Fish Can't Climb Trees

At the beginning of writing this blog post it is 8 degrees outside.

I always feel that March sneaks up on us because February is so short. Even though February is only two or three days shorter than other months (and sometimes only one day) those days make a difference. February is usually rough on people. It's a transitional month for weather for some, for others it's a nasty snowy/sleety mess. Because February is a shorter month you don't feel as if you have enough time to accomplish things "by the end of the month." They say that the transition from March to April is "in like a lion and out like a lamb" but I find that the transition from February to March is more accurate, although it could be because I have always lived in colder, messier climates.

I'm excited about March actually. I usually am quite fond of winter although this year, probably because I'm pregnant, I've been craving spring. (My saying is that I love snow from Thanksgiving to Valentine's day, I can take or leave it before and after that.) I look forward to being outside more, doing some light hiking and walking around, and even working again. I can already tell that spring is in the air even if it is masked somewhat by the bitter temperatures.

I am taking a bit of a break from pregnancy talk for this blog post. I will state however that I appreciate comments and thoughts when they come in, and I will be talking more about the state of my growing stomach in a day or two. I just wanted this blog post to be a bit more refreshing. (This also means that the "Squishable Bunch" pictures will wait until the next post.)

Before I get started on my main topics for the day, I would like to share a picture I found (thus claiming no credit for) while looking for some backgrounds for my iPad mini:

I had no idea Albert Einstein said this, but when I found the quote I really liked it. I may even have the quote made into a picture or something I can hang up as a decoration. I feel like this happens with people too often today, being judged for something that not everyone can do. For example with mental ability and intelligence. My grandma and I both believe that there are different types of intelligence. Just because someone is unable to comprehend physics does not mean that they would be unable to be successful carpenters or lawyers. The same goes for the other way around. You can understand physics but be completely clueless as to how to nail two boards together or change a diaper. Everything is perspective.

The first of my main topics today is crafting and the world surrounding that. It has been some time since I have mentioned crafts on this blog, but it doesn't mean I haven't been doing them along with some science experiments. I have made slime (everyone loves Borax), attempted to make bouncy balls, and even made some milk plastic. (P.S.: That last link is awesome! Check out his other stuff!) I have also done some classic chromatography with some coffee filters and some water soluble markers (hint: Crayola markers don't work). And as a final science-y experiment, I have played with sunlight exposure and small objects with SunArt paper. Why all the links? Because I have no pictures of what I have made specifically. I didn't think to take pictures at the time.

Moving on to "traditional" crafting, I have quite the list of things to do. First off, I know this is pregnancy related but I am planning on crocheting a relatively small baby blanket using the dutchess lace stitch I found online. I have a nice cream color and a nice burgundy and I will be making it mostly cream with some stripes of red. I hope it turns out well!

I have been really craving making some crafty decorations and came across this one: string art trophies. I'm not yet sure what shape or design I'm going to do, but I am planning on making one for myself or my child. It's such a simple, pretty thing to do and I want to make it!

Since I have been collecting the mail for the place I am employed at, I have been collecting quite a few pointless magazines. Now, I could be wasteful and throw them away OR I can think of something creative to do with them such as make a butterfly art masterpiece! When I saw this online I about melted. The only reason I haven't done it yet is because those punches are pretty pricey as it turns out and we don't have a whole lot of money to be wasting at the moment. But it is on my list of "to-dos."

Origami is an art my fiance and I both love but I also happen to be a fan of bows. An origami bow made from some recycled magazine paper sounds right up my alley! I can try this one at any time I just haven't gotten there yet. I can't wait though!

Here's something I don't exactly know what to do with yet, vintage burlap sacks. I came across an idea on a website (I don't quite remember which one, it could have been Pintrest or Country Living) where the image on the burlap sack had been embroidered to emphasize and protect the colors of the picture, then stretched over a canvas to be hung up as a decoration. While I liked this idea, I also recognize the creative value of a burlap sack. They're cheap, versatile, attractive, and a fabric that can be made into anything from pillows to pictures. I still haven't decided if or how I will use this as a craft idea, but it certainly looks fun and interesting.

This next idea I'll have to wait until the leaves grow back but I would love to find a creative use for skeleton leaves. Another cheap, simple idea that could be used to create something really pretty.

Something that isn't exactly crafty but could be used for a craft idea (i.e. the skeleton leaves) is this "cloche." Pronounced "klo-sh," you may have seen these at a relatives house used to protect a hanging item or a clock. I have no idea if I will ever purchase one of these from this website, as they are a bit expensive, but I love the idea of making something that can be beautiful and preserved. We will see!

