Let's Make Lasagna Rollups

 Chicken & Spinach Lasagna Rollups with a Mixed Spring Greens and Cherry Tomato Salad

Today I was inspired by Pinterest to make some lasagna rollups for Sunday dinner. These are just lasagna pasta rolled up with filling rather than layered. The original recipe calls for ricotta, Parmesan, and chicken only, but I added chopped frozen spinach, one cooked & diced carrot, and oregano. I ran out of chicken mixture and had to make 4 of them with ricotta, Parmesan, and "mixed Italian cheeses."

 

Lasagna rollups standing upright and ready to be topped with marinara.

The original recipe has the rollups laying "flat" with the seams at the bottom. I thought it looked nicer with the rollups standing upright. I was a bit concerned the cheese might soften too much while cooking and slide out the bottom but it didn't; works perfectly. Before you put the rollups in the baking dish, spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom to keep them from sticking.

 Before baking . . . 

Top with sauce and cheese, and bake in a 375-400F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the lasagna is hot and the cheese is bubbly.

After baking!

Salad of spring greens and cherry tomatoes with lasagna rollups.

I served my lasagna with a simple salad of mixed spring greens and sliced cherry tomatoes, dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette, and sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan cheese. I made about 15 rollups using this method, so it helps if you need to prepare a lot of lasagna in a small baking dish. This recipe made plenty of leftover rollups which will make a perfect Monday lunch (and dinner).

Let's Decorate for Xmas

On my walk home from a sandwich last weekend, I spied some overgrown holly hedges outside an abandoned hotel and used my trusty pocket knife to prune a big branch. I took the branch home and stuck it in an old lamp base. Ta da! A seasonal flower arrangement that doesn't need water and won't turn brown for weeks.

 

I lucked out: this lamp base looks sort of like a snowy evergreen tree or pinecone.

DIY Simple, Season-long Flower Arrangement

1 lamp base with shade and guts removed
1 big-ish holly branch
Pruning shears, knife, saw; as needed

Prune/trim the branch and leaves as needed to fit and remain standing in the lamp base without tipping over. Alternately, this could also work with a naked branch which could then be spray painted any color or texture (glitter), decorated with tiny ornaments, lit with tiny LED lights, and/or without any adornment be a nice decorative piece any time.

Let's Go Shopping: The Day That Must Not Be Named

In spite of not at all enjoying crowds of tryptophan-addled shopping zombies all trying to suck the brain juices from the same item, I did go shopping on The Day That Must Not Be Named . . . . but to some thrift stores and JoAnn's.

From l to r: Master Book of Bonsai compiled by the Directors of the Japan Bonsai Association, An Easy Guide to Japanese Flower Arranging Styles by Lida Webb, Under the Trees and Through the Grass by Alvin Tresselt, Mister Penny's Circus by Marie Hall Ets, Betty Crocker's Paries for Children, Swimmy by Leo Lionni, Know the Stars by H. A. Rey, The Egg Tree by Katherin Milhous, Gardening with Terrariums and Sand Sculpture by Rex E. Mabe, Cutco Cook Book by Margaret Mitchell (I assume not the ghost of the same Margaret Mitchell who wrote Gone with the Wind)

Thrift stores were not playing around. One I went to: everything 50% off. Here is where I bought a bunch of books. I have a real serious fondness for old children's books, especially from the 1960's, with neat-o illustrations -- they are great sources of inspiration.

Murder! and Burglary

Betty Crocker's Parties for Children is extremely amusing to me.  From 1964, this book has some really terrific illustrations. Among the party game ideas are Murder and Burglary.

 
Caveman and cavewoman, smoking pig, children fondling sausages, chicken otolaryngologist

The Cutco Cook Book from 1961 also has amusing illustrations. I particularly like the smoking pig.

Things nearly organized neatly

At another thrift store I got some rick rack, felt Halloween stickers, and vintage souvenir patches.

From l to r, back row: Andrea Katz Objects for Vogue patterns V1102, Donna Karan for Vogue patterns V1220,  Butterick Double-breasted coat B5685, Butterick gloves B5695, Stitcher's Revolution Roaring into the 20s SR14. From l to right, front row: fat quarters, DMC floss, elastic threaders, loop turner, fat quarters.

Technically, I went to Joann's on Saturday but the shopping mood was the same. I picked up a few patterns, some embroidery thread, and some fat quarters, but most excitingly, a loop turner tool and a set of elastic threading tools. You don't really need a loop turner or elastic threader (you can use a safety pin) but these tools do make doing those things easier and the price was right. Merry Xmas to me.

