Cooking: Crepe Cake

Here and there I begin a non-sensical project at 11 pm.  I know I'm not alone in that particular insanity.  (Can't speak for other insanities...)  Years ago in North Carolina, it was my friend Edna's "fruit" (also known as cake mix) pie.  Now, for Will's 6th grade class mind you, I am making a Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake.  What happened?!?

Well, the recipe is so advanced, I had to take breaks from cooking and go bang on the piano every 10 minutes.  My brain can't wrap around browning butter AND creaming custard AND skinning hazelnuts AND pouring a perfect crepe AND melting chocolate with a double boiler.

The recipe is from Deb Perelman, in "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook."  (Thank you, Jenny!)  Her book is beautiful.  Her photos are etherial.  A stark contrast to my honest kitchen, adorned with chicken scraps, homework, art supplies, broken eye glasses, food-stained bills, dead plants and more.  Really, I shouldn't have Perelman's photos it sitting around at all.  It's like a diamond in the rough.  Will spotted it and was probably so taken by the novelty of clutterless kitchen scenes that, unbeknownst to me, he submitted this recipe to the school fundraiser cookbook and committed to a taste test the following day.  Where is this boy's sense?  I pushed back, but only bought myself a couple of days.

But now, even as I'm tired, and not exactly the picture of a joyous cook, gratitude still rises to the surface.  I'm grateful for having this boy.  Grateful to mix some love into his hazelnut pudding. And grateful he likes Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cakes.  I guess.  Though Edna's cake mix pie would be much simpler, and probably a bigger hit.

Making Things: Pom Pom Curtains

Recently, I sewed some pom pom trim onto my girls' cheap white curtains.  I did it by hand.  Stitch by stitch.

It seems like a slightly frivolous use of my time, attaching pink pom poms.  Just the title to this post makes me feel a little trivial.  And the endeavor was not even all that creative.  I connected things.  I didn't make anything up.  And the lives surrounding these pom poms are busy.  I can barely feed everyone, let alone sew them pom pom curtains!

Still, it gives me such a sense of satisfaction to have "girls' curtains" on my to do list.  And holding a needle and thread can make me feel right with the world.

So now that the pom poms are done, I am ready to put something new on my list.  Something equally... small.

Maybe I'll try ric rac.

Valentine's Day

There was a lot of red and pink in our household these past few days.  Purple, too.  On the heels of Christmas, I always look forward to Valentine's Day.  I think, "Oh, I've got plenty of time to get organized for that holiday."  As I drive from activity to activity, I dream up projects and compose beautiful cards to my husband, my kids, loved ones, people I barely know...

I didn't actually get pen to paper for my Valentines, but the kids sure enjoyed some frenzied creativity during sub-zero temperatures.  We produced quite a bit, even as some of our ambitions remain undone.  Here's what we made:

• We sent Christmas thank you notes with Valentine hearts enclosed.
• We decorated lingering white Christmas lights with deep red.
• We sent packages to grandmothers that held everything but the kitchen sink.
• June personalized watercolor hearts with her growing vocabulary of adjectives.
• John practiced drawing stick figures on hearts.
• Clara and I sewed some paper bird and heart hangings.
• Pink and white paper around the house became confetti.
• Clara filled little bottles with lavender that we harvested from our yard in, oh 2008.
• Finally, Clara invited friends over to make a flag for the senior center nearby.  Despite our most noble effort, however, we didn't manage to deliver it until after Valentine's Day...

Anyway, here is some evidence of the mayhem:

Making Things: A Coat Rack

I am thrilled with our new, homemade coat rack.  It isn't actually functional, but somehow that seems secondary.  It was a collaboration primarily between Clara, John and myself.  Here is what we did:

1.  Clara whittled a huge stick / branch.
2.  I found the base of an umbrella that lost its umbrella to a windstorm probably ten years ago.
3.  Clara's stick / branch fit perfectly into the umbrella base.  (This coincidence inspired the rack.)
4.  John hammered holes in some strips of wood.  (See hammer above.)
5.  From John's holes, I screwed the wood onto Clara's stick.

The wood strips are a bit small, and they flop down under the weight of a coat.  Yes, I know the purpose of a coat rack is to hold coats.  But, some of John's jackets are light enough.  And, Jeff's windbreaker hangs on the top of Clara's stick.  Anyway, we made it so who cares?  At least three in this household consider it art.