Notes from beneath the veil

Glad for distractions this week, I wanted to take a few minutes to post a link to Jen Fulwiler's Lenten experiment with wearing a veil.  Do go read it for yourself - her reasoning and reflection on the experience are both funny and beautiful (as always).

As a life-long seamstress, diy-er, and all-around cheapskate though, I have to admit that my first thought was "that veil would be so easy to make!"  The original came from this etsy shop, and at only $35 is a great deal, but if you'd like one right away for whatever reason, I have some suggestions here.

First of all, if you'd like the same concept, but don't want lace, you can find a nice tutorial on sewing your own infinity scarf here.

If you do want to make one of lace, it's even easier.

1. Go to your local fabric store and find a soft lace with one or two finished edges.  For this basic version, you fabric will be somewhere between 45 and 60 inches wide.  (54" is also a common width.)
2. Determine the length you want the scarf to be.  From the tutorials I'm finding, 54-60 inches seems to be a good length.  Since you'll be cutting along the length of the fabric, this is the amount you'll purchase.
3. Cut the fabric in half lengthwise.  You'll have two pieces, each with one finished scalloped edge and one cut edge.  If you prefer, the pictorial directions at the bottom may be helpful.
4. Sew the short edges together by hand or by machine.  Make the seam as neat as possible, since it will show (at least a little).  Again, owning a sewing machine is not necessary for this project!  You can find tips for sewing with lace in this Church Lady post.
5. You can hem the unfinished edge of your veil if you'd like, but since many laces don't ravel it may not be necessary.
6. That's it!  Oh, one more thing - you may have noticed by now that you have enough here for two veils.  The second one is for a friend.  (Aren't you wonderful!)

40 Meatless Meals:French Onion Soup (2)

8-10 large onions, sliced

1/2 cup butter

60 ounces beef broth

1 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

3 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme

pepper

10 slices french bread, toasted

grated Parmesan and/or shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Saute onions in butter until crisp-tender. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Add broth, Worchestershire sauce, bay leaves.
3. Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours.
4. Ladle into bowls. Top with a slice of bread and cheese.

10 servings.

Source: Fix It and Forget It (2000), page 61

NOTES:

• This soup was so flavorful and unbelievably easy.
• I made half a batch.
• I used a variety of onions (one red, one sweet white, and three yellows). I think this contributed to the delicious flavor.
• The original recipe called for condensed beef broth (like Campbells), but I think that would be too intense and probably too salty. I just used a carton of store brand beef broth.
• I usually think French Onion is oversalted, so didn't add any salt to this recipe. Surprisingly, that was a good choice. I didn't add any at the end either.
• I buttered and toasted the bread on a grill (like a grilled cheese sandwich) and that added a nice flavor and texture to the bread.

40 Meatless Meals: Corn Chowder

If your February weather has been anything like ours, some nice warm comfort food is in order. Serve it in bread bowls, if you'd like an excuse to turn on the oven.

Serves six to eight.
(adapted from.)

• 4 T Butter 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 3 whole sweet bell peppers, diced (different colors, if possible) 
• 2½ cups of frozen corn (or 5 ears fresh) 
• ¼ cup flour 
• 3 cups vegetable stock 
• 2 cups Half-and-half 
• 1 cup (heaping) Grated Monterey Jack 
• 1 cup (heaping) Pepper Jack 
• ⅓ cups Sliced Green Onions 

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onions until softened and just beginning to brown, 5–6 minutes, then add diced bell peppers and cook until peppers begin to soften. Add corn and cook until warm. Sprinkle flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth and stir well, scraping up any browned bits of onion from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3–4 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring once or twice. Stir in cheeses. When cheese is melted, add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle green onions over the top and serve immediately.

40 Meatless Meals: Tomato, Provolone, and Fresh Basil Pizza

Fresh basil is one of my favorite flavors and thanks to my good friend, Trader Joe, I got this great plant last spring that's actually still hanging on today! I found this recipe on the back of my Costco Provolone.

Homemade pizza crust (thanks, KitchenAid!)

