Tomorrow Farm Fiber Arts: January 2011

January 31, 2011

Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop 2/1 - Snow Cream

Have you heard the news? There's a BIG snow storm headed our way!

Someone mentioned to me today that they were hoping to make snow cream. Snow cream?? I'd never heard of such thing. It seems I had a terrible childhood because I never experienced this treat. From everyone's comments and what I found online it must be good.

I haven't made this recipe, but it's from a trusted source. This recipe is from the great Paula Deen so it's got to be tasty.

With all the snow they are predicting we should have plenty to make this. I may just let the kids have at it and let them have fun. What better way to enjoy a blizzard than to eat it!

If you make this or you've made snow cream before, please let me know. I'd love to hear about your experience.

Snow Cream

8 cups snow, or shaved ice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

For more great recipes visit Hearth and Soul, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays , What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

The Big One?

Have you seen the news? Maybe a national weather report?

The snow is coming they say and it's supposed to be big. Blizzard like conditions are expected with snowfalls of 1"-2" per hour for several hours. That is a whole lot of snow!

When you hear a storm predicted like this what do you do? Do you freak out? Move to Florida? Or do you just take it in stride being that this is in fact winter?

I stopped at the store today and it was packed and so busy! Normally a Monday early afternoon finds the grocery store quiet and uneventful. The only thing I can figure is that people were panicked about the storm.

I've seen the news reports before where people are clearing the shelves of water and canned foods. I've never seen it in person though. Today wasn't that bad, but I'm sure things may be more scarce tomorrow if people keep freaking out.

I made sure we had enough milk, TP and tissues, but most everyday we are ready for something like this.

The pantry is well stocked, we have wood for heat piled up and plenty of books and other non-electric things to do in case the power goes out. Storms and power outages don't bother us much because we are prepared.

Are you?

How will you spend this week's blizzard?

January 27, 2011

Crafty Friday 1/28 - The Shawl is Finished!

I finished it finally! Whohoo! I tweaked the pattern a lot though and I'm still trying to wade through my notes.

I know that makes it tough for any of you that chose to knit a long with me and if you are absolutely desperate for the rest just send me a message. I can send you the ruffle edge pattern as soon as I get it written up.

Otherwise I will post the pattern for next weeks Crafty Friday.

I love how the handspun yarn really makes this shawl a beautiful accessory.

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.

January 25, 2011

Waltz On By Wednesday Blog Hop - 1/26

Welcome to Waltz On By Wednesday hosted by Home Sweet Farm. The goal of this hop is to get new Google Friend Connect Followers for your blog and be introduced to new blogs to follow! We wanted to keep it fun and easy so all you have to do is add your blog link and start blog hopping and following away! You aren’t required to write a post for your blog for Waltz On By Wednesday unless you want to (but we really appreciate it if you do to help get the word out).

When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the WOB Wednesday. Of course, we would love for you to follow your hostess blog, Home Sweet Farm, but it isn’t mandatory. If you do follow us, just leave us a comment and we will follow you back.

The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!

January 24, 2011

Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop 1/25 - Tomato Basil Skewers

I don't know what it's been like where you are, but here the weather has been arctic like. We've had negative temps overnight and single digits during the day. Today was the first day in a week that it was near normal temperatures.

These cold days have put me in the mood for summer food. I am currently dreaming of potato salad, lemonade, grilled steaks and strawberry shortcake. Oh summer where are you?

Since I am in a summery mood, I am going to share with you a very yummy summer appetizer. It's especially good with tomato and basil right from the garden.

Tomato Basil Skewers

20 grape or cherry tomatoes
20 fresh basil leaves
20 small balls fresh mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar dressing
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, marinate the mozzarella cheese in the dressing for at least 2 hours.

Using a toothpick, spear a tomato, a basil leaf and a mozzarella ball. Repeat until 20 toothpicks are filled. Place on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For more great recipes visit Hearth and Soul, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays , What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

January 20, 2011

Crafty Friday 1/21

Happy Friday! Sorry I don't have anything clever or crafty today for you. Life happens sometimes and plans don't always go the way you want.

{{Sigh}}

I can't wait to see you craftiness this week though!

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

January 18, 2011

Waltz On By Wednesday Blog Hop - 1/19

January 17, 2011

Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop 1/18 - Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

If your house is anything like my house, you go through a whole lot of tacos. Well, tacos, nachos, enchiladas....any kind of Mexican will do.

Do you ever realize at the last minute that you are out of taco seasoning packets? Me too. Even with a fairly well stocked pantry it still happens.

Here is a great make at home taco seasoning to have on hand on your spice shelf or as a last minute "save your bacon" substitute.

Don't forget to add your recipe to the linky below! We all love new food ideas!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 tbls. Chili powder
1/4 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes and dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp each freshly ground pepper and salt

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

For more great recipes visit Hearth and Soul, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays , What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

January 13, 2011

Crafty Friday Blog Hop 1/14 - Shawl Knit-a-Long Part 2

Happy Friday! It's been a great week here. I'm almost sorry it's over......almost.

My shawl is not nearly as far along as I wanted it to be. I wanted to be showing you the edge by now, but alas, I got distracted. No surprise there, but I promise to work hard this weekend so I can continue the pattern next week.

The first part of the pattern can be found here.

This is the current progress. I'm thinking maybe it needs a longer needle, but I realized I don't have a longer one so..... I'll see if I can cram it all on there.

What have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

January 11, 2011

Waltz On By Wednesday Blog Hop - 1/12

Wordless Wednesday - Snow Much Love

Heart of Haiti - Crafting for a Cause

One year ago an earthquake hit the small nation of Haiti. Towns were destroyed and families were separated.

