Have Yourself a Mordor Little Christmas?

I really didn't intend for there to be any more Tolkien-related posts this year, but when the creative juices flow, well, you just have to run with it, right? Last year, Emily and I "built" a pathetic little Christmas tree; this year we decided to dream big and build Barad-dur. We used a few boxes from Costco, an IKEA Rutbo lamp, several yards of black butcher paper, and quite a bit of tape. As with most of our crafts, my mom was dubious when we began, but conceded that the final product wasn't half bad. I'll let you judge our work for yourselves, geeky readers:

Left: before decoration. Right: all decked out with tinsel, lights, ornaments, and presents!

We did our family Christmas pictures by the "tree," the way you're supposed to.

We couldn't get a picture where Walnut looked normal. 

And just to top it off, Emily and I made a crango (cranberry-mango) cheesecake for Christmas dessert:

With the help of some judiciously placed mini chocolate chips...

Yup, that's just the way we roll. It was quite tasty and I'm sure I could spin it somehow to say Christmas is about the triumph of light over dark (we destroyed the eye of Sauron by eating it!), but I'll just leave it at this: I hope you all were able to eat good food and enjoy being creative, and that you had as lovely a time with your dear ones as I did. Oh, and totally independently of our dessert choice:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever." 

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

I actually intended to post this before Christmas, not after, but Walnut had other ideas. Our darling fur baby decided that Christmas Eve was a good time to start peeing blood; a panicked trip to the vet revealed that he has a couple of bladder stones. He's going to have surgery to remove them tomorrow, so if you think of him he could use your prayers and good wishes for a smooth procedure and quick recovery!

Poor guy has no idea what's coming to him. 

My Lembas Recipe

When throwing a Middle Earth party, having lembas is pretty much a requirement. The much-lauded (except by Gollum) Elvish waybread is supposed to be very nutritious, enough to sustain a grown man of Minas Tirith for a day's labour. Dinner table discussion concluded that if that were truly the case, you might as well hand everyone a Tiger's Milk nutrition bar and be done with it. Unfortunately, lembas is also supposed to be tasty. Most of the recipes out there err on the side of tasty instead of sustaining, and while I don't think it's possible to make real lembas here in Ordinary Earth, I can at least try for something slightly more authentic. Because, you know, there needs to yet another lembas recipe out there on teh interwebs.

My lembas is more like Scottish shortbread than the thin cakes Tolkien describes, my reasoning being that the high butter content gives it the necessary calories for a day's worth of work. I also used almond meal along with flour in order to up the protein content without resorting to those nasty powders from the Vitamin Shoppe. Many of the extant lembas recipes I looked at also called for honey as a sweetener, the reasoning being that lembas is described only as being better than the Beornings' honey-cakes, and not that they necessarily use honey to make lembas. For that reason, I chose to stick to sugar. In the future, I may experiment with honey, though, as it really is better for you than sugar.

Recipe:

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
0.5 cups sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup almond meal (I got mine at Trader Joe's, but you could throw frozen almonds into a food processor to make your own if you can't buy it at your grocery store)
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Cream together the butter, sugar, and almond extract. Try to get it as light and fluffy as you can. Fold in the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and cinnamon as best as you can, but you will eventually need to use your hands to really work all the ingredients together into a dough. Divide the dough into two portions, rolling each half into a log. Flatten the sides of the log so that they are kind of rectangular with rounded corners. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap, chill for an hour, then cut into 3/8" slices. If so desired, use a butter knife to carve runes into the surface (I suggest the G tengwar for Galadriel). Bake for 25-30 minutes in a 300 degree oven, until the outside is a very light golden brown. I made about 30 pieces of lembas from this batch. They can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

I got tired of carving Gs into the surface very quickly, so I resorted to using tiny cookie cutters to make Bill the Pony/Fatty Lumpkin, Gollum's fish (because having a fish on top makes it slightly more palatable?), and Radagast's woodland critter friends instead. 

