July FoSaP - Steampunk Picnic

According to the Urban Dictionary:

Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. It could be described by the slogan "What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner." It includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes.

Based on that concept I had planned a Victorian picnic complete with costumed attendees and outdoor games. I started earlier in the season by making homemade strawberry jam (which I then forgot on the day of the picnic). I also purchased quail eggs, baby cucumbers, and beets and pickled those prior to the event. I made cute little labels for everything and then started concentrating on my costume.

To be truly accurate to steampunk it is important to identify the type of persona you want to portray; an explorer, an aristocrat, a scientist, a commoner, etc. Once you've identified your social class, you can go to work on your costume. Since I'm quite frugal, I skipped this step and just went with whatever I could pick up at Goodwill or second hand stores in the previous months. A strapless taffeta gown, a turquoise corset, a white t-shirt, etc. I already had an awesome hat that I knew would make the grade so all I had to do was find some feathers to complement the outfit. Oh yeah, and goggles. For whatever reason, goggles seem to be really big amongst steampunk'ers. In actuality they would really only be appropriate if your persona was an explorer. But not wanting to buck the trend, I checked into buying some.

Again, my frugal nature took over and after realizing how expensive they were and after watching several YouTube videos, I decided to give a try at making them myself. I went to the dollar store and picked up a couple small jars of peanut butter, cheap painters goggles, poster paint, glitter paint, clear plastic page dividers, and a box knife.

Total invested so far - $7

 I removed the peanut butter, transferring it to my waning supply in the pantry, and washed out the jar. Then I cut the inner ring from the red lid, leaving the inside exposed. I then cut the peanut butter jar down to about 2" high. I painted the goggles, google strap, peanut butter jar, and lid flat black using the paints. When everything was dry, I used my hot glue gun to adhere the peanut butter jar to the goggles. I coated the entire thing in a second coat of black paint. Hmm....it was starting to come together. I then used the peanut butter jar lid as a pattern to cut circles out of the plastic page dividers and fit those inside as my lenses. It was all started to look good but still needed something else.

I made a quick trip to the craft store and picked up antique gold Rub and Buff and a package of sprockets and gears. The Rub and Buff was exactly what I needed to doll them up and the sprockets and gears absolutely completed the look. I got lots of great compliments and many people asked where I bought my goggles. I think my total investment was around $10. Much better than the $35-50 at some of the local stores specializing in steampunk gear.

My $10 goggles.

Here are just a few of the photos taken at the picnic. I always find myself lacking the time to document my dinners so this was an exception.

Here is the menu for the day...my persona was Fiona Flabbergast

Charcuterie platter - Prosciutto, Coppa, Salami

No meal would be complete without homemade bread
(this could only have been beat by adding the strawberry jam I forgot)

And of course one must have a cheese plate at a Victorian picnic
Goat Chevre, Brie, Hilton, Smoked Bleu, Dill Havarti, Cheddar

Hands down the best thing on the table were the pickled quail eggs

Some of my costumed guests. I just love how they got into the spirit!

More costumed guests

This gent wins the prize for the most spirit. He started growing the mutton chops in April and then, using permanent hair dye, colored his hair and facial hair. He even had business cards made. Wilbur Wrong, at your service!

They're so cute!

I told this one she looked like a steampunk Lara Croft

After dinner we strolled around the park then some of us played a rousing round of bocce. It was a delightful sunny day without being too warm. 

I really felt connected to steampunk as it seems I tend to live my life in a way that meshes with the definition. I love to get back to the basics by making my own bread, pickling veggies, and making jam. It is not unheard of for me to start a component of one of my dinners weeks or even months in advance (like the original Southern Comfort served for my Southern Food dinner). Yet I obviously love living in today's technological age as evidenced by my involvement on Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Plus I think most everything just looks cooler steampunk'ed!

FoSaP for June - Rockin' Moroccan

The theme for June's dinner party was Moroccan (why do I always want to spell it Morrocan?). With temperatures in the upper 90's and a house with no air conditioning, I moved the even to the 4th of July. I mean what says Independence Day except Moroccan food, right?

It ended up being a smallish gathering and I was grateful for that. Less to cook for, and more time to actually chat with each guest. And after dinner we even had time to play some board games.

Rough Khoubz -- Moroccan Flat Bread
Quite quick and easy to make...and oh so delicious.

