New Fabric

Trying to find new fabric to make a men's fashionable necktie. I like to find classy and unique fabric for the men's ties.....Unless you make neckties you probably think it's crazy that it takes 2 yards of fabric to make a tie....yeah, pretty wild!...but it's fun.

Interesting Morning

This morning I had to help my parents with their door. My dad couldn't get out of their front door b/c it was jammed, I mean it was really jammed.......so I got to be a "tom boy" and kick the door in. I have to confess, it was fun! I was on the outside of their house and my parents were on the inside literally trapped inside, so after unsuccessfully getting the door opened "the proper way" with the key and doorknob turning...I told them to back away from the door and with their permission...I kicked the door in...so fun just like the movies! 3 times isn't a charm though, it was the 4th one for me. The fourth kick broke the lock, wood on the inside of the door frame went splintering, and the door opened. Ha, ha! I was like, wow, I've got strength in my kick boxing. (I've always heard women should lift heavy things using their knees b/c that's where a woman has the most strength and now after this morning...that is so true....though I prefer having a man around....Some women don't like to admit it, but men are built way stronger, but this morning was my fun for the year!) Ha, ha So that was my morning....don't have an excuse to be stressed today b/c I had a chance to kick it all out this morning! :-)!!!

Cooking For My Parents

I spent the weekend at my parents. I cooked them dinner, with a creative what I call "Southern African American/Italian dinner." :-) I cooked turnip greens but seasoned them with Italian Seasoning...aka basil, rosemary, oregano...etc....and then I put tomatoes in the greens and let them cook down. I also cooked steak and seasoned it also w/Italian Seasoning, and served it with red wine...my parents were NOT sure if they would like it...I love being adventurous with food and sometimes I end up with something fantastic and other times it's a big flop. Being that my dad is a chef, he'll be honest...final result is in the picture...My Dad and Mom both said they really liked my crazy dish.....they were both surprised they liked it b/c they didn't think that they would ......all they said is that they would have added sugar to the greens, but I can't have sugar, so they were subjected to no sugar. Ha, ha! Successful "throw it in the pan and mix it up recipe!" Trust me, my parents are the honest type, if they didn't like it, they are picky and would have told me, so the fact that they liked it means it's an alright dish....and so HEALTHY too! Yeah, new recipe to add to my new "Carolyn Healthy Eating Cookbook.!"

Redesigning My Life!

As of two months ago I begin a journey into "redesigning" my cookbooks. I am not eating sugar right now on a body cleanse. Sugar is not good for people if ingested too much and the reason a lot of people have trouble losing weight is b/c sugar in in practically everything. By the way, stevia is a all natural sweetener that is a good replacement for sugar. I actually like stevia better than sugar and it's zero calories and totally all natural. Anyway, when I changed my diet, I realized even the healthy things aren't so healthy...for one.....if you don't make your own homemade chicken broth, guess what, the kind from the store has sugar in it. I was like what...sugar in chicken broth...that's so ridiculous, so now I make my own...that leads to the chicken to make the chicken broth....I now buy my chicken organic.....chicken that is not organic is pumped with so many hormones that no wonder woman have female hormonal issues and no wonder men these days aren't acting as manly...we're all eating estrogen chicken. Then, even things like canned spaghetti sauce has sugar in it...and the list goes on, so now I'm cooking everything from scratch and eating lots of fish. Fish is soooooo healthy. I'm learning a lot and pretty excited about it. I've never eaten unhealthy per say, but now I'm just making sure everything that goes into my body is healthy. I know God has made the human race special and we should honor that by respecting our bodies. We are what we eat as the saying goes. Eat stuff in a can and you'll feel like stuff in a can. Eat and present your food the best you can with what God has blessed you with, and you will feel like the royalty that you are. I feel the same way about clothing too...dress your best to feel your best.

Redesigning My Life!

Here is a healthy all natural homemade Tomato Sauce recipe. (To make tomato sauce you have to have tomato paste, so below this recipe is also a recipe to make homemade Tomato Paste.) Bon A Petit! ...wait, that's French and tomatoes are typically used in Italian dishes Oh well!

Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil




• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped




• 1 small carrot or 1/2 large carrot, finely chopped




• 1 small stalk of celery, including the green tops, finely chopped




• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley




• 1 clove garlic, minced




• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil




• 1 3/4 pound of fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped




• 1 teaspoon tomato paste




• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large wide skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and parsley. Stir to coat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened and cooked through.

