It's late summer and that means CORN IS EVERYWHERE! Technically speaking it's also hatch cilli season, but seeing as I'm not in Texas anymore, that means I have to think of other ways to season this delicious summer soup. And what I have in my fridge this week is basil and bacon ...so... Bacon and Basil Corn Chowder. Here's a couple things I've learned from coming up with a recipe for corn chowder. 1. You need more than corn and potatoes in your soup. It's very very boring without them 2. The beautiful golden yellow color of the soup does not come from the yellow corn you use. It comes from the tomatoes and the chili powder. Who'd have thought?! 3. Substituting the half and half for this recipe gives you some very watery soup. You can mix the two milks together to lighten things up, but you can't just do milk by itself. Ingredients 4-5 ears of corn, boiled 5-7 red potatoes (5 if they're big, 7 if they're small) 2 handfuls of grape tomatoes 2-3 cloves garlic 2 cups half and half 1t chili powder salt and pepper to taste 1 handful fresh basil, chopped 1. Over a cutting board or shallow bowl, cut the kernels from the cobs. Chop potatoes into small bite size pieces and halve the tomatoes
2. Cut the bacon into 1" pieces and cook in a large soup pot on medium heat till crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon from grease and set aside. 3. In the bacon grease, cook the potatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper for about 5-10 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, and garlic in grease. Cook 10-15 minutes. Potatoes shouldn't be totally soft yet. Continue to salt and pepper to taste as you continue to add ingredients. It's an easy way to keep your food from being bland. 4. Add the half and half and chili powder. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. In the last few minutes stir in the fresh basil 5. Ladel into bowl and top off with bacon bits. Serve and enjoy!
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I got the instructions for this top from one of my favorite blogs, The Sorry Girls. They do a ton of awesome DIY posts. I made two changes to their instructions: the length (20" instead of 18" for the torso) and the fabric. In their version, they suggested using an old button down blouse or some flowy fabric. As I was attempting to clean out my apartment, I came across one of my old dorm sheets (thanks Target) and decided to use that instead. 1) it's ~*eco-friendly*~ 2) it's softer than a lot of the fabrics you find at craft stores, and 3) it's fo' free! Bottom line, I think I spent $5 on embroidery thread and $2 on the elastic, which makes it perfect for my technically-not-in-college-anymore budget.
I was shocked by how little time it actually took me turn this from 4 rectangles into a something wearable. All in all I think I spent about 2 hours sewing this. The longest part was probably ironing the hem. Shout out to my roommate, Paulina for letting me borrow her straightener because I don't own an iron. I would recommend doing a rolled hem for the bottom so your top doesn't fray after you wear/wash it.
I love pies. I firmly believe that there is no situation that can't be improved by pie. Because of this I've always been particular about pie crust. A good pie crust can make a can of pre-made pie filling taste like you slaved for hours and can make homemade filling culinary perfection. I hate to break it to you, but those store bought pie crusts just don't measure up.
Homemade Crusts 101
1. Temperature. Temperature. Temperature. The key difference between homemade and store-bought crust is that crusts you make yourself take a little more effort to prevent holes. This is because they're made with butter and shortening. Even though you start with cold butter, you've got to chill your crust when you're not rolling it out or cutting out your designs because the butter will soften.
2. Patience is important. Because the crust is temperature-sensitive you have to chill it semi-frequently. It may take a little more time, but trust me it's worth the wait. 3. The key to a gorgeous, shiny pie crust is an egg wash. Just beat a single egg and use a pastry brush (or just your fingers if you don't have tons of tools like me) to paint on a thin egg layer. 4. My secret for pain free crust is using a food processor. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. But if you don't have a food processor, you can just as easily use a pastry cutter, potato masher, or some good ole' fashioned forks Make the Crust
Crust Ingredients:
2.5 c all purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling 1/4 tsp kosher salt 3 Tbs sugar, plus extra for garnish 1/4 c shortening 12 Tbs butter, cold and cubed 1/4-1/2 c ice water 1 egg (for the egg wash) Filling Ingredients: 1 pint raspberries 1 pint blueberries 1 c sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 1/2 c corn starch 1. Put the flour, salt, and sugar in your food processor and pulse a to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients. 2. Add the cubed butter and shortening to the mix and pulse till incorporated. It should have the consistency of moist soil (middle image). 3. Slowly add the ice-water through the top of the food processor till the dough just comes together (third image). 4. Transfer the crust to a cutting board and knead together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Don't cheat and put it in the freezer for less time. It doesn't agree with the butter. Trace the Direwolf