The cookies made from this recipe feel more substantial and not quite as dessert-y as a cookie normally is; the texture is similar to shortbread and they are crumbly and buttery and only a little sweet. The almond makes for a lovely aroma that seems appropriately mallorn-y. With the wealth of lembas recipes out there, I don't expect this one to surface in searches, but if you're reading this and just want a pleasant almond shortbread, you don't have to call it lembas if you don't want!

I still have one more LOTR/party-related post to go (but at least it's about sewing), and then I promise I'll be back to normal!

Pink Sew Weekly: Horrockses-esque Vintage Vogue 8789

Thank you again to all of you who voted and stated your opinions regarding the stripe placement on this dress! As you can see, in the end I went with vertical stripes. Reasoning being, I realized that working with twin sheets, I was restricted in pattern piece layout options; chevrons weren't going to work. As for choosing vertical over horizontal stripes, I felt that the flowers looked better going vertically; I do still want to try my hand at another Horrockses-esque dress with horizontal stripes, though. I've already put Shayna on the lookout for more floral-striped bedsheets!

Back view.

I'm pretty happy with the final dress; with my hair up and my red wedges, I felt very Sara Crewe in her rose dancing dress (from Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, even though I know my flowers aren't roses and the dress is more 1950's than Victorian England). I'm still considering this a very wearable muslin, though, since the bodice could still use some more fitting. I wasn't sure what the sizing was going to be like, so I cut a size 12, which was, in hindsight, definitely wrong. I eventually took in the side seams to be more of a size 10, but from the gaping under my arms and the excessive waist ease, I could have gone down to an 8. The bust is definitely too large; it wasn't so obvious when I just had the bodice on, but with the weight of the skirts pulling it down, there's a lot of extra fabric under the bust. When I got home, I actually fiddled some with the darts and ended up trying to take in some more fabric by widening and shaping the darts a little. It looks a little better, but I think the fact that these patterns are generally meant for B-cups was somehow really emphasized in this pattern. Generally I'm okay without doing an SBA, but I definitely need to here. It's hard to say, though, whether this pattern genuinely runs large or I'm just used to wearing bodices with no ease.

You can see that the bodice is looser on me than my normal dress bodices.

Because of the excess ease in the bodice, though, I was definitely able to do justice to the ten-course wedding banquet! I do love going to Chinese wedding banquets; even at an average restaurant the food is still better than most catered or hotel wedding dinners. In case you haven't had the pleasure of attending such an affair, here's what we had Saturday night (vegetarians, look away!):

Some people take pretty pictures of their food all artfully arranged; I am not those people. Here is what it looks like, mid-meal-mess.

1. Cold meats platter: Roast duck, soy sauce chicken, BBQ pork, seaweed salad, and my absolute favorite, jellyfish
2. Winter melon soup, cooked in an actual melon (so that you can scrape down the sides like some kind of bizarro bread-bowl
3. Shrimp balls (the teacher of sophomore boys part of me wants to say "shrimp spheres") with broccoli, kind of like lion's head meatballs except with shrimp
4. Steamed red snapper: there is nothing quite as tasty as a fresh fish (as in alive thirty minutes ago) steamed whole, with tasty tasty soy sauce, ginger, and scallion sauce
5. Fried lobster with garlic and hot peppers: need I say more? The coating is like crack. 
6. Mustard greens with shiitake mushrooms and abalone: my husband refuses to kiss me after I have mustard greens because their flavor is so incredibly assertive, but it's one of my favorite vegetables.
7. Bird's nest with filet mignon and asparagus: my parents never used to let me have the actual nest part (deep-fried things are too 熱氣), so it's always a treat to be able to eat as much as I want of those crunchy fried noodles as an adult.
8. Peking duck: roast duck is one of those things I really only eat at wedding banquets, as that half-centimeter thick layer of fat under the skin doesn't bear to much thinking about.
9. Seafood fried rice: honestly, not my favorite part of the meal, as it pales in comparison to everything that's come before. Still, it makes for excellent leftovers the next day. 
10. Mango pudding: I know it's ultra-easy to make at home, but somehow I never do. It makes it all the more special at banquets. 