Mixed pepper and tomato jam
I got the recipe from Paula Wolfert's "The Food of Morocco"

Herb marinated olives (started three weeks in advance)

  

Herb marinated feta (using the same recipe as above)

Confit of Cabbage
Not exactly what I expected but it was a welcome accompaniment

Chicken with fennel, preserved lemons, and green olives over couscous
Another delicious recipe from Paula Wolfert's cookbook

Not a great picture of the Beef Kebabs, but man were they good!

Eggplant smothered in Charmoula
Another Paula Wolfert specialty

We even got Paula (not Wolfert) to wear a traditional hijab

Dessert was a disaster. I have got to stop trying out traditional ethnic recipes not tested in Western kitchens. Especially when they involve sugar and coming to temperature.

The final touch was a beautifully decorated table that I forgot to photograph and a huge pitcher of mint iced tea using fresh herbs from the yard.

A very successful dinner indeed!

Vow Renewal

My brother and his wife decided to renew their wedding vows on the exact date of their 11th Anniversary...and ask me to officiate the ceremony. You would not believe how easy it is to become an ordained minister. Basically you fill out an online form. That's it! No money. No class. No instructional video. Nothing. I did spend some cash to receive a certificate and other materials, but that was completely voluntary.

The couple decided to renew their vows on the beach near a favorite hotel they have stayed at frequently through the years. Only a handful of family members and friends were invited and joined us at on the sand in Taft. The day was gloriously sunny as everyone took their spots and we started the ceremony. It was quick and heartfelt and soon the group was in bathing suits and enjoying the lovely weather.

The requisite burying in the sand commences.

I think this one buried herself.

Besides the ceremony, I had a chance to check out Sonny Hess and Vickie Stevens at Hwy 101 on Friday evening. They put on an amazing show, wowing the crowd with their musical talent and humor. Vickie even pulled a young man from the back area who was celebrating his last day of bachelorhood. She put him in a chair, front and center and really 'played' with the guy. His friends were dying laughing. These ladies never disappoint!

Sonny and her band get the set started.

Vickie messes with someone from the audience.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend for a wedding at the beach. Complete with frolicking in the water, playing in the sand, kite flying, and geocaching.

The lovely bride and groom with mom and dad in the middle.

My youngest sister with mom and dad flanking her.

And of course, I had to make time to catch the kite festival going on at D River Wayside.

It's been how long???

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged. And how much has happened.

First of all, I got a job!!!! It is almost exactly what I was looking for. Doing what I love for a smallish company with great employees and management. The only thing that wasn't on my wishlist for a dream job was the distance. I was really hoping for something closer to home but it's 10 miles away. My average commute time has been about 30 minutes each way so I still consider that pretty good. This is only my second week so I'll have more to report later.

Then there was the trip by the Brunch Bunch to Tacoma. Candy and I drove up while the rest of the group took the train. We did a little geocaching along the way and Candy found her first cache at a rest area just off the freeway. I think she caught the GC bug now.

We all met up at Harmon's Brewery in Tacoma then walked over to the Dale Chihuly Museum. Everywhere you looked was stunningly beautiful. From the walk across the Wall of Glass to the fountains outside the Museum to the displays inside. I took about a jillion photos but am only posting a few of them.

The entire ceiling was covered in panels similar to this one as we crossed the bridge. Amazing!

A cool sculpture on the bridge that reminded me of ice in a cocktail.

I love this picture because it shows the giant Kiln of the Chihuly Museum with a juxtaposition of the old manufacturing plant right next door.

Several in the group thought these glass pieces looked like Tupperware. I thought they looked like condoms.

One of the more colorful displays inside.

Another gorgeous piece.

The view from inside the Kiln.

This guy was soooooo cute!

Maiden (tablet) voyage

I feel like such a grownup! I finally got a tablet.I know, hardly note worthy but for me its kind of a big deal. I've been getting by with my phone and my work computer.

But no more! Now I got options. While I'm not impressed with the camera on this device, I am ecstatic about the ability to get online from almost everywhere and can read books, play games, and just generally while away the hours even when you can't connect to the outside world.

Now I just have learn more about storage options, using the Cloud, discover what the difference is between an app and a widget, and save up to buy a keyboard. Fun stuff!!

Note: while I was able to type the above and place this picture of Chester, I was not able to Publish the blog from the tablet, nor size the photo. So I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing and use the tablet as a notebook until I can sit down with the computer to edit.

