Green Smoothie Challenge

Jumping on the "green smoothie" band wagon for lunches with some friends and wanted to share. This is the first gathering of ingredients for tomorrows kick-off: celery + cucumber + lemon + parsley + ginger :: and tomorrow I'll add the frozen pineapple + coconut water. If you're interested in trying yourself, this is the link to the actual challenge.

Happiness Whirl~batt

Happiness Whirl~batt, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

colors . . . remind me of happiness . . . warm golden oranges + sweet luscious pinks + refreshing lavender + glowing sun ray yellows . . .

happiness contains 2.5 oz of my amazingly soft hand dyed and drum carded fiber which includes :: fake cashmere + superfine merino + firestar + bambyx mori silk + mohair locks + recycled sari silk.

a link to happiness.

Hi. Nice to meet you Rolags ~

Whirlwend Rolags, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

Popping-in to give you a tiny peek at what Whirlwend has been up to lately ... expanding my obsession with color by dying and carding fiber for spinning and felting.

The little sweeties I made above are called Rolags. Here is a little video by the  über-talented Michelle Snowdon over at Wooldancer that shows you how to make them + how they can be spun on a wheel to make yarn...

Tip for other Fiberistas making rolags this way :: I'm finding it's a bit easier to roll the fiber off the drum carder when sandwiched between two dowel rods so it doesn't slip.

Check out some of my batts (and rolags very soon) here.

Koi Whirlscarf

Koi Whirlscarf, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

colors . . . remind me of koi gracefully swimming on a sunshiny day . . . brilliant oranges mixed with pinks and hints of purple . . . 

This one-of-a-kind wearable was handspun by me, Wendy, on my spinning wheel from soft cotton fabric wrapped around a pre-spun cotton core. 

Nine, two yard loops. Very versatile. You could wear it long or loop it twice or even three times to make it even cozier.

Pssst! It’s Cookie Time

Peanut Butter Cookies, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

Did you know March 1st was National Peanut Butter Lovers' Day? In honor (okay, just a coincidence) I made some yummy peanut butter cookies via this recipe.

Decided to take them a step further by adding some sanding sugar on top + punching out smaller cookies to make these über-cute mini versions. Sending these off to a friend, but the outer discarded edges are ALL mine! Mwwaahaha!

Happy Leap Day!

Enjoy your day!, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days. { via wikipedia

Good Korma

Good Korma, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

It's true, I have a thing for spicy food. And lately I've dusted off my slow cooker to make some stellar Winter soups. Craving more texture+spice, I decided to recreate one of my favorite Indian dishes ~Korma~ as a one pot slow cooked meal. It worked!! Are you ready for the goods? Into the cauldron went...

1 pound boneless skinless chicken { cut into one inch cubes ~ breast or thigh or both
1 huge russet potato { cut into half inch cubes
1 small red onion { chopped
1 sweet yellow onion { coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves { minced ~ psst, i tend to go heavy on garlic to keep the vamps at bay
1 huge chunk of ginger about the size of a thumb { minced ~ i'm a bit crazed on ginger too
1 (14.5 oz) can of stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala { i used my own mix, but you can get this at most groceries
1 tablespoon curry { i used madras
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon crushed cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 healthy grinding of pepper
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup or so of chicken broth { optional, could just add water but I had some on hand
3 carrots { peeled and sliced into quarter inch slices ~ added these at halfway point
1 good handful of cherry sized tomatoes { sliced in half ~ added these at halfway point
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt { at at end before serving

cover + cook on high about 4 hours or on low about 6 to 8 hours ~ enjoy.

/newbie chef extraordinaire, wz