The next step in The Great Living Room Project ™ is underway, although
there were a few hiccups. Speaking of hiccups, Winston gets them all
the time. Should I be worried about this? They only last for a minute
or so, but I’ve never known a dog to have the hiccups so often.

Anyway,
back to the GLRP. I started on some curtains. I’ve had this green
fabric for quite a long time, and I wanted to pair it with some nice,
light, white to keep things bright and sunny. I picked up a pair of
sheers from Ikea for $9.99, thinking they would work well and be
economical to boot. I also originally thought that they would be cute
with long, skinny tied tabs and then I realized that for three windows,
with two panels each, I’d be making skinny ties for the rest of the
year. So, I made one curtain, minus ties, and my economical solution
was economical for a reason. The fabric from the Ikea curtains was too
light, and the grain was way off, so it was a big pain to cut out and
then it didn’t hang right. Back to the drawing board. I have some
natural linen, which I will be using to slip-cover the wing chair, so I
decided to try that. Unfortunately, it was slightly narrower than my
green fabric, of which I was using a full width for each panel, so I
had to piece it together, and I didn’t even have to sew it to the green
before realizing that it was way too heavy and where I had to seam it was just way too stiff. So, on to the next option.
I had a couple pieces of a nice linen-cotton blend. Again, I had to
piece it, but it’s light enough that it doesn’t affect the drape of the
fabric at all, and it’s heavy enough that it works well with the green.
So, I think we have a winner. Two panels are done, except for the
hemming, and the rest are all cut out, so I may try to get one done
each evening.

So, yeah, it’s quite green. I don’t care though, I like it. It’s a
Susan Sargent fabric, from the same line as the fabric on my sofa, so
it works. I’m violating my self-imposed blog rule of no photography of
wrinkled items, but I still have to take them down for hemming, so I’ll
press them all nicely then, and with the morning sun coming through, it’s too dark to see the wrinkles anyway. Eventually I also want to make white canvas
Roman shades for each window. I also need to figure out something for
the window on the front door. Probably something plain and white. I sure wish I could remember where I put my switch plate cover thingie. I’m sure it’s somewhere very safe.

I don’t know if any bird experts read my blog, but we have a bit of
an infestation of these little birds. They’ve built little mud nests
under the eaves of our shed, which isn’t a huge deal, but there seem to
be way more birds than nests. There are about 5 or 6 nests, with more underway:

We’ve also found three of them dead in
various places, and it doesn’t seem to be the work of the dogs. Bear
has caught a few little critters in his day, and he enjoys playing with
the corpses and then swallowing them whole (gross, I know, but he’s a
bird dog and an excellent rat catcher, so what can you do?), and we’ve
found the little bodies, completely undisturbed in the middle of the
driveway, where he surely would have found them. I don’t mind a nest or
two, but it’s getting a little creepy how many there are, just flying
around. I’m wondering if I should knock their nests down, so they’ll go
find somewhere else to live. We were thinking that maybe they used to
live in the tree that was cut down last fall. But there are lots of
other trees where we live, so it’s not like our shed is the only
option. Does anyone know what they are? I’m just not sure what, if
anything, we should do. I tried to get a picture of them all flying around when I get close to the shed, which is not easy, but here are a few of them:

They don’t look so creepy there, but trust me, it’s kind of creepy.

Okay, next topic. I did a little cooking this weekend, and have
perfected a wasabi cream sauce, which is so tasty over seared tuna.
Actually, perfected is perhaps a little too grand of a term, I just
took a little sour cream and added some stuff, mixed, tasted, adjusted,
and tasted again. Anyway, if you like sushi, you might enjoy this:

Seared Tuna Steaks with Wasabi Cream Sauce

2 4-5 ounce Tuna Steaks, very fresh!
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 t. wasabi paste (you could probably use wasabi powder as well)
Juice of 1/2 a small lemon
1-2 t. soy sauce

Make the wasabi cream: mix together the sour cream, wasabi, lemon
juice and soy sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce or wasabi if
necessary. Add a teaspoon or two of water and stir. It should be just a
little runny.

Season the tuna steaks with a little salt and a lot of freshly
ground pepper. Sear for a minute or two on each side. They should be
quite pink in the middle still, although not cold. Slice and drizzle
with Wasabi Cream sauce to serve. If you’re squeamish about rare fish,
or you question the freshness of the fish, it would probably still be
quite delicious if you cook the fish through.

We had this last night with some steamed sugar snap peas and this cold noodle salad from hello yarn and it was all so very delicious.

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I promise this post isn’t going to be only about dogs, but Keri said I could post a picture of Winston every day, if I wanted to, and odd dotty wanted to know more about the animal photography lecture I went to, and I aim to please. So first, here is Winston pouting again, because I’m not paying attention to him. That dog works himself into a frenzy when I get home from work every night. Actually, he gets nearly as excited to see me when we’ve been apart for five minutes. I can’t even go to the bathroom in peace if he’s in the house. Tomorrow I have to leave from work to go to my mother-in-law’s house and won’t be back until Friday. I’m a little worried about how he’s going to handle that. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to bring him along, but I don’t think his hyper-activeness will be appreciated since I’m going to take her in for cataract surgery, and he’s never been there before. I’m sure he’ll survive for two days, right?

