Updates, Announcements & Catching Up

Hello everyone - what a crazy whirlwind of days. As you can see, I have managed to start posting again, but I thought I better post up a summary of what's been going on. 

First things first - we weathered Hurricane Sandy and we have power. We count ourselves quite lucky and blessed since we didn't have any damages (although our place is surrounded by trees). Others were not as lucky. I have heard of garages, cars and other parts of their houses being damaged...and many are still without power. It was especially trying, since we knew a cold front was coming our way in the form of a snow storm! Some people were barely back with power, and gone it was again. 

The most amazing part of all this is watching the power line trucks pull 24/7 shifts. I have seen trucks from Florida (Thank you, FPL), Illinois (Thank you, Amaren), Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and many more.

Let me just say, many of these crew men themselves were restoring powers to other people's home when they themselves didn't have any at home. My neighbor who works for PSE&G was in charge of coordinating all the out of town crews. He'd leave at 6a and come back past 1030p. That is dedication...

I am still weeding through pictures, but when I am have them done, I will have to post a few up.

Ok in the meantime here a quick update and set of announcements on what I missed on blog land:

Vera is hosting a lovely card drive. This is Year 3 that Vera is hosting this, and I have been the lucky recipient of those beautiful cards, that I can bring to the Assisted Living Pavilion at Forrestal. It's a cause and tradition that I hope will continue on for many years to come with Vera's dedication and all of your help. I had to sit out on the wonderful blog hop, but please check it out to get inspired to make a few winter holiday and Christmas cards.

If you haven't heard, I am also guest designing this month with The Ribbon Reel. I hope you can join me and these fabulous girls!

And if you haven't heard...the final blog-o news that I missed out on, yours truly is a Design Team member for the Little Tangles team.

The Little Tangles team is the perfect challenge complement to the Neat & Tangled (big sister) team. We hope to bring you lots of inspiration and fun challenges. We had a blog hop (which I had to missed), but please check it out, because there is plenty of inspiration! I hope you will join us in our first (of many) challenges on Nov 15th!

Lastly, to my Smallhanded Question, Answer & Create challenge... I ran into a slight technical problem (le sigh). I used Blogger's poll widget, made the mistake of opening the widget and then canceling out of the menu. Before you know it, all the data (and people who participated in the poll survey) was wiped. So I am currently looking for another widget - a better one - where this won't happen! And then we'll have another go at it. I hope you will you come join me? :)

[smallhanded QuAC] Challenge #1 - Spaghetti al Pesto & Mozarrella Tomato Salad

My dear Blog Readers...I've been talking about how work has been using up any free cycles that I have, but let me know bore you with this. A promise is a promise, and I am celebrating your voice by making something what you all demanded...

Let's quickly recap Question, Answer, Create #1 "What is your favorite cuisine?"

I think the one thing I appreciate about my blog readers is that they love food. And they appreciate a diversity, just like myself ;)

I was rummaging through my Project 30 stack of recipes for inspiration. (Better not ask me how far I am along with cooking through the recipes, or how much I have scrapped. It think 10% is my cooking status, and 0% accurately sums up my scrapping attempt; I have completed one interview with one friend...)

Then I ran across a Spaghetti al Pesto recipe, and a lightbulb went off. I have Basil that has been so prolific all summer, and the weather is getting colder. I better go harvest the last batch before they die in some kind of frost.

I had a business trip to Genoa, Italy, once, and I heard how they had a special Pesto that I had to try. It was rich and creamy, and bright green, and so different from the ones I have had here. I believe Pesto also originated in Genoa, so perhaps that is also why it is associated with it.

I was going with a basic recipe: some toasted, pine nuts, lots of fresh basil, parmigiano-reggiano, and good quality olive oil. And this is what you get...one special little bottle as a gift that I was going to send off...



In truth I made enough to feed my house hold and my parent's household for probably 4-5 meals with just this... Or maybe more? I learned that a little bit of pesto goes a long way. Here the ratios

Simple Pesto

• 2 c fresh basil
• 1/4 c toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 c reggiano
• olive oil
• salt, to taste

1. Toast pine nuts until the flavors unlock
2. Blend pine nuts, until ground
3. Add basil & cheese to the blender
4. Drizzle olive oil while blending until desired texture reached
5. Add salt to taste

Easy peasy, or what?



And Florian and I had a batch of the freshly made green, decadent treasure tonight...



Another stunning dish to accompany the meal is a classic Mozzarella Tomato Basil Salad.



I don't think I know of anything that pays homage to Italy like these ingredients do on a plate. If you start from the Basil, you get Green, White, Red - the colors of the Italian flag. And nothing beats fresh ingredients that taste delicious: the fresh zing of the slight acidic tomatoes, the tart, rich balsamico and lush, fruit olive oil mixed with the creamy, soft mozzarella texture, all bound together with that fresh surprise, but flavor that we all know too well - basil! Isn't it just delicious? And easy...

So this is my Italian Eats ode to my readers :) Enjoy the food porn photos...It's easy to make and nothing beats homemade pesto. Make it in a huge batch, and you will have plenty to last. 

Pesto also goes great over Tomato & Mozzarella (when there isn't fresh basil around), fish, or even as a bit of spread on bread.