I've decided I want to tackle making a quilt -- a simple patchwork quilt to start. Have you ever made a quilt? No? Let's make one together! (Unless I realize quickly I wasn't put on this Earth to make quilts, I plan to write about my attempt.)

Finally, have you been living under a rock in a cave on Mars, or have you heard of Pinterest? If you like crafty-makey anything, you'll love it. Pinterest website where you can curate virtual pin boards for any theme. You can add new pins of your own or repin from others boards. I feel like crafts, fashion, and foods are probably the most popular types of boards but there are also boards for art, travel . . . everything. Lately, I've been lovingly working on my Xmas board and it's given me a lot of ideas. Feel free to follow me!

Let's Make an Advent Calendar

An advent calendar garland created with origami balloons.

I first came to know of Advent calendars when I lived in Germany as a little kid in the late 80s. Let me tell you, the Germans make awesome Advent calendars. Usually they are filled with chocolate but I once had an Advent calendar filled with tiny toys. I have one tiny toy left from that calendar: a little robot/alien charm.

The only surviving tinker toy from my super awesome German advent calendar. He's a little robot or alien (I think) charm.

Last week I got the idea to make an Advent calendar garland using origami balloons. Origami balloons are really easy to make and study enough to hold a few pieces of candy or tinker toys. The fold makes and encapsulated cube but on one side is a slit in which small candies or toys can easily be slipped in side. Let's get started!

You Will NeedString or ribbon
24 pieces of paper measuring 8"x8"
Small individually wrapped candies, tinker toys, or whatever small things to fit in your balloons
Bone folder or spoon, optional
Hole punch and string -OR- binder clips

An origami balloon [instructions here] is one of the easiest things to fold. Basically, every fold you make on one side, you make on the other side.

The key to folding nice origami is creating clean, crisp folds. To do this, it's helpful to have a bone folder which is a tool that helps make sharp creases. You can also use the back of a spoon, or just your fingernail.

To beigin, I made a template 8"x8" square. Keep in mind that whatever size your square is, your cube will be 1/4 that size on each side, so an 8"x8" square will make a 2"x2"x2" cube.

Use the template to trace and cut 24 squares and then fold 24 balloons. I won't lie — folding 24 of these things takes time.

If you have to push your balloons into shape, I suggest you start on this end (the end with no hole).

I used heavy weight scrapbook paper. Because of its weight I couldn't just blow into the form to create the 3D shape. If you use a heavier weight paper you will have to carefully push the form into shape. I suggest you start with the pointed end that does not have the hole. Push this into shape. Then push the other end into shape. Lightly press each edge so that it forms a nice line and creates a neat cube.

Chocolate and toys go here.

Next slip the prizes inside. My 2"x2" balloons were easily able to hold 4 Hershey's miniature candies.

✿ Tip: If you use Reese's mini cups, it's easier to slip inside a cube this size right side up. Kisses go in easiest pointy end first.

 1) Thread the elastic through the hole. 2) Loop and secure to twine. 3) Loop again and catch the twine in the loop; secure. 4) Finish by tying a bow.

Now attach the balloons to your string. I used a 1/16" hole punch and tie them on with metallic coated elastic cord. Space them out along the string evenly. Then you just need to hang the garland and start counting down the days until Xmas!

Don't just watch TV -- let's make something!

✿ Notes ✿
The type of paper you use is up to you. However, physics comes into play a lot when folding paper. You can really only fold a piece of paper so many times before it won't fold anymore (or falls apart).

If you choose a paper that is very lightweight (20# bond -- like wrapping paper or cheap printer paper) the form is easier to fold and inflate, BUT one side is apt to droop under the weight of the candy. 

If you choose a heavier paper (60# - 80# -- swank printer paper/resume rag), the form will be harder to fold after so many folds and will not inflate like a balloon but require you to do as I did -- push the form into shape -- BUT when you put the prizes inside, the form will stay neatly square.

DO NOT use card stock. It's not worth the trouble unless you're going to make a really, really big balloon and use clamps to create crisp edges.

There is a sweet spot when it comes to the size of square (6"-10"-ish). Too small: harder to fold and manipulate, candy won't fit. Too large: your paper may droop and the shape may not hold so well.

You can add numbers to the balloons.

Let's Cook Squash: Sweet Pumpkin

    

Turban squash with eyes and a shy pie pumpkin (l) and examples of fruit with buboes (r).

I bought some small weird squash to pal around with Mr. Pumpkin (amazingly still around). Spaghetti squash, turban squash, [pie] pumpkin, and two ornamental squash: one yellow with wings and one black with bumps. Woogly eyes!

Roasted pumpkin cooling on a rack.