It's the kind of meal where you can get full just reading the description of it -- pacing is definitely key! It's a good thing I didn't wear my Ms. Joan Frizzle dress, as there's no way I could have made it past the fourth course. Unfortunately, a side effect of such a meal is lots of oil-based sauces flying every which way (or maybe I'm just an uncoordinated eater), because I got fish sauce on the bodice of my dress...boo. It seems to mostly have come out, but I definitely need to make a note to self: don't wear light-colored (or tight) dresses to wedding banquets.

Anyway, the object of this blog is to chronicle my me-made garments, not other-people-made-food, so back to the dress. The skirt looked a little deflated when I first made it up, so 1) shortened it considerably, 2) added horsehair braid to the hem for the first time, and 3) wore the saddest crinoline ever under it. It's the saddest crinoline because it was so cobbled together last-minute (from some hideous polyester curtain lining, leftover elastic bits, and I-brought-it-home-from-somebody's-wedding-because-otherwise-they-would-have-thrown-it-away-tulle). It's so hideous that I'm too embarrassed to show a picture here, and you know I'm not too embarrassed to show pictures of my cat and I jumping on the bed in our pajamas, so that should give you an idea of how hideous it is. Whatever, it did its job and held out my skirts. I felt lovely and floaty (and self-concious about the bodice size, but knew that that was only an issue for me) the whole day, and it was really too bad that I had to leave the rocking dance floor to drive back to TCOCC and give Walnut a reprieve from himself.

You can see how the horsehair really helps the skirt hem to stand out.

My most invisible lapped side zip yet!

Summary:
Fabric: two thrifted twin fitted sheets, 100% cotton (surprising!)
Notions: seam binding, 14" zipper, 3 yards of 1/2" polyester horsehair braid
Techniques: Matching stripes to make chevrons, lapped side zipper (still not a fan of how difficult it is to take off such dresses), horsehair braid
Hours: 7? I kind of lost track, as I was pushing it to be finished in time for the wedding. Plus post-wedding dart-futzing.
Will you make this again? I do, in fact, want to make this pattern again! I really like the chevron effect in the bodice, and the all-in-one bodice+facing is very, very clever. I was hesitant about buying this pattern (even if it was on sale) because it seemed so basic, but I think it's worth it just for the bodice pattern pieces.
Total cost: $10 ($3/sheet, $2 for the zipper, $2 for the horsehair braid)
Final thoughts: I like this dress quite a bit, and it's definitely turned me onto chevrons. I originally planned to wear something else to this wedding, and only started on this dress because the pink stripes fit the Sew Weekly Tickled Pink challenge, but I'm glad I finished it in time for the wedding. At first, I felt a little silly wearing this giant, poofy-skirted retro floral dress when I saw all the other tiny Asian girls wearing their sleek cocktail dresses, but I felt better when, at the end of the night, a girl I didn't know came up specifically to ask me about my dress (sad, but sometimes I feel like it's not a "real" compliment unless it's from a stranger who doesn't know I made it myself).

Here's what the inside of the bodice looks like. I didn't bother binding the seams here, opting to just pink them instead, because it's cut on the bias and won't fray, and also because the pink seam binding shows through slightly. I love the chevron on the neckline facing, and I still need to tack down the armhole facings better.

I can't wait to try more chevron-ed dresses (especially with a chevron-ed skirt, too!), but it will need to wait until I've finished my next VPLL 1912 project pattern: this blouse that comes with no instructions! Call me crazy, but I've never made a buttoned, cuffed, collared blouse before, and I'm going to dive right in with a vintage one with no directions. Wish me luck!