As for animal photography, let me just start by saying that this is how most of my pet photos turn out.

It has it’s own sort of charm, I guess.

Here are some things I learned (and some of these really apply to any kind of photography, and a lot of them are really just common sense):

1. Be patient! Don’t expect to have a 15 or 20 minute photo session with your pet. In fact, just shoot for a minute or two at a time.

2. Let the animals get used to you and your camera. Just have your camera out and press the shutter a few times to get them used to the noise. This is helpful with especially shy or nervous animals, or animals who aren’t used to cameras. If you want to shoot your pet in a particular area, hang out in that area with some treats or toys so that they become interested in that area on their own. Then, once they are comfortable there, start taking pictures!

3. Try to always work in natural light. Animals, even more so than people, get terrible red-eye when you use your flash. If you must use a flash, then an off-camera flash with a diffuser is the best option.

4. Get down at your pet’s level. Trying to see things from their perspective makes for much more interesting shots. Also, try to capture their personality by photographing them doing what they do most. I’ve noticed that most of my photos of Lucy are taken when she comes to check out what I’m doing. I know cats are curious in general, but she always has to know what’s going on. I don’t have as many pictures of Petey, because he’s either sleeping or zooming around, bouncing off the walls, which brings me to the next tip:

5. Learn how to shoot in ‘Action’ mode. Unless I want a bunch of pictures of a sleeping Petey, I’m going to have to learn how to do this.

6. Take lots and lots of pictures! You’re sure to end up with a few good ones.

Any other ideas/tips would definitely be welcome, or links to your favorite pet photos. Please share in the comments!

And for you non-dog people, I also like taking pictures of flowers:

I also have a healthy eating report! This picture is not super great, but this meal was pretty tasty:

It’s Thai-style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, and it’s from this book, which I mentioned before. It was super easy and delicious, and I will definitely be making it again. In fact, I think I’ll make it tonight, but with vegetables instead of fish. Another favorite from the same book is Greek Style Stuffed Peppers, which we’ve made quite a few times, but using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I’ve also been making a healthier version of Shepherd’s Pie, I’ll share that recipe next time, if anyone is interested.

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I think I’ve figured out part of my lack of creativity problem. It’s all this healthy eating. It takes a lot of time and imagination. I’m not sure how to photograph healthy food so that it looks good, but these two meals really were delicious:
 

I made some vegetable sushi for lunch one day, and then the other night, for dinner I had some mashed yams, sauteed bok choi and spinach, and stir-fried chicken and mushrooms with a little ponzu sauce. I totally made the recipe up based on the contents of the refrigerator, but it was a pretty good combination. I will say, however, that it is not possible to eat mashed yams with chopsticks. I know your day will be much better now that you know what I’m eating. Actually, I have two sources of healthy eating inspiration to share. First, is this book. I just got it, and haven’t made anything yet, but every recipe in there looks really delicious. Second, is this show. I admit, I try to avoid train-wreck realty TV, but an episode of this keeps me from wanting to eat french fries ever again. Caution: there is a lot of talk about poo in every single episode. You have been warned.

I found a knitting project I know I will actually finish in a reasonable amount of time:

I know this, because I made one before. I loved knitting it and I loved the finished product. My mom loved it too, so I gave it to her. Now I want one for myself. The first one was knit in Noro Silk Garden color 87, and this one is color 233. I’m not sure if I’m liking this colorway, but I remember thinking the same thing last time, but by the time it was done I loved the colors, so I’m hopeful. So now I am keeping busy while watching stupid TV. The apron still has no pocket, however.

I should have taken pictures of my molting chickens, but I guess it’s better that I didn’t embarrass them. A few of them looked quite pitiful for awhile there, but I’m happy to report that they have all seemed to grow in healthy new feathers, and look quite plump and healthy again.

The General was looking particularly dapper this morning:

I gave him a glamourous 1940’s screen star glow.   

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I have no idea where the last week went. There were no big events, just a lot of little regular-life busy-ness. I’ve so been wanting to make something, but haven’t been able to find the time and the energy both at once. Last night I decided that I had to just make something, anything, so I made a batch of cookies. I tried a new-to-me recipe from a book I checked out of the library. Yummy! They’re Oatmeal Cranberry Butterscotch Chip cookies. What a good idea! The dried cranberries are a nice little twist on the usual raisens, and who doesn’t like butterscotch chips? I’ll be making these regularly. Another secret to these, I think, is that they use more brown sugar than white. I like brown sugar.

I had big plans to take an artistic egg picture for Easter, but every shot I ended up with was blurry or silly looking. I blame the slight bug that seems to have landed at our house this weekend. We were both feeling pretty rundown, although I’ve managed to escape the worst of it, the husband is all sniffly and miserable. We napped a lot this weekend. I tried again this morning, but this was about the best I could do. I think the eggs themselves are so pretty. We’re getting a nice variety now, and they’ve been getting bigger. We’re up to about 10 a day. I think I’m going to have to open an egg stand this weekend.