Pie pumpkin is the kind of pumpkin one uses to make . . . . pie. They are smaller and sweeter than carving pumpkins. It's typically roasted first which causes the sugars inside to cook and ooze out of the exposed flesh: pumpkin syrup.

How to Roast Pumpkin
Heat oven to 375F. Slice off the very top of the pumpkin to remove the stem. Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Scoop and scrape away the goop and seeds inside (save the seeds!). Place pumpkin skin side own in a cookie sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is roasted the skin peels away easily.

Allow to cool so try can be handled. Peel away the skin which comes away easily.

Chop the flesh into cubes and either purée in a food processor adding just a tiny bit of water if needed, OR chop and mince finely by hand which is what I did.

Roasted pumpkin seeds.

What to do with the seeds: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pull the seeds away from the goop and rinse them in a strainer. Pick out all strings and goopy bits. Drain and dry seeds with paper towels. Spread seeds on a baking sheet, sprinkle a bit of salt over them, and bake at 300 for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Neat thing about roasted pumpkin seeds: you can eat the shells.

What the hell do you do with it now?
I did two things: tamale pie and . . . pumpkin pie.

Tamale pie.

Tamale pie is a casserole made with chili and corn bread batter. Basically, you put the chili in the bottom of a casserole dish, top it with corn bread batter, and bake it until the batter is done. The corn bread cooks up moist and delicious and not unlike a tamale (a bit drier). I added 1/2 cup of pumpkin to my corn bread batter. Tamale pie goes excellently with salsa, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt, or some peppery-spicy something.

What does that do? It adds moisture, density, and color to the bread. Also it adds additional nutrients. Also it makes use of the left over 1/2 cup of pumpkin I/you did/may have in preparation for the next recipe.

Pumpkin Pie

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
2C pumpkin purée
3/4-1C sugar
2T brown sugar
8 oz (1 block) cream cheese, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4C warm milk
2T butter, room temperature
1t vanilla extract
1.5t cinnamon
1/2t allspice
1/2t nutmeg
1 prepared pie shell

Add spices and extract to pumpkin and combine.  Combine sugars, cream cheese, butter, egg, and milk. Fold pumpkin mixture into cream cheese mixture. Pour into pie shell and bake at 375F for 50 minutes. Allow to cool before serving (if served warm, it will have a fluffy texture). Refrigerate.

Pie Notes:
•  You can warm up your milk with 3-4 whole cloves to add more flavor. Remove them before using the milk in the pie (°_o) 
 •  I topped my pie with chopped walnuts before baking.

Let's Make a Moon Burger

Currently, McDonald's Japan is offering a burger called Tsukimi Burger or Moon-Viewing Burger -- or Moon Burger if you ask Google Translate -- in honor of autumn moon-viewing. I know this because one thing I like to do is see what interesting things US food chains offer in other countries. McDonald's are tailored to the food norms of wherever it is located and McDonald's Japan probably has the best offerings. To this, I am often totally baffled at what Japan gets and the US does not. For example, McDonald's Japan has this potato and bacon hashbrown thing. I'm telling you right now that Americans will eat potatoes and bacon combined together and fried.

I digress.

McDonald's Japan 

Moon Burger. A Moon Burger is a burger with an egg, bacon, and Aurora sauce (or "Aurora source," as translated from Japanese if you ask Google Translate) and frankly, that sounds awesome.

In truth, I wasn't sure what aurora sauce (with video) is, but it is just Béchamel sauce (with video) with cream and tomato paste. It's supposed to look like the pink dawn sky and is often served with eggs. I highly recommend watching these videos on making Béchamel sauce and aurora sauce if you are unfamiliar with making roux and creating sauces, and because the woman who creates the sauces calls herself The Sauceress and she explains the process very well.

Let's make a moon burger.

Ingredients
Makes 4 Moon Burgers 
1 C Aurora sauce
1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, whatever)
half onion, chopped (you can use the other half to make the Béchamel sauce)
about 8 slices cooked bacon
4 hamburger buns
4 eggs
Salt and pepper

First, make your Béchamel sauce. Following this make the aurora sauce. Set aside.

Béchamel sauce on the right, aurora sauce on the left.

Brown the onion. Allow to cool (now would be a good time to cook the bacon if you haven't) and add to ground meat and mix.  Add a little salt and pepper. (You can add whatever you like to the meat to make the sort of burger you enjoy -- so if you hate onion, leave it out -- just make four burgers.) Form into 4 patties and cook to your liking.

While you're making the burgers, make your eggs. You can cook the eggs how ever you wish: fried, over easy, poached . . .

