An update of sorts....

I wanted to post an update before I got lost in a sea of organza for the next few weeks.  I'm gearing up to put my organza peonies in a shop across the street from my work, that's like a craft mall, the owner supports local artists.  When I went in there a few weeks ago and looked around, I started talking to her and as we talked I got excited about the prospect of having my things in there.  I didn't feel the same way about the place closer to my house, and knew this was where I needed to venture into the world of renting shop space.  In addition to that, my friend is planning on having an artist holiday open house at her place in last November/early December this year.  So I've been busy focusing on making peonies (well steps one and two of it) for over a week now.  I've gotten a lot done in terms of cutting my old stash of fabric, most of that is gone and phase two of the process is almost fully finished with that first stack of cut fabric.  I'm going to finish those up tomorrow (probably) and then start cutting more fabric, probably finish up the old fabric before I move onto the new one.  So that I can finally get all my old fabric finished. 

In addition to the peonies, I talked about putting my wine glass charms in there.  I might hold off on those for now though, I feel like I'm spending all of my paychecks before I get them.  Although I've only gotten one so far, but still; if I want to go to my cousin's wedding thanksgiving weekend I'm going to have to cut back on my spending.  So I'll probably pull the wine glass charms from my shop and put them in that store for starters. I'm looking forward to moving onto phase three of the peonies though, but for now, I'm trying not to feel impatient when cutting fabric so that I don't burn myself out before things really kick into high gear. 

In addition to all of this, I'm learning the updated software for our lighting console at church and because we're adding more LED lights every week or two, it's starting to take longer to do the programming.  Which means two weeks out of the month I have to go in to church on Thursday nights to get my base looks programmed (if not more) when worship team is rehearsing, and then make any tweaks on Saturday so that I can get back to doing more dynamic lighting. 

There are other, some what minor things, but they aren't as important.  What does all of this mean for my etsy shop you ask?  Well after I list the last two peonies from the six I made last week, I'm going to take a break from making and listing new things for there until close to Christmas.  If I even start listing anything new by then that is. 

With that I'm going to leave you with an email I got from my friend last night, Romance Novel 2011

He grasped me firmly, but gently, just above my elbow and guided me into a room, his room.  Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone. He approached me soundlessly, from behind, and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear. "Just relax." Without warning, he reached down, and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves, slowly but steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure. When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine and into my panties. Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant. This is a man, I thought... a man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking 'No' for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say...     "Okay ma'am, you can board your flight now."

Cheaters Enchiladas chicken and cheese and onion

Ok I'm calling these cheaters enchiladas because I didn't use a traditional recipe.  When it comes to authentic Mexican food, I tend to refer to Rick Bayless and his vast knowledge.  I cheated by using a store bought rotisserie chicken although after looking at this recipe, I see Bayless did the same thing for the chicken, used store bought rotisserie. So maybe this isn't really cheating after all? 

Since I don't have exact measurements due to making two kinds at the same time, I'm going to write this up the way I made it.
1 28oz can enchilada mild sauce (I used Old Elpaso)
1 19oz can enchilada mild sauce
1 10oz  can enchilada medium sauce
4 large yellow onions (I prefer vidallia onions but the store didn't have any.  However these were about the same size)
3 (2 cup) packages shredded cheese (I typically use the taco blend, but since I didn't realize I'd use all of the cheese up, I only bought two taco blend and one regular mild cheddar)
2 packages medium sized flour tortillas
1 1 pound 13 oz store bought rotisserie chicken (traditional recipe), reserve drippings from bottom of rotisserie package
kosher salt
olive oil
chili powder and pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Slice the onions and set in a large bowl while you preheat the pan up on medium heat.  When pan is heated, coat with olive oil (I didn't measure this) then toss onions in, only as much as your pan can handle.  I used a smaller pan so I worked in four batches.  Let onions cook a bit and sprinkle with salt and let cook down (the salt brings out their sweetness).  If you can multi task without problems then move onto the chicken, and start removing the skin and fat and pulling the meat off the bones, shredding it as you toss into a bowl.  Keep an eye on the onions and stir processionally.  If you only want the onions to sweat more than caramelize then don't cook them too much.  I normally just cook them to remove the bite since they never cook in the oven when I'm making cheese and onion enchiladas.  I like raw onions so it's not a huge issue, but it's nice to have cooked onions when eating enchiladas. When onions are desired doneness toss in bowl and repeat with second batch (if you need to cook them in batches).

Keep going with the onions until all are cooked and set aside.  Continue shredding chicken when onions are done, give it a quick chop then add drippings from package to shredded chicken and stir together (you'll be surprised how much meat you get from that one bird!).  Take about half the cooked onions and mix in with the chicken (add more or less to your preference). If you like your food with a little kick, then mix in some chili powder and pepper flakes in with the chicken mixture.  Empty all three cans of enchilada sauce into a large (8 cup) measuring cup and give a quick stir to combine the mild and medium (it was about 6 cups of sauce all together).  Pour enough sauce into chicken and onion mixture to be good and wet once it's all stirred together.  You'll want to have more sauce in there than you'd think too keep everything from drying out during reheats (if this lasts that long). 

Preheat oven to 375F as you wrap and roll.  Spray pans (yes I said plural, I used 3, they were more or less 9x13 each, the big casserole one might have been a tad bigger) pam, or better yet, line them all with aluminum foil and then spray the foil to make clean up even easier!  I forgot to line them this time and that is the last time I'll forget that.  Pour a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pans to keep the bottom of the enchiladas moist.  Take one package of tortillas and fan them out to separate, set them on a plate or cutting board.  Add a good heaping portion of the chicken mixture to one end and sprinkle with cheese (again to your preference, I wound up using an entire 2 cup bag on all of the chicken enchiladas), tightly roll the enchiladas and place seam side down in pan.  Repeat until all the chicken enchiladas are done.

Mix one 2 cup package of cheese with the onions and stir in enchilada sauce.  Again don't worry about being skimpy with the sauce, as long as you have plenty for the tops of the enchiladas you'll be fine.  There's more than enough sauce with the 3 cans to be generous with the fillings. Take the other package of tortillas and fan them out to separate, set them on a plate or cutting board.  Just as with the chicken filling, scoop a generous amount of the onion filling onto one end of the tortilla and tightly roll up, placing seam side down in the pan.  It's best to keep these separated from the others so that people that don't want/like chicken know which ones these are.  It's easiest if you have different kinds of pans to remember which one is which.  Repeat with all the onion filling.  When the last one is in the pan, evenly pour the sauce over the enchiladas in all three pans.  Split the last package of cheese between all three pans, cover with foil and place in oven.  Cook for a half hour covered (if not longer), until sauce begins to bubble.  Remove foil and rotate the pans around (move the one from the top rack to the bottom and put the two that were on the bottom, on top) and continue to bake until the cheese is cooked. 

Let stand a few minutes to cool and serve with sour cream.

RIP Cuppa Joseph Coffee

We regret to announce the passing of Cuppa Joseph Coffee, known to his friends simply as "Cuppa Joe".

Although many of his detractors considered him a drip, he was a regular early morning fixture in diners all over the city. The latte Mr. Coffee was known for his perky attitude, nervous twitch, and was always ready to shake your hands.

In recent years he became brewed-y as he grew weary of the daily grind. He had bean on the decline spending much of his time in the sack.

All of his friends filterable about his death. One said, "He has passed much too soon and too often."

According to family tradition his full body will be decaffeinated, cream-mated, and placed into the grounds.

He is survived by his family members, Mrs. Olson, Juan Valdez, and the Hills Brothers who wish to express Sankas for your sympathy.