2022 DAY 2

2022 DAY 2

by | Jan 3, 2022 | Art, Knitting, recipes, tracy wears wool

 Day  2

Cold and rainy here on day 2  in Portland, Oregon.  But not super cold like the last few days.  Not freeze your new garden pipes cold, like yesterday.  My bad, I should have insulated the above-ground pvc pipe to the new system.  Luckily, we installed a shut-off valve.  Whew.   but that was yesterday.  And today brought a bit of rain, which will most likely freeze tonight making the roads nice and icy.  A good reason to stay in.

Today, I donned my hippy shirt and did hippy things.  Namely, make yogurt and sauerkraut.  Well, started both.  Yogurt will be ready tomorrow, and the kraut, in about a week. We go through a lot of both of them here.

For those of you who have never made sauerkraut, I made a couple of 1-minute videos.  Super simple. Super cheap.  And super delicious.  You need 1 head of cabbage, and about 4 TBS — roughly, of coarse salt.  And a half-gallon jar with a wide mouth. Here are two 1 minute videos on a simple way to make it.

 

 

For those of you new to this blog …I am involved in a 100-Day Challenge, put on by Wool&  —  Same dress.  100 days. Details are on tracywearswool.com. I am also taking the same 100 days to make some additional positive changes to develop daily habits in writing, art, knitting and eating better.  I will also be not buying anything but essentials, and giving away an item for each of the 100 days.

JANUARY 2 , 2022 – DAY 2

 

2022 day 2

I finished  Hello Habits.  It is his second book, the first one is Goodbye Things.  I highly recommend both!

I like to listen to audiobooks while I knit, but it comes in paperback, too. Today I grafted the toe of my sock, and started the second

2022 day 2
I am always amazed at the Kitchener stitch for grafting. It is this weaving in and out, and I am never quite sure it is right… until the end.  And then, just like magic, it works out to make the toe of the sock seamless!
2022 day 2

This afternoon, I ventured into a new area… animals.  I grew up drawing horses, but don’t think I have done one since Junior High.  But I think I may be drawing more in the coming days….

2022 day 2

I also started some yogurt in the Instant Pot — which is super simple and super easy.  You just need milk, and about 2 tbs of commercial yogurt with live cultures. More tomorrow.

Today’s giveaway was a glass apple paperweight.

2022 day 2

 

Thanks for joining me on day 2 of my #tracywearswool & new habits journey.

Stay tuned for the next 98 days!

OH.. and I signed up for Duolingo — so I can proudly… Quien es mas guapo, Titus o Rainey?

Hasta, folks!

–Tracy

 

2022 day 2

As part of the challenge, I will be posting my daily outfits on blog posts as well as social media with the hashtag #tracywearswool — please follow along — and see all the creative stuff  that I get into!

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Who’s Hungry for Curry?

Who’s Hungry for Curry?

by | Apr 5, 2020 | blog, recipes

Cafe Quarentina Presents… Curry!

So you have been locked inside.  And your pantry is looking pretty bleak.  Here is what I made last night, which turned out to be delicious, comforting, curry goodness.  With just a few simple items — mostly from Trader Joe’s.

I have always loved curry, but sometimes they are too spicy for me to handle.  The addition of pineapple and raisins take away some of the heat – but trust me, there is still a bit of zip and LOTS of flavor.  

 

Pineapple Vegetable Coconut Curry

 

  For this you will need:

 

  • 1 TBS coconut oil
  • 16 oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits
  • 2 cooked red potatoes, diced (or — 1 1/2 -2 cups cooked rice)
  • 1 pouch Trader Joe’s Jaipur Vegetables
  • 1 16 oz can coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins

To Make the Curry:

  1.  Melt coconut oil in a medium-sized heavy pot over medium heat
  2. open can of pineapple, drain — but keep the juice, you may need it later.
  3. dump the pineapple chunks into the pot, and stir to coat the pineapple.  Saute over medium heat, string occasionally, until the pineapple starts to brown and carmelize.
  4. If pineapple starts to dry out, add some of the pineapple juice, and keep stirring.
  5. Add the potatoes.  If you don’t have potatoes, you can use 1 1/1- 2  cups of rice instead. stir and saute for 5 minutes to brown
  6. Add pouch of Trader Joe’s Jaipur Veggies, stir to mix.
  7. Add 1 can coconut milk and golden raisins. 
  8. Stir, and heat through.
  9. Ladle into bowls.

