May 2009 Archives

The other day, Kumi and I had a fun afternoon filled with painting and general artsy goodness. We had watercolors, acrylics, chalk, colored pencils, markers and crayons strewn all over the place and went to town. Kumi managed to paint large black swaths over all my other paintings, but these two survived. I think I'll add some white flowers to the girl in black, who is looking quite goth.

I am in love with those little bloomers. I based this baby set on a pattern I found in one of my Japanese craft books, but I modified it a bit, particularly around the back. I hand-sewed the bias around the neck, sleeves, and legs, so it wasn't the quickest project. But I really enjoyed making the top and bloomers -- I enjoyed it so much that I've been working on a few more.

This farmhouse-themed set has been delivered to my lovely friend Anna whose daughter is expected to arrive any day now. So exciting -- makes me nostalgic about my pregnancy days, but I think I'm actually longing for the freedom to eat anything and everything without a care.

To all you mamas and mama-to-bes out there.

xo!

My love of mini pancakes is no secret. I make them at least two or three times a week, and I've been happy with my whole wheat recipe for years.

Then one day, I saw a recipe for buckwheat pancakes online and something stirred in the back of my mind. On the same day, I was flipping through The Art of Simple Food and A Homemade Life, and found buckwheat crepe/pancake recipes. I took these as a sign and went immediately to the market to get some buckwheat flour.

And oh, they are delicious! I am officially a convert. I used Molly's recipe from A Homemade Life, and they were nutty and hearty, yet soft and pillowy as well.

I craved them again a couple of days later, but was almost out of buttermilk so used a combination of cream, milk and a scant 1/4 cup of buttermilk. I also added a touch more sugar and wow, they were spectacular.

I tweaked with the recipe some more, and came up with my own version entirely. It's almost dessert-like but with an earthy heft. Kumi gobbles them up, though she's no match for my speed.

Buckwheat Pancakes

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sugar and salt
2. In a small bowl, mix milk, buttermilk and cream
3. Whisk egg into butter and add egg-butter mixture to the milk-buttermilk-cream mixture.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Do not overmix
5. Heat a skillet with a little butter over medium heat and spoon in about a tablespoon-worth of batter. My skillet holds three 2-inch pancakes per batch.
6. Cook the first side for about 2-3 minutes until the top of the pancakes start to bubble. Flip and cook the other side for approximately a minute. The batter will look grainy with black flecks that resemble vanilla beans, but the cooked pancakes will turn out a gorgeous golden hue.

Yields about 25 scrumptious mini-pancakes (2-inch diameter)

We went to the zoo a couple of days ago and we got to see lots of animals including giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, elephants and wild dogs. Usually the animals are nowhere to be seen (maybe it's the gray Seattle weather that keeps them tucked away?), so this was a rare treat. But what really caught my eye was the number of pregnant women strolling casually all around me. So many!! In fact, I went to the zoo with a pregnant friend and am meeting up next week with another friend who is ready to give birth at any moment. Babies, babies, everywhere.

A few weeks ago, yet another girlfriend went into labor and had a beautiful little girl. I wasn't sure what to make, but I knew I wanted at least some kind of handmade element to the gift. When Kumi was a wee infant, one of my favorite things was a set of Gerber onesies. They were so soft and plain and thin, which I liked. As a gift though, they leave something to be desired, so I tried my hand at some iron-on transfers.

Voila, customized onesies:

I created the designs myself using Photoshop, printed them on iron-on transfer paper (I think I used an HP brand, I can't remember) and simply ironed them on. Easy peasy.

I pre-washed them in eco-friendly (and baby safe) detergent. I like 'em, and I hope little Isae does too. The name means "branch" so I played with that imagery; you probably can't tell, but the pattern on the green flower looks like little branches. Now I need to think of designs for the other babies...