Hash browns - just the way I like them

It's been a whole week since I posted!  Strangely I had lots to talk about this week, but my camera and pictures never seemed to be with me at the same time as my blog/computer and posting time.
Enough with the excuses.. last week I made these fabulous has browns.  How fabulous? I've been trying to make decent ones for years now, mostly with fail.  I've tried them unrinsed, precooked, with egg, with all sorts of extra stuff, but finally last week I think I got them right.

I rinsed the grated potato really well, and heated some veggie oil in a non stick omelette pan.
I chucked in all the potato with a tiny bit of chopped onion.  I put a little butter on top after almost 10 mins (my stove is electric and cooks super hot, so it was on medium low), and slid the hash brown onto a big flat lid from another pot.  I turned the pan upside down over the hash brown so the uncooked side was facing the pan, and flipped as one.  
Although I am fairly good at the pan flip.. this hash brown recipe means it doesn't hold together very well until it's almost done.  I lost a lot of potato bits around the kitchen before I decided on this slower and safer method.
This is how they turned out:


I took the photo outside, since all my inside pictures just turn out yellow, and my apartment has absolutely no natural light. Don't you love the pool in the background?

Thanksgiving was fantastic, and I'll be posting about that shortly (after sorting out camera etc).

BFN

Polka Pink Wrap Skirt

I used Kwik Sew Pattern 2954.  Got some lovely pink polka dot fabric from Sew LA and used some thread I had from another project.

The hardest part of this pattern was cutting the darn thing out.  Because I needed to cut the largest piece twice, as it's too big to fit on folded fabric.  I have a very limited space in which to cut, and it's on the floor!  This means sore knees and lots of sitting down and getting up, or bending.  

The other slightly difficult part is making the Tie's.  I should have followed the pattern to a T, it would have been easier.  That or owned a tube turner.  I tried a little "turning" gadget I'd bought at Mood Fabrics, but it just wouldn't grab onto the fabric, and stay grabbed on.

I didn't end up liking the skirt in the end, it's just not my style, and it feels like I've wrapped a sheet around myself when I'm wearing it.

Might reuse the fabric for something else.. since it uses so much of it!

BFN

Sunset to end the week

Took a break with Nancy on the 11th floor balcony at 4.30pm Friday.

Here was our view:

BFN

Working far too much really

All of this extra work is getting in the way of my blogging!

This afternoon I'll post the pictures from our Thanksgiving potluck! I roasted potatoes, carrots and radishes, plus made some gravy.
Here are the muffins (pumpkin spice, and cornbread) that Nancy made for today's festivities!


I finished the wrap skirt I started a couple weeks ago, it was pretty quick and easy to make. The hardest part was cutting out the fabric. It wasn't exactly hard, but the pieces were really large, and I only have a limited amount of floorspace to work with. Kneeling for a couple hours is also not very fun. In the end I don't really like the skirt. I'm considering recycling the fabric into some tote bags for Christmas presents.

Trip to San Diego was successful. Awaiting the forms returned in the mail, so I can go ahead and finalize everything plus get a new passport!

BFN

Grandma's apple pie

That's what we decided to call it, since it has grandma's apples in it!

Jessica kindly donated the apples she got from her grandmothers orchard when she was home recently, and we baked ourselves an apple pie!

I baked one earlier in the week, but I think there was too much flour in it. This time around I think I put in too little! It was a tad sweet as well, but was very quickly devoured by Loui and Jessica.

See our creation:


BFN

Shake it OUT!

Today was "The Great California Shake Out". For those who don't live in Cali, basically we all pretend that it's the "big one", duck, cover and hold.
For emergency services and such, they all practice what to do in the event of a massive earthquake. I've personally not experienced a large earthquake (thank goodness!) and hope I never do. It was a good way to learn how ill prepared we really are. How would I get home from work? What are my chances of getting out of a big old office building? What would I do once I got outside?
I work about 22 miles from where I live.. I'm sure roads would be out of the question, and phone's won't be working very well if at all. What would I do?
I realised that even though I have a fairly comprehensive first aid kit (thanks to Loui) it's all at home! I also have no bottled water at all. What I DO have is guns.. but again.. they are at home, locked up in a secure place to which I don't have a key!

For those who do live in SoCal, where did you spend the few minutes after 10am this morning?

Here is where I was:


While under there, with James also under his desk on the other side of the cube wall, we sorted out some cord issues. Altogether it was an interesting experience.. one I never hope to experience except for in mock format such as today's.

BFN

Papadums - great Indian snack

There is a little Indian grocery store near my house in the valley which sells all things that remind me of home. Weird isn't it? Indian food reminding me of Australia? It just seems so rare here.. and I used to eat it a lot!

Thankfully I can get a decent Masala Dosa, channa samosa, biryani and groceries at this shop. One of my favorite quick dishes is the Papadums. They are cheap, come in a plastic wrap, and microwave to a crispy texture in just 35 seconds.

Packed of plain papad:

Cooked in the microwave at work for a snack:


I had a masala dosa last night, but it didn't last long enough for me to take a picture!
YUM, BFN

Chocolate cake inna mug inna microwave!

Today I read about someone who made a chocolate cake, using a mug, a microwave, and 3 minutes. Intrigued, I memorized what I needed, and stopped by the store on the way home to pick up some eggs.