So I hope you feel a little inspired to make something simple but tasty at home... Until the next QuAC or culinary adventure...

[smallhanded QuAC] #2 - Answer & Create

Good morning everyone! So last month I asked my dear readers for Question, Answer, Create #2 "What is your favorite season?"
Let's look at the results...

An overwhelming number of you love Fall - the current season that we are experiencing here in the US. 

For me this season is special too, and I were to have voted in my own poll, I would have selected Fall as well. Why? Because the oven gets cranked up, lots of delicious smells of savory and sweet baking, the preparation and anticipation for Christmas starts, and some of my favorite holidays such as Halloween & Thanksgiving are right in this season. We also get one "extra hour" of sleep when Daylight Savings end ;) But the best part is that the harvest is completely in full-bloom before everything lies dormant on the field. Some of my favorite ingredients pop up now, such as squash of all kinds, kale, cabbage - you name it! 

I think I should start celebrating this season by grabbing a pumpkin spice latte and salted caramel - two of my favorite drinks on the Starbucks menu!

I hope you'll consider joining me in creating something inspired by the Fall season. Apple pie? a card? a project? anything goes...as long as you will make it an ode to Fall. Your projects are due Nov 8, 2012 - feel free to link up.

I have a small giveaway for one random player. It's something small to enjoy the fall season ;)

Ta for now!

[smallhanded QuAC] #3 - What kinds of crafting do you enjoy?

Good morning everyone! Time for a new poll.... 

For QuAC #3, this month I want to know what kinds of crafts do you enjoy? Do you paint, knit / crochet, scrap, make card, pottery, glass beading, felt, cross-stitch...?

Let's hear those answers.

[smallhanded QuAC] Question, Answer & Create Update

Good morning everyone! The weekend is almost over on the US East Coast. Sighs... back to the grind tomorrow. I have lots lined up, so I have no time to kill!

I haven't had a chance to work through my Italian project yet, but my plan was making Pesto from scratch and enjoying it with some tomato & mozzarella salad. It has all the colors of Italy right there, and has the some of the best simple flavors that can work magic. Fresh, bright, and rich...

Too bad work has been super busy so I haven't had a chance to harvest my Basil.

So from now on, the schedule is such for our QuAC...

1st of every month - a new question goes up at 12:01 am
7th of every month - the answer part gets re-capped and the creation starts. You have one month to make a project with the results of the readers as your inspiration

A small giveaway to one random player is up for grabs for September's QuAC #1. Something Italian and something delicious...You have 8 more days to enter :) I hope you will consider joining me.

Talk soon!

[smallhanded QuAC] Question, Answer, Create #1 - What's your favorite Cuisine?

Good morning everyone! It's September - can you believe it? I'm in luck because in the US we are enjoying a three-day weekend. Mine will be filled with work, work, work, some crafting, some friends and hopefully some cooking!

I'm so ecstatic. My poll got answered! That means my project idea didn't completely flop. I was really anxious for the first couple of days, checking back and grumbling over my counter not moving...but a whopping 14 of you answered! How brilliant is that?! Thank you to those that did partake. I hope it was a little bit of fun...Ready for the next one? (Yes I'm tempting fate a second time - keep reading and you will realize I am tempting my luck even more by asking you to join me for QAC #1... ;)

Since it's the first of the next month, I have decided to put up a Question, Answer, Create #2. This time, I want to know what your favorite season is! Fall is almost here... time to bring out the coats and warm cardigans. So go ahead and punch in your answer! If your answer choice isn't up there, feel free to write in an answer in the comments section. Just make sure to add that this is for QAC #2 (if the answer isn't obvious).

Also - if you have ideas for some fabulous questions that you're dying to answer or see others answer, please leave them as comments. I might just pick one of them, and who knows, some of you guys might have some very creative ones.

So how did the first Question, Answer, Create #1 turn out?

(I apologize for the really bad screen capture, but now that I have already deleted the poll, I can't re-take it. Drats! "Check the image, Ren-Yi" - something new for me to remember. In case you are wondering, the first cuisine choice is American)

By one vote, you guys like Italian food the best. Followed by a close second of Chinese food. Thank you to those 14 who voted! :)

In case you're wondering what my answer would have been: I love all kinds of food, I don't think I could have chosen just one answer ;) Italian is a favorite solid in my kitchen, I love my mum's chinese cooking, but I am currently craving Korean. And I had a lot of sushi & sashimi last week. Heehee. My answer is clear as mud, right?

Well then, I better go think up something "Italian" inspired for you all...

I would like to invite you to join me on the creation portion. Come create something Italian inspired - it can be anything from a card, to a dish, to a restaurant experience, to a creative writing piece, or a travel narrative - the choice is up to you; you just have to create something and hopefully these will inspire folks. We have until September 31 to get cracking. 

I have included a link below, so that we can visit each other's creations. I hope you will consider joining me :) If this isn't a complete flop (with no one entering), I'm planning on highlighting some entries mid-month after the challenge closes. Maybe I will send a small prize to those who play along? I'll go mull this over...

Edited: I had a thought driving today. What about renaming the QAC to QuAC? Like Quack Quack ducky sounds, except spelled QuAC? Let me know if it could be catchy.

Ta for now!