Post 100: Homemade Mustard

Mustard. A condiment. Some of us may not particularly like it but it is a seasoning like any other.

Mustard over ketchup, for me, any day.

I wanted to get my friend Dina some mustards as a "thank you" for seeing over my house in my absence while I was away last month but when I was considering mustard varieties, I decided a better gift was making mustard together. She was excited. Her boyfriend, Joe, was even more inlined because he has culinary intuition...  

Dina, alas, does not.

So, I chose a nice grain mustard... with malt vinegar....

Whole yellow and brown mustard seeds, crushed garlic and malt vinegar are the start

Whole yellow and brown mustard seeds soaking in malt vinegar with garlic for 48+ hours

No project is complete without proper hydration: here a fresh lilikoi cosmopolitan 

The completed mustard after it has been pureed with honey, salt and turmeric

A meal consisting of the home-made mustard with sliced deli meats

A Long Overdue Post: Sea Turtles, Seal Pups and Humpback Whales

This is a quilt made by Suzy Aguirre, of Maui. I have never met her but I do know her sister-in-law Bernadette, who is employed by the USPS as the mail carrier working my postal route. Over the years, I have had bolts of fabric sent parcel post, wrapped in clear shipping plastic. We connected one day when a bolt of my "Surf's Up!" sea turtle fabric arrived. She explained that the honu (sea turtle) had a special meaning for her. It seemed, each time while at the shore, a sea turtle would appear... a sign that was a reminder of her one son, a twin, whom had passed away - swept out to sea by a rogue wave while fishing on the rocks. And if that wasn't enough, several years later she lost her other son who was distraught at the loss of his twin brother.

I gave Bernadette the three fabrics - turtles, seals and whales - and in turn, Suzy made this quilt as a dedication to her two boys.

It's a wonderfully executed quilt, and these pictures really do not do it justice. I am touched that I could be a part of this...

If you look closely you will note the quilting is also in the shape of sea turtles

Honu 'Akala

Pink Sea Turtle.

Sue, of The Needlework Factory, and I discussed sewing the animals on the Aminal Crackers: Water Babies disc in different colors, primaries and pastels.

We never proceeded with the samples but the idea has remained with me. I needed a gift and decided to have the sea turtle sewn out in pinks on a pink/coral tie-dyed t-shirt.

Here are pics of the embroidery in the hoop, on the machine stitching out. There are about 34,000 stitches in the finished embroidery and each takes about 20 minutes to complete.

The foundation of the embroidery, the lightest color, is sewn out first, followed by the second lightest color which becomes the scales and shell

More detail is added with the second darkest color, which is primarily detail on the head

The darkest color is the outline which defines the final embroidery

The eye is sewn in with black, and the finished design on the tie-dyed t-shirt

Amtrak NY Penn Station to Pittsburgh

I'm back on Maui. Getting settled in and reacquainted with everyday life while working.

I did accomplished much when I was in New Jersey, and I could have done more, but it was just nice to chill.

I had hopes of working on the follow up paperwork for the sorbet, which has still been kept active, on the train ride to and then from Pittsburgh, but I just sat back, watched the scenery blur by, took in the mini-dramas of the passengers surrounding me in their seats; I packed my own food so I ate as I pleased and truly feel the 18-hour round-trip from NY - Pittsburgh was overall relaxing.

I went to teach at the Airport Sewing Center the projects I had posted in my June 02 post Recent Projects. I'll post pics from the class and a turtle embroidery in the process of being sewn out in my next post.

These pics were taken through the tinted window of the passenger train.

Leaving Pittsburgh train station

These smoke stacks were part of a nuclear power facility

Red car, red house, gold gilded church roof

 The stripes were created when the mothership landed and deposited the circular alien pods

Stripes 

 Crossing the Susquehanna River on a mile-long bridge

I see a muppet-like tree monster a la Sendak

Philadelphia

Then it was on to Trenton, Newark and New York Penn Station; the subway to the port Authority bus terminal and on to New Jersey to crash...

Paella for Pop, Marsala for Mom

  For Mother's Day and Father's Day...

Seafood Paella with Chicken and Sweet Italian Sausage

 Paella: Cooking on the BBQ the way it's supposed to be done

Awaiting a hungry audience

Here's the recipe I followed for both Christmas dinner and above: Paella recipe from mediterrasian.com (Note: things were changed to my liking, and as were available.

Chicken Marsala

 A pan full of sliced mushrooms

 Mushrooms sauteing

 Cooked mushrooms

 Pounded chicken breasts sauteing in brown butter

 Mushrooms returned to the pan after the chicken has cooked, reducing in marsala and white wine, sherry and chicken stock

Chicken returned to the pan to reheat, and finished with a drizzle of half and half

Hair Today...

...Gone Tomorrow...

Before and after hair cut pics. Don't miss it at all at the moment!

Bi-Coastal - It's a Way of Life

Well, I suppose I'm not really bi-coastal. I have lived on one of the Easternmost places in the United States, being New York City, and I now reside in one of the Westernmost places in the US: Maui, Hawaii. But I've never lived on the west coast

So, how long of a trip is it from point A to point B? These days it is only accomplished with a stop on the West Coast, but in the days when I could get a direct flight from Maui OGG to Newark EWR it took about 11 hours non-stop. Now it's approximately a 5 + 5 hour plus layover time (barring any hassles, delays, annoyances, layovers, connections, etc.) And for what it is worth: I leave today and arrive tomorrow... because I am going against the sun. So I leave on Tuesday the 19th and arrive on the 20th bright and early in the morning. Dad's gotta be at the airport to meet me when I land at 7:30 AM. Don't worry... he'll eat REALLY well when I am there.

So here's the final post from Hawaii before I leave.

Pineapple

Green New Zealand Clams with Candied Ginger, Kula Tomatoes, Scallions, Red Pepper Flakes and Reisling; Sourdough Toasts

Yellow Summer Squash stuffed with Beans, Corn, Scallions, Goat Cheese

and Sourdough Bread Crumbs

Fillet of Opah Oven Roasted with Kula Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Scallions; Red Pepper Flakes and Black Sea Salt finish, Balsamic Vinegar

Salad of Red Romaine, Cucumbers, Garden Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

Mini Maui Cattle Company Burger, Yellow Tomato and Lettuce

Oven Baked Steak Fries