Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2009

Valentine’s Day and What’s for Dinner
David and I had an amazing Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We made each other a delicious dinner of honey soy salmon, ginger risotto with peas, and roasted brussels sprouts. David made an awesome double chocolate malted tart for dessert.



We ate at the dinning room table with candles. We couldn’t figure out what wine to pair with our dinner so we made cosmos (cranberry juice, vodka, triple sec, lime juice) but swapped the cranberry juice for blueberry pomegranate juice. We also exchanged gifts. We had a $0 limit, so I was really excited to see what David would come up with. I made him an illustrated fairy tale of how we met, and he wrote me a beautiful hand written love letter. It was perfect.

In totally unrelated news I have decided to change my business plan. The good people of Missoula MT want their meals delivered, and who am I to deny them? So I am looking into renting commercial kitchen space, to make meals, and deliver them to the good people of Missoula. In this financial market I feel like the least I can do is be flexible! Lots of the women in the Missoula Businesswomen’s Network (MBN) have said that they would love to have meals delivered. This network, which I am a member of, has 300 members and is a great group of busy working women.

I also have a personal chef client who is interested in starting in March!! I am really excited about having my first client!!

I hope that everyone is having a good week, and a good Ash Wednesday!

Lots of Love
Abby

It's a Kilt!

Well, I finished my kilt yesterday before work, but I didn't have time to take photos before I had to go. Here's the finished product--front, back, and pleats:

I really love it! Of course, it will be a few months before it's warm enough to wear around here, but I think I can wait. It's been at least 15 years since I've done any sewing, but I think I did pretty well and my new used sewing machine worked like a champ--even through six or more layers of fabric. I can't wait to start my next one.

David

Happy Eating Plus a Craft Project

We’ve had some pretty good weeks since we last posted. We’ve been making it up to our local ski hill, Snowbowl a few times a week and we’ve been eating especially well. Our first photos are from Snowbowl. First, the view of Missoula from one of the runs.

Second, here’s a photo of Abby in the middle of a nice glade run we were skiing last week.

And now on to the food! First up is a photo of our Superbowl feast. We made Velveeta salsa dip in the crock pot, hot wings in a Korean-style sauce, and a big pot of chili (not pictured). Add a few bottles of quality Big Sky Brewing Co. beer and it was quite the spread.

Next up is our meal from last Saturday. We made Moroccan lamb tagine with a lamb shoulder from this summer’s farmers’ market. On the side we had couscous with almonds and dried apricots and some homemade naan with a delicious flavored dipping oil.


For the crafting portion of our evening, I’ve been working on making myself a kilt. I’ve been wanting a Utilikilt, but they start at $150 and go up, so that’s not in the budget. (If you've never seen a Utilikilt, you can see them at www.utilikilts.com) I found a set of instructions online and I used some Christmas money to buy a used sewing machine and the materials I need to make a contemporary kilt. Here are some progress photos. First, this is the piece of fabric I started with. It’s 57 inches by 2.25 yards.

This is the fabric after I cut it in half and sewed it into a piece 4.5 yards long.

Here it is after sewing in all the pleat edges.

And finally, here is a shot of the pleats all bar tacked down.

Since this photo, I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to taper the waist and have it sit straight. I think I’ve got it pinned down how it needs to be. So what’s left is to sew down the tops of the pleats, tack the aprons in place, and apply the waistband. Then I’ll have my kilt!

Hope all are well.

Love,
David and Abby