2 Remove cover and add the minced garlic. Increase the heat to medium high. Cook for garlic for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, including the juice and shredding them with your fingers if you are using canned whole tomatoes. Add the tomato paste and the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a low simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered until thickened, about 15 minutes. If you want you can push the sauce through a food mill, or blend it with an immersion blender, to give it a smooth consistency.

Makes 2 1/2 cups of sauce.

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HOMEMADE TOMATO PASTE

Homemade tomato paste is remarkable. It is thick and sticky and gooey and sweet and transmits complete tomato essence to whatever you add it to. Plus, it's a great way to store a haul of tomatoes in a compact, useful fashion.

Use only the ripest (a bit too ripe is okay), sweetest, more delicious tomatoes you can find. I look for dry-farmed, vine-ripened tomatoes. To make tomato paste you'll need:

• 5 lbs. of tomatoes



• 1 tsp. sea salt
  


• About 1 cup good quality olive oil



• Large pot



• Food mill or large sieve



• Large rimmed baking pan



• Container(s) for the paste (2 or 3 half-pint jars with lids are perfect)
  

Preheat oven to 300°F. Remove and discard stems and any damaged parts from the tomatoes. Roughly chop the tomatoes and put them in a large pot.

Add about 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 tsp. salt to the tomatoes and bring them to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring, just until tomatoes soften, about 2 minutes.

Run the cooked tomatoes through a food mill or push them through a large sieve with a flexible spatula - you're trying to both turn the tomatoes into a pulp and remove the skins and seeds.

Pour tomato pulp onto a large rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 300-degree oven.

Bake the tomato pulp for about 3 hours at 300°F degrees, stirring the mixture every 30 minutes or so. Be sure to scrape up the caramelized bit around the edges and to stir in the dried crust that will start to form on top - spreading the mixture evenly in the pan after each stir.

After about 3 hours, reduce oven heat to 250°F degrees. Continue baking (and stirring and scraping at regular intervals) until mixture is thick, shiny, and the color of bricks, 2 or 3 more hours.

Use a flexible rubber or silicone spatula to transfer the tomato paste to jars. You will have 2 to 3 cups. Leave room at the top of each jar to pour a thick layer of olive oil to protect the paste. Cover with lids and store for up to several months in the refrigerator. Each time you use some, make sure the surface of the tomato paste is again covered with oil. To reduce the chance of mold developing, make sure to use scrupulously clean utensils for removing tomato paste from the jar.

Egg Designing

I've had house guests this week and it's been fun coming up with HEALTHY new recipes to whip up. (As of two months ago, I started making, for myself, a new cookbook filled with completely and totally healthy yet delicious recipes. It's been fun!) Anyway, this weekend, I didn't feel like making my homemade from scratch breakfast sausage, so I cheated and did use turkey bacon in the eggs, but a little unhealthy every now and then won't kill 'ya. I simply LOVE breakfast and go crazy with it when I have time. Anyway, I'm just terrible at making omelets that stay in once piece from the skillet to the plate, so I don't even try anymore....just make egg scrambles, or egg casseroles in the oven. This is a picture of a stovetop egg scramble from this week. I mixed it with green onions which are very healthy in a diet by the way :-), mixed in diced ORGANIC tomatoes; mixed in diced fresh garlic, and some other very healthy things and wow, the eggs came out yummy. I was wishing I had more, but I can't be a gluten! :-) Here's a photo of my latest "egg designing." Eggs are one of the healthiest foods people can eat. I have just found that out recently when I went on my health food kick. That's so great since eggs are easy to jazz up! (BTW--for family and friends reading this, this is a picture of my house guests plate...I'm still being good and NOT eating bread so you don't think I'm being bad. :-) )

A Gift From My Aunt!

My Aunt bought me this "more on the expensive side" designer business suit for a gift last week. I should be embarrassed that I can't remember the designer name brand of this suit, but it's top notch. Another blessing in life for me! My Aunt is the best. Now it's my turn to give back to her. I'll have to think of something she'll like! (I wish I had taken off the name tag I was wearing that is NOT part of the suit, but oh well!)

SHOPS TEMPORARILY ON VACATION MODE

My three online shops are going on temporary vacation mode until October 24, 2011.