Food! A great topic in itself, it is something I'm very passionate about, as you all know. I have been bitten by the baking bug as of late and I have been taking advantage of this. I actually do have pictures of the things I have made, with one exception being the brownies, which I followed the recipe exactly omitting the optional walnuts (I detest nuts in my brownies) and used an 8x8 pan instead because it was what I had. As a side note, the author does suggest using butter instead of oil if you would like a richer brownie and I tried it both ways with pretty tasty results. However, butter is better (you didn't need me to tell you!) and even cooked a little faster. I made two batches and my fiance ate all of them except four little squares which I managed to snag. Delicious!

My friend Justin was up here last month for his birthday and I made a butter cake for him. My favorite cake is a butter cake with chocolate frosting which he ate happily. It is very hard to find a good butter cake recipe that is also moist, and this recipe comes pretty close. It was still not as moist as I would have liked it to be, I will have to fiddle around with adding sour cream or something that retains a bit of moisture, but it was flavorful. The ONLY thing I changed was I used almond extract instead of vanilla and that was a fantastic alteration. Yum!

Butter cake! Line in the middle created by a knife checking for doneness.

I mentioned chocolate frosting. When it comes to cooking and baking I am both a purist and a minimalist. I feel that we have lost the true flavor of some foods because we have added too many ingredients to the recipe causing it to be overly complex and in some cases, even boring. This is the reason why most, if not all, of my recipes only have ingredients that are necessary for the most basic of composition and flavor. You get a purer sense of what you are eating because you are able to identify flavors so none are lost through over seasoning. That being said you can't really overdo frosting of any kind which is why you need not more than five ingredients. However, while your frosting recipe should never have more than five ingredients, I guarantee you're making your frosting wrong. There are two ways you can overdo a recipe: 1) too many ingredients and 2) too much of one ingredient. I see this most often in recipes that call for sugar. Now, with many recipes, there are certain "methods" that are employed while making, like creaming sugar and butter first. I am developing a new method here: The Frosting Method. (Note before I continue: I really did love the author's recipe and chose it for its simplicity and common ingredients. I did not prepare it the way that was stated in the directions for the reason that will follow.)

The Frosting Method (Patent Pending):

You have five ingredients as listed by the author of the chocolate frosting website. They are: butter, vanilla, milk, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. To prepare -

1) Cream butter until smooth and workable. Blend in vanilla.

2) Sift the cocoa powder. Work into creamed butter and vanilla. If it becomes too thick to work with, trickle in about one tablespoon of milk at a time until workable. It is better to use too little milk than too much.

3) Slowly sift in powdered sugar to taste*, adding milk as necessary to maintain workability. You are finished when taste and consistency are to your liking.

*Ah-HA! Probably the biggest difference and the reason for The Frosting Method. Ever taken a bite of cake with frosting and then practically spit it out because of how sweet it was? I ended up only using about two and a half cups of the requested three cups of powdered sugar. If you are not that into a rich chocolate you could cut the cocoa powder in half, add the powdered sugar to taste, and then add more cocoa powder as you see fit to taste as well. That's the great thing about recipes, you can edit them!

Yum! Frosted cake.

Valentine's Day is the anniversary of the day my fiance proposed to me, and in celebration I made heart shaped cookies and chocolate covered strawberries. The heart shaped cookies are actually the recipe for candy cane cookies but altered to be hearts instead of canes. My natural pink food dye did not hold up well which is why they are a slightly funny color and making a heart shape by hand is not easy so they may not be the best looking cookies, but they are good.

Heart cookies!

There is no real recipe for this considering you melt a chocolate of your choice then dip the strawberry in it and wait for it to cool. I didn't have any wax or parchment paper though which would have been really helpful instead of losing bits of chocolate on the plate when I pulled the strawberries off.

The last recipe I will share with you is really my own but I have to give credit to the author of this butternut squash recipe because I wasn't sure what temperature to cook at.

Holly's Butternut Squash Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash, medium sized

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar*

(*For a sweeter squash. For savory, sliced garlic is probably ideal)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off ends of squash, then peel, cut in half, and remove seeds and pulp. Then place each half of the squash cut side down on a cutting board, cut in half lengthwise, then cut each of those halves in half lengthwise again. Then cut each squash strip into about inch long pieces.

2) Place cut squash into a 9x13 baking dish or other suitable dish. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the squash, just enough to lightly coat when tossed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Choose your primary flavoring, whether sweet or savory, and add to taste. (For maple syrup and brown sugar, toss to coat, for garlic, add as seen fit.)

3) Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until just barely fork tender, tossing squash every 10 minutes or so.

4) Finish squash by removing foil and baking for another five to ten minutes or until tender.

Roasted Butternut Squash. It's delicious and healthy! We had couscous with it.

Probably Wednesday I will be posting again about my pregnancy and what has been going on there. There's always more news to be had! I realize this has been a long blog post so my next one shouldn't be as bad.

I hope everyone is enjoying their opening to March and I will write again soon!