The current issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion has a little blurb on pages 44-45 about making a Skate Stocking. (also seen on this page) I have been having difficulties with my cuff, trying to figure out what I wanted it to look like, what color it would be, would it lace up the front, stuff like that.

The cuff on the stocking in Home Companion is PERFECT. Ribbon ties and a button. Problem solved! My next hurdle is to figure out what color to paint the blade. My mom and I cut them out of scrap plywood with her scrollsaw. That was fun. A scrollsaw is like a very scary sewing machine. One that could eat your fingers if you are not paying attention. I am thinking I may apply a stain of some sort...I think I want to keep the grain of the wood visible.

I chose a gorgeous chocolate brown jaquard that was on sale at Joann's for the body of the stocking and appliquéd a brown toe-cap and heel. Earlier I said I was going to look for old leather or thrift the fabric from Goodwill, but I just didn't see enough of anything that would work. The stocking will be lined with a dupioni that is the exact lighter accent brown color on the jaquard fabric. So far I am very pleased.

Well. Macaroon update: utter failure.

I won't bore you with the gorey details, let's just say that these little cookies need more time and attention to perfect than I have time and attention to devote to them. Next up: either caramels or marshmallows. Time is growing short as it's ALREADY NOVEMBER.

I have to give a shout out to my main man Super J. He and I are going to be up in Seattle on Friday November 17th at Portalis Wine Shop and Wine Bar pouring the fabulous wines he makes. Come see us and say Hi! I'll pour you some wine. In the November issue of Wine Enthusiast McCrea has three wines rated in the 90's that Jeffery worked his hind end off to make and I am so proud!

This year we have decide to have an Italian themed Thanksgiving. Somewhat inspired by the movie Big Night(one of the best food movies ever). Instead of a Turkey I am going to attempt the Timpano. I have already bought the special enamel bowl and have decided after a little research to use this recipe (PDF). Our friend Les, who is Italian, is going to be here and he is a fabulous cook. He and I are going to throw down in the kitchen wearing matching Chef's jackets. He bought me one after last year's Thanksgiving when I "ooh-ed and aah-ed" over the one he was wearing. I also found a recipe for a Pumpkin Tiramisu I am going to make for dessert. I can't decide whether I am more excited to cook or to eat.

Here is my first attempt at Parisian Macaroons:

Here is what they should look like:
Mine are so bumpy and lumpy and puffy! I know what went wrong. Sorta. I don't think that I have the ablilty to grind my almonds fine enough to make them not grainy, which is cool. I am not going to make myself crazy over these things. Also, the recipe called for 6 tablespoons of egg whites, and quite frankly I don't think that is enough compared to the amount of dry ingredients one is supposed to add. I though the batter was awfully thick, and it was a little hard to squeeze into little one inch rounds. Which, in turn, made me add too much batter per round and they ended up puffing up quite a bit. I am going to try these again, this time making sure I have more egg whites and less dry stuff. I think the batter needs to be a little runnier than I had it. They sure tasted good.

This site greeted me this morning when I opened up the curtains: Chicken on the Well House


I am pretty sure she is an escapee from one of the neighbors. We have several people in a 3 block radius that have chickens. I hope she finds her way back home safely!

I have been fairly busy lately, hence the lack of updates. My Cooking School job is going great. I had a class last night and the Chef made "Spiced Tortilla Chips" to go with a Pomegrante-Avacado Salsa. I had just recently come across these Red FireTortilla Chips from Vosges so it was an odd coincidence.

I have put them on the list of "Things to try to make one day." Speaking of said list, my Parisian Macaroons will be made this weekend. I meant to do it last weekend, but I somehow managed to not pick up a key ingredient every single time I went to the store so I said "screw it!" and sat on my butt watching Little Britain DVD's instead. There will indeed be more of that going on this weekend as well.

My compost is looking good. It was about a year ago exactly that I started composting and I think this batch is done. I can definitely say that turning and watering are the keys to faster composting. Also having a proper ratio of brown (carbon) to green (nitrogen) is vital. We produce more waaaay more green as we compost all of our kitchen scraps and have a ton of espresso grounds so it's been a challenge to come up with brown. I think I am going to look into getting a bale of straw. Also NO dairy and NO oil. They say that cutting up your compostable into smaller bits also aids in composting, but that's just too much work for me. Tomorrow I am going to a demonstration garden here in town to buy another compost bin and hopefully some native plants.

I need help with my lavender! Again! This one is still alive and I don't want to die like the other one. I have done some research and I found a site where someone said "If your lavender has a bare hole in the middle it's time to divide." As you can see, I definitely have a hole, but I am afraid to touch it. I have gotten conflicting answers. Divide it! Cut it back! Don't touch it!

What do I do?
It hit me yesterday that the Holiday Season is JUST AROUND THE CORNER and I had better get into gear if I want to get anything done. First up: Stockings. Last time I was home visiting my parents my mom showed me her scroll saw and we cut some ice skate blades out of some scrap plywood. Last year, Anthropologie had the cutest skate stockings and I decided I had to make one. Mom, of course, made hers almost immediately. I, of course, have obviously waited until almost the last minute as I usually do. If I get them done at all. Yesterday I drew up a pattern and a plan. I am going to go to the Goodwill and see if I can find some wool to cut up, or an old leather jacket or something. I'll head to Joann's as a last resort if I can't find anything.

I also have decided on a list of treats to include in this years treat box. More info will be given as I finalize, but I have to say that I have gotten a TON of inspiration from one of my new favorite blogs found via NotMartha : PhatDuck.

Which segues nicely into my next topic.....

This month marks the first of a new venture I am undertaking. I have been selected to be an assistant at the cooking school here in town. I am pretty darned excited. We are something like little sous chefs that come in and chop veggies and make pastry dough and make sure when the Chef needs a spoon they get a spoon. I am leaving the house to interact with other humans! Wish me luck.

This is the Romanesco Cauliflower (or Broccoli) we got in our CSA share this week. I am going to make Cream of Romanesco Soup with a Roasted Beet Puree to drizzle on top. See? I am already starting to get fancy.

A parting shot of Lulu's newest favorite napping spot. Usually the gigantic box of yarn lives in the closet, but I just don't have the heart to move it off of the floor just yet.