September 2013 – morestomach

september | remember

Published on September 30, 2013October 16, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

can you believe?
it’s the end of september
i’m a Mrs!
(thank you so much for putting up with all the wedding
related stuff this month!)
(um. i might have a few more posts,
most likely vendor info, photographs of the actual Day,
and gift ideas for all parties)
~~(sorry about that)~~

oh but this month nearly did me in:

saw … twilight in the country. dw & i roadtripped to southern virginia, i had to work and since it was in the area of my alma mater, i brought him along to see what i saw all those moons ago when i fell in love with the mountains
heard … moos. really. it was enchanting. i could’ve stood in that field for hours watching them
smelled … lavender. rosemary. licorice. my bouquet smelled so beautiful
tasted … red wine. my cup really runneth over with the stuff this month
commenced … crocheting in earnest. this has been on my to-make list forever

and of course, a few pinterest treasures:

|| i’m dying to chop my locks but if can’t go full on pixie, i might have to do this
|| this might be my next arty farty project
|| gawd, this entire collection is gorgeous, i wish i could afford dvf
|| it’s cowl season!
|| excellent read: life divides into AMAZING ENJOYABLE TIMES and APPALLING EXPERIENCES THAT WILL MAKE FUTURE AMAZING ANECDOTES!

photo captions:
crocheted owl rattle – for a friend’s baby girl this autumn. i really did walk around for days after i completed this project, just shaking the shit out of it. i changed the pattern just a smidge, rather than doing the double crochet stitch, i used single crochet instead. also, i didn’t bother with the wings. i may have used a slightly bigger hook too. i purchased christmas-like bells so it’s not actually a rattler sound, and more like you know, reindeer on your rooftop type of sound.
blueberry citrus scones – i did bake this month, and fed dw breakfast. i swear. i adapted this recipe, from this recipe
sweet honey soda water – dw loves his soda water. i can’t remember what the exact ingredients were but this post has a couple of great options
gluten free blueberry donuts – i know. enough with the blueberries already. and i still have a bag in the freezer to use up. yeah. i don’t have a recipe for these gems. they were good though
soup dumplings (xiao long bao) – they weren’t perfect but i’m glad i tackled this project. now i know for sure to just hit up a dim sum joint for the real stuff. i adapted this recipe

and our unofficial song: love is all i am

wedding | diy envelopes

Published on September 23, 2013September 22, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach5 Comments

as simple as the wedding invites
turned out to be
i had to make them a shape
that normal envelopes don’t come in
oh you know, this girl likes challenges

supplies/how to:
watercolor paper – i didn’t want to use regular paper since the invites themselves were of thicker stock, and plus, i wanted the option of possibly painting on the envelopes
x-acto knife
ruler
deconstructed envelope of choice, this is your template
scotch tape
envelope glue
protective board

carefully unglue the envelope of choice that you want to mimic. tape it to the watercolor paper to keep in place. using the ruler to help you keep straight, very carefully cut the shape out.

once the envelope has been cut use the ruler to help with folding. glue along the edges to make the shape of the envelope. i used the remaining scrapes to catch the excess glue. allow to dry completely, a few hours before stuffing the envelopes. to keep it flat i would put a heavy book on top. address accordingly and if you’re feeling it, paint on them. i realize the post office is not the cleanest and the mail goes through various machines and is handled by many people before it reaches its final destination but it does make for a festive and pretty letter.

wedding | diy watercolor invitations

Published on September 19, 2013September 13, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

i don’t know what inspired me
to make the wedding invitations
when it’s just as easy to ~~shoot off an email~~
print them out on fancy schmancy paper
and call it a friggin day
but no
i took an online watercoloring class,
a class that i enjoyed
but ultimately did not use any
the techniques i learned
in the finished product
(dw says i like to sign up for things
and then kinda show up
halfheartedly,
and then deuce out)
maybe that’s why i went balls to the wall
with the diy stuff
to show him that i’m entering this
whole marriage thing
with all my heart

anyway,
i currently have an infatuation
with billy balls
lucky me they’re just fuzzy balls on a stem
which are easy enough to paint

supplies/how to (the last 4 items can be purchased at any arts/craft store:
inkjet printer
scissors or paper cutter
watercolor paper – i used Strathmore 400 series cold press watercolor paper
paintbrushes
watercolors

i decided early on that i’m not much for the bulky-tissue-paper-and-confetti-in wedding invitations. for some people it works, for me, that’s just the sound of trees weeping

so, i wanted to keep the information concise and to the point, on a square shaped paper. most important info: date, location and a website with all the other information

dw & i worked on the wording, the location of the wording on the paper, leaving enough room on the left side for me to paint. i think we managed two invites per sheet of paper

i think i chose to ignore what i learned from the online class because i didn’t want to have to worry about color blending. i went with the simple orange-yellow hue with grey stems. i kept it to just 2-3 balls. tip: stenciling might be a good alternative, using colored pencils instead

dry the invites overnight, on a flat surface

all in all, this project took just a weekend to do, 12 hours of which spent for drying

inspiration:
Bdesignsinvitations
BubbyAndBean
paper & ink

wedding | diy scratch off save the dates

Published on September 16, 2013September 13, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

y’all
the time is drawing dangerously near
for the next few weeks
i will be posting some crafts,
specifically diy things that
i worked on for the last 6 months
believe me when i tell you that:
it’s easy
it’s affordable
and most importantly
it’s personal

for the photograph used –
a tripod
camera – we used my dslr, but honestly, a p/s would work fine

how-to:
we chose a sunny day to snap the shot,
it may have taken us 30 minutes
the cellphones were blank, although we
did snap pictures of each other on them

