lazy Sunday Update #4

Mother’s Day:  that special day where you honor your mother by posting a picture of her on your blog that she would probably hate you for on any other day.

Happy Mother’s Day, to the BEST Mom there is!!!!

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! 

This picture makes me long for summer.  Soon, Katie, soon.  

(Side note about the weather, because I have to keep up the “tradition” of complaining, lest my reputation get all foiled by this sappy stuff, IT SNOWED yesterday.  Luckily, I didn’t notice it while it was happening because I was inside warming up ALL.DAY.LONG. after the hour long, 20 mph 35 degree wind-in-my-face mountain bike in the morning.  I love my bike though.)  

Enough of that.

We left off last week on Sunday, so you got an extra day last weekend, due to my laziness.  Which means, one less day this week, due to my on-top-of-it-ness.  

 Sorry.  (No I’m not.)

On Monday, I painted those frames and the test tube rack I mentioned last week.  There were some fights in the comments over what color I should go with.  Fights nearing fisticuffs, I feared.  

Okay, that’s totally not true; no one really cared.  But some people did give me suggestions, which I dutifully ignored.  I went with yellow for both of the frames and the test tube rack.  (Obviously.)

On Tuesday, I made Sunflower Seed Butter Bread.  I didn’t take any pictures though.  

Why did I not take any pictures, you ask?  Quite simply, I made the bread at 4:30 am, a time at which my desire to take pictures of food is even lower than it is at a normal time of day (which is to say, LOW….VERY LOW).  Also?  I kind of expected that there would be some bread leftover.

There wasn’t. This means that I either 1) seriously underestimated the power of free (homemade) food for college students or 2) make a mean (read: super tasty) Sunflower Seed Butter Bread.

This is a picture of Peanut Butter Bread.  I didn’t even plan this, I swear, but I made this bread last year for my Ornithology students.  

There wasn’t any left last year either.  You’d think I’d learn.

On Wednesday, I made this lap desk.  (Lies: I made this on Sunday, but this was one of those “rollover” days, where I didn’t actually make anything, but I used something from a day I made two somethings.  This doesn’t happen as often as you would think.)

I used the tutorial here.  I didn’t have a cool looking hard surface for the top, so I Mod Podged green fabric onto an old cutting board.  It isn’t perfect, and it’s a little heavy, but it is the perfect size for my dying laptop.  

Pretty badass zebra print, isn’t it?

On Thursday, I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies.  No picture, because as I’ve mentioned once or twice, I’m lazy with the pictures.  I can’t seem to make myself care.  (Or make myself remember before I eat all the cookies.)

On Friday, I made Jamaican Curry Peanut Butter.  

I wish, oh how I wish, I could take the credit for coming up with the spices, but I just bought the peanuts, pre-spiced.  I bought them on a whim, thinking they’d make great butter, and I was right.  This isn’t going to last long, kids.  (The peanut butter, that is.  Not the being right thing.)

On Saturday,  I made an apron.  A gardening apron!!

Again, I can’t take the credit for this (sensing a trend here, are we?); I’m reading a great book on gardening, You Grow Girl, and there was a pattern for a gardening apron.  

I didn’t actually use the pattern, but I did use the idea as fodder for my version.  It’s kind of hard to see, but there are slots in the apron for all the tools that I end up dropping here and there while I am out weeding and lose and then have to go digging through the pile of debris to find.

Not anymore, though.  Tools, you’ve got a home now.  

Speaking of gardening, I need to get some of that done today.  

Look at all my baby tomatoes!!  I kept telling myself all winter that I wasn’t going to go overboard this summer with the garden.  Keep it simple, Katie is what I said.  But, like a kid in a candy store, I had to plant FOUR kinds of tomato seeds.  And not just one or two of each….many.  Lots.

Anyone want a tomato plant?

Just kidding.  You can’t have them.

Alright, time for me to get outside and get some gardening done.  Oh yeah, and go to the greenhouse to buy more stuff to plant because I’m crazy and what is moderation?

What did you make last week?  Are you gardening?  Peanut buttering?  Painting?