The basic recipe as I read it was:
4 Tbs flour
9 Tbs Hot Chocolate Mix
3 Tbs Oil (Not sure about this one)
3 Tbs Water
Cooking Oil
1 egg
Mug


I altered the recipe a little bit, because I read some comments that the other recipe was "rubbery". Here is how I made it:

1 Packet Nestle Hot Chocolate
~4 Tbs Whole Wheat Flour (don't have any regular flour)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 medium egg
1 1/2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Tbs Milk
1 Tbs Water
Couple Chocolate Chips

Actually I thought it looked too wet. I couldn't find a large enough mug (mostly I have tea cups) so I just used a small bowl. I nuked it for 3 mins on high. It didn't "rise" a whole lot.
I turned it out onto a plate and tried it. It has the consistency more of pudding.. sort of cake like pudding. Actually I really quite liked it! I wouldn't say it's the best cake I've had.. but as far as chocolate "desert" goes, it wasn't too bad at all!

Loui even liked it.

This was the bowl.. it didn't stick at all, just plopped out onto the plate:

Weekend's creations

This weekend was a nice lazy "in" weekend. Didn't have really anything to do outside the house, except for sewing class on Sunday where I finished my first tote!

Here are the fun things I made yesterday:
Boxer shorts:


They are made using the "jane" pattern from Burda. The fabric is a silk/cotton blend, so they are shiny and a little slippery, but nowhere near as hard to handle as regular silk. I made them for myself, but they don't fit right, so lucky enough Loui likes them!

Tote bag from class:


Close up on stitching:


Close up on handle:


I bought some nice extra fabrics at my sewing school, and made this tote after I got home. Took me about 3 hours? I had a problem with my iron :( It absolutely refused to cooperate and kept giving the interfacing moist air while I was pressing it. Meant it is all bubbly! Darn.


Inside of that tote:


Anyhow.. BFN

Tap shorts in silk charmeuse

They didn't get as far as I'd have liked, but I found I didn't even have some spare elastic here at home!

Here is the shorts so far:


Jessica is kindly holding them near the light in the bathroom!


Well Jessica and I need to get back to drinking.. btw wanna see her cute hair curly??


Cute eh?

BFN

Mood fabrics definitely changed my mood!

At lunchtime today, Nancy and I headed over to Mood here in Los Angeles. Up until now, the only place I've really had to get fabric has been Joanne's. Anyone that's been there knows it's not the most inspiring fabric store. The one near my house is full of people every weekend, with screaming children to boot. Most of the stuff there is "crafty", for quilting, home decorating, or just plain fugly.
The other place I've had to buy fabric is at my sewing school (sew-la.com) which has wonderful organic cotton prints, and some other fabrics, but they have very limited space, so not a ton of choice.

Mood was amazing!! The sheer volume of choices was astonishing. I picked out about 20 fabrics I wanted to make something from (random images of finished garments were popping into my head) when I realised I'd have to actually check prices on them. YIKES! Quality really costs a lot. I managed to reel it all back in, and chose a very nice silk charmeuse from which I plan to make some nice tap shorts using a free Burda pattern



I can't wait to get home and try making them! Oh NO!! I just remembered.. I didn't buy elastic. Always something right? *sigh*

BFN

*cough*, *cough*

Sadly I still have this awful cough. It's really starting to piss me off!!

On a good note, it's been quiet here at work since the new Valkyrie site went up, and Impact VOD launched this week as well.
Barring any unforeseen emergencies.. that should pretty much be it until the end of the year! I churn out a couple emails for Nancy, fix bugs as everyone finds them and have the rest of the time to myself. We're adding "sound tracks" to mgm.com soon, but that's not going to be a massive amount of work.. perhaps a couple days? (Don't tell the boss!)

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, some really very interesting! My favourite is called "angry chicken". It's not even about chickens! Her latest blog is about arm warmers. I never thought of it before, but it's a great idea! I have a lot of short sleeve things (I live in the most painfully hot place I could) but occasionally for about 30 seconds in the middle of winter I am forced to wear a jacket, or a long sleeve shirt. These would be a great substitute! Best dust off my knitting needles and get cracking! Here is the blog post from Angry Chicken.

A friend from a very long time ago added me on facebook. This happens fairly often, but usually with people that I really don't feel I was friends with, just people I knew. Over the past day or so, tons of memories have been resurfacing concerning this one individual, and all of them pleasant. I was closest to them before I went to Germany, and don't have much recollection of them afterwards. Either way it's been interesting to learn about what they've been up to, and see how well they are doing!

Mum & Dad are still off on their cruise around Thailand. Seems like they're having tons of fun.. Dad emails me from internet cafe's every so often! I'm surprised they've lasted so long without a laptop or internet connection!

I've been told I use the ! too often. I'll try and use it less. I find it conveys my feelings quite well though. It's hard.. use my words I know.

BFN

Thoughtful?

Started Tote-bags

Sunday I started my tote-bag class. So far so fun! I really don't understand why everyone else is so slow at sewing class. I know I perhaps could go a "little" slower and take more care, but seriously people.. slooooooooooooooooow. I was done with all my cutting, and had the teacher keep stopping the other students mid-something else to come over and see what I was up to.
I think perhaps I just "dive in" whereas a lot of other people prefer to do it perfectly the first time. I know I'm making "house" dresses and shopping totes at the moment.. nothing I could ever wear in public, nor give away as gifts etc.

Will post a pic of my "work in progress" aka skull tote asap.

I've also started making a wrap skirt from some cute polka dot fabric. It was a serious pain to cut out, because I had to cut one piece on a single layer of fabric.. twice, as it was too wide for just one. I don't have a great deal of room on my floor, combined with cats who are absolutely determined to sit on _anything_ I put on the floor.

Fun stuff, BFN