choose a background that is neutral,
in our case, we opted for the brick wall of the condo building next door
and we’re standing on the fire escape
between the two buildings
the sun is at around 2:30pm so it’s not too harsh and not behind us
i stood dw in front of the camera
and had him raise his arm with cell in hand
i focused on the cell
set the timer
ran to stand next to him
10 seconds later, snap
repeat about 10x, or until bored

editting:
dw used photoshop to add the pic
of each of us onto the cellphone screen
i decided to go black/white with the photo we used
i used a random postcard making company,
i won’t tell you who, cus i ended up
cussing them out for bad service
you can google it or use a vendor you trust

scratch off supplies/how-to:
adapted from soda pop design who got it from martha stewart

packing or clear tape
paint, color of choice
paint brush
dish soap
black felt pen, i used faber-castell PITT artist pen in BLACK, size XS

on the back of the postcard, write up what you want
in my case, i decided to get fancy & do it up in calligraphy
i searched on youtube for tutorials
and then proceeded to doodle all the long day
to practice
stick the tape over the doodles,
make it as smooth as possible,
cus you’re painting over it

to paint, mix the dish soap + paint
(1:2 ratio, dish soap:paint)
paint over the tape,
a few coats will do
make sure the writing is not visible
allow to dry between coats

for postcards it’s difficult
to convey to the receiver that it’s a scratch off
but it was fun to hear from people who
couldn’t figure it out
and those who knew instantly what to do
in a card, a penny or coin can be included
in the envelope and most will know what is up

either way, it was a fun crafty project

chicken masala

Published on September 12, 2013September 11, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

it’s not yet autumn
but i suppose it’s unofficially fall,
what with school already started,
the daily commute with the added 10 minutes
due to kids ambling with textbook laden backpacks
and yellow school buses dotting the neighborhoods
the ac has been turned off at night
as the temperatures dip into the delicious 60s,
our windows flung open to cool the abode
only to be shut the moment i open my eyes from slumber
as i haul ass to shower in the morning,
shivering and silently lamenting the passing of summer
already the trees are shedding their leaves
the morning is darker still when i rise

these are dw’s months
autumn is his favorite season
you can tell a lot about a person
by what their favorite season is
i like the summer months
hot and heady and sweaty and messy
golden days with humidity to exhaust even the staunchest
and healthiest of beasts
(i’ll leave it to you to figure out what kind of person
i am with that description!)
but man, when september hits,
leading into october
the air has a crunch of apples
and cinnamon breezes,
cool to the skin but warming to the core
fall makes me feel drowsy
but frantic all the same
i am holding out for an indian summer
desperate for july & august
whilst trying to bask in what the coming days could bring

and what is coming in these days
are stews and soups
and hearty one pot dishes
that require ingredients thrown into a pot
set on low
and simmered all the long day

if you can’t tell
i’ve been on an indian kick lately
(truth be told, i’d make afghani food if i could
find a reputable cookbook or blogger,
that cuisine is so underrated)

for this dish,
amrita says you must have this recipe in your life
i completely and wholeheartedly agree
i started the process saturday night
cooked it on sunday
and as i’m typing this, wednesday,
i have one portion left for lunch

chicken masala
adapted from the subjectivist

*note: we (i mean, dw) chopped an entire bird. we get our poultry from a local farm every two weeks and i will tell you, this past summer with this csa has been an exercise in coming up with interesting chicken recipes. i wanted to make use of every part of the chicken, with bones. i can’t imagine not having bone-in. i’m just saying.
**note: i completely and utterly forgot to add chili. i know. so there was no heat but it was still incredibly good. also, i like my chicken to fall off the bone tender so i cooked it on low for longer than amrita’s version.

1 whole, organic grass fed chicken, about 3-4lbs, chopped with bone in

for the marinade:
1 black cardamom pod
half cinnamon stick
1 tsp nutmeg (i don’t have whole pieces of the stuff)
2 tsp of fennel seeds
3-4 cloves
3 TBL of white vinegar
1 tsp of ground turmeric

2 large tomatoes
2 TBL vegetable oil
2 large cloves of garlic
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup of coconut creamer (i use So Delicious)
Salt

in a frying pan, dry toast the black cardamom pod, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, fennel seeds, and cloves. don’t get crazy and burn it. add mixture to a spice grinder, again don’t get crazy, you’re not going for a powder, just a slighlty coarse-fine mix is good (i know, it’s confusing, go for in btwn the two textures.) add to big bowl with vinegar and turmeric. then add in the chicken pieces, you want to coat the pieces well. cover with plastic wrap and leave in fridge overnight.

next day: take the chicken out of the fridge an hour before starting the whole cooking thing. you want the chill to be off the meat/bones prior to adding it to the hot pan.

on the stove bring a pot of water to boiling. criss cross cut the butt ends of the two tomatoes, add to the water and cook for about 5 minutes. you want the tomatoes to be just submerged in the water. remove the tomatoes and put into blender/vitamix. reserve 1/2 cup of the water, discarding the rest. blitz the tomatoes, skin included, into a puree.

meanwhile, in the same pot, add a bit of oil and saute the garlic and onion slices. season with salt & pepper, and cook until nice & brown. remove from heat and grab the mixture of onions & garlic to add to the blender/vitamix. blitz with the tomato puree.

using the same pot, that will have residual oil (add more if you need) brown the chicken pieces. you may have to do it in batches. don’t crowd the pot. when done, lower the heat, throw all the browned chicken pieces back into the pot, add the tomato/onion/garlic puree, along with the reserved 1/2 cup of water. simmer on low heat. add in the coconut creamer, mix, ignore for anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour. season to taste. per the original recipe, this is a slightly dryer dish. i will admit to missing the gravy.

serve with naan.
it’s great the day of, but even better the ensuing days.