.

Serves 2 generously as a main course.

Vegetarian and gluten free

I found that this kept me full for quite a while.  I think it’s the coconut milk.  I know… it gets a bad rap — lots of calories and tons of fat (but it’s the good ft, right?) So for this recipe, I used the reduced fat version.  And, to my surprise, It was just as yummy as if I had used the full fat version.  

 

I hope you enjoy the Soup!!  Be well.

Choose to be happy.

–Tracy

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fluffy instant pot rice

fluffy instant pot rice

by | Mar 14, 2020 | recipes

fluffy rice every time in the instant pot

You may be new to the Instant Pot, or you may have had one for a while. Most people think of the Instant Pot as being the end-all appliance for cooking meats and soups and stews But have you tried cooking rice in it?  It is a lot simpler than you think, and with the proper ratios, comes out fluffy and perfect every time.

There are a lot of different rice recipes out there, but this one is easy to remember and gives great results. First off… Forget everything you know about cooking rice… this is different!

 

Let’s start with the rice to water ratio.  On the stove, it is usually 1:1.5 or more. 

In the Instant Pot it is ALWAYS 1:1 — no matter what type of rice it is.

You may wonder why so little water?   Won’t it burn?   The answer lies in the fact that this is a closed system, and when sealed properly, NO water evaporates during cooking.

Traditionally cooked, brown, black, red and wild rice take longer to cook, and require more water… because of the evaporation factor.  The longer the rice takes to cook, the more water is needed. But in a closed system, the water stays in — no matter how long it is cooked for.  So, with the Instant Pot, all rice requires the same amount of water to cook.  1 part rice to 1 part water.

So the softer the rice — like white long grain or jasmine — the shorter the cooking period.  I start with one minute. But, if your rice comes out too hard… it doesn’t need more water, but rather more time.  And if it is mushy… you probably used too much water. 

Also, it doesn’t matter if you are making 1 cup or 5 cups, the water and the times are the same.  If you have been using and Instant Pot for a while, you will know this… but as a beginner, I had to let that sink in a bit.  Also, I wouldn’t attempt to make more than 5 raw cups of rice at a time in a 6 quart Instant Pot. Rice triples in volume when cooked — ( 1 part water, 1 part rice & 1 part air– because it’s fluffier) 5 cups of raw rice will turn into 15 cups cooked, and that is getting pretty close to the 2/3 line max — which would be 16 cups.

These times are suggestions.  If you are at altitude, you may need to add a bit more time. strat with a few minutes at a time.

 

IGNORE THE RICE BUTTON — IT IS ONLY FOR WHITE RICE.

The rice button is not your friend if you want perfect fluffy rice.  Also… ignore the recipe in the instruction booklet that came with the Instant Pot.

METHOD:

  • 1 part rice
  • 1 part water, or veggie or meat broth
  • sprinkle of salt
  • 1t – 1T coconut oil (optional)

PUT ALL INGREDIENTS INTO INSTANT POT & SEAL

SET TIMER  ACCORDING TO CHART.

WHEN DONE COOKING, ALLOW TO NATURALLY RELEASE FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES, THEN QUICK RELEASE.

OPEN THE POT.

FLUFF RICE AND ENJOY.

I hope you enjoy your fluffy Instant Pot rice!!

For more Instant Pot tips and hacks, go  HERE

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Thanks for visiting my post!

–Tracy

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