It’s such a feeling of accomplishment, looking at this big pile of eggs. I raised 26 chickens from the time they were two days old, 8 have gone on to good homes, and I have 17 happy little hens, and a handsome, nice rooster. Not too bad for a girl from the suburbs! I sort of feel like I can do just about anything now!

The broody hen has finally been broken. It took a few days in the pen by herself, and a few nights of sitting on a bag of ice, but she’s out and about like nothing happened. What a relief! Maybe I could become a chicken whisperer.

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Despite the chicken pictures you may see below, this entry is only going to have a little bit of chicken content. Mostly what I’d like to talk about is risotto. I don’t have a picture of risotto, however, because even though I get up well after what you might consider The Crack of Dawn (which always makes me think of graag gedaan, or "You’re welcome" in Dutch. Just thought I’d mention that.), it’s so darn dark in the morning that I have no presentable photographs of the delicious risotto that I made for my bento box today. Which is really no great loss, because risotto isn’t the prettiest of dishes, but it sure is delicious! So, you’re just going to have to imagine what my risotto-filled bento box looked like. Anyway, it’s the flavor that matters, much more than the appearance.

I’ve been craving risotto for over a week, which is a common occurance for me as the nights get cold and frosty. I finally made the time to make some this morning. I do have to add a disclaimer: I am not Italian, not in the least, not even a drop. I’ve been to Italy only once, for a weekend trip. I don’t know if my short visit can really be used to gauge fairly, but every single thing I ate during those 48 hours (and there was quite a bit of eating going on) was perfectly delicious. Also part of the disclaimer: I’ve not seen many Italian food cooking shows. Molto Mario? I just know he wears brightly colored clogs. Is Emeril Italian? I have no idea. But the point is, I am not an Italian food expert. So this risotto recipe may or may not be authentic, I just thought I’d share anyway, because it is darn good risotto, so try it yourself and see, and let me know what you think:

Risotto a la Lucy

First, heat up some chicken stock in a saucepan to simmering. A big can or carton will do. If you are ambitious enough to have homemade, kudos to you. I don’t have time for that kind of stuff. In another saucepan, drizzle enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add about a cup of arborio rice and a minced clove of garlic (I like to use my garlic press, then I don’t have to smell garlic on my fingers all day). Stir it around so that all the bits of rice are coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Lower the heat to about medium. Add a ladle-full of the stock and stir it in. The rice will absorb it in a minute or two. Add another ladle-full and stir it in. Keep repeating this process for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring. You can step away for a moment at a time to wash some vegetables or get some parmesan cheese out of the refrigerator, but don’t leave it for more than a moment. Some people might consider this a little high maintenence, but really, it’s only 15-20 minutes of your life, and the result is more than worth it. You’ll notice that the rice absorbs the stock really quickly at first, but then slows down a bit. This is how you know its getting closer to being done. That’s when you want to get to grating a nice sized chunk of parmesan (2 or 3 inches, I’d say). I use my microplane for this, and I grate until I’m just tired of grating, which means I usually end up with a mound of parmesan that looks like a cup to a cup and a half. Test a grain of rice. When it’s nearly soft (you don’t want it totally soft, there should be a little bit of bite in the center) add a couple tablespoons of heavy cream (this is my secret ingredient, don’t tell anyone. It makes it super extra creamy). Stir that in well and then blend in the parmesan. You may want to reduce the heat to low at this point. Now taste it. Between the chicken stock and the parmesan, you probably won’t need salt, but if you think it does, go ahead and add it now. Grind in a whole lot of black pepper, and serve mounded in the center of pasta bowls with some parmesan shavings and another grind of pepper on top. Yum!

I love it just plain like this, but you can add all kinds of things in at the end. Some combinations that I have tried: Prosciutto and peas (pancetta or bacon would work well too), asparagus, sautéed wild mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary. Any other ideas? I’m always willing to experiment. Let me know if you try my recipe, and how it works out for you.

Now for the brief bit of chicken content. I moved the chicks out to their coop this weekend:

Action shots! I think they like all the space. I built the roost in the first picture. I’m still patting myself on the back for that accomplishment. I don’t have a lot of high-tech tools, and I discovered that my little handsaw? Not so great for cutting anything bigger than the bars on the roost. The 2x4s for the frame? Those were just a little too big for it, but I struggled through, and made it work. Also, it’s hinged on the top, so when I want to clean the floor below, all I have to do is lift it up! Nifty!

I was pretty worried about them getting through the night, but they seem to have made it just fine for two nights now. I left the light on all night so they’d be warm, and it seems to be tightly enough constructed that no bad critters can get in to get at them. Bear is having fits though. He knows I don’t want him near them, but when he sees them he starts foaming at the mouth. He was like that with the cats at first too, but he knew not to hurt them or someone would have his neck. Okay, not really, but he naturally has a guilty conscience, so we do tend to use that against him a little bit. All we have to do is so NO slightly firmly and he puts his head down and looks guilty. So that’s his big punishment, just a NO and he is completely chastised.

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