5. Roll out 1/2 of the crust (if you don't have a rolling pin you can use a wine bottle like me!).
6. Then cut out your Direwolf (no teeth) outline with a small and sharp knife. Cut your little fur tufts, eye, nose, and snarls. 7. Sprinkle flour on a second cutting board and transfer your Direwolf. Put more flour on top of the wolf as well. 8. Chill Direwolf in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Ball up the scrap dough and chill as well. Put it all together
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
10. While your waiting for the dough to chill make the filling by adding the fruit, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt to a medium pot over medium heat. Stir in corn starch a little at a time till it's the consistency of gravy. Remove from heat and rest. 11. Roll out the 2nd half of the dough into a circle for the base crust layer and loosely drape over the pie plate. 12. Pour in the filling. 13. Roll out the leftover Direwolf dough and cut out 8, 1" strips with a pizza cutter and make a lattice design. 14. Take the Direwolf out of Make an egg wash by beating an egg in a separate bowl. Brush the egg in a thin layer on the back of the wolf. This will help him stick to the rest of the crust. 15. Brush the egg wash onto the lattice. 16. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes. 17. Let pie cool, serve and enjoy.
I first learned about sewing when I was in 3rd grade (ish... it was a long time ago) with my Girl Scout troupe when I was still living in California. We made little quilted pillows to give to kids in a children's hospital. Later, when my iron on badges would fall off my GS sash, I learned how to sew them back on by hand. Later on I my parent's gave me a sewing machine and I learned how to make simple clothes and eventually made a quilt. Forgotten skills like sewing give me a creative outlet, but they're also really stinking useful. Got a hole in your shirt? Fixed. Love those shorts in the store but they're too long? Fixed. Dress doesn't fit quite right? Fixed. These are all reasons why learning to sew is important. One of the best ways to learn the basics of needle crafts is with simple embroidery stitches AND you don't need a sewing machine to do it.
In the spirit of Cold Brew I decided to pick up my very old and rusty hobby and re-learn how to embroider. In the few weeks that I've been working on this project, it's quickly become one of my favorite hobbies. Losing track of time as I work out the design is exhilarating. I'll sit and work while I'm watching Netflix and all that pent up energy that makes you check facebook 15 times during one episode is gone (because my hands are busy) and I get to feel productive even if I'm just sitting around doing nothing on a Saturday.
Getting started is simple. I'll show you some basic stitches and I hope it inspires you to pick up a new skill. Here's a handy reference picture.
Supplies
Fabric - cotton is nice but anything without a lot of texture works (I cut up my old dorm sheets)
Embroidery floss - certain colors will speak to you when you're in the craft store; go with it Embroidery hoop - trust me this makes your life 10x easier. I got mine from Hobby Lobby for less than $2 Needle with a large eye (ex. tapestry needle) - this is different than the needle you would use to sew on a button Masking tape (optional) - this is helpful if you want to keep any raw edges from fraying Flowers
1. In the beginning it is SUPER helpful to draw out what you're stitching.
2. This flower is made with something called a satin stitch (yes I looked that up because I'm self-taught). To make this type of flower, start by poking the needle up through the INNER edge of the outline and send the needle back down the OUTER edge of the outline. 1st stitch: INNER to OUTER. All remaining stitches: OUTER to INNER. This is probably poor professional technique but this is CB@22 and I'm doing it my way, which is the best part about DIY. 3. Keep working your way around the outline. Leaves
1. Put two back stitches up the middle of the leaf
2. Fill in the leaf one half at a time. 3. Done with the leaf. 4. Fill in with yellow accents. |
AuthorEmma Neale: (young) adult, cat mom, and aspiring for adventure. Archives
February 2019
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