3 Tbsp. olive oil (or less)

Provolone cheese

Parmesan cheese

Roma tomatoes, sliced

salt and pepper

Fresh basil leaves

Spray pizza pan and spread dough out evenly. Brush unbaked crust with olive oil; top with freshly ground pepper, sliced provolone, tomatoes, basil and finally, grated Parmesan. Perfect.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until done.

40 Meatless Meals: Sweet Potato Latkes

There aren't a lot of foods I get cravings for (even while I was pregnant, aside from a brief American cheese phase), but since first trying these at a book club meeting I find myself wanting these simple but oh, so tasty latkes rather frequently. Add some greens (cooked or raw) and you've got a meal for two or three, or serve them as a side dish for twice as many. They seem to be popular with kids, too.

Once it's cooled, you can strain the remaining oil and keep it in a jar for other adventures in frying (or just more batches of latkes!).

Makes about 26 pancakes
(Source.)

• 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¾ cup vegetable oil

Stir together all ingredients except the oil. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, scoop eighth-cup measures of potato mixture into oil and flatten to 3-inch diameter with a spatula. Cook until golden, about 1½ minutes on each side. Transfer latkes with spatula to paper towels to drain. Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream, if desired.

Vatican News

Vatican News has created a microsite to bring to you a collection of news reports, interviews and background stories on the final days of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate.  It's a good way to filter out the bias and ignorance and get your news from a reliable source.

40 Meatless Meals: Fritto Misto

Mixed fried fish in light batter (pictured with gnocchi in pesto and roasted vegetables)

Batter
3/4 cup flour
3 T olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 t salt
1 egg white, beaten

1.5 lbs cubed mixed fresh fish/seafood or vegetables

oil for deep frying
lemon wedges
fresh parsley

Sift the flour; stir in oil, then salt and water.  Let batter rest at least one hour.  Fold in egg white thoroughly.  Heat oil for deep frying.  Dip fish/vegetables in batter and fry until golden.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and fresh parsley.

CL Hint of the Day: Brining Beans

I just made the best batch of beans of my life. Seriously, I keep grabbing a few out of the colander just to munch. The secret ingredient? Salt. I added 3T of salt to a gallon of water (for 1 pound of beans) and let them soak overnight. Then I drained and rinsed them, and boiled as usual. My black beans took just over an hour to cook, and are a really creamy texture, with very few burst skins.

Find the original tip here (video).

40 Meatless Meals: Fresh pasta with butternut squash

Serves 4

1 lb fresh pasta (homemade or purchased)
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
8 T butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
1/4 t nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to boil in a dutch oven.  Add noodles and squash; cook until al dente.  Drain and reserve. Heat butter in empty dutch oven.  Add garlic, sage, and nutmeg.  Toss pasta and squash with butter sauce; add salt and pepper to taste.

Ways with beans

Let's face it.  Beans are nutritious, economical, and good for the earth, but aside from refried beans and some Indian and Italian recipes for chickpeas, I didn't spend a lot of time in the dried bean aisle until recently.  Here are a couple of books from the public library that expanded my cooking repertoire.

Diet for a Small Planet (Frances Moore Lappe)
 

 

 The classic introduction into vegetarianism.  I'll be the first to admit that some of the recipes haven't stood the test of time, but the science behind the benefits of eating a less meat centered diet is fascinating and provides a call to stand in solidarity with the hungry of the world.

Bean by Bean (Crescent Dragonwagon)

Intimidated by dried beans?  Have no fear, Crescent is here. While canned beans are still less expensive than meat, there's no arguing that dried beans cost even less. Author Dragonwagon walks you through several methods for cooking beans.  If your first thought about beans is stodgy New England baked beans, you are in for a big surprise.  She has recipes for every meal course featuring cuisines from all around the world.  From soups to salads to casseroles, this book combines new recipes with witty commentary.






Spilling the Beans (Julie van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan)

Looking to stretch your grocery budget?  Tired of carb heavy meatless meals that leave you hungry later? Want to serve the more economical dried beans but can't get away from the convenience of canned?

Spilling the Beans contains recipes for supplementing the meat in your favorite recipes with beans and lentils, some new ideas for bean based entrees, ideas for preparing dried beans ahead of time, and most intriguing, incorporating pureed white beans into a variety of foods (including baked goods) to create whole proteins.