At McDonald's the eggs are fried in a ring to produce a perfectly round shape that easily fits onto a sandwich. It isn't necessary to make a round egg -- just make an egg egg.

If you want a round egg and you don't have egg rings, you can use a metal biscuit/cookie cutter about the size of your bun (any shape; doesn't have to round) or pancake rings. I've also seen forum discussions where people used metal cans (like tuna fish cans) with both ends removed and canning rings. If it's heat proof and food safe, you can probably use it.

Just grease the skillet (make sure it has as smooth bottom or the egg will seep out under the ring), let it heat up (also prevents the egg seeping out of the ring), slip the egg in the ring, and cook until set. If you add a tiny bit of water around the rings and cover the skillet with a lid, the eggs will cook more quickly and evenly (this is basically poaching).

You can also just microwave the eggs in a bowl about the size of your bun (don't use a bowl that is too deep, narrow or your egg won't cook all the way -- the depth of the egg should be under 2 inches). Grease the bowl, slip the egg in, prick the yolk a few times with a tooth pick, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for about 1-2 minutes. Leave the egg in the microwave and let the white set. You may have to experiment with this because the wattage of microwaves vary.

Now assemble your moon burger: bun bottom, burger, egg, bacon, aurora sauce, bun top. VOILA!

 Aurora Sauce

Let's Read: Volume 1, Issue 1

Tuesday I picked up two books: I Am Maru and Cake Pops. Apparently, this is the week I buy books from entities made famous by the Internet.

 The many faces of Maru.

I Am Maru by mugumogu is the first Maru book (there is a second, Japanese-only, book). Maru is an adorable prick-eared Scottish Fold cat from Japan with a strong fondness for boxes who has his own You Tube channel. The book is just a few of the blog posts and You Tube videos discussed with some additional photographs, but it's still extremely cute and worth picking up if you like adorable things. For me the best part of the book is the floor plan of Maru's apartment because I've often been curious as to how that space is laid out.

Wipe your chin.

Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats by Bakerella is the Bakerella cake pop book. Bakerella is the pseudonym/nom de plume for blogger, Angie Dudley, who writes the baking blog Bakerella. I've mentioned Bakerella in the past when I made cheesecake balls.

The Bakerella book is similar to the Maru book in that is basically the blog/online presence condensed into book. While this is somewhat redundant with the Maru book, it really works with the Bakerella book as you don't have to be online to reference the site if you're making cake balls. The book is nicely laid out with the first half being about the basics of creating different types of cake balls, and the second half being instructions for creating different themed cake balls. The book is spiral bound so it lays flat making it easier to use in the kitchen.

Either of these books would make an excellent gift (Christmas is practically tomorrow). I sort of justified buying them because my birthday is coming up, but honestly, you never need to justify buying books.

Let's Make Toast Cups

I found the idea for toast cups on Martha Stewart. They are really easy to make and the ingredients can be changed to fit whatever tastes or pantry permits.

What I Used
Yields 2

2 slices whole wheat bread
melted butter
2 eggs
2 T cheese
2 slices cooked turkey bacon
2 tiny yellow tomatoes, stem ends trimmed and sliced in half
1 stalk green onion, chopped
salt and pepper

For the most part I followed the original directions. Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter each cup of the muffin tin.

Trim the crust from the bread and flatted it, but don't bother with cutting it out with a round cookie cutter. Just brush a small amount of butter on each side and pressed each slice into a space on the tin.

For each cup use one slice of bacon. Break the pointed ends off the bacon and crumble the rest into the cup. Add 1 T cheese to each cup. Break one egg into each cup. Add sliced tomatoes and green onion. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until the eggs are just set.

Let's Press

 Do you know what a cast iron panini press is good for?

Pressing tofu! 

If you have a cast iron panini press you can use it to press the moisture out of tofu. Just wrap the tofu in paper towels (or a lint-free dish towel -- here I have a non-lint-free towel on the bottom and the tofu wrapped in paper towels) and place the panini press on top. Ta da!

Let's Update: African Violets

A few weeks ago I wrote about how to make African violets from cuttings. In that entry I said that it is easily possible for damaged leaves to make successful cuttings and I want to back that up with photographic evidence.

Some of the large outer leaves of this violet were damaged at the nursery, most likely from rough handling, but as you can see, they rooted just the same and now these cuttings are ready to be potted.

In other news, I've been saving these Greek yogurt containers as a first container for my violet cuttings. African violets prefer wide, shallow pots and these containers seem to be the perfect size and shape for young violets -- just drill a hole in the bottom. See the stack in the background? I anticipate being inundated with baby violets. What the hell am I gong to do with 25+ violet plants?