Be Careful What you wish for....

Just 2 days ago I was making a blog post about my overly ambitious plans to skirt, wash, card, spin and knit a skirt for the National Alpaca Conference by May 5th. I was doubting my sanity and wondering if I'd ever have the time to get it done.

Well.....

Shortly after that I took a tumble down the stairs.

Don't worry. Nothing's broken, but things aren't exactly perfect either. The bruises to my back and foot are enough to keep me in my chair most of the time.

This has allowed me to get a huge start on my project. All of Chu Chu's fleece is now skirted and washed. I was even able to start carding up some of it and gave about an ounce a whirl on the wheel. It's spinning up great even in my novice hands. Considering I've only finished 4 skeins of yarn, I'm doing pretty good I think.

So be careful what you wish for....you don't know how you'll end up getting it.

Fiber Fun Wednesday -- I may be crazy, but it'll be crazy fun

There is nothing more crazy than waiting 'til the last minute to do something. Now, technically this isn't the last minute, but....let me explain.

I decided today, completely out of the blue, to make something for the fiber arts competition at the National Alpaca Conference. The deadline to enter is May 5th. Maybe not too terrible if I wanted to make something simple like a scarf or a hat. Even a pair of socks might be okay.

Unfortunately I can't make it that easy, I decided that I am going to make a knitted skirt. The first I've ever tried to make.

It gets better.....I'm going to spin up the yarn for it myself. Again, not too bad, but....

The fleece I've decided to use is still in the bag from shearing. It hasn't even been skirted yet.

Now do you think I'm crazy?? I know I do, but I always seem to do my best work up against a deadline. I hope that holds true in this case.

The alpaca who is lovingly donating her fiber to me is named Chu Chu. She is a beautiful medium brown suri who at the moment is really filling out with her first pregnancy. She looks so cute pudging out in the middle. She's bred to the amazing WWR Rockstar's Golden Sun (yes his daddy is Our Accoyo Peruvian Rockstar). Can't wait to see that baby. :o)

I'll keep you up to date on the progress and together we can see if I make this crazy deadline.

Recipe of the week -- Chicken and Cashew Fried Rice

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!! I made this the other night and it was AMAZING!!!

I've never been that good at any type of fried rice recipe, but this was easy and turned out unbelievable!

I am a magazine junkie, just ask Jim. He is constantly rolling his eyes at me when we get to the checkout lane because I just have to get a magazine or two. I tell him it's why he eats so good. I get a lot of recipes from magazines or at least ideas for recipes since they don't always fit our tastes.

This recipe is a perfect example. I ripped this out of an All You magazine (sold at Wal-mart exclusively I believe). The date on the magazine is Jan. 22, 2010. I actually have binders of magazine pages sorted out by category of recipes I want to try. This one just happened to be sitting next to my chair waiting to go in the binder when I decided to make it.

Boy am I glad I did. It was wonderful and it has so many possibilities beyond the way it was written up. I'll share some of my thoughts after the recipe. (The original recipe used fresh ginger, but I never have that around. I substituted ground ginger in it's place)


Chicken and Cashew Fried Rice

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
3 tbls. vegetable oil
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz. snow peas, trimmed
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup chicken broth
4 cups cooked white rice
3 tbls. chopped roasted cashews

Combine chicken and 2 tbls. teriyaki sauce in a bowl and set aside. Warm 1 1/2 tbls. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl.

Add green onions, garlic and remaining vegetable oil to skillet and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add snow peas, chicken broth and ginger, cover and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in rice, chicken and remaining 2 tbls. teriyaki sauce and cook, stirring, until rice is heated through. Sprinkle cashews on top and serve immediately.


This was soooo good I snitched Jim's leftovers the next day for lunch. I rarely eat leftovers so this was a big deal for me.

Now I think you could substitute just about any veggie you would like in this. My first thought was broccoli in place of the snow peas, but mushrooms, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, or any of your favorites would work. Most should cook about the same except the broccoli which will take a little longer to become cooked through.

I know it's really hard to make good Chinese food at home and I'm sure this isn't very authentic, but it is really good so enjoy a little taste of China at home.