The subject of my first tablet photo - Chester Burnette

Close but no escargot

As you may have read in the previous post, I made and served escargot with margarita jalapeno salsa at dinner on Sunday. I thought escargot were like mushrooms in that you were best to purchase them rather than forage them from the wilds as they could be deadly. Apparently I was wrong. According to quite a lot of research on the internets (hahaha), all you have to do is find them, boil them, clean them, and then enjoy them.

Here are a couple of critters I spotted while out geocaching on Saturday. Gee...if only I would have known I could actually have eaten them, I would have brought them home.

Monkey makes friends with lunch

This might give you some idea how much meat there is on these little suckers

FoSaP for May - Around the World in Food

I'm highly disappointed in myself. The only photo I took from my monthly dinner was the cute directional sign I made...doh!

I have to say that the menu was a challenge in trying to mesh the foods from areas around the world in some sort of cohesive way. I might have been successful. You tell me.

A few months back I had all my dinner guests throw the name of a region or a type of cuisine into a hat and I pulled them out one at a time to assign to various aspects of dinner. Here's how it went down:

Appetizers - China, Lebanon
Salad - Greece
Entree - Escargot (that's right a food, not a region or a cuisine), Mexico, Wales
Dessert - Persia, Southern Spain
I ended up with one left in the hat - Poland - so decided to make a beverage from there.

What had I gotten myself into? I also strive to cook items I've never cooked before, use new techniques, or just try to learn something new each month. A double threat to my success.

Here's the menu I came up with:

CHINESE CHICKEN WINGS
LEBANESE LAMB MEATBALLS
GREEK ROASTED BEET SALAD
ESCARGOT WITH MARGARITA JALAPENO SALSA
STEAK FAJITAS
WELSH FISH CAKES
PERSIAN DAINTIES
MISSION FIG FLAN FROM MALAGA
POLISH CHERRY KOMPOT

The next challenge was to source the ingredients. Where would I find escargot in Portland? I found an Asian market that had them live but I didn't want to have to clean and prep them plus the recipe called for canned snails. Wouldn't you know it? I ended up finding everything at Wal-Mart. Who would have guessed?!?!

The wings had been marinated and baked in a mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and other aromatics. All were consumed so I guess everyone liked them.

I thought there would be no way Wal-Mart would have ground lamb, but sure enough they did. It was mixed with breadcrumbs, fresh mint and dill, then rolled into balls and baked. I served it with a chive sour cream. Again, these went quickly and I was so proud that everyone gave them a try...even the ones that I thought would never eat lamb.

The salad from Greece seemed to be a no brainer but since I made and served a typical Greek Salad
 so was looking for something different. I found a recipe for a roasted beet salad from Greece and went that route. I've never roasted beets before and can I say right now, they were delicious! I ate waaaaay too many of the slices just prepping the salad. After roasting the sliced beets were marinated in a dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh mint, dill, and chives, and other dried herbs. When ready to serve I dressed greens with the remaining dressing and piled on top the beets. This was a crowd favorite for sure.

The fish cakes were pretty simple. Mashed potatoes, butter and poached and flaked salmon combined and made into little cakes then fried to golden brown. Another crowd favorite.

On to the escargot. I was surprised when I removed them from the can to discover how large they were and how much they looked exactly like snails. I wasn't trying to hide this fact from my diners so left them intact and baked them in the oven in garlic butter and topped with a margarita jalapeno salsa I had prepped earlier in the day. I had one fajita made from several of the escargot in addition to a steak fajita. They were really delicious. And again, I was so proud that almost everyone at least gave them a try. And many enjoyed them too!

On to dessert. I tried to find some kind of common denominator between the two so made a Persian dessert ball of dried dates, raisins, figs, nuts and orange peel. Then I made a fig flan to accompany it. Both were enjoyed by the crowd, but the flan was definitely the fan favorite of the evening.

Oh yeah, the beverage. I wanted something non-alcoholic so discovered that in Poland, many families will boil fresh or dried fruit in water, add a bit of sugar and serve cold. I had a big bag of fresh cherries so gave that a try. It was actually quite nice.

All in all, a wonderful meal. It made me all warm and fuzzy knowing that not only did people enjoy the evening (this was the latest people stayed in a long time), but were adventurous enough to give everything a try. Ahhhhhhhhhhh......until next month.