I recently learned about Heart of Haiti, a project that supports Haitian artisans and their families and communities that are suffering after last year’s devastating earthquake.

I think it’s really easy, especially with today’s short attention spans, to just move on and forget the horrible devastation that occurred and the people that are still hurting, but this nation still needs our help. What I love about Heart of Haiti is that it gives each one of us another way of showing our support.

We are not offering just our money, but supporting this worthwhile cause by allowing them to rebuild their communities one craft at a time. These items are really amazing! They are beautiful, functional works of art that I'd be proud to have in my home. You can find all of them here at

http://bit.ly/HeartofHaiti-ShopforABetterWorld

These are a couple of my favorite things:

Isn't this bowl absolutely beautiful?

And these napkin rings make me want to actually use my cloth napkins.

There’s lots of great stuff on this site to check out. If you’ve got some shopping to do, want to get a head start on Valentine’s Day, or just because, why not get a great unique gift and give back at the same time.

You can also check out this article about the awesome woman behind this movement, Willa Shalit.

I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.

January 10, 2011

Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop 1/11 - Corn Fritters

A veggie recipe for even the pickiest eater! Or rather...how I got my picky eater to eat corn. Hehe.

I love corn. It's by far my fave veggie, but not everyone feels the same way I do. My youngest will eat it a little, but pigs out on these.

I like them with syrup, but they can also be eaten with mustard, salsa and anything else your mind can imagine. However you choose to dip them, enjoy! Yum!

Don't forget the linky at the bottom! I love seeing all of your wonderfully tasty goodies!

Corn Fritters

3 cups oil for frying

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon shortening, melted

1 (12 ounce) can whole kernel corn,

drained

	Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
	In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat together egg, milk, and melted shortening; stir into flour mixture. Mix in the corn kernels. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

For more great recipes visit Two For Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays , What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

January 06, 2011

Crafty Friday 1/7 - Shawl Knit-a-Long

Happy New Year!! Welcome to the first Crafty Friday of 2011!

What's the weather like where you are? This is what it's looked like here most of the day. We're in a Winter Weather warning because of lake effect snow. At least it's pretty to look at and I'm not the one who has to shovel it. Hehe.

I started a project this week and thought it'd be fun if some of you wanted to knit it yourselves and share. It's super easy and pretty.

I spun this skein of yarn last weekend and it was just begging to be used in something that would show of it's colors. So the triangle shawl was born. I chose to knit it in a simple garter stitch (knit both sides) to blend the color changes as it goes. I'm really happy with it so far. What do you think?

This shawl is a great way to showcase your handspun yarn, but yarn you bought would work equally as well. Mine is fingering weight, but sport or DK weight would work too.

Here's what you need to get you started:
400-450 yds. fingering weight yarn (sport or Dk weight)
size 5 circ needle 24" or longer (you can go up a size or 2 if you wish for yarn other than fingering)

Set up:
CO 3 sts
Row 1:K1, YO, pm, k1, YO, k1
Row 2: knit all sts

Shawl:
RS rows:K1, YO, k to 1 stitch before marker, k1fb, slip m, k1fb, k to 1 st left, YO, k
WS rows:k all sts

Repeat these 2 rows until there are 233 stitches.

Abbreviations:
pm - place stitch marker
k1fb - knit 1 stitch and then without removing it knit into the back of the stitch (creates a new stitch)
YO - yarn over

Stay tuned for the rest of the shawl next week. Make sure to leave a comment below if you are going to knit along with me.

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

January 04, 2011

Waltz On By Wednesday Blog Hop - 1/5

Wordless Wednesday - Hi New Little Cousin

How Did You Spend Your New Year's Weekend?

After the ball dropped and the parties ended, how did you spend the first weekend of the new year?

The kids spent new year's eve at Grandma's so the hubby and I got the house to ourselves. (Never, ever happens!) The problem was I was awake 3 hours earlier than usual. I think it was because the house sounds were different. Whatever the reason it was seriously annoying. The one morning I could have slept in!

Because I was up so early I ended up getting the kids back from the grandparents early. They didn't mind though because we had big plans for the day.

We stayed home and had a monopoly tournament! I put some munchies in crockpots along with veggies and fruits to snack on and we spent the day playing the never ending real estate game.

The game went on for awhile and we snacked on BBQ smokies and my Mexican dip. I lost.... I was so sad. Oh well.

Sunday was just as quiet here. The kids got control of the DVD player and we watched many, many episodes of Star Trek Voyager (we love Sci-fi!). The girls worked on crafts and such while they watched and I spent the entire day knitting.

It was so wonderful to just relax with no plans and nothing that needed done right then. I got so much knitting done that my Blizzard Mitts are nearly complete and I'm getting ready to have the pattern test knit. I'd love to have this pattern available in our Etsy shop before it gets too warm for them. :o)

Sunday night I also realized that the phone never rang even once all weekend. I wish we could have weekend like that more often.

January 03, 2011

Delectable Tuesday 1/4 - Veggie Chowder

Hello and Happy New Year!! Hope 2011 is treating you right so far.

This weeks recipe is one of my fave soups and it is especially good on these cold winter days for lunch. I normally serve this with a salad or a sandwich and even my picky eater thinks it's good. (I think it's all the cheese!)

You can use just about any cheese in this soup. Pick your favorite!

Don't forget the linky at the bottom! I love seeing all of your wonderfully tasty goodies!

Veggie Chowder

2 cups water
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes (frozen hash browns work great)
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups whole milk
1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender (do not drain).

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into the vegetable mixture. Add corn and cheese. Cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

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