The spiral staircase at the church was begging for an awkward prom picture with my husband.

Before the Blog: Self-Drafted Pencil Skirt

Just because I happened to be wearing it and feeling nice about it.

Most of the things I sewed before I blogged aren't really worth documenting, as they're mostly elastic-based. However, since I was wearing one of my first "real" projects, made back in 2010 (wow, that was ages ago!), I thought I'd get a couple of pictures of it. I had gotten sick of of making no-pattern-required-since-it's-just-two-rectangles-elastic-waist gathered skirts, so I decided to make the opposite: a fitted pencil skirt with an invisible zipper. This was definitely in my fearless sewing period -- I had no idea what I was doing, but I was determined and just brazened on through and made what was actually a surprisingly nice skirt...in quilting cotton. Also, it had no vent, so every time I had to go up two flights of stairs to the copy room at my old school in SD, I cursed my lack of foresight.

I used this excellent tutorial from Mademoiselle Chaos to make my skirt pattern, and I think I might even have it somewhere still. I should really try to find it, as it made an astonishingly good fit! Besides putting in a vent, the only other thing I would change is to add a waistband, just for a more finished look. And also take out the belt loops. And also use a more appropriate fabric, like a nice wool blend. And use a blind hem instead of just stitching a blatant line across the bottom. And use a nicer lining fabric, not some thick polyester nightmare from the thrift store. And make sure my invisible zipper is actually invisible. But aside from all those things, I actually really like the fit, the length, and even the subtle pattern. And since it's made of extremely durable fabrics, I can just toss it into the laundry with no fear. Anything I don't have to hand-wash or dry-clean is excellent in my book, even if I have to iron the heck out of the cotton afterward.

My horribly non-invisible zipper. I decided that it was neat enough to just wear the skirt anyway.

Sometimes 2010 me impresses 2012 me, that I took the time to do such nice darts and get such a good fit.

Even if my hook and eye stitching is atrocious, at least I took the time to hide all my lining raw edges! Also, you can see the scale pattern on the fabric here. It is ridiculously hard to photograph.

Summary:
Fabric: 1 yd remnant of gray quilting cotton with a vague scale pattern, thick cream polyester lining
Notions: invisible zip, hook and eye
Hours: Gosh, I do not remember, but probably at least seven hours
Techniques used: Drafting a pattern based on my measurements, making my own belt loops?
Will you make this again? I want to, with all the changes mentioned above, but I also don't like wearing pencil skirts much, even though I love how they look.
Total cost: about $6, if I remember correctly...even back then I loved remnants and thrifted fabrics!
Final thoughts: This is one of the few me-made neutral pieces I have. I guess I gravitate toward quirky and fun fabrics? I do love how pencil skirts take so little yardage, and that something so simple can look so good when fitted well. I've worn this skirt many times since making it, and it seems to be holding up fine, so I don't know how much I would need another one. What strikes me most about this skirt, though, is that 1) when I made it I didn't know that I wasn't "supposed to" make such tricky pieces, and 2) how much care I took to make everything as perfect as I could in construction, at least to the best of my abilities at the time. Now that I supposedly know better and am more experienced, I think I've developed a fear of trying difficult things that I didn't have back then, while simultaneously skimping on finishing the insides of my garments. I need to recapture the best of that n00b spirit in my sewing.


No qipao pictures yet, although it's been done for a while! Between the dumpling party and people over to visit and all, I didn't have a chance to take normal pictures of me wearing my new qipao. But it's coming, I promise! In the meantime, have some pictures of the dumpling-making. Apologies if you don't like looking at raw meat.

Ground pork, chives, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, ginger, garlic, sherry, soy sauce, white pepper, salt, brown sugar, and cornstarch = the beginning of awesome.

All mixed up! My hand was freezing at the end of this.

We made two whole trays of dumplings.

They fry up so beautifully! Thankfully, we have a whole tray leftover and stashed in the freezer.

We'll end with a picture of Walnut cuddling with two red envelopes.

 

"Miiiinne...my own, my precious!"

More or Less Fail-proof Banana Bread

It's been a crazy past month here in The City of Culver City, as my husband is really getting into the thick of things with business school. Not only does he have class, he's also section president, planning the health care career fair, and recruiting. It's hard for me not only because he's not home much, but also because I feel like I can't help with any of it. When I was swamped with Physical Science grading, he took over and corrected all my worksheets (what a stud!), but I know next to nothing about accounting and marketing and running section elections. So when he requested that I make banana bread for him, I was thrilled to be able to do something "helpful." If fattening him up so that he doesn't fit into his snazzy suits can be considered helpful.

Especially tasty with a bit of sour cream.

Now, this is not a baking blog, nor is it going to turn into one. But I really think this recipe is the bee's knees. What. Why did I just write that. I hate that phrase. How about...this recipe is the cat's spats. It's pretty much impossible to mess up; I've been making it for a decade and half and I've made it in all sorts of conditions: wide-awake and alert, distracted by talking to friends, and half-awake in the middle of the night in a quadrupled batch, and it still turns out fine every time. I tell inquirers that it's passed down from my mom, but here's the confession: since she's from Hong Kong where no one bakes anything, it's probably more accurate to say that I got it from a magazine clipping my mom happened to find.

Oddly enough, I hate bananas. My mom used to make me eat one every day after school so that I wouldn't get cramps during track practice...and you can guess how that went once I arrived at practice with a rock of a banana sitting in my stomach. Hence my hatred of bananas. But! But! I am in love with this banana bread. It's the only banana-related thing I'll eat. And you know what? A whole high school track team also loved this banana bread. Granted, high school athletes will probably eat anything and declare it good, but still.

See, when I first started teaching, I was only three or four years older than my students, and definitely looked it. I really wanted my students to like me. I also had no life outside of school, since I was new to the area and hadn't made any friends yet. So one night a week, I would make myself feel better by baking up a storm. This eventually turned into making cookies for my students every time they had a test...which then morphed, like a monster out of my control, into baking enough banana bread for the entire track team every time they had a meet. Hence the quadruple batch at 2 am.

Enough history of the recipe in my life; here it is.

Ingredients:

1. 1 stick softened butter (if you melt it in the microwave, that's fine too; just mix it in veeeery slowly while whisking so that the eggs don't cook)
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 1 tsp salt
6. 1/2 cup sour cream (don't use non-fat...it'll be weird)
7. 2 ripe bananas, mashed (easiest way to mash without mashing is to freeze and then thaw them: instant mush!)
8. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
9. 1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 176.7 degrees Celsius. Or 449.9 Kelvins. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ingredients #1-7 until they are nicely blended. It should be yellow and very thick, but not too goopy. Then add ingredients #8-9 and stir gently (just the minimum necessary to get the batter smooth). At this point, you can add a couple handfuls of walnut pieces or chocolate chips (I prefer walnuts; the track team preferred the chips). Pour into a well-greased or parchment-papered loaf pan or 9" x 9" square baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on your oven. It's done when an inserted toothpick/bamboo skewer comes out clean.

I know a lot of baking recipes call for fiddly bits like doing dry and wet ingredients separately, or merely softening the butter instead of melting it, but honestly, I've made it both the "proper" way and the easy way, and it turns out just fine with the one-bowl, fast-melt cheater method. This recipe is pretty robust in that way. At the end is a perfectly cake-y, moist (sorry, no other word describes it as well), dense-ish, banana bread with a pronounced crumb that holds its shape and is good for a week. It can be stored in an air-tight container at room temp or in the fridge and holds up well to reheating.

Gratuitous picture of a sleeping Walnut. Yes, he really sleeps with one paw over his face. He's like a sulky teenager who doesn't want Mommy to